WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.179 Well, let me encourage you then in your own Bibles or grab one on the pews beside you to turn back to Psalm 73. 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:13.380 And let's pray as we come to God's words this evening. 00:00:17.900 --> 00:00:26.160 Our Father, we would think about how the writer of the Hebrews would say that your word is sharper than a double edged sword. 00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:33.780 Piercing. Father, we pray that it would do its piercing work in our hearts tonight. 00:00:34.920 --> 00:00:39.159 We pray that the light of your word would do its searching work in our hearts tonight. 00:00:39.840 --> 00:00:50.079 Father, that we might leave here, not just having a skim of your word, but Father, having really met with you and encountered you as we turn to your living word. 00:00:50.079 --> 00:00:53.179 Father, we pray that you would help us, Lord. 00:00:55.019 --> 00:00:58.019 Examine our hearts. Purify us, we pray. 00:00:58.560 --> 00:01:01.759 Strengthen us with the grace that is found in Jesus Christ. 00:01:02.539 --> 00:01:05.679 And this is our prayer in his precious name. Amen. 00:01:07.519 --> 00:01:08.780 Well, Psalm 73. 00:01:10.060 --> 00:01:17.379 Let me ask you, do you know what 7.3 million of us in the UK apparently did in 2021? 00:01:17.379 --> 00:01:20.560 Any ideas? Any ideas? 00:01:21.579 --> 00:01:26.619 Apparently 7.3 million of us signed up as customers of comparethemarket.com. 00:01:26.739 --> 00:01:31.179 Maybe you're one of them. I don't know. I think I actually was the more I thought about it this week. 00:01:31.560 --> 00:01:33.640 7.3 million people. 00:01:33.919 --> 00:01:42.379 It's one of the features of the last decade, I would say, that the emergence of comparison sites. 00:01:42.379 --> 00:01:45.939 And you can do it with all sorts of things, can't you? 00:01:46.299 --> 00:01:53.319 Holidays, cars, insurance, phones, mortgages. 00:01:53.599 --> 00:01:57.699 You can look up school tables, hospital indexes. 00:01:57.759 --> 00:02:03.099 I remember when I was working as a lawyer, there used to be a website that we used to kind of jokingly look at 00:02:03.099 --> 00:02:07.739 that published the different salaries that firms were paying to different people. 00:02:07.739 --> 00:02:14.879 And that's not even to begin to talk about social media, the rise of Twitter and Instagram and Facebook, 00:02:15.259 --> 00:02:21.879 the pressure that we feel to put on a good performance for the watching world, 00:02:22.120 --> 00:02:26.859 the social media platforms that encourage us to compare ourselves. 00:02:27.879 --> 00:02:33.439 It's interesting, isn't it, that we live in a culture that encourages us to compare. 00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:39.479 Now, it seems innocent enough, doesn't it, when we're talking about saving a few pennies on your lecky bills. 00:02:40.099 --> 00:02:42.719 But it does grate us, doesn't it, if we're honest. 00:02:42.960 --> 00:02:52.379 It grates us when it seems like someone else is getting a better or an easier deal in life than we are. 00:02:53.300 --> 00:02:54.039 Doesn't it? 00:02:54.039 --> 00:03:04.159 How often does that natural embrace of comparison play up to our deceitful hearts? 00:03:04.259 --> 00:03:05.060 I love the Bible. 00:03:05.319 --> 00:03:08.519 I think it was C.S. Lewis called it the most realistic book. 00:03:08.939 --> 00:03:13.799 It's true, isn't it, that Jeremiah would talk about the deceitfulness of the human heart. 00:03:13.919 --> 00:03:20.519 And it's true, isn't it, that the pressure of comparison plays to our deceitful and sinful hearts. 00:03:20.520 --> 00:03:29.300 And how often does that comparison, in actual fact, lead us in a merry dance down the garden path to the house of discontentment? 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:33.200 And that discontentment leads to resentment. 00:03:33.980 --> 00:03:36.660 And that resentment leads to envy. 00:03:37.100 --> 00:03:41.920 Particularly as we look at others and what they have in comparison to what we don't have. 00:03:42.320 --> 00:03:47.600 And as we look at what their life is like in comparison to what our life isn't like. 00:03:47.600 --> 00:03:49.480 And yet we wish that it was. 00:03:50.520 --> 00:03:55.040 And that envy silently eats away at us inside. 00:03:56.200 --> 00:03:56.680 Inside. 00:03:57.100 --> 00:04:02.320 There's a reason I think that Shakespeare referred to jealousy, which I think is envy's close related cousin. 