1 00:00:05,142 --> 00:00:08,071 Speaker: LeBron James is back in the news again. 2 00:00:08,792 --> 00:00:14,232 He is a- approaching, I assume, the Decision part two, or maybe it's 3 00:00:14,232 --> 00:00:16,192 part three by now, I don't know. 4 00:00:16,682 --> 00:00:19,462 But back in 2010 was the Decision part one. 5 00:00:19,951 --> 00:00:22,901 If you remember, uh, what was going on around that time, it 6 00:00:22,901 --> 00:00:26,282 was hard to, uh, avoid it, uh, even if you're not a sports fan. 7 00:00:26,452 --> 00:00:29,281 Everybody was wondering, "Where is LeBron gonna go?" 8 00:00:29,282 --> 00:00:35,101 See, LeBron was a, a generational talent, a true generational talent, and LeBron 9 00:00:35,102 --> 00:00:38,941 James coming out of high school and ju- dominating in the NBA in a way that 10 00:00:38,942 --> 00:00:40,841 nobody had really seen in, in decades. 11 00:00:40,841 --> 00:00:43,902 Now, before you get upset with me, I still think m- Michael Jordan was better. 12 00:00:44,282 --> 00:00:49,051 Uh, but LeBron James, he was, uh, uh, a heroic story. 13 00:00:49,061 --> 00:00:51,121 He was from the Cleveland area. 14 00:00:51,131 --> 00:00:52,081 He grew up there. 15 00:00:52,081 --> 00:00:55,962 He went to high school there, and then his hometown team drafted him, and he 16 00:00:55,962 --> 00:01:00,912 got to play with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and he was a, a great player for them. 17 00:01:00,912 --> 00:01:07,031 But when his contract ran out, it came to the Decision, and everybody was hoping in 18 00:01:07,032 --> 00:01:11,212 Cleveland and pleading and begging that their hometown guy would stay with them, 19 00:01:11,212 --> 00:01:15,111 would defy the odds and stay with the small market, that the, the Mistake by the 20 00:01:15,112 --> 00:01:20,041 Lake wouldn't be that anymore, that this would be a new era for Cleveland sports. 21 00:01:20,701 --> 00:01:26,491 And then LeBron sat down on national TV and completely humiliated the c- the city 22 00:01:26,491 --> 00:01:30,541 of Cleveland when he announced in front of millions and millions of viewers, 23 00:01:30,852 --> 00:01:33,922 "I'm taking my talents to South Beach." 24 00:01:34,892 --> 00:01:39,041 LeBron left Cleveland and went to Miami, and just like that, 25 00:01:39,411 --> 00:01:40,662 the hero became the villain. 26 00:01:41,371 --> 00:01:44,561 The, the, the hometown guy that they had watched, that they had seen, that 27 00:01:44,561 --> 00:01:49,551 they felt like, "We raised LeBron to be who he is," he was now persona non 28 00:01:49,551 --> 00:01:53,702 grata in Cleveland, and every time he came back to Cleveland in the years that 29 00:01:53,702 --> 00:01:58,322 followed, people were booing him who had once cheered him, and people were 30 00:01:58,322 --> 00:02:01,931 taking his jerseys that they had once worn proudly, and they were burning them 31 00:02:01,931 --> 00:02:07,611 in the streets because LeBron had dared to defy Cleveland and choose instead 32 00:02:07,962 --> 00:02:09,800 to take his talents to South Beach. 33 00:02:10,481 --> 00:02:15,911 LeBron James quickly learned what it means to be with odd- at odds with someone, 34 00:02:16,311 --> 00:02:19,881 and not only at odds with someone, but with a whole city of someones. 35 00:02:21,966 --> 00:02:25,246 This morning, if you're a Christian, if you're here and you're a 36 00:02:25,246 --> 00:02:29,546 follower of Christ, you know what it's like to be at odds as well. 37 00:02:30,496 --> 00:02:36,506 Not just with a person, not just with a city of people, but you know this morning 38 00:02:36,515 --> 00:02:38,426 what it is to be at odds with the world. 39 00:02:39,585 --> 00:02:43,735 That's what God does in and through us when He saves us. 40 00:02:44,245 --> 00:02:48,995 James 4:4 says, "You adulterous people, do you not know that friendship with 41 00:02:48,995 --> 00:02:51,675 the world is actually enmity with God?" 42 00:02:51,675 --> 00:02:53,436 It's hostility with God. 43 00:02:54,555 --> 00:02:58,415 Or in 1 John 2:15, John says there, "Do not love the world 44 00:02:59,536 --> 00:03:00,615 or the things in the world. 45 00:03:00,615 --> 00:03:03,535 If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." 46 00:03:05,115 --> 00:03:07,496 John goes on to define the world in case maybe you're wondering, "Well, what does 47 00:03:07,496 --> 00:03:08,936 it mean that I'm at odds with the world? 48 00:03:08,936 --> 00:03:11,856 Aren't we supposed to love the lost, and don't the lost make up the world?" 49 00:03:11,856 --> 00:03:14,626 And John defines, when he says world, he's not necessarily talking 50 00:03:14,626 --> 00:03:17,975 about people, but the, rather the, the system of the evil one. 51 00:03:18,265 --> 00:03:22,035 For he says this, he says, "All that is in the world," 1 John 2:16, "the 52 00:03:22,036 --> 00:03:26,565 desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not from 53 00:03:26,565 --> 00:03:28,275 the Father, but it's from the world." 54 00:03:28,875 --> 00:03:31,615 So you think about it, the, the desires of the eyes, the desires of the flesh, 55 00:03:31,616 --> 00:03:35,775 the, the pride of life, the world's system, the things that the world appeals 56 00:03:35,775 --> 00:03:37,696 to us that, that says, "Come after this. 57 00:03:37,716 --> 00:03:38,585 This will satisfy. 58 00:03:38,585 --> 00:03:39,676 This will make you happy." 59 00:03:39,855 --> 00:03:43,656 Once we follow Christ, now we're at odds with the world's system. 60 00:03:44,595 --> 00:03:47,525 In fact, Paul puts it rather strongly in Galatians 6:14. 61 00:03:47,525 --> 00:03:51,995 He says, "Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus 62 00:03:51,995 --> 00:03:59,865 Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." 63 00:04:01,475 --> 00:04:05,795 See, what put odd, uh, LeBron James at odds with the city of Cleveland 64 00:04:05,795 --> 00:04:09,275 was deciding to leave Cleveland and go play basketball for Miami. 65 00:04:10,765 --> 00:04:14,716 But for you and me, what puts us at odds with the world is our relationship 66 00:04:14,716 --> 00:04:17,925 with God and the Word of God. 67 00:04:19,545 --> 00:04:21,535 Put it another way, you can write it down this way. 68 00:04:21,536 --> 00:04:23,985 The, the Word of God doing the work of God is going to put 69 00:04:23,985 --> 00:04:24,945 you at odds with the world. 70 00:04:25,985 --> 00:04:29,695 The Word of God doing the work of God in your life, in my life, is 71 00:04:29,695 --> 00:04:32,255 gonna put us at odds with the world. 72 00:04:32,495 --> 00:04:35,856 See, the Spirit is gonna take God's Word and begin to use it in our lives. 73 00:04:36,436 --> 00:04:39,786 The Spirit of God is going to begin to take the Word of God and see that we are 74 00:04:39,796 --> 00:04:43,915 washed and that we are sanctified and that we are trained, as he says, Paul 75 00:04:43,915 --> 00:04:48,946 does in Titus, to renounce ungodliness and worldliness and to live self-controlled, 76 00:04:48,955 --> 00:04:51,476 upright, godly lives in this present age. 77 00:04:52,266 --> 00:04:54,675 See, as a Christian, your allegiance has shifted now. 78 00:04:54,686 --> 00:04:56,096 You, you have a new family. 79 00:04:56,096 --> 00:04:59,515 You are no longer of the world, but now you are in Christ. 80 00:04:59,815 --> 00:05:03,635 And so the Word of God doing the work of God is going to put you at odds with this 81 00:05:03,635 --> 00:05:09,502 world And there's gonna be three evidences that God's Word is doing that work in your 82 00:05:09,502 --> 00:05:10,902 life that I want us to see this morning. 83 00:05:11,582 --> 00:05:13,942 There's gonna be three evidences that God's Word is doing that 84 00:05:13,942 --> 00:05:18,392 work in your life that we're gonna look at from Psalm 119:81-88. 85 00:05:18,392 --> 00:05:20,632 Psalm 119:81-88. 86 00:05:21,371 --> 00:05:24,332 Let's pick up with just the first three verses, four verses. 87 00:05:25,232 --> 00:05:25,952 Three verses. 88 00:05:26,291 --> 00:05:27,731 Math is difficult for me sometimes. 89 00:05:28,691 --> 00:05:32,071 Uh, Psalm 119:81, "My soul longs for your salvation. 90 00:05:32,301 --> 00:05:33,661 I hope in your word. 91 00:05:33,812 --> 00:05:36,471 My eyes long for your promise. 92 00:05:36,632 --> 00:05:38,561 I ask: When will you comfort me? 93 00:05:38,902 --> 00:05:42,852 For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, yet I have not 94 00:05:42,861 --> 00:05:44,841 forgotten your statutes." 95 00:05:46,166 --> 00:05:48,616 What we're gonna see right off the bat is one of the ways that, that God's word 96 00:05:48,635 --> 00:05:53,606 transforms us is found in the way that God's word transforms our base desires. 97 00:05:53,965 --> 00:05:56,955 That is the things that we want, the things that we crave, the things 98 00:05:56,955 --> 00:06:01,676 that we long for, that we desire more than anything else in the world. 99 00:06:02,395 --> 00:06:05,025 As the word of God does the work of God in our lives, we're gonna find 100 00:06:05,025 --> 00:06:10,635 that these base desires shift from the things of Earth to being with Jesus. 