WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.320 Welcome to the sermon podcast of Exodus Church, located in Belmont, North Carolina. 00:00:05.320 --> 00:00:13.240 For more information about our church and the many ways you can be involved, you can go to our website at exoduschurch.com. 00:00:13.240 --> 00:00:16.079 Good morning, everybody. 00:00:16.079 --> 00:00:20.280 My name is Kenneth, and I'm one of the Orchard Initiative pastoral residents here at Exodus. 00:00:20.280 --> 00:00:22.600 And it's my pleasure to get to preach God's word to you. 00:00:22.600 --> 00:00:27.280 If you have your Bibles, we're going to be in Psalm 73. 00:00:27.280 --> 00:00:31.199 Psalm 73, we're going to look at the first half of the Psalm. 00:00:31.199 --> 00:00:38.280 So a partial perspective can cause us to reach an incorrect conclusion. 00:00:38.280 --> 00:00:43.000 Almost every Friday night at our house, we have pizza and movie night. 00:00:43.000 --> 00:00:44.079 And it's awesome. 00:00:44.079 --> 00:00:46.640 It's one of my favorite parts of my week. 00:00:46.640 --> 00:00:54.399 Something I didn't know about the whole parenting thing is how fun it is to introduce your kids to things that you love. 00:00:54.399 --> 00:01:00.560 So what we do is we put a bed sheet out on the living room floor, and we let the kids eat on the floor. 00:01:00.560 --> 00:01:02.840 Whitney lets me eat on the floor. 00:01:02.840 --> 00:01:03.840 It's awesome. 00:01:03.840 --> 00:01:05.599 And then we watch movies. 00:01:05.599 --> 00:01:09.400 So we've watched Aladdin and the Lion King or the Ninja Turtles. 00:01:09.400 --> 00:01:12.439 And I get to show my kids movies and things that I love. 00:01:12.439 --> 00:01:14.959 And it's one of my favorite things. 00:01:14.959 --> 00:01:19.079 But most weeks, we always run into the same problem. 00:01:19.079 --> 00:01:27.319 My four-year-old daughter, Hadden, she hates any movies that have baddies, aka villains, hates them. 00:01:27.319 --> 00:01:30.239 So anytime there's a villain on the screen, she wants us to turn it off. 00:01:30.239 --> 00:01:34.439 And that's a big problem, because every good movie has good villains. 00:01:34.439 --> 00:01:36.000 So what happens every time? 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:38.280 She'll ask us to turn it off. 00:01:38.280 --> 00:01:40.000 And I wanted to say this up front. 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:43.840 Before you think I'm a cruel parent, all these movies are age appropriate, OK? 00:01:43.840 --> 00:01:47.680 So we're not making them watch Jurassic Park or Lord of the Rings. 00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:49.000 We're talking Lion King, OK? 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:52.879 So if she wants us to turn it off, I always say, hey, baby, we can't. 00:01:52.879 --> 00:01:53.719 We have to get to it. 00:01:53.719 --> 00:01:56.680 We have to see what happens, because the good guys win. 00:01:56.680 --> 00:02:01.719 I don't want to turn off the movie in the middle, or she's going to reach an incorrect conclusion. 00:02:01.719 --> 00:02:06.239 She's going to think that Scar beats Simba and Mufasa forever. 00:02:06.239 --> 00:02:07.879 Jafar beats Aladdin. 00:02:07.879 --> 00:02:10.439 She won't believe that love thaws a frozen heart. 00:02:10.439 --> 00:02:12.280 Like, she just won't do it. 00:02:12.280 --> 00:02:15.759 She will think the bad guys win. 00:02:15.759 --> 00:02:22.919 She'll see bad people doing bad things, and somehow they win. 00:02:22.919 --> 00:02:23.520 Why? 00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:30.479 Because a partial perspective causes us to reach an incomplete and incorrect conclusion. 00:02:30.479 --> 00:02:39.319 So throughout human history, one of the most complicated questions has been, why do bad things happen to good people? 00:02:39.319 --> 00:02:42.639 Why does a good God allow bad things to happen? 00:02:42.639 --> 00:02:45.960 Theologians and philosophers call this the problem of evil. 00:02:45.960 --> 00:02:51.120 Psalm 73, which is our text for this morning, addresses the opposite question. 00:02:51.120 --> 00:02:56.560 Why does a good God let good things happen to bad people? 00:02:56.560 --> 00:03:00.360 Why does it seem like the wicked prosper, as the text says? 00:03:00.360 --> 00:03:04.680 So this week and next week, we're going to be in a short miniseries called Perspective. 00:03:04.680 --> 00:03:11.520 So this week, this morning, we're going to look from the psalmist's perspective, Asaph's perspective, at the wicked. 00:03:11.520 --> 00:03:16.800 And the next week, you're going to see what happens when he gets in God's presence. 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:23.080 But what happens this morning is he sees good things happening to bad people, and he's disoriented. 00:03:23.080 --> 00:03:24.280 It messes with him. 00:03:24.280 --> 00:03:25.159 And what does it do? 00:03:25.159 --> 00:03:28.400 It causes him to want to join them. 00:03:28.400 --> 00:03:31.599 Our big idea this morning is really, really simple. 00:03:31.599 --> 00:03:35.159 Do not join the wicked. 00:03:35.159 --> 00:03:36.360 Don't do it. 00:03:36.360 --> 00:03:42.000 You're going to see good things happen to bad people, and you're going to be tempted to join them. 00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:43.599 Don't join them. 00:03:43.599 --> 00:03:45.560 So let's look with me at Psalm 73. 00:03:45.560 --> 00:03:48.360 We're going to begin in verse 1. 00:03:48.360 --> 00:03:52.080 "Truly, God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. 00:03:52.080 --> 00:03:55.800 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled. 00:03:55.800 --> 00:04:01.240 My steps had nearly slipped, for I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 00:04:01.240 --> 00:04:02.879 For they have no pangs until death. 00:04:02.879 --> 00:04:05.280 Their bodies are fat and sleek. 00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:07.039 They are not in trouble as others are. 00:04:07.039 --> 00:04:09.680 They are not stricken like the rest of mankind. 00:04:09.680 --> 00:04:11.280 Therefore, pride is their necklace. 