The Christian Song – Part 1
Psalms 40 (1-5)
May 26, 2019

Psalms 40 has always been one of my favorite Psalms.
Namely because it was the first Psalm (really the first passage of Scripture) that I ever discovered after I was saved.

I’ve shared how I grew up in church,
• So I knew a lot of Bible stories and Bible passages.
• I had memorized Psalms 23 and other famous ones like it.
• It wasn’t until I was 19 that I actually met the Lord.
• It was then that He opened my eyes and made me alive.
• It was then that He placed His Spirit within me and gave me spiritual life.

I’ve shared how I didn’t know what happened to me
• Because at the moment I didn’t do all the typical Baptist stuff.
• I didn’t walk an aisle, I didn’t sign a card, etc.
• But I knew something was different.

It wasn’t long after that night that I came across Psalms 40.

I read:
(1-3) “I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear And will trust in the LORD.”

In the margin of my Bible at the time, I wrote the words “Super Summer”.
(That was the camp I was at when I was saved)

I wasn’t sure what happened to me that night, but whatever it was,
It was the same thing that David talked about in those verses.

• For the first time, I found commonality.
• For the first time, a verse in Scripture testified with my spirit.
• I’ve been a fan of Psalms 40 ever since.

As I study this Psalm for preaching, I simply call it “The Christian”

Because this Psalm, in my opinion, does as good of a job
Of revealing the Christian heart as any passage in Scripture.

We are well aware (certainly as we have been studying on Sunday mornings)
That you don’t spot a Christian outwardly. You spot them inwardly.

Paul wrote:
2 Corinthians 5:16-17 “Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

Christians aren’t spotted outwardly.
That is, we aren’t marked predominantly by our dress our or outer religion.

The greatest marking of a believer comes from their inward qualities.
• Their love, their devotion, their obedience, their faith, etc.
• Their fruit.

Now, those who do not know Christ,
But who merely go through the motions,
Typically have no clue what I’m talking about there.
The spiritually dead have no concept of what spiritual life is like.

But once Christ makes you alive,
The difference could not be more obvious.

Well, it is that reality that David sings about here in Psalms 40.
It is honestly just the deep heart desires of a Christian.

It is the realities of life that mark a true believer in Christ.

And tonight, even if you’ve never heard the song before,
I trust that you’ll be able to join in and sing right along with him
As though you’ve known this song your entire life.

I want to split this Psalm into 5 stanzas.
#1 DAVID’S DELIVERANCE
Psalms 40:1-3

The song actually begins in the middle
Of whatever situation David was previously facing.

We do find out in verse 2 that David
• Was “in a pit of destruction”
• And in “miry clay”

“pit of destruction” would indicate punishment for sin.
“miry clay” would indicate consequences of stupidity.

If you put them together we find a great description of lostness.
For we know that unbelievers are both under the wrath of God
And under the due penalty of their sin.

Romans 1 reminds us that
One of the consequences of God’s wrath is that unbelievers are “given over” to their iniquity.

In idolatry Paul describes it as being given over “to impurity so that their bodies would be dishonored”

In homosexuality Paul describes it as being given over “to degrading passions…receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.”

In rebellion Paul describes it as being given over “to a depraved mind to do those things which are not proper.”

It is both divine wrath or “the pit of destruction”
And it is the natural consequences of perversion or “miry clay”

In Ephesians 4 Paul describes the state of unbelievers as:
Ephesians 4:18-19 “being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.”

WELL, THAT IS WHERE DAVID WAS.
What is not revealed to us is how David came to know of his condition.

Perhaps David read the Law and discovered his sin,
Like in Romans 7 where Paul admits that he didn’t even know what coveting was
Until he read in the Law “Thou shalt not covet”

Perhaps David found himself in horrible circumstances
Like the prodigal son in Luke 15 and finally came to his senses.

It is nothing short of the grace of God
That even awakens a sinner to his miserable condition.

To be certain sinners don’t like to be exposed,
But it is a shear blessing when they are.

We don’t know how David came to be aware of his miserable condition,
But when he starts this Psalm he is already aware of it.

WHAT IS MORE, by the time this PSALM BEGINS
David has already cried out to the LORD for forgiveness and deliverance.

We know that because David is now simply waiting.
(1) “I waited patiently for the LORD;”

• So he’s already been made aware of his sin.
• And he’s already cried out to the LORD for forgiveness and deliverance.

What I like here is that David recounts a time where he “waited patiently”

That fact reveals much about the genuineness of David’s faith
When he cried out to God.

The fact that he “waited patiently for the LORD” reveals to us two things.

1) David knew he was helpless to deliver himself (works theology) or else David would have given up waiting and taken matters into his own hands.

2) David was confident that God and God alone could deliver or else David would have gone somewhere else.

David’s patient waiting indicates to us that
When he cried out to God, his faith was genuine faith.
It was real faith. It was proved by his patient endurance.

SO GET THAT FIRST.
David was a sinner, convicted of sin,
Who had cried out to God with genuine faith.

And then comes the response:
“And He inclined to me and heard my cry.”

We know that God responds to faith.

The life of Abraham teaches us this.
Genesis 15:6 “Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”

The apostle Paul is adamant to teach us this.
Romans 3:28 “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”

The writer of Hebrews drives this point home.
Hebrews 11:1-2 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval.”

GOD RESPONDS TO FAITH.
(In fact, God actually first grants it and then responds to it,
But that study is for another time)

Well David gave faith to God and God heard David.

(2) “He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.”

That is what we call deliverance.
That is where the rubber meets the road regarding salvation.

God removed David from “the pit of destruction”
And God pulled David out of “the miry clay”

God forgave David thus making a son out of an enemy
And God removed the curse from David and turned it to blessing.

And the New Testament theme on this is so clear.

Ephesians 2:1-9 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

That is exactly what David just said.
• I was in sin…
• I was under the curse…
• I was an enemy of God headed for destruction…
• I was a rebellious sinner living in the consequences of my sin…

And then I cried to God in faith and God delivered me.
“He stet my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.”

David’s position of danger has been changed to a position of stability.
• David once was a man in extreme risk of destruction
• Now he is a man dwelling in absolute security.

It is salvation.

And at this point let me just state what should be obvious.
EVERY CHRISTIAN HAS THIS TESTIMONY.

Every believer has the same testimony of how God rescued them
From divine judgment and from the iniquity they once lived in.

Let me tell you how that truth was taught to me wrong.
• I have shared with you how I grew up in church,
• And walked an aisle at age 8 and was baptized.
• I was told that this was salvation.

But one of the problems I always struggled with
WAS THAT I HAD NO REAL TESTIMONY OF DELIVERANCE.

• I’d here testimonies of how people in sin were no longer in their sin.
• I’d here testimonies of how people in rebellion were no longer in their rebellion.
• I didn’t have a testimony like that.

I asked a preacher about once and here was his answer:
“Don’t focus on what God saved you out of, focus on what He saved you from.”

In other words, God just saved you early enough that you never got into all that sin and so He saved you from it, not out of it.

Now, I’ll admit, I liked that answer, and it gave me some peace.
BUT IT IS TERRIBLY WRONG.

Was I to assume
That the reason I saw no change in my life was because I was the one lost person who lived so righteous that even after salvation you couldn’t spot the difference?

Was I to assume
That the reason I saw no change in my life was because I was the one dead person who was so close to being alive that even after resurrection you couldn’t spot the difference?

Do you see how foolish that is?

Now, I’ll admit, in an external sense what that pastor said had some merit.
• I was 8
• I lived in a Christian home
• I had good parents who disciplined us
• I wasn’t doing drugs or visiting prostitutes or robbing banks.

But if we’ve learned anything about salvation
It is that God doesn’t look at the outside.
Where does God look? (the heart)

If we learn anything from the Sermon on the Mount
It is that God doesn’t judge murderers solely on the physical act of murder.
How does He judge them? (by the heart)

The same is true for adultery.

The reality is that at 8 years old I was a terrible sinner!
• I had rebellion in my heart.
• I had selfishness in my heart.
• I had discontentment in my heart.
• I had jealousy in my heart.
• I had envy in my heart.

And none of that changed until God saved me, which was at age 19.

And let me assure you, at that moment I saw a radical difference.
(You may not have seen it externally, for I was still moral)
But I promise there was a massive internal change.

• God saved me from a position of wrath.
• God saved me from a position of rebellion.
• God placed me in His family & in His kingdom and I was sealed there.

And that’s why I tell you that this reality is true of every true Christian.

If you have no testimony of
God delivering you from the evil inside of you,
Then you need to ask exactly what you’ve been saved from?

If a person moves from physical death to physical life can you tell the difference?
• So why do we assume that someone can move from spiritual death to spiritual life and there be no difference?

It is absurd.

True believers are marked by genuine deliverance from sin.
• If they are outwardly sinful in practice, that should change.
• If they are merely inwardly sinful, that should also change.

David does not say that
God saved him and left him in the pit or the clay.
GOD PULLED HIM OUT.

We reference the story of Lazarus quite a bit as a picture of salvation.
• We talk about how Christ regenerated him so that he could even hear the call
to come forth.
• We talk about how Christ raised him from the dead.
• We talk about how Christ called him out of the tomb.

But in that story there is also a picture of TOTAL DELIVERANCE.
Do you remember what Jesus said after Lazarus exited the tomb?

John 11:44 “The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Get the death clothes off of him, and let him go to life.
Jesus did not leave Lazarus in the tomb or in the clothes of a dead man.

He does not do that for anyone He saves.
He is rescuing from God’s wrath and He is rescuing you from your sin.

David says that God:
“brought me up OUT of the pit of destruction, OUT of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.”

THAT IS SALVATION.

But that’s not all He did.
(3) “He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear And will trust in the LORD.”

It was a simultaneous occurrence.
David was lifted out of sin and into singing.

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

Even today we understand this.
• The filling of the Holy Spirit not only delivers from sin,
• But also moves into songs of praise.

Ephesians 5:18-20 “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;”

So do you see what has happened to David?
He has gone from an enemy of God to a lover of God.

That is the testimony of every believer.
• It is deliverance from wrath and deliverance from sin.
• It is the consistent reality of salvation for all who are saved.

And this reality is SO POTENT
That just that reality can lead man to fear and trust in God.

David said,
“Many will see and fear And will trust in the LORD.”

I’VE NEVER been one to advocate that famous saying,
“Preach the gospel to all people, if necessary use words.”

I don’t like that statement.
As one man put it, “Saying ‘Preach the gospel to all people, if necessary use words’ is like saying, ‘Feed the poor, if necessary use food.’”

