Journey to Intimacy

You good? How's it going? Thumbs up? Yeah. When someone comes up to you who you know and they

say, how's it going? What do you say? What's the response? Good. Yeah, I'm good. Yeah. Dan,

you heard the sermon this morning, can't answer any more questions. Everyone else has to get

involved, but thank you. Our reflex answer is, I'm good. And it doesn't mean that we're putting

a hand up and saying, I'm a good person. It's not a morality question or statement. What

you're saying is actually quite profound. You're saying that, oh, my desires and needs are being

satisfied. And in summary, yeah, I'm good. So how are you going? Normally, if you know the

person, they'll add something. They'll add some authenticity to the I'm good. They'll say,

yeah, I'm good, but I'm really busy. Or they'll add, I'm really tired.

Our declaration that we're in a good place is usually followed by the areas of our life

where good is not being done to us. So how's it going? What's the extra thing you'd add?

I'm good, but... Has anyone asked you, instead of how are you going, have they asked, how's it going

with God? It's a bit more of a challenging variation. But I wonder if someone asked you that, would you

just say, yeah, we're good? Or would you go, yeah, we're good, but I don't always feel close to God.

Or good, but I'm so busy and overwhelmed, I feel like I have no time for Him. I was just talking to

some guys up the front, and I think all of us pretty much shared that about what we're looking

forward to in 2019. We're good with God, yeah, but we'd love to be growing in Him. And we were sharing

ways that we thought we might be able to do that. I think every Christian feels a tension here. Yes,

God is good and faithful to us, but our circumstances could be better. They're difficult.

We all desire to be a safer, richer, more well-known, or to have less conflict in our life,

or just be able to balance a budget. It might be so bad that you're screaming those desires into a

pillow each night. But no matter our circumstance, we know that life can be really hard as we follow

God through hard times. And it's the hard that challenges our view of God's goodness to us.

So today, I want to say that we are in part of the Bible that will meet you right here in your hard times.

Whether you're in hard times now, or whether you will be in the future, it'll prepare you, or it will give

you word right now. So that's where we're headed. This psalm is a journey through our frustrated desires

to satisfaction in intimacy with God. And there alone, you're going to be able to answer the

question after church tonight when everyone's cheekily asking, how's it going with God?

You're going to be able to say, satisfied and joyful. You're going to be able to say, great.

But before I dive in today, let's step aside and just talk about our summer in the Psalms,

a summer of Psalms. This is what we've got for the next couple of weeks.

I put this image together and I was really excited about all the hot weather we were having,

and it was going to feel like in the room, like it does in the picture, and then it was the coldest

day of the year. Before I dive in, I want to talk a little about Psalms. They are songs that Israel

used to sing together, and they cover all of these areas of human expression, of praise and depression,

joy and grief. They've been carefully curated into this book of 150, and each psalm had a place in the

day-to-day life of Israel. Each psalm had a purpose for them. And now, as God's people, each has a place

in our day-to-day life too. They are for us poems without music. We only have part of their art,

but we have the important bit. We miss nothing of the meaning of each song because we dive into God's

words in the psalms. And even though you might not have the key change you're longing for as you're

reading the psalm, or the melody to help ride the emotions of where it's going and help you understand

it, God is speaking by his Spirit through the psalms. So let's look, I'm going to jump back into the psalm now,

let's look at psalm, or song number 73, a psalm of Asaph. And make sure you've got that page in front of you.

Grab a pen, scribble all over it. You can make spelling mistakes if you want to write notes. No one will see it.

It's okay. Sometimes we process things better if we have a pen in our hand. We get to scribble on something.

That's why it's there for you now. Asaph was a Levite. He was a leader in King David's temple song team.

And he is the man behind this psalm. We hear this psalm like it's his story. And sometimes,

when you hear a Taylor Swift song, I turn the radio off, but you might listen and think,

oh, I wonder which celebrity relationship that she's had this is about. For Asaph, we don't have

all that information. But what's revealed to us is that we can be confident that he has put this story

into our hands on purpose for it to be our story as well.

So here's how to place yourself in the psalm. Look at verse 14. Take up your page or look in your Bible.

Verse 14.

All day long I've been afflicted. Every morning brings new punishments.

