Living by faith or by sight

New things are all very good, but I'm just giving Simon the license to interrupt me on

the basis that I'm likely to forget about the reading altogether.

So if he just jumps up in the middle of my sentence, you'll know why.

Okay, we're going to be looking at Psalm 9 and 10 this morning.

Just join with me in prayer for a moment.

Lord, our ears would be deaf to your word, except that your spirit opens them to hear

it, and that is my prayer now, Lord, for myself and for everyone here this morning.

Open our ears and bless the benefit of your word to our hearts and minds.

In Jesus' name, amen.

All right, well, we make them every day, hundreds, thousands of them, decisions.

We make so many decisions every day.

Some decisions are big decisions, and we obviously know the process going through those.

But some decisions are actually really, really small, almost the product of habit, the things

we do just every day.

And we now sort of make those decisions and don't even realize we're making them.

But we're still acting on a process of thought.

It's just that we've lost touch with that particular thought at that particular moment in those

small decisions.

decisions.

So just to get you thinking this morning, what decisions will you make this week?

What decisions will you make this week?

What decisions will you make this week in your home?

As a parent?

As a husband?

As a wife?

As a child?

What decisions will you make as you walk out the front door in the morning, whether you're

going to school or work or going to sport or whatever it is you're going to do?

What decisions will you be anticipating and making during the day?

Your decisions will reflect what you think of at home, family life, employment, relationships,

security, happiness, work, success, and so on and so forth.

It will also involve making decisions about our culture and how you actually choose to engage

with it on a day-by-day basis.

Now, all of these decisions, and I say there are thousands of them, all of these decisions

are an overflow of our worldview.

Now, if you're not familiar with the term worldview, there's a bit more in the back of the bulletin,

the back article in the bulletin, a bit more detail about worldview.

But essentially, a worldview can be thought of like my glasses here.

It's a lens through which we see the world.

It's a lens through which we understand the world, we understand God, and we understand

our part in the world, our place in the world.

That's what a worldview is.

How you think about the world, how you engage with the world.

And that means that every single person here has a worldview.

But not every single person here actually knows they've got a worldview and is able to articulate

it.

But you will have one and you will act on it.

It will be the overflow of your thinking.

Now, Psalms 9 and 10 may be considered and described as worldview psalms.

Why?

Because they present two different ways of thinking about God.

Two different ways of thinking about the world and how we experience the world.

Two different ways of thinking about our place in the world in which brokenness and suffering,

injustice impacts us every single day.

We make a decision consciously or subconsciously about how we're going to react or respond to that suffering,

injustice, those experiences of the world every single day.

And Psalm 9 and 10 highlight the challenge that we face to have what I'm calling this morning

is having a thoroughly biblical worldview in which our thinking and actions are shaped by what is true about God,

rather than having our thinking and actions shaped by our circumstances and our personal experiences of life.

We'll come back to that in a little while.

But in the meantime, we're going to look at worldview option number one.

That is God and the world viewed through the eyes or the lens of faith.

And now Simon's going to read the first 12 verses of Psalm 9 for us.

Psalm chapter 9.

Psalms 9 · chapter mention

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart.

I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.

I will be glad and exult in you.

I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before your presence.

For you have maintained my just cause.

You have sat on the throne giving righteous judgment.

You have rebuked the nations.

You have made the wicked perish.

You have blotted out their name forever and ever.

The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins.

Their cities you rooted out.

The very memory of them has perished.

But the Lord sits enthroned forever.

He has established his throne for justice.

And he judges the world with righteousness.

He judges the peoples with uprightness.

The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed.

A stronghold in times of trouble.

And those who know your name put their trust in you.

For you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

Sing praises to the Lord who sits enthroned in Zion.

Tell among the peoples his deeds.

For he who avenges blood is mindful of them.

He does not forget the cry of the afflicted.

The world viewed from the eyes or lens of faith begins with praise and thankfulness.

