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Last week we considered Psalm
72, and looking at Psalm 72, we heard

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a lot from it about what
popular commentary on society can

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bombard us with.

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Because whenever we watch and
listen and look, we see a commentary

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that is trying to persuade us
from one perspective or another of

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how we are to understand society.

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And Psalm 72, coming to the
end of book two of the Psalms.

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The Psalms are in five books.

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We were given an understanding
of who the true ruler of God's people

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is or what that true ruler is
to be like.

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Now, Psalm 72 came about at
the time of Solomon.

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It wasn't about King David,
but it was about Solomon and every

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king that came after him.

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And as.

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As you would trace all of the
kings of both Israel and Judah as

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the kingdom split, you'll
discover that very, very few ever

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lived up to what Psalm 72
wanted them to be.

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In fact, Psalm 72 points us to
Jesus, the only true king who can

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truly rule us.

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For all other worldly leaders
will fail us in one way or another.

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And so it is only to Christ that.

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That we must look.

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Well, this week, Psalm 73
points us to godly wisdom.

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And I suppose in a way that
whenever you look at social commentary

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that we have all around us,
it's trying to give us wisdom on

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how to understand things.

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But yet now we turn as Psalm
changes from book two to book three.

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Psalm 73 gives us what godly
wisdom is and who it is we're to

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look at in life, who it is we
are to go to.

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And the psalm gives us two
perspectives of this.

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It quite literally is divided
in half with one perspective that

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is in the viewpoint of the
world and the other perspective that

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is from God's perspective.

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And the Psalm is ascribed to
Asaph, who's leader of one of David's

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Levitical choirs.

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These would have been the
groups that would have gone around

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and led the prayers of the
people in the temple or at the tabernacle,

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or in the gathering of the
people for festivals and feasts.

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So this would have been led by
Israel's singers to encourage the

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people to look only to God and
seek his wisdom and justice.

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And of course, every one of us
likes to think that we are wise and

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that we're wise, at least in
our own eyes.

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And sometimes we have to admit
how foolish we have been to believe

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one thing that turned out not
to be true.

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And so there is a famous story
that Charlie Chaplin once entered

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a Charlie Chaplin look alike
competition and he didn't win.

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Now, depending on the version
of this story, he didn't even make

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it to the final round.

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Now, whether it actually
happened or not, we don't know.

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Historians in 1918 would blame
Mary Pickford for starting this story.

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Well, the reason that the
story has endured, whether it's true

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or not, is that it reminds us
how appearances can deceive.

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So the story goes that the
judges confidently believed that

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they knew what Charlie Chaplin
looked like, that they completely

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missed the real thing, because
they judged by appearances back in

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1918, what did they have?

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Grainy movie reels of Charlie Chaplin.

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Not exactly high quality
photographs, if any, and certainly

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in the press, it was
illustrations of what Charlie Chaplin

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would have looked like.

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And so they were basing it on
information that was all very much

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secondhand.

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And not having actually met
Charlie Chaplin.

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Well, in this psalm, Asaph
makes a similar mistake at the start

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of 73, but it's intentional,
because this Psalm of two parts is

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to allow us to express what we
might want to express but feel we

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can't.

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And then assuring us that even
if we do, there is a way that we

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can look to God and know his goodness.

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See, Asaph judges reality at
the beginning by appearances, because

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from the outset it looks like
the prosperous must be the winners

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in life.

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The righteous then must be the
fools, because the righteous believe

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the lies, the world.

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But appearances are deceptive,
and it is God who reveals his truth

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to his people.

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And so the psalm begins with a
verse of true praise of God, because

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Asaph writes, surely God is
good to Israel, to those who are

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pure in heart.

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And this already takes us back
to the very first psalm and Psalm

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number one, the beginning of
the book.

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And now we come to book three,
and we have a similar theme, this

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idea that it is the Lord who
truly blesses those who are pure

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of heart.

