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A Prayer Of The Afflicted
Psalms 102
March 28, 2021

It’s not hard to title this Psalm, since the Bible does it for us.

Actually the Bible gives a longer title:
“A Prayer of the Afflicted when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the LORD.”

That speaks a mouthful regarding the content of this Psalm.
It is no doubt one that has been easily related to
And sung countless times by those who suffer.

Suffering is a subject in which we find much material in Scripture.

• We see many who suffer
• We see promises of suffering
• We see responses to suffering
• We see reasons for suffering

The Scripture also gives us many purposes for why God allows suffering.

PUNISHMENT is certainly one.
• The book of Judges shows this repeatedly, that God’s people would slip into idolatry and God would bring upon them a foreign nation to punish them for their sin.
• Even the Exile of Israel to Babylon was a form of punishment for Israel’s sin against God and her idolatry.
• We understand that in life.

DISCIPLINE / SANCTIFICATION is clearly a purpose for suffering.

Hebrews 12:5-6 “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.”

• One of the ways that God cleanses or sanctifies His children is through the furnace of affliction.
• God uses suffering as a way of conforming us into His righteous image.

ENDURANCE is another.

James 1:2-4 “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

• Endurance is a necessary attribute for living the Christian life, and the simple fact is that you cannot learn endurance in a weekend course.
• It takes a while.
• It requires the child of God to be put in a difficult situation for an extended period of time simply to learn how to endure.

SYMPATHY is certainly a purpose for suffering.

• We are called to weep with those who weep or mourn with those who mourn.
• We are called to pray for prisoners like we are prisoners with them.
• We understand that nothing teaches us sympathy and compassion for the suffering of another like our own suffering.

There are many purposes and reasons
For which God allows or even causes His children to suffer.

The one we examine tonight is:
TO BENEFIT OTHERS

Namely that our suffering, and the way God helps us in the midst of it,
Can be used for the benefit of others.

Consider for a moment:
1 Peter 5:6-11 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

Peter there speaks of a people who are suffering at the hands of Satan.
• That prowling lion is attacking them.
• God is allowing it
• They are called to endure and resist
• They are promised that an end to it will come

But notice the simple encouragement that is given in verse 9
“But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.”

• Now, Peter is NOT SAYING, “Keep your chin up, you’re not the only one who is suffering.”
• He DOESN’T SAY, “the same experience of suffering are being experienced by your brethren who are in the world.”

Peter says that those experiences of suffering “are being accomplished”
The Greek word for “accomplished” is EPITELEO

You recognize TELEO since it is the word Christ used on the cross
When He said, “It is finished”
Christ said it was finished or completed or accomplished.

Peter uses the same, only he uses an intensified form of the word
When he says EPITELEO.

Peter says in your suffering, look around,
Brothers and sisters around the world completing their suffering. They are accomplishing God’s purposes. They are graduating.

Or we might consider Paul’s language when he said, “In all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him whom loved us.” (Romans 8:37)

And so we see that
• All of the suffering of other believers…
• And the completion of that suffering…
• Is a great encouragement to those who currently suffer.

Consider what James said:
James 5:10-11 “As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.”

James does the same thing as Peter.
In your suffering he tells you to look at the suffering of those who have gone before you.
• Look at how they endured…
• Look at the end result of their suffering…
• You will find encouragement from their story.

Or consider Paul:
2 Corinthians 1:6-7 “But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort.”

• Paul said that our suffering is for your benefit.
• Paul even said, “for your comfort and salvation”
• It is remarkable that our suffering could be used to such great extents.

It appears that this is the mentality learned by our Psalmist in Psalms 102.

Just as he has gained encouragement
From the way God has delivered others in their suffering,
He knows God will use his story to encourage future generations.

It is perhaps the noblest purpose of suffering.

To suffer and to do so in order that you might encourage others
And to be used of God for the benefit of others and for His glory.

That is a Christ-like mindset in suffering.

NOW, a good mindset doesn’t change the pain of suffering,
And it doesn’t change a desire for relief.

And you will see all of that here in our Psalmist.

So let’s work through this Psalm tonight
As we see this sufferer who “is faint”
And who is pouring out “his complaint”.

I would say that while “complaint” has almost an entirely negative connotation in our language, I’m not sure this Psalmist is speaking negatively.

The word can also simply speak of “one who is consumed in thought.”

For instance:
Elijah used it in his mocking of Baal at Mt. Carmel.
1 Kings 18:27 “It came about at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.”

There the same word is translated “occupied”
One who is too mentally distracted to listen to your complaint.

The Psalmist isn’t so much complaining about God as he is consumed with his suffering.
• He can’t talk about anything else…
• He can’t focus on anything else…
• His mind is overcome with this one issue…

And in that great turmoil, he lends us a great perspective.
Let’s work our way through this Psalm.
3 Points

#1 THE PAIN OF HIS SUFFERING
Psalms 102:1-11

Very simply, you need to gain some perspective
As to how badly our Psalmist is suffering.

There are 5 sub points here that will help us understand the degree of his suffering.
1) URGENCY (1-2)

“Hear my prayer, O LORD! And let my cry for help come to You. Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress; Incline Your ear to me; In the day when I call answer me quickly.”

Those verses speak to us of a man who is out of time.

Maybe when we FIRST ENTER suffering we may have the mentality that:
• “I can endure this…”
• “This is for my good so let it be…”

If this Psalmist at one point had that mentality, it is gone now.
• Now, he wants relief.
• Now, he wants it over.

Polite requests have turned into pointed statements.
• “Hear my prayer”
• “Do not hide Your face from me”
• “Incline Your ear to Me”
• “answer me quickly”

It feels a little like the urgency of the message Jesus received from Martha and Mary stating, “He whom You love is sick.” (John 11:3)

It’s time for You to come and come now.
There is urgency in the Psalm.

2) FASTING (3-4)

“For my days have been consumed in smoke, And my bones have been scorched like a hearth. My heart has been smitten like grass and has withered away, Indeed, I forget to eat my bread.”

There is turmoil in his innermost being.
He speaks of the point of his “bones” and the pain of his “heart”

That is poetic language to illustrate the depth of his sorrow.
• If someone says, “I hurt in my heart for them”
• Or, “I could feel it in my bones”

That is language that speaks of a deeper pain.

Certainly that is the pain of the Psalmist
And in response he says, “I forget to eat my bread.”

It is a naturally induced fast.
• Fasting is anytime the spiritual takes precedent over the physical.
• When you are so consumed with a spiritual issue that to stop and eat just doesn’t make sense.
• In fact, often times a person may not even be hungry in their fasting.

