WEBVTT 00:00:00.740 --> 00:00:03.740 Let's just bow our heads in prayer as we stand, please. 00:00:04.580 --> 00:00:10.200 Father, you know what our hearts are really like. 00:00:10.939 --> 00:00:13.439 You know, Father, the things that we say to ourselves. 00:00:14.300 --> 00:00:17.019 You know the inclination of our hearts. 00:00:17.980 --> 00:00:20.600 And, Father, you know how, especially for Christians, 00:00:20.780 --> 00:00:26.219 we often live in denial of this or pretend to be something different than we actually are. 00:00:26.219 --> 00:00:32.280 But we give you thanks and praise, Father, that you know each of us perfectly and completely, 00:00:32.439 --> 00:00:33.519 and still you love us. 00:00:34.500 --> 00:00:38.640 And so, Father, we ask that your word would come into our hearts 00:00:38.640 --> 00:00:42.899 and that you would rule in our hearts through your word, 00:00:43.460 --> 00:00:47.159 that the gospel would become more deeply real to our heart 00:00:47.159 --> 00:00:53.480 and would form the inclinations of our heart and how we speak to ourselves 00:00:53.479 --> 00:00:59.799 so that we might live free and whole and beautiful lives to your glory. 00:01:00.179 --> 00:01:04.120 And we ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen. 00:01:04.819 --> 00:01:05.560 Please be seated. 00:01:09.699 --> 00:01:16.479 I guess Jono mentioned the couple of people who are sort of trained on the slide. 00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:22.320 Neither of them are here today, so we have somebody wonderfully stepping in. 00:01:22.840 --> 00:01:27.659 But you might not see some of the scripture text up on the screen when I refer to it. 00:01:28.100 --> 00:01:32.079 But it's all just a good reason, a good, not a good excuse, 00:01:32.219 --> 00:01:34.480 a good reason to have your own Bibles with you. 00:01:35.180 --> 00:01:37.620 And because we're going to be looking at the Bible. 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:40.760 And if you're a guest here, of course, there's the screen available. 00:01:40.760 --> 00:01:45.900 There's also always some free Bibles over here that you're welcome to come and take for the service 00:01:45.900 --> 00:01:47.859 or take home if you want. 00:01:49.859 --> 00:01:52.140 We've had a couple of weeks of very, very hot weather. 00:01:52.760 --> 00:01:56.800 And after a couple of days of hot weather, I went into one of the coffee shops, 00:01:56.900 --> 00:01:59.120 which is that I'm a regular at. 00:01:59.600 --> 00:02:04.780 And I wondered why the doors were open on such a hot day. 00:02:04.800 --> 00:02:06.880 But as soon as I stepped inside the coffee shop, 00:02:06.879 --> 00:02:12.319 I understood why the doors were open because the air conditioning wasn't working. 00:02:13.039 --> 00:02:14.579 And I saw the poor barista. 00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:19.319 And she had, like, literally sweat just running down her forehead 00:02:19.319 --> 00:02:24.319 and looking very sort of pale from the excessive heat. 00:02:24.379 --> 00:02:25.379 And I said, how's it going? 00:02:25.819 --> 00:02:28.259 And her response was, well, I'm living the life. 00:02:29.759 --> 00:02:30.919 I'm living the life. 00:02:31.079 --> 00:02:34.079 And we're all really familiar with that phrase, I'm living the life. 00:02:34.080 --> 00:02:38.280 And usually we use it in situations like that when we're doing something 00:02:38.280 --> 00:02:40.760 which is the opposite of the good life. 00:02:41.320 --> 00:02:44.760 But behind that comment, of course, is that if we really could, 00:02:45.060 --> 00:02:48.060 what we really know that we should be doing, we're trying to do, 00:02:48.100 --> 00:02:51.800 or if we were more successful, we would do is that we would be living the good life. 00:02:52.620 --> 00:02:57.960 And the Bible text that we're going to look at today, believe it or not, 00:02:58.340 --> 00:03:02.840 actually asks that question about what it means to live the good life. 00:03:02.840 --> 00:03:05.340 And it's a little bit surprising. 00:03:05.520 --> 00:03:09.259 Even Christians often, when they want to understand how to live the good life, 00:03:09.740 --> 00:03:14.000 don't actually think that the Bible is going to give them the type of wisdom that they need. 00:03:14.060 --> 00:03:14.599 But we should. 00:03:15.400 --> 00:03:17.900 Partially we're just affected by our culture. 00:03:18.259 --> 00:03:21.740 And for many people outside the walls, and maybe for some of you here, 00:03:22.180 --> 00:03:24.140 or maybe for some of you not that long ago, 00:03:24.139 --> 00:03:30.099 the last place you would have looked to get some advice about what the good life is like. 00:03:30.859 --> 00:03:35.259 Well, actually, I think one of the things that's going to surprise us is that this psalm, 00:03:36.019 --> 00:03:44.179 it actually has many of the same aspects that our culture would have about what the good life is. 00:03:44.180 --> 00:03:53.120 But it's sort of subversive to how we think about the good life. 00:03:53.300 --> 00:03:58.800 And in fact, actually, it both subverts what we think of the good life, 00:03:58.800 --> 00:04:03.120 but it actually gives us what we really want at a deeper level. 00:04:03.120 --> 00:04:09.759 So it both fulfills our desires and it subverts our desires so it can fulfill our desires. 00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:13.900 Even though many people in our world would never think of looking to the Bible 00:04:13.900 --> 00:04:16.120 for some insight about what to live as the good life. 00:04:16.180 --> 00:04:16.819 Well, let's look. 00:04:17.079 --> 00:04:19.420 If you have your Bibles, we're looking at Psalm 34. 00:04:19.740 --> 00:04:21.860 We're in the summer of the Psalms. 00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:27.379 And right at the very heart, the center of the psalm, in verse 12, 00:04:27.480 --> 00:04:30.500 that's where we're going to begin, where this question is asked. 00:04:30.500 --> 00:04:33.459 Look what it says, verse 12 of Psalm 34. 00:04:34.160 --> 00:04:41.699 What man or woman is there who desires life and loves many days that he may see good? 00:04:42.620 --> 00:04:46.980 Now, what this is, it's a bit of a poetic question, but it really is saying, 00:04:47.459 --> 00:04:49.139 don't we all want to live a good life? 00:04:49.920 --> 00:04:53.459 And what the good life is going to look like, of course, is that it's going to be, 00:04:53.939 --> 00:04:55.899 we desire more and more of life. 00:04:56.220 --> 00:04:59.779 We want to have many days and we want to have those many days of long life 00:04:59.779 --> 00:05:02.019 characterized by goodness, the good life. 00:05:02.839 --> 00:05:03.779 Very, very obvious. 00:05:03.899 --> 00:05:06.779 If a teenager was praying that they would live the good life 00:05:06.779 --> 00:05:10.359 and they died in three months, they would think that they hadn't lived the good life. 00:05:10.419 --> 00:05:12.879 They don't want to just live the good life for a couple of months and then die. 00:05:12.959 --> 00:05:15.679 They'd like to have a long life, which is a good life. 00:05:15.739 --> 00:05:17.339 And that's the question. 00:05:17.519 --> 00:05:26.000 So who wants to figure out how to have more life, more life and longer days and see good? 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:29.240 Really, who wants to live the good life? 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:34.079 Now, it's very curious that this question is being asked in this particular psalm, 00:05:34.600 --> 00:05:42.060 because the context within which the psalm was written would suggest that it couldn't possibly 00:05:42.060 --> 00:05:47.480 be a meditation upon the good life, or at least not without being sort of a complaint. 00:05:47.480 --> 00:05:55.020 In fact, you would expect the person who wrote the psalm to be like the barista in the coffee 00:05:55.020 --> 00:05:57.620 shop where the air conditioning wasn't working. 00:05:57.920 --> 00:06:00.520 And I asked them how it was going and they said, I'm living the life. 00:06:01.240 --> 00:06:04.500 If you have your Bibles, I don't think it's up on the screen. 00:06:05.020 --> 00:06:07.240 The psalm begins with a little superscript. 00:06:07.340 --> 00:06:08.860 And this is a bit of a side thing. 00:06:09.060 --> 00:06:10.740 Some Christians don't know this. 00:06:10.740 --> 00:06:16.720 Like in my version of the Bible, there's a little thing by the editor that names the 00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:18.600 psalm, Taste and See That the Lord is Good. 00:06:19.300 --> 00:06:20.800 But that's just written by the editor. 00:06:20.980 --> 00:06:25.480 That's just, you know, if a couple of us were putting together the Bible and we wanted to 00:06:25.480 --> 00:06:28.560 try to give the psalm a title, we'd do that because it helps modern readers. 00:06:29.019 --> 00:06:29.699 It's not the Bible. 00:06:29.819 --> 00:06:30.480 It's just the editors. 00:06:31.019 --> 00:06:33.180 But underneath it, there's this little thing. 00:06:33.180 --> 00:06:40.900 And it says of David when he changed his behavior before Abimelech so that he drove him out and 00:06:40.900 --> 00:06:41.560 he went to wait. 00:06:42.500 --> 00:06:46.160 Jono read it for us, wherever Jono is. 00:06:46.259 --> 00:06:47.240 I thought he was sitting there. 