00:04:03.140 --> 00:04:10.580 He referred to it not as the brown eyed teddy bear, but he referred to it as the green eyed monster, which is where we get our saying from. 00:04:12.780 --> 00:04:17.180 Well, tonight's psalm is the confession of a man who struggled with envy. 00:04:17.180 --> 00:04:21.600 And his name is, you've got it there, right at the outset of the psalm. 00:04:21.660 --> 00:04:23.300 This guy's name is Asaph. 00:04:24.819 --> 00:04:30.300 And I want us just to note two things about this man before we get into his story. 00:04:31.100 --> 00:04:32.180 Two things about him. 00:04:32.240 --> 00:04:39.360 I think, firstly, there's a surprising encouragement to be found in considering who this guy is. 00:04:39.360 --> 00:04:46.460 So he is a worship leader for all intents and purposes, a worship leader at the temple in Jerusalem. 00:04:46.459 --> 00:04:53.899 So if you think about it, he is the man who we think should have this sorted. 00:04:53.899 --> 00:04:57.379 And I hope that's encouraging to us tonight. 00:04:57.500 --> 00:05:01.279 I love that the Bible is not a book for all of perfect heroes. 00:05:02.319 --> 00:05:11.500 The people who are held up in here are those who have embraced their weaknesses and sin and found forgiveness and grace in and with the God of the Bible. 00:05:12.799 --> 00:05:16.639 This is the man who we would think to ourselves should have this sorted. 00:05:17.299 --> 00:05:18.319 And yet he doesn't. 00:05:18.799 --> 00:05:19.859 I find that encouraging. 00:05:20.500 --> 00:05:21.799 My own battle with envy. 00:05:21.800 --> 00:05:23.900 My own battle with my sinful heart. 00:05:24.040 --> 00:05:25.259 That's encouraging, I think. 00:05:25.660 --> 00:05:28.800 Second thing to note is what Asaph says in the psalm. 00:05:30.120 --> 00:05:34.379 Because if you look closely at it, and I didn't spot this until really late in the week. 00:05:34.939 --> 00:05:37.980 If you look at it, he says nothing. 00:05:39.519 --> 00:05:43.240 In other words, do you see how he says, verse 15, 00:05:44.360 --> 00:05:46.000 If I had spoken out like that. 00:05:46.900 --> 00:05:49.220 In other words, this isn't a problem with his mouth. 00:05:49.220 --> 00:05:51.860 That's not where the battle raged. 00:05:52.440 --> 00:05:55.200 This is a problem in his heart. 00:05:56.860 --> 00:06:04.660 The envy in his soul was rotting away and festering in his heart, choking his joy in terms of who the Lord is. 00:06:06.060 --> 00:06:08.560 Do you have ever had that experience of lifting up a bed of furniture? 00:06:08.700 --> 00:06:10.100 Remember what's happening to me? 00:06:10.820 --> 00:06:14.540 Lifting up a bit of furniture only for it to collapse under the pressure of your weight. 00:06:14.620 --> 00:06:15.140 You ever done that? 00:06:15.139 --> 00:06:16.719 What's happened to it? 00:06:17.199 --> 00:06:19.000 It's just been eaten away inside. 00:06:19.680 --> 00:06:20.039 Rotted. 00:06:20.599 --> 00:06:22.060 Problem's not an external one. 00:06:22.339 --> 00:06:23.279 Externally it looks fine. 00:06:23.360 --> 00:06:24.939 You lift it, it crumbles underneath. 00:06:26.319 --> 00:06:28.259 I think that's what Asaph's story is all about. 00:06:28.439 --> 00:06:31.120 This is not an outside problem. 00:06:31.979 --> 00:06:33.419 This is an inside problem. 00:06:33.420 --> 00:06:38.680 I think it's one we can all relate to as we live our lives in this world. 00:06:39.720 --> 00:06:42.759 I think it's a problem that we need to face up to in the church. 00:06:42.860 --> 00:06:50.220 And I was surprised this week, and we'll come to this in a minute, just looking at how much God has to say about envy in the hearts of his people. 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:53.340 I think it's Jerry Bridges called it one of the respectable sins. 00:06:54.180 --> 00:06:55.540 And he's buying on the money there. 00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:58.300 One of the things that we so simply pass over. 00:06:58.300 --> 00:07:03.020 And yet the Lord, for our joy tonight, would say, deal with it. 00:07:05.300 --> 00:07:08.000 Look at what Asaph's describing to us what's going on in his heart. 00:07:08.079 --> 00:07:08.879 Verse 13. 00:07:09.960 --> 00:07:11.500 This is his experience. 00:07:12.580 --> 00:07:15.460 His everyday faithfulness seemed futile. 00:07:15.459 --> 00:07:27.519 As he compares the situation with that of the peoples of the world who know nothing of God, and yet seem to be doing increasingly well while he isn't. 00:07:28.439 --> 00:07:29.459 And it really grates them. 00:07:29.519 --> 00:07:33.799 Do you see how he says, surely in vain I've kept my heart pure and washed my hands in innocence. 