Christ Our Treasure

Let's pray before we go into the text of Scripture. We are a people that are dependent upon You, Father, by Your Word, by Your Spirit working in us. if I contemplate those words we just sang, Father, when it is the gospel, the good news of Christ that captured us, we are your servants. We are in need of you to work in our hearts. Father I am dependent upon you to give me clarity of thinking that my words would be not like a resounding gong but of grace open our hearts for our minds to the scriptures Father in Christ's name Amen I would have you turn Psalm 73.

Just an intro into it. This psalm has always spoke to me in a way that shows my weaknesses. You know, we sang about prone to wander, Lord, I fear it. Prone to leave the God I love. but it's not dependent on us, is it? If Christ is at the center of our thinking, He is our fortress. But we're frail creatures.

We're brought in out of this slavery of pride. We are enslaved by it. We had no thought of one another. We had no thought of God. this psalm speaks to our frailties if I preach out something I know a lot about it pride It the battle I still fight We might not do these outward actions but a thought comes to mind And if that thought's given fruit to action, then it does not do the will of God.

And it should shame us. I know it shames me. So let us read through the scriptures. Psalm 73, Psalm of Asaph. Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my step had nearly slipped.

For I was envious of the arrogant. I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they had no pangs until death. Their bodies are fat and sleek. They are not in trouble with others. are they are not stricken like the rest of mankind therefore pride is their necklace violence cover them as a garment their eyes swell out of their fatness their hearts overflow with follies they scoff and speak with malice lawfully they threaten oppression they set their mouths against the heavens and the tongue struts through the earth therefore as people turn back to them and find no fault in them and they say how can God know is their knowledge in the most high?

Behold, these are the wicked, always at ease. They increase in riches. All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. If I had said, I will speak thus, I would have betrayed the generation of your children. But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task until I went into the sanctuary of God and then I discerned their end.

Truly you set them on slippery places and you make them fall and ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by the terrors like a dream when one awakes. Oh Lord, when you arouse yourself, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms. When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in the heart, I was brutish. and ignorant and like a beast towards you.

Nevertheless, I am contently with you. You hold my right hand You guide me with your counsel And afterward you will receive me in glory Whom have I in heaven but you and there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For behold, those who are far from you perish, and you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.

But for me it is good to be near God. I have my Lord God, my refuge, that I may tell of all your works. Asep, John Calvin believes this was written by David. But I've always understood it as Asep and we'll find out someday, won't we? He opens it up. Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. he questions himself about it.

He looks at the unbeliever with no... First of all, he sees his obedience as vanity. In his weakness, this is a confessional. This is a confessional to God. And it addresses us because at times we look at the unbeliever in the wrong way. We look at our obedience.

If obedience becomes cold and following laws, then we've missed all the New Testament and what grace means. We miss what the Lord says in John 15, abide in me for apart from me you can do nothing. But we see the unbelieving world going about. And some of you in our midst are still not there. And so don't take words that we're speaking of you wrongly, because the right view, let's speak of the wrong view, he sees them with no troubles.

He sees them with no pains. That his obedience is meaningless. As they write these songs, and if we can attest to good doctrines and songs, this is what songs should be. They speak of our weakness and frailties and the glory of God. This speaks of looking at them and wondering why we are obedient. Could we just go back to those old ways Because if we get a New Testament thinking the gospel is radical It not just the gospel kept right in here If we understand the writings of our Lord in Matthew that were just read here, the Beatitudes, we want to be salt.

We want to have our conversation graced with the grace of God. in the midst of this this Aseps confessing how meaningless as he looked at the unbelieving world and their endeavors how they pursued things it was a false it was a false view that led him astray if we see anything in this first part of here we see a man who's frail and stumbling but he's confessing it and we see God's chastening hand for him. He says, all in vain I've kept my heart clean. I've washed my hands in innocence.

And he says, all day long I've been stricken, rebuked every morning. If I said I would speak thus, I would have betrayed the generations of children. He confesses that his very steps, his own weaknesses, what he is falling into is going to have an effect on others. It's an appropriate thing to bring to our minds that we do not walk this walk alone. As children of God, we are a people of God and we're always joined together.

Our actions as we go out in the world are attesting to something. Am I His or am I of the world's? We see God's chastening hand. By his spirit, he chastens him and brings the significances in 17. Until I went in the sanctuary of God, then I discerned their end. The reminder of our worship, John Calvin says, by God's illumination, by his Holy Spirit. he thanks the writer had thoughts of the glory of heaven and all the holy angels around the holy sanctuary of God worship It could have been as he walked into the worship place of God, he discerned their ends.

