WEBVTT 00:00:00.010 --> 00:00:03.730 Well good morning. It's good to see you all. 00:00:04.549 --> 00:00:07.469 I am especially glad to be here this morning. 00:00:07.650 --> 00:00:10.009 We have just in the Thomason house, we've been 00:00:10.009 --> 00:00:14.910 battling sickness the last week and a half and 00:00:14.910 --> 00:00:18.449 all week I knew I'd be preaching and Joe kept 00:00:18.449 --> 00:00:20.190 texting me, how you feeling, how you feeling? 00:00:20.820 --> 00:00:25.460 I'm okay. I'm okay. I think maybe I pushed a 00:00:25.460 --> 00:00:27.379 little bit at the end of the week and didn't 00:00:27.379 --> 00:00:29.980 feel great yesterday, so pray for me. Just been 00:00:29.980 --> 00:00:34.340 a weird battle in our house with some sickness 00:00:34.340 --> 00:00:38.299 this week, so that's the bad news I guess on 00:00:38.299 --> 00:00:40.679 one breath. And I'm gonna ask the forgiveness 00:00:40.679 --> 00:00:46.229 of the young adults who... heard me preach on 00:00:46.229 --> 00:00:48.310 this because I had to call an audible in light 00:00:48.310 --> 00:00:53.149 of not feeling well. And we'll get to this on 00:00:53.149 --> 00:00:55.350 the faithfulness of God. So that's the bad news. 00:00:55.369 --> 00:00:57.570 The good news is I have some news to share with 00:00:57.570 --> 00:01:02.049 you. If you hadn't heard, a baby was born this 00:01:02.049 --> 00:01:07.950 week to Daniel and Sarah Tavern. And little baby 00:01:07.950 --> 00:01:14.079 baby boy Rad Kitt Tavern. I know. I know. If 00:01:14.079 --> 00:01:16.280 you think that's a wow, ready for this, the stats 00:01:16.280 --> 00:01:25.719 on this baby. 10 pounds, 3 ounces, 22 .75 inches 00:01:25.719 --> 00:01:31.180 long. That's a big boy. So you can tell Sarah, 00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:36.200 great job when you see them. I'm so excited for 00:01:36.200 --> 00:01:39.280 them. I didn't have time to get the picture up. 00:01:39.359 --> 00:01:43.379 He is just a big boy and he is awesome and we're 00:01:43.379 --> 00:01:45.920 praising the Lord with them for God's kindness 00:01:45.920 --> 00:01:48.260 and faithfulness to them and so you can pray 00:01:48.260 --> 00:01:51.359 and I'm sure there'll be a meal going out, meal 00:01:51.359 --> 00:01:55.359 train going out for them. Well, why don't I do 00:01:55.359 --> 00:01:57.120 this? Kind of start us in prayer. Let me just 00:01:57.120 --> 00:01:59.900 pray and thank the Lord and we'll seek his help 00:01:59.900 --> 00:02:02.879 today. Lord so grateful for a little baby rad 00:02:02.879 --> 00:02:06.900 as we think about New life and we're just grateful 00:02:06.900 --> 00:02:11.659 for him. We praise the praise you with the taverns 00:02:11.659 --> 00:02:14.500 For that little one and just pray for your blessing 00:02:14.500 --> 00:02:18.020 on them as they adjust now to having the two 00:02:18.020 --> 00:02:21.759 little ones and Ask your blessing on them Lord. 00:02:21.759 --> 00:02:24.539 Give me grace this morning as I open your word 00:02:24.539 --> 00:02:29.379 and seek to Even unpack and make clear from your 00:02:29.379 --> 00:02:32.539 word your faithfulness. So help me do that by 00:02:32.539 --> 00:02:35.300 your grace your power praying in Jesus name. 00:02:35.620 --> 00:02:40.240 Amen Well, maybe we can just begin by a little 00:02:40.240 --> 00:02:45.060 bit of word association Sometimes, you know, 00:02:45.280 --> 00:02:47.099 we throw out a word we say what's the first thing 00:02:47.099 --> 00:02:49.560 that comes to our mind? I just want to ask you 00:02:49.560 --> 00:02:52.819 that in relation to the word faithful What's 00:02:52.819 --> 00:02:55.229 the what's the kind of the first thing? that 00:02:55.229 --> 00:02:58.469 kind of comes to your mind as you consider someone 00:02:58.469 --> 00:03:03.409 or something being faithful. I know for me, it's 00:03:03.409 --> 00:03:06.069 not uncommon in our culture. We think of a faithful 00:03:06.069 --> 00:03:10.310 dog, right? A dog that stays by your side. I 00:03:10.310 --> 00:03:12.310 had one of those growing up. His name was Sparky. 00:03:12.710 --> 00:03:16.009 Really original name for a dog. And he was my 00:03:16.009 --> 00:03:18.090 dalmatian. And essentially growing up, we were 00:03:18.090 --> 00:03:22.620 inseparable. me and Sparky. And he was always 00:03:22.620 --> 00:03:27.819 by my side. He was the Robin to my Batman. So 00:03:27.819 --> 00:03:30.780 much so there was a photo of that hung of me 00:03:30.780 --> 00:03:32.819 and Sparky, a portrait, a studio portrait that 00:03:32.819 --> 00:03:35.500 hung of me and Sparky in my house. Me wearing 00:03:35.500 --> 00:03:39.719 a Batman shirt and Sparky wearing his black spots 00:03:39.719 --> 00:03:44.000 and Batman and Robin. Faithful dog. Maybe you 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:47.560 think of Old Faithful, right? That geyser in 00:03:47.560 --> 00:03:50.979 Yellowstone National Park. You know, it's so 00:03:50.979 --> 00:03:55.379 named because of its consistency of blasts of 00:03:55.379 --> 00:03:57.759 hot water that rise, I think, up to 100 feet 00:03:57.759 --> 00:04:02.199 in the air. Old Faithful. You might think of 00:04:02.199 --> 00:04:05.580 a faithful friend, right? Someone who's been 00:04:05.580 --> 00:04:08.979 by your side through thick and thin, through 00:04:08.979 --> 00:04:13.810 highs and lows, through the fires of life. Maybe 00:04:13.810 --> 00:04:15.870 someone who's walked with you and been a constant 00:04:15.870 --> 00:04:19.050 help and companion. I mean, everybody needs a 00:04:19.050 --> 00:04:21.689 faithful friend, right? You think of in the scripture, 00:04:21.829 --> 00:04:25.089 Jonathan and David, you think of maybe Paul and 00:04:25.089 --> 00:04:28.350 his companions, Timothy and Epaphroditus, faithful 00:04:28.350 --> 00:04:32.050 comrades in ministry, men that he could trust, 00:04:32.569 --> 00:04:35.110 faithful partners in ministry, right? These are 00:04:35.110 --> 00:04:38.850 vital. You could say the same of marriage, right? 00:04:39.350 --> 00:04:43.089 I mean, to be married. And to covenant before 00:04:43.089 --> 00:04:45.769 God and friends and family means that we are 00:04:45.769 --> 00:04:49.550 pledging to be faithful My father -in -law he 00:04:49.550 --> 00:04:52.670 he actually transcribed my entire wedding but 00:04:52.670 --> 00:04:55.610 of course my vows were and he gave that to us 00:04:55.610 --> 00:04:58.009 as a gift on our first anniversary and and of 00:04:58.009 --> 00:05:01.310 course the vows I Shay take thee Bethany to be 00:05:01.310 --> 00:05:04.769 my wedded wife and Do promise and covenant before 00:05:04.769 --> 00:05:09.029 God in these witnesses to be thy loving and faithful 00:05:09.029 --> 00:05:13.810 husband And of course, her to me to be my loving 00:05:13.810 --> 00:05:16.870 and faithful wife. I mean, it's one of the hallmarks 00:05:16.870 --> 00:05:20.250 of marriage, right? Faithfulness is just part 00:05:20.250 --> 00:05:24.029 of the commitment in trusting ourselves to someone 00:05:24.029 --> 00:05:26.949 else to seek to care and love them. It requires 00:05:26.949 --> 00:05:29.490 faithfulness. I mean, I mean, these are just 00:05:29.490 --> 00:05:31.930 some of the images, right? You may have others 00:05:31.930 --> 00:05:34.209 that have come to your mind. Those are some that 00:05:34.209 --> 00:05:37.470 come to mind, but to my mind. But we also might 00:05:37.470 --> 00:05:42.220 think of even faithlessness. Unfaithfulness. 00:05:43.199 --> 00:05:45.620 I mean, there's other images that come to our 00:05:45.620 --> 00:05:51.120 mind. We really do live in a world of unfaithfulness. 00:05:51.300 --> 00:05:54.540 I think I have a slide for that. I mean, we live 00:05:54.540 --> 00:05:57.939 in a world where trust is low. I mean, it's often 00:05:57.939 --> 00:06:00.980 a day doesn't go by right where we don't feel 00:06:00.980 --> 00:06:03.579 the reality of this. I mean, I even said this 00:06:03.579 --> 00:06:05.920 to the to the ambassadors group and had an opportunity 00:06:05.920 --> 00:06:08.620 to talk on this back in early November. At that 00:06:08.620 --> 00:06:11.339 time, Amazon was announcing a round of layoffs 00:06:11.339 --> 00:06:15.819 and the CEO came out and he said, you know, it's 00:06:15.819 --> 00:06:19.439 not because of AI. It's actually because of company 00:06:19.439 --> 00:06:22.180 culture. We're announcing tens of thousands of 00:06:22.180 --> 00:06:24.259 layoffs. and it wasn't just two or three days 00:06:24.259 --> 00:06:25.860 later, he said, actually, haha, just kidding, 00:06:26.319 --> 00:06:28.620 it actually is because of AI. And I thought, 00:06:28.740 --> 00:06:31.560 man, you're the CEO of one of the largest companies 00:06:31.560 --> 00:06:34.839 in the world. And one day you say one thing, 00:06:34.920 --> 00:06:36.680 another day you say something else. How could 00:06:36.680 --> 00:06:38.839 we trust you? It's actually interesting, this 00:06:38.839 --> 00:06:40.779 week they announced another round of layoffs. 