An intentional fast may be a time when you purposely put aside the physical for the sake of the spiritual. In that time, you might actually be hungry, but you intentionally push that aside for the sake of the spiritual cause.

But a natural one; it may not even be a choice.

This Psalmist is suffering so greatly and so deeply
That he has even lost his appetite.

3) SLEEPLESSNESS (5-7)

“Because of the loudness of my groaning My bones cling to my flesh. I resemble a pelican of the wilderness; I have become like an owl of the waste places. I lie awake, I have become like a lonely bird on a housetop.”

Certainly you see that sleep has fled from his eyes.
It’s not just bad sleep, but no sleep.
He can’t escape it.

But it is also a great loneliness.
He compares himself to 3 birds here.
• “a pelican in the wilderness”
• “an owl of the waste places”
• “a lonely bird on a housetop”

He is alone and he cannot escape his pain even through sleep.
(no friends, no family, no comfort, no sleep)
NO RELIEF

4) TEARS (8-9)

“My enemies have reproached me all day long; Those who deride me have used my name as a curse. For I have eaten ashes like bread And mingled my drink with weeping”

In his pain, instead of comfort, our Psalmist found scorn and reproach.

It is hard not to think of Job here
• Whose on wife told him to “curse God and die”;
• Whose own friends came only to accuse him of wickedness.
• No one helped and no one cared.
• He sat on the ash heap in repentance hoping to find relief from his predicament,
• But all he found was ridicule and shame.

And his tears have been many.

5) DESPAIR (10-11)

“Because of Your indignation and Your wrath, For You have lifted me up and cast me away. My days are like a lengthened shadow, And I wither away like grass.”

• The Psalmist fancies himself under God’s “indignation”
• And under God’s “wrath”
• He feels as though God has “cast [him] away”

And he says, “My days are like a lengthened shadow”

You know that “late in the day even a short man casts a long shadow.”
The Psalmist is saying, “I’m at the end”

He is finished and about to depart.
“I wither away like grass”

And we simply read all that, and listen to his painful lament
To get a handle on THE DEGREE OF HIS SUFFERING.

IT IS BAD.

The Pain of His Suffering
#2 THE PURPOSE OF HIS SUFFERING
Psalms 102:12-22

This is where great perspective begins to emerge.
The Psalmist here begins to unload some tremendous wisdom regarding the purposes behind his suffering.

He just stated in verse 11 that “I wither away like grass.”
• That is a picture of how transient he is.
• His life is temporary.
• He said in verse 3 “my days are consumed in smoke”

He won’t be here long.
It reminds of James telling us that our days are simply “a vapor”

We are temporary at best.

However, in verse 12 the Psalmist focus shifts to God.
(12) “But You, O LORD, abide forever, and Your name to all generations.”

That is to say, “While I am temporary and transient like smoke or grass, You are eternal.”

He is recognizing something about God.
• In my suffering, I cannot see the purpose, because I am limited to such a small view.
• But You are eternal. You see the end-game.
• You see beyond this moment into the far-reaching purposes of how my suffering will be used.

That is great perspective.

Often times I remind people that it is not often that
We receive our “Ah-ha!” moment in this life.

That is to say, very few people are ever allowed to see
The full purposes behind their suffering.

(Joseph got to see it – “God sent me here to save you”)

But think about Job, he was never told.
And most of the time neither are we.

But I also remind people that if you trust the goodness of God
• Then you should know that someday we will be with the Lord.
• On that day, we will know fully as we are fully known.
• On that day we will understand why God allowed our suffering and we will
undoubtedly say, “That was brilliant!”

We will thank God for what He accomplished through our suffering.

The Psalmist is walking in that kind of faith here.
He knows God sees all and knows all.

He also knows that God is always compassionate
• And that He never causes us to suffer for no purpose
• Or for one second longer than is necessary.

He knows God immediately comes to the aid of His suffering children
When the purpose is complete.

(13-14) “You will arise and have compassion on Zion; For it is time to be gracious to her, For the appointed time has come. Surely Your servants find pleasure in her stones And feel pity for her dust.”

Compassion is coming
Grace is coming

And he even sees a day when God’s servants will “find pleasure in her stones and feel pity for her dust.”

That is to say that in the midst of the rubble they will be comforted.

The Psalmist knows it is coming.

And he knows that this suffering and ultimate deliverance will be for the glory of God.
(15) “So the nations will fear the name of the LORD and all the kings of the earth Your glory.”

This deliverance from suffering will be a way
In which God glorifies Himself in the midst of the world.

We think about times like the Exodus here.
• 400 years of slavery
• Children of Israel crying out
• And when God saw fit to deliver and comfort His people, He did so to His own
glory.

The Psalmist knows that too.

So there is some really good perspective here even though he is suffering so intensely.
1. He knows that his suffering is not wasted
2. He knows there is a purpose even if he can’t see it
3. He knows that it will come to an end because God is compassionate
4. He knows that when it ends God will be glorified in the world.

Those are really good perspectives from a man
Who is suffering so badly that he can’t eat or sleep.

I suppose a good question would be:
WHY DOES HE KNOW THAT?

(16-17) “For the LORD has built up Zion; He has appeared in His glory. He has regarded the prayer of the destitute And has not despised their prayer.”

Notice the verb tense.
Because that is what God “has” done in the past.

His suffering is not the first case of suffering.
There have been many who have come before him.

And even though he is in pain
He can see how it worked out for those who were before him.

• That God “built up” what He afflicted
• That God “appeared in His glory”
• That God “regarded the prayer of the destitute”
• That God “has not despised their prayer”

The Psalmist’s confidence
Rests upon God’s track record with past sufferers.

He is doing exactly what Peter said.
1 Peter 5:9 “But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.”

So he is taking Peter’s advice.
He is being encouraged by the way
Previous generations found grace in their suffering.

And here is where he takes his own suffering to a whole new level.
He realizes that God may be doing the same thing through him
For those who will come after him.

(18) “This will be written for the generation to come, That a people yet to be created may praise the LORD.”

• His own story
• His own pain
• His own deliverance (which he has yet to see)
• Will be for “the generation to come”

They will be inspired by the way God cares for him.

Have you ever considered your suffering in such a light?
• That perhaps God is allowing you to walk through a trial that will someday be used to strengthen and encourage, possibly even save your grandchildren?

Listen to the Psalmist:
(19-22) “For He looked down from His holy height; From heaven the LORD gazed upon the earth, To hear the groaning of the prisoner, To set free those who were doomed to death, That men may tell of the name of the LORD in Zion And His praise in Jerusalem, When the peoples are gathered together, And the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.”