00:06:47.340 --> 00:06:48.759 He's somewhere over, somewhere else. 00:06:48.759 --> 00:06:49.379 He's at the back. 00:06:49.960 --> 00:06:52.980 And that actually is part of the Bible. 00:06:53.759 --> 00:06:55.280 It's not just done by the editor. 00:06:55.399 --> 00:06:56.460 It's actually part of the Bible. 00:06:57.100 --> 00:07:02.540 And in fact, if you're ever talking to a Jewish friend about a psalm, you're going to maybe get 00:07:02.540 --> 00:07:08.660 a bit confused with the verses because in the Jewish Bible, that bit that I just read 00:07:08.660 --> 00:07:12.640 of David when he changed his behavior before Abimelech so that he drove him out and he went 00:07:12.640 --> 00:07:14.520 away, that's actually verse one for them. 00:07:15.500 --> 00:07:18.400 And so what we count as verse one would be for their verse two. 00:07:18.400 --> 00:07:23.660 It's why if you look, sometimes you'll see that in the Hebrew Bible, they almost always 00:07:23.660 --> 00:07:25.500 seem to have one verse more than us. 00:07:25.980 --> 00:07:26.960 That's just the reason. 00:07:27.080 --> 00:07:28.640 They actually include that as a verse. 00:07:28.860 --> 00:07:29.840 But here's the point. 00:07:29.839 --> 00:07:35.579 Now, David is the person who wrote this psalm, and he's asking the question about who would 00:07:35.579 --> 00:07:36.759 like to live the good life. 00:07:37.359 --> 00:07:42.839 But he's asking this after he's had, in the midst of having what all of us would say is 00:07:42.839 --> 00:07:44.819 a completely and utterly terrible life. 00:07:46.120 --> 00:07:50.919 He'd risen from obscurity to being sort of in the pinnacle of the kingdom. 00:07:51.459 --> 00:07:56.879 And at the pinnacle of the kingdom, the king became massively jealous of him and decided 00:07:56.879 --> 00:07:58.579 that he was going to kill David. 00:07:59.459 --> 00:08:00.839 And David had to flee. 00:08:01.639 --> 00:08:05.980 And while he was fleeing and being pursued by the king, he decided that he had to get 00:08:05.980 --> 00:08:08.959 out of the country where the king was going to capture him and kill him. 00:08:09.040 --> 00:08:15.719 So he went to a neighboring country thinking he would have some sanctuary there. 00:08:15.720 --> 00:08:22.600 But when he gets to the neighboring country, the king of that country gets intimidated by 00:08:22.600 --> 00:08:22.840 him. 00:08:22.880 --> 00:08:27.860 And his advisors say, listen, isn't this the guy who's a massive military campaigner and 00:08:27.860 --> 00:08:29.420 he's just come here to take us over? 00:08:29.840 --> 00:08:32.080 And David was worried that he was going to die. 00:08:32.460 --> 00:08:35.300 So what David did is he pretended to be insane. 00:08:35.840 --> 00:08:39.980 He pretended that he was psychotic and having a psychotic episode. 00:08:40.440 --> 00:08:44.920 And it describes that in another part of what we call the Old Testament, our Jewish friends 00:08:44.919 --> 00:08:51.039 called the Tanakh, that he let drool come down his beard and he started gnawing the door 00:08:51.039 --> 00:08:52.399 frames and stuff like that. 00:08:52.620 --> 00:08:59.079 And as a result of that, Abimelech says, listen, don't I have enough crazy and insane people 00:08:59.079 --> 00:08:59.699 in my country? 00:08:59.860 --> 00:09:01.379 Why do I need another one? 00:09:01.519 --> 00:09:02.839 Like, kick him out of the country. 00:09:03.599 --> 00:09:07.659 And so David is writing this after he's had to pretend he's psychotic. 00:09:08.339 --> 00:09:10.419 The king of Israel is trying to kill him. 00:09:10.419 --> 00:09:15.079 The king of Gath, if he realized that David wasn't insane, would kill him. 00:09:15.639 --> 00:09:20.979 He's homeless, separated from his family, running for his life. 00:09:21.159 --> 00:09:26.399 And he asks the question, not ironically, he doesn't say, I'm living the life. 00:09:26.659 --> 00:09:29.699 He says, who wants to live the good life? 00:09:29.700 --> 00:09:36.580 Now, right off the bat, if we realize this, it should pique our interest. 00:09:37.480 --> 00:09:44.000 Because when Canadians talk about living the good life, one of the big problems we have 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:50.080 when we Canadians talk about the good life is we can't conceive of how the good life can 00:09:50.080 --> 00:09:52.379 coexist with hard times. 00:09:52.379 --> 00:10:00.799 Many of you have probably seen a woman who went by the name of Nightbird in America's 00:10:00.799 --> 00:10:06.600 Got Talent and a conversation she had with Simon Cole when she was on America's Got Talent 00:10:06.600 --> 00:10:07.059 to sing. 00:10:07.939 --> 00:10:13.500 And if you haven't seen it, it's really worth Googling, not Dream Church, After Church, Google 00:10:13.500 --> 00:10:16.100 Nightbird, America's Got Talent. 00:10:16.379 --> 00:10:18.240 And it's her first time before them. 00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:22.539 And no spoiler alert or anything like that. 00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:24.639 She's big, beaming smile. 00:10:25.159 --> 00:10:26.240 She looks very skinny. 00:10:26.759 --> 00:10:28.539 And they're asking her how she is. 00:10:28.639 --> 00:10:33.980 And then she reveals that she has cancer throughout her body and has only a 2% chance of survival. 00:10:35.399 --> 00:10:40.139 And the whole audience is completely and utterly shocked. 00:10:40.220 --> 00:10:44.120 Now, by the way, Nightbird's a Christian, which isn't obvious in this. 00:10:44.120 --> 00:10:46.840 If you do some other searches, you discover that she's a Christian. 00:10:48.240 --> 00:10:54.240 And she says something to the effect of, after there's been this back and forward about 00:10:54.240 --> 00:11:01.159 her situation and everything, and she said, you know, we can't wait until we don't have 00:11:01.159 --> 00:11:01.620 any hard times. 00:11:01.620 --> 00:11:03.039 Basically, she says something like this. 00:11:03.039 --> 00:11:06.799 We can't wait until we don't have any hard times before we decide to be happy. 00:11:06.799 --> 00:11:10.459 And she says it looking right at Simon Cowell. 00:11:10.559 --> 00:11:11.240 It actually moves. 00:11:11.319 --> 00:11:14.679 You see him having to fight tears when she says it. 00:11:15.339 --> 00:11:20.519 You see, because in our culture, we all want the good life, but we can't conceive of how 00:11:20.519 --> 00:11:24.179 the good life can exist in adversity and hard times. 00:11:24.179 --> 00:11:30.759 For Simon Cowell and all of the judges, it's impossible for them to get their mind around 00:11:30.759 --> 00:11:38.739 the fact that she has only a 2% chance of survival for cancer and yet had a sense of peace and 00:11:38.739 --> 00:11:39.579 a sense of joy. 00:11:40.939 --> 00:11:43.479 And if you hear her song, she knocks it out of the park. 00:11:44.479 --> 00:11:45.399 She really does. 00:11:45.459 --> 00:11:46.559 Just knocks it out of the park. 00:11:46.559 --> 00:12:00.359 So, it's curious then that David, when he should be being ironic and saying that I'm 00:12:00.359 --> 00:12:06.959 far from the good life, he's going to describe the good life while he's homeless and being 00:12:06.959 --> 00:12:09.919 pursued by the authorities and separated from his family. 00:12:10.799 --> 00:12:14.500 Now, it's even more shocking if we see just went before this question. 00:12:14.500 --> 00:12:17.779 So, if you have your Bibles, look at what he says. 00:12:17.919 --> 00:12:20.240 So, verse 12 is the question. 00:12:22.179 --> 00:12:26.139 What man is there who desires life and loves many days that he may see good? 00:12:26.220 --> 00:12:28.639 But look what actually is just before it. 00:12:29.379 --> 00:12:34.379 And in the structure of the psalm, verses 1 to 10 is testimony and then 11 to 22 is teaching, 00:12:34.480 --> 00:12:35.820 but it's the very center of the psalm. 00:12:35.899 --> 00:12:36.720 And look at the question. 00:12:37.379 --> 00:12:40.279 O come, O children, listen to me. 00:12:40.740 --> 00:12:43.620 I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 00:12:43.620 --> 00:12:48.840 What man is there who desires life and loves many days that he may see good? 00:12:50.039 --> 00:12:51.759 Now, isn't that really weird? 00:12:53.460 --> 00:13:01.019 Like, in fact, before I studied this psalm, I think this is the first time I've ever preached 00:13:01.019 --> 00:13:01.620 on the psalm. 00:13:01.620 --> 00:13:11.340 I had never really struck me the connection between the fear of the Lord and living the good life. 00:13:13.919 --> 00:13:18.639 In fact, actually, for many people, even for Christians, there's a large number of Christians 00:13:18.639 --> 00:13:24.399 who somehow think that once you know Jesus and have the Holy Spirit, that you'll no longer fear the Lord. 00:13:24.440 --> 00:13:25.840 But that's actually not correct. 00:13:25.840 --> 00:13:28.560 The New Testament teaches us to fear the Lord. 00:13:29.160 --> 00:13:33.560 But for many others, this phrase is everything that's wrong about Christianity, 00:13:33.740 --> 00:13:37.120 that it shouldn't be the fear of the Lord, but the love of the Lord, or the peace of the Lord, 00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:41.420 or the joy of the Lord, and that the fear of the Lord somehow is a discordant note. 00:13:41.519 --> 00:13:43.259 It's something that goes against that. 00:13:43.259 --> 00:13:45.259 And yet before... 