00:04:11.280 --> 00:04:13.520 Violence covers them as a garment. 00:04:13.520 --> 00:04:15.759 Their eyes swell out through fatness. 00:04:15.759 --> 00:04:18.399 Their hearts overflow with follies. 00:04:18.399 --> 00:04:20.240 They scoff and speak with malice. 00:04:20.240 --> 00:04:22.360 Loftily, they threaten oppression. 00:04:22.360 --> 00:04:27.199 They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth. 00:04:27.199 --> 00:04:32.839 Therefore, his people turn back to them and find no fault in them. 00:04:32.839 --> 00:04:35.240 And they say, how can God know? 00:04:35.240 --> 00:04:36.959 Is their knowledge in the Most High? 00:04:36.959 --> 00:04:40.160 Behold, these are the wicked, always at ease. 00:04:40.160 --> 00:04:42.120 They increase in riches. 00:04:42.120 --> 00:04:46.199 All in vain I have kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. 00:04:46.199 --> 00:04:49.959 For all the day long, I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. 00:04:49.959 --> 00:04:54.879 If I had said, thus I will speak, I would have betrayed the generation of your children. 00:04:54.879 --> 00:05:03.480 But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God. 00:05:03.480 --> 00:05:08.720 Then I discerned their end." Pray with me. 00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:12.879 Heavenly Father God, help us fight the pull of sin. 00:05:12.879 --> 00:05:16.360 Help us fight the desire we have to join in with the wicked. 00:05:16.360 --> 00:05:26.160 I pray this morning as we study your beautiful text that you will help us to fight against sin and to cling to you and cling to the goodness that we have in you. 00:05:26.160 --> 00:05:28.959 Lord, I pray that you will show yourself big this morning. 00:05:28.959 --> 00:05:29.839 Lord, we love you. 00:05:29.839 --> 00:05:32.079 Pray all these things in your name. 00:05:32.079 --> 00:05:33.279 Amen. 00:05:33.279 --> 00:05:33.759 All right. 00:05:33.759 --> 00:05:38.279 So again, our big idea is do not join in with the wicked. 00:05:38.279 --> 00:05:43.319 So the beginning of Psalm 73 begins almost like the first scene in a movie. 00:05:43.319 --> 00:05:46.319 So imagine an old man sitting in a rocking chair. 00:05:46.319 --> 00:05:49.000 And he's about to tell you the story of his life. 00:05:49.000 --> 00:05:54.639 Or the teenage girl movie where it begins and says, let me take you back to the first day of high school. 00:05:54.639 --> 00:06:00.319 He starts out and he says, truly God is good to Israel, in verse 1, to those who are pure in heart. 00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:04.360 What he's doing is he's saying, this is the conclusion I reached. 00:06:04.360 --> 00:06:05.240 What's his conclusion? 00:06:05.240 --> 00:06:07.680 Truly, what is true? 00:06:07.680 --> 00:06:11.560 God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. 00:06:11.560 --> 00:06:12.560 What's he saying? 00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:21.120 He says, God is good to those who are pure in heart, which means those who have an unmixed loyalty and devotion to God. 00:06:21.120 --> 00:06:24.160 Their loyalty and devotion is set on one thing. 00:06:24.160 --> 00:06:26.279 They are truly devoted to the Lord. 00:06:26.279 --> 00:06:29.879 I grew up-- I spent most of my life growing up in Mississippi. 00:06:29.879 --> 00:06:32.319 And so in Mississippi, two things you need to know. 00:06:32.319 --> 00:06:34.600 Everyone loves college football. 00:06:34.600 --> 00:06:37.759 And they are completely and totally loyal to their teams. 00:06:37.759 --> 00:06:39.800 You may think you're loyal to your team. 00:06:39.800 --> 00:06:41.480 I promise. 00:06:41.480 --> 00:06:47.680 Back at my old church, I remember on Sunday mornings, Mississippi State or Ole Miss could get beat by 70 points. 00:06:47.680 --> 00:06:50.439 The next morning, I'd be like, all right, so how'd you feel about the game? 00:06:50.439 --> 00:06:51.680 Our boys played hard. 00:06:51.680 --> 00:06:53.480 They would find something positive. 00:06:53.480 --> 00:06:57.560 Win or lose, rain or shine, they're not changing their tune. 00:06:57.560 --> 00:07:00.560 They're totally devoted to the team. 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:05.199 And Asaph is saying, God is good to those who are totally devoted to him. 00:07:05.199 --> 00:07:14.079 He says, but-- but-- look in verse 2-- as for me, my feet had almost stumbled. 00:07:14.079 --> 00:07:14.600 Why? 00:07:14.600 --> 00:07:17.480 Why is Asaph tempted to stumble? 00:07:17.480 --> 00:07:21.199 He says, because I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 00:07:21.199 --> 00:07:25.160 Says I was-- in verse 3, I was envious of the arrogant. 00:07:25.160 --> 00:07:25.720 What happens? 00:07:25.720 --> 00:07:28.639 He sees good things happening to bad people. 00:07:28.639 --> 00:07:29.480 And what does he do? 00:07:29.480 --> 00:07:31.439 He's tempted to join them. 00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:34.319 He almost goes and joins them. 00:07:34.319 --> 00:07:37.000 Friends, don't join them. 00:07:37.000 --> 00:07:39.879 Don't join in with the wicked. 00:07:39.879 --> 00:07:41.959 So we're going to watch the psalmist's progression. 00:07:41.959 --> 00:07:45.680 He goes from confusion to crisis to clarity. 00:07:45.680 --> 00:07:47.519 So let's start with confusion. 00:07:47.519 --> 00:07:48.399 He's confused. 00:07:48.399 --> 00:07:50.079 He's completely disoriented. 00:07:50.079 --> 00:07:50.639 Why? 00:07:50.639 --> 00:07:53.800 Because he sees good things happening to bad people. 00:07:53.800 --> 00:07:55.920 And this is confusing. 00:07:55.920 --> 00:07:57.240 It's confusing to us. 00:07:57.240 --> 00:08:02.079 Maybe at your job, you see people who-- they lie, they cheat, and they steal. 00:08:02.079 --> 00:08:05.120 But they always seem to get ahead, and they get a promotion. 00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:09.600 Or maybe they're just unkind to people at your office, and they don't work as hard. 00:08:09.600 --> 00:08:12.199 But they always seem to get good things. 00:08:12.199 --> 00:08:15.000 Or we could think really big, bad things. 