You have to actually preach the gospel.
The gospel is the power of God for salvation.
We hold to that.

BUT, WE DO NOT DISREGARD THAT
A changed life can certainly be a powerful testimony.

David knew that when the world sees what a different person I am “Many will see and fear And will trust in the LORD.”

It’s the:
Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Remember Paul:
Galatians 1:22-24 “I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ; but only, they kept hearing, “He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.” And they were glorifying God because of me.”

There is validity in a changed life and David knew that.
Some of you have seen that.
(especially those of you who were outward thugs before salvation)

Those who lived in outward immorality and rebellion and who ran in circles of immorality and rebellion…
Often times when the Lord changes them
It does send a mighty ripple effect through their circle.

And the point of David here is this:
MY CHANGE IS OBVIOUS AND GENUINE.

When David spoke of the LORD rescuing him and changing him
David WASN’T speaking in hypotheticals.

It was a real and obvious change, even evident to those around him.
“This guy is different”.

THAT IS DAVID’S DELIVERANCE,
And it is the universal truth for all who are saved.
• We are all terribly wicked and spiritually dead until God raises us out of death and into life.

Titus 3:3-7 “For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

That is a Christian.

David’s Deliverance
#2 DAVID’S DOXOLOGY
Psalms 40:4-5

In verse 3 David said that God “put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.”

Here David sings that song for us.

Doxologies are the common and extremely appropriate responses
Of those who have experienced God’s goodness.

There are several even in the New Testament.

Remember when Paul talks about how God mercifully saved him even though he was the worst sinner there was?
1 Timothy 1:12-16 “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.”

Do you want to know how Paul responded to that?
1 Timothy 1:17 “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

In Romans 11 Paul expounds on the great wisdom of God to orchestrate the plan of salvation.
Romans 11:28-32 “From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.”

And he was so blown away by that that he immediately went into doxology
Romans 11:33-36 “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”

In Ephesians 3 Paul recounts God’s great strength in trials.
Ephesians 3:8-10 “To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.”

And then the doxology
Ephesians 3:20-21 “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”

You see how doxologies are the natural response of God’s people
To the goodness of God.

David said that God put that song in his mouth.

Well, look at David’s song
(4-5) “How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood. Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count.”

David told us that he waited on God; that he trusted in God.
And then he told us how God delivered.

So it is only right that David would now praise God for that deliverance.
“How blessed is the man who had made the LORD his trust”

• We remember that David waited on God.
• He did not turn to the “proud”
• He did not turn “to those who lapse into falsehood”

He trusted God, God delivered, and David praises Him for it.

Psalms 1:3 “He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.”

Jeremiah 17:7-8 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is the LORD. “For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit.”

That is David’s way of saying that he is totally satisfied with God.

And this is the song of a believer as well.
I’ve never met a man or woman who was saved and then said,
“It really wasn’t worth it.”

God gets tremendous reviews from all His children.
• It is always worth it.
• In fact, it is immeasurable.
• David says, “How blessed…”

That is to indicate incalculable blessing.

And why does David speak of blessing in that way?

Because God just lavishes upon His children more than they can fathom.
“Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count.”

Someone wants David to RECOUNT GOD’S GOODNESS
And David says, “There’s not enough time.”

It reminds of that statement John made about Jesus:
John 21:25 “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.”

Paul even speaks of God’s goodness as David does:
1 Corinthians 2:9 “but just as it is written, “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”

It’s just immeasurable what God has done.
TURN TO: Ephesians 1:3-14

My goodness, do you catch all that?
• “blessed us”
• “chose us”
• “predestined us”
• “redemption”
• “grace which He lavished on us”
• “an inheritance”
• “sealed in Him”

It’s just really beyond comprehension.

God’s goodness and thoughts toward us are remarkable.
Salvation is remarkable.

And the response of the believer
Is first and foremost to praise Him for it.

LISTEN, THAT’S WHAT CHRISTIANS DO.
In fact, I don’t think there is a greater CONTRADICTION than someone who claims to have been saved who has NO PRAISE for God.

Are you telling me that
• God rescued from eternal hell
• And adopted you as His child
• Granted you an eternal inheritance
• Filled you with His Spirit
• Raised you from death to life
• Gave you a future and a hope

And you’ve got nothing to say to Him about it…
THAT’S RIDICULOUS.
Christians are people of praise.

DAVID’S CHRISTIANITY IS MARKED BY
His obvious deliverance & by his song of praise.

• Can you measure your life by those things?
• Can you see that God drastically changed your life?
• Can you say that it has resulted in your praise of God?

That’s what a Christian is.
A sinner turned into a singing saint.

There are 3 more that we’ll get to next time.

A Wicked Generation – Part 2
Luke 11:29-36 (33-36)
May 26, 2019

We have seen for the last few weeks now that Jesus is on a bit of a tear.
He is addressing the issue of authenticity or that of being real.

The Section began when He cast a demon out of a man.
• And His power was obvious because the mute man now spoke.
• But the Jews attributed that power to Satan in effect accusing Jesus of being a phony.

But all they actually accomplished
Was to open a dialogue that they were not going to enjoy
For Jesus has been addressing them ever since.

After exposing the foolishness of their accusation
Jesus went on to make a very POLARIZING STATEMENT.

(23) “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.”

It was a reminder that you can’t be half in and half out with Jesus.
There are no gray areas regarding Christianity.
You’re either in or you’re out.

And by the way, don’t use your MORALITY as an indicator that you are ok.
Remember Jesus told us about morality.

We saw the spiritual side of morality in that story about the demon who leaves but ultimately brings back 7 other demons more wicked than itself.

And the statement of Jesus was that
(26) “the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”

• At least the immoral man knew he needed a change.
• At least the vile man knew he was in danger of divine wrath.
• But many times a moral man is in danger before God and doesn’t even know it
because he is so much better than his peers.

Morality in that sense is a curse.
• The true blessing is being one whose inside matches their outside.
• True blessing is for those who (28) “hear the word of God and observe it.”

Jesus has been making it clear what Paul taught us in Romans 2,
Namely that “he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, but he is a Jew who is one inwardly.”

To claim holiness or religion or morality on the outside, while having a wicked heart only makes you a hypocrite and a phony.

And Jesus has been approaching the crowd with that very reality.

Well, LAST TIME the crowds come back.
Luke said they were “increasing”

But this was NOT SOME FRIENDLY MEETING to sit and hear from the Son of God.
• This was a mob on a supposed fact-finding mission.
• They came to try and force Jesus to validate His claims.

And Jesus nailed them on it right out of the gate.
(29) “As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, “This generation is a wicked generation;”

That’s a pretty harsh assessment.
• It certainly is not one that is conducive to modern day church growth theory.
• Getting that direct with people is almost universally condemned today,
• But it didn’t stop Jesus.

And as the crowds approached
He actually gives them 2 reasons for this assessment.

We saw the first last week.
#1 YOUR DESIRE FOR A SIGN
Luke 11:29-32

By seeking a sign the crowds were in effect telling Jesus
That He had not yet done enough to warrant belief.

• All those miraculous works…
• All that penetrating preaching…
• Even those fulfilled prophecies regarding His birth…
• None of that was enough.

If He expected people to believe He was the Messiah,
Then He was going to have to step forward with some real proof.

And Jesus’ answer to their desire was: “NO, you’ve had enough.”

Jesus was not about to turn in to
Some sort of performing monkey for them.

THE FACT IS THAT these crowds had seen and heard
More than enough to bring about repentance and faith.

Jesus gave two historical references.
• The Queen of Sheba who heard only a second hand testimony of the greatness of Solomon but believed enough to travel from the ends of the earth.
• The Ninevites who heard only a message of judgment from Jonah but who repented none the less.

Jesus said that both of those historical figures
Would stand up at the judgment and condemn this generation
By proving that they had had more than enough evidence to warrant faith.

We weren’t dealing with a lack of evidence,
We were dealing with wicked hearts that didn’t want to believe.

That was the first indicator of their wickedness.

This morning we move forward in our text as Jesus gives the second.
#2 YOUR DISDAIN FOR LIGHT
Luke 11:33-36

The analogy of light here is obvious.
Light is an often used analogy because it has so many rich uses.

For example:
Light is a picture of GOOD in the Bible (darkness being evil)

You’ve heard the phrase “deeds of darkness” speaking about evil deeds.

Isaiah 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”

Light is a picture of KNOWLEDGE in the Bible (darkness being ignorance)

Perhaps you’re familiar with sayings like:
• “Let’s shed some light on the subject”
• “Or I was kept in the dark”

Those speak of light as a picture of knowledge.
2 Corinthians 4:6 “For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

Light is also a picture of HOPE in the Bible (darkness being despair)

You’ve heard the phrase:
“There’s a light at the end of the tunnel”

Isaiah 9:1-2 “But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.”

That’s just light as an analogy in a simple sense.
But when Jesus came the analogy of light was taken to a whole new level.

John 1:1-5 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”

There we find another metaphor.
“the life was the light of men”

There light is given as a picture of SALVATION or eternal life. Darkness there is lostness or spiritual death.

And of course Jesus carries this analogy with Him in ministry.
John 8:12 “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

John 9:4-5 “We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work. “While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.”

So just understand what we are talking about here
When we talk about light as an analogy.

When Jesus references a lack of light,
He’s not just talking about immoral people
Or ignorant people or hopeless people.

• Jesus is talking about spiritually dead people.
• Jesus is talking about lost people.
• Jesus is talking about people who are still under the realm of the prince of
darkness.

This morning He is going to use it to describe this wicked generation.

NOW JESUS BEGINS WITH BASIC STATEMENT OF FACT.

(33) “No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light.”

That’s not overly theological, that’s just common reality and practice.
• People turn on the light because they want light.
• No one turns on the light and then covers it.
• It’s just basic reality.

And if you’ve caught it, this is the SECOND TIME
Luke records Jesus using that statement. (It’s likely that He used it often)

TURN TO: Luke 8:16

Do you remember Luke 8?
• It was the chapter about the importance of listening.
• And it is where He gave that infamous parable of the sower.
• And we learned about the soil types (various types of hearts / listeners).
• And we found that out of those 4 types of soils, only one was true.
• Out of those 4 types of hearts, only one was authentic.

And the question would have been: HOW DO YOU TELL?
The answer in the parable is: FRUIT

The one who bears fruit is the true one.

And then Jesus gave this same truth again, only with a different analogy.
He went from talking about fruit and started talking about light,

But He was talking about the same thing which was evidence of salvation.