The Psalmist is talking about God as the Savior.
• The God who looked down upon the earth
• The God who heard the groaning of the prisoner
• The God who desired to set free those doomed to death
• The God who sought to save so that men may glorify Him

And part of the process to bring that about is your current suffering.
What if God is using your current suffering for the salvation of someone 100’s of years from now?

• Has anyone in here ever been inspired by the sufferings of Paul?
• How about the suffering of Cory Ten Boom?
• How about the suffering of Lottie Moon?
• How about the suffering of Jim Elliot?
• How about the suffering of Horatio Spafford?

Was their suffering wasted?
No, God has used it for decades, even after they are gone.

That is pretty remarkable perspective from the Psalmist.
That the eternal God who sees the end, is using your suffering (which is terrible) in ways that you couldn’t even imagine.

The Psalmist sees even that purpose in his suffering.

One more point
The Pain of His Suffering; The Purpose of His Suffering
#3 THE PROMISE OF HIS SUFFERING
Psalms 102:23-28

Again the Psalmist tells us how hard this is.
(23-24) “He has weakened my strength in the way; He has shortened my days. I say, “O my God, do not take me away in the midst of my days, Your years are throughout all generations.”

His perspective is not because this is easy.
He is suffering.

BUT GOD IS ABOUT TO GIVE HIM A GREAT PROMISE.

NOW THERE IS SOMETHING AT THIS POINT THAT I MUST SHOW YOU.

I must show you THE IDENTITY OF THE PSALMIST.

You say, “His name isn’t given.”

True, it’s not given here,
But it is revealed to us in the New Testament.

TURN TO: HEBREWS 1:8-12
• Hebrews 1 is a conglomeration of Old Testament passages meant to show that Jesus is greater than the angels.

Now look at verse 8,
“But of the Son He says,”

So can we recognize that the following verses are verses that God the Father spoke about God the Son?

Of course we can. “But of the Son he says…”

Now, verses 8-9 are a quotation of Psalms 45-6-7,
But look down to verse 10.

Hebrews 1:10-12 “And, “YOU, LORD, IN THE BEGINNING LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH, AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS; THEY WILL PERISH, BUT YOU REMAIN; AND THEY ALL WILL BECOME OLD LIKE A GARMENT, AND LIKE A MANTLE YOU WILL ROLL THEM UP; LIKE A GARMENT THEY WILL ALSO BE CHANGED. BUT YOU ARE THE SAME, AND YOUR YEARS WILL NOT COME TO AN END.”

You notice “And”
Which means this is another passage that
God the Father spoke about God the Son.

You should recognize it because it is a direct quote of Psalms 102:25-27.
• That means that actually Psalms 102:25-27 is God’s answer to the Psalmist.
• Verses 25-27 are God the Father speaking to God the Son.

That makes Jesus the author of the Psalm
And verses 25-27 God’s answer to Him.

And so we have Jesus in this Psalm suffering so badly that

He is crying out with urgency:

Matthew 27:46 “About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”

He is suffering to such a degree that
• His days are consumed in smoke,
• His bones are scorched
• His heart has been smitten like grass
• He has forgotten to eat His bread.

John 4:31-32 “Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.”

His is suffering sleeplessness and solidarity as He is alone in this world.
Luke 5:16 “But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.”

Luke 6:12 “It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.”

Or we talk about His tears and reproach.
Hebrews 5:7 “In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.”

We could even mention His despair as He bore God’s indignation and God’s wrath.

(10) “Because of Your indignation and Your wrath, For You have lifted me up and cast me away.”

Do you not see the cross there?

And yet, in His suffering
He maintained the perspective of the purpose behind it.
He knew His suffering
Was for the salvation of those who come later.

Look again
(18-22) “This will be written for the generation to come, That a people yet to be created may praise the LORD. For He looked down from His holy height; From heaven the LORD gazed upon the earth, To hear the groaning of the prisoner, To set free those who were doomed to death, That men may tell of the name of the LORD in Zion And His praise in Jerusalem, When the peoples are gathered together, And the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.”

Jesus knew that.
Listen to Him preach:

Luke 4:17-21 “And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.” And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

He knew why He was suffering.

And He knew the promises of His suffering.
Because God answered Him in verses 25-27.

“Of old You founded the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. “Even they will perish, but You endure; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed. “But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end.”

God told Him that He would endure.
God answered that He would be the same.

Look at that:
(27) “But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end.”

The writer of Hebrews knew that, for he wrote:
Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

And the ultimate promise to Christ:
(28) “The children of Your servants will continue, And their descendants will be established before You.”

Isaiah 53:10 “But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.”

Through His suffering He will save His children.

Psalms 102 is a glorious promise
Of the victorious suffering of Christ
And what God accomplished through His suffering.

For us it becomes a tremendous promise,
• Not only of the sufferings of Christ,
• But that God doesn’t waste our suffering either.

He uses every ounce of it for His glory
And even for the salvation and encouragement of future generations.

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Why We Believe Jesus Rose From The Dead
Luke 24:13-35
March 28, 2021

I know it’s been a couple of weeks since we were together in Luke’s gospel,
But certainly you remember where we left off.

Luke has now reached the glorious truth of the resurrection.
• We saw Jesus’ birth
• We saw Jesus’ ministry
• We saw Jesus’ death
• We saw Jesus’ burial
• And now Luke gets to the part of the story that is ABSOLUTELY UNIQUE TO CHRISTIANITY and that is THE RESURRECTION.

A friend of mine posted on social media this last week
A picture of the empty tomb and wrote,
“The real symbol of Christianity.”

AND HE’S RIGHT.

Certainly we focus a lot of our attention on the cross and rightly so,
For it was there that Jesus atoned for the sin of His own.

But what makes the Empty Tomb the really fitting symbol
Is that the resurrection is unique to Jesus.

NO OTHER RELIGION OR WOULD-BE SAVIOR CAN CLAIM IT.
Only Jesus conquered death.

The resurrection is the single most important truth of Christianity.
For even the cross is made void apart from the resurrection of Christ.

You are very familiar with that famous passage from Paul:
1 Corinthians 15:12-19 “Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.”

NOTHING about the life of Christ is of eternal significance
IF the resurrection doesn’t occur.
• His birth
• His miracles
• His preaching
• Even His death
Those things may be inspiring, but are powerless to save
IF Jesus does not rise from the dead.

Paul said it perfectly, “If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.”

BUT CHRIST WAS RAISED.
He is alive.

And each of the gospel writers set out to prove that point to us.

As we noted last time,
Every one of them has one glaring omission in their account. None of them include the actual resurrection.

