Psalm 73 Part 2

Let’s be honest, waiting is frustrating. You pray, you believe, you try to stay positive, but after a while, you start thinking, “Alright God… when?” And it’s in that space where things can get shaky. But what if the waiting, the tension, the not knowing, is actually shaping you more than you realize? Today, Pastor Dr. Timothy Brown challenges us with this: if you want your life to change, it starts with changing your mind and choosing to keep showing up until God moves.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to Truth for Transformation with Dr. Timothy Brown. You're about to hear a message from God's Word filled with biblical wisdom, practical insights, and life-changing truths. A message designed to inspire your faith and give encouragement.

SPEAKER_01 0:21

If you want your life to change, you have to change your mind. This is a paradigm shift. So from now on, I'm gonna remember that word. What's that big word we talked about? Until. I'm gonna focus on the until of God. Until he returns, I will continue. Until he calls me home, I will continue. Until he changes my situation, I'll keep going forward. Until he moves, I will continue to pursue him. Though none go with me, I will follow. Until he calls me home, I will be about his business. Let's be honest.

SPEAKER_00 0:53

Waiting is frustrating. You pray, you believe, you try to stay positive, but after a while, you start thinking, alright, God, when? And it's in that space where things can get shaky. But what if the waiting, the tension, the not knowing is actually shaping you more than you realize? Today, Dr. Timothy Brown challenges us with this. If you want your life to change, it starts with changing your mind and choosing to keep showing up until God moves. Prepare your heart, open your mind, and get ready to embark on a journey of faith with Dr. Timothy Brown in the book of Psalm, chapter 73, with today's edition of Truth for Transformation.

SPEAKER_01 1:43

Italian sports cars in the driveway, they travel the world with their supermodel spouse. But you, on the other hand, you live in a rundown house that has 1980s furniture, stained carpet, that's your existence. So when you put your feet in Asaph's sandals, you're like, this neighbor over here curses God. I hear him say the Lord's name in vain. Look at me. I'm a worship leader and I'm struggling. I'm following God closely, and I have health problems, I have issues. And so Asaf, when he was concluding his thoughts, he said, I probably seem like a brute beast. Now, what does a beast do? They focus on their instincts, they focus on the moment. Paul frames it like this we don't walk by sight, we walk by what? Faith. So I would encourage the lovely flock at Radiant Church. Don't focus on sight. Sight will get you distracted. Sight will cause you to go astray. But keep your eyes and your heart fixed and focus on the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Until someone say until. Alright. Now the first half was kind of downer, okay? I admit it's, but that's the we will go with the tone of scripture. Now it's gonna get positive. You're like, thank God, I was getting a little discouraged there, okay? So here's the next point. The next paradigm shifting reality. Someone say until again. If you're gonna walk away with it with the one word, it's gonna be the word until. Until I had a paradigm shift and changed my focus from a temporary to an internal focus. Now look at verse 15. This is where he's struggling and he has this shift. And by the way, the word repent means a change of mind with a change of direction. It's changing your focus. So here's what he says in verse 15. If I had said, I will speak thus, behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of your children. So he's saying, if I actually talked out loud to other believers what I was feeling, if I got caught up in the temporary thinking and I poured that onto others, he's like, I would lead others astray. So here's the principle there. Your life impacts others. Most of you have an impact upon hundreds and even thousands of people. Some people in here have an impact upon tens of thousands. So what you do matters. What you do matters. One person can do a lot of great good in a situation, and one person can do a lot of great harm. So ASAP is like, I almost slipped, I almost tripped, but I didn't go there. I didn't go there. Look at the next verse. When I thought about how to understand this, it was too painful for me. So for those of you who are struggling, I just want to say you're in good company. Welcome to the company of fellow strugglers. To have emotional hardship, to have depression, to have anxiety, to not know what's going on. Asaf said, I can relate. I didn't get it, I didn't understand why are so many bad things happening to a good person and why are so many good things happening to people that are bad, right? I get why good things happen to good people, but I don't get why God is good to even bad people. That's that was Asaph's struggle. But look at verse 17. What's that word? So I just want to I just want to camp out a moment on the word until. If you guys can just bear with me for a moment. When you are struggling in life, when you want to quit, when you're thinking, what's the use? Another one bites the dust, another person fall falling fallen from grace. Look at this, look at this verse. Until I went where? Now, if we look at that, some people would fill in the blank until I went to the bar. You know, had a few drinks, I felt a little better temporarily.

unknown 5:55

Right?