101 00:06:11,546 --> 00:06:14,186 Our first point this morning, one of the evidences that God's work is 102 00:06:14,186 --> 00:06:17,135 doing, or God's word is doing God's work in your life is this: That you 103 00:06:17,135 --> 00:06:19,386 desire heaven while faithful here. 104 00:06:20,385 --> 00:06:22,455 That you desire heaven while faithful here. 105 00:06:22,645 --> 00:06:25,885 Our desires change as we physically mature, don't they? 106 00:06:26,705 --> 00:06:30,025 I remember being little and eating candy, and I thought to myself, 107 00:06:30,245 --> 00:06:34,215 "When I get older, I'm gonna let my kids have candy all the time. 108 00:06:34,356 --> 00:06:36,025 They can have candy whenever they want." 109 00:06:36,034 --> 00:06:38,376 My kids are here this morning to testify that my desires 110 00:06:38,376 --> 00:06:40,655 have changed on that front. 111 00:06:40,905 --> 00:06:41,425 Why? 112 00:06:41,815 --> 00:06:45,725 Well, because as we mature, we realize that the things that we initially 113 00:06:45,725 --> 00:06:47,765 wanted aren't necessarily good for us. 114 00:06:48,856 --> 00:06:51,546 Or think about staying up late to watch movies. 115 00:06:52,045 --> 00:06:55,776 I was getting my hair cut yesterday, and the person cutting my hair, I was just, 116 00:06:55,986 --> 00:06:58,866 you know, making small talk, and she said, "Well, what are you doing after this?" 117 00:06:58,866 --> 00:07:01,895 And I said, "Well, I'm gonna go home and spend the evening with my family." 118 00:07:01,895 --> 00:07:03,965 And she's like, "Oh, well, my coworker said there's a rave 119 00:07:03,965 --> 00:07:04,925 that starts at 10:00 PM." 120 00:07:04,925 --> 00:07:06,165 I th- I said, "10:00 PM? 121 00:07:06,895 --> 00:07:08,165 What in the world are you thinking? 122 00:07:08,575 --> 00:07:09,925 It's dark out at that time. 123 00:07:10,425 --> 00:07:11,496 You should be asleep." 124 00:07:12,695 --> 00:07:15,155 But when we're younger, it's like, "How can I stay up as late as I 125 00:07:15,155 --> 00:07:16,825 possibly can and watch movies?" 126 00:07:16,825 --> 00:07:18,485 That's where my middle son is at right now. 127 00:07:18,486 --> 00:07:19,515 He's like, "Dad, can I stay up? 128 00:07:19,806 --> 00:07:20,406 Can I stay up?" 129 00:07:20,995 --> 00:07:22,535 I'm like, "Can I go to bed?" 130 00:07:22,765 --> 00:07:24,755 I'm like, "We'll just trade," right? 131 00:07:24,755 --> 00:07:26,945 You, you lock up the house, set the alarm. 132 00:07:27,346 --> 00:07:28,365 Uh, yeah. 133 00:07:28,955 --> 00:07:30,466 Or how about going on roller coasters? 134 00:07:30,835 --> 00:07:33,275 Yeah, you remember wh- when there was a time when you could do that without 135 00:07:33,275 --> 00:07:37,255 feeling like you just went through, uh, you know, re-orbit entry in, in 136 00:07:37,255 --> 00:07:38,795 a space shuttle coming back to Earth? 137 00:07:39,685 --> 00:07:44,955 I remember I, I was in California and went on, uh, some roller coaster with 138 00:07:44,955 --> 00:07:48,296 some of our college students, and afterwards I j- I thought I was dying. 139 00:07:48,705 --> 00:07:50,595 I said, "This didn't used to feel this way." 140 00:07:51,626 --> 00:07:54,805 See, as we physically mature, our desires change because we get to a 141 00:07:54,805 --> 00:07:56,295 place where we realize that once we… 142 00:07:56,305 --> 00:08:01,026 what we once thought was good, we realize that's not really what's good anymore. 143 00:08:01,995 --> 00:08:05,675 Spiritually, our desires need to change as well as we get older in Christ. 144 00:08:06,295 --> 00:08:10,295 As we mature spiritually, we should see things changing in our lives. 145 00:08:10,605 --> 00:08:12,985 Sin should become less appealing to us. 146 00:08:13,855 --> 00:08:16,475 W- we should all of a sudden have a willingness that says, "You know what? 147 00:08:16,515 --> 00:08:21,475 I'm going to sacrifice my evenings for a whole week to show up at Vacation 148 00:08:21,475 --> 00:08:26,300 Bible School at my church to serve these little ones You should see that, that 149 00:08:26,310 --> 00:08:29,570 your appetite for the Word begins to increase, that you think to yourself, 150 00:08:29,570 --> 00:08:31,330 "Man, I want to be in God's Word." 151 00:08:32,260 --> 00:08:36,039 You should see as you s- spiritually mature that y- your affections for God's 152 00:08:36,039 --> 00:08:39,558 church and God's people increase as well. 153 00:08:40,590 --> 00:08:44,010 A- and it's a, a change because you realize that what you once thought was 154 00:08:44,019 --> 00:08:47,410 good, that the world said, "This is what life is all about," now you're 155 00:08:47,410 --> 00:08:48,969 realizing in Christ that, "You know what? 156 00:08:49,129 --> 00:08:50,489 My desires have shifted. 157 00:08:50,890 --> 00:08:53,179 I desire Jesus more now. 158 00:08:53,179 --> 00:08:54,300 I desire to be with Him. 159 00:08:54,330 --> 00:08:57,600 I want Him over the things of the world." 160 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:00,450 It's like the old hymn, "The things of earth, they grow strangely dim 161 00:09:00,450 --> 00:09:01,939 in the light of His glorious grace." 162 00:09:03,692 --> 00:09:08,342 Over time, we need to find that our love for the world lessens 163 00:09:08,412 --> 00:09:10,262 as our love for Christ increases. 164 00:09:10,912 --> 00:09:17,062 And God's Word is a catalyst for that type of growth, and the reason is, is because 165 00:09:17,062 --> 00:09:20,802 the Word of God doing the work of God in your life is going to transform you. 166 00:09:21,562 --> 00:09:22,822 It's gonna transform you. 167 00:09:23,142 --> 00:09:26,421 The truths of God's Word in your life, the more you're in the Word of God, 168 00:09:26,431 --> 00:09:30,501 the more it will expose the lies of the world, the more it will show you 169 00:09:30,502 --> 00:09:35,581 how empty and bankrupt living for the things that you once loved really is. 170 00:09:36,211 --> 00:09:39,040 The commands of God's Word, they're gonna illuminate the path of what 171 00:09:39,042 --> 00:09:42,852 it means to walk on the narrow road and to follow the straight 172 00:09:42,892 --> 00:09:44,761 way that God has called us to walk. 173 00:09:44,761 --> 00:09:49,001 The promises of God's Word are gonna give you a confidence in your future 174 00:09:49,002 --> 00:09:53,102 with Jesus that is going to transform the way that you endure trials here, 175 00:09:53,102 --> 00:09:55,171 knowing what's coming in the future. 176 00:09:55,381 --> 00:09:59,822 And the good wor- news of God's Word, that's gonna stir in you an affection 177 00:10:00,081 --> 00:10:04,871 and a love for Him and for Christ because you are gonna be constantly reminded 178 00:10:04,871 --> 00:10:06,791 of what God has done for you in Jesus. 179 00:10:07,801 --> 00:10:10,971 See, God's Word doing God's work in your life is gonna transform your desires. 180 00:10:11,842 --> 00:10:14,512 It's going to change you from the inside out. 181 00:10:15,422 --> 00:10:16,752 Look at what David says in our text. 182 00:10:16,752 --> 00:10:20,152 He says in verse 81, "My soul longs for your salvation." 183 00:10:21,141 --> 00:10:25,462 Verse 82, "My eyes long for your promise, and I ask, 'When will you comfort me?'" 184 00:10:26,011 --> 00:10:27,452 Now, he's writing from a trial. 185 00:10:27,452 --> 00:10:32,451 He's writing from a, a p- position of suffering and, and he's writing 186 00:10:32,452 --> 00:10:36,762 this, and he's saying, "I, I, God, I, I l- I long for your salvation. 187 00:10:36,762 --> 00:10:40,091 I long for your promise," that is, for you to fulfill the things 188 00:10:40,092 --> 00:10:41,321 that you've said you would do. 189 00:10:42,821 --> 00:10:47,031 We don't really talk in that terminology anymore, longing. 190 00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:52,601 Longing is a good word to describe what the, the author is, is driving 191 00:10:52,601 --> 00:10:55,461 at here, but it's, it's more than what we typically talk about. 192 00:10:55,461 --> 00:10:58,351 W- we'll say I, "I want this." 193 00:10:58,741 --> 00:10:59,471 We might say, "You know what? 194 00:10:59,471 --> 00:11:02,351 I have a craving for this thing over here." 195 00:11:02,781 --> 00:11:05,201 But a longing is deeper than even a craving. 196 00:11:05,821 --> 00:11:11,001 A, a, a longing is from a, a word in Hebrew that means to be consumed with it. 197 00:11:11,491 --> 00:11:15,711 In fact, if you'll look down the text here, look at verse 87 in your Bibles. 198 00:11:15,712 --> 00:11:18,601 It says, "They've almost made an end of me on earth." 199 00:11:19,231 --> 00:11:23,921 That phrase, "made an end of me," it's the same Hebrew word as longing. 200 00:11:23,932 --> 00:11:25,051 I- it's… 201 00:11:25,081 --> 00:11:28,871 The, the word longing, it means I'm, I'm consumed with a desire. 202 00:11:29,421 --> 00:11:31,751 If I don't get this, I'm undone. 203 00:11:32,492 --> 00:11:36,421 And so the author is saying, "God, I, I, I am desperately longing 204 00:11:36,481 --> 00:11:39,152 and desirous of your salvation." 205 00:11:39,441 --> 00:11:44,201 When David was estranged from his son Absalom in 2 Samuel 13, 206 00:11:44,212 --> 00:11:48,341 the text says, "The spirit of the king longed to go out to Absalom." 207 00:11:49,221 --> 00:11:51,081 Uh, so maybe you're a mom or a dad in the room. 208 00:11:51,091 --> 00:11:54,901 You can think of being estranged from your child and the intense 209 00:11:54,901 --> 00:11:57,741 desire that you would have for reconciliation with that child. 210 00:11:59,904 --> 00:12:04,984 Or Psalm 84:2, there it says, "My soul longs and even 211 00:12:04,984 --> 00:12:06,674 faints for the courts of God." 212 00:12:06,694 --> 00:12:07,684 That's the imagery there. 213 00:12:08,274 --> 00:12:12,544 That you are so desperate for something that you are at the end, you're almost 214 00:12:13,174 --> 00:12:16,314 consumed completely with that desire. 