Sermon

THE DANGERS OF MISPLACED TRUST - Psalm 49

The Grove Sermon Podcast

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  1. Amen.

  2. >> All right, if you have a Bible or an

  3. app, let's open it up. We're going to

  4. continue in our journey through the book

  5. of Psalms.

  6. And this morning finds us in Psalm 49.

  7. Psalm 49 is 20 verses long. This Psalm

  8. is also written by the sons of Korah.

  9. And over the past couple of weeks, we've

  10. learned something incredibly unique and

  11. interesting about the sons of Korah. And

  12. just by way of reminder, I'll point our

  13. attention to the fact that in Numbers

    Numbers 16 chapter mention

  14. chapter 16, sons of Korah rebelled

  15. against the leadership of Moses, against

  16. God's chosen deliverer.

  17. And what's interesting is as God dealt

  18. his righteous and just judgment upon the

  19. sons of Korah for their rebellion

  20. against the Lord, we read that the earth

  21. opened up and swallowed them in, that

  22. there was a remnant that survived.

  23. And that remnant came to be known as the

  24. sons of Korah right here in the Psalms.

  25. And a people that were once known as a

  26. rebellious people, people of

  27. disobedience,

  28. people that shook their fist at God, now

  29. became a people of praise and worship.

  30. And it's incredible that that every time

  31. we come to a Psalm and we recognize that

  32. the author of those Psalms of that Psalm

  33. was the sons of Korah, that we take a

  34. moment to just reflect on our own

  35. spiritual life. Because that is our

  36. story.

  37. If you have given your faith to Christ,

  38. you have grabbed hold of the truth of

  39. the gospel and have given your yes and

  40. your hope and your trust to the life,

  41. death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ,

  42. that is your story.

  43. You were once an enemy of God. You were

  44. once a child of disobedience. Before the

  45. Lord, you were a rebel before the

  46. holiness of God. And because of his

  47. mercy and because of his grace and

  48. because of his love and his kindness for

  49. you, not just a general love and

  50. kindness for you, for humanity, but a

  51. specific type of love and kindness. So

  52. much so that he went to the cross for

  53. you. He indeed went to the cross for

  54. humanity, but he went to the cross for

  55. Roland.

  56. I think so often what we do

  57. is we hear the gospel story, we read

  58. these stories throughout the scripture,

  59. and they're great, and they're

  60. encouraging, and they're even

  61. convicting, but I think sometimes we

  62. fall into the trap of overgeneralizing

  63. these stories.

  64. And thinking, yes, they're for everyone.

  65. And there's truth to that.

  66. But I think something powerful happens

  67. when we understand that it's personal.

  68. Christ has died for

  69. you.

  70. He didn't just die for us. He died for

  71. you. The savior of the world Follow me

  72. here for just a moment. The savior of

  73. the world in his power, in his holiness,

  74. in his glory,

  75. in his might, the one who spoke the

  76. words and the universe came into

  77. existence.

  78. The one in whom the scripture tells us

  79. all things hold together.

  80. And without him was not anything made

  81. that was made, that it's all him, it's

  82. always been about him, and will forever

  83. be about him, that he

  84. loves you.

  85. He doesn't love you on your best day, he

  86. loves you on your worst

  87. >> [clears throat]

  88. >> He loves you in your sin. While we were

  89. yet still sinners, the scripture says

  90. Christ

  91. died for us.

  92. While you were still in your sin,

  93. Christ died for us. This is the love

  94. of our father.

  95. And there's a unique aspect of Psalm 49

  96. that points us

  97. to that love.

  98. That directs our gaze and our attention

  99. to the only one

  100. who we can trust

  101. that will never fail,

  102. that will never be hindered,

  103. that no matter what obstacle we face,

  104. no matter the culture, no matter what

  105. the future holds, no matter what power

  106. earthly powers or kingdoms may rise up,

  107. no matter what influence culturally is

  108. taking place, there is one whom we can

  109. trust without fail, who remains the same

  110. yesterday, today, and forevermore. And

  111. what Psalm 49 does

  112. is Psalm 49 does an incredible job of

  113. pointing our hearts

  114. towards that truth.

  115. What we're going to deal with here in

  116. just a moment,

  117. we're going to walk through a Psalm that

  118. deals with the dangers of misplaced

  119. trust.

  120. How many of us have ever dealt with

  121. dangers or consequences or the pain of

  122. misplaced trust?

