1-19-25 Sermon "God Takes Care of Us" 15 Minutes
Notes
Transcript
Psalm 36:5-10
Psalm 36:5-10
This morning I’ll be reading Psalm 36 verses 5 through 10.
And I’ll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.
Psalm 36:5-10
In these verses,,, David speaks about the glorious nature of God,,, and the way that He brings blessings to believer’s.
Psalm 36:5–10 (HCSB)
5 Lord, Your faithful love reaches to heaven, Your faithfulness to the clouds. 6 Your righteousness is like the highest mountains; Your judgments, like the deepest sea. Lord, You preserve man and beast. 7 God, Your faithful love is so valuable that people take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. 8 They are filled from the abundance of Your house; You let them drink from Your refreshing stream, 9 for with You is life’s fountain. In Your light we will see light. 10 Spread Your faithful love over those who know You, and Your righteousness over the upright in heart.
The word of God for the people of God,,,
thanks be to God!
God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning.
Let us pray:
Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus’ name I pray,,, Amen.
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Last Sunday we looked at Acts 8:14-17,,, and learned that working together is important,,, since it shows that the Jews and Gentiles needed to come together to continue the spread of the “Good news of Jesus Christ” throughout the world.
We learned that in the verses that we looked at,,, without diligent study of scripture,,, we could be tempted to misunderstand what is going on and come to wrong conclusions.
I told you,,, that’s why Bible study is so important,,, as well as our trust in God.
When we have questions,,, we seek answers to those questions,,, and try to understand what is going on at that time.
That will help us to apply these scriptures to our own life.
Again,,, being sure that we trust God’s plan even while we seek answers to any questions we might have!
Going forward you were told,,, that,,, when we strive to work together,,, just as the early church learned,,, there will be significant progress made.
So we continue in our trust of God,,, even when we have doubts or questions,,, and “work together”,,, as we fulfill our obligation,,, to let others know,,, the “Good News” of Jesus Christ!
This morning we will look at these verses in Psalm 36,,, and see how they will help us,,, in our walk with God this week.
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Verse 5 said: 5 Lord, Your faithful love reaches to heaven, Your faithfulness to the clouds.
In the previous verses,,, 1-4,,, we see that an “oracle” in the heart of David gives a vivid picture of the transgression of the wicked.
If you look at them,,, you will see,,, the sinner,,, abandons any fear of God,,, that he might have had.
He flatters himself,,, that his crimes,,, cannot be proved against him and punished.
His speech,,, is saturated,,, with wickedness and deceit.
He scorns a respectable,,, law-abiding life.
When he ought to be sleeping,,, he devises new misdeeds,,, then deliberately embarks on an evil course,,, gladly saying,,, “yes” to any sinful thoughts of his own,,, or,,, pleas for help from others to carry out any type of treachery.
Here in verse 5,,, we see that in stark contrast to the wickedness of such a sinner,,, are the perfections of the LORD.
His faithful love,,, for instance,,, extends to the heavens.
It cannot be contained!
David seems to be saying,,,
God’s love is like the sky:
it’s so big and wide that it reaches everywhere,,, even to the very highest parts!”
• God loves everything:
Just like the sky covers all the trees,,,,, grass,,, and animals,,, God’s love covers every single person and creature on earth.
• God’s love is always there:
Even when you can’t see the sun behind the clouds,,, it’s still there,,, just like God’s love is always there for you,,, no matter what.
• We can feel God’s love:
When you feel happy,,, safe,,, or loved by your family,,, or friends,,, that’s a little bit of God’s love shining through.
And it’s always there,,, just waiting for us to realize that it is with us,,, each and every day!
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Verse 6 said: 6 Your righteousness is like the highest mountains; Your judgments, like the deepest sea. Lord, You preserve man and beast.
God’s righteousness is like the great mountains He has made — stable,,, steadfast,,, immovable,,, thoroughly dependable.
God can always be depended on,,, to do the thing that is right.
This was perfectly manifested at the cross.
God’s “righteousness”,,, demands that sin be punished.
If we were to be punished for our sins,,, we would perish eternally.
This is why Jesus Christ,,, took our sins upon Himself.