215 00:12:17,504 --> 00:12:20,363 It's a desire that's not gonna be satisfied by anything other than 216 00:12:20,364 --> 00:12:21,874 that which, for which you long. 217 00:12:22,584 --> 00:12:24,564 And in this case, it's the salvation of the Lord. 218 00:12:24,584 --> 00:12:28,543 Now, the author of Psalm 119, what did he really know of the salvation of God? 219 00:12:29,063 --> 00:12:31,573 Well, the word salvation in the Hebrew can also mean deliverance. 220 00:12:31,803 --> 00:12:35,473 And so as he's facing a tough time and a trial, he's probably temporarily 221 00:12:35,484 --> 00:12:38,104 speaking about, "I just wanna be delivered from what I'm going through. 222 00:12:38,604 --> 00:12:39,663 I don't wanna suffer anymore. 223 00:12:39,733 --> 00:12:41,633 I don't wanna be in the pain that, that I'm in anymore." 224 00:12:42,593 --> 00:12:46,323 But I think it's right and appropriate for us to understand that through 225 00:12:46,323 --> 00:12:49,674 progressive revelation, the res- rest of scripture, that we can look 226 00:12:49,674 --> 00:12:50,453 at this and say, "You know what? 227 00:12:50,584 --> 00:12:55,683 We need to long to be with Jesus because that's our ultimate salvation." 228 00:12:57,014 --> 00:12:59,953 Whatever trial that you're going through right now, it's, it's good 229 00:12:59,953 --> 00:13:02,383 and it's right and it's fine for you to long to be delivered from 230 00:13:02,383 --> 00:13:03,663 that from a temporal perspective. 231 00:13:03,973 --> 00:13:06,564 But we also need to understand that after that trial, there's just gonna come 232 00:13:06,564 --> 00:13:07,913 another one down the road because why? 233 00:13:07,913 --> 00:13:10,744 Because we're aliens and strangers walking through this earth. 234 00:13:11,354 --> 00:13:14,023 And so the ultimate salvation, the ultimate deliverance, the ultimate 235 00:13:14,043 --> 00:13:18,093 de- freedom from, from suffering that we long for as Christians 236 00:13:18,403 --> 00:13:21,783 should be a longing to be with Jesus. 237 00:13:22,034 --> 00:13:24,663 And this is one of the greatest transformative impacts the word 238 00:13:24,674 --> 00:13:26,263 has on the life of a Christian. 239 00:13:26,263 --> 00:13:31,103 We no longer long for life here, we long for life there. 240 00:13:32,163 --> 00:13:34,033 We wanna be with Jesus. 241 00:13:35,773 --> 00:13:38,983 Have you ever found yourself waiting on something that you 242 00:13:39,233 --> 00:13:42,173 desire that's out for delivery? 243 00:13:43,453 --> 00:13:46,003 It, it's, it's painful at times, isn't it? 244 00:13:46,723 --> 00:13:51,374 You wish that the, the mailman had a GPS tracker on him. 245 00:13:51,953 --> 00:13:55,203 In fact, Amazon, sometimes they'll be like, "Your package is eight stops away." 246 00:13:55,394 --> 00:13:58,313 And, and sometimes I'm, I'm just stalking that guy, just like, 247 00:13:58,313 --> 00:13:59,763 "Okay, when is it seven stops away? 248 00:13:59,953 --> 00:14:01,674 How, what are you delivering at that house? 249 00:14:01,683 --> 00:14:04,763 Why is it taking you 40 minutes at the h- stop number five?" 250 00:14:05,464 --> 00:14:09,503 Uh, you sit there and you, you crave what that is and you, you're desperate for it. 251 00:14:09,503 --> 00:14:10,603 You, you want to get it. 252 00:14:10,604 --> 00:14:17,184 Now, imagine waiting, but waiting on something with no estimated delivery date. 253 00:14:18,303 --> 00:14:21,363 A- a- and imagine it's something that, that you know it's not just 254 00:14:21,374 --> 00:14:22,923 that you want, that, that you need 255 00:14:25,198 --> 00:14:28,877 Imagine, for example, I know this is ridiculous, but, but what if we 256 00:14:28,888 --> 00:14:31,398 were in a situation where all of a sudden our, our drinking water, you 257 00:14:31,398 --> 00:14:34,528 couldn't, you couldn't open up the tap and get fresh water out anymore. 258 00:14:35,888 --> 00:14:38,517 There's a, a warning put on there, uh, boiling warning, everything else. 259 00:14:38,518 --> 00:14:40,747 But they were like, "You, you really should just drink bottled water." 260 00:14:41,548 --> 00:14:45,207 And because of what we saw with toilet paper during qu- during COVID, all the, 261 00:14:45,218 --> 00:14:48,997 the sh- the stores around here, they're, they're all sold out of, of bottled water. 262 00:14:48,997 --> 00:14:49,958 You can't go get any. 263 00:14:50,358 --> 00:14:52,848 But you can still order some online. 264 00:14:53,137 --> 00:14:56,608 But the problem is y- y- you go and you place your order and it says, uh, 265 00:14:56,827 --> 00:15:01,317 "Delivery to be determined," because they need to be restocked with it. 266 00:15:01,457 --> 00:15:04,548 But this is water, and you're sitting there and you're looking at your 267 00:15:04,548 --> 00:15:07,157 family, and you're, you're thinking about yourself and y- you're thinking, 268 00:15:07,157 --> 00:15:09,867 "I, I desperately need that water. 269 00:15:09,877 --> 00:15:11,677 When is it going to be out for delivery? 270 00:15:11,687 --> 00:15:12,588 When am I gonna get it? 271 00:15:12,597 --> 00:15:13,927 When is it gonna arrive?" 272 00:15:15,667 --> 00:15:22,127 That's scratching the surface of a longing to be with Jesus that we should have. 273 00:15:22,788 --> 00:15:24,117 Man, I, I want Christ. 274 00:15:25,567 --> 00:15:26,847 Verse 83, he says this. 275 00:15:26,847 --> 00:15:29,208 He says, "I've become like a wineskin in the smoke." 276 00:15:30,428 --> 00:15:32,167 Y- that is, he's, he's wasting away. 277 00:15:33,268 --> 00:15:37,337 It's a vivid image that for us is a little strange 'cause we don't have wineskins, 278 00:15:37,698 --> 00:15:41,837 but back then this was an animal skin that would've held wine or other liquid 279 00:15:41,837 --> 00:15:43,797 and, and it needed to be pliable. 280 00:15:45,147 --> 00:15:48,557 And yet a wineskin that was hung near smoke would dry out. 281 00:15:49,028 --> 00:15:51,697 It would blacken, it would shrivel, and it would begin to crack. 282 00:15:52,797 --> 00:15:54,837 And David says, or the, the psalmist… 283 00:15:54,927 --> 00:15:56,018 I'm just gonna start saying David. 284 00:15:56,018 --> 00:15:57,488 I, I'm tired of correcting myself. 285 00:15:57,488 --> 00:15:58,187 I think it's David. 286 00:15:58,787 --> 00:16:04,827 He's saying here, "Man, my internal state, the way I feel right now with everything 287 00:16:04,827 --> 00:16:08,787 going on in my life is I feel like a wineskin that's hanging in the smoke." 288 00:16:12,174 --> 00:16:14,804 That's where he is, longing for the salvation and the deliverance 289 00:16:14,814 --> 00:16:15,904 that only God could provide. 290 00:16:16,914 --> 00:16:18,353 Saying, "God, I, I need this. 291 00:16:18,364 --> 00:16:19,244 When is it gonna come? 292 00:16:19,254 --> 00:16:20,494 When is it gonna arrive? 293 00:16:20,494 --> 00:16:21,694 When is it going to get here? 294 00:16:21,893 --> 00:16:25,324 I don't want deliverance from any other source but you. 295 00:16:25,464 --> 00:16:28,203 When will I get the comfort," as he asks in our text. 296 00:16:28,373 --> 00:16:31,454 "When are you gonna comfort me that I so desperately desire 297 00:16:31,454 --> 00:16:32,404 and I desperately need?" 298 00:16:34,164 --> 00:16:40,823 He was exhausted, worn out, at an end of himself because of his desire 299 00:16:41,504 --> 00:16:45,193 for deliverance, and it was the word of God that informed that desire. 300 00:16:45,464 --> 00:16:47,073 That's why he says, "I hope in your promise." 301 00:16:47,733 --> 00:16:50,203 He says, "Your word has informed me what you're gonna do, and so that's 302 00:16:50,214 --> 00:16:51,533 why I'm in the position that I'm in. 303 00:16:51,694 --> 00:16:54,933 That's why my desire is to be with you because you've said I will be with you." 304 00:16:56,584 --> 00:16:59,184 And so the word of God doing the work of God in the life of the psalmist 305 00:16:59,194 --> 00:17:00,823 was saying, "Hey, trust in me. 306 00:17:01,034 --> 00:17:01,924 Deliverance will come." 307 00:17:01,924 --> 00:17:02,784 And he's saying, "When?" 308 00:17:05,260 --> 00:17:06,020 When is it gonna come? 309 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:09,560 And that should be some of, of the questions that we have. 310 00:17:09,859 --> 00:17:12,050 We should be able to resonate a little bit with him this morning. 311 00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:15,930 If the Word of God has done the work of God in your life, that you would be 312 00:17:15,930 --> 00:17:19,170 sitting here this morning with transformed desires saying, "Jesus, come quickly. 313 00:17:19,170 --> 00:17:20,598 When will you arrive? 314 00:17:20,598 --> 00:17:21,359 When will you be here?" 315 00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:24,270 Now, there's different seasons in our life when that happens. 316 00:17:24,669 --> 00:17:27,608 There's times where it's easier for us to pray that than there are when 317 00:17:27,608 --> 00:17:29,489 it's, it's harder for us to pray that. 318 00:17:29,849 --> 00:17:33,269 You know, coming off of a great week of VBS, it's like, "Lord, we wanna keep doing 319 00:17:33,269 --> 00:17:34,819 good, fruitful ministry for you here. 320 00:17:34,820 --> 00:17:35,679 This is awesome. 321 00:17:35,689 --> 00:17:36,839 Let's keep going." 