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Blessed is the man who seeks
after the things of God.

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And so book three allows the
reader to express the deep truth

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of what they believe about God.

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And so there's an
understanding that the pure in heart,

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that is those who love
genuinely, who love the Lord and

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his ways, will know his
goodness upon them forever.

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And this is the perspective
God's people are to have.

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But like all societies and
like all cultures, there will come

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a time when we utter the
words, that's not fair.

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And let's face it, we've all
done it.

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Whatever circumstances we've
had to face in life, the words that's

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not fair have come from our lips.

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They've come from my lips.

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Because there are simply times
when we don't know what else to express.

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And these words will come when
we look at the world around us and

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determine that what is
happening either to us or around

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us goes against what we would
like or what we would want.

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And Asaph, as he leads God's
people in praise, allows them to

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express the same sentiment.

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The next 14 verses explain why
someone might have have this perspective

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and why someone might cry out.

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That's not fair, because verse
two tells us of the solid foundation

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that the people of God had.

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But something has caused them
to slip.

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And as they looked around
them, as they looked to the world,

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they saw what they didn't like.

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They saw the world of sinful
people getting better things than

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they were.

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And verse three very honestly
says, for I envied the arrogant when

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I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

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In contrast to verse one,
their eyes are taken off the Lord

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and they are beginning to look
at the world.

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In the world, they see sinful
humanity prospering.

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When they determine that this
shouldn't be the case, they've become

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envious and might even
conclude that the whole basis of

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godliness is a lie.

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As the images of slipping and
stumbling tell us, the feet and steps

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are common images in the
Psalms for a person's life course,

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the journey of life, be it for
good or for ill. And so now, moving

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on into verse four, we're
presented with how they are prospering.

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From the people of God's perspective.

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The wicked world around them
have no struggles.

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They don't face the burdens
the rest of mankind suffers.

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While their bodies are healthy
and strong like well fed animals.

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In verse seven, their hearts
are described as hardened and the

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result is that they are wicked.

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But the description of this
wickedness is that it's in their

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minds, and that in their minds
they have no limits.

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They do what they think is
right, regardless of God's law or

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socially acceptable practice.

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They feel, and all those
around them are tempted to agree,

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that they are able to commit
violence and oppression without God's

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taking any action.

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And so pride is worn as a
glimmering necklace around their

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necks.

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Their pride is their boast.

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And this pride leads them to
scoff at God and his people, to claim

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as their own whatever they see
and whatever they crave, and to threaten

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anyone who might resist.

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Now, I have to be honest.

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When I read through Psalm 73
earlier this week, couldn't it be

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a perfect report on where
society is today?

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All you have to do is lift
your phone, scroll through whichever

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social media platform you
scroll in, whether you're in your

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teenage years or whether
you're a silver surfer in your 80s

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and you will come across
things that look perfect.

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And we are being sold a lie of
what it is to be perfect.

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We don't see the hardships and
even those who want to appear to

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be honest and raw in reality
we don't see at all.

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We are to be very cautious of
social media and what it portrays

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because there are people there
who claim in their pride that whatever

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they want to do, they can do
without anyone judging them.

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And they threaten anyone who
might resist them.

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And so it happens,
particularly for the Christian church

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where we take a stand against
things that we do not agree with.

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A redefinition of marriage,
who has the right to live and who

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has the right to die, and a
many other myriad of social decisions

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that are yet to be made that
will go against what is the long

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standing truth and biblical
teaching that the church.

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And so we will be threatened,
we will be persecuted because we

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resist.

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But as we will see in this
psalm, it is right to resist pride.

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It is right to resist the
things that are against God's word.

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You see, the height of the
arrogance of the wicked world comes

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to an expression in verse 11.

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This is what they say.

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How can God know?

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Does the Most High have knowledge?

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And so when they ask how can
God know?

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Is there knowledge in the Most High?