So unbending is God’s righteousness,,, that when He saw our sins on His sinless Son,,, He poured out the torrents of His judgment upon Him.
Now God has a righteous basis upon which He can save ungodly sinners,,, — ,,, the penalty has been paid,,, by a worthy Substitute.
Also,,, God’s judgments are like the great deep,,, or deepest seas.
This means that His decrees,,, decisions,,, thoughts and plans,,, are wonderfully profound,,, complex,,, and wise.
When thinking about this attribute of God,,, Paul exclaimed in Romans 11:33: “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!”.
And,,, God is also,,, preserving man and beast,,, He is taking care of us all,,, and He knows us intimately,,, as well as the animals of the world!
And He is always taking care of us,,, if we just pay attention!
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Verse 7 said: 7 God, Your faithful love is so valuable that people take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
Nothing that enters human life is more precious than the lovingkindness of God.
It is eternal,,, sovereign,,, infinite,,, causeless,,, and unchanging.
And nothing,,, can ever separate the child of God from it.
This is some of the reasons why,,, we find refuge under the shadow of His wings.
Unfortunately,,, not all will choose to enjoy God’s loving protection.
But the privilege is,,, available to all,,, and people from every nation,,,,, class,,, and culture,,, have found rest,,, refreshment,,, and safety,,, under those,,, incomparable wings.
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Verses 8-9 said: 8 They are filled from the abundance of Your house; You let them drink from Your refreshing stream, 9 for with You is life’s fountain. In Your light we will see light.
Not only is there protection,,, but abundant provision as well.
What food can match that of the house of the Lord for quality and for quantity?
And what pleasures also?
As the quote from F. B. Meyer pointed out,,, God gives sorrows by cupful’s but pleasure by riverfuls!
Jesus Christ is the fountain,,, or source of life.
It says in John 1:4: “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men”.
In that light,,, we see light.
Just as natural light reveals things in their true form,,, so the light of God enables us to see things as He does.
It enables us to form correct estimates of spiritual realities,,, of the world,,, of others,,, and of ourselves.
So in contrast with the corruptions of the wicked,,, an obedient believer’s life is characterized by security in the Lord,,, abundant provisions,,, life,,, and understanding,,, in God’s presence.
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Verse 10 said: 10 Spread Your faithful love over those who know You, and Your righteousness over the upright in heart.
David concludes by praying,,, that God will continue showing His character,,, — ,,, specifically His steadfast love and righteousness,,, — ,,, to those who know Him.
Today,,, that would be the Christians that truly have a relationship with God,,, a deeply personal relationship,,, not just someone that says they are a Christian,,, but someone who “lives” the life of a Christian!
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So we can see from these verses that God is “so” worthy of our praise and worship,,, because of all of the ways that He watches over us,,, and blesses us!
God has done everything that is needed for us to have that relationship with Him,,, to experience that peace and joy,,, that only comes,,, from that relationship!
In these verses,,, David found relief in his experiential knowledge,,, through the things that God had done for him,,, of the glorious nature of the Lord,,, who does bring,,, abundant blessings to all believers.
As a result,,, he prayed that the Lord would continue His loyal love and righteousness,,, so that the wicked would not destroy his integrity.
We need to do the same,,, and pray for God to continue covering us,,, with His loyal love,,, and righteousness!
God will take care of us,,, if we just pay attention,,, and listen the way that we should!
But so many times,,, the noise around us shuts us off from the voice of God and we don’t hear Him like we should!
And when that happens,,, we tend to think that the wicked are winning,,, but,,, all we need to do,,, is remember these verses that David wrote so long ago.
They will give us the confidence to carry on,,, and allow us to stop what we are doing,,, and listen for God’s instruction,,, as He guides us,,, and cares for us,,, each and every day!
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If you feel like your relationship with God is lacking something,,, or maybe you don’t have a relationship with Him at all,,,
Let me remind you that Jesus said that He is always available,,, but you have to make that choice.
It will not be forced on you,,, that is something that you must decide to do.
If you have never made the commitment to allow Jesus to be your Personal Savior,,, please make that decision today.
We aren’t promised tomorrow,,, so the choice must be made today.