The focus of David from the very first word is on the Lord.

That is, it's the Lord that shapes David's thinking and actions on a daily basis as he engages with all the experiences of life.

His general orientation is thankfulness and praise.

Now, if you look at verses 1 and 2, there's nothing mechanical about this thanksgiving and praise.

It's not just some prayer he's reciting of.

It's a spontaneous overflow from the depth of his being.

The language there is very, very personal, very, very deep.

He recalls God's wonderful deeds.

That is, God's actions in the past dealing with and caring for his people.

But there's something even more profound, deeper than that in those first two verses.

David's so appreciative and aware of God's character, God's good deeds.

But David's actually delighting in the Lord himself.

His soul is overflowing with the beauty of the Lord himself.

In other words, David's starting point is that the Lord is truly satisfying.

The Lord is his delight.

The Lord is his treasure.

Just to be the Lord's person is sufficient for David.

The Lord is his source of joy and comfort and confidence and hope.

And therefore, worship is natural.

Worship is ascribing the supreme value to something.

And that's what David does to the Lord.

And from there, David actually sees his circumstances from God's perspective.

Verse 3 there.

David's well aware that he has many, many enemies.

But they're not his focus.

He's God's king, tasked by the Lord to rule his people in righteousness and truth and justice.

And that means inevitably that there will be conflict.

But the eye of faith in King David sees beyond his immediate circumstances to the great king whom he serves.

And in whose presence, verse 3, just the very presence of the Lord alone is enough to bring undone any enemy.

And when we think about it, there's something quite remarkable here.

Because King David was a hugely successful king.

He was a very, very powerful man.

Yet, if you read through these verses again, as Simon's just read them to us,

King David acknowledges that every detail of his story, he's actually down to God.

God's rescuing.

God's protection.

God's justice.

God's judgment.

God's purposes.

It's all there in those verses.

It's that that David knows through the eyes of faith.

It's that which keeps him in the present and guarantees his future and the future of God's people.

And then verses 9 to 12.

Not only that, but David leans into or rests in the Lord.

That is his general orientation.

Thankfulness and praise.

Seeing the circumstances from God's perspective and leaning into the Lord at every point.

Confidently and warmly knowing the Lord as the Most High.

It's a very, very lofty term.

The Most High.

There is no greater appeal for David.

There's no greater power.

There's no greater comfort.

And David knows the Most High is the champion of truth, the champion of right, and the dispenser of justice and judgment.

And so David can rest in the Lord in whatever circumstances he faces.

The Lord is so powerful.

The Lord is so powerful.

His rule and purpose cannot be threatened.

But at the same time, the Lord is so invested in his people.

In the well-being of his people.

In the well-being of his people.

That he becomes that stronghold.

That safe refuge.

That place to hide.

The place to rest and be secure and calm in the midst of the mess of life.

The eyes of faith know that no matter the circumstance, the Lord will never abandon or forget his people.

No matter what circumstances appear to suggest.

Simon, you read the next section for it, please.

So chapter 9, 13 to 20.

Be gracious to me, O Lord.

See my affliction from those who hate me.

O you who lift me up from the gates of death.

That I may recount all your praises.

That in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in your salvation.

The nations have sunk in the pit that they made.

In the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.

The Lord has made himself known.

He has executed judgment.

The wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.

Agion.

Salah.

The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God.

For the needy shall not always be forgotten.

And the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.

Arise, O Lord.

Let not man prevail.

Let the nations be judged before you.

Put them in fear, O Lord.

Let the nations know that they are but men.

Salah.

Sometimes we have the notion that when we talk about seeing the world through the eyes of faith.

That we are sort of in denial of reality.

Well, Psalm 9 tells us that's not the case.

The eyes of faith do not mean denial of real and tough circumstances.

Because in verse 13, the tone changes almost jarring from verse 12 to verse 13.

Be gracious to me, O Lord.

See my affliction from those who hate me.

The first 12 verses you wouldn't even realize David was suffering particularly badly.

