Why God Doesn’t Give Us Everything We Want | Psalm 84:1-12

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Good everybody, Good afternoon. Wow, it's uff you're gonna.

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Do you and you?

And Well? This week we discovered, after only eight hundred episodes,

we finally cared enough to find out when are people

listening to us?

And it seems like the more people listen on the

drive home from work time play Afternoon than like four

o'clock to seven o'clock.

Yeah, it looks like it.

Then even in the morning.

Yeah, yeah, I mean we have people listening all day long,

twenty four hours a day, but yeah, it seems like

the majority is right there in that time slot. We've

always been singing good morning to everybody. So I just

thought i'd pop in on the Good Appa.

Well, you know, I'm not gonna let it ruin my mornings.

You're just listening.

I'm gonna keep doing mornings.

Okay.

So Chris, by the way, I just want to hint

that tell our audience that right as the role I

was coming through, we both looked at the scription and said, oh,

my goodness, we have turned as so many four. Yes,

I just want to announce that I get there much quicker.

Did you get there before me?

Oh? Way, way quicker? Actually, okay, yeah, way quicker.

All right, well you get a gold star after I

had a birthday. Yeah, yeah, you get you get a

gold star after we're finished, Jeff. Okay. So the segment

that does has for us is let's ask chat GPT. Yes,

and this is the part of the show where we

hand over control the artificial intelligence, because apparently that's how

every good horror movie starts.

Wow.

Today's Halloween.

Wow.

Right, So since it's Halloween, we told chat GPT to

dig up some funny stories, some ridiculous jokes, or random

halloween chaos. Basically, we said, hey, robot, get weird.

That's really funny.

So here we go. So you did it right, you

typed it in. I did, and you asked what did

you ask chat GPT?

I said, our segment on the Bible guys tells me quote.

Since it's Halloween, let's see what funny stories, jokes are

random Halloween chaos chat ChiPT can come up with. Okay, unquote,

so please give me some great funny or amazing stuff

to share. Okay, so I literally gave it Dez's instructions.

Just and whatever whatever this weird robot wants to do.

And then it said, this perfect setup smiley face. Since

it's for the Bible Guys and it's Halloween, let's mix

it up for a clean, funny, surprising and Bible guy's

appropriate chaos.

Good. I'm glad it's gonna be clean.

Okay, So yeah, yeah, that's a good one. Okay. So

it said, and there's categories. Here's the category of Halloween jokes.

And then it says Bible Guys style. Okay, okay. Why

didn't the skeleton go trick or treating because you didn't

have the guts? Oh no, what kind of makeup do go? Swear?

I don't know, mask, scaa, masks, scare okay, all right.

Why do demons and ghuls hang out together? I don't know,

because demons are a ghul's best friend.

That friend. Okay, okay, that's a good one.

What do you call a witch who lives at the beach?

I don't know.

Sandwich sandwich?

Oh?

I should mummies take time off? I don't know, because

they're afraid to unwind? Why are the Bible. Why excuse me,

why was the Bible so good at Halloween parties? I

don't know, because they had plenty of spirits. Oh and

then finally, what did the ghosts say to the preacher?

I don't know.

I join your sermon, but I'm already in the spirits.

So two spirit jokes, okay. And then it says Bible

meets Halloween clean comedy skits or lines. These are terrible.

I'm skipping over that.

Okay, thank you.

And then it says random Halloween chaos like the Pumpkin

Gone Wrong gospel, that these are terrible ideas. Okay, okay, okay,

So but there was there was another one here here?

It does I like this if Bible characters went trick

or treating.

Okay, okay, and there's only a few of these, okay, Uh, Moses, Moses.

Let my people go to the next house.

Oh no, yeah, come on, this is ten year old

Moses here, Come on, my people go to the next house.

That's right, okay, Jonah, I'd love some candy, but no

fish shape gummies please. Okay, all right, Samson says, I

do love those little red what are those?

Those those sweetish fish?

Yeah, sweetsh fish.

Yeah, so I don't know what happens to me because

I'm not like that kind of candy person. But sweedish fish. Yeah,

I'll eat the whole box, and still we sticking my

hand in the empty box looking for more.

