We’ve been looking at David crawling out of a hole. The ladder leading out is found in the two verse stanzas in Psalm 13. First, we find his desolation, then we find his prayer, and today we see his song.

“But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, because He has dealt bountifully with me.”

I don’t think this was overnight…four “how longs” show that it was a while, David keeps praying, and God brings him out. You’ve heard, “a little dab will do you,” but that isn’t true with prayer or worship. Paul spoke of his friend wrestling in prayer for the church…we must wrestle, fight the good fight, and like Jacob, cling to God and trust Him to deliver us!

But we must also praise Him in the midst of the storms. Think of Paul and Silas in the Philippian jail…Luke says, “And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.” How would you respond? Luke tells us how they responded,

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.”

You are aware of the rest of the story…the rescue, the salvation, and the release, but notice they were singing in the prison not after they got out. I’ve always found it fascinating to watch the Israelites in the wilderness. They come to the Red Sea and Pharaoh is hot on their tail. What do they do? They were afraid and they cried out to the LORD, but they also complained.

God rescued them and the next chapter, Exodus 13, has the Song of Moses, but here is the problem it was the RIGHT SONG, but it was sung on the WRONG SIDE! After all they saw in Egypt the people should have begun to sing praises to God before He moved.

I know you know this, but the same is true of us…sing in the despair, sing in the heartache, sing in the sickness, and worship God. He won’t always get us out of prison, He won’t always heal us in the way we might want Him to, but He will get the glory and we will grow more and more like Him…and then we will find our lives like Paul’s when he praised God for the thorn!

Yesterday we looked at David’s desolation, but watch as he begins to climb out of that snuggle. The second stanza is found in Psalm 13:3-4,

“Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, ‘I have prevailed over him,’ lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.”

Here we find David’s prayer…the prayer flows from his desolation. David asks God to do three things:

Consider me…that’s another way of saying, look at me. He wants God’s face to turn back…he wants God to look.

Answer me…I’m calling God…answer me.

Enlighten me…light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death…I love David’s relationship with God!

Do you remember when a child wanted your attention, they would take your face in their hands and turn it toward them…when you were looking, they knew you were listening…David seems to be reaching up toward God and he says…look at me God, answer me, and show me…enlighten me.

He isn’t being self-centered when he asks God to move so his enemies can’t rejoice…he is being God centered…God is his God and he is God’s king! His prayer is for God to consider his situation…his desolation, but what he is looking for is God’s glory. That’s always the prayer of someone who loves God as David did.

Have you ever felt alone? Have you ever felt abandoned? We often hide those feelings…especially if they are spiritual. I mean, we hide it if we think God has abandoned us. Spurgeon spoke of the Psalms and he said, when you dive into David’s psalms, you will somewhere or other see yourself. You never get into a corner, but you find David in that corner. He said, I’ve never been so low that David wasn’t lower, and I’ve never been so high that I couldn’t find David still higher. That’s what I love about David…we can see him at the top and we can see him at the bottom. Today’s psalm is one of those bottom times, but while it begins with winter it ends with summer! Let’s spend the rest of the week in Psalm 13.

The psalm only has six verses and Derek Kidner said the three pairs of verses in this psalm climb up from the depths to a fine vantage point of confidence and hope. Each set of two verses takes us up from David’s sorrow to David’s song. Let’s walk through these six verses by looking at one rung of the ladder each day.

First, we find David’s Desolation,

“How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day?”

Four times we see the question, “How long?” This shows us David’s problem wasn’t a bad day…this is prolonged…he is struggling.

“Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemies be exalted over me?”

David is a man who continually seeks the face of God and yet the face seems to be hidden…this is a lack of apparent blessing. He is struggling with dark days and dark thoughts…he is restless and feeling ignored.

Have you been there? What do you do when you face what the saints called the Dark Night of the Soul? David isn’t confessing sin…this isn’t a matter of sin and repentance…God’s fellowship has been withdrawn and David is suffering. But he doesn’t stay there. Tomorrow we will see the next rung of this psalm’s ladder.

As you study Psalm 11 the psalmist gives us two options. We saw the first one yesterday…we can run. But today, let’s consider the second option which is to stand strong. Notice how David opens the Psalm, “In the LORD I take refuge.” He is indignant toward those who would suggest he flee…he has taken refuge in God.

“If the foundations are destroyed what can the righteous do?” They can keep on being righteous, they can keep on taking refuge in God and he tells us how to do that in verses 4-7. David looks around the enemy and he looks up to God. “The LORD is in His holy temple.”

Now David is writing this so the temple here is the Throne of God in Heaven. When the foundations crumble, know this—there is still a God in Heaven and He is still in control. Do you remember Psalm 2? The nations rage, the peoples plot, the kings set themselves against God, and David said, “He who sits in the heavens laughs.”

I’ve been privileged to go and teach Chinese students studying to be pastors several times. The man who leads that seminary took time on each of our visits to give us a long history of the persecution of the believers in China. Even now they are being persecuted. The government is placing people at the doors of the churches to make sure no one under 18 goes in and systematically trying to destroy the work. We should not be surprised when it happens—Jesus promised it. Look to God—He is on His Throne.

The Psalmist lets God be the Judge. Look at the second half of verse 4 and verse 5, it is God who examines;

“His eyes see, His eyelids test the children of man. The LORD tests the righteous, but His soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.”

God tests the righteous. He tests us to see if we are who we claim to be. This is often through trials and hardships, but it culminates in purity and the removal of dross. The testing of the righteous leads to sanctification.

God tests the ungodly, but this fire is not a purifying fire, it is a fire of brimstone and eternal punishment. We have a hard time with the words, “His soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence” don’t we? Isn’t God a God of love? Doesn’t the Bible say God loves the world? Yes, but understand this…David is speaking from the perspective of God’s holiness—He is holy, holy, holy and He hates wickedness. The greatest display of God’s holiness and God’s judgment is the cross of Jesus.

Make no mistake the doctrine of the love of God never allows us to think that our Holy God will wink at sin. He will judge all sinners and we will either be judged in Christ or in the flesh.

If verse 5 is hard, how about verse 6? It seems as if David is calling down judgment on his enemies and he is. “Let him rain coals on the wicked, fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.” I think David is reminding himself of why he can stand strong—the enemies have bent the bow and they are ready to go to bloody measures, but he is in the hands of God and God has a way of taking care of the righteous and judging the wicked. We won’t always see it, but we can rest assured that it will happen—either here on earth or at the judgment.

I think there is a sense of Sodom and Gomorrah here—God judged wickedness and David knows He will do it again. Look to God and let Him be the Judge but know that while He will judge all of them—He will also judge us. He tests the wicked and He tests the righteous…no one is hidden from His view.

Finally, David is able to stand strong because he looks to the future,

“For the LORD is righteous; He loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold His face.”

Stand strong because this is not the end. Stand strong because you will one day see His face. Revelation 22:4 records those wonderful words, “They shall see His face!”