But here he is, verse 13.

He just pours out something of the depth of the impact he feels on a daily basis.

From his struggle against those who oppose his rule of righteousness and truth under the Lord's hand.

And seeing the world through the eyes of faith does not make King David immune to tough circumstances.

But it does shape his response to them.

That's a really important point.

He's not immune to them because of the eyes of faith.

But the eyes of faith shape his response in those tough circumstances.

And so the worship that was expressed in verses 1 to 12 as praise and thanks,

now I think is expressed in prayer.

Because David now spreads out his helplessness before the Lord.

Before the Lord's goodness and the Lord's grace.

And I think the tone here is really clear.

That David is honest, but he's not anxious in his circumstances.

He's very much aware of those who would try to bring him down for whatever reason.

But he's not overwhelmed by those who would try to bring him down for whatever reason.

Why?

Because of the eyes of faith.

He is convinced that no matter the circumstance, the Lord will have the final say.

The Lord will have the final say in each circumstance of his life.

And then there's a couple of really nice pictures in here.

In verse 13, David pictures the Lord as his lifter up.

Oh you who lift me up from the gates of death.

The Lord is his lifter up.

That is, he's confident that the Lord will take him from the gates of death, which is picture language.

Take him from the extreme danger where it looks as if his cause is just about to get snuffed out.

The Lord will actually transport him from that to, more picture language, the gates of Zion.

Zion was God's city, the place of the good life, the life under God.

The life of blessing and satisfaction and completeness.

The life of purity.

So David is confident the Lord would be his lifter up.

Literally transporting him from there to there in circumstances of life.

And just as surely, the picture has its other side.

Verses 15 through to 20.

The Lord, as the Lord is the lifter up of David, so David is confident the Lord will be the knocker down

of powerful, rebellious people and nations.

As he frustrates and ultimately destroys them with his just judgment.

And so there's a nice little play there on those two pictures.

The arrogant nations, arrogant, powerful people who think they can just do what they like in God's word.

They think they are the lifted up ones.

We're the ones above the rest.

But David can see past that and knows that those who think they're lifted up and then knock down God's people

will experience a great reversal.

It will be God's people ultimately who will be lifted up.

And those who arrogantly think themselves to be high will actually feel and experience God's judgment as he knocks them down.

And so the picture is very, very strong.

Having carelessly rejected the Most High in their arrogance.

And then, despising his beauty, despising his wonderful deeds.

Verse 19 and 20.

One day, those same people will crumble in fear

as God brings justice and judgment to them.

They've made terror their weapon.

And they'll end facing their own terrors of God's judgment.

Now, ready for worldview too.

Simon and I had a discussion before church.

Simon, and there's a good reason for it.

You can think about it.

Simon reckons Psalm 10 should come before Psalm 9.

But we'll go into that in a little while.

Yep, thanks, Simon.

Simon.

Psalm 10, verses 1 to 11.

Psalms 10:1–11

Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?

Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

In arrogance, the wicked hotly pursue the poor.

Let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.

For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,

and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord.

In the pride of his face, the wicked does not seek him.

All his thoughts are, there is no God.

His ways prosper at all times.

Your judgments are on high, out of his sight.

As for all his foes, he puffs at them.

He says in his heart,

I shall not be moved.

Throughout all generations, I shall not meet adversity.

His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression.

Under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.

He sits in ambush in the villages.

In hiding places, he murders the innocent.

His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless.

He lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket.

He lurks that he may seize the poor.

He seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.

The helpless are crushed, sink down and fall by his might.

He says in his heart,

God has forgotten, yet has hidden his face.

He will never see it.

Talk about chalk and cheese.

Very, very different pictures there, aren't they?

Between Psalm 9 and Psalm 10.

Very different worldview.

It's part two of the psalm.

And one of the reasons I decided to connect it together,

most English versions and most commentators don't,

but there is some grammatical reasons like 9 and 10.

