Psalm 37 - Holy Spirit Activate
Notes
Transcript
Big Idea:
Big Idea:
Life is found in the Holy Spirit (He is called the Spirit of Life).
Intro:
Intro:
Hi Everyone. Thanks for joining us for Church Online!
Many voices in our community say it’s officially acceptable to enter the Christmas Season, now that Thanksgiving is over. As Christians, we have a special way of entering into this final season of the year. It’s called Advent. And each year, we like to participate in advent together as a church. If you’re interested in learning more about Advent and celebrating with us, be sure to head over to riverchurchct.com. There is a spot on the front page for more information.
Speaking of voices, we often learn from the surrounding voices in our lives. Sometimes what we learn is good. Other times, not so much...
As parents, Janelle and I try to navigate this in our home. We do our best to monitor the voices in our home, especially with three young and impressionable boys. Whether it’s thru the tv, music, or people (including ourselves), we try to protect them from inappropriate and/or wicked voices, which can influence their lives in the wrong ways.
The other day, Janelle and I were grocery shopping and we got a phone call from the school. Apparently, one of my sons was using profanity at school. What’s more, he was using it in it’s appropriate context. Like, he was getting frustrated and saying a shiny-word to express his frustration...
… now, a few necessary details to this story:
Although my boys are PKs (Pastor’s kids) and we are very involved in protecting them, we also don’t keep them in a Christian bubble. So, we are aware they hear a lot of unfiltered voices in public.
Both Janelle and I do not use profanity. I often say that in my “BC” days (before Christ), I said enough to fill two lifetimes. They are just not words I’m interested in using anymore.
… therefore, when we got this call, we began to rack our brains on where he picked this up, especially being used in the right context. Because his whole life is pretty much school, church, and home. But then it hit us...
A couple months ago, Janelle and I left on vacation. And the boys were staying with a relative. And this relative likes to use shiny-words when they are frustrated. And it all clicked… during that time, he had learned from the voice that was around him...
Today, maybe more than ever, it’s difficult to discern what voices we should listen to. There are so many! Additionally, there are things at play like...
Echo chambers - a phrase used to describe “only listening to voices that you like.” Social media algorithms are built on this concept. They only show you more of what you like. This is dangerous because it can cultivate a narrow perspective on life. We also have...
Cancel Culture - which many times destroys a life because someone’s voice isn’t conforming to the seemingly singular voice of the cultural masses. Then, add in...
Confirmation bias - which is basically the fact that, by nature, we like both echo-chambers and cancel culture. We like voices that agree with us. And we don’t like voices that challenge us.
…but sometimes, LIFE is found (it’s improved or corrected) by listening to those challenging voices!
Today in the “Finding Life in the Psalms” series, we’re going to look at a portion of Psalm 37. And I believe we’ll be challenged to reconsider the voices we listen to. Because there are some voices we need to tune in to. And other voices that need to be tuned out. And I believe we if we’re willing to listen to the right Voice, we’ll find life.
Let’s start with verses 1-3...
Exegesis:
Exegesis:
Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
be not envious of wrongdoers!
For they will soon fade like the grass
and wither like the green herb.
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Sometimes the best way to filter the voices in our lives is to...
Fix your focus (vv.1-3).
Fix your focus (vv.1-3).
Just like today, people in the ancient world got “triggered.” Sometimes, people are triggered for the right reasons. Maybe there is an injustice. And a voice says, “That’s not right!” And we agree with that voice! At times, good comes from our responsive action.
…but that’s not the case here. You see, this person is becoming all-consumed with the perceived injustice in his life. In verse 1, the Hebrew word for “Fret not” isn’t a weak phrase like, “Oh, don’t worry honey...” No. It could better be interpreted, “Don’t let your anger burn.” This person is so triggered, and focused on what everyone else is doing wrong, that they’ve forgotten who God has called them to be.
Whenever there is a voice that is distracting us like that… tune that voice out! Because above all else, God’s voice needs to be prioritized. His Word needs to be our focus. Why? One reason is all the other voices are temporary… they - and what they have us focus on - will one day fade away. But God’s word will last forever. Therefore, we need to...
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Are you bothered by the sin and evil in the world? Here’s the proper response: Focus on God.
“Do good” - the sense is, “Be Kind.” Do you see evil? Respond by being who God has called you to be!
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Live like that. Also… “dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.”
I love this. Too many times we look around, see evil, and run. But many times, God calls us to “dwell in the land.” It’s just we’re listening to the wrong voice.
And not just “dwell in the land,” but “befriend faithfulness.” I love the NASB translation that says, “cultivate faithfulness.” That’s the truest since of the passage. It’s similar to the phrase, “Bloom where you are planted.” Many times, God’s response to evil in the community is for His people to “stay put and invest in the community.” To be “lights in the darkness.” To cultivate God’s righteousness, first in themselves, and then in the people around them.
