WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.080 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christ Church. 00:00:05.719 --> 00:00:09.500 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:15.280 redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christ Church. 00:00:15.280 --> 00:00:22.640 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org. 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:33.020 I'll be reading today's scripture lesson from Psalm 16, verses 1 through 11. 00:00:35.679 --> 00:00:38.620 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. 00:00:39.079 --> 00:00:43.100 I say to the Lord, you are my Lord, I have no good apart from you. 00:00:43.960 --> 00:00:48.359 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight. 00:00:49.439 --> 00:00:52.620 The sorrows of those who run after another God shall multiply. 00:00:53.340 --> 00:00:57.620 Their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips. 00:00:58.579 --> 00:01:01.100 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup. 00:01:01.579 --> 00:01:02.539 You hold my lot. 00:01:03.560 --> 00:01:06.159 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. 00:01:06.519 --> 00:01:08.420 Indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. 00:01:09.460 --> 00:01:11.480 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel. 00:01:12.060 --> 00:01:14.060 In the night also my heart instructs me. 00:01:14.920 --> 00:01:18.640 I have set the Lord always before me, because he is at my right hand. 00:01:19.060 --> 00:01:20.060 I shall not be shaken. 00:01:20.060 --> 00:01:24.420 Therefore, my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices. 00:01:25.060 --> 00:01:26.799 My flesh also dwells secure. 00:01:27.799 --> 00:01:32.219 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your Holy One see corruption. 00:01:33.260 --> 00:01:35.219 You make known to me the path of life. 00:01:35.740 --> 00:01:37.659 In your presence there is fullness of joy. 00:01:37.659 --> 00:01:40.459 At your right hand are pleasures forevermore. 00:01:41.500 --> 00:01:43.959 The grass withers and the flowers fall. 00:01:44.599 --> 00:01:46.879 But the word of our God stands forever. 00:01:46.879 --> 00:01:48.899 Thank you, Susie. 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:49.739 Good morning, everyone. 00:01:49.899 --> 00:01:52.140 My name is Andrew, and I'm one of the pastors here. 00:01:52.539 --> 00:01:59.979 Mark, we're so glad to have you here, and so proud to be partnering with you in this mission to Japan. 00:02:00.299 --> 00:02:03.640 We believe here that missions exist where worship doesn't. 00:02:03.879 --> 00:02:08.319 And we so hope that your labors will result in worship. 00:02:08.319 --> 00:02:09.840 Let the nations be glad, right? 00:02:09.900 --> 00:02:10.939 Let the nations be glad. 00:02:12.139 --> 00:02:16.919 We're going to open up God's word from Psalm 16 this morning, but let's go to the Lord in prayer first. 00:02:16.919 --> 00:02:32.439 Oh, God, we ask that your spirit would so descend upon us in this moment that we would be utterly convinced of the words that you speak to us in the scriptures and in Psalm 16. 00:02:34.079 --> 00:02:41.979 Would we so believe that in your right hand are pleasures forevermore, and in your presence is the fullness of joy. 00:02:41.979 --> 00:02:53.699 Would you so convince us of that truth that we would pursue holy habits of grace, being near to you, intimate with you, close to you, God, in our daily lives? 00:02:53.719 --> 00:02:55.659 Because we just can't get enough. 00:02:55.939 --> 00:02:57.179 Make us those kinds of trees. 00:02:57.299 --> 00:03:01.339 Make our church that kind of garden of trees, we ask in the name of Jesus. 00:03:02.199 --> 00:03:02.500 Amen. 00:03:03.919 --> 00:03:04.539 All right. 00:03:04.699 --> 00:03:09.719 So this might sound kind of weird, but it might sound kind of creepy, but I'm just going to go with it. 00:03:09.719 --> 00:03:15.419 But the thing that's been on my mind the most lately is eighth and ninth grade boys. 00:03:16.060 --> 00:03:16.300 All right. 00:03:16.620 --> 00:03:21.199 That's something that I've been thinking a lot about lately, eighth and ninth grade boys. 00:03:21.800 --> 00:03:26.340 And it probably started about a month ago because I was invited to preach at a youth retreat. 00:03:26.479 --> 00:03:31.460 It was the retreat held by the church that I grew up at, the same youth retreat that I grew up attending. 00:03:32.280 --> 00:03:34.479 And so what happened was me and Amy, we got there. 00:03:34.579 --> 00:03:36.379 Some of our youth came as well. 00:03:36.379 --> 00:03:43.419 I didn't have to preach until the next morning, so we just kind of settled in, went to the dining hall to have dinner with everybody else. 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:45.120 And I was like, cool, I got this. 00:03:45.219 --> 00:03:45.500 All right. 00:03:45.539 --> 00:03:48.680 I'm just going to start mingling, get to know these students. 00:03:48.799 --> 00:03:52.159 There are about 110 students, sixth through 12th graders. 00:03:52.579 --> 00:03:53.159 No sweat. 00:03:53.340 --> 00:03:53.979 Should be fun. 00:03:54.159 --> 00:03:54.340 Right. 00:03:54.340 --> 00:04:02.900 So I go and I sit down with this table of like four eighth grade boys, or they're about to be ninth grade boys. 00:04:03.420 --> 00:04:07.640 And I think to myself, oh man, these guys are going to get a kick out of having dinner with the guest speaker. 00:04:08.080 --> 00:04:08.340 Right. 00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:11.039 Can't wait to show them how cool I am. 00:04:11.099 --> 00:04:11.340 Right. 00:04:11.340 --> 00:04:23.160 But you know, like pretty much one minute into sitting with these eighth grade boys, these awkward eighth grade boys trying to chat with them, I was like, oh shoot. 00:04:25.079 --> 00:04:28.399 Everything I'd prepared is totally not going to work. 00:04:28.399 --> 00:04:43.799 Like five out of the six talks that I thought I'd finished, you know, all my reheated, slightly modified Christchurch content that works here with you guys, I realized all of that was totally going to fall flat unless I made some major changes. 00:04:43.799 --> 00:04:46.060 And I knew this like conceptually as I was preparing. 00:04:46.259 --> 00:04:50.419 I did make a lot of changes to my content, but clearly not enough. 