Stand strong—what’s the worst thing the world can do to you? They can take your stuff, but if you are in Jesus, you’ve already given it all up to Him so if they come to take your stuff—they’ll have to take that up with Him.

They can kill you—but if you are in Jesus you know His words—if you believe in me you live even though you die. We, of all people, should be the least afraid to die…we have Heaven on the other side. So if they kill us they are really rewarding us.

They can make you suffer. That is true, but Jesus said we are blessed when we are persecuted for righteousness sake so if they make us suffer, we are blessed and in that we can rejoice.

What can the world do to a person who owns nothing, is not afraid to die, and rejoices when they suffer? Church, the foundations around us are crumbling, but we are not on the world’s foundation we are on the Rock and that will never crumble! Stand for God while everyone else kneels to the enemy, kneel before God while everyone else ignores Him, and go with this promise, “The upright shall behold His face.” We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but we are of those who have faith and preserve our soulsbecause God is our refuge! Stand strong Church in the midst of trouble…stand strong because the world is watching and while some will take up hammers to crucify us—others will embrace the cross with us and we, like Jesus, may take some to eternity even in our death. Stand strong because the world is watching and while some will take up stones to kill us—there may just be a Saul holding their coats and our witness as we die may just lead him to become a Paul. Stand strong and trust in God to be your refuge!

David asked, “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” I often wonder what the Founding Fathers would think about the nation they birthed 250 years ago. In many ways they would be awestruck with our progress and technology, but I wonder what they’d think about our taxation, our endless squabbles, and our moral status. As we approach the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, I’m afraid that in many ways we’ve signed our own declaration of independence from God.

This morning I started my time in the Psalms with Psalm 11. In this Psalm David gives us two choices. Verse 3 is the driving question of the entire Psalm. David often writes while he is in the midst of the greatest trials. We are not sure of the exact occasion, but everything was crumbling around him…just as it seems to be crumbling around us. What can we do? The first choice is found in verse 1, we can run. Look at what he says in the second part of verse 1 and verse 2, “How can you say to my soul, ‘Flee like a bird to your mountain, for behold the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart.”

David’s so-called friends saw the foundations crumbling and said, “run!” Plummer said, “If they were friends, they were much like Job’s wife.” Remember her…the foundations crumbled for Job and she said, “Curse God and die.”

I think the temptation to run is great, but how would we describe the run? It can be escapism. If we are not careful we can let the dangers of the world so mortify us that we try to escape from the world—we build walls around us, try to protect our children from all negative influences, we try to surround ourselves with Christian people, we try to escape from the world, but if all Christian people pull out of the world—how will we ever reach it?

I know God calls people to put their children in Christian schools or to homeschool them and I am not saying that is a bad idea, but let me ask you—if all Christian teachers, Christian administrations, Christian parents, and Christian students pull out of the public schools who will be light in the midst of darkness? Kim and I have homeschooled two of our children for one year at a time, but we also felt God leading us to teach our children to be positive witnesses in their surroundings. Please hear me—I am not saying that is the only way, and I am not accusing anyone of escapism because God calls them to Christian schools or homeschooling, but we can’t do anything out of an escapist mentality. We must be salt and light.

You could apply that to any area—if we never worked out with lost people, if we never went to grocery stores with lost people, if we never lived near lost people…how will we carry on our mission mandate? How will we fulfill the Great Commission? We must be salt and light and we can’t run from the world and accomplish our mission.

Others will avoid escapism and instead embrace humanism. I found this simple definition of humanism this week, “an outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters.” What I mean when I say we embrace humanism to run is we turn to our own ingenuity.

We somehow think we have what it takes in an of ourselves to face the world. We don’t need advice, we don’t need help, we have all that it takes to fight our battles…there is great danger in that because it thinks way too highly of ourselves and way to lowly of God. Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing.”

Escapism can lead us to treat the world as a monk—shutting ourselves off from everyone and everything, but humanism can lead us to act like the proverbial knight in shining armor able to do it all in our own power. Both will lead us to defeat because both ignore the power of the enemy and the call of God. Some will tell us to run, but that’s only one option. Tomorrow we will look at the second.

As we seek the Kingdom of God, we must come to see the secret to the victorious Christian life. When you think of the life that Christ has called us to live what comes to mind? Do you think of things that you are supposed to do and things that you are supposed to avoid? Is Christianity simply a list of do’s and don’ts? Do you think of being busy at the church? Has Christianity become your weekend job? Do you think of another religion? Let me free you up this morning—The Christian life is not hard to live—it is impossible! You cannot do it so you can stop trying, but the good news is that Christ can and will do it through you.

You see the Christian life is Christ—it is not just a change in lifestyle; it is not just another set of activities and acts of serve—it is summed up in three words: CHRIST IN YOU. You see, living spiritually requires something more than just not sinning or doing good works—Christianity is Christ. Period. It was never meant to be another religion. It has always been and always will be about a relationship with Jesus. That is what is at the heart of John 15:1-5. Christianity is living in Christ while He lives in you.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

When you read this passage you will discover a few things—first Jesus is the Vine. He is the source of life. There is no life outside of Jesus. Outside of a relationship with Jesus we are dead. Outside of Jesus there is absolutely no hope of anything resembling life. He is the Vine.

Second, the Father is the gardener. He is the owner. He is in control of all aspects of growth and every single bit of fruit that is produced is for His glory and for His glory alone.

Third, we are the branches. You cannot get around this—we exist for His glory and we have no life apart from Jesus Christ. We are not the source of life, we are not even the fruit—we are the branches. As you read this passage you discover that there are four types of branches.

First there are those who bear no fruit. “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit.”

Second there are those that bear some fruit. “While every branch that does bear fruit he prunes…”

Third, there are branches that bear more fruit. “He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”

Finally, there are branches that bear much fruit. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Let me ask you a simple question—which branch are you? Are you bearing some fruit, more fruit, much fruit or are you not bearing fruit at all? In the scriptures fruit is synonymous with good works. Paul said, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” These are character issues—they are the natural byproduct of the Spirit of God indwelling you—abiding in you. Let me ask you again—are you bearing fruit?

On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. With sweeping legislation, the president ended slavery in the United States of America, but regardless of the declaration—it took years for the slaves to actually enjoy the freedom that had been decreed. They were set free in terms of their position, but for many of them slavery was still their day-to-day reality. Unfortunately, there are many Christians living the same way. They have been declared to be free in Christ. Free, but they are still living defeated lives. They are free but still shackled to sin. Free, but living in bondage. They are free, but still dependant upon their former master. What is the secret to living a victorious life? What must be done, believed, practiced, or acted upon for us to live in the truth of Galatians 5:1?

Let me remind you that we must first understand the truth of God’s word. Jesus said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”…(JN 8:31-32) This comment caused the religious leaders to say, “We have never been salves of anyone.” They had forgotten their history, but we don’t have time for that. They thought their freedom came from their nationality, but Jesus teaches us that freedom starts with truth.