00:13:49.720 --> 00:13:52.980 But here he's connecting the fear of the Lord to giving the good life. 00:13:54.019 --> 00:13:57.159 Now, I don't know where you all are with Jesus. 00:13:57.620 --> 00:13:59.340 I'm going to share with you something. 00:14:00.240 --> 00:14:05.000 If you wouldn't understand yourself as a follower of Jesus, 00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:09.580 or if you're watching this online and you wouldn't think of yourself as a follower of Jesus, 00:14:09.580 --> 00:14:13.820 I want to share with you something that you might not know. 00:14:15.759 --> 00:14:19.280 And that is this, that even for Christians, 00:14:19.280 --> 00:14:25.080 we struggle with a type of whispering that goes on inside of our head. 00:14:26.460 --> 00:14:33.800 And the whispering that goes on inside of our head first began in Genesis chapter 3, 00:14:33.799 --> 00:14:40.079 where the serpent, the devil, the dragon, the devil, the serpent, the worm, 00:14:40.740 --> 00:14:42.439 is speaking to Adam and Eve. 00:14:43.500 --> 00:14:46.240 And what he starts to whisper in their ears, 00:14:46.939 --> 00:14:51.279 and that reverberates even today for those of us who would consider ourselves Christians, 00:14:52.079 --> 00:14:53.219 the whispering is, 00:14:54.159 --> 00:14:56.139 if you want to live the good life, 00:14:56.919 --> 00:14:59.819 you have to not be in the center of God's will. 00:15:00.539 --> 00:15:02.719 You need to be outside of God's will. 00:15:02.720 --> 00:15:04.279 Just a tiny bit. 00:15:04.600 --> 00:15:05.899 You don't want to be really crazy. 00:15:06.879 --> 00:15:07.840 But just be careful. 00:15:08.120 --> 00:15:10.580 You'll get hurt if you're in the center of God's will. 00:15:11.440 --> 00:15:13.080 Because to live the good life, 00:15:13.820 --> 00:15:15.840 you've got to be a little bit outside of God's will. 00:15:18.480 --> 00:15:21.379 And that's the whisper in the heart of every Christian, 00:15:21.860 --> 00:15:23.600 which we have to fight. 00:15:25.379 --> 00:15:27.540 And it's the whisper I would actually say 00:15:27.540 --> 00:15:29.840 for every human being on the planet. 00:15:29.840 --> 00:15:34.660 Be careful about the triune God and Jesus. 00:15:36.620 --> 00:15:39.920 Don't think that by being in the center of Jesus' will, 00:15:40.040 --> 00:15:41.820 you'll really experience the good life. 00:15:43.399 --> 00:15:45.360 You know, don't think about sex and money. 00:15:45.620 --> 00:15:48.000 You've got to be a little bit outside. 00:15:49.740 --> 00:15:52.280 And that's part of the reason why you see for most of us, 00:15:52.500 --> 00:15:53.820 like before I became a Christian, 00:15:53.820 --> 00:15:55.940 I didn't want Christianity to be true. 00:15:58.600 --> 00:16:01.480 But it's a constant whisper in the human heart. 00:16:02.660 --> 00:16:05.440 And this beginning challenges this. 00:16:05.560 --> 00:16:07.879 Look again at what it says in verse 11. 00:16:08.960 --> 00:16:10.360 Come, O children, listen to me. 00:16:10.420 --> 00:16:12.440 I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 00:16:13.640 --> 00:16:15.840 Like really right in there with the Lord. 00:16:15.879 --> 00:16:17.720 I'm going to explain what it means more towards the end. 00:16:17.720 --> 00:16:20.960 But what, what, what, I'm going to teach you the fear of the Lord. 00:16:21.560 --> 00:16:23.259 Why should you be interested in the fear of the Lord? 00:16:23.340 --> 00:16:28.120 Well, what man is there who desires life and loves many days that he may see good? 00:16:28.279 --> 00:16:30.680 Like, don't you all want to live the good life? 00:16:31.580 --> 00:16:34.440 So you've got to know about the fear of the Lord if you want to live the good life. 00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:36.320 Who talks like that? 00:16:37.180 --> 00:16:38.740 Well, the Bible talks like that. 00:16:39.680 --> 00:16:40.920 And I think it's wise. 00:16:41.820 --> 00:16:43.460 Look how wise it actually is. 00:16:43.460 --> 00:16:45.980 And it's wiser than how we think as Canadians. 00:16:46.160 --> 00:16:48.019 Look at what he says first in verse 13. 00:16:48.980 --> 00:16:52.780 Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceit. 00:16:53.420 --> 00:16:55.600 Turn away from evil and do good. 00:16:56.060 --> 00:16:57.379 Seek peace and pursue it. 00:16:58.240 --> 00:16:59.180 So verse 13 again. 00:16:59.320 --> 00:17:02.379 Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. 00:17:02.519 --> 00:17:04.900 Turn away from evil and do good. 00:17:05.059 --> 00:17:07.039 And seek peace and pursue it. 00:17:08.160 --> 00:17:10.340 A couple of years ago, I've used this. 00:17:10.480 --> 00:17:12.400 Some of you might have heard this illustration before. 00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:17.500 But a couple of years ago, I think it was in the National Post or the Citizen, something like that. 00:17:17.560 --> 00:17:19.300 They were interviewing a famous actress. 00:17:20.320 --> 00:17:26.480 And it was a very, you know, like a puff piece actress sort of showing her wisdom and her insight and stuff like that. 00:17:26.660 --> 00:17:29.140 And, you know, she had some wisdom and insight about stuff. 00:17:29.600 --> 00:17:35.240 But one of the questions they asked her is if there was one thing you could change that would make your life way better, what would it be? 00:17:36.040 --> 00:17:40.040 And the answer was there would be no guilt. 00:17:40.380 --> 00:17:41.160 I'd have no guilt. 00:17:41.160 --> 00:17:47.940 And the interview went on and it obviously took that to being a very, very glowing and insightful type of thing. 00:17:48.040 --> 00:17:49.440 Like, what a wise thing to ask. 00:17:50.140 --> 00:17:52.040 But what they didn't realize is this. 00:17:53.560 --> 00:17:55.740 She just asked to be a psychopath. 00:17:55.740 --> 00:18:00.319 She just asked to be a sociopath. 00:18:02.140 --> 00:18:03.620 People who don't feel guilt. 00:18:04.059 --> 00:18:05.220 That's what we call them. 00:18:06.420 --> 00:18:08.120 Psychopaths or sociopaths. 00:18:08.119 --> 00:18:19.259 And it never struck her or the interviewer that her idea of what the good life would be is to be a psychopath. 00:18:20.399 --> 00:18:22.639 Well, obviously, it's not going to be. 00:18:22.739 --> 00:18:24.219 That can't be the good life. 00:18:24.759 --> 00:18:24.959 Right? 00:18:25.779 --> 00:18:27.779 Like, that's the opposite of a good life. 00:18:27.779 --> 00:18:32.680 It's actually one of those things that doesn't matter if you're progressive or right wing or whatever. 00:18:32.940 --> 00:18:37.779 If you want to describe the opposite of a good life, you talk about psychopaths and sociopaths. 00:18:38.579 --> 00:18:49.539 And yet, you see, when the Bible here says, in verse 13, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit, it's talking about your inner life. 00:18:50.660 --> 00:18:57.039 You know, I know most of us at times, some of us way too often, we speak, speak, speak, speak, then think. 00:18:57.500 --> 00:18:57.759 Right? 00:18:57.759 --> 00:19:02.140 And really, part of the good life is think, then speak. 00:19:02.240 --> 00:19:08.960 And if we could do that more often, like think, think more deeply, then speak, like we'd have a lot less conflict in our lives and have a better life. 00:19:09.160 --> 00:19:12.000 So it's really not just so much talking about what we say. 00:19:12.079 --> 00:19:15.079 It's talking about our inner life, what's going on in our inner life. 00:19:15.079 --> 00:19:27.680 And what it's saying is that one of the things that the fear of the Lord does is it helps us to have a proper inner life in regards to the good and in regards to truth. 00:19:27.759 --> 00:19:33.599 Now, you see, that's actually probably what the actress wanted. 00:19:36.180 --> 00:19:47.960 You see how all of a sudden, remember I said how one of the things that this psalm does, it both, it subverts what we think is wise, but actually fulfills what we want to have. 00:19:47.960 --> 00:20:00.840 And what she's really trying to express is I'd really rather have a whole good relationship with the truth and a whole good relationship with what's true. 00:20:01.160 --> 00:20:03.200 I mean, with truth and goodness. 00:20:04.480 --> 00:20:06.140 That's what she'd really like to have. 00:20:06.140 --> 00:20:13.540 But she doesn't understand that if she got rid of guilt, she'd become a psychopath and a sociopath, the opposite of a person who's going to live the good life. 00:20:14.360 --> 00:20:16.780 And you see that the other next part of it is just as wise. 00:20:17.500 --> 00:20:18.220 Look what it says. 00:20:18.940 --> 00:20:22.200 If you want to have the good life, you have to understand the fear of the Lord. 00:20:22.259 --> 00:20:23.259 What will the fear of the Lord do? 00:20:23.320 --> 00:20:24.100 It's verse 14. 00:20:24.740 --> 00:20:26.980 Turn away from evil and do good. 00:20:27.300 --> 00:20:28.540 Seek peace and pursue it. 00:20:28.600 --> 00:20:31.720 Now it's talking about what you do and what you pursue. 