Is It Worth It? Part 2

Introduction

Terry Slack began our meeting last Sunday morning in the Bible class time with an analysis of Psalm 73, a particular favorite of mine, and asking this question, is it worth it? I don’t know of a meeting that I have enjoyed any more than our four days with Terry Slack. It’s perhaps because we’re such great friends that we don’t even have to know each other’s name. But I really enjoyed my time with him. But I thought about his question, is it worth it? Was our meeting worth it? And I answer that, yes, it was.

Yes, it is. Is fighting temptation on a daily basis and pursuing fellowship worth it? Yes, it is.

Yes, it is.

He noticed Asaph’s many looks in this psalm, and I like that approach a lot. He said, Asaph began by looking out and looking around. Now in verse 1, he began, Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. And that word surely is important. It is reintroduced in verse 13 when he says, Surely in vain.

And then ultimately, he says in verse 18, surely thou dost set them in slippery places. Thou dost cast them down to destruction. And so where Asap begins is an affirmation, surely I know God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. So to answer the question, is it worth it? Absolutely, yes. But as Asaph looks around, he sees the prosperity of the wicked. I like the point that Terry made. I don’t know if you noticed in verse 3, when he says, I saw the prosperity of the wicked. That in the Hebrew that is the word shalom. And that’s the idea of the peace of the wicked, the blessings that are reserved and promised to covenant people who do right, to the righteous. And it seemed to be incongruous in his mind.

That is, it didn’t fit. That the wicked would be experiencing shalom, while the righteous, like himself, would be stricken or in suffering. And notice what he says about the wicked that he sees around him as he is one who would be in the temple services. And he sees these worshipers, and he sees these people living among him, and he says, There’s no pains in their death, and their body is fat. Now it’s not that they did not have a good fitness regimen. That’s not his point. His point is that they are faring sumptuously every day. This is like the rich man in Lazarus in Luke 16, that they are faring sumptuously every day the wicked are, while the righteous struggle. Their eyes bulge with fatness, he says.

Behold, these are the wicked in verse 12, and always at ease they have increased in wealth. And so then he starts looking at his own condition. He looks inside, and he says, In vain I have kept myself pure. I am stricken all day long. I’m chastened every morning. And he said in verse 15, if I had said, I will speak thus, behold, I should have betrayed the generation of thy people. Don’t always say the first thing that comes to mind. Sometimes it’s better to be patient and wait for the right way and the right opportunity to say something. He said, if I would have just spouted this at the very beginning, that would have been a mistake. I would have betrayed my generation. So what he’s doing now is after he has reasoned through this problem, I am suffering, even though I’m righteous.

I’m stricken all day long. And the unrighteous, well, they’re living high on the hog. Now he’s writing about it because he has a solution. Now he’s going to have us look up. When he says, When I pondered the understand this, it was troublesome in my sight until I came to the sanctuary of God. And then I perceived their end. When my heart was embittered, verse 21, and I was pierced within, then I was senseless and ignorant. I was like a beast before thee. And so now he’s developed a new perspective. And may I always suggest to you that’s really the solution to our problems most of the time. It’s just altering our perspective, as we said in our Bible class. Our conception of God is so important to the right response to him, and sometimes even the way we see ourselves.

And so he’s got a new perspective of himself, and definitely a new perspective of the wicked. God sets them in slippery places. When he is aroused, he will despise their form. You don’t want to be that person. Of whom God, when he is aroused, despises their form. He says, I see their end. He’s going to cast them down to destruction. And so when he looks up, it all begins to make sense. And the answer to the question, is it worth it? Yes, it is. And then he looks ahead. And that’s the part of this that I want to look more in depth with you. And the word that begins this section when he says, never the less. That’s an important word for us. That sometimes our response to God begins, nevertheless.

Things are not how we would like them to be. Things are not as ideal as we know that they could be. And here we are in the midst of our discomfort, perhaps our disillusionment, perhaps even some very severe pain. Stricken all day long, Asaph says. And here we find ourselves in the midst of this trouble and turmoil, and sometimes because our perspective gets askew, that we’ve got to come back and look at things. Psalm 73 says, this is the way it really is. To get the right perspective, and we must say in regard to our circumstances, never the less. And I thought Terry made an excellent point that it was not the world that had changed. God had not changed. But Asaph changed. And it’s Asaph’s change that I want to look at with you.

1. God's Counsel: Don't Attempt Life Without It

And the things that he says that flow out of this change, beginning with verse 24, when he says, with thy counsel, thou wilt guide me. And afterward receive me to glory. So the point that I would make from verse 24. In his new perspective, in Asaph’s changes, in regard to life and in regard to God’s counsel, don’t attempt life without it. I’ve always loved the commercial disclaimer. Do not attempt this at home. Outrageous, death-defying acts that are portrayed in these short 30-second commercials done by professional stunt people, and I’m not one of those. Why is that mandatory? Because apparently some people don’t have common sense and they don’t want to be sued. Somebody tries this. And that’s not going to turn out very well. And so we have the disclaimer.

