DON'T TAKE MATTERS INTO YOUR OWN HANDS, (Part III)

Lip Service Without Heart Sincerity

Psalm 37:1–10 ESV

Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.

Isaiah 29:13 ESV

13 And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,

INTRODUCTION

"Have you ever poured your heart into earning a grade, landing a job, or winning an award, only to watch someone else snatch it away through deceit and cheating?

Have you been wronged by the relentless and cold-hearted malice of another, witnessing them scheme and backstab while you suffer, yet they refuse to let it go?

If you've tasted the bitter sting of such injustice, then turn your gaze to Psalm 37."

Psalm 37 serves as a healing balm for the wounded soul, offering consolation and strength to those who have been wronged, reminding them that justice will prevail, and peace will reign in due time.

REVIEW

I have been preaching from Psalm 37. Psalm 37:1 and 2 lift up two kinds of people: Evildoers and Wrongdoers.

Evildoers are malevolent; they will deliberately do all they can to hurt you and tear you down.

Wrongdoers, though not necessarily malevolent, are inherently self-centered. They resort to deceit, dishonesty, and theft to advance their own selfish agendas.

When dealing with evildoers, refrain from anxiety. Stop fretting. Don't allow their actions to consume you, causing sleepless nights, migraines, or elevated blood pressure. While they carry on unaffected by their deeds, you suffer the consequences.

Don't envy wrongdoers who may climb the corporate ladder or receive recognition ahead of you through unethical means. Remember, if they cheat to succeed, they'll likely have to continue cheating to succeed. Conversely, when you rely on God's guidance to achieve success, He will protect and sustain you once you reach your goals. So don’t take matters into your own hands; take them to the Lord in prayer.

Psalm 37:3 tells us to “Trust God and do good.” When they do you bad, just trust God to give you the power to overcome their evil with your good.

In other words, flip the script. “When they go low, you go high.” When they talk badly about you, you talk good about them. Flip the script. The reason the Psalmist says trust God before he said do good is he realized that if left to my own, I wouldn’t do good by those who have wronged me. I might repay them. I might get them good. I might lay down my religion and tell them where to go, but do good. In order to do good unto someone who has done you wrong, you have to trust God.

The advice the Psalmist offers today in verses 4 and 5 regarding handling evildoers and wrongdoers is to delight yourself in the Lord and commit your ways unto him.

TRANSITION: Here's the thing: Delighting yourself in the Lord involves more than just praising Him with your lips. It's also about loving Him in your heart and finding joy in His presence in your life.

One of the critiques of the modern church is that we are guilty of talking a good talk but not walking a good walk.

It was the German philosopher Karl Marx who said, "Religion is the opium of the people." Marx was saying religion is our drug. We come to church on Sunday morning to get high and then come back next week the same way.

There is a difference between professing, confessing, and manifesting.

When you profess, you say what you believe.

When you confess, you say who you believe in.

When you manifest, however, you demonstrate what you believe and in whom you believe.

It is possible to do a whole lot of professing and confessing without doing any manifesting.

In recent years, there has been a mass turning away from the church among younger people. Younger generations are often quick to notice inconsistencies between the teachings of the church and the actions of its members or leaders. Younger people are looking for something real. They are not looking for anybody to be perfect, but they are looking for people who are transparent and authentic.

They spot when something is plastic, fake, insincere, counterfeit, and suspicious, a mile away.

You may faithfully attend church, fluently quote Bible verses, and consistently express love for God, yet simultaneously engage in behaviors outside church settings that contradict your professed beliefs.

When the prophet Isaiah observed that the people during his day and time were faking it, listen to the words of God that he delivered to the people:

“These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.”

Isaiah is saying the Israelites were displaying lip service. But the Psalmist is not talking about lip service. When he says delight yourself in the Lord, it is about more than what comes out of your mouth; it is also about what is located in your heart.

DELIGHT IN THE LORD

To delight yourself in the Lord means, “Finding joy, satisfaction, and fulfillment in God's presence and relationship.” When you delight yourself in the Lord, you seek intimacy with God, aligning your desires with His will, and finding contentment in His provision and promises.

When you delight yourself in the Lord, reading your Bible is not a chore; it is a choice and blessing.

When you delight yourself in the Lord, prayer is not an obligation; it is an awesome opportunity.

When you delight yourself in the Lord, you don’t just enjoy coming to church; you enjoy being in the presence of the Lord whether you are at church or whether you are all by yourself.

In the Bible, King David delighted himself in the Lord, seeking His presence and guidance. He led the people in returning the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. For them, the Ark of the Covenant represented the presence of God. David was so moved by the presence of God that the Bible said he danced before the Lord.

David danced before the Lord with all his might, and the Bible says his wife Michal, daughter of Saul, saw him and despised him in her heart. She accused him of being undignified.

David then says to Michal, it was God who chose me. It was God who appointed me to rule over the people. Therefore, I will play music before the Lord. And I will become even more dignified than this.

Now that is delighting yourself in the Lord. When you feel God’s presence and realize how good God has been to you, it will lead to your enjoyment of him.

What causes you to dance?

What are you dancing about in your life?

When I spend time with God alone, not asking for anything, but simply enjoying his presence, it makes me dance.

When I sense God's presence with me amid life’s challenges, disappointments, and personal attacks, it makes me want to dance.

Delight yourself in the Lord.

Enjoy his presence.

Draw near to him and he will draw near to you.

Here is the thing if the only time you give God praise is while you are at church, then it’s not delighting yourself in the Lord.

If the only time you pray or open your Bible is when you are in church, then it's not delighting yourself in the Lord.

You can even lead worship excitedly but fail to delight yourself in the Lord.

There is a difference in worship leading and worship performing.

When you lead worship, the focus is on God.