00:20:32.360 --> 00:20:34.620 So the first part's talking about your inner life. 00:20:34.619 --> 00:20:41.299 The next part's talking about what you do and also talking about what you're pursuing, where you're headed. 00:20:41.839 --> 00:20:47.459 And it's very, very interesting because it says that we're going to turn away from evil and do good. 00:20:47.539 --> 00:20:50.099 And it's not just turning away from evil and it's not just doing good. 00:20:50.500 --> 00:20:51.619 It's doing both. 00:20:51.679 --> 00:20:56.099 And if we think about it, it's very, very wise. 00:20:56.779 --> 00:20:59.939 That it's not maybe like if you go, let's say that same barista, 00:20:59.940 --> 00:21:05.519 and I came in and she snapped at me and she was really grumpy at me. 00:21:05.759 --> 00:21:08.299 And I might just get on my hind legs and say, 00:21:08.380 --> 00:21:10.200 one moment, she can't snap at me like that. 00:21:10.220 --> 00:21:12.140 I can snap way better back at her. 00:21:12.200 --> 00:21:12.680 And I do. 00:21:12.740 --> 00:21:13.700 And I give it to her. 00:21:14.080 --> 00:21:14.340 Right? 00:21:14.680 --> 00:21:18.180 And then I walk away and I get my coffee and she's even in a worse mood. 00:21:18.220 --> 00:21:19.539 And I'm in a worse mood. 00:21:19.539 --> 00:21:22.619 Or maybe I'm a little bit happy that I really got her with a zinger. 00:21:23.159 --> 00:21:25.180 But afterwards, I'm really thinking to myself, 00:21:25.299 --> 00:21:27.500 you know what really would have been far, far better 00:21:27.500 --> 00:21:32.159 is to say a word of kindness to her and encouragement. 00:21:32.899 --> 00:21:36.019 See, it's not only that I shouldn't have just blasted her with my tongue, 00:21:36.139 --> 00:21:39.059 it's that I should have used my tongue in some way that was actually going to do good for her. 00:21:39.420 --> 00:21:41.399 Isn't that more like what we want with the good life? 00:21:41.440 --> 00:21:43.339 That's exactly what we want with the good life. 00:21:43.339 --> 00:21:47.379 And this other thing about seeking peace and pursuing it, 00:21:50.699 --> 00:21:54.359 well, every time you see the word peace in the Old Testament, 00:21:54.480 --> 00:21:55.439 almost every time, 00:21:56.199 --> 00:22:00.839 we tend to misinterpret it by interpreting it in emotional terms. 00:22:01.500 --> 00:22:03.879 And the Bible doesn't mean it in emotional terms. 00:22:04.500 --> 00:22:09.439 The Bible is referring to something structural about us in our life. 00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:13.380 So it would be as if my youngest son and my youngest daughter, 00:22:13.519 --> 00:22:16.000 let's say, one's an engineer, the other's an artist, 00:22:16.140 --> 00:22:21.860 and they decided they were going to do some type of a sculpture in a place like this. 00:22:22.180 --> 00:22:24.500 And they get some others to help them. 00:22:24.539 --> 00:22:26.680 And one of the things they decide to do in a place like this 00:22:26.680 --> 00:22:29.880 is they're going to make a very, very complicated mobile. 00:22:30.080 --> 00:22:31.980 You know, mobile, there's the sticks and the little, 00:22:32.120 --> 00:22:34.420 I know, usually you see them over cribs and, you know, 00:22:34.440 --> 00:22:38.580 little bunny rabbits or butterflies or angels or something that sort of moves around. 00:22:39.439 --> 00:22:42.359 But let's say they're going to do actually a very, very complicated one 00:22:42.359 --> 00:22:45.099 so that on one end, they're going to get the right type of steel. 00:22:45.199 --> 00:22:47.480 They're going to do all the mathematical calculations 00:22:47.480 --> 00:22:52.480 to make sure that the rods are able to hold it 00:22:52.480 --> 00:22:56.819 and the chain that's holding it to the ceiling is at the right distance. 00:22:56.919 --> 00:23:00.839 And they might have a very large thing, let's say, like a refrigerator at one end, 00:23:01.199 --> 00:23:02.980 but they have it so beautifully balanced 00:23:02.980 --> 00:23:05.339 that the other end of that same piece of stick 00:23:05.339 --> 00:23:07.759 are like three little delicate glass butterflies. 00:23:07.759 --> 00:23:10.619 And they've been so balanced that the whole thing holds it. 00:23:10.619 --> 00:23:12.960 And they do a whole pile of things like that at different heights, 00:23:13.500 --> 00:23:15.579 of different weights and different lengths. 00:23:15.619 --> 00:23:17.359 And you'd come in and you'd go, wow. 00:23:19.259 --> 00:23:19.700 Wow. 00:23:20.980 --> 00:23:23.420 Like that looks remarkable and beautiful. 00:23:23.559 --> 00:23:26.160 The balance and the harmony is really quite something. 00:23:27.039 --> 00:23:29.920 That is what the Bible means by peace. 00:23:29.920 --> 00:23:37.660 You see, it's the difference between... 00:23:37.660 --> 00:23:40.320 You know, in war movies, you see guys, 00:23:40.560 --> 00:23:43.460 they're getting shot and they're all in pain. 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:45.300 And they're still in pain. 00:23:45.360 --> 00:23:48.240 Maybe they're even dying, but the medic gives them morphine. 00:23:49.620 --> 00:23:51.000 Well, they have some peace, 00:23:51.660 --> 00:23:53.860 but they're bleeding out and dying. 00:23:53.859 --> 00:23:56.859 It hasn't actually dealt with the problem. 00:23:57.740 --> 00:23:58.839 It's just given them a feeling. 00:23:59.399 --> 00:24:00.559 And you see, in our culture, 00:24:01.539 --> 00:24:03.619 inadvertently, when we think of the good life, 00:24:03.699 --> 00:24:04.859 we think of those feelings. 00:24:05.039 --> 00:24:07.979 But really what we're thinking of is we have a druggie, 00:24:08.740 --> 00:24:11.719 stoner image of the good life. 00:24:11.799 --> 00:24:13.240 You go, whoa, whoa, whoa. 00:24:14.379 --> 00:24:17.419 Well, actually, that's actually what you're longing for. 00:24:17.420 --> 00:24:19.200 Like, ironically. 00:24:19.860 --> 00:24:20.880 Like, tragically. 00:24:21.860 --> 00:24:23.880 And the Bible is pointing to something better, 00:24:23.980 --> 00:24:25.160 that the fear of the Lord 00:24:25.160 --> 00:24:30.259 is going to deal with your relationship inside of yourself 00:24:30.259 --> 00:24:33.279 to goodness and also to the truth. 00:24:33.400 --> 00:24:35.420 And it's also going to deal with your outer life 00:24:35.420 --> 00:24:37.240 of not only helping you turn away from evil, 00:24:37.340 --> 00:24:38.700 but also doing good things. 00:24:39.060 --> 00:24:41.680 And it's also going to involve you in a pursuit 00:24:41.680 --> 00:24:45.600 of that type of harmony and balance in your life. 00:24:45.599 --> 00:24:48.699 There's going to be really, really huge, massive things 00:24:48.699 --> 00:24:51.079 like death and heartache 00:24:51.079 --> 00:24:54.599 and also other massive things like marriage. 00:24:54.699 --> 00:24:57.319 And there's going to be the small little daily pleasures, 00:24:57.559 --> 00:25:00.219 like just really how unbelievably delicious 00:25:00.219 --> 00:25:03.740 freshly made blueberry scones are 00:25:03.740 --> 00:25:05.699 with butter and a cup of coffee. 00:25:06.740 --> 00:25:09.599 It's all the small things and the big things. 00:25:09.759 --> 00:25:10.799 And that's what we want. 00:25:10.859 --> 00:25:12.000 And that's what the Bible says. 00:25:12.059 --> 00:25:14.119 The fear of the Lord is going to help you 00:25:14.119 --> 00:25:16.939 and train you to pursue. 00:25:20.399 --> 00:25:23.099 And we end up tending to think of things 00:25:23.099 --> 00:25:26.159 in terms of a stoner mentality 00:25:26.159 --> 00:25:28.119 or sociopathic mentality. 00:25:28.919 --> 00:25:30.839 And then the fear of the Lord 00:25:30.839 --> 00:25:33.939 talks about something even more astounding. 00:25:36.879 --> 00:25:39.139 Something that if you're watching this 00:25:39.139 --> 00:25:40.239 and you don't know Christians, 00:25:40.379 --> 00:25:43.139 most Christians are terrified about talking 00:25:43.140 --> 00:25:44.860 in terms of things like heaven and hell. 00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:49.200 But the psalm, look what it says right next 00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:50.840 in verses 15 and 16. 00:25:52.420 --> 00:25:55.240 The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous 00:25:55.240 --> 00:25:58.740 and his ears toward their cry. 00:25:59.600 --> 00:26:03.759 And the face of the Lord is against those who do evil 00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:07.800 to cut off the memory of them from the earth. 00:26:07.799 --> 00:26:09.319 Now, here's the thing. 00:26:10.680 --> 00:26:13.200 He's still talking about teaching of the fear of the Lord. 00:26:13.659 --> 00:26:16.839 And now he brings in the presence of the triune God. 00:26:17.639 --> 00:26:21.079 And he uses it in terms of the metaphor of the face. 00:26:21.079 --> 00:26:24.399 And he said, 00:26:25.139 --> 00:26:28.500 you know, the fear of the Lord, 00:26:29.019 --> 00:26:32.019 as you start to walk on it and enter into the path, 00:26:32.619 --> 00:26:35.720 what you see as you walk on the path 00:26:35.720 --> 00:26:37.399 and at the end of the path 00:26:37.399 --> 00:26:40.500 is that the face of the Lord is toward you. 00:26:40.500 --> 00:26:43.099 is toward you. 00:26:45.359 --> 00:26:46.799 You know, is toward you. 00:26:48.079 --> 00:26:52.059 It's like we just had my son Jesse visiting us. 00:26:53.039 --> 00:26:56.799 And he has a, you know, his youngest is Bronwyn. 