1 00:00:04,664 --> 00:00:07,644 Well, I came across a story of a shipwreck this week. 2 00:00:08,093 --> 00:00:10,674 The ship in question is the Central America. 3 00:00:11,454 --> 00:00:14,914 In 1957, the Central America was tasked with bringing back a group 4 00:00:14,924 --> 00:00:19,774 of almost 600 gold diggers from California all the way back to New York. 5 00:00:20,594 --> 00:00:24,463 Well, on the journey, they came up from Havana, Cuba, to 6 00:00:24,513 --> 00:00:27,363 make the journey up through New York City along the East Coast. 7 00:00:27,363 --> 00:00:31,613 And as they were journeying through the Carolinas, they ran into a hurricane. 8 00:00:32,622 --> 00:00:37,393 And as you might assume, a hurricane did to a 1800s era steamship what 9 00:00:37,393 --> 00:00:40,653 you would believe a hurricane would do to an 1800s era steamship. 10 00:00:41,303 --> 00:00:44,493 The waves crashed over the, the ship and the ship eventually sprung a leak. 11 00:00:44,494 --> 00:00:47,524 And even though the sailors on board began doing everything they could to, 12 00:00:47,553 --> 00:00:51,453 to bail and pump and pump and bail, the ship was clearly gonna go down. 13 00:00:52,443 --> 00:00:54,823 And so they turned to the lifeboats that they had. 14 00:00:55,764 --> 00:00:59,053 Unfortunately, the lifeboats that they had could only hold about 150 souls. 15 00:00:59,884 --> 00:01:02,013 And so they took the women and children first and they put them on 16 00:01:02,014 --> 00:01:05,464 the lifeboats, and they lowered the lifeboats down and they sent some of 17 00:01:05,464 --> 00:01:08,193 the men, some of the sailors, along with these women and children in 18 00:01:08,193 --> 00:01:13,023 order to hopefully guide these li- lifeboats to safety after the ship sunk. 19 00:01:14,463 --> 00:01:18,714 But because this was a ship that was bringing back a, a group of 20 00:01:18,863 --> 00:01:24,613 gold diggers, the ship had an estimated 15 tons of gold on board. 21 00:01:26,473 --> 00:01:31,243 One of the men who was in one of the life rafts, lifeboats, as he was watching 22 00:01:31,243 --> 00:01:33,803 the ship sink, he recounted this. 23 00:01:35,253 --> 00:01:37,523 He said, "People took out their gold. 24 00:01:38,423 --> 00:01:41,733 One man holding his leather bag that contained his long worked 25 00:01:41,733 --> 00:01:46,093 for accumulations yelled, 'Here, whoever wants it can take it. 26 00:01:46,264 --> 00:01:47,913 It's of no more use to me. 27 00:01:48,143 --> 00:01:49,593 The ship is going down. 28 00:01:49,823 --> 00:01:51,543 Take it whoever will.' 29 00:01:52,404 --> 00:01:55,283 Others took out their gold and scattered it all over. 30 00:01:55,983 --> 00:01:57,193 'There,' they said, 'Take it. 31 00:01:57,563 --> 00:01:58,933 Take it, whoever will. 32 00:01:59,014 --> 00:02:00,574 We are all going down. 33 00:02:00,723 --> 00:02:02,253 There's no more chance for us. 34 00:02:02,473 --> 00:02:05,344 The gold will do us no good.'" 35 00:02:08,344 --> 00:02:10,634 Think about the lives that were lost. 36 00:02:10,644 --> 00:02:17,464 Some 425 souls perished that day when the Central America 37 00:02:17,464 --> 00:02:20,434 went down with 15 tons of gold. 38 00:02:21,244 --> 00:02:25,514 Gold that they had envisioned changing their lives, gold that they had in 39 00:02:25,514 --> 00:02:28,663 their possession that was theirs, that they were bringing back, and 40 00:02:28,664 --> 00:02:32,413 they were depending upon that gold to change everything about their future. 41 00:02:34,334 --> 00:02:38,573 For many of them, I imagine that that gold was what gave them hope in 42 00:02:38,574 --> 00:02:42,013 life when perhaps before discovering the gold, they were rather hopeless. 43 00:02:42,043 --> 00:02:46,904 This is 1857, so these are the 49ers that had gone out in search of gold and 44 00:02:47,103 --> 00:02:50,094 the great hope, one last effort to see if they could make something of their 45 00:02:50,094 --> 00:02:52,153 lives and, and they had struck it rich. 46 00:02:52,154 --> 00:02:54,813 They had found the gold that they were after, and they were coming 47 00:02:54,814 --> 00:02:58,054 back home, depending on that gold to change everything about their lives. 48 00:02:59,553 --> 00:03:03,213 Until the hurricane hit and the ship began to go down, and then they were left 49 00:03:03,213 --> 00:03:07,454 to look at that gold that they had put so much confidence in, so much trust in, 50 00:03:07,463 --> 00:03:12,373 so much dependence on, and they realized that it could do nothing to save them 51 00:03:13,033 --> 00:03:14,363 from the end that they were facing. 52 00:03:16,113 --> 00:03:16,974 And so they held it out. 53 00:03:17,003 --> 00:03:18,083 They threw it away from them. 54 00:03:18,764 --> 00:03:19,744 They said, "Take it. 55 00:03:19,944 --> 00:03:22,484 Whoever will, there's no more chance for us. 56 00:03:22,853 --> 00:03:25,113 This gold will do us no good." 57 00:03:29,294 --> 00:03:36,664 Depending on anything in life other than the Lord Jesus Christ is gonna leave you 58 00:03:37,254 --> 00:03:41,414 at the end of your life saying of that thing that you've put your confidence in, 59 00:03:41,414 --> 00:03:43,284 your hope and your trust in, "Take it. 60 00:03:44,454 --> 00:03:45,964 Whoever wants it can have it. 61 00:03:45,964 --> 00:03:46,944 It's of no use to me. 62 00:03:47,564 --> 00:03:48,444 The ship is going down." 63 00:03:50,798 --> 00:03:56,458 This morning, I wanna ask you the question: Can you trust God this morning? 64 00:03:58,829 --> 00:04:00,860 Put another way, I wanna ask you the question, which boat 65 00:04:00,890 --> 00:04:01,830 are you in this morning? 66 00:04:03,250 --> 00:04:05,400 Are you in the Central America this morning? 67 00:04:05,410 --> 00:04:08,230 Do you have your confidence, your hope, your dependence in 68 00:04:08,230 --> 00:04:10,620 life on something other than God? 69 00:04:10,620 --> 00:04:14,329 Something that when you come face to face with death, which is the brick wall that 70 00:04:14,429 --> 00:04:19,990 every single human being is hurtling for, when you come to that moment, is what 71 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:24,029 you've put your confidence in, are you going to be able to say in that moment, 72 00:04:24,830 --> 00:04:28,029 "This is gonna get me to the other side of death and into the presence of God"? 73 00:04:28,049 --> 00:04:30,489 Or are you going to be left in that moment saying, "Here, take it. 74 00:04:30,490 --> 00:04:31,789 Whoever wants it can have it. 75 00:04:32,510 --> 00:04:33,779 The ship is going down"? 76 00:04:36,278 --> 00:04:39,198 Are you on the Central America or are you in the lifeboat? 77 00:04:40,048 --> 00:04:41,728 Can you trust God this morning? 78 00:04:41,738 --> 00:04:43,468 The question is not about the character of God. 79 00:04:43,468 --> 00:04:46,418 As we're gonna see from the text, God is worthy of our devotion. 80 00:04:46,468 --> 00:04:48,078 He's worthy of our dependence. 81 00:04:48,108 --> 00:04:50,578 The question's not about Him, the question's about us. 82 00:04:51,698 --> 00:04:53,278 Can you trust Him with everything? 83 00:04:54,658 --> 00:04:56,518 Have you trusted Him with everything? 84 00:04:57,568 --> 00:04:59,697 Are you trusting Him with everything? 85 00:05:01,578 --> 00:05:03,917 Maybe you're here this morning and, and you're not decided yet. 86 00:05:05,427 --> 00:05:09,158 You would say, "Well, why should I trust Him with everything?" 87 00:05:10,468 --> 00:05:11,598 Our text is gonna answer that. 88 00:05:12,517 --> 00:05:14,757 It's gonna give you at least three reasons why you should trust God with 89 00:05:14,758 --> 00:05:19,067 everything this morning, that He should be your full dependence this morning. 90 00:05:20,817 --> 00:05:22,207 Or maybe you're here this morning and, and you have. 91 00:05:22,218 --> 00:05:23,997 You would say, "Pastor, I know I'm in the lifeboat. 92 00:05:24,058 --> 00:05:25,387 I know I'm gonna be okay." 93 00:05:26,907 --> 00:05:30,787 Well, this morning's gonna remind us of why we depend upon our God, 94 00:05:31,887 --> 00:05:33,277 why He's worthy of our devotion. 95 00:05:34,957 --> 00:05:37,577 And so take your Bibles, if you will, to Psalm 119, and we're gonna 96 00:05:37,578 --> 00:05:40,707 begin in verses 169 through 170. 97 00:05:40,707 --> 00:05:43,688 Verses 169 through 170, the psalmist begins, he says, "Let 98 00:05:43,688 --> 00:05:45,768 my cry come before you, O Lord. 99 00:05:46,007 --> 00:05:48,168 Give me understanding according to your word. 100 00:05:48,498 --> 00:05:50,498 Let my plea come before you. 101 00:05:50,717 --> 00:05:54,017 Deliver me according to your word." 102 00:05:56,183 --> 00:05:58,623 As the psalmist was writing, and if it's David, uh, he had plenty of 103 00:05:58,623 --> 00:05:59,823 places where he could have turned. 104 00:06:00,823 --> 00:06:03,924 He could have turned to his military advisors in a time of, of trouble. 105 00:06:03,974 --> 00:06:06,763 He's lamenting here, I think that's what it means by cry in 106 00:06:06,763 --> 00:06:09,253 his plea, this petition, this appeal that he's making here. 107 00:06:09,534 --> 00:06:14,304 He could have gone to a, a plethora of other sources before going to the Lord. 108 00:06:15,354 --> 00:06:16,714 He could have trusted in Joab. 109 00:06:16,723 --> 00:06:19,443 He could have trusted in, uh, Ahithophel, uh, depending on the time. 110 00:06:19,443 --> 00:06:23,082 He could have trusted in one of the other gods of the nations that used to 111 00:06:23,084 --> 00:06:27,363 be in Israel there, that were still kinda lingering around the perimeter- perimeter. 