00:07:34.259 --> 00:07:35.859 In other words, he's saying, what's the point? 00:07:36.620 --> 00:07:39.159 What's the point in trying to do the right thing? 00:07:39.520 --> 00:07:43.000 What's the point in trying to follow God when the rest of the world isn't? 00:07:43.040 --> 00:07:46.400 And yet they seem to be doing much, much better than I am. 00:07:47.140 --> 00:07:49.780 They're not just doing the wrong thing. 00:07:49.880 --> 00:07:54.480 They are excelling in doing the wrong thing and reveling in doing the wrong thing. 00:07:54.560 --> 00:07:57.420 His everyday faithfulness seems futile. 00:07:58.460 --> 00:08:00.000 And it really grates them. 00:08:01.000 --> 00:08:04.300 And his everyday pains seem persistent. 00:08:04.300 --> 00:08:11.759 So he says, all day long I have been afflicted and every morning brings new punishments. 00:08:11.840 --> 00:08:12.780 That's verse 14. 00:08:14.300 --> 00:08:17.340 His situation is really difficult. 00:08:18.220 --> 00:08:19.580 It's really difficult. 00:08:19.860 --> 00:08:24.240 And it shows no signs of getting better anytime soon. 00:08:24.300 --> 00:08:26.480 Now we don't know exactly what he's going through. 00:08:27.060 --> 00:08:30.360 But he's laying his heart on the line for us to see here, isn't he? 00:08:30.860 --> 00:08:34.200 Every day brought new punishments. 00:08:34.299 --> 00:08:36.719 And it was hurting. 00:08:38.859 --> 00:08:47.419 And let me just say, Pastor, that I recognize that many of us could just pick those words up off of the page and place them on our mouths right now. 00:08:47.419 --> 00:08:52.419 Each day seems to get harder than the last. 00:08:53.979 --> 00:09:01.779 That getting up out of bed each morning and facing the day is a daily wearisome thought. 00:09:01.779 --> 00:09:04.480 Same job. 00:09:04.480 --> 00:09:04.500 Same job. 00:09:05.240 --> 00:09:06.980 The same pains. 00:09:07.699 --> 00:09:09.379 The same memories. 00:09:10.100 --> 00:09:12.240 The same thoughts. 00:09:13.199 --> 00:09:14.459 The same worries. 00:09:14.620 --> 00:09:15.600 The same people. 00:09:16.240 --> 00:09:19.799 And it just doesn't seem to change. 00:09:19.799 --> 00:09:27.839 And here is a God whose word contains those kind of struggles. 00:09:27.840 --> 00:09:31.879 And I take it as we read about this here. 00:09:31.879 --> 00:09:41.080 And I'm so glad that Asaph had the bravery and made himself vulnerable to write this psalm for us to learn about all these years later. 00:09:41.080 --> 00:09:46.440 Here is a God whose word contains these kind of struggles. 00:09:46.600 --> 00:09:49.759 I take it this is a loving invitation from him to his people. 00:09:50.580 --> 00:09:55.340 That this is how we will often feel in the Christian life as we follow Jesus. 00:09:55.340 --> 00:10:01.759 And here is a loving invitation to come to him with our battle wounds. 00:10:01.940 --> 00:10:03.000 With our sores. 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:03.740 With our pains. 00:10:03.920 --> 00:10:04.580 With our worries. 00:10:04.780 --> 00:10:06.560 And know that he loves us. 00:10:08.300 --> 00:10:12.120 You know let's listen to what drove Asaph to a sense of despair. 00:10:12.300 --> 00:10:14.440 Again I just want his voice to do the talking tonight. 00:10:14.519 --> 00:10:15.259 The Lord's voice. 00:10:15.480 --> 00:10:16.220 Here's what he's saying. 00:10:16.340 --> 00:10:16.980 Verse 16. 00:10:17.519 --> 00:10:19.720 When I tried to understand all of this. 00:10:20.700 --> 00:10:22.480 It troubled me deeply. 00:10:22.580 --> 00:10:24.500 So he's trying to get his head around how this works. 00:10:24.500 --> 00:10:26.519 What are the thoughts in his mind? 00:10:27.019 --> 00:10:31.340 Well I think he looks out and he sees a world that's doing better than me. 00:10:31.679 --> 00:10:33.480 And just follow the flow of the text. 00:10:34.120 --> 00:10:34.980 Verse 4. 00:10:35.220 --> 00:10:36.320 This is what he sees. 00:10:37.320 --> 00:10:38.559 As he looks at the world. 00:10:39.379 --> 00:10:40.480 They have good health. 00:10:40.639 --> 00:10:41.480 Do you see verse 4? 00:10:41.580 --> 00:10:42.519 They have no struggles. 00:10:42.659 --> 00:10:44.600 Their bodies are healthy and strong. 00:10:45.179 --> 00:10:45.960 And he's struggling. 00:10:47.399 --> 00:10:48.580 They make great boasts. 00:10:48.740 --> 00:10:49.159 Verse 8. 00:10:49.259 --> 00:10:51.220 They scoff and speak with malice. 