Where You Stand Determines What You See
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Where You Stand Determines What You See
Where You Stand Determines What You See
23 Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth.
26 My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.
27 Those who desert him will perish, for you destroy those who abandon you.
28 But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.
Confession of Faith
I am not moved by what I see or by what I feel. I am moved by what I believe. I believe the WORD of God! The victory is mine! I have it now! I can see it through the eyes of my faith! In Jesus Name!
Introduction: Why do the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper? That is hard for me to understand - I think it is impossible to understand. This is the one thing that challenges the faith of many people!
Because in our humanness - it just doesn’t seem fair or right!
The Bible teaches that God blesses the righteous and judges the wicked. Yet, it so often appears that the worldly prosper more and suffer less than the god’s people.
I’m talking about - good people who seem to have more than their share of troubles
I’m talking about faithful believers who are attacked by criminals
I’m talking about Christians who are persecuted and martyred for their faith,
This type of suffering of God’s people does not make any sense!
Asaph
Asaph
So we are introduced to a songwriter by the name of Asaph! He is a singer and percussionist
Psalm 73 is also the first of eleven psalms that Asaph wrote. He was one of King David’s chief musical directors
God used Asaph to write a song to help us understand one of life’s most perplexing dilemmas
Stand On God’s Word
Stand On God’s Word
1 Truly God is good to Israel, to those whose hearts are pure.
Although Asaph was struggling with the suffering of the righteous and the prosperity of the wicked, he was determined to stand on the clear teaching of God’s Holy Word: God is good to His people.
We must stand on the word of God - God Is Good!
The truth of God’s Word is not determined by our experiences and observations.
God’s Word is true regardless of how things appear.
Satan’s oldest trick is to cast doubt on God’s Word.
He did it to Eve in the Garden of Eden. He twisted God’s command to abstain from eating of the tree of knowledge, leading Eve to question God’s goodness
In the same way, he uses the injustices of this world to tempt us to question God’s Word and character.
Even Jesus when He was tempted, had to stand on God’s Word
We must stand firm on God’s Word, using it to resist Satan Eph. 6:17
17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
God’s Word is absolute truth. Whatever happens, it will stand, and it will endure forever.
We can’t allow ourselves to be moved from or to doubt what it says, regardless of our experiences or feelings.
God is good to His people, to all who are pure in heart!
Tell Your Neighbor - Stand On God’s Word
Confess your struggle and lack of understanding to God
Confess your struggle and lack of understanding to God
Asaph was struggling with a serious dilemma: he could not understand why he, a Christian man, suffered every every day while the world prospered.
This level of injustice had shaken his faith to the core.
He had kept his feelings bottled up for so long that he was now at the breaking point.
Feeling unable to speak to anyone else about his questions, he confessed his struggle and lack of understanding to God.
16 So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper. But what a difficult task it is!
Sometimes you have to Confess that you are tempted to go back: Because you envy the prosperity, pleasures and possessions of the worldly!
2 But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone.
3 For I was envious of the prosperity of the proud and wicked.
6 That is why they wear arrogance like a necklace and acts of violence like clothing.
He writes: With their minds totally corrupted, these rebellious people reviled God, going so far as to question God’s existence and power
11 Then wicked people ask, “What does God know?” “Does the Most High know anything?”
12 Look at these wicked people— enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply.
Confess the intense turmoil you are experiencing
Confess the intense turmoil you are experiencing
13 Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason?
14 I get nothing but trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain.
15 If I had really spoken this way to others, I would have been a traitor to your people.
16 So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper. But what a difficult task it is!
Asaph was brutally honest with God: the prosperity of the wicked had put him into intense turmoil.
He had begun to question the very foundations of his faith, wondering if living for God was useless
Day by day, he made every effort to walk righteously. He had turned away from the bright lights, pleasures, and perversions of this world.
Was it all in vain? Had he kept his heart clean for nothing? Did he “wash his hands in innocency,” carefully guarding his behavior to be innocent of wrongdoing, to no avail?
Man when you are going through hard times - Personal suffering can seriously challenge your faith,
Here is what I noticed - the Scripture does not condemn Asaph for having these feelings.
One of the greatest lessons of Psalms is that we have the liberty to empty our hurting hearts at God’s throne.
God is not weak or overly sensitive. Rather, He is powerful and understanding.
He can handle our burdens, and He can deal with our questions, even when they are about Him.
When we do not understand God’s ways—when we lack wisdom about our trials—we can ask for God’s help
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
Enter the presence of God and listen to Him.
Enter the presence of God and listen to Him.
17 Then I went into your sanctuary, O God, and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked.
18 Truly, you put them on a slippery path and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction.
19 In an instant they are destroyed, completely swept away by terrors.
20 When you arise, O Lord, you will laugh at their silly ideas as a person laughs at dreams in the morning.
21 Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside.
22 I was so foolish and ignorant— I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you.
23 Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth.
26 My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.
27 Those who desert him will perish, for you destroy those who abandon you.
With his spirit in bondage to his negative feelings, Asaph went to the sanctuary of God
The secret place—the place where His presence dwelled in a special way.
Entering God’s presence set Asaph free from the envy and bitterness that gripped his soul.
When he bowed before the Lord, God spoke to his heart from His Holy Word.
By listening to God, Asaph learned four invaluable lessons that changed his perspective and his life.
1. We will understand the worlds destiny
2. You will learn how wrong you are
He recognized how wrong he was in allowing himself to be overcome by negative thinking. By saying his heart was grieved, Asaph was confessing that he had become bitter toward God!
3. You will learn that you belong to God
23 Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand.
4. You will learn that God is enough, all you need in heaven and on earth
25 Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth.
being in God’s presence overshadows all the trials and injustices of life.
5 The Lord himself is my inheritance, my prize. He is my food and drink, my highest joy! He guards all that is mine.
Like Asaph, we must look beyond the evils and injustices of this world and focus on the future.
God is absolutely righteous.
He will judge the world;
Experiencing The glory of God affects your whole way of life - it helps you to live in the joy of Lord
Where You Stand Determines What You See
Next Steps:
Read Old Testament:
The Book Of Psalms
New Testament:
Read the Books of
Hebrews And James