PONDERING... Are You A Happy Saint Or A Hell-Bound Mule? (Psalm 32)

VIDEO

Are You A Happy Saint Or A Hell-Bound Mule? (AM Sermon Notes)

GIST: True happiness comes from being rescued from sin, but remaining controlled by sin destroys you...so don’t be a hell-bound mule!

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 32

This morning, we’re coming to Psalm 32. It’s a short but powerful psalm about the transforming power of repentance. Really, it’s a “Gospel-psalm”, and it’s beautiful.

As our title today, I went with: “Are You A Happy Saint Or A Hell-Bound Mule?”... because that last part was too good not to use ☺️. However, my initial title was a bit longer: “Are You Groaning In Despair Or Experiencing Lasting Happiness?” Clearly, put in those terms, we’d want to be experiencing lasting happiness. Yet, I’m not trying to present a black or white fallacy. There is lasting joy that supersedes circumstances, which we’ll develop even more next week, but too often we reject the foundation of that happiness because we prefer our sorrow. Unfortunately, that which leads to our sorrow here is the same source that will lead to our eternal suffering. Unrepentant sin leads to Hell. Period.

So, in opening, let me read the portions that inspired our mulish title. 

“1 A Maskil of David. Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit...9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.”

Here’s our gist for this morning: True happiness comes from being rescued from sin, but remaining controlled by sin destroys you...so don’t be a hell-bound mule! Let’s break that down. First, we have to see this foundational truth→ 

I. TRUE HAPPINESS COMES FROM BEING RESCUED FROM SIN (1-2)

What David does in those opening two verses we just read is develop the same thought in a few ways to really hammer home its meaning. He’s describing someone who is experiencing blessedness—true and lasting happiness—which I have absolutely no doubt is something we all crave. That’s because it’s something we were all actually made for. By design, we’re meant to experience this, but our sin robs us of this joy. It doesn’t, however, stop us from looking for it. What it does instead is cause us to look for it in empty places, places that intensify our suffering rather than relieve it.

That’s why true happiness comes as a direct result of being freed from sin. How David describes that experience is really insightful and instructive for us. First, it’s pictured as transgressions being forgiven.  We have done wrong. We deserve punishment. We’ve sinned against the eternal God and have earned eternal damnation. Yet, if we confess our sins and seek His forgiveness, He is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse. That’s what the next part points to. Our sins are covered and our iniquities aren’t counted against us. That which, by nature, mares our existence and separates us from God—that which is Hell-bent on our self-destruction—is no longer seen. Not only are we forgiven, but we’ve also been covered in the righteousness of Jesus! He took our place, so if we come to Him and give Him our lives, when we stand before God the Father to be judged, He’ll see not our wickedness but His Son! 

Though we deserve punishment, our depravity is no longer counted against us because we’ve been changed. Notice, the last part here says his heart has no deceit...anymore. Naturally, our heart is deceitful. It runs after itself and flees Christ’s redemption. It lies to us about the danger of our sin and the truth of Jesus. So, contrary to our society’s mantra, following your heart won’t lead to true fulfillment or happiness, but having your heart transformed when you’re rescued from sin...will! 

That’s where David goes next actually. He remembers what life was like before repentance. It wasn’t great ☺️, because→

II. REMAINING CONTROLLED BY SIN WILL DESTROY YOU (3-4)

That’s the unrepentant condition, not giving your sin and your life over to Christ. Look at how David describes his experience. “3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah”

He’s describing emotional, physical, and spiritual suffering all from unrepentant sin. That doesn’t mean sin is the only cause of these conditions, but sin can result in these experiences. When you realize the weight of your guilt, it’s draining. He groaned under its strain but also felt the physical effects of bodily weakness. And guys, this isn’t some “mythological experience”. Great emotional distress can wreak all kinds of havoc on our physical bodies. We see this in our world all the time. What greater cause of emotional turmoil than the spiritual conviction of God’s corrective hand telling you to turn from this destruction while you fight against Him?

David felt all this but kept silent, and it was killing him. It will kill you too→ 

III. SO DON’T BE A HELL-BOUND MULE! (5-11)

☺️ Sorry, I love that picture, and we’ll come to it in a second. First, David tells us how to get from this natural state of self-destruction to the blessedness with which he opened the psalm. Verse 5 describes what he did (which is precisely what we should do, as well). Let’s break it down.