Huh.

I don't know why I love them.

Huh.

Anyways, go ahead.

There was a There was a movie by Lindsay Lohan

was the daughter and uh Kelly Preston was the mother,

and they were in a band together. It was about

a stepfather. I fit the name of it. But they

would say, she said, I love you a million green

M and m's, and she'd say, she goes, I love

you a million sweetish.

Fish, sweetish fish. Okay, there you go, for.

No reason at all. There's the rand thing, okay, Samson,

no need for a costume. My hair is all the talking, okay.

And then finally, noah, I I brought my wife and

two of every kind of neighbor.

Okay, weren't weren't That.

Was really good?

Okay, that wasn't funny.

No, that's it.

Okay, that's it. That's where I go.

It gave me more of but that was it for me?

Okay. Well, hey, uh So do you do you go

through your kids or did you go through all your

kids candy and get the best stuff?

I believe or not? No, because I'm not a candy.

You know, a candy I forgot? Yeah, yeah, yeah, And

this was like that one time year I could send

my kids out to the neighbor's house and get all

the best stuff, and then I come back and go,

I got to check it for razor blades. And what

I meant was I got to check it for all

the receason.

That's yeah, check it fores it's good.

Oh well, good man, I like good chalk. That's good stuff.

So I don't really have a transition for this one

to use.

Arba uh no.

Let me see.

I'm so sorry.

No good thing goes. Does he withhold is the promise today?

Yeah? I'm eighty four.

Yes, So God's not gonna hold back on the reces.

Oh yeah, God's gonna give God's gonna give you the

best Halloween candy if you if you trick or treat,

trick or treated in the mansion behind the pearly gates,

because technically God doesn't live in a mansion, but that's okay.

He's gonna give you the best candy available? How about that?

You think?

So?

Maybe ding dong?

And you know why, I was too busy doing something

on my phone. I'll give you one. Guess you're texting? Nope, no,

not not during the Bible.

Guys, Okay, I don't know what are you doing? Are

you asking chet gpt something? Why is Jeff so handsome? Uh?

It's what a girl wants. Oh the movie?

You look the movie which because you couldn't let it.

Go by the way, That's where I was going to

say it was. Oh, but I didn't think it was

well Lindsay Lowhane, I thought that was h Amanda Bynes.

Huh so Psalm eighty four says this.

Are you ready you know what I got it wrong?

It was it was Amanda Bynds.

It wasn't Lindsay Luyn Okay, so it wasn't Lindsay the

Son of a gun. Okay. Well, now you learned people

were riveted.

That was important. Yeah, I know, I know they took

a lot of time.

This is God's living presence in our is our greatest joy.

That's what this is all about today. And the promise

is no good thing does he withhold? And this is

all about the provision of God. So Psal maybe four says,

how lovely is your dwelling place, O, Lord of Heaven's Armies.

I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the

courts of the Lord. With my whole being, body and soul.

I will shout joyfully to the Living God. Even the

sparrow finds a home, and swallow builds her nest and

raises her young at a place near your altar. O,

Lord of Heaven's Armies, my King and my God. What

joy for those who can live in your house always

singing your praises. What joy for those whose strength comes

from the Lord, who have set their minds on a

pilgrimage to Jerusalem. When they walk through the Valley of Weeping,

it will become a place of refreshing springs. The autumn

rains will clothe it with blessings. They will continue to

grow stronger, and each of them will appear before God

in Jerusalem. O, Lord, God of Heaven's Armies, hear my prayer. Listen,

O God of Jacob, Oh, God, look with favor upon

the king our shield. Show favor to the one you

have anointed. A single day in your courts is better

than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a gatekeeper

in the house of my God than live the good

life in the homes of the wicked. For the Lord

God is our son and our shield. He gives us

grace and glory. And the Lord will withhold nothing good,

no good thing, from those who do what is right. Oh,

Lord of Heaven's armies, What joy for those who trust

in you. So the big verse is for the Lord.

For the Lord God is our son and our shield.

He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold

no good thing from those who do what.

Is right, withhold no good thing.

He will withhold no good thing.

Which again, it's not saying he would give every good thing.

