What May Be Escaping You & How To Find It (Psalm 97:6)

Introduction

The question of the scoffers in 2 Peter chapter 3 captures my attention. Where is the promise of his coming? All continues just as it was from the beginning of creation. I want you to notice in verse 3 that these scoffers or mockers are following after their own lusts. Where is the promise of his coming? Day after day everything seems the same. And yet he’s promised to return. Where is it? Can we trust that he promised? I think this, as we go on in the context, we are given the assurance that the day of the Lord that Jesus promise will come like a thief in the night. People will be unprepared for his coming. And the heavens are going to pass away with the roar, just like he has promised in his return.

Be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. What manner of persons ought you to be? Peter then says, in all holy conduct and godliness. So why aren’t the scoffers or the mockers buying in? What are the obstacles to them having this trust and confidence themselves? And as I thought about this, I thought about the same things that are obstacles to faith today. The same things that stand in the way of people embracing this message as truth and life and hope. It’s the same kinds of problems that they had. And what are the problems that they are scoffing here is that there’s no visible evidence of God’s presence. I don’t see God anywhere. I don’t see God doing anything. It’s just the same day after day after day.

And I think we have somewhat of the same problem not having seen an act of God. Whoa, God is definitely involved in the affairs of the world. Wow, look what he just did. Now we read about him doing those kinds of things in this book, but can I really trust this? Is this really reliable? I have not seen any of it with my own eyes. He said he’s going to return, but man, it’s day after day after day after day. No visible evidence of God’s presence. I’ve got to tell you something else that’s an obstacle. I’m really not excited about this whole faith thing. I preached a sermon here about eight years ago. Very few of you were here then. Words often thought but rarely spoken.

I think actually they are spoken more aloud now than they used to be. Like I find the Bible boring. I find worship. Assemblies like this. They don’t do much for me. I think it’s boring. It’s not fun. It’s unfulfilling. But I want to suggest to you, while that’s an obstacle to some as they look at this kind of activity today. Properly seen and properly understood, it is not unfulfilling at all, but it is very fulfilling. I don’t know what it is about Linda Shale’s song, The Lord is My Strength. But I’ll tell you, as I the more I sing it, the more it gets me. I mean, I just, it moves me. It is a powerful song about what life is really all about. And if you haven’t experienced the fulfilling nature of true worship before God, you’re missing something.

And yet so often that’s the response. This just doesn’t do much for me. And so people become very haphazard in attendance, and ultimately, sometimes they stop attending altogether. I’m not getting anything out of this. Something is wrong with the way you’re looking at things, just like there was something wrong with the way these scoffers were looking at things. And I’ll tell you another thing that stands in the way. If I don’t acknowledge this, if I don’t give any credence to it, if I do not believe it’s true, then I don’t have to follow it. And there are some personal costs involved in following Jesus. And I’m not going to sugarcoatcoat that for you this morning. I’m here to tell you, yes, there are some things you have to surrender.

There is some behavior that you have to refrain from. There are some personal costs involved that involve your participation among these people, the Lord’s people, or the Lord’s people somewhere. That’s an expectation that God has. Yes, there’s going to be expectations that are going to involve personal costs for you. But they’re well worth the cost if you understand it. What it’s really all about. It’s really no cost at all. But that’s one of the things that stands in the way. And simply the desires that people have so often run counter to true discipleship. And the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 14. And that’s the desires run counter to that. This holiness you talk, this way of living and thinking, the way of speaking that the Bible is talking to us about, refraining our tongue.

If we don’t do that, our religion is vain, James chapter 1 and verse 26, to actually put others ahead of ourselves and so many other things we can talk about that is New Testament righteousness. That just doesn’t match what I want to do. Plain and simple.

And we came to the conclusion, the observation that I think is absolutely right. The narrow way is not like so obscure that it’s just impossible to be found. The issue is our desires often prevent us from embracing, choosing, and walking the narrow way.

Perspective can get really askew. And that’s why in this context, Peter says one thing escapes their notice. Yeah, he made this promise of his coming, but day after day he doesn’t return. Can we really trust what he said? One thing escapes their notice. It’s a pretty big thing. A day with the Lord is a thousand years and a thousand years is one day. That’s a pretty big thing. Well, he hasn’t come in the last hundred years. Well, a day with the Lord is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. And see, the problem that we have with faith is that things like that escape our notice. People don’t live as they should because they’re not seeing things the way they really are.