“5 I acknowledged my sin to you,” I admitted not only what I had done, but also that my deeds were wicked.  “...and I did not cover my iniquity;” See, before our sins can be covered by His grace, we have to stop trying to cover them with our own self-righteousness! He laid his heart bear and→ “I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,"” He didn’t need someone else to do this for him. It wasn’t the responsibility of the clergy to ask for his forgiveness. He needed to come personally before his personal Savior. That’s what he did→  “and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah” Now, we’re back to his source of lasting happiness. Confess and believe, give Jesus your whole heart. He’s experienced this and wants us to, as well. That’s what the next section is all about. 

Look at the first part of verse 6. We’ve seen what we need to do. This is a cry for when we need to do it. “6 Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found…” Come to Him now! Time is short, and we’re not guaranteed tomorrow. And, oh, how worth it it is!

“6b... surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. 7 You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah” I actually misread 6b almost all week, until I started looking into what people who understand Hebrew had to say. 6b-7 express the same thought. The rush of great waters can surround us, but we’ll be ok IF He is our hiding place, IF He is our deliverer—and He can be!

And here we come to one of my favorite parts of this psalm. It actually seems like the point of view switches, at least for these next two verses, to God now speaking to us. Look at these promises. “8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.” 

Are you confused about life’s meaning and your place in it all? In fact, is there anything just not making sense? God will instruct you in the way— the One you were made for, the path where your feet belong, the place that is stable in the storm!

Are you in distress? Are your emotions winning the war? He, the God who not only sees your heart but also knit it together will counsel you. So… come to Him.

And here’s what should be my life verse. “9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.” Don’t be a stubborn mule and miss out on all of this: “10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD. 11 Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!”

Let’s recap with some quick→

TAKEAWAYS

1. True happiness comes from being rescued  from sin.
2. Remaining controlled by sin will destroy you.
3. So don’t be a hell-bound mule!
4. Come to Him, experience His protection, instruction, and counsel; and rejoice!

PONDERING... Are You Living Like He Has The Whole World In His Hands? (Psalm 31:14-24)

VIDEO

Are You Living Like He Has The Whole World In His Hands? (AM Sermon Notes)

GIST: Realizing God’s sovereignty over all circumstances focuses your desires on Him and gives you boldness as you live driven by faithful expectancy.

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 31:14-24

This morning we’re wrapping up Psalm 31. Last week, we saw that this psalm, which was quoted by Jesus on the cross just before He took His final breath, provides hope for us when life isn’t going so well. We were told to remind ourselves of the truth rather than allow circumstances and frustrations to inform our perspectives, and to commit our lives wholeheartedly to the One who gave His life for us.

Today, we’re going to pick up there and focus in on why we can do that and the impact this worldview should have on our lives. Let’s start by reading the verses we closed with last week, 14 and the first part of 15, as these lay the foundation for the whole psalm.

“14 But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." 15a My times are in your hand…” 

That truth is so beautiful. So much worry and so much bitterness could be eliminated if we truly embraced it. Yet, like David, who walked very closely with God by the way, we need these reminders. Therefore, here’s our gist: Realizing God’s sovereignty over all circumstances focuses your desires on Him and gives you boldness as you live driven by faithful expectancy. (Oh, and since today we’re celebrating Godly parents, I do have a few connections for us on that front as well! ☺️) 

Let’s dive in. First, we need to→ 

I. Realize God’s Sovereignty

“14 But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." 15a My times are in your hand…” This really is key to understanding the psalm here. David cries out to his God whom he trusts because he knows time is in His hands! We can have this same confidence because this is 100% true in our lives as well.  I just want to make two quick points here. 

1- God is sovereign over your personal life. There is no burden too small or concern too far from His amazing grace. Nothing in your life catches Him off guard. He knows, and He cares. Rejoice and rest in that wonderful truth!

2- God is sovereign over this whole world. It’s easy to get bogged down and overwhelmed by world events. Dark humor floods social media right now as people try to process what has proven to be a uniquely challenging start to this decade. Nonetheless, please hear me. Neither pandemics nor social injustices are outside of God’s hands. He’s been moving and will continue to do so no matter the circumstances. No matter what is happening, God has a purpose beyond what we see.