Do you ever think that you are free just because you are an American Citizen? Having been overseas several times and having spent time in communist countries I know that we enjoy a means of freedom that causes the world to envy, but did you know that there are people in prisons in places like China, Vietnam and Pakistan who enjoy more freedom than many of our fellow Americans who are living in the lap of luxury? Take for example Vu Thi Muoi, a Christian in prison for his faith in Vietnam. The jailers would seem to be the ones who had the freedom, but as they questioned him for hours, he demonstrated the peace of Jesus. The jailers wanted to have what He had. The authorities stopped letting him talk to just one guard because he was leading them to Christ. True freedom has nothing to do with nationality.

It has nothing to do with circumstances. You can look at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the middle of the blazing furnace, or Daniel in the Lion’s Den. You can turn to Peter in a prison cell, or Paul and Silas in the dungeon singing praises to the King. Freedom has nothing to do with circumstances, and it has nothing to do with nationality, but it does have everything to do with truth.

First, the truth about who you were. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” Because we are born dead in our sin we are slaves to our sin—it is just what we do by nature. We are slaves to sin—and the result of that slavery is a bondage from which we cannot free ourselves. Jesus went on to say, “Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed…” I must see what I was, but in Jesus I must also see what I have become in Jesus. Romans 6,7, and 8 go into great detail about this—I was once a slave to sin, but now we can say with Paul, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” Did you hear that? In Jesus I am free—talk about an Emancipation Proclamation—in Jesus I am free and not just free, I am free indeed. So let me ask the question—free to what?

You are now free in Jesus to be what you were designed to be. You are free in Jesus to do and be and live just as He planned for you to live when He created Adam and Eve in the Garden. It all starts with redemption. It all starts with Jesus’ finished work upon the cross. Listen, Salvation is liberation—it is freedom. We often think of freedom as not having any master at all and to live as you see fit, but the Bible calls that a myth. Your liberation is not finished until you are ravished by, bowed down in, astounded before the beauty and glory and presence of God. Unless you are absolutely centered in God you are not free. You cannot have personal or spiritual freedom without God. Everyone lives for something—something that brings them security, something that brings them hope, something that will bring them love, but anything that you must have, that is anything that you must have to feel good about yourself, to feel like you are significant, well you heart in chained to that thing. You are only happy as long as that thing goes well, but when God is not only the most important area of your life—when God is your life, you can walk at large and be free and unafraid regardless of what you may face.

How? How can I move from what is positionally true to seeing it practically true in every area of my life? How can I live in the freedom provided at the cross and through the resurrection of our Lord, and in the indwelling presence of the Spirit? How does that bring freedom to me here and now?

First you must see that it is God’s will for you to be free.

We have reduced Christianity to such a powerless exercise of the will that we actually think it is normal to be in bondage to sin. Look at the distance He was willing to travel to set you free—from the throne of heaven to the cross. That in and of itself should bring rest to your soul—the God who brought freedom to you will enable you to live in it. If He wanted you to work through a series of legalistic do’s and don’ts He would have told you—that is what Paul is writing against in the letter to the Galatians, but what we see is Paul writing to a group of people who had been set free, but now they were trying to yoke themselves again in slavery. Are we like that? Are we so yoked by our traditions, our personal likes and dislikes, our man made systems that we can’t live freely? I am afraid that the life of the average Christian proves that to be true. If it is God’s will for you to be free—then you must understand secondly that it is only in God that you can be free. You cannot do it!

The result of being set free allows Paul to say, “Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” God’s desire is for us to walk in total freedom in Him, but the Deceiver will do all that he can to make it all about us rather than all about Jesus. Because of what Jesus has done—because of the Truth—we are now to respond in faith and allow the transforming power of the Spirit to make us become what He has declared us to be.

That goes against the grain of what we want to do in the flesh. The flesh says, I must work to obtain my freedom—Jesus obtained it, but I must work to keep it. Do you see how insane that is? Suddenly the Christian who is saved by Grace is now working to keep his or her salvation. You see that in verses 2-4—they fell from Grace—not in the sense of losing their salvation—they fell in the sense that they left grace and moved back to works, but Paul says, “But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope.” You see the key to freedom is rebuking the idea that it comes from what we do and believing that it comes from what He has done and from what He is doing and in having faith in what He is going to do—that will bring Freedom!

The secret to our freedom is in understanding what He is doing right here and now. He is working in us to will and to act according to His purposes. We need to get out of the way and let Him work—we need to abide in Him and let the Vine produce His fruit through His branches. Our salvation is totally a matter of God’s grace and our freedom is totally a matter of His grace—our works come as a result, but they never serve as a source or a cause of freedom.

How do we walk in this freedom? Listen to Paul—first we are to live through the Spirit rather than in the flesh. So much of what is done today in the name of Christianity is fleshly—we must live through the Spirit. That means we must live controlled by the Spirit. Do you remember Galatians 2:20? “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” He lives in me by His Spirit; therefore Paul is able to say, “Live (walk) by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” You life must be under the control of the Spirit to live in freedom.

Second, we are to live “by faith.”

“Without faith is it impossible to please God.” You cannot live the live you are called to live outside of a life of faith. This means you will have to follow the Spirit’s leading when it doesn’t make sense, when you are not comfortable, and when it will cost you everything. You don’t live by sight—you don’t live by common sense—you live by faith. Faith that He did what He said He would do. Faith that He is doing what He said He is doing. And finally you are live in faith that He will do what He said He would do. Your entire life is lived by resting your entire self on Him—once again it is through abiding in Him—not working for Him.

Finally you are to live in hope.

With Jesus there is always hope. She had been bleeding for years, but just one touch---there was hope. His daughter was dead, but just one word from Jesus and there was hope. He was blind from birth, but just a word from Jesus and he could see. He was a tax collector—the bottom of society, but Jesus came by and called him—there is hope. She had been married five times and was living with a man—Jesus spoke to her about her sin, but offered her living water—there was hope. Lazarus has been dead for four days, but Jesus was there—there was hope. Jesus had been in the grave for three days—but He said that if He laid down His life He could take it up again—there was hope.

Things may look bad—the rent is due and the money is gone. Things may look terrible—the doctors have done all that they can do. Things may be really sour—your life has just been one problem after another. Things are terrible, but as the old preacher once said—it is only Friday—Sunday is coming. Paul said live free by walking in the Spirit, living by faith and knowing that there is always hope—you see He is coming again and not only is He coming again—He is working in your circumstance right now, even when you can’t see it He is working!

My favorite book in the Bible is the Psalms and I often read them along with a Proverb chapter every day. Of all the chapters, Proverbs 16 is my favorite.

“The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.

All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit.

Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established.

The LORD has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.”

How do we make decisions? How do we know how to “seek first the Kingdom of God” in our day-to-day life? Robert Frost wrote of two roads dividing in the yellow wood. As we walk through this life we will come to forks in the road and we will have to make decisions. I remember going hiking with a friend. There was a small river that we would often swim in or camp on and we decided to follow its path to see where it went. As we walked, we soon found the river split into several different streams. We kept having to choose between going to the right or to the left and it wasn’t long before we were lost. Frost spoke of only choosing between two roads, but this complicated life is a lot more like our hiking trip in that it seems to offer hundreds of forks in the road.