00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:21.000 We could point to dictators in other countries who-- they're supposed to care and lead their people. 00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:21.959 And what do they do? 00:08:21.959 --> 00:08:26.920 They hurt their people so they can have more power and pleasure and profit in the world. 00:08:26.920 --> 00:08:29.600 It's completely disorienting. 00:08:29.600 --> 00:08:30.959 It's hard to understand. 00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:34.799 Why does it seem like good things happen to bad people? 00:08:34.799 --> 00:08:37.480 And Asaph, he's confused. 00:08:37.480 --> 00:08:40.440 And we're confused often. 00:08:40.440 --> 00:08:42.120 You have this happen in your life. 00:08:42.120 --> 00:08:46.240 Maybe you have a friend or family member, and they're struggling to make ends meet. 00:08:46.240 --> 00:08:50.399 And then you see some story of someone who robs a bank, and they have millions of dollars. 00:08:50.399 --> 00:08:52.360 And it seems like they can't catch him. 00:08:52.360 --> 00:08:54.559 It seems like they're just living the good life. 00:08:54.559 --> 00:08:57.159 It doesn't seem fair. 00:08:57.159 --> 00:09:01.639 Asaph says, "As for me, my foot nearly slipped." Why? 00:09:01.639 --> 00:09:04.639 He says he sees the prosperity of the wicked. 00:09:04.639 --> 00:09:10.879 I really wanted to find a different word to use throughout the sermon than wicked, but I just couldn't find a good one. 00:09:10.879 --> 00:09:14.000 Synonyms for wicked are words like evil or bad. 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:17.799 And that doesn't really convey the same force as the word. 00:09:17.799 --> 00:09:22.039 In the original Hebrew language, wicked means guilty, the guilty. 00:09:22.039 --> 00:09:25.000 So this isn't just a perception problem. 00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:27.639 He doesn't look at them and go, those people look bad. 00:09:27.639 --> 00:09:29.960 He says, no, they are bad. 00:09:29.960 --> 00:09:32.279 They are sinful by nature and by action. 00:09:32.279 --> 00:09:34.279 He said, they're totally guilty. 00:09:34.279 --> 00:09:38.799 But the problem is he sees the prosperity of the wicked. 00:09:38.799 --> 00:09:44.799 The word prosperity is the Hebrew word shalom, which conveys the idea of God's peace to his people. 00:09:44.799 --> 00:09:53.360 So he's saying, these people seem to be enjoying God's good peace that is meant for his people, but they're living in a completely different direction than God. 00:09:53.360 --> 00:09:56.399 This seems unfair. 00:09:56.399 --> 00:09:57.759 But what's he tempted to do? 00:09:57.759 --> 00:10:00.600 He's tempted to join them. 00:10:00.600 --> 00:10:09.360 He almost stumbles because he is pulled by the presence and power of the wicked to join them because he wants what they have. 00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:14.120 So in verses 4 through 9, he paints-- it's almost like a caricature. 00:10:14.120 --> 00:10:16.639 He paints us a picture of the wicked. 00:10:16.639 --> 00:10:18.639 Have you ever had a caricature done of yourself? 00:10:18.639 --> 00:10:22.200 You go to the fair, or carowinds, and they draw a picture of you. 00:10:22.200 --> 00:10:28.200 You have tiny legs and giant muscles, and you're on a surfboard with a tennis racket and big ears. 00:10:28.200 --> 00:10:29.120 Nobody? 00:10:29.120 --> 00:10:30.200 So that's what he's doing. 00:10:30.200 --> 00:10:35.200 He shows us a picture of what the wicked look like, but it's kind of an outsized picture. 00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:41.320 And so his picture of them revolves around two things, pleasure and power. 00:10:41.320 --> 00:10:45.720 So pleasure, in verse 4, he says,"They have no pangs until death. 00:10:45.720 --> 00:10:52.240 Their bodies are fat and sleek." He's saying they don't experience the pain of life until death. 00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:54.360 They're living the good life. 00:10:54.360 --> 00:10:56.039 Seems so unfair. 00:10:56.039 --> 00:10:56.720 What is going on? 00:10:56.720 --> 00:10:58.879 They're living the good life. 00:10:58.879 --> 00:11:00.720 But they're also fat and sleek. 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:05.600 Now, I know for some of us, you're like, I don't think fat's a good word. 00:11:05.600 --> 00:11:08.039 I think you're misunderstanding. 00:11:08.039 --> 00:11:13.039 And it's not really culturally a good word for us, outside of a few years in the early 2000s. 00:11:13.039 --> 00:11:14.080 It's kind of a dark period. 00:11:14.080 --> 00:11:18.759 But fat was a major positive in their culture. 00:11:18.759 --> 00:11:19.360 Why? 00:11:19.360 --> 00:11:29.320 Because people who could be fat, they had access to the best delicacies of their day, and they also had enough power and money they didn't have to work like everyone else did. 00:11:29.320 --> 00:11:34.759 So most of their lives revolved around making sure they could put food on the table. 00:11:34.759 --> 00:11:38.960 So they were farming and taking care of animals so they could eat. 00:11:38.960 --> 00:11:45.720 But these people, the wicked, you're going to see in just a second, through their power, they have gotten enough wealth and money. 00:11:45.720 --> 00:11:46.840 They don't have to do that. 00:11:46.840 --> 00:11:50.120 They can just eat and eat and eat all day. 00:11:50.120 --> 00:11:53.279 What they're doing is they're enjoying the finest foods. 00:11:53.279 --> 00:12:00.159 They're eating chicken wings for breakfast, Popeyes for lunch, and rib eye steak for dinner, or insert whatever your ideal day of eating would be. 00:12:00.159 --> 00:12:01.919 That's what they're doing. 00:12:01.919 --> 00:12:02.840 They're fat. 00:12:02.840 --> 00:12:07.360 It says they're so fat in verse 7 that their eyes swell out through fatness. 00:12:07.360 --> 00:12:09.120 And that's kind of a double image. 00:12:09.120 --> 00:12:11.759 So they're so fat it's pushing their eyes out. 00:12:11.759 --> 00:12:16.919 But as it pushes their eyes out, it's trying to show you their desires keep growing. 