112 00:06:27,523 --> 00:06:30,954 He could have done any of those things, and yet David rightly 113 00:06:31,034 --> 00:06:33,134 went first and foremost to God. 114 00:06:35,044 --> 00:06:37,383 W- whatever else you're trusting in this morning, I want you 115 00:06:37,383 --> 00:06:38,923 to follow David's lead here. 116 00:06:39,154 --> 00:06:42,163 I want you to see that the first place that we should go when we encounter 117 00:06:42,163 --> 00:06:46,534 a need, when we would sing as we just did, "Lord, I need you," w- when we 118 00:06:46,534 --> 00:06:50,703 find a need in our lives, the first stop in our lives needs to not be anything 119 00:06:50,733 --> 00:06:54,094 other than God, because in the end of it all, God is always gonna be better. 120 00:06:54,854 --> 00:06:57,403 And so the, the first reason why you should depend upon God this morning is 121 00:06:57,404 --> 00:06:59,593 this: depend upon God because He is God. 122 00:07:00,293 --> 00:07:01,634 Depend upon God because He's God. 123 00:07:01,644 --> 00:07:03,734 Now, you're sitting here saying, "Really, Pastor? 124 00:07:03,734 --> 00:07:06,033 I woke up and I got here, myself here to church this morning for 125 00:07:06,034 --> 00:07:07,083 you to tell me that God is God?" 126 00:07:07,843 --> 00:07:08,643 Yes. 127 00:07:09,163 --> 00:07:09,653 Yes. 128 00:07:10,144 --> 00:07:13,613 It's, it's simple and I, and I admit that and, and I don't apologize for that. 129 00:07:13,613 --> 00:07:18,313 Because sometimes we need that reminder of what it means that God is God. 130 00:07:19,832 --> 00:07:25,923 Deuteronomy 32:39 says this, God speaking, he says, "See now that I, even I, am 131 00:07:25,933 --> 00:07:28,033 He, and there is no god beside me." 132 00:07:29,203 --> 00:07:31,243 And so there God is, is claiming exclusivity. 133 00:07:31,613 --> 00:07:33,103 "There's no god but me." 134 00:07:33,983 --> 00:07:37,353 Psalm 86:8, the, the psalm of praise here says this: "There is 135 00:07:37,373 --> 00:07:39,474 none like You among all the gods." 136 00:07:39,773 --> 00:07:42,223 So this is written from the human perspective, and he's looking out and 137 00:07:42,223 --> 00:07:46,063 he's saying, "Look, Lord, all of the gods of the nations, there's none like You." 138 00:07:47,053 --> 00:07:49,363 And we would say because there's none other than Him. 139 00:07:50,894 --> 00:07:52,643 "Nor are there any works like Yours," he says. 140 00:07:52,643 --> 00:07:57,773 Jeremiah 10:10 says this: "But the Lord is the true God; He is the 141 00:07:57,773 --> 00:07:59,753 living God and the everlasting king." 142 00:08:00,104 --> 00:08:07,539 The Lord is the true God I- in seasons of, of need, i- in, in times of, of 143 00:08:07,549 --> 00:08:13,210 needing to depend upon something or someone, it's good for us to be reminded 144 00:08:13,210 --> 00:08:16,460 of what David was knowing and what David was confident in here, and that 145 00:08:16,460 --> 00:08:18,460 is this: that God alone is God alone. 146 00:08:19,380 --> 00:08:20,909 God alone is God alone. 147 00:08:20,919 --> 00:08:22,710 There is no other to turn to. 148 00:08:23,559 --> 00:08:26,799 And so whatever else you might be tempted to turn to, first you need to understand 149 00:08:26,799 --> 00:08:30,680 the character of God is one of the main reasons why we turn to Him, who He is. 150 00:08:30,750 --> 00:08:31,710 He is God. 151 00:08:31,710 --> 00:08:38,049 And so David in 169 says this: "Let my cry come before you, O Lord. 152 00:08:38,188 --> 00:08:41,500 Let my plea come before you, God." 153 00:08:42,259 --> 00:08:45,820 Uh, the Hebrew there of coming before means to come before your face. 154 00:08:46,560 --> 00:08:50,040 Lord, I want to come into your presence with the things that I need. 155 00:08:50,049 --> 00:08:53,319 I want to come to you and be heard by you. 156 00:08:54,970 --> 00:09:00,279 And the reason is, is because, again, there is no one like God, because 157 00:09:00,279 --> 00:09:01,859 there is no other God but God. 158 00:09:02,779 --> 00:09:06,269 And so when we are in times of need, it's good for us to come to God and God alone. 159 00:09:06,989 --> 00:09:09,849 David went to God, and, and I want you to think about a, a different scene now. 160 00:09:09,849 --> 00:09:12,400 I, I want you to fast-forward to 1 Kings, and, and now there's a 161 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:14,459 prophet by the name of Elijah, okay? 162 00:09:14,649 --> 00:09:17,830 And Elijah was a, a prophet, and then there was a, a group of other 163 00:09:17,830 --> 00:09:20,449 prophets that Elijah encountered, and these were the prophets of another 164 00:09:20,619 --> 00:09:22,489 quote-unquote "god," lowercase G. 165 00:09:22,709 --> 00:09:24,399 That god's name was Baal. 166 00:09:24,399 --> 00:09:29,089 A- a- and so Elijah and the prophets of Baal, they got together, and Elijah 167 00:09:29,159 --> 00:09:31,359 said, "Hey, let's, let's try something." 168 00:09:32,100 --> 00:09:36,110 Elijah said, "I want you to prepare a burnt offering for your god, and 169 00:09:36,110 --> 00:09:38,959 then I want you to go ahead and, and ask him to, to consume it. 170 00:09:39,649 --> 00:09:40,109 Go ahead. 171 00:09:40,139 --> 00:09:41,269 W- we'll, we'll wait. 172 00:09:41,299 --> 00:09:43,610 I'll wait, and then I'll do the same thing for my God." 173 00:09:43,610 --> 00:09:45,559 A- and so you may know the story. 174 00:09:45,560 --> 00:09:48,140 Well, the prophets of Baal, they, they prepare the burnt offering. 175 00:09:48,140 --> 00:09:51,429 They do everything they can to, to set it up, to be successful, and, and 176 00:09:51,429 --> 00:09:53,029 then they start calling out to Baal. 177 00:09:53,169 --> 00:09:55,809 They start calling out to this quote-unquote "god" 178 00:09:56,139 --> 00:09:57,210 who they're depending on. 179 00:09:57,380 --> 00:10:00,469 And they're saying, "Uh, Baal, we want you to consume this offering." 180 00:10:00,579 --> 00:10:04,039 And, and lo and behold, shocker, nothing happens. 181 00:10:04,049 --> 00:10:09,019 A- and so then they start dancing and cutting themselves, and Elijah meanwhile 182 00:10:09,020 --> 00:10:12,369 is just sitting back here kinda watching his watch and, and observing everything, 183 00:10:12,369 --> 00:10:13,670 and he's like, "No, call louder. 184 00:10:13,909 --> 00:10:15,029 Maybe he's using the bathroom. 185 00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:17,719 Y- you just try to get his attention." 186 00:10:20,466 --> 00:10:24,536 Then once that is exhausted, Elijah says, "Okay, my turn." 187 00:10:25,506 --> 00:10:28,756 And Elijah goes over and he says, "Here's my burnt offering." 188 00:10:28,766 --> 00:10:33,165 A- and so what Elijah does is he, he sets it up and he places the, the 189 00:10:33,295 --> 00:10:38,496 sacrifice on the altar there, and then he takes buckets full of water and 190 00:10:38,496 --> 00:10:40,636 begins to just douse the offering. 191 00:10:40,925 --> 00:10:43,945 Now, water and fire, do those things mix well? 192 00:10:44,595 --> 00:10:47,305 No, and even in the Hebrew, they still don't mix well. 193 00:10:47,366 --> 00:10:50,336 So even in the original language, water and fire are not 194 00:10:50,355 --> 00:10:51,725 compatible with each other there. 195 00:10:52,176 --> 00:10:58,145 And so Elijah's just dousing the sacrifice with water, stacking the deck against God. 196 00:10:58,865 --> 00:11:03,045 And, and he digs a trench around the altar and around the sacrifice, and 197 00:11:03,045 --> 00:11:07,555 so much water goes onto the sacrifice that it runs off the altar and fills 198 00:11:07,555 --> 00:11:09,006 up the trench around the altar. 199 00:11:09,125 --> 00:11:12,406 And then Elijah steps back and says, "Okay, God, do your thing." 200 00:11:12,496 --> 00:11:15,695 And God sends fire down that consumes the sacrifice and licks 201 00:11:15,695 --> 00:11:17,755 up every ounce of water in the pit. 202 00:11:19,476 --> 00:11:19,915 Why? 203 00:11:20,745 --> 00:11:21,786 Because God is God. 204 00:11:22,745 --> 00:11:23,685 'Cause He is God. 205 00:11:24,455 --> 00:11:25,636 Baal's not God. 206 00:11:26,155 --> 00:11:27,215 God is God. 207 00:11:28,195 --> 00:11:30,645 And, and, and maybe perhaps you're, you're sitting there and thinking to yourself, 208 00:11:30,676 --> 00:11:33,665 "Okay, but I don't have Baal in my life." 209 00:11:34,435 --> 00:11:35,145 True, you don't. 210 00:11:36,356 --> 00:11:43,225 But you have money and finances, and you have a career that perhaps 211 00:11:43,225 --> 00:11:45,945 you've thrown yourself into and said, "This is what I'm depending on. 212 00:11:45,945 --> 00:11:50,605 I'm, I'm depending on my 401, and I'm depending on my job, and I'm depending on 213 00:11:50,606 --> 00:11:54,035 my clients, and I'm depending on closing this deal, and if I can do all that, 214 00:11:54,036 --> 00:11:55,485 then I'll be okay and I'll be happier." 215 00:11:55,655 --> 00:11:56,216 You know what you have? 216 00:11:56,216 --> 00:11:56,835 You have a spouse. 217 00:11:56,835 --> 00:11:58,065 You have a husband or you have a wife. 218 00:11:59,475 --> 00:12:01,146 "Well, as long as I have my husband, as long as I have 219 00:12:01,146 --> 00:12:02,186 my wife, then you know what? 220 00:12:02,316 --> 00:12:03,355 I'm, I'm okay. 221 00:12:03,665 --> 00:12:06,985 I'm depending on my marriage to, to be my source of security, my source of 222 00:12:06,985 --> 00:12:09,265 happiness, my source of identity in life." 223 00:12:10,405 --> 00:12:13,145 Or y- you also have your material possessions. 