00:06:41.420 --> 00:06:43.860 And they made this quote, I read it on their 00:06:43.860 --> 00:06:46.220 blog, that this isn't going to be a new rhythm 00:06:46.220 --> 00:06:49.220 of laying people off every few months. You're 00:06:49.220 --> 00:06:51.620 kind of like, how can we trust you? We don't 00:06:51.620 --> 00:06:53.899 know that's true now some of you may be employed 00:06:53.899 --> 00:06:57.120 or hopefully still employed at Amazon and I'll 00:06:57.120 --> 00:07:01.139 pray I'll pray that that would not be true But 00:07:01.139 --> 00:07:03.660 but right we right right tech companies do this 00:07:03.660 --> 00:07:05.959 and and we see that there's no faithfulness to 00:07:05.959 --> 00:07:08.639 their word We say the same thing in politics, 00:07:08.639 --> 00:07:12.660 right? This idea of of just simply lying so -called 00:07:12.660 --> 00:07:16.420 have truths have become the norm No faithfulness 00:07:16.420 --> 00:07:19.670 to their word or same is true for marriage I 00:07:19.670 --> 00:07:22.290 mean, the marriage vows anymore seem to be more 00:07:22.290 --> 00:07:26.350 optional than permanent, right? Divorce is easy 00:07:26.350 --> 00:07:29.430 and apparently commitment isn't a big deal. Till 00:07:29.430 --> 00:07:32.610 death do us part has become till I feel like 00:07:32.610 --> 00:07:36.149 I don't love you anymore. We live in a world 00:07:36.149 --> 00:07:39.750 of unfaithfulness and it's not just in our culture. 00:07:39.769 --> 00:07:43.589 It's also made its way into the church. into 00:07:43.589 --> 00:07:46.790 the church. So many churches today claiming to 00:07:46.790 --> 00:07:50.850 be Bible believing and Bible teaching churches 00:07:50.850 --> 00:07:53.949 have been found unfaithful to Christ. We see 00:07:53.949 --> 00:07:56.189 it in their lack of commitment to the Word of 00:07:56.189 --> 00:08:00.889 God. They come and they've abandoned the Word 00:08:00.889 --> 00:08:03.990 of God in the name of progress, in the name of 00:08:03.990 --> 00:08:07.689 being affirming of what the Lord has called evil, 00:08:08.370 --> 00:08:11.699 even at times propping up false teachers. propping 00:08:11.699 --> 00:08:14.019 them up and saying that they're people that we 00:08:14.019 --> 00:08:17.199 should follow that are actually contrary, that 00:08:17.199 --> 00:08:20.259 are unfaithful to the Word of God. I mean, I 00:08:20.259 --> 00:08:23.259 could go on and on. The reality is we do live 00:08:23.259 --> 00:08:25.800 in a world of unfaithfulness, a world of lying, 00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:27.920 no one keeping their word. We live in a church 00:08:27.920 --> 00:08:30.519 culture where we've abandoned the Word and the 00:08:30.519 --> 00:08:34.159 Lord Jesus and been unfaithful to Him and His 00:08:34.159 --> 00:08:37.559 Word. And the question becomes, what do we do? 00:08:38.579 --> 00:08:44.019 What can we do? Is there anyone that we can trust? 00:08:44.179 --> 00:08:47.460 Is there anybody truly faithful that we can rely 00:08:47.460 --> 00:08:49.659 on? And of course, I think you know the answer 00:08:49.659 --> 00:08:51.899 today is found in the Word of God. So if you 00:08:51.899 --> 00:08:53.740 don't have your Bible open already, I would love 00:08:53.740 --> 00:08:59.120 for you to open it to Psalm 36. Psalm 36. It 00:08:59.120 --> 00:09:02.960 seeks to answer this question, who can we trust? 00:09:03.480 --> 00:09:06.360 Is there anyone faithful, and I love how it does 00:09:06.360 --> 00:09:09.659 it. It does it in such a beautiful fashion. Maybe 00:09:09.659 --> 00:09:12.360 as you turn there, I can just tell you some press 00:09:12.360 --> 00:09:15.639 on this psalm, what the commentators, multiple 00:09:15.639 --> 00:09:17.419 commentators at least that I was looking at have 00:09:17.419 --> 00:09:19.820 said about this psalm, and I'll have a slide 00:09:19.820 --> 00:09:22.860 for this. It's some call it a composition of 00:09:22.860 --> 00:09:27.120 rare excellence. One commentator said it's one 00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:30.320 of the finest psalms in the whole collection. 00:09:31.690 --> 00:09:33.870 And Jim Hamilton, in his commentary, he says 00:09:33.870 --> 00:09:38.029 David's poetry soars to unmatched heights in 00:09:38.029 --> 00:09:42.269 Psalm 36. I mean, this Psalm is kind of a lament 00:09:42.269 --> 00:09:45.669 Psalm. It's lamenting the reality here at the 00:09:45.669 --> 00:09:48.590 beginning of human sinfulness, but at the same 00:09:48.590 --> 00:09:52.710 time, it's reorienting our heart in light of 00:09:52.710 --> 00:09:56.700 the character of God. You see at the top of your 00:09:56.700 --> 00:09:59.879 psalm right there. It's a psalm. It says of David 00:09:59.879 --> 00:10:04.720 of David and it's in its full here of contrast 00:10:04.720 --> 00:10:08.419 David is telling us the difference between man 00:10:08.419 --> 00:10:12.940 and God and He gives us these incredible these 00:10:12.940 --> 00:10:18.259 contrasts and in in in the middle of these contrasts 00:10:18.259 --> 00:10:20.039 We're gonna get incredible truth about who we 00:10:20.039 --> 00:10:24.700 can trust and who we can rely on So we can break 00:10:24.700 --> 00:10:27.139 this psalm up real simply into three simple sections 00:10:27.139 --> 00:10:29.940 You have the the first section verses 1 to 4 00:10:29.940 --> 00:10:32.259 you have the wicked the wickedness of the wicked 00:10:32.259 --> 00:10:35.840 the wickedness of the wicked secondly you have 00:10:35.840 --> 00:10:39.179 the faithfulness of God in verses 5 through 9 00:10:39.179 --> 00:10:42.179 and Then finally in verses 10 to 12 you have 00:10:42.179 --> 00:10:45.559 the prayer of the pious the prayer of the pious 00:10:45.559 --> 00:10:48.580 We're gonna start there. We're gonna start there 00:10:48.580 --> 00:10:50.519 with the wickedness of the wicked look down in 00:10:50.519 --> 00:10:56.690 your Bible at verse 1 Says this David says this 00:10:56.690 --> 00:10:59.250 transgressions speaks to the wicked deep in his 00:10:59.250 --> 00:11:03.289 heart There is no fear of God before his eyes 00:11:03.289 --> 00:11:05.970 for he flatters himself in his own eyes That 00:11:05.970 --> 00:11:09.250 his iniquity cannot be found out and hated the 00:11:09.250 --> 00:11:11.830 words of his mouth are trouble and deceit He 00:11:11.830 --> 00:11:14.490 has ceased to act wisely and do good. He plots 00:11:14.490 --> 00:11:16.590 trouble while on his bed He sets himself in a 00:11:16.590 --> 00:11:21.090 way that is not good. He does not reject evil 00:11:21.870 --> 00:11:24.429 Right here, at the very top, at the very beginning 00:11:24.429 --> 00:11:27.169 of the psalm, we have a description of those 00:11:27.169 --> 00:11:30.950 who are godless. Of course, David is going to 00:11:30.950 --> 00:11:33.990 get to God, but before he starts with man, and 00:11:33.990 --> 00:11:37.590 he starts with the wickedness of man. And you 00:11:37.590 --> 00:11:39.529 should have to consider just how he describes 00:11:39.529 --> 00:11:42.570 them. He says first and foremost that they have 00:11:42.570 --> 00:11:46.850 no fear of God. No fear of God. I mean, I don't 00:11:46.850 --> 00:11:49.399 know what... comes to your mind when you hear 00:11:49.399 --> 00:11:51.779 the fear of God, you might be thinking of the 00:11:51.779 --> 00:11:55.379 idea of reverence. Reverence, not a wrong way. 00:11:55.700 --> 00:11:58.299 That's usually how we understand the fear of 00:11:58.299 --> 00:12:00.980 God, and that would be true of the wicked. They 00:12:00.980 --> 00:12:02.980 don't have a reverence for God, but the language 00:12:02.980 --> 00:12:06.659 here is a lot stronger. It means they literally 00:12:06.659 --> 00:12:12.779 have no terror, no dread of God. They have no 00:12:12.779 --> 00:12:17.259 fear of His