NONE OF THEM SAW IT.

They are instead forced to prove to us that the resurrection occurred based on other facts.
• Matthew liked the story about the guards and how they abandoned their post
after having seen the stone rolled away.
• Mark liked how Jesus appeared to the women and they were eye-witnesses
of the resurrected Lord.
• John like the condition of the empty tomb, and the orderly fashion in which
the grave clothes were displayed.

But Luke included none of that.
• There is no mention from Luke about the guards
• There is no mention from Luke about Jesus appearing to the women
• There is very little mention from Luke about the appearance of the empty tomb

LUKE HAS A DIFFERENT PIECE OF EVIDENCE
THAT SOLIDIFIES FOR HIM
WHY HE KNEW JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD.

And if you’ll remember, “proof”
Was the very reason Luke set out to pen his gospel in the first place.

Luke’s gospel opened with:
Luke 1:1-4 “Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.”

• Luke set out as a historian bent on giving definitive evidence to the person
and work of Jesus.
• He noted that there had been many eye-witnesses who had told many
stories regarding Christ.
• Luke set out to investigate it all and write down an accurate account.

He was very much about giving the most compelling evidence possible
Regarding who Jesus was and what He did.

And now Luke comes to the most important event, the resurrection
And Luke gives us his most compelling evidence
That Jesus was dead and is now alive.

WHAT IS LUKE’S EVIDENCE THAT JESUS ROSE?
The Scripture says He rose.

That is Luke’s proof.
That is Luke’s main point.
We believe Jesus rose from the dead because the Bible says He did.

We started looking at it a couple of weeks ago.

WE SAW THOSE WOMEN:
• Rising early Sunday morning (possibly even late Saturday night)
• Gathering the spices and approaching the tomb
• The saw the stone rolled away and they were “perplexed”

• They had no solution for what had occurred.
• It never even entered their mind that He might be alive.
• For this they were mildly rebuked by the angel who asked them, “Why do you
seek the living One among the dead?”

• And then the angel said, “Remember how He spoke to you…”

The proof offered by the angel to the women that Jesus was alive
Was the fact that Jesus said He would die and rise again.

• The women ran with this proof to the 11 and their companions,
• But Luke told us that they would not believe these woman, but instead their
words were like “nonsense” to them.

The entire problem going on among all the followers of Jesus
Is that they are all in disarray and despair
Simply because they have not believed the Scriptures.

Well, having seen the women two weeks ago,
THIS MORNING we move forward to a story only Luke includes.

Jesus appears to two men who are on the road to Emmaus.

Let’s work our way through the text.
#1 THE COMMUTE
Luke 24:13-14

What we are seeing here is
THE FINAL UNRAVELING of all that occurred over the past 3 years.

It is their assumption that:
• Jesus is Dead
• It is all over

These men had been with the 11.
• We read in 24:9 that when the women left the tomb they “reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.”
• These two guys were some of “the rest” that were mentioned.
• BUT NOW IT’S OVER

“And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem.”

• Perhaps they lived there, perhaps it was the first leg of their journey.
• Either way, the Passover is finished
• And so is any hope of Jesus delivering Israel.

(14) “And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place.”

What you have here is an attempt to gain understanding
Not just to the past 3 days, but likely to the past 3 years.
(they are trying to “wrap their minds around all of it”)

• They had been convinced (as you will see) that Jesus was someone special.
• They had pegged Him as the redeemer of Israel.
• They had expected a great deliverance.

• They certainly saw His miraculous power…
• They certainly heard His preaching…

• They were filled with expectation.

But now, it all seemed to come crashing down.

And so you can imagine their conversation.
• “I can’t believe He’s gone…”
• “Remember when He healed that leper..?”
• “Remember when He fed the 5,000..?”

Their faith had been thrown into a tail-spin
And now they were trying to make sense of everything
As they walked to Emmaus.

What will become apparent is that the omniscient Jesus,
Who no doubt knew what they were talking about,
Didn’t care for their conversation.

It actually reminds me of Ezekiel 8
• When Ezekiel and some of the elders of Israel are sitting around discussing their current situation. (They are in exile)
• The implied conversation seems to be a confusion among the elders and Ezekiel as to why God won’t just forgive Israel instead of exiling?
• The LORD heard that conversation too, and in response to it, the LORD grabbed Ezekiel by the hair of the head and transported him in a vision to Jerusalem and let him see all that was happening so that he would understand why his reasoning was so far off.

That is the type of thing that is about to happen here.

We have two men stuck in grief and confusion
And they are discussing how everything just went wrong.

And the Lord is about to figuratively grab them by the hair of the head
And address their despair as well.

The Commute
#2 THE CONVERSATION
Luke 24:15-24

So here we find that the Lord Himself crashes their party.

(15-17) “While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they stood still, looking sad.”

So Jesus shows up, but they aren’t allowed to recognize Him.

Again we find that with Luke eye witnesses are NOT the main goal.
Luke actually includes that these men did not get to see Him initially.

WHY?
Because Luke is building a case that
Our faith does not rest on sight, but on Scripture.

We all remember what Peter will say later:
1 Peter 1:8 “and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,”

• We haven’t seen Jesus either.
• We don’t believe because we have seen Him.
• We believe because the Scripture says He came, the Scripture says He died,
and the Scripture says He rose.

Incidentally, that is also why we believe His currently sitting at the right hand of the Father and why we believe He will return.

This is a very important foundation Luke is building for you.
I really can’t stress this enough.

Back in the 70’s and 80’s we endured what was known as “The Inerrancy Controversy”

• Evangelicals actually debated whether or not the word “inerrant” should be used of the Bible.
• There was a fight regarding whether the Bible was without error.

Fortunately that battle was won, and though there will always be skeptics, the truth today of the Bible’s perfection has been preserved.

But today we do not fight for the INERRANCY of Scripture;
Today we fight for the SUFFICIENCY of Scripture.

Is the Bible enough?

And there are many who actually answer, “No”.
• We have those in the charismatic movement who are continually seeking new fresh revelations from the Holy Spirit or even dreams or visions.

• We have those born out of the evangelical movement who measure truth by their feelings and experiences.

• We have those seeking to maintain academic credibility who continually run to scientific evidence and apologetics in order to defend the faith.

And in reality what each of those do at their core is say,
“Scripture alone is not a sufficient defense of the gospel.”

They say that in order to defend the gospel among skeptics we need:
• Scripture and signs and wonders
• Scripture and experiences
• Scripture and scientific evidence
• Scripture and philosophical logic

BUT LISTEN TO LUKE.
He is beating his drum as loudly as he knows how that
All you need is the Scripture.