224 00:12:13,165 --> 00:12:16,536 "Look, as long as I have a, a roof over my head, then I'm okay. 225 00:12:16,676 --> 00:12:18,215 I'm depending on my shelter. 226 00:12:18,215 --> 00:12:21,005 I'm depending on my house, and, and as long as I keep making my mortgage 227 00:12:21,005 --> 00:12:23,605 payments, then, then I'm gonna have the house and I'm, I'm gonna be okay." 228 00:12:25,426 --> 00:12:28,575 See, we don't have idols called Baal, but we have plenty of idols 229 00:12:28,576 --> 00:12:31,925 in our lives that tempt us, that say, "Hey, come depend upon me." 230 00:12:33,345 --> 00:12:35,655 You know what the greatest idol of all that we have is, is the one 231 00:12:35,656 --> 00:12:36,785 that looks back at us in the mirror 232 00:12:38,830 --> 00:12:39,480 That says, "You know what? 233 00:12:39,490 --> 00:12:42,310 Y- you're, you're smart enough to get yourself out of this mess. 234 00:12:43,190 --> 00:12:45,240 You've got enough experience to get yourself out of this. 235 00:12:45,390 --> 00:12:49,070 Your systems that you have in place in your life, your routines, your 236 00:12:49,070 --> 00:12:50,699 schedule, that's gonna get you through. 237 00:12:51,070 --> 00:12:53,480 Just depend on those things and you'll, you'll make it through just fine 238 00:12:56,258 --> 00:12:59,188 God is better because God is God. 239 00:13:00,158 --> 00:13:02,488 One author put it this way to identify an idol in our life. 240 00:13:02,488 --> 00:13:05,347 He said this, "If anything becomes more fundamental than God to your 241 00:13:05,358 --> 00:13:09,828 happiness, your meaning in life, and your identity, that is an idol." 242 00:13:10,787 --> 00:13:17,358 If anything becomes more fundamental than God to your happiness, your meaning in 243 00:13:17,358 --> 00:13:21,248 life, or your identity, that is an idol. 244 00:13:22,658 --> 00:13:24,178 That's something competing with God. 245 00:13:24,178 --> 00:13:27,328 When, when we say depend upon God because He's God, these are things that 246 00:13:27,328 --> 00:13:32,017 we depend upon before we depend upon God or more than we depend upon God. 247 00:13:33,218 --> 00:13:36,288 And so when you think of, "Man, I need more happiness in my life," 248 00:13:36,558 --> 00:13:40,007 or, "I need a greater sense of meaning and purpose in my life. 249 00:13:40,398 --> 00:13:46,198 I need to have a greater sense of identity in my life," i- i- if there are things 250 00:13:46,207 --> 00:13:53,577 that you are turning to that aren't God or in place of God for those things, those 251 00:13:53,598 --> 00:13:56,167 things are those idols in our hearts. 252 00:13:56,357 --> 00:13:58,198 Remember Jesus and the rich young ruler. 253 00:13:58,207 --> 00:14:00,257 The rich young ruler comes to Jesus and says, "Teacher, what 254 00:14:00,257 --> 00:14:01,817 must I do to inherit eternal life?" 255 00:14:02,627 --> 00:14:04,447 And Jesus says, "Well, you know the, the, the commandments. 256 00:14:04,447 --> 00:14:05,898 You're supposed to, to keep the law." 257 00:14:06,377 --> 00:14:09,187 The rich young ruler says, "Done, nailed, dusted. 258 00:14:09,248 --> 00:14:10,088 What's next?" 259 00:14:10,458 --> 00:14:11,987 Jesus says, "Okay, one, one more thing. 260 00:14:12,907 --> 00:14:16,768 Why don't you go home and take all of your possessions, and I want you to 261 00:14:16,778 --> 00:14:20,048 sell it all, and then come follow me." 262 00:14:22,414 --> 00:14:24,714 And the rich young ruler, it says in the text, went away sad, for 263 00:14:24,714 --> 00:14:25,894 he had many great possessions. 264 00:14:26,834 --> 00:14:30,984 For the rich young ruler, when Jesus said, "Here's what I want you to do. 265 00:14:31,104 --> 00:14:33,804 I want you to sell all you have," you know what Jesus was doing? 266 00:14:33,864 --> 00:14:35,054 He was pressing on his idol. 267 00:14:36,414 --> 00:14:38,504 The rich young ruler was like, "Hey, I, I'm, I'm here to 268 00:14:38,504 --> 00:14:40,003 depend on, upon you, Jesus. 269 00:14:40,023 --> 00:14:41,353 Give me the path to eternal life. 270 00:14:41,353 --> 00:14:42,394 That's what I'm here to hear from you. 271 00:14:42,633 --> 00:14:46,304 I'm willing to depend upon you so long as you don't ask me to give up my idol 272 00:14:48,686 --> 00:14:51,856 And so that story isn't anything about money or possessions unless 273 00:14:51,856 --> 00:14:53,926 your idol this morning happens to be money and possessions 274 00:14:56,302 --> 00:15:00,062 But it could have been anything else that that man had put in front of him and God 275 00:15:02,295 --> 00:15:05,476 When we're in a time of need, we need to depend upon God because God is God. 276 00:15:05,756 --> 00:15:11,325 And I just want you to picture the Father being there and ready to come to your aid. 277 00:15:13,075 --> 00:15:16,075 When the psalmist prays, "God, let my plea come before you. 278 00:15:16,075 --> 00:15:19,715 Let my prayer, let my cry come before you." 279 00:15:20,595 --> 00:15:23,646 Yo, we have something David didn't have, and that is we have the Spirit of God 280 00:15:23,646 --> 00:15:26,695 dwelling within us who gives us access to the throne of grace and mercy to find 281 00:15:26,695 --> 00:15:28,295 grace and mercy to help in time of need. 282 00:15:28,475 --> 00:15:33,126 W- we have the Spirit dwelling within us such that the Apostle Paul can 283 00:15:33,126 --> 00:15:34,786 pray, say pray without ceasing. 284 00:15:36,646 --> 00:15:39,765 That there's never a time that you can't enter into the Father's presence, and 285 00:15:39,766 --> 00:15:42,455 He's there, and He's ready to help. 286 00:15:42,505 --> 00:15:44,455 And I want you to consider Him for just a moment here. 287 00:15:45,215 --> 00:15:50,085 When Moses went before the Israelites and said, "Hey, uh, we're gonna go to Pharaoh, 288 00:15:50,175 --> 00:15:51,885 and I'm gonna say, 'Let my people go.'" 289 00:15:52,095 --> 00:15:54,475 And they said, "Okay, but Moses, who sent you to us?" 290 00:15:54,585 --> 00:15:57,825 Moses had already anticipated that because he asked God that question. 291 00:15:57,825 --> 00:15:59,856 He said, "When I go to them, what should I say? 292 00:16:00,115 --> 00:16:00,915 Who sends me?" 293 00:16:01,805 --> 00:16:04,435 God says, "I want you to tell them I Am who I Am sends you." 294 00:16:04,845 --> 00:16:08,936 The divine name Yahweh, and that name communicates so much about God. 295 00:16:09,515 --> 00:16:15,615 That He is living, that He is without source, origin, or end terminus. 296 00:16:16,095 --> 00:16:19,465 Uh, that, that He needs nothing, that He has everything 297 00:16:21,689 --> 00:16:28,069 It's a doctrine that we refer to as this, the aseity of God, A-S-E-I-T-Y. 298 00:16:28,670 --> 00:16:32,079 It, it's from a Latin phrase that just means that God needs nothing. 299 00:16:32,079 --> 00:16:33,209 He lacks nothing. 300 00:16:33,209 --> 00:16:34,670 He has everything. 301 00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:37,140 That he depends upon nothing. 302 00:16:37,300 --> 00:16:39,579 God is God, in other words 303 00:16:42,318 --> 00:16:45,617 There's an argument that is used for the existence of God. 304 00:16:45,617 --> 00:16:46,268 It's called the ontological argument. 305 00:16:48,778 --> 00:16:51,688 The ontological argument for the existence of God says this, that God is 306 00:16:51,707 --> 00:16:55,038 the highest of all conceivable beings. 307 00:16:55,518 --> 00:16:59,067 And it goes this way, the logic is this, if you can conceive of the highest 308 00:16:59,068 --> 00:17:04,448 of all conceivable beings, then that is God, and God must exist because if 309 00:17:04,457 --> 00:17:09,498 God didn't exist, if the being in your head didn't exist, you could conceive 310 00:17:09,498 --> 00:17:11,578 of a greater being that did exist. 311 00:17:12,107 --> 00:17:14,457 And so by nature of the fact that existence is better than 312 00:17:14,467 --> 00:17:17,127 non-existence, God must exist. 313 00:17:17,936 --> 00:17:21,406 For us to conceive of the greatest of all possible beings, that being 314 00:17:21,487 --> 00:17:26,637 would be a being that does exist, and thereby the argument is God is existent. 315 00:17:27,507 --> 00:17:31,527 Let me bring that back to Psalm 119 in our text in what we're talking about. 316 00:17:31,537 --> 00:17:37,557 I- if God is the highest of all conceivable beings and needs nothing, 317 00:17:38,237 --> 00:17:44,217 lacks nothing, has everything, why would you not want to come to Him in dependence? 318 00:17:45,347 --> 00:17:46,878 Why would you wanna go anywhere else? 319 00:17:47,968 --> 00:17:51,837 What better source is there than God to come to with our needs? 320 00:17:51,837 --> 00:17:53,247 Lord, I need you. 321 00:17:53,288 --> 00:17:54,327 Oh, I need you. 322 00:17:54,367 --> 00:17:56,128 Every hour, I need you. 323 00:17:56,498 --> 00:17:58,678 Coming to Him is the right choice. 324 00:17:59,468 --> 00:18:03,927 Depending upon Him is the right decision because God is God. 325 00:18:04,187 --> 00:18:04,928 Look at the passage. 326 00:18:04,928 --> 00:18:06,707 It says, "Let my cry come before you, O Lord." 327 00:18:07,167 --> 00:18:09,167 This is how we come before Him in dependence. 328 00:18:09,358 --> 00:18:11,498 Give me understanding according to your word. 329 00:18:12,568 --> 00:18:13,378 We depend upon God. 330 00:18:13,407 --> 00:18:15,977 We bring our pleas and our cries to Him, and then we look 331 00:18:15,977 --> 00:18:17,827 to the Word to understand. 332 00:18:18,687 --> 00:18:21,517 We look to the scriptures for guidance, for truth. 333 00:18:22,367 --> 00:18:24,227 "Let my plea come before you," 170. 