00:10:51.299 --> 00:10:53.340 With arrogance they threaten oppression. 00:10:53.340 --> 00:10:56.720 They've got people who follow them. 00:10:57.460 --> 00:10:58.060 Verse 10. 00:10:59.160 --> 00:11:00.100 Therefore their people. 00:11:00.220 --> 00:11:00.840 They are people. 00:11:01.300 --> 00:11:03.840 Turn to them and drink up waters in abundance. 00:11:04.019 --> 00:11:06.980 I think it just means people just follow after them. 00:11:08.100 --> 00:11:11.139 No one seems to follow after him or understand the things of the Lord. 00:11:11.240 --> 00:11:11.820 They scoff. 00:11:11.960 --> 00:11:12.460 Verse 11. 00:11:12.899 --> 00:11:14.740 They say how would God know? 00:11:15.460 --> 00:11:17.320 Does the Most High know anything? 00:11:17.320 --> 00:11:20.320 In the words of the Russian astronaut. 00:11:20.540 --> 00:11:22.020 Was it Yuri Gagarin? 00:11:22.720 --> 00:11:26.220 Who said I've been to space and I see no God up here. 00:11:26.740 --> 00:11:28.120 That was his thing to the world. 00:11:28.860 --> 00:11:31.879 I was mocking the things of Christianity and faith. 00:11:32.920 --> 00:11:34.940 This is what the world are doing in Asaph's eyes. 00:11:35.100 --> 00:11:38.580 And I think Asaph is beginning to think that they might be right. 00:11:38.580 --> 00:11:41.460 Does God really see? 00:11:42.500 --> 00:11:44.240 Does the Lord really care? 00:11:44.960 --> 00:11:47.259 Am I wasting my time following him? 00:11:47.759 --> 00:11:49.100 Can he really be trusted? 00:11:50.540 --> 00:11:54.120 Now right there you hear the voice of the serpent in Genesis 3. 00:11:54.240 --> 00:11:55.000 Do you not? 00:11:56.300 --> 00:11:57.840 We know that to be a trick of the devil. 00:11:57.960 --> 00:11:58.120 Don't we? 00:11:58.180 --> 00:11:59.800 He tries to isolate us. 00:11:59.799 --> 00:12:03.759 No one else is struggling like we are. 00:12:04.219 --> 00:12:08.599 Makes us think that somehow God is shortchanging us and this God can't be trusted. 00:12:08.759 --> 00:12:13.539 Ever since Genesis 3, he said and continues to say, 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:15.519 Did God really say? 00:12:16.439 --> 00:12:17.740 Did he really say? 00:12:19.599 --> 00:12:23.099 Satan causes us to doubt the goodness and the character of God. 00:12:24.539 --> 00:12:26.599 And I wonder into the bargain as well. 00:12:26.600 --> 00:12:29.320 I wonder Asaph, perhaps even subconsciously, 00:12:30.139 --> 00:12:33.860 is beginning to believe that God somehow owes him a good life. 00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:38.600 It's the flavour of the prosperity gospel. 00:12:39.139 --> 00:12:41.440 And I was having a chat with my hairdresser the other day. 00:12:41.940 --> 00:12:42.440 Might have noticed. 00:12:42.980 --> 00:12:47.320 And she was telling me how she really dislikes the ethos of Santa. 00:12:48.340 --> 00:12:50.440 I thought it was an interesting conversation, better than COVID. 00:12:50.580 --> 00:12:51.200 So I went with it. 00:12:51.540 --> 00:12:55.100 She starts telling me about how it isn't interesting as a society 00:12:55.100 --> 00:12:59.820 that we've raised a generation of children to believe that if they behave well, 00:12:59.920 --> 00:13:00.700 they will get. 00:13:01.100 --> 00:13:04.740 I thought it was a fascinating observation for somebody who quite admittedly told me 00:13:04.740 --> 00:13:06.620 she has no interest in the things of faith. 00:13:07.340 --> 00:13:09.180 She said, Why is it that... 00:13:09.180 --> 00:13:09.879 Why do we do this? 00:13:09.920 --> 00:13:14.019 Because we raise kids from poorer backgrounds to believe that they haven't performed well enough 00:13:14.019 --> 00:13:16.560 because they've not got as much presence as the people in their class. 00:13:16.639 --> 00:13:18.019 Again, she's bang on, is she not? 00:13:18.720 --> 00:13:20.180 Who decides what is good? 00:13:20.279 --> 00:13:21.840 Where's the bar for what is good? 00:13:21.840 --> 00:13:24.540 All of a sudden, do you understand what we're doing to these children? 00:13:24.660 --> 00:13:25.720 And I thought, Do you know what? 00:13:25.740 --> 00:13:26.620 She's bang on. 00:13:28.420 --> 00:13:32.460 The prosperity gospel teaches us to think of God like some kind of divine Santa. 00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:34.440 That it's tit for tat. 00:13:34.580 --> 00:13:38.280 That it's you scratch God's back. 00:13:38.340 --> 00:13:39.399 He'll scratch your back. 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:41.980 Quite frankly, he owes me one. 00:13:42.180 --> 00:13:43.759 Because I turn up to church today. 