  123. We've all had.

  124. There's a famous story

  125. that takes place between April 10th and

  126. April 11th of 1912. If you know your

  127. history, you know what story I'm

  128. referring to.

  129. On April 10th, 1912, the RMS Titanic set

  130. sail

  131. to America.

  132. The Titanic was deemed unsinkable.

  133. So much so that the engineers of the

  134. ship, we know history, we know the

  135. story, did not even situate enough

  136. lifeboats

  137. to be on the ship.

  138. Five days into the journey, they hit an

  139. iceberg.

  140. The ship sinks.

  141. So many people die.

  142. There was a massive amount of trust

  143. placed in this ship.

  144. The money that was spent,

  145. the engineering that went into it, there

  146. was so much trust placed in this ship,

  147. so much so that they had thought that

  148. there would be nothing

  149. that could sink it.

  150. Nothing

  151. that could stop it.

  152. You see, the danger isn't necessarily

  153. the fact that we trust things.

  154. The danger is in the fact that we trust

  155. things that at the end will not hold.

  156. Will not be stable.

  157. Will not stand firm. And so, the

  158. question this morning,

  159. as we dive into the text, is who do you

  160. trust? What do you trust? If you've been

  161. tracking with us over the course of

  162. these Psalms this past summer, you

  163. understand that since many of them have

  164. been written by the sons of Korah, there

  165. is this theme of security, stability,

  166. shelter, and trust. And all of it is

  167. this blinking arrow that is pointing to

  168. Jesus. And even though we are thousands

  169. of years removed from when this Psalm

  170. was authored, it's a truth that remains

  171. for us today. And I think one of the

  172. dangers

  173. that we have, especially regarding

  174. misplaced trust,

  175. is it because we thrive, and we live,

  176. and we operate in a culture of

  177. convenience. And praise God for

  178. conveniences.

  179. When those conveniences are not met, so

  180. often times, our world crumbles.

  181. So much so that we even have a joke for

  182. it. Hashtag first world what?

  183. First world problems.

  184. Have you heard about the heatwave that

  185. has swept through Europe?

  186. Like 1,300 people, I think last that I

  187. read the data, 1,300 people have passed

  188. away because of this heatwave. And I

  189. didn't know this, but in Europe,

  190. air condition, like that's not a normal

  191. thing.

  192. Only 20% of people have air condition in

  193. Europe. It is not normal for them.

  194. And so I started to do more research and

  195. I started to realize, well, it's kind of

  196. like South Texas winters. I kid you not,

  197. we probably ran our heater maybe twice

  198. this past winter. We We just don't need

  199. it. And apparently they they just don't

  200. need it.

  201. And Psalm 49

  202. speaks about things that happen around

  203. us, things

  204. things that we encounter, things that we

  205. deal with

  206. that oftentimes can cause us, even with

  207. these conveniences, air condition

  208. included,

  209. that we can put our hope and our trust

  210. in.

  211. But what do we do

  212. when we realize that they won't hold,

  213. that they won't stand, that they won't

  214. be stable? This is where Psalm 49

  215. speaks.

  216. So let's open up the word.

  217. We're going to be looking at verses 16

  218. through 20.

  219. This is a great summary of what the

  220. Psalm is about. And then here in just a

  221. moment, we'll go back through the

  222. entirety of the Psalm and we'll pull out

  223. some truths as we look at the dangers of

  224. misplaced

  225. trust. Beginning in verse 16.

  226. Do not be afraid when a person gets

  227. rich,

  228. when the wealth of his house

  229. increases.

  230. For when he dies,

  231. he will take nothing at all.

  232. His wealth will not follow him down.

  233. Though he blesses himself during his

  234. lifetime, and you are acclaimed when you

  235. do well for yourself,

  236. he will go to the generation of his

  237. ancestors.

  238. And they will never see

  239. the light.

  240. Mankind

  241. with his assets but without

  242. understanding

  243. is like the animals that

  244. perish.

  245. And all God's people said

  246. Lord, would you bless your word? Holy

  247. Spirit, would you stir our hearts?

  248. Psalm 49 speaks to a reality that we

  249. will all face and one that none of us

  250. can escape.

  251. And that is death.

  252. It's been said before that death is the

  253. great equalizer.

  254. Here in a moment, we'll read through

  255. Psalm 49 and Psalm 49 will tell us these

  256. words that whether you're rich or poor,

  257. whether you're the high echelon of

  258. society or the bottom of the totem pole

  259. of society, we're all the same in that

  260. every single one of us is destined for

  261. the grave.