It doesn't say he will give you every good thing.

It does not say vote for Pedro, He'll make all

your wildness dreams come true.

That's right, vote for paid, vote for Summer. No, it's

it's not that it is it is, Okay, all these

movie quotes are going through my head. So sorry, See

what'd you do to me?

I'm sorry.

No, what I was going to say is it doesn't

say that he's going to give you every good thing.

It just says that by the nature of God, he

will not withhold any good thing. Right, It's sort of

like it's sort of like in Romans Yesterday. It's sort

of in the same category, right, because it says if

Jesus Christ, if God gave Jesus Christ, then he's not

going to hold anything else back. So it's sort of

the same principle. It's the idea that it's saying that, hey,

if you're a person who does what is right, if

you seek him first, you know, if you have good

intentions and good heart, if you're a believer, you're a follower,

you acknowledge God as lord of your life. He's never

going to see a good thing and look at you

and say, no, I'm going to hold that back. Now,

whether he chooses to give it or not, it's a

different story because sometimes he chooses to give some things

and sometimes he doesn't. And that's that's a whole other

category of why. And you know, fairness and in God's

perfect plan and timing and his will and all. I mean,

those are massive categories. So we can't we can't just

you know, assume he's going to give us all good things,

but not that he's not going to look at you

and say, you know what, I'm going to hold this

good thing back from my child because you.

Want so, you know, we love the Life Application Study Bible. Yeah,

and the note here for verse eleven. Right, so the

Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do

what is right. The note says this verse does not

promise that God will give us everything we think is good,

but that he will not withhold from us what is

permanently good. It's a big difference. Yeah, right. What we

want is we wanted to give us what we think

is good, and God saying I'm not going to hold

back anything that is permanently good or perfectly good for you.

He will give us the means to walk along his paths,

but we must do the walking when we obey him.

He will not hold anything back that will help us

serve him. And so in that then, as we're on mission,

because remember this is the king and he's singing this

praise to God. As a matter of fact, at what

point he says he asks him to help the king.

Do you remember that part? Yeah, Oh, God, look with

favor upon the king our shield. It's the king, the

king's job to protect the people right, right, So again

that's almost in the middle, not quite, but towards the

middle of the message here of this this this passage,

and he's saying, show favor to the one you've anoined.

God.

I've got a job and I'm doing what you anointed

me to do. And it's in that context I'm doing

what you made me to do, so I can have

confidence that You're not going to hold back anything I

need to do it, right, that's great, and uh, you know,

doing God's mission, God's way will never like God's resources.

Right And then so who is at Hudson Taylor used

to say that, yeah, yeah, and uh, that's true that

this is what I said. Then let me let me

highlight this. I love the term the name of God,

the Lord, God of Heaven's Armies. Yeah, is maybe, maybe

maybe one of my favorite names in the Bible.

So one of our friends started a church in the

area and call it Heaven's.

Armies, Heaven's Armies, and that that idea of you thinking

about how powerful God is and how strong he is.

Here's a king who has spent a big part of

his career having to defend the people of Israel from

raiders like the Philistines and others. Yeah, and he refers

to his God as the God of Heaven's armies, not

of Israel's armies, right, but of Heaven's armies, which is

pretty cool. Yeah.

Yeah. And I think we talked about this before in

the past, but most people believe that there are millions

of angels, right, millions, And so just the idea that

God would have this vast army is I mean, it's

I think it's supported in scripture, the idea that God

has this tremendous, powerful army. And so yeah, the Lord

of Heaven, Heaven's armies puts him as the king, doesn't it, Yes,

and the powerful king at that, and so it does

say that, you know, just like he wants God to

look at look favor upon his king. The shield, you know,

it actually says in verse eleven our main verse for

the Lord God is our son. In our shield. It

gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no

good thing.

So you know, there's the Bible talks about how when

Jesus was on the cross, he could have called the

whole legion of angels to come and rescue him, you know,

and you think of that power and then hear David saying,

the Lord of Heaven's armies will not hold back anything

that I need to fulfill his mission. So I was

just looking up, how powerful is one angel?

Oh?

That's great, not a thousand angels, but one angel, one angel.