SPEAKER_01 5:55

That's how some people fill in the blank. Until I dropped out of church because it's full of hypocrites. But Asaph said the answer when you see people prospering that don't deserve it, and by way of application, when you see people going astray in today's culture, it's not running from God that's going to help you. It's running to God. Amen. I got my amen section on the front. Amen. It's not running from, it's running to. So listen, friends and family, we don't minimize any of your pain. We never do that. We we enter into your emotion, your heartbreak, your hardship. We never minimize what you're going through. All we're trying to say is that God wants you to have a perspective, a paradigm shift. That when you're going through hard times, there's an until word. And that word until changes everything. When you see the until of Psalm 73, until you see until, you're not going to see the change that you want. So let's let's talk about this. He says, I went to the sanctuary, I went to church. Okay, and that brings up the question what's so important about church? Right? I've met so many people that say, hey, I'm good without church. I have church in my living room, I worship at bedside Baptist, I worship at Pentecostal Pillow. All right? You can laugh at that. Me and God are good, right? I've heard so many people say that. Well, I'm gonna give you 10 reasons why every Christian needs a local church. Now it doesn't have to be this church, it's a local church where you're connected. And so maybe this will help your friends, not that you beat them over ahead with the top 10 of why you got a church. Well, these will help you kind of encourage them, shepherd them. This is not to beat them up with, this is to have a cup of coffee and say, have you ever thought about this? Jesus used questions. Have you ever thought about this? All right, the first one is a local church family helps you to grow spiritually. How many of you attribute a lot of your spiritual growth to being part of a church? Yeah, I mean, I grew up in church, my mother carried me nine months before I was born to church. I don't know if I got anything at that time other than prayers, but you know that that's important. So it helps you to grow. And I'm a big potential in Christ person. You'll hear me say a lot about your potential in Christ. It's not secular humanistic potential, but it's redemptive potential. You will not reach your full spiritual potential if you're not connected to a church. I can guarantee that you will not. And you're like, well, how do you know? Well, here's the reason why. God has given you at least one spiritual gift, but you don't possess all the gifts. So it is arrogant and it's cocky to think that you have all the gifts of the church. Every believer has a different gift. So if you're our if you're if you worship at bedside Baptists, you may have the gift of you and your wife together, but you don't have the gift of the body together. And you will not grow without encountering certain gifts in the body. Like some of us need discernment. Amen. There's people in the body have discernment. Some of us need a little push sometimes, edification. There's people that have that gift. Number two, a local church family helps you to keep your focus on God. So with so much going on in the world, isn't it good to have your focus on God? So every time you come to worship, it's recentering your focus, not on what's around me, but surely God is good to Israel. Surely God is good. Number three, a local church family is a place where you can discover, develop, and use your spiritual gifts to serve others. Did you know that God gifted you with a gift, not primarily for you, but primarily for what? Building up the body. So if you're not serving, you're swerving. If you're not using your gift, you're not really using the investment of the gift that God's given you. Number four, a local church family is a place where you can be held accountable in your walk and witness for Christ. Now, don't raise your hand, but think about this. How many of you want to be called out when you go astray? I'm raising my hand. It's so easy to go astray, even for anyone that's been walking with Christ. It's for a while, it's easy to go astray. So if you don't have people that can call you out, guess what? Prone to wonder, right? Like a sheep, we can sometimes go astray. Number five, and this is the one that is kind of like you really need to think about a local church family is not optional for the New Testament believer. Did you know? And I want to encourage you to study your New Testament, you will not find one example of a healthy Christian who wasn't committed to a church. Now you can find examples of people who left the church, like Demas, Demas had forsaken me, but you will never find an example of a healthy Christian that was not part of a church. So it's kind of like someone thinking they're going to be a sports star, but they're not on a team. You know, like, yeah, you can be great in your driveway, all right, playing basketball, shooting hoops, but you will not be who God created you to be alone. You were made for that, made for community. Number six, a local church family is where you can connect with God in special ways through worship, through prayer, through the preaching of the word. So when Asaph said, I was about to go astray, I was about to slip and to trip until I went to the sanctuary, he's like, I was around God's people. I was in God's presence. Now, yes, you can worship on your own, but there's something happens in corporate worship, and we come together. When we come together as one and we sing about the goodness of God, things begin to shift in your soul and in your spirit, realigning you to the purposes of God. Number seven, a local church is where you can connect with others through joining a small group. I've had so many people say to me, you know, I went to such and such church and nobody ever said hello. And I never say this follow-up, but I'm gonna start doing it. Did you ever try out a small group? Because here's the thing, you're looking for fellowship in the wrong places. A big group setting is not a place to connect. That's like going to like a sports like huge stadium and wanting to find your 10 best friends in a crowd. I mean, it's not gonna happen, right? It may happen once, but the reality is we gather in rows, but we connect in in circles.