334 00:18:24,327 --> 00:18:27,308 "Deliver me according to your word." 335 00:18:28,608 --> 00:18:32,107 This is why the psalmist could say in Psalm 119 verse 98, "Your commandment 336 00:18:32,108 --> 00:18:34,117 makes me wiser than my enemies. 337 00:18:34,757 --> 00:18:37,307 I have more understanding than all my teachers. 338 00:18:37,547 --> 00:18:38,917 Your testimonies are my meditation. 339 00:18:38,917 --> 00:18:42,308 I understand more than the aged, for I love your precepts." 340 00:18:42,568 --> 00:18:47,337 We depended upon, or we depend upon God as God as we come to His Word. 341 00:18:47,587 --> 00:18:49,187 We say, "Lord, here's where I am. 342 00:18:49,437 --> 00:18:50,667 I need you. 343 00:18:50,797 --> 00:18:52,277 I depend upon you." 344 00:18:52,467 --> 00:18:57,127 And then we turn to His Word, and He gives us guidance through His Word. 345 00:18:57,747 --> 00:19:01,467 And so the Word of God has answers for the parent of the wayward child. 346 00:19:02,148 --> 00:19:04,387 The Word of God has answers for the hopeless spouse. 347 00:19:04,417 --> 00:19:06,427 The Word of God has answers for the depressed. 348 00:19:06,457 --> 00:19:09,247 The Word of God has answers for the angry because the Word 349 00:19:09,247 --> 00:19:12,097 of God is the Word of God. 350 00:19:13,178 --> 00:19:14,227 It's because of who it comes from 351 00:19:16,265 --> 00:19:20,025 And so we can depend upon God as God because He's God. 352 00:19:20,025 --> 00:19:23,755 And the way that works itself out in our lives practically is we come 353 00:19:23,755 --> 00:19:27,366 to Him, we express our need to Him, and we go to the Word to understand. 354 00:19:28,626 --> 00:19:31,735 The psalmist in Psalm 42:5 says, "Why are you cast down, O my soul? 355 00:19:33,075 --> 00:19:34,376 Why are you in turmoil within me? 356 00:19:34,376 --> 00:19:35,596 Hope in God." 357 00:19:35,925 --> 00:19:36,726 Hope in Him. 358 00:19:37,555 --> 00:19:38,696 Anchor your confidence there. 359 00:19:38,696 --> 00:19:39,715 Depend upon Him. 360 00:19:40,545 --> 00:19:42,336 "For I shall again praise Him, my salvation." 361 00:19:43,696 --> 00:19:46,936 And so our, our pleas, our prayers may look like this, saying, "Lord, I don't 362 00:19:46,985 --> 00:19:49,555 know what You're doing in this scenario. 363 00:19:49,855 --> 00:19:52,936 Please help me understand, but if I don't understand, help me to trust You. 364 00:19:54,645 --> 00:19:57,275 Lord, I, I, I'm discouraged by life lately. 365 00:19:57,875 --> 00:20:00,955 Help me, please, overcome the discouragement and find 366 00:20:00,956 --> 00:20:03,686 my joy in the blessings that You've already provided for me. 367 00:20:04,245 --> 00:20:08,345 Open my eyes to behold the gifts, the good gifts that I have in my life, rather than 368 00:20:08,345 --> 00:20:11,625 just my heart fixating on the thing that I don't have or the thing that I've lost." 369 00:20:13,386 --> 00:20:16,445 Or it looks like saying, "Lord, I'm, I'm struggling to find hope right now. 370 00:20:17,665 --> 00:20:21,076 Everything feels pretty dark, but please remind me of my secure future 371 00:20:21,076 --> 00:20:23,436 with You and restore hope to me." 372 00:20:25,225 --> 00:20:26,986 Depending upon God because He's God. 373 00:20:28,665 --> 00:20:31,885 This first point about it, His worthiness because of who He is. 374 00:20:32,606 --> 00:20:33,985 Nothing else rivals Him. 375 00:20:34,886 --> 00:20:38,545 For you to depend upon anything else is gonna leave you saying, "Take it. 376 00:20:39,386 --> 00:20:41,675 It's no good to me," 'cause the ship is going down. 377 00:20:42,945 --> 00:20:45,295 But depending upon God is where you find the lifeboat. 378 00:20:46,215 --> 00:20:50,245 This is where we find deliverance, because we anchor our confidence 379 00:20:50,275 --> 00:20:51,426 and our dependence to Him. 380 00:20:52,505 --> 00:20:55,335 Look at verses 171 to 172 as David continues. 381 00:20:55,335 --> 00:20:55,775 He says this. 382 00:20:55,775 --> 00:20:58,175 He says, "My lips will pour forth praise." 383 00:20:58,465 --> 00:21:01,935 So he's bringing a plea, and he's bringing his cry. 384 00:21:02,066 --> 00:21:06,395 He's lamenting, and at the same time, he's praising God. 385 00:21:06,405 --> 00:21:09,845 "My lips will pour forth praise, for You teach me Your statutes. 386 00:21:10,066 --> 00:21:13,655 My tongue will sing of Your word, for all Your commandments are right." 387 00:21:14,496 --> 00:21:18,705 A- and so David is able to worship God in the midst of his plea and 388 00:21:18,706 --> 00:21:22,105 his cry because he's anchoring his worship to the Word of God. 389 00:21:22,255 --> 00:21:26,895 He's coming back to give thanks that he has the Word of God, that he can 390 00:21:26,995 --> 00:21:30,965 trust in the Lord, that God has made Himself known such that David has 391 00:21:30,976 --> 00:21:32,295 some place to turn to begin with. 392 00:21:34,045 --> 00:21:34,805 I thought about it this way. 393 00:21:34,805 --> 00:21:38,795 If you've heard the old Francis Schaeffer, uh, book that's titled He… 394 00:21:38,915 --> 00:21:40,085 God Is Not Silent. 395 00:21:40,125 --> 00:21:41,565 God is there, and He is not silent. 396 00:21:41,945 --> 00:21:42,886 God has spoken. 397 00:21:42,886 --> 00:21:46,195 God has revealed Himself to us, and because He's revealed Himself to 398 00:21:46,195 --> 00:21:49,505 us, that introduces a whole 'nother reason why we can depend upon Him, 399 00:21:49,695 --> 00:21:53,185 and that is because point number two, we depend upon God because He's good. 400 00:21:54,485 --> 00:21:55,296 Because He's good. 401 00:21:57,256 --> 00:22:03,146 God is so good to reveal Himself to us, to give us His guidance, to give 402 00:22:03,146 --> 00:22:07,866 us direction, to communicate with us so that we're not left trying 403 00:22:07,866 --> 00:22:09,866 to feel our way through this life 404 00:22:12,334 --> 00:22:15,074 Technology is amazing for so many reasons. 405 00:22:15,614 --> 00:22:17,744 I, I mean, you can pick up your phone and you can text somebody 406 00:22:17,774 --> 00:22:18,914 across the world right now. 407 00:22:19,264 --> 00:22:21,634 Anybody in here remember the days of AOL Instant Messenger? 408 00:22:22,084 --> 00:22:24,244 Any of the '90s era kiddos, '80s era kiddos? 409 00:22:24,244 --> 00:22:24,454 Yeah. 410 00:22:24,643 --> 00:22:27,224 The door would open, and then you'd look on the, the list 411 00:22:27,224 --> 00:22:28,194 and be like, "Who showed up? 412 00:22:28,533 --> 00:22:29,004 Who's here? 413 00:22:29,004 --> 00:22:29,933 Who can I talk to?" 414 00:22:30,154 --> 00:22:31,314 You don't have to do that anymore. 415 00:22:31,834 --> 00:22:35,343 In fact, my wife and I were talking about, with our kids recently, about having to 416 00:22:35,344 --> 00:22:36,803 pick up the phone and make a phone call. 417 00:22:37,353 --> 00:22:39,623 When you were growing up, you had to call your friend's house to see if they 418 00:22:39,623 --> 00:22:42,513 could play, and the worst thing was when dad picked up on the other line, 419 00:22:42,803 --> 00:22:44,723 and you're going, "Uh, hi, um, hi. 420 00:22:44,904 --> 00:22:45,424 Hi. 421 00:22:45,843 --> 00:22:48,664 Is, uh, Ryan?" 422 00:22:49,203 --> 00:22:49,754 And you just… 423 00:22:49,764 --> 00:22:51,653 That's all you can get out 'cause you just don't know how to talk 424 00:22:51,654 --> 00:22:52,753 to grown-ups when you're a kid. 425 00:22:53,514 --> 00:22:58,684 The worst, though, was when you were a guy, uh, sorry, ladies, you're not 426 00:22:58,684 --> 00:22:59,513 gonna be able to relate to this one. 427 00:22:59,793 --> 00:23:02,433 When you were a guy who liked a girl, and you had to call her 428 00:23:02,433 --> 00:23:03,773 house, and dad answered the phone. 429 00:23:03,994 --> 00:23:04,743 That's just click. 430 00:23:05,533 --> 00:23:08,403 Nope, we're not, we're not having this conversation. 431 00:23:08,683 --> 00:23:08,973 I… 432 00:23:08,994 --> 00:23:10,784 Wrong number, sorry . Click. 433 00:23:11,373 --> 00:23:13,164 And then you call back and think maybe she'll pick up the 434 00:23:13,164 --> 00:23:14,233 next time, and it's still dad. 435 00:23:14,233 --> 00:23:15,423 It's like, "Sorry, wrong number again." 436 00:23:15,723 --> 00:23:17,813 Um, technology's amazing. 437 00:23:17,874 --> 00:23:18,874 We don't have to do that anymore. 438 00:23:18,883 --> 00:23:21,183 You can just slide into somebody's DMs, I guess. 439 00:23:21,183 --> 00:23:21,503 I don't know. 440 00:23:21,844 --> 00:23:26,713 Uh, but the thing about technology that I find myself using the most, and Pastor 441 00:23:26,713 --> 00:23:29,393 Rod talked about it recently in a sermon as well, is, is the, the Maps app. 442 00:23:29,393 --> 00:23:30,534 It's such a great invention. 443 00:23:31,183 --> 00:23:32,593 It keeps us on track. 444 00:23:32,993 --> 00:23:34,044 It keeps us guided. 445 00:23:34,323 --> 00:23:37,013 And it's such a comfort for me when I get a call and I need to go to the 446 00:23:37,014 --> 00:23:40,044 hospital vi- to visit somebody or to pray with somebody or somebody had a baby or 447 00:23:40,044 --> 00:23:43,953 whatever, I'm going over to somebody's house, then I, I know that I can get 448 00:23:43,953 --> 00:23:45,703 there because I have the Maps app. 449 00:23:45,863 --> 00:23:48,833 I can open up the address, I can plug it in, and then boom, I'm, I'm gonna go. 450 00:23:49,143 --> 00:23:52,403 I'm not left to just wander aimlessly and try to hope I can find my way there 451 00:23:53,816 --> 00:23:58,496 God has given us His Word so that we're not wandering aimlessly, but that we can 452 00:23:58,496 --> 00:24:01,166 navigate this life until He calls us home. 453 00:24:01,796 --> 00:24:04,186 God is good because He's given us His Word. 454 00:24:04,396 --> 00:24:05,716 In fact, think about the Word of God. 455 00:24:05,746 --> 00:24:09,366 Peter writes this of it in 2 Peter 1:19-21. 