00:04:50.420 --> 00:05:01.140 Because when I sat down with those eighth to ninth grade boys in real life, it struck me like, yo, I might be the special guest preacher here, right? 00:05:01.699 --> 00:05:05.580 Specifically chosen by their youth pastor to teach them about repentance. 00:05:07.200 --> 00:05:08.980 But come on, no one's here at camp for me. 00:05:09.439 --> 00:05:09.780 All right. 00:05:10.080 --> 00:05:12.060 Haylin, did you sign up to go to camp to listen to me? 00:05:12.340 --> 00:05:13.480 No, you didn't, right? 00:05:14.180 --> 00:05:19.100 No one signed up to listen to some millennial dad give six talks about repentance. 00:05:19.100 --> 00:05:20.420 repentance, right? 00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:21.620 No one did that. 00:05:22.120 --> 00:05:25.420 I was the honored guest preacher, but I was so not the main event, right? 00:05:25.840 --> 00:05:33.500 I was more like, I felt like I was the vegetable that they had to swallow in order to just enjoy everything else about camp. 00:05:33.540 --> 00:05:34.100 That's how I felt. 00:05:34.100 --> 00:05:43.460 So I ended up spending like way more time in my room during that retreat than I expected, just kind of reworking my material, really just forcing myself to focus on the question, 00:05:43.459 --> 00:05:53.180 how the heck do you like so capture the attention of eighth and ninth grade boys that they don't feel the urge during every single one of your talks to get up and use the bathroom? 00:05:53.620 --> 00:05:53.899 All right. 00:05:54.019 --> 00:05:55.019 That was my goal. 00:05:55.560 --> 00:05:59.859 Or more seriously, I just thought to myself, how do I engage the heart of an eighth grade boy? 00:05:59.939 --> 00:06:04.060 How do I lead a ninth grade boy into a deeper relationship with Christ? 00:06:04.879 --> 00:06:09.179 Those are some of the questions that have been on my mind a lot lately, and they're hard questions. 00:06:09.180 --> 00:06:16.519 But, you know, even though being the speaker at that camp was probably one of the hardest and most humbling things I've done in a long time, 00:06:16.780 --> 00:06:23.480 it was actually a really good exercise for me as a pastor and a preacher to try to get into the mind of eighth and ninth grade boys, 00:06:23.600 --> 00:06:28.920 especially because we have six of them right here in our youth group, in our church, and I'll be leading them in a small group this year. 00:06:29.399 --> 00:06:35.819 So this is where my mind's been at, eighth and ninth grade boys, and, you know, honestly, especially so this week, right? 00:06:35.819 --> 00:06:42.219 After the Appalachee High School shooting, Colt Gray, right, the shooter, he's 14 years old. 00:06:43.219 --> 00:06:46.180 He just started his freshman year of high school. 00:06:47.040 --> 00:06:53.219 And a thought that I had this week was like, man, it's crazy that even in an eighth grade boy, 00:06:53.300 --> 00:06:57.319 there's already so much, like, destructive, life-taking potential. 00:06:57.459 --> 00:06:59.199 It's so crazy to think about that, right? 00:06:59.199 --> 00:07:09.259 But, you know, another thought that I had was that, you know, man, if a broken family and a gun in the hand of a ninth grade boy 00:07:09.259 --> 00:07:15.319 can make him such a deadly, life-taking force in this world, how much more might the gospel, 00:07:16.159 --> 00:07:21.259 how much more might the power of God and the love of the Father in the heart of a ninth grade boy 00:07:21.259 --> 00:07:25.639 make him a delightful, life-giving impact on this world? 00:07:25.639 --> 00:07:31.539 And this is a word to all of us, especially those of us who are ministering in our kids' ministry, 00:07:31.699 --> 00:07:32.519 in our youth ministry. 00:07:32.639 --> 00:07:35.139 We aren't glorified Christian babysitters. 00:07:35.339 --> 00:07:40.500 We're called to lead these kids, these youth, into deeper relationships with Christ and his church. 00:07:41.079 --> 00:07:44.419 But now, of course, the question is, well, how do you do that with, like, an eighth grade boy? 00:07:44.939 --> 00:07:45.659 How do you do that? 00:07:46.279 --> 00:07:50.399 And in trying to answer that question, I've been trying to reflect upon who I was 00:07:50.399 --> 00:07:53.479 as an eighth grade boy growing up in the church. 00:07:53.480 --> 00:07:58.819 And honestly, when I think about that, Andrew, I'm like, okay, yeah, I use the bathroom a lot, too, 00:07:59.060 --> 00:08:00.460 during tons of sermons, all right? 00:08:01.000 --> 00:08:06.780 And I know for sure that my youth group leaders, they, like, pulled their hair out over me and my buddies 00:08:06.780 --> 00:08:09.259 because all we ever cared about was having a ton of fun. 00:08:09.800 --> 00:08:14.259 We never showed up to worship God or to listen to the teaching of the Bible. 00:08:14.439 --> 00:08:18.879 All we were there to do was play basketball, eat lots of junk food, laugh like crazy, 00:08:19.000 --> 00:08:21.560 hang out with girls, and throw dodgeballs at each other, right? 00:08:21.560 --> 00:08:27.019 As an eighth grade boy, all that I lived for was pleasure and entertainment. 00:08:27.519 --> 00:08:29.980 I was a junkie for dopamine and delight. 00:08:30.680 --> 00:08:35.639 And my vision of the good life of paradise was fun and games and laughter all the time 00:08:35.639 --> 00:08:40.460 and endless entertainment and all the physical and emotional pleasures that I could think of. 00:08:40.519 --> 00:08:46.580 To eighth grade, Andrew, heaven would be paved with hardwood floors so I could play basketball 24-7, all right? 00:08:46.580 --> 00:08:51.340 There would be my favorite TV shows streaming endlessly from everlasting to everlasting, 00:08:51.680 --> 00:08:55.860 and there would be a stream flowing through the city filled with nacho cheese. 00:08:56.180 --> 00:08:57.379 And I would love it. 00:08:58.220 --> 00:09:04.420 Because, again, all I lived for was pleasure, or at least pleasure as I knew it. 00:09:05.320 --> 00:09:11.320 And you might say that these temporary, material, consumable pleasures were even my God's. 00:09:11.720 --> 00:09:13.580 My whole life was devoted to them. 00:09:13.580 --> 00:09:17.460 These pleasures were what I woke up in the morning, got out of bed to pursue. 