judgment. They don't even think about 00:12:17.259 --> 00:12:20.799 God that way. It's fascinating. Paul actually, 00:12:21.059 --> 00:12:24.039 in Romans 3, quotes from this Psalm in Psalm 00:12:24.039 --> 00:12:26.360 36. You don't have to turn there. It'll come 00:12:26.360 --> 00:12:28.440 up on the screen. Let's just follow along as 00:12:28.440 --> 00:12:32.289 I read this. He says this. Does Paul? None is 00:12:32.289 --> 00:12:36.029 righteous. No, not one. No one understands. No 00:12:36.029 --> 00:12:38.970 one seeks for God. All have turned aside. Together 00:12:38.970 --> 00:12:42.110 they've become worthless. No one does good, not 00:12:42.110 --> 00:12:44.970 even one. Their throat is an open grave. They 00:12:44.970 --> 00:12:47.529 use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps 00:12:47.529 --> 00:12:50.610 is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses 00:12:50.610 --> 00:12:52.950 and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed 00:12:52.950 --> 00:12:56.309 blood and their paths are ruin and misery and 00:12:56.309 --> 00:12:58.350 the way of peace they have not known. And here 00:12:58.350 --> 00:13:03.620 it is. There is no fear of God before their eyes. 00:13:04.840 --> 00:13:07.539 Paul, of course, is unpacking the reality that 00:13:07.539 --> 00:13:10.980 everyone is a sinner. Everyone has missed the 00:13:10.980 --> 00:13:13.720 mark. Everyone has been proven in that sense 00:13:13.720 --> 00:13:16.580 unfaithful to obey the law of the Lord and are 00:13:16.580 --> 00:13:19.340 now for now therefore condemned under judgment 00:13:19.340 --> 00:13:24.059 by a righteous God. His point in Romans further 00:13:24.059 --> 00:13:30.169 is that even. Even all humanity. No matter what 00:13:30.169 --> 00:13:32.330 they do, no matter how much they try, are wicked 00:13:32.330 --> 00:13:35.029 deep down and they are desperately in need of 00:13:35.029 --> 00:13:39.090 Christ. In need of Christ. The wicked have no 00:13:39.090 --> 00:13:44.029 fear of God. And this is bad news. Because as 00:13:44.029 --> 00:13:46.610 one commentator put it, when a man has no fear 00:13:46.610 --> 00:13:52.230 of God, he is prepared for any crime. He's prepared 00:13:52.230 --> 00:13:55.669 for any crime. And that's essentially what David 00:13:55.669 --> 00:13:58.070 here is laying out in verses one to four. In 00:13:58.070 --> 00:14:00.549 fact, some commentators would even see maybe 00:14:00.549 --> 00:14:02.490 stages of sin. I'm gonna put these up for you 00:14:02.490 --> 00:14:05.409 so you can see them. I mean, it might even start 00:14:05.409 --> 00:14:08.570 here with self -deception, verse two. For he 00:14:08.570 --> 00:14:12.370 flatters himself in his own eyes. I mean, he's 00:14:12.370 --> 00:14:15.149 right in his own eyes. So he can't even see his 00:14:15.149 --> 00:14:18.409 own sin. He's self -deceived, is the wicked. 00:14:19.060 --> 00:14:22.340 Even there, and secondly, insensitive to sin, 00:14:22.519 --> 00:14:26.360 verse two. Can't see it and root it out and can't 00:14:26.360 --> 00:14:28.519 repent of it, right? It says that his iniquity 00:14:28.519 --> 00:14:31.159 cannot be found out and hated. He's insensitive 00:14:31.159 --> 00:14:35.220 to sin. Maybe a stage of sin here. Then further, 00:14:35.600 --> 00:14:38.179 can't help but sin. Everything that comes out 00:14:38.179 --> 00:14:40.740 of his mouth is wicked and deceitful. He doesn't 00:14:40.740 --> 00:14:44.340 do anything that would be considered good. Verse 00:14:44.340 --> 00:14:46.580 three, the words of his mouth are trouble and 00:14:46.580 --> 00:14:51.519 deceit. Further, just going down in these stages 00:14:51.519 --> 00:14:54.460 of sin, he plans and prepares for sin. He is 00:14:54.460 --> 00:14:56.940 committed to it, even planning for it. Verse 00:14:56.940 --> 00:14:59.279 four, he plots trouble while on his bed, just 00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:03.879 laying there going, man, what can I do? Finally, 00:15:06.379 --> 00:15:10.539 unable to reject sin, just simply will not lay 00:15:10.539 --> 00:15:12.419 it aside. The latter half of verse four, he sets 00:15:12.419 --> 00:15:15.759 himself in a way that is not good. He does not 00:15:15.759 --> 00:15:23.389 reject evil. It's a lot going on here. And David 00:15:23.389 --> 00:15:26.129 is trying to set us up for something. He wants 00:15:26.129 --> 00:15:29.129 us to understand the wickedness of the wicked. 00:15:29.250 --> 00:15:31.769 They have no fear of God. They have no trembling 00:15:31.769 --> 00:15:34.169 before him. They're utterly marked by wickedness. 00:15:34.190 --> 00:15:37.110 And here's the thing here. Because of that, their 00:15:37.110 --> 00:15:40.950 lives are empty. That's essentially the result 00:15:40.950 --> 00:15:42.909 of their lives. They might look like they're 00:15:42.909 --> 00:15:45.529 having fun day in and day out, but they go home 00:15:45.529 --> 00:15:49.200 and they're joyless. laying in their beds, thinking 00:15:49.200 --> 00:15:51.700 about what evil they could do next. And because 00:15:51.700 --> 00:15:53.539 of this, verse 3 says, they've ceased to act 00:15:53.539 --> 00:15:58.360 wisely. They're simply fools. Fools. And one 00:15:58.360 --> 00:16:01.159 day their lives will come to an end, and the 00:16:01.159 --> 00:16:03.679 true fear of God will be before them in judgment. 00:16:04.779 --> 00:16:07.059 I mean, it's a sad state to be the wicked who 00:16:07.059 --> 00:16:09.919 are described here. And yet it is a description, 00:16:09.919 --> 00:16:12.480 we know this, of all people who are apart from 00:16:12.480 --> 00:16:16.600 Christ. All those who have no relationship with 00:16:16.600 --> 00:16:19.460 God, in deep need of the grace of God that's 00:16:19.460 --> 00:16:22.840 only found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Maybe that's 00:16:22.840 --> 00:16:26.340 you this morning. Maybe as you read even these 00:16:26.340 --> 00:16:28.720 stages of sin and you read these descriptions, 00:16:29.100 --> 00:16:32.620 you think, man, I could see myself here, no fear 00:16:32.620 --> 00:16:35.539 of God, planning out and seeking sin, not rejecting 00:16:35.539 --> 00:16:39.200 evil. If that's you, I want to introduce you 00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:42.399 to the God of the Bible. I want to introduce 00:16:42.399 --> 00:16:46.039 you to the man Jesus Christ who we just saying 00:16:46.039 --> 00:16:49.200 about a few minutes ago that we as believers 00:16:49.200 --> 00:16:52.480 can call our treasure and seeing about him being 00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:57.940 our treasure he is a true and faithful God and 00:16:57.940 --> 00:17:01.759 he died for your sin and my sin on a cross and 00:17:01.759 --> 00:17:06.400 he was raised up we just saying about it and 00:17:06.400 --> 00:17:08.440 while the reality of the gospel is not found 00:17:08.440 --> 00:17:10.799 here in Psalm 36 we're always being pointed that 00:17:10.799 --> 00:17:13.990 direction aren't we Always being pointed towards 00:17:13.990 --> 00:17:16.509 the cross of Christ, but but one of the descriptions 00:17:16.509 --> 00:17:19.349 that we have here of God I would even say Christ 00:17:19.349 --> 00:17:22.549 is that he is faithful. He will not leave you 00:17:22.549 --> 00:17:25.990 empty like sin will He will not leave you wanting 00:17:25.990 --> 00:17:31.190 the way sin always does He will never fail you 00:17:31.190 --> 00:17:33.750 always give you real life and real joy Which 00:17:33.750 --> 00:17:35.589 takes us from the wickedness of the wicked to 00:17:35.589 --> 00:17:39.190 the faithfulness of God the faithfulness of God 00:17:39.190 --> 00:17:43.579 look down in your Bible at verse 5 Your steadfast 00:17:43.579 --> 00:17:48.640 love, O Lord, extends to the heavens. Your faithfulness 00:17:48.640 --> 00:17:51.500 to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the 00:17:51.500 --> 00:17:54.259 mountains of God. Your judgments are like the 00:17:54.259 --> 00:17:58.339 great deep man and beast you save, O Lord. How 00:17:58.339 --> 00:18:02.359 precious is your steadfast love, O God. The children 00:18:02.359 --> 00:18:04.559 of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your 00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:06.960 wings. They feast on the abundance of your house 00:18:06.960 --> 00:18:09.619 and you give them drink from the river of delights. 