1 00:00:00,960 --> 00:00:05,440 Hi, welcome back, Cindy. Let me know that I misspoke. 2 00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:08,280 The time for Dwayne being here on Wednesday night at 6:30. 3 00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:13,520 So 630, not 7630. So we'll see you at 6:30. 4 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:16,400 So everyone says 630 for me, 630. 5 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:21,400 All right, if you have your Bibles, please take them and 6 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:24,360 turn, turn to Luke, chapter 24. Luke is in the New Testament. 7 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:29,680 Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the first, first books of the 8 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:33,000 New Testament, which is probably about 80% through your Bible. 9 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:35,880 If you're looking, if you're new to the Bible, Luke chapter 24. 10 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:40,800 And while you're turning there, I love this right here. 11 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:42,840 In fact, Well, let me greet those who are watching online 12 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:44,520 for the podcast and then we'll jump into this. 13 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:47,720 If you're watching online this morning or in days to come, 14 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:51,200 we're super excited that you're with us and we invite you to 15 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:53,400 come be with us in person. We know that maybe you've 16 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:55,280 watched several times online now. 17 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:57,120 This is your invitation church, right? 18 00:00:57,120 --> 00:00:59,720 Can you say come and say Amen, Amen. 19 00:00:59,920 --> 00:01:01,240 So this is your invitation to come. 20 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:04,680 We have services at 9:00 and 10:30 and would love to have you 21 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:07,840 with us in person sometime soon while you're turning to Luke 22 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:10,040 chapter 24. This is kind of fun. 23 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:13,440 JJ put this together for us. This this is for this series 24 00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:16,920 that we're doing on the Psalms. And he so I knew he was working 25 00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:19,800 on some artwork for it, but he randomly texted me one day and 26 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:22,240 he said, Hey, what are like your favorite recordings of all time? 27 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:25,360 And I thought he was just asking me about my music, you know, 28 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:28,080 like, so. So I sent him some some that I 29 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:30,640 really enjoy. And so up there at the top right 30 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:32,000 corner. Anybody know who that is? 31 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:34,240 It's one of my favorite records of all time. 32 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:36,640 Anybody know who that is? Nobody. 33 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:39,720 OK, this is James Taylor. How many of you know who James 34 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:40,920 Taylor is? Right. 35 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:43,920 I love James Taylor, the guitar player, singer-songwriter. 36 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:46,880 Those of you who are young might not know who he is, but he's 37 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:50,360 like 75 or 6 now, but still packing out arenas, you know? 38 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:53,120 But so one of my favorite records all of all time is the 39 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:55,560 James Taylor live record from like 1994. 40 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:57,880 So that's he, he, I didn't know he's going to put it in the 41 00:01:57,880 --> 00:01:59,040 artwork, but it's kind of fun for me. 42 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:01,920 It's like an inside joke. And then down here in the bottom 43 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:07,360 right, anybody know who that is? Anybody that's Miles Davis. 44 00:02:07,720 --> 00:02:10,160 Miles Davis I've, you know, especially his earlier music 45 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:11,960 later on, he kind of got a little little bizarre. 46 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:15,640 But early on, like the blue record is bad. 47 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:20,800 If you know that record, it's like this 12 minute long jam 48 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:25,400 section with like John Coltrane and Bill Evans on piano. 49 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:27,560 It's really cool record. Anyways, instrumental jazz. 50 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:30,560 So that's stuck in there. And then I I would bet nobody 51 00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:31,920 knows who this guy in the middle is. 52 00:02:31,920 --> 00:02:35,440 Anybody know who that is? I, I, it's a very obscure folk 53 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:37,600 artist that I'm really into. His name is David Wilcox. 54 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:40,840 And this record was called Big Horizon from like 1992. 55 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:44,400 So I was in my young 20s My God. Anyways, my point is, it's kind 56 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:46,600 of fun that JJ fit these in there. 57 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:49,880 So if you're curious, that's who these guys are and that's my 58 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:51,280 taste in music. There you go. 59 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:54,880 All right, Luke, chapter 24. I'm going to read to you from 60 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:57,840 verse 44 and then we'll pray together. 61 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:01,920 This is God's word. We value it, we treasure it, we 62 00:03:01,920 --> 00:03:04,880 admire it. And I'm going to read to you the 63 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:07,240 words of Jesus. This is towards the end of his 64 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:10,800 earthly ministry. He's about to ascend into heaven 65 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:13,840 and say goodbye, if you will, to his disciples that he has been 66 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:15,920 with for three and some years. He's been crucified, 67 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:19,000 resurrected. He spent 40 days with them. 68 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:20,760 And then this is what he says to them. 69 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:23,720 And it's it's profound. Verse 44, He says, then he said 70 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:27,920 to them, these are my words that I spoke to you while I was still 71 00:03:27,920 --> 00:03:31,720 with you, that everything written about me in the law of 72 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:36,400 Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. 73 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:41,480 Jesus himself valued and spoke of Psalms, which is the where 74 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:45,880 we're studying these weeks. Jesus, not only did he mention 75 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:49,200 Psalms, but he quoted the Psalms over and over and over again. 76 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:53,120 And what I present to you is that if the Psalms were valuable 77 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:55,360 to Jesus, they should be valuable to us. 78 00:03:55,800 --> 00:03:59,040 There's so much for us to learn in the book of Psalms, 150 79 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:04,680 chapters, 150 songs in the Old Testament, about 40% in to your 80 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:07,240 Bible. The Psalms contain about 5% of 81 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:08,960 the entire Bible. They're valuable. 82 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:12,440 So we are spending several weeks in the Psalms, and I'm calling 83 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:15,680 it the OG playlist because I consider the Psalms the 84 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:20,320 original, the OG, the original playlist that God himself came 85 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:22,960 up with. Let me pray for us and then 86 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:29,680 we'll jump in. God, as we take these weeks to 87 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:33,560 study the Book of Psalms, these songs that are so valuable. 88 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:38,160 My prayer is that you will supernaturally increase within 89 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:44,360 us love for you, worship of you, commitment to you, and awareness 90 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:49,200 of what is true about you. Stir us, soften our hearts as we 91 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:52,680 meditate, as we're told to do, as we meditate on Scripture and 92 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:57,000 particularly these psalms. Grow us in your ways. 93 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:00,920 We pray in Jesus name. And everyone said, hey man, now 94 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:04,480 I am calling this study for the next few weeks the OG playlist 95 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:08,440 because again, it's the original playlist that God himself puts 96 00:05:08,440 --> 00:05:10,160 the put together. And last week, if you missed the 97 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:12,440 message from last week, I won't go into great detail, but a 98 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:15,280 couple of things I said if you missed it is that the Psalms are 99 00:05:15,280 --> 00:05:17,720 are written by several different authors. 100 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:20,320 Maybe you thought it was mostly David and David wrote a good bit 101 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:22,960 of them. I think it was around 70 a 60 or 102 00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:26,360 70 and then Asaph wrote several. But even Moses wrote some of the 103 00:05:26,360 --> 00:05:28,840 psalms and he lived hundreds of years before David. 104 00:05:28,840 --> 00:05:33,800 So the Psalms are songs from a 1500 year period of the Old 105 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:36,920 Testament, the era from Moses all the way past David and 106 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:41,000 Solomon, past the era of like Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego and 107 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:43,920 Daniel and the lion's Den and Esther if you know her story. 