Our lives center around the choices we make. You chose to get out of bed this morning. You chose to eat or you chose to not eat breakfast, you chose to put on the clothes you put on, you chose to get in your car and come to church. We are faced with choices almost every moment of our lives. Some have more significance than others. Should I get married to this person? Should I stay married to that person? Should I go to this college? Should I accept this job? Should I buy this house? Should I go on this mission trip? Should I spend my time doing this? Everywhere we turn there are choices to be made.

Many of the choices are good choices—they are moral, they are legal, and they are allowable, but many of them are not wise. If we are going to seek the kingdom first and foremost we will have to learn to make godly decisions. In order to do that we will need God’s guidance. How can we find it?

The Hebrew word for “guidance” is a word from which we get the word rope. Ropes were used in those days for guidance in navigation. The sailors would use the ropes to lower the sails, they would use the ropes to move the sails, they would use the ropes to raise the sails, and they would use them to tie them down during the storms. You and I need the guidance of God all of the time, but we are especially aware of our need for guidance during the storms of our life. How do we get His guidance?

I think we have to understand there is a guidance that is happening all around us…it is something that God does. God isn’t sitting idly by waiting for us to act…He is actively working, He is advancing His Kingdom, and He is working in us as His workmanship, conforming us to His image.

Choices matter…In Proverbs 21:5, the Bible says,

“The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.”

The word diligent could be translated strategic and the word haste could be impulsive. In other words a strategic person who plans succeeds, but the impulsive person who does not plan does not succeed. The Bible tells us that we should plan ahead instead of just letting life happen. We read that and think—our choices do matter, but then we come to 16:33.

“The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.”

The lot being cast is like drawing straws or flipping a coin. It is the way we discover who goes first in the football game—or the way we pick someone to do a task. In the OT the High Priest had what was called the Urim and Thummim to make decisions and to seek the will of God. Here the Bible tells us that every little detail, every single coin toss comes down exactly the way God plans. In other words, not only are the big things a part of God’s plan—the smallest things are fixed by God’s plan.

We simply can’t hold both ideas in our mind…that our choices matter and that they are at the same time fixed by God. Our plans are our plans, but what happens as a result of the choices you make is fixed by God and both ideas are true.

We are not puppets on a string, but at the same time can you imagine if you got everything you wanted? Do you remember the things you wanted in your teens…aren’t you glad you didn’t get all of them! At any moment we are absolutely free and at the same time absolutely in the hands of God.

God’s guidance is happening all around us even when we can’t see it. In Acts 27 Paul was on a ship headed for Rome. A storm hit and God assured Paul that he “must stand trial before Caesar,” and He graciously promised that He would save all the lives of those sailing with Him. A while later, some of the sailors were going to jump ship, but Paul told the Captain, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.” Choices matter and yet God determines the outcome!

You see it in your own life in hindsight. So, how do we receive the guidance? Verse 3 says,

“Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established.”

That seems backward doesn’t it? “Commit” is a word that speaks of putting your entire weight upon Him. Unconditionally trust Him, seek Him first, and your plan will succeed. It is in the seeking that your plans are conformed into His will.

We want God to tell us—this college, this job, this person, but God is more interested in you and I becoming the kind of person who get’s guided. Do you want to make right decisions? Do you want to live every moment with the guidance of God? If that is your heart you must seek Him first—throw your entire weight upon Him—and come before Him and say “God I trust you. Do whatever you want to do in my life. Send me anywhere—just go with me. Lay any burden on me—just give me the strength to carry it. Cut off anything that keeps me from you—just use me for your glory.” When you can pray like that—when you can seek Him first and only Him you will find He is guiding you along as you live for His glory.

Most of the thoughts here came from a sermon I heard years ago by Tim Keller. You can listen to it here.

Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:33 fascinate me,

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Let’s settle in there for a moment. “But,” is a conjunction…a comparison. In the Greek the first word in the sentence is “seek,” but in English we start here to contrast what He said about treasures, money, food, drink, clothing, etc. He says, in verse 32,

“For the Gentiles seek after these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek…”

We are not to be like the world. As followers of Jesus we are different. “Seek” is an imperative…it is a command. It is something each of us must do…we can’t do it for one another. It is something we must continually do…we can never stop. What He is saying is, “Seek this as of first importance above everything else.”

Seek what? “Seek first the kingdom of God.” Our consuming desire, our overwhelming passion is the “kingdom of God.” Jesus isn’t talking about “when I get around to it,” or “if something better doesn’t come up,” He is talking about a singular pursuit. About what gets you up in the morning, what causes you to turn off the TV, to skip meals, it is to be like a child trying to sleep on Christmas Eve!

“Seek first the kingdom of God.” I’m afraid the Church as a whole has lost the mindset of the Kingdom, of being Kingdom people, or Kingdom citizens. We are not even sure how to define it…much less seek it. George Ladd speaks of the Kingdom as something is already and not yet.

We won’t see the full consummation of it until Jesus’ Second Coming, but it began at his First Coming. It is already and not yet. The moment we are born again we enter into His Kingdom. It is a radical thing and a fundamental demand of our King…seek His rule and submit to it.

Matthew 11:12 says,

“From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.”

There is a violence required in our pursuit…not toward others, but toward the sin in our own lives. Jesus says if your eye causes you to sin—pluck it out, if your hand causes you to sin—cut it off. He tells us to strive to enter by the narrow door. The word strive speaks of agonizing. We are far too casual about the Kingdom.

To seek first the Kingdom of God will cost us everything. The days of self-seeking glory are gone, the days of comfort-seeking lives are gone, we serve the King and must wake up, live, and go to bed with the one thing in mind…glorifying the King.

Every conversation is spent trying to make Him known. Every dollar is spent is spent for His glory because it all came from Him. Every relationship is centered in Him. Every moment is consumed with knowing Him and making Him known. Following Jesus is not an addendum you add to your already busy life—following Jesus is dying to yourself and living for Him. Anything else is sub-Christian and not recognizable as biblical.

Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. The moment we are saved Jesus’ righteousness is imputed to us, but there is a righteousness that must be lived out…a holiness that comes with seeking His kingdom first. We begin to live out what God has done inwardly through His salvation.

“And all these things will be added to you.” What things? All the stuff the world worries about, seeks day and night, and gets ulcers over…that stuff is added to you when you live for the King and His Kingdom…so seek His kingdom and trust the King!

I was in line at the grocery store Saturday and was watching the lady scan item after item. With the exception of a few pieces of fruit and some vegetables, not one item was picked up and looked at…just passed on to the person bagging them.