(16-17) “Now no one after lighting a lamp covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light.”

We understand Jesus.
• If you had the light, we’d know it because you’d shine it.
• Because no one has the light and covers it.
• If you had fruit, we’d know it because we’d see it.

You get the idea.
He used that analogy to expose those people as being false.

Jesus uses that same analogy again here, but for a different purpose.

IT STILL MEANS THE SAME THING.
It is still true that if you have the light you’d shine it.

ONLY HERE JESUS USES IT IN REGARD TO HIMSELF.

SO WHAT DID JESUS MEAN?

These people accused Him of claiming to be the Messiah without supporting that claim with evidence.

And Jesus’ answer is: Why would I do that?
No one does that.

Jesus’ brothers basically told Jesus this same thing.
John 7:1-5 “After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him. Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was near. Therefore His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. “For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” For not even His brothers were believing in Him.”

• Go shine You’re light Jesus!
• After all, You always says no one would cover their light if they have it.

Here these people accuse Jesus
Of not shining this supposed light He has.
And Jesus says that no one does that.

And Jesus most certainly had shined the light.
He had given the greatest light show Israel had ever seen.

John 1:9 “There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.”

Jesus had shown them all.

John 1:16-18 “For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”

Jesus gave the greatest light of all time, He showed the Father.

Do you remember the early parts of Luke’s gospel where Jesus was in a definite pattern?

Luke 4:14-15 “And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.”

And from there Jesus became very busy.
• Town after town; synagogue after synagogue.

And the method was always the same.
• Go to a town, preach the good news, validate that preaching with a miracle.

• In Capernaum He cast out a demon and then healed Peter’s mother-in-law, and then healed a whole crowd who gathered outside Peter’s door.

But instead of setting up shop there we read:
Luke 4:42-44 “When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them. But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.” So He kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.”

• Then we saw Him work that miracle of the catch of fish on the edge of the sea.
• In another city He cleansed a leper
• In another city a paralytic was lowered through the roof and Jesus healed him.
• On another Sabbath he healed a man who had a withered hand
• And then we heard in Luke 6 His heart-penetrating sermon about true heart righteousness.

The point being:
“No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may thee the light.”

And Jesus was no exception.
• He had put on a firework show all over Israel.
• He had light shining like had never been seen before.

And here is what you need to know:
LACK OF LIGHT WAS NOT THE PROBLEM.

HERE IS THE PROBLEM:
(34) “The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness.”

I realize that phrase seems a little confusing,
But let me “shed some light on it” for you.

“The eye is the lamp of your body”
• That simply means that the eye is the entrance point for light into
your body.

That’s true in a physical sense.
Your body processes light the revelation of light through the eye.

SO “when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light;”

“clear” there is HAPLOUS (ha-ploos)
It means “single, or open, or hold nothing back”

In short Jesus says, “The eye is where light enters the body, and if your eye is wide open then there will be a lot of light getting in.”

That makes sense.

“BUT when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness.”

Now Jesus is crafty here.
If He says an open eye lets in light, we expect Him to say, but a closed eye does not.

Only Jesus doesn’t use the word for closed.
Jesus says “bad”

PONEROS (pon-ay-ross)
Which can be translated “blind”

But you’ve already seen Jesus use this same word
Several times in this conversation.

Luke 11:13 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

Luke 11:26 “Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”

Luke 11:29 “As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, “This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah.”

There the word is translated “evil” or “wicked”

Jesus is NOT SAYING that these people are UNABLE to see.
Jesus is saying that these people are UNWILLING to see.

They aren’t handicapped, they are evil.

• The reason they don’t see the light is not because Jesus hasn’t shined sufficient light.
• The reason they don’t see the light is because they refuse to see the light.

Does that make sense?

You even know why they won’t see it:
John 3:19-21 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

THE PROBLEM ISN’T LACK OF LIGHT
THE PROBLEM IS LACK OF SIGHT

• They are willfully blind.
• They are willfully ignorant.
• They are willfully stubborn.

And now you see again why Jesus called them wicked.

Earlier I took you to that parable of the sower.
• If you will remember, when Jesus first preached that parable, He did so without an explanation.
• It was just a farming illustration and nothing more.
• His disciples actually asked Him why He didn’t tell them more instead of speaking in a parable.

Matthew 13:10-15 “And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. “For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. “Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. “In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE; FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.’”

Of course Jesus quoted there from Isaiah 6.
• That was where God told Isaiah to go and reveal the blindness of Israel.
• In short, Isaiah was to go and shine light.
• As he shined light, it would expose how blind Israel actually was.

Jesus said, “That’s exactly what is happening here.”
“they have closed their eyes”

• You want Me to work more signs.
• You want Me to give more proof.

As if more light would fix the problem.
The problem isn’t on My end, it’s on your end.

And then Jesus gives what is the harshest criticism of all.
(35) “Then watch out that the light in you is not darkness.”

Now let me draw your attention back
To that MORAL MAN who ended up with 7 demons.

He was certainly proud of himself for moralizing himself.
• Certainly he felt better about himself.
• After all, his house was adorned.

But was he full of light? No
• He was actually more full of darkness than before.

AND THIS IS THE WARNING FROM JESUS.
“watch out that the light in you is not darkness.”

• You are so quick to reject everything I say and do.
• You are so quick to reject the light.
• You do so because you think you already have light.

Isn’t that true?
• Can you hear them: “We are descendants of Abraham…”
• Can you hear them: “We have Moses as our teacher…”
• Can you hear them: “I thank you that I am not like other men, I fast twice a week, I pay tithes of all that I get”

Paul even said:
Romans 2:17-19 “But if you bear the name “Jew” and rely upon the Law and boast in God, and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,”

They were certain that they already had the light.
That’s why they didn’t see the need for Jesus.

Remember that conversation we looked at last week in John 8?
John 8:37-44 “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. “I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.” They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. “But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. “You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

They were confident that they were children of God
And in reality they were actually children of Satan.
So sure they had the light, but all they actually had was darkness.

DO YOU SEE THAT SELF-DECEPTION IS REAL?

And I’m not just talking about Israel, this is true even of the church.

Do you remember the church at Laodicea?
Revelation 3:15-18 “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. ‘Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.”

They were blind and they didn’t even know it.
They were so wrapped up in their own morality and in their liturgy and in their own traditions and routines they couldn’t even see that they were dead.

They thought they had light but their light was really darkness.

I JUST CAN’T TELL YOU HOW TERRIFYING THIS IS.

Can we read it again?
Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”

Do you hear them there trying to give inventory of their light?
But they didn’t have any.

They were a beautiful lamp with a beautiful shade
But they weren’t plugged in to the light.
They were hollow and empty and self-deceived.

AND WHAT MAKES THIS WORSE IS THAT THESE PEOPLE ARE THE ABSOLUTE HARDEST TO REACH WITH THE GOSPEL.

It’s hard to convince a person they need the light
When they are already convinced that they have it.

BUT JESUS IS TRYING TO EXPOSE THAT HERE.
“watch out that the light in you is not darkness.”

We’d be fools to ignore that warning.

At some point when studying this passage, I wrote in my margin, “Could it be that the things I perceive to be God’s Spirit in me could actually be something evil?”

YOU HAVE TO WRITE THAT.
We ALL have to work that examination.

Jesus said, “watch out”

Well, I think you understand now what Jesus is saying
And why He calls this crowd wicked.

They are wicked because despite their outward involvement in religion,
They have no real interest for the light.
• They don’t want to know the truth.
• They don’t want to hear the truth.
• They don’t want to read the truth.

They like their life just like it is, and they don’t want some Holy Son of God
Coming in here and turning their life upside down.

Just turn off the light and leave us be.

That is why Jesus called them wicked.
BUT HERE IS THE TREMENDOUS GRACE OF OUR LORD

They are a wicked generation, but He still offers them salvation.

(36) “If therefore your whole body is full of light, with no dark part in it, it will be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays.”

This is an offer.
If you’d open your eyes, I’d give you light (salvation)

And notice those descriptive words here as Jesus talks about light.
• “whole body”
• “full of light”
• “no dark part in it”
• “wholly illumined”

Jesus is offering salvation, and He is offering it fully.
“If therefore your whole body is full of light”

That is to say, “If you’d open your eyes and believe in me, you’d have light like you’ve never experienced it before.”

And remember that Light here is not just good or knowledge or hope.
Light here is Life!
Light here is Salvation!
AND JESUS GIVES IT GENEROUSLY!

Those in here who have been redeemed, do you remember that day?
• Do you remember when light came flooding into your life?
• Do you remember when the light came on?
• Do you remember when it all made sense?

When Jesus flooded you with light/life/salvation…

1 Peter 2:9 “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION,A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”

“O what a wonderful, wonderful day – Day I will never forget; after I’d wandered in darkness away, Jesus my Savior I met, O what a tender compassionate friend – He met the need of my heart; Shadows dispelling with joy I am telling, He made all the darkness depart!”
“Heaven came down and glory filled my soul, When at the cross the Savior made me whole; My sins were washed away – And my night was turned to day – Heaven came down and glory filled my soul.”

Isn’t that true!

When Jesus saves you,
He doesn’t just give you “this little light of mine”
Jesus calls you into marvelous light!
He wholly illumines you with His rays!

2 Corinthians 4:6 “For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

He floods us with the light of life and salvation.
Wholly illumined.

AND THAT IS THE INVITATION.
• Are you in the dark?
• Has Christ revealed to you that the light in you is actually darkness?
• Have you thus far chosen the darkness because of the sin you want to keep?

WELL EVEN TO YOU JESUS OFFERS SALVATION.
Even to you Jesus will take away your darkness and flood you with light.

• So open your eyes to Christ
• Leave your sin to Christ
• And run to Christ

Ephesians 5:14 “For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.”

That is what Jesus is offering here.

BUT I MUST ALSO WARN YOU OF THE DANGER OF CLOSED EYES.

I want to show you one more passage:
TURN TO: John 12:36-43

Do you see that?
• God took people who would not see and made it where they could not see so that they would be judged.

When God commands us to leave our sin and believe in Christ,
THAT IS NOT A SUGGESTION.

And when He graciously offers salvation to a man in sin
HE DOES NOT TAKE REJECTION OF THAT OFFER LIGHTLY.

Israel had more light than any nation ever had,
But they refused to see it,
And so God hardened them where they could not see.