Both their needs in their lives and what benefit that could come from living like this. And so I want to launch from this. The things that had escaped their notice to talk about what may be escaping you. And how to find. And when I got this graphic a couple of months ago, I can’t remember how I ran across it. I thought that’s that’s the graphic I needed for the celestial. A seek and find graphic. And then I started looking at it more closely as I stuck my title right there in the middle of it. We’ve got to find some things. We’ve got to get the right perspective in our lives before it’s too late. I found a word.

And so I said, okay, we’re going to cut down some wrong notions and misperceptions that people have that keep us from enjoying the blessed life that Jesus has designed for us. And then I saw this word Prism. You know, if you get things, if you stand in just the right place and get just the right perspective, you can behold beautiful things. I think that’s the idea of prism. But as you look through and see it, I mean something beautiful unfolds. And then I got a little creative. This isn’t really how you do seek and finds, but I’m going to do it this way. I found the word jet. We’re going to launch and take off into the right direction with this lesson. Spiritually, we’re going to make sure our destination is correct and we’re going to get there.

We’re going to do that very efficiently. Not by car, we’re going to go by jet. And then along the way, along the way, all of us on this journey might need a few hugs. And then I found one more thing. I found me. And he might need some hugs from time to time. But no, that’s not, that’s not where I’m going with that. I want to help you to find what may be escaping you. And there’s a particular text in the Old Testament that I want to link with 2 Peter chapter 3. That I think tells us some things that might be escaping us that are so very important that we might have the right perspective about our lives, about what we’re called to be, about how the Bible fits into all of that.

1. God Is Very Present and Active: The Lord Reigns

And one of the things that leaps out at me in Psalm 97 is the perspective of the author of that psalm, whoever he may be, because he is not named in Psalm 97. The author’s keen awareness, his confidence in God’s presence. Where’s the promise of his coming? The scoffers had asked. God’s not detached from his world. God has not gone off and left it in a spin out of control. God is very present and active in our world. And I think sometimes that escapes our attention. And that’s something that underlies at least these first few verses of Psalm 97. The psalmist and others contemporary with him had seen the marvelous working of God. Or were closely related to those events. And the stories that were spread among them came from trustworthy, reliable sources.

There’s no concern of fabrication whatsoever. And so he concludes.

Let the many islands be glad. I think that’s something that can escape our perspective.

And that God has provided ample evidence that he does, that this is his world, that he has been powerfully active in history to demonstrate his reliability and trustworthiness, and that you can have confidence that indeed, right now, the Lord reigns. And that the earth is the recipient of his care, and thus even the earth rejoices over the presence of the Creator. He is awesome and perfect and powerful. Clouds and thick darkness surround him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. God is right and God is just.

Round about. I want to talk about some of those occasions tonight where God literally burned up adversaries. His lightnings lit up the world. The earth saw and trembled. I’ve been around for quite a while, yeah. I know. I’m still impressed by God’s light show at times. Driving in the car and I look off in the distance, and there’s that storm. Wow, did you see that? Did you see that? Wow, look at that. Or when that storm is centered directly over your house and it’s kaboom. And the house shakes. Can you imagine in the first century, what that was like in the houses that they lived in? Their walls could have fallen down on some of those. We go, wow, that was extraordinary. Reminders of the presence of our God.

The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. And the heavens declare his righteousness, and all the peoples have seen his glory. You see, there’s evidence, the ample evidence that I mentioned prior a few minutes ago. The evidence has been there. It has been demonstrated throughout the centuries. People have seen it, they testify to it, and we have the accounts of the things that God did. They’ve seen his glory. There’s no question here. When we start questioning God’s presence, his reality and his power, and that he reigns, we’ve gone down a very dark path that will lead to all sorts of erroneous conclusions. But because God reigns, there are some things that we must do.

2. Let All Be Ashamed Who Serve Graven Images

That must not escape our activity. Number one, in verse 7, let all those be ashamed who serve graven images. Who put some material object above in importance, the one who created it? Who put the created thing ahead of the creature? I want to tell you that’s what our culture does. The created thing is exalted to a place of importance that’s far above the one that created it. What if the Lord were to return before I finish this sermon in a few minutes? I don’t think anybody is going to look down at their smartphone for some answers. I wonder if there’s an app that’ll help me deal with this. Or I’m going to start playing Candy Crush if that’s okay with you. Or some other electronic game that often so mesmerizes us and tells us, you know, I’d rather be doing that than serving the Lord.