108 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:47,920 Some of the songs are even written after that post exile 109 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:52,280 period of time. So 1500 years of Psalms are 110 00:05:52,280 --> 00:05:57,440 compiled, we believe by the Holy Spirit into this book of Psalms 111 00:05:57,440 --> 00:06:01,880 and for us it is a gift. Jesus leaned into them and we 112 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:05,440 lean into them too. And last week I mentioned that, 113 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:08,800 you know, some of us when in the 80s, if you're my age, you'll 114 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:11,240 remember that back then, we would record songs from the 115 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:14,440 radio and remember you'd have a cassette player and you'd be 116 00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:16,440 sitting there waiting for your song to come on. 117 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:18,840 And then you wanted to time it just right and push record. 118 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:20,800 How many of you remember that era, right? 119 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:22,320 Some of you were dragging with me, right? 120 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:25,240 And we were there, man, and we were leaning in waiting. 121 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:27,360 You'd call the radio station back then you'd say, hey, can 122 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:28,440 you play the song? Right? 123 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:30,080 You could request a song. You'd be sitting there trying to 124 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:32,400 record. And how wealthy did you feel 125 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:35,280 when you got a cassette tape, both sides, full of songs you 126 00:06:35,280 --> 00:06:36,680 loved? Right. 127 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:39,840 So even over here, I've got a box of mix tapes that I have 128 00:06:39,840 --> 00:06:41,080 from the 80s. I still have them. 129 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:43,640 I'm sentimental, man. They're still in my basement. 130 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:46,120 Tapes that I made in the 80s, sitting there with radio. 131 00:06:46,280 --> 00:06:49,960 So some of you can't appreciate how easy it is now that you just 132 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:53,640 go to Spotify and you have endless playlists, endless. 133 00:06:53,640 --> 00:06:55,560 And you could just, you know, search the artist that you'd 134 00:06:55,560 --> 00:06:59,560 like and go to YouTube or Spotify or Apple Music or Amazon 135 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:01,320 Music, wherever you go everywhere and you get easy 136 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:03,960 playlist. But we in our generation, back 137 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:07,520 in our day, it was harder to get your mixtape than your playlist. 138 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:10,240 So we're looking at the Psalms and we're saying, wow, it's it's 139 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:14,440 a playlist of songs that the writers of the Old Testament 140 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:17,800 songwriters that their songs end up in this collection inspired 141 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:21,240 by the Holy Spirit. Now, I'm encouraging you in the 142 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:23,960 next several weeks, we'll, we'll be in this series in the book of 143 00:07:23,960 --> 00:07:27,880 Psalms up till Thanksgiving, OK. And each week I'll come from a 144 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:30,840 different angle and bring a different group of Psalms to 145 00:07:31,120 --> 00:07:33,520 teach about. And my hope is that you'll lean 146 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:36,400 in and that when we're done with the series, your knowledge and 147 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:39,440 understanding and appreciation of the Psalms will be much more 148 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:42,680 than it is now, even if right now you have a great discipline 149 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:45,120 of reading the Psalms. But I hope that will grow all of 150 00:07:45,120 --> 00:07:48,680 us. Now I'm recommending this book 151 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:52,840 right here is only like 7 or $8. And this is the this is the ESV 152 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:55,120 by Crossway. And this is bigger than a lot of 153 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:57,120 your Bibles. But this is only the book of 154 00:07:57,120 --> 00:08:01,200 Psalms and so 150 of them. But what's unique about this is 155 00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:04,560 that the paper is really thick. And on my desk, I actually have 156 00:08:04,560 --> 00:08:07,360 the entire Bible like this. OK, so each book of the Bible 157 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:09,360 all the way through and it's a collection about this big. 158 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:11,840 And maybe you didn't know that the Bible is a library. 159 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:13,840 It's not just one book. It's 66 books. 160 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:15,680 And if you try to approach it, it's one book. 161 00:08:15,880 --> 00:08:18,280 It's overwhelming. But if you go, oh wow, it's 162 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:20,800 really 66 books and you can digest it book by book. 163 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:25,240 So this is Psalms and you can order this for like 8 bucks at 164 00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:28,400 Amazon or christianbook.com. But what I love about it, and I 165 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:29,920 have one that's really beat up. This is a new one. 166 00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:32,960 But when I have this quite marked up and tethered and I 167 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:35,360 have it in the leather sleeve, but over here it's just blank 168 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:38,120 page and then over here it's much bigger font. 169 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:42,080 So those of you with older eyes, it's easier to see and it's just 170 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:44,400 a way to get through the Psalms and you can journal and 171 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:48,080 highlight and scribble. It's a good way of of gathering 172 00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:51,160 truth from the Psalm. So I recommend you pick one of 173 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:52,600 these up. And some people wrote me this 174 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:55,280 last week then about it and I sent links to you. 175 00:08:55,280 --> 00:08:57,560 So if you're curious and you can't find it, write me and I 176 00:08:57,560 --> 00:08:59,960 will send you a link to it. But this is a great tool to 177 00:08:59,960 --> 00:09:02,640 utilize in growing in the Psalms. 178 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:04,800 OK, then also, they're like reader sets. 179 00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:08,760 I have a six volume set of the Bible in my book self. 180 00:09:08,760 --> 00:09:11,240 I've got one at home and 1 here and it's the Bible in six 181 00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:13,280 volume. Again, it's the Bible's a 182 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:17,280 library, so it's a so even if you get that, then the the pages 183 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:19,280 are thicker and the font is bigger. 184 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:21,800 It's an easier way to read the Bible in my opinion. 185 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:27,040 OK, so encourage you in that. Now this morning what I want to 186 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:30,960 do is I want to talk to you about the songs in the Psalms 187 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:33,360 that I consider to be like the essential, right? 188 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:37,120 The essential ones, one of the most famous songs and if you're, 189 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:39,400 if you do Apple Music, maybe I do Apple Music. 190 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:42,080 So in Apple Music you'll find that they're artists and they 191 00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:44,720 have their essential songs and it's like their greatest hits 192 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:46,880 and they might have a greatest hits record, but maybe they have 193 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:49,920 3 or 4 greatest hits records. So then you get the essentials 194 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:53,120 and these are the most famous or popular of an artist song. 195 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:56,600 So in the Psalms, there are some that are more popular and more 196 00:09:56,600 --> 00:09:59,600 well known and I want to navigate through them this 197 00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:00,800 morning. Some of them you're going to 198 00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:04,200 know and recognize, but I want to give you context and then I, 199 00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:07,920 I want to break them down to give you more insight into these 200 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:10,840 Psalms that are the ones that have kind of risen to be the 201 00:10:10,840 --> 00:10:14,880 most famous and popular ones. Now I'm going to start in Psalm 202 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:18,200 chapter 1 and I want to read you the entire Psalm and then I'll 203 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:19,680 back up and I'll unpack it for you. 204 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:25,880 But the Psalm, chapter one, the first song or Psalm it is, it 205 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:28,960 sets the course for what the rest of the Psalms are going to 206 00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:31,960 look like. OK, and let me read it to you. 207 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:35,480 It's the first of Book 1, and the title of the song that's 208 00:10:35,480 --> 00:10:37,840 been given by the ESV translators is The Way of the 209 00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:40,880 Righteous and the Wicked. So it's going to contrast two 210 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:45,160 different types of life, the righteous and the wicked, and 211 00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:50,480 watch what the psalmist says. Blessed is the man who walks not 212 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:53,600 in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of 213 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:58,520 sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in 214 00:10:58,520 --> 00:11:03,640 the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 215 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:08,560 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its 216 00:11:08,560 --> 00:11:13,840 fruit in its season, and it's leaf does not wither, and all 217 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:17,800 that he does he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are 218 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:20,760 like chaff that the wind drives away. 219 00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:25,560 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor 220 00:11:25,560 --> 00:11:28,280 sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 221 00:11:28,680 --> 00:11:32,600 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of 222 00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:37,240 the wicked will perish. Now, that's only 6 verses. 