00:09:17.660 --> 00:09:18.500 I hungered for them. 00:09:18.720 --> 00:09:19.680 I labored for them. 00:09:19.780 --> 00:09:26.379 I sacrificed for them because I believed that they would satisfy me, fulfill me, make me happy, and make me whole. 00:09:27.400 --> 00:09:34.960 And now maybe you're expecting me to say that this is everything that's wrong with modern, western, contemporary culture and society, 00:09:34.960 --> 00:09:39.520 that we're all like eighth grade boys with an inordinate desire for delight 00:09:39.520 --> 00:09:42.980 and in passionate pursuit of pleasures at all costs, right? 00:09:42.980 --> 00:09:48.580 Maybe you're expecting me to say what so many other religions say, what you've heard so many Christian pastors say, 00:09:48.680 --> 00:09:57.680 that self-control and self-denial and self-restraint and the suppression of our desires is the right way to live righteously in the presence of God. 00:09:57.740 --> 00:10:03.519 But what I really want to say is what if the problem isn't so much that our desires are too strong, 00:10:04.320 --> 00:10:08.879 but actually that our desires are too weak and tragically misdirected? 00:10:08.879 --> 00:10:12.759 I love how C.S. Lewis puts it in his sermon, The Weight of Glory. 00:10:13.100 --> 00:10:17.899 He basically says that, you know, sure, the New Testament does talk a lot about self-denial, 00:10:17.980 --> 00:10:24.179 but the New Testament never talks about self-denial as an end in and of itself. 00:10:25.120 --> 00:10:26.919 Lewis says it is right. 00:10:27.360 --> 00:10:31.919 It isn't a bad thing to desire our own good and to hope for enjoyment in this life. 00:10:32.080 --> 00:10:36.320 Lewis says that, yes, Jesus talks about, you know, denying yourself and taking up your cross, 00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:40.160 but the focus should actually be on what we get. 00:10:40.660 --> 00:10:41.280 What does Jesus say? 00:10:41.379 --> 00:10:43.440 Deny yourself, take up your cross, and what? 00:10:44.100 --> 00:10:46.060 Follow me, Jesus says, right? 00:10:46.420 --> 00:10:49.460 See, Christianity isn't first and foremost about self-denial. 00:10:49.580 --> 00:10:51.280 It's about getting to be with Jesus. 00:10:52.680 --> 00:10:53.840 So C.S. Lewis writes this. 00:10:53.980 --> 00:10:54.379 He writes, 00:10:54.379 --> 00:11:24.360 Indeed, 00:11:24.379 --> 00:11:30.840 Eighth grade Andrew was far too easily pleased. 00:11:31.340 --> 00:11:35.259 Even 36-year-old Andrew is far too easily pleased. 00:11:35.259 --> 00:11:38.779 When I often dream of that city flowing with streams of nacho cheese, right? 00:11:39.299 --> 00:11:44.100 Even though that nacho cheese makes me have to wake up in the middle of the night because I'm so thirsty, right? 00:11:44.600 --> 00:11:45.939 Reach for my water bottle. 00:11:45.940 --> 00:11:54.400 God instead promises us a better stream, the stream of living water, so that we might never have to thirst again. 00:11:54.540 --> 00:11:56.620 That's what we're supposed to desire. 00:11:56.620 --> 00:12:04.259 So you see, the problem with the world is not that human's desire, but it's what humans desire instead of God. 00:12:04.259 --> 00:12:12.539 The problem is that we've exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and we've desired created things over the Creator. 00:12:12.539 --> 00:12:16.679 Instead of crying out to the Lord like David does here in verse 1, 00:12:16.679 --> 00:12:46.659 Preserve me, 00:12:46.679 --> 00:12:49.459 We lift up this prayer all the time. 00:12:49.460 --> 00:12:58.560 So all these different, like, creaturely things, and maybe not explicitly from our lips, but in our hearts, and with our hands, and through our habits, 00:12:58.559 --> 00:13:03.079 We build a dependence upon these things, often without even thinking about it. 00:13:04.039 --> 00:13:07.619 So the question I want to ask this morning, the question I want us to consider is, 00:13:07.719 --> 00:13:14.679 Do you believe, or rather, can you believe, in a God who offers Himself to you as the fullness of your joy, 00:13:15.479 --> 00:13:20.179 pleasures forevermore, and the fulfillment of your deepest desires? 00:13:20.179 --> 00:13:22.620 Can you trust that that is who God is? 00:13:23.339 --> 00:13:24.759 That He wants your joy? 00:13:25.279 --> 00:13:26.299 That He wants your pleasure? 00:13:26.419 --> 00:13:28.079 That He is your joy? 00:13:28.719 --> 00:13:30.459 And that He is your pleasure? 00:13:31.599 --> 00:13:36.219 See, Psalm 16 is King David's prayer of confidence that the answer is yes. 00:13:36.220 --> 00:13:45.120 Yes, we can trust Him to be the fullness of our joy and pleasures forevermore, the fulfillment of our deepest desire. 00:13:45.720 --> 00:13:51.220 Or we could look at Psalm 16 as King David's prayer of defiance against all the other voices in the world, 00:13:51.340 --> 00:13:54.240 tempting him to believe that the answer is no, God doesn't want your joy. 00:13:54.680 --> 00:13:56.220 No, God doesn't want your pleasure. 00:13:56.379 --> 00:14:00.040 God doesn't want to fulfill your deepest, purest, and highest desires. 00:14:00.039 --> 00:14:09.579 Others, Psalm 16 is the prayer of God's people fighting to believe that God is better, that God is enough, 00:14:10.279 --> 00:14:15.339 and that blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the way of sinners, 00:14:15.719 --> 00:14:22.539 nor sit in the seat of scoffers, but whose delight is in what God says and in who God is. 00:14:23.099 --> 00:14:29.419 Psalm 16 is a prayer of confidence, a declaration of faith, fighting to believe what it says at the very end of this psalm, 00:14:29.419 --> 00:14:35.399 in verse 11, you, God, make known to me the path of life and not death. 00:14:35.860 --> 00:14:39.019 In your presence there is fullness of joy. 00:14:39.240 --> 00:14:42.939 At your right hand are pleasures forevermore. 00:14:43.679 --> 00:14:45.899 This is what Psalm 16 is about. 00:14:45.979 --> 00:14:47.659 It's basically saying in the words of John Piper, 00:14:47.799 --> 00:14:54.839 if you think that God is incapable of making you happy forever, you don't know God. 00:14:55.740 --> 00:14:56.799 You don't know God. 00:14:56.799 --> 00:15:00.579 For what is fuller than fullness, what is longer than forevermore, 00:15:00.740 --> 00:15:06.679 nothing can outdo God in filling you with all the life-giving joy and pleasure 00:15:06.679 --> 00:15:12.419 that you were created to experience in relationship with Him as His beloved child. 