We need to realize this and→  

II. Focus Our Desires On Him

This next section is the longest in our passage today. It shows us what remembering this truth did to David’s perspective— and what it should do for ours. 

First, we see his perspective on persecution (15b-18). “15b....rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors! 16 Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love! 17 O LORD, let me not be put to shame, for I call upon you; let the wicked be put to shame; let them go silently to Sheol. 18 Let the lying lips be mute, which speak insolently against the righteous in pride and contempt.” 

This section is raw, right? We see David’s heart and his concerns. He holds nothing back. He trusts that God is in control, but he’s still in the middle of persecution and knows he desperately needs rescue, so he basically has two requests. 1- Not to be put to shame, and 2- for the wicked to be punished. Neither of these desires is sinful, and they both come back to trusting God’s sovereignty. 

First, he wants people to see his hope hasn’t been in vain because it’s been built upon God and not himself. When we have this cry, it’s also evangelistic because by seeing our testimony, they will also see this hope—salvation through Jesus— for themself. 

Secondly, he wants those who reject this hope to experience what they’re running toward rather than prosper now so the whole world can see what really matters and what the cost is of missing out on Him.

The passage doesn’t stay locked on this long though. As he continues, we also see his perspective on provision (19-22). “19 Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind! 20 In the cover of your presence you hide them from the plots of men; you store them in your shelter from the strife of tongues. 21 Blessed be the LORD, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was in a besieged city. 22 I had said in my alarm, "I am cut off from your sight." But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help.”

Honestly, this is just awesome! Let’s break down each verse a bit here. 

“19 Oh, how abundant is your goodness…” Abundant goodness is goodness without limits. His grace won’t ever be exhausted or used up. 

“...which you have stored up for those who fear you…” This makes me think of a stockpile or a reserve. Like when Joseph helped the Egyptians put back grains to provide for their people in the time of famine. Even in times of despair He has goodness ready for those who love Him. In fact, look at the next part→ 

“...and worked for those who take refuge in you…” He is actively working for the good of those who take refuge in Him. Does this mean we’ll always understand His movements? No, but it does mean they’re always there. AND, mostly they aren’t done in secret but→ 

“...in the sight of the children of mankind!” Which reminds me of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:16) where we’re told to let our light shine before men so they can see our good deeds and praise our Father (the source of all good) who is in Heaven!

The next two verses really hit me, especially in the context of recognizing our godly parents this morning, because this is the heart of every loving parent fulfilled perfectly in our Heavenly Father. 

“20 In the cover of your presence you hide them from the plots of men; you store them in your shelter from the strife of tongues.” We’re hidden and protected in the shelter of His presence. Not only is the whole world in His hands. Not only are your circumstances in His hands. You are in His hands! So→ 

“21 Blessed be the LORD, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was in a besieged city.” His love is constant, even when you’re surrounded by the enemy. Even when the world is turning its face from God. Even when everything is falling apart… His love never fails. But we might feel like that sometimes→ 

“22 I had said in my alarm, "I am cut off from your sight." But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help.” I thought you were far away… but I was wrong! Haven’t we been there? Doesn’t every little kid have that moment when they feel like mom and dad have forgotten them? And with earthly parents, sometimes that’s true. When I was growing up, my parents left me at church at least once and made it home before realizing I wasn’t with them ☺️. And they’re good parents! No matter how far you feel from God, He’s never abandoned you. He is always with you. He always hears, and He’s always moving...which brings us to our last point here. Since that is true, we should→ 

III. Be Emboldened Through Faithful Expectancy

These last two verses are like an admonition. “23 Love the LORD, all you his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride. 24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD!” Here’s what we’re called to.

Love the LORD. That’s the foundation of our...everything.

Repent. The faithful are preserved, but pride is repaid abundantly, so we should turn from self to Him!

Be Strong & Take Courage. These are awesome encouragements and words that I sing over my kids. ‘Don’t let fear stop you.’ I’ve been there. You’ve probably been there. BUT our source of strength isn’t ourselves. Our bravery isn’t something we have to tap into from within. That won’t work. I’ll never have anything of myself that is a firm enough foundation to justify bravery in this broken world. But I can be brave and I can take courage just like you→ 

Because You Are Waiting For the Lord! This is the picture of expectancy we see referenced so often in the psalms! I can be strong and courageous because I know God will never cease to be God! 