Unfortunately, we don’t listen to the right voices so we aren’t responding the right way. We need to FIX OUR FOCUS. The best way to do that is to ask, “What is GOD saying?”
Nevertheless, I’m excited about what God is doing here in Glastonbury. Here’s why I’m hopeful for our church. You know what kind of people know how to dwell in the land and cultivate? New Englanders. That’s one thing I love about this area. People here have a rich heritage of “blooming where they are planted.”
Verse 4 goes onto say...
Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
The phrase, “Delight yourself,” can also be translated, “Enjoy yourself.” It’s like the response of one who’s fallen in love...
I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;
he grazes among the lilies.
Jewish tradition saw this passage as an allegory of love between God and Israel. Like the response of God’s people when, “God has swept you off your feet.” You can’t help but be enraptured - to be filled with joy as you dwell in His presence.
When the psalmist goes onto write, “and He will give you the desires of your heart,” he isn’t communicating that God is going to give you whatever you want - like Santa Claus when you’ve been a good little boy or girl. Rather, the sense is, “As you spend time in God’s presence, your heart is transformed, and your desires become His desires. And as your desires sync with His will… guess what? They come to pass because they align with His purposes for your life.
You see, many times the real problem with our lives is our heart is jacked up. It’s filled with sin and naturally wants to listen to the wrong voice. You may have heard it said, “Follow your heart.” Sounds nice, terrible advice. God’s Word says...
The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
We don’t need to follow our heart. Instead, you need to let God...
Heal Your Heart (v. 4).
Heal Your Heart (v. 4).
When we “delight in the Lord,” our heart begins to heal. And we begin to recognize the right voices… the ones that give LIFE!
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
But, allowing God to heal our heart isn’t easy. It’s actually scary and challenging. How many of us would be scared if we knew we needed heart surgery tomorrow? Even if we knew the best heart surgeon was working on us?
Letting God transform your heart is like spiritual heart surgery. The prophet Ezekiel said God needs too, “…give you a new heart… [and]… take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.” (NLT). Heart transplants are scary!
That being said, the first step usually involves a huge step of faith! Verses 5-6 say...
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.
Sometimes, in order to find LIFE, we need to just trust the Lord and make a commitment - BY FAITH! Just step out onto the water and walk! In the words the popular worship song, Oceans, we need the “Spirit to lead us where our trust is without borders!” That can be scary!
Actually, the Hebrew word for “Commit” can mean, “To roll.” Remember when you were a kid and you used to roll down hills. Can’t do that anymore. When you get older, bones break when you roll down hills. But, when you’re younger, you’re like Gumby (no young person knows who that is).
Anyways, remember, you start at the top at the hill and once you start, there ain’t no stopping! You are committed to the roll and you just gotta let it happen. Spiritually, that’s what we need to do too. We need to take our lives and roll it over to God. Be like, “God, you take over.” Put it this way… you need to
Release Your Reputation (vv. 5-6).
Release Your Reputation (vv. 5-6).
Some of us are struggling in life right now, even though we’ve given our life to Christ, because we haven’t fully surrendered. We haven’t rolled control of our life over to Christ. You’re still listening to the wrong voices...
The voice in your head that tells you it’s better if YOU have control instead of God.
The voices of your peers mocking you because they thinking you’re a Jesus freak.
The devil’s voice lying to you saying God is boring and He’s trying to steal your fun.
Don’t listen to those voices. Release all that and go all-in with Jesus, because that’s where LIFE is found. That’s why the psalmist says, “Commit your way to the LORD… and He will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.” (vv. 5-6).
You know what means? It means, “When you roll away your control and let God do what He does, He will make everything right.”
However, I’m going to warn you, the Bible tells us...
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
God’s does things different. His timing is different. That means sometimes we roll away control and it feels like nothing changes - at least not immediately. That’s why we need to, “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him...”
The language used in verse 7 can be found in both the book of Leviticus and Ezekiel. In Leviticus, Aaron lost two sons because they chose to disobey the Lord and died. Ezekiel lost the love of his life - his wife. In both cases, God told them to “emotionally control themselves.” To be still, wait, and focus on God’s calling. That’s the sense here in Psalm 37. Control yourself based on God’s truth, not your in-the-moment feelings.
Once again, we (the readers) are faced with an incredibly difficult command. To “be still… and wait patiently” does not come naturally to us. It’s easier to react and respond to our feelings. But if we’ll listen to God’s voice, there’s something GOOD waiting for us at the end...
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
For the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.
But the meek shall inherit the land
and delight themselves in abundant peace.
I find verse 8 super interesting. One scholar translates it this way, “Be released from anger, and forsake rage; do not let your anger burn, surely it leads to evil.”