Do not attempt this at home. There’s a British Kellogg’s commercial for crunchy nut cereal, which we actually have here, too. And it showed a man riding on the back of an Irish wolf hound in order to get home to eat crunchy nut cereal.

But again, do not try this at home. Young people, do not try riding your dog like a horse. It’s not a good idea. An advertisement featured a refrigerator being hit by a large wrecking ball. Do not try this at home. Do you have a wrecking ball laying around that you would use for that? I don’t even have one. But do not attempt this at home. Look, in regard to rejecting God’s counsel, as so many are prone to do, don’t attempt it. It’s disastrous. And that’s the conclusion that Asaph comes to in this Psalm. Because God’s counsel is excellent. What is so excellent about this message? Why do we so revere this book? Why do we get together and study it and talk about it on such a regular basis?

First of all, and fairly obviously, that it’s the lone solution for sin. And the lone hope for immortality. Living forever. You’re not going to find that prescription anywhere else, in anything else, doing anything else. And that’s why to live your life without God’s counsel is foolish. Secondly, beyond just the solution for our problem with sin, it is a way to live productively regardless of your circumstances. Who your parents were, what your living conditions were when you were younger. I mean, some people are born into awful circumstances. Do you ever, and you should do this if you haven’t, but do you ever say, regardless of your parents and their foibles and what your life was like at home, and for some of you, perhaps it was very less than ideal.

But aren’t you glad you were born, most of you in the United States of America? Aren’t you glad you’re a United States citizen? I’m so thankful I wasn’t born in Russia, aren’t you? Or Africa? Or some place where living conditions would be a lot harsher. Perhaps there wouldn’t be access to the truth. I mean, I grew, I was born into a family that brought me to know the Lord as a very young person. How thankful should I be for that? There are people, though, that are born in a lot worse living conditions than me. It’s a way for them to live productively. You may not live in a mansion. You may have just a very simple little home, maybe a one-room shack. But you can still live productively.

That’s what the word of God can do for you, despite your conditions. It can be your calm and it will be your wisdom. In the midst of life storms, you tell me a single circumstance, a tragedy, a hardship that you have to experience in life where the Bible doesn’t address it and help you to live through it in some way. It is applicable to every circumstance in life. And listen to this. As you listen to its precepts and do what it bids you do, you escape the insanity that grips our world and the sins that control and destroy men, like Asaph talks about as he looks up and he says, then I perceive their end. And I like this in verse 25. And this flows out of the previous point.

2. Our Answers Emanate From Heaven, Not Earth

Our answers emanate or come or issue from heaven and not from earth. Read with me, Psalm 37 and verse 25. Psalm 73, rather. I get that mixed up. Psalm 73 and verse 25. Whom have I in heaven but thee? And besides thee, I desire nothing on the earth. Boy, we need that perspective. Our solution emanates from heaven. Earth, it’s nothing in comparison. Can we say that? I desire nothing on earth. He’s not saying that the accumulation of some of earth’s things is wrong. Obviously, he’s going to accumulate his next meal to eat, Asaph is. But he’s saying is, my focus and my hopes are set above where God is and not on things of this earth. That’s what it sounds like Colossians 3 and verse 2, doesn’t it?

And this is eternal life, knowing thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. John 17 and verse 3. It’s almost like when the disciples came back in Luke chapter 10, and they were casting out demons, and they were excited about that. Jesus says, Do not rejoice over this. But that your names are recorded in heaven. And that’s what Asaph is telling us. It’s heaven that I need to be focused on. And my citizenship and residence there. Whom have I in heaven but thee? I desire nothing on earth. Focus on that sentence. Verse 25, because if we’re struggling spiritually, the solution to our problem is right there. We’re desiring earth. That’s what gets in the way. What is a man profited if he gained the whole world and lose his own soul?

3. God Is the Strength of My Heart

Jesus says in the New Testament. Desires directed toward earth are the ruination of most men. And sometimes the ruination of those who should know better. Earth’s trinkets are beckoning us incessantly all the time. They offer their inferior hope to us continually. And if we listen, we divert our eyes from heaven. And that’s where Asaph’s problem was. Asaph’s new perception is the key to our spiritual survival. And then he says, My flesh and my heart may fail. That’s why you shouldn’t be too focused on this earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion. Forever. I mentioned in the Bible class how Terry was talking to our young people and he was asking them about their perceptions of God and what they thought about him.

Describe him. And our young people, as smart and brilliant, as well-taught as they are, they were throwing out the big words. Omnipotent. Omniscient. Omnipresent. God is all-knowledgeable. Well, did I start with that? No, I started with power, I think. Omnipotent. God is all powerful. Omniscient. God is all-knowledgeable. God can be everywhere. God is omnipresent. God is love. Someone said. And I can’t remember all the attributes. God is holy. But the point that Terry wanted to bring up to them is that God is eternal. And again, I told you how important that concept of God is, that he lives above time, and therefore we can trust him and we can have confidence in his word. That it’s going to turn out exactly like Asa says in Psalm 73.