There's a certain acrostic thing.

Every two verses begins with a particular letter,

a sequential letter of the Hebrew alphabet,

and that runs through the two psalms.

And there's some other reasons why.

There's certainly at least part A and part B, I think.

At least that's my defense anyway.

Talk to me more about that if you want.

Getting into the text of Psalm 10,

then, it's a very different picture of God's world

from a very different starting point.

It's a picture shaped primarily by circumstance

or by the experience of God's world.

Shaped by injustice and godliness,

godlessness rather,

and shaped by how things appear to be

as we look at them immediately.

And again, drawing the parallels,

the orientation as we move into Psalm 10

is not praise and thanksgiving,

as we saw in Psalm 9,

but it's accusation,

it's disappointment,

it's frustration,

all of which is directed at the Lord.

Why?

Because starting with the circumstances,

it just feels and seems like

the Lord has abandoned them.

Worse, verses 3 through to 10.

Far worse.

It feels like the Lord has surrendered his world

to the powerful schemes of godless,

self-made people to do what they please.

And indeed, that is what they do.

They do what they please,

with whomever they please,

when they please.

That's the picture of Psalm 10.

And it's a very, very despairing,

heavy picture, isn't it?

People who arrogantly act as if they are God,

people who are convinced

that they will only ever answer to themselves

and their own selfish desires.

And so, from there,

they take it that they can ruthlessly exploit

anybody that comes within their reach.

It's a pretty horrible picture.

And yet, it's one that's so familiar,

isn't it, Tess?

Even worse, verse 5.

In their godlessness,

and their godlessness is so obvious,

they seem to thrive.

They actually have come to believe

their own propaganda

that success breeds success,

and that they are, in fact, unstoppable.

And again, you only have to listen to the news

to hear some of the most powerful,

influential people and corporations in the world

who maybe wouldn't say that

because it sounds too crude to say it openly,

but that's obviously what oozes out of them.

We will do what we want to do

because we have the power

and the influence and the money to do it

and the position.

And as you go through the detail,

I don't have too much time to stop on all the detail,

but I just want to summarize

some of those later verses in that first section by this.

Verbally, they're predators.

That is, one of the key tools

is to use words.

Whatever words necessary

to bully, intimidate,

and knock people down

or knock them into line

so that they will do

what these powerful, godless people

want them to do.

And practically,

they're predators also.

The language here

is of the most ruthless,

consuming,

and dismissing of people

as just commodities.

Those who are poor

and helpless

and oppressed,

disadvantaged,

well,

obviously,

they're not lifted up.

People like ourselves,

they're just to be used

and discarded.

More fool them.

It's the dog-eat-dog

attitude of our culture,

of our world,

isn't it?

It's so,

so horrible.

These oppressed,

poor people,

they're not,

it doesn't ever occur

to these ruthless,

wealthy,

thriving people

that they should stop

and help them

show compassion.

They're just there

to be treated,

consumed,

discarded

without either

compassion or mercy.

And as verse 11

takes us then,

he says in his heart,

God has forgotten.

He has hidden his face,

he will never see it.

So once again,

you see,

their worldview

reflects what they think

about God

and what they think

about themselves

and what they think

about the world

in which they exist

and operate in.

They're convinced

that they are God-like.

They've pushed

the real God

or any thought of God

into the background

and they've now

stepped into the foreground

as God-like figures

themselves.

And from there,

they try and convince

themselves

that God

does not exist.

So there's an interesting

play and dialogue there.

Earlier in the psalm,

it says,

you know,

there is no God

but then the inner dialogue,

which is verse 11,

isn't quite so self-assured.

In all their godlessness,

they still have to work

to keep calm

on the inside,

convincing themselves

that there is no God

or if there is a God,

verse 11,

then probably hasn't noticed

or he's forgotten

or he just isn't interested

and we will get away with it.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Do you see the thinking?