• They would crucify the Lord.
• They would be broken off.
• And about them Paul would write:
Romans 11:7-10 “What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened; 8 just as it is written, “GOD GAVE THEM A SPIRIT OF STUPOR, EYES TO SEE NOT AND EARS TO HEAR NOT, DOWN TO THIS VERY DAY.” And David says, “LET THEIR TABLE BECOME A SNARE AND A TRAP, AND A STUMBLING BLOCK AND A RETRIBUTION TO THEM. “LET THEIR EYES BE DARKENED TO SEE NOT, AND BEND THEIR BACKS FOREVER.”

Rejecting the Light is no minor offense to God.

Isaiah 50:10-11 “Who is among you that fears the LORD, That obeys the voice of His servant, That walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God. Behold, all you who kindle a fire, Who encircle yourselves with firebrands, Walk in the light of your fire And among the brands you have set ablaze. This you will have from My hand: You will lie down in torment.”

I JUST WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU.
“While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.”

 Sanctification Through Suffering
Psalms 39
May 19, 2019

Tonight we approach the 39th Psalm.

I would confess to you that this Psalm took a sharp right turn on me this week, and caused me much grief in trying to prepare to preach it.

I have always read the first 3 verses of this Psalm
In a way that is all too often very relevant to me.

• That is I read it as though David has something he really wants to say, but
knows he shouldn’t say it,
• Until finally his flesh wins out and he blurts it out to the displeasure of God, and
thus incurs the Lord’s discipline.

It’s easy for me to want to apply this Psalm that way,
Because I all too often live there.
When James says no one can came the tongue, all I can do is say “Amen”.

So, I’ve always read Psalms 39 as “The struggles of taming the tongue”
Or even more specifically as “A warning against boasting”
Since that is what I always figured David’s great mistake to have been.

But, as I studied this week,
I also began to consult with other saints on the matter.

I read commentaries from men like MacArthur and Spurgeon and Matthew Henry,
And others, and none of them agreed with me.

Now, I don’t mind arguing my point,
But even I know that if a group of scholars (each of which are wiser than me)
All say a Psalm means something else, then it probably does.

So my struggle was to learn from them before I could teach you.
Let me just say, “It’s been a long week!”

But, as God continues to prove His faithfulness,
I am thankful for His servants who are so diligent
To help us understand truth even when we may initially miss the point.

And so tonight I would just tell you that Psalms 39
Is NOT primarily about the tongue,
Though David does reference it in the first 3 verses.

Psalms 39 is about the painful process David walked through as God began to work out sanctification in his life.

Even more specifically,
Psalms 39 is a testimony to a time
When God reached in to David’s heart to remove his love of the world.

Now just in saying that, you are already familiar with the need there.
1 John 2:15 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

We know what John says there.
• You can’t love God and this world at the same time.
• It’s an impossibility.

The struggle for us is that
• We are born in a natural body,
• In a natural world,
• With a flesh that naturally craves this world
• And the things that gratify the body.

It is sinful, but it is natural, and to an extent, comfortable.

BUT THEN COMES SALVATION
• The work of God is to bring us under conviction
• Ultimately to lead us to Christ where we are forgiven,
• To give us the Holy Spirit who enables us to overcome our sinful flesh.

That is what Paul talks about in Romans 8 and also in Galatians 5
Galatians 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”

And so once we are saved
We undergo the process of sanctification.

Whereas Regeneration is what we have called a MONERGISTIC effort.
(God had to do it all)

That is not true with Sanctification.
Sanctification is now a SYNERGISTIC effort.
That is to say WE WORK WITH GOD to produce holiness in our lives.

Philippians 2:12-13 “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”

You see both elements there.
We are told to work, and we are told that God is also at work.

We are NOT to just “Let go and let God” as it relates to our sanctification.
We are given very strict commands to intentionally obey.

Colossians 3:5-6 “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience,”

Galatians 5:24 “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

What I want you to grasp in both of those passages is that
1. Not only is the process our responsibility,
2. But I also want you to see that sanctification comes through death.

Paul told the Colossians to KILL the old man.
Paul told the Galatians that you have to CRUCIFY the flesh.

When we are talking about the process of sanctification
We are talking about the process of death.
We are killing off the old man.

And that is our responsibility.
That is our command.

But let’s be honest, that is a HARD THING TO DO.
• It is hard to crucify your self.
• It is hard to put to death your self.

That’s why it is a good thing that God is also at work in our sanctification.

For consider also what Paul said about his process of becoming sanctified.
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

Galatians 6:14 “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

There it is again, only here Paul said that crucifixion of the flesh
Was something that happened to him.

Let me give you a few references of this.
2 Corinthians 1:8-11 “For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many.”

• There God did away with Paul’s propensity to trust in himself.
• God put Paul in a situation where death was inevitable
• And there Paul learned not to rely on himself, but to trust in God who raises the dead.

Or consider:
2 Corinthians 4:6-10 “For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.”

• God put the treasure of the gospel in an old clay pot.
• But then God had to break that old clay pot so that the treasure could shine through it brighter.

Or consider:
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 “Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me — to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

• Paul had to have a thorn in the flesh so he’d quit trusting in the flesh and learn to depend upon God.

YOU GET THE IDEA.

It is the process of sanctification,
But I want you to see that at times it can be a painful process.

We use words like “death” and “crucified” and “broken”
And “persecuted” and “tormented”

Those are HARSH WORDS.
But it’s because the flesh is not an easy kill.

And yet that gives us A GREAT DEAL OF EXPLANATION
Regarding why suffering is so intense at times in the life of a believer.

It is NOT because God hates you,
It is because God is choking out the flesh,
And that can be a painful experience.

He is sanctifying you.

Well, here in Psalms 39 we have David
Caught in the middle of one of those crucifixion moments.

Some have seen it fitting to carry over Psalms 38 right into this Psalm
As though they were written together.

Psalms 38 of course is the Psalm we saw last week
• Where David had blown it pretty severely and felt God’s great displeasure.
• He talked about how God had shot His arrows deep into him and how there was no soundness in his flesh because of his sin.

Some have noticed that David referenced a (10) “plague” from God here
And said that “Perhaps what David spoke of in Psalms 38
Was a severe illness of which he is still feeling the effects in Psalms 39.”

There’s no way to know that for sure,
But at the very least David has some sort of clear affliction from God.

Now the first 3 verses of Psalms 39 OPEN WITH
David in some pretty intense contemplation and a deep inward struggle.

(1-3a) “I said, “I will guard my ways That I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth as with a muzzle While the wicked are in my presence.” I was mute and silent, I refrained even from good, And my sorrow grew worse. My heart was hot within me, While I was musing the fire burned;”

What you have here is David recounting his former commitments.
• He had made a covenant with God.
• He had made a commitment to God.

And that commitment was that He would
“guard [his] ways that [he] may not sin with [his] tongue.”

• David was continually the man who preached trust in the Lord.
• David was continually the man who preached patience and waiting on the Lord.

And here you have David wanting to practice what he preached.

The last thing he wanted to do was
Haul off complaining how bad his life was in front of the wicked.

And you and I certainly understand that.
You often hear Christians when tragedy strikes say some of the most inspiring things you ever hear.

We understand David’s commitment here not to say something blasphemous or negative about God in front of the wicked.

But we also know that
While we typically answer well at the announcement of tragedy,
We can very easily become more prone to grumble
As the hardship continues.

Let’s face it, on day 1 we’re all pretty good theologians.
But on day 517, maybe not so much.

David knows that and so he is doing everything he can to MUZZLE his mouth, and BITE his tongue and not let the wicked hear him grumble.

So what’s the problem?
HE REALLY WANTS TO GRUMBLE!

(2-3) “I was mute and silent, I refrained even from good, and my sorrow grew worse. My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned;”

We’ve all heard of Jeremiah’s “fire in his bones”
When he just couldn’t contain the message he heard from God.

Well David here has an opposite one.
He’s got a fire in his bones because he wants to complain about what a raw deal he’s getting.
• He wants to cry out, “Not fair!”
• He wants to wine about his circumstances.
• He wants the world to know how hard this is.

THE PROBLEM IS that after preaching for so many years
About how God is enough and how God is good,
He can’t start complaining without dishonoring God.

SO HE IS CURRENTLY A MISERABLE MAN.
He is keeping his promise not to complain, but he really really wants to.

Now, the PROBLEM of the Psalm IS NOT that David breaks his silence
And gets on Facebook and lays down a rant.

THAT’S NOT WHAT HAPPENS.

YES we do read at the end of verse 3 “Then I spoke with my tongue:”

It is true that David did break his silence,
But verse 4 tells us who he spoke to and what he said.

He spoke to the Lord.
And what is more, he did not complain to the Lord about how unfair this was.

Rather, David spoke to the Lord in great humility.

SO WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
• Not that David outwardly grumbled to the wicked.
• But rather that David recognized a discontented heart
• He may not have grumbled, but he wanted to
• And it bothered David that his heart was still so far from where it needed to be

And let me just remind you here that GRUMBLING
(whether in the heart or on the tongue) INDICATES 2 THINGS.

1) A LOVE OF THE WORLD
• You wouldn’t grumble or be angry about losing the world if you didn’t love it.

2) DISSATISFACTION WITH GOD
• If He was enough then again you wouldn’t be discontented.

David’s frustration revealed that to him.

And so when David finally does open his mouth
It is not to blast God for being unjust.
Rather, it is to confess to God
What he has learned through this time of suffering.

And the 3 things David learned are amazing.
• They are 3 things that we all must learn,
• And 3 things that many of us will not learn apart from suffering.

When God began to crucify David’s flesh, here is what David learned.

#1 I AM A SHADOW
Psalms 39:4-6

If we could be even more specific we’d say,
“I am a shadow in need of perspective”

As David felt the discontentment grow in his heart
He recognized that his perspective was way off.

There was something he needed to remember, and that was this:
THIS LIFE IS NOT INTENDED TO LAST FOREVER

(4) “LORD, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days; let me know how transient I am.”

Oh, that’s big!
And that is such an important life lesson.

People go through this life and live in this world
Like they are going to live forever.
They walk like they are so important.

Psalms 49:10-12 “For he sees that even wise men die; The stupid and the senseless alike perish And leave their wealth to others. Their inner thought is that their houses are forever And their dwelling places to all generations; They have called their lands after their own names. But man in his pomp will not endure; He is like the beasts that perish.”

Unregenerate man lives this life like he is the center of the universe
And like there is none more important than him.

They live like they will be here forever.

But David knows better.
In fact, look at his theology.