00:26:57.559 --> 00:26:59.579 And, you know, she's at that age that she's, you know, 00:26:59.640 --> 00:27:01.380 chattering and wanting this and wanting that 00:27:01.380 --> 00:27:01.880 and wanting that. 00:27:02.099 --> 00:27:03.960 And Jesse's trying to have a conversation. 00:27:03.960 --> 00:27:06.980 But there's the moment when the dad, right, 00:27:07.420 --> 00:27:09.500 his face is toward her. 00:27:10.840 --> 00:27:12.220 And he looks at her. 00:27:13.319 --> 00:27:14.860 His face is toward her. 00:27:15.779 --> 00:27:17.200 His ears are toward her. 00:27:19.779 --> 00:27:20.720 He's with her. 00:27:20.840 --> 00:27:21.539 He sees her. 00:27:21.660 --> 00:27:23.039 He's listening to her. 00:27:23.539 --> 00:27:24.799 And she knows it. 00:27:29.259 --> 00:27:30.680 The other option, 00:27:31.620 --> 00:27:33.779 those of you who have ever counseled somebody 00:27:33.779 --> 00:27:37.940 who've been terribly, terribly, terribly, terribly betrayed, 00:27:38.660 --> 00:27:40.279 terribly abused. 00:27:42.500 --> 00:27:44.500 And maybe they've been terribly abused 00:27:44.500 --> 00:27:46.160 by their father or their mother. 00:27:48.059 --> 00:27:50.619 And you mention their father or their mother to them. 00:27:52.240 --> 00:27:53.480 And their face, 00:27:54.180 --> 00:27:56.139 their face 00:27:56.139 --> 00:27:58.359 is against them. 00:28:00.119 --> 00:28:00.940 They don't want to look. 00:28:00.940 --> 00:28:03.779 You can see by the setting of the jaw, 00:28:04.559 --> 00:28:05.700 the setting of the mouth, 00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:07.740 the setting of the eyes. 00:28:07.740 --> 00:28:13.140 You can see the anger. 00:28:15.579 --> 00:28:16.940 You can see that there 00:28:16.940 --> 00:28:21.519 there's not going to be any love towards them. 00:28:24.200 --> 00:28:25.700 And the image here, 00:28:25.779 --> 00:28:26.859 which is painted, 00:28:27.339 --> 00:28:27.539 I mean, 00:28:27.579 --> 00:28:29.120 we tend to think of things like heaven and hell 00:28:29.120 --> 00:28:29.640 and all of that, 00:28:29.720 --> 00:28:31.480 but it's actually painting 00:28:31.480 --> 00:28:32.299 of just a very, 00:28:32.420 --> 00:28:33.720 very stark image 00:28:33.720 --> 00:28:35.880 that any of us who know how faces work, 00:28:37.740 --> 00:28:39.460 that we can say that there's a way of life 00:28:39.460 --> 00:28:40.940 that is lived 00:28:40.940 --> 00:28:42.299 and ends 00:28:42.299 --> 00:28:43.980 with the Lord 00:28:43.980 --> 00:28:46.180 looking at you 00:28:46.180 --> 00:28:48.660 and seeing you 00:28:48.660 --> 00:28:51.100 and hearing you. 00:28:51.099 --> 00:28:54.859 and there's affection 00:28:54.859 --> 00:28:58.159 and there's fatherly concern 00:28:58.159 --> 00:28:58.939 and desire 00:28:58.939 --> 00:29:01.199 where there's a face 00:29:01.199 --> 00:29:01.919 that's hardened 00:29:01.919 --> 00:29:03.399 and turned away. 00:29:05.059 --> 00:29:06.039 The fear of the Lord 00:29:06.039 --> 00:29:07.939 walking it 00:29:07.939 --> 00:29:09.019 is a walk 00:29:09.019 --> 00:29:11.019 with a father in heaven 00:29:11.019 --> 00:29:12.299 who looks at you like that. 00:29:13.879 --> 00:29:14.879 And it's a walk 00:29:14.879 --> 00:29:15.699 that ends 00:29:15.699 --> 00:29:17.839 with him looking at you like that. 00:29:17.839 --> 00:29:20.059 And to walk outside 00:29:20.059 --> 00:29:20.919 of the fear of the Lord 00:29:20.919 --> 00:29:21.559 is to walk 00:29:21.559 --> 00:29:22.399 with the father 00:29:22.399 --> 00:29:23.480 looking at you 00:29:23.480 --> 00:29:24.259 in that other way 00:29:24.259 --> 00:29:25.939 and it ends with that. 00:29:31.220 --> 00:29:32.419 But if you think about it 00:29:32.419 --> 00:29:33.059 for a second, 00:29:36.399 --> 00:29:38.059 you see, 00:29:38.139 --> 00:29:38.779 if we're going to actually 00:29:38.779 --> 00:29:39.799 live the good life, 00:29:40.959 --> 00:29:42.299 often when we think 00:29:42.299 --> 00:29:43.619 of the good life in Canada, 00:29:43.779 --> 00:29:44.679 we just think of, 00:29:44.759 --> 00:29:45.059 well, 00:29:45.139 --> 00:29:47.099 we just think of endless repose. 00:29:47.099 --> 00:29:48.179 We just think of 00:29:48.179 --> 00:29:50.279 endless consumer goods. 00:29:50.579 --> 00:29:51.339 We just think of 00:29:51.339 --> 00:29:52.500 one day after another 00:29:52.500 --> 00:29:53.679 with blue skies 00:29:53.679 --> 00:29:54.659 and sunny skies 00:29:54.659 --> 00:29:56.139 and there can't be affliction 00:29:56.139 --> 00:29:57.879 and there can't be hardship 00:29:57.879 --> 00:29:59.480 and we have to somehow 00:29:59.480 --> 00:29:59.879 or another, 00:30:00.019 --> 00:30:01.019 if we're to live the good life, 00:30:01.119 --> 00:30:01.759 be completely 00:30:01.759 --> 00:30:02.859 and utterly insulated 00:30:02.859 --> 00:30:04.179 and inoculated like that. 00:30:04.459 --> 00:30:05.379 But if you think about it 00:30:05.379 --> 00:30:05.899 for a second, 00:30:06.279 --> 00:30:07.399 that type of a picture 00:30:07.399 --> 00:30:08.359 that we as Canadians 00:30:08.359 --> 00:30:09.099 desire 00:30:09.099 --> 00:30:10.379 when we sort of imagine 00:30:10.379 --> 00:30:11.179 the good life 00:30:11.179 --> 00:30:13.480 of just endless consumption 00:30:13.480 --> 00:30:14.839 and good clothes 00:30:14.839 --> 00:30:15.819 and good weather 00:30:15.819 --> 00:30:18.039 and no hardship 00:30:18.039 --> 00:30:19.019 and no adversity, 00:30:19.460 --> 00:30:21.299 in science fiction movies 00:30:21.299 --> 00:30:22.679 where there's a dystopia, 00:30:22.799 --> 00:30:24.240 they're the bad guys. 00:30:26.339 --> 00:30:27.500 They're the cruel, 00:30:27.799 --> 00:30:28.819 heartless people 00:30:28.819 --> 00:30:32.200 up in the sky 00:30:32.200 --> 00:30:33.019 while the people 00:30:33.019 --> 00:30:33.819 down on earth 00:30:33.819 --> 00:30:34.939 are suffering 00:30:34.939 --> 00:30:35.960 with the pollution 00:30:35.960 --> 00:30:37.240 and no food. 00:30:38.099 --> 00:30:38.259 That's, 00:30:38.500 --> 00:30:38.939 you know, 00:30:39.019 --> 00:30:40.039 if it's in the train, 00:30:40.159 --> 00:30:41.399 it's the front of the train 00:30:41.399 --> 00:30:42.279 where they're all like that 00:30:42.279 --> 00:30:43.240 and the back of the train 00:30:43.240 --> 00:30:44.339 where people are suffering 00:30:44.339 --> 00:30:45.599 and at the heart of us 00:30:45.599 --> 00:30:46.679 what we actually desire 00:30:46.679 --> 00:30:47.519 is a good life 00:30:47.519 --> 00:30:49.179 where we're the bad guy 00:30:49.179 --> 00:30:50.419 and we go, 00:30:50.480 --> 00:30:50.839 oh no, 00:30:50.980 --> 00:30:52.579 but no, 00:30:52.659 --> 00:30:53.659 that's what you're desiring 00:30:53.659 --> 00:30:57.799 and what's it like, 00:30:57.919 --> 00:30:58.220 you know, 00:30:58.359 --> 00:30:58.779 and then, 00:30:58.879 --> 00:30:59.139 and then, 00:30:59.259 --> 00:31:00.159 and those other types 00:31:00.159 --> 00:31:01.179 of science fiction movies 00:31:01.179 --> 00:31:01.859 where there are people 00:31:01.859 --> 00:31:02.319 like that, 00:31:02.559 --> 00:31:03.639 what happens to them? 00:31:03.699 --> 00:31:05.159 They start to despair 00:31:05.159 --> 00:31:08.079 because a day after, 00:31:08.279 --> 00:31:09.959 blue sky after blue sky 00:31:09.959 --> 00:31:10.799 and all your food 00:31:10.799 --> 00:31:11.399 being met 00:31:11.400 --> 00:31:12.300 and it doesn't actually 00:31:12.300 --> 00:31:13.140 feel your heart 00:31:13.140 --> 00:31:13.860 with meaning, 00:31:14.300 --> 00:31:17.019 it feels you with despair. 00:31:20.160 --> 00:31:20.640 You know, 00:31:20.680 --> 00:31:21.940 there's a very telling phrase 00:31:21.940 --> 00:31:23.000 in the book of Revelation 00:31:23.000 --> 00:31:24.240 which describes 00:31:24.240 --> 00:31:25.360 so many things 00:31:25.360 --> 00:31:26.780 in science fiction movies 00:31:26.780 --> 00:31:28.100 where they, 00:31:28.100 --> 00:31:28.720 they describe, 00:31:28.940 --> 00:31:29.900 it describes a time 00:31:29.900 --> 00:31:30.880 where they long for death 00:31:30.880 --> 00:31:31.840 and cannot have it. 00:31:33.480 --> 00:31:35.420 That's all the old vampire movies, 00:31:36.100 --> 00:31:36.680 the despair, 00:31:36.800 --> 00:31:37.560 not the new ones 00:31:37.560 --> 00:31:38.300 where they try to make them 00:31:38.300 --> 00:31:38.860 look cool. 00:31:39.040 --> 00:31:39.780 It's all part of trying 00:31:39.779 --> 00:31:41.879 to rehabilitate evil, 00:31:43.799 --> 00:31:45.019 rehabilitate the serpent. 