Dallas Willard spoke of Bar-Code Faith in his book The Divine Conspiracy. He said,

“Think of the bar codes now used on goods in most stores. The scanner responds only to the bar code. It makes no difference what is in the bottle or package that bears it, or whether the sticker is on the ‘right’ one or not. The calculator responds through its electronic eye to the bar code and totally disregards everything else. If the ice cream sticker is on the dog food, the dog food is ice cream, so far as the scanner knows or cares.”

It seems like many folks think God operates like the scanner. Salvation does not require a change in behavior or thinking—it just needs to have the right sticker. Christians need the Jesus sticker, Muslims need the Mohammed sticker, and so on. According to Gallup, 94% of Americans believe in God and 74% claim to have made a commitment to Jesus Christ. 34% confess a ‘new birth’ experience. What is shocking is that of all those claiming to have experienced this ‘new birth,’ according to the same statistics show little to no difference in terms of unethical behavior, crime, mental distress and disorder—family disorder, addictions, financial mis-dealings, etc. All of this begs the question--Is this the life Jesus died to provide?

When you read the words of Jesus you soon see change is expected. The Sermon on the Mount starts with a group of statements we know of as the Beatitudes. Jesus said,

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the meek, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, blessed are the merciful, blessed are the pure in heart, blessed are those who are persecuted…”

He takes all that we value and turns it upside down, but He doesn’t stop there. Jesus takes our expectations of morality and goodness and crushes them—we say—it is enough that you don’t kill, but Jesus says you are just as guilty in His eyes if you are angry. We say it is enough that you don’t commit adultery, but Jesus says you’re just as guilty if you lust. We say if you’re going to end a marriage—do it legally, but Jesus says, don’t do it except for adultery. Jesus chips at our system of thinking to the point that we are left with nothing and then He moves into our idea of personal rights. Forget the retaliation principles of eye for eye and tooth for tooth—don’t’ even resist an evil person, turn the other cheek when someone hits you, give them your shirt if they sue you for your coat, and if someone asks you for something that you have—give it to them.

Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you—be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect! Give, pray, and fast—yes do those things, but don’t do them to be seen by men—do them to be seen by your Father—that removes any chance of pride or human glory. Speaking of human glory and treasures, don’t seek it. Store up treasures in heaven where it will last because you cannot serve two gods. Don’t worry about your life—don’t act like everyone else, trust God and seek His Kingdom! Luke goes on to add, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Was Jesus serious? Did He mean these things? More radical words have never been spoken than the words of the Sermon on the Mount, but one thing is clear…a follower of Jesus is expected to become more and more like Jesus. We are expected to seek first His kingdom and His righteouosness.

I was showing my grandsons pictures from Kenya the other day this picture popped up. This is a younger version of myself with one of my favorite people in the world, Geoffrey. Geoffrey was a pastor from Mt. Elgon. He had suffered much and yet never lost the joy of the Lord. Hardship had added age to his body…he was that much older than me, but he was an incredible man who is now with Jesus.

A video popped up on my Facebook feed, it was a young Neil Young singing, “Old Man.” As I watched it, I was struck by the fact that the young man singing to the old man grew old…the Young was not so young, but as a young man he said,

“Old man, look at my life

I’m a lot like you were

Old man, look at my life

I’m a lot like you were…”

Supposedly, he wrote the song about Louis Avila, the foreman of a ranch he had just bought. Google’s AI says, “It explores the common ground between generations, emphasizing that young people possess similar needs for love and life, regardless of age.”

I have found that to be true, but it is rare that a young man thinks about it.

I’m not an expert in Neil Young, as a southern boy I knew him more from Lynard Skynard’s song, but I do love his reflection more as an older man.

I got to thinking about growing old and two things came across my computer this week. First the end of “The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock,” TS Eliot says,

“I grow old ... I grow old ...

I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.

Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?”

And then Fleetwood Mac in their song, “Landslide” said,

“Well, I’ve been ‘fraid of changin’
‘Cause I’ve built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older
And I’m gettin’ older, too…”

We all start young and as Wendell Berry said in Jayber Crow, as young people we have no memory and nothing but time, but as we get older we find that we have all memory and no time. We get old and while the world encourages us to spend a fortune on looking young, I love what the Word of God says,

“The glory of young men is their strength, gray hard is the splendor of the old.”

I think of getting older a lot more now…not so much because I just turned 60, but because Kim and I have both buried our mothers, we have buried many of our aunts and uncles, and we are watching the impact of age on our fathers.

Paul said,

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

I find a lot of comfort in those words. The aches, the pains, the snaps, the crackles, and the pops every single morning are just a sign that I am moving toward Heaven and that this world is not my home. I love the words of D.A. Carson, “I’m not suffering from anything that a good resurrection can’t fix.”

Think about that and enjoy the fact that the older we get the closer we get to Him!

This week we’ve been letting Jesus teaching us about watching out for greed. He gave us two situational signs: gloating and worry; two psychological signs: security and beauty; and two practical signs: running after it and storing it up. He had much to say about money while He was on earth. Much to say about greed and how we are to handle it in a way that brings Him glory. So, let me close this week with some more thoughts about Luke 12 and specifically as to how we can acquire money wellness.

(1) The first thing you will need is a Radical experience of Grace. Verse 32-33, Jesus does not say you give so that you can get to heaven. You have already been given the kingdom apart from your works and when you see that you have been given the kingdom; therefore you give radically. Money sickness is a lack of inner wealth. 1 Peter 2:9, “God’s own people (treasure)…” We are God’s own treasure! God owns it all and yet we are His treasure.

2 Cor 8:7-9, “though he was rich…so that you through his poverty might become rich.” Inner wealth comes from knowing Jesus treasures you and was willing to give up everything for you. God treasured us so much that He came to the cross to buy us back—that is love. When you know that, you come to know inner wealth—and money just becomes money. It is not longer your security or beauty. At the center of ever soul is the precious—every treasure will demand you die to purchase it with one exception—Jesus died to purchase you!

(2) Be a member of a radically changed community. Verse 32-33, “don’t be afraid.” If you aren’t willing to give you are afraid because you are worried about your needs. What about my needs, my clothes, my food? We often don’t give as we should because we don’t realize God’s kingdom will meet those needs. Matthew 6:33, “all these things will be given to you.” We often view this as if God is saying when you give God will send a check in the mail. God is saying,

“Don’t be afraid little flock—the Father has given you the kingdom.”

You are a part of the Kingdom of God and as a part of the kingdom of God you have 100 times as much as what you give up for the Kingdom. We see that in Mark 10—no one who has lost…for me and the Gospel will fail to receive 100 times as much.

You gain a community in Christ. You get fields and homes on top of Mothers, Fathers, Brothers…along with the new community comes homes and fields—we share one another’s homes and possessions. We can freely give radically because we know there are others who will do the same for us if we are ever in want. You have to be a member of the community in which the Gospel has so humbled your pride that you are willing to let people know when you have a need and we must be a part of the community that is so free of money sickness that they are willing to give. Is this community of believers a community like that? I think it is getting there and I know that it can be if we will commit ourselves to money wellness.