  262. And oftentimes what we attempt to do in

  263. this journey

  264. is we attempt to build up this trust in

  265. things and in the context of Psalm 49 in

  266. order to prolong

  267. life.

  268. I had a conversation when I was at a

  269. camp in Zephyrhills this past week.

  270. I had a conversation with a sponsor

  271. who shared some news about the wife

  272. of one of their deacons

  273. who had passed away.

  274. She went in for a surgery,

  275. didn't wake up,

  276. and she had passed.

  277. And she talked about how it was sad.

  278. She had two young boys.

  279. Her husband was now a widower.

  280. And there's grief and there's sadness.

  281. But behind all of that for the believer

  282. in Jesus Christ, there's a peace, and

  283. there's a hope, and there's a comfort.

  284. And she said something that I had known

  285. my entire Christian life, but the way

  286. she articulated it was just sort of an

  287. aha moment for She said, "You know, we

  288. want those people back, but how selfish

  289. would it be to take them from the arms

  290. of the Lord

  291. and have them come back to all that's

  292. wrong with the world just because we

  293. missed them." And many of us can relate

  294. with that with loved ones

  295. who have gone

  296. before us.

  297. That all happens

  298. when we just trust in the things of this

  299. world.

  300. When we trust in our own abilities, when

  301. we trust in our own giftings, when we

  302. trust in our own mighty acts rather than

  303. the mighty acts of God. And what I love

  304. about Psalm 49, especially in regards to

  305. how we can prolong our life. If we're

  306. all destined for the grave, and if we

  307. are a believer in Jesus Christ, we do

  308. not have to fear death.

  309. And I mean, we can be honest.

  310. There are moments where where I fear

  311. death.

  312. And I think because in large part, I'm

  313. I'm still relatively young.

  314. And there are things I want to

  315. experience in life. There are things I

  316. want to see my children experience in

  317. life. But but here's here's what I've

  318. come to understand more and more from

  319. our seasoned saints. Did you see what I

  320. did there?

  321. I was being polite.

  322. From our seasoned saints.

  323. Is it is it the older you get,

  324. the more at peace

  325. you become with the reality of

  326. of death.

  327. Of the fact that it awaits us all.

  328. And I think part of that is, of course,

  329. growing and maturing in your walk with

  330. Jesus Christ.

  331. But I think also a large part of that is

  332. you've experienced so much of life that

  333. you realize this is all for naught.

  334. And it's beautiful, mind you.

  335. Like life's blessings and life's

  336. experiences,

  337. part of that is meant to mold in us a

  338. gratitude and a thankfulness for the

  339. beauty of God's creation and his

  340. blessings over our life, but our praise

  341. should never terminate on those

  342. blessings. That should never be the end

  343. game for us. It should roll up into a

  344. deeper and greater trust. All these

  345. things I do not trust in. All these

  346. things are simply blinking arrows that

  347. point me to the one who can satisfy.

  348. Which is why verse 16 speaks to us. It

  349. speaks to the culture.

  350. When the sons of Korah write, don't be

  351. afraid when people get rich. And this is

  352. in the context of evil people

  353. getting rich.

  354. Because when they die, they take

  355. nothing.

  356. Right? The old saying is you don't see a

  357. U-Haul behind a hearse.

  358. Wealth does not follow us.

  359. What happens? We are all destined for

  360. the grave. So, Psalm 49 is going to

  361. teach us how to think.

  362. Regarding trust,

  363. regarding what it means to look towards

  364. Jesus. So, here's what I want to do.

  365. Let's go back to our passage.

  366. Let's draw out some truths. Let's

  367. reference some verses.

  368. And let us understand

  369. the dangers of misplaced trust.

  370. So, here in a moment when we conclude,

  371. we can we can see clearly, hopefully,

  372. this is the prayer,

  373. what it means to fully trust in the

  374. Lord.

  375. So, before we go any further, let let me

  376. tell you the heartbeat of the passage

  377. here. Here's what Psalm 49 is getting

  378. at.

  379. That whatever you trust apart from God

  380. will ultimately deceive you.

  381. It will disappoint you.

  382. And it will distract you from the only

  383. one who can truly save. For many of us,

  384. that's our testimony.

  385. When the Holy Spirit awakened us to

  386. faith, we realized

  387. that these things over promised and

  388. under performed.