So that's his life. Daily persecution and affliction.

Is that your experience right now? Should we just flick to the next psalm, flick to 74,

if that's not your experience? No. First, this psalm will prepare you for that day when verse 14

is exactly how you feel. When your life is just like Asaph's. But secondly, let's jump right up.

Look at verse 2. Asaph says that his persecution and affliction threaten his foothold.

He's nearly slipped from his sure footing and coping and faith.

That verse is how Asaph invites you into his story. You can't experience his persecution, his circumstance,

but you know what it's like to have circumstances in your life that just try and knock you down.

Imagine a huge fight with your spouse or with your best friend. You don't know how to resolve it. It lingers for days.

It pushes you into dejection and just despondency and it's you're lonely.

Finally, I have this feeling of loneliness in situations like that.

Asaph's description of faith-shaking difficult season in his life invites us to bring our own into it,

into this psalm. As we fear that like him, we feel like we're going to fall.

So look later over at verse 21 and 22 when he says,

My heart was grieved. My spirit embittered. I was senseless, ignorant, like a beast.

And then in verse 16, jump down the bottom, verse 16.

When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply.

I know that in hard seasons of my life, I've felt exactly like that.

I'm sure you have too.

If someone asked me or asked you right then in that hard season,

how's it going with God?

Would your painful, difficult, real circumstances creep into the way that you answered that question?

So let's look at verse 1.

God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.

That's a promise of God that Asaph seems to be questioning during his hardship.

He's opening challenge to his heart.

But soon we'll find out if Asaph finds that God is good, like he has been taught.

Here, in verse 1, pure in heart is more than just the washing of hands,

or the doing the right things, or the keeping pure in mind and body,

like in verse 13.

It's more than that.

It's a description of someone pursuing God on his terms.

And we heard from Sam Lowe last week, talking from John 8, about exactly that.

It's a description of someone who's obeying God and caring for others.

And for Asaph in Israel, that meant obedience, sacrifice, and selflessness.

And for us, it means following Jesus, trusting in him and his pure heart, trusting in his sacrifice,

as we love others more than we love ourselves.

Asaph thought that he was following God on God's terms,

but his life wasn't working out.

This challenged the promise that God is good.

So, do you feel that God is good to you?

If you understand good to mean peaceful, blessed, and prosperous,

then you might say no.

That's why Asaph wonders, in verse 13, he says,

surely in vain.

Is it all in vain that I've been following God?

For Asaph, God doesn't seem to be doing to him the good that he expected.

So, he's at this turning point.

Okay?

He's in this horrible circumstance,

and he's challenging that promise in verse 1.

He feels like he's falling and slipping.

And then verse 3,

Asaph sees the prosperity of those who do not follow God,

and he is envious.

Friends, envious is so dangerous.

Longing and yearning for a way out of circumstances.

It turns our eyes to those who have the circumstance that we wish that we had.

Look at what Asaph sees in the world as he turns in verses 4 to 12.

And just underline them as I go through.

I'm just going to summarize a few of them.

Because he sees in the world,

as he turns,

and is envious.

He sees their health,

their strength,

their safety,

their freedom,

their riches,

their fine clothing,

jewellery,

influence,

ease,

wealth.

Now, those,

on their own,

are not bad things.

But what would the cost be for Asaph to get all of those things?

Now,

in Eastern and Western cultures,

we have songs that talk about prosperity like Psalm 73,

just in a totally different way.

We just wholeheartedly throw ourselves in at verse 3 and go,

that's amazing!

Can you think of a song that does that?

Longs after prosperity?

Money, money, money,

always sunny,

in a rich man's world.

Abba's beautiful,

great song that,

it was one of my mum's favourites.

If not favourite,

then why was she playing it?

It was painful.

But it is about a woman

who doesn't care

about what it costs,

just has to get prosperity.

She's willing to just take

any guy who can say,

hey, I'm worth a decent amount of money,

she's like,

problem solved.

Adrian,

my brother over here,

shared with me another song,

and we're going to play it

and absorb it

and enjoy it together right now.

Can you hit play on that, Sarah?

We're going to,

just,

just,

turn it up.

Turn it up,

just absorb the greatness.

Does anyone know what

tin means?