223 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:40,720 It's quite brief. And so because of that, the 224 00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:44,880 Psalms are often easy to memorize, or at least to grab a 225 00:11:44,880 --> 00:11:48,400 couple truths from them and go, OK, Psalm 1 is about this. 226 00:11:48,400 --> 00:11:50,880 And maybe you could paraphrase it, but that is a very popular, 227 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:53,400 well known Psalm. Some of you have read it and you 228 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:55,120 understand it. I'm going to break it down for 229 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:56,800 you so you'll understand it even better. 230 00:11:57,160 --> 00:11:59,640 But the psalmist here is starting this collection of 231 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:02,200 Psalms right out of the gate. You know, the first song in a 232 00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:04,120 collection of songs is really important, isn't it? 233 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:06,040 That first song kind of sets the course. 234 00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:09,720 So here the collectors of these songs, they're starting with 235 00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:14,560 this idea, blessed is the man and by blessed the psalmist 236 00:12:14,560 --> 00:12:19,720 means like happy. Like happy is the person that is 237 00:12:19,720 --> 00:12:22,680 righteous and follows the commands of God and meditates on 238 00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:25,800 on God's word and God's laws, right. 239 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:29,520 Happy, blessed is the man. One translation even says it 240 00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:33,360 this way, like well spoken of is the man who lives righteously 241 00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:35,600 the man or the woman in this occasion? 242 00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:38,720 So right out of the gate of Psalms, the first truth is 243 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:42,160 blessed, happy is the one who follows the commands of the 244 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:44,440 Lord. Now the psalmist here then is 245 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:47,000 going to give a progression, and I'm calling this in your notes, 246 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:49,800 I'm calling it the progression to wickedness, OK, The 247 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:52,240 progression, the wickedness is, is charted out here. 248 00:12:52,560 --> 00:12:55,840 And if, if a person, even if they're righteous, they want to 249 00:12:55,840 --> 00:12:59,280 end up in a very wicked state, then the psalmist says this is 250 00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:01,720 how you do it. They say they don't walk. 251 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:04,560 OK, Blessed is the man and he's given the the Contra side of 252 00:13:04,560 --> 00:13:06,720 this, the opposite side who walks not in the counsel of the 253 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:08,080 wicked. So the first thing you don't 254 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:10,880 want to do is walk in the counsel of the wicked. 255 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:12,920 Now that doesn't mean that we never interact with wicked 256 00:13:12,920 --> 00:13:15,600 people, but but the psalmist is getting at this idea that's like 257 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:19,320 you intentionally go to walk and hang out and be with the wicked. 258 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:22,240 So you don't want to walk in the count, the council, the wisdom. 259 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:24,160 Lean into the wisdom of the council of the wicked. 260 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:26,680 You don't want it. And then the next thing is also 261 00:13:26,680 --> 00:13:29,200 the righteous. They don't stand in the way of 262 00:13:29,200 --> 00:13:31,760 the sinners. So there's a progression here. 263 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:34,680 The progression is you walk in the counsel of the wicked. 264 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:37,200 Oh, and then the next step that's even worse is now, oh, 265 00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:39,520 what about when you're standing in the way of the sinners? 266 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:41,240 So you're walking now you're standing. 267 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:44,400 And eventually, if you're not careful, what the righteous can 268 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:46,440 do is end up in the place of the wicked. 269 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:48,080 Because what happens when they sit? 270 00:13:48,640 --> 00:13:50,440 They sit in the seat of the scoffers. 271 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:54,280 So there's a progression here. Walk, stand, sit. 272 00:13:55,280 --> 00:13:59,520 And those who walk, stand and sit with the wicked, with the 273 00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:03,680 scoffers, with the sinners, well, they'll end up in a place 274 00:14:03,680 --> 00:14:06,600 of depravity. Depravity is a big word. 275 00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:09,920 I won't go into the weeds deep in this, but there's some 276 00:14:09,920 --> 00:14:13,600 Christian traditions that promote the idea that man is 277 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:17,000 depraved, right? And then others in fact, will 278 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:18,840 promote the idea. Oh, when you come to Jesus, the 279 00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:20,880 Bible says that your new creation, you're made new in 280 00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:22,720 Christ. Behold, old things have passed 281 00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:24,440 away. Behold, all things are new. 282 00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:27,560 And that is true. But the older I get, the more I 283 00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:31,080 see and believe that man is depraved. 284 00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:34,240 I now have grown to believe in the depravity of man even the 285 00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:34,640 more. Why? 286 00:14:34,640 --> 00:14:36,640 Because I'm even the more in touch with my own depravity, for 287 00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:40,120 one. So this idea that man is just 288 00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:42,000 naturally good, it's not, it's not true. 289 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:44,840 Man is naturally depraved. And, and any of us, if we're not 290 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:48,320 careful, if we walk and if we stand, and if we sit in the way 291 00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:50,760 of the scoffer and in the way of the wicked, then what can happen 292 00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:54,440 with even us, with me? If I'm not aware that I don't 293 00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:58,320 want to walk, stand, sit, and this progression, then it will 294 00:14:58,320 --> 00:15:02,400 keep me out of depravity. And the best way to illustrate 295 00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:05,080 this, the term Nazis, it's getting thrown around a lot 296 00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:08,160 lately by both sides, right. So Nazi, this person is a Nazi, 297 00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:10,600 but this person is a Nazi. But really they're the Nazis 298 00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:13,360 were real in Germany in the 1930s and the 40s. 299 00:15:13,880 --> 00:15:16,760 And I've been to the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. 300 00:15:16,760 --> 00:15:20,080 So I was in Israel 14 years ago. I went to the Holocaust Museum 301 00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:21,880 there. And when you first walk into 302 00:15:21,880 --> 00:15:24,480 that museum and you're touring it, one of the first things that 303 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:28,560 you see is that the the museum has set it up where they look at 304 00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:32,360 the start of the Holocaust, Holocaust as like the Crusades, 305 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:36,080 the Crusades in the ancient world, the Christian Crusades. 306 00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:38,800 They think that that laid the foundation for what became the 307 00:15:38,800 --> 00:15:40,840 Holocaust. And then they connect the 308 00:15:40,840 --> 00:15:43,560 Holocaust like Martin Luther, who was the great reformer in 309 00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:48,360 Christianity. And so they see that they, they 310 00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:51,040 think it has Christian roots. Those who created the Holocaust 311 00:15:51,040 --> 00:15:53,360 Museum in Jerusalem. Now it sounded kind of offensive 312 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:56,600 to me. However, I'm aware that those in 313 00:15:56,600 --> 00:15:59,880 Germany who became the Nazis, many of them before they were 314 00:15:59,880 --> 00:16:02,040 Nazis, they professed to being Christians. 315 00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:05,520 They said they were Christians, and yet they ended up in this 316 00:16:05,520 --> 00:16:07,040 terribly depraved state. Why? 317 00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:12,280 Because they walked, they stood, and they sat in the way of the 318 00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:15,360 wicked. And if we're not aware that, 319 00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:18,520 yes, you and I can even get sucked into the most depraved, 320 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:23,280 hateful, bitter places, If we're not aware that the righteous do 321 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:27,040 not walk, stand and sit in the ways of the scoffer and in the 322 00:16:27,040 --> 00:16:29,400 ways and in the counsel of the wicked. 323 00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:33,360 And knowing that any of us at any time, if we're not aware of 324 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:35,840 that, any of us at any time can get sucked into very horrible, 325 00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:39,280 depraved sinful behaviors, we don't want to do that. 326 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:41,520 So the psalmist is pointing this out, Watch this. 327 00:16:41,520 --> 00:16:43,800 But then he contrasts and says, OK, you don't want to walk, 328 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:46,080 stand, sit. What is the, what do we want to 329 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:49,120 do? Well, we want to delight in the 330 00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:51,880 law of the Lord, and this is what the psalmist is saying. 