And in tewod King's chapter nineteen, verse thirty five, it

says that night the angel Lord went out and put

to death one hundred and eighty five thousand in the

Assyrian camp. One angel wipes out an army of one

hundred and eighty five thousand people.

Now see, because I think in terms of like scenes

and movies, Yeah, I'm thinking like, did he do you like,

you know, punch the ground like thor and everybody just

blew back? Right? Yeah, We're like Hella when she threw

the eternal flame and then everybody glew green, you know,

glow green. Or was it more like okay, here we go,

you know, roll up the sleeves and we're going to

take them on one by one and it's more like

the matrix, you know, fighting off everybody, you know, coming

at him one at a time. Right, did it take

all night or did it take one second?

Yeah? Yeah, I don't know. I don't know. Yeah, but

one hundred and eighty five kind of the I hope

it took all night. I kind of do too. I

kind of do too. Just flinging body parts, right, right, right,

that's horrible. But so so here's the really cool thing.

In Psalm one O three, King David says he refers

to the angels as the mighty ones who do God's

bidding and who obey his word. So you think about that.

So for him to say, God is the Lord of

Heaven's armies. So David had a pretty tough army, right,

He was never defeated in a major battle. He never

lost his kingdom to outside armies. He defeated the people

who were always oppressing the Israelites up to that point,

there arch enemies. He was a pretty great warrior. The

Bible describes only him. Does the Bible describe his mighty men.

He had thirty mighty men, right, these mighty special forces guys,

and it talks about how absurdly effective and tough they were. Right,

So David is one of the great warrior kings of Israel,

and he's talking about his God. Who's Who's the lord

God of Heaven's armies? He's the ruler of Heaven's armies,

and one angel wipes out an army of one hundred

and eighty five thousand. The Bible says he could have

called ten thousand angels come and help Jesus, right, yeah,

And then each one of these angels, according to Psalm

one O three, they're mighty ones who do God's bidding

and who obey his work.

Did I ever tell you about the moment when I, uh,

when I played that out and I described that scene,

and then this kid in the youth group embarrassed me

so literally. I was reading, I was reading from the scripture,

and I said, I said, Jesus could have Jesus could

have called down ten thousand, and my whole point was

I was trying to create a scenario where God could

have done something right. But he didn't do it because

he went to the cross, because it says for the

joy set before him. So I was preaching, right, so

I said, I said, I said, so, so Jesus on

the cross, I said, he looks up at the gray,

cloudy sky and he gives a single nod, I said,

and then one hundred thousand angels swooped down with flaming swords,

and I said, and they circle all around, and all

everybody there in the Roman camp was dismayed, and I said,

and all these kind of things, I just created this

massive scenario, right, and they come over and they burn

his ropes, and all of a sudden, the spikes fall out,

and then Jesus just jumps off the cross and you know,

all of a sudden he's healed, and and I'm doing

all these things, and uh, you know, and then I

think I even described perhaps him going back up in

the glory or something, right, you know, it gets on

the cloud, turns around, you know whatever, and I get done,

and I was about to go to the serious part.

So I was having fun, right, just creating this movie

scene whatever. And then and then during the pause, I

was gonna say, but he didn't. And right for the pause,

the kid goes, dude, you've seen way too many movies,

and everybody laughed, and I'm like, there goes my dramatic effect, right,

there goes everything I built for for the past three minutes.

He just destroyed it because he made everybody laugh.

Yeah. Yeah, anyway, Well it's that kind of power that

David then has so much confidence that Hey, my God,

I'm a king, and I know what it means to

have power. But let me tell you I have just

a little shadow of power compared to the Lord of

Heaven's armies.

Yeah, and he's the.

One I'm relying so right, becka dust. So then there's

no wonder that this magnificent king says a single day

in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else,

that there is one Dayah, that's where the song comes from.

He said, As a matter of fact, I'm the king.

My job is to be the shield for this nation.

I need your power. But dude, I would just as

soon be the gatekeeper at your house yep, than to

be the shield over my own house.

Right.

