(NOTE: this sermon forms part of a series of 4 sermons on Contentment and Discontentment, preached at the Swakopmund Baptist Church on the 11th and 18th December 2016)
The great value of the Book of Psalms is that here we have godly people sharing their very real experiences, both in terms of their joys and their struggles. For this reason the Book of Psalms has helped many Christians. They see themselves in it as in a mirror. They can say, “This is my experience also.”
The great value of the Book of Psalms is that here we have godly people sharing their very real experiences, both in terms of their joys and their struggles. For this reason the Book of Psalms has helped many Christians. They see themselves in it as in a mirror. They can say, “This is my experience also.”
We have an example of that here in
Psalm 73. The Psalmist Asaph tells
us that that he had nearly slipped – not literally of course, but
in a spiritual sense. He confesses that in that time he had become embittered and that he had behaved like a
beast toward God (73:21,22).
So what had happened?
A situation had arisen in which he had become discontent
with his position as a believer before
God. What honesty, and again I remind you that this where the great value of the Psalms is found. There is nothing more discouraging than to
meet people who give the impression that they are always on top of things. That is
certainly not true in the Bible and of the
Psalms. Here we meet people just like ourselves…. struggling with
bitterness and discontentment.
There was a time in the Christian church when a doctrine of “Christian Perfectionism” was a popular expression of faith, particular in the so-called "Holiness movement". People were saying that they were not struggling with sin any longer, and every testimony they bore was a testimony of victory.
The truth is that such people weren’t allowed to be honest. Perfectionism is simply not true to the experience of the people who teach this, for we know that they are fallible creatures like the rest of us. They put
their teaching of perfection forward theoretically, but it is not true to their
own experience. Thank God that the Psalmists do not do that. They tell us the plain
truth about themselves and they give glory to God, and do not draw attention to themselves. The motive of the Psalmist was not to boast in himself. There is a confession of sin which can draw an unhealthy attention to ourselves. This is a very subtle danger. Asaph does not want to do that. He
tells us the truth about himself because he wants to glorify God.
PSALM 73 IN A NUTSHELL
Asaph starts with a summary
of his experience, being thankful that he has come through this trying
and difficult time: "Truly God is
good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart". That is the theme, and the outcome of this Psalm.
Asaph had
drifted from his spiritual moorings, but the important point is that he came back, home to God again. We all know something about that kind of experience in our own lives. We start in the right place and then we
make a wrong decision which takes us
into a spiritual wasteland.
Thank God for the turning point!
But how did he get to
this point of despair and how did he
come to the turning point?
In vv. 2-15
he tells us about an experience which left him shaken, and that he very nearly fell. Now, he
was clearly a man who sought to live a godly life. He was
keeping his soul from sin. He was meditating upon the things of God. He was in the habit of examining his life. He was
devoting himself to a life pleasing to God. Yet, although he was doing this, he was having a great deal of trouble,
as vv. 13 & 14 reveals.
We are not told the
exact nature of his troubles. It may have been
sickness or trouble in his family
or something else. It is clear that he felt severely tested, and nothing seemed
to be going right for him. But there was an even greater issue which he struggled with. He saw a striking contrast between the lives of the arrogant, the wicked, the ungodly man and himself. The wicked seemed to prosper in the world. Everything seemed to go smooth with them (v. 4ff). They are not in trouble, they were not stricken,… they
were proud and affluent. They were self -
assertive and confident, and they were even confidently challenging God and heaven (vv. 9-11). The same sort of thing happens today. You have
people who are not faithful believers.
Things are going well with them, and they make blasphemous statements about God. They say,
"How does God know”, and “is there knowledge in the most High?" They see themselves as prosperous and
successful, and by contrast they see you, the true believer struggling
in every way. This can lead to
real discontentment in one’s soul. So, let us try to understand this phenomenon.
Perplexity Is Not Surprising
The first thing we
want to note is this. Don’t be
surprised when this happens.