• Even when these men are confronted by Jesus they are not permitted to
recognize Him.

• And as you will see they are going to be told to stand on Scripture as their
evidence that Jesus is alive.

SO JESUS APPROACHES.
And I told you He didn’t care much for their conversation.

In fact He says, “What are these words that you are exchanging..?”

• And the men stopped
• They were looking sad
• And “One of them, named Cleopas, answered…”

Now I want you to pay special attention to the answer of Cleopas here.
(You could preach an entire sermon just on what he says)

You would call it “THE IMPOTENT GOSPEL”

What you have in verses 18-24 is the gospel we would be forced to preach
IF Jesus had not risen from the dead.

If Jesus was not raised, THIS is the weak and powerless and depressing message that you and I would still be preaching today.

Hearing this highlights again for us the importance of the resurrection.

Romans 1:4 “[Jesus] was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead…”

The power of the gospel comes from the fact that Jesus is alive.
If Jesus was not raised, then this would be our pathetic message.

Listen to what Cleopas says.
(Let me break it down into 4 points)

1) JESUS WAS DIFFERENT (18-19)

“One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?” And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people,”

One thing Cleopas was sure of is that Jesus was different.

• Cleopas calls Him “a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people.”

The thing that jumps out at you immediately is that
Cleopas called Jesus “a prophet”.

Now some have said that he is merely pointing out that Jesus is a prophet like Moses.

Deuteronomy 18:15 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.”

That was a messianic promise from Moses.

But I don’t think for one second that is how Cleopas meant it.

Jesus is about to point out that Cleopas
HAD NOT LISTENED to the Old Testament prophets.

No, I think Cleopas calls Jesus “a prophet” because
That is the best thing you can say about a dead man.

• If He’s dead you CAN’T call Him the Son of God.
• If He’s dead you CAN’T call Him the Savior of the World.
• If He’s dead “prophet” is the best title you can give Him.

That is actually a title of honor for everyone except Jesus.
For Jesus that is a horrible reproach.

But Jesus was “mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people.”

• It was evident that Jesus had God’s power.
• It was evident that Jesus spoke God’s message.
• It was evident that Jesus enjoyed God’s favor.
• It was evident that Jesus captivated the crowds of people.

Cleopas even insinuates that Jesus was the greatest who ever lived.
• He was better than them all.
• No prophet who ever came could hold a candle to Jesus.

Jesus was different.
Jesus was better.

But then comes the bad news.
2) JESUS IS DEAD (20)

“and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him.”

The cross is a key component of the gospel message today.
• We preach it because of its power to save.
• We preach it because of its promised atonement.

But to Cleopas (who thought Jesus was dead) the cross was no message of salvation.
• To Cleopas the cross was a depressing defeat.
• To Cleopas the cross was a tragic loss.

JESUS WAS DEAD.

You can hear Cleopas as he reminisces all that Jesus once was,
But the story ended in tragedy
With Jesus hanging on a Roman cross.

What a horrible message that would be if that is all we had.

And the longer Cleopas preaches the more depressing it becomes.
3) WE ARE DEFEATED (21)

“But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened.”

You can’t miss the words “But we were hoping…”
• As in – “not any more”
• As in – “now it’s over”

They had pegged Jesus as the redeemer.
That part was accurate.

What they misunderstood was what redemption meant.

Cleopas, like the rest of the Jews, thought that their greatest need was deliverance from Rome.
• To them the redeemer would come and deliver Israel from Roman oppression
and save them from Roman rule.
• They had pegged Jesus as that guy.

But the redemption they really needed was not from Rome.
• They needed redemption from sin.
• They needed forgiveness from God.
• They needed to escape God’s wrath.

This was the redemption Jesus actually brought.

Had Cleopas understood that, the cross would have made sense,
But since he didn’t, the cross was nothing but failure and despair.

To them Jesus died without redeeming Israel.
They could not see that He died to redeem Israel.
They thought they had lost.

Again, without the resurrection,
This would be the gospel you would preach today.

• Jesus was someone great
• But Jesus was murdered
• He died without ever completing the mission we hoped He would complete.
• He came to redeem us, and He had the power to do it, but they killed Him
before He got the chance.

Wow, that’s a great message isn’t it?

Well that’s the gospel you get if you remove the resurrection.

Jesus was Different, Jesus is Dead, We are Defeated
4) SOME ARE IN DENIAL (22-24)

(22-24) “But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive. “Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.”

You will remember that when the women came and reported what they had seen and heard that the men in the room thought it was “nonsense”.

Count Cleopas as one of those.
• These women were dreaming…
• These women were being irrational…
• These women were believing and proclaiming fairy tales…
• They were conspiracy theorists…

Now Cleopas admits that they did investigate their claims.

“Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.”

In other words:
We investigated their claims, and it is true, His body is gone, but there is no evidence that He is alive.

• Do you see how weak a faith is when it is only built on visual evidence?
• Do you see how weak a faith is when it is only built on experiences?
• Do you see how weak a faith is when it is only built on emotion?

BASED ON ALL OF THAT
These men saw no reason to believe that Jesus was alive.

And that was their message to the world.
• That was their conversation.
• That is what they were talking about.
• That was their message to Jesus whom they thought to be an ignorant stranger.
• That would be the same impotent gospel you would preach to the world if Jesus was not raised.

And to that impotent gospel, Jesus speaks up.

The Commute, The Conversation
#3 THE CORRECTION
Luke 24:25-27

Here is the “grab them by the hair of the head” part.

“O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!”

• Jesus DID NOT rebuke them for failing to believe based on the moved stone.
• Jesus DID NOT rebuke them for failing to believe the testimony of the women.

Why did Jesus rebuke them?
For failing to believe the prophets.

They were rebuked because they did not believe the word of God.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

These men didn’t believe God.

Do you understand that?
• That is why the Scripture is so important.
• When we believe the Scripture, we are believing God.

And we say that
• God is a far more credible witness than science.
• God is a far more credible witness than experience.
• God is a far more credible witness than even eye witnesses.

That is certainly what Luke is revealing.

The prophets said that Jesus would die and rise again
And Jesus rebuked these men because they did not believe it.

• Jesus called them “foolish”
• Jesus called them “slow of heart to believe”.

Only a fool would fail to believe what God has said.

And Jesus continues.
(26) “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”

• If they had believed the Old Testament they would know that it was.
• If they had read Psalms 16 or Psalms 22 or Psalms 118 or Isaiah 53 then it would have been evident to them that the death and resurrection of the Christ was necessary.
• But they had been foolish and had failed to believe the prophets.