(5-6) “Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; Surely every man at his best is a mere breath. Selah. “Surely every man walks about as a phantom; Surely they make an uproar for nothing; He amasses riches and does not know who will gather them.”

James taught us that life is like a vapor.
And David says the same.

He says our days are like a handbreadth.
• They just aren’t long.
• We are like a fading shadow.
• We are just a “breath”

Now the wicked don’t know that.
They put so much stock in their honors. They really like to achieve greatness and be named to high position and to receive awards.

BUT NONE OF THOSE THINGS LASTS:
“Surely every man at his best is a mere breath”

• I mean, who was the Super bowl MVP 12 years ago?
• I bet you can’t even name all the former presidents of the United States
• Who was the richest man in the world 50 years ago?

Better than that, when David wrote Psalms 39,
Who do you think the fastest runner in the world was?

Honors don’t last. But men put so much stock in them.

DAVID ALSO KNOW THAT LABORS DON’T LAST.
“Surely every man walks about as phantom”

• He spoke of man going busily from one task to another.
• But even in that, they’ll all fade away.

OR CONSIDER MAN’S TREASURES
“Surely they make an uproar for nothing; he amasses riches and does not know who will gather them.”

It’s really the most absurd picture of futility in our world.
• A man storing up wealth that he will never be able to use and had no clue what
will come of it after he is gone.

David sees all of these things about the world.
Namely that loving the world and pursuing the world
And hoarding the treasures of this world are dumb ambitions.

AND YET, David also realized that
These same mentalities were alive and well in his heart,
Or else he would not have been so discontent with his hardship.

And to that end David makes that great prayer.
“LORD, make me to know my end and what is the extend of my days; let me know how transient I am.”

David says, I AM A SHADOW – I NEED PERSPECTIVE

He recognized that part of what God was doing in this plague
Was rooting out his love of the world
And teaching him that this life does not last forever.

And that is such a great lesson.
• We don’t get to keep this life
• We don’t get to keep this body
• We don’t get to keep our fame or our accomplishments or our riches

HOW FOOLISH IT IS TO PUT SO MUCH STOCK IN THIS PLACE

Paul had it right:
Philippians 3:7-8 “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,”

Well, believer we need to learn that too.
• And so the next time you suffer,
• Just thank God that He is teaching you some perspective
• And is helping you let go of your love of this world.

David saw that.
David learned that he was just a shadow.

Here’s the second thing David learned
#2 I AM A SINNER
Psalms 39:7-11

More specifically,
“I am a sinner in need of sanctification”

David just acknowledged that
• This life was fleeting
• That the things of this earth pass away
• That he needed to realize that he is only on this earth for a short period of time.

This realization caused David to reevaluate his priorities.

And in that process he asks:
“And now, Lord, for what do I wait?

That is another way of saying,
“What am I seeking? What is my ambition? What is the goal?”

And he quickly answers: “My hope is in You.”
• It is not in earthly comfort…
• It is not in earthly fame…
• It is not in earthly success…

In short, you have David here in the midst of his suffering,
And he has done a little soul searching
As to why he was so discontent.

And now he says,
“I get it Lord! I understand what You are teaching me”

You are reminding me that You are my only good.
You are reminding me that You are enough.

It is a moment very similar to that of Asaph in Psalms 73
Who after he received some perspective in the midst of his suffering wrote:

Psalms 73:25-28 “Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.”

That is right there with David.

He has begun to understand that his greatest needs in life didn’t have to do with comfort or victory or success.
• His greatest need was God.
• His greatest treasure was God.

And to that end look at how he prays:
(8) “Deliver me from all my transgressions; make me not the reproach of the foolish.”

David has had his eyes opened to what God was trying to teach him.

GOD WAS SHOWING DAVID THAT
The culprit in his life was not sickness, it was sin.
And that is what David is asking to be delivered from.

In short, David says,
“I get it God! You are the treasure and sin is the problem”

And then listen:
(9) “I have become mute, I do not open my mouth, because it is You who have done it.”

That is to say, “The reason I am in this condition is because this is the condition that You have put me in.”

That is David’s way of saying,
“You are doing what is right. You are doing what is best.”

It is David now in the place of acknowledging that
His current plight is not only the sovereign prerogative of God,
But that it is also the right thing to do.

He can see that God is using this plague
Not only to pull his heart away from the world,
But also to lead him to greater holiness.

It’s almost like David has read Hebrews 12.
Hebrews 12:5-11 “and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.” It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

I don’t know if there is a passage in Scripture that yields more insight to God’s purposes in our suffering than that one.

• It is NOT that God delights in human suffering.
• It’s just that God delights in human holiness more than He
delights in human comfort.

He brings scourging…
He brings plagues…
He brings hardship and suffering…
“so that we may share in His holiness”

And David says, “I get it!”
• I have been latched on to this world,
• I have been walking in transgression
• And this current period of pain and grief has been to cause me to let go of both.

And that again is good perspective for the people of God even today.

We, like David, are prone to be more content with our spiritual condition than God ever is.

We are often prone to be more tolerant of our sin than God is.

And so when the call of sanctification comes.
Namely that we should put to death the sins of the flesh
We rarely go far enough because we are more content with our wickedness than we ought.

God however has a holy standard, and since He is also at work in us; both to will and to work for His good pleasure,
God often does what is necessary.

David sees that.
God, You had to do this in my life
Or there are certain sins I would have never let go of.

AND NOW, AFTER THE REPENTANCE
You start seeing David requesting relief from the pain.

(10-11) “Remove Your plague from me; Because of the opposition of Your hand I am perishing. “With reproofs You chasten a man for iniquity; You consume as a moth what is precious to him; Surely every man is a mere breath. Selah.”

IMPORTANT TO NOTE that David did not start here in his request.
• He first asked for perspective
• He then asked for forgiveness.
• And then he asked for relief.

That’s an important order to remember in our prayer life
While we are suffering.

We often pray for relief first.
But to do that misses the entire point of why God brought the plague to begin with.

I am a Shadow in need of Perspective I am a Sinner in need of Sanctification
#3 I AM A STRANGER
Psalms 39:12-13

And again, to be more specific:
“I am a stranger in need of focus”

David asks:
“Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; Do not be silent at my tears; For I am a stranger with You, A sojourner like all my fathers.”

It is not just a request that we see here from David,
But also a great confession and acknowledgment.

• Certainly David now wants relief from the pain.
• Certainly David wants relief from the burden.
• But he is also quick to reveal to God WHAT HE HAS LEARNED.

And that is that: “I am a stranger with You, A sojourner like all my fathers.”

Hebrews 11:13-16 “All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.”

The saints of old in their walk of faith came to realize something.
WE DON’T BELONG HERE

• We are no longer citizens of this world.
• We are no longer seeking the kingdoms of this world.
• We have a higher aim.

It is bound up in all those commands from Paul to us.
Philippians 3:17-20 “Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;”

Colossians 3:1-4 “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

Or it reminds of what Jesus taught:
Matthew 6:20-21 “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

We as believers are still too often prone:
• To build our kingdoms here on this earth.
• To have our “Best Life Now”
• To seek an inheritance here.

And all the while God uses suffering to remind us
That this place is not our home, and this place is not our prize.

This world is passing away, but we were fitted for a better one.

“I’m pressing on the upward way, new heights I’m gaining every day; still praying as I onward bound, Lord plant my feet on higher ground. Lord, lift me up and let me stand, by faith on heaven’s table-land, a higher plane than I have found; Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”

“All I know is I’m not home yet, this is not where I belong. Take this world and give me Jesus, this is not where I belong.”

Take the world, but give me Jesus All its joys are but a name, But His love abides forever Through eternal years the same. Take the world, but give me Jesus; Sweetest comfort of my soul. With my Savior watching o’er me I can sing though billows roll. Take the world, but give me Jesus In His cross my trust shall be Till with clearer, brighter vision Face to face my Lord I see. Oh, the height and depth of mercy. Oh, the length and breadth of love. Oh, the fullness of redemption; Pledge of endless life above. Take this world, my God’s enough!
https://sovereigngracemusic.org/music/songs/give-me-jesus/

David sees that.
“I get it God, I’m a stranger and my focus has been far too long on my earthly kingdom, when my focus should be my heavenly one.”

That is another wonderful thing for us to learn.
We see that God uses our suffering
• To pry our hands off the things of this world;
• To awaken us to our need for holiness,
• And to draw our gaze toward our heavenly home.

David saw that, and he confessed that it was good.

And then, after learning his lesson, and confessing that is good, David closes the Psalm with a REQUEST FOR RELIEF.
(13) “Turn Your gaze away from me, that I may smile again Before I depart and am no more.”

David knows this life is fleeting
And he simply asks for God to grant him some relief
That he might enjoy the few years he has left.
I certainly can’t fault him for that request.

But he knows now the goal.
• The goal is to learn he won’t be here forever.
• The goal is to learn his need for holiness.
• The goal is to learn to focus on eternity.

Tonight I just want you to see that
The process of sanctification is often times a painful one,
And yet it is necessary.
It is God’s way of getting us to let go of this world, let go of our sin, and to set our gaze toward heaven.

A Wicked Generation – Part 1
Luke 11:29-36 (29-32)
May 19, 2019

As you know here in Luke’s gospel, we are in a bit of a minor section
Where we are dealing with the issue of AUTHENTICITY.

IT BEGAN when Jesus cast a demon out of a man and the Jews accused Jesus of performing that miracle by using Satanic power.
• In short, they accused Jesus of not be authentic or real.
• He of course turned that argument on its head and has ever since been exposing the Jews as the frauds.

We see that conversation continued this morning.

But before we get into the text,
I just wanted to take a minute and make sure you understand
The great reality that is being exposed here.

I THINK THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT,
And especially to people who would consider themselves to be religious
Or who hold to the importance of religious affiliation.

Here we have a group of people here
Who think that they are pleasing to God
Simply because of their religious pedigree and participation.

In short, they are Abraham’s descendants according to the flesh,
And secondly, they are “good” people.

And yet, the Bible is filled with warnings about Israel’s false assurance.
And I want to touch on that this morning, even before we get into our text.

In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he fired the first shot at the Jews in Ch 2.

TURN TO: ROMANS 2:17-29

• You see there all the confidence that Israel had regarding their acceptance before God.
• They were confident of how pleasing they were.
• And yet, Paul revealed that this was all external.

“For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly…”

It’s a sobering warning.
And one that we dealt with last week as we saw the problem with morality.

The Lord looks at the heart,
And even though these were very religious on the outside,
Their hearts were clearly corrupt before God.