So, is this a “parent’s day” kind of message? I know I’m notoriously terrible about not preaching on passages that more clearly tie into specific holidays, but my heart has always been that clear Biblical truth is something we need for every circumstance. Nonetheless, for me, there is a clear connection here. See, this should be the cry of every Godly parent’s heart for ourselves and our kiddos. “Guys, God might seem far away sometimes, but He’s not. All your days—good or bad—are firmly in His hands, and so are you, so love Him, trust His provision, and be strong and courageous because you know He’s moving!” We should want our kids to see us live this truth, so they can say this with us: “14b I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." 15a My times are in your hand…” 

Let’s hit some quick→ 

TAKEAWAYS

1. God is sovereign over everything. 
2. Your perspective should long for Him.
3. Your boldness should come from looking forward to His movement!

PONDERING... What If Your Life Stinks Right Now? (Psalm 31:1-13)

VIDEO

What If Your Life Stinks Right Now? (AM Sermon Notes)

GIST: Remind yourself of the truth of who Jesus is in your life and commit yourself wholeheartedly to Him who committed Himself to saving you!

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 31:1-13

Today, we’re starting our third “Summer in Psalms”. I love this time of year, and I love diving into these psalms with you. As I’ve said each year, this will not be a fast process. In fact, when I did some rough estimating at one point, I figured it might take us about...15 summers ☺️. However, I don’t want this introduction to feel like it took that long as well, so let’s just dive into our passage for this morning ☺️. 

We’re going to look at the first portion of Psalm 31.  My driving question for our discussion today is: What if your life stinks right now? However, I think we’ll be able to see that though these verses speak especially to that condition (one that is very common for mankind by the way ☺️), the truths they’re presenting are ones we need to be reminded of no matter the circumstances. And the truths laid out here aren’t new to most of us. In fact, I feel like we addressed several of them last week even ☺️. Being honest with you, sometimes when I notice that, the teacher in me wants to try and make sure it sounds different than the week before. Then, I’m reminded of two very important truths. 1) You probably don’t remember what I preached last week anyway ☺️. 2. If God has led me to a passage that expresses something we’ve recently addressed, clearly we still need to hear it! So, here’s our gist for today. In times that make you very aware of your lack of control: Remind yourself of the truth of who Jesus is in your life and commit yourself wholeheartedly to Him who committed Himself to saving you! Let’s break that down. First→ 

I. Remind Yourself Of The Truth (1-4)

Look at how he starts here. “1 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. In you, O LORD, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me!” He starts by saying he’s done this. He’s taken refuge, found safety and belonging, in God. But then he basically asks God to be who He is and come to his rescue. I really think this speaks to David’s condition while writing this. He knows the truth, but he needs to be assured of it. Why? Because he lived in this broken world too. 

I love where he goes next. “2 Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily! Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me!” Please listen and come rescue me quickly. Be my place of safety and protection and belonging because… you already are ☺️!  “3 For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name's sake you lead me and guide me; 4 you take me out of the net they have hidden for me, for you are my refuge.” See how he is reminding Himself of this core truth here? ‘Please be who I know You are. I know You can’t be anyone else, and the world needs to see You, and You have poured out your redeeming love.’ We need to remember this and tell ourselves this. Our world is constantly changing. God is constant. Remember Him, and→ 

II. Commit Yourself To Jesus (5-8)

This first part might sound familiar. “5 Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.” These were among the last words spoken by Jesus (Luke 24:46). That actually throws a whole different light on this psalm for me. Jesus spoke these words and then took His last breath on the cross, so we could speak these words with complete confidence. See, there’s a call to commitment and an expectation of God’s faithfulness. Because Jesus conquered sin through His resurrection, we can commit our lives wholeheartedly to the one who redeemed us, the one who rescued us from ultimate destruction! That “redeem me” part has been fulfilled, and that “faithful God” part never changes. How about our side? Have you committed yourself to God? 

