Foundational Matters

Title- Foundational Matters

Passage-

Opening-

A while back I was watching a tv show about extreme engineering or extreme buildings or something like that…

They were talking about the tallest building in the world

Does anyone know what the tallest building in the world is? I only ask because I cannot remember how it is pronounced and do not want to attempt it…

Or even where it is located?

The world’s tallest building opened in Dubai on January 4, 2010.

It is a staggering 2,717 feet tall –maybe feet tall doesn’t tell you much...that’s more than half a mile high and if half a mile doesn’t help.... it stands double the height of the Empire State Building.

It accommodates 12,000 people, built at a cost of $1.5 billion,

It captured several other world records. Those include:

*Tallest man-made structure: (previously Warsaw radio mast – 2,121 ft);

*Building with most floors: 160 (previously Willis Tower – 108);

*Highest elevator and world’s fastest elevators (40 mph);

*First world’s tallest structure to include residential space;

*Highest outdoor observation deck (on the 124th floor);

*World’s highest mosque (located on the 158th floor);

*World’s highest swimming pool (76th floor);

While most attention focuses on its height, perhaps more important is what lies buried beneath the building. Without a solid foundation, the world’s tallest building would become the world’s longest pile of rubble.

Extending 164 feet deep under the Burj Khalifa lies 58,900 cubic yards of concrete weighing over 150,000 tons. (That’s a thousand blue whales or 150,000 cars)

It took a year just to build the foundation.

So it is with our lives.

What people see - what we marvel about – are the great heights to which some people seem to soar. Yet, supporting any truly great life is a solid foundation. A great career is built on foundational principles like dependability and hard work.

A celebrated sixtieth wedding anniversary results from deep love and selflessness. Successful retirement depends on years of responsible money management.

Foundations matter. We cannot start wrong and expect to finish right.

What is the main driving point (CPS)?

Friends, difficult times come and go but the Lord remains faithful and He is to be our foundation

Why does the CPS matter, what is the consequence?

We in turn need to build the foundation of our lives on what is sure to last

Ideas come and go

Nations and societies come and go

We need to build on the the sure foundation of the Lord and his wisdom…

In this passage we will see three reasons the Lord is to be our foundation through three pleas of David

Transition

The first plea of David is…

I. His plea to a higher standard (1-3)

Explain

What I want us to see within this plea is that David had an intimate understanding of how sinful he was and how holy the Lord is.

David uses five phrases that indicate that he was aware of his sinfulness

-Rebuke…to condemn

-Chasten…to punish with the intent to gain control

-Mercy…not giving to us what we deserve

-Heal…to provide a cure

- Vexed…filled with terror

All of this points us to the understanding that David knew he was a sinner and that God is holy

It also points us to the truth that David knew there was a standard to be met and that he did not meet that standard

There will only be consequences if there is a precept laid out that is to be met… if there is a standard to be met

No standard, no consequences…this is what our society is hoping is true

These phrases also point to the fact that David understood that there were consequences for not meeting the standard

That is why he is asking for mercy, because he knows that he deserves punishment….this fills him with filled with fear

Bridge to today

There is something that is missing from our society…and by that I am including the church, this church…the church down the highway…the church across the country

We are missing the fear of the Lord

That is what we are reading boils down to

David feared the Lord

Now remember that the fear of the Lord is not just being afraid of the consequences

Although that ought to be a part of the fear of the Lord

David knew the Lord…he knew the standard…he knew that missing the standard had more to do with the reputation of God than the consequences he would suffer

Relevance

Until our churches begin to get an accurate view of the Lord

Until our marriages and families have an accurate view of the Lord

Our society will not have an accurate view of the Lord

Until we as individuals, families, churches, nations have an accurate view of the Lord we will never live up to His standards

Why does this matter?

As long as we keep the Lord out of our families we will continue to see divorce and broken homes

As long as we keep the Lord out of the church we will see Christians with ears tickled by the next best speaker

As long as we keep the Lord out of politics our country will continue its downward spiral of morality

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction

We are living in a society that embraces foolishness and ridicules wisdom and integrity

Regardless of the ridicule we need to live in wisdom…in the fear of the Lord because He is who we will answer to..not society

Transition

So from this plea we can come to the understanding that the Lord is the standard and that we will give an account to Him whether or not we meet that standard…and that meeting ought to be a driving factor in our lives

In our families, churches, politics, in all of our society…but there is more than that

More than just knowing who the Lord is and that he has a standard for us to meet

There is a second plea we see is a plea based on …

II. His problem (4-7)

Explain

David shares the reality of who he is in this portion

The reality is that David is a feebly human being that needs help

He need delivering and saving

From what?