00:31:47.099 --> 00:31:47.399 You see, 00:31:47.480 --> 00:31:47.980 all of a sudden 00:31:47.980 --> 00:31:48.519 we realize 00:31:48.519 --> 00:31:49.139 that one moment, 00:31:49.420 --> 00:31:49.799 life, 00:31:50.019 --> 00:31:51.000 if it's going to be good, 00:31:51.940 --> 00:31:52.359 we're going to have 00:31:52.359 --> 00:31:53.240 the right relationship 00:31:53.240 --> 00:31:54.379 internally to goodness 00:31:54.379 --> 00:31:55.059 and truth 00:31:55.059 --> 00:31:55.599 and we're going to have 00:31:55.599 --> 00:31:56.519 the right relationship, 00:31:56.680 --> 00:31:57.500 we're going to turn away 00:31:57.500 --> 00:31:57.960 from evil, 00:31:58.039 --> 00:31:58.859 we're going to do good 00:31:58.859 --> 00:32:00.059 and we're going to speak, 00:32:00.299 --> 00:32:01.339 we're not going to just seek 00:32:01.339 --> 00:32:03.119 superficial stoner types 00:32:03.119 --> 00:32:03.579 of peace 00:32:03.579 --> 00:32:05.200 but actually get our life 00:32:05.200 --> 00:32:06.339 in some type of balance 00:32:06.339 --> 00:32:06.920 and harmony 00:32:06.920 --> 00:32:07.980 and have those big things 00:32:07.980 --> 00:32:09.019 and those small things 00:32:09.019 --> 00:32:10.039 and we're going to have 00:32:10.039 --> 00:32:11.079 some type of a direction 00:32:11.079 --> 00:32:11.839 to our life 00:32:11.839 --> 00:32:12.759 and you know, 00:32:12.799 --> 00:32:13.200 one of the things 00:32:13.200 --> 00:32:13.980 which is so wonderful 00:32:13.980 --> 00:32:14.799 about this description, 00:32:14.900 --> 00:32:15.619 it made me think 00:32:15.619 --> 00:32:16.960 of that great old hymn, 00:32:17.359 --> 00:32:18.440 Great is Thy Faithfulness 00:32:18.440 --> 00:32:20.019 and this explains 00:32:20.019 --> 00:32:20.900 to those outside 00:32:20.900 --> 00:32:21.839 the Christian faith 00:32:21.839 --> 00:32:23.079 the emotional power 00:32:23.079 --> 00:32:23.660 and beauty 00:32:23.660 --> 00:32:24.379 of a person 00:32:24.379 --> 00:32:25.559 who's been captivated 00:32:25.559 --> 00:32:26.400 by the gospel. 00:32:26.920 --> 00:32:27.680 Listen how it goes, 00:32:27.680 --> 00:32:29.380 pardon for sin 00:32:29.380 --> 00:32:30.400 and a peace 00:32:30.400 --> 00:32:31.180 that endureth 00:32:31.180 --> 00:32:33.100 thine own dear presence 00:32:33.100 --> 00:32:33.740 to cheer 00:32:33.740 --> 00:32:34.600 and to guide 00:32:34.600 --> 00:32:36.080 strength for today 00:32:36.080 --> 00:32:36.920 and bright hope 00:32:36.920 --> 00:32:37.500 for tomorrow 00:32:37.500 --> 00:32:38.560 blessings all mine 00:32:38.560 --> 00:32:39.340 with ten thousand 00:32:39.340 --> 00:32:40.180 beside. 00:32:47.420 --> 00:32:47.940 Now, 00:32:49.240 --> 00:32:50.440 the psalm continues 00:32:50.440 --> 00:32:52.940 and you might wonder, 00:32:53.019 --> 00:32:53.279 George, 00:32:53.340 --> 00:32:54.019 you're just some type 00:32:54.019 --> 00:32:55.200 of special person 00:32:55.200 --> 00:32:56.839 that knows how 00:32:56.839 --> 00:32:57.599 to fear the Lord 00:32:57.599 --> 00:32:58.220 or you're saying 00:32:58.220 --> 00:32:59.400 that all these things happen, 00:32:59.579 --> 00:33:00.000 you see, 00:33:00.879 --> 00:33:01.980 and you still haven't, 00:33:02.379 --> 00:33:02.519 well, 00:33:02.619 --> 00:33:04.639 look how the psalm continues. 00:33:04.720 --> 00:33:04.799 Now, 00:33:04.819 --> 00:33:05.220 one of the things 00:33:05.220 --> 00:33:06.200 which is really shocking 00:33:06.200 --> 00:33:06.879 about this psalm, 00:33:06.920 --> 00:33:07.519 we're going to continue 00:33:07.519 --> 00:33:08.900 reading it at verse 17, 00:33:09.980 --> 00:33:11.480 is that Jesus shows up 00:33:11.480 --> 00:33:12.160 in this psalm 00:33:12.160 --> 00:33:12.660 that was written 00:33:12.660 --> 00:33:13.379 a thousand years 00:33:13.379 --> 00:33:14.160 before Jesus. 00:33:15.079 --> 00:33:15.920 I'm not making it up, 00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:16.740 Jesus shows up 00:33:16.740 --> 00:33:17.279 in the psalm. 00:33:17.900 --> 00:33:18.859 Look at verse 17 00:33:18.859 --> 00:33:19.839 and see what happens. 00:33:19.839 --> 00:33:21.599 When the righteous 00:33:21.599 --> 00:33:22.519 cry for help, 00:33:22.639 --> 00:33:23.359 the Lord hears 00:33:23.359 --> 00:33:24.819 and delivers them 00:33:24.819 --> 00:33:25.759 out of all their troubles. 00:33:26.879 --> 00:33:27.959 The Lord is near 00:33:27.959 --> 00:33:28.899 to the brokenhearted 00:33:28.899 --> 00:33:30.339 and saves 00:33:30.339 --> 00:33:31.759 the crushed in spirit. 00:33:31.879 --> 00:33:31.980 Now, 00:33:32.019 --> 00:33:32.779 just as an aside, 00:33:32.919 --> 00:33:33.240 you see, 00:33:34.980 --> 00:33:35.679 we Canadians 00:33:35.679 --> 00:33:36.279 can't think of 00:33:36.279 --> 00:33:36.959 how the good life 00:33:36.959 --> 00:33:38.839 can be with hardship, 00:33:39.099 --> 00:33:39.819 but if we imagine 00:33:39.819 --> 00:33:40.980 a world of a good life 00:33:40.980 --> 00:33:41.679 without hardship, 00:33:41.819 --> 00:33:42.740 we've actually imagined 00:33:42.740 --> 00:33:44.159 ourselves in the bad guise 00:33:44.159 --> 00:33:45.879 of all science fiction movies, 00:33:46.639 --> 00:33:47.339 dystopias, 00:33:47.339 --> 00:33:49.139 and here we're saying 00:33:49.139 --> 00:33:50.240 that that great peace, 00:33:50.419 --> 00:33:51.319 that huge mobile 00:33:51.319 --> 00:33:52.559 that God is going to form 00:33:52.559 --> 00:33:53.139 in your life 00:33:53.139 --> 00:33:54.119 through the fear of the Lord, 00:33:54.220 --> 00:33:55.240 that has the room in there 00:33:55.240 --> 00:33:56.259 for the hard things 00:33:56.259 --> 00:33:57.500 and the good things. 00:33:58.079 --> 00:33:59.659 It's maybe not just a fridge, 00:33:59.799 --> 00:34:02.000 but a terrible burden 00:34:02.000 --> 00:34:02.699 on one end 00:34:02.699 --> 00:34:04.480 and it has the scones 00:34:04.480 --> 00:34:05.679 with blueberry and butter 00:34:05.679 --> 00:34:06.279 and coffee 00:34:06.279 --> 00:34:07.059 at the other end 00:34:07.059 --> 00:34:08.360 and it's all overseen 00:34:08.360 --> 00:34:09.000 by God 00:34:09.000 --> 00:34:12.079 and you don't, 00:34:12.819 --> 00:34:14.259 you have his own dear presence 00:34:14.259 --> 00:34:15.259 to cheer and to guide, 00:34:15.420 --> 00:34:16.940 but Jesus still hasn't shown up. 00:34:16.940 --> 00:34:17.659 Look what happens next, 00:34:17.740 --> 00:34:18.380 verse 19. 00:34:19.220 --> 00:34:20.619 Many are the afflictions 00:34:20.619 --> 00:34:21.360 of the righteous, 00:34:22.159 --> 00:34:24.720 but the Lord delivers him 00:34:24.720 --> 00:34:25.760 out of them all. 00:34:26.519 --> 00:34:29.760 He keeps all his bones. 00:34:30.820 --> 00:34:33.619 Not one of them is broken. 00:34:35.920 --> 00:34:37.260 If you don't know your Bible 00:34:37.260 --> 00:34:37.880 very well, 00:34:38.880 --> 00:34:40.420 in the Gospel of John, 00:34:41.300 --> 00:34:42.960 Jesus dies on the cross 00:34:42.960 --> 00:34:45.780 and because it's the Sabbath, 00:34:46.639 --> 00:34:47.920 the other two men 00:34:47.920 --> 00:34:48.780 haven't died 00:34:48.780 --> 00:34:50.780 and the religious authorities 00:34:50.780 --> 00:34:52.780 ask that the Roman authorities 00:34:52.780 --> 00:34:53.720 would break the bones 00:34:53.720 --> 00:34:54.619 of the two men 00:34:54.619 --> 00:34:56.139 so that they would die 00:34:56.139 --> 00:34:57.599 and they wouldn't have to be 00:34:57.599 --> 00:34:58.780 up on the Sabbath dying. 00:34:59.679 --> 00:35:00.420 And so the soldiers 00:35:00.420 --> 00:35:01.980 go and break both bones 00:35:01.980 --> 00:35:03.559 and the men die, 00:35:03.740 --> 00:35:04.780 but they come to Jesus 00:35:04.780 --> 00:35:06.780 and Jesus is already dead. 00:35:06.780 --> 00:35:09.380 And the centurion 00:35:09.380 --> 00:35:10.220 takes a spear 00:35:10.220 --> 00:35:11.060 and pierces it 00:35:11.060 --> 00:35:12.220 into Jesus' side 00:35:12.220 --> 00:35:13.040 and out of the side 00:35:13.040 --> 00:35:14.080 comes blood and water 00:35:14.080 --> 00:35:16.380 and they don't break his bones. 00:35:16.880 --> 00:35:17.820 And John says, 00:35:18.360 --> 00:35:19.840 this fulfills the prophecy 00:35:19.840 --> 00:35:20.680 that says, 00:35:21.040 --> 00:35:22.760 he keeps all his bones. 00:35:23.820 --> 00:35:25.120 Not one of them is broken. 00:35:27.120 --> 00:35:28.820 Jesus shows up in the psalm 00:35:28.820 --> 00:35:30.780 in his crucifixion. 00:35:30.780 --> 00:35:31.580 He keeps all his crucifixion. 00:35:33.120 --> 00:35:34.320 See, my only hope 00:35:34.320 --> 00:35:36.100 to learn how to fear the Lord 00:35:36.100 --> 00:35:38.019 isn't because I'm specific, 00:35:38.180 --> 00:35:39.220 I'm very righteous 00:35:39.220 --> 00:35:40.800 or I'm specifically holy 00:35:40.800 --> 00:35:41.420 or religious 00:35:41.420 --> 00:35:42.240 or anything like that. 00:35:43.120 --> 00:35:43.360 I mean, 00:35:43.400 --> 00:35:44.300 what the fear of the Lord 00:35:44.300 --> 00:35:44.980 text is here 00:35:44.980 --> 00:35:45.800 showing us too 00:35:45.800 --> 00:35:46.580 is, you know what? 00:35:46.680 --> 00:35:48.660 You need redemption by Jesus. 00:35:49.220 --> 00:35:50.140 You need redemption. 00:35:51.640 --> 00:35:52.660 David wrote of what 00:35:52.660 --> 00:35:53.780 he did not know. 00:35:55.300 --> 00:35:57.000 Why did he throw that line in 00:35:57.000 --> 00:35:58.200 unless he was inspired 00:35:58.200 --> 00:35:59.340 by the Holy Spirit? 00:36:00.780 --> 00:36:02.400 And God was going to show us 00:36:02.400 --> 00:36:03.900 this deep promise 00:36:03.900 --> 00:36:06.640 that God would do something 00:36:06.640 --> 00:36:07.620 for us in the person 00:36:07.620 --> 00:36:08.160 of his son 00:36:08.160 --> 00:36:09.080 where he does not weigh 00:36:09.080 --> 00:36:09.680 our merits 00:36:09.680 --> 00:36:11.340 but he pardons our offenses. 