Let’s put it into more modern language, so we can better apply it to our lives. “When we are triggered by evil, we actually become the evil we’re triggered by.” Isn’t that crazy?
At the same time, this isn’t new wisdom. We already have the old saying, “Don’t fight fire with fire, otherwise everything ends up in smoke.” Whether it was intentional or not, that saying is rooted in God’s truthful wisdom.
Those who are still and wait patiently on Him...
Those who focus on who He’s called them to be...
Those who remember that everything in this world is temporary, but God’s word is eternal...
Those who are willing to LIVE God’s way will - Verse 11 - “delight themselves in abundant peace.” That’s that GOOD FUTURE we wait on!
The Hebrew word for “peace” is shalom… and it means much more than the “absence of conflict.” It refers to the presence of God filling the atmosphere. It is the coming of God’s Kingdom. It is the infusion of God’s healing on the world… restoring all things to complete perfection. In it’s fullest sense, it’s the final fulfillment of everything Jesus finished on the Cross!
And it’s this future promise of hope that should motivate our patience. It’s WHY we need to...
Be Patient for Peace (vv. 7-11).
Be Patient for Peace (vv. 7-11).
God’s promise to us is, “If we’re willing to live His way, there is a blessed life awaiting us in the future.” Temporarily, it may not feel like that.... but that’s why Psalm 37 tell us...
We need to fix our focus.
We need to heal our heart.
We need to release our reputation.
And we need to patiently wait for God’s peace.
Response:
Response:
As we close, you may still be wondering, “How do we do that?” Those four points are clear. They are even cute - with the alliteration. But practically… how do we implement them into our lives?
I’m gonna be honest… like most things on this journey of faith, what God’s voice is asking us to do is impossible in our own strength. We need help! And the help we need is the Holy Spirit (the third Person of the Trinity).
You see, when I carefully read the first 11 verses of Psalm 37, I find it describing what the apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians...
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
When the Holy Spirit is actively at work in our lives, the evidence is fruit that includes...
Love and joy - the same attributes you would find in people who “delight themselves in the Lord.”
Peace - that heavenly shalom.
Patience - people willing to wait on God.
Kindness - those who do good.
goodness - those filled with righteousness and justice.
faithfulness - people who roll their lives over to God.
gentleness - meek or humble people.
And, self-control - those willing to “be still.”
Psalm 37 describes a person filled with the Holy Spirit - with His fruit in full bloom. Someone who prioritizes and actively listens to His voice . My challenge for is: Are you listening to the Holy Spirit’s voice?
To help you answer that question, consider these four things:
The Holy Spirit’s voice is often quiet. Hearing it requires focus. You need space in your life, which involves tuning out other voices.
The Holy Spirit’s voice hurts. What I mean is He will often tell you things that your flesh doesn’t like. He’ll ask you to stop doing things you currently like. He’ll ask you to do things you don’t like.
However, the Holy Spirit’s voice never accuses. He will correct you. He will instruct you. You will feel guilt for your sin. But He doesn’t shame you thru accusation. That’s another voice - Satan’s voice does that! The difference is...
Guilt tells you that you’ve done something wrong (you’ve sinned).
Shame tells you that you ARE something wrong.
Guilt is about action. Shame is about identity.
The Holy Spirit speaks to you about God’s truth, but also about who God has created you to be in Christ Jesus.
Finally, the Holy Spirit’s voice has an eternal perspective. Our sinful nature, the devil, and the world want us to focus on “the now.” God speaks to us about eternity. Which voice are you listening to?
If you want to FIND LIFE, you need to listen to the VOICE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Because it is the Holy Spirit who brings God’s Shalom to this world. If you read Ephesians chapter 1, you’ll read a great Trinitarian truth:
God the Father planned our salvation.
Jesus - God the Son - secured our salvation.
And, the Holy Spirit applies our salvation.
It is the Spirit who is actively working to restore - applying the work of the Cross and bringing shalom - and bringing LIFE as God intended it.
Before we pray, I need to clarify this… there is no Holy Spirit in your life without Jesus. If you have not turned from your sin and put your faith in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you have no Holy Spirit. And without the Holy Spirit, you have no life.
Jesus said...
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
Do you need life today? Turn from your sin. Accept the forgiveness and free gift of eternal life Jesus offers you. Roll your life into God’s Hands and He will give you His Holy Spirit. You will find LIFE! Let’s pray...
Father, there are a lot of voices around us. There are voices swirling in our heads right now, distracting us from focusing on this prayer. Would you come and supernaturally silence the room? We want to prioritize Your voice. Give us focus. Give us Your Holy Spirit. We’re sorry for our sins. We’re sorry for constantly listening to every voice except Yours. But we’re ready to change that today. We open our hands and heart and say all we have is Yours. Please change us and give us your abundant peace. We surrender to Jesus as Lord and Savior. In Jesus name, amen.
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