00:13:43.899 --> 00:13:48.139 Surely he owes me a favour because we are in the minority here, not the majority. 00:13:48.139 --> 00:13:51.299 And I think that's what's going on in Asaph's heart. 00:13:52.259 --> 00:13:58.340 Do you see how verse 21 he tells us that he was deeply grieved and his soul was eaten up with bitterness. 00:13:59.120 --> 00:14:00.779 Now his heart is coiled. 00:14:00.960 --> 00:14:02.159 His heart is knotted. 00:14:02.840 --> 00:14:05.620 And that's what envy does. 00:14:07.720 --> 00:14:10.860 As I said at the beginning, the Lord has a lot to say about envy. 00:14:10.960 --> 00:14:13.600 I didn't really notice this until you stopped to think about it. 00:14:13.879 --> 00:14:15.480 1 Corinthians 13.4. 00:14:15.539 --> 00:14:16.460 Let me just read a few of these. 00:14:16.460 --> 00:14:17.460 Love is patient. 00:14:17.580 --> 00:14:18.220 Love is kind. 00:14:18.560 --> 00:14:19.560 What does it not do? 00:14:19.960 --> 00:14:21.800 It does not envy. 00:14:23.000 --> 00:14:23.879 Galatians 5. 00:14:23.960 --> 00:14:36.120 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissentious factions, envying. 00:14:37.600 --> 00:14:39.160 1 Peter 2.1-2. 00:14:39.400 --> 00:14:39.820 Last one. 00:14:40.139 --> 00:14:43.960 Therefore putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy. 00:14:43.960 --> 00:14:48.920 It's almost as if God is saying, my children, I love you more than you could ever imagine. 00:14:49.259 --> 00:14:52.900 And I want you to know that this should not be brewing in your hearts. 00:14:52.900 --> 00:14:56.560 Because this is going to cause you to doubt the goodness of who I am. 00:14:58.240 --> 00:15:01.440 And this will suck air out of your spiritual life. 00:15:01.440 --> 00:15:07.160 And let me just say, the Lord loves us too much to let us stay in that place. 00:15:07.260 --> 00:15:08.760 He wants our hearts. 00:15:08.759 --> 00:15:13.600 Now how did Asaph deal with his envy problem? 00:15:14.480 --> 00:15:15.319 What changed? 00:15:17.179 --> 00:15:19.620 Let me just begin by telling you what didn't change. 00:15:20.139 --> 00:15:22.600 I think this is maybe sobering for us to hear. 00:15:23.019 --> 00:15:24.460 And hard for us to hear. 00:15:25.220 --> 00:15:26.919 But I think it's vital that we hear it. 00:15:27.559 --> 00:15:32.220 Because what didn't change was the particulars of his situation. 00:15:32.220 --> 00:15:36.180 That's not where our hope is. 00:15:38.279 --> 00:15:42.879 That the hope is found that somehow our circumstances getting better. 00:15:43.000 --> 00:15:44.379 Because what if they don't? 00:15:46.200 --> 00:15:50.480 This isn't a psalm that has as its thrust that God helps those who help themselves. 00:15:52.360 --> 00:15:58.460 This God offers us something so much better than circumstances just getting better. 00:15:58.460 --> 00:16:01.980 This God offers us himself. 00:16:03.740 --> 00:16:05.300 What does this God offer us? 00:16:05.340 --> 00:16:08.720 Well let's learn from what restored Asaph's sense of delight. 00:16:09.400 --> 00:16:10.780 You see the turning point of the psalm. 00:16:10.860 --> 00:16:13.879 And I think you, hopefully you notice it, verse 17. 00:16:14.700 --> 00:16:17.019 He says, when I tried to understand all of this, it troubled me deeply. 00:16:17.200 --> 00:16:20.420 Till I entered the sanctuary of God. 00:16:20.860 --> 00:16:23.320 Then I understood their final destiny. 00:16:23.720 --> 00:16:25.340 Asaph gets to the sanctuary. 00:16:26.879 --> 00:16:27.960 Goes to the temple. 00:16:29.019 --> 00:16:32.100 And I think Asaph goes there not primarily out of ritual or habit. 00:16:32.200 --> 00:16:34.940 I think there's a sense as you read this psalm. 00:16:35.019 --> 00:16:36.120 That God gripped him. 00:16:36.500 --> 00:16:37.860 And put it on his heart. 00:16:38.300 --> 00:16:42.060 And Asaph almost knew he had to be in the sanctuary. 00:16:42.660 --> 00:16:43.639 The physical temple. 00:16:43.780 --> 00:16:45.519 The place where a holy God. 00:16:46.120 --> 00:16:47.160 Dwelt with man. 00:16:47.259 --> 00:16:48.920 God's dwelling place on earth. 00:16:48.980 --> 00:16:50.480 That's what the temple represented. 00:16:50.480 --> 00:16:53.440 And as Asaph goes there. 00:16:53.440 --> 00:16:58.840 He would be confronted in glorious technicolor with the awesomeness of God. 00:16:58.840 --> 00:17:03.600 The magnificence and the grandeur of God. 00:17:04.700 --> 00:17:06.660 The transcendence of God. 00:17:08.120 --> 00:17:09.840 And he would see the sacrifices. 