He understood his frailties and weaknesses and confessed these. He said, when I entered the sanctuary of God, now I discern their end. Truly you set them on slippery places, and you make them fall and ruin. how they are destroyed in a moment and swept away utterly by terrors. Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you arouse yourself and you despise them as phantoms.

When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant. I was like a beast towards you. First of all, when you see God putting them on slippery places, it's always in the context of His truth going out and them refusing it. God has clearly made plain to all mankind, we get that Romans 1, you turn there with me, don't think God's not unjust. first of all if we can get a view of the unbelieving world which I understand I lived it many years I was 32 when I came to faith I had no thought of God and these scriptures and we're all there aren't we there's no one righteous not even one no one last night I was going out to a farm to finish harvest if you've been outside in the evenings you couldn't paint a beautiful picture that is God showing his glory and his majesty but we've been given the Holy Spirit to see these beauties the unbeliever makes a choice in his heart He says, it says in the psalmist, the fool says in his heart, there is no God.

Listen to what Paul says to the Roman church For the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men By their unrighteousness suppress the truth. Well, how do they do that? For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. for his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world.

In these things they have been made, so they are without excuse. Although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thanking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. I speak to you right now. You who come into our midst in this sanctuary of God, if you think we all have it right here, you're misled.

We're all sinners. We all, as believers, we look to the person, Jesus Christ. he is the object of our faith he is the driving force of our faith and if you can do one thing is bring this to mind that you're a sinner without hope in a dark world and you need Jesus Christ has God been good to you? he's been good to us all especially good to his And we want to share that to the unbelieving world. Because that's the whole issue that's drawing, that Asep's drawing near here.

He says, until I enter the sanctuary of God, then I discern their end. If I had a proper view of the unbelieving world, I would have pity upon them. If I have proper view, and more importantly, the law coming to fullness, and we know it more in our day and age because Christ himself displayed that of loving our neighbor, giving the needy a cup of water.

You see that in this place We pursue that So the message of the gospel goes to it reinforces us but to you who have been in our midst and heard the truth, it goes to you to give you good news. Good news because you don't have to stay in your, you know, the world calls them conditions, addictions, whatever mental illness it's sin sin drenches the unbelieving world if we wouldn't if we'd have a proper view of the unbelieving world we would have pity on them and we would be praying for them and we'd be reaching out to them and we would take the time and we would invest our lives we have to constantly turn our heart to that as unbelievers. If we can take anything as believers, excuse me, if we can take anything from this psalm, it addresses us in a more glorious way in the new covenant that we know more of God.

So let's go on and see this picture. He says, I was brutish and ignorant. I was like a beast towards you. Nevertheless, I am continually with you and I hold you. You hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel and afterwards you will receive me to glory.

And these beautiful words that I think pastors shared these years ago and they've become a just they're beautiful. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there's nothing on earth that has desired besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but my God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. If we remember these in the day-to-day walk of our Lord, as we walk along, we understand our frailty.

Whom I have heaven, there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. We know our hearts and our flesh fail us. but God is his strength he holds me by my right hand he counsels me and more importantly he's given us his Holy Spirit to guide us by his word and instruct us if you want no such great love just call on the name of Jesus Call on the name of Jesus. I would have you turn to 2 Corinthians 6.

This gives us a little fuller understanding of our call on Christ. because that's what we want we want to be strengthened and build up in Christ in chapter 5 and 4 these 4 he says we do not lose heart though our outer self is wasting away our inner self is being renewed day by day for our light and momentary afflictions are preparing for us eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison who look not to the things that are seen but on things that are unseen. The things that are seen are transient. The things that are unseen are eternal.

He also spoke of us carrying the very... We are these ambassadors, as Peter says. we always carry in our body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus also be manifested in our bodies. Chapter 5, he gives us that. What's going to be the driving force of the Christian life? For the love of Christ controls us because we are concluded this, that one died for all and therefore all have died.

He died for all that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him, for their sake, died and was raised. We're new creation. Verse 17. And now we come to this chapter 6. It really goes along with what the psalmist is addressing here. He says, working together with Him, then we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

He says, in a favorable time I listen to you. In a day of salvation I have helped you. Behold, now is a favorable time. Behold, now is a day of salvation. We will put no obstacle in anyone's way so that no fault may be found in our mistakes. ministry. I mean, just stop there because he's entered into this church in Corinth who's had all these divisions which came by pride.