456 00:24:09,695 --> 00:24:14,376 Peter says this, "We have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you 457 00:24:14,376 --> 00:24:19,086 will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the 458 00:24:19,086 --> 00:24:23,555 day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts, knowing this first 459 00:24:23,556 --> 00:24:28,676 of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. 460 00:24:29,115 --> 00:24:33,606 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke 461 00:24:33,606 --> 00:24:37,415 from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." 462 00:24:37,995 --> 00:24:40,845 There's three things about Scripture that we learn about in this passage 463 00:24:40,845 --> 00:24:43,315 that are so helpful and should cause us to be so thankful that God has 464 00:24:43,326 --> 00:24:46,446 given it to us, and the first is what we refer to as illumination. 465 00:24:46,885 --> 00:24:49,795 God's Word provides light in a dark world. 466 00:24:50,216 --> 00:24:52,705 Notice that He says, "We have the prophetic word more fully confirmed." 467 00:24:53,115 --> 00:24:56,805 Uh, we need to pay attention as to a lamp shining in the dark place. 468 00:24:57,545 --> 00:25:02,235 If you're familiar with Psalm 119, Psalm 119:105 says, "Your word is a 469 00:25:02,255 --> 00:25:04,455 lamp to my feet and a light to my path." 470 00:25:04,995 --> 00:25:08,285 That God has given us His Word to illuminate the path so that we will know 471 00:25:08,575 --> 00:25:11,605 what He has for us and how to walk, and how to walk the straight and narrow. 472 00:25:12,435 --> 00:25:13,055 Illumination. 473 00:25:13,355 --> 00:25:16,116 But the second thing we see here is the, the concept of revelation. 474 00:25:16,736 --> 00:25:17,156 Notice that. 475 00:25:17,156 --> 00:25:20,505 It says, "Knowing this first of all, no prophecy of Scripture comes 476 00:25:20,505 --> 00:25:22,296 from someone's own interpretation." 477 00:25:22,666 --> 00:25:25,706 Meaning, the Word of God didn't come from humans just sitting there going, 478 00:25:25,706 --> 00:25:26,885 "I wonder what I should write today." 479 00:25:27,685 --> 00:25:29,956 Paul didn't think about Ephesus and think, "You know what? 480 00:25:29,956 --> 00:25:31,276 It's been a while since I've written to them. 481 00:25:31,635 --> 00:25:34,515 Uh, let me just ask Claude for a prompt for what I should 482 00:25:34,515 --> 00:25:35,815 write to the church in Ephesus." 483 00:25:36,925 --> 00:25:38,625 Rather, what does it say here? 484 00:25:39,015 --> 00:25:40,575 It comes from the Lord. 485 00:25:40,585 --> 00:25:45,845 No prophecy was ever produced by the will of men, but men spoke from God. 486 00:25:46,685 --> 00:25:47,766 So this is revelation. 487 00:25:47,776 --> 00:25:50,036 The Word of God is the Word of God. 488 00:25:50,065 --> 00:25:55,696 It comes from Him But it's not just the illumination and the revelation, it's also 489 00:25:55,786 --> 00:26:01,276 what we've referred to as inspiration, and that's the last part of 2 Peter 1:21. 490 00:26:01,706 --> 00:26:05,426 Men spoke from God, it says this, as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 491 00:26:06,076 --> 00:26:10,276 And so God used human authors to write His words to us. 492 00:26:10,465 --> 00:26:15,745 So what we have in the pages of the Word of God is the words of God. 493 00:26:16,436 --> 00:26:20,636 That God, i- i- it's, it's the, the, the idea is 2 P- 2 Timothy 494 00:26:20,636 --> 00:26:23,246 3:16-17, all scripture is what? 495 00:26:23,795 --> 00:26:25,506 Breathed out by God. 496 00:26:25,506 --> 00:26:26,966 I- it's inspired. 497 00:26:26,966 --> 00:26:28,636 That's what we mean by inspired. 498 00:26:28,875 --> 00:26:33,645 It comes from Him, and so the scriptures are His word. 499 00:26:34,026 --> 00:26:35,745 And so they illuminate the path. 500 00:26:35,756 --> 00:26:39,346 It is containing the revelation that is from Him, not from men, and 501 00:26:39,346 --> 00:26:43,305 it is reliable because it is, is exactly what He wanted us to have. 502 00:26:43,305 --> 00:26:44,685 It has been inspired. 503 00:26:44,686 --> 00:26:46,325 We have His word. 504 00:26:46,616 --> 00:26:48,145 God is good to give us His word. 505 00:26:49,175 --> 00:26:52,165 He's good to not leave us wandering aimlessly, trying 506 00:26:52,166 --> 00:26:53,965 to figure our way to Him. 507 00:26:54,485 --> 00:26:57,735 And that's why the psalmist says in verse 171, "My lips will pour forth 508 00:26:57,886 --> 00:27:01,555 praise, for you teach me your statutes." 509 00:27:01,755 --> 00:27:04,676 The, the impetus, the motivation of the psalmist's praise is the 510 00:27:04,676 --> 00:27:06,475 fact that he has God's word. 511 00:27:07,636 --> 00:27:12,206 Verse 172: "My tongue will sing of your word, for," again, 512 00:27:12,206 --> 00:27:13,635 the motivation there is what? 513 00:27:13,865 --> 00:27:16,225 "For all your commandments are right." 514 00:27:16,695 --> 00:27:19,286 David is saying, "I have your word, and that's enough reason for me to 515 00:27:19,286 --> 00:27:23,025 praise you, even as I bring my plea and I bring my cry before you." 516 00:27:24,535 --> 00:27:27,156 God is so kind and so good to bring us His word, that He 517 00:27:27,156 --> 00:27:28,615 hasn't left us without direction. 518 00:27:29,785 --> 00:27:34,405 When we were in Colorado this summer, um, w- we drove up Pikes Peak, and then 519 00:27:34,405 --> 00:27:37,325 we drove down Pikes Peak, and then we went out to dinner, and I walked out 520 00:27:37,325 --> 00:27:40,585 from dinner, and I looked at my car, and the front right tire, the sidewall 521 00:27:40,596 --> 00:27:45,146 was separating, and we'd driven up Pikes Peak with the tire separating. 522 00:27:45,146 --> 00:27:48,515 So I stopped and I was giving thanks to God for protecting our family, but then 523 00:27:48,515 --> 00:27:49,796 I realized I gotta change that tire. 524 00:27:50,515 --> 00:27:53,145 And so having four boys with me, I got them all out of the car, 525 00:27:53,145 --> 00:27:54,945 and I said, "You're gonna watch this whether you want to or not." 526 00:27:55,745 --> 00:27:58,126 And then I prayed, "Lord, please help me remember how to change a tire." 527 00:28:00,735 --> 00:28:01,146 And I did. 528 00:28:02,436 --> 00:28:04,946 But I got everything out, and I started walking them through the process. 529 00:28:04,966 --> 00:28:05,366 Why? 530 00:28:06,235 --> 00:28:09,596 Because I, I know at some point in time, likely, they're gonna have to change 531 00:28:09,596 --> 00:28:13,666 a tire, and I didn't want them to have to call AAA or call Dad and be like, 532 00:28:13,695 --> 00:28:14,686 "Dad, can you come do this for me?" 533 00:28:15,816 --> 00:28:18,295 And so I walked them through the whole thing and, and how you gotta loosen 534 00:28:18,295 --> 00:28:20,785 the lug nuts before you lift the car 'cause if you lift the car and then go 535 00:28:20,785 --> 00:28:24,015 to loosen the lug nuts, the wheel just spins around and around and around. 536 00:28:24,385 --> 00:28:27,675 And where do you put the jack on the car, and then taking the wheel off and 537 00:28:27,676 --> 00:28:30,975 putting the spare on and tightening the lug nuts and making sure it's tight then 538 00:28:30,975 --> 00:28:33,905 after you lower it, and then you put the old tire in the, the back of the 539 00:28:33,905 --> 00:28:36,836 car, and then you gotta control your speed on the donut 'cause the donut's 540 00:28:36,836 --> 00:28:38,186 not meant to go 70 miles an hour. 541 00:28:38,565 --> 00:28:41,206 Um, all of those things, just t- walking them all through that. 542 00:28:41,206 --> 00:28:41,436 Why? 543 00:28:41,445 --> 00:28:45,785 Because I hope one day that they will remember that Dad provided them some 544 00:28:45,785 --> 00:28:46,966 guidance and instruction on that. 545 00:28:47,785 --> 00:28:49,335 What they do with that, not my problem. 546 00:28:50,245 --> 00:28:52,455 Unless then they call Dad and say, "Hey, Dad, I don't remember what you said. 547 00:28:52,465 --> 00:28:53,475 Can you come fix this for me?" 548 00:28:55,035 --> 00:28:57,485 But I wanted them to have the guidance. 549 00:28:57,596 --> 00:28:59,155 I wanted them to have the instruction. 550 00:28:59,456 --> 00:29:01,835 I wanted them to know that I cared about them, I loved them enough. 551 00:29:01,835 --> 00:29:03,765 I wasn't just gonna leave them to aimlessly try to figure 552 00:29:03,765 --> 00:29:04,475 things out on their own. 553 00:29:05,686 --> 00:29:08,616 And so there in Colorado Springs in the, the Bass Pro parking lot, 554 00:29:08,616 --> 00:29:09,895 they learned how to change a tire. 555 00:29:11,766 --> 00:29:14,176 That's a microcosm of the way that we should look at the scriptures. 556 00:29:15,855 --> 00:29:19,745 God has saved us, and then He's given us His Word because He's 557 00:29:19,745 --> 00:29:25,935 so good to us in order that we would have guidance for this life 558 00:29:28,408 --> 00:29:29,628 Think about what the scripture contains. 559 00:29:30,428 --> 00:29:32,428 It contains the solution, right, to our sinfulness. 560 00:29:34,098 --> 00:29:38,507 It contains the good news about the death of Jesus Christ in our place for our sins, 561 00:29:38,928 --> 00:29:41,658 and His resurrection for our eternal life. 562 00:29:42,648 --> 00:29:44,068 And so it contains the gospel. 