00:18:09.880 --> 00:18:11.880 For with you is the fountain of life. In your 00:18:11.880 --> 00:18:16.900 light do we see light. We started this morning 00:18:16.900 --> 00:18:19.599 by asking that question in a world full of unfaithfulness. 00:18:20.039 --> 00:18:23.019 Who can I trust? The psalmist is now answering 00:18:23.019 --> 00:18:26.359 this question in stark contrast to the the wicked 00:18:26.359 --> 00:18:29.529 described in verses one to four. who are always 00:18:29.529 --> 00:18:33.289 set to do evil, I would dare I say faithful to 00:18:33.289 --> 00:18:37.069 being evil, who you can't trust, who you can't 00:18:37.069 --> 00:18:40.349 rely on, there is a God who is completely and 00:18:40.349 --> 00:18:44.869 utterly faithful in everything that He does. 00:18:45.730 --> 00:18:48.569 Because His character is totally and altogether 00:18:48.569 --> 00:18:52.109 faithful. This is what David is trying to show 00:18:52.109 --> 00:18:55.230 us, and he's starting to stretch the imagination 00:18:55.230 --> 00:18:57.750 with his language, trying to find the loftiest 00:18:57.750 --> 00:19:01.650 and highest words to build this contrast. Look 00:19:01.650 --> 00:19:04.329 down again at verse five. Your steadfast love, 00:19:04.329 --> 00:19:09.029 O Lord, extends to the heavens. Your faithfulness 00:19:09.029 --> 00:19:11.890 to the clouds. If you were in our Bible study, 00:19:11.950 --> 00:19:13.529 our men's and women's Bible study this week, 00:19:13.609 --> 00:19:18.329 we talked about in the Psalms this idea of synonymous 00:19:18.329 --> 00:19:22.019 parallelism. It's in the Hebrew poetry where 00:19:22.019 --> 00:19:25.579 the second line essentially repeats the idea 00:19:25.579 --> 00:19:27.900 in the first line. And that's what we've got 00:19:27.900 --> 00:19:30.539 going on here. And the first line, he speaks 00:19:30.539 --> 00:19:33.160 there in verse five of God's steadfast love. 00:19:33.859 --> 00:19:36.299 And he repeats that word in verse seven, and 00:19:36.299 --> 00:19:39.119 he repeats it again in verse 10. It becomes a 00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:43.549 kind of theme over this song. In fact, the phrase 00:19:43.549 --> 00:19:47.369 steadfast love appears at least 120 times in 00:19:47.369 --> 00:19:49.170 the Psalms alone. That's why I love that one 00:19:49.170 --> 00:19:50.769 brother in our church this week said, hey, I'm 00:19:50.769 --> 00:19:52.609 starting to underline every time I see the word 00:19:52.609 --> 00:19:55.990 steadfast love. Stay at it. Keep going, brother. 00:19:56.009 --> 00:19:59.829 Do it. You should too. That word steadfast love 00:19:59.829 --> 00:20:04.170 is one word in Hebrew. It's hesed, hesed. It's 00:20:04.170 --> 00:20:07.230 sometimes translated loving kindness, loving 00:20:07.230 --> 00:20:14.569 kindness. It means unfailing love. or loyal love. 00:20:15.230 --> 00:20:18.890 This is who God is. He is loyal and unfailing 00:20:18.890 --> 00:20:21.809 in His love for His people, unlike the marriages 00:20:21.809 --> 00:20:25.589 that we find today, where people fall in and 00:20:25.589 --> 00:20:31.250 out of love, the relationships that we see. God's 00:20:31.250 --> 00:20:34.309 love is nothing like that. His love is utterly 00:20:34.309 --> 00:20:37.890 faithful. He is unfailing in His love. He doesn't 00:20:37.890 --> 00:20:41.289 fall in and out of love with His people. He remains. 00:20:41.430 --> 00:20:43.809 He is faithful to His covenant, which is the 00:20:43.809 --> 00:20:47.309 sense of that word hesed. That's why David says 00:20:47.309 --> 00:20:51.529 it extends to the heavens. Its reach is endless. 00:20:51.609 --> 00:20:55.210 Don't we talk like this? Even in our children's 00:20:55.210 --> 00:21:01.869 books? Guess how much I love you. I love you 00:21:01.869 --> 00:21:06.029 to the moon and back. We read these things to 00:21:06.029 --> 00:21:09.289 our children. And here we see it as a description 00:21:09.289 --> 00:21:12.289 of our God, God's love extending to the heavens, 00:21:13.069 --> 00:21:15.609 to the moon and back. That's the second part 00:21:15.609 --> 00:21:17.670 of verse five. That's he repeats the same idea. 00:21:17.789 --> 00:21:21.809 Your faithfulness to the clouds. Right, it's 00:21:21.809 --> 00:21:24.329 very similar word faithfulness to the word steadfast 00:21:24.329 --> 00:21:26.869 love. It means steadfastness, faithful, trustworthy, 00:21:27.250 --> 00:21:31.009 honest. It's saying here that God doesn't waver, 00:21:31.329 --> 00:21:35.170 that God doesn't fail, that He is reliable. Or 00:21:35.170 --> 00:21:39.150 how about this one? God doesn't lie. In and out 00:21:39.150 --> 00:21:42.730 of sleep this week when I was resting from being 00:21:42.730 --> 00:21:44.569 sick at one point for some reason I texted my 00:21:44.569 --> 00:21:48.150 friend Nate. Nate works in tech. He lives in 00:21:48.150 --> 00:21:50.390 Texas. He runs his own company. He's kind of 00:21:50.390 --> 00:21:52.309 always on the cutting edge of technology. And 00:21:52.309 --> 00:21:55.769 I was asking him a question about chat GPT. You 00:21:55.769 --> 00:21:57.450 know that AI software? I feel like every time 00:21:57.450 --> 00:21:59.069 I preach, I'm talking about AI now. So sorry 00:21:59.069 --> 00:22:05.029 about that. But it's not something I use. And 00:22:05.029 --> 00:22:07.250 I've just been wondering about it. I said, Nate, 00:22:07.589 --> 00:22:10.970 do you use chat GPT? He said, well, I got my 00:22:10.970 --> 00:22:13.329 stats at the end of the year. that they sent 00:22:13.329 --> 00:22:15.470 it to me how much I use chat tbt and I said okay 00:22:15.470 --> 00:22:18.509 how much he goes I'm in the top 1 % of users 00:22:18.509 --> 00:22:24.069 he said I use it constantly I said man I gotta 00:22:24.069 --> 00:22:27.250 be honest I'm still a little skeptical I I don't 00:22:27.250 --> 00:22:29.690 know that I trust it he goes yeah that's good 00:22:29.690 --> 00:22:31.970 and he said this he goes it's it's helpful as 00:22:31.970 --> 00:22:33.970 far as it goes he actually told me how he he 00:22:33.970 --> 00:22:36.150 spent eight hours with it one day helping him 00:22:36.150 --> 00:22:39.230 fix like an engine at his house but then he said 00:22:39.230 --> 00:22:43.259 this to me But it will also just lie to you confidently. 00:22:45.960 --> 00:22:48.259 Lie to you confidently? How can you people trust 00:22:48.259 --> 00:22:52.359 it? I don't know. I mean, it's like shocking 00:22:52.359 --> 00:22:56.400 to me. And you think, who can we trust? What 00:22:56.400 --> 00:23:01.000 can we trust? I like the way the late John MacArthur 00:23:01.000 --> 00:23:03.960 answered that question. Quote should come up. 00:23:04.140 --> 00:23:07.160 It says, the only one we can trust without reservation 00:23:07.160 --> 00:23:12.130 is God. Because of his character, he cannot lie. 00:23:12.950 --> 00:23:15.509 Whatever he says or does is absolute truth. He 00:23:15.509 --> 00:23:17.970 has no ability to contradict himself. When he 00:23:17.970 --> 00:23:20.670 makes a promise, he can't help but keep it. He 00:23:20.670 --> 00:23:24.289 never deviates from his will or his word. He 00:23:24.289 --> 00:23:26.309 goes on to say this, because God is trustworthy, 00:23:26.650 --> 00:23:29.269 we can be sure that he is always faithful toward 00:23:29.269 --> 00:23:33.569 his own children. That's why you can trust him 00:23:33.569 --> 00:23:36.430 no matter what happens. Although you may be experiencing 00:23:36.430 --> 00:23:40.009 adversity, you can know that he is reliable. 00:23:41.650 --> 00:23:42.809 I don't know what you're going through right 00:23:42.809 --> 00:23:47.849 now. I don't know what adversity might have come 00:23:47.849 --> 00:23:52.549 into your life. And you might be going, man, 00:23:52.549 --> 00:23:56.150 who can I trust right now? Where can I turn? 00:23:58.630 --> 00:24:00.690 The simple answer of Psalm 36 is you can turn 00:24:00.690 --> 00:24:05.099 to a loving and faithful God that you can always 00:24:05.099 --> 00:24:09.539 trust way more than chat GPT way more even than 00:24:09.539 --> 00:24:13.920 that close friend way more than Fox News or CNN 00:24:13.920 --> 00:24:19.619 News because he's always faithful you can run 00:24:19.619 --> 00:24:23.160 to turn to and trust in your faithful God I mean 00:24:23.160 --> 00:24:25.440 God's faithfulness is an absolutely incredible 00:24:25.440 --> 00:24:29.900 mind -boggling attribute If you really think 00:24:29.900 --> 00:24:33.039 about it, I mean, it's part of His infinite perfections. 