00:15:13.899 --> 00:15:15.179 Now, if you're new here today, 00:15:15.359 --> 00:15:19.679 Jonathan started us last week in this series in the Psalms. 00:15:19.939 --> 00:15:21.039 He started with Psalm 1, 00:15:21.039 --> 00:15:25.259 and the specific question we're asking as we go through the Psalms this fall is, 00:15:25.259 --> 00:15:30.539 what are the holy habits of grace that God's people should weave into our lives 00:15:30.539 --> 00:15:35.819 in order that we might be a garden full of trees planted by the stream of living water, 00:15:36.419 --> 00:15:40.799 yielding fresh, juicy fruit in season and never withering? 00:15:40.799 --> 00:15:47.419 What does it look like to be a deeply rooted, flourishing tree that is constantly being nourished 00:15:47.419 --> 00:15:50.599 by the life-giving presence of God? 00:15:51.359 --> 00:15:55.899 What kinds of holy habits keep us in communion with Christ who is the vine? 00:15:56.620 --> 00:15:58.339 That's our focus this fall. 00:15:59.339 --> 00:16:01.359 And as we go through these holy habits, 00:16:01.439 --> 00:16:04.559 I'm going to keep warning us again and again and again as often as I can 00:16:04.559 --> 00:16:08.919 that the danger in a series like this on spiritual disciplines and on holy habits 00:16:08.919 --> 00:16:12.479 is to think of these holy habits as just some spiritual techniques 00:16:12.479 --> 00:16:16.639 to practice in a transactional relationship with God. 00:16:16.719 --> 00:16:20.059 Like just some things we do to manipulate God into blessing us, 00:16:20.119 --> 00:16:22.099 put quarters into the slot machine, right? 00:16:22.139 --> 00:16:23.239 Like if I say my prayers, 00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:27.500 God will make sure my children are going to be okay and have a nice day at school. 00:16:27.599 --> 00:16:29.719 If I practice the Sabbath faithfully, 00:16:29.799 --> 00:16:31.139 if I don't work on the Lord's Day, 00:16:31.139 --> 00:16:35.519 then my business will make even more money than if I disobeyed the Sabbath rule. 00:16:36.460 --> 00:16:40.080 But see, the point of these holy habits is not to get stuff from God. 00:16:40.659 --> 00:16:41.799 It's to get God. 00:16:42.559 --> 00:16:43.919 It's to be with God. 00:16:44.659 --> 00:16:49.139 The point of being a tree with deep roots in God's stream of living water 00:16:49.139 --> 00:16:50.439 isn't just to enjoy the fruit, 00:16:50.539 --> 00:16:54.799 but to enjoy the union and communion that exists between a healthy tree 00:16:54.799 --> 00:16:57.819 and a fresh flowing stream. 00:16:57.820 --> 00:17:01.400 The point of our holy habits is for us to enjoy God, 00:17:01.940 --> 00:17:04.759 really to know the pleasure of being fully human. 00:17:04.980 --> 00:17:07.340 This is core to what we believe at Christ Church. 00:17:07.420 --> 00:17:09.539 Did you know this is one of the very first teachings, 00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:12.240 one of the very first official doctrinal standards 00:17:12.240 --> 00:17:14.700 that the church has in our Constitution? 00:17:15.220 --> 00:17:17.100 Westminster Shorter Catechism, question one, 00:17:17.200 --> 00:17:18.460 what is the chief end of man? 00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:24.100 Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. 00:17:24.099 --> 00:17:28.719 This is what we're after in this series on holy habits. 00:17:28.859 --> 00:17:32.959 Not some rule-abiding, super-disciplined, self-controlled robot Christians. 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:35.759 We're after joyful children of God 00:17:35.759 --> 00:17:41.139 who intimately know the pleasure of communion with their Father in heaven. 00:17:42.519 --> 00:17:46.139 But now maybe this sounds nice and ideal, 00:17:46.599 --> 00:17:52.799 but it's really hard for us to imagine enjoying holy habits in the presence of God. 00:17:52.799 --> 00:17:58.619 It's hard for us to imagine enjoying this habitual communion with this God who's so far away. 00:17:58.940 --> 00:18:01.819 And I mean, this is who I was when I was an eighth-grade boy. 00:18:01.879 --> 00:18:02.539 That's how I felt. 00:18:02.619 --> 00:18:04.619 Even when I wanted to try to grow as a Christian, 00:18:04.759 --> 00:18:06.619 grow in my relationship with God. 00:18:07.220 --> 00:18:09.819 I remember in eighth grade, I was at another camp, 00:18:10.220 --> 00:18:15.039 and I was just challenged to give Jesus the steering wheel of my life. 00:18:15.180 --> 00:18:16.940 This is before Carrie Underwood's song, right? 00:18:16.940 --> 00:18:19.640 But somehow it clicked for me. 00:18:19.759 --> 00:18:21.519 That picture, it clicked for me. 00:18:21.680 --> 00:18:24.340 Like, yo, Jesus gave His life for me. 00:18:25.500 --> 00:18:26.700 I should live mine for Him. 00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:30.240 So I started to try to engage in these holy habits, 00:18:30.340 --> 00:18:32.420 to read the Bible, to pray, to spend time with Him. 00:18:32.460 --> 00:18:35.220 But I could never follow through with any consistency. 00:18:35.400 --> 00:18:37.900 Because again, what I was truly living for 00:18:37.900 --> 00:18:39.860 was fun and pleasure. 00:18:40.340 --> 00:18:43.000 And reading the Bible weren't that to me, right? 00:18:43.000 --> 00:18:45.500 And maybe that's how a lot of you feel 00:18:45.500 --> 00:18:47.240 about all these different kinds of holy habits. 00:18:47.319 --> 00:18:49.519 Not really excited about these holy habits 00:18:49.519 --> 00:18:50.960 that God invites us into. 00:18:51.160 --> 00:18:54.279 Skeptical that they'll lead to pleasure and joy 00:18:54.279 --> 00:18:56.599 and just fullness in God. 00:18:57.119 --> 00:18:58.839 And if that's you, I totally get it. 00:18:59.700 --> 00:19:01.059 But what I want to suggest is that 00:19:01.059 --> 00:19:03.619 maybe the problem isn't that the holy habits, 00:19:04.019 --> 00:19:05.079 maybe the problem isn't that 00:19:05.079 --> 00:19:07.180 Christian spiritual disciplines are boring. 00:19:07.660 --> 00:19:09.559 Maybe the problem is that we're boring. 00:19:09.559 --> 00:19:12.339 Maybe the problem is that 00:19:12.339 --> 00:19:14.259 we become too easily satisfied 00:19:14.259 --> 00:19:16.099 with lesser habits 00:19:16.099 --> 00:19:19.419 that have conditioned us to enjoy lesser pleasures. 