Weekly sermon2-28-10 Good And Evil No matter which way I read this, how hard I tried, or what I did to break this message down, there was just no way to do it. This message come to me because of some happenings this past week. It happened right in my own home amongst my own family, not immediate family, but offspring. Let us read this chapter together, in Psalms, and then I will explain.
Psalms 37:1-40, "Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. (2)For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. (3)Trust in the LORD, and do good; [so] shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. (4)Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. (5)Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring [it] to pass. (6)And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. (7)Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. (8)Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. (9)For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. (10)For yet a little while, and the wicked [shall] not [be]: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it [shall] not [be]. (11)But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. (12)The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. (13)The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming. (14)The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, [and] to slay such as be of upright conversation. (15)Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. (16)A little that a righteous man hath [is] better than the riches of many wicked. (17)For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous. (18)The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever. (19)They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. (20)But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD [shall be] as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away. (21)The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth. (22)For [such as be] blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and [they that be] cursed of him shall be cut off. (23)The steps of a [good] man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. (24)Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth [him with] his hand. (25)I have been young, and [now] am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. (26)[He is] ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed [is] blessed. (27)Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore. (28)For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. (29)The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever. (30)The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment. (31)The law of his God [is] in his heart; none of his steps shall slide. (32)The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him. (33)The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged. (34)Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see [it]. (35)I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree. (36)Yet he passed away, and, lo, he [was] not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found. (37)Mark the perfect [man], and behold the upright: for the end of [that] man [is] peace. (38)But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off. (39)But the salvation of the righteous [is] of the LORD: [he is] their strength in the time of trouble. (40)And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him."
The things that happened this past week are partially my fault. I have raised my family to a certain way of life and I believe that many of you know what way that would be. The disappointment of one loved one to another loved one can be very devastating at times. I wear my heart on my sleeve and sometimes it does get stepped on in ways that I really hate having it stepped on. So many times we get our feelings hurt by things we believe should be one way when another person perceives it to be another. In all reality, it is or was a tough love happening that took place. Parents tend to feel very bad when they have to play the "tough love" card.
The reason for the tough love act was due to financial responsibilities of the one. When I started reading, I was led to this particular passage of scripture. Part of this passage deals with financial responsibilities of everyone, but also deals with many things that happen to us at one time or another, more prominently in this day and time.
The real, supposed, purpose of this message is how to handle things when you bank account is empty. In most occasions we tend to be envious of those that have more in life, but we do not know how they have acquired the "more" they have in their lives. Many times the ones we are envious of acquired their wealth and prosperity by evil doings. Just as it states here, the evil will be cut down like the grass and wither away. The folks that have acquired their many treasures in an evil manner only want this fame and fortune for one reason, to fill a void they have no idea of how to fill in any other way.
The first 11 verses of this chapter talk about the instructions of blessings and curses. If we truly want to be blessed, then we are to pour ourselves into the scripture and solely into God, and He will give us the blessings that He knows we need. If we put our trust in Him, we will be fed. Not only does it say He will give us what we need, but if we delight, or give great pleasure, in God, then He will gives us the desires of our heart. Commit totally to God and He will make the above things happen. An this one is the most important, rest in God and WAIT PATIENTLY for Him. We have to remember that God does things in His time, NOT ours, we must be patient and allow God to do what it is He does best, take care of the troubles that we must rely on Him to handle.
The next 4 verses deal with the wicked. Whether or not we want to believe there are wicked folks around us, they do exist. Not only do the exist, they plot against us to take advantage of us. The wicked despise the poor and needy and raise no hand to help others in any manner. It states that the Lord will laugh at them, because He knows their outcome and He knows that their own hearts will be full of the hatred they had for others and it will eventually break them down to be the poor and the needy.
The next 7 verses tell us the difference between the good and the evil. This should be a section that we would really want to read. The old joke is that one out of five folks are crazy, look at your four friends if they seem ok, then it must be you. We need to look at our lives, are we the evil ones? Are we happy if we only have a little, or does it take much to make us happy? If there is little food do we worry, or do we rely on God to satisfy us? If we borrow anything, do we repay our debts, or do we push them off or think that someone else should take care of it for us? This is just a few examples of how to tell the difference between the good and the evil. Do we know into what category we might fall? I am hoping that we will take a long look at ourselves and make sure that we are living the way we should be living, to honor God first then allowing Him time to take care of our needs.
If we do what we know we are to do to honor God totally, then these next 4 verses tell us our reward. God promises that He will guide our steps, as long as we are happily doing it His way. Even if we may fall out of our way, God promises to not allow us to be totally cast out, that He will uphold us. If we are forever merciful and we give, then not only us, but our offspring also will be blessed.
The next 7 verses tell us of three commands and ten blessings of the righteous along with two sins and curses of the wicked. We are to depart from evil, do good, and dwell in the Lord. Those are the three commands. If we can follow these commands we are promised certain blessings. The Lord will judge us, but also judge us in His favor, He will never forsake us, we will be preserved forever, we shall inherit Heaven and dwell there forever, we will speak wisdom, our steps will not slide, because of His law in our hearts, the wicked will be envious of the righteous, and the Lord will protect us in His hand and not condemn us when it is time for us to be judged.
The next 5 verses tell of the destiny of both the wicked and the righteous. It shows here that if we follow the commands and the laws of God, we will inherit the land of life everlasting and we shall have peace, but the wicked will but cut apart from the flock of God and will be destroyed in the end time.
The last 2 verses talk about the blessings of the righteous an the reason for the blessings. We will have salvation, that is from God, not the Lord. The Lord is our strength in our time of troubles, the Lord will help us, deliver us from the wicked, and save us, because we trust in Him.
When our bank account has been depleted, let us remember that if we rely on God, we will always have blessings to our hearts desire. Let us remember that if we take on the responsibility of borrowing, then we are to make sure we repay, let us be heart felt for the needy and we will be given beyond our wildest dreams, in order to continue to keep giving. Now that we fully understand the difference between the righteous and the wicked, what category do we fall in? What category do we want to be in? Do we want to take our chances on worldly possessions and fortune and fame in this world, or do we want to build our future on solid ground? I want to build my future on the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. If you feel the same way, all you have to do to get started is say a simple prayer with me.
Say this simple prayer with me, Dear Lord, I want you to be the Lord over my life, forgive me of my sins, and give me the gift of everlasting life. Amen.
If you have said this simple prayer, then we believe that you have received salvation. We would love to rejoice with you, so please drop us a note, in our link, to let us know and confess Jesus before man, so that we may send you a few things that we hope will help you in your new Christian walk.
With Love in Christ,
Pastor Stone
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