Money,

that's right.

Just keep it going,

keep it going,

because we've got to enjoy

what this is about.

One of the lines in there

is literally,

no money,

no talk,

which means,

you've got no money,

I've got no interest in you at all.

And I asked Google Translate

to help me with some of the translation.

Just keep it playing

while I read some of these.

I always want more money.

I want more money in my day.

Borrowing money

is the most demeaning.

If you have money,

you'll be less guilty

driving down the street

and stealing other people's things.

It's trying to poke fun

at Hong Kong's pursuit

of prosperity,

and yet,

it doesn't provide

an alternative.

It just says,

in Hong Kong,

we love money.

That's just the reality.

I think all cultures agree,

and I think we're,

we're brought up

to pursue prosperity

as a good thing.

And if you get prosperity,

it'll solve

all the problems

of your heart.

I think that's universal.

But in Psalm 73,

prosperity

is paired

with moral poverty.

Prosperity costs

everything to get it.

The prosperous here,

and you can circle

these ones

if you've underlined

the first ones,

circle these.

The prosperous here

are wicked

and arrogant,

prideful,

violent,

malicious,

oppressive,

blasphemous.

They spread heresy.

They lead people astray

and away from God.

These are not those

who are pure in heart.

From verse 1.

But even as Asaph

sees this,

right,

he seems to be

angry at them,

yet he can't help

feeling pulled

into how they

pursue the world.

That's what envy does.

It leads

us to look

for satisfaction

outside of our

circumstances.

And we're constantly

bombarded by

envy-fueling

advertising.

Get a new car

that we bus next to you

that's helping you

pursue envy,

not God.

Turn on your phone.

There'll be an advertisement

on there as well

doing the same thing.

Or on Facebook

and there'll be

someone's

beautiful cruise

holiday photos

from Vanuatu

like Wendy's

this morning

when I turned

on Facebook.

look,

it's never been

easier

to envy

the prosperous.

But it

always costs

us.

Because if we

have to stop

following God

to pursue

prosperity.

And as that

reality dawns

on Asaph,

he feels like

he's got nowhere

to go.

So look at

verse 16.

When I tried

to understand

this,

it troubled

me deeply.

In other

translations

it says

life was

wearisome.

It seems

that hopelessness

has set in.

It's like

he either

gives into

envy

or gives up

in despair.

But in his

weariness

he turns

to God.

There are

two points

here where

Asaph,

he just

stops in

his tracks.

He doesn't

give into

envy or

give up

in despair.

He stops.

Verse 15,

just above

where we were.

If I had

spoken out

like that,

he deliberately

ceases that

expression of

envy and

trades it

for silence.

He turns

away from

giving in.

And then

in verse 17,

he enters

the sanctuary

of God.

The

psalmist

went into

the temple

to be as

physically

near to

God

as he

could.

Perhaps

even to

question God

himself on

verse 1.

God,

you said

you were

good.

But we

don't get to

see what

happened.

But we

see the

result.

That near

to God,

Asaph's

envy was

turned upside

down.

Now his

envy turns

to pity

for the

prosperous.

of those

who

follow

prosperity,

he says,

then I

understood

their

destiny.

Verse 17,

I came

near to

God and

I saw

their

future.

There's

something

coming to

those who

sin,

who abuse

power and

lead humanity

astray,

who perpetrate

injustice in

the world,

and it's

God's

judgment.

It's

fair and

it's

coming to

them.

Maybe not

now, but

it certainly

will come.

But when

God sees

evil, he

does not

see it like

Asaph did.

He doesn't

look at it

in envy.

Rather,

it's

perpetrators.

When he

sees them,

they're like

ghosts or

fantasies to

him.

They're

mists and

phantoms that

he just

brushes aside

and all

that's left

is justice.

You can see

in verse 20

there, it's

quite a

difficult verse

to grasp,

but that's

the imagery

the psalmist

is using

for God's

judgment.

Notice as

well that

Asaph went

from slipping

and being

knocked down

in verse 2

to his

persecutors

being completely

knocked down

and swept

away and

destroyed.

Their destiny

is awful

because it's

away from

God

completely.

See, this is

the worst of

the punishments

mentioned.

Look at

verse 27.