SPEAKER_00 12:08

You've been listening to Pastor Timothy Brown. We'll be right back with the message. But first, we'd like to share some exciting news with you. We're releasing Dr. Timothy's new book called Go After Jesus. This book is a fresh approach to discipleship and focuses on your identity in Christ as the launching pad for Christian growth. In Go After Jesus, Pastor Timothy paints the picture of the six identities for every follower of Christ. You are a seeker, a disciple, a friend, a fisherman, a warrior, and a lover. We're currently offering two free chapters of this book as a digital download. To get your free chapters, go to Dr. Timothy's website at drtimothybrown.org. Now let's get back to the rest of the message with Pastor Timothy.

SPEAKER_01 12:53

So it's good to want fellowship, but you can't find that in a crowd typically. It's going to happen in a small group. And that's in the book of Acts. They met from the temple and they met from house to house. A local church helps you reach your calling and reach your full redemptive potential in Christ, number eight. So listen, you have a calling. God has potential in you, in Christ, what he wants you to do. But you'll never reach that if you're disconnected from the local church. Number nine, and this is one of my favorite, a local church family helps you prepare for what life is going to be like in eternity. Worship God in community. So here's the question: if someone doesn't like church, they don't like being around people, what are you going to do in eternity? Because eternity is worshiping God around his throne with all the redeemed saints of all time. And if you can't stand people now, is heaven really going to be fun for you? I just want you to think about that. Like, I mean, it's like, I never thought about that. So it's preparing you for eternity. Now, it's not like one eternal worship service. So for those of you who have ADHD and you're a little scared right now, it's not like that. There's going to be a lot of things involved in heaven, but worship's going to be a big part of it. And by the way, you'll have a glorified body, so you your ADHD will not be there in heaven. You can focus long periods of time. And everyone that has ADHD said, Amen, because some of you were getting a little nervous right there. Forever? Worship service. All right. Now, for those of you who are New Testament Bible readers, you know, full Bible, but focusing on the New Testament, did you know that there's 59 one another commands in the Bible? 59. Things like love one another, serve one another, honor one another. So here's the question. If someone's not in church, how can you fulfill the 59 one another commands of the Bible? You're not going to do it. So these are 10 reasons. There's more, there's like a thousand reasons, but these are the ten of the top reasons why we need the body of Christ. ASAF said, I almost slipped and I almost tripped until I went to the sanctuary of the Lord and I saw therein. My perspective changed. Eugene Peterson, who paraphrased the message, once said a phrase that really stuck with me. He says, I am not myself by myself. Now think about that. You are not yourself by yourself. God's made you in the Imagio day, the image of God. And if you're not in community with other Christians, you will never be the you God created you to be by yourself. I am not myself by myself. All right, someone say until. This is the final point of the until message. Amen. All right. From now on, I will focus on living for God until I see him face to face. Now I love how he closes. Verse one, God is good to Israel. Verse two, I was slipping and tripping, focusing on the evil around me. But notice how he closes. I love how he closes. You will guide me with your counsel and afterward receive me to glory. In other words, I'm not living just for today. I'm not just carpeing the day. I'm not just seizing the day. I'm living for eternity. I'm not just living for the next thrill, the next high. I'm living for someone and something greater. Verse 25, whom have I in heaven but you? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside you. In other words, I'm no longer focusing on the prosperity of the wicked. I'm focusing on the goodness of God. In today's culture, I'm not focusing on the bad stuff going around me. I'm focusing on the good God above me. I'm focusing on the person of the Holy Spirit within me. I'm focusing on the work of Christ around me. Amen. My heart and my flesh fail. You may slip and you may trip. Bad things may happen, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. So your strength doesn't come from yourself. Your strength doesn't come from having grit. Your strength doesn't come from having some you know supernatural whatever you fill in the blank. It comes from God. So if you're weak today, the Apostle Paul would tell us, in your weakness, God is strong. I can do all things through Christ who does what? Gives me strength. Amen. Verse 27 for indeed those who are far from you shall perish. You have destroyed all those who desert you from harlotry. So the summation of it, those wicked who prosper, it's only temporarily. If you reject the finished work of Christ on the cross, I hate to say it, but only hell awaits those who reject Christ. And some people will push back, how could a loving God send anyone to hell? Well, let the gospel answer that. Jesus Christ died for the world so that you wouldn't have to go to hell. Hell wasn't even made for humans, it was made for the devil and his angels. So if you reject Christ, who's to blame? Not him, it's those who reject Christ. Because we can only make it to heaven through Christ. There's salvation and no other name but