I want to tell you when the Lord returns, all of that is reduced to absolute meaningless. Your iPhone X isn’t going to be worth a penny. Now it’s worth a thousand dollars. That’s way too much. We get so in tune to all of these material trinkets and things. They are so important. They are so valuable. They are so much better than all of this. Our values get askew. And when that happens, we need to be ashamed to exalt the created above the creator. We should instead be thankful for opportunities like this. That we can be mesmerized by his beauty. Psalm 27. One thing I have asked from the Lord, Psalm 27 and verse 4, this is a Psalm of David. One thing I have asked from the Lord that I shall seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.

You know, David sees something in the worship of God that so many people don’t see. There’s things escaping there. Notice he sees something. He said, I want to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord. To meditate in his temple. We need a greater sense of God’s presence. How much we need him. How much he has done for us. How much he can do for us, and how much he has promised to do for us. Secondly.

3. Hate Evil, You Who Love the Lord

Zion heard this and was glad. And the daughters of Judah have rejoiced because of thy judgments. O Lord, for thou art the Lord most high over all the earth. Again, that affirmation. Thou art exalted far above all gods. And then in verse 10, what is the response to who God is? Hate evil. Hate evil, you who love the Lord. Hmm. Wonder why we struggle to get something out of this and think it’s boring and unfulfilled. You can’t do a two step with the world. And be in love with God on Sundays. That’s what escapes folks. Somehow derive benefit from this and generate enthusiasm for the worship of God when we’re really in love with evil. This practice may be one of the most greatly ignored and neglected by believers, affecting growth, and effective kingdom living.

We should be repulsed. Not to say, oh, that’s wrong. We should be repulsed by that which is an affront to the holiness and character and goodness of our God. I have seen all his ways right concerning everything, therefore I hate every false way. Two times in Psalm 119, as the benefits of God’s word as our guide are being lauded. He says things to that effect. From thy precepts I get understanding, therefore I hate every false way. Echoing the Proverbs.

4. He Preserves the Souls of His Godly Ones

Proverbs 8 and verse 13, pride and arrogance in the evil way, he says. No. That you’ll not derive joy, fulfillment. Have enthusiasm for God’s things while you love what is evil. Or while you tolerate it. We must hate evil. You who know the Lord. And there’s some things that we need to know. The psalmist goes on, he preserves the souls of his godly ones. There is no real preservation without him. He nourishes and provides the needs for our inner man. For our life. For that soul is just the idea of the life of his godly ones. He preserves the souls of his godly ones. He delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Oh, but I know of occasions where righteous people died, but Jesus talked about that.

Do not fear men when killing you is all that they can do. God is taking care of that which is ultimately valuable, and that is our spiritual life. Our souls. Sometimes he would literally deliver them physically from the hands of evil men when it suited his purposes. I’ve talked about Acts 12 so many times, I don’t even really need to go into all of that. But for some reason, God allowed James to be executed and Peter to be freed. I don’t know why that choice was made. I don’t know why James, we look at it as expendable. I look at it as he got to go to heaven sooner than Peter did. May not have been the way he would have dreamed up leaving this world, but he got to go to be with God.

But for some reason, James was delivered eternally, and Peter had to stay on and he was released from prison. But the point is, God knows what’s going on in the lives of his people. He delivers them from the hand of the wicked, and this we need to know that light is sown like seed for the righteous. Boy, that’s an interesting expression. Sowing seed. Did you do some of that this week? Oh, it’s too cold, right? It’s winter. When spring comes, kids, you’ll be out sowing seed. That’s what you do every spring. No, we don’t do that anymore. Okay, we don’t do that anymore. But you know there are guys that still do. There’s farmers and such that actually, where I’m from in Indiana, they’ll be out putting the corn down, I guess.

That’s what they do. There’ll be guys out sowing seed. You know, when you sow seeds, they’re real little bitty things, and you just it goes everywhere. Sowing teeth. This is a very common thing that people in that agricultural, more of an agricultural society would have really grasped the concept of. This is what God does for the righteous. He just throws light around for us and says, This is the way you should conduct yourself. This is the right attitude for this circumstance. Well, what circumstances has he left out? None. God gives us light for our path. So that we can see. This is the right response in this circumstance. This is how I’m supposed to think. This is what I’m supposed to say, this is what I’m supposed to do and not do.