God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. And the reason why he can use the word forever is because God is forever. And his promises are forever. But he talked also about the way God is described in the Old Testament, that they would use terms that the people were very familiar with. And one is the idea of rock. God is your rock. You know, we have steel now. God is our steel. God is our tungsten. I mean, how strong is that? And those images convey to the people God’s trustworthiness, his power. He is our rock. And I want you to turn to Psalm 18 because this image has written on it, Psalm 18, and so I had to look over there and see what that was about.

And surely it applies.

And this is a Psalm of David. And my fortress and my deliverer. I wonder if he was sitting somewhere near a rock when he composed this psalm. My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield. See all these descriptive terms. And the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the Lord. See, what is the result of understanding God as my rock? I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. Now, when I thought of Asaf’s words here, I said, Oh. That’s where the song comes from. God is the rock of my heart. And so since God is the one who usually leads that, I’ve asked Scott to lead us in that song in the supplement.

That’s 93. Song number 93 in the supplement, Scott. Number 93.

On the fourth line of the song there, over the words, the notes over the words, my earthly strength. You’ll see those greater than signs. Those are called accent marks. That just means we need to give those notes some extra emphasis. That’s also on the last line of the song on the next page. Over you are the rock of my heart. So we’ll give those notes a little extra emphasis, a little extra punch when we get to that.

Your present was contain you my heart thinking broken with my strength for my closest you are the right of my heart, you are the right I know that your council would come.

Terry and I were able to go to the funeral for RJ Stevens over in Pasadena on Thursday. And there were some wonderful things said by the song leaders, by Tim Stevens, by John Kilgore and D. Bowman. But one thing that D. Bowman said particularly stood out to me about the character of RJ Stevens. He said, RJ didn’t look down on people. But instead, he helped people look up to God. And I thought, what a wonderful thing to say about a man. And as I look at this psalm, and as we have sung this song, it is my hope that you were looking up to God as we sang it. And that you were singing to him, you are the rock of my heart. And as Asaph looked for his answers, he said, You are my rock and my portion forever.

4. Living Far From God Is an Unenviable Position

And the fourth thing that I want to notice in his concluding words, like the first point, God’s counsel, don’t attempt life without it. Living far from God is an unenviable position. Look at Psalm 73 and verse 27. For behold, those who are far from thee will perish. Thou hast destroyed all those who are unfaithful to thee. As Paul sums up the lives of the wicked and those lost in sin, he says, There is no fear of God before their eyes. May there be fear before our eyes. In Acts chapter 5, I’ve always appreciated the wisdom of Gamaliel. They didn’t like what the apostles, the Jewish leaders, didn’t like what the apostles were doing, all the fur that was associated with this Jesus of Nazareth and his resurrection from the dead, and they’re telling them, don’t speak anymore in his name.

And yet Gamaliel, though he’s not a disciple, says to the others, we need to be careful in our dealing with these men. Because if this is of God, and no doubt Gamaliel had seen and heard of miracles. He knew of the resurrection of Lazarus at the very least. If this is of God, you will not be able to overthrow it. But beware, lest we be found fighting against God. So they flogged them anyway. And released them. I don’t know if Gamaliel had a part in that or not. But Gamaliel knew this that you don’t want God as your enemy. And you may think, well, I’m getting away with this. Nobody knows about it. Many others approve of it. But the immoral. Having God as your enemy.

There’s no way to live without hope and without God in the world. That’s what’s described in Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 12. It’s an unenviable position. Instead, you need to find your refuge, Asaph concludes, in the nearness of God in Psalm 73 and verse 28. But as for me, you know, you’ve got a decision you have to make in regard to the counsel of God. You can determine that I’m going to submit to it, I’m going to live it in my life, or you can decide not to do that. He says, but that doesn’t affect my decision. But as for me, the nearness of God is my refuge, that I may tell of all his works. And that’s what we’re doing today together. And may we do it in our lives, in our jobs, in the people that see our lives and converse with us, may they see the Lord in us, and may we tell of all his works as we are doing this day together.

Conclusion

And I want to go back to where this began, his new perspective, as he looks ahead to where all of this is going, and he says, Nevertheless, I am continually with thee. What a blessed state. Do you reside in it?

Are you where Asaph was? As he worked through the problems that confronted his mind. When he saw the solutions, as he looked up and he looked ahead. Can you say with Asaph? Not just on this Lord’s day, as we assign God, you are my rock, my strength and my portion forever. But as we walk out these doors, as we live among the wicked that Asaph has described, will you be with him then? Can you say with Asaph, I am continually with thee? You need to be able to say that. Because if you cannot, living far from God and without the counsel of God, is no place to be. Do not try this at home. If you’re in this audience tonight and you’ve never put on Christ, what are you waiting on?

You may think you need a lot of things in life. You may have a lot of plans as to where your life is going, but I’ll tell you, all of it is meaningless unless God is the rock of your heart. Unless you come to the devotion and service of Jesus Christ, the real King. And we bid you to listen to His invitation. Come unto me, all you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart, and you shall find rest for your soul. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Come to the place that is secure, the place that has hope. The nearness of God is your good.

Take that with you, everyone in this audience this morning. Take that with you this week. Tomorrow. Put it in your phone. The nearness of God is my good. And act upon that truth. Come near to Him. He wants to draw near to you while we stand and sing.