00:19:20.379 --> 00:19:21.579 Maybe the problem is that 00:19:21.579 --> 00:19:23.259 we've become the people in verse 4 00:19:23.259 --> 00:19:25.859 habitually running after other gods, 00:19:26.019 --> 00:19:27.559 habitually offering up to them 00:19:27.559 --> 00:19:29.539 our own life and blood offerings. 00:19:31.099 --> 00:19:32.579 See, whether or not you're interested 00:19:32.579 --> 00:19:33.740 in the holy habits 00:19:33.740 --> 00:19:35.579 or the Christian spiritual disciplines, 00:19:36.339 --> 00:19:37.440 we all have habits. 00:19:37.440 --> 00:19:39.600 We all have habits. 00:19:40.039 --> 00:19:41.259 But I think for a lot of us, 00:19:41.420 --> 00:19:42.920 our habits and our daily rhythms 00:19:42.920 --> 00:19:45.259 are largely unexamined, right? 00:19:45.900 --> 00:19:47.580 I think if we examine them, 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:50.380 we'd realize how much they are shaping our hearts 00:19:50.380 --> 00:19:51.460 and shaping our desires 00:19:51.460 --> 00:19:53.120 and even shaping what we find 00:19:53.120 --> 00:19:55.759 to be enjoyable and pleasurable. 00:19:56.840 --> 00:19:58.960 And I think if we examine them more closely, 00:19:59.140 --> 00:20:00.220 more intentionally, 00:20:00.440 --> 00:20:02.100 we'd also realize that these habits 00:20:02.100 --> 00:20:03.220 and these rhythms 00:20:03.220 --> 00:20:04.920 are not just some neutral patterns 00:20:04.920 --> 00:20:06.759 that we've simply chosen to adopt, 00:20:06.759 --> 00:20:08.279 but they're habits and rhythms 00:20:08.279 --> 00:20:09.720 forged within a culture 00:20:09.720 --> 00:20:11.779 with a lot of backward values 00:20:11.779 --> 00:20:13.559 and a lot of empty promises. 00:20:14.759 --> 00:20:16.039 If you haven't picked up 00:20:16.039 --> 00:20:19.099 any of Justin Whitmell Early's books, 00:20:19.619 --> 00:20:21.440 I highly recommend his book, 00:20:21.519 --> 00:20:22.119 The Common Rule. 00:20:22.599 --> 00:20:23.640 And if you are parents, 00:20:24.180 --> 00:20:26.140 the book that I really recommend to you 00:20:26.140 --> 00:20:27.160 is Habits of the Household. 00:20:27.220 --> 00:20:28.259 That book's money, all right? 00:20:28.619 --> 00:20:29.460 Gotta get that one. 00:20:30.160 --> 00:20:31.160 But today I want to share with you 00:20:31.160 --> 00:20:32.460 a good-sized chunk of what he says 00:20:32.460 --> 00:20:35.000 about our habits and life rhythms 00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:36.240 in his book, The Common Rule. 00:20:36.519 --> 00:20:38.619 And in it, he actually challenges us 00:20:38.619 --> 00:20:40.200 to see our daily life habits, 00:20:40.259 --> 00:20:41.759 what we do as soon as we get out of bed, 00:20:42.140 --> 00:20:43.180 as liturgies, 00:20:43.740 --> 00:20:45.599 as patterns of worship 00:20:45.599 --> 00:20:47.180 that are forming us 00:20:47.180 --> 00:20:48.420 more than we even realize. 00:20:48.519 --> 00:20:49.359 So listen to what he says. 00:20:49.400 --> 00:20:50.200 This is a long chunk, 00:20:50.299 --> 00:20:50.940 so bear with me. 00:20:51.220 --> 00:20:53.180 This is what Justin Whitmell Early writes. 00:20:53.180 --> 00:20:56.180 As far as our habits go, 00:20:56.900 --> 00:20:58.620 the invisible reality is this. 00:20:59.400 --> 00:21:00.640 We are all living according 00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:03.140 to a specific regimen of habits, 00:21:03.420 --> 00:21:05.519 and those habits shape most of our life. 00:21:06.200 --> 00:21:07.400 A study from Duke suggested 00:21:07.400 --> 00:21:09.820 that as much as 40% of the actions 00:21:09.820 --> 00:21:11.000 we take every day 00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:13.039 are not the products of choice, 00:21:13.460 --> 00:21:14.220 but of habits. 00:21:15.019 --> 00:21:16.580 And just because we don't choose our habits 00:21:16.580 --> 00:21:17.980 doesn't mean we don't have them. 00:21:18.420 --> 00:21:19.340 On the contrary, 00:21:19.700 --> 00:21:22.320 it usually means someone else chose them for us 00:21:22.319 --> 00:21:23.779 who probably doesn't have 00:21:23.779 --> 00:21:25.220 our best interests in mind. 00:21:25.939 --> 00:21:27.000 Take your work schedule 00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:29.079 or your social media scrolling, for example. 00:21:29.220 --> 00:21:30.439 Think about your internet history 00:21:30.439 --> 00:21:32.740 or how you spent your mornings last week. 00:21:32.819 --> 00:21:34.179 Think about the time you spend 00:21:34.179 --> 00:21:35.599 with your family versus the time 00:21:35.599 --> 00:21:37.339 you spend looking at a screen 00:21:37.339 --> 00:21:38.339 during a normal day. 00:21:38.779 --> 00:21:42.799 These things define vast portions of our lives. 00:21:43.379 --> 00:21:44.460 And while we would like to think 00:21:44.460 --> 00:21:45.879 we've carefully chosen them, 00:21:46.220 --> 00:21:48.240 most often we haven't even given them 00:21:48.240 --> 00:21:48.960 a second thought. 00:21:49.480 --> 00:21:51.220 Most often we just swim along 00:21:51.220 --> 00:21:52.420 with those around us. 00:21:52.680 --> 00:21:53.620 And much more often 00:21:53.620 --> 00:21:54.799 than we would like to admit 00:21:54.799 --> 00:21:56.160 or even understand, 00:21:56.819 --> 00:21:58.400 we are nudged into those choices 00:21:58.400 --> 00:21:59.960 by those who want to make money 00:21:59.960 --> 00:22:02.180 off the patterns of our daily life. 00:22:02.700 --> 00:22:03.980 This wouldn't be so bad 00:22:03.980 --> 00:22:05.039 if it weren't for the fact 00:22:05.039 --> 00:22:06.900 that habits form much more 00:22:06.900 --> 00:22:07.759 than our schedules. 00:22:08.299 --> 00:22:09.339 They form our hearts. 00:22:10.160 --> 00:22:11.660 Calling habits liturgies 00:22:11.660 --> 00:22:12.680 may seem odd, 00:22:12.759 --> 00:22:13.620 but we need language 00:22:13.620 --> 00:22:15.900 to emphasize the non-neutrality 00:22:15.900 --> 00:22:17.620 of our day-to-day routines. 00:22:17.619 --> 00:22:20.259 Our habits often obscure 00:22:20.259 --> 00:22:21.879 what we're really worshiping, 00:22:22.199 --> 00:22:23.119 but that doesn't mean 00:22:23.119 --> 00:22:24.419 we're not worshiping something. 00:22:25.239 --> 00:22:26.399 We have a common problem. 