They were following men and sexual immorality and all the mess of the ministry but Paul never lost the fact that they were brethren. He loved them. And he gave them firm instruction. This letter was to encourage them. We always need encouragement, don't you? I mean, we have people here are fighting disease loss of life you name it it's a it's life in this sin cursed land if we don't get this proper view of god and so there's elementary truths we always have remember view of man and view of god well we have a real big view of man when we're in our land of pride and and things we we think we're accomplishing on on this earth and god draws us out of that And now we get a larger view of God, but it needs to keep increasing.

I must become less and he must become greater. As John the Baptist, that forerunner of the gospel. Preparing a way for the Lord. We move away from this prideful state. As the psalmist, he's confessed his weakness and frailties. somehow we think we can hold things from God. We may not speak it.

Maybe we have a bad thought and don't deal with it. We can't hide anything. All things will be laid bare. We need His Word to judge our thoughts and actions of our hearts. Of our heart. But more importantly, we do not receive this grace of God in vain.

Your obedience is not in vain. A quiet and disciplined life is not in vain. Because it's secretly speaking of the glory of Christ. Now we have to speak of the good news. If we're just living it and we're not, I don't think they'll receive it properly. The gospel is radical. it's radical they have to give up something you know their troubles and miseries they do not know They don know what makes them stumble Do you know that Sometimes we look at the unbeliever and like, don't they see that?

No, they don't. They have denied the truth, turned away from the truth, and believed a lie. What's the lie of our age? Live for today. Tomorrow we die. Whatever. we are a people of God.

Asep speaks of this in eternity. Is eternity not enough? Can we measure the depth and riches of Christ by eternity? There's no measure to it. We have been abounded grace. grace upon grace john says he's tabernacled amongst us giving that old testament feel but now we are a people of god god with us emmanuel it never should get old it should never get old sometimes when i'm preaching i'm like i say that all the time well sometimes we need to be repeated over and over again.

I don't think nothing new comes in this doll head. I'm thankful for the Holy Spirit that shows me and reveals me His kindness and goodness. Long-suffering patience for me. You have the same thing. You attest to it. He is patient beyond all patience.

We can get back to the text here. Because it describes our lives. Oh, we aren't going through beatings or anything. but as servants of God verse 4 chapter 6 2nd Corinthians we commend ourselves in every way by great endurance in afflictions, hardships calamities, beatings, imprisonments riots, labors sleepless nights, hunger we can't relate to those very well we might someday relate we have to prepare ourselves by purity knowledge, patience, kindness Ah, we can live those out, can't we?

In the Holy Spirit, genuine love. By truthful speech In the power of God With the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left Through honor and dishonor through slander and praise we are treated as imposters and yet we are true as unknown and yet well known And as dying and behold we live. As punished and yet not killed. As sorrowful yet always rejoicing.

As poor and yet making many rich. as having nothing and yet possessing everything. He attests to that, what he's already said. We're weary. We're broken down. If we understand the providence of God and his sovereignty, he's working those things to our good. Inwardly, if we go back to chapter 4, we do not lose heart, though our outer self is wasting away.

Our inner self is being renewed day by day. How is it being renewed? Because of the gospel, the good news of the gospel. It says your mercies are new every morning. As Jeremiah longed for the people of God to be delivered, He longed for it. And we live in that.

That glorious time that they awaited for. Whom have high in heaven but thee. Christ waits for us patiently. By his right hand he leads us. He walks us through this life. with patient endurance. You know, I know some of all of you, some little things, but God knows you so intimate because He created you.

He created you in your mother womb He knit you together You are fearfully and wonderfully made Sin has distorted it Sin has marred the image bearers of God. You know, Aesop brings the light as he looked on the unbeliever. We pity him, but some of them work really hard. for what? Comes to mind what Solomon says, vanity, vanity. If we would take the false god of this age, more importantly prosperity, the pursuit of money over God, oh yeah, it would be nice to have a little more.

Pay their bills. The bills always go through the mail faster. Don't they? Bills go really fast through the mail. The money goes slow. Or they do direct posit and the computer's not working.

You know. Do we understand the riches of Christ? Do we understand what He has on the other side? It says God puts them on a slippery ground. He is perfectly just. We are indebted to His mercies, are we not?

We are indebted. If we can look at the blessing that's turned to Matthew 5, and we just read through that. these are calls to to transforming our lives we want the blessed life don't we not we want a life that's abundant we're not going to get it until we pursue godliness you're not going to just have a good life abundant life by just showing up on Sunday He wants, if I can express to you, He wants you every day. You're devoted.