  389. Whatever it was, trusting in wealth,

  390. trusting in giftings, trusting in

  391. relationships, trusting in a marriage,

  392. trusting in family, trusting in health,

  393. trusting in good things

  394. that it over promises and underperforms.

  395. So, let's go back to the Psalm. Let's

  396. look at some things. If you're taking

  397. notes, here's the first one. Misplaced

  398. trust deceives us.

  399. It over promises.

  400. And human nature

  401. likes the path of least resistance.

  402. So, there is a thing in psychology

  403. called confirmation bias.

  404. Confirmation bias does the opposite of

  405. what you're supposed to do. So, what

  406. you're supposed to do is

  407. you form a hypothesis

  408. and then you set out to do research

  409. and then you form a conclusion.

  410. And based off of the research, the

  411. conclusion will then prove whether your

  412. hypoth- hypothesis was true or not.

  413. But what confirmation bias does

  414. is we've already formed a conclusion in

  415. our mind

  416. and therefore

  417. we allow the research that we conduct to

  418. affirm and confirm our conclusions. And

  419. so, we won't listen to maybe opposite

  420. arguments. We won't listen to things

  421. that are out there that might disprove

  422. what we believe.

  423. This is what misplaced trust

  424. does.

  425. It keeps us open to deception and closes

  426. us off

  427. to truth. And I love how the Psalm opens

  428. up. Let's go to verses 1 and 2.

  429. Because the sons of Korah are wasting no

  430. time.

  431. Everybody is destined for the grave. So,

  432. there is this sense of urgency in the

  433. message of the psalmist. Everyone needs

  434. to listen. Everyone needs to hear

  435. because one day your number is up and we

  436. don't know when that day is going to be.

  437. And so we need to have some spiritual

  438. reflection, take some spiritual

  439. inventory, and recognize, am I placing

  440. my trust in things that will never

  441. satisfy,

  442. in things that will never be sustained,

  443. in things that will never be stable? In

  444. verse one, here's what they write. Hear

  445. this

  446. all you peoples.

  447. Listen all who inhabit the world. Here's

  448. Here's an incredible thing because this

  449. points us to

  450. the fact that God sent his son for the

  451. nations.

  452. Which nation did God choose to send his

  453. son through?

  454. Israel.

  455. And so there's a unique part of the

  456. story that is dedicated to the people of

  457. Israel, but here in the Old Testament,

  458. it's incredible that we get this sneak

  459. preview to the fact that God's mission

  460. is not exclusive to Israel. God's

  461. mission is for the world.

  462. And we get this right here in verse one.

  463. Hear this all you peoples. All you

  464. peoples. This is every people group.

  465. This is why Revelation 7, we've been

  466. talking about this before, John gets

  467. this vision of heaven.

  468. And in this vision, he sees people from

  469. every tribe, every tongue, every nation,

  470. this melting pot of believers. Heaven is

  471. going to be a mosaic of people of

  472. different colors, different ethnicities,

  473. different races, different backgrounds,

  474. different history, different life

  475. experiences, and it's been said this

  476. way, you'll be surprised on who made it

  477. to heaven and you'll be surprised on who

  478. didn't.

  479. Because God's love is for those who will

  480. call upon his name. This is made evident

  481. here. So the urgency, hear this. Listen

  482. both low and high, rich and poor

  483. together.

  484. There's this announcement that is

  485. demanding everyone's attention. And And

  486. here's where deception begins.

  487. Deception begins when we start listening

  488. and believing that the things we

  489. possess, that the things that we can do,

  490. can provide

  491. what only God can give.

  492. The psalmist, using the words hear this

  493. and listen, is so that we might draw the

  494. attention of our heart, mind, and soul

  495. to the Lord. But what the devil does is

  496. says listen and hear this so that he

  497. might draw our attention away from him.

  498. And here's the painful reality. Here's

  499. the convicting truth. So many of us are

  500. listening to the voice of the enemy

  501. rather than to the voice of the spirits.

  502. And we're being deceived.

  503. And we're placing our trust in these

  504. things. Let's contextualize it.

  505. So many people, and maybe this is you,

  506. we place our trust in the hope and

  507. future of this nation.

  508. We place it on elections.

  509. We place it on who's in the White House,

  510. who's in the Senate, who's in the

  511. Congress.

  512. And when things don't go our way, what

  513. happens to our trust? It dwindles. What

  514. happens to our hope? It dwindles.

  515. But do you know the scripture reminds us

  516. that those who are in authority are only

  517. in authority because God deems it so?