My focus this Finally, Jesus gives us two practical signs. This will show you if it is too important to you. The first sign is that you run after it. (verse 30) When you run after something you are driven to over work and to over think about it. You run yourself into the ground for it.

Secondly, you store up…you don’t give it away. This isn’t to say we are not supposed to save, but the people of that day didn’t have banks, investments…they had possessions. Their homes, fields, possessions was where you found their capital. Jesus called them to give their income—to dip into their investments, their savings, lowering their net worth to others. If you can’t you have the sickness. It is easy to give what is in your pocket and what can be spared, but it is another story all together to take away from your future or the future of your children to meet a need of a brother or sister..

What we find is this—we tend to automatically underestimate the amount of money sickness in our life because we focus on the excess of others rather than the signs that point to ourselves, but let me close tomorrow with the way we,

Acquire Money Wellness.

Yesterday we considered Jesus’ two situational signs…gloating and worry, but let’s let Tim Keller helps us with two more signs from Jesus as we try to see if we have Money Sickness or Greed.

Jesus also gives us two psychological signs—Jesus said watch out for “all kinds of greed.” There is more than one type of greed and we hide it from ourselves because we notice other kinds that aren’t out own. Jesus gives two examples. First, in Lk 12:24, the Ravens—they are secure even though they don’t have anything—God provides for them. One type of greed comes when set your heart on money as your security. “I will say to myself…” this is deep in himself, “I can have control and be safe in a dangerous world.” Don’t we do that with investments and savings? If you can’t radically give it away you have made it your security. You can’t get secure through money. Money can’t do it. Earl Ellis, “Thought he was the owner but found he was owned. He thought he was in control, but he didn’t have control. He thought he was owner but found he was the tenant.” When money is your security you’ll never be able to give it away—you’ll never see yourself as a steward. Money seen as a security turns into a saving sickness—you don’t spend a lot on yourself, but it becomes your source of safety.

Second he gives the example of the lilies (12:27)—they are beautiful because God arrays them. Some look at money as their beauty—only God secures you and only God arrays you. People think money makes them attractive to others—it makes them feel worthy. They spend a lot on themselves—they buy clothes, homes, car to make them feel desirable. We will spend 40-50 dollars more for a shirt or a pair of pants simply because it has a horse on it or some other sign. Ladies you’ll buy a purse that much more than another simply because the brand is in when in reality it doesn’t do anymore or look any better than the other. We won’t even talk about cars and houses! In the end you’ll find that even though you are trying to be beautiful people are turned off by your excess and you no longer know if they love you for who you are or for what you have. Money sickness is most often shown through spending sickness.

Let me say, this isn’t about not saving. I invest in retirement and seek to be wise in those investments. This is about security. While I check my retirement balance, I am not resting in it for my security. God has cared for me my entire life and I don’t expect Him to stop when I retire.

This is about our trust, or source of identity, and our ability to obey God.

I closed yesterday with this statement, “Greed happens when money is too important—too central to you. Where do we draw the line—when does it become too important? You will always draw the line too far from us. Jesus gives us six signs that we have crossed the line. He gives those signs in pairs, let’s look at them.”




Gloating and Worry, neon sign
Jesus gave two situational signs for greed. The first of which is Gloating. Listen to his words in Luke 12:19,

“I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat drink and be merry.”

You may sit back and think—what is wrong with that? I mean that is the American Dream isn’t it? That is why we work so hard so we can get enough to enjoy life isn’t it? If you are thinking that I want you to understand you have money sickness. You have it and may not even be aware of it. Don’t shut down on me—keep listening, Jesus will show you how to fix it.

The second situational sign is Worry. Right after Jesus teaches us this parable he said to His disciples, “do not be anxious (or worry) about your life…” (Lk 12:22) It isn’t by accident that Jesus teaches on worry right after he teaches about greed. You find the same thing in Matthew 6, Jesus teaches about storing up treasures and says, “You cannot serve both God and money,” and then turns around and says, “Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life…” Some of you are worrying yourself into an early grave about stuff. We are killing ourselves over stuff. The person who gloated had the money and he had the disease, but notice something else—here is the person who is worried about it, he didn’t have money and yet he has the disease. If you worry about money and all of that stuff you have set your heart on material things just as much as the gloating person.

We will look at two more signs tomorrow, but let me encourage you to work through this and if there are steps you need to take.

* illustrations from Tim Keller sermon

On Friday’s post I wrote about greed and said that one of the problems is that blindness to the condition is an intrinsic part of the condition. Jesus deals with greed in Luke 12 and in verse 15 He says, “Take care,” or some translations say, “Watch out,” “and be on your guard against all kinds of” greed.

Think about it, Jesus never says watch out for adultery—not because it isn’t as destructive—it is very destructive to the family and to you, but it isn’t as deceptive. You know when you are committing adultery, there is no doubt when you have crossed that line, but you don’t know when greed takes over. When you are greedy or materialistic—you won’t feel greedy. You have to watch for it.

A part of the problem is our culture seems to be more and more blended. You find people who make six figures rubbing shoulders with people who make seven figures and instead of looking at how they spend their money, they look at how the person who makes seven figures spends their money and then they feel pretty good about themselves. If I compare my spending habits with those of Michael Jordon I don’t look greedy or materialistic. Juliet Shore wrote the book, Overspent American. In that book she found that only one third of Americans making over 100K feel they make enough to buy all that they need. Can you believe that? Wealthy people in the most wealthy country in the world don’t think they can buy what they need. That is the pressure that is destroying our families and the source of the problem is money sickness—greed.

Watch out—ask questions. Be suspicious. Don’t trust yourself with money—ask a lot of questions and ask others to help you evaluate yourself. Ask questions like, do you really need more, do you really need that, is it really time to get a bigger house or a newer car, couldn’t you live more simply? I need to ask myself this question, “In my pursuit of money do I do things, do I make deals, or am I willing to sell products that are bad for some people?” Am I so willing to make a dollar that I am willing to sacrifice Biblical principles to do it? If you refuse to ask—you are refusing to deal with it. Refusing to ask questions makes you voluntarily blind.

Here is another way to see if you have money sickness—imagine people from other parts of the world watching what you spend. Imagine having a man from Ethiopia, where the average person makes an average of $100 a year. Imagine them following you around and watching all that you buy and then ask them if we are watching out for all kings of greed. Let me give you an example—years ago, I was in Kenya years ago and two of my American and I were talking about the possibility of being able to fly to Mombassa earlier in the day which would have made the trip much easier for us. One of the pastors said, “There would be a small fine,” and we asked, “How small?” Turns out we could change our flight for only $13 a person and to us that was a no-brainer. We spoke up and said, “Let’s do it,” but a Kenya pastor who was listening said, “You can afford to lose that much money?” It sort of put things into perspective—what was nothing to us, was major for someone who wondered how he was going to afford the bus ticket home. Or if you are like the children in the picture who had no guarantee of a meal tomorrow.

If we are going to be able to watch out for Money Sickness we will first have to Understand Money Sickness.