00:22:26.519 --> 00:22:28.859 By ignoring the ways habits shape us, 00:22:28.939 --> 00:22:31.500 we've assimilated to a hidden rule of life, 00:22:31.559 --> 00:22:33.239 the American rule of life, 00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:35.179 which forms us in all the anxiety, 00:22:35.739 --> 00:22:37.479 depression, consumerism, 00:22:37.699 --> 00:22:39.239 injustice, and vanity 00:22:39.239 --> 00:22:42.159 that are so typical in American life. 00:22:43.279 --> 00:22:44.979 See, Justin Early is trying to show us 00:22:44.980 --> 00:22:46.759 that we are all being formed, 00:22:46.980 --> 00:22:48.460 and if not by holy habits, 00:22:48.980 --> 00:22:50.799 then probably by many unholy 00:22:50.799 --> 00:22:52.279 and unexamined habits 00:22:52.279 --> 00:22:53.660 that we probably just see 00:22:53.660 --> 00:22:54.960 as neutral and natural. 00:22:55.740 --> 00:22:57.319 But as King David warns 00:22:57.319 --> 00:22:58.740 in verse 4 here, 00:22:59.059 --> 00:23:00.360 many are the sorrows 00:23:00.360 --> 00:23:01.759 of those who run 00:23:01.759 --> 00:23:03.519 after another god. 00:23:04.500 --> 00:23:06.079 So a question for all of us 00:23:06.079 --> 00:23:07.799 is what habits in our lives 00:23:07.799 --> 00:23:10.259 are actually acts of worship 00:23:10.259 --> 00:23:11.799 toward false gods? 00:23:12.620 --> 00:23:13.319 Like, for example, 00:23:13.319 --> 00:23:14.639 what are your phone habits? 00:23:15.259 --> 00:23:16.319 And what do they reveal 00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:17.639 about your desires 00:23:17.639 --> 00:23:18.639 and your beliefs 00:23:18.639 --> 00:23:20.119 and how you view the world? 00:23:20.179 --> 00:23:20.819 And I gotta admit, 00:23:20.919 --> 00:23:22.639 my phone habits are terrible. 00:23:23.279 --> 00:23:23.579 All right? 00:23:24.099 --> 00:23:25.659 This is a very embarrassing example, 00:23:25.779 --> 00:23:26.599 maybe even inappropriate, 00:23:26.740 --> 00:23:27.659 but we're gonna go with it. 00:23:27.960 --> 00:23:28.799 Just yesterday, 00:23:30.319 --> 00:23:32.899 I had to use the bathroom. 00:23:33.220 --> 00:23:33.480 All right? 00:23:33.639 --> 00:23:35.319 So I went into the bathroom, 00:23:35.399 --> 00:23:35.919 I closed the door, 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:36.639 I sat down, 00:23:36.819 --> 00:23:38.299 and as I started to go, 00:23:38.980 --> 00:23:39.960 it occurred to me, 00:23:40.559 --> 00:23:41.000 oh, shoot, 00:23:41.000 --> 00:23:41.900 I forgot my phone, 00:23:42.319 --> 00:23:42.859 right? 00:23:44.480 --> 00:23:45.299 And I was like, 00:23:45.559 --> 00:23:46.579 mad at myself. 00:23:46.880 --> 00:23:47.960 I was mad at myself, 00:23:48.059 --> 00:23:48.619 like, dude, 00:23:48.940 --> 00:23:50.119 you're being so unproductive 00:23:50.119 --> 00:23:50.440 right now, 00:23:50.480 --> 00:23:51.200 you could be cleaning out 00:23:51.200 --> 00:23:51.799 your inbox, 00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:53.000 what if you get a great idea 00:23:53.000 --> 00:23:53.680 for your sermon? 00:23:55.099 --> 00:23:56.660 Should you yell to Chelsea 00:23:56.660 --> 00:23:57.900 to get your phone for you? 00:23:57.980 --> 00:23:58.720 What should you do? 00:23:59.019 --> 00:24:00.019 Or should you just suck it up 00:24:00.019 --> 00:24:01.359 and just get through the moment? 00:24:01.819 --> 00:24:02.400 Like, no joke, 00:24:02.480 --> 00:24:04.299 that was my thought process. 00:24:05.359 --> 00:24:06.380 And I'm realizing 00:24:06.380 --> 00:24:07.480 that my phone habits 00:24:07.480 --> 00:24:09.700 are impressing upon my heart 00:24:09.700 --> 00:24:10.900 and my mind 00:24:10.900 --> 00:24:13.460 the false and idolatrous belief 00:24:13.460 --> 00:24:14.279 that productivity 00:24:14.279 --> 00:24:16.079 and efficiency 00:24:16.079 --> 00:24:18.140 and time maximization 00:24:18.140 --> 00:24:20.200 should be my highest values, 00:24:20.720 --> 00:24:21.759 like even over hygiene, 00:24:21.920 --> 00:24:22.680 apparently, right? 00:24:24.200 --> 00:24:24.819 But seriously, 00:24:25.440 --> 00:24:26.539 think about it. 00:24:26.640 --> 00:24:27.339 For many of us, 00:24:27.400 --> 00:24:28.420 our phone habits indicate 00:24:28.420 --> 00:24:29.960 that many of us think 00:24:29.960 --> 00:24:31.099 that we're actually 00:24:31.099 --> 00:24:32.240 quite like God. 00:24:32.740 --> 00:24:33.779 We think we're omnipotent, 00:24:33.860 --> 00:24:34.740 we think we're all-powerful 00:24:34.740 --> 00:24:35.460 because our phone 00:24:35.460 --> 00:24:37.000 can help us accomplish so much. 00:24:37.559 --> 00:24:38.720 We think we are omniscient 00:24:38.720 --> 00:24:39.559 that we're all-knowing 00:24:39.559 --> 00:24:40.180 because our phone 00:24:40.180 --> 00:24:41.319 can deliver us 00:24:41.319 --> 00:24:42.840 so much knowledge, right? 00:24:43.180 --> 00:24:44.460 We think that 00:24:44.460 --> 00:24:46.120 we can be omnipresent, 00:24:46.220 --> 00:24:47.240 we think we can be everywhere 00:24:47.240 --> 00:24:47.900 because our phone 00:24:47.900 --> 00:24:49.600 allows us to be everywhere, 00:24:49.700 --> 00:24:51.220 we can be on the top 00:24:51.220 --> 00:24:51.980 of Mount Everest 00:24:51.980 --> 00:24:53.340 through our phones, right? 00:24:54.579 --> 00:24:55.759 Even if, when honestly, 00:24:56.079 --> 00:24:57.079 it makes us less present 00:24:57.079 --> 00:24:58.660 to the people in our own house, 00:24:58.900 --> 00:24:59.940 in our own families, right? 00:25:00.960 --> 00:25:02.039 One of my favorite writers, 00:25:02.140 --> 00:25:02.700 Alan Noble, 00:25:02.819 --> 00:25:03.519 he writes this, 00:25:03.960 --> 00:25:04.720 I think he's a wonderful 00:25:04.720 --> 00:25:06.579 commentator on our cultural moment. 00:25:07.000 --> 00:25:07.299 He writes, 00:25:07.380 --> 00:25:08.920 the beauty of using my iPhone 00:25:08.920 --> 00:25:10.079 as my alarm clock 00:25:10.079 --> 00:25:11.400 is that when I reach over 00:25:11.400 --> 00:25:12.160 to turn it off, 00:25:12.500 --> 00:25:14.079 I'm only a few more taps away 00:25:14.079 --> 00:25:15.079 from the rest of the world. 