Remember that God has
a fundamental principle written in the Bible. It says, "My
thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways" (Isaiah 55:8). Much of our trouble arises from the fact that we do not understand
this basic principle. We forget that
we are dealing with the mind of God, and that God's
mind is not like our mind. We see everything
as cut and dried and simple. We
think that life is one big formula. Do this, do that, and all
will work out alright. We tend to think and feel that there should never be any
problems or difficulties. We tend to think that God should always be blessing
His own children, with health, wealth and prosperity.
But it is not that simple.
The
Bible teaches us that the ways of God
are unsearchable. The Bible teaches
us that His purposes are so great, that our sinful
minds cannot understand them. God can never
be reduced to a formula, and when He is dealing with us, it ought not surprise
us if, at times, things take place which are perplexing to us.
Common perplexities are these:
Why is it that God allows political tyrants to rule?
Why does He allow
war, and suffering and natural disasters?
Why does He not deal with the godless as soon as they sin?
That is our
way of thinking. But it is based on a fallacy. God's mind is eternal, and God's
ways are so infinitely above us that we must always start by being prepared by God’s unusual providences. If we
do not do that we shall soon find ourselves in the place where Asaph found
himself.
Perplexity Is Not
Sinful
Furthermore, it has to be said that being perplexed is not sinful. Paul
himself confessed in 2 Corinthians 4 that he was "perplexed,
but not in despair." Please
note! It is not wrong to be perplexed,
but it is wrong to be in a state of despair and hopelessness. Job was perplexed, but he continued to hope in God (Job 13:5). So, when
you are perplexed about something that is happening to you, this does not mean that you are guilty of sin. You
are in God's hand, and you say: I do not understand. There is nothing wrong
with that.
But here is the problem…
Perplexity Opens the
Door to Temptation
This is what happened to Asaph. His own suffering as a believer in God, compared with the seemingly blissful state of the wicked became a snare and a temptation to Asaph. He is being tempted so badly that he is
becoming discontent with God … and so his spiritual feet were slipping and he was in danger of doubting God.
This temptation has a blinding effect.
He says, “I was
envious of the arrogant… the prosperity of the wicked…” (v.3).
This is the blinding effect of
temptation. It comes with such force that we are no longer able to think
clearly. The effect is so powerful, that we forget everything else. We forget the primary truths about God and we begin to believe the lie of the devil who whispers into our heart, "Don't you think you have kept your heart
clean in vain, and washed your hands in innocence?" (v.13) You pray
and you go to church. There is
something wrong with this outlook of yours. You believe the gospel; but look at
what is happening to you! Why are you having this hard time? Why is a God of
love dealing with you in this way? You are making a mistake; you are not fair to
yourself."
Oh, the terrible subtlety of it all. Paul talks of "the fiery darts of the evil one."
(Eph. 6:16)
Again, understand that being tempted in that way is not sin.
But
how do we deal with that temptation?
The Turning point : vv.16, 17
When did the perspective
change for Asaph?
Before all this happened, and when he was trying to figure it
all out in his mind.
It became to him
a wearisome task.
But it all changed when he went into the sanctuary of God (v.17).
Getting into the presence of God
and under His Word brings a perspective which we are not capable to obtain by ourselves.
This is a huge insight.
This is true
wisdom.
Asaph is laying hold of God's wisdom.
Our generation quickly runs to all sorts of counsellors and get all
sorts of man-centred opinions, and very often the Word of God becomes only the last resort.
See how everything changes for Asaph when he takes himself into the presence of God.
See how everything now
falls into place from vv.18-28 .
(i)
He clearly understands the outcome of the lives of the wicked (vv.18-20,27)
(ii) He
understands the nature of his own unbelief (vv. 21-21)- that he is embittered and like a brute beast.
(iii)
He
understands what the future holds
for him (vv. 23-26;28)
(iv)
And
this brings him back to the conclusion
in v.1
Conclusion
May God grant us grace to think biblically about our discontentments.
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