Greed happens when money is too important—too central to you. Where do we draw the line—when does it become too important? You will always draw the line too far from us. Jesus gives us six signs that we have crossed the line. He gives those signs in pairs, let’s look at them over the next few days

In Luke 12:15 Jesus said, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions,” and then he tells them a parable that could easily be described as one achieving the American Dream and refusing to be generous. Instead he was full of greedy thoughts about me, my, and mine.

The different translations of the first few words give us an idea of the warning, the NIV, “Watch out! Be on your guard,” and the NLT, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed.”

I have never had someone come to me and say, “Pastor, my problem is greed!” I heard Tim Keller say, blindness to the condition of greed is an intrinsic part of the condition…it hides itself from you.

I was reading a poem by Rumi earlier in the week and there was a line at the beginning where he said,

“How could I have known a whale would rear its head, gulp down the sea, and leave a desert behind?”

That idea of whale swallowing the sea and leaving a desert made me think of greed and I wrote the following,

Greed is like an enormous whale living in the sea

It swallowed up all the water it could see,

And was left to die in the desert of his own making.

This all comes from my study of 2 Tim 3:1-9 where Paul is talking about the last days and the characteristics of those times. He seems to be saying…the last days will be hard and here is why…people will act like this…the opening description is, “For people will be loves of self, lovers of money” and he closes with this, “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”

So, my warning is this—beware of greed. It creeps up on you and allows a tool to become a god. Maybe I’ll write more about this next week. Thanks for reading.

In verses 5-7 we find a third fact about Jesus—He is King, He is Priest, and He is the King Returning. Verses 1-3 speak of His exaltation, verse 4 speaks of His ministry, but in the last section we move from the Throne to the Battlefield and in doing so we move from the book of Hebrews to the book of Revelation.

The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.

He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses;

he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth.

He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head.”

Verse 5 tells us Jesus will shatter kings on the day of His wrath, verse 6 says He will execute judgment, fill the nations with corpses, and will shatter chiefs over the earth, and then he closes with verse 7.

Let’s go over to Revelation for a moment and see verses 5-6 fleshed out for us as we wait for this final event in human history. Revelation 19 describes the loud voice of a great multitude in Heaven rejoicing, and then in verses 11-21 John said,

“Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head, are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.”

Both David and John see the same event…John just gives us greater detail! Revelation 20 tells us of Jesus’ 1,000-year rule on earth and then chapter 21 tells us of the New Heaven and the New Earth, and chapter 22 closes with a description of the river of life and the promise that Jesus is coming soon.

In our Psalm, David closes with these words, “He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore He will lift up his head.” Many have tried to tie this into Jesus’ drinking of the cup of wrath and the cross where He bowed His head and died, but the entire context of this Psalm is set in the time after the crucifixion and resurrection…if you follow the flow of the Psalm…this is after He returns to establish His 1,000-year rule.

I think we might understand this if we go back to 1 Samuel 30. David and his men return home to discover raiders had come and they took everything and everyone, including their wives and children, with them. They pursue them and come to the brook Besor…the men are worn out…in fact 200 of them stayed behind. I think you have to picture David, tired and worn, kneeling at the brook Besor and drinking, he refreshed himself, lifted up his head and continued to pursue the enemy.

Jesus, in our Psalm, is pictured as the King enthroned, the Priest ministering, and as the King returning—Kidner says the third point is Jesus the Warrior. He will not stop until His kingdom is established, until His will is accomplished, and until His children are glorified.

So, you and I are here between the first and second coming. The OT predicted His first coming and predicts His second coming and the NT promises us that the One who came is returning. Here we are and as Maclaren said,“The choice of every man is, being crushed beneath His foot, or being exalted to sit with Him on His throne.”Which will it be? He is coming and when He comes He will find you as a part of His Bride or as an enemy…it really all depends on what you do with Jesus now!

As we come to verse 4 of Psalm 110, we see Jesus is the Priest Ministering.

“The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind,

“You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

“The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind…” We move from a Divine Oracle in verse 1 to a Divine Oath…nothing will change this and nothing changed it…once again, we are looking back at what David saw as future, but we see as a present reality.

God the Father says to God the Son, the King of verses 1-3, “You are a priest forever.” Kings of Israel could not be priests, but this King is the King of kings and He is the great High Priest. Notice, you are a priest forever. Kidner said this is the most significant clause of all—He is the eternal priest providing our eternal salvation.

In Hebrews 7, we find Jesus is not a priest on the basis of legal requirements concerning bodily descent but He is priest by the power of His indestructible life. And not only is Jesus the priest—Hebrews 7:24 says He holds that position permanently because He continues forever and therefore He is able to save to the uttermost because He is always at the right hand of the Father making intercession!

The priest of Israel came from the line of Levi and from Aaron, but Jesus isn’t from that line…He is a priest after the order of Melchizedek. Who is that? He is an obscure figure who appears in Genesis 14 and then 1,000 years or so after he appears in our Psalm and isn’t mentioned again for another 1,000 years where he shows up in Hebrews.

There is much said about him, but I think it would be safe to say he is a type of Christ…not a pre-incarnate Christ, but a type...he is a real man, but he shows us what Christ will be like. Go to Genesis 14. Abram rescues Lot and on the way back Melchizedek appears in verse 18.

First, his name means King of Righteousness.

Second, we are told that he is the king of Salem—that is literally, the King of Peace.

Then we are told, He was a priest of God Most High. This is before the Tribes of Israel were born and yet he is a priest of God.

Then in verse 19, we find he blesses Abram and then in verse 20 Abram gives him a tithe.

He is greater than Abram and greater than Abram’s offspring and he is superior to Aaron and his line of priests. Hebrews tells us in Heb. 7:3, “He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.” Now, what he means is we don’t know his genealogy, we don’t know his beginning or end, but that points us to Jesus who had no beginning and has no end and who as the eternal priest offers the final sacrifice and who offers a superior covenant.

Jesus is the great High Priest…He offered the great sacrifice, He paid the great price, He made real atonement, and when He finished He sat down at the right had of the Father and is even now serving as priest as He makes intercession for us…He isn’t a priest in the line of Levi…He is the King of Righteousness, the King of Peace, after the order of Melchizedek.

What an amazing Savior we have—exalted King and eternal Priest. But His exaltation back to glory isn’t the end of His story. We get a hint of this in verse 1 where the Father says, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” A day is coming when that will happen!

As we dig into Psalm 110, first, notice that Jesus is the King Exalted. In verses 1-3 we find God the Father addressing God the Son.

The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”

The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies!

Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours.”

We find a Divine Oracle here…God is speaking and in these words, we find truth about our King.

For David, it was a future look, but for us it is a present truth. David was looking forward to that which we now look back upon and at the same time are impacted by its current reality. Who is Jesus? He is the God Man. The One who came to us from Heaven. He is both David’s son and David’s Lord. How is that possible?

The NT writers go out of their way showing Jesus coming from David’s line…that is the fulfillment of God’s promise to him about having someone on the throne forever.