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They demonstrate thoughts that
defy God.

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And they want to defy God to
prove that he knows their evil and

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intends to bring them to judgment.

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And they laugh at that,
thinking he can't really do it or

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he won't really do it.

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It's as if they're challenging
him to prove Himself and demonstrate

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his authority over their lives.

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It's almost as if they want
him to act now to prove Himself,

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regardless of the impact on them.

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They of course don't believe
that there will be any impact on

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them.

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And so with such folly they
scoff against God.

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And verse 12 serves as a nice
summary for the whole section of

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who these people are.

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This is what the wicked are like.

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Always carefree.

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They increase in wealth.

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Let's be honest, wouldn't it
be nice to be carefree?

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Wouldn't it all be nice to
have a little bit more money in our

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bank accounts and in our pockets?

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And if we're all honest, we
would say yes, it would be.

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But will it actually be to our
benefit and our blessing?

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Because these are things that
simply pass away, because they're

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things that lead us into a
false sense of reality.

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The reality is that God does
judge that Jesus is coming back and

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only Those who are found in
him and following his way, will be

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taken into the heavenly realms.

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You see, the wicked are
described in Scripture, not just

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here, but in other passages,
as always being carefree, not caring

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about the things of God, or
thinking about the eternal effects,

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and always increasing in
wealth, because that's what they

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love most.

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And it isn't hard to imagine
the frustration that comes from observing

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these circumstances, which
run, at least in appearance, contrary

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to the idea that God rules the
world that he made and vindicates

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his just rule.

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The frustration that the
faithful feel is aggravated by the

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way in which this arrogant
unconcern of the wicked draws even

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God's own people away.

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Verse 10 highlights that even
God's people turn back to these carefree

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evildoers and they find no
fault in them.

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They've lost their ability to
discern what is right and what is

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true.

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So even among the people of
Israel, these wicked people find

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admirers who will forsake
their loyalty to the Lord and to

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his people in order to serve
wicked purposes.

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And it's here that we pause
for a moment to think back on these

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verses.

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I don't think it would be too
difficult for any of us to really

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bring these words of these
verses into the world around us today.

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We look around and we see the
arrogance of sin and how it either

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denies the existence of God or
defies him because it thinks it knows

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better.

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The arrogant of the world care
not for him and his ways and set

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their own standard for living
a way that is right in their own

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eyes, regardless of who they
hurt along the way.

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Yes, there may be moments of
kindness in the sinful world, but

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at its heart, its desire is
for self and self righteousness.

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And so this is a word of
caution to us.

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It might be that you're here
and these verses describe you.

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You might think yourself to be
good and kind, and your actions and

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words may suggest that.

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But unless you are loving
Christ and trusting in him for salvation,

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then all your kindness and
good is nothing.

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Because like the world of
Psalm 73, you're focusing on self

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and not on Christ.

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And this was Paul's reflection
on his own life.

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Paul had it all.

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He did what was right in the
eyes of the religious leaders, his

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peers, and he had a very
successful career with it.

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He was self righteous.

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He held himself to a standard,
but it was his standard and he believed

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he met it.

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And he was content in his own
actions, that everything he did was

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right.

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But there was a dramatic
change in the life of Paul that on

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the road to Damascus.

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He met Christ, and this is
what he says in Philippians 3, verses

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7 to 9, reflecting on that old
life and the new life he now has

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in Christ.

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But whatever was to my profit,
in other words, whatever was in the

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old life that I benefited
from, I now consider loss for the

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sake of Christ.

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Christ.

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What is more, I consider
everything a loss compared to the

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surpassing greatness of
knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for

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whose sake I have lost all
things, I consider them rubbish that

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I may gain Christ and be found
in him, not having a righteousness

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of my own that comes from the
law, but that which is through faith

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in Christ, the righteousness
that comes from God and is by faith.

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This is the testimony of a man
who recognized that the world offered

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him nothing when it came to
eternal salvation.