the name of Jesus. But if you reject that name, it's not on God, it's on you. Because he paid the price. Amen. But it is good for me to draw near to God. I have put my trust in the Lord God that I may declare all of your works. So here's Asaph's summation of it. I started with the goodness of God, but somewhere along the way, verses two and following, I focused on those around me. But you know what? I regained my focus, and now I'm not focusing on the successful people of this world who reject God. Today's application, I'm not focusing on people who go astray. But my focus is on the goodness of who. So whenever you change your perspective, you change your life. So I want to encourage everyone within the sound of my voice, with this truth, from now until God takes you home, fix and focus your eyes and attention on Jesus. People come and people go, but one thing will never change. It's the Lord Jesus Christ. He is with you, He's for you, He will never let you down. And with that, the people of God can say yes and Amen. So let's have the big idea. Let's summarize Psalm 73 into one sentence. And here's the big idea. Someone say until. Until you get God's perspective, you will struggle. It's not might. You will struggle. Some of you will go astray. Some of you may leave the church until but when you live with divine revelation, your perspective completely changes. What ASAF needed was not a counseling session, which those are good, I encourage those. It wasn't a self-help talk, it wasn't a YouTube inspirational video. What he needed was divine revelation. So if you're struggling today, in your Bible, you have 66 books of divine revelation. And every time you read the Bible, that's God speaking to you. So here's action step number one. How can I do this? How can I apply this? Number one is focus on God's what? So in a world of bad news, I came to bring you the greatest news of all time. God loves you more than you'll ever know this side of eternity. He's got a plan greater than you can understand. And you can focus on the depravity around you, the depravity within you, or you can focus the work of redemption in you. The work of redemption around you. You can focus on the goodness of God. Amen. Number two, someone say, number two. Change your mind and change your. If you want your life to change, you have to change your mind. This is a paradigm shift. So from now on, I'm gonna remember that word. What's that big word we talked about? Until. I'm gonna focus on the until of God. Until he returns, I will continue. Until he calls me home, I will continue. Until he changes my situation, I'll keep going forward. Until he moves, I will continue to pursue him. Though none go with me, I will follow. Until he calls me home, I will be about his business. And finally, become an apprentice of Jesus. What does that mean? Think about Jesus the Nazarene. He went about loving people, he went about serving God's purposes. God in the flesh came down to earth to do the Father's business. And when he left, he left you and I to be his body, to be his hands and feet. So I just want to talk about this concept a little more, but what would it be like to be an apprentice of Jesus? To be the hands and feet of Jesus in this world. Would that change your life? I think it would. Father, I am so grateful. I'm so grateful for that word until. Because until I saw the word until, it's easy for me to grow discouraged. It's easy for us to say this happens again. This this situation in the news, this situation in the church, whatever the blank may be. But God, thank you for the divine revelation of Scripture that even one word can change a life. Thank you for the word until. Until I went to the sanctuary of God, then I understood therein. So, Father, I just want to pray for believers and I want to repent on our behalf. And if this is you, you do as well. But Lord, I've often been short-sighted in my comparisons. I've often lived for the day and not for eternity. I've often got distracted and got discouraged by things in this world, by things in the body of Christ, until I saw your perspective. So, Lord, forgive me for my perspective. Today I repent and I choose to have your perspective.

SPEAKER_00 23:17

Thank you for listening to today's edition of Truth for Transformation with Dr. Timothy Brown. We're in a series called Summer in the Psalms. The Psalms is a very interesting book for many reasons. For one, it has many different authors. King David wrote many of the Psalms, but also Astaf and the sons of Korah wrote some of them. Solomon wrote a couple of Psalms, and Moses even wrote one. Psalms is a collection of songs gathered together to use in Israel's public worship. It was the hymnal of the time, the original hymnal. There is so much inspiration to be found in this book. We're encouraged to praise God for who he is and what he's done for us. The psalms are an example of how we should thank God for our many blessings. Psalms also show us that we're given permission to bring our grief and pain to God. We get a glimpse into the hearts of God's people and their devotion to God. And when we sing our songs that find their inspiration from the Psalms, we follow in their footsteps. If there's something that has touched your heart from today's message, or if you have a question, please reach out to us. Join us in prayer as we strive to live out God's mission for us. You can find us on social media at Dr. Timothy Brown Ministries, where you can share your thoughts or just say hello. You can learn more about what we do at drtimothybrown.org. That's also where you can contribute financially to our ministry. Your giving fuels the mission. Thanks for joining us on Truth for Transformation.