  518. And I don't know about you, but I'm not

  519. God.

  520. I'm broken.

  521. I falter. I miss the mark.

  522. And so the imperfect can never fully and

  523. completely and wholly understand

  524. the plan and purposes of the perfect. We

  525. get glimpses. We get insight. We get

  526. taste and see moments. Praise God.

  527. BUT DO I HAVE enough trust to step into

  528. the realm of faith where I know God's in

  529. control, God's in charge, and I'm not

  530. going to place my trust in these things.

  531. I've experienced their failures. I've

  532. experienced when they're unstable. I've

  533. experienced when there's no stability

  534. there. So, let me move to the realm of

  535. faith, where God's perfect and works all

  536. things for the good of his people.

  537. Don't be deceived

  538. by the things of this world, because

  539. this is simple idolatry, folks.

  540. We may not bow down to literal carved

  541. statues, engraven images, like in

  542. Eastern culture, but we bow down to

  543. idols nonetheless. And every idol begins

  544. with a promise.

  545. A promise for joy, a promise for

  546. happiness,

  547. a promise for safety, success, comforts.

  548. Every idol whispers, "You can trust me."

  549. And let's just face this hard truth. You

  550. can't.

  551. Cuz every idol will fail you.

  552. And it may succeed for a minute.

  553. It may look fine for a season, but at

  554. the end of it all, it will come crashing

  555. down. So, what makes you feel secure?

  556. Where is your trust?

  557. If your finances suddenly disappeared,

  558. what would that do to your faith?

  559. If your career ended,

  560. if your health changed,

  561. what would that do to your faith?

  562. Circumstances have an incredible way

  563. of demonstrating where we place our

  564. faith.

  565. Of where we place our trust.

  566. And misplaced trust deceives us. Here's

  567. a second thing that we see.

  568. Misplaced trust disappoints us.

  569. So, while misplaced trust is going to

  570. over promise, we're also going to see

  571. that misplaced trust underperforms.

  572. It's just not going to work. Look at

  573. verses 12 through 14 with me.

  574. But despite his assets,

  575. mankind will not last. So, in the

  576. context of Psalm 49, these are wealthy

  577. individuals that are attempting to use

  578. their wealth, their financial gain to

  579. prolong their life. And Psalm 49 is

  580. making it clear that death is the great

  581. equalizer, which is why in the

  582. beginning, the psalmist is going to

  583. address both the rich and the poor, both

  584. the high of society and the low of

  585. society. Because when it comes to death,

  586. we're all equal.

  587. And so, in the context of this Psalm,

  588. many are using their wealth to prolong

  589. their life. We sort of see that today,

  590. as well. And I'm not talking about the

  591. dangers of wanting a healthy lifestyle.

  592. I think as stewards of our body, as

  593. managers of the body God has given us,

  594. I think in order to be God-honoring, we

  595. need to take steps to be good stewards

  596. of our health. I'm talking about that.

  597. I'm talking about a motive and a desire

  598. to prolong our life to the extent where

  599. we begin to play God.

  600. Where we begin to determine

  601. when someone stays, when someone goes,

  602. and and and let me just chase this

  603. rabbit trail for for just a moment. And

  604. and maybe we're decades removed from

  605. when this will happen.

  606. AI has become so prevalent in our

  607. culture today.

  608. And there are a lot of benefits

  609. to AI.

  610. Praise God for the medical technological

  611. advancements that are taking place

  612. presently, current time, because of

  613. artificial intelligence.

  614. But I think if we're not careful,

  615. we can begin to trust

  616. an artificial intelligence

  617. that was created at the hands of humans

  618. to the point where we replace God.

  619. So many people are now turning to their

  620. phones for companionship through AI.

  621. For spiritual guidance through AI.

  622. For direction through AI. And they're

  623. missing out on the process of sitting in

  624. the mystery and the tension. Do you know

  625. what makes us uniquely human?

  626. Is number one, the fact that we were

  627. created in the image of God, that he

  628. breathed life into us. But number two,

  629. that we're able to sit in the tension,

  630. in the unknown, in the darkness, so to

  631. speak.

  632. Do you remember 20, 30 years ago if you

  633. saw someone

  634. uh

  635. while you were at the movies and you

  636. were like, "Man, where have I seen them

  637. before? What other movie did they come

  638. out in?"

