Psalm 37:3-7 Making it simple / Life with the Lord in a nutshell

If you could share a scripture that described the Christian life, what would you share?

If someone needed to grow in Christ? If someone needed direction / how to make decisions / How to deal with trouble / If someone faced great crisis?

Here is the scripture that someone who faced all these problems said. David facing the confusion of life responds:

(ESV) Psalms 37 3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. 6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.

7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;

I. Making it simple: Trust in the Lord

A. Trust in the Lord

(ESV) Psalms 37 3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

1. Faith - A demand – cannot please Him without it

a. Hebrews 10

b. Is He able to be trusted / Character – Must believe He is / able to reward

B. Do the right thing - obey

(ESV) Psalms 37 3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

1. Actions are a reflection of what we are and what we truly believe

2. Can’t separate real trust/faith and actions

3. Evidence of trust is obedience

4. When everything goes wrong – you just do right – powerful testimony

Never okay to do wrong / to gossip / to speak hatefully / When in doubt – do the right thing

When you do the wrong thing – seek to set things right - Reconcile

C. Dwell where He blesses

(ESV) Psalms 37 3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend (feed on His) faithfulness.

1. Live on the outflow of His strength

2. Stay where He has promised to bless you

a. Land was the place of blessing – move outside it than expect trouble

b. Place of promise

c. Even if it is a difficult place

d. Can’t run away and be blessed

3. Remain in place of provision – don’t run away quickly

a. Need to be fed / assured

b. Draw strength directly from Him

c. A transfusion of strength

4. Ex: Manna provided – needed to go out to get it / every morning / not on Sabbath ----- provided / not go ---- you go hungry

II. Making it simple: Make your life the Lord’s

Trust / commit your way

A. Make Him your everything

(ESV) Psalms 37 4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

1. Personal intimacy with Him

a. Not legalism

b. About relationship

2. Recognize His response

(ESV) Psalms 37 4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

a. Abundant display of His love

b. Radical impact to see the Lord at work

c. Proof of His love – acts on your behalf

3. Make your desires His desires and give them to you

(ESV) Psalms 37 4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

a. Align your heart with His heart

b. What is precious to you is precious to Him

1) Care for someone like He cares for someone – He works in their heart 2) Desire for Him to transform this community

B. Surrender your path

(ESV) Psalms 37 5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. 6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.

1. Roll your way to Him

a. Give Him everything

2. Our way – every aspect

a. Small as well as large

b. Trust in day to day situation

c. Trust the future

3. Release your plans – let go (As Isaac, even the precious things)

4. Release the things you worship over Him

5. Surrender the things you value more than Him

6. Allow Him to take control of your future rather than dictating what you want the future to be

C. Trust him in the path

(ESV) Psalms 37 5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. 6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.

1. He is already intimately involved

Psalm 37:18 (NKJV) 18 The Lord knows the days of the upright,

2. God takes delight in the obedient one’s way

Psalm 37:23 (NKJV) 23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,

And He delights in his way.

3. What He does with your path is better than what you want for your path

a. Sometimes we merely need to surrender our plans / give them up to Him / and He will return them (see Abraham and Isaac)

b. Sometimes He has better plans (Paul wanting to go to Rome / Spain as missionary – goes to Rome as a prisoner to die)

c. Job wants continued prosperity for he and his family – the Lord choses for Him to lose all his children and goods

D. Believe He will act

(ESV) Psalms 37 5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. 6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.

1. Surrendering to Him, releases His activity (rewards those who seek Him)

2. Transform you

3. Vindicate you

III. Making it simple: With patient endurance wait before the Lord

Trust / commit your way / wait

A. Let go

(ESV) Psalms 37 7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; …

1. Stop

2. Let go of worry / anxiety

3. Stop trying to force things to happen / manipulate things

4. Know when you aligned with Him – peace replaces anxiety

B. Focus on Him

(ESV) Psalms 37 7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;

1. Worship

2. Depend upon Him

C. Wait with expectation

(ESV) Psalms 37 7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;

1. Confidence in Him

2. Over time

3. Not just hopeless resolution

4. Expectation that He will work