God's Will for Your Desires

Intro

VBS today

“Following Jesus changes the game.”

The theme verse is Psalm 25:4

Psalm 25:4 CSB

Make your ways known to me, Lord; teach me your paths.

In keeping with our sermon series, from this whole Psalm there is a question that we can identify.

What is God’s Will for your Desires?

Desires being the things you want.

What do you want?

What are you chasing after?

What is your Goal in life and how are you going about pursuing it?

Psalm 25 CSB

Of David. Lord, I appeal to you. My God, I trust in you. Do not let me be disgraced; do not let my enemies gloat over me. No one who waits for you will be disgraced; those who act treacherously without cause will be disgraced. Make your ways known to me, Lord; teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; I wait for you all day long. Remember, Lord, your compassion and your faithful love, for they have existed from antiquity. Do not remember the sins of my youth or my acts of rebellion; in keeping with your faithful love, remember me because of your goodness, Lord. The Lord is good and upright; therefore he shows sinners the way. He leads the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. All the Lord’s ways show faithful love and truth to those who keep his covenant and decrees. Lord, for the sake of your name, forgive my iniquity, for it is immense. Who is this person who fears the Lord? He will show him the way he should choose. He will live a good life, and his descendants will inherit the land. The secret counsel of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he reveals his covenant to them. My eyes are always on the Lord, for he will pull my feet out of the net. Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am alone and afflicted. The distresses of my heart increase; bring me out of my sufferings. Consider my affliction and trouble, and forgive all my sins. Consider my enemies; they are numerous, and they hate me violently. Guard me and rescue me; do not let me be disgraced, for I take refuge in you. May integrity and what is right watch over me, for I wait for you. God, redeem Israel, from all its distresses.

Go to God

This is where David is going in this Psalm.

Right out of the Gate invoking the name of the LORD. Yaweh, Jehovah, I appeal to you!

Go to God with your desires.

David’s expressed desire in this Psalm is not to be disgraced and to be delivered. Psalm 25:2 “Do not let me be disgraced; do not let my enemies gloat over me.”

From the context it would be apparent that this was written as he is fleeing from Saul and those who would do him harm.

I think we all have this desire, not to be disgraced. Perhaps the desire not to waste our lives. To live in a way that matters.

Beyond this, a greater desire is seen, and that is for the Lord.

Our earthly desires should be subject to this greater desire.

Go to God for forgiveness

David acknowledges that he needs to deal with his sin in order to follow God as he should.

Go to God for Direction

The only place we should turn for how we should live, is our God.

We go to God because we can and should...

Trust in God

This is also right at the beginning

The declarations of who God is.

Psalm 25:6 “Remember, Lord, your compassion and your faithful love, for they have existed from antiquity.”

The Lord’s faithful love

The Lord’s goodness

The Lord is good and upright

The Lord’s truth

For the sake of His name

The God of our salvation

It helps us to declare who God is. Why?

It is true.

It testifies to others who He is.

It reminds us of who we are appealing to and who we are trusting in.

And this is why we should…

Wait on God

Psalm 25:3 “No one who waits for you will be disgraced; those who act treacherously without cause will be disgraced.”

The theme of waiting on the Lord.

God’s Ways are Better than Our Ways.

What he plans and does is better than what we would plan or accomplish.

Destroying a package only to find out there was a simple pull tab the whole time.

God’s Timing is better than our timing.

We are hasty and reckless, but God is perfect in how he works. We just don’t always understand it.

A child verses an adult crossing a street.

God’s Results are better than our results.

Can you imagine if you had gotten everything you had ever prayed for? Some things you would stand by, but others you realize now were less than what you would have gotten now.

Follow God

Psalm 25:4 “Make your ways known to me, Lord; teach me your paths.”

Psalm 25:8 “The Lord is good and upright; therefore he shows sinners the way.”

The way that we do well is to follow the Lord.

We don’t just go to him, We don’t just trust him, We don’t just wait on him, We follow Him.

Doing all the other aspects without the last one is to treat God as a wishing well.

Imagine getting in your car, opening up your maps app, putting in your destination, and then just sitting there.

We are called and compelled to follow where God leads us.

This is revealed through:

A desire for his commands.

Teach me to follow you!

A desire to keep his commands.

Help me to follow you Lord!

This is how we know that we love God!

1 John 5:3 CSB

For this is what love for God is: to keep his commands. And his commands are not a burden,

It is a joy to know and keep God’s commands.

And we know that God blesses those who keep his commandments, they will not be disgraced.

Conclusion verse: redeem Israel from all its distresses.

In the midst of all of our troubles, we should still be seeking the good of those around us.

We should still be concerned with the salvation of those around us.