00:25:15.819 --> 00:25:17.400 Before I'm even fully awake, 00:25:17.480 --> 00:25:18.319 I've checked my Twitter 00:25:18.319 --> 00:25:19.700 and Facebook notifications 00:25:19.700 --> 00:25:20.640 and my email 00:25:20.640 --> 00:25:21.640 and returned to Twitter 00:25:21.640 --> 00:25:22.319 to check my feed 00:25:22.319 --> 00:25:23.019 for breaking news. 00:25:23.180 --> 00:25:24.120 Before I've said good morning 00:25:24.120 --> 00:25:25.160 to my wife and children, 00:25:25.460 --> 00:25:27.059 I've entered a contentious argument 00:25:27.059 --> 00:25:27.500 on Twitter 00:25:27.500 --> 00:25:28.700 about Islamic terrorism 00:25:28.700 --> 00:25:30.279 and shared a video 00:25:30.279 --> 00:25:31.220 of Russell Westbrook 00:25:31.220 --> 00:25:33.039 dunking in the previous night's 00:25:33.039 --> 00:25:33.819 basketball game. 00:25:34.720 --> 00:25:36.400 Or maybe for some of you, 00:25:36.460 --> 00:25:37.660 your phone reinforces to you 00:25:37.660 --> 00:25:38.920 that you can and should be 00:25:38.920 --> 00:25:39.480 entertained 00:25:39.480 --> 00:25:41.140 at every moment in your life. 00:25:41.180 --> 00:25:42.519 Maybe that's the implicit belief 00:25:42.519 --> 00:25:43.880 that your heart is holding on to. 00:25:44.500 --> 00:25:45.220 Standing in line 00:25:45.220 --> 00:25:46.039 at the grocery store, 00:25:46.579 --> 00:25:47.400 waiting for your kids 00:25:47.400 --> 00:25:48.500 at their sporting events 00:25:48.500 --> 00:25:49.480 on your phone 00:25:49.480 --> 00:25:50.779 rather than watching them play, 00:25:51.700 --> 00:25:52.299 doom scrolling, 00:25:52.519 --> 00:25:53.240 waiting for my sermon 00:25:53.240 --> 00:25:54.720 to be over, right? 00:25:56.079 --> 00:25:57.579 Pastor John Mark Comer writes, 00:25:57.579 --> 00:25:58.400 how do you pray? 00:25:58.720 --> 00:25:59.579 How do you read the scriptures? 00:26:00.220 --> 00:26:01.660 Sit under a teaching at church 00:26:01.660 --> 00:26:03.000 or rest well on the Sabbath 00:26:03.000 --> 00:26:04.340 when every chance you get 00:26:04.340 --> 00:26:06.340 you reach for the dopamine dispenser 00:26:06.340 --> 00:26:07.500 that is your phone. 00:26:09.220 --> 00:26:10.740 So do you see how our habits 00:26:10.740 --> 00:26:12.180 shape our hearts 00:26:12.180 --> 00:26:14.300 and the people that we're becoming 00:26:14.300 --> 00:26:16.580 and even what we find 00:26:16.580 --> 00:26:17.300 to be pleasurable 00:26:17.300 --> 00:26:18.279 and enjoyable 00:26:18.279 --> 00:26:20.040 and worth our time? 00:26:21.180 --> 00:26:21.980 See, this is exactly 00:26:21.980 --> 00:26:23.779 why we need holy habits 00:26:23.779 --> 00:26:25.140 to reshape, 00:26:25.279 --> 00:26:26.820 to reform our hearts, 00:26:26.900 --> 00:26:27.660 to recalibrate 00:26:27.660 --> 00:26:28.980 what we find to be delightful 00:26:28.980 --> 00:26:30.120 and pleasurable 00:26:30.120 --> 00:26:31.180 even if at first 00:26:31.180 --> 00:26:32.000 these holy habits 00:26:32.000 --> 00:26:33.339 seem undesirable 00:26:33.339 --> 00:26:35.000 and inauthentic. 00:26:35.680 --> 00:26:37.279 The philosopher Jamie Smith writes, 00:26:37.380 --> 00:26:39.200 not all sins are decisions. 00:26:40.120 --> 00:26:41.019 Once you realize 00:26:41.019 --> 00:26:42.799 that we are not just thinking things 00:26:42.799 --> 00:26:44.299 but creatures of habit, 00:26:45.279 --> 00:26:46.079 you'll then realize 00:26:46.079 --> 00:26:46.640 that temptation 00:26:46.640 --> 00:26:48.099 isn't just about bad ideas 00:26:48.099 --> 00:26:48.779 or wrong decisions, 00:26:49.059 --> 00:26:50.039 it's often a factor 00:26:50.039 --> 00:26:51.079 of deformation 00:26:51.079 --> 00:26:53.380 and wrongly ordered habits. 00:26:53.980 --> 00:26:54.980 And overcoming them 00:26:54.980 --> 00:26:56.380 requires more than just knowledge, 00:26:56.500 --> 00:26:58.559 it requires re-habituation. 00:26:58.980 --> 00:27:01.220 A reformulation of our loves. 00:27:01.299 --> 00:27:01.680 And see again, 00:27:01.779 --> 00:27:02.660 that is the goal 00:27:02.660 --> 00:27:04.240 with these holy habits. 00:27:04.860 --> 00:27:06.680 Not simply being able to say, 00:27:06.880 --> 00:27:07.339 I prayed, 00:27:07.640 --> 00:27:08.759 I read my Bible today, 00:27:09.059 --> 00:27:09.339 check. 00:27:10.240 --> 00:27:12.599 It's to experience God. 00:27:13.160 --> 00:27:14.039 It's to experience God 00:27:14.039 --> 00:27:15.299 like David experiences God 00:27:15.299 --> 00:27:16.279 here in Psalm 16. 00:27:16.839 --> 00:27:17.519 It's to love 00:27:17.519 --> 00:27:18.680 and to treasure God 00:27:18.680 --> 00:27:19.559 as our highest good. 00:27:19.620 --> 00:27:20.660 I love what David says 00:27:20.660 --> 00:27:21.519 in verse 2, 00:27:21.779 --> 00:27:22.839 I say to the Lord, 00:27:23.140 --> 00:27:24.160 you are my Lord. 00:27:24.440 --> 00:27:25.900 I have no good 00:27:25.900 --> 00:27:27.460 apart from you. 00:27:27.460 --> 00:27:29.519 For King David, 00:27:29.680 --> 00:27:30.720 Yahweh is his Lord 00:27:30.720 --> 00:27:32.860 and Yahweh is his good 00:27:32.860 --> 00:27:34.279 and that is not at odds 00:27:34.279 --> 00:27:35.579 at all with each other 00:27:35.579 --> 00:27:37.259 but actually integrally 00:27:37.259 --> 00:27:38.279 tied together. 00:27:38.440 --> 00:27:39.200 God is his Lord 00:27:39.200 --> 00:27:40.519 and God is his treasure. 00:27:40.819 --> 00:27:41.920 God is his everything. 00:27:42.319 --> 00:27:43.519 God is his good. 00:27:44.180 --> 00:27:44.880 Then in verse 5, 00:27:44.940 --> 00:27:45.180 he says, 00:27:45.259 --> 00:27:47.180 the Lord is my choice portion, 00:27:47.279 --> 00:27:47.420 right? 00:27:47.460 --> 00:27:48.559 The only cup I'm interested 00:27:48.559 --> 00:27:49.240 in drinking from, 00:27:49.480 --> 00:27:50.600 the one who holds the world 00:27:50.600 --> 00:27:51.519 in his hands, 00:27:51.620 --> 00:27:52.640 the creator and sustainer 00:27:52.640 --> 00:27:53.079 of the world, 00:27:53.160 --> 00:27:53.980 the writer of history, 00:27:54.319 --> 00:27:54.920 he is the one 00:27:54.920 --> 00:27:55.960 who holds my lot. 00:27:56.360 --> 00:27:57.620 He personally holds 00:27:57.620 --> 00:27:58.960 my lot in life 00:27:58.960 --> 00:28:00.039 within his almighty 00:28:00.039 --> 00:28:01.279 yet gentle hands 00:28:01.279 --> 00:28:02.340 and he has never 00:28:02.340 --> 00:28:03.220 let me down. 00:28:03.340 --> 00:28:03.800 Verse 6, 00:28:04.060 --> 00:28:04.920 that's what it says there. 00:28:05.180 --> 00:28:06.120 He has never let me down. 00:28:06.180 --> 00:28:06.740 I love how it says 00:28:06.740 --> 00:28:07.779 the lines have fallen, 00:28:07.900 --> 00:28:08.019 right? 