00:12:16.919 --> 00:12:20.000 Have you ever heard someone say, your eyes are bigger than your stomach? 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:21.000 Yeah, that's what he's saying. 00:12:21.000 --> 00:12:25.679 He says their desires are outrunning even what they can consume. 00:12:25.679 --> 00:12:34.879 And so they've overeaten and overenjoyed to the point that it's led their hearts to overflow with all the good things they can enjoy. 00:12:34.879 --> 00:12:39.799 One translation says these fat cats have everything their hearts could ever wish for. 00:12:39.799 --> 00:12:40.440 I love it. 00:12:40.440 --> 00:12:42.200 I love it so much. 00:12:42.200 --> 00:12:44.320 They have everything they could possibly want. 00:12:44.320 --> 00:12:47.919 Charles Spurgeon said their meat surpassed their appetite. 00:12:47.919 --> 00:12:50.360 So they had more than they could indulge. 00:12:50.360 --> 00:12:52.159 And how did they get it? 00:12:52.159 --> 00:12:53.960 Through power. 00:12:53.960 --> 00:12:55.879 Look with me at verse 6. 00:12:55.879 --> 00:12:58.559 It says, "Therefore, pride is their necklace. 00:12:58.559 --> 00:13:10.480 Violence covers them as a garment." The word in that-- there's a verb in that passage, the word "necklace." It actually says they're necklaced by pride. 00:13:10.480 --> 00:13:12.960 Pride is wrapped around their neck. 00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:17.000 Pride and violence are a fashion that they wear. 00:13:17.000 --> 00:13:19.759 They feel like they're the most important people on the planet. 00:13:19.759 --> 00:13:23.720 And they'll hurt others to keep that power and keep that pleasure. 00:13:23.720 --> 00:13:26.279 They'll do whatever they want. 00:13:26.279 --> 00:13:28.639 And not only that, they're bold in their sin. 00:13:28.639 --> 00:13:37.960 In verse 8, it says, "They scoff and speak with malice, loftily they threaten oppression." So they're violent with their actions and their words. 00:13:37.960 --> 00:13:39.480 They don't care. 00:13:39.480 --> 00:13:40.679 They're bold in their sin. 00:13:40.679 --> 00:13:42.039 They hurt other people. 00:13:42.039 --> 00:13:52.639 It even says in verse 9, "They set their mouths against the heavens." So what he's saying is they're violent towards those around them, and they look up to God, and they're violent towards him, too. 00:13:52.639 --> 00:13:53.840 They don't care. 00:13:53.840 --> 00:13:54.039 Why? 00:13:54.039 --> 00:13:55.639 They're living the good life. 00:13:55.639 --> 00:13:58.200 They're doing whatever they want. 00:13:58.200 --> 00:14:03.240 Because their desire for more has crowded out their desire for God. 00:14:03.240 --> 00:14:05.840 Their eyes swell out through their fatness. 00:14:05.840 --> 00:14:10.200 They're dressed in the fashion of violence. 00:14:10.200 --> 00:14:12.960 The picture Asaph paints is for us to see. 00:14:12.960 --> 00:14:16.080 These people are actually guilty. 00:14:16.080 --> 00:14:17.639 They're wicked. 00:14:17.639 --> 00:14:20.600 They're bad people. 00:14:20.600 --> 00:14:29.240 And what I want Asaph to do is I want him in verse 10 to go, yeah, and they're going to face God's judgment, and they are the worst. 00:14:29.240 --> 00:14:31.039 I can't stand those guys. 00:14:31.039 --> 00:14:32.879 That's not what he does. 00:14:32.879 --> 00:14:34.120 He's tempted to join them. 00:14:34.120 --> 00:14:39.720 Friends, don't give in to the temptation to join the wicked. 00:14:39.720 --> 00:14:41.159 Look with me in verse 10. 00:14:41.159 --> 00:14:43.399 The psalmist is thrown into a crisis. 00:14:43.399 --> 00:14:45.240 He's thrown into a crisis. 00:14:45.240 --> 00:14:52.080 So after that description of the wicked, you would think he would go, I don't want anything to do with that. 00:14:52.080 --> 00:14:56.039 I don't want to deal with these fat, violent people. 00:14:56.039 --> 00:14:59.519 That seems like people I don't want to be a part of. 00:14:59.519 --> 00:15:02.519 But his mistake is that he is tempted to join them. 00:15:02.519 --> 00:15:05.080 Temptation is being invited to sin. 00:15:05.080 --> 00:15:06.799 He is invited to sin. 00:15:06.799 --> 00:15:07.279 Why? 00:15:07.279 --> 00:15:11.399 Because sin has a kind of gravity to it. 00:15:11.399 --> 00:15:12.720 Do you understand gravity? 00:15:12.720 --> 00:15:16.559 In like 30 minutes or so, you're going to stand up from your chair. 00:15:16.559 --> 00:15:20.759 And if you're past 30, you're going to hear your knees creak and go, oh. 00:15:20.759 --> 00:15:23.759 There's like a collective, oh, when people stand up. 00:15:23.759 --> 00:15:26.440 Because gravity pulls you down. 00:15:26.440 --> 00:15:31.440 The older and older I get, the more cognizant I am of not falling down. 00:15:31.440 --> 00:15:34.720 Like I trip, and it's like, mayday, mayday, don't hit the ground. 00:15:34.720 --> 00:15:36.679 Like, let's not do that again. 00:15:36.679 --> 00:15:37.679 It starts to pull you. 00:15:37.679 --> 00:15:39.679 And this is what happens with sin. 00:15:39.679 --> 00:15:46.440 Because we are sinful by nature and sinful in our actions, and we live in a broken world, sin pulls us to it. 00:15:46.440 --> 00:15:52.159 So you start to stumble, and there's a force working against you, and you hit the ground. 00:15:52.159 --> 00:15:53.360 That's what Asaph is saying. 00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:55.799 He says, I almost slipped. 00:15:55.799 --> 00:15:56.639 I almost slipped. 00:15:56.639 --> 00:15:59.679 He's pulled by the gravity of the wicked. 00:15:59.679 --> 00:16:03.720 The presence and power of the wicked pulls us to join them. 00:16:03.720 --> 00:16:06.759 And there's three ways Asaph shows us that he's tempted. 00:16:06.759 --> 00:16:08.840 The first one is comparison. 00:16:08.840 --> 00:16:15.000 One of the ways we give in to the temptation to join the wicked is through comparison. 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:17.440 He starts watching what they're doing. 00:16:17.440 --> 00:16:21.600 His focus is on the wicked, not on what God is doing. 00:16:21.600 --> 00:16:28.799 So he's watching these violent, prideful, arrogant success stories in his eyes. 00:16:28.799 --> 00:16:31.039 He's like, these people are winning. 