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He could follow all its ways.

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He could fit in, he could do
what was right, he could be carefree

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and careless, and he could be wealthy.

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And the likelihood is Paul was.

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But yet he considers it all
nothing compared to the greater wealth

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of Christ faith in him.

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The righteousness comes from
God and is by faith.

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Paul says that everything of
his old life was rubbish when compared

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to what he gained in Christ.

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And so I urge you today to
consider Christ as Paul did.

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And I guarantee that in him
you will find true delight and true

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peace in life.

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Isn't that what we want?

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We want to know that we are
someone who's cared about and cared

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for.

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We want to have a life where
we will know something within us

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that is peace and that is delight.

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And the world can't give us
that, or it can, but for a fleeting

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moment, it is only in Christ
that we can know this.

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And so we are urged, as Paul
urges us here, to consider Christ

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and what it means to live for
him, not just to take his name, but

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to live by his standard.

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And which might go against
everything that you're living today,

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but it will be far better in
the days that are ahead as you live

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for him.

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And so that is the first half
of the psalm that challenges the

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wickedness of the world, and
it challenges us to how we perceive

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the world.

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And so, as the psalm moves on,
we now hear the heart cry of the

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singer as they look back on
what they've just said.

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And verses 13 to 14 tell us,
surely in vain have I kept my heart

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pure, in vain have I washed my
hands in innocence.

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All day long I have been plagued.

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I have been punished every morning.

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And so here is the faithful
worshiper of God, questioning everything

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00:17:20,120 --> 00:17:23,960
that they've done by way of
worship of God, was it worth it to

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believe in God for salvation?

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Was there any blessing in
being faithful to his law?

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00:17:29,120 --> 00:17:32,120
And again, these are questions
that we might ask.

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Lord, I prayed and you didn't answer.

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00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:38,680
Lord, I've lived a good life
and why am I being faced with this?

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Is all of this faith and trust
in you worth it?

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00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:48,440
You see, Psalm 73 lets our
hearts express what we want to express

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but are maybe afraid to say
out loud, but that's what it's asking.

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These are the questions that
the faithful worshipper of God is

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asking as it looks at the
world around them.

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And these are questions asked.

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And as they are, the psalm
takes a turn in understanding because

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the singer recognizes that to
put his bitter feelings into words

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would have betrayed the
generation of God's children, undermining

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others faith and so letting
down his own side, as it were.

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And this too torments the faithful.

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Ironically, in singing these
words, the entire congregation is

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allowed to say words that they
might think, think but feel unable

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00:18:25,930 --> 00:18:29,050
to utter a loud and so, having
considered the way of the wicked,

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Asaph now presents us with the
correct perspective, God's perspective,

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because this perspective comes
from that true and continued worship

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of God, as he says he went
into the house of the Lord, and in

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00:18:40,850 --> 00:18:43,410
one move the tables are turned
on the wicked.

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00:18:43,730 --> 00:18:46,690
Rather than the faithful
feeling that they are about to slip,

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it is the wicked who are in
slippery ground and will face ruin,

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00:18:51,890 --> 00:18:55,570
because listen to what that
ruin is like in verses 19 and 20.

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How suddenly are they
destroyed, completely swept away

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00:19:00,330 --> 00:19:06,370
by terrors as I dream when one
awakes, so when you arise, O Lord,

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you will despise them as fantasies.

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God has set the arrogant on
slippery places so that they are

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00:19:16,290 --> 00:19:18,390
destroyed in a moment.

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This is the wicked we're
talking about, those who reject God.

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00:19:22,150 --> 00:19:25,430
Now this may imply that they
will die suddenly and unexpectedly,

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which certainly does happen.

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But more likely it speaks of
the effect of death as verse 20 then

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goes on to describe how God
despises them as fantasies, that

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is, things that aren't true.