322 00:17:37,969 --> 00:17:40,919 But then when you're going through a trial, when you've got the disease, 323 00:17:40,919 --> 00:17:43,259 when you've got a sickness, when you've got strained relationships, when you 324 00:17:43,270 --> 00:17:46,649 open up the news and you hear about war, and you hear about earthquakes 325 00:17:46,649 --> 00:17:49,789 and famine and death everywhere, that's when maybe it's a little bit easier 326 00:17:49,789 --> 00:17:51,220 for us to say, "Lord, come quickly. 327 00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:53,550 My desire is to be with you." 328 00:17:54,099 --> 00:17:57,839 And I'm just saying, I, I think the more time we spend with the Word of God, 329 00:17:57,840 --> 00:18:00,789 and the more it does the work of God in our lives, I think the more we will 330 00:18:00,789 --> 00:18:04,650 resonate with the Apostle Paul when he says, "I'm hard-pressed between the two. 331 00:18:05,820 --> 00:18:08,779 To stay is probably necessary for you," but what does Paul say? 332 00:18:08,779 --> 00:18:15,739 "But I dep- desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better." 333 00:18:16,919 --> 00:18:18,790 That's far better to be with Jesus. 334 00:18:20,249 --> 00:18:22,409 The Word of God is gonna get us to the place where we would be 335 00:18:22,410 --> 00:18:24,790 able to say yes and amen to that. 336 00:18:27,950 --> 00:18:31,820 But notice here, it's not only that we should desire heaven, but what 337 00:18:31,820 --> 00:18:32,850 does the point continue to say? 338 00:18:32,910 --> 00:18:34,700 But that we should be faithful while here. 339 00:18:34,710 --> 00:18:39,160 H- have you ever heard the phrase, "Too heavenly-minded to be any earthly good"? 340 00:18:40,430 --> 00:18:40,630 Okay. 341 00:18:41,049 --> 00:18:43,259 Uh, uh, the psalmist w- was not there. 342 00:18:43,669 --> 00:18:47,080 He was at odds with the world and, and he was desiring the deliverance, 343 00:18:47,100 --> 00:18:50,949 but he was not gonna sit idle while he waited for that deliverance. 344 00:18:52,540 --> 00:18:54,840 Look at verse 81 again, "My soul longs for your salvation. 345 00:18:54,840 --> 00:18:56,090 I hope in your word." 346 00:18:56,639 --> 00:19:00,659 And so as he's waiting and longing, he's still hoping in God's word to come 347 00:19:00,659 --> 00:19:02,540 through and, and to be faithful to it. 348 00:19:03,759 --> 00:19:06,999 Verse 83, "I've become like a wineskin in the smoke, yet I have 349 00:19:06,999 --> 00:19:08,830 not forgotten your statutes." 350 00:19:10,299 --> 00:19:12,179 Uh, this is the complement to the waiting. 351 00:19:12,259 --> 00:19:14,219 I've not forgotten what you've commanded. 352 00:19:14,569 --> 00:19:17,509 I've not com- forgotten what you have called me to do. 353 00:19:17,639 --> 00:19:20,670 And so while I wait, I'm still going to be faithful. 354 00:19:20,680 --> 00:19:22,599 God has given him his marching orders. 355 00:19:22,599 --> 00:19:26,339 He'd given us our marching orders, and that is through the word of God. 356 00:19:26,339 --> 00:19:30,260 So, uh, he's called us to, yes, wait for deliverance, but also as we wait, 357 00:19:30,270 --> 00:19:34,470 to be faithful while we wait to what he's doing and what he wants us to do. 358 00:19:35,619 --> 00:19:38,420 Desiring heaven, in other words, is not a ticket to passive Christianity. 359 00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:41,769 I talked about this last week a little bit. 360 00:19:42,560 --> 00:19:45,250 It's not that, that we just get in our holy huddle and say, "Okay, we'll just 361 00:19:45,250 --> 00:19:46,730 wait here for the Lord to come back." 362 00:19:49,230 --> 00:19:52,130 Instead, what desiring heaven should do for us, it should free 363 00:19:52,130 --> 00:19:55,910 us to pursue with fidelity the mission that God has called us to. 364 00:19:56,840 --> 00:19:59,340 Because we may not know when deliverance is gonna come, but we 365 00:19:59,340 --> 00:20:00,890 do know that it is going to come. 366 00:20:01,780 --> 00:20:04,890 And so because we know that it's going to come, in the meantime, we should 367 00:20:04,890 --> 00:20:07,610 say, "Okay, what do you want us to be doing, Lord, as we wait for you? 368 00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:11,180 As I desire to be with you, Lord, what do you want me to do right now? 369 00:20:11,619 --> 00:20:13,510 What do you want my life to look like right now?" 370 00:20:14,150 --> 00:20:15,989 And the Word of God is gonna inform that for us. 371 00:20:16,019 --> 00:20:18,769 I don't know for us as a church of anything greater for us to be 372 00:20:18,769 --> 00:20:19,970 pursuing than the Great Commission. 373 00:20:21,559 --> 00:20:24,399 The Great Commission, when Jesus, after his resurrection, gathered his 374 00:20:24,399 --> 00:20:28,870 followers and said, uh, uh, "This is, is, is my mission for you, that you go 375 00:20:28,870 --> 00:20:33,409 and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and 376 00:20:33,410 --> 00:20:36,009 the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you." 377 00:20:37,169 --> 00:20:39,930 We put that this way as our church mission, that we wanna be reaching 378 00:20:39,930 --> 00:20:43,989 people for Christ, teaching people for Christ to be like Christ, and 379 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:45,529 training people to serve Christ. 380 00:20:46,140 --> 00:20:47,159 Reaching, teaching, training. 381 00:20:47,159 --> 00:20:52,439 A- a- and so for us, as we desire heaven, as we desire to be with Jesus, we also at 382 00:20:52,449 --> 00:20:56,739 the same time, we wanna be faithful to the Great Commission that God has given to us. 383 00:20:56,740 --> 00:20:59,819 I was listening to a sermon recently when the, the pastor said this: "If you're 384 00:20:59,819 --> 00:21:01,770 not on mission, you're the opposition." 385 00:21:03,119 --> 00:21:05,509 Man, that, that hits, and that hurts. 386 00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:10,439 I- if I'm not faithfully on mission, in other words, then I'm opposing what 387 00:21:10,439 --> 00:21:12,390 God has me still on this earth to do. 388 00:21:13,410 --> 00:21:17,040 There's nothing that I can do better here besides reach the lost that I'm not 389 00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:18,440 gonna be able to do better in heaven. 390 00:21:19,509 --> 00:21:21,710 My worship is gonna be better in heaven because I'm gonna be 391 00:21:21,719 --> 00:21:24,609 free from my sinfulness, right? 392 00:21:24,869 --> 00:21:27,790 M- my, my devotion, my, my, my joy is gonna be greater 393 00:21:27,790 --> 00:21:28,709 in heaven than it is here. 394 00:21:28,859 --> 00:21:31,659 Whatever it is that you might be thinking of right now that you're 395 00:21:31,660 --> 00:21:34,859 like, "Yeah, but, but I, I, I know you're telling me to desire heaven, 396 00:21:34,859 --> 00:21:36,499 but I wanna see my kids grow up." 397 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:40,000 Listen, being with Jesus is gonna be better than seeing your kids grow up. 398 00:21:41,059 --> 00:21:43,049 I'm not saying watching your kids grow up isn't good. 399 00:21:43,050 --> 00:21:44,549 I'm saying being with Jesus is better. 400 00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:47,650 Or maybe you're younger and you're thinking, "I, okay, I wanna be 401 00:21:47,650 --> 00:21:50,559 with Jesus, but first I wanna, I wanna graduate high school. 402 00:21:50,559 --> 00:21:51,979 I wanna get married. 403 00:21:52,279 --> 00:21:53,049 I wanna go to college. 404 00:21:53,050 --> 00:21:54,009 I wanna have a family." 405 00:21:54,410 --> 00:21:56,819 Uh, being with Jesus is better than all of that, and I'm 406 00:21:56,819 --> 00:21:58,119 not saying that stuff is bad. 407 00:21:58,119 --> 00:22:05,080 That stuff is good, but Jesus is better And so if we believe that to be true, 408 00:22:05,379 --> 00:22:08,500 then man, we wanna get out there and tell other people that Jesus is better. 409 00:22:09,379 --> 00:22:11,300 In that same sermon, he, he suggested something. 410 00:22:11,300 --> 00:22:13,550 He said, "You know what's been a really useful question for me in 411 00:22:13,550 --> 00:22:17,020 my evangelism, is the question to ask people, 'Do you have a faith? 412 00:22:18,339 --> 00:22:18,990 Do you have a faith?'" 413 00:22:20,129 --> 00:22:24,440 And he uses that as an on-ramp to, to get into the gospel, and 414 00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:27,689 that's so good, and it, it's, it's, it's not a threatening question. 415 00:22:27,690 --> 00:22:29,810 It's not, "Do you believe in, in God? 416 00:22:30,629 --> 00:22:31,750 Do you believe in Christianity? 417 00:22:31,750 --> 00:22:32,459 Do you believe in Jesus? 418 00:22:32,459 --> 00:22:33,970 Let me share the four spiritual laws with you." 419 00:22:33,970 --> 00:22:36,699 I mean, we wanna get to the point of getting them to believe in God and 420 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:40,410 believe in Jesus and surrender to Christ, but it's a good on-ramp, y'all. 421 00:22:41,260 --> 00:22:43,800 In fact, I was able to do this just yesterday as I was getting my 422 00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:46,119 hair cut from the same lady that was going to the rave at 10:00 PM. 423 00:22:46,379 --> 00:22:52,030 Um, we were talking together, and as usually happens, i- they'll ask me the 424 00:22:52,030 --> 00:22:53,439 question, "What do you do for a living?" 425 00:22:53,699 --> 00:22:55,629 And I'm like, "Yes, thank you for asking me that question." 