00:16:31.039 --> 00:16:31.679 They're winning. 00:16:31.679 --> 00:16:32.519 Why? 00:16:32.519 --> 00:16:40.919 Because sin, one of the most powerful things sin does is it makes what is destructive and dangerous seem attractive. 00:16:40.919 --> 00:16:44.080 So something you do before you have a baby, OK? 00:16:44.080 --> 00:16:47.440 Before you bring a baby home from the hospital, it's kind of impossible. 00:16:47.440 --> 00:16:50.679 But you baby-proof a house, OK? 00:16:50.679 --> 00:16:55.919 So what you do is you put all the little locks on the cabinets, and you move all the dangerous things higher and higher. 00:16:55.919 --> 00:16:57.039 Do you know why? 00:16:57.039 --> 00:17:00.519 Because babies are drug dogs for danger. 00:17:00.519 --> 00:17:07.799 And if you put-- you want to know where the most dangerous things in your house are, borrow an 18-month-old and put them in the living room on the floor. 00:17:07.799 --> 00:17:08.759 They will find it. 00:17:08.759 --> 00:17:11.359 You'll be like, I didn't know we had machetes under the couch. 00:17:11.359 --> 00:17:12.160 Like, yeah, you did. 00:17:12.160 --> 00:17:14.440 Like, and that little 18-month-old found it. 00:17:14.440 --> 00:17:21.839 I tell my wife all the time, I'm like, whoever invented the little electrical sockets and made them look like smiley faces had no kids. 00:17:21.839 --> 00:17:24.079 Like, that guy, he's never seen a kid before. 00:17:24.079 --> 00:17:25.519 Like, what is he doing? 00:17:25.519 --> 00:17:27.400 But this is what sin does. 00:17:27.400 --> 00:17:31.319 It's these dangerous, shiny things that we're drawn to. 00:17:31.319 --> 00:17:35.440 And we don't realize how dangerous and destructive they are. 00:17:35.440 --> 00:17:38.839 Because whatever we look at, we're going to desire. 00:17:38.839 --> 00:17:43.720 And whatever we desire, we're going to try to get. 00:17:43.720 --> 00:17:47.119 Comparison gives us a faulty perspective. 00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:50.319 There's all sorts of ways we compare ourselves. 00:17:50.319 --> 00:17:52.880 Maybe there's one in your pocket right now. 00:17:52.880 --> 00:17:59.119 You open your phone, and you look on social media, and you see everybody seems to always be at the beach or the mountains. 00:17:59.119 --> 00:18:01.519 And their kids seem successful, and they're always winning. 00:18:01.519 --> 00:18:03.400 And what are you doing with your life? 00:18:03.400 --> 00:18:07.480 And all of a sudden, you start to question your choices, and you feel less worthy. 00:18:07.480 --> 00:18:09.680 Or maybe it's next week at Thanksgiving. 00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:13.519 You're going to look around the table, and you're going to be tempted to compare yourself. 00:18:13.519 --> 00:18:17.960 You're going to be like, I'm so thankful for all the ways God has given me these people. 00:18:17.960 --> 00:18:25.559 And I'm so thankful that I'm not as out of shape as that guy, or that my kids are better behaved than this person. 00:18:25.559 --> 00:18:26.319 Or the opposite. 00:18:26.319 --> 00:18:30.440 You'll say, man, I wish I was in better shape, or I wish my kids were more well-behaved. 00:18:30.440 --> 00:18:37.039 I know my kids are going to look-- when we make the plates, they're going to be like, he got more of this, and she got more of this. 00:18:37.039 --> 00:18:37.839 And they're going to fight about it. 00:18:37.839 --> 00:18:38.339 Why? 00:18:38.339 --> 00:18:44.160 Because comparison robs us of enjoyment of the things God has given us. 00:18:44.160 --> 00:18:49.180 Comparison always leads us to believe God hasn't given us enough. 00:18:49.180 --> 00:18:52.619 And if God hasn't given us enough, then he's not good enough. 00:18:52.619 --> 00:18:58.619 And what we'll do is we'll run after other things to get the good things we think we deserve. 00:18:58.619 --> 00:19:03.339 When we compare the quality of our lives with others, we always reach the same conclusion. 00:19:03.339 --> 00:19:05.500 God is not good enough. 00:19:05.500 --> 00:19:13.299 Mark Twain famously said, "Comparison is the thief of joy." For followers of Jesus, comparison is the death of obedience. 00:19:13.299 --> 00:19:18.920 It kills our obedience because we will run after things we were not created to run after. 00:19:18.920 --> 00:19:24.559 And so the presence and prosperity of the wicked-- it causes people to want to join them. 00:19:24.559 --> 00:19:28.799 In verse 10 he says his people turn back to them and find no fault in them. 00:19:28.799 --> 00:19:33.119 What you want him to say is his people see the wicked and they run away. 00:19:33.119 --> 00:19:36.000 But what they see is they go no they seem to be doing it right. 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:38.880 I'm gonna go follow them. 00:19:38.880 --> 00:19:43.099 When good things happen to bad people don't join them. 00:19:43.099 --> 00:19:43.819 Don't join them. 00:19:43.819 --> 00:19:46.859 The second way is blatant disobedience. 00:19:46.859 --> 00:19:51.940 In verse 11, the psalmist says, here's what the people are saying about God. 00:19:51.940 --> 00:19:53.940 They're saying, how can he know? 00:19:53.940 --> 00:19:58.460 If God's letting these good things happen to these bad people, can he really even know what they're doing? 00:19:58.460 --> 00:20:00.380 That doesn't seem like God. 00:20:00.380 --> 00:20:03.500 The wicked have become the standard of success. 00:20:03.500 --> 00:20:07.819 And what happens is people will be willing to be wicked to get what the wicked have. 00:20:07.819 --> 00:20:12.640 Because the wicked have two things we all want. 00:20:12.640 --> 00:20:19.359 So the two biggest idols in our world today, in our culture today, and in this room today, are the two things we all want. 00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:23.599 An idol is anything less than God that gets what God deserves. 00:20:23.599 --> 00:20:25.460 The wicked, look with me at verse 12. 00:20:25.460 --> 00:20:26.839 Here's what he says about them. 00:20:26.839 --> 00:20:27.980 These are the wicked. 00:20:27.980 --> 00:20:31.279 Again, I want them to be like the worst. 