00:17:10.039 --> 00:17:11.140 He would smell the smells. 00:17:11.240 --> 00:17:12.279 He would see the blood. 00:17:12.279 --> 00:17:16.180 The in your face reminder of the reality of sin. 00:17:16.299 --> 00:17:17.480 That it has to be paid for. 00:17:17.539 --> 00:17:18.619 It has to be dealt with. 00:17:18.839 --> 00:17:22.379 He would be reminded that this is a God of love, faithfulness and grace. 00:17:22.380 --> 00:17:25.980 And a God who is just to punish sin. 00:17:26.880 --> 00:17:32.600 This is the holy God who Asaph would encounter in the sanctuary dueling public worship. 00:17:34.220 --> 00:17:36.540 Now what did he remember there as he went there? 00:17:36.560 --> 00:17:37.300 I think two things. 00:17:37.600 --> 00:17:40.020 He remembers that the world won't always be laughing. 00:17:41.620 --> 00:17:43.540 Even though they seem to be prospering at the moment. 00:17:43.680 --> 00:17:48.100 Asaph confidently asserts that when they come face to face with this holy God. 00:17:48.360 --> 00:17:50.700 Who cannot tolerate sin and evil. 00:17:50.700 --> 00:17:51.420 Evil. 00:17:51.860 --> 00:17:54.220 The wicked won't stand a chance. 00:17:55.360 --> 00:17:57.519 The ungodly have not got away with it. 00:17:57.640 --> 00:17:59.080 Wrongs will be put to right. 00:17:59.680 --> 00:18:01.120 Justice will be fleshed out. 00:18:01.200 --> 00:18:03.940 The world will not always be laughing. 00:18:05.080 --> 00:18:06.819 But this God. 00:18:07.259 --> 00:18:09.380 He will be forever satisfying. 00:18:11.180 --> 00:18:13.700 You see that little word nevertheless at verse 23. 00:18:13.840 --> 00:18:15.299 I think the NIV has got yet. 00:18:16.559 --> 00:18:18.940 Don't skip over the beauty of that word. 00:18:18.940 --> 00:18:23.500 It's almost as if Asaph is saying, 00:18:23.940 --> 00:18:25.980 Despite the beast that I was. 00:18:26.019 --> 00:18:27.299 I love how he uses that image. 00:18:27.860 --> 00:18:29.460 It's a stubborn cow is what he's saying. 00:18:30.460 --> 00:18:32.860 The beast that I was despite my foolishness. 00:18:32.960 --> 00:18:34.320 Despite my selfishness. 00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:36.340 Despite my lack of faith. 00:18:36.880 --> 00:18:37.980 Despite my bitterness. 00:18:38.279 --> 00:18:39.440 Despite my jealousy. 00:18:39.700 --> 00:18:40.960 Despite my evil thoughts. 00:18:41.100 --> 00:18:42.420 Despite my frustrations. 00:18:42.660 --> 00:18:45.019 They were all directed towards the Lord. 00:18:45.019 --> 00:18:47.339 Even with all of that. 00:18:48.039 --> 00:18:49.379 Going on in my heart. 00:18:50.059 --> 00:18:51.839 Somehow I'm still standing. 00:18:53.599 --> 00:18:54.900 Isn't it amazing friends. 00:18:55.119 --> 00:18:58.500 That God doesn't treat us as we deserve. 00:18:58.639 --> 00:19:00.660 It's a constant refrain of the Psalms. 00:19:00.740 --> 00:19:03.400 That he does not treat us as we deserve. 00:19:05.139 --> 00:19:06.299 Verse 23. 00:19:06.660 --> 00:19:08.960 And yet I am continually with you. 00:19:09.059 --> 00:19:10.700 You hold my right hand. 00:19:10.700 --> 00:19:14.039 And so God sees all that Asaph is. 00:19:14.120 --> 00:19:15.420 The one who knows his heart. 00:19:15.779 --> 00:19:17.620 We sing that chorus often, don't we? 00:19:17.660 --> 00:19:19.380 You see the depths of my heart. 00:19:19.860 --> 00:19:21.279 And you love me the same. 00:19:21.380 --> 00:19:22.500 This is who our God is. 00:19:23.660 --> 00:19:24.840 It's a wonderful truth. 00:19:25.799 --> 00:19:27.460 But I think it's just more than that. 00:19:27.700 --> 00:19:28.720 I think there's. 00:19:29.000 --> 00:19:30.500 Asaph is acknowledging here. 00:19:30.640 --> 00:19:30.900 That how. 00:19:31.120 --> 00:19:33.039 Even though he'd almost given up on God. 00:19:33.960 --> 00:19:36.519 God hadn't for one moment given up on him. 00:19:38.279 --> 00:19:39.200 And with holy hindsight. 00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:41.299 He looks back and he sees that in actual fact. 00:19:41.400 --> 00:19:42.740 God had been the one holding him. 00:19:42.779 --> 00:19:43.840 And sustaining him. 00:19:44.259 --> 00:19:45.380 This entire time. 00:19:47.559 --> 00:19:49.360 And God will be the one who will see. 00:19:49.500 --> 00:19:50.600 Has seen him through. 00:19:51.059 --> 00:19:51.759 And this is wonderful. 00:19:51.900 --> 00:19:53.440 This is exactly what Michael was saying. 00:19:54.059 --> 00:19:55.980 He is the one that will see him home to glory. 00:19:57.880 --> 00:19:59.539 And Asaph comes full circle. 