When you lead worship, God gets the glory.

When you worship perform, however, the focus is on you.

When you worship perform, you want the credit and you seek the glory that belongs to God.

LIP SERVICE

Again, delighting yourself in the Lord is not just about what comes out of your mouth; it's about what is lodged in your heart. Talking the talk without walking the walk is lip service.

Lip service is the outward expression of worship with a lack of sincerity and genuine devotion. It involves going through religious motions without true reverence for God or heartfelt commitment to His commands.

Lip service is an attempt to deceive other worshippers and God. People who engage in lip service work hard to appear righteous outwardly, but they are lacking sincerity inwardly.

My brothers and sisters, let me encourage you to guard against the trap of lip service by cultivating a genuine relationship with God. Avoid mere religious rituals or empty expressions of worship. Instead, seek to worship God in spirit and truth, offering Him the sincere devotion of your heart.

That’s why I am so glad this morning; there is another alternative.

HEART SINCERITY

There is lip service. But there is also heart sincerity. Heart sincerity is genuine devotion, authenticity, and integrity in one's worship and relationship with God. It involves wholehearted love, obedience, and commitment, expressed through genuine faith and heartfelt worship.

Heart sincerity does not mean that you are perfect. David was not a perfect man; despite his flaws, God himself called him a man after God’s own heart. David's heart sincerity was evident in his unwavering trust in God, deep desire to please Him, and genuine repentance when he sinned.

When your relationship with God grows deeper and your walk with God gets better and stronger, it will put sincerity in your heart.

Let me encourage you this morning to delight yourself in the Lord, without fooling yourself by having lip service with no sincerity.

THE RESULTS

THE DESIRES OF YOUR HEART

Notice the text. The Bible says, if you delight yourself in the Lord, he will give you the desires of your heart. Now when the Bible talks about God giving you the desires of your heart, it does not mean that God will give you everything you ask for.

It means that when you delight yourself in the Lord, God’s word becomes real to you. God’s presence becomes good to you. Because of the Word of God and the Presence of God in your life, your prayer life changes. You learn what to pray for. Your prayer requests begin to line up with the Word of God.

There is a bakery in Columbia that we frequent often. The baked goods are so good that it has changed our dessert appetite. So much so, that when we eat baked goods from other bakeries, it does not taste the same. It does not satisfy. Why? Because the bakery in Columbia has changed our appetites.

That’s what happens with the Word of God. The word of God changes your prayer appetite. When you get closer to God, your pray for different things. What you pray for begins to line up with the Word of God.

BRING FORTH YOUR JUSTICE IN NOONDAY

But that is no bring forth your justice in the noonday. The noonday is the brightest time of the day. So when you have been wronged, when you have been falsely accused, when you have been lied on and mistreated, you don’t have to fight back unfairly.

Let the Lord fight your battle. It has been my experience that I don’t have to set the record straight. In God’s time, the truth will come out. The psalmist says when it comes out, it will be in the noonday. So everybody can see it. Oh, how sweet it is when you don’t set the record straight, but you let the Lord fight your battles and bring out the truth.

The old saints used to say it this way:

"He's a battle axe in the time of trouble, He's a shelter in the time of a storm. He's a rock in a weary land, A shelter in the time of storm."

I did a little bit of research. I didn’t know what a battle axe was. According to my research, a battle axe is a powerful weapon used in warfare to overcome enemies. God is your battle axe; he is the source of your strength. It is he who gives you victory in the time of battle.

Delight yourself, and your prayer life changes, and God will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your ways to him, and he will bring forth your justice in the noonday.

WHOOP:

LIP SERVICE

Church, it is time out for lip service without heart sincerity.

"Church, it is time out for lip service without heart sincerity.

If you praise God in the sanctuary but curse your brothers in the street, that’s lip service.

If you raise your hands in adoration to God in worship, but then raise your hand in aggression towards your brother, that is lip service.

"If you dance in the Spirit on God's holy day, turn around and dwell in the flesh every other day, that is lip service.

"If you shout out of your shoes in church, but curse out your brother in the neighborhood, that is lip service.

"Brethren, if you proclaim love from the mountaintops of worship yet harbor hate in the low in the valley of your heart, that’s lip service."

"If you confess to God in the light, but stir up confusion in the dark, that is lip service.

If I preach peace from the pulpit, but promote discord in the pews, that is lip service.

"If you claim forgiveness with your lips, yet clench unforgiveness in your fist, that is lip service."

When you wear the garment of humility in the congregation, but put on the cloak of pride behind closed doors, that’s lip service."

If you talk about how strong your faith is among the saints, but then harbor weak doubt when you are by yourself, that is lip service.

When you call for unity face-to-face with others in the fellowship, then just as soon as you turn your back, you sow seeds of division in the fellowship, that is lip service.

HEART SINCERITY

Heart sincerity, on the other hand, is praise from my lips that produces a change in my life. Heart sincerity is when I pray the words of prayer, it causes me to live out those prayers in action.

Here are eight more examples following the same format:

Heart sincerity is when I speak of love; it compels me to show unconditional love to others.

Heart sincerity is when I proclaim faith; it drives me to walk by faith, even when paths are unseen.

Heart sincerity is when I advocate for peace; it inspires me to be a peacemaker in times of conflict.

Heart sincerity is when I confess forgiveness; it leads me to forgive those who have wronged me, releasing bitterness.

Heart sincerity is when I declare hope; it motivates me to be a beacon of hope to those in despair.

Heart sincerity is when I preach unity; it encourages me to build bridges across divides, fostering community.

Heart sincerity is when I commit to service; it propels me to serve others selflessly, putting their needs above my own.

Heart sincerity is when I express gratitude; it moves me to live a life of thankfulness, recognizing every blessing.