Sermon-Folly of Fretting
The Folly of Fretting
In just a few days a Hollywood film company and a network of television stations will air a documentary about archeological discovers in Israel. In the advance promotions the discovery of greatest interest in this report is a burial box with bones in it. On the box is a chiseled inscription which has been translated, “Jesus, son of Joseph.” The author of the production said on camera (quoting loosely), “Until now there has been no physical evidence of the historical Jesus. Now we have that physical evidence, proof that Jesus did exist.” His statement is equal to “See, I knew it, Jesus of the New Testament was just a man like anyone else, The Bible account of a resurrection is fabrication, trusting in Christ is trusting in a lie.”
I wondered to myself at the time, “Where do these people get the arrogance to make such declarations?” Well, when I hear of these things from people who want to deny the work of Christ and to blaspheme the name of the Lord Jesus it makes my blood begin to boil.
Doesn’t it create a turbulence in your spirit, stirring up anger against these workers of iniquity? Doesn’t it make you want these deniers of the Scripture to get a taste of the wrath of God? A dear saint of God puts it a bit more colorfully, it really burns my biscuits, it gets my goat, it really steams my carrots.
How do these “know it alls” make you feel?
Is there any instruction for the believer in Jesus Christ who wants to walk in the newness of Life?
Turn in your Bibles to Psalm 37. Let us read the first eight verses
Psalm 37 instructs me as clearly as anywhere in the Bible that when it comes to evil in the world, our world, God is not asleep, not powerless, and not passive. God is wide awake, all powerful, and actively bringing about His purpose of taking out “a people for His name. (Acts 15:14).
Psalm 37 General information
1. Hebrew Poetry
2. Construction: Acrostic – Each verse starts with a different Hebrew letter of the alphabet in general succession
3. Linked in thought to the previous psalm
4. Structure more akin to the Proverbs
5. Message Insight into the differences of the righteous and the wicked
We may understand three things as we consider God’s instruction:
What we should not do, what we should do, and the reasons why
I. What we should NOT DO
Psalm 37:1- 1 Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
Never think that living for the Lord has no prohibitions, that is things we must not do. Here are two warnings and they are closely related, for they stem from the same source. A. The first warning is, “Do not fret because of evildoers.” Its meaning may be a bit hidden to us because the word, Fret,” is misunderstood. When we fret we worry and are not sure of a particular outcome. However, one helpful Biblical authority says that Fret means: be angry, have a strong feeling of displeasure, with a focus of an action to follow. In other words, when I fret as here described, I say in my spirit, Those evildoers are wrong, and I am going to do something about them!”
We can more easily understand the second warning. It is: be not venvious of wrongdoers! We know what envy is, and so it is here. Some one has something that we think we should have. Envy here adds the notion that since I do not have what you have I am angry with you.
II What We should DO instead
+III Why we can
Conclusion
I found that in this psalm God calls me to a work to which He empowers me. The key is that the focus of my attention is not on the evildoers but on God.
The film maker did not reveal to the audience, at least in the clip that I saw, that this box of bones had been discovered well over 20 years ago, that it has been examined by many in the archeological community, and that almost none of those authorities would verify it as the burial box of the biblical Jesus.
focus on these evil ones that
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v Ps. 73:3; Prov. 3:31; 23:17; 24:1, 19