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They have made themselves up
to be important and big people, but

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in the eyes of God they're
nothing because they have rejected

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him.

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And their death occurs when
God rouses himself, as it were, as

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the present experience of the
singing congregation feels like a

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00:19:52,250 --> 00:19:56,050
time of God's inaction, and it
takes great faith to believe otherwise

346
00:19:56,050 --> 00:19:57,330
because he does act.

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And so the final section
begins in verse 21 by noting that

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the singer was like what the
singer was like when they harbored

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00:20:04,450 --> 00:20:08,370
these bitter thoughts, when
they almost resented God and looked

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00:20:08,370 --> 00:20:12,120
after the things in the world,
they described themselves like being

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00:20:12,120 --> 00:20:16,360
a beast towards God, saying
that they could rise no higher than

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an animal that uses neither
speech nor reason.

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And yet God still had his firm
hold on the faithful servant.

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And in verse 23 we read, yet I
am always with you, you hold me by

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my right hand.

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And verse 24 sums up with
confidence the singer has in God

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by saying that during their
earthly life God guides with his

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counsel.

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And afterwards, that is, after
the singer dies, God will receive

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them into glory.

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For the faithful worshippers
of God, they have this truth that

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heavenly honour, a home
forever with God.

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And this leads to the question
of verse 25:1 that we will know.

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Whom have I in heaven but you
and earth has nothing I desire beside

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00:21:05,470 --> 00:21:05,870
you?

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The answer of course is no one.

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Nor does the singer require
anyone else.

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For there's no one in heaven
like God.

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And so there is nothing on
earth that they desire besides God.

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And here's the faithful
remembering that they themselves

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will die, that their flesh and
heart will feel as do the wicked.

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00:21:25,930 --> 00:21:30,810
But they have an everlasting
hope, an everlasting portion which

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strengthens them for
faithfulness in the present.

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00:21:34,460 --> 00:21:39,060
So the godly can be satisfied
because they are near to God, while

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00:21:39,060 --> 00:21:43,580
the arrogant are now far from
God and will remain there forever.

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00:21:44,860 --> 00:21:49,260
So truly then, God is good to
those who are pure in heart, as verse

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one tells us.

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And it is in their company
that the worshippers crave to tell

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00:21:54,780 --> 00:21:57,860
all God's works, as verse 28 says.

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00:21:57,860 --> 00:22:00,460
But as for me, it is good to
be near the Lord.

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00:22:00,870 --> 00:22:03,110
I have made the sovereign Lord
my refuge.

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00:22:03,270 --> 00:22:06,390
I will tell of all your deeds.

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00:22:07,270 --> 00:22:10,790
You see, like the judges in a
Charlie Chaplin look alike competition,

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00:22:11,190 --> 00:22:15,830
we can think we know what to
look for in this world, to be truly

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00:22:15,830 --> 00:22:17,270
satisfied and happy.

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00:22:17,590 --> 00:22:21,590
And this psalm presents to us
the reality of the Lord as people.

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00:22:21,590 --> 00:22:25,830
Now in New Testament times, we
know that the only person who can

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00:22:25,830 --> 00:22:28,310
fully and truly satisfy us is Jesus.

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00:22:28,950 --> 00:22:32,710
It is in Christ that we must
take refuge and not allow our hearts

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00:22:32,710 --> 00:22:36,470
and minds to be drawn away by
the falseness of the world.

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00:22:37,430 --> 00:22:41,830
For Christians we need to be
careful that we don't slip into sin

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and fall away by looking at
the world and think that it is better

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for us.

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00:22:47,670 --> 00:22:52,750
The truth for us in this psalm
is that there is nothing better than

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Jesus.

396
00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:58,000
He is the only one whom we
have in heaven who intercedes for

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00:22:58,000 --> 00:22:59,520
us at the Father's right hand.