00:19:59.740 --> 00:20:01.680 To realize God's wonderful grace. 00:20:01.680 --> 00:20:02.779 At work in his life. 00:20:02.900 --> 00:20:04.460 And feel his heart in this moment. 00:20:04.620 --> 00:20:07.120 Whom have I in heaven but you? 00:20:07.539 --> 00:20:08.480 Rhetorical question. 00:20:09.200 --> 00:20:10.900 None. 00:20:12.279 --> 00:20:13.819 There's nothing on earth. 00:20:14.819 --> 00:20:16.120 A desire beside you. 00:20:16.180 --> 00:20:17.920 God you are way more satisfying. 00:20:18.039 --> 00:20:21.240 Way more satisfying than the fleeting pleasures of this world. 00:20:21.640 --> 00:20:24.180 I think this guy's fallen in love with the first commandment again. 00:20:25.140 --> 00:20:26.799 That he loves the Lord with all his heart. 00:20:26.900 --> 00:20:27.480 And all his mind. 00:20:27.559 --> 00:20:28.120 And all his soul. 00:20:28.200 --> 00:20:29.200 And all his strength. 00:20:29.200 --> 00:20:33.680 And let me ask us as we begin to bring this to a close. 00:20:34.140 --> 00:20:37.299 I wonder if we can identify with the words of Asaph tonight. 00:20:38.779 --> 00:20:42.340 Do we delight in whom God has revealed himself to be? 00:20:42.620 --> 00:20:45.180 That's what Asaph longs for now in this psalm. 00:20:45.700 --> 00:20:47.340 He longs for God himself. 00:20:47.580 --> 00:20:48.980 He longs for a deeper. 00:20:48.980 --> 00:20:49.559 A wider. 00:20:49.740 --> 00:20:53.759 A more intimate and personal knowledge of this God. 00:20:53.759 --> 00:20:57.379 What does God offer us that's better? 00:20:59.640 --> 00:21:01.099 He offers us himself. 00:21:02.819 --> 00:21:06.599 We are not about going to a place to meet with God. 00:21:06.660 --> 00:21:08.460 We are about going to a person. 00:21:08.460 --> 00:21:11.240 In the person of Jesus. 00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:13.440 God gives us himself. 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:18.259 And I was reminded just one place to go in the New Testament tonight. 00:21:18.340 --> 00:21:20.579 Of the words of Peter that we get in John 21. 00:21:21.840 --> 00:21:23.220 Right at the end of the gospel. 00:21:23.400 --> 00:21:24.259 Jesus says to him. 00:21:24.620 --> 00:21:26.160 Very truly I tell you Peter. 00:21:26.340 --> 00:21:28.460 When you were younger and dressed yourself. 00:21:28.860 --> 00:21:29.860 And went where you wanted. 00:21:29.860 --> 00:21:32.079 But when you are old you will stretch out your hands. 00:21:32.180 --> 00:21:35.319 And someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go. 00:21:35.700 --> 00:21:36.539 And in John adds. 00:21:36.539 --> 00:21:41.440 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. 00:21:41.940 --> 00:21:46.399 So Peter's heard all this from the mouth of Jesus. 00:21:46.879 --> 00:21:48.079 And what's his first instinct? 00:21:48.180 --> 00:21:49.639 He turns to John. 00:21:49.680 --> 00:21:51.159 And he says what about him? 00:21:51.799 --> 00:21:52.920 What about John? 00:21:53.019 --> 00:21:55.399 Is he going to get killed too just like me? 00:21:55.720 --> 00:21:57.879 What's going on in Peter's heart in that moment? 00:21:59.579 --> 00:22:00.639 Comparison and envy. 00:22:00.759 --> 00:22:01.379 It must have been. 00:22:01.380 --> 00:22:08.580 If he doesn't go to his death because of you like me. 00:22:08.680 --> 00:22:10.200 Then surely that's not fair. 00:22:10.400 --> 00:22:11.960 And what does Jesus say to Peter? 00:22:12.080 --> 00:22:14.220 And I love how gracious and kind Jesus is. 00:22:14.340 --> 00:22:15.140 Jesus said to him. 00:22:15.280 --> 00:22:17.560 If it is my will that he remain until I come. 00:22:17.660 --> 00:22:18.560 What is that to you? 00:22:19.660 --> 00:22:20.900 Follow me. 00:22:21.300 --> 00:22:21.940 In other words. 00:22:22.080 --> 00:22:23.560 Peter stop comparing. 00:22:25.200 --> 00:22:26.740 Just get envy out of your heart. 00:22:26.820 --> 00:22:27.820 Do you know how you're going to do it? 00:22:28.820 --> 00:22:29.500 Look at me. 00:22:29.500 --> 00:22:31.220 Look at me. 00:22:31.500 --> 00:22:32.240 Stop comparing. 00:22:32.420 --> 00:22:33.059 I love you. 00:22:33.579 --> 00:22:34.599 I'm enough for you. 00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:42.440 Friends, you see how satisfaction in Jesus is the answer for our envious hearts. 00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:47.039 You know, just as we close, let me tell you about my friend Paul. 00:22:48.339 --> 00:22:51.680 I knew Paul when I first moved to Edinburgh back in 2008. 00:22:51.839 --> 00:22:52.980 Paul had just become a Christian. 