Life and God
Notes
Transcript
Read Psalm 14
Read Psalm 14
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. 1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, There is none that doeth good. 2 The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. 3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: There is none that doeth good, no, not one. 4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? Who eat up my people as they eat bread, And call not upon the Lord. 5 There were they in great fear: For God is in the generation of the righteous. 6 Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, Because the Lord is his refuge. 7 Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When the Lord bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.
The Psalmist gives us two paths of life and God
Those who live like there’s no God
Those who live like there is a God
Lets look at the first one - Those who live like there’s no God.
Look closely at Psalm 14:1 it never says this is a verbal annunciation or declaration - it is a heart statement or a way of thinking - They live like there is no God - God through the Psalmist calls them a fool
A fool = is defined by Adam Clark as, “One who has a muddy head and an unclean heart”
300 Illustrations for Preachers Everyone Starts Praying When the Flames Come
In 1972 Joan Baez was a singer and activist who was always working on a cause. During the Vietnam War she traveled to Hanoi with a peace delegation and was there during an American bombing campaign that lasted 12 days. “We spent the whole time in the basement of our hotel. I have never been so afraid in my life. I thought I was going to die. But I learned something—when the flames start coming towards you everyone starts praying, even the atheists and the agnostics, but when the flames start fading away we all go back to the structures and beliefs that we had before.”
We are living in a day where this kind of approach to life is expected and accepted
Leave church and religion to your private life - don’t bring it into the public square.
The Psalmist said God looked down on the children of men to see if there were any that sought after God
They were gone after their own way
Filthy
None that doeth good
Now this is not those who have a relationship with God - because that will change that as we will see in a moment.
If someone can’t tell from your life any difference from the sinner you are in trouble spiritually.
It is amazing that those who profess to know Christ can lie and be dishonest just like the world -
The Bible says that “All liars will find their end in the lake of Fire with torment and eternal punishment
That’s foolish -
being dishonest and untruthful is the same as saying in your heart “there is no God”
It is startling how many who profess to know Christ are adulterers and fornicators - chasing after whatever form of immorality their depraved and undisciplined nature drives them to.
Cheating on their spouses
Using pornography
This is living like there is no God -
I could go on and on with things but you get the point - when we do what the Bible says not to do we are living like there is no God - but there is a wake up day when we will see
Look now at Psalm 14:5 - “For God is in the generation of the righteous”
God will always have a remnant there will always be a generation of righteous - it may be a few but they will be there.
This is talking about those who live like there is a God
Those who want to live like there is no God - shame the counsel of those who live like there is a God - but that doesn’t change the fact that “THE LORD IS HIS REFUGE”
I’m so thankful that God is our refuge and strength.
27 The eternal God is thy refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms: And he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; And shall say, Destroy them.