Even if God exists

and they're trying

to convince themselves

that God doesn't

but even if God does exist,

their thinking is this,

that since God

has not acted against me

thus far,

then I can have confidence

he will not act against me

in the future.

I.e.,

I might just sneak this in,

I might just pull it off,

I might get away with it,

I might actually be able

to run life like this

and not have any consequences.

why would he think that?

well as I said before either

because God has forgotten

that's a view of God

or because God has

overlooked sinful

rebellious actions and that's a

particular world view of God

or

because as per the starting thought

the Lord is deliberately

disinterested in what is happening

in his world and that also

is a world view thought

because that person

will then live

in the light of what he thinks about God

Psalm 10

Psalms 10:12

verse 12 to the end

Arise

O Lord

O God lift up your hand

forget not the afflicted

why does the wicked

renounce God and say in his heart

you will not call to account

but you do see

for you note

mischief and vexation

that you may take it into your hands

to you the helpless

commits himself

you have been the helper

of the fatherless

break the arm of the wicked

and evildoer

call his wickedness to account

till you find none

the Lord is king

forever and ever

the nations perish

from his land

O Lord

you hear the desire

of the afflicted

you will strengthen

their heart

you will incline

your ear

to do justice

to the fatherless

and the oppressed

so that man

who is of the earth

may strike terror

no more

as per

psalm 9

so

we

have a prayer

to conclude

the psalm

and the prayer

I think reflects

the heading

if you're following

on the sheet

the prayer reflects

the fact that

the eyes of circumstance

ultimately need faith

see because

ultimately people

cannot live in a world

like I've just described

in Psalm 10

Psalms 10:1–11

verses 1 to 11

we ultimately

cannot live in a world

in which

all we see

is all there is

it would just be

too heartbreaking

and depressing

to view our world

like that

we recognize evil

you don't have to be

a Christian

to recognize evil

we recognize

exploitation

we long

for powerful

and self

powerful

self-interested

people

to be called

to account

for their

terrible actions

we long

for justice

to prevail

we long

for a great

reversal

in our world

don't we

we long

for a world

that we can see

governed by love

and care

and compassion

and truth

we long

for a ruler

who will be

powerful enough

to be in control

and yet

personal enough

to be caring

and compassionate

and merciful

my friends

when we confront

the experience

or the circumstances

of this life

essentially

what we're

longing for

is for the

Lord

to be king

in his world

and I think

that's what the

prayer

verses 12

through to 18

is

as in

Psalm 9

the prayer

there

it's a prayer

for God

to act

in line

with his

character

act

Lord

rise

act

in justice

and righteousness

and compassion

and truth

call to account

that which is evil

my friends

the eyes of faith

are necessary

to confront

the experiences

of life

the circumstances

of life

pushes

almost in desperation

at times

to develop

the eyes of faith

the reality

of God

in his world

then exposes

the nonsense

of

rebellion

without consequences

and we're told

in these verses

God does

see everything

not only does he see it

there's actually more

picture language

it's as if God

is there

with his board

taking notes

on every part

of evil

every act

of evil

he sees it

and he notes it

and he will

call to account

in his way

and in his time

he will

reverse the wrongs

perpetrated

on his despised

people

and the idea

there of breaking

someone's arm

that's picture language

for the culture

of the day

in other words

it is

break down

or render

neutral

their power

it's the right

arm of power

that's been

pictured there

he will break

the power

and influence

of all

who reject

the Lord

and act

as if they

are God

and as we saw

in Psalm 9

there will be

a great reversal

those who

currently

appear

despised

and abandoned

will experience

the blessing

of being lifted

up

the blessing

and joy

of God's

wonderful deeds

being applied

to them

and for them

and those

who currently

use terror

in godlessness

and ruthlessness

who use terror

to build their

lifestyle

will finally