00:24:33.380 --> 00:24:36.119 I mean, we understand this. It means that even 00:24:36.119 --> 00:24:39.380 in His infinite, it's out of reach for us. That's 00:24:39.380 --> 00:24:41.460 a little bit of what David's trying to say. There's 00:24:41.460 --> 00:24:44.579 something unique about our God. Part of that 00:24:44.579 --> 00:24:47.759 is that He is faithful. That's why His faithfulness 00:24:47.759 --> 00:24:51.319 is to the clouds. Mean I would told this to the 00:24:51.319 --> 00:24:53.200 young adults and I'll share it with you I mean 00:24:53.200 --> 00:24:54.920 it seems like every time we study an attribute 00:24:54.920 --> 00:24:56.940 of God You ever done this you start studying 00:24:56.940 --> 00:24:58.660 an attribute of God you start thinking man. This 00:24:58.660 --> 00:25:02.299 must be a supreme attribute Like you start studying 00:25:02.299 --> 00:25:04.339 his love and you're like, that's it It's his 00:25:04.339 --> 00:25:06.519 love and then you go to his grace and you're 00:25:06.519 --> 00:25:08.619 like, it's got to be grace. It's everything and 00:25:08.619 --> 00:25:11.160 you go to mercy It's it's mercy and you come 00:25:11.160 --> 00:25:13.720 to faithfulness. You're like it has to be This 00:25:13.720 --> 00:25:16.960 has to be some kind of ultimate attribute. I 00:25:16.960 --> 00:25:20.920 mean We know that God is not parts, but he's 00:25:20.920 --> 00:25:24.019 whole all of his attributes are one But maybe 00:25:24.019 --> 00:25:26.660 you would agree with this statement from Mark 00:25:26.660 --> 00:25:29.900 Jones He says this about God's faithfulness in 00:25:29.900 --> 00:25:32.480 his book on attributes. He says God's faithfulness 00:25:32.480 --> 00:25:34.720 is the very ground of our Christian religion 00:25:34.720 --> 00:25:38.380 He goes on God's faithfulness makes his decree 00:25:38.380 --> 00:25:43.730 sure indeed all his attributes Presuppose his 00:25:43.730 --> 00:25:46.569 faithfulness God remains unchangeable holy wise 00:25:46.569 --> 00:25:49.049 good eternal Omnipotent and so forth and therefore 00:25:49.049 --> 00:25:51.769 he cannot be but faithful in what he says and 00:25:51.769 --> 00:25:55.250 how he acts denying God's faithfulness means 00:25:55.250 --> 00:25:59.990 denying him end quote Feels that way doesn't 00:25:59.990 --> 00:26:04.369 it if God is not faithful, then he can change 00:26:04.369 --> 00:26:08.750 Which the Bible says of course he can't because 00:26:08.750 --> 00:26:11.759 he's faithful He will not change. Same goes to 00:26:11.759 --> 00:26:13.539 any of his attributes. He's totally faithful. 00:26:13.900 --> 00:26:16.900 That's why, again, David uses heavens and skies 00:26:16.900 --> 00:26:18.740 and clouds and mountains and the great deep. 00:26:18.980 --> 00:26:21.700 He's stretching the contrast from the greatest 00:26:21.700 --> 00:26:25.720 heights to the greatest depths. And listen, you 00:26:25.720 --> 00:26:27.819 say, okay, Pastor Shea, what does this mean for 00:26:27.819 --> 00:26:31.599 me, though? How does this affect me on my day 00:26:31.599 --> 00:26:33.559 -to -day life? Let me give you a few realities 00:26:33.559 --> 00:26:36.420 of your life that rest on the faithfulness of 00:26:36.420 --> 00:26:38.819 God. Here's a few things that rest on the faithfulness 00:26:38.819 --> 00:26:40.200 of God. We'll start with the first one here. 00:26:40.559 --> 00:26:43.720 The first one is your salvation rests on the 00:26:43.720 --> 00:26:46.259 faithfulness of God. Your salvation rests on 00:26:46.259 --> 00:26:48.599 the faithfulness of God. Apart from a faithful 00:26:48.599 --> 00:26:50.940 God, no believer has hope for eternal salvation. 00:26:52.160 --> 00:26:56.559 That's what Titus 1 -2 says. In hope of eternal 00:26:56.559 --> 00:27:00.420 life, which God, who never lies, promised before 00:27:00.420 --> 00:27:05.240 the ages began. God doesn't lie. Whatever promises 00:27:05.240 --> 00:27:08.200 he makes, he keeps. Paul can write of the hope 00:27:08.200 --> 00:27:12.019 of eternal life simply because God is faithful. 00:27:13.119 --> 00:27:15.559 And this isn't the kind of hope that we think 00:27:15.559 --> 00:27:17.740 of, right? Like, I hope that's going to happen. 00:27:18.140 --> 00:27:20.400 I love my ESV study Bible. Sometimes a good study 00:27:20.400 --> 00:27:24.279 Bible will just tell you the point. It says this, 00:27:24.319 --> 00:27:27.279 hope is not wishful thinking, but certainty. 00:27:29.000 --> 00:27:32.599 Certainty. The hope of eternal life. You can 00:27:32.599 --> 00:27:36.500 bank on your eternal life because you've trusted 00:27:36.500 --> 00:27:39.660 in a faithful God. Hebrews 6 .18 says it this 00:27:39.660 --> 00:27:42.960 way, it is impossible for God to lie. Have hope, 00:27:42.980 --> 00:27:47.460 brother or sister. Have hope because when you're 00:27:47.460 --> 00:27:51.839 unfaithful, God is totally faithful. Your salvation 00:27:51.839 --> 00:27:54.079 rests on God's faithfulness Hebrews 2 17 says 00:27:54.079 --> 00:27:56.539 it like this Therefore he had to be made like 00:27:56.539 --> 00:27:58.220 his brothers in every respects that he might 00:27:58.220 --> 00:28:01.220 become a merciful and Faithful high priest in 00:28:01.220 --> 00:28:04.619 the service of God to make propitiation for the 00:28:04.619 --> 00:28:08.019 sins of his people again Mark Jones helpful as 00:28:08.019 --> 00:28:11.339 a faithful and high priest He remains more concerned 00:28:11.339 --> 00:28:15.500 than we are About maintaining us in a state of 00:28:15.500 --> 00:28:19.339 grace His faithfulness, not ours, guarantees 00:28:19.339 --> 00:28:21.680 our inheritance in the heavenly places with Him. 00:28:22.980 --> 00:28:26.680 You ever doubt your salvation? You ever have 00:28:26.680 --> 00:28:29.960 a moment? You go, man, I feel the accuser coming 00:28:29.960 --> 00:28:34.259 after me right now. I would just remind you of 00:28:34.259 --> 00:28:37.779 the faithfulness of God. Your salvation does 00:28:37.779 --> 00:28:42.059 not rest on your work, but on the finished work 00:28:42.059 --> 00:28:45.940 of Christ and God's faithfulness. Related to 00:28:45.940 --> 00:28:48.599 that, there's another thing that rests on God's 00:28:48.599 --> 00:28:52.079 faithfulness. It's your sanctification. Your 00:28:52.079 --> 00:28:56.559 sanctification rests on the faithfulness of God. 00:28:57.920 --> 00:29:00.220 It's not here in this specific text, but we can 00:29:00.220 --> 00:29:03.059 read it in the New Testament in Philippians 1 00:29:03.059 --> 00:29:06.519 6. When Paul talking to Philippians, he says, 00:29:06.599 --> 00:29:08.480 and I'm sure of this, that he who began a good 00:29:08.480 --> 00:29:11.700 work in you will bring it to completion at the 00:29:11.700 --> 00:29:15.839 day of Christ Jesus. You're wondering whether 00:29:15.839 --> 00:29:19.019 you're gonna make it to the end. You can trust 00:29:19.019 --> 00:29:20.819 that God will complete the work in your heart 00:29:20.819 --> 00:29:23.140 of making you more and more like Jesus Christ 00:29:23.140 --> 00:29:26.680 every single day because he's faithful. He's 00:29:26.680 --> 00:29:30.539 faithful. Aren't you glad for that? I mean, God's 00:29:30.539 --> 00:29:33.940 working right now in you. He's doing something 00:29:33.940 --> 00:29:37.339 faithfully. You can bank your sanctification 00:29:37.339 --> 00:29:40.680 on the faithfulness of God. Third, you can also 00:29:40.680 --> 00:29:43.980 trust the Word of God because God is faithful. 00:29:44.119 --> 00:29:46.980 You can trust the Word of God because God is 00:29:46.980 --> 00:29:49.099 faithful. We just read a couple scriptures that 00:29:49.099 --> 00:29:52.599 speak of God not lying and being unable to lie 00:29:52.599 --> 00:29:54.640 because lying would be against His character. 00:29:54.960 --> 00:29:57.539 That's why the scripture says in Isaiah 14, the 00:29:57.539 --> 00:30:00.559 Lord of Hosts has sworn, as I have planned, so 00:30:00.559 --> 00:30:03.519 shall it be. As I've purposed, so shall it stand. 