So Jesus gives them a sermon.
(27) “Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.”

Look, I’ll be honest.
I love the Bible and agree that it is absolutely perfect.

But, if I were allowed the liberty to tweak one thing,
This sermon would have been included in its entirety.

To have Jesus walk you through the Old Testament
And show you Himself throughout would have been amazing!

• He would have talked about that promise to Eve about how her seed would crush the serpent…
• He would have talked about how God clothed Adam and Eve in animal skins and the first blood sacrifice…
• He would have talked about Noah’s ark and how Jesus carries us through judgment…
• He would have talked about that ram caught in the thicket as Abraham was about to kill Isaac…
• He would talked about wrestling with Jacob…

And a host of other things like:
• The Passover Lamb
• The rock in the wilderness that gave water
• The manna that fell from heaven
• The serpent in the wilderness

• He would have explained Psalms 16 and how the Holy One would not undergo decay
• He would have explained Isaiah 53 and how He died for the sins of the people.
• He would have explained Psalms 118 and the champion who delivered the people.

What a sermon that would have been!

And here’s the point.
None of it was experiential or ecstatic or even scientific.
When Jesus laid out proof He did so by preaching the Scriptures.

IT IS ENOUGH!

And it answers again the question for us.
Why do we believe Jesus rose from the dead?
• Because the Scriptures says so.
• The Prophets said He would
• Jesus said He would
• Later the apostles in the N.T. will say He did.

And what is obvious to Luke in this text is that
THE SCRIPTURE WAS ENOUGH FOR THESE MEN.

The Commute, The Conversation, The Correction
#4 THE CONVICTION
Luke 24:28-35

So these men make it to Emmaus, and Jesus “acted as though He were going farther.”

He is seeing if they want more.

They did.
(29) “But they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.” So He went in to stay with them.”

• Jesus is now in the house and the preaching no doubt is continuing.
• And then Jesus reveals Himself,

But again there is something remarkable about what is said.

(30-32) “When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”

• So Jesus lets them see who He is, but then He vanishes.
• He is gone.

And these men now believe that Jesus has risen, but look at why.

(32) “They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”

Do you see that?
• These men were foolish and slow of heart because they had not believed the Scriptures.
• But once the Scriptures were explained they became men of conviction with burning hearts.

The Scripture did that.

And look at their conviction.
(33-35) “And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.” They began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.”

• 7 miles in the dark, back to Jerusalem to declare that Jesus really was alive.
• They went back and retold the story.

And Luke’s overall point is clear:
• The women were perplexed and ultimately rebuked because they had not believed what Jesus had said.
• These two men were sad and ultimately rebuked because they had not believed the prophets.

And let me tell you the same is true for you.

• You can dive into science…
• You can dive into experience…
• You can look for all sorts of extra-biblical proofs that Jesus is alive…

BUT THERE IS ONLY ONE YOU NEED AND THAT IS THE SCRIPTURES.

We believe Jesus is alive because
• The prophets said it
• Jesus said it
• And now for us, the apostles said it as well.

Listen again to Paul:
1 Corinthians 15:1-5 “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.”

Did you hear it?
“according to the Scriptures”

I want you to understand that
• Jesus is alive.
• He did rise from the dead.
• We do not have a powerless gospel like the one Cleopas preached.
• We have a Savior who conquered death.

And we know He did because the Scripture says so.

Download Here:

The Psalm of Pious Resolutions
Psalms 101
March 14, 2021

I stole the title of this Psalm from Charles Spurgeon.
He noted that such a title might better help us remember its content.

It is a Psalm that I remember having a profound impact upon me
Back when we did our “Month of Stillness” many years ago.

In our quest to seek the Lord, I was certainly moved by verse 2,
“I will give heed to the blameless way. When will You come to me? I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart.”

That is still a great reminder of the reality that
If we are a people who desire the presence of God in our lives
Then certainly we must understand
The commitment involved on our end.

Because I have been married 22 ½ years, and am now an expert I can tell you some of what I have learned.
• I enjoy watching a movie or sporting event or a television program at night, most of the time to fall asleep, but I’m not gonna lie, I like to watch it.
• Carrie on the other hand detests television, movies, sports on TV, and even the dust that lands on the television itself.
• Now, because I am a marriage expert, I’ve learned that when I come home and desire a conversation with my wife; that conversation will not happen if I turn on the TV at the same time.

Others have learned that conversations with people are hard to carry on
• If you the radio is turned up loud,
• Or the other person is buried in their phone,
• Or one person is trying to watch a movie.

I’m not saying there’s never a time for those types of things in your life, but we do understand that those are not things that necessarily build relationships with other people.

And then we come to God.
Can we really expect to have our relationship with God grow if there is never time set aside to build that relationship?

Are we really expecting God to break into our TV program with one of those “Emergency Broadcast System” interruptions and say,
“Pardon the interruption, please stand by for a message from the Lord.”

You get it.
If you want a closer and growing relationship with Jesus
Then you have to commit to it too.
Relationships run in both directions.

This Psalm has always inspired and even convicted me with that truth.

But more than just that,
The Psalm is actually the great resolution of a newly crowned King.

It is “A Psalm of David” as you notice in the sub-heading

And it is a Psalm that reveals the resolutions of David
• As to what kind of king he wants to be
• And how he plans on leading the nation.

And it is a lofty goal to say the least.

It certainly would fall in line with what we might call THE CHRISTIAN AMBITION.
2 Corinthians 5:9 “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.”

Certainly in reading this Psalm we understand why David is called “A Man After God’s Own Heart”

That is certainly his attitude.
• He fears God
• He loves God
• He desires to please God

HE WANTS TO BE A GODLY KING
It sure would be nice if modern day politicians
Would adopt such passions as this ancient king of Israel.

These are commendable resolutions to say the least.

And in order to walk through the Psalm we are going to break them down into two main points.
#1 HIS PRIVATE CONVICTIONS
Psalms 101:1-4

These 4 verses have to do with David’s own PERSONAL COMMITMENTS
For his personal walk before the Lord.

And we understand that this has to happen first.

We all remember how Jesus scolded the Pharisees:
Matthew 23:25-26 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.”

Any effort to put on a public persona of godliness
Without actually pursuing godliness in the heart
Is the worst of hypocrisy.

David was no such hypocrite.
He desired purity first in his private life
So that it might spread into his public ministry.

Let me break this first point down so that we might better grasp David’s convictions.

1) HIS FOCUS (1)

He begins with:
“I will sing of lovingkindness and justice”

OFTEN times when we mention those words we are speaking of them as SPECIFIC ATTRIBUTES OF THE LORD.