But Jesus isn’t just man…He came from Heaven…He is the God Man so, He isn’t just David’s son…He is David’s Lord. And ours!

We see the incarnation, but we also see the exaltation of Jesus…, “Sit at my right hand.” In Ephesians 1:20ff, Paul said, “He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.” In Acts 2:32ff Peter said, “This Jesus God raised up, and of that we are all witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing…” and then he quotes this verse.

Jesus is exalted…seated at the right hand of God in a place of honor from which He is ruling. The One who the Father gave a name that is above every name is ruling and will continue to rule until the Father makes all of His enemies His footstool.

We see in verse 2 that Jesus rules in the “midst of His enemies.” Most kings establish a kingdom, surround themselves with power, and from that power go out to their enemies, but God is sovereign and rules even in the midst of those who oppose Him. How does He currently rule?

He is ruling through His people in verse 2…those that the Father has given to Him are freely offering themselves to Him and are being used by Him to advance His kingdom. His rule isn’t limited to us, but He does use us to accomplish His purposes. He dresses us in holy garments…robes of righteousness given to us by Jesus’ finished work on the cross. He will one day come and rule visibly and totally.

Psalm 110 is the most quoted Psalms in the NT and it is totally about Jesus. Some of the Psalms we have studied point us to Jesus while also referencing the king of that particular time, but this Psalm is written by David and it is about Jesus and no one else. In fact, Jesus refers to it in Matthew 22:41-46.

In those verses Jesus asked the Pharisees a question, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” The Pharisees answered, “The son of David.” Jesus said, “How then is it that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, ‘The LORD said to my Lord, sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet?’ If David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” The religious leaders couldn’t answer him.

Now, let’s point out a couple of things. First, Jesus acknowledged the source of this Psalm as being David, but He said he wrote it ‘in the Spirit.’ In other words, Jesus believed in the Spirit’s inspiration of the Scripture! So, should we!! But Jesus also asked a question we must wrestle with…who is the Christ? Who is the Messiah? Who is Jesus? Our eternity is settled by how we answer these questions! I want to share three things from this Psalm regarding Jesus…worship must be based on God’s revelation…we must see Him as He is revealed in the Word so that we can worship Him as we are called to worship.

Let’s dig into the first stanza tomorrow!

In Psalm 13 we find David’s desperation and David’s song, but there is one more thing in the last two verses, David’s Song,

“But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, because He has dealt bountifully with me.”

I don’t think this was overnight…four “how longs” show that it was a while, David keeps praying, and God brings him out. You’ve heard, “a little dab will do you,” but that isn’t true with prayer. Paul spoke of his friend wrestling in prayer for the church…we must wrestle, fight the good fight, and like Jacob, cling to God and trust Him to deliver us!

The valley is never easy. The dark nights of the soul are truly dark nights, but we must press on. I’ve shared in previous posts about a particularly long dark night I went through…I didn’t feel like doing the spiritual disciplines, I didn’t feel like going to church, but I had to…I am the pastor! I didn’t find joy in studying, in preaching, but I kept on doing it because it was what God had called me to do.

I was on a retreat with some friends and was coming off a bout with pneumonia. I had a cough that would not go away. I coughed so hard that I actually cracked a rib. On top of all of that I have a hiatal hernia which often gives me terrible reflux. So, imagine it…cracked rib from coughing, reflux that caused vomiting…not a pleasant spot, but I was there, lying in the bathroom floor of the cabin where we were staying, pleading for God to just “Help me.”

I found myself praising Him in the midst of the hurt, the depression, the darkness, and the sickness and suddenly the dark night was invaded by His light. My rib was still cracked, the reflux was still there, but the depression was gone…it was just gone.

I am not suggesting this is true with all kinds of clinical depression, but mine was spiritual…I wondered where God was, but I kept praying, I kept singing, I kept reading through the Psalms and it lifted. It was over a year, but the light came back and the joy came with it.

If you are there…don’t give up. Don’t stop, don’t run from God…run to God. He is there and He is teaching you a lesson…He is preparing you for something along the way that you have no idea now that you need what you are getting, but you can trust Him.

Yesterday we looked at Psalm 13:1-2 and saw David’s Desperation…today in verses 3-4 we find David’s Prayer. When we despair, we must turn to prayer…Paul said, pray without ceasing.

“Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, ‘I have prevailed over him,’ lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.”

David asks God to do three things:

Consider me…that’s another way of saying, look at me. He wants God’s face to turn back…he wants God to look.

Answer me…I’m calling God…answer me.

Enlighten me…light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death…I love David’s relationship with God!

Do you remember when a child wanted your attention, they would take your face in their hands and turn it toward them…when you were looking, they knew you were listening…David says…look at me God, answer me, and show me…

He isn’t being self-centered when he asks God to move so his enemies can’t rejoice…he is being God centered…God is his God and he is God’s king! It is ok to ask God to “Look at me!” It is ok, to plead with Him to listen. He is listening, but it’s ok when you don’t feel it. Just keep praying!
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In Psalm 13 the first thing we find is David’s Desolation,

“How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day?”

I remember as a child…I was 6 or 7 and my dad was stationed in Oklahoma. We left Ocean Springs, MS and with our family of four and drove…all I remember is Texas…over and over again I asked, “Are we out of Texas yet?” Four times we see a very similar question, “How long?” This shows us David’s problem wasn’t a bad day…this wasn’t a long drive…this is prolonged…he is struggling.

Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemies be exalted over me?

David is a man who continually seeks the face of God and yet the face seems to be hidden…this is a lack of apparent blessing. He is struggling with dark days and dark thoughts…he is restless and feeling ignored.

Have you been there? What do you do when you face what the saints called the Dark Night of the Soul? David isn’t confessing sin…this isn’t a matter of sin and repentance…God’s fellowship has been withdrawn and David is suffering. But he doesn’t stay there.

We will pick up with the next stanza tomorrow, but are you in a Dark Night? God isn’t gone, but He might be leading you somewhere. The “right paths” of God, the “paths of righteousness” include the mountain and the valley of the shadow of death. Trust Him…the valley is the place of growth…don’t waste it…cling to God and praise Him through it and in it.

In Psalm 13 David wrote,

“How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day?

How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me.”

Have you ever felt alone? Have you ever felt abandoned? We often hide those feelings…especially if they are spiritual. I mean, we hide it if we think God has abandoned us. Spurgeon spoke of the Psalms and he said, when you dive into David’s psalms, you will somewhere or other see yourself. You never get into a corner, but you find David in that corner. He said, I’ve never been so low that David wasn’t lower, and I’ve never been so high that I couldn’t find David still higher. That’s what I love about David…we can see him at the top and we can see him at the bottom. Today’s psalm is one of those bottom times, but while it begins with winter it ends with summer!

Kidner said the three pairs of verses in this psalm climb up from the depths to a fine vantage point of confidence and hope. Each set of two verses takes us up from David’s sorrow to David’s song. Let’s walk through these six verses over the next few days.