398
00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:03,560
So let's look to him always
and not be taken by the things of

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00:23:03,560 --> 00:23:07,840
the wicked and sin filled
world as the writer of Hebrews tells

400
00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:12,360
us in Hebrews 12:2, let us fix
our eyes on Jesus, the author and

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00:23:12,360 --> 00:23:16,200
perfecter of our faith, who
for the joy set before him, endured

402
00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:21,260
the cross, scorning its shame,
and sat down at the right hand the

403
00:23:21,260 --> 00:23:22,700
throne of God.

404
00:23:24,540 --> 00:23:27,340
So what life do we desire?

405
00:23:29,100 --> 00:23:37,140
Are we being influenced by
what to buy, by where to go, by what

406
00:23:37,140 --> 00:23:41,900
to do, thinking that that will
make us happy, it will make us carefree,

407
00:23:42,300 --> 00:23:45,620
and it will somehow add to our
wealth here on earth, because if

408
00:23:45,620 --> 00:23:49,750
that's what we're chasing,
well, it will all crumble down around

409
00:23:49,750 --> 00:23:50,150
us.

410
00:23:51,510 --> 00:23:56,110
The second half of this psalm
tells us to wake up, tells us to

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00:23:56,110 --> 00:24:01,790
pay attention to the reality
of life, that it's not easy, that

412
00:24:01,790 --> 00:24:06,550
it's hard, and that it is so
very easy to look at the world out

413
00:24:06,550 --> 00:24:09,350
there and take our eyes off Jesus.

414
00:24:10,790 --> 00:24:14,280
And yet this second half
points us to where our eyes need

415
00:24:14,280 --> 00:24:17,760
to be to fix our eyes on Jesus.

416
00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:23,280
You know what it means to fix
something In Holiday Bible Club this

417
00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:26,880
week you will have seen our
fish and chip shop at the front.

418
00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:29,200
Best fish and chip shop in all
of Anna Long.

419
00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:33,200
The fish and chips were so
sweet because they were quite literally

420
00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:34,160
sugary sweets.

421
00:24:35,280 --> 00:24:38,180
But there was a board with our
memory verse on it and.

422
00:24:38,570 --> 00:24:43,290
And it fell down every night
and every day I would go back in

423
00:24:43,290 --> 00:24:46,450
and try and fix it up because
there was just strips put to try

424
00:24:46,450 --> 00:24:48,090
and fix it, to hold it in place.

425
00:24:48,890 --> 00:24:51,930
So you'll know my frustration
that I would fix it up and it would

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00:24:51,930 --> 00:24:55,210
stay for an hour or two and
then come back the next day and it

427
00:24:55,210 --> 00:24:56,170
would be on the floor again.

428
00:24:57,610 --> 00:25:03,410
Whenever we want to fix
something, we want it to stay, we

429
00:25:03,410 --> 00:25:04,170
want it to hold.

430
00:25:05,650 --> 00:25:08,970
And so there's no mistake that
using an image for this series as

431
00:25:08,970 --> 00:25:13,210
the corn mill, whenever you
look at it carefully, just take three,

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00:25:13,210 --> 00:25:16,730
four, five minutes and look at
how those stones were built into

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00:25:16,730 --> 00:25:21,210
what was the stone fixed in
place that now, hundreds of years

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00:25:21,210 --> 00:25:24,850
later, it's still there, it's
fixed in place.

435
00:25:26,130 --> 00:25:30,490
How much greater is it to fix
our eyes on Jesus so that we will

436
00:25:30,490 --> 00:25:34,290
know we won't fall, even when
the hardest and saddest moments come.

437
00:25:34,290 --> 00:25:36,360
And whenever we cry out, that's.

438
00:25:36,430 --> 00:25:37,390
That's not fair.

439
00:25:38,990 --> 00:25:41,230
Because sometimes we may not
get an answer.

440
00:25:42,190 --> 00:25:45,390
But what Scripture tells us to
do is to fix our eyes on Jesus.