• “lovingkindness” being His CHECED or loyal covenantal love.
• “justice” being His propensity to always do what is right or just.

And while they are certainly attributes of God,
That is NOT how David speaks of them here.

Rather, David speaks of them as goals to be achieved.
David speaks of them as the standard to which he hopes to attain.

• Because they are God’s attributes, David wants them to be his attributes.
• Because they are said of God, David wants them to be said of him.

David wants to be a loyal king.
He wants to be committed and loyal to God’s covenant.

And David wants to be a just king.
He wants to walk in God’s justice and goodness and rightness.

It’s as if he starts off his reign by announcing,
“May my reign be a reign of loyalty to God and justice to all men.”

It is a high mark and high ambition for any in a position of leadership.

David continues “To You, O LORD, I will sing praises.”

This is the focus of David’s reign.
He desires his reign to be a loyal and just reign
So that it might be glorifying to God.

• God is the object of his reign
• God is the motive of his reign
• God is the beneficiary of his reign

That is David’s goal; that is David’s focus.
He longs for his reign to be one of loyalty, justice, and glory to God.

2) HIS DEVOTION (2)

We might say that this is David’s
BLUEPRINT for how he plans on obtaining that goal.

“I will give heed to the blameless way. When will You come to me? I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart.”

This has nothing to do with David’s outward persona
Or his public reputation.
This is all about David’s heart before the Lord.

David outlines his goal and it is “the blameless way”

David’s goal and objective is to walk in such a way
As to be blameless before God.
He doesn’t want to offend God in any way.

WHY?
Because he longs for the presence of God in his life.

Note the “When will you come to me?”

David longed for God’s presence.
• We remember David’s strong desire to bring the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem.

But David also understood that God was offended by sin
And any hope of fellowship with God
Must be accompanied by a blameless life.

After all, David also wrote:
Psalms 15 “O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honors those who fear the LORD; He swears to his own hurt and does not change; He does not put out his money at interest, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.”

David understood the required character to abide with God, why should that character be any different if we desire God to abide with us?

David was focused on being blameless before God.

And this included the strictest commitments to purity.
“I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart.”

Someone once said, “Character is who you are when no one is looking.”

It does no good to come to church and sing “How Great Thou Art”
If I go home and look at pornography in my closet.

It is hypocrisy to put forth a pious attitude in church
if I’m a devil to live with at home.

Again you remember the Pharisees.
• Those men with lengthened tassels and broadened phylacteries…
• Those men who sat themselves in the seat of Moses…
• Those men who prayed on the street corner…
• Those men who neglected their appearance when they fasted…

And yet at the same time
• They devoured widow’s houses…
• They loved the approval of men…
• They were lovers of money…
• They kept people out of the kingdom of God…

David was no Pharisee.
He did not desire a public life of piety without a private one first.

He was committed even in the privacy of his home
Where no one but God was watching.

That was his devotion
3) HIS DISCERNMENT (3)

Here you see that David understood that
There were forces working against him in his quest for holiness.

There was an invisible force that lurked behind every tree
That sought to trip him and see him stumble into sin.

David understood what many believers today have failed to understand.
1 Peter 5:8 “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

• David knew he was being hunted
• David knew there were traps set everywhere

He knew that success in his efforts to be blameless
Would require a strict commitment
To guarding what he put into his mind.

“I will set no worthless thing before my eyes;”

“worthless” is BEL-E-YAH-AL

It speaks of what is wicked, ungodly, or unprofitable.

Paul used a form of the word in 2 Corinthians.
2 Corinthians 6:14-15 “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?”

We are talking about things that have nothing in common with Christ.
There is absolutely no benefit to them in life.

Their only purpose is to pull us away from Christ.
David said, “I’ll have nothing to do with that.”

WHY?
“I hate the work of those who fall away;”

That would be the very opposite of CHECED (loyalty)

David says, “I’m not going to even look at the vile things of this world because all they do is pull people away from God and I hate it when people fall away from God.”

“It shall not fasten its grip on me.”

So David sees that there is a constant battle raging
Which seeks to sever him from his pious goals
And David has a plan for defeating it.

David says, “I’ll stay away from everything impure and godless so that I will never join those who fall away.”

In some ways it’s applying the instruction of Jesus
Who taught us to pray that we would not enter into temptation.

Well that was David.
I’m going to avoid temptation with everything I have.

His Focus, His Devotion, His Discernment
4) HIS EXPECTATION (4)

This is what David EXPECTS TO ACHIEVE
If he faithfully maintains the blueprint he lines out in the first 3 verses.

“A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will know no evil.”

We remember:
Psalms 1:1-3 “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. 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.”

That is the truth that David is seeking to apply.
• I’m going to focus on holiness…
• I’m going to devote myself to walking in integrity in all aspects of my life…
• I will stay away from those things which tempt me and pull me away…
• And the end result is that “I will know no evil”

So those are David’s Private Convictions
That is his personal life

#2 HIS PUBLIC COMMITMENTS
Psalms 101:5-8

After getting the log out of his own eye,
David’s next objective will be to remove the specs from Israel.

As King he understand his calling.
Romans 13:3-4 “For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.”

1 Peter 2:13-14 “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.”

• It is actually one of the few legitimate functions of the civil authorities.
• They are given the sword by God for the purpose of punishing evil.

Well, David seems to understand that.

Here is the new platform of his administration.
1) INTOLERANCE FOR THOSE WHO OFFEND GOD (5)

“Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy; No one who has a haughty look and an arrogant heart will I endure.”

We quickly recognize on that list things that God hates.

Proverbs 6:16-19 “There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.”

Psalms 50:20-21 “You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother’s son. “These things you have done and I kept silence; You thought that I was just like you; I will reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.”

And who could ever forget that “God is opposed to the proud”.

Could David really be considered a faithful king
If he condoned the things God hated?

David’s calling is to punish evildoers
And David says that is precisely what he is going to do.

He will have an intolerance for the things that God hates.
2) DEVOTION TO THOSE WHO LOVE THE LORD (6)

Here is a verse for every young man or young woman.
Find someone who lives this life correctly
And watch them and listen to them.

This verse might be a summation
Of the entire message of the book of Proverbs.

“My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; He who walks in a blameless way is the one who will minister to me.”

David was not going to listen to the wicked who have wicked desires,
But his refusal to listen was NOT DUE to some sort of pride
Where he wouldn’t listen to anyone.

David was more than happy to listen to those who are “faithful”
David sought a blameless life and so he is eager to listen to blameless people.

This is the way to ascend in David’s administration.
• If you want to be removed, then just do the things God hates.
• If you want to gain the ear of the king, then maintain a faithful and blameless lifestyle.