00:20:31.279 --> 00:20:32.900 But what does he say? 00:20:32.900 --> 00:20:36.680 They're always at ease, and they increase in riches. 00:20:36.680 --> 00:20:38.200 What do they have? 00:20:38.200 --> 00:20:41.079 They have comfort and wealth. 00:20:41.079 --> 00:20:42.200 Comfort and wealth. 00:20:42.200 --> 00:20:43.579 I want you to think just a second. 00:20:43.579 --> 00:20:51.640 How much of your life is devoted to earning those two things, comfort and wealth? 00:20:51.640 --> 00:20:55.599 Maybe just a little bit of discomfort or the lack of wealth that you face. 00:20:55.599 --> 00:20:59.359 It'll lead you to lie, cheat, or steal to get ahead at work. 00:20:59.359 --> 00:21:04.759 Or maybe the temptation to make those things idols in your life are really subtle. 00:21:04.880 --> 00:21:12.880 Maybe you wake up, and one of your first thoughts is, I can't wait to get home and get back to the couch so I can keep watching that show on Netflix. 00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:14.599 Or maybe it's something more destructive. 00:21:14.599 --> 00:21:19.880 Maybe a little bit of discomfort leads you to run to pornography or the overuse of alcohol. 00:21:19.880 --> 00:21:27.200 We will do anything to push away discomfort at the pursuit of comfort. 00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:44.079 The temptation we face every day and a question we all have to answer is, am I going to choose a life of luxury without God or a life that's going to have some hard things in it, but I get God? 00:21:44.079 --> 00:21:46.799 What choice are you going to make? 00:21:46.799 --> 00:21:54.079 It's so easy to pursue comfort at the expense of everything else. 00:21:54.079 --> 00:21:56.599 So a few weeks ago, I wanted some chicken wings. 00:21:56.599 --> 00:21:57.599 It was a Thursday night. 00:21:57.599 --> 00:21:58.440 I like chicken wings. 00:21:58.440 --> 00:22:00.440 I told Whitney, I said, we're going to order some chicken wings. 00:22:00.440 --> 00:22:02.240 So I ordered chicken wings online. 00:22:02.240 --> 00:22:07.880 I go to an unnamed place in Gastonia, called Wingstop to pick them up. 00:22:07.880 --> 00:22:09.240 And they weren't ready. 00:22:09.240 --> 00:22:09.839 It's fine. 00:22:09.839 --> 00:22:10.920 Like, you know, whatever. 00:22:10.920 --> 00:22:11.599 I like sit down. 00:22:11.599 --> 00:22:13.680 I start looking at my phone. 00:22:13.680 --> 00:22:16.400 Well, slowly but surely, people start to trickle in. 00:22:16.400 --> 00:22:19.400 And a trickle becomes a mob very quickly. 00:22:19.400 --> 00:22:23.240 So what happened was the people at the back, there weren't enough workers. 00:22:23.240 --> 00:22:26.119 And you can see them cooking the wings right there. 00:22:26.119 --> 00:22:30.279 There's like one and a half guys, basically, is how it felt. 00:22:30.279 --> 00:22:33.119 So you're watching them, and they're working as hard as they can. 00:22:33.119 --> 00:22:37.920 And every couple of minutes, he would yell back, hey, everybody, I'm working as hard as I can. 00:22:37.920 --> 00:22:38.839 We're understaffed. 00:22:38.839 --> 00:22:40.440 We're really sorry. 00:22:40.440 --> 00:22:43.279 And people just got angrier and angrier. 00:22:43.279 --> 00:22:45.799 They started just yelling back, I've been here an hour. 00:22:45.799 --> 00:22:48.839 And I was like, I mean, it's probably not going to help, man. 00:22:48.839 --> 00:22:51.160 I don't think he's going to be like, oh, my bad, dude. 00:22:51.160 --> 00:22:56.640 So slowly but surely, they just get angrier and angrier, and people are getting meaner and meaner and meaner. 00:22:56.640 --> 00:22:57.440 Why? 00:22:57.440 --> 00:23:01.440 Because they were hungry, and they had to wait. 00:23:01.440 --> 00:23:06.079 Hunger and waiting led them to mistreat other people. 00:23:06.079 --> 00:23:10.160 I don't think any of those people woke up and said, you know what I'm going to do this afternoon? 00:23:10.160 --> 00:23:12.720 I'm going to go home, bully a fast food worker. 00:23:12.720 --> 00:23:13.720 That'll be great. 00:23:13.720 --> 00:23:14.839 Great way to spend a night. 00:23:14.839 --> 00:23:15.839 No. 00:23:15.839 --> 00:23:19.960 But discomfort led them to pursue comfort at someone else's expense. 00:23:19.960 --> 00:23:29.279 And if you're sitting there thinking, man, those people are bad, in like an hour and a half, when someone looks at you and says, what do you want to eat for lunch, and your blood sugar is just a little low, you're like, I don't care. 00:23:29.279 --> 00:23:30.000 You just pick. 00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:32.200 Like, it's going to happen to you, right? 00:23:32.200 --> 00:23:37.279 We will pursue comfort at others' expense. 00:23:37.279 --> 00:23:38.359 And that's called sinning. 00:23:38.359 --> 00:23:39.920 Don't join in the wicked. 00:23:39.920 --> 00:23:41.279 Don't do it. 00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:47.519 The other lie that they believe-- they're pursuing comfort because they start to believe God doesn't know or care. 00:23:47.519 --> 00:23:54.039 He doesn't know or care what I do, so I should just join in with the wicked. 00:23:54.039 --> 00:23:57.160 The third thing we see is foolish thinking. 00:23:57.160 --> 00:23:58.440 Look with me at verse 13. 00:23:58.440 --> 00:24:01.200 It's one of the saddest parts of the psalm. 00:24:01.200 --> 00:24:02.519 So Asaph, he gets to this point. 00:24:02.519 --> 00:24:07.039 And again, I just want him to be like, no, I'm not going to join the wicked. 00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:17.279 But what he says, he says, "all in vain I have kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence." He's saying, I've wasted it. 00:24:17.279 --> 00:24:19.720 I've wasted my life. 00:24:19.720 --> 00:24:22.319 My heart and my hands, I'm serving God. 00:24:22.319 --> 00:24:23.839 I'm obedient to God with them. 00:24:23.839 --> 00:24:27.039 What a waste. 00:24:27.039 --> 00:24:31.960 I want you to imagine going to a 50th wedding anniversary. 00:24:31.960 --> 00:24:34.359 If you've ever been, it's always a joyous celebration. 00:24:34.359 --> 00:24:37.279 It's like, man, 50 years, that's amazing. 