00:36:12.220 --> 00:36:13.360 Where the justice 00:36:13.360 --> 00:36:14.880 and the judgment 00:36:14.880 --> 00:36:15.880 that I deserve 00:36:15.880 --> 00:36:17.980 falls on him 00:36:17.980 --> 00:36:19.440 and the grace 00:36:19.440 --> 00:36:20.620 that he deserves 00:36:20.620 --> 00:36:22.320 is given to me. 00:36:24.019 --> 00:36:25.400 Like it even continues, 00:36:25.620 --> 00:36:27.040 affliction will slay the wicked 00:36:27.040 --> 00:36:28.880 and those who hate 00:36:28.880 --> 00:36:29.680 the righteous 00:36:29.680 --> 00:36:30.720 will be condemned. 00:36:30.780 --> 00:36:32.700 The Lord redeems 00:36:32.700 --> 00:36:33.900 the life of his servants. 00:36:34.700 --> 00:36:35.940 None of those 00:36:35.940 --> 00:36:37.100 who take refuge 00:36:37.100 --> 00:36:38.200 in him 00:36:38.200 --> 00:36:40.519 will be condemned. 00:36:43.620 --> 00:36:45.080 If you take refuge 00:36:45.080 --> 00:36:45.720 in Jesus, 00:36:46.820 --> 00:36:47.700 the condemnation 00:36:47.700 --> 00:36:48.360 you deserve 00:36:48.360 --> 00:36:49.860 is on him. 00:36:51.540 --> 00:36:52.500 The grace 00:36:52.500 --> 00:36:53.700 you don't deserve 00:36:53.700 --> 00:36:54.940 is given to you. 00:36:56.940 --> 00:36:58.420 Listen to how this theme 00:36:58.420 --> 00:36:59.680 is taken up 00:36:59.680 --> 00:37:00.700 and explained 00:37:00.700 --> 00:37:02.260 in Romans chapter 8. 00:37:02.340 --> 00:37:03.360 Romans chapter 8 00:37:03.360 --> 00:37:03.940 verse 1 00:37:03.940 --> 00:37:04.639 declares, 00:37:05.460 --> 00:37:06.099 there is therefore 00:37:06.099 --> 00:37:07.559 now no condemnation 00:37:07.559 --> 00:37:08.079 for those 00:37:08.079 --> 00:37:09.159 who are in Christ Jesus. 00:37:09.960 --> 00:37:11.159 And that's remarkable 00:37:11.159 --> 00:37:11.860 and it goes on 00:37:11.860 --> 00:37:12.940 and talks more about it 00:37:12.940 --> 00:37:13.680 but listen to how 00:37:13.680 --> 00:37:14.480 Romans 8 ends 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:15.380 in verse 31. 00:37:15.380 --> 00:37:17.079 What then shall we say 00:37:17.079 --> 00:37:18.000 to these things? 00:37:18.000 --> 00:37:19.300 If God is for us, 00:37:19.360 --> 00:37:20.760 who can be against us? 00:37:21.099 --> 00:37:22.059 He who did not 00:37:22.059 --> 00:37:23.180 spare his own son 00:37:23.180 --> 00:37:24.000 but gave him up 00:37:24.000 --> 00:37:24.640 for us all, 00:37:24.800 --> 00:37:25.800 how will he not 00:37:25.800 --> 00:37:26.760 also with him 00:37:26.760 --> 00:37:27.880 graciously give us 00:37:27.880 --> 00:37:28.519 all things? 00:37:28.780 --> 00:37:29.559 Who shall bring 00:37:29.559 --> 00:37:30.300 any charge 00:37:30.300 --> 00:37:31.440 against God's elect? 00:37:31.700 --> 00:37:32.539 It is God 00:37:32.539 --> 00:37:33.340 who justifies. 00:37:33.680 --> 00:37:34.780 Who is to condemn? 00:37:35.160 --> 00:37:35.820 Christ Jesus 00:37:35.820 --> 00:37:36.420 is the one 00:37:36.420 --> 00:37:36.860 who died. 00:37:36.960 --> 00:37:37.619 More than that, 00:37:37.680 --> 00:37:38.420 who was raised, 00:37:38.760 --> 00:37:39.420 who is at the right 00:37:39.420 --> 00:37:40.160 hand of God, 00:37:40.300 --> 00:37:41.180 who indeed is 00:37:41.180 --> 00:37:42.380 interceding for us. 00:37:42.380 --> 00:37:44.140 Who shall separate us 00:37:44.140 --> 00:37:45.360 from the love of Christ? 00:37:45.740 --> 00:37:46.820 Shall tribulation 00:37:46.820 --> 00:37:47.700 or distress 00:37:47.700 --> 00:37:49.119 or persecution 00:37:49.119 --> 00:37:50.280 or famine 00:37:50.280 --> 00:37:51.500 or nakedness 00:37:51.500 --> 00:37:52.440 or danger 00:37:52.440 --> 00:37:53.360 or sword? 00:37:53.680 --> 00:37:54.539 As it is written, 00:37:54.880 --> 00:37:55.559 for your sake 00:37:55.559 --> 00:37:56.480 we are being killed 00:37:56.480 --> 00:37:57.360 all the day long. 00:37:57.460 --> 00:37:58.119 We are regarded 00:37:58.119 --> 00:37:59.579 as sheep to be slaughtered. 00:37:59.860 --> 00:38:00.260 No! 00:38:01.160 --> 00:38:02.440 In all these things 00:38:02.440 --> 00:38:04.079 we are more than conquerors 00:38:04.079 --> 00:38:05.740 through him who loved us. 00:38:05.860 --> 00:38:06.920 For I am sure 00:38:06.920 --> 00:38:08.140 that neither death 00:38:08.140 --> 00:38:09.140 nor life 00:38:09.140 --> 00:38:10.140 nor angels 00:38:10.140 --> 00:38:11.140 nor rulers 00:38:11.140 --> 00:38:12.079 nor things 00:38:12.079 --> 00:38:12.619 present 00:38:12.619 --> 00:38:13.500 nor things 00:38:13.500 --> 00:38:14.119 to come 00:38:14.119 --> 00:38:15.279 nor powers 00:38:15.279 --> 00:38:16.340 nor height 00:38:16.340 --> 00:38:17.440 nor depth 00:38:17.440 --> 00:38:18.719 nor anything else 00:38:18.719 --> 00:38:19.599 in all creation 00:38:19.599 --> 00:38:20.579 will be able 00:38:20.579 --> 00:38:21.559 to separate us 00:38:21.559 --> 00:38:22.519 from the love of God 00:38:22.519 --> 00:38:23.340 in Christ Jesus 00:38:23.340 --> 00:38:23.980 our Lord. 00:38:24.139 --> 00:38:24.539 Amen! 00:38:28.119 --> 00:38:29.199 That is my hope 00:38:29.199 --> 00:38:30.099 in life and death. 00:38:31.659 --> 00:38:32.420 That is where 00:38:32.420 --> 00:38:33.319 the fear of the Lord 00:38:33.319 --> 00:38:34.179 begins 00:38:34.179 --> 00:38:35.099 and where it will end. 00:38:35.219 --> 00:38:35.440 You see, 00:38:35.539 --> 00:38:36.420 the fear of the Lord 00:38:36.420 --> 00:38:37.739 at its heart 00:38:37.739 --> 00:38:39.199 is a 00:38:39.199 --> 00:38:41.259 deep knowledge 00:38:41.260 --> 00:38:41.940 of the difference 00:38:41.940 --> 00:38:42.640 between God 00:38:42.640 --> 00:38:43.040 and you 00:38:43.040 --> 00:38:44.800 and where you begin 00:38:44.800 --> 00:38:45.660 and where you end. 00:38:46.860 --> 00:38:47.320 And you can't 00:38:47.320 --> 00:38:48.120 know that knowledge 00:38:48.120 --> 00:38:48.880 unless you're also 00:38:48.880 --> 00:38:50.700 Christ has worked 00:38:50.700 --> 00:38:51.400 in your heart 00:38:51.400 --> 00:38:52.980 to create peace 00:38:52.980 --> 00:38:53.580 between you 00:38:53.580 --> 00:38:54.160 and God. 00:38:56.260 --> 00:38:56.940 And you see, 00:38:57.040 --> 00:38:57.740 brothers and sisters, 00:38:57.860 --> 00:38:58.660 that's why it is 00:38:58.660 --> 00:38:59.680 that we should pray 00:38:59.680 --> 00:39:01.240 that we will learn 00:39:01.240 --> 00:39:02.300 to fear the Lord. 00:39:03.100 --> 00:39:03.840 It should be part 00:39:03.840 --> 00:39:04.820 of your daily prayer. 00:39:05.160 --> 00:39:05.340 Lord, 00:39:05.460 --> 00:39:06.120 help me today 00:39:06.120 --> 00:39:07.380 to grow in the fear 00:39:07.380 --> 00:39:07.740 of you. 00:39:07.739 --> 00:39:09.119 You know, 00:39:09.239 --> 00:39:09.919 when you pray 00:39:09.919 --> 00:39:10.399 that prayer, 00:39:10.479 --> 00:39:10.979 you're asking 00:39:10.979 --> 00:39:11.799 that he would start 00:39:11.799 --> 00:39:13.479 to heal your inner life 00:39:13.479 --> 00:39:14.379 in terms of goodness 00:39:14.379 --> 00:39:14.939 and truth. 00:39:15.039 --> 00:39:15.639 You're asking them 00:39:15.639 --> 00:39:16.139 to heal 00:39:16.139 --> 00:39:17.599 how you treat people 00:39:17.599 --> 00:39:18.179 and turn away 00:39:18.179 --> 00:39:18.659 from evil 00:39:18.659 --> 00:39:19.799 and pursue that 00:39:19.799 --> 00:39:20.379 which is good. 00:39:20.739 --> 00:39:21.919 You're asking him 00:39:21.919 --> 00:39:22.619 to help you 00:39:22.619 --> 00:39:24.179 to allow him 00:39:24.179 --> 00:39:25.399 to make that balance 00:39:25.399 --> 00:39:25.899 in your life 00:39:25.899 --> 00:39:26.339 that you need. 00:39:26.339 --> 00:39:27.500 You're asking 00:39:27.500 --> 00:39:29.639 that you might know 00:39:29.639 --> 00:39:30.919 that he is God 00:39:30.919 --> 00:39:31.399 and you're not 00:39:31.399 --> 00:39:32.459 so that you understand 00:39:32.459 --> 00:39:33.539 and experience 00:39:33.539 --> 00:39:34.379 his face 00:39:34.379 --> 00:39:35.679 looking towards you 00:39:35.679 --> 00:39:37.319 as you live your life, 00:39:37.320 --> 00:39:37.840 as you deal 00:39:37.840 --> 00:39:38.620 with hard things, 00:39:38.680 --> 00:39:39.080 as you deal 00:39:39.080 --> 00:39:39.940 with good things 00:39:39.940 --> 00:39:41.080 and know 00:39:41.080 --> 00:39:41.800 that at the end 00:39:41.800 --> 00:39:44.080 of the story 00:39:44.080 --> 00:39:45.640 that how the story 00:39:45.640 --> 00:39:46.340 ends is that 00:39:46.340 --> 00:39:47.080 you are redeemed 00:39:47.080 --> 00:39:48.180 and he looks at you 00:39:48.180 --> 00:39:49.100 with love and affection 00:39:49.100 --> 00:39:50.200 and welcomes you. 00:39:51.360 --> 00:39:51.920 And you see, 00:39:52.019 --> 00:39:52.440 I haven't read 00:39:52.440 --> 00:39:53.360 the beginning of the psalm. 00:39:53.760 --> 00:39:54.980 It's only if you understand 00:39:54.980 --> 00:39:56.580 how the psalm ends 00:39:56.580 --> 00:39:58.019 that you can understand 00:39:58.019 --> 00:39:59.800 the outrageous promises 00:39:59.800 --> 00:40:01.260 of the first ten verses. 00:40:02.019 --> 00:40:02.900 Let's read them 00:40:02.900 --> 00:40:03.600 and we're going to 00:40:03.600 --> 00:40:04.220 stand and pray. 00:40:04.320 --> 00:40:04.720 Listen how, 00:40:04.840 --> 00:40:05.059 you see, 00:40:05.160 --> 00:40:06.059 it's only if you understand 00:40:06.059 --> 00:40:06.380 the end 00:40:06.380 --> 00:40:07.079 that you understand 00:40:07.079 --> 00:40:07.700 the beginning. 