  639. You just had to wait until you

  640. remembered it or you saw that other

  641. movie that they came out in. Nowadays,

  642. and I'm guilty of this, you're watching

  643. a movie and right when you're watching

  644. it, "Where have I seen that?" You pull

  645. out your phone and what do you do? You

  646. Google their name.

  647. And you begin to see all the other

  648. movies that they've been in.

  649. Things are so freely convenient and so

  650. freely accessible

  651. that what it does is it entraps US, IT

  652. BECOMES A snare to trust it. But at the

  653. end of the day, it will not satisfy,

  654. which is why Paul, in his letter to the

  655. Corinthian church, says, "I want to know

  656. one thing.

  657. I desire to know one thing." And that's

  658. Christ and him crucified.

  659. Which is why elsewhere Paul would say,

  660. "You can have all the giftings, you can

  661. have all the riches, but if you don't

  662. know the love of Jesus Christ, it's all

  663. for naught. It's misplaced

  664. trust." And so many of us, and maybe

  665. this is you, you're living a life that

  666. is filled with disappointment because

  667. maybe you're trusting the wrong things.

  668. Life is not going the way it was

  669. planned. We can all relate to that.

  670. But there can still be a peace.

  671. There can still be a joy. There can

  672. still be a comfort.

  673. Because as verse 12 tells us, despite

  674. assets, mankind will not last. He is

  675. like the animals that perish. Verse 13.

  676. This is the way of those who are

  677. arrogant. And of their followers who

  678. approve of their words, Selah.

  679. Like sheep, they are headed for Sheol,

  680. the place of the dead. That is That is

  681. there for all of us. Death will shepherd

  682. them. The upright will rule over them in

  683. the morning, and their form will waste

  684. away in Sheol. Far away from their lofty

  685. abode. It is beautiful language that

  686. says something very simple. The things

  687. of this world

  688. will not last.

  689. And so I think

  690. I think you know, one of the values here

  691. at the church is giving our time,

  692. talent, and treasures.

  693. And we do that for the kingdom, because

  694. we know we're investing in eternity.

  695. But often times, and I have fallen into

  696. this trap.

  697. And I'm grateful for the overwhelming

  698. conviction of the Holy Spirit, so that I

  699. can repent of that sin of seeking other

  700. things rather than primarily seeking

  701. after the Lord. And maybe you can relate

  702. with this. I think you can.

  703. That we spend more time

  704. we spend more treasures, we spend more

  705. talents

  706. preparing for this earthly life rather

  707. than preparing for eternity.

  708. We spend more time, treasure, and

  709. talents on the things of this world

  710. rather than planning

  711. for what life with the Lord will be.

  712. And Psalm 49 calls us to live with

  713. eternity in view, recognizing that

  714. outlasts

  715. this world is worth investing in. And

  716. then here's the last thing that we see.

  717. Misplaced trust

  718. distracts us from the only one who can

  719. save us.

  720. That's the devil's MO.

  721. He knows he's fighting a losing battle.

  722. The devil knows his days are numbered.

  723. The devil knows the end of this story.

  724. Here's a Here's a point of conviction

  725. for us. The devil knows his book

  726. probably better than most of us.

  727. He's been around since Genesis 3, since

  728. the fall.

  729. He knows how humans operate.

  730. He knows how we work. He knows our

  731. patterns and our habits of behavior.

  732. And he, knowing that he's fighting a

  733. losing battle, will do everything in his

  734. power to distract you

  735. from the one who saves you,

  736. from the one who satisfies you. Which is

  737. why David in Psalm 51, if you're

  738. familiar with the story of David,

  739. David committed a very grave sin.

  740. He had an affair with a married woman.

  741. He murdered her husband when it was

  742. discovered that she was pregnant with

  743. his child.

  744. Such a great travesty that eventually

  745. led to almost the collapse of of David's

  746. David's dynasty.

  747. And what happened there is David writes

  748. Psalm 51.

  749. And in Psalm 51, he says he pleads with

  750. the Lord, "Res- store to me the joy of

  751. your salvation."

  752. Such potent and powerful words. What Why

  753. would David use such language?

  754. Because he had his view, his focus on

  755. other things. He had misplaced trust.

  756. In a moment desiring affection,

  757. closeness,

  758. satisfaction, he turned to the things of

  759. this world, like many of us do.

  760. But then as the spirit convicted him and

  761. brought the sin to light, he recognized,

  762. "I need the joy of the Lord because when

  763. that joy is not there,

  764. my eyes are off Jesus.