00:24:37.279 --> 00:24:40.480 People devoted to one another, loving one another, caring for one another. 00:24:40.480 --> 00:24:48.079 But I want you to imagine a husband or wife that's been married 50 years gets up at that anniversary party and says, you know what? 00:24:48.079 --> 00:24:50.799 I should have had an affair. 00:24:50.799 --> 00:24:52.720 I shouldn't have cared so much. 00:24:52.720 --> 00:24:56.799 I wasted my time, my money, my energy on you. 00:24:56.799 --> 00:25:00.640 If I could do it all over again, I just wouldn't do it. 00:25:00.640 --> 00:25:02.799 What would you say? 00:25:02.799 --> 00:25:03.960 You say, that's a tragedy. 00:25:03.960 --> 00:25:09.160 That's what the psalmist says. 00:25:09.160 --> 00:25:09.960 He gets to the end. 00:25:09.960 --> 00:25:13.200 He goes, I've wasted my life. 00:25:13.319 --> 00:25:18.160 I've wasted my life pursuing God. 00:25:18.160 --> 00:25:22.839 If you've ever read in Luke 15, the story of the prodigal son, that's what it's commonly called. 00:25:22.839 --> 00:25:25.440 If you've never read it, go home this afternoon and read it. 00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:26.599 Read Luke 15. 00:25:26.599 --> 00:25:29.599 But there's two parts to the story. 00:25:29.599 --> 00:25:37.160 So there's the younger brother who he takes his father's inheritance, and he goes and he lives a wild life, wasted, and he's welcomed back in love. 00:25:37.160 --> 00:25:40.240 And they throw him a big party, and they eat a bunch of ribeye steak. 00:25:40.240 --> 00:25:46.119 And then the older brother comes back, and he hears the party, and he's upset. 00:25:46.119 --> 00:25:52.279 He says, he tells his father, I've been with you all these years, and you've never done this for me. 00:25:52.279 --> 00:25:54.920 And his father says this. 00:25:54.920 --> 00:26:01.640 He says, son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 00:26:01.640 --> 00:26:12.079 The older brother, Asaph, and us, we all face the temptation to believe, maybe this is all a waste. 00:26:12.079 --> 00:26:13.759 What did the older brother miss? 00:26:13.759 --> 00:26:15.920 He's in the presence of the father. 00:26:15.920 --> 00:26:16.960 What does Asaph miss? 00:26:16.960 --> 00:26:18.480 He knows God. 00:26:18.480 --> 00:26:19.960 He knows him. 00:26:19.960 --> 00:26:21.720 He knows him. 00:26:21.720 --> 00:26:22.680 But what's he see? 00:26:22.680 --> 00:26:27.319 He sees good things happen to bad people, and he wants to run after them. 00:26:27.319 --> 00:26:29.079 Friends, don't run after them. 00:26:29.079 --> 00:26:37.680 In the last warning he gives, when you run after the wicked, when you pursue the ways of the wicked, you hurt those around you. 00:26:37.680 --> 00:26:39.720 Rebellion affects community. 00:26:39.720 --> 00:26:44.160 When you follow the wicked, you ruin your life and the life of those around you. 00:26:44.160 --> 00:26:44.960 Look at verse 15. 00:26:44.960 --> 00:26:50.880 He says, if I had said, I will speak thus, I would have betrayed the generation of your children. 00:26:50.880 --> 00:26:58.680 So he's saying, if I would have said, yeah, this is all right, I would have betrayed a generation, an entire generation. 00:26:58.680 --> 00:27:00.480 Friends, don't join the wicked. 00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:02.119 There's so much at stake. 00:27:02.119 --> 00:27:03.720 Don't join them. 00:27:03.720 --> 00:27:06.359 Do not join them. 00:27:06.359 --> 00:27:10.400 Our last point is we see the psalmist get clarity. 00:27:10.400 --> 00:27:17.880 In verse 16, he says, when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me to be a wearisome task. 00:27:17.880 --> 00:27:19.119 Yes and amen. 00:27:19.119 --> 00:27:23.960 If you're following along, you're like, yeah, why does God let good things happen to bad people? 00:27:23.960 --> 00:27:27.119 It's kind of like, I can't even wrap my head around it. 00:27:27.119 --> 00:27:30.319 If you've even thought through these things, it's confusing. 00:27:30.319 --> 00:27:31.880 It's hard to understand. 00:27:31.880 --> 00:27:34.240 He says, it's wearisome. 00:27:34.240 --> 00:27:38.799 What do we do when we have hard questions, wearisome questions? 00:27:38.799 --> 00:27:39.920 We do what Asaph does. 00:27:39.920 --> 00:27:42.240 We go to the Lord. 00:27:42.240 --> 00:27:47.119 The psalmist enters into the presence of God, and it changes his perspective. 00:27:47.119 --> 00:27:50.039 Verse 17, it seems a wearisome task. 00:27:50.039 --> 00:27:57.240 Until I went into the sanctuary of God, then I discerned their end. 00:27:57.240 --> 00:27:59.119 He gets a new perspective. 00:27:59.119 --> 00:28:01.079 He gets in God's presence. 00:28:01.079 --> 00:28:02.039 And what does he see? 00:28:02.039 --> 00:28:03.759 He says, I discerned their end. 00:28:03.759 --> 00:28:05.119 He sees it. 00:28:05.119 --> 00:28:08.640 It's like all of a sudden, he's in the presence of God, and everything clicks on. 00:28:08.640 --> 00:28:12.319 He goes, OK, I get to be in the presence of this. 00:28:12.319 --> 00:28:14.720 Here's what's going to happen to the wicked. 00:28:14.720 --> 00:28:16.319 They don't get this. 00:28:16.319 --> 00:28:18.359 They get the opposite of this. 00:28:18.359 --> 00:28:18.920 What happens? 00:28:18.920 --> 00:28:22.400 He simply sees who God is, and it changes everything. 00:28:22.400 --> 00:28:23.720 It changes everything. 00:28:23.720 --> 00:28:24.200 Why? 00:28:24.200 --> 00:28:31.519 Because he sees the coming punishment of the wicked, and he sees that he gets to belong to God. 00:28:31.519 --> 00:28:32.680 He gets to belong to God. 00:28:32.680 --> 00:28:38.119 The question he's asking, why do good things happen to bad people, is a great question. 00:28:38.119 --> 00:28:40.759 Go with me back to the beginning, verse 1. 00:28:40.759 --> 00:28:45.640 He says, truly God is good to Israel, OK, to those who are pure in heart. 00:28:45.640 --> 00:28:49.200 So Bible scholars say this is the orienting statement. 00:28:49.200 --> 00:28:52.720 He's saying this is the truth of the psalm, and he explains it here. 00:28:52.720 --> 00:28:55.119 Why is he so confident about verse 1? 