Struggle as a Godly person
Struggle as a Godly person
Psalms 73:1-28
A psalm of Asaph.
1Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
I had nearly lost my foothold.
3 For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 They have no struggles;
their bodies are healthy and strong. [a]
5 They are free from the burdens common to man;
they are not plagued by human ills.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
they clothe themselves with violence.
7 From their callous hearts comes iniquity [b] ;
the evil conceits of their minds know no limits.
8 They scoff, and speak with malice;
in their arrogance they threaten oppression.
9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
and their tongues take possession of the earth.
10 Therefore their people turn to them
and drink up waters in abundance. [c]
11 They say, "How can God know?
Does the Most High have knowledge?"
12 This is what the wicked are like—
always carefree, they increase in wealth.
13 Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure;
in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.
14 All day long I have been plagued;
I have been punished every morning.
15 If I had said, "I will speak thus,"
I would have betrayed your children.
16 When I tried to understand all this,
it was oppressive to me
17 till I entered the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their final destiny.
18 Surely you place them on slippery ground;
you cast them down to ruin.
19 How suddenly are they destroyed,
completely swept away by terrors!
20 As a dream when one awakes,
so when you arise, O Lord,
you will despise them as fantasies.
21 When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,
22 I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.
23 Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
27 Those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
28 But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds.
We have times of ups and downs,wondering when will we ever going to relax from the struggle.
I do know by me paying the goverment for bankruptcy and child support, but I have to keep my head up and keep doing the will of God and let Him take care of my situations in guiding me.
We do all the things of God for what he wants us to do and act in this world but we see others that are not doing the things of the Lord but doing their own thing without God and have no worries at all but acting like they have no care in the world of what anybody thinks of them.
This message today is for everyone who struggles with life.
It is for everyone that has questions....for everyone who has up’s and down’s in their relationship with the Lord. It teaches us this morning that we can know God and face trials, that we can have faith yet still struggles with issues.
This Psalm was written by a man named Asaph. It contains gut wrenching honesty about his struggles.
Asaph bears his soul for all to see. Perhaps by looking at this man and his trials......you and I can learn to be honest with God about what we’re experiencing this morning. Let’s look at the man Asaph.
I. Asaph was sucessful.
a. Sucessful as a psalmist.
In 2 Chron. 29:30 he is said to be a composer of sacred lyrics.
This Psalm as well as the next 10 in sucession as well as Psa. 50 are all attributed to him. Here was a man used to compose hymns to be sung in the temple worship. He was not only accomplished at penning them, but was also able to perform them musically, and to sing them as well.
b. Sucessful as a prophet. 2 Chron. 29:30 refers to him as being a seer. The word seer is one of two words which are used for prophets or beholders of visions.
c. Sucessful as a parent.
Asaph not only lived the Godly life in public, but did so more importantly privately as evidence by his children following his in serving the Lord. 1 Chron. 25:1 records that four of his sons participated in conducting the chorus that sung at the temple dedication.
II. Asaph was slipping.
Look at Vs. 1-2. Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart..........but(in contrast) my feet were almost gone, my steps had well nigh slipped.
Asaph is slipping.....he is struggling.....he is sliding ! He’s in trouble. He’s about ready to give up....he’s about give out ! He’s on the verge of giving in ! He’s falling fast !
What caused him to be in this position ?
a. Slipping because of envy.
b. Slipping because of emptiness.
When Asaph looked at the wicked....he saw the wicked life that they lived, and yet they prospered. He was strugging in spite of the fact that he was living a clean life, yet they seemed to be unconcerned, and carefree. He felt that his service for the Lord was in vain....perhaps because he saw no physical evidence.
* A reminder here.....we are to serve God because he has saved us for that purpose, we are to serve the Lord because we are commanded to, and because it’s the right thing to do.
c. Slipping because of embitterment.
What caused his envy, his emptiness, and his embitterment which was causing him to slip in his relationship with the Lord.
He focused on the present and on the....
1. The Prosperity of the Wicked.
2. The Peace of the Wicked.
3. The Pride of the Wicked.
III. Asaph was sustained.
a. Sustained because he entered. V. 17 His attendance in worship at the sanctuary was the beginning of the end of his slipping. Note the importance of continued worship even when we are struggling. Even when we are struggling and on the verge of slipping.....it is important to maintain church attendance, fellowship with the brethren, and worship of God. Our slipping will end up in a complete fall from the will of God if we distance ourselves from these things.
b. Sustained because he encountered Vs 23-24
a. The grip that holds him.
No matter the circumstance, the struggles that you face this morning. It is important to remember if you are a child of God that you gripped by the hand of God. He will you hold you safely, and securely if you trust him.
b. The guide that helps him.
God not only grips, but he guides.
c. The glory that’s home to him.
Though the wicked may seem to prosper here.....they may seem to have peace......they may be proud....but their end is ruin and destruction. What they receive here is the best that they will ever have. The struggles that the child of God experiences here are as bad as it gets....because one day God is going to take us to glory, and we’ll have all eternity to live in his presence, and peace !