This is David’s public commitment.
These will be foundations of his reign.

3) REMOVAL OF THOSE WHO ARE PHONY (7)

Of course when you put out the memo that you are going to remove the wicked and listen to the godly then it only stands to reason that
INSTANTLY PEOPLE ARE GOING TO START ACTING MORE GODLY.

But what David knew is that for some it will only be an act.
They will try to deceive him in hypocrisy.

And David says, when I find that person out, he has to leave.

“He who practices deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who speaks falsehood shall not maintain his position before me.”

If I find out that you are not living a life of integrity
In your private life then you will lose your position.

I’m not in the business of listening to or taking advice from frauds.

I want the pure in heart.
I want those who are truly seeking to walk in the fear of the Lord.

4) COMMITMENT TO PRODUCE A RIGHTEOUS CITY (8)

He understands that the wicked are like weeds.
They continually return and continually have to be dealt with.

And so David says:
“Every morning I will destroy all the wicked of the land, So as to cut off from the city of the LORD all those who do iniquity.”

• He’s gonna spray the weeds…
• He’s gonna hoe the weeds…
• He’s gonna burn the weeds…

His goal is to have a weed free lawn.

I’m going to be a righteous king who rules in righteousness
And produces for the glory of God a righteous city.

Those are DAVID’S PIOUS RESOLUTIONS.
It’s pretty impressive.

But you’re already picking up on the problem.
DAVID NEVER LIVED UP TO THEM.

I mean the GLARING ONE is in verse 3.
(3) “I will set no worthless thing before my eyes;”

Of course we read:
2 Samuel 11:1-4 “Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem. Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance. So David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house.”

That certainly doesn’t sound like “the blameless way”
That David was seeking.

David spoke of the integrity of his house and yet we know his house was filled with issues.
• We have Amon who raped his half-sister (Absalom’s sister)
• David never addressed it.
• We have Absalom who led an insurrection

Not exactly a home life to be proud of.

We could talk about him and his righteous and upright administration, but we all remember Joab.

He was the general for David that continually shed blood
And pulled underhanded schemes.

Remember him murdering Abner?
2 Samuel 3:26-30 “When Joab came out from David, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the well of Sirah; but David did not know it. So when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the middle of the gate to speak with him privately, and there he struck him in the belly so that he died on account of the blood of Asahel his brother. Afterward when David heard it, he said, “I and my kingdom are innocent before the LORD forever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner. “May it fall on the head of Joab and on all his father’s house; and may there not fail from the house of Joab one who has a discharge, or who is a leper, or who takes hold of a distaff, or who falls by the sword, or who lacks bread.” So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner because he had put their brother Asahel to death in the battle at Gibeon.”

David never dealt with Joab.
Instead, on his deathbed he told Solomon to do it.

1 Kings 2:5-6 “Now you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed; he also shed the blood of war in peace. And he put the blood of war on his belt about his waist, and on his sandals on his feet. “So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to Sheol in peace.”

That’s not exactly great conviction.

David spoke big that he would cut off the deceitful and remove the wicked and the arrogant.

• Yet, when Absalom was killed for all those things
• He wept so greatly that Joab rebuked him for wishing that Absalom had lived
and all his army had perished.

Or another big day in David’s life.
2 Samuel 24:1-4 “Now again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and it incited David against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” The king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Go about now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and register the people, that I may know the number of the people.” But Joab said to the king, ” Now may the LORD your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king still see; but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?” Nevertheless, the king’s word prevailed against Joab and against the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to register the people of Israel.”

That is clearly the kind of ARROGANCE
That David wasn’t going to condone or put up with.

Now, my PURPOSE HERE IS NOT label David a liar or a phony, not at all.
• David was a man of faith.
• David loved God.
• David strived to please God.

BUT DAVID FAILED.

This is the reason I borrowed Spurgeon’s title for the Psalm.

I like the title: “The Psalm of Pious Resolutions”

I especially like the word here “resolution”
It makes us think of our culture and the propensity to make
“New Years Resolutions”

The problem with 99% of those is what?
• No one ever keeps them.
• Most resolutions have to do with diet and exercise and very few last even a month.
• It only takes a couple of weeks before we run into the flesh and we are conquered.

And that is why we must read Psalms 101 with a gospel perspective.

In the first 4 verses David outlined his blueprint for personal holiness.
• It was to seek the blameless way
• It was to walk in integrity in his house
• It was to keep all worthless things out of his sight
• And then he would know no evil.

In short,
If I can keep all those vile things out of my bubble, then I’ll be holy.

But there is a drastic problem in that.
SIN IS ALREADY IN THE BUBBLE!

Matthew 15:19-20 “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. “These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”

• Sin is not an external problem that you must hide from.
• Sin is an internal problem that you must be cured of.

And when the objective for curing sin is to work harder
Or strive more then there is always failure.

And for this I would remind you again
Of the great struggle that Paul gives us.

Romans 7:14-24 “For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. 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. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?”

I’m telling you David could have wrote that!

• And again, you all know I’m a huge fan of John MacArthur and RC Sproul and they both disagree with me here.
• They say Romans 7 is a spiritually mature man who grieves his ongoing sin.

I DISAGREE.
This is Paul, who when confronted with sinfulness
(regenerated to a heart that sought God),
Gave it his best effort to never do it again.

Paul, like David, wrote down his pious resolutions
And went out with the best of intentions.
BUT HE FAILED

WHY?
Because the Old Covenant always fails!

Hebrews 7:18-19 “For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness (for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.”

Paul would go on to say it too:
Romans 8:1-4 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

When men took a list of the things God hates and said, “I will work like a dog to never do those things, they all failed miserably.”

Now, that doesn’t mean that David was lost.
• David did love God.
• David looked to Christ.
• David was a man of faith.

But the point to be made is that
Pious commitments were impossible in his own strength.

Where do we find the strength for those types of commitments?
THE HOLY SPIRIT!

Romans 8:5-14 “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh — for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”

There you notice that all the things David desired were correct.
• Paul even tells us that we are under obligation to put to death the deeds of the body.
• We labor and strive for that.

But we do it with the power that the Holy Spirit provides.

Psalms 101 is a Psalm of perfect passion and limited power.
For David to write that Psalm under the Old Covenant was a futile dream.

But for us to read it under the New Covenant
It becomes a glowing example of the Christian ambition.

We should all sing Psalms 101!
This should be our cry!

But we do it with the strength and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit
Who sets us free from the Law of sin and of death.
We do it with the power He provides!

But this is the goal!

2 Corinthians 5:9 “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.”