00:28:55.119 --> 00:28:59.160 Because he almost slips until he gets in the presence of God. 00:28:59.160 --> 00:29:02.759 He says, truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. 00:29:02.759 --> 00:29:08.200 So again, unmixed devotion, total loyalty to God. 00:29:08.200 --> 00:29:10.160 Asaph, he's just painted this picture. 00:29:10.160 --> 00:29:12.119 He's saying it's not fair. 00:29:12.119 --> 00:29:13.279 That's what he's saying. 00:29:13.279 --> 00:29:18.200 He sounds like a three-year-old, and kind of like most of us. 00:29:18.200 --> 00:29:19.240 He's like, it's not fair. 00:29:19.240 --> 00:29:22.720 Why do they get all these good things? 00:29:22.720 --> 00:29:26.559 Because in his mind, he's like, yeah, I'm a good dude. 00:29:26.559 --> 00:29:28.559 But is he? 00:29:28.559 --> 00:29:30.319 Is he? 00:29:30.319 --> 00:29:32.920 Is his devotion solely on the Lord? 00:29:32.920 --> 00:29:34.880 Let's read again. 00:29:34.880 --> 00:29:51.680 In verse 3, he says, "I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked." And then in 13, he says, "In vain, I've kept my heart clean." OK, so just a reminder, all of a sudden, this guy, he's jealous of what the wicked have. 00:29:51.680 --> 00:29:55.319 He's saying, what a waste of my life. 00:29:55.319 --> 00:29:56.640 Is he a good dude? 00:29:56.640 --> 00:29:58.160 No. 00:29:58.160 --> 00:30:03.000 No, there are no good people in Psalm 73. 00:30:03.000 --> 00:30:04.680 Not one. 00:30:04.680 --> 00:30:09.000 And there's no good people in this room either. 00:30:09.000 --> 00:30:12.640 But how does Asaph come to that conclusion? 00:30:12.640 --> 00:30:15.079 He gets in God's presence. 00:30:15.079 --> 00:30:21.519 So a bad person gets to experience the greatest good, being in God's presence and knowing God. 00:30:21.519 --> 00:30:22.799 How? 00:30:22.799 --> 00:30:23.960 Grace. 00:30:23.960 --> 00:30:25.440 How does this happen? 00:30:25.440 --> 00:30:26.680 Grace. 00:30:26.680 --> 00:30:31.039 There's no good person in this room who deserves to be in God's presence. 00:30:31.039 --> 00:30:36.359 We all deserve what you're going to see that's going to happen to the wicked next week. 00:30:36.359 --> 00:30:38.920 The question, why do good things happen to bad people? 00:30:38.920 --> 00:30:43.079 It's a great question, because we're all bad people. 00:30:43.079 --> 00:30:47.480 But there's a God who gave up the comfort and luxury of heaven. 00:30:47.480 --> 00:30:50.599 And he came down, and he paid the penalty of our sin. 00:30:50.599 --> 00:30:55.880 He lived the perfect life for us, and he died on a Roman cross so that we could be right with God forever. 00:30:55.880 --> 00:31:09.880 Would you choose a life of luxury and comfort without God, or would you choose a life that's going to include some pain, but you get to know God forever? 00:31:09.880 --> 00:31:11.920 Friends, don't join the wicked. 00:31:11.920 --> 00:31:14.279 Don't join the wicked. 00:31:14.279 --> 00:31:16.119 Don't do it. 00:31:16.119 --> 00:31:18.920 How does the psalmist change his perspective? 00:31:18.920 --> 00:31:22.640 He gets in God's presence, and it changes everything. 00:31:22.640 --> 00:31:24.119 Don't join the wicked. 00:31:24.119 --> 00:31:28.240 Christian, where are you tempted to join the wicked? 00:31:28.240 --> 00:31:36.400 Where in your life, where in your heart right now are you saying, I'm feeling pulled by the gravity of sin to rebel and go follow them? 00:31:36.400 --> 00:31:38.319 Can I just say, you don't have to do it. 00:31:38.319 --> 00:31:40.559 Just don't do it. 00:31:40.559 --> 00:31:47.279 If you're here and you're not following Jesus, you don't have to face the punishment that the wicked are going to face. 00:31:47.279 --> 00:31:49.799 You don't have to spend eternity in hell. 00:31:49.799 --> 00:31:51.400 You don't have to. 00:31:51.400 --> 00:31:59.799 You can spend eternity with the God who the psalmist in Psalm 16 says that there are pleasures at his right hand forevermore. 00:31:59.799 --> 00:32:00.299 Why? 00:32:00.299 --> 00:32:02.759 Because we're going to get to be with him. 00:32:02.759 --> 00:32:05.400 What we were created for, to be with God. 00:32:05.400 --> 00:32:08.000 Jesus has secured the best in for you. 00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:10.519 Friends, don't join the wicked. 00:32:10.519 --> 00:32:12.000 Join him. 00:32:12.000 --> 00:32:13.240 Fight temptation. 00:32:13.240 --> 00:32:14.839 Fight it. 00:32:14.839 --> 00:32:15.720 How do you fight it? 00:32:15.720 --> 00:32:18.920 You go to him, and you get in his presence. 00:32:18.920 --> 00:32:19.920 Don't join the wicked. 00:32:19.920 --> 00:32:21.559 Why? 00:32:21.559 --> 00:32:25.000 Because truly, God is good. 00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:26.119 Let's pray. 00:32:26.119 --> 00:32:29.839 Heavenly Father God, thank you for the truth that you're good. 00:32:29.839 --> 00:32:33.680 And you're holy, and you've made a way for us to know you. 00:32:33.680 --> 00:32:36.279 It's better than we truly can fathom. 00:32:36.279 --> 00:32:39.640 But you've made a way for us to know you and enjoy you. 00:32:39.640 --> 00:32:47.519 And Lord, bad people have been made holy and acceptable in your sight by your good sacrifice on the cross. 00:32:47.519 --> 00:32:54.039 Lord, I pray that for those who are here who are fulfilling the pull of temptation, Lord, lead them not into that temptation. 00:32:54.039 --> 00:32:55.960 Lead them away from it. 00:32:55.960 --> 00:32:57.200 Lord, bring your kingdom. 00:32:57.200 --> 00:32:59.839 Help them fight against that pull. 00:32:59.839 --> 00:33:03.039 Lord, we're all tempted to rebel against you. 00:33:03.039 --> 00:33:06.019 Lord show us how good you are. 00:33:06.019 --> 00:33:08.119 Remind us how good you are. 00:33:08.119 --> 00:33:14.759 Stamp your goodness on our heart so that we will never stray from you. 00:33:14.759 --> 00:33:15.839 Lord, we love you. 00:33:15.839 --> 00:33:17.799 Thank you for the cross. 00:33:17.799 --> 00:33:23.039 Lord, thank you for leaving heaven and making a way for us to be right with you forever. 00:33:23.039 --> 00:33:25.119 Lord, you're so good. 00:33:25.119 --> 00:33:28.799 We pray all these things in your holy and precious name. 00:33:28.799 --> 00:33:30.359 Amen.