563 00:29:44,068 --> 00:29:46,568 God is so good to tell us about Jesus in the Word of God. 564 00:29:47,977 --> 00:29:49,778 But beyond that then, it also contains what? 565 00:29:49,778 --> 00:29:54,588 It, it contains the path of obedience for us to walk as believers, as Christians 566 00:29:54,597 --> 00:29:58,877 now, so that we will grow in Christ likeness the longer we are in Christ. 567 00:30:00,467 --> 00:30:03,308 And so God's Word has given us these things, but wait, there's more, to 568 00:30:03,308 --> 00:30:04,957 go Billy May style on us, right? 569 00:30:04,957 --> 00:30:06,787 From infomercials, anybody growing up? 570 00:30:07,558 --> 00:30:07,878 Yeah. 571 00:30:07,898 --> 00:30:08,657 Wait, there's more. 572 00:30:09,058 --> 00:30:09,407 There's more. 573 00:30:09,587 --> 00:30:13,328 God's given us His Holy Spirit to help us with all of this. 574 00:30:14,747 --> 00:30:18,337 And so He's given us the Word of God to illuminate our, our minds and, and 575 00:30:18,337 --> 00:30:21,557 to, to help us and to guide us on the path, and He's given us the Spirit so 576 00:30:21,558 --> 00:30:23,397 that we can understand any of it at all. 577 00:30:24,878 --> 00:30:27,308 And so as I'm up here preaching these messages about, "Hey, we want you in the 578 00:30:27,308 --> 00:30:30,097 Word of God every single day," we do want you in the Word of God every single day. 579 00:30:30,357 --> 00:30:32,887 But we trust that the Spirit of God within you is gonna work that in 580 00:30:32,887 --> 00:30:36,937 your life, that, that it's not about, "Hey, you're, you're falling short. 581 00:30:36,947 --> 00:30:37,637 Do more." 582 00:30:38,607 --> 00:30:40,837 But it's about, "Hey, lean into your relationship with the Lord." 583 00:30:41,067 --> 00:30:42,417 God delights to do these things. 584 00:30:42,548 --> 00:30:44,277 Depend upon God because He's good. 585 00:30:44,467 --> 00:30:45,327 Depend upon God. 586 00:30:45,347 --> 00:30:46,528 Go to God because He's God. 587 00:30:46,758 --> 00:30:49,167 Pray, "God, increase my appetite for the scriptures." 588 00:30:49,307 --> 00:30:50,698 I trust that God's gonna answer that. 589 00:30:50,698 --> 00:30:52,217 We're gonna talk about that more in just a second. 590 00:30:52,217 --> 00:30:55,687 But back here, He's good because He's given the scriptures, and He's given 591 00:30:55,688 --> 00:30:57,717 us the Holy Spirit to understand them. 592 00:30:58,587 --> 00:31:03,567 1 Corinthians 2:9 says this, "But as it is written: 'What no eye has seen, 593 00:31:03,697 --> 00:31:08,137 nor ear has heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for 594 00:31:08,148 --> 00:31:13,387 those who love him' - these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. 595 00:31:13,837 --> 00:31:17,507 For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 596 00:31:17,847 --> 00:31:20,497 For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of 597 00:31:20,497 --> 00:31:21,878 that person, which is in him? 598 00:31:22,107 --> 00:31:27,887 So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 599 00:31:28,177 --> 00:31:32,227 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is 600 00:31:32,227 --> 00:31:37,297 from God, that we might understand the things freely given to us by God." 601 00:31:39,576 --> 00:31:40,526 How good is God? 602 00:31:42,006 --> 00:31:45,056 Not only did He give us His Word, not only did He communicate to us, not only 603 00:31:45,066 --> 00:31:49,906 did He speak to us, but then if you're in Christ, He gave you His Spirit to 604 00:31:49,915 --> 00:31:54,546 be able to understand it, to be able to read it and glean something from it, 605 00:31:55,146 --> 00:31:58,845 so that it's, it's not like reading a, a, a textbook and walking away going, 606 00:31:58,845 --> 00:31:59,905 "I don't know what to do with that." 607 00:32:01,255 --> 00:32:04,816 He's given you the Spirit to help you process, to help you understand, 608 00:32:04,816 --> 00:32:07,825 to help you know, to help you grow, to help you in your guidance. 609 00:32:07,845 --> 00:32:11,755 And, and y'all, that's why David is praising God here, saying, uh, "Look, 610 00:32:11,766 --> 00:32:17,565 I, I, uh, uh, pour forth praise," verse 171, "for You teach me Your statutes. 611 00:32:17,575 --> 00:32:19,035 You give me wisdom from Your Word. 612 00:32:19,226 --> 00:32:21,895 My tongue will sing of Your Word, for all Your commandments are right. 613 00:32:21,895 --> 00:32:24,456 God, I'm gonna give You glory and thanks for that, because You 614 00:32:24,456 --> 00:32:26,846 are so good to have done that." 615 00:32:28,185 --> 00:32:29,686 So we depend upon God because He's God. 616 00:32:29,686 --> 00:32:33,978 We depend upon God because He's good But there's another reason why we 617 00:32:33,978 --> 00:32:37,208 depend upon God that's found in the last handful of verses in our text. 618 00:32:37,208 --> 00:32:40,208 Look at verse 173, "Let your hand be ready to help me, for 619 00:32:40,218 --> 00:32:41,598 I have chosen your precepts. 620 00:32:41,818 --> 00:32:43,608 I long for your salvation, O Lord. 621 00:32:43,658 --> 00:32:45,137 Your law is my delight. 622 00:32:45,518 --> 00:32:49,218 Let my soul live and praise you, and let your rules help me. 623 00:32:49,417 --> 00:32:51,367 I have gone astray like a lost sheep. 624 00:32:51,608 --> 00:32:55,368 Seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments." 625 00:32:57,077 --> 00:33:03,908 In this final passage, we find that David depended, depended upon God, yes, because 626 00:33:03,908 --> 00:33:06,408 He's God, and yes, because He's good. 627 00:33:07,117 --> 00:33:10,017 But finally, he depended upon God because He can. 628 00:33:11,567 --> 00:33:13,187 Depend upon God because He can. 629 00:33:14,858 --> 00:33:15,688 He's able. 630 00:33:16,148 --> 00:33:18,398 A- a- and this is connected back to that first point, right? 631 00:33:18,398 --> 00:33:19,178 His aseity. 632 00:33:19,187 --> 00:33:20,437 He lacks nothing. 633 00:33:20,497 --> 00:33:21,967 He has everything. 634 00:33:21,977 --> 00:33:26,547 A- a- and so whatever He needs to provide, God can provide. 635 00:33:26,948 --> 00:33:30,788 And so this third point then is about us then now bringing our specific requests, 636 00:33:30,788 --> 00:33:34,797 just like David does here, to the Lord and saying, "Lord, here's where I need you. 637 00:33:35,808 --> 00:33:36,877 I'm gonna come before you. 638 00:33:37,057 --> 00:33:38,477 Let me enter into your presence." 639 00:33:38,477 --> 00:33:39,187 That's point number one. 640 00:33:39,457 --> 00:33:40,317 And, and we do that why? 641 00:33:40,317 --> 00:33:41,357 Because of who He is. 642 00:33:41,358 --> 00:33:41,897 He's God. 643 00:33:42,097 --> 00:33:44,667 And now it's, and here's my specific pleas. 644 00:33:44,828 --> 00:33:49,417 Here's my, the, the, the nuts and bolts of what I'm desperate for, for you, Lord. 645 00:33:50,167 --> 00:33:52,278 And we do that because God can. 646 00:33:52,917 --> 00:33:54,828 Scripture testifies to this over and over again. 647 00:33:54,828 --> 00:33:59,757 Deuteronomy 10:14, "Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of 648 00:33:59,758 --> 00:34:02,427 heavens, the earth and all that's in it." 649 00:34:02,987 --> 00:34:07,108 1 Chronicles 29:14, "Who am I, and what is my people, that we should 650 00:34:07,108 --> 00:34:08,827 be able to thus offer willingly? 651 00:34:09,067 --> 00:34:11,658 For all things come from you." 652 00:34:12,197 --> 00:34:13,556 All things come from God. 653 00:34:14,078 --> 00:34:17,817 Psalm 24:1, "The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof, the 654 00:34:17,817 --> 00:34:19,888 world and those who dwell therein." 655 00:34:20,447 --> 00:34:21,847 The earth is the Lord's. 656 00:34:22,496 --> 00:34:28,337 James 1:17, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming 657 00:34:28,337 --> 00:34:30,437 down from the Father of lights." 658 00:34:30,677 --> 00:34:32,447 God can, in other words. 659 00:34:33,306 --> 00:34:37,286 And so because God can, David brings these three prayers before the Lord, and I think 660 00:34:37,288 --> 00:34:38,917 categorically we can look at it this way. 661 00:34:38,917 --> 00:34:40,927 First, David prays for help here. 662 00:34:41,547 --> 00:34:45,447 David comes to the Lord and he says, "Lord, let your hand be ready to help 663 00:34:45,496 --> 00:34:47,837 me, for I have chosen your precepts. 664 00:34:48,766 --> 00:34:51,347 Lord, I'm, I'm coming to the Word of God, and in the Word of God, 665 00:34:51,496 --> 00:34:52,647 I'm looking for you to help." 666 00:34:52,648 --> 00:34:56,888 The word help here is a, a, a word that covers all kinda just practical needs. 667 00:34:57,618 --> 00:35:01,217 He's asking God to meet the needs that he has, and to deliver him 668 00:35:01,217 --> 00:35:02,407 from the situation that he's in. 669 00:35:02,637 --> 00:35:04,417 And he refers here to the Lord's hand. 670 00:35:04,427 --> 00:35:07,978 That's what we call an anthropomorphism, which means that this is a reference 671 00:35:07,978 --> 00:35:09,897 to God using human language. 672 00:35:09,907 --> 00:35:11,588 God doesn't actually have a hand. 673 00:35:11,987 --> 00:35:16,157 He's spirit, as John 4 tells us, but this is a reference to the 674 00:35:16,177 --> 00:35:18,238 power of God, the strength of God. 675 00:35:18,238 --> 00:35:20,167 The hand of God represented His ability. 