A Heart of Faith

Introduction

Recap Heb 11 passage

Context of Psalm 90 is possibly the wilderness wanderings

The wilderness in the Bible is a place/time of testing/trial

And so he writes Psalm 90

I. The Lord is Always vs 1-2

God is eternal - outside time

Eternally He is God

A. He is always and will always be God

Creating God in our own image

What would that “god” look like?

For some of us he is God when it’s convenient, or when he agrees with us, we want him on our side or things have just gotten too hard.

But he has and will always be God

& God has a track record

B. The unchanging, unending God can be your home

Remember that they are quite possible wandering in the wilderness

What was Israel’s continual complaint when thing got difficult?

We should never have left Egypt!

They had no home, no place to dwell, no where they felt safe

Everyday was new, uncertain with potential for conflict with enemies and difficulties around them.

And as much as we have today I would say we still feel that - Picture of our world

And we can try to find our home in our families, our work, our education, in knowledge, in science, in medicine, in food, drug and alcohol.

Deuteronomy 33:27–28 ESV

The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. And he thrust out the enemy before you and said, ‘Destroy.’ So Israel lived in safety, Jacob lived alone, in a land of grain and wine, whose heavens drop down dew.

As one commentator states, God is Israel’s “oasis of refreshment and encampment - for many generations”

But in the middle of the wilderness it can be difficult to trust God

II. Life is Hard vs 3-11

God is sovereign

a. Brevity

Moses uses a comparison - here God is eternal and time is irrelevant to him vs 4

But for us it is brief vs 10

we will return to dust

vs 5 - swept away

like grass vs 6

Palestinian grass would come to life in the morning from the dew of the night and then by evening would “fade and wither” from the heat

vs 10 - 70-80

When we’re young it might seem like a long way off but it comes quickly

I can remember my 20’s like it was yesterday

And part of usm at least at times longs for that time, if not for anything but a wish to not have wasted it.

We get caught up in the reality of the moment but Moses calls us to have a bigger view of the now

This takes some real intentionality especially as we and this world is...

b. Sin Riddled

vs 8

The influence of sin is pervasive

And like an invasive species like Quack grass if allowed to live can choke out any true crop

And sin sets us under God’s wrath

Justice of God

Wrath is difficult to grasp as we equate it with human vengenance and anger - flying off the handle

If someone hurts us, our natural response can be to pay them back

This is not God’s wrath

God’s wrath is just

Holy, perfect creator God - disobedient, sinful humans

And we think that well God should just understand me and my situation and as vs 8 states the reality and problem is that he does to the very core of who we are

2. Receive what we choose

This is difficult for us in the west as we live in a culture stuck in victimhood and blame

And don’t get me wrong, we as humans do some pretty horrific things to each other.

But I believe that the only way to freedom is choice

What have we chosen because of what we think and believe?

Rom 1 tells us that the wrath of God is actually God giving us over to what we have chosen

A deepening of sinfulness until we are consumed by it, unless we choose

And here is the goodnews we can choose to believe and turn to:

The wrath of God poured out for sin On Jesus crucified Consider Him our hiding place Our shelter is alive (yeah) Because He lived and died for us

God’s justice ultimately requires the penalty of death for our sins, Jesus took our place.

And while our lives are still brief and end, our eternal life, the one after, can be in his presence forever.

If we believe that then, how do we live now?

III. How Do We Walk by Faith? vs 12-17

Moses now turns to the Lord in faith for help?

He is asking the Lord these things for Israel

And so we can begin by praying for these same things

Pray for:

a. Right view vs 12

Calendar pic - in my office

Number our days - When I turned 50 I had lived 18250 days

If I live to 80 I would live 29200

And so we do the math and decide that we have a lot of time to get right or that we better get moving

But that’s not the point, it’s about how we view each day and why and how we do what we do.

Ecclesiastes 12:1 ESV

Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;

This isn’t to be a means to put things off or to start doing more

It isn’t about getting busier but rather more eternal

Ephesians 5:15–17 ESV

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

b. Right Lord vs 13

vs 11 - could have caused Moses to flee or abandon God

But he rather understands/believes that God as sovereign is right and good and will ultimately make things right and good

Who do we turn to for life, to be our dwelling place?

And so Moses calls on the Lord to return

And Moses calls on the mercy of God towards them as frail, sinful beings

c. Right Relationship vs 14a

But rather...

Satisfy us in the morning (before the day has passed us by)

Before our hearts forget all your goodness

Imagine waking up in the middle of the wilderness, with nothing to look forward to

Don’t you feel like that some times?

We need to be satisfied in him

in what? In his love - steadfast love of the Lord never ceases

Which is how we get...

d. Right Heart vs 14b -15

A heart of joy

That we might rejoice and be glad all our days

vs 15 is extra challenging

Our tendency can be to lose our joy the longer we live

Our satisfaction in God’s love is the only thing that can keep our hearts in joy

c. Right Work vs 16-17

Favor of the Lord

“tangible evidence that a person has the approval of the Lord” Got Questions

Isaiah 66:2 ESV

All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.

And so Moses humbly asks that:

God will work

Bring life to our work in whatever we do

Why do you do what you do?

So that others would see Him in what we do.

i wish I would have prayed this back in my KFC days

Conclusion