331 00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:56,480 But the righteous man, the, the, the blessed man, he's in woman. 332 00:16:56,480 --> 00:16:57,880 His delight is in the law of the Lord. 333 00:16:57,880 --> 00:16:59,720 And on his law he meditates day and night. 334 00:16:59,920 --> 00:17:01,760 And that is the point of the Psalms. 335 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:05,440 The the Psalms are there for us to meditate on and to read and 336 00:17:05,440 --> 00:17:08,599 to pray and to reflect. It's really a devotional book 337 00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:11,720 for followers of God in the Old Testament. 338 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:14,520 You have a lot of history, you have a lot of laws you can read 339 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:15,800 through like Numbers, Deuteronomy. 340 00:17:16,079 --> 00:17:18,359 Those books have a lot of the laws of God and it's worth 341 00:17:18,359 --> 00:17:21,240 certainly reading those. But the Psalms, in my opinion, 342 00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:24,480 are worth revisiting more often. They're short, they're 343 00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:26,119 digestible, you can memorize them. 344 00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:31,080 So they're valuable to use for meditation and prayer and 345 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:33,240 devotion. And my hope is in the next 346 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:37,320 several weeks that I that I increase within you a love and 347 00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:39,880 admiration and an appreciation for the Psalms. 348 00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:43,080 So the psalmist saying the right to span the blessed man, they 349 00:17:43,080 --> 00:17:46,680 delight in the law of the Lord and on the law of they meditate 350 00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:50,960 day and night. And in this we just believe that 351 00:17:50,960 --> 00:17:54,280 we are called and made to delight in Jesus, to delight in 352 00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:57,160 Christ. The Westminster Larger Catechism 353 00:17:57,160 --> 00:17:59,680 was written by Christians in the 1600s, right? 354 00:17:59,960 --> 00:18:02,200 And maybe you know this if you came from a a tradition of 355 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:05,560 Christianity that would often say these creeds, they said that 356 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:10,440 man's chief and highest end is to glorify God and to fully 357 00:18:10,440 --> 00:18:14,680 enjoy him forever. We are called to enjoy our 358 00:18:14,680 --> 00:18:18,440 relationship with Christ, to delight in it, to find great joy 359 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:20,080 this morning about the joy of the Lord. 360 00:18:20,360 --> 00:18:23,040 It comes from relationship with Jesus. 361 00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:26,280 And the psalmist here is promoting this idea of not 362 00:18:26,280 --> 00:18:29,120 walking, standing or sitting in the counsel of the wicked, but 363 00:18:29,120 --> 00:18:32,880 instead delighting in the law of the Lord and meditating on a day 364 00:18:33,560 --> 00:18:36,560 and night, finding delight in Jesus. 365 00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:40,120 Then the psalmist continues with these profound ideas, and he's 366 00:18:40,120 --> 00:18:42,600 talking about this blessed man who's living righteously before 367 00:18:42,600 --> 00:18:46,720 God, and he says he is like a tree planted by streams of 368 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:49,320 water. The Psalms throughout are going 369 00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:55,200 to use imagery and metaphors and illustrations to point out what 370 00:18:55,680 --> 00:18:57,600 what these truths that they're trying to get across, Right. 371 00:18:57,760 --> 00:18:59,400 So what is the righteous, blessed man like? 372 00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:03,040 He's like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its 373 00:19:03,040 --> 00:19:05,960 fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither. 374 00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:09,200 And all he does, he prospers. Now watch this picture. 375 00:19:09,760 --> 00:19:13,080 In Michigan, we take for granted these big trees that we have 376 00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:15,400 them got lakes and streams and rivers everywhere. 377 00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:18,440 But in the ancient Middle East where they were writing the 378 00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:20,720 song, they didn't have lots and lots of streams. 379 00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:23,440 It was like a desert. So when they they talked about a 380 00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:26,000 tree being planted by a stream of river, well, that's 381 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:28,720 purposeful. Somebody purposeful planted a 382 00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:31,840 tree by this river, knowing that if it's by a river, then it can 383 00:19:31,840 --> 00:19:34,560 grow great fruit. And the psalmist is saying that 384 00:19:34,560 --> 00:19:38,440 is what the blessed person is like who follows the Lord like a 385 00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:41,400 tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its 386 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:43,920 season. Now he's going to contrast. 387 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:46,840 There'll be a turn in the Psalm, but before that he he also 388 00:19:46,840 --> 00:19:50,240 mentions prosperity. Like the man, the blessed man, 389 00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:53,520 the righteous man that follows God, this person is going to 390 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:55,960 prosper. Let me just say that prosperity 391 00:19:56,200 --> 00:19:59,800 has justifiably gotten a bad rap, because maybe you've heard 392 00:19:59,800 --> 00:20:03,040 of like, prosperity preachers. The prosperity gospel, right? 393 00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:05,920 And there's some preacher somewhere with a $300 million 394 00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:08,560 plane living in a $5 billion house where I'm, I'm 395 00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:10,840 exaggerating, but there are those types of preachers out 396 00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:12,960 there that promoting the idea that of prosperity. 397 00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:15,800 And they promote the idea that if you follow God, then you're 398 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:19,560 going to be wealthy and you're going to be rich and your 399 00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:23,240 families are not going to be, you won't have sickness or these 400 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:25,120 or other things, right? So they promote this idea and 401 00:20:25,120 --> 00:20:27,800 it's false, right? When we follow God, it doesn't 402 00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:29,840 just give us now we have a perfect life. 403 00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:31,160 No, we will still have struggles. 404 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:34,160 We'll still navigate through the challenges of life, but we'll do 405 00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:37,240 it with the peace that comes from God that goes beyond 406 00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:39,160 understanding and joy unspeakable. 407 00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:42,040 It's full of glory. So the psalmist is saying this 408 00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:44,760 occasion that this righteous man follows the principles and 409 00:20:44,760 --> 00:20:47,320 meditates on God's word that they are going to prosper. 410 00:20:47,320 --> 00:20:50,560 And we believe in this prospering, but it's how you 411 00:20:50,560 --> 00:20:53,920 define prospering. Again, we can have struggles, we 412 00:20:53,920 --> 00:20:56,800 can have suffering, but we can still have the joy and the peace 413 00:20:56,800 --> 00:20:59,600 that comes from Lord and that is prospering. 414 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:05,160 So we have this imagery of a tree planted by the water, but 415 00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:07,480 what's the opposite of that? What are the How are the wicked 416 00:21:07,480 --> 00:21:09,880 painted? The psalmist goes on in verse 4 417 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:13,680 and says the wicked are not so, but they're like chaff that the 418 00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:16,280 wind drives away. So what is chaff? 419 00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:19,640 Well, chaff is that unusable part wheat, right? 420 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:22,560 It's like the shell that it, that covers the wheat and it's 421 00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:24,560 worthless. It's of no value. 422 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:27,600 It's the husk that surrounds the wheat grain and it's separated 423 00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:30,360 from the usable parts of the wheat and it's again of no 424 00:21:30,360 --> 00:21:31,880 value. So the psalmist now is 425 00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:35,240 contrasting, OK, the, the, the blessed man who follows the 426 00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:38,000 principles of God, it's like a tree planted by the water. 427 00:21:38,040 --> 00:21:42,760 But the wicked man, they're like chaff, worthless, of no value 428 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:45,680 whatsoever. And so then the psalmist is 429 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:48,720 therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor 430 00:21:48,720 --> 00:21:50,160 sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 431 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:53,080 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of 432 00:21:53,080 --> 00:21:55,920 the wicked will perish. So right out of the gate, the 433 00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:59,600 psalmist is promoting the idea of godliness, following after 434 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:03,240 God, meditating on his ways. He's painting the godly person 435 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:06,040 like a tree planted by water. He's planted the wicked like a 436 00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:09,920 chaff of no value, even though they may seem powerful and of 437 00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:12,600 great influence. And God's eyes, they're like the 438 00:22:12,600 --> 00:22:14,640 chaff of wheat that is worthless. 439 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:18,080 So the big idea is that the blessed life is rooted in God's 440 00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:21,520 Word, producing stability and fruitfulness, while the wicked 441 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:25,480 life detached from God, leads to instability and destruction. 442 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:28,840 So this Psalm sets the stage for the rest of the psalms to come. 443 00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:31,040 There are 149 more to come. And they're going to have 444 00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:33,360 metaphors and they're going to have truth and poetry and 445 00:22:33,360 --> 00:22:37,000 alliteration and they're made for memorizing and valuing. 446 00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:41,600 So that's one Psalm, first Psalm in the book of Psalms. 447 00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:43,880 Now the most famous of all the Psalms, I'm going to call that 448 00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:45,960 the biggest number one on the playlist. 449 00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:48,840 You probably know this Psalm, even those who are not 450 00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:51,440 Christians and don't know the Bible very well, often they know 451 00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:54,600 this Psalm because it's so renowned and it is the 23rd 452 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:58,880 Psalm. And it's, it's more than just a 453 00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:01,680 Psalm we should read at funerals and memorial services. 454 00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:03,880 There's so much truth in it. But often you've probably heard 455 00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:08,080 it read at a funeral because it mentions death, the shadow of 456 00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:09,360 death, the valley of the shadow of death. 457 00:23:10,280 --> 00:23:13,800 But David, when he writes a song, it's so profound and I'm 458 00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:16,960 going to just unpack it for you, what he is promoting. 459 00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:20,200 But just notice that ain't so. David at one point is a shepherd 460 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:22,880 boy when he's young, and then he's a king when he's old. 461 00:23:23,120 --> 00:23:25,800 And kings in the ancient world, often they would refer to 462 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:28,080 themselves as the shepherd of their people. 463 00:23:28,480 --> 00:23:30,160 Then the people were their sheep, right? 464 00:23:30,320 --> 00:23:33,080 David comes along and says, the Lord is my shepherd. 465 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:36,960 He's not promoting himself as a shepherd, He's promoting God as 466 00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:37,840 a shepherd. So watch this. 467 00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:41,320 It's so beautiful and profound. Psalm 23 verses one through 6. 468 00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:43,200 This one especially is worth memorizing. 469 00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:48,000 He says the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 470 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:50,720 In other words, he's saying I'm content. 471 00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:52,680 The Lord is my shepherd. I have no wants. 472 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:54,760 I have everything I need. God has provided. 473 00:23:54,760 --> 00:23:57,520 I've learned to be content. The secret to contentment. 474 00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:00,520 I've learned to be content in how God leads and how God 475 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:03,560 directs. David is remembering when he's 476 00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:05,680 talking about the Lord is my shepherd. 477 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:10,520 He also is is reaching back to this metaphor in this picture of 478 00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:13,280 what his first job was. And being a shepherd was not a 479 00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:16,480 very prestigious job. It was the job of like a kid in 480 00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:19,480 this occasion, right? So David, he in the House of 481 00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:22,480 Jesse, that was his dad. He got stuck watching being the 482 00:24:22,480 --> 00:24:24,200 shepherd for the sheep. So watch this. 483 00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:26,360 It's his first job. How many of you remember your 484 00:24:26,360 --> 00:24:29,480 first job, right? Your first job is a big one, 485 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:31,040 right? I love my first job. 486 00:24:31,040 --> 00:24:33,000 Jessica's back there. She had her first job for like 487 00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:37,400 15 years, right? Was that your 18 years, 18 488 00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:40,680 years, 18 years? So she just transitioned jobs. 489 00:24:40,800 --> 00:24:42,480 But she had the same job for 18 years. 490 00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:44,480 We're so proud of right? She taught swimming all those 491 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:46,120 years. Her first job she had for a long 492 00:24:46,120 --> 00:24:48,240 time, right? My first job was short lived. 493 00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:52,200 My first job I worked at a grocery store and I wore a white 494 00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:54,800 shirt and a black bow tie and a red apron. 495 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:57,320 And in the South, working at this grocery store, I was called 496 00:24:57,320 --> 00:24:59,280 a soccer. We don't call you a soccer here, 497 00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:00,760 right? You are a, a bagger. 498 00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:03,160 You're a bagger, right? But in the South, I was a 499 00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:04,920 sagger. So I would sack up the 500 00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:06,560 groceries. To this day, man, when I go to 501 00:25:06,560 --> 00:25:09,960 like ALDI or Meyer or whatever, I'm still a really good sacker, 502 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:11,440 man. I got skills when it comes to 503 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:13,880 sacking. Okay, so if you can imagine this 504 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:17,480 grocery store that I worked at, part of their, you know, their 505 00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:19,760 spiel was that they wanted you to carry the groceries out. 506 00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:23,160 So I'm like 15 1/2 and I've got my bow tie, my white shirt on. 507 00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:25,720 And they wanted to, I would pull the buggy and watch this. 508 00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:28,120 They wanted you to make conversation with the people you 509 00:25:28,120 --> 00:25:29,160 were carrying their groceries out. 510 00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:30,960 How hard do you think that was? For me? 511 00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:34,920 Not hard at all, man. It was the best job ever. 512 00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:37,880 Somebody to talk to, tell stories, to listen to my 513 00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:39,240 stories. And I'll be carrying out the 514 00:25:39,240 --> 00:25:42,360 groceries, telling stories and asking people about themselves. 515 00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:44,080 It was a great job for me, right? 516 00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:46,200 So that was my first job. What was your first job? 517 00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:49,360 Just remember, reach back to it. Now The thing is that David, 518 00:25:49,360 --> 00:25:55,800 when he's saying the Lord is my shepherd, he's reaching back to 519 00:25:55,800 --> 00:25:59,880 his first job. It wasn't a prestigious job. 520 00:26:00,680 --> 00:26:05,480 It was kind of a low level job. So on the one hand was like the 521 00:26:05,480 --> 00:26:07,920 Lord is my shepherd. You might think about, oh, it's 522 00:26:07,920 --> 00:26:12,480 a glorious thing. Well, maybe not so much now. 523 00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:13,680 Jesus, I'll read you in a minute. 524 00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:15,160 He's going to say he's a Good Shepherd. 525 00:26:15,360 --> 00:26:18,000 But watch this David. It's like, wow, God is 526 00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:19,840 remembered. Jesus comes washing the feet of 527 00:26:19,840 --> 00:26:21,640 the disciples. Jesus comes serving. 528 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:24,240 Jesus comes in, turns everything on its ear, right. 529 00:26:24,360 --> 00:26:27,400 He's not going to come in as a military ruler and kick out the 530 00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:28,840 rope. It's no, he's going to come 531 00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:32,920 humble as a servant, as a shepherd. 532 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:36,560 And this is how David introduces him. 533 00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:39,560 The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. 534 00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:45,680 And then he says he makes me lie down in green pastures. 535 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:49,160 Now, here in Michigan, we take for granted green pastures. 536 00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:52,400 We were driving the sweet Jason and I went over and watched the 537 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:56,080 sunset over like near Glen Arbor on what? 538 00:26:56,080 --> 00:27:00,200 Thursday night, Wednesday night, Wednesday night and got there 539 00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:03,640 just in time was so beautiful. And you saw just green pastures 540 00:27:03,640 --> 00:27:04,960 everywhere. We take those for granted. 541 00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:07,520 But in the ancient Middle East where David would have been 542 00:27:07,520 --> 00:27:10,480 writing his song, it was desert like. 543 00:27:11,360 --> 00:27:14,520 And he's saying God leads me to lie down in green pastures. 544 00:27:14,520 --> 00:27:16,880 Well, green pastures weren't as prevalent as what we see. 545 00:27:17,120 --> 00:27:19,440 So you've got this picture of God creates these beautiful 546 00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:24,400 places for us to rest. And then David says he leads me 547 00:27:24,400 --> 00:27:29,240 besides still waters. It's a beautiful picture of the 548 00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:31,240 way that God leads us and directs us. 549 00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:36,360 Verse three, He says he restores my soul and He leads me in paths 550 00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:38,960 of righteousness for His name sake. 551 00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:42,400 Remember in chapter 1 it's promoting the idea of those who 552 00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:44,640 are righteous and those who are godly, those who are blessed. 553 00:27:44,920 --> 00:27:47,360 And David now is restating that theme. 554 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:49,240 He restores my soul and He leads me. 555 00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:51,760 God can lead us in the path of righteousness. 556 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:55,400 We can walk godly following the principles of God when we 557 00:27:55,400 --> 00:28:00,600 meditate and focus and lean into the laws and commands and 558 00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:03,360 principles of God. And watch the psalmist. 559 00:28:03,360 --> 00:28:06,480 David is saying that God values his name, his reputation. 560 00:28:06,680 --> 00:28:09,520 And the name that David would have said of God in the Hebrew 561 00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:12,200 word would have been Yahweh. And maybe you've heard that even 562 00:28:12,200 --> 00:28:13,960 in Psalms recently. If you hear a worse of song and 563 00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:17,360 it mentions Yahweh, well, it's the Old Testament name for God. 564 00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:19,840 It's the name that David is referring to him as. 565 00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:25,360 The Yahweh is my shepherd and David says in verse 4, even 566 00:28:25,360 --> 00:28:28,360 though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will 567 00:28:28,360 --> 00:28:32,320 fear no evil and watch. In this occasion, David is not 568 00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:35,800 saying even though I walk through death, He's saying even 569 00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:38,400 though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death because 570 00:28:38,400 --> 00:28:42,280 death can cast a shadow. And if you've known someone 571 00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:45,920 who's past, then it's like death hasn't necessarily stricken you, 572 00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:49,720 but the shadow of it can be cast on to you. 573 00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:53,480 David's like, hey, even the valley, the shadow that is cast 574 00:28:53,800 --> 00:28:55,680 from death. I'm not going to fear evil. 575 00:28:56,640 --> 00:29:00,600 God is going to sustain me because he's my shepherd. 576 00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:04,080 And then he's continues. He says, for you are with me. 577 00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:06,960 Your rod and your staff. They comfort me. 578 00:29:06,960 --> 00:29:09,880 The curious thing is that the rod and the staff that the 579 00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:13,520 shepherd would have had, you know, if you look at a like a 580 00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:16,120 rod, a shepherd's rod, he'll have like a hook at the end of 581 00:29:16,120 --> 00:29:19,120 it, right, that he walks with. But that hook is often to grab 582 00:29:19,120 --> 00:29:21,920 the neck of the sheep when they're getting out of line. 583 00:29:22,360 --> 00:29:25,080 So you grab the sheep and you pull them back when they're not 584 00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:27,240 where they're supposed to be. So David is painting this 585 00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:27,720 picture. Yeah. 586 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:30,920 The rod, the discipline of God, the rod and the staff, they, 587 00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:33,400 they bring me comfort. God's discipline actually 588 00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:36,480 comforts me. And then he says, you prepare a 589 00:29:36,480 --> 00:29:38,600 table before me in the presence of my enemies. 590 00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:41,400 You anoint my head with oil and my cup overflows. 591 00:29:41,640 --> 00:29:44,840 And verse 5, David kind of transitions from from like the 592 00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:47,280 shepherd mentality. And now he's thinking like he's 593 00:29:47,280 --> 00:29:50,240 leaning into his new job, which is being king. 594 00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:53,920 And when he was king, he, he would have these big parties and 595 00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:56,960 big feasts and big part, you know, big festivals and like, 596 00:29:56,960 --> 00:29:59,560 and he's leaning into that now. He's painting God in that way. 597 00:29:59,840 --> 00:30:02,440 You prepare a table before me, like a big table in the presence 598 00:30:02,440 --> 00:30:04,720 of my enemies, and you anoint my head with oil. 599 00:30:04,720 --> 00:30:07,640 Oil would have been a healing ointment that would have gone on 600 00:30:07,640 --> 00:30:10,480 the head of the sheep that would have been wounded. 601 00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:14,480 Maybe they got in briars or prickers and the shepherd would 602 00:30:14,480 --> 00:30:18,400 put the oil to heal them. So he's presenting God as the 603 00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:22,120 ultimate host and he's leading into his new job as king. 604 00:30:22,760 --> 00:30:26,400 And then David verse 6, he winds down his simple little, so 605 00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:32,200 profound 6 verses and he says, surely goodness and mercy shall 606 00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:35,040 follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the 607 00:30:35,040 --> 00:30:39,200 House of the Lord forever. David ends with the proclamation 608 00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:43,960 of faith in who God is, in the goodness of God, the mercy of 609 00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:47,160 God. And David had seen ups and downs 610 00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:49,640 in his life. David had failed miserably on 611 00:30:49,640 --> 00:30:51,560 occasion. David had been depressed. 612 00:30:51,760 --> 00:30:54,400 David had been, you know, afraid at times. 613 00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:56,760 But he's looking now and he's saying, but the goodness and 614 00:30:56,760 --> 00:30:59,440 mercy of God follows me all the days of my life. 615 00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:02,280 This is where we get the song The Goodness of God, where it 616 00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:04,520 gets to the part was like, your goodness is running after, it's 617 00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:07,960 running after me. The modern writers are leaning 618 00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:10,320 into this truth. Surely the goodness and mercy of 619 00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:14,400 the Lord shall follow me. And God is moved by faith and 620 00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:16,040 David ends with a great statement of faith. 621 00:31:16,240 --> 00:31:19,080 So this Psalm, my encouragement to you is this is a great one to 622 00:31:19,080 --> 00:31:20,880 memorize. Read this to your children. 623 00:31:21,120 --> 00:31:23,240 Put it on a post it note on your mirror. 624 00:31:23,480 --> 00:31:25,880 Put it on your dashboard of your car or whatever. 625 00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:28,640 Just put it in places where you can meditate on it. 626 00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:31,440 Lean into it. And what I'm telling you is that 627 00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:35,160 meditating on these passages, really all scripture and the 628 00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:37,840 Psalms, when you meditate on them, you read them over and 629 00:31:37,840 --> 00:31:39,840 over and over again. Get an audio version of it, put 630 00:31:39,840 --> 00:31:42,280 it on repeat and just let it sink into you. 631 00:31:42,280 --> 00:31:45,520 The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want this is 1 632 00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:52,120 especially to know and love. Now Jesus calls himself in the 633 00:31:52,120 --> 00:31:56,720 New Testament the Good Shepherd, and Jesus is leaning in to 634 00:31:56,720 --> 00:31:59,480 David's Psalm. Watch what Jesus says of himself 635 00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:02,640 in verse 11 of chapter 10. He says I am the Good Shepherd. 636 00:32:02,840 --> 00:32:08,840 The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep he knew of 637 00:32:08,840 --> 00:32:11,920 this 23rd Psalm and Jesus is utilizing the imagery of it. 638 00:32:11,920 --> 00:32:15,640 Verse 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd who does not 639 00:32:15,640 --> 00:32:18,760 own the sheep, he sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and 640 00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:22,000 flees and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 641 00:32:22,160 --> 00:32:26,640 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the 642 00:32:26,640 --> 00:32:29,680 sheep. But Jesus says I am the Good 643 00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:33,360 Shepherd. I know my own and my own know 644 00:32:33,360 --> 00:32:37,720 me, just as the Father knows me. I know the Father and I lay down 645 00:32:37,720 --> 00:32:40,600 my life for the sheep, and I have other sheep that are not of 646 00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:42,240 this fold. In this occasion, Jesus is 647 00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:44,560 talking about those who are not Jewish. 648 00:32:44,560 --> 00:32:47,560 So he's talking to predominantly Jewish people and he's talking 649 00:32:47,560 --> 00:32:49,280 now about the Gentiles. Just like there are some in 650 00:32:49,280 --> 00:32:51,080 another fold. That's you and me. 651 00:32:51,880 --> 00:32:53,640 He's saying I'm going to go after them too. 652 00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:56,600 I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. 653 00:32:56,600 --> 00:33:00,720 So there will be 1 flock and 1 shepherd. 654 00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:06,440 Jesus is leaning into David's metaphor of the Good Shepherd. 655 00:33:07,600 --> 00:33:10,720 And then Jesus says in verse 17, for this reason the Father loves 656 00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:13,800 me because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 657 00:33:14,160 --> 00:33:17,040 Jesus comes as a Good Shepherd, but it's a lowly place. 658 00:33:17,040 --> 00:33:19,080 He's going to give his life. He's going to be a servant and 659 00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:23,360 give his life for our salvation. Now, oftentimes we think of 660 00:33:23,360 --> 00:33:25,680 sheep as being dumb. Have you heard anybody promote 661 00:33:25,680 --> 00:33:29,480 that idea before, sheep or dumb? Well, I guess they kind of are. 662 00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:34,080 But I, I like to look at us being the sheep of God as more 663 00:33:34,160 --> 00:33:38,160 dependent. We are dependent that we, we 664 00:33:38,160 --> 00:33:41,600 need Jesus in our lives. We're, we're not just hungry for 665 00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:45,400 him, We're, we're desperate. We are in need of his salvation 666 00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:48,880 and his presence in our lives. So watch admitting that and 667 00:33:48,880 --> 00:33:51,560 saying, OK, I've Jesus is the Good Shepherd, He's the great 668 00:33:51,560 --> 00:33:54,560 shepherd, I follow him and I am dependent on him. 669 00:33:54,560 --> 00:33:56,800 Watch it's worded this way in John 15. 670 00:33:57,360 --> 00:34:02,360 Jesus has abide in me and I in you as the branch cannot bear 671 00:34:02,360 --> 00:34:05,920 fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you 672 00:34:05,960 --> 00:34:08,760 unless you abide in me. You want to bear fruit, you have 673 00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:11,040 to abide in me. And then the Psalms, when we 674 00:34:11,040 --> 00:34:13,120 read the Psalms over and over and over again, that's the way 675 00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:17,480 of abiding, meditating, focusing on who God is. 676 00:34:17,960 --> 00:34:20,760 Verse five, I am the vine, you are the branches. 677 00:34:20,960 --> 00:34:25,880 Whoever abides in me and I in him, he, he, it is that bears 678 00:34:25,880 --> 00:34:30,360 much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 679 00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:35,400 What kind of sheep are we for sheep that are dependent on him? 680 00:34:35,760 --> 00:34:37,159 Apart from Him we could do nothing. 681 00:34:37,360 --> 00:34:40,360 And it's celebrating that and leaning into it is great. 682 00:34:40,639 --> 00:34:43,400 Knowing it. As Christians, we boast in our 683 00:34:43,400 --> 00:34:46,199 dependency and our need for Jesus. 684 00:34:46,199 --> 00:34:52,159 We are sheep dependent on Him. I'm going to show you another 685 00:34:52,159 --> 00:34:53,360 Psalm. I've got a couple more to show 686 00:34:53,360 --> 00:34:56,760 you that I think are essential ones that are renowned. 687 00:34:57,520 --> 00:35:00,760 This is Psalm chapter 41 through 3, and maybe you've heard this. 688 00:35:00,760 --> 00:35:04,640 It's one that's quoted so often. It says, I waited patiently for 689 00:35:04,640 --> 00:35:08,440 the Lord and he inclined to me. It's like he turned to me and he 690 00:35:08,440 --> 00:35:11,680 heard my cry. Some of you might remember in 691 00:35:11,680 --> 00:35:14,640 the night, early 1980s, U2, when they were first coming out, they 692 00:35:14,640 --> 00:35:17,040 had a song called Psalm 40. Does anybody remember this? 693 00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:21,160 Anybody it was like I waited patiently for the Lord inclining 694 00:35:21,160 --> 00:35:23,480 her my prayer. I used to lead it like in junior 695 00:35:23,480 --> 00:35:25,760 high school when I was starting to lead worst way back in the 696 00:35:25,760 --> 00:35:27,800 day, right. So it was a song by YouTube, but 697 00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:30,520 based on song it was called Psalm 40 and verse 2. 698 00:35:30,520 --> 00:35:33,520 It says he drew me up. This is a testimony. 699 00:35:33,880 --> 00:35:37,800 He drew me up from the pit of destruction out of the miry blog 700 00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:41,520 bog and he set my feet upon a rock. 701 00:35:42,160 --> 00:35:44,240 Jesus is the rock of our salvation. 702 00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:48,280 We build our lives upon him. The psalmist goes on making my 703 00:35:48,280 --> 00:35:51,440 steps secure. And then verse 3, it says he put 704 00:35:51,440 --> 00:35:55,320 a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. 705 00:35:55,520 --> 00:35:58,720 And many will see in fear and put their trust in the Lord. 706 00:35:58,960 --> 00:36:01,920 And this occasion the psalmist is saying that God put a new 707 00:36:01,920 --> 00:36:03,680 song. The Lord has put a new song in 708 00:36:03,680 --> 00:36:07,760 my mouth and many will see, which is curious because you 709 00:36:07,760 --> 00:36:11,280 don't normally see a song, You hear a song. 710 00:36:12,080 --> 00:36:14,880 The psalmist here, he's using a song as a metaphor. 711 00:36:15,040 --> 00:36:17,240 He's saying, OK, God, it's like I marched to the beat of a 712 00:36:17,240 --> 00:36:20,080 different drum. Now I, I, I, I sing a new song. 713 00:36:20,080 --> 00:36:22,520 It's not a literal song. It's a different way of life. 714 00:36:23,120 --> 00:36:28,360 We get a new way of life when we decide to follow Jesus and it's 715 00:36:28,360 --> 00:36:32,120 a new song that people see. And when people see the new song 716 00:36:32,120 --> 00:36:36,280 on us and encourages them to be astounded and put their trust in 717 00:36:36,280 --> 00:36:40,000 the Lord, I love that. Love that Psalm so much. 718 00:36:40,240 --> 00:36:43,400 Another one is another essential Psalm is Psalm 121 verses one 719 00:36:43,400 --> 00:36:46,200 through 8. This is one that you can pray. 720 00:36:46,960 --> 00:36:50,160 If you're in a struggle, you're in a place of great challenge. 721 00:36:50,480 --> 00:36:53,440 Psalm 121, go here, pray this, watch. 722 00:36:53,440 --> 00:36:59,760 It says a song of ascent. So from Psalm 120 to 134, this 723 00:36:59,760 --> 00:37:02,000 is a grouping of Psalms and they're songs of ascent. 724 00:37:02,240 --> 00:37:04,640 And by songs of ascent, it's meaning like they're going to 725 00:37:04,640 --> 00:37:07,560 ascend. Historically, yes, the Jews 726 00:37:07,560 --> 00:37:10,720 would go into Jerusalem and they would send a send up the hill 727 00:37:10,720 --> 00:37:13,840 into Jerusalem and that they would sing these songs of ascent 728 00:37:13,840 --> 00:37:15,200 when they were going into Jerusalem. 729 00:37:15,440 --> 00:37:19,080 But also they were ascending out of their sadness, their 730 00:37:19,080 --> 00:37:22,440 depression, their anxiety when they would. 731 00:37:22,440 --> 00:37:25,200 These psalms will start heavy with a confession and then 732 00:37:25,200 --> 00:37:27,400 they'll end joyfully. Watch how it does this. 733 00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:28,760 And you can check out the other ones too. 734 00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:33,640 It says, I lift up my eyes to the hills, and from where does 735 00:37:33,640 --> 00:37:37,560 my help come from? My help comes from the Lord who 736 00:37:37,560 --> 00:37:42,080 made heaven and earth, and he will not let your foot be moved. 737 00:37:42,640 --> 00:37:44,200 He who keeps you will not slumber. 738 00:37:44,200 --> 00:37:46,440 He won't fall asleep. Behold, he who keeps Israel will 739 00:37:46,440 --> 00:37:49,600 neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper. 740 00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:53,520 The Lord is your shade on your right hand. 741 00:37:54,760 --> 00:37:57,760 These truths are profound. If you're in a place of sorrow, 742 00:37:58,280 --> 00:38:00,280 if you're in a challenge, read again. 743 00:38:00,280 --> 00:38:02,960 It's a beautiful Psalm to just just pray it out loud. 744 00:38:03,800 --> 00:38:07,760 Verse 6, The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon 745 00:38:07,760 --> 00:38:10,000 by night. The Lord will keep you from all 746 00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:12,080 evil. He will keep your life. 747 00:38:12,080 --> 00:38:17,160 The Lord will keep your going out and you're coming in from 748 00:38:17,160 --> 00:38:22,000 this time forth and evermore. I've got two more for you that 749 00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:23,960 are beautiful. Psalm 91. 750 00:38:23,960 --> 00:38:27,920 This is one of the most renowned and most famous of the Psalm, 751 00:38:27,920 --> 00:38:30,400 Psalm 91. I'm not going to read the entire 752 00:38:30,400 --> 00:38:31,480 thing to you. I would encourage you to go. 753 00:38:31,480 --> 00:38:34,200 But I have verses one and two and then verses 11 and 12 here. 754 00:38:34,560 --> 00:38:36,680 But maybe this week you want to go read the entire Psalm. 755 00:38:36,680 --> 00:38:39,880 I would encourage you to do so. The psalmist writes, he who 756 00:38:39,880 --> 00:38:44,200 dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the 757 00:38:44,200 --> 00:38:47,680 shadow of the Almighty. And I will say to the Lord, my 758 00:38:47,680 --> 00:38:51,720 refuge and my fortress, my God, and whom I trust, for he will 759 00:38:51,720 --> 00:38:55,000 command his angels, watch us. This is a great one to to say 760 00:38:55,000 --> 00:38:57,120 over your children, to teach your children this. 761 00:38:57,240 --> 00:39:00,440 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in 762 00:39:00,440 --> 00:39:04,200 all your ways. And on their hands, the angels 763 00:39:04,200 --> 00:39:07,000 hands, they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot 764 00:39:07,000 --> 00:39:10,080 against the stone. This idea of angels. 765 00:39:10,440 --> 00:39:15,240 Now what's curious is that this Psalm, chapter 9191, the 91st 766 00:39:15,240 --> 00:39:17,400 Psalm. Interesting that Jesus would 767 00:39:17,400 --> 00:39:20,360 often quote the Psalms, but did you know that Satan also quoted 768 00:39:20,360 --> 00:39:21,840 the Psalms? Watch this. 769 00:39:22,000 --> 00:39:25,240 Satan quotes this Psalm and Matthew chapter 4 when he's 770 00:39:25,240 --> 00:39:27,880 trying to tempt Jesus, tempting Jesus. 771 00:39:28,080 --> 00:39:32,720 It's a temptation of Christ. And watch verse 5 of chapter 4. 772 00:39:32,880 --> 00:39:35,800 Then the devil took him, meaning Jesus to the holy city and set 773 00:39:35,800 --> 00:39:39,240 him on a pinnacle of the temple and said to him, if you are the 774 00:39:39,240 --> 00:39:42,560 Son of God, throw yourself down for it is written and watch 775 00:39:42,560 --> 00:39:44,120 this. He quotes Psalm 91. 776 00:39:44,480 --> 00:39:47,400 He says He will command his angels concerning you, and on 777 00:39:47,400 --> 00:39:50,680 their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot 778 00:39:50,680 --> 00:39:52,640 against the stone. In this occasion he's tempting 779 00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:55,640 Jesus to throw himself down on the rock, and he's twisting 780 00:39:55,960 --> 00:39:59,240 misrepresenting Psalm 91 to promote this temptation towards 781 00:39:59,320 --> 00:40:01,080 Jesus. And watch what Jesus said to him 782 00:40:01,080 --> 00:40:03,160 in verse 7. Again, in this written you shall 783 00:40:03,160 --> 00:40:05,640 not put the Lord your God to the test. 784 00:40:06,680 --> 00:40:09,880 What's important to know here is that people, Satan himself with 785 00:40:09,920 --> 00:40:13,440 Jesus in this occasion, takes and twists and misrepresents 786 00:40:13,440 --> 00:40:17,040 Scripture in an attempt to try to trick Jesus out, and he's 787 00:40:17,040 --> 00:40:19,800 doing the same thing with us. So how do you know? 788 00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:22,760 If you just read it briefly one time, well, then you haven't, 789 00:40:22,840 --> 00:40:25,600 you haven't really gotten it. But if you read it over and over 790 00:40:25,600 --> 00:40:28,040 and over again and you meditate on it and you let it sink in, 791 00:40:28,200 --> 00:40:30,400 then you 2 can be like Jesus. You're like, wait, wait, wait, 792 00:40:30,400 --> 00:40:32,280 wait. That's not what that means. 793 00:40:33,040 --> 00:40:35,960 That's not what that means. It's not promoting suicide me to 794 00:40:35,960 --> 00:40:39,000 dash myself down the rock Jesus like that's not what it means. 795 00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:40,440 And Jesus quotes Scripture back in. 796 00:40:40,720 --> 00:40:45,760 We can do the same thing when we meditate and absorb the word. 797 00:40:46,720 --> 00:40:50,760 One last one, Psalm 146 verses one through 11. 798 00:40:50,760 --> 00:40:54,040 Let me read this over you. This is a great one again to 799 00:40:54,040 --> 00:40:58,960 read, to strengthen and bolster your faith, to meditate and read 800 00:40:58,960 --> 00:41:01,320 through the Psalm 146 verse one through 11. 801 00:41:02,040 --> 00:41:07,840 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help and trouble. 802 00:41:08,560 --> 00:41:13,400 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth gives way, 803 00:41:13,960 --> 00:41:17,080 though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 804 00:41:17,080 --> 00:41:20,680 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at 805 00:41:20,680 --> 00:41:23,200 its swelling. And then it says say LA. 806 00:41:23,880 --> 00:41:27,160 Whenever you see say LA in the Psalms, it's a clue for you to 807 00:41:27,200 --> 00:41:29,080 pause and reflect on what was just said. 808 00:41:29,080 --> 00:41:31,600 We think it would have been like a little instrumental section. 