And this wasn’t just a present issue in Paul’s day.
This proved true of Israel over and over again throughout their history.

Perhaps you remember their tendency to grumble and complain against God, even in the wilderness, regarding their lack of bread or water.

Psalms 95 says that:
Psalms 95:10-11 “For forty years I loathed that generation, And said they are a people who err in their heart, And they do not know My ways. “Therefore I swore in My anger, Truly they shall not enter into My rest.”

• That’s a strong word… “loathed”
• And again we see that their problem was a heart problem since “they are a
people who err in their heart”

It was a real problem of hypocrisy.
It was a problem of a wicked heart
Wrapped in an outward shell of religion and morality.

BUT GOD WAS NOT PLEASED.

This generation then became an illustration and a warning
Both for those in New Testament times and even for our day.

TURN TO: 1 CORINTHIANS 10:1-12

Paul begins by listing all the spiritual privileges of Israel.
• “all under the cloud”
• “all passed through the sea”
• “all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea”
• “all ate the same spiritual food”
• “all drank the same spiritual drink”

• You say, “God called me” – He did them too
• You say, “God delivered me” – He did them too
• You say, “I was baptized” – They were too
• You say, “I partake in the Lord’s Supper” – They did too

And then we read in verse 5 “Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness.”

That is that same generation that God loathed,
And He killed most of them in the wilderness.
They never entered His rest.

And then Paul says that they are an example for us, not to be like them.
Religious on the outside, but evil on the inside.
• The craved evil things
• They worshiped idols
• They acted immorally
• They tried the Lord
• They grumbled

It didn’t matter what their religious pedigree or participation was,
They were clearly wicked on the inside.
Do you see that?

TURN TO: HEBREWS 3:7-19
You will notice in verses 7-11 the writer of Hebrews begins by quoting that same Psalms 95 that we looked at earlier, and then he applies it to his current audience.

(12) “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart, that falls away from the living God.”

In short – DON’T BE LIKE THEM
Instead, believe – Instead hold fast

And the writer of Hebrews reminds that
Those people actually provoked God to wrath.

(READ 16-19)
• Again the writer indicates that these people were delivered out of Egypt,
• And yet despite delivering them from Egypt God was so angry at their sin that
He did not permit them to enter the land.

And the core issue?
UNBELIEF

That actually produces the warning to us in chapter 4.
Hebrews 4:1-2 “Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.”

They heard the preaching too.
The problem was they didn’t believe it.

Do you see how their religion did not help them?
They remained wicked on the inside despite their outward compliance.

Paul made that point again in Romans 9.

TURN TO: ROMANS 9:1-8
• Again we start with all their privileges and opportunities.
• God had certainly moved in their midst.

And yet, they still didn’t believe.
WHY?

“For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants…”

Just because they can trace their lineage back to Abraham,
Does not make them true children of Abraham.
True children of Abraham are children of faith.
They are children of grace and children of the promise.

AND THE POINT I AM MAKING TO ALL OF THAT IS THIS
• No one had more exposure to God than Israel…
• No one had more revelation of truth than Israel…
• No one had a great opportunity than they did…

But all of that exposure, and all of that religious involvement
Did not profit them because they refused to believe in their heart.
Everything was external, and thus they missed salvation.

They are a very real warning even to the religious of the church today.

Now don’t get me wrong,
• Religion is a good thing.
• Being raised in a Christian home is a good thing
• Sitting under preaching weekly is a good thing
• Having Christian friends to encourage you is a good thing
• Participating in the work of the church is a good thing

None of those are bad things.
But they are pointless things
If they do not stem from a heart that believes in Christ.

If you do all of the external, but the internal is wrong
Then you are in very grave danger.

That was Israel’s problem.
They were not AUTHENTIC

And not only did Psalms 95 expose them as evil, but SO DOES JESUS.
And that is what we see here.

Let me just point out to you the statement of Jesus.
(29) “As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, “This generation is a wicked generation;”

I’ve been to many conferences and camps and preaching services,
But I’ve never heard a preacher open the conference
By pointing out how wicked everyone in attendance was.

And yet that is exactly what Jesus did.
• Despite their religion…
• Despite their outward morality…
• Jesus plainly calls them “wicked”

The question is WHY?
Well there are 2 reasons given here in the text.
(We’ll see the first today)
#1 THEY DESIRE A SIGN
Luke 11:29-32

As we noted, we see here that “the crowds were increasing”

• This may be directly related to the demon Jesus cast out in verse 14,
• Or it may be a story from a different incident that Luke places here because it fits his theme.
• Either way, we see it is an opportunity for Jesus to address a message to a large group.

And Jesus’ message to this growing crowd
Is certainly one that falls short of the expectation
Of the modern day “seeker sensitive” movement.

• Jesus DOESN’T tell them how glad He is that they have come…
• Jesus DOESN’T brag on their commitment…
• Jesus DOESN’T flatter them or appeal to their ego at all…

He says, “This generation is a wicked generation”
(Does that stretch your view of how the world likes to view Jesus?)

Such an announcement must have taken the crowd back a little
So Jesus explains why He pronounced them wicked.

“it seeks for a sign”
• Jesus knew their heart.
• He knew why they were there.
• He knew what they wanted.

The wanted “a sign”
And Jesus called them wicked for it.

Well, I guess we better ask:
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM WITH THAT?

For in TODAY’S SOCIETY, seeking signs
Has become one of the most staple aspects of religion.

Many, in fact, feel as though God owes them a sign.
Others are simply willing to claim any and everything as a sign.

But it is not foreign to understand the concept of seeking a sign from God

Now we know that GOD HAS GIVEN SIGNS at times throughout history.

To Noah:
Genesis 9:13 “I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.”

To Moses:
Exodus 3:12 “And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”

God actually told Ahaz to ask for a sign:
Isaiah 7:11 “Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven.”

And of course Jesus did in fact work signs.
Each of His miracles was a sign of who He was.

John 12:17-18 “So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him. For this reason also the people went and met Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign.”

And because of such occurrences, and many others like them,
Many have concluded that seeking for a sign is the way to go.

The poster child for such thinking would of course be Gideon
And his infamous “lay out the fleece”

People have been laying out fleeces ever since.
What is commonly overlooked about that story is that God did indeed allow Gideon to lay out the fleece, but God refused to let Gideon walk only by sight.

God then required him to whittle his army down to 300 men
And attack with a trumpet and clay pot.

But none the less it is a fad among men to ask for a sign from God.

The problem is that Jesus clearly condemned such practice
In our text here this morning.

Jesus NEVER promoted a mystical faith.
Jesus NEVER promoted an experiential faith.

Jesus always promoted a faith built solely upon the conviction
That God will do what He said.

THE SPECIFIC PROBLEM HERE IS THAT
• These people were in essence telling Jesus that thus far He had not
done enough to warrant their belief.
• If He truly expected them to believe in Him, then He’d have to do better
than that.

In a roundabout way they were actually
Blaming their unbelief on His lack of evidence.

You haven’t done enough.
If You want us to believe,
Then we’ll need to see something really spectacular.

If you’re familiar at all with the miracles already listed in Luke’s gospel
Then you know how absurd this is.

AND THAT’S WHY JESUS WON’T GIVE THEM ANY MORE SIGNS.
In fact, there’s only 1 more coming.

(29b-30) “and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.”

What was the “sign of Jonah”?

Generally speaking, Jonah was a sign of judgment to the Ninevites.

You remember the story.
• God told Jonah to go to Nineveh
• Jonah fled and went the other direction toward Tarshish
• God sent a storm and Jonah knew it was because of him
• He had the men thrown him overboard
• And according to the book of Jonah, he sank to the bottom and was about to
drown
• There Jonah repented and God appointed a fish to save his life
• That fish swallowed him, carried him to Nineveh and vomited Jonah up on the
shore

Jonah then walked through the city and preached ONE MESSAGE.
Jonah 3:3-4 “So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three days’ walk. Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he cried out and said, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”

Jonah’s arrival in Nineveh was a sign of judgment for the Ninevites.

Now, Matthew’s gospel gives a little more insight into Jesus’ explanation here.
Matthew 12:39-40 “But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

There we learn a little more of what Jesus meant.
• Jonah was delivered from death and sent to preach to the Ninevites.
• His deliverance and subsequent preaching was a sign of judgment.

Jesus also will be delivered from death.
(Jonah in a fish, Jesus in the ground)
And Jesus’ deliverance from death will also be a sign to the Jews.

Now, if you FOLLOW THE STORY you know how this plays out.

Do you remember Peter’s sermon at Pentecost?
• The Holy Spirit falls and the disciples start speaking foreign languages.
• The people accuse them of being drunk.
• Peter says we aren’t drunk, this is the Holy Spirit.

And then Peter reminds the Jews how they killed Jesus,
But how God raised Jesus from the dead.

And then Peter says that the resurrection of Jesus
Was a sign of judgment for Israel.

Acts 2:32-36 “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. “For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET.”‘ “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ — this Jesus whom you crucified.”

• The resurrection proved Jesus was in fact God’s Messiah,
• It also proved that Israel had rejected God’s Messiah
• And therefore Israel was under judgment.

That is why the people asked Peter, “what shall we do?”
And Peter said, “Repent”

And Jesus said that this would be the only sign they would get.

That is to say, He wasn’t going to bow to their skeptical requests
To keep pulling rabbits out of hats to convince them to believe.

HE HAD ALREADY DONE ENOUGH.
The only sign they would get now
Would occur after they finally reject the Christ by crucifying Him.

So Jesus calls them wicked and then says
It is because you refuse to believe what you have seen and heard
And are constantly trying to make Me prove it again.

And to further make His point Jesus gives two more historical references.

(31) “The Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.”

Remember her?
• This was the Queen of Sheba.
• She heard of Solomon and traveled all the way to hear him.

1 Kings 10:6-7 “Then she said to the king, “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. “Nevertheless I did not believe the reports, until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. You exceed in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard.”

Now understand her testimony.
• Had she seen Solomon? No
• Had she heard Solomon speak? No

• All she had was a report about the greatness of Solomon and his wisdom.
• All she had was a second-hand testimony.

And yet she traveled “from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon”

• She didn’t come asking for more proof…
• She didn’t come in skepticism…
• She traveled a great distance to hear what she had been told about.

And here’s the really important part.
“and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.”

HERE’S THE POINT:
She worked harder and traveled farther to hear lesser wisdom.

You’ve got the greatest wisdom right here with you and you still won’t listen; instead you keep demanding more proof.