experience

the terror

themselves

but the terror

of God's

judgment

in the upshot

both Psalms

is that those

who step over

the boundary

of humanness

who step over

the boundary

and start to act

as though they are

God

and that they can do

whatever they like

in God's world

with impunity

including rejecting

God

they will be

forced

in another

great reversal

to recognize

that they are

oh so human

and that God

is oh so God

they will be

forced to

recognize

that in fact

they are

what they have

always been

God's creatures

living under

the authority

of the creator

and answering

to him

well

just let me

make a couple

of lines

of application

here

and I'm done

then

the main

line of application

is this

that for us

as Christians

we need to be

careful

not to be

theoretically

engaged with

the world

view of Psalm

9

but operating

practically

in the world

view of Psalm

10

as Christians

it's quite easy

for us

and especially

in this congregation

because this is

the language

of this congregation

it's quite easy

and common

for us to say

God is sovereign

that he is in

control of

every circumstance

of this life

but then

practically

we can be

frustrated with

God

because he's

not acting

to call to

account as we

think he should

and when we

think he should

we can become

fixated on

evil and

injustice

exploitation

stuff we

observe and

experience from

individuals or

from governments

or whenever

in political

social economic

religious decisions

and policy

we're seeing it

all the time

and sometimes

we can get so

fixated on it

that it drags us

into Psalm

10 world

view

we get sucked

into struggling

against these

things as though

we are on our

own as though

if it's not

for us then

these things

won't be called

to account and

won't be dealt

with

we get

frustrated that

the ungodly

are thriving

we start to

fear the impact

of their

ruthless

determination

to squeeze

God out of

his world

we sense

that we need

to get active

and frenetic

about curtailing

their wickedness

and trying to

bring them down

before they

destroy everything

that puts us

in Psalm

10 world

view

at a practical

level

all the

while

deep in

our hearts

those sorts

of thoughts

are producing

decisions

that shape

our view

of God

again

since he

hasn't

knocked down

ungodly

people

I know

lots of

Christians

then start

to harbor

thoughts

well

that must

mean

since he

hasn't

done it

by now

that must

mean

either

he's

not there

or

that he's

unable

that he

doesn't

have enough

power

or

that he

doesn't

want to

that is

he's

not good

or that

he's just

totally

disinterested

doesn't

care

do you

see how

those sort

of things

start to

frame

our thoughts

of God

deep down

now we

can have

those thoughts

and still

on a Sunday

morning

turn up

all nice

and shiny

and sit

down here

and say

isn't it

wonderful

that God's

sovereign

straddling

two worldviews

sometimes

I think

and this is

all I don't

think

let me be

more honest

sometimes

I find

myself

even

being jealous

of the

thriving

nature

of the

ungodly

jealous

of their

success

jealous

of their

prosperity

jealous

of their

indulgent

lifestyle

just wishing

if I had

money to

have a

holiday

like that

if I had

money to

buy that

if I had

money to

have a

house

like that

you see

the world

view I mean

and from

there we

start to

think that

practically

we're on

our own

we need

to take

matters into

our own

hands

we are

on our

own to

make the

best of

life in

reaction

against

evil

we might

then even

find ourselves

taking up

ungodly

strategies

to improve

our lot

so as

Christians we

find ourselves

starting to

fight like

non-Christians

we want to

fight and

win arguments

we want to

prove our

point we

want to

better those

who oppose

us

we want to

protest a

desire for

justice

but as I've

experienced in

my life too

often that

protest of

justice is

actually a

desire for

revenge

I want

somebody to

pay for the

hurt they've

inflicted on

and ultimately

we get

dragged into

that Psalm

10 worldview

and then we

find ourselves

going down the

pathway of

self-vindication

self-protection

self-sufficiency

and ultimately

I think the

end of that

road is an

attempt at

self-salvation

and that is

a reactionary

fear-based

living

with God

pushed into

the background

most of the