426 00:22:55,969 --> 00:22:57,430 And so I'll say, "Well, I'm, I'm a pastor." 427 00:22:57,449 --> 00:22:59,659 And so we were talking a little bit and a- a- following up I 428 00:22:59,659 --> 00:23:00,560 said, "Do you have a faith?" 429 00:23:02,059 --> 00:23:03,170 And she said, "Yes." 430 00:23:03,190 --> 00:23:05,759 And then we got into a conversation about faith. 431 00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:11,279 I- it was an on-ramp to get to doing what we're called to do as we desire heaven. 432 00:23:11,939 --> 00:23:13,369 And you might say, "Well, I'm not a pastor." 433 00:23:13,390 --> 00:23:13,760 Okay. 434 00:23:13,939 --> 00:23:16,109 Well, maybe you're talking to your neighbor this week, or you're 435 00:23:16,110 --> 00:23:18,160 talking to your coworker this week and, and they're gonna ask 436 00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:19,329 you, "Hey, how was your weekend?" 437 00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:20,919 Do you talk about church? 438 00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:22,109 "It was great. 439 00:23:22,149 --> 00:23:23,990 Got to go to church and be around my church family. 440 00:23:24,399 --> 00:23:26,440 Um, by the way, I know I've never asked you this question, 441 00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:27,679 but do, do you have a faith?" 442 00:23:28,649 --> 00:23:32,660 Or maybe you're in the cul-de-sac and, and your kids are out playing o- on Sunday 443 00:23:32,660 --> 00:23:36,510 afternoon, and your neighbor comes out and says, "Hey, how was your week last week?" 444 00:23:36,799 --> 00:23:37,649 "Man, it was great. 445 00:23:37,689 --> 00:23:38,899 Actually, let me, let me tell you about it. 446 00:23:38,909 --> 00:23:39,999 I was at my church. 447 00:23:39,999 --> 00:23:40,469 I was at… 448 00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:44,149 We had a VBS for our kids, so I was there in the evening and, and I 449 00:23:44,149 --> 00:23:46,050 was, uh, I was serving at the VBS. 450 00:23:46,050 --> 00:23:47,189 And by the way, you know, I… 451 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:49,189 We've lived next to each other for a few years now. 452 00:23:49,369 --> 00:23:49,659 We… 453 00:23:49,689 --> 00:23:51,299 I've never asked you the question, do you have a faith?" 454 00:23:53,536 --> 00:23:57,826 All I'm saying, y'all, is, is as we're here, we need to not just wanna be in 455 00:23:57,826 --> 00:24:00,566 heaven and be with Jesus, we need to wanna be in heaven and wanna be with Jesus, and 456 00:24:00,566 --> 00:24:02,476 also want other people to be there too. 457 00:24:03,996 --> 00:24:05,786 And so we need to be faithful while we're here. 458 00:24:07,535 --> 00:24:09,326 Desire heaven while faithful here. 459 00:24:09,346 --> 00:24:12,526 God's work, doing God's wor- God's work, doing God's work in your life 460 00:24:12,566 --> 00:24:14,256 is going to transform your desires. 461 00:24:14,716 --> 00:24:17,495 You're gonna desire heaven, and you're also gonna desire more people to be 462 00:24:17,496 --> 00:24:21,405 there with us, which means that we desire heaven while faithful here. 463 00:24:21,656 --> 00:24:24,925 But that is often really, really hard. 464 00:24:26,265 --> 00:24:28,035 And that's where I love the honesty of scripture. 465 00:24:28,695 --> 00:24:31,025 Look at the next passage here in verse 84 through 86. 466 00:24:31,026 --> 00:24:33,115 He says, "How long must your servant endure? 467 00:24:33,385 --> 00:24:35,645 When will you judge those who persecute me? 468 00:24:36,326 --> 00:24:39,865 The insolent have dug pitfalls for me; they do not live according to your law. 469 00:24:40,166 --> 00:24:41,676 All your commandments are sure. 470 00:24:41,676 --> 00:24:43,206 They persecute me with falsehood. 471 00:24:43,445 --> 00:24:44,336 Help me." 472 00:24:45,346 --> 00:24:45,725 Help me 473 00:24:48,398 --> 00:24:52,638 Another evidence of God's Word doing God's work in our lives is gonna be found 474 00:24:52,648 --> 00:24:54,937 in our surrendered dependence on Him. 475 00:24:56,608 --> 00:25:00,397 Put it this way for point number two, be honest with God and seek His help. 476 00:25:01,568 --> 00:25:03,418 Be honest with the Lord and seek His help. 477 00:25:05,027 --> 00:25:10,747 Again, to wait for the Lord, to desire heaven while faithful here is not easy. 478 00:25:11,707 --> 00:25:14,517 As the psalmist was desiring the deliverance of God, it was 479 00:25:14,517 --> 00:25:16,157 not easy for him to do that. 480 00:25:17,308 --> 00:25:21,908 Our text is, is pretty clear there as he says, "How long must your servant endure?" 481 00:25:21,908 --> 00:25:25,507 Literally, it's, "How many days do I have to keep living this way?" 482 00:25:28,566 --> 00:25:31,606 Remember he said, "I'm, I'm like the wineskin in the smoke." 483 00:25:32,766 --> 00:25:33,626 And he's in the valley. 484 00:25:33,626 --> 00:25:36,516 He's in the sh- the valley of the shadow of death, like we just talked about 485 00:25:36,516 --> 00:25:37,886 this last week with our little ones. 486 00:25:38,085 --> 00:25:40,276 A- and he says, "The insolent, they've dug pitfalls for me. 487 00:25:40,786 --> 00:25:42,266 W- when are you gonna judge them? 488 00:25:42,406 --> 00:25:43,766 When are you gonna bring justice?" 489 00:25:43,806 --> 00:25:45,836 Like our, our students are gonna learn about this next week. 490 00:25:45,995 --> 00:25:47,186 When are you gonna show up? 491 00:25:47,196 --> 00:25:49,206 God, what, what are you doing? 492 00:25:50,366 --> 00:25:53,985 He's indignant over the evil that he sees all around him. 493 00:25:53,985 --> 00:25:57,665 Remember when we talked about it last week, how long do I have to keep going? 494 00:25:57,665 --> 00:25:58,465 When will judgment arrive? 495 00:25:58,606 --> 00:26:03,856 W- when we talked about having hot indignation that seizes me because 496 00:26:03,856 --> 00:26:05,845 of the evil, because of the wicked. 497 00:26:06,695 --> 00:26:08,045 The insolent, they've dug pitfalls. 498 00:26:08,055 --> 00:26:10,455 A, a pitfall is, is what it sounds like. 499 00:26:10,805 --> 00:26:13,955 It's a deep pit, a deep hole in the ground, and it was covered over, 500 00:26:13,956 --> 00:26:15,855 and it was a trap for animals. 501 00:26:16,445 --> 00:26:19,185 A- and when the animal would cross over what they thought was solid 502 00:26:19,195 --> 00:26:22,265 ground, that solid ground would give way, and they would fall into 503 00:26:22,285 --> 00:26:24,686 the trap, and they'd be captured. 504 00:26:25,506 --> 00:26:28,375 Well, he says, "The insolent, the evil, the wicked, the rude, 505 00:26:28,375 --> 00:26:31,385 the, the enemies, the sinners, they have dug pitfalls for me. 506 00:26:31,546 --> 00:26:34,856 They do not live according to your law." 507 00:26:35,265 --> 00:26:37,845 Again, the Word of God, doing the work of God in your life is gonna 508 00:26:37,846 --> 00:26:39,265 put you at odds with this world. 509 00:26:40,276 --> 00:26:44,905 And you might think, "Well, I don't have anyone digging pitfalls for me." 510 00:26:45,136 --> 00:26:47,755 No, but we can see the evil and the wickedness in the world, can't we? 511 00:26:48,585 --> 00:26:50,385 A- and I'm sure you've been impacted by it. 512 00:26:50,645 --> 00:26:53,625 You remember the Book of Job, one of the things that his, you know, 513 00:26:53,655 --> 00:26:57,905 friends were telling him is, "Job, the wicked suffer and the innocent don't. 514 00:26:57,915 --> 00:26:59,895 So clearly you did something. 515 00:26:59,905 --> 00:27:00,945 Come on, out with it, Job." 516 00:27:00,975 --> 00:27:02,725 And Job said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, not so fast." 517 00:27:02,725 --> 00:27:07,245 Job 21, Job 24, he said, "Sometimes the wicked do prosper, don't they?" 518 00:27:07,255 --> 00:27:09,715 And it's like our psalmist is saying, "Amen, Job." 519 00:27:10,456 --> 00:27:11,675 And that's where he's at right now. 520 00:27:12,456 --> 00:27:13,955 He's saying, "I don't get this. 521 00:27:14,255 --> 00:27:15,556 The insolent, they're dugging the pitfalls. 522 00:27:15,556 --> 00:27:16,605 God, I, I trust you. 523 00:27:16,886 --> 00:27:19,685 I trust your promise, and I'm hoping in it, but how much longer? 524 00:27:19,685 --> 00:27:21,335 How many more days do I have to live this way? 525 00:27:22,026 --> 00:27:23,835 How many more days until you deliver me?" 526 00:27:25,646 --> 00:27:28,066 I, I think one of the reason why people love the Psalms so much is 527 00:27:28,066 --> 00:27:31,316 because of how honest and transparent and r- and relatable they are. 528 00:27:33,276 --> 00:27:37,005 In 2025, the Book of Psalms was found to be the most popular book on the, 529 00:27:37,285 --> 00:27:40,186 uh, the, um, Bible Gateway website. 530 00:27:41,546 --> 00:27:44,485 Back in 2016, Lifeway did a study that found that the Book of 531 00:27:44,485 --> 00:27:47,405 Psalms was the most popular book searched in all of their materials. 532 00:27:48,365 --> 00:27:53,725 Currently, in the YouVersion app, Psalm 139 and Psalm 23 are two of the 533 00:27:53,775 --> 00:27:57,555 top searches in the, the YouVersion app that, that people look for. 534 00:27:57,765 --> 00:28:00,656 And I think the reason why we gravitate towards the Psalms so 535 00:28:00,656 --> 00:28:05,195 much is because of things like this, where we read David's words here. 536 00:28:05,275 --> 00:28:06,876 "How long must I endure? 537 00:28:06,966 --> 00:28:08,425 When are you gonna judge those? 538 00:28:08,596 --> 00:28:10,365 The insolent, they've dug pitfalls for me. 539 00:28:10,365 --> 00:28:10,885 They don't lift…" 540 00:28:10,985 --> 00:28:14,886 He- just the transparency, the vulnerability, the honesty, 541 00:28:14,945 --> 00:28:16,385 and I think we just love that. 542 00:28:16,385 --> 00:28:19,185 We gravitate towards that because we can relate to it. 543 00:28:19,416 --> 00:28:22,275 I wonder if you've ever felt like the psalmist here. 544 00:28:22,295 --> 00:28:26,485 I wonder if you've ever felt like, "Lord, how long until you're gonna bring 545 00:28:26,485 --> 00:28:29,355 justice to a circumstance that I'm going through, a trial that I'm going through?" 546 00:28:29,635 --> 00:28:32,775 And again, maybe you don't have literal enemies, but all of us in 547 00:28:32,775 --> 00:28:34,385 this room have spiritual enemies. 548 00:28:36,186 --> 00:28:37,746 That's one of the areas that I feel this. 549 00:28:39,565 --> 00:28:42,685 Lord, I, I hate how persistent and active the enemy is when he's 550 00:28:42,686 --> 00:28:46,505 coming after me, the deceitful pitfalls that he digs for me. 551 00:28:47,655 --> 00:28:50,375 I long for the day when I don't have to wage spiritual warfare 552 00:28:50,375 --> 00:28:51,426 anymore because I'm with you 553 00:28:53,976 --> 00:28:57,116 How long, oh Lord, until you finally judge the enemy and bring me home? 554 00:28:59,694 --> 00:29:03,053 These are the moments that we have to go to the Word of God, and that's 555 00:29:03,063 --> 00:29:06,164 what the psalmist does here, and it's a perspective shift that's needed. 556 00:29:06,174 --> 00:29:06,754 Look at verse 86. 557 00:29:06,754 --> 00:29:09,344 He says this, "All your commandments are sure." 558 00:29:09,964 --> 00:29:11,303 So he's saying, "How long, Lord? 559 00:29:11,303 --> 00:29:14,053 The dug in pitfalls, the, the, the insolent are out there. 560 00:29:14,224 --> 00:29:16,293 Hot indignation has seized me." 561 00:29:17,253 --> 00:29:21,053 All your commandments, all of your rules, all of your precepts, all of 562 00:29:21,053 --> 00:29:24,104 your testimonies are sure, are sure. 563 00:29:24,954 --> 00:29:27,683 They, by contrast, persecute me with falsehood. 564 00:29:28,483 --> 00:29:31,114 Lord, your Word is trustworthy, it's reliable, it's sure. 565 00:29:33,023 --> 00:29:35,793 There's no pitfalls, in other words, waiting for us in the Word of God. 566 00:29:37,174 --> 00:29:39,723 You're never gonna step foot on a promise of God only to have 567 00:29:39,723 --> 00:29:40,664 it give way underneath you. 568 00:29:41,734 --> 00:29:42,893 God's Word is sure. 569 00:29:43,944 --> 00:29:47,084 And so when you go to see things like the love of God in Romans 8 or you go 570 00:29:47,084 --> 00:29:51,023 to the certainty of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15 or you go to the, 571 00:29:51,063 --> 00:29:53,774 the promise in James that if you draw near to Him, He will draw near to 572 00:29:53,774 --> 00:29:55,853 you, you can rely on those things. 573 00:29:55,863 --> 00:29:57,203 Lord, your commandments are true. 574 00:29:57,354 --> 00:29:58,763 And you contrast that with the enemy. 575 00:29:58,953 --> 00:30:01,073 The enemy loves falsehood. 576 00:30:01,083 --> 00:30:02,464 They persecute me with falsehood. 577 00:30:02,483 --> 00:30:05,643 The lies, the deception of the enemy. 578 00:30:06,573 --> 00:30:10,163 And so the author, he, he gets himself grounded in theology, but I want you 579 00:30:10,164 --> 00:30:13,453 to notice that it's not just that he says, "Here's what I know to be true 580 00:30:13,454 --> 00:30:15,383 about God, and here's my theology. 581 00:30:15,543 --> 00:30:16,363 All right, I'm good. 582 00:30:16,393 --> 00:30:18,083 Now let me go about the rest of my life." 583 00:30:18,353 --> 00:30:20,893 His theology drives him to petition. 584 00:30:21,383 --> 00:30:26,093 In fact, not just petition, pleading, begging. 585 00:30:26,313 --> 00:30:27,383 Look at the next two words. 586 00:30:27,923 --> 00:30:28,483 What does he say? 587 00:30:28,874 --> 00:30:29,403 "Help me. 588 00:30:30,014 --> 00:30:30,894 Help me." 589 00:30:31,893 --> 00:30:32,693 It's simple. 590 00:30:33,484 --> 00:30:35,524 It's not a theological treatise. 591 00:30:36,523 --> 00:30:41,003 It's bare, it's raw, it's vulnerable, and it's good. 592 00:30:42,313 --> 00:30:43,773 He says, "This is where I am. 593 00:30:43,903 --> 00:30:48,033 This is who I know you to be, and yet I'm going to say, 'Lord, help me.'" 594 00:30:48,083 --> 00:30:50,443 And this is where, church, we need to get. 595 00:30:50,444 --> 00:30:53,963 We need to let the Word get us to the place where we acknowledge our 596 00:30:53,963 --> 00:30:57,503 desperate need for the Lord to help us, and it's good to get there. 597 00:30:57,653 --> 00:30:58,323 And so don't… 598 00:30:58,323 --> 00:31:01,303 When you're going through the trial, the Word of God doing the work of God 599 00:31:01,304 --> 00:31:04,654 in your life doesn't just mean that your theology is there, but that your 600 00:31:04,654 --> 00:31:08,504 theology drives you in relationship to Him to say, "Lord, help me. 601 00:31:09,763 --> 00:31:10,353 Help me. 602 00:31:11,313 --> 00:31:12,124 I need you. 603 00:31:13,013 --> 00:31:14,684 I can't do this on my own." 604 00:31:16,748 --> 00:31:19,158 I'm finding it difficult to trust you right now because I can't see 605 00:31:19,158 --> 00:31:20,548 the light at the end of the valley. 606 00:31:20,758 --> 00:31:22,128 I know it's there, but I don't see it. 607 00:31:22,128 --> 00:31:22,558 Help me. 608 00:31:24,138 --> 00:31:26,817 Lord, I'm, I'm scared because I feel like things are out of my control 609 00:31:26,817 --> 00:31:29,848 right now, and I, I don't, I can't figure out what's happening right now. 610 00:31:29,988 --> 00:31:30,538 Help me. 611 00:31:31,817 --> 00:31:34,768 Lord, I'm, I'm discouraged because I feel like I'm just running into roadblock 612 00:31:34,837 --> 00:31:36,248 after roadblock after roadblock. 613 00:31:36,488 --> 00:31:38,257 Help me to trust you. 614 00:31:38,597 --> 00:31:41,378 Two of the simplest words and yet two of the sweetest words 615 00:31:41,587 --> 00:31:42,538 in the whole of the Psalm. 616 00:31:44,167 --> 00:31:48,067 When we were back in California and the, the twins were, were barely able 617 00:31:48,067 --> 00:31:52,058 to, to walk, just toddling, we would go to this park not far away from our 618 00:31:52,058 --> 00:31:53,798 home, and it had a play structure there. 619 00:31:54,418 --> 00:31:57,108 A- and we would sit down and, and they would go to the play structure, 620 00:31:57,108 --> 00:31:59,487 and they would kind of toddle over to it, and they'd kind of evaluate 621 00:31:59,497 --> 00:32:02,287 the ledge that was probably about the, uh, height of this stage here. 622 00:32:02,668 --> 00:32:04,748 And they'd look at it, and they'd kind of look around, and 623 00:32:04,857 --> 00:32:06,037 then they'd look back at us. 624 00:32:06,038 --> 00:32:09,857 And I remember their tiny little voices looking back and holding up 625 00:32:09,857 --> 00:32:12,027 their hand and saying, "Help me. 626 00:32:13,617 --> 00:32:14,027 Help. 627 00:32:15,128 --> 00:32:15,408 Help." 628 00:32:17,518 --> 00:32:20,338 They didn't ask anyone else on the playground. 629 00:32:21,238 --> 00:32:22,218 There were other people there. 630 00:32:23,298 --> 00:32:24,968 They didn't ask each other either. 631 00:32:26,498 --> 00:32:29,928 They didn't turn to their twin and be like, "Help me get up this thing." 632 00:32:32,014 --> 00:32:35,154 Because they turned to dad or they turned to mom because they knew that 633 00:32:35,244 --> 00:32:38,113 we would help and that we could help 634 00:32:40,982 --> 00:32:45,412 That childlikeness before the Lord is where we find David, and 635 00:32:45,412 --> 00:32:46,352 that's where we need to be too. 636 00:32:47,642 --> 00:32:51,891 When you're going through the difficulty, that desperation, that, that's, that's 637 00:32:51,902 --> 00:32:55,951 not a desperation that fears that He's not gonna respond, but just like my kids 638 00:32:55,951 --> 00:33:00,961 knew that dad could help him, you know that your heavenly Father can help you. 639 00:33:01,911 --> 00:33:03,542 There's nothing that He won't do. 640 00:33:04,852 --> 00:33:07,851 He who gave His own Son for us, how will He not also with 641 00:33:07,852 --> 00:33:10,101 Him freely give us all things? 642 00:33:11,141 --> 00:33:13,092 Your Father is able to help you. 643 00:33:13,102 --> 00:33:16,802 He knows where you are and what you're going through, and He can help you. 644 00:33:16,942 --> 00:33:20,431 Sometimes that's gonna come through the, the deliverance. 645 00:33:21,451 --> 00:33:24,411 Sometimes that's gonna come through Him removing the, the 646 00:33:24,431 --> 00:33:25,612 temporal suffering for your life. 647 00:33:25,852 --> 00:33:28,981 Other times, that help is gonna come in a peace that surpasses understanding 648 00:33:31,054 --> 00:33:32,444 Remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Benny. 649 00:33:34,344 --> 00:33:35,844 God helped them, didn't he? 650 00:33:37,324 --> 00:33:38,294 North, South on that one. 651 00:33:38,294 --> 00:33:39,264 Yep, he did. 652 00:33:39,584 --> 00:33:41,144 But he still put them through the furnace. 653 00:33:43,124 --> 00:33:46,063 So God's help doesn't mean that he's necessarily gonna mean that 654 00:33:46,124 --> 00:33:49,543 m- make sure that, that your life is easy, that your life is smooth. 655 00:33:49,784 --> 00:33:53,414 Sometimes you will go through the furnace, and yet his help is still gonna 656 00:33:53,423 --> 00:33:54,763 be there with you through the trial. 657 00:33:54,913 --> 00:33:57,513 He's still going to be delivering you through it all, and that's why 658 00:33:57,513 --> 00:33:59,913 I love what they say to the king before they get in the furnace. 659 00:33:59,913 --> 00:34:01,244 They say, "King, know this. 660 00:34:01,403 --> 00:34:04,833 Our God can deliver us from the furn- fur- fiery furnace back there, 661 00:34:05,054 --> 00:34:07,063 and he will deliver us from you. 662 00:34:07,693 --> 00:34:11,474 Even if we burn up, even if we die from the heat that's coming out 663 00:34:11,474 --> 00:34:14,213 of the thing, like the people that carried them into the furnace, even 664 00:34:14,214 --> 00:34:15,774 if that happens, you didn't win. 665 00:34:15,882 --> 00:34:18,013 God did, 'cause he helped me 666 00:34:20,184 --> 00:34:20,884 Help me. 667 00:34:21,614 --> 00:34:22,583 Be honest with the Lord. 668 00:34:22,594 --> 00:34:24,484 Lord, here I am, just like the psalmist. 669 00:34:25,123 --> 00:34:28,554 Ground yourself in the right theology, but then petition Him. 670 00:34:29,583 --> 00:34:30,034 Ask Him. 671 00:34:30,264 --> 00:34:30,744 Plead with Him. 672 00:34:30,844 --> 00:34:31,333 Lord, help me. 673 00:34:32,404 --> 00:34:32,833 Help me 674 00:34:34,936 --> 00:34:36,045 No one wants to suffer 675 00:34:38,293 --> 00:34:40,933 We want the temporal deliverance, and I get that, and that's good, 676 00:34:40,933 --> 00:34:42,024 and sometimes God does that. 677 00:34:42,844 --> 00:34:46,574 But even as we wait for that deliverance, or maybe the temporal deliverance 678 00:34:46,674 --> 00:34:49,413 doesn't come, one of the blessings of following Christ is that your 679 00:34:49,413 --> 00:34:51,213 suffering is never without purpose. 680 00:34:52,344 --> 00:34:54,774 Look at our last section here together, verse 87 through 88. 681 00:34:54,783 --> 00:34:58,723 He says this, "They have almost made an end of me on earth, but I 682 00:34:58,723 --> 00:35:00,253 have not forsaken your precepts. 683 00:35:00,563 --> 00:35:06,763 In your steadfast love, give me life that I may keep the testimonies of your mouth 684 00:35:08,864 --> 00:35:10,763 They have almost made an end of me on earth. 685 00:35:10,854 --> 00:35:15,433 This third and final evidence of God's Word doing God's work in your life 686 00:35:15,604 --> 00:35:19,334 shows up in the, the reason that the author here is seeking deliverance 687 00:35:19,334 --> 00:35:20,763 in the first place, which is what? 688 00:35:20,933 --> 00:35:23,603 That I might keep the testimonies of your mouth. 689 00:35:24,354 --> 00:35:27,453 In other words, the author's whole purpose for wanting to be delivered 690 00:35:27,464 --> 00:35:31,393 by God from where he was suffering was so that he might be more useful 691 00:35:31,394 --> 00:35:33,464 to God in a different context. 692 00:35:35,303 --> 00:35:38,814 But sometimes that usefulness comes in the suffering, during the 693 00:35:38,814 --> 00:35:40,193 suffering, and through the suffering. 694 00:35:40,743 --> 00:35:43,163 Our final point this morning, the final evidence of God's Word doing 695 00:35:43,174 --> 00:35:46,273 God's work in your life is this, it's gonna mean you-- that you keep 696 00:35:46,294 --> 00:35:48,423 asking and looking for God to use you. 697 00:35:49,753 --> 00:35:52,234 That you keep asking and looking for God to use you 698 00:35:55,008 --> 00:35:56,868 He says, "They've almost made an end of me on earth." 699 00:35:56,868 --> 00:35:59,548 Remember, that's the word for consumed that we talked about with longing. 700 00:35:59,548 --> 00:36:00,688 I was consumed with longing. 701 00:36:00,788 --> 00:36:02,968 Here he's saying, "They've almost consumed me. 702 00:36:03,048 --> 00:36:03,997 I'm almost gone. 703 00:36:03,997 --> 00:36:05,678 I, I, I'm almost done here. 704 00:36:06,948 --> 00:36:09,388 But I have not forsaken your precepts. 705 00:36:09,938 --> 00:36:10,707 I've not forsaken them. 706 00:36:10,708 --> 00:36:12,257 I haven't left behind your word, Lord. 707 00:36:12,708 --> 00:36:14,858 I haven't left behind what I know to be true. 708 00:36:14,858 --> 00:36:15,888 I haven't abandoned you. 709 00:36:15,888 --> 00:36:18,537 I haven't said, 'Well, forget this, because this isn't working out.' 710 00:36:18,747 --> 00:36:19,987 I, I haven't done that." 711 00:36:20,038 --> 00:36:21,167 The opposite is implied. 712 00:36:21,167 --> 00:36:22,428 I've, I've clung to them. 713 00:36:23,628 --> 00:36:25,927 In other words, the author wasn't sidelining himself from what 714 00:36:25,927 --> 00:36:28,518 God was doing in and through him just because things got hard. 715 00:36:30,467 --> 00:36:33,627 One of the great blessings of being a Christian is that God will often use 716 00:36:33,627 --> 00:36:37,177 the testimony and the faithfulness of suffering saints to glorify himself 717 00:36:37,177 --> 00:36:40,988 in ways that he doesn't for somebody whose life is just easy street. 718 00:36:41,857 --> 00:36:44,408 Think about the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians Chapter 11. 719 00:36:45,427 --> 00:36:47,737 He says, "Hey, hey, bear with me for a little foolishness for a second. 720 00:36:47,737 --> 00:36:48,988 Let me tell you what I've gone through." 721 00:36:49,587 --> 00:36:51,077 And then he lists some things. 722 00:36:51,077 --> 00:36:51,717 He says this. 723 00:36:51,717 --> 00:36:55,457 He says, uh, uh, "Far greater labors, more imprisonments, 724 00:36:55,647 --> 00:36:57,877 countless beatings, often near death. 725 00:36:58,237 --> 00:37:01,897 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews 40 lashes less one." 726 00:37:02,288 --> 00:37:04,617 Sometimes even one of those would, would kill a person. 727 00:37:04,937 --> 00:37:06,828 "Three times I was beaten with rods. 728 00:37:07,038 --> 00:37:08,188 Once I was stoned. 729 00:37:08,218 --> 00:37:09,447 Three times I was shipwrecked. 730 00:37:09,447 --> 00:37:11,097 A night and a day I was adrift at sea. 731 00:37:11,367 --> 00:37:12,547 I was on frequent journeys. 732 00:37:12,657 --> 00:37:15,888 In danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, 733 00:37:16,108 --> 00:37:19,317 danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, 734 00:37:19,318 --> 00:37:22,887 danger at sea, danger from false brothers," Danger Will Robinson. 735 00:37:24,827 --> 00:37:28,347 "In toil," hard work, "in hardship, through sleepless 736 00:37:28,347 --> 00:37:31,118 nights, in hunger and thirst and without food, cold and exposure." 737 00:37:31,337 --> 00:37:33,937 Oh, and by the way, "There's the daily pressure on me of the 738 00:37:33,937 --> 00:37:35,827 anxiety for all the churches." 739 00:37:36,307 --> 00:37:38,488 What if Paul had tapped out and sidelined himself because he was 740 00:37:38,488 --> 00:37:39,328 like, "Man, it's just too hard. 741 00:37:39,328 --> 00:37:41,297 I, I'm suffering so ret- much right now. 742 00:37:41,498 --> 00:37:43,178 God, will you please use somebody else?" 743 00:37:45,944 --> 00:37:48,054 One of my favorites is, uh, George Whitefield. 744 00:37:48,774 --> 00:37:49,324 George Whitefield. 745 00:37:50,374 --> 00:37:53,334 He knew suffering to a, an extreme measure, maybe not to the degree 746 00:37:53,334 --> 00:37:55,744 that the Apostle Paul did, but still to an extreme measure. 747 00:37:55,754 --> 00:37:59,934 He, it's estimated, preached over 18,000 sermons in 34 years of life. 748 00:38:00,874 --> 00:38:03,683 Okay, let me break down that number to make it something that, that's tangible. 749 00:38:04,114 --> 00:38:06,423 That's 529 times a year preaching. 750 00:38:06,963 --> 00:38:09,874 That works out to about a sermon and a half every single day. 751 00:38:11,094 --> 00:38:12,043 That's crazy. 752 00:38:13,514 --> 00:38:15,003 The labors that went into that. 753 00:38:15,463 --> 00:38:19,643 On top of that, by the way, he had asthma in a time before, you 754 00:38:19,643 --> 00:38:21,314 know, inhalers like my son has. 755 00:38:22,903 --> 00:38:26,464 He had severe edema later in life that made it so bad that his swelling as he 756 00:38:26,464 --> 00:38:28,723 was standing to preach would get so bad that at the end of the day they would 757 00:38:28,733 --> 00:38:30,843 have to cut his stockings off of his legs. 758 00:38:32,504 --> 00:38:36,673 He crossed the Atlantic Ocean 13 times, exposed himself to all kinds of 759 00:38:36,673 --> 00:38:40,544 seasickness, poor nutrition, storms, disease, Taco Bell shredded lettuce. 760 00:38:40,544 --> 00:38:41,794 I'm sure that was there too 761 00:38:44,816 --> 00:38:48,875 While preaching, this is the one that gets me, he would often be pelted with 762 00:38:48,886 --> 00:38:52,495 stones, rotten eggs, and dead animals. 763 00:38:53,276 --> 00:38:54,875 Thank you, church. 764 00:38:54,895 --> 00:38:57,526 Can I just say thank you for not ever having done any of that? 765 00:38:59,325 --> 00:39:02,625 He lost the only son that he had in infancy 766 00:39:05,398 --> 00:39:06,618 What if George Whitfield had tapped out? 767 00:39:08,298 --> 00:39:09,848 Or, or think about Elisabeth Elliot. 768 00:39:10,998 --> 00:39:16,198 Her son, her son, her husband, Jim, and his, his co-laborers for Christ were, 769 00:39:16,218 --> 00:39:20,938 were murdered by an Indian tribe as they were trying to reach them with the gospel. 