676 00:35:20,527 --> 00:35:25,067 And so he's praying, "God, because you can, I'm asking you to help." 677 00:35:25,588 --> 00:35:28,738 David knew he could not manage things on his own, but he knew where he could 678 00:35:28,738 --> 00:35:34,440 turn And it's not as though there are times that we don't need God, right? 679 00:35:34,440 --> 00:35:35,430 We prayed that earlier. 680 00:35:35,430 --> 00:35:36,380 We sang that earlier. 681 00:35:36,380 --> 00:35:37,720 Pastor Rod even commented on that. 682 00:35:38,080 --> 00:35:41,530 You know, it's … We, we say, "Every hour, I need you," but the reality 683 00:35:41,530 --> 00:35:44,860 is, oh, man, we need Him every, every minute, every second, every millisecond. 684 00:35:45,490 --> 00:35:48,430 The reason that we're not hurtling off into space right now is not just 685 00:35:48,430 --> 00:35:51,319 because the force of gravity, it's because Colossians 1 says that in 686 00:35:51,319 --> 00:35:53,760 Christ all things hold together. 687 00:35:54,600 --> 00:35:56,910 The reason that your heart is pumping right now is because 688 00:35:56,930 --> 00:35:58,560 God is sustaining your life. 689 00:35:59,430 --> 00:36:01,589 The reason that you're breathing is because God is giving you 690 00:36:01,600 --> 00:36:03,639 br- air to breathe right now. 691 00:36:04,170 --> 00:36:07,280 And so it's not as though there's ever a moment that we don't need Him, but 692 00:36:07,280 --> 00:36:11,349 there are plenty of moments we are more keenly aware of our need of Him, and 693 00:36:11,350 --> 00:36:16,059 that's where we can go to Him, because He can, and we can pray, and we can 694 00:36:16,089 --> 00:36:17,969 ask for the help, whatever that is. 695 00:36:18,170 --> 00:36:21,969 And God will answer, because He can, and He's either gonna answer one of two ways. 696 00:36:22,030 --> 00:36:25,719 He's gonna answer by delivering you, or He's gonna answer by sustaining you. 697 00:36:26,920 --> 00:36:30,139 He'll answer by bringing you out of whatever you're in or sustaining 698 00:36:30,139 --> 00:36:33,019 you through it, depending on what His will is in your life. 699 00:36:33,709 --> 00:36:35,410 But you can pray for help. 700 00:36:35,649 --> 00:36:37,939 Second, because God can, David prays for greater devotion. 701 00:36:38,719 --> 00:36:42,870 Notice in 175, he says, "Let my soul live and praise you, 702 00:36:43,109 --> 00:36:44,389 and let your rules help me." 703 00:36:44,779 --> 00:36:47,350 Let my soul live, revive my soul, he's praying. 704 00:36:47,350 --> 00:36:48,459 Awaken my soul. 705 00:36:48,459 --> 00:36:49,769 Give new life to me. 706 00:36:50,480 --> 00:36:53,620 This may have been that David was in a life-threatening situation or it simply 707 00:36:53,620 --> 00:36:55,479 could have been he was just downtrodden. 708 00:36:55,480 --> 00:36:57,180 Why are you cast down, O my soul? 709 00:36:58,559 --> 00:37:00,660 So he's praying, "God, let my soul live. 710 00:37:00,910 --> 00:37:03,739 Enliven my soul, that I may praise you." 711 00:37:04,910 --> 00:37:07,229 The Old Testament, as you read through the Psalms, time and time again, the 712 00:37:07,230 --> 00:37:11,399 psalmist will say, "Lord, uh, don't send me to the grave because praise 713 00:37:11,399 --> 00:37:13,269 doesn't come to you from the, the grave." 714 00:37:14,339 --> 00:37:17,329 Rather, the understanding was that, that the time to praise God was while I'm 715 00:37:17,339 --> 00:37:20,859 alive, and so David is praying, "Lord, revive my soul that I may praise you." 716 00:37:20,869 --> 00:37:25,570 You know, that's a, a prayer that's for us as well, and it doesn't 717 00:37:25,580 --> 00:37:28,709 have to be born out of a time when your life is at, at, at risk. 718 00:37:28,999 --> 00:37:31,609 It can, but it can also be a Monday morning. 719 00:37:32,429 --> 00:37:33,839 Lord, give life to my soul this morning. 720 00:37:34,949 --> 00:37:35,919 I'm not there right now. 721 00:37:36,679 --> 00:37:38,409 I don't feel the passion. 722 00:37:39,539 --> 00:37:42,269 Revive my soul, Lord, because I wanna be more devoted to you. 723 00:37:42,269 --> 00:37:44,230 Revive my soul so I can worship you more. 724 00:37:44,420 --> 00:37:45,299 Give me reason. 725 00:37:45,409 --> 00:37:48,489 Help me open my eyes to the good things that you've provided to me and, 726 00:37:48,489 --> 00:37:50,129 and let me praise you this morning. 727 00:37:50,139 --> 00:37:51,079 I need you, Lord. 728 00:37:51,149 --> 00:37:51,639 I need you. 729 00:37:52,700 --> 00:37:53,119 I need you. 730 00:37:53,359 --> 00:37:54,859 I can't manufacture it on my own. 731 00:37:55,939 --> 00:37:56,379 I need you 732 00:37:58,510 --> 00:38:01,110 Fully trust that that's a prayer that God is gonna want to answer in your 733 00:38:01,110 --> 00:38:07,069 life, because He can, and that delights Him to have His people praise Him. 734 00:38:07,830 --> 00:38:09,310 And then finally, David prays for grace. 735 00:38:09,760 --> 00:38:11,429 I love this too, in verse 176. 736 00:38:12,340 --> 00:38:15,350 He says, "I've gone astray like a lost sheep. 737 00:38:15,360 --> 00:38:18,050 Seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments." 738 00:38:18,610 --> 00:38:21,509 I have gone astray like a lost sheep. 739 00:38:22,129 --> 00:38:24,439 Spurgeon says, uh, here he points out that David doesn't say, 740 00:38:24,440 --> 00:38:25,539 "I've gone astray like a dog." 741 00:38:26,590 --> 00:38:29,969 Because a lot of times dogs will run off and then they will what? 742 00:38:29,979 --> 00:38:31,619 They will make their way back home. 743 00:38:32,809 --> 00:38:35,399 A sheep, not the same. 744 00:38:36,159 --> 00:38:39,330 If a sheep wanders away, all a sheep knows how to do at that point is 745 00:38:39,330 --> 00:38:41,770 bleat, is to cry for the shepherd. 746 00:38:43,639 --> 00:38:47,590 And so David here is praying and saying, "I've gone astray like a lost sheep." 747 00:38:47,629 --> 00:38:51,010 But notice he says here, "I, I do not forget your commandments." 748 00:38:52,139 --> 00:38:54,469 And so this isn't David saying, "I've jettisoned my faith." 749 00:38:54,749 --> 00:38:58,430 This isn't David saying, "I'm, I'm walking in open, in, in, in conscious 750 00:38:58,430 --> 00:39:00,549 rebellion to you, and I despise you, God." 751 00:39:00,749 --> 00:39:04,480 No, he's saying, "God, even as devoted to you as I am, there are 752 00:39:04,480 --> 00:39:08,089 gonna be moments," as the old hymn says, "Prone to wander, Lord, I feel 753 00:39:08,090 --> 00:39:09,919 it, prone to leave the God I love." 754 00:39:10,099 --> 00:39:13,580 There are gonna be times where you find yourself having drifted from 755 00:39:13,580 --> 00:39:17,110 the straight and narrow, and what you need is you need to depend upon 756 00:39:17,110 --> 00:39:18,970 God and His grace to bring you back 757 00:39:21,198 --> 00:39:24,008 And so David prays, "God, seek your servant." 758 00:39:25,357 --> 00:39:27,598 Again, the simplicity is so beauty, beautiful there. 759 00:39:28,488 --> 00:39:29,857 "Seek your servant." 760 00:39:31,748 --> 00:39:35,327 Spurgeon said this, "The sheep bleats, David prays. 761 00:39:37,007 --> 00:39:40,877 The sheep bleats for its shepherd, David prays." 762 00:39:43,406 --> 00:39:46,726 And this is a prayer that God can answer and delights to answer when by 763 00:39:46,726 --> 00:39:48,625 His grace He reveals sin in our lives. 764 00:39:48,846 --> 00:39:52,506 For us to be able to repent of that sin and come back and lay that sin at the 765 00:39:52,506 --> 00:39:56,366 foot of the cross and seek forgiveness there, and He will answer that. 766 00:39:56,366 --> 00:39:56,606 Why? 767 00:39:56,606 --> 00:39:58,485 Well, because scripture tells us why. 768 00:39:59,016 --> 00:40:02,546 Because Jesus is interceding for us this morning, praying at the right hand 769 00:40:02,546 --> 00:40:03,996 of the Father for you this morning. 770 00:40:04,246 --> 00:40:07,735 Because the Spirit has been given you as a, a follower of Jesus to 771 00:40:07,736 --> 00:40:11,686 convict you of sin and to bring you back to the cross, and because the 772 00:40:11,686 --> 00:40:16,995 Father stands ready to forgive you this morning because of His grace. 773 00:40:18,226 --> 00:40:21,525 And so we depend upon God because He can. 774 00:40:22,356 --> 00:40:22,826 He can. 775 00:40:23,386 --> 00:40:26,476 We pray for help, we pray for devotion, we pray for grace 776 00:40:28,952 --> 00:40:33,592 Hudson Taylor said this, "I could not think that God was poor, that He was short 777 00:40:33,592 --> 00:40:38,132 of resources or unwilling to supply any want of whatever work was really His. 778 00:40:39,722 --> 00:40:41,452 I could not think that God was poor." 779 00:40:43,342 --> 00:40:43,831 He can. 780 00:40:44,971 --> 00:40:45,662 What's your need? 781 00:40:46,032 --> 00:40:46,831 What is it this morning? 782 00:40:47,432 --> 00:40:48,271 What's keeping you up? 783 00:40:49,362 --> 00:40:50,112 What's your anxiety? 784 00:40:53,102 --> 00:40:55,812 This is the time to bring it before the Lord and to lay it before Him. 785 00:40:56,452 --> 00:40:59,551 And it's so good that this final verse ends this way. 786 00:40:59,591 --> 00:41:03,252 This final verse of Psalm, of our whole study in Summer in the Word 787 00:41:03,582 --> 00:41:07,341 ends this way, with this line, "I've gone astray like a lost sheep. 788 00:41:07,482 --> 00:41:08,891 Seek your servant." 789 00:41:09,182 --> 00:41:12,831 It's so good that as we wrap up this study with that last verse, we're about 790 00:41:12,832 --> 00:41:14,181 to turn to the Lord's table together. 791 00:41:15,481 --> 00:41:20,812 Because that's, that's where we see most clearly the fact that God 792 00:41:20,821 --> 00:41:22,371 did indeed seek the lost sheep. 