week except

perhaps when we

express our

anger and

frustration at

Adam in

prayer

or as I

say when we

come to church

on Sunday

and piously

say in

terms of

Psalm 9

praise God

for his

sovereign

control

it's a real

trap for us

we need to be

real careful

about it

well secondly

and much more

briefly

just this point

here

remember

that the

Lord never

forgets

sin or

rebellion

but is

always

keen

to

graciously

forgive

I agree

the gospel

of Jesus

is God's

brilliant

demonstration

of his

righteousness

in justice

and judgment

God does

not forget

about sin

not even

one rebellious

thought will

be overlooked

ignored or

forgotten by

the Lord

nor has he

forgotten his

troubled helpless

fatherless people

the great

reversal

prayed for

in Psalm 9

and 10

has already

become reality

in the death

and resurrection

of Jesus

in John

John 5:20

chapter 5

verse 20

60

30

it speaks

along those

lines

God has

already had

the last

word

in his

world

the word

of judgment

on sin

all judgment

has been put

into the hands

of Jesus

and in a real

sense has

already been

completed through

Christ's death

and resurrection

and therefore

Christ's

resurrection

is proof

that Jesus

is who he

says he is

and that

God has

done what

he said

he would

do

in terms

of judgment

now

two ways

to apply

that

and then

I'm done

for each

Christian here

this morning

there's a

wonderful freedom

and assurance

in knowing

that Psalm

9 and 10

has already

been fulfilled

the prayer

of Psalm

9 and 10

has been

fulfilled

in Jesus

if you

as a believer

here this

morning

if your heart

is genuinely

oriented to

living faithfully

and confidently

under the rule

of King

Jesus

then

regardless

of how

inconsistently

you have

applied your

eyes of faith

to your

circumstances

regardless of

that you can

be sure

that you will

only experience

God's care

and protection

and blessing

even in the

midst of

suffering

that is what

the gospel

promises

and achieves

for us

now

if you're

someone here

this morning

who has not

yet bowed

to Jesus

then can I

just plead

with you

don't ignore

your inner

dialogue

this morning

don't just

keep on

going

thinking

well

okay

God

hasn't

knocked

me down

thus far

in life

therefore

maybe

everything's

okay

or

I hope

that God

that might

be out

there

will just

leave me

alone

to do

my own

thing

don't

allow

yourself

even to

contemplate

that you

can continue

a life

of autonomy

or living

independently

from God

pushing God

into the

background

and just

running

life as

you want

to

as if

you

yourself

were God

don't

think

you can

do that

and get

away

with it

you will

never

forget

or ignore

your rebellion

your sin

in fact

he knows

it far

better

than you

do

you might

think you're

this bad

but the Lord

knows you're

this bad

this guilty

before

so the Lord

will never

forget

your sin

and that's

a much

bigger

problem

you even

realize

but equally

true of the

Lord

he will

graciously

forgive

your sin

if you

give up

your autonomy

and your

rebellion

if you

come to

him

asking for

grace

and mercy

and forgiveness

then he

promises

that he

will give

that grace

and mercy

and forgiveness

and he

will never

ever

count your

sin against

you

in his

sovereign

grace

and because

he's got

the sovereign

power to

do so

he will

give you

a fresh

start

into a

wonderful

new life

of blessing

and security

so

back to my

first

sentence

this morning

what

decisions

will you

make

this week

what

thinking

about

God

and yourself

will

govern

where you

go from

here

and how

you

enter

the

week

I'm

speaking

now

both to

Christians

and those

who aren't

yet

believers

pray with me

again

Lord

we easily

find ourselves

torn

between what

we say

and actually

what

captures

our hearts

Lord

we

sometimes

find ourselves

as I say

theoretically

in Psalm 9

confident

in your

sovereign

purposes

and control

of your

world

and yet

practically

Lord

find ourselves

so fearful

of what we

observe

and what we

experience

around us

help us

Lord to

re-engage

with you

so that our

theory is

actually a

demonstrated

reality

we find a

freedom

and a peace

and a calm

to trust you

to lean into you

that you might be

our stronghold

our refuge

in times of

trouble

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen