1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:04,080 OK, guys, I want to speak to you from my heart right now. 2 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:09,720 I got married very young. I was 22 years old, and I went 3 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:14,120 into ministry also very, very early on, and I saw things in 4 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:16,000 the church. We were going for a difficult 5 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:20,320 church situation that many young people perhaps wouldn't see. 6 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:23,960 Things were tough back then, and I didn't have any friends. 7 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:27,160 I'd moved to a new area. In fact, my best friend was an 8 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:31,440 older man and I remember going on Facebook and I'd see my other 9 00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:34,200 friends, the friends I went to school with, my non Christian 10 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:36,640 friends and they were going to wild parties. 11 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:39,640 They were having so much fun. They were backpacking around the 12 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:42,280 world, all meeting together in Australia. 13 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:47,160 And here I was having headaches every week at church and feeling 14 00:00:47,160 --> 00:00:51,640 lonely and sad and just struggling now at the time, 15 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:54,760 because I was going through all of this thinking, you know, even 16 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:57,280 looking over my shoulder, thinking I kind of think the 17 00:00:57,280 --> 00:00:58,920 grass looks greener on the other side. 18 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:02,200 I kind of want to be in the world instead of a Christian. 19 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:04,560 I confess this to this older brother of mine. 20 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:10,080 And he said to me, Joe, what you need to do is learn Psalm 73. 21 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:14,040 So that's exactly what I did. And I'll tell you, this Psalm 22 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:19,040 has been a total lifeline for me, so much so that I believe 23 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:22,520 every single young Christian or every Christian in general 24 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:25,880 should learn this Psalm, memorize it, know it off by 25 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:30,880 heart because it will teach you some valuable lessons, right? 26 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:34,000 If you are new to the channel, this is our coffee channel where 27 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:36,360 we drink coffee every couple of weeks. 28 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:39,440 We'll sit down, we'll do a Bible study, we'll do a testimony, and 29 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:42,520 we'll just have a nice chat. So please pause the video 30 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:44,960 wherever you are. Get yourself a cup of tea, get 31 00:01:44,960 --> 00:01:47,880 yourself a nice cool drink if you're in a hot country of the 32 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:50,960 world, or get yourself a nice cup of Joe. 33 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:54,120 And if you have bought one of our mugs, we might put your face 34 00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:56,560 face up here. We're running out of faces to 35 00:01:56,560 --> 00:01:58,640 put up here. But if you do buy one of them, 36 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:02,320 I'll send you an e-mail and we'll put your face up here on 37 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:33,920 the screen. We don't actually know who this 38 00:02:33,920 --> 00:02:37,000 Psalm is about. We know a man called Asaph wrote 39 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:39,440 this Psalm and there's two schools of thought. 40 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:43,880 Either Asaph himself wrote it looking at his own struggles, or 41 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:46,880 he wrote it for someone else, IE David. 42 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:50,720 Personally, I think it was Asaph who wrote this Psalm talking 43 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:53,360 about himself, and you'll probably get a feel for that as 44 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:56,080 we go through this. But either way, do you not think 45 00:02:56,080 --> 00:03:00,360 it's absolutely refreshing to have a Psalm where we've got 46 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:02,560 honesty? You see, the word of God is just 47 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:06,200 so refreshingly honest. It's blunt about the truth. 48 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:08,280 It doesn't pretend that, you know, when we become a 49 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:10,240 Christian, all of our worries are going to go away. 50 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,120 It doesn't pretend that when we believe in the Lord God that 51 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:15,040 suddenly life's going to get better. 52 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:19,120 No, it does tell us things like sin does have its pleasures. 53 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:23,280 It does tell us that when we live in the Lord's hands, we're 54 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:26,520 not immune from life's troubles. No, to be a Christian is very 55 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:29,360 costly. And here we find Asaf. 56 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:32,560 He's got a sort of assault on his faith. 57 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:35,720 He's got a grievance that's in his heart. 58 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:38,680 He's got a thought that he just cannot get out of his mind. 59 00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:40,520 He's struggling with it. It's there. 60 00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:43,560 And it's a thought that I do believe that every single one of 61 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:46,040 us has at some point struggle with. 62 00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:49,560 At least the vast majority of us have all asked this question, 63 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:54,720 and it's this how can an infinitely powerful God be good, 64 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:59,320 be righteous, be holy, and yet let the righteous to go 65 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:03,480 unrewarded, to go through trials and difficulties, and let the 66 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:07,200 wicked, on the other hand, prosper and be in abundance? 67 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:12,080 So let's answer the question, Is being a Christian a waste of 68 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:15,640 time? So you do need Psalm 73 in front 69 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:17,480 of you. So we're going to start with 70 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:21,200 Psalm 73 and verse 2. If you look at that with me, 71 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:25,360 please. But As for me, my feet had 72 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:29,120 almost stumbled. My steps had nearly slipped. 73 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:31,920 So here Asaph shows us a picture. 74 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:34,720 Here he is. He's on a slippery mountain 75 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:36,520 slope. This is what he's picturing. 76 00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:39,320 And it's raining, and there's no steadiness there. 77 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:41,400 And he looks over the Cliff edge. 78 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:45,520 And as he looks over, seeing right down at the bottom is a 79 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:48,520 sheer drop. And there, I believe, is the 80 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:52,360 valley of unbelief. And Asaph is saying, I'm just 81 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:57,200 one step away from slipping down and falling into unbelief. 82 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:00,520 But what was the issue that Asaph was struggling with? 83 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:05,120 Look at verse three, he says, For I was envious of the 84 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:09,360 boastful when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 85 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:14,720 Here he sees the foolish man, the foolish people, the wicked 86 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:17,360 people, the people who have no care for God. 87 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:20,560 Later he talks about the people who are willing to, to mock God, 88 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:24,000 you know, talking about the most high in, in disrespectful ways. 89 00:05:24,200 --> 00:05:27,960 And yet these people, even though they disrespected God, 90 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:31,360 they were thriving. They were doing well in life. 91 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:33,360 It seemed like they were better off. 92 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:36,160 And it seemed like, OK, if you ignore God, you ignore His 93 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:39,120 commands, you are going to be successful in this life. 94 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:44,520 And Asaph, he looked at this and he was jealous. 95 00:05:47,000 --> 00:06:01,710 Then turn to verse 5 With me. They are not in trouble as other 96 00:06:01,710 --> 00:06:05,390 men, nor are they plagued like other men. 97 00:06:05,960 --> 00:06:09,520 You see these wicked people, these unbelievers who mocked 98 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:13,120 God, they didn't have the same troubles the other men had. 99 00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:15,040 They didn't have the same troubles as the believer. 100 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:18,120 No, they were in abundance. In verse 7, it then goes on to 101 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:22,200 say they have more than their hearts could wish. 102 00:06:22,840 --> 00:06:26,960 Could you imagine that? If every desire in your hearts, 103 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:30,400 evil or good, if all the desires in your hearts were there and 104 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:33,680 you had more than you could even wish, could you imagine that in 105 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:36,640 your life? And yet we can probably think of 106 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:41,120 people right now, maybe famous people or maybe people even that 107 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:43,960 we know in our street. And it seems like when we look 108 00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:47,120 at them, they have more than their heart could wish. 109 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:52,000 And yet they have no care, no thoughts for the Most High God. 110 00:06:56,920 --> 00:06:58,760 Let me be a little bit transparent with you. 111 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:03,160 So I said this when I was younger in my 20s, I had a sort 112 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:06,840 of what they call 1/4 life crisis where I really did 113 00:07:06,840 --> 00:07:10,240 struggle. And I personally, I don't want 114 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:12,920 to get into a theological debate, but I personally believe 115 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:16,200 once saved, always saved. I do believe God holds on to his 116 00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:18,560 people and he takes them through different trials. 117 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:21,600 But that's that's another conversation for another time 118 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:23,720 perhaps. But here what is what I want to 119 00:07:23,720 --> 00:07:26,520 say. I did feel that I wanted to walk 120 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:29,560 away at points. I, I really did look back at the 121 00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:32,360 plow, doing all the wrong things, thinking I want to be in 122 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:35,080 the world even though I was saved. 123 00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:39,640 So that was in my 20s. But now, you know, a few years 124 00:07:39,640 --> 00:07:43,160 ago, again, I was going through, we were going through a kind of 125 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:47,440 difficult situation at a church. And I remember driving to the 126 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:52,680 church and I'd see these dog walkers walking by, dog walkers 127 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:54,880 the same age as me. This couple particularly in my 128 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:57,120 mind very similar aged to me and Emma. 129 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:01,040 And they're just walking along on a Sunday morning, it's sunny, 130 00:08:01,040 --> 00:08:04,080 no cares in the world. And I was going to a church 131 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:07,600 where I was worried, I was concerned, I didn't know what 132 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:11,120 was going to happen or, or I was stressed out with ministry. 133 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:13,640 And you know, at times I'm, I'm rushing to get to different 134 00:08:13,640 --> 00:08:16,640 places and I've got all this ministry and all the troubles of 135 00:08:16,640 --> 00:08:18,720 life. And then you'll drive past on a 136 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:22,000 Sunday and you'll go outside and you'll see a pub, you know, on a 137 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:24,360 sunny day and they've all got their bikes and they're all 138 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:27,000 sitting there with their pints just enjoying life. 139 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:29,840 Not a care in the world and not a thought for God. 140 00:08:30,360 --> 00:08:33,120 Those things can go through our minds at times, can't they? 141 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:38,559 But here's the question, did he get, did Asaph get any relief 142 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:39,799 from his thoughts? No. 143 00:08:39,799 --> 00:08:46,760 Look at verse 14 with me. For all day long I've been 144 00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:49,840 plagued and chastened every morning. 145 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:53,160 So in other words, he wakes up in the morning and he's got 146 00:08:53,160 --> 00:08:56,040 these troubles in his mind. In the evening he has these 147 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:58,440 troubles in his mind. He goes to bed, he wakes up the 148 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:01,440 next day and he's got these troubles in his mind all day. 149 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:03,800 He's surrounded by these troubles all day long. 150 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:06,320 My life, he's saying, is just full of trouble. 151 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:10,000 My life is trouble. And he looks out and he sees the 152 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:12,800 ungodly, though they're on the winning side. 153 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:16,040 But I look at my life with all this trouble and it seems like 154 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:19,560 I'm on the losing side. Now I believe the greatest 155 00:09:19,560 --> 00:09:24,440 tragedy is in verse 13. Just look at that with me out of 156 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:26,800 all this, I think this is the saddest thing he says. 157 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:34,280 Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain and wash my hands in 158 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:38,720 innocence. In other words, Asaf saying here 159 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:43,080 I am as a a man who trusts in God and I've sought to keep my 160 00:09:43,080 --> 00:09:47,080 hands clean from sin. I've sought to stop letting 161 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:49,320 unclean things come into my heart. 162 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:51,880 I've guarded my heart. I've tried to cleanse myself. 163 00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:56,120 I've tried to do it, and yet it seems like I've done it in vain. 164 00:09:56,440 --> 00:09:58,680 I mean, what was the point of having a clean heart? 165 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:02,120 What was the point in purity? There's no gain in being pure. 166 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:03,760 There's no advantage in being pure. 167 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:06,000 There's no reward. In fact, it seems like for me 168 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:08,320 right now, it's the complete opposite. 169 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:12,200 It seems like I'm struggling as I'm trying to keep myself pure. 170 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:15,880 And yet the unrighteous, they're prospering when they don't care 171 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:18,160 about purity. They dive into sin. 172 00:10:18,160 --> 00:10:20,480 They do everything they want and more. 173 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:25,800 And he's asking the question here, I think, is it even worth 174 00:10:26,120 --> 00:10:31,680 continuing in the ways of God? Can I ask you, have you ever 175 00:10:31,680 --> 00:10:36,640 thought like that before? Why am I doing this? 176 00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:40,160 There's just no, there's just no end to my trouble. 177 00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:43,560 I've tried to be pure. I've tried to guard what I 178 00:10:43,560 --> 00:10:46,480 watch. I've tried to be a godly person. 179 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:50,440 And yet, Lord, why is all this flooding on my life? 180 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:53,880 And yet I know my brothers, my sisters, my unbelieving 181 00:10:53,880 --> 00:10:57,880 neighbors, they don't care about you and they are at ease. 182 00:10:59,560 --> 00:11:01,960 Well, this next part's a little bit important, so you might just 183 00:11:01,960 --> 00:11:04,680 want to catch this. Just look at at verse 15 with 184 00:11:04,680 --> 00:11:16,560 me. If I had said I will speak thus, 185 00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:21,760 behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of your 186 00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:25,080 children. Have you ever heard the phrase 187 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:30,080 loose lips sink ships? It was quite a popular phase 188 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:33,120 during the the Second World War. They used to put it on, on 189 00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:36,360 posters, various posters, and you'd see, you know, that 190 00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:38,800 cartoon picture. And then the phrase loose lips 191 00:11:38,920 --> 00:11:41,440 sink ships. And it had two meanings. 192 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:45,840 The first meaning was, you know, just be careful what information 193 00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:48,600 you give out because there could be spies in the land. 194 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:51,880 If you say some vital information, it could go to the 195 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:54,560 enemy and thus loose lips could sink ships. 196 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:57,120 But then on the flip side, it had a second meaning. 197 00:11:57,520 --> 00:12:00,200 You might remember this, but in the war, it was very, very 198 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:04,200 important to keep morale up, to keep positivity up. 199 00:12:04,560 --> 00:12:07,400 And it meant, listen, if you're going to go around spreading 200 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:11,480 negative things, suddenly that's going to lower the morale and 201 00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:13,760 people are all going to feel, you know, if you're saying 202 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:16,480 things like, when's this war going to end? 203 00:12:16,920 --> 00:12:18,720 Are our men even trying out there? 204 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:20,960 What's going on? This is it just seems pointless. 205 00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:22,840 People are dying for for no reason. 206 00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:27,000 And if this message slowly went across the UK and then got back 207 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:29,960 to the Navy, well, the Navy would think what's the point 208 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:32,240 anymore? Our people don't even believe in 209 00:12:32,240 --> 00:12:34,360 us, They think it's over. What's the point of even 210 00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:37,640 fighting? And thus they would loose lips, 211 00:12:37,640 --> 00:12:40,760 sink ships, they would lose the fight in them, if that makes 212 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:43,680 sense. But how does this apply to us as 213 00:12:43,680 --> 00:12:48,280 Christians? Well, believe it or not, you and 214 00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:51,720 I, we can have loose lips. And what is the boat that could 215 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:53,800 sink? It's the church. 216 00:12:54,680 --> 00:12:57,800 But I want you to notice the word there in verse 15. 217 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:01,200 It says there is a word that would affect a generation of. 218 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:03,560 Does it say a generation of people? 219 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:06,680 No. Does it say a generation of men? 220 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:09,200 No. Does it say a generation of 221 00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:10,160 women? No. 222 00:13:10,160 --> 00:13:13,320 What is the word? It's children. 223 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:15,360 Now. It's not just talking about 224 00:13:15,360 --> 00:13:19,960 small little children, I think it's talking about spiritual 225 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:23,280 babies. And here Asaf is realising that 226 00:13:23,880 --> 00:13:27,840 if I speak, all of this confusion, if I utter all of the 227 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:30,280 thoughts are in my mind. All this painfulness that I've 228 00:13:30,280 --> 00:13:32,920 seen, I've noticed it. I can see it clear as day that 229 00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:36,520 the righteous are struggling and the unrighteous, they're 230 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:39,160 winning. If I say this out loud, I'm 231 00:13:39,160 --> 00:13:41,760 going to injure these spiritual babies. 232 00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:45,240 I'm going to cause harm. So Asaf does something very 233 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:47,640 honourable. He decides to keep these 234 00:13:47,640 --> 00:13:51,480 thoughts to himself. He says, OK, I might be going 235 00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:54,680 down, but I'm not going to drag others down with me. 236 00:13:56,440 --> 00:13:59,840 Mature Christians, this is just for you. 237 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:05,760 Do you have influence? Perhaps in the church, perhaps 238 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:07,960 in your business, perhaps in in your sphere? 239 00:14:07,960 --> 00:14:11,120 Do you have influence? Do people look up to you? 240 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:15,040 Younger people, or should we say spiritual babies, new converts, 241 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:19,880 do they look up to you? If that's the case, be so, so 242 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:24,360 careful what you say. Let us never be hurriedly to 243 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:27,000 speak. Let us never speak quickly about 244 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:29,920 things. Be careful because loose lips 245 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:36,160 sink ships. I know for many years, even now, 246 00:14:36,360 --> 00:14:41,800 you know, I think I've been a Christian 15 years and I've been 247 00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:44,480 in ministry. But even now, sometimes 248 00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:47,760 preachers can do things. Preachers who I look up to, they 249 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:50,600 do things and it shakes me to my core. 250 00:14:50,600 --> 00:14:53,960 If I'm being honest with you. And I think I've heard you say 251 00:14:53,960 --> 00:14:57,800 messages about this and you're doing the complete opposite and 252 00:14:57,800 --> 00:14:59,600 it offends us. It hurts us. 253 00:14:59,920 --> 00:15:03,640 I've heard preachers say things that have really, they've cut me 254 00:15:03,640 --> 00:15:07,240 in 2 and not in a good way and in a way that has has really got 255 00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:08,840 into my mind. I'm not going to share it with 256 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:11,520 you, one of the examples because I'd be contradicting what I'm 257 00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:13,480 saying. But I remember being in a prayer 258 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:17,680 meeting once and a preacher said something and it filtered into 259 00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:21,520 my mind and it took me years to get that out of my mind because 260 00:15:21,520 --> 00:15:25,400 it planted a seed of doubt. And that preacher, that older 261 00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:28,280 man, he may have been struggling with this, but he shouldn't be 262 00:15:28,280 --> 00:15:30,080 spreading it out to all the people. 263 00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:34,080 He should keep it to himself. There is a time, please don't 264 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:37,640 mistake me. There is a time where we go and 265 00:15:37,640 --> 00:15:40,520 we chat to people and we say, I am wrestling with this. 266 00:15:41,680 --> 00:15:44,320 I've got this pain in me. I'm struggling with this 267 00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:47,080 thought, this doubt. But you go to wiser, older 268 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:50,840 Christians, you don't spread it around to the weaker ones, 269 00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:53,200 because they too will fall down with you. 270 00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:57,000 OK, so let's ask the obvious question here. 271 00:15:57,800 --> 00:16:02,720 How do we escape this mindset? How did Asaph get out of this 272 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:06,200 valley that he was in with all of this trouble in his mind? 273 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:11,400 Look at verses 16 and 17. Because the answer's so simple. 274 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:16,600 When I thought about how to understand this, it was too 275 00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:22,120 painful for me until I went into the sanctuary of God. 276 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:25,840 Then I understood their final end. 277 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:29,600 So what's the answer? How did he overcome all of this? 278 00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:32,880 He simply just went into the House of God. 279 00:16:33,280 --> 00:16:37,240 He went into the sanctuary of God and then he got clarity. 280 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:40,600 He got peace. The Earl of Oxford said the 281 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:43,800 greatest gift a man could ever receive is something called 282 00:16:44,040 --> 00:16:46,880 cubical thinking. Now, when I said that to my wife 283 00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:50,040 Emma, she said, what on earth is cubical thinking? 284 00:16:50,920 --> 00:16:53,960 Cubical thinking is this. Just like a cube has got many 285 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:57,680 different sides to it, so there are many different sides to a 286 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:00,720 truth. And here we find Asaf, he's only 287 00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:02,760 been looking at one side of the cube. 288 00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:05,920 He's only been looking at one side of the truth. 289 00:17:06,319 --> 00:17:09,119 And it's the the truth that here we have the, the, the 290 00:17:09,119 --> 00:17:10,480 unrighteous. They're doing well. 291 00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:13,400 They're prospering even though they've got evil intentions. 292 00:17:14,079 --> 00:17:18,440 But the godly man, the godly woman is struggling, is going 293 00:17:18,440 --> 00:17:21,119 through all kinds of difficulties and he's looking at 294 00:17:21,119 --> 00:17:24,480 that. But what happens when Asaph goes 295 00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:28,119 into the sanctuary of God? He sees all the sides of the 296 00:17:28,119 --> 00:17:30,400 cube. He realises the truth. 297 00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:34,280 One of the greatest truths in the Bible is this. 298 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:37,600 Your life, my life, will one day end. 299 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:41,600 All of us are going to die, and we're all going to be judged by 300 00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:45,040 a holy God. That is a vital truth that I 301 00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:47,520 think many of us forget. And this is what Asaph has 302 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:49,480 forgotten. Did you know that this Psalm 303 00:17:49,480 --> 00:17:53,040 actually has a sister? It's called Psalm 37. 304 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:58,960 And in Psalm 37, the writer talks about I have seen an evil 305 00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:02,600 man, I've seen an unrighteous man, and he's been spreading 306 00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:05,560 himself out like a green Laurel tree. 307 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:08,520 He's prospering, he's successful, he's abundant. 308 00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:12,680 He's doing so, so well. But then the Psalm says he 309 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:16,760 passed away and he was no more. Even though I looked for him, I 310 00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:20,960 couldn't find him. In other words, this unrighteous 311 00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:25,800 man, he was, he had his time, but soon the Lord dealt with him 312 00:18:26,240 --> 00:18:30,080 and he was wiped away. I used to work in a, in a high 313 00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:35,680 school ages 11 to 16 and I was a classroom assistant. 314 00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:38,360 I wasn't a teacher, I was a classroom assistant. 315 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:42,280 And you know what kids are like? They, they often share with you, 316 00:18:42,280 --> 00:18:45,080 they'll tell you things and you know, they'll ask you questions. 317 00:18:45,520 --> 00:18:48,000 And I remember chatting to the kids and I'd ask them things 318 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:50,000 like, what do you want to do when you grow up? 319 00:18:50,120 --> 00:18:52,680 Do you know what was the most common answer that they all 320 00:18:52,680 --> 00:18:55,120 said? I want to be a YouTube. 321 00:18:56,120 --> 00:18:58,560 Little did I know that was the job I was going to get a few 322 00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:01,680 years later or I want to be a celebrity. 323 00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:03,080 Now. There is a name. 324 00:19:03,080 --> 00:19:06,880 We talked about him in a video not so long ago that I expect 325 00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:09,800 most young men listening to my voice right now will know this 326 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:12,360 name, and it's the name Andrew Tate. 327 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:17,480 Now back in 2022-2023 particularly, Andrew Tate was 328 00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:21,400 the most Googled man on earth and all the young men wanted to 329 00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:22,880 be like him. Why? 330 00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:27,800 He was muscly, he had money, he had cars and he had lots and 331 00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:31,560 lots of girls and he was loud. So much so was his influence 332 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:34,360 that schools in the UK, I don't know what which country you're 333 00:19:34,360 --> 00:19:37,880 watching this from, but schools in the UK had to put on special 334 00:19:37,880 --> 00:19:42,040 assemblies, lessons in the morning all about Andrew Tate. 335 00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:45,320 To say this is not the kind of man we want to look up to. 336 00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:48,560 His influence was that great. And many men would look at that 337 00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:51,800 kind of lifestyle and say I'd love to have a lifestyle like 338 00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:54,520 Andrew Tate. Maybe girls, you might look at 339 00:19:54,520 --> 00:19:58,280 someone like Margot Robbie who's very, very beautiful or Taylor 340 00:19:58,280 --> 00:20:02,560 Swift who's who's got it all, looks, charisma, money, fame, 341 00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:05,640 music, she's got all of that. You might look at these people. 342 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:09,640 And we can be, can't we? We can be so attracted to the 343 00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:12,560 surface level of these people. We look at the shallow 344 00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:16,800 appearance, we always look at the beginning, but we never seem 345 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:19,880 to ask how does this lifestyle end? 346 00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:23,120 How does a life away from God and. 347 00:20:31,360 --> 00:20:34,320 Now I'd like to give you 2 examples of two famous 348 00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:37,320 celebrities and some of you, if you are particularly younger, 349 00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:39,720 you won't have heard of them. If you are older, you will 350 00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:41,480 definitely have heard of these two people. 351 00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:44,280 But these are two people, case studies that I think we can 352 00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:47,960 learn a lot from because we look at them at the end of their 353 00:20:47,960 --> 00:20:50,960 life. The first one is Jack Nicholson. 354 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:55,640 Jack Nicholson was an amazing actor, full of charisma, 355 00:20:55,880 --> 00:21:00,200 charming, rich, famous. He won an Oscar for One Flew 356 00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:04,640 Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and not only that, he made claims that 357 00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:08,680 he had had 2000 lovers, 2000 women. 358 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:11,520 That was his claim. Now, many men would look at Jack 359 00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:14,560 Nicholson's life and think, I would give anything to have his 360 00:21:14,560 --> 00:21:16,560 life. I'd love to have that life, all 361 00:21:16,560 --> 00:21:18,600 that money, all the girls, everything. 362 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:22,280 I'd love to have that, but here's the question, how did 363 00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:27,480 Jack Nicholson end at age 77? In an interview in 2014, Jack 364 00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:32,200 Nicholson said I regret florandering around when I was 365 00:21:32,200 --> 00:21:37,360 younger because now no woman will trust me and I'm terrified 366 00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:42,440 of dying in the house on my own. So in other words, this 367 00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:44,840 lifestyle, in the end, he's regretted it. 368 00:21:45,360 --> 00:21:48,960 OK #2 Elizabeth Taylor, have you heard that name before? 369 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:51,840 In the 1950s? She was rich, she was famous, 370 00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:54,960 she was beautiful, and she had all of Hollywood doting over. 371 00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:58,040 All the men just thought she was so beautiful. 372 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:01,240 Elizabeth Taylor, she, she had a great beginning, but the 373 00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:03,640 question needs to be asked, how did she end? 374 00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:06,960 Well when her looks began to fade like happens to us all, 375 00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:11,240 when she began to gain weight, suddenly Hollywood gave a career 376 00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:15,200 over to the younger models, the younger car if you like to Jane 377 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:18,760 Fonda to to Julie Christie and they became bored of her and 378 00:22:18,760 --> 00:22:20,840 suddenly she didn't get the same roles anymore. 379 00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:25,200 But this is what we all remember about Elizabeth Taylor after 380 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:26,880 well how many marriages did she have? 381 00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:28,800 Did she have one? Did she have two? 382 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:34,920 3-4 after 8 marriages. Did Elizabeth Taylor ever find 383 00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:36,600 true love? No. 384 00:22:37,440 --> 00:22:42,600 She spent most of her life on medicated things to to keep her 385 00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:45,920 going. She was sad, she was lonely and 386 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:50,440 she died completely alone with no husband at 79 years old. 387 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:54,080 Totally broken. But does the media portray that? 388 00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:56,600 No. If we talk about Instagram 389 00:22:56,600 --> 00:22:59,280 reels, do we see that on on the highlights of Instagram? 390 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:00,440 Do we see this? No. 391 00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:02,920 Does it show us what a life rebelling against God? 392 00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:04,640 Does it show us how that will end? 393 00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:06,720 No. And it certainly doesn't show us 394 00:23:06,720 --> 00:23:10,440 that death and destruction come to all those who reject the 395 00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:13,440 living God. My dear friends, never forget 396 00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:18,720 what the Bible says. The way of the Sinner is hard. 397 00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:22,000 It's not easy to live a lifestyle of sin. 398 00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:24,760 It might look on the on the shallow appearance on the 399 00:23:24,760 --> 00:23:28,840 surface, it might look enticing, but in the end, it is so much 400 00:23:28,840 --> 00:23:34,200 harder to be a rebellious Sinner against a holy God and never 401 00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:36,640 forget this. The death of the ungodly is a 402 00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:40,040 terrible thing. Imagine all of that unrest, all 403 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:42,120 of that misery, all of that regret. 404 00:23:42,120 --> 00:23:44,720 And what comfort do these people have when they come to the end 405 00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:46,520 of their life? What hope do they have for the 406 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:49,640 future? The only comfort they have is 407 00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:52,840 just a handful of memories in their mind, just memories of the 408 00:23:52,840 --> 00:23:54,320 past that they can barely remember. 409 00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:56,200 That's all they have to comfort them. 410 00:23:56,320 --> 00:23:59,920 But then contrast that to the life of the believer. 411 00:24:00,320 --> 00:24:02,720 On the surface, it looks narrow. It looks boring. 412 00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:04,880 The men and women of the world, they laugh at us. 413 00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:07,080 You really believe this storybook. 414 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:11,120 You go to church every Sunday. You give up all of your holidays 415 00:24:11,120 --> 00:24:14,440 to to do missions and things. What a what a boring way to 416 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:16,480 live. But the question needs to be 417 00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:20,600 asked, OK, on the surface, you might laugh at us, but how do we 418 00:24:20,600 --> 00:24:23,440 end Oscar Wilde? You've heard of Oscar Wilde 419 00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:25,200 before. That, that that famous writer 420 00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:30,200 Oscar Wilde, if I can say this, was a very evil man, very, very 421 00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:34,600 sinful, very, very prideful. And he mocked Christians and he 422 00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:38,240 encouraged other people to to mock the Bible and to do their 423 00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:41,160 own thing. He was a man who lived in sin. 424 00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:43,600 And yet many people don't realize this. 425 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:47,120 Oscar Wilde on his deathbed, asked for a minister to come and 426 00:24:47,120 --> 00:24:51,000 visit him to convert him. Balaam, you know that, that 427 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:55,400 Balaam the the godless prophets. Do you know what Balaam said? 428 00:24:55,600 --> 00:25:01,000 He said let me die the death of the righteous and let my end be 429 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:03,320 like his. In other words, Balaam could see 430 00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:06,560 that the man of God, the woman of God, they die peacefully. 431 00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:09,560 But he knew that the unbeliever does not die peacefully. 432 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:13,280 And he said, I want to die the same death as those. 433 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:15,880 I want to to become a Christian, if you like. 434 00:25:16,560 --> 00:25:20,880 And I do think as as every man's life draws to a close, I really 435 00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:24,440 do think we need to ask the question, who truly does 436 00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:27,760 prosper? Is it the wicked or is it the 437 00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:30,840 godly? What about the words of John 438 00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:33,560 Wesley? John Wesley talking about 439 00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:37,080 Christians that he's watched time and time again step into 440 00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:39,120 eternity. What did he say? 441 00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:44,720 Our people die. Well, so young Christian, I want 442 00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:48,920 to say this to you or older Christian, never forget you are 443 00:25:48,920 --> 00:25:52,280 actually on the winning side. And I do also want to say this 444 00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:54,520 for anyone who's been thinking this all the way through my 445 00:25:54,520 --> 00:25:58,600 message, it is actually a real joy to be a Christian. 446 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:03,320 There's nothing greater than the living God who made me, who made 447 00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:05,520 the universe speaks to me through the word. 448 00:26:05,760 --> 00:26:08,480 There's no greater joy to to pray when you've got nowhere 449 00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:13,160 else to go, and yet you pray to God and you know he hears you 450 00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:16,240 and he answers prayers. There's no greater joy to know 451 00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:19,640 that my sins have been forgiven. I've got no guilt anymore. 452 00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:23,600 I have no shame because Christ took my shame on the cross, and 453 00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:27,560 there's no greater joy than to have fellowship with other 454 00:26:27,560 --> 00:26:32,320 Christians, to have peace, to have times of mission, and to 455 00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:34,360 share the gospel. It's a great life to be a 456 00:26:34,360 --> 00:26:37,880 Christian. But if you are a Christian, what 457 00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:40,040 about you? What would I say to you? 458 00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:44,880 I'd say these things. You might look good now, but the 459 00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:48,560 question is how will you end? I wonder? 460 00:26:48,720 --> 00:26:52,400 Have you ever thought like this? I'll become a Christian when I'm 461 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:56,200 older, once I've had some fun, once I've, you know, done what I 462 00:26:56,200 --> 00:26:59,920 want to do, once I've lived my life, then I will give my life 463 00:27:00,120 --> 00:27:03,440 to the Lord God. Old friends, if that's you and 464 00:27:03,440 --> 00:27:07,640 your thinking like that, you do realize that sometimes at the 465 00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:10,240 end of your life, your faculties have gone. 466 00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:12,640 You, you're not with it in a in a hospital. 467 00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:14,240 That's happened many times before. 468 00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:18,440 And not just that right now as a young person, your heart is 469 00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:21,160 tender to God. Believe it or not, you will 470 00:27:21,160 --> 00:27:24,640 never have a more tender heart to God than in your youth 471 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:27,640 because you haven't had the effects of years and years of 472 00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:31,000 sin wearing down your heart, hardening your heart. 473 00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:33,560 The Bible says it calls it scoliosis. 474 00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:36,160 Do not be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 475 00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:40,760 So right now, come to him while you're tender, while you can 476 00:27:40,760 --> 00:27:44,200 hear his voice, while you don't have that spiritual hearing loss 477 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:47,680 that happens after years and years of, of living in the world 478 00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:50,560 and, and, and having doubts and sin surround you. 479 00:27:50,880 --> 00:27:53,920 Come to him. Come to the one who died on that 480 00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:56,560 cross. For all of our waywardness, for 481 00:27:56,560 --> 00:28:00,720 all of our sin, for all the times we've failed God, he died 482 00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:05,320 in our place so that our sins can be washed away and trust in 483 00:28:05,320 --> 00:28:08,160 him because he's the one who rose from the dead. 484 00:28:08,480 --> 00:28:11,720 Because the the fact is this, the Christian has a glorious 485 00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:14,640 future. Yes, we might start difficult 486 00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:17,400 and it might be difficult in this life, but we end 487 00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:19,000 gloriously. Why? 488 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:23,360 Because the Son of God, Jesus Christ went into a tomb, rose 489 00:28:23,360 --> 00:28:25,480 from the dead. He's in heaven and he's coming 490 00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:28,520 back. He's coming again for His people 491 00:28:28,720 --> 00:28:33,720 to give them all eternal life in heaven for billions and billions 492 00:28:33,720 --> 00:28:37,960 for all of eternity. When time is no more, we'll be 493 00:28:37,960 --> 00:28:41,480 there enjoying Him with peace with the Lord. 494 00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:43,840 Old friends, I hope you find that today. 495 00:28:44,200 --> 00:28:47,200 Now, if you are a Christian and you regularly watch this 496 00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:49,440 channel, I do need a little bit of honesty from you. 497 00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:52,960 And you probably notice that I have been sort of playing around 498 00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:57,080 with a few different things. I recently bought some 499 00:28:57,080 --> 00:29:00,320 microphones and because they might, I bought 2 of them. 500 00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:02,040 You might have seen them in the videos. 501 00:29:02,400 --> 00:29:04,720 And because they're expensive, I'm thinking I need to use 502 00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:06,280 these. So I've been doing, I've been 503 00:29:06,280 --> 00:29:08,520 kind of a bit like I now paid the money for them. 504 00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:10,880 I have to use them. But I've been making these 505 00:29:10,880 --> 00:29:13,640 testimony videos where I've been interviewing different friends 506 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:17,000 and I've got a big list of people I want to interview. 507 00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:21,440 But what I am noticing is, and this isn't a negative thing. 508 00:29:21,840 --> 00:29:25,400 I understand you guys are all busy but and folks aren't 509 00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:27,800 watching them as much. And I just want to understand, 510 00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:31,600 is it because it's such a long piece of content, it's too long 511 00:29:31,600 --> 00:29:34,880 to go into or do you just prefer these kind of videos? 512 00:29:35,080 --> 00:29:38,280 Obviously it's not an either or I'll keep doing both, but just 513 00:29:38,280 --> 00:29:41,200 let me know what I'm asking you is let me know what is your 514 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:43,040 preference. Do you like these videos where 515 00:29:43,040 --> 00:29:46,920 it's me with the Bible or do you like the testimonies and which 516 00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:49,040 do you prefer? So if I was because I don't get 517 00:29:49,040 --> 00:29:51,640 as much time on this channel as I do for the off the curb 518 00:29:51,640 --> 00:29:54,160 channel, where should I focus my main energies? 519 00:29:54,160 --> 00:29:55,680 That's what I'm I'm asking you guys. 520 00:29:56,840 --> 00:29:59,680 Thank you to everyone who does pray for this ministry. 521 00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:02,040 Thank you to those of you support. 522 00:30:02,040 --> 00:30:04,760 I never talk about that publicly, but those of you 523 00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:08,520 support the ministry financially through our website. 524 00:30:08,520 --> 00:30:12,600 I'm very, very grateful for that and it really does help us a lot 525 00:30:12,680 --> 00:30:15,800 to cover the costs of editing and all these different things. 526 00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:20,400 But yeah, please do just keep praying for us as a family with 527 00:30:20,400 --> 00:30:23,040 various things going on because I needed to have a look at this 528 00:30:23,040 --> 00:30:27,320 Psalm again. And just, yeah, stay close, 529 00:30:27,320 --> 00:30:29,120 guys. I want you guys to stay close 530 00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:32,240 and I need to stay close to to you guys because it's just a 531 00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:35,080 blessing having your friendship and having these coffees. 532 00:30:35,440 --> 00:30:38,320 God bless you all and I hope you have a very, very blessed week 533 00:30:38,320 --> 00:30:40,280 wherever you're watching this in the world.