00:22:53.480 --> 00:22:57.599 And every time I used to go around to his, he used to offer me some of his clothes. 00:22:58.240 --> 00:22:58.420 Right? 00:22:58.420 --> 00:22:59.700 He used to offer me a shirt. 00:22:59.960 --> 00:23:00.560 Offer me a hat. 00:23:00.740 --> 00:23:01.600 Offer me a gilet. 00:23:01.759 --> 00:23:02.360 Best of gear. 00:23:03.440 --> 00:23:04.279 I was just giving it away. 00:23:04.700 --> 00:23:06.460 I just thought this was really weird. 00:23:07.480 --> 00:23:09.220 I said, what on earth is going on? 00:23:10.340 --> 00:23:15.860 And he started telling me about how it just made him jealous when he looked around at what other people were wearing. 00:23:15.940 --> 00:23:17.140 And he wanted that stuff. 00:23:17.140 --> 00:23:20.620 And the thing is, he said, there's always someone out there with better stuff. 00:23:20.619 --> 00:23:22.939 Smarter jackets. 00:23:22.939 --> 00:23:23.839 Nicer scarves. 00:23:23.839 --> 00:23:26.339 Trendier shoes that he'd look at and he'd want it. 00:23:27.299 --> 00:23:32.319 Isn't it true for everything in life that there's always a bigger dog in the game? 00:23:32.819 --> 00:23:33.819 It's true, isn't it? 00:23:34.359 --> 00:23:36.439 There's always somebody with a bigger house. 00:23:36.539 --> 00:23:38.839 There's always someone with a more modern phone. 00:23:39.199 --> 00:23:41.939 There's always someone who's living in a better school catchment area. 00:23:41.940 --> 00:23:43.759 There's always somebody with a bigger salary. 00:23:44.059 --> 00:23:45.960 There's always someone going on nicer holidays. 00:23:46.259 --> 00:23:49.000 There's always somebody who seems to have better health than you. 00:23:50.620 --> 00:23:54.039 And he said that all that stuff, the desire of trying to dress to impress, 00:23:54.120 --> 00:23:56.420 it was just stirring envy in his heart. 00:23:56.539 --> 00:23:59.759 He meets Jesus and he says, I want it out of my life. 00:24:01.559 --> 00:24:04.180 I love Paul was only in my life for a very short season. 00:24:04.299 --> 00:24:07.500 I always love how the Lord brings people into your life for certain seasons 00:24:07.500 --> 00:24:09.019 and teaches you things through them. 00:24:09.019 --> 00:24:10.799 And that was Paul. 00:24:12.299 --> 00:24:16.879 Friends, I wonder what we need to do tonight to be killing sin before it kills us. 00:24:17.639 --> 00:24:24.019 Because Jesus is offering us himself tonight as someone who is way more satisfying. 00:24:24.960 --> 00:24:27.299 You know, our world says go compare.com. 00:24:28.539 --> 00:24:32.779 The plea of Psalm 73 tonight is not just don't compare.com. 00:24:32.879 --> 00:24:34.019 That's just moralism. 00:24:34.019 --> 00:24:40.900 The theme of Psalm 73 tonight is that none can compare.com. 00:24:41.740 --> 00:24:43.660 None can compare with this God. 00:24:44.119 --> 00:24:45.079 And that's the gospel. 00:24:45.839 --> 00:24:47.180 No one can compare with Jesus. 00:24:47.420 --> 00:24:49.700 Whom have I in heaven but you? 00:24:50.400 --> 00:24:54.359 And earth has nothing I desire besides you. 00:24:55.500 --> 00:24:56.160 Let's pray. 00:24:56.160 --> 00:24:56.180 Let's pray. 00:24:56.180 --> 00:25:01.460 Words of the disciples. 00:25:03.460 --> 00:25:05.940 Who would say to Jesus as the crowd left. 00:25:06.279 --> 00:25:10.060 The words of the disciples who would say when Jesus asked, are you going to go as well? 00:25:11.480 --> 00:25:13.279 They would say, Lord, who else? 00:25:13.440 --> 00:25:14.539 Where else will we go? 00:25:14.880 --> 00:25:17.160 You have the words of eternal life. 00:25:17.160 --> 00:25:25.080 And so, Father, I pray as we respond to this Psalm tonight, help us have eyes and hearts for you and your glory alone. 00:25:25.660 --> 00:25:27.540 Help us by faith grasp. 00:25:28.040 --> 00:25:33.040 Embed it deep in our hearts that in Jesus is found something way more satisfying. 00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:37.060 The one who said he can give us the water of life. 00:25:37.059 --> 00:25:40.659 And so, Father, be with us tonight, Lord. 00:25:41.679 --> 00:25:48.519 As many of us will feel the strain that Asaph felt in his circumstances. 00:25:48.759 --> 00:25:50.200 Oh, Lord, would you draw near. 00:25:51.299 --> 00:25:52.379 Father, bring comfort. 00:25:52.619 --> 00:25:53.339 Bring peace. 00:25:53.740 --> 00:25:57.839 Bring a restored sense of knowledge of who Jesus is. 00:25:58.799 --> 00:26:02.919 And, Father, this is our prayer made in his wonderful name. 00:26:03.839 --> 00:26:04.179 Amen.