Verse 7…grief

Grief? Over what?

I believe that David had sinned, and he was fully aware that he had sinned

I think that equally as important David had sinned and his enemies knew about it

The word here in verse 7 for enemy has the idea of a personal enemy…not a national enemy like the Philistines

Those that would oppose David on a personal level

David was grieving over his sin and how it represented Jahweh

David’s problem here is sin

Bridge to today

That is the same problem that we have.

The problem that we saw in the first point, that we do not fear the Lord as we should…this amplifies what we have learned here in this second point..

Our society is ambivalent to the root of their problems

David was not…our society is

We ignore sin….we rename sin so it is palatable…we cover the effects of our sin with substance abuse, sex, relationships, work, literally anything that will get us away from exactly what David points to…GUILT

We are running from the solution to our problems

And I have been quick to point the finger to the society around us but we do the same things….we are just more experienced sinners

The world doesn’t cover it up because they do not understand the sinfulness of their behavior….we do and we hide it

Relevance

What good does it do to ignore problems?

Like the ostrich with its head in the sand

That is us

The church is many times no better off than those we are trying to help

We just hide it better

We are hiding NOTHING from the Lord

Verse 3 David says his bones is vexed…filled with terror

Verse 7 David’s grief has caused him to be physically exhausted to the point he strains to see

Whether from the stress of grief

Whether from the shedding of tears in verse 6

Whether from the lack of sleep

Whatever the reason I believe that this problem…his sin problem…he knew that he couldn’t hide it

Why does this matter?

We have a message to share with a world that is ignoring their greatest problem…their sin

It is consuming them

It is exhausting them

And they are ignoring it

Worst of all we are allowing them to

There are two things we need to stop doing IMMEDIATELY

Stop ignoring our own sin

And stop ignoring the sin of others

We need to be prepared to take the Gospel to a society that needs salvation…they need deliverance and restoration

This, I believe is why David is more concerned with the reputation of the Lord than with the consequences of his sin

Transition

David not only has an accurate understanding of who he is, who God is…the last plea we see is…

III. A plea for relief (8-10)

Explain

David knows that the Lord will show him mercy…

Verse 8 he tells his opponents that they can leave because the Lord has heard his weeping supplication

David knows that the Lord hears him

I will not dwell on this because we dealt with this idea last week but David knows that when he calls Jahweh will hear him

But beyond that David knows that the Lord will not only hear his prayer but will also receive it…

What is the Lord receiving?

The answer is in what David is crying out on account of and that is his grief

The Lord hears his weeping and his supplication and takes David’s grief

“ Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee; he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved”

David makes an exchange here

David exchanges his grief for the mercy and peace of the Lord

Bridge to today

We too can make this same exchange

Once we come to the understanding of our sinfulness and the Lord’s holiness we can call out to him and make the exchange of our sinfulness for Christ’s righteousness

We can exchange grief for comfort

Guilt for restoration

Anxiety and worry for peace

In the same way that the Lord in the OT tells his people to cast their burdens on him

In the NT Jesus says in “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Jesus is offering to us this great exchange

Relevance

This world can not give to us peace

It can not offer restoration

It can not give to us lasting comfort

That is something that only Jesus Christ’s blood sacrifice on the cross can give us

As long as we ignore God…not fear him

As long as we ignore our sin problem we will continue on as we have

Lasting change only comes from Jesus Christ

And that change comes from the Gospel

The Gospel meaning that he came, and died and rose again on the third day

That is the truth that will bring true and lasting comfort, restoration, peace

We cannot manufacture these things in our wisdom

We need the wisdom of God

The wisdom that comes from:

Fearing Him

Understanding our sinfulness

And trusting in Jesus Christ to do on our behalf what we cannot do for ourselves

Conclusion

Challenge to act now (your part)…immanence

If you have never asked Jesus to forgive you of your sins…we have been praying that this would be the morning for you…

If you have asked Jesus to forgive you…are you hiding your sin…are you comfortable in your sin?

Its time to come once again and ask forgiveness and begin to once again live to the standard that the Lord has given us

There will come a day when it is too late

A day of reckoning

Are you prepared to meet the Lord

The question is this

Who are you trusting

Your own wisdom or the wisdom of the Lord?

Remember

We cannot start wrong and expect to finish right.

Pray

Would you stand with me and turn to number … and as we sing, if the Lord has worked in you heart wont you respond

Walk the aisle

Sit back down in your seat

Talk to someone to keep you accountable

Just allow the Holy Spirit to continue to work as we sing….

Closing Hymn

328 Only Trust Him

Verse 1&2