  765. My eyes are on the things of this world

  766. that over-promise and under-perform,

  767. that deceive and disappoint and

  768. ultimately distract." Let's go to verse

  769. 15.

  770. Here's the {quote} {unquote} big but

  771. moment. Verse 15.

  772. But God.

  773. So throughout Psalm 49, they're making

  774. the case that you cannot save yourself,

  775. no matter your wealth, no matter your

  776. riches, no matter your success, you

  777. cannot save yourself. Everyone is headed

  778. for the grave, but God, verse 15,

  779. "will redeem me from the power of Sheol,

  780. from the power of the dead."

  781. And what will he do? He will take me.

  782. Selah.

  783. What a beautiful reminder after 14

  784. verses describing what you and I cannot

  785. do.

  786. The psalmist finally tells us what only

  787. God can do, which is save you from the

  788. grave,

  789. from spiritual death and take you with

  790. him. No earthly thing, no earthly

  791. person, no earthly possession can redeem

  792. you. Only Christ can redeem you.

  793. And so this morning is a come-to-Jesus

  794. moment, maybe for some of you, salvation

  795. for the first time.

  796. And maybe for a lot of us, a repentance

  797. from trusting in the things of this

  798. world in order to step into the journey

  799. and destiny God has for us because for

  800. far too long, we've been deceived, we've

  801. been disappointed, and we've been

  802. distracted by misplaced trust. Then

  803. Jesus comes on the scene and he says,

  804. "I'm the way, I'm the truth, I'm the

  805. life. No one comes to the Father except

  806. through me." And life may not go the way

  807. that you planned,

  808. but God is powerful enough and God is

  809. purposeful enough

  810. to use all things, all things for the

  811. good of his people. All things won't be

  812. good because we live in a broken world,

  813. but God is sovereign enough to use even

  814. the bad, horrible, sufferable things in

  815. our life to stir our hearts to greater

  816. affection.

  817. So that our trust is not just thrown

  818. around so haphazardly.

  819. It's not just trusting one thing to the

  820. next. This worked, this didn't, this

  821. worked, this didn't, and they all end up

  822. failing us.

  823. But to finally look up and trust in the

  824. Lord.

  825. May we be a people

  826. that know that we know

  827. that while there may be good things in

  828. this world, they'll never be the

  829. greatest things of this world because

  830. there's only one who is great and his

  831. name is Jesus and he desires to dwell

  832. with you. Would you pray with me?

  833. Lord, we thank you for your word. We

  834. thank you for your presence.

  835. We thank you for the opportunity to

  836. gather this morning.

  837. Lord, would you just bless us?

  838. Holy Spirit, would you move in this

  839. place?

  840. And Lord, would you just call us out of

  841. our slumber?

  842. God, maybe we're just in a slumber right

  843. now.

  844. And maybe we don't wake up in the

  845. morning and and go to work saying, "I

  846. trust in my paycheck." And

  847. and maybe we don't go to appointments

  848. and say, "My joy is based on my health."

  849. Maybe we don't say those things,

  850. but maybe our decisions and our choices

  851. demonstrate that.

  852. And so Lord, I I I pray if if there is a

  853. neglect and a pursuit of you,

  854. would you bring us to holy conviction?

  855. So that from this day forward, we would

  856. be intentional about seeking after

  857. you. Trust grows.

  858. God, we know this. Trust grow. The more

  859. we pursue something, the greater our

  860. affections and trust grows for that

  861. thing. May our greatest pursuit be you.

  862. Because you pursued us. You left heaven

  863. and pursued us. You pursued me in my

  864. sin. You pursue me in my sin. And God,

  865. I'm grateful for that.

  866. And so Lord, would you bless our people

  867. today?

  868. Would you call many to salvation, to

  869. repentance, and to faith in you? It's in

  870. Christ's name we pray. All God's people

  871. said,

  872. Hey, let's stand to our feet. We're

  873. going to sing together. We're going to

  874. close our service

  875. by lifting up the name of Jesus. And as

  876. always, as

  877. as the team begins to to join us in our

  878. declaration of praise before the Lord,

  879. let these words on the screen not just

  880. be words that come forth from our lips,

  881. but let them be words that come from the

  882. heart and are motivated by a deep desire

  883. for the Lord. We're going to enter into

  884. a time of response. So our altars going

  885. to be open. If you want to have some

  886. one-on-one time with the Lord, this is

  887. your opportunity. Dads, if you want to

  888. bring your family and just pray together

  889. at the altar,

  890. I know prayer is off limits. God knows.

  891. Bring it before him. I'll be available.

  892. If you If you would allow me the honor

  893. to come alongside you and pray, I would

  894. love to do that. Or Or maybe you just

  895. have a blessing and you want to thank

  896. the Lord for that blessing. I'd love to

  897. join you in that. I love you, church.