5. Be Glad in the Lord, You Righteous Ones

And so there’s light everywhere. It’s sown like seed for the righteous. We need to go to the right place for the solutions that we so desperately need. And then he says, in Psalm 97. Be glad in the Lord. You righteous ones. I want to suggest to you that’s a choice not based on ideal circumstances. This simply boils down to a proper outlook on things. A wise and informed way to view the life of faith. You need to be glad in the Lord. And what are the reasons? And what escapes people? One of the reasons why this becomes meaningless, I only want to minimally be involved. I don’t want to participate fully. I don’t want to invest in my mind for 30 minutes while that guy speaks to me every Sunday.

Twice even.

Are you glad about what you have in Christ?

I don’t know why this expression popped into my head when I was fleshing out this point, but it’s apparently a Texas expression because I found it at a website called talklikatexan.com. But I know I heard this growing up in Indiana. Of course, my mom knows every saying I think that has ever been expressed in time. I mean, she knows them all. And I’ve heard them all. So maybe that’s mom knew a little bit of Texas. I don’t know. Be glad in whatever pants you got mad in. You want to talk like a Texan, you’ve got to know that one. That’s a Texas. Be glad in whatever pants you got mad in. Have you heard that? Has your mama ever told you that? If she hasn’t, she should.

Now what’s that mean? It means your circumstances haven’t changed one iota. It’s just the way you’re looking at things. You’ve gotten all upset about this, but you need to change the way you’re seeing things, and you just need to get glad. And there’s a lot to be glad about. Change your perspective.

6. Give Thanks to His Holy Name

And I’ll just say this about meeting with y’all every week. One of the things that happens in these assemblies is that my perspective gets altered. I think right thoughts. I’m encouraged to do right things in my life, to think about things in the way God wants me to think about them. And so it’s perspective altering. It helps me to be glad in the Lord. And going along with that, he says, finally, give thanks to his holy name. This is what may be escaping us to where we are not deriving the benefit of the godly life. We’re not being ashamed of things that are occupying our attention above God’s things. We don’t hate those things that God hates. And we don’t know these things that God is doing and has done for us.

And we’re not glad in the Lord, and we’re not properly giving thanks to his name. I ran across this guy named Robert Evans. He is, according to the article that I read, the internationally renowned scientific expert on gratitude. I’ve missed that somehow. I didn’t know him. But he has found that acknowledging the good in life has a tendency to amplify positive emotions such as joy and contentment. That’s elusive. I know those things are elusive to people. He says gratitude may be the key to that. He said, We notice the positives more, and that magnifies the pleasures that you get from life. And he says, consider the last time you had a good cup of coffee. Did you pay attention? To the warmth of the mug in your hand.

And the flavor of that first sip. Something I hate coffee. But if you can appreciate that beverage or your favorite beverage, hey, why don’t you try going without drinking a Coke or a Dr. Pepper for about a month? And then finally say, I might have a treat. I’m going to drink the Coke. You know Coke’s going to taste better when you haven’t drunk it in a month. Trust me. Because I’m down to about once every two or three weeks. But that cup of coffee is even better for me. The warmth of the hey, it’s cold outside. Have you noticed? It’s cold in our house. You’ve got to save on the electric bill. That warm cup of coffee in my hand and that first sip in the morning.

Do you take the time to appreciate?

I’m driving Sherry crazy with this. I said, we eat like kings. Literally. The way kings ate in biblical times, that’s the way we eat. I’m sitting there eating fajitas, going, I can’t believe I lived like the first 20 or 30 years of my life without fajitas. Don’t you feel sorry for me? Fajitas are incredible. I eat them now. Wow, this is the best stuff ever.

And even more do we appreciate our spiritual affluence. What we have in this place, in these people, in this time. One thing he recommended was a good idea. Say aloud every day three things that you’re grateful for. Say it aloud. Number two, he wants to help your marriage. He says, Express in words your gratitude for your spouse. Keep a gratitude journal. Cool a hot temper with a quick gratitude inventory. Gratitude, it is believed by the expert to even foster resilience in regard to the difficult circumstances of our lives. In everything, give thanks. And we can say so much more about all of these things. These are the things that may be escaping us so that we do not experience being in the Lord the way we should.

Conclusion

What may be escaping you? And how to find it. It’s not in stuff. It’s not in things, but in being right with the Lord and choosing a holy life. It’s not in relationships. It’s not in people. Man, if I can just find the ultimate perfect relationship with another human. No, it’s in a relationship with your creator. And it is not in youthfulness because that is fleeting. It is rather in hope. Eternal. Have you embraced that which is truly life indeed? Come to the Lord while there’s time and opportunity. Let’s stand and sing.