00:30:03.740 --> 00:30:09.220 He always accomplishes what He says. Consider 00:30:09.220 --> 00:30:12.200 Numbers 23, 19. God is not a man that He should 00:30:12.200 --> 00:30:15.240 lie. a son of man that we he should change his 00:30:15.240 --> 00:30:19.779 mind he has said and will he not do it or Has 00:30:19.779 --> 00:30:21.920 he spoken and will he not fulfill it? Of course 00:30:21.920 --> 00:30:25.319 not God will do what he's planned because he's 00:30:25.319 --> 00:30:29.859 faithful. He will fulfill every promise I've 00:30:29.859 --> 00:30:31.359 been telling people that I've been reading a 00:30:31.359 --> 00:30:34.940 biography on Dawson Trotman Dawson Trotman or 00:30:34.940 --> 00:30:38.259 sometimes called Dawes He was the man who founded 00:30:38.259 --> 00:30:41.220 the Navigators ministry Navigators ministry a 00:30:41.220 --> 00:30:45.059 global ministry Huge commitment to the scriptures 00:30:45.059 --> 00:30:47.160 part of it's just the way that Dawson got saved 00:30:47.160 --> 00:30:49.220 he was memorizing scriptures to try to win in 00:30:49.220 --> 00:30:51.440 contests and win win a contest at a church and 00:30:51.440 --> 00:30:53.119 win the heart of a girl who was at the church 00:30:53.119 --> 00:30:55.480 and while memorizing scripture the Lord saved 00:30:55.480 --> 00:31:00.079 him and God used him to start a global ministry 00:31:00.079 --> 00:31:02.299 eventually would become a global ministry, but 00:31:02.299 --> 00:31:03.720 one of the things I've noticed while reading 00:31:03.720 --> 00:31:07.599 about Dawson Trotman is He believes that every 00:31:07.599 --> 00:31:12.619 promise of God is for him Almost to a fault where 00:31:12.619 --> 00:31:14.079 it's like actually that's for Israel. It's not 00:31:14.079 --> 00:31:17.519 necessary for you But you got to love his heart. 00:31:17.660 --> 00:31:20.059 He opens his Bible and he looks the promises. 00:31:20.160 --> 00:31:24.440 Isn't this for me? This is a faithful God and 00:31:24.440 --> 00:31:26.640 And I've been convicted by that man Shay. Why 00:31:26.640 --> 00:31:28.519 don't you believe that God will always keep his 00:31:28.519 --> 00:31:34.180 promises? He's utterly faithful I mean, His Word 00:31:34.180 --> 00:31:37.819 is utterly faithful. That's why Psalm 119, I 00:31:37.819 --> 00:31:39.960 did, I spent some time this week just reading 00:31:39.960 --> 00:31:44.039 all of Psalm 119. It's an incredible text. You 00:31:44.039 --> 00:31:46.140 should absolutely read it. Maybe we can preach 00:31:46.140 --> 00:31:49.299 through it at some point. But in Psalm 119, verse 00:31:49.299 --> 00:31:52.559 86, it says this, all your commandments are sure. 00:31:53.720 --> 00:31:56.559 That word sure is the exact same word we have 00:31:56.559 --> 00:32:00.819 for faithfulness in Psalm 36. All your commandments 00:32:00.819 --> 00:32:05.130 are sure. They're faithful. Why? Because they 00:32:05.130 --> 00:32:08.450 come from a faithful God. I just want to ask 00:32:08.450 --> 00:32:10.109 you, do you trust the commandments of the Lord? 00:32:11.250 --> 00:32:13.329 When he says something, do you fight it or do 00:32:13.329 --> 00:32:17.630 you trust it? Do you believe it that he will 00:32:17.630 --> 00:32:22.690 do it? Psalm 119, 138, you have appointed your 00:32:22.690 --> 00:32:24.990 testimonies in righteousness and how? And in 00:32:24.990 --> 00:32:28.369 all faithfulness, in all faithfulness, everything 00:32:28.369 --> 00:32:32.079 God says reflects his character. You want to 00:32:32.079 --> 00:32:34.240 know how to live and please God? You have no 00:32:34.240 --> 00:32:38.859 greater source than the word of God. It will 00:32:38.859 --> 00:32:41.279 bless, it will convict, it will guide you into 00:32:41.279 --> 00:32:44.559 all holiness. You need God's faithful word to 00:32:44.559 --> 00:32:49.180 do his faithful work in your life. Entrust yourself 00:32:49.180 --> 00:32:54.859 to God's word and to God. Maybe one more. It's 00:32:54.859 --> 00:32:57.579 kind of, it's different than the other three, 00:32:57.619 --> 00:32:59.900 but even nature itself. Have you noticed this? 00:33:00.610 --> 00:33:04.109 relies on the faithfulness of God. Nature itself. 00:33:04.509 --> 00:33:06.690 Something we don't think about too often. But 00:33:06.690 --> 00:33:08.849 I appreciated Terry Johnson. He's got an incredible 00:33:08.849 --> 00:33:11.150 book on the attributes of God. It's called The 00:33:11.150 --> 00:33:13.210 Identity and Attributes of God. He says this, 00:33:13.250 --> 00:33:16.549 and don't lose the point. He says the laws of 00:33:16.549 --> 00:33:19.089 nature, he puts that in quotes, are merely human 00:33:19.089 --> 00:33:22.349 observations, human descriptions of how God orders 00:33:22.349 --> 00:33:24.769 and regulates the universe. The dependability 00:33:24.769 --> 00:33:28.769 of those laws is a testimony of God's faithfulness. 00:33:29.319 --> 00:33:32.200 Right, we're merely making observations about 00:33:32.200 --> 00:33:35.299 what God's faithfulness is doing in nature. Then 00:33:35.299 --> 00:33:37.500 Terry Johnson quotes that hymn, great is thy 00:33:37.500 --> 00:33:40.420 faithfulness, summer and winter, springtime and 00:33:40.420 --> 00:33:43.380 harvest, sun, moon and stars and their courses 00:33:43.380 --> 00:33:46.839 above, join with all nature and manifold witness 00:33:46.839 --> 00:33:52.589 to thy great faithfulness, mercy and love. Terry 00:33:52.589 --> 00:33:54.410 Johnson will go on to say that all the order 00:33:54.410 --> 00:33:57.150 that we see in nature all the seasons all the 00:33:57.150 --> 00:33:59.829 rising of the setting sun They all testify to 00:33:59.829 --> 00:34:02.549 the faithfulness of God if God stops making the 00:34:02.549 --> 00:34:06.769 world turn. It'll stop turning If he stops bringing 00:34:06.769 --> 00:34:10.349 the sun up, it will not come up. He makes everything 00:34:10.349 --> 00:34:12.769 work in the way he wants and he's ordering and 00:34:12.769 --> 00:34:15.250 preserving everything because of his faithfulness. 00:34:15.510 --> 00:34:17.329 It cannot be denied God's faithfulness because 00:34:17.329 --> 00:34:21.190 we can see it every single day, every single 00:34:21.190 --> 00:34:26.809 night and in every season. This is our God. This 00:34:26.809 --> 00:34:30.420 is who he is. We're kind of looking if we're 00:34:30.420 --> 00:34:32.980 looking at God we think about God being a prism 00:34:32.980 --> 00:34:35.360 and all the colors that come We're looking at 00:34:35.360 --> 00:34:37.400 one of the colors right now one of those being 00:34:37.400 --> 00:34:40.940 his faithfulness That's why back in Psalm 36 00:34:40.940 --> 00:34:43.260 these truths about God are so precious to his 00:34:43.260 --> 00:34:46.510 children They can rest. They can take refuge 00:34:46.510 --> 00:34:49.110 in God because he will faithfully accomplish 00:34:49.110 --> 00:34:52.090 what he says. They don't have to fear because 00:34:52.090 --> 00:34:55.030 they know he is faithful and he'll faithfully 00:34:55.030 --> 00:34:57.489 work. If you look back in Psalm 36 in verse nine, 00:34:57.769 --> 00:35:04.030 look what it says. He says, for with you is the 00:35:04.030 --> 00:35:09.659 fountain of life. I mean, true life is found 00:35:09.659 --> 00:35:12.639 in God's faithfulness and God's care and His 00:35:12.639 --> 00:35:16.159 love. He is the true old faithful, isn't He? 00:35:16.800 --> 00:35:20.920 Gushing out His goodness and His life. What a 00:35:20.920 --> 00:35:24.019 contrast from the wicked who have no life and 00:35:24.019 --> 00:35:27.360 whose lives are empty. They are left empty, but 00:35:27.360 --> 00:35:30.900 the children of God in verse 9 are full of God. 00:35:31.920 --> 00:35:34.360 Full of His goodness. Let me ask you a question 00:35:34.360 --> 00:35:37.539 just based on even verse 8. Have you considered 00:35:37.539 --> 00:35:42.119 this? Have you, in that sense, feasted on the 00:35:42.119 --> 00:35:47.619 abundance of God's house? Have you enjoyed the 00:35:47.619 --> 00:35:50.559 sustaining blessings and sustenance that God 00:35:50.559 --> 00:35:53.639 gives? He has, the rest of the verse says, rivers 00:35:53.639 --> 00:36:01.719 of delight. These are not future promises. They 00:36:01.719 --> 00:36:05.340 are right now, present, found in the character 00:36:05.630 --> 00:36:08.809 God and he keeps flowing these to his people 00:36:08.809 --> 00:36:12.269 life and light are found in him alone He's faithful. 