809 00:41:31,800 --> 00:41:34,040 You know how like when we're worshiping together on a Sunday 810 00:41:34,040 --> 00:41:36,400 morning and they'll be sections in the song like the 811 00:41:36,400 --> 00:41:38,280 introduction. Maybe there's a place in the 812 00:41:38,280 --> 00:41:40,360 little song where it's just like a little musical interlude. 813 00:41:40,360 --> 00:41:42,640 It's it's a time for you just reflect and think. 814 00:41:42,920 --> 00:41:45,000 So the psalmist is saying, reflect on what was just said. 815 00:41:45,000 --> 00:41:47,880 Say LA. And then after pausing, they go 816 00:41:47,880 --> 00:41:50,160 on. There is a river whose streams 817 00:41:50,160 --> 00:41:53,440 make lad the city of God, a holy habitation of the Most High. 818 00:41:53,440 --> 00:41:56,440 God is in the midst of her, and she shall not be moved. 819 00:41:57,120 --> 00:41:58,720 God will help her when morning dawns. 820 00:41:58,720 --> 00:42:03,040 This is the city of Jerusalem. And now we are abiding in God's 821 00:42:03,040 --> 00:42:06,080 Kingdom, which is like now. The God's Kingdom has invaded 822 00:42:06,080 --> 00:42:09,560 the whole earth. The nation's rage, the kingdom's 823 00:42:09,560 --> 00:42:10,920 totter. He utters his voice. 824 00:42:10,920 --> 00:42:13,840 The earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us. 825 00:42:13,840 --> 00:42:15,680 The God of Jacob is our fortress. 826 00:42:15,840 --> 00:42:19,120 Saila. Come, behold the works of the 827 00:42:19,120 --> 00:42:21,960 Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth. 828 00:42:21,960 --> 00:42:25,920 He makes worse cease to the end of the earth, and he breaks the 829 00:42:25,920 --> 00:42:28,360 bow, and he shatters the spear, and he burns the Chariots with 830 00:42:28,360 --> 00:42:32,720 fire. Be still and know that I am God, 831 00:42:33,360 --> 00:42:35,960 and I will be exalted among the nations. 832 00:42:36,240 --> 00:42:39,840 I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. 833 00:42:39,840 --> 00:42:43,000 The God of Jacob is our fortress. 834 00:42:43,600 --> 00:42:48,320 The Psalms I hope to just ignite within you hunger for them and 835 00:42:48,320 --> 00:42:50,200 eagerness for them, or even the sweet. 836 00:42:50,200 --> 00:42:52,480 My hope is that you'll go home even with the notes that you can 837 00:42:52,480 --> 00:42:55,760 take with you or your Bible, or maybe you'll order a book of 838 00:42:55,760 --> 00:42:57,360 Psalms. And my hope is that you'll 839 00:42:57,360 --> 00:42:58,880 meditate on them, that you'll read them. 840 00:42:58,880 --> 00:43:00,280 They're they're quick, they're easy. 841 00:43:00,280 --> 00:43:03,280 You can read several in one day or just take one and read it 842 00:43:03,280 --> 00:43:06,440 over and over and over again and let it sink in. 843 00:43:07,840 --> 00:43:09,720 My take away for you this morning is that the Psalms are 844 00:43:09,720 --> 00:43:13,160 full of principles and truths that can stir greater faith in 845 00:43:13,920 --> 00:43:16,400 US. And I'll give you these 846 00:43:16,400 --> 00:43:20,480 applications before we close. Maybe you have some familiar 847 00:43:20,480 --> 00:43:21,960 Psalms that are already your favorites. 848 00:43:22,240 --> 00:43:25,320 If you have something, go back, read them again, digest them 849 00:43:25,320 --> 00:43:27,640 again, and worship with the meditate on them. 850 00:43:27,640 --> 00:43:31,000 OK, if you have some that are already favorites, if not, go 851 00:43:31,000 --> 00:43:33,960 get some new favorites. The 23rd Psalm is an easy one. 852 00:43:34,480 --> 00:43:37,040 That's an easy one, or Psalm one, or Psalm 91. 853 00:43:37,040 --> 00:43:39,440 All of these. And then my encouragement to you 854 00:43:39,440 --> 00:43:41,960 is that could you commit to memorizing some of the songs? 855 00:43:41,960 --> 00:43:44,520 Maybe you want to just again, put it on audio and repeat and 856 00:43:44,520 --> 00:43:47,120 maybe it'll sink in and you'll be able to quote it as you 857 00:43:47,160 --> 00:43:50,960 meditate on it. And then finally, my question 858 00:43:50,960 --> 00:43:53,360 for you is, could you utilize some essential songs in prayer 859 00:43:53,360 --> 00:43:56,080 and meditation this week? Maybe this week you want to take 860 00:43:56,080 --> 00:43:57,360 one of these. And when you wake up in the 861 00:43:57,360 --> 00:43:59,280 morning, like God, I'm going to use this to pray. 862 00:43:59,280 --> 00:44:02,880 And you could take this Psalm and where it speaks the truth 863 00:44:02,880 --> 00:44:05,160 about God, you could just speak it out loud and say, God, I know 864 00:44:05,160 --> 00:44:08,480 that you're the Lord of hosts. You're the God of Jacob and God 865 00:44:08,480 --> 00:44:12,840 I believe that you're working all things for our good and God. 866 00:44:12,840 --> 00:44:17,000 You make war seas you God, You're the one who does that. 867 00:44:17,360 --> 00:44:19,040 Be still God. I want to be still and know that 868 00:44:19,040 --> 00:44:20,360 you were God. You could just take these 869 00:44:20,360 --> 00:44:25,760 principles and pray them in a prayer as you meditate and chase 870 00:44:25,760 --> 00:44:33,200 after Jesus. Let me pray for us, God. 871 00:44:33,200 --> 00:44:36,600 I'm so grateful for the Psalms. I'm so grateful that you've 872 00:44:36,600 --> 00:44:41,920 gifted us with these, these beautiful, beautiful poems and 873 00:44:41,920 --> 00:44:45,440 songs that are beneficial to us today. 874 00:44:45,440 --> 00:44:49,440 And as we meditate on them, it strengthens our faith in you. 875 00:44:50,240 --> 00:44:54,280 And so increase within a scout as a church body, a love for 876 00:44:54,280 --> 00:44:58,720 these passages and give us our favorites lead us to ones that 877 00:44:58,720 --> 00:45:02,120 will be encouraging to us and our children and our our 878 00:45:02,120 --> 00:45:07,040 families speak to us greatly as we meditate and lean into the 879 00:45:07,040 --> 00:45:08,920 Psalms in the next several weeks. 880 00:45:09,880 --> 00:45:13,280 So be glorified. We pray in Jesus name and 881 00:45:13,280 --> 00:45:16,520 everyone said Amen. Hey, before we go, I do want to 882 00:45:16,520 --> 00:45:19,560 just give you an opportunity. I try to do this often, but if 883 00:45:19,560 --> 00:45:21,960 you've never accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, maybe 884 00:45:21,960 --> 00:45:25,040 you've been wrestling with the claims of Christianity and maybe 885 00:45:25,040 --> 00:45:26,880 you're like, I'm not, I'm not sure. 886 00:45:26,880 --> 00:45:29,120 But you've wrestled it. And we want our church to be a 887 00:45:29,120 --> 00:45:33,400 church where you can wrestle and navigate through is the claim 888 00:45:33,400 --> 00:45:36,400 that Jesus is the Savior of all. Is it true? 889 00:45:36,640 --> 00:45:38,200 I'm here to tell you today it is. 890 00:45:38,760 --> 00:45:42,120 And you could sit in service with us week after week, but at 891 00:45:42,120 --> 00:45:44,600 a certain point you have to make a decision to say, I want to 892 00:45:44,600 --> 00:45:46,880 follow Jesus. I want him to be my savior. 893 00:45:46,880 --> 00:45:50,440 I want to become a Christian and to do so, it just takes you 894 00:45:50,440 --> 00:45:52,480 saying, Jesus, I won't accept your salvation. 895 00:45:52,760 --> 00:45:56,000 I'm going to repent of my own sin and I'm going to repent of, 896 00:45:56,160 --> 00:45:58,560 you know, chasing after my own will. 897 00:45:58,560 --> 00:46:00,800 And I'm now going to say, God, your will be done in my life. 898 00:46:01,560 --> 00:46:03,840 And then what we encourage you to do is tell someone that 899 00:46:03,840 --> 00:46:05,160 you've made a decision to follow Jesus. 900 00:46:05,160 --> 00:46:07,960 And we encourage you to be baptized, say in front of your 901 00:46:07,960 --> 00:46:11,520 church family, hey, I'm in, I'm following after Jesus. 902 00:46:11,520 --> 00:46:14,360 I've been washed clean. You don't have to understand all 903 00:46:14,360 --> 00:46:16,080 the theology and doctrine of Christianity. 904 00:46:16,080 --> 00:46:18,960 You can grow in it, but you do need to understand that you are 905 00:46:18,960 --> 00:46:23,480 a Sinner and the payment for your sin was covered by Jesus on 906 00:46:23,480 --> 00:46:26,920 the cross and we can receive that forgiveness that is eternal 907 00:46:26,920 --> 00:46:31,200 and we can receive eternal life now on this side of eternity. 908 00:46:31,920 --> 00:46:33,880 And as you follow up to Jesus, he'll grow in his ways. 909 00:46:34,120 --> 00:46:36,880 So I'm going to pray and I'm going to encourage you if you 910 00:46:36,880 --> 00:46:38,680 want to make that decision to pray with me. 911 00:46:39,520 --> 00:46:42,640 You can echo the prayer and then I e-mail me, tell a friend, tell 912 00:46:42,640 --> 00:46:46,160 someone, maybe a parent or sibling, someone that you know, 913 00:46:46,400 --> 00:46:47,960 tell them, hey, I made this decision. 914 00:46:48,000 --> 00:46:51,360 I am all in to follow after Jesus. 915 00:46:51,600 --> 00:46:53,920 I've become a Christian. Let me pray and I'll encourage 916 00:46:53,920 --> 00:46:55,600 you to echo this. You might want to pray. 917 00:46:55,600 --> 00:46:59,680 Heavenly Father, I come to you in Jesus name and I want to 918 00:46:59,680 --> 00:47:04,120 confess my faith in you and I say I believe Jesus that you are 919 00:47:04,480 --> 00:47:08,760 the Son of God, you were God. And I say come into my life and 920 00:47:08,760 --> 00:47:11,320 reign and rule me. Forgive me of my sin and I 921 00:47:11,320 --> 00:47:15,080 accept the penalty that you paid for. 922 00:47:15,440 --> 00:47:19,000 You paid for my sin and I receive your forgiveness and 923 00:47:19,000 --> 00:47:21,400 salvation. And I say I want you to reign in 924 00:47:21,400 --> 00:47:25,240 my life, be my Lord. I want to chase after you and 925 00:47:25,280 --> 00:47:27,920 grow me in your ways. I say your will be done in my 926 00:47:27,920 --> 00:47:30,800 life and I thank you for eternal life that I'm getting now 927 00:47:31,600 --> 00:47:34,200 meaning and purpose and relationship with you and I want 928 00:47:34,200 --> 00:47:38,640 to grow in your ways in Jesus name and everyone said Amen. 929 00:47:39,400 --> 00:47:41,240 All right, hey, it was so great to be together today. 930 00:47:41,240 --> 00:47:45,200 Let's all stand together before you go, I want to say a blessing 931 00:47:45,200 --> 00:47:47,000 over you and this is a big part of our service. 932 00:47:47,000 --> 00:47:50,200 I want to send you out blessed. So if you'll prepare your heart 933 00:47:50,720 --> 00:47:56,720 to receive this blessing before you go, and now may the Lord 934 00:47:56,720 --> 00:48:01,960 bless you and keep you, and may he make his face to shine upon 935 00:48:01,960 --> 00:48:04,040 you. And may the joy of the Lord that 936 00:48:04,040 --> 00:48:07,280 is unspeakable and full of glory, may it abound to you. 937 00:48:07,280 --> 00:48:11,320 And may the peace of God that passes all understanding, may it 938 00:48:11,320 --> 00:48:15,280 surprise you in the midst of all the challenges that life brings. 939 00:48:15,960 --> 00:48:18,640 And then may the mercies of the Lord, in other words, the 940 00:48:18,640 --> 00:48:20,960 forgiveness of God, that is new every morning. 941 00:48:21,280 --> 00:48:24,480 May it be especially new to you now in your mornings to come. 942 00:48:25,040 --> 00:48:27,600 And now, may the Lord Jesus Christ guard your heart and your 943 00:48:27,600 --> 00:48:30,040 mind. You are salt and you are light. 944 00:48:30,400 --> 00:48:32,600 Go now and be salt and light into the world. 945 00:48:32,600 --> 00:48:35,160 You are blessed. We'll see you again soon. 946 00:48:36,080 --> 00:48:39,560 We'll see you Wednesday night at 6:30 for Pastor Dwayne and 947 00:48:39,560 --> 00:48:40,000 Jeannie.