Staying Anchored In This Crazy Life
Notes
Transcript
>>DISMISS KIDS TO BLAST<<
I want to invite you to open your bible and join me in Psalm 90. Psalm 90 is a Psalm that is actually a prayer that is attributed to Moses. It’s possible that this was passed down orally through the generations or that this was something that Moses wrote and became part of the life and worship of the people of Israel. This Psalm is meant to humble us and instruct us as we navigate through this crazy life.
Psalm 90 (ESV)
A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.
Lord, you have been our dwelling place
in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
You return man to dust
and say, “Return, O children of man!”
For a thousand years in your sight
are but as yesterday when it is past,
or as a watch in the night.
You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,
like grass that is renewed in the morning:
in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers.
For we are brought to an end by your anger;
by your wrath we are dismayed.
You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.
For all our days pass away under your wrath;
we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
The years of our life are seventy,
or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span is but toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.
Who considers the power of your anger,
and your wrath according to the fear of you?
So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
Return, O Lord! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
and for as many years as we have seen evil.
Let your work be shown to your servants,
and your glorious power to their children.
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands!
INTRODUCTION
A Roman snack shop closed down. Well, actually the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in ad 79 closed it down when it buried it in volcanic ash. That was almost 2000 years ago, but in March 2010, after having been excavated and renovated, it reopened again for tourists in the ancient town of Pompeii.
Two thousand years between closing and reopening is a long time, but in the light of eternity it is only the blink of an eye. The same God who was there when the volcano erupted is the God who rules over the world now. God is the same now as he was then. He is eternal.
Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell, “Pompeii Snack Shop Reopens after 2000 Years,” in 300 Illustrations for Preachers, ed. Elliot Ritzema (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2015).
This Psalm addresses FOUR COMPONENTS (?) of life that—no matter what age group or stage of life you’re in—we all deal with these 4 components/categories in this crazy life.
A) BREVITY & CHANGING
B) SIN & TEMPTATION
C) SUFFERING
D) NEEDS & PROVISION
And cushioned right in the middle of this prayer is, I believe, the charge for us.
Psalm 90:12 (ESV)
So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
Teach us to live with wisdom. Teach us to make every day count. Did you do that this week? I know what many of you are going through. Summer is over. I don’t feel like we get a true summer break anymore. Do you find yourself, though, bogged down by the rush of life—maybe you feel guilty and feel like you yell at your way more than you encourage them. (Other examples).
This is a crazy life. It’s a crazy busy life. It’s a crazy stressful life. It’s a crazy discouraging life. It’s a crazy uncertain life…but the point of this text is:
The answer to the uncertainty of this crazy life is anchoring ourselves to the ETERNAL GOD.
“Eternal”—almighty/He is “over” all things.
I must anchor my HOME in the eternal God.
>>CONTEXT<< If you’ll remember, Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt but all the people complained and rebelled. God punished them by not allowing them to go into the promised land and making them wander around the wilderness for 40 years. And, so, Moses is part of a people who literally don’t have a “dwelling place.” Their dwelling place keeps moving. They’re vagabonds.
So, Moses begins this psalm of prayer with—Lord, YOU have been our dwelling place in all generations.
Life is full of change. I know you can relate. Your life today is probably MUCH different than it was 5 years ago. You may live in a new place. You may have a new job. You may have gone from having a house full of kids to being an empty nester. You may have found yourself single. Life changes. Life is transitory. It’s brief. It flies by.
Last Sunday, Kristy and I had a real “whoa, life flies by fast” kind of day—real sentimental. Last Sunday was our 17th wedding anniversary. We’ve known each other since 2001, started dating in 2005, and got married in 2007. Anyway, she and I celebrated our anniversary by going to a nice restaurant in Auburn—where she went to college. On the way to Auburn, we talked about how much our lives have changed since 2007 when we lived in a tiny little rental house, I was in seminary and we were broker than broke. We’ve lived in 3 different states, have 3 kids…but somehow she still looks exactly the same. Then, we get to Auburn and, man…that town has changed so much since she was there in the early 2000s. New buildings, restaurants, apartments/condos and hotels. Then, we get out of the car and, apparently, a lot of incoming freshmen and their families are starting to arrive in Auburn. And, as we’re walking across the street to the restaurant, it hit me—these freshmen were a YEAR OLD when we got married. THEN…on top of all that, we go in the restaurant and as we walk in the door we’re met by the manager—WHO WE WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL WITH—and who Kristy used to drive to school every day!
All that to say—life flies by. It’s like the blink of an eye.
The eternal God is over/above time itself.
James says…
James 4:14 (ESV)
What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
APPLICATION
Teenagers—don’t live for today’s APPROVAL or ACCEPTANCE. Look, I stay in regular touch with only ONE person from High School—and I’m married to her.
Storing up treasures in heaven.
The second category of life that this Psalm addresses is our dealing with SIN & TEMPTATION. And what the Psalmist shows us is that if we’re going to live with wisdom in this crazy life…
I must anchor my HEART in the eternal God.
“You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.”
Coram Deo—This phrase literally refers to something that takes place in the presence of, or before the face of, God. To live coram Deo is to live one’s entire life in the presence of God, under the authority of God, to the glory of God.
To live in the presence of God is to understand that whatever we are doing and wherever we are doing it, we are acting under the gaze of God. God is omnipresent. There is no place so remote that we can escape His penetrating gaze.
Verse 11—living every day before the face of God in the fear of the Lord.
Living in sin—falling into temptation—is living in the moment rather than in the light of eternity. It means that our hearts are set on the temporary and fleeting pleasures of the world. That’s what sin offers—temporary and fleeting pleasures. Our hearts are prone to being drawn to earthly/worldly pleasures.
Knowing that, one day, we will stand before the Lord and give an account. Our secret sins. There are things in all of our lives that we’re not proud of. It’s easy to brush them off or “lessen” them. Your spouse may not see them. Your kids/boss/friends may not see them but they are before the omniscient face of God.
The third category of this crazy life that Moses addresses is suffering.
I must anchor my HOPE in the eternal God.
The years of our life are seventy,
or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span is but toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.
It’s all filled with trouble.
The eternal God who is sovereign over all things—even suffering.
Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
and for as many years as we have seen evil.
Suffering people aren’t arguing about Alabama or Auburn football.
“Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on your servants!”
We are looking for the return of Christ. Our hope is in nothing in this world…our hope is in the eternal—Almighty—ruling over it all God.
I must anchor my HELP in the eternal God.
(vs. 16-17)
For Moses—manna & quail—daily bread
Last line—“establish the work of our hands!” This is praise!
The eternal God—the cattle on a thousand hills.
The pride of life…
In 1866, a historian wrote,
"Alexander lived many hundred years ago. He was king of Macedon, one of the states of Greece. His life was spent in war. He first conquered the other Grecian states, and then Persia, and India, and other countries one by one, till the whole known world was conquered by him. It is said that he wept, because there were no more worlds for him to conquer. He died, at the age of thirty-three, from drinking too much wine. In consequence of his great success in war, he was called Alexander the Great."
https://www.pothos.org/content/indexa410.html?page=quotes#:~:text=His%20life%20was%20spent%20in,worlds%20for%20him%20to%20conquer.
APPLICATION
Single parents—God will provide.
He put the food on your table. He put the clothes on your back. He gave you the strength to get out of bed this morning.
The answer to the uncertainty of this crazy life is anchoring ourselves to the ETERNAL GOD.
CLOSING
Consider your life. Consider eternity. Where will you spend it?
Living with regret—what is something you would have regretted not doing—GO DO IT!