  898. >> All [music]

  899. [singing]

  900. to Jesus

  901. I surrender. [singing]

  902. >> [music]

  903. >> All to him I freely [singing]

  904. give.

  905. I will ever [music]

  906. love and trust [singing]

  907. him

  908. in his presence

  909. daily [singing]

  910. live.

  911. I surrender

  912. all. [singing]

  913. I surrender

  914. all.

  915. >> [singing]

  916. >> All to [music] thee, my blessed

  917. Savior,

  918. >> [singing]

  919. >> I surrender

  920. all.

  921. All [singing] to Jesus [music]

  922. I surrender [singing]

  923. humbly at his feet [music and singing] I

  924. bow.

  925. Worldly

  926. pleasures

  927. all [singing]

  928. forsaken, [music]

  929. take me, Jesus, [singing]

  930. take me now.

  931. I surrender

  932. all. [singing]

  933. I surrender

  934. all.

  935. >> [singing]

  936. >> All to thee, my blessed [singing]

  937. Savior,

  938. I surrender

  939. all.

  940. All [singing]

  941. to Jesus [music]

  942. I surrender,

  943. make me Savior [singing and music]

  944. wholly

  945. thine.

  946. Let me feel the

  947. >> [singing]

  948. [music]

  949. >> truly

  950. know that [singing] thou art mine.

  951. [music]

  952. >> I

  953. surrender

  954. [singing] all.

  955. I surrender [music]

  956. [singing] all.

  957. All

  958. >> [singing]

  959. >> to thee, my blessed

  960. Savior,

  961. >> [singing]

  962. >> I surrender

  963. all.

  964. >> [music]

  965. >> All [singing]

  966. to Jesus

  967. I surrender [singing]

  968. >> [music]

  969. >> To him I freely

  970. give.

  971. I [singing] will ever

  972. love

  973. >> [music]

  974. >> and trust [singing] him in His presence

  975. [music] daily

  976. live.

  977. >> I surrender

  978. all.

  979. >> [singing]

  980. >> I surrender

  981. [singing] all.

  982. All to [music] thee, my blessed

  983. [singing]

  984. Savior,

  985. I surrender [music]

  986. all.

  987. >> [singing]

  988. >> All

  989. >> [singing]

  990. [singing]

  991. [music]

  992. >> Amen. Can we give the Lord a praise this

  993. morning? We're so grateful for him.

  994. I'm so glad that you joined us this

  995. morning. I pray our service was a

  996. blessing to you. This is your first time

  997. here. I'd love to shake your hand. I'd

  998. love to put a name to the face and get

  999. to know you at the end of our service.

  1000. Again, keep in mind that this Wednesday

  1001. our children are heading out to Camp

  1002. Zephyr. Be in prayer for them. Be in

  1003. prayer for the leaders, man. Be in

  1004. prayer for the leaders. Praise God. They

  1005. They need it. They'll have a bunch of

  1006. kids that they're in charge of and pray

  1007. that God would provide doors for gospel

  1008. moments for kids to be saved and come to

  1009. know the power of the life, death, and

  1010. resurrection of Jesus. Would you join me

  1011. as we pray as we close our service this

  1012. morning? Father God, we are grateful for

  1013. you.

  1014. And we thank you, Lord, for the

  1015. gathering of your people.

  1016. For the salvation of your people.

  1017. And God, I pray that as we head out into

  1018. this week that we would know that the

  1019. mission doesn't stop

  1020. when we leave these doors, that we don't

  1021. just come in here to

  1022. have our spiritual cup filled, but we

  1023. come in here to have it filled so that

  1024. it might overflow on Monday morning.

  1025. In a sales call or

  1026. breakfast with a neighbor or whoever it

  1027. is that you put in our path, God, that

  1028. we would demonstrate the love of the

  1029. savior to them.

  1030. Lord, bless us in our going

  1031. and in all things

  1032. you would be glorified.

  1033. All this we ask in the name that is

  1034. above all names, the name of Jesus

  1035. Christ our Lord. And all God's people

  1036. said, "Amen." I love you, church. God

  1037. bless you, guys.