770 00:39:21,148 --> 00:39:23,878 And Elisabeth Elliot, what if in the wake of that suffering 771 00:39:23,878 --> 00:39:24,538 she had thought, "You know what? 772 00:39:24,538 --> 00:39:25,427 It's too much. 773 00:39:25,778 --> 00:39:26,738 I can't do this. 774 00:39:26,907 --> 00:39:28,128 I'm a young widow now. 775 00:39:28,258 --> 00:39:30,047 I, I, I'm just gonna go back home." 776 00:39:32,558 --> 00:39:35,708 But she went into the tribe that killed her husband and shared the gospel with 777 00:39:35,718 --> 00:39:37,288 them and saw them come to faith in Christ. 778 00:39:38,308 --> 00:39:41,788 She shared the gospel with the man who speared her husband to death 779 00:39:46,798 --> 00:39:49,537 See, these men and, and, and women, whether they realized it 780 00:39:49,537 --> 00:39:52,417 or not, persevered much like our author here in Psalm 119 does. 781 00:39:52,747 --> 00:39:54,647 In your steadfast love, give me life. 782 00:39:54,647 --> 00:39:56,678 I- i- in your covenant love, in other words. 783 00:39:56,848 --> 00:40:00,647 Lord, I, I, in your grace and your mercy, revive me so that 784 00:40:00,647 --> 00:40:02,238 I might keep obeying you. 785 00:40:02,468 --> 00:40:05,407 Revive me so that I can continue to be useful to me, to you. 786 00:40:05,407 --> 00:40:09,467 Revive me so that I might keep the testimonies of your mouth, of … Re- 787 00:40:09,618 --> 00:40:13,548 revive me so that I might be a walking billboard for your glory. 788 00:40:13,558 --> 00:40:17,667 See, when God's Word does God work in our lives, we realize that we need to 789 00:40:17,667 --> 00:40:22,428 keep going because at the end of the day, y'all, this life is not about us. 790 00:40:23,748 --> 00:40:24,897 It's not about us. 791 00:40:26,248 --> 00:40:28,217 Your goal in life is not to be happy. 792 00:40:28,338 --> 00:40:32,477 God's goal for you in life is not to make you happy, but holy, and 793 00:40:32,477 --> 00:40:34,617 to make you a servant of His glory 794 00:40:37,110 --> 00:40:39,080 And then He's gonna bring you into the presence of the fullness 795 00:40:39,080 --> 00:40:41,610 of joy at His right hand where there's pleasures forevermore. 796 00:40:42,320 --> 00:40:45,590 But right now, right now, He's got work for us. 797 00:40:45,590 --> 00:40:47,400 Right now, we're here to serve Him. 798 00:40:47,520 --> 00:40:49,469 Right now, we're here to labor for Him. 799 00:40:49,470 --> 00:40:52,640 Right now, we're here to say, "Lord, I want you to revive my soul right 800 00:40:52,640 --> 00:40:54,560 now because I'm at my wit's end. 801 00:40:54,570 --> 00:40:55,979 I feel like I'm at the end of it. 802 00:40:56,199 --> 00:40:59,580 Lord, give me life so that I can keep serving you. 803 00:40:59,670 --> 00:41:02,280 And in the midst of it, while I'm waiting, use me however 804 00:41:02,280 --> 00:41:03,260 you wanna use me right now." 805 00:41:03,650 --> 00:41:07,199 If I can comfort others in my, my affliction with the comfort whi- with 806 00:41:07,199 --> 00:41:10,139 which I myself have been comforted, then praise God, let me do it. 807 00:41:10,309 --> 00:41:13,739 If I can be a blessing to somebody else, then let me do it 808 00:41:15,800 --> 00:41:20,029 We're gonna keep asking and keep looking for God to use us. 809 00:41:21,710 --> 00:41:25,809 And that should encourage you because like I said, Christianity 810 00:41:25,810 --> 00:41:28,650 holds out the blessing that says your suffering is never for nothing. 811 00:41:29,799 --> 00:41:31,610 By the way, that's a book written by Elizabeth Elliot. 812 00:41:33,099 --> 00:41:35,500 Your suffering is always on purpose. 813 00:41:36,529 --> 00:41:39,009 There's always something that God can do in and through you. 814 00:41:39,190 --> 00:41:43,110 I- I've heard so many stories about people who have gotten cancer, and they're in 815 00:41:43,110 --> 00:41:46,379 the cancer ward, and they're like, "God, praise God that I'm in here because 816 00:41:46,380 --> 00:41:49,329 I'm sharing the gospel with people that need to hear about Jesus right now." 817 00:41:50,439 --> 00:41:52,989 Man, that's somebody that's suffering for the Lord saying, "I'm gonna keep 818 00:41:52,999 --> 00:41:55,629 asking and expecting God to use me 819 00:42:01,228 --> 00:42:04,848 When God's word does God's work in our life, it makes you stick out 820 00:42:04,848 --> 00:42:05,998 like a sore thumb in this world. 821 00:42:07,917 --> 00:42:08,817 Man, take advantage of that. 822 00:42:10,728 --> 00:42:11,387 Take advantage of that. 823 00:42:11,397 --> 00:42:17,178 Th- there are, uh, uh, billboards aplenty in the world, and especially 824 00:42:17,178 --> 00:42:21,178 in our area, and yet sometimes you'll drive by and you'll see one billboard 825 00:42:21,187 --> 00:42:24,758 that jumps out at you for whatever reason, and you're going, "That's… 826 00:42:24,857 --> 00:42:26,848 Wow, I see that billboard there." 827 00:42:27,057 --> 00:42:30,897 Uh, for me, I'm a sucker for the ones that, like, are like, "Your ad here." 828 00:42:30,937 --> 00:42:31,478 I don't know why. 829 00:42:32,547 --> 00:42:34,357 And then I think, "I wonder how much it costs to get a billboard?" 830 00:42:36,430 --> 00:42:37,730 But those ones grab my attention. 831 00:42:37,730 --> 00:42:38,500 I think they're meant to. 832 00:42:38,509 --> 00:42:38,720 Why? 833 00:42:38,720 --> 00:42:40,740 Because they want you to, to put your ad up there. 834 00:42:42,640 --> 00:42:46,819 When you suffer as a Christian, you're the billboard that 835 00:42:46,819 --> 00:42:47,890 catches everybody's attention. 836 00:42:49,489 --> 00:42:50,509 What is your billboard saying? 837 00:42:52,299 --> 00:42:55,490 Are you glorifying God in the midst of the trial that you're going through? 838 00:42:57,998 --> 00:43:00,348 That's a, an evidence that God's word is doing God's work in your 839 00:43:00,348 --> 00:43:01,348 life is when you're doing that 840 00:43:04,056 --> 00:43:05,395 When people can see Christ in you. 841 00:43:06,366 --> 00:43:10,756 W- when you go through it and somebody says, "Why, why 842 00:43:11,026 --> 00:43:12,326 are you the way that you are? 843 00:43:13,986 --> 00:43:15,276 What is the hope that you have?" 844 00:43:18,198 --> 00:43:21,208 And that's like, "Okay, Lord, here we go. 845 00:43:21,988 --> 00:43:22,448 Let's go." 846 00:43:24,058 --> 00:43:26,518 This fits with, with point number one, doesn't it, about desiring 847 00:43:26,518 --> 00:43:27,618 heaven while faithful here? 848 00:43:29,308 --> 00:43:30,627 Church, don't sideline yourself. 849 00:43:31,078 --> 00:43:32,788 If you're going through it right now, okay. 850 00:43:34,647 --> 00:43:36,227 This feeds into point number two as well. 851 00:43:36,238 --> 00:43:39,808 Seek God's help to say, "Lord, I want you to help me be useful to you right now. 852 00:43:41,087 --> 00:43:43,867 I want you to help me glorify Christ with what I'm going through right now." 853 00:43:45,388 --> 00:43:47,058 The Word of God doing the work of God in your life is gonna 854 00:43:47,058 --> 00:43:47,947 put you at odds with the world. 855 00:43:47,947 --> 00:43:49,007 It's inevitable. 856 00:43:49,787 --> 00:43:51,587 But it's not something to be feared. 857 00:43:52,658 --> 00:43:53,647 You don't have to be afraid. 858 00:43:55,358 --> 00:43:56,997 It's a sign instead that He belongs to you. 859 00:43:57,437 --> 00:43:58,237 You belong to Him. 860 00:43:59,587 --> 00:44:00,348 You're His. 861 00:44:01,388 --> 00:44:02,397 He cares for His own. 862 00:44:04,067 --> 00:44:06,498 So God's Word doing God's work in your life is going to sustain 863 00:44:06,498 --> 00:44:09,037 you through the opposition until He brings you to be with Him. 864 00:44:10,797 --> 00:44:12,117 Desire heaven while faithful here. 865 00:44:12,248 --> 00:44:15,118 Be honest with God and seek His help, and keep asking and 866 00:44:15,118 --> 00:44:16,298 looking for God to use you. 867 00:44:16,767 --> 00:44:17,147 Let's pray. 868 00:44:22,360 --> 00:44:26,299 Heavenly Father, I'm reminded afresh that your word is unique. 869 00:44:26,730 --> 00:44:32,210 There's nothing else in all of the world that offers us such tangible, tactile 870 00:44:32,220 --> 00:44:36,120 hope, purpose, and meaning to everything that we go through in this life, whether 871 00:44:36,120 --> 00:44:41,279 it's a mountaintop where we can give you praise and thank you, and just celebrate 872 00:44:41,279 --> 00:44:44,480 your goodness and testify to your goodness, or whether it be the valley of 873 00:44:44,500 --> 00:44:49,169 the shadow of death, where we can still give you praise, where we can be faithful, 874 00:44:49,199 --> 00:44:53,489 where we can let our hope be seen from a watching world, where we can shine 875 00:44:53,489 --> 00:44:55,929 the light of Christ to those around us. 876 00:44:57,279 --> 00:45:00,829 Lord, we are not wandering aimlessly in this life, but your word has given 877 00:45:00,830 --> 00:45:05,680 us guidance and direction and hope and clarity, motivation, and a drive. 878 00:45:06,529 --> 00:45:10,659 And so, Lord, I, I thank you that we have it, and that we have it with us, and that 879 00:45:10,659 --> 00:45:14,309 you will be faithful to use it to sustain us until you call us home to be with you. 880 00:45:15,229 --> 00:45:16,239 We long for that day. 881 00:45:16,319 --> 00:45:18,059 Lord, we do desire to be with Jesus. 882 00:45:18,699 --> 00:45:20,289 But in the meantime, help us be faithful here. 883 00:45:20,519 --> 00:45:21,769 We pray this all in Christ's name. 884 00:45:22,069 --> 00:45:22,239 Amen.