00:40:08.160 --> 00:40:09.079 Listen how it goes 00:40:09.079 --> 00:40:09.480 at the beginning. 00:40:09.599 --> 00:40:10.760 Psalm 34, verse 1. 00:40:11.180 --> 00:40:12.360 I will bless the Lord 00:40:12.360 --> 00:40:13.200 at all times. 00:40:13.599 --> 00:40:15.099 His praise shall continually 00:40:15.099 --> 00:40:16.039 be in my mouth. 00:40:16.380 --> 00:40:17.880 My soul makes its boast 00:40:17.880 --> 00:40:18.460 in the Lord. 00:40:18.740 --> 00:40:19.820 Let the humble hear 00:40:19.820 --> 00:40:20.500 and be glad. 00:40:20.840 --> 00:40:22.160 Oh, magnify the Lord 00:40:22.160 --> 00:40:22.740 with me 00:40:22.740 --> 00:40:24.000 and let us exalt 00:40:24.000 --> 00:40:24.980 his name together. 00:40:25.340 --> 00:40:26.539 I sought the Lord 00:40:26.539 --> 00:40:27.740 and he answered me 00:40:27.740 --> 00:40:28.800 and delivered me 00:40:28.800 --> 00:40:29.760 from all my fears. 00:40:30.079 --> 00:40:31.240 Those who look to him 00:40:31.240 --> 00:40:31.980 are radiant 00:40:31.980 --> 00:40:33.059 and their faces 00:40:33.059 --> 00:40:34.559 shall never be ashamed. 00:40:34.559 --> 00:40:36.559 This poor man cried 00:40:36.559 --> 00:40:38.139 and the Lord heard him 00:40:38.139 --> 00:40:39.259 and saved him 00:40:39.259 --> 00:40:40.360 out of all his troubles. 00:40:40.860 --> 00:40:42.159 The angels of the Lord 00:40:42.159 --> 00:40:43.420 encamps around those 00:40:43.420 --> 00:40:44.159 who fear him 00:40:44.159 --> 00:40:45.199 and delivers them. 00:40:45.480 --> 00:40:46.799 Oh, taste and see 00:40:46.799 --> 00:40:48.340 that the Lord is good. 00:40:49.759 --> 00:40:50.659 Taste and see 00:40:50.659 --> 00:40:51.440 that the Lord is good. 00:40:51.579 --> 00:40:52.619 Blessed is the man 00:40:52.619 --> 00:40:54.019 who takes refuge in him. 00:40:54.380 --> 00:40:55.400 Oh, fear the Lord, 00:40:55.559 --> 00:40:56.119 you his saints, 00:40:56.259 --> 00:40:57.440 for those who fear him 00:40:57.440 --> 00:40:58.559 have no lack. 00:40:58.779 --> 00:40:59.699 The young lions 00:40:59.699 --> 00:41:00.980 suffer want and hunger, 00:41:01.119 --> 00:41:01.880 but those who seek 00:41:01.880 --> 00:41:02.239 the Lord 00:41:02.239 --> 00:41:03.360 lack no good thing. 00:41:03.360 --> 00:41:05.160 come, oh children, 00:41:05.320 --> 00:41:06.019 listen to me. 00:41:07.760 --> 00:41:08.660 Come, oh children, 00:41:08.780 --> 00:41:09.460 listen to me. 00:41:10.200 --> 00:41:11.220 I will teach you 00:41:11.220 --> 00:41:12.120 the fear of the Lord. 00:41:13.519 --> 00:41:14.500 I invite you to stand. 00:41:23.800 --> 00:41:24.559 For those of you 00:41:24.559 --> 00:41:25.220 who are in Christ, 00:41:25.340 --> 00:41:25.880 we're going to pray 00:41:25.880 --> 00:41:26.400 that the Lord 00:41:26.400 --> 00:41:26.940 will help us 00:41:26.940 --> 00:41:28.140 to grow into fear the Lord. 00:41:29.599 --> 00:41:31.120 Why wouldn't we want that? 00:41:31.120 --> 00:41:31.140 Why wouldn't we want that? 00:41:33.360 --> 00:41:35.200 And for those who 00:41:35.200 --> 00:41:36.620 maybe have been far 00:41:36.620 --> 00:41:37.140 from the Lord 00:41:37.140 --> 00:41:37.980 for a long time, 00:41:38.059 --> 00:41:39.160 this is your day 00:41:39.160 --> 00:41:40.240 to renew your commitment 00:41:40.240 --> 00:41:40.740 to him. 00:41:41.640 --> 00:41:42.680 Every time we gather 00:41:42.680 --> 00:41:43.680 around the Lord's table, 00:41:43.820 --> 00:41:44.860 it's a time to renew 00:41:44.860 --> 00:41:46.079 our commitment to Christ, 00:41:46.180 --> 00:41:47.059 to maybe say to him, 00:41:47.099 --> 00:41:47.200 you know, 00:41:47.320 --> 00:41:47.800 I've had, 00:41:48.280 --> 00:41:48.519 Father, 00:41:48.700 --> 00:41:50.579 I've had a really terrible, 00:41:51.760 --> 00:41:53.180 in terms of my walk 00:41:53.180 --> 00:41:53.500 with you, 00:41:53.559 --> 00:41:54.940 I've been absolutely terrible 00:41:54.940 --> 00:41:55.599 for days, 00:41:55.740 --> 00:41:55.960 weeks, 00:41:56.120 --> 00:41:56.360 months, 00:41:56.500 --> 00:41:56.880 years. 00:41:56.880 --> 00:41:58.780 I thank you 00:41:58.780 --> 00:41:59.840 that you never let me go. 00:42:00.800 --> 00:42:02.039 I recommit to you. 00:42:02.460 --> 00:42:03.280 And for those of you 00:42:03.280 --> 00:42:04.420 who are outside of the faith, 00:42:05.760 --> 00:42:05.920 all, 00:42:06.119 --> 00:42:06.500 you know, 00:42:06.579 --> 00:42:07.260 I don't have, 00:42:07.340 --> 00:42:08.260 there's no formula, 00:42:08.460 --> 00:42:09.400 just call out to him, 00:42:09.440 --> 00:42:09.579 say, 00:42:09.660 --> 00:42:09.880 Lord, 00:42:10.079 --> 00:42:11.539 I want the good life 00:42:11.539 --> 00:42:12.380 as is described 00:42:12.380 --> 00:42:13.320 in Psalm 34, 00:42:13.619 --> 00:42:15.740 and I give myself to you, 00:42:16.099 --> 00:42:16.880 and thank you 00:42:16.880 --> 00:42:17.420 that you'll take me. 00:42:17.420 --> 00:42:18.440 I give myself to you. 00:42:18.500 --> 00:42:19.460 That's all you need to pray. 00:42:20.059 --> 00:42:21.019 Just say to him, 00:42:21.780 --> 00:42:22.519 Psalm 34, 00:42:22.519 --> 00:42:23.860 I want that. 00:42:25.480 --> 00:42:26.400 I surrender. 00:42:26.559 --> 00:42:27.579 I take refuge in you 00:42:27.579 --> 00:42:28.739 that that might be my life, 00:42:28.820 --> 00:42:29.380 that I might grow 00:42:29.380 --> 00:42:30.199 in that direction. 00:42:30.960 --> 00:42:31.619 Let's pray. 00:42:33.139 --> 00:42:33.579 Father, 00:42:34.139 --> 00:42:36.579 we give you thanks and praise 00:42:36.579 --> 00:42:37.460 that your word 00:42:37.460 --> 00:42:39.079 is wiser than the world, 00:42:39.840 --> 00:42:41.219 and we give you thanks 00:42:41.219 --> 00:42:41.860 and praise 00:42:41.860 --> 00:42:43.239 that even though 00:42:43.239 --> 00:42:44.280 there is a part of us 00:42:44.280 --> 00:42:44.840 at times, 00:42:44.980 --> 00:42:46.059 sometimes very loud, 00:42:46.179 --> 00:42:46.739 that whispers 00:42:46.739 --> 00:42:48.000 that if we really want 00:42:48.000 --> 00:42:48.880 to live the good life, 00:42:48.960 --> 00:42:50.059 we have to step outside 00:42:50.059 --> 00:42:50.619 of your will, 00:42:51.300 --> 00:42:51.940 we ask, 00:42:52.139 --> 00:42:52.199 Lord, 00:42:52.199 --> 00:42:52.679 that you, 00:42:53.419 --> 00:42:54.119 in your mercy, 00:42:54.239 --> 00:42:55.259 that you would help us 00:42:55.259 --> 00:42:56.599 to not only shut that out, 00:42:57.339 --> 00:42:58.279 but that rather than 00:42:58.279 --> 00:42:59.199 listen to that whisper, 00:42:59.319 --> 00:42:59.899 that we would listen 00:42:59.899 --> 00:43:00.539 to your word, 00:43:00.659 --> 00:43:01.359 that we would listen 00:43:01.359 --> 00:43:02.259 to Psalm 34, 00:43:02.579 --> 00:43:03.919 that we would listen 00:43:03.919 --> 00:43:07.699 to verses 11 and 12, 00:43:08.919 --> 00:43:09.579 that that might, 00:43:09.879 --> 00:43:09.960 Father, 00:43:10.059 --> 00:43:10.779 that your word 00:43:10.779 --> 00:43:11.419 might be that 00:43:11.419 --> 00:43:12.559 which speaks to us 00:43:12.559 --> 00:43:13.960 very, very deep within us, 00:43:14.000 --> 00:43:14.759 that we might learn 00:43:14.759 --> 00:43:16.639 to memorize your word 00:43:16.639 --> 00:43:17.379 and have that word 00:43:17.379 --> 00:43:18.319 preached to us 00:43:18.319 --> 00:43:19.439 that we might live out of it, 00:43:19.519 --> 00:43:20.359 and we give you thanks 00:43:20.359 --> 00:43:20.899 and praise 00:43:20.899 --> 00:43:21.500 that you want us 00:43:21.500 --> 00:43:22.340 to know you deeply 00:43:22.340 --> 00:43:23.500 and to know that 00:43:23.500 --> 00:43:24.119 you are God 00:43:24.119 --> 00:43:25.039 and that we are not 00:43:25.039 --> 00:43:26.480 and know where we begin 00:43:26.480 --> 00:43:26.880 and end 00:43:26.880 --> 00:43:27.739 and where you begin 00:43:27.739 --> 00:43:28.119 and end 00:43:28.119 --> 00:43:29.099 and to know that 00:43:29.099 --> 00:43:29.579 is good 00:43:29.579 --> 00:43:30.119 and we ask, 00:43:30.280 --> 00:43:30.519 Father, 00:43:30.639 --> 00:43:31.000 we ask, 00:43:31.119 --> 00:43:31.239 Lord, 00:43:31.300 --> 00:43:31.920 that you would help us 00:43:31.920 --> 00:43:32.780 to grow in that, 00:43:32.880 --> 00:43:33.559 that you would help us 00:43:33.559 --> 00:43:34.900 to grow in the fear 00:43:34.900 --> 00:43:35.780 of the Lord, 00:43:36.179 --> 00:43:36.960 that we might know 00:43:36.960 --> 00:43:37.659 your presence 00:43:37.659 --> 00:43:38.420 and your promise 00:43:38.420 --> 00:43:39.179 and your comfort 00:43:39.179 --> 00:43:39.940 as we deal with 00:43:39.940 --> 00:43:40.639 the good times 00:43:40.639 --> 00:43:41.260 and the bad 00:43:41.260 --> 00:43:43.340 and that we might know 00:43:43.340 --> 00:43:44.280 that Christ 00:43:44.280 --> 00:43:45.360 is our hope of glory 00:43:45.360 --> 00:43:47.540 and that in you 00:43:47.540 --> 00:43:49.040 your face is towards us 00:43:49.040 --> 00:43:50.340 and that when we finally 00:43:50.340 --> 00:43:51.520 see you face to face, 00:43:52.360 --> 00:43:53.700 we will see you smile. 00:43:54.740 --> 00:43:55.880 We ask these things 00:43:55.880 --> 00:43:56.780 in the name of Jesus, 00:43:57.020 --> 00:43:58.120 your Son and our Savior, 00:43:58.900 --> 00:44:00.120 and all God's people said, 00:44:00.900 --> 00:44:01.260 Amen. 00:44:01.260 --> 00:44:01.440 Amen. 00:44:01.440 --> 00:44:01.500 Amen.