And because the Lord God is our son, and he's

our shield, and he's the one who gives us grace

and glory. And it's in that context that the Lord

will withhold no good thing from those who do what

it's right. So he's trying to do his job, and

he's trusting the fact that this incredibly powerful God will

provide everything I need. But he's also saying, man, of course,

you deserve all of my worship, as if a king

is willing to get down off of his own throne,

pull back his robes, and kneel before another king. Maybe

that's the king we should pay attention to. Yeah, right,

that's great.

You know what I love? I love this last verse.

We can't overlook that verse because right after he leads

up to everything, and then he gives the promise that

we were focusing on, which is, you know, he's our son,

our shields who give us grace and glory. He'll withhold

no good thing for those who do it is right.

And then he says, oh, Lord of Heaven's armies, what

joy for those who trust in you. So what he's

saying is, after all these promises, after everything that we

know about God being willing to not hold anything back.

He then adds and says, he's almost like reflecting on

this idea that God won't hold anything back for those

who do his right. And he says, oh, Lord of

Heaven's Armies, what joy? And he doesn't describe anything else

other than Wow, how much joy is waiting for those

who trust in you? And I think that it sometimes

over sometimes is overlooked, because after all, this is at

its very root a giving verse, isn't it. This is

a giving principle, well, not about us, it's a giving

principle about God, who God is. And then and what

he's saying is when God gives, then joy you know

is waiting for us. And so therefore we could actually

believe it or not just by principle based on who

God is. We can apply that principle to our finances.

In the financial verses, they talk about hey, as God

gives to us, we give back to God. And then

God promises to bless us in ways you know that

we necessarily don't. You know, we can't necessarily determine the

ways that He blesses us, but we know they come

with blessings, and so therefore we give back to God.

God gives us. We give back to God. And then

what does God do? You cannot outgive God. So God

then continues to give right and then we can apply

this what joy waits for those who trust in you.

So this principle that who God is can be applied

to any giving principle I believe.

Yeah, well that's awesome. Yeah, you know that phrase what joy?

It comes up in verse four, What joy for those

who can live in your house always singing your praises.

In David's day, the Holy spirit didn't dwell in them.

They had to go to the temple to worship. Sure, right,

they had to go to God's house. Now in Corinthians,

Paul tells us, we are God's temple, We are God's house,

so we always have this joy that David only could

have when he was in the temple, right, right, So

you and I have it all the time. And then

the next one says, what joy for those whose strength

comes from the Lord who set their minds on a

pilgrimage to Jerusalem. This set their minds on being able

to go to God's temple. Well, you are God's temple,

so now at this point it's going to visit with God,

going to spend time with God. Who've set their minds

on spending time with God? What joy for those whose

strength comes from the Lord? So he says, what joy

for those who are able to always be singing your praises?

What joy from them? For those who strength always comes

from the Lord. And then, as you mentioned, what joy

for those who trust in you?

Yeah? Yeah, one God gives because he got one hold back.

And you know why I think this is a thing,

because right, in the middle. He says, help me out,

because I'm my nation's shield, and that's a big responsibility.

I'm the king. You can imagine the stress of this,

especially when it's always only invaders all the time.

I think I was going to have the audacity to

say I think so, but that is absurd. Yeah, I

cannot even come close to I think so. So.

I think the reason why he's saying, man, there's so

much joy for me when I understand my strength comes

from the Lord. I got my part to do, but

there's even more joy just knowing I'm trusting him. It

takes all the pressure off, not all of it, you know,

he still has to have the strength to go out

and fight the battles and be the shield. But he says,

I'm trusting you to be the shield. He says that earlier,

and then he says, what joy there is when I'm

just trusting you? He said, it takes a lot of

the pressure off of me because I'm finding my power

and my strength in you, and so I don't have

to be the man. I don't have to show up

with all the answers because I'm putting my faith and

trust in you. And I think what you're feeling is

the relief of a powerful man finding satisfaction and provision

from a more powerful God.

That's good.

And that's what he's saying is I find a lot

of joy in that. There's celebration, the whole thing is

just it's all joy.

Yeah. Well that's great.

Yeah he's got a big job, but God's bigger.

That's great. Well, hey, that's great insight about that chapter

and that looks like our time, so hopefully we will

see you back on Monday on the Bible.

Guys,