It's horrific.

Those who are

far from

God

will perish.

Nearness

to God

is safety.

Without

him,

anyone's future

is destruction,

no matter

their prosperity.

authority.

So what's

the insight

into

Nearness

to God

that Asaph

is clinging

to?

I think

that he

got a

glimpse

in the

temple

that day

of his

place with

God

that God

had graciously

given him.

Listen to

the impact

of God's

promises

to him.

This is

where I

find that

idea

in verse

23.

And this

is Asaph

talking to

God.

Yet I

am always

with you.

You hold

me by my

right hand.

You guide

me with

your counsel

and afterward

you will

take me

into glory.

It's a

beautiful

promise.

And as we

follow Jesus

it's our

promise too.

Nothing

had changed

for the

psalmist

in his

awful

situation

but God

had affirmed

his

unshakable

place

with him

right now

in his

mess

but also

into

his

afterward.

For the

Israelite

hearing this

they did

not have

the view

of eternity

in heaven

that we

get from

the New

Testament.

Jesus

brought that

promise

but Asaph

was relying

on God

for deliverance

from his

circumstance

right now

and trusting

in God's

nearness

to him

to be

the only

good

that he

would ever

need

regardless

of what

that would

look like

in the

future.

Glory

in verse

24

have a look

at verse

24

and afterward

you will

take me

into glory.

The

afterward

Asaph

hoped for

was the

end of

this season

in his

life.

A future

beyond

there.

He did

not know

certainty

on into

eternity

but for

him

there is

so much

more to

God's

promise

there in

verse 24.

Asaph's

hope

was in

God's

sovereignty

and plan.

You see

that in

28.

His

sovereign

Lord

is his

refuge.

The one

who understands

all things

who orchestrates

all things

the sovereign

Lord

and that

sovereign

Lord's

plan

is Jesus

and though

Asaph

knew not

how God

would save

him he

trusted in

the God

who had

drawn

into him

but for

us we

see Jesus.

So we

look forward

to God

aiding us

in our

circumstance

now but we

can also look

beyond it

through our

circumstances

to eternal

life to

complete

nearness

with God

forever

as well

as help

injustice

and our

circumstances

today.

The

psalm

is a

foreshadowing

of God's

bigger

plan

a plan

for our

eternity

to fully

provide

the desires

for the

desires

of Asaph's

heart

even beyond

what he

could see.

That makes

me think

of the

C.S.

Lewis quote

from

mere

Christianity

which I

only know

through a

song.

So I'm

going to

share the

song version

because that's

what I

remember.

But C.S.

Lewis says

he supposes

that if I

find in

myself

desires that

no thing in

this world

can satisfy

I can only

conclude

that I was

not made

for here.

Our

desires

call us

to eternity

with God

not to the

envy of the

world.

And with

God with

us we

have the

only good

we'll ever

need right

now and

for eternity

overriding

our

circumstances

and our

future

worries.

Hear that

reality

inspire

Asaph.

Look at

the joy

that's in

verse 26.

My heart

and my

flesh may

fail.

There's

no may

in the

original

language.

It's just

my heart

and flesh

fail.

They just

do.

But God

hear that.

but God

is the

strength

of my

heart

and my

portion

forever.

He can

see that

God

steps in

to be

with us

in our

frustration

and lead

us to

joy.

There's

no gap

in nearness

to God

in that.

He's

our strength

of heart

when our

hearts

fail.

And we're

left in

our psalm

with this

stark contrast

of verse

27 where

it says

people

who are

those who

are far

from you

will

perish.

But

Asaph

declares

in the

midst of

his

horrible

situation

as for

me

it is

good to

be near

God.

I have

made the

sovereign

Lord

my

refuge.

God

is a

refuge

a safe

foundation

that can

never be

shaken

enough

to break

and cause

us to

fall.

The

psalm

doesn't

have

the

answer

in there

for how

to find

God

or how

to come

near to

him.

We

have to

look to

Jesus

for that.

And there

are many

places I

could go

and I

just want

to go

to one.

Matthew

7,

24 and

25,

Jesus

is telling

a story.

he says,

everyone

then who

hears these

words of

mine and

does them

will be

like a

wise man

who built

his house

on the

rock.