00:36:12.269 --> 00:36:17.889 He sustains and he is endlessly this way Well, 00:36:17.889 --> 00:36:20.429 we've looked at the wickedness of the wicked 00:36:20.429 --> 00:36:23.110 the faithfulness of God now Let's take it to 00:36:23.110 --> 00:36:25.889 the last section here and look at the prayer 00:36:25.889 --> 00:36:29.429 of the pious the prayer of the pious look down 00:36:29.429 --> 00:36:34.769 at verse 10 He says ho Continue your steadfast 00:36:34.769 --> 00:36:37.269 love to those who know you and your righteousness 00:36:37.269 --> 00:36:40.429 to the upright of heart. Let not the foot of 00:36:40.429 --> 00:36:43.010 arrogance come upon me, nor the hand of the wicked 00:36:43.010 --> 00:36:46.389 drive me away. There the evildoers lie fallen. 00:36:46.630 --> 00:36:51.250 They are thrust down, unable to rise. This last 00:36:51.250 --> 00:36:54.690 section is just a simple prayer. It's a prayer 00:36:54.690 --> 00:36:58.469 of protection from the wicked that David is praying 00:36:58.469 --> 00:37:00.369 from those people he described in verses one 00:37:00.369 --> 00:37:03.969 to four. And it's a prayer that the God of verses 00:37:03.969 --> 00:37:07.349 five through nine would continue to pour out 00:37:07.349 --> 00:37:10.769 his faithfulness onto his people. He knows that 00:37:10.769 --> 00:37:13.429 the Lord is the fountain of life, so he prays 00:37:13.429 --> 00:37:17.150 more to drink from that fountain. I want more 00:37:17.150 --> 00:37:20.690 of you, Lord. He prays that God would continue 00:37:20.690 --> 00:37:24.409 to reveal himself. And I'll just ask that question. 00:37:24.730 --> 00:37:29.320 Is that how you pray? Is that how we pray? God, 00:37:29.539 --> 00:37:32.340 would you show us more of your faithfulness, 00:37:32.800 --> 00:37:35.940 more of your character, more of your steadfast 00:37:35.940 --> 00:37:39.760 love? Listen, you're going to need it, as David 00:37:39.760 --> 00:37:43.360 did, when you come up against wickedness, both 00:37:43.360 --> 00:37:46.179 in your own heart and wicked people. That's why 00:37:46.179 --> 00:37:49.019 in verse 11, he's praying for protection against 00:37:49.019 --> 00:37:51.059 those who would cause him to stumble. Did you 00:37:51.059 --> 00:37:53.519 catch that? Look at verse 11. He says, Let not 00:37:53.519 --> 00:37:56.400 the foot of arrogance come upon me, nor the hand 00:37:56.400 --> 00:38:01.500 of the wicked drive me away. Drive me away. You 00:38:01.500 --> 00:38:03.760 know that word. It's kind of one word there. 00:38:04.619 --> 00:38:08.099 He doesn't want the wicked to overtake him to 00:38:08.099 --> 00:38:11.789 the point where he's just wandering around. He 00:38:11.789 --> 00:38:14.650 doesn't want to be like an exile just you know 00:38:14.650 --> 00:38:17.110 wandering around because of what the wicked have 00:38:17.110 --> 00:38:19.730 done I mean makes you think of that old him right 00:38:19.730 --> 00:38:23.510 come now found That line that always kind of 00:38:23.510 --> 00:38:29.849 just like ooh Prone to wander Lord, I feel it 00:38:29.849 --> 00:38:34.369 Prone to leave the God I love those words were 00:38:34.369 --> 00:38:37.989 written by Robert Robinson who even later in 00:38:37.989 --> 00:38:41.019 life would Struggle with a wandering heart and 00:38:41.019 --> 00:38:45.480 a wandering faith. Of course, praise God for 00:38:45.480 --> 00:38:48.159 his faithfulness. Praise God for his faithfulness 00:38:48.159 --> 00:38:50.300 who can keep us from wandering. I appreciate 00:38:50.300 --> 00:38:52.619 Paul Tripp. He says the faithfulness of God confronts 00:38:52.619 --> 00:38:55.519 our wandering hearts, confronts our wandering 00:38:55.519 --> 00:38:58.199 hearts. So so we can come back and we can sing 00:38:58.199 --> 00:39:02.079 the other parts of Come Thou Found. and pray 00:39:02.079 --> 00:39:04.559 these words come thou fount of every blessing 00:39:04.559 --> 00:39:08.739 tune my heart to sing thy grace streams of mercy 00:39:08.739 --> 00:39:12.579 never ceasing call for songs of loudest praise 00:39:12.579 --> 00:39:16.019 that's similar to what David is praying here 00:39:16.019 --> 00:39:19.940 at the end of Psalm 36 that God's faithful love 00:39:19.940 --> 00:39:22.900 and protection would be over him and against 00:39:22.900 --> 00:39:25.659 the wicked and that he would shower his people 00:39:25.659 --> 00:39:29.559 with his love and his care And the Psalm ends 00:39:29.559 --> 00:39:32.159 on a very serious note. Did you catch it in verse 00:39:32.159 --> 00:39:36.539 12? There the evildoers lie fallen. They are 00:39:36.539 --> 00:39:40.679 thrust down, unable to rise. I mean, he kind 00:39:40.679 --> 00:39:43.420 of puts a period on the end of this. He talked 00:39:43.420 --> 00:39:45.880 about the wicked. He spoke of the evil, the evilness 00:39:45.880 --> 00:39:48.300 and the wickedness. Sorry, he talked about the 00:39:48.300 --> 00:39:51.139 wicked. He spoke of God's faithfulness. And he 00:39:51.139 --> 00:39:53.139 prays that God would continue. And he puts a 00:39:53.139 --> 00:39:55.519 period on it saying, listen, this is the fate 00:39:55.519 --> 00:39:57.760 of all those who never drink from the fountain 00:39:57.760 --> 00:40:01.860 of life. This is the fate of all those who do 00:40:01.860 --> 00:40:05.500 not know the God that David is praying to. They 00:40:05.500 --> 00:40:08.320 lie fallen, unable to get up, no light for them, 00:40:08.679 --> 00:40:11.719 only darkness. Another incredible contrast from 00:40:11.719 --> 00:40:15.079 the children of God who have light and life and 00:40:15.079 --> 00:40:19.280 vitality. the end the wicked in verse 12 get 00:40:19.280 --> 00:40:22.760 eternal destruction it is a statement of fact 00:40:22.760 --> 00:40:27.500 it is certain this is their fate why do we know 00:40:27.500 --> 00:40:30.260 this how can David say that well we can know 00:40:30.260 --> 00:40:34.599 that because God is faithful he's even faithful 00:40:34.599 --> 00:40:39.800 in his judgment of the wicked and for some that 00:40:39.800 --> 00:40:42.039 will strike fear and for others that will strike 00:40:42.039 --> 00:40:47.829 confidence that God will do what he says Similar 00:40:47.829 --> 00:40:50.909 language is found in Psalm 1 we looked at this 00:40:50.909 --> 00:40:53.150 on Thursday with the men Therefore the wicked 00:40:53.150 --> 00:40:56.309 will not stand in the judgment nor sinners in 00:40:56.309 --> 00:40:58.909 the congregation of the righteous Listen, there's 00:40:58.909 --> 00:41:00.369 encouragement there for believers. The wicked 00:41:00.369 --> 00:41:03.690 will not have the ultimate say The wicked will 00:41:03.690 --> 00:41:08.070 not be able to ultimately overcome And that's 00:41:08.070 --> 00:41:12.150 why I can appreciate Dane Ortland in his little 00:41:13.329 --> 00:41:15.829 Devotional on the Psalms. He says this David's 00:41:15.829 --> 00:41:20.250 prayer in this psalm then Is for the Lord's faithfulness 00:41:20.250 --> 00:41:22.670 not the evildoers treachery to determine his 00:41:22.670 --> 00:41:25.869 life and rule The wicked are set against him. 00:41:25.869 --> 00:41:29.489 The Lord is set for him You gotta love that who 00:41:29.489 --> 00:41:32.530 will prevail with this psalm David brings us 00:41:32.530 --> 00:41:35.110 with him into a renewed settled confidence That 00:41:35.110 --> 00:41:37.130 it is the Lord who would triumph in our lives. 00:41:37.130 --> 00:41:41.590 He will care for us. He will get the last word 00:41:41.590 --> 00:41:48.380 end quote It's true because the Lord is faithful. 00:41:49.179 --> 00:41:51.920 This should bring us hope. It should encourage 00:41:51.920 --> 00:41:54.599 our wandering hearts, shouldn't it? He is faithful. 00:41:56.199 --> 00:41:59.639 Maybe I can close with a personal story. The 00:41:59.639 --> 00:42:02.699 young adults heard me share this. Back in late 00:42:02.699 --> 00:42:06.380 October, I got a package in the mail. It was 00:42:06.380 --> 00:42:10.639 a binder full of all of my like childhood report 00:42:10.639 --> 00:42:16.400 cards and things I'd drawn. My mom has been cleaning 00:42:16.400 --> 00:42:18.460 house. My dad died a couple years ago. My mom's 00:42:18.460 --> 00:42:20.860 been kind of cleaning up. She's kind of downsizing 00:42:20.860 --> 00:42:23.019 and she sent me this package of all these things. 00:42:23.039 --> 00:42:25.219 I'm looking through soccer awards and photos, 00:42:25.579 --> 00:42:28.300 even some random homework that was in there. 