Verses 6-8 gives us a little picture of what that will look like. “6 I hate those who pay regard to worthless idols, but I trust in the LORD. 7 I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have known the distress of my soul, 8 and you have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy; you have set my feet in a broad place.” Let me break this down just a bit. If we’re committed to God, we’ll:

1. Trust in the Lord instead of devoting our lives to empty pursuits. In fact, the language here is strong. It says he hates empty worship, the worship of anything except the One true God. And we know this could be the worship of false gods, which though not as common in our immediate area is still a reality in our world today; or it could be the worship of material possessions, professional pursuits, personal relationships...etc which we set up as our gods. David hates these. Some ancient manuscripts actually seem to have the pronoun here referring to God hating this which is also true, because all such pursuits are not just alternatives of preference, they are paths to Hell. We spoke of this just a few weeks ago. If you worship emptiness, you will come up empty. Instead, like David, we are called to throw off our selfish idols and trust wholeheartedly in the Lord as we→ 

2. Rejoice in His love and provision. His love that doesn’t leave us in times of affliction and distress. His provision that doesn’t leave us to our enemies, but instead gives us a firm and safe foundation to stand on. Guys, that’s a picture of salvation! We have this new hope in the face of whatever comes because death has lost its sting! Our ultimate enemy is the sin within us that condemns us, and He took that condemnation in our place, so we can rejoice and be glad! How do we face devastation? Remember Him. Commit to Him. And→ 

III. Experience Hope Because Of His Sacrifice (9-13)

I want to wrap up this morning by looking at these next few verses in a couple of different ways. First, we see that David lays out what his condition was at the time of writing this psalm.

“9 Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eye is wasted from grief; my soul and my body also. 10 For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away. 11 Because of all my adversaries I have become a reproach, especially to my neighbors, and an object of dread to my acquaintances; those who see me in the street flee from me. 12 I have been forgotten like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel. 13 For I hear the whispering of many-- terror on every side!-- as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life.” We don’t know the details of what he was facing, but we know from our study of God’s Word that David had many times when his life was in jeopardy. This psalm which screams, “I will trust you with everything!” was written in one such time. To me, that’s incredibly encouraging because that’s not always my reaction when times our going down the drain. But it should be ours. In fact, even more than David, we should be able to say this because Jesus fulfilled this perspective ultimately for us.

Remember, Jesus quoted this psalm right before He died. Though He only quoted one verse, it was common practice to do that as a way of referencing the whole text. So look at these verses again in that light.

“9 Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eye is wasted from grief; my soul and my body also.” Do you hear echoes of Jesus in the garden here praying before facing Hell for you? 

“10 For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away.” He had no iniquity of His own, but He took on the sins of the world. Before that, He faced persecutions and hardships we’ve never had to because He loves us that much. 

“11 Because of all my adversaries I have become a reproach, especially to my neighbors, and an object of dread to my acquaintances; those who see me in the street flee from me. 12 I have been forgotten like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel. 13 For I hear the whispering of many-- terror on every side!-- as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life.” He was despised and rejected to bring you hope. This was David’s condition, but it was Jesus’s position in a far more meaningful way, and because it was, this cry of confidence can be ours! 

I’m not going to cover these verses this morning, but I want to leave you with what the psalm says next to wrap this up with a final encouragement and as a bit of a sneak peek for next week ☺️. This should be our heart no matter the circumstances. “14 But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." 15 My times are in your hand... ”.

Let’s recap in our→ 

TAKEAWAYS

1. In all life’s moments, you need to speak God’s truth to your heart. This is a lot like what we said last week as we wrapped up James. Regardless of your external circumstances, be they awesome or terrible, you need your perspective redirected to His truth. That being said, do this! Actually remind yourself of who He is and what He’s done and what His promises mean to your life. That’s what we see David doing here, and that’s modeled all throughout Scripture. Don’t let empty voices speak into your heart. Be deliberate about filling it with the saving truth of Jesus.
2. This truth will call you to actual commitment. When Jesus committed Himself to God the Father on the cross, it wasn’t a halfhearted affair. Those weren’t just words He uttered. He gave everything and took on Hell in our place. That’s amazing grace poured out in amazing love. We’re called to follow after Him and love Him and others with the same kind of wholehearted love.
3. This commitment will result in true HOPE which Jesus secured for you! There is hope in no other. We can live with Him because He died for us. We can cry out like this knowing He hears because He already conquered Hell in our place!