You're no longer... if you're in Christ. Bless you all the poor in spirit. Lord, I know I'm poor in spirit. I need your spirit each and every day. Psalm 86, I am poor and needy. I am needy for you to, more importantly, I need you to intercede on my behalf, but I am in need of you to counsel this heart of mine because I fear.

I fear the things I shouldn't fear because of the gospel, Lord. I know I'm yours because I'm in the right way. You know, your very will has changed. If you wonder if you're a Christian, are you calling out to Him? Oh, how He desires His people to pray. We just had a beautiful display and conference on prayer.

And again, so inadequate I am. it's a battle blessed are those who mourn they shall be comforted mourn over your sin as Asaph did he mourned over it to a point of writing on a paper for our behalf how he looked upon the unbeliever and then he realized by God's sovereign hand pricked his heart and he said, whom have I in heaven but thee? That my heart is frail. I can't do it without your loving, chastening, chastening hand.

I love God's chastening hand. When you go through those valleys, and we all go through them, you know, the life of obedience isn't always easy. sometimes we don't do what the Father tells us. It's just like being in your household. You know, no, Daddy, I'm not going to do it. Maybe we just get passive. But He's there.

He says, come. Come near me. I'm your Father. I will never leave you or forsake you. And He comforts us Why would we pursue everything on earth when He going to give it to us in the end Why do we not pursue God with the zeal that speaks in Isaiah 26 that was read today? That zeal will show who we are.

Blessed are those... These are all things we have to keep praying for, people of God. For those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. That satisfying water that comes from our Savior. As he spoke to the woman at the well, this is why he's speaking. And we live in that time where this very, his Holy Spirit's pouring into our life the mercies of God. and the gospel must be preached and the gospel must be heard by one another the importance of one another also is very important important as we walk along that you're not alone not only did God give us his Holy Spirit he gives us to endure with one another blessed are the pure in heart we shall see God that's the promises awaiting us that he sees us unblemished through his son.

Unblemished. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they should be called sons of God. Are we pursuing those things? Are we taking care of our relationships? Are we sitting back idle? Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake.

Not very much. But we could be. blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account rejoice be glad for your reward is great in heaven for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you again this this backdrop a template to our life what we need to because we are light of the world this is what Paul said in Corinthians same as Asaph we would betray the children of God we would betray generations You dependent People are dependent on you You have families. You have friends.

Your walk is not alone. Abide in me. It's a mindset. we have the very mind of Christ 1 Corinthians 2.16 you want good thoughts for doing good he's given us the very spirit that gets an insight to what the will of God is to loving our neighbor and loving him as he and we would be those who call out whom have I in heaven I know some of you are going through some deep, deep waters.

He's there for you. He loves you beyond what any comprehension of love can be. Look at Calvary. He sits at the right hand of the Father, interceding on our behalf. He's faithful. He's faithful. for behold those who are far from you shall perish verse 27 back to the psalm and you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you but for me it is good to be near God I have made the Lord God my refuge that I may tell of all your works again this grace has been given to him he understands it properly he wasn't ignorant but by God's loving hand he brings him back to this place of worship place of worship and adoring God for who he is that God is unshakable by our foolish actions at times we all do it we all make missteps and how can God love me so much?

Well, He's told us in His Word. He's told us in His Word. By faith, by faith, we live this out. Increase our faith Lord Increase our faith I want to not only speak that I want it to resonate in my heart that I would meditate it. That my thoughts and my motives and my actions would be driven by it. That's what we want.

I'll read this from Jude to close this. but you must remember beloved the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ they said to you in the last time there will be scoffers following their own ungodly passions it is these who cause divisions worldly people devoid of the spirit but you loved but you beloved building yourself up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit keep yourself in the love of God waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. Have mercy on those who doubt save others by snatching them out of the fire to others show mercy with fear hating even the garments stained by the flesh. now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of our God glory and great joy to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord be glory, majesty, dominion and authority before all time and now forever Amen let's pray Father we are we are indebted to you for your love and your grace that your grace exceeds our sin your grace abounds in our life help us to be recipients of it Father and flourish we want the fruit of the Spirit to flourish in our midst that one another we love one another and we love you more Father we are just so thankful for your word that speaks to our heart, speaks of our frailties, speaks of Your loving, chastening hand. And we thank You and praise You in Christ's name, Amen.