And so Jesus said that “The Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment and condemn them”

That is to say:
• At the judgment, when you are facing the full wrath of God,
• And you start making excuses like, “We would have believed, but He didn’t do enough signs.”
• God will answer and say, “The Queen of the South had no signs and yet she believed.”

She will be your condemnation.

And then Jesus gives another:
(32) “The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.”

It’s a similar point.
I already read to you how Jonah went through the city and preached the coming judgment.

And when the Ninevites heard Jonah’s preaching
We read that “they repented”

Jonah 3:5-9 “Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them. When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, covered himself with sackcloth and sat on the ashes. He issued a proclamation and it said, “In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat or drink water. “But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands. “Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish.”

Let me ask you to focus on that response for a moment.

All Jonah did was preach a message of judgment.
He said “yet forty days and Nineveh will be destroyed.” That was it.
• Jonah never mentioned repentance…
• Jonah never mentioned forgiveness…
• Jonah never mentioned the possibility of salvation…
• Jonah also worked no miracles aside from the deliverance from the fish…

All these people heard was a message of judgment from a prophet
Whom God authenticated by delivering him from a fish.

And their response is amazing.
• They certainly believed Jonah.
• That is proved in their immediate and total repentance.
• They put everyone on a fast from food and water (even animals)
• And covered everything in sackcloth (even animals) and told everyone to call
on God.

Saying, “Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish.”

They had no assurances that mercy was even something God offered.
But they so believed the simple message of judgment
That they were willing to give it a try.

And Jesus says “The men of Nineveh will stand up and with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.”

WHAT’S THE POINT?
They repented with much less information than you’ve received.

Here these Jews were wanting additional signs;
Wanting Jesus to prove again that He was the Messiah.

And Jesus says, “this generation is a wicked generation”
• The Queen of the South didn’t require more signs to believe.
• The people of Nineveh didn’t require more signs to repent.

THE PROBLEM ISN’T THAT I HAVE GIVEN TOO LITTLE PROOF. THE PROBLEM IS THAT YOU ARE TOO WICKED TOBELIEVE.

Does that make sense?
Jesus called them wicked because
They ignored everything they had seen and heard from Him.

They tried to say
It was because He hadn’t done enough to warrant believing,

But even history proved that wasn’t true.
Both Solomon and Jonah DID FAR LESS THAN JESUS
And their ministries were wildly successful.

The problem wasn’t Jesus, the problem was these phony Jews.

They weren’t looking for reasons to believe Christ.
They were looking for reasons not to.

Can I remind you friend
That if you won’t believe when you hear the word of God,
Then no amount of signs or extra proof is going to do it for you either.

Later in Luke’s gospel we are confronted with a rich man who dies and goes to Hades and in torment he begs for relief or even for someone to go and warn his brothers.

Luke 16:27-31 “And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house — for I have five brothers — in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ “But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ “But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ “But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'”

And sadly, that would prove true, as Jesus would die and rise from the dead
And still many would not believe.

JESUS HAS CLEARLY REVEALED HIMSELF TO BE THE SON OF GOD, THE MESSIAH, THE ANOINTED KING OF GOD.
• He clearly deserves belief
• He clearly deserves trust
• He clearly deserves submission
• He clearly deserves obedience

If you can’t see that by now, it’s certainly not due to lack of evidence.

People don’t fail to believe in Christ because of a lack of evidence.
People fail to believe in Christ because of inner wickedness.

Jesus said it Himself:
John 3:16-21 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

In short the only explanation for unbelief is not lack of evidence,
But rather love of sin.

And now you see why Jesus called this generation wicked.
They just kept seeking a sign.

• Don’t do that.
• Don’t try to force to God to validate who He is.
• Read His word and trust Him.

Don’t be like those Jews who wouldn’t believe even though they saw the powerful works of God.
Hebrews 4:1-2 “Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.”

The calling is for man to hear the words of Christ and to believe in Him.
To place their trust in Him.
To submit their lives to Him.

Excuses for not believing in Jesus won’t wash
For there are many
Who have far less exposure to the truth than you have
And yet believed.

Don’t get caught simply playing a religious game on the outside.
Be real, be authentic, believe in Christ.

Luke 11:31-32 “The Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. “The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.”

Thy Compassions, They Fail Not
Psalms 38
May 12, 2019

Our family typically gathers each morning
Before we go our separate ways to pray together.

And many times during her prayers I hear Carrie
Reference the same reality about God.
She will thank God that His mercies are indeed new every morning.

If you’re not familiar with the verse she is referencing, it is found in the book of Lamentations.

Lamentations was written by Jeremiah after the fall of Jerusalem.
He is lamenting the sin of Israel, the wrath of God,
And the destruction that came because of it.

And in that moment, Jeremiah lets out a lament; a wail; a cry.

The first 3 verses of the book tell the tale.
Lamentations 1:1-3 “How lonely sits the city That was full of people! She has become like a widow Who was once great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces Has become a forced laborer! She weeps bitterly in the night And her tears are on her cheeks; She has none to comfort her Among all her lovers. All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; They have become her enemies. Judah has gone into exile under affliction And under harsh servitude; She dwells among the nations, But she has found no rest; All her pursuers have overtaken her In the midst of distress.”

And certainly Jeremiah, perhaps better than anyone,
Understands that it was the sin of Israel
That brought all this upon them.

Lamentations 1:8 “Jerusalem sinned greatly, Therefore she has become an unclean thing. All who honored her despise her Because they have seen her nakedness; Even she herself groans and turns away.”

I picture him sitting on a rock that once was part of the temple.
• The temple is in smoke behind him.
• The wall around the city is torn down.
• The wild animals are feeding on the carcasses of the slain.
• And the fresh image of refugees being carried away into Babylon.

You can actually listen as Jeremiah takes inventory of the carnage:
Lamentations 2:6-9 “And He has violently treated His tabernacle like a garden booth; He has destroyed His appointed meeting place. The LORD has caused to be forgotten The appointed feast and sabbath in Zion, And He has despised king and priest In the indignation of His anger. The Lord has rejected His altar, He has abandoned His sanctuary; He has delivered into the hand of the enemy The walls of her palaces. They have made a noise in the house of the LORD As in the day of an appointed feast. The LORD determined to destroy The wall of the daughter of Zion. He has stretched out a line, He has not restrained His hand from destroying, And He has caused rampart and wall to lament; They have languished together. Her gates have sunk into the ground, He has destroyed and broken her bars. Her king and her princes are among the nations; The law is no more. Also, her prophets find No vision from the LORD.”

And that is really just the tip of the iceberg.
• It is bad.
• Israel sinned against the LORD
• He warned them and warned them and warned them
• They persisted in that sin.

So in His wrath, God destroyed Jerusalem, killed most of their people,
and exiled the rest.
The book of Jeremiah gives the number as: 4,600

It was a severe strike of punishment from the LORD toward His people.

And yet, hidden within this book of weeping and wailing
Jeremiah pulls himself together
Based upon what he knows about the LORD.

And he writes:
Lamentations 3:22-23 “The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.”

In my margin next to that verse I wrote in my Bible.
“There’s no way at that point he could FEEL that. He KNEW it despite what he felt.”

It was a truth about God he believed despite what he must have felt.

He understood that God’s “lovingkindnesses” (CHECED) never fail.

God’s loyal covenantal love never fails.
And Jeremiah confessed that, even when God had all but obliterated His people because of their severe rebellion against Him.

I BRING THAT UP TO YOU TONIGHT
Because I think that is the heartbeat behind Psalms 38.

Now, David never uses the word CHECED in this Psalm,
But it is obvious that he trusts that God has it.
He wouldn’t be able to pray this way if he didn’t.

This entire Psalm rests upon the fact that God’s compassions never fail.
If David hadn’t believed that, there’s no way he could have sang this song.

You will notice that Psalms 38 is “for a memorial”

It is a song of remembrance.

IT IS A TRUTH YOU SHOULD REMEMBER
It is a song that is meant to cause us to rejoice
As we remember God’s unfailing mercies toward us.

This truth does wonders for the Christian heart.
I hope it encourages you tonight.

So let’s just work our way through it.

3 points
#1 DAVID’S FOLLY
Psalms 38:1-8

When you read those verses the SITUATION IS FAIRLY OBVIOUS.

David has blown it and blown it bad!

We are not under any disillusion that David lived a flawless life.
• His failures are well documented in Scripture.
• That is partly why we love him so much.
• He was a man who failed like we fail, and yet still considered a man after God’s own heart.

We don’t know which particular failure David mentions here,
BUT IT IS A BAD ONE.

Not only is he living in the consequences of a poor decision,
But worse than that,
He is living under the weight of having angered God.

David is feeling God’s displeasure here.

And the Psalm opens with David in an appeal for mercy.
(1-2) “O LORD, rebuke me not in Your wrath, And chasten me not in Your burning anger. For Your arrows have sunk deep into me, And Your hand has pressed down on me.”

It’s NOT a request to escape discipline,
It’s just a request that God not be burning with anger when He does it.

I’ve heard Peggy share the story many times.
• Apparently she was in trouble a lot as a child,
• But how her dad would never punish her while he was angry.
• He always waited until he cooled down to bring forth the discipline.

That is sort of what David is calling for here.
He wants God’s anger to subside a little.

Namely because THE PUNISHMENT he has already received IS SEVERE.
Look at the words, “For Your arrows have sunk deep into me, And Your hand has pressed down on me.”

That is intense language of discipline.

We’ve all read:
Proverbs 23:13 “Do not hold back discipline from the child, Although you strike him with the rod, he will not die.”

Well it’s clear that God believes that one.
He has disciplined David severely.

We know when our kids feel as though they’ve been disciplined severely.
• You know Zech’s got it good when he drags his hinny on the carpet like a dog with worms.

Well, David is describing here the effects of his punishment.

And it’s noticeably harsh.
(4-8) “For my iniquities are gone over my head; As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me. My wounds grow foul and fester Because of my folly. I am bent over and greatly bowed down; I go mourning all day long. For my loins are filled with burning, And there is no soundness in my flesh. I am benumbed and badly crushed; I groan because of the agitation of my heart.”

Those are some very descriptive words of hardship.
• A heavy burden
• Foul and fester
• Bent over
• Loins filled with burning
• Badly crushed

That is a man who has been sufficiently broken because of his sin.
• He’s not hiding it.
• He’s not defending it.
• He’s not excusing it.
• He has been humbled.

And for any believer, you know that this is a double-edged sword.

On one hand we have the hatred a believer feels for his sin.
• It is a grief and a groaning that a believer feels over sin in his life.