Psalms 73:1-28
A psalm of Asaph.
1Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
I had nearly lost my foothold.
3 For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 They have no struggles;
their bodies are healthy and strong. [a]
5 They are free from the burdens common to man;
they are not plagued by human ills.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
they clothe themselves with violence.
7 From their callous hearts comes iniquity [b] ;
the evil conceits of their minds know no limits.
8 They scoff, and speak with malice;
in their arrogance they threaten oppression.
9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
and their tongues take possession of the earth.
10 Therefore their people turn to them
and drink up waters in abundance. [c]
11 They say, "How can God know?
Does the Most High have knowledge?"
12 This is what the wicked are like—
always carefree, they increase in wealth.
13 Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure;
in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.
14 All day long I have been plagued;
I have been punished every morning.
15 If I had said, "I will speak thus,"
I would have betrayed your children.
16 When I tried to understand all this,
it was oppressive to me
17 till I entered the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their final destiny.
18 Surely you place them on slippery ground;
you cast them down to ruin.
19 How suddenly are they destroyed,
completely swept away by terrors!
20 As a dream when one awakes,
so when you arise, O Lord,
you will despise them as fantasies.
21 When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,
22 I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.
23 Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
27 Those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
28 But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds.
We have times of ups and downs,wondering when will we ever going to relax from the struggle.
I do know by me paying the goverment for bankruptcy and child support, but I have to keep my head up and keep doing the will of God and let Him take care of my situations in guiding me.
We do all the things of God for what he wants us to do and act in this world but we see others that are not doing the things of the Lord but doing their own thing without God and have no worries at all but acting like they have no care in the world of what anybody thinks of them.
This message today is for everyone who struggles with life.
It is for everyone that has questions....for everyone who has up’s and down’s in their relationship with the Lord. It teaches us this morning that we can know God and face trials, that we can have faith yet still struggles with issues.
This Psalm was written by a man named Asaph. It contains gut wrenching honesty about his struggles.
Asaph bears his soul for all to see. Perhaps by looking at this man and his trials......you and I can learn to be honest with God about what we’re experiencing this morning. Let’s look at the man Asaph.
I. Asaph was sucessful.
a. Sucessful as a psalmist.
In 2 Chron. 29:30 he is said to be a composer of sacred lyrics.
This Psalm as well as the next 10 in sucession as well as Psa. 50 are all attributed to him. Here was a man used to compose hymns to be sung in the temple worship. He was not only accomplished at penning them, but was also able to perform them musically, and to sing them as well.
b. Sucessful as a prophet. 2 Chron. 29:30 refers to him as being a seer. The word seer is one of two words which are used for prophets or beholders of visions.
c. Sucessful as a parent.
Asaph not only lived the Godly life in public, but did so more importantly privately as evidence by his children following his in serving the Lord. 1 Chron. 25:1 records that four of his sons participated in conducting the chorus that sung at the temple dedication.
II. Asaph was slipping.
Look at Vs. 1-2. Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart..........but(in contrast) my feet were almost gone, my steps had well nigh slipped.
Asaph is slipping.....he is struggling.....he is sliding ! He’s in trouble. He’s about ready to give up....he’s about give out ! He’s on the verge of giving in ! He’s falling fast !
What caused him to be in this position ?
a. Slipping because of envy.
b. Slipping because of emptiness.
When Asaph looked at the wicked....he saw the wicked life that they lived, and yet they prospered. He was strugging in spite of the fact that he was living a clean life, yet they seemed to be unconcerned, and carefree. He felt that his service for the Lord was in vain....perhaps because he saw no physical evidence.
* A reminder here.....we are to serve God because he has saved us for that purpose, we are to serve the Lord because we are commanded to, and because it’s the right thing to do.
c. Slipping because of embitterment.
What caused his envy, his emptiness, and his embitterment which was causing him to slip in his relationship with the Lord.
He focused on the present and on the....
1. The Prosperity of the Wicked.
2. The Peace of the Wicked.
3. The Pride of the Wicked.
III. Asaph was sustained.
a. Sustained because he entered. V. 17 His attendance in worship at the sanctuary was the beginning of the end of his slipping. Note the importance of continued worship even when we are struggling. Even when we are struggling and on the verge of slipping.....it is important to maintain church attendance, fellowship with the brethren, and worship of God. Our slipping will end up in a complete fall from the will of God if we distance ourselves from these things.
b. Sustained because he encountered Vs 23-24
a. The grip that holds him.
No matter the circumstance, the struggles that you face this morning. It is important to remember if you are a child of God that you gripped by the hand of God. He will you hold you safely, and securely if you trust him.
b. The guide that helps him.
God not only grips, but he guides.
c. The glory that’s home to him.
Though the wicked may seem to prosper here.....they may seem to have peace......they may be proud....but their end is ruin and destruction. What they receive here is the best that they will ever have. The struggles that the child of God experiences here are as bad as it gets....because one day God is going to take us to glory, and we’ll have all eternity to live in his presence, and peace !
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