00:28:08.140 --> 00:28:08.680 They've fallen 00:28:08.680 --> 00:28:09.820 in pleasant places. 00:28:09.940 --> 00:28:10.680 Like David doesn't say, 00:28:11.580 --> 00:28:12.220 the Lord God 00:28:12.220 --> 00:28:13.060 has helped me, 00:28:13.200 --> 00:28:14.180 he's given me strength 00:28:14.180 --> 00:28:15.759 to move my own lines 00:28:15.759 --> 00:28:17.600 exactly where I want them to be, 00:28:17.700 --> 00:28:18.460 to make my life 00:28:18.460 --> 00:28:19.140 turn out exactly 00:28:19.140 --> 00:28:19.920 how I planned. 00:28:20.019 --> 00:28:20.120 No, 00:28:20.119 --> 00:28:21.839 it's completely passive here 00:28:21.839 --> 00:28:23.339 and even surprising, 00:28:23.459 --> 00:28:25.059 the lines have fallen for me 00:28:25.059 --> 00:28:26.459 in pleasant places. 00:28:26.659 --> 00:28:27.859 My life has turned out 00:28:27.859 --> 00:28:28.539 just fine 00:28:28.539 --> 00:28:30.299 within the Lord's plan. 00:28:30.479 --> 00:28:30.899 Indeed, 00:28:31.279 --> 00:28:33.319 I have a beautiful inheritance, 00:28:33.479 --> 00:28:34.699 more beautiful than I deserve 00:28:34.699 --> 00:28:36.239 and more beautiful 00:28:36.239 --> 00:28:37.439 than I could ever have 00:28:37.439 --> 00:28:38.559 imagined for myself 00:28:38.559 --> 00:28:39.819 and that's the kind of God 00:28:39.819 --> 00:28:40.779 that I have 00:28:40.779 --> 00:28:41.859 is what he's saying here. 00:28:43.019 --> 00:28:43.179 See, 00:28:43.219 --> 00:28:44.500 David here in Psalm 16, 00:28:44.599 --> 00:28:45.159 he's practicing 00:28:45.159 --> 00:28:46.859 the presence of God. 00:28:47.559 --> 00:28:48.259 He's practicing 00:28:48.259 --> 00:28:49.319 the presence of God. 00:28:49.319 --> 00:28:50.200 His whole life 00:28:50.200 --> 00:28:51.019 and his outlook 00:28:51.019 --> 00:28:52.000 are saturated 00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:52.899 by the presence 00:28:52.899 --> 00:28:53.759 and the guidance 00:28:53.759 --> 00:28:54.519 and instruction 00:28:54.519 --> 00:28:55.839 and counsel of God 00:28:55.839 --> 00:28:56.980 even at night. 00:28:57.500 --> 00:28:57.960 Verse 7, 00:28:58.599 --> 00:28:59.419 I bless the Lord 00:28:59.419 --> 00:29:00.359 who gives me counsel. 00:29:01.000 --> 00:29:01.919 In the night also 00:29:01.919 --> 00:29:03.119 my heart instructs me. 00:29:03.179 --> 00:29:03.519 Verse 8, 00:29:03.559 --> 00:29:04.339 I have set the Lord 00:29:04.339 --> 00:29:05.579 always before me. 00:29:05.679 --> 00:29:06.019 Basically, 00:29:06.319 --> 00:29:07.939 I live as if I'm always 00:29:07.939 --> 00:29:09.439 in the presence of God, 00:29:09.500 --> 00:29:10.579 as if God is always 00:29:10.579 --> 00:29:11.740 in front of me, 00:29:11.960 --> 00:29:13.159 also at my right hand. 00:29:13.240 --> 00:29:14.700 He's my ultimate helper, 00:29:15.139 --> 00:29:16.259 my ultimate strength. 00:29:16.379 --> 00:29:16.839 In fact, 00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:18.679 I am completely dependent 00:29:18.680 --> 00:29:19.640 upon him 00:29:19.640 --> 00:29:21.240 and because of this, 00:29:21.360 --> 00:29:22.779 I know that I will never 00:29:22.779 --> 00:29:23.580 be shaken 00:29:23.580 --> 00:29:25.440 because I'm in the presence 00:29:25.440 --> 00:29:26.140 of God 00:29:26.140 --> 00:29:27.400 because he's at my right hand 00:29:27.400 --> 00:29:28.500 and the result, 00:29:28.759 --> 00:29:29.140 verse 9, 00:29:29.240 --> 00:29:29.720 is this, 00:29:30.500 --> 00:29:30.799 therefore, 00:29:31.200 --> 00:29:32.200 my heart is glad 00:29:32.200 --> 00:29:33.840 and my whole being 00:29:33.840 --> 00:29:34.299 rejoices, 00:29:34.420 --> 00:29:35.279 literally in the Hebrew, 00:29:35.600 --> 00:29:37.200 my glory rejoices, 00:29:37.779 --> 00:29:40.039 my flesh also dwells secure. 00:29:40.160 --> 00:29:40.539 Verse 10, 00:29:40.680 --> 00:29:42.259 for you will not abandon 00:29:42.259 --> 00:29:43.160 my soul to Sheol 00:29:43.160 --> 00:29:45.300 or let your holy ones see. 00:29:46.080 --> 00:29:46.240 Now, 00:29:46.279 --> 00:29:46.800 how could David 00:29:46.800 --> 00:29:47.460 say such a thing? 00:29:47.519 --> 00:29:48.000 He died. 00:29:48.820 --> 00:29:49.720 How could he say such a thing? 00:29:49.759 --> 00:29:50.840 Was this just hyperbole? 00:29:51.540 --> 00:29:52.519 Many of the more liberal, 00:29:52.720 --> 00:29:53.960 modern commentators 00:29:53.960 --> 00:29:55.019 want to say that David 00:29:55.019 --> 00:29:56.440 either was just speaking 00:29:56.440 --> 00:29:57.259 in hyperbole 00:29:57.259 --> 00:29:58.420 or that he was just 00:29:58.420 --> 00:29:59.400 speaking wrongly here. 00:30:00.259 --> 00:30:01.560 But we know from Peter 00:30:01.560 --> 00:30:02.500 in Acts chapter 2 00:30:02.500 --> 00:30:03.500 and from Paul 00:30:03.500 --> 00:30:04.620 in Acts chapter 13 00:30:04.620 --> 00:30:06.880 that there's a better way 00:30:06.880 --> 00:30:07.820 to read this psalm. 00:30:08.279 --> 00:30:09.440 According to the apostles, 00:30:09.440 --> 00:30:10.940 David was prophesying 00:30:10.940 --> 00:30:12.299 about Jesus, 00:30:13.039 --> 00:30:14.100 crucified and risen, 00:30:14.220 --> 00:30:15.320 the most holy one 00:30:15.320 --> 00:30:16.940 who went to the grave 00:30:16.940 --> 00:30:17.519 but rose 00:30:17.519 --> 00:30:19.400 and did not see corruption. 00:30:20.500 --> 00:30:21.559 David was prophesying 00:30:21.559 --> 00:30:22.660 that because of what God 00:30:22.660 --> 00:30:23.519 was going to do 00:30:23.519 --> 00:30:24.900 through his offspring, 00:30:25.320 --> 00:30:25.640 Jesus, 00:30:26.440 --> 00:30:27.039 David too, 00:30:27.160 --> 00:30:28.559 by faith in that offspring, 00:30:28.740 --> 00:30:29.980 he knew that his body 00:30:29.980 --> 00:30:30.660 was secure, 00:30:31.220 --> 00:30:31.820 that his soul 00:30:31.820 --> 00:30:32.740 would not ultimately 00:30:32.740 --> 00:30:33.519 be abandoned 00:30:33.519 --> 00:30:35.080 to the realm of the dead. 00:30:35.380 --> 00:30:36.019 And this promise 00:30:36.019 --> 00:30:37.420 that David rejoices in here, 00:30:38.240 --> 00:30:38.680 it's a promise 00:30:38.680 --> 00:30:39.440 for all of us. 00:30:39.700 --> 00:30:40.100 It's a promise 00:30:40.100 --> 00:30:40.740 for everyone 00:30:40.740 --> 00:30:41.480 who is united 00:30:41.480 --> 00:30:43.240 with Christ by faith. 00:30:43.900 --> 00:30:45.019 This is what God offers us, 00:30:