Adrian Rogers once said, “God doesn’t make it where a Christian can’t sin. He makes it where a Christian can’t sin and enjoy it.”

I understand that.
The weight, the guilt, the pain is harsh.
The disappointment that is felt can be a heavy burden.

I don’t know if you follow the Malawi team on WhatsApp?
But we’ve had a lot of discussion regarding Romans 7.

You know the passage:
Romans 7:19-20 “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.”

Ultimately leading to:
Romans 7:24 “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?”

There are a lot of people,
And some highly respected ones like John MacArthur and RC Sproul
Who say that Paul there is describing the life of a mature believer who hates sin.

I don’t think that’s what Paul is doing.
I think Paul is describing that point in his life when he realized he was a sinner and tried to kick sin by his own power and couldn’t do it.

But regardless of the disagreement,
I do understand why men like MacArthur and Sproul
Interpret that passage that way.

It is because sin crushes us as believers.

We take it hard, and we should.
We are like Peter who went out and wept bitterly upon denying his Lord.
• It is a hatred that we have when we sin.
• It is a heavy grief.
• It is burning in our loins so to speak.

And that is part of what David is describing here.
No son relishes in the disappointment of his father,
And David is no exception.

But THE OTHER PART OF THIS, is that the discipline of the Lord is often times severe.

We’ve all read Hebrews 12 and we know what the writer tells us:
Hebrews 12:5-10 “and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.” It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.”

I will never claim to have parenting all figured out.
I certainly won’t make that claim until all of my kids pass their teenage years.

But I did learn something of discipline from my dad,
And I think his teaching was spot on.
Namely, that if it doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t work.

I see parents discipline their kids while trying to maintain a friendship with them.
I was talking with one parent once about the need to discipline their child, and the parent said, “I spanked him 3 times yesterday.”

My response was, “If you spanked him 3 times, you didn’t spank him once”

By that I mean, when you do it right, you don’t have to do it often.

This is God’s discipline.
The writer of Hebrews said “He scourges every son whom He receives.”

David would attest to that.

So let’s do a little inventory.
• David has blown it. We don’t know what he did, but it was bad.
• David is crushed under the weight of his own guilt for having disappointed his father, and David has felt the heavy hand of the Lord in discipline.
• The discipline has been so severe that David compared it to arrows sunk deep within him, and he actually pleaded with the Lord to not be so angry when He disciplined him.

Now, that’s just a little of the background.

David has angered God.
And God is so angry that He has punished David severely.

Do you see that?

David’s Folly
#2 DAVID’S FAMILY, FRIENDS, & FOES
Psalms 38:9-12

Now after David gives an account of his sorrow,
He acknowledges that none of that is hidden from God.
That is to say, God is well aware of the severity of the discipline.

(9-10) “Lord, all my desire is before You; And my sighing is not hidden from You. My heart throbs, my strength fails me; And the light of my eyes, even that has gone from me.”

God, you know everything that is going on here.
• You see me in my grief.
• You know about the pain in my heart.
• You know about my limited strength.
• You know how I’ve lost the light of my eyes.

BUT DAVID’S DESPAIR IS NOT JUST BECAUSE OF HIS SIN.

David goes on to reveal the result this discipline has had before his peers.

LOOK AT HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS
(11) “My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague; and my kinsmen stand afar off.”

Key word there being “plague”
They don’t want anything to do with him.

It sort of reminds of the trials of Job.
• Yes, Job’s friends did come near, but mostly just so they could find out what he
did wrong so that they could escape such calamity.

EVER NOTICE how when one kid gets caught in trouble and is being punished that all the others get real quiet?

David says that
• None of his family or friends want to come around him.
• They are steering clear because they don’t want any part of this.

That is loneliness and that is grief.
David is bearing this alone.

And it just contributes to the fierce anger of God
And how much a predicament David is in.

BUT THEN THERE IS ALSO HIS ENEMIES; HIS FOES.
(12) “Those who seek my life lay snares for me; And those who seek to injure me have threatened destruction, And they devise treachery all day long.”

David’s friends saw it as a plague.
David’s enemies saw it as an OPPORTUNITY.

It’s like when you read the book of Obadiah and you hear the oracle concerning Edom.
• God was warning Edom
• Because in the day what Jerusalem was conquered by Babylon, and the people were fleeing from the city,
• The Edomites stood at the crossroads and were killing people with the sword.
• They were seizing upon Israel’s punishment and discipline.

David describes his enemies in the exact same way.
• They see God’s arrows in him…
• They see his head down…
• They see him bent over…
• And they see an opportunity to kick him even further and take advantage of his situation.

That is where David is.

So follow the story now.
• He has sinned.
• He did something that greatly displeased God.
• And in God’s displeasure He has severely punished David.
• It is a punishment so severe that his friends won’t even come near him.
• And while David is in the midst of that displeasure (while God is angry) David comes under attack from his enemies.

WELL WHAT DO YOU DO NOW?

• Can you really pray for deliverance when you know you don’t deserve it?
• Can you really ask God for help when He is angry at you?

Well that brings us to the 3rd point
#2 DAVID’S FAITH
Psalms 38:13-22

So David knows that God is angry at him.
And David knows that he is in danger from his enemies.

And yet, look at how David chooses to respond to their threats.
(13-14) “But I, like a deaf man, do not hear; And I am like a mute man who does not open his mouth. Yes, I am like a man who does not hear, And in whose mouth are no arguments.”

I just ignore it, and I refuse to answer.

It reminds of Christ
1 Peter 2:23 “and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;”

• Jesus demonstrated His faith in God by not responding to the attacks of His
critics.
• That is to say that while under attack, Jesus chose to let God fight for Him
instead of Him fighting for Himself.

Now, that makes sense to us regarding Jesus,
Because we know Jesus was the sinless Son of God.

God had already spoken from heaven,
“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”

But I’m sure at least somewhere in David’s mind, he would have to wonder what God’s announcement from heaven for him would be like:

“This is David who does dumb things,
And I don’t even want to talk about him right now!”

That’s obviously an exaggeration, but you get the point.
I can see why Jesus would feel good about trusting God,
But as angry as God is at David right now,
Why would he be confident to trust God?

And yet, the faith Christ showed is also the faith that David shows.

He determines to trust God to fight for him, and not to fight for himself.

(15-16) “For I hope in You, O LORD; You will answer, O Lord my God. For I said, “May they not rejoice over me, Who, when my foot slips, would magnify themselves against me.”

David is currently under God’s anger,
And yet David still trusts in God’s deliverance on his behalf.

Do you see that?

Now, just to make sure that you don’t think that David and God patched things up between verses 12 and 13…
David lets you know that he is still under God’s discipline.

(17-20) “For I am ready to fall, And my sorrow is continually before me. For I confess my iniquity; I am full of anxiety because of my sin. But my enemies are vigorous and strong, And many are those who hate me wrongfully. And those who repay evil for good, They oppose me, because I follow what is good.”

• Nothing has changed.
• David is still in the pit.
• He is still confessing his iniquity.
• And he is still being attacked by his enemies who want to see him fall.

So we have here this David, who has offended God,
Brought upon His wrath, and who is suffering under it,
Still determining to cry out to God for deliverance.

(21-22) “Do not forsake me, O LORD; O my God, do not be far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!”

And the obvious question we would have at this point, is this:
• With the anger that God presently felt toward David, why would David think that God would be willing to come to his defense at this moment?

Does that seem a little presumptuous to you?

I’LL TELL YOU WHY.
Because David knew what Jeremiah knew.

Lamentations 3:22-32 “The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him. It is good that he waits silently For the salvation of the LORD. It is good for a man that he should bear The yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone and be silent Since He has laid it on him. Let him put his mouth in the dust, Perhaps there is hope. Let him give his cheek to the smiter, Let him be filled with reproach. For the Lord will not reject forever, For if He causes grief, Then He will have compassion According to His abundant lovingkindness.”

Jeremiah knew what all sons know.
• The discipline of my father does not equal the hatred of my father.
• The discipline of my father indicates the love of my father.

At times sons need discipline.
“it is good for a man that he should bear the yoke of his youth. Let him sit alone and be silent since God has laid it on him. Let him put his mouth in the dust…let him give his cheek to the smiter, let him be filled with reproach.”

• Those aren’t bad things.
• Everyone needs to learn those lessons.
• And the Lord teaches them.

But at the same time,
Don’t let discipline or God’s anger toward you
Cause you to doubt His loyal love to you either.

For even in great discipline, Jeremiah knew:
“the Lord will not reject forever, for if He causes grief, then He will have compassion according to His abundant lovingkindness.”

David knew that too.

Ever read Psalms 103?
Psalms 103:9-14 “He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.”

And I just find it fascinating that
Even in a time when David knew that he had earned God’s displeasure,
That David did not allow that to weaken his faith.

Despite angering God David knew he could still count on God.

David knew what Paul told Timothy:
2 Timothy 2:13 “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.”

So let me ask you if you’ve ever blown it?
• Let me ask you if you’ve ever messed up royally?
• Let me ask you if you’ve ever felt the anger of God’s displeasure?

• Have you ever committed folly and made wrong decisions?
• Have you ever collapsed under the weight of your own rebellion?
• Have you ever been disgusted with your own stubbornness?

Well the wonderful reality is that God’s discipline towards us
Does not indicate hatred towards us…it indicates love for us.

And in those moments we can still rest in His CHECED.
We can still rest in His loyal covenantal love.

God has sovereignly determined
To set His love upon those whom He has chosen,
And nothing can change that.

TURN TO: ROMANS 8:31-39

That is great news for believers.

And we sing:
“Great is Thy faithfulness O God my Father. There is no shadow of turning with Thee. Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not. As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

“Pardon for sin And a peace that endureth; Thine own dear presence to cheer And to guide; Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow; Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside.

Great is Thy faithfulness, Great is Thy faithfulness; Morning by morning new mercies I see. And all I have needed Thy hand hath provided. Great is Thy faithfulness Lord unto me”

BELIEVER YOU CAN TRUST IN THAT.

That regardless of what you’ve done.
• Even if you’ve walked through a season of sin and displeasure.
• Even if you know the sting of God’s strap and have felt the weight of His arrows in your side.

That does not mean that God has turned on you.
• He is as loyal to you now as He has ever been.
• Trust in Him.

Because incidentally…
• Those Babylonians that destroyed His temple, God destroyed.
• Those Edomites that cut down the deserters, God destroyed.

He disciplined Israel, but He never rejected them.
David banked on that as well.