793 00:41:23,082 --> 00:41:24,511 In fact, Isaiah put it this way. 794 00:41:24,891 --> 00:41:27,781 In Isaiah 53 he said, "All of us like sheep have gone astray. 795 00:41:27,982 --> 00:41:30,571 Every single one of us have turned to our own way." 796 00:41:32,721 --> 00:41:36,932 But then Isaiah says, "But the Lord has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all." 797 00:41:38,231 --> 00:41:43,422 That, that God sought us and continues to faithfully seek us as believers. 798 00:41:44,751 --> 00:41:48,201 And so this is gonna be such a good time for us to spend reflecting, giving thanks 799 00:41:48,212 --> 00:41:52,711 to God, remembering that if we are putting our confidence and our trust this morning, 800 00:41:52,711 --> 00:41:57,932 depending on anything other than the cross of Jesus Christ and the forgiveness 801 00:41:57,941 --> 00:42:02,911 bought for us therein, then when we come to die, we are gonna be like those 802 00:42:02,911 --> 00:42:04,392 on that sinking ship saying, "Take it. 803 00:42:05,221 --> 00:42:05,571 Take it. 804 00:42:05,602 --> 00:42:06,482 It does me no good." 805 00:42:08,142 --> 00:42:09,012 The ship is going down. 806 00:42:10,341 --> 00:42:15,671 But if you have Christ, if your dependence is on the, the, the body of Christ broken 807 00:42:15,672 --> 00:42:18,901 for you and the blood of Christ poured out for you, and then the empty grave, that 808 00:42:18,901 --> 00:42:23,081 He got back up and He walked out never to enter again, if your dependence is there 809 00:42:23,081 --> 00:42:27,431 this morning, then you're in the lifeboat, and you will be brought safely home. 810 00:42:28,871 --> 00:42:31,731 And along the way, you can depend upon God because He's God, and 811 00:42:31,731 --> 00:42:33,601 because He's good, and because He can 812 00:42:35,950 --> 00:42:40,080 What we're about to do this morning as we take communion, I just wanna give 813 00:42:40,080 --> 00:42:41,720 you a, a, a couple of, of thoughts here. 814 00:42:41,720 --> 00:42:45,660 Number one, uh, this is for the family of God, meaning this is for Christians. 815 00:42:46,589 --> 00:42:49,189 So if you're here this morning, you, you know that you're not saved, 816 00:42:49,189 --> 00:42:51,839 please let these elements pass by, and I say that for your soul. 817 00:42:52,609 --> 00:42:55,669 Scripture says that we shouldn't take these elements in an unworthy manner. 818 00:42:56,779 --> 00:43:00,319 And so if you are not a Christian, then please allow these elements to pass by. 819 00:43:01,819 --> 00:43:06,739 For those of you that, that are Christians, um, one kind of 820 00:43:06,739 --> 00:43:09,760 administrative thing really quick here, the cups are double stacked, so 821 00:43:09,760 --> 00:43:12,450 just grab one out, and the, the bread is underneath the first one there. 822 00:43:12,470 --> 00:43:14,390 So first service we had some people looking for the bread 823 00:43:14,390 --> 00:43:15,109 wondering what happened. 824 00:43:15,909 --> 00:43:16,749 Um, the bread's there. 825 00:43:16,790 --> 00:43:17,710 It's just under the bottom cup. 826 00:43:17,720 --> 00:43:19,649 But if you are a Christian this morning, let me just encourage you, 827 00:43:20,240 --> 00:43:21,430 uh, don't just go through the motions. 828 00:43:22,270 --> 00:43:25,049 Um, w- we're not gonna distribute just yet. 829 00:43:25,049 --> 00:43:27,209 We're gonna wait for just a second, but don't just go 830 00:43:27,209 --> 00:43:28,220 through the motions this morning. 831 00:43:28,599 --> 00:43:32,439 Um, spend some time thoughtfully reflecting on what this is about. 832 00:43:33,349 --> 00:43:34,049 Remembering. 833 00:43:34,059 --> 00:43:36,480 That's what the Scripture tells us what to do here, is to do this in 834 00:43:36,480 --> 00:43:40,179 remembrance of Christ, so we're gonna remember His sacrifice together. 835 00:43:40,979 --> 00:43:44,150 And then the third thing I wanna encourage, uh, for, for us if, if you're 836 00:43:44,150 --> 00:43:47,389 a Christian this morning, spend some time right now keeping short accounts with God. 837 00:43:48,469 --> 00:43:51,790 Take those sins that maybe by God's grace He's revealing to your life 838 00:43:51,790 --> 00:43:54,339 right now, or maybe you don't see any right now and, and just maybe 839 00:43:54,339 --> 00:43:57,690 you're praying as these elements are passing, saying, "God, give me, uh, 840 00:43:57,700 --> 00:43:59,459 insight and help me to see my sin." 841 00:44:00,600 --> 00:44:02,950 And then when He does reveal that to you, if He reveals that to 842 00:44:02,950 --> 00:44:05,050 you, bring it to the cross, lay it down, and find forgiveness there. 843 00:44:06,639 --> 00:44:09,099 And so the music's g- gonna play, the elements are gonna be passed, 844 00:44:09,100 --> 00:44:11,519 and then I'll come back up and we'll take them together here shortly. 845 00:44:12,189 --> 00:44:16,909 In Romans 8:32, Paul said this: "He who did not spare His own Son, but gave 846 00:44:16,909 --> 00:44:22,409 Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?" 847 00:44:23,990 --> 00:44:29,439 One of the shades of remembrance that we have here with these elements is 848 00:44:29,439 --> 00:44:32,199 to remember God's goodness that we talked about earlier in the sermon. 849 00:44:33,959 --> 00:44:34,999 He's given us His Son. 850 00:44:34,999 --> 00:44:37,399 How will He al- not also with Him freely give us all things? 851 00:44:38,389 --> 00:44:39,229 He can, right? 852 00:44:39,369 --> 00:44:40,589 As we talked about in that last point. 853 00:44:41,509 --> 00:44:43,380 And He will if it's for our good. 854 00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:47,919 If it's for His glory, then we can trust that He will, 'cause He's 855 00:44:47,920 --> 00:44:50,330 already made the greatest sacrifice, which is what we remember right now. 856 00:44:51,539 --> 00:44:54,040 The Apostle Paul said this: "For I received from the Lord Jesus what I 857 00:44:54,049 --> 00:44:57,279 also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night He, when He was 858 00:44:57,280 --> 00:45:00,949 betrayed took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, 859 00:45:00,949 --> 00:45:02,740 'This is my body, which is for you. 860 00:45:03,039 --> 00:45:04,439 Do this in remembrance of me.'" 861 00:45:04,439 --> 00:45:04,459 Let's eat. 862 00:45:14,446 --> 00:45:17,766 In the same way also he took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup 863 00:45:18,165 --> 00:45:19,826 is the new covenant in my blood. 864 00:45:20,236 --> 00:45:22,856 Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me." 865 00:45:29,166 --> 00:45:32,336 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim 866 00:45:32,336 --> 00:45:33,976 the Lord's death until He comes. 867 00:45:34,756 --> 00:45:35,146 Let's pray. 868 00:45:38,236 --> 00:45:42,935 Heavenly Father, we are so thankful for that reality, the, the death of Christ. 869 00:45:43,166 --> 00:45:47,546 And even as I read that from Paul there, Lord, we proclaim His death, 870 00:45:47,566 --> 00:45:51,145 not just, uh, here in this room, but really to a watching world. 871 00:45:51,146 --> 00:45:54,156 As we gather together, Lord, we are gathering together as a testimony of 872 00:45:54,156 --> 00:45:59,295 the fact that we have hope because Jesus died for us, that we depend upon Him 873 00:45:59,486 --> 00:46:02,815 for our salvation, that when we die and stand before you, if you were to say, 874 00:46:02,815 --> 00:46:03,945 "Why should I let you into heaven?" 875 00:46:04,225 --> 00:46:06,245 That our only answer is to point to Him. 876 00:46:07,035 --> 00:46:10,275 Lord, but we also gather together as the church as a testimony of the fact that 877 00:46:10,276 --> 00:46:13,955 He is not still dead, that He has walked out of the grave, never to enter again. 878 00:46:13,955 --> 00:46:16,766 That's why we gather on the first day of the week to testify 879 00:46:16,785 --> 00:46:18,576 every single Sunday, He is risen. 880 00:46:18,576 --> 00:46:19,455 He is risen indeed. 881 00:46:20,346 --> 00:46:21,595 And so we observe communion. 882 00:46:21,605 --> 00:46:24,786 We remember the death that we, every single one of us, needed, 883 00:46:25,115 --> 00:46:26,705 where He substituted himself. 884 00:46:26,705 --> 00:46:32,945 He took our place on the cross, bore our sins on Himself, Lord, and suffered 885 00:46:33,135 --> 00:46:39,636 your wrath, that you would be satisfied in your justice, and that we might be 886 00:46:39,655 --> 00:46:42,545 declared righteous through faith in Jesus. 887 00:46:43,886 --> 00:46:45,416 Lord, what a glorious reality that is. 888 00:46:45,956 --> 00:46:48,385 We can depend upon you because of that. 889 00:46:48,475 --> 00:46:50,245 That's the linchpin of our faith this morning. 890 00:46:51,375 --> 00:46:55,035 And so, God, we walk through this life depending upon you because of who you are. 891 00:46:55,035 --> 00:46:55,725 You are God. 892 00:46:56,225 --> 00:46:59,615 Depending upon you because you are good, and depending upon 893 00:46:59,615 --> 00:47:01,205 you, Lord, because you can. 894 00:47:02,175 --> 00:47:06,535 So God, give us a great week as we walk in faith, as you work within 895 00:47:06,535 --> 00:47:10,466 us to will and to work for your good pleasure, as you guide us, as you lead 896 00:47:10,466 --> 00:47:12,295 us, as you make us more like Jesus. 897 00:47:12,835 --> 00:47:15,585 And it's in His name we desperately pray all of these things. 898 00:47:15,965 --> 00:47:16,315 Amen.