And the

rain fell

and the

floods

came and

the winds

blew and

beat on

that house

but it

did not

fall

because it

had been

founded

on the

rock.

So hear

and do

Jesus'

words and

you will

not be

swept away

no matter

the tide

or storm.

Your feet

will never

slip.

They will

never lose

their footholds.

Jesus

is the

way to

finding

intimacy

with God

as we

follow him

through his

word to

the cross

and to

his

resurrection

and into

a life

with him

forever.

It's

through

Jesus'

death in

our place

that he

takes us

off the

sand

so graciously

takes us

off our

slippery

ground

and

establishes

us

firm

on

him

the

rock

himself.

So we

find our

strength

as he

is lifted

up in

weakness

on a

cross

as he

took our

sin away

to give

us back

our

intimacy

with God.

God.

Let's

see something

wonderful

here in

verse 26.

Verse 26

go back

there.

Where it

says God

is the

strength

of my

heart.

The Hebrew

word for

strength

there is

rock.

God is

the rock

of my

heart.

We stand

on rock

only when

we depend

on Jesus

himself.

Today if

your heart

is

embittered

or weak

or failing

or you

just can't

understand

what's

going on

in your

life

run to

him.

The true

rock of

your heart

and your

portion

forever.

Rely on

him as

your

foundation

and strength

for

eternity.

And join

the psalmist

in verse

25 and

shout to

God,

who have

I in

heaven but

you?

There is

nothing on

the earth

that I

desire

besides

you.

I have

all I

could ever

desire

with Jesus

says

Asaph

if he

saw the

whole

picture.

Is that

enough for

you?

To be

near God?

The psalm

has given

us a

process to

walk

through

when

we're

frustrated

in our

circumstances

and on

our way

to envy

of the

world.

So open

your Bible

when you're

bitter and

weary.

Learn to

take this

journey in

prayer and

come near

to the

counsel of

God.

Seek

his word.

Read

of Jesus

in the

gospels.

Wonder

in his

love as

he comes

near to

you to

bring you

to God.

How's

it going?

Follow

Asaph and

share this

journey with

other

believers.

Remember

that.

Remind

each other

of this

psalm and

journey through

it together.

If someone

says how

you're going

and you're

not good,

talk to

them.

Recall

everything

that's going

on in your

life so

that you're

given the

opportunity for

someone else

to remind

you of

all you've

got in

Jesus.

Ask each

other,

how are you

going with

God?

Ask the

question that

matters because

life is

hard, but

hard does

not mean

wrong.

I'll say that

one more

time because

it's late in

the sermon.

It's important.

Life is

hard, but

hard does

not mean

wrong.

Hard can

still be

good with

God.

Last

thing.

Have this

worldview of

Asaph,

right?

He didn't

see only

his life in

the balance

as he

wrestled

with envy,

as he

stood in

this

circumstance.

No,

he could

see in

verse 15.

Just have

a look at

verse 15.

I would

have betrayed

your children

if I had

spoken out

like that.

He

deliberately

changes

course because

he does

not want

potential

believers to

be led

astray.

Those who

he might

have been

talking about

in verses

4 to

12.

Those who

don't yet

know the

benefits of

nearness to

God.

And then

as he

finishes,

Asaph

reaffirms

that

commitment

in verse

28.

He ends

the psalm

with this

verse that

feels like

it's on

its own.

If you

don't see

that it's

on his

heart in

the midst

of his

trouble and

wrestling

with God.

The very

end of the

psalm,

it says,

I will

tell of

all your

deeds.

Would

you respond

to your

joy in

God as

he fulfills

all your

desires in

him by

sharing that

good news?

Go tell

the world.

Go tell

of his

deeds.

As we

go,

this psalm

can help

us be

ready for

hard times,

armed with

readiness to

turn to

God in

Jesus and

rest in

the relationship

of intimacy

that Jesus

himself has

won for

us.

God

will

not have

the music

to sing

Psalm 73

as they

did in

Israel

3,000

years ago.

We're

blessed with

songs to

help us

turn back.

Things that

people have

written with

the same

heart and

the same

intent to

turn us

away from

envy and

to call us

back to

God.

We're going

to sing some

of those

right now.