441
00:25:45,870 --> 00:25:51,270
For he is the author, he's the
perfecter of faith, and he has walked

442
00:25:51,270 --> 00:25:51,870
this path.

443
00:25:52,830 --> 00:25:57,710
For he too was known as a man
of sorrows as he went to Calvary's

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00:25:57,710 --> 00:25:57,910
cross.

445
00:25:57,910 --> 00:26:01,710
Yet triumphed over it,
scorning its shame, and sat down

446
00:26:01,710 --> 00:26:03,300
at the right hand of the
throne of God.

447
00:26:04,490 --> 00:26:07,890
You see, regardless of who we
are here this morning, regardless

448
00:26:07,890 --> 00:26:11,130
of whether you call yourself a
member of the redeemed of Christ,

449
00:26:11,130 --> 00:26:14,770
therefore a believer of Jesus,
a Christian, or whether you would

450
00:26:14,770 --> 00:26:18,130
be described as someone of the
world who is filled with sin and,

451
00:26:18,130 --> 00:26:21,530
as Scripture says, wicked, we
all need Jesus.

452
00:26:22,490 --> 00:26:24,010
Because I need Jesus.

453
00:26:24,010 --> 00:26:28,650
I need to fix my eyes on the
Savior so that each day, no matter

454
00:26:28,650 --> 00:26:31,530
what storm comes, I can stand.

455
00:26:32,090 --> 00:26:38,890
And I will be held not by my
own strength or merit or carefreeness

456
00:26:39,130 --> 00:26:43,210
or wealth, but by Christ and
Him alone.

457
00:26:43,770 --> 00:26:46,730
And so it is to Christ that we
are to look.

458
00:26:47,850 --> 00:26:51,770
And in a moment we will be
singing a hymn that was written Based

459
00:26:51,770 --> 00:26:56,570
on Psalm 73, Thy hand, O God,
has guided.

460
00:26:57,650 --> 00:27:01,490
It's a hymn that speaks of how
whenever we look at God and how we

461
00:27:01,490 --> 00:27:05,010
trust in him, he will take us
through as he's taken the generations

462
00:27:05,010 --> 00:27:09,850
in the past, as he brings us
through many a day of darkness, so

463
00:27:09,850 --> 00:27:14,770
his mercy will never fail us
as we look only and ever to Him.

464
00:27:15,970 --> 00:27:17,010
Take hold of Christ.

465
00:27:17,890 --> 00:27:20,210
Fix your eyes on him this day.

466
00:27:20,690 --> 00:27:24,530
Don't allow the noise of the
world to influence you in ways that

467
00:27:24,530 --> 00:27:28,640
will not save, will not redeem
you, and will in fact send you on

468
00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:30,360
a road away from Christ.

469
00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:35,960
Fix your eyes only in Christ
and trust in him and know his goodness.

470
00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:37,720
Let's pray.

471
00:27:38,360 --> 00:27:42,080
Our Father God, as we come to
you, a people looking at this psalm

472
00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:45,400
who need to understand who we
need to be in this world under Christ.

473
00:27:46,120 --> 00:27:49,960
Father, may we not look to the
world and think it has it better,

474
00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:53,570
for it doesn't, for its end is
ruin and destruction.

475
00:27:54,210 --> 00:27:56,370
Rather, may we fix our eyes on Jesus.

476
00:27:56,850 --> 00:28:00,330
May we look to the cross of
Calvary and know what was achieved

477
00:28:00,330 --> 00:28:04,250
there for us, so that we will
know your hand guiding us from age

478
00:28:04,250 --> 00:28:08,490
to age, that even in our
darkest of days, Lord, you're the

479
00:28:08,490 --> 00:28:11,970
God who shows us mercy and
will lead us home.

480
00:28:12,770 --> 00:28:15,370
So hear us as we pray and as
we respond.

481
00:28:15,370 --> 00:28:17,820
In Jesus name, Amen.