00:42:29.019 --> 00:42:31.880 And I came across two report cards for my junior 00:42:31.880 --> 00:42:34.260 high days. One that was at the end of the first 00:42:34.260 --> 00:42:36.280 semester just before Christmas. One that was 00:42:36.280 --> 00:42:40.809 at the end of the year, maybe late May. And I 00:42:40.809 --> 00:42:42.409 was staring at that I looked at a first report 00:42:42.409 --> 00:42:44.349 card before Christmas that year my seventh grade 00:42:44.349 --> 00:42:47.809 year and I had mostly A's and B's and mostly 00:42:47.809 --> 00:42:52.389 positive comments from the teachers and Then 00:42:52.389 --> 00:42:57.469 I I held up the other report card and That report 00:42:57.469 --> 00:43:00.929 card showed nothing but D's and F's and I say 00:43:00.929 --> 00:43:05.369 that plural F's in one class in my English class. 00:43:05.369 --> 00:43:09.829 It said I had an 18 % the comment from the teacher 00:43:09.829 --> 00:43:17.630 said student says he doesn't care and I it's 00:43:17.630 --> 00:43:20.170 hard not to to feel the emotion of this because 00:43:20.170 --> 00:43:22.969 I remember the difference between the first report 00:43:22.969 --> 00:43:24.349 card and the second report card you want to know 00:43:24.349 --> 00:43:27.769 what happened between those two things some of 00:43:27.769 --> 00:43:30.309 you guys know my story it was the day after Christmas 00:43:30.309 --> 00:43:33.610 that it was revealed that my dad had been unfaithful 00:43:33.610 --> 00:43:37.909 to my mom part of that the sting of that at that 00:43:37.909 --> 00:43:39.750 time was finding out that my dad had been living 00:43:39.750 --> 00:43:44.030 a double life and part of the reason that my 00:43:44.030 --> 00:43:45.949 mom found out is my dad had bought me for that 00:43:45.949 --> 00:43:48.230 Christmas a brand new computer that his girlfriend 00:43:48.230 --> 00:43:53.329 paid for and so from that point on there's a 00:43:53.329 --> 00:43:56.329 defining moment in my life at that point and 00:43:56.329 --> 00:43:57.869 that seventh grade year I don't remember doing 00:43:57.869 --> 00:44:00.230 any schoolwork obviously I wasn't doing English 00:44:00.230 --> 00:44:03.949 had an 18 % you can just show up and get an 18 00:44:03.949 --> 00:44:07.349 % I think But for the next years of my life, 00:44:07.349 --> 00:44:10.090 it was up and down traveling all over living 00:44:10.090 --> 00:44:13.389 with friends I mean my my parents marriage an 00:44:13.389 --> 00:44:17.010 absolute mess I mean even my dad's unfaithfulness 00:44:17.010 --> 00:44:18.849 obviously leading to my own unfaithfulness and 00:44:18.849 --> 00:44:22.090 my studies Not not doing the things not caring. 00:44:22.210 --> 00:44:25.650 Obviously the teachers understood that and I 00:44:25.650 --> 00:44:27.829 started to look at those papers and I was struck 00:44:27.829 --> 00:44:32.909 with a contrast of a young man who I looked at 00:44:32.909 --> 00:44:35.789 and go man I'm glad this still isn't true of 00:44:35.789 --> 00:44:39.869 me. Because I can look back at 30 years of my 00:44:39.869 --> 00:44:42.349 life and I can see nothing but the faithfulness 00:44:42.349 --> 00:44:46.289 of God. Nothing. I know it seems like every time 00:44:46.289 --> 00:44:50.989 I preach I cry. Ah, I'm trying not to. But you 00:44:50.989 --> 00:44:54.010 guys, does it, we can look back and we go listen, 00:44:54.610 --> 00:44:57.380 God put families around me at that time. Even 00:44:57.380 --> 00:44:59.960 that very day, the moment I remember hearing 00:44:59.960 --> 00:45:02.239 the words that this was coming out, the phone 00:45:02.239 --> 00:45:03.920 rang and my friend said, hey, do you want to 00:45:03.920 --> 00:45:05.579 go to a movie? I said, yes. I don't remember 00:45:05.579 --> 00:45:07.239 what movie. I mean, I remember the movie, but 00:45:07.239 --> 00:45:08.699 I don't remember what happened. I just remember 00:45:08.699 --> 00:45:10.860 sitting there in the theater crying, but I was 00:45:10.860 --> 00:45:16.480 glad I wasn't at home. And then God graciously 00:45:16.480 --> 00:45:19.139 brought more families, more people in the church 00:45:19.139 --> 00:45:21.840 that loved me, more people who would care for 00:45:21.840 --> 00:45:24.550 me in His faithfulness. More people who would 00:45:24.550 --> 00:45:26.849 come around me and be the dad that I needed in 00:45:26.849 --> 00:45:28.869 that moment be the mom that I needed in that 00:45:28.869 --> 00:45:32.050 moment and Then from there called me into ministry. 00:45:32.309 --> 00:45:36.010 How amazing is this? To be to be a servant of 00:45:36.010 --> 00:45:38.750 the King eventually my senior year between my 00:45:38.750 --> 00:45:42.010 junior senior. He would save me And rescue me 00:45:42.010 --> 00:45:44.369 from my sin. My parents eventually would reconcile. 00:45:44.550 --> 00:45:48.659 That's just a cherry on top It's incredible his 00:45:48.659 --> 00:45:50.880 faithfulness. He brought me Bethany. We've had 00:45:50.880 --> 00:45:53.719 20 years of incredible marriage Yes, we've had 00:45:53.719 --> 00:45:56.420 our ups and downs, but he's been faithful I don't 00:45:56.420 --> 00:45:58.099 know what God's doing in your life right now. 00:45:58.360 --> 00:46:00.980 It's easy for me to look back with with clear 00:46:00.980 --> 00:46:04.400 eyes. I Don't know what he's doing in your life 00:46:04.400 --> 00:46:06.480 right now, but would you rest in the faithfulness 00:46:06.480 --> 00:46:10.420 of God at this moment? He can do it. He can rescue 00:46:10.420 --> 00:46:15.659 you from whatever thing is going on. I Mean the 00:46:15.659 --> 00:46:21.000 Lord Give me five amazing kids. He's been faithful. 00:46:22.000 --> 00:46:25.880 I haven't truly wandered to the point of being 00:46:25.880 --> 00:46:28.280 the wicked described in verses one to four because 00:46:28.280 --> 00:46:31.139 I have had the experience of verse eight of drinking 00:46:31.139 --> 00:46:36.659 from the river of his delights. His faithfulness 00:46:36.659 --> 00:46:39.860 truly does extend to the clouds, doesn't it? 00:46:41.079 --> 00:46:45.739 That's why In Lamentations, you'll come up on 00:46:45.739 --> 00:46:49.360 the screen. Jeremiah can write this, the steadfast 00:46:49.360 --> 00:46:53.079 love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never 00:46:53.079 --> 00:46:55.980 come to an end. They are new every morning. Great 00:46:55.980 --> 00:46:58.739 is your faithfulness. And why the hymn writer 00:46:58.739 --> 00:47:02.699 can say great is thy faithfulness. Great is thy 00:47:02.699 --> 00:47:05.679 faithfulness. Morning by morning. Isn't this 00:47:05.679 --> 00:47:08.920 true? New mercies I see. All I have needed thy 00:47:08.920 --> 00:47:11.900 hand hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness, 00:47:12.239 --> 00:47:16.940 Lord. Unto me. Can we pray to the faithful God? 00:47:17.780 --> 00:47:22.760 Let me pray. Lord. Obviously wasn't expecting 00:47:22.760 --> 00:47:25.840 to have some emotion here. And yet, how could 00:47:25.840 --> 00:47:29.300 I not when I think about your faithfulness? Lord, 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:33.000 we can read about it in our Bibles. And we experience 00:47:33.000 --> 00:47:37.500 it. Day in and day out week in and week out month 00:47:37.500 --> 00:47:41.380 in and month out year after year your faithfulness 00:47:41.380 --> 00:47:44.519 Even just by looking at the Sun coming up and 00:47:44.519 --> 00:47:49.559 going down But we see it in our own lives The 00:47:49.559 --> 00:47:51.480 way that you move in the way that you change 00:47:51.480 --> 00:47:54.699 things in our lives It's all part of your faithfulness 00:47:54.699 --> 00:47:59.480 and your plan and you bringing to fruition The 00:47:59.480 --> 00:48:03.300 things that you want Lord, I pray for my brothers 00:48:03.300 --> 00:48:04.780 and sisters here this morning that they would 00:48:04.780 --> 00:48:07.239 rest in your faithfulness. Maybe they can't see 00:48:07.239 --> 00:48:11.000 it right now. Lord, show more of it. Protect 00:48:11.000 --> 00:48:13.260 them from the wicked. Protect them even from 00:48:13.260 --> 00:48:15.739 their own wicked heart at times that wants to 00:48:15.739 --> 00:48:20.880 wander, that wants to be driven away. Lord, bring 00:48:20.880 --> 00:48:23.300 them back and allow them to experience those 00:48:23.300 --> 00:48:25.840 rivers of delight and the life and the light 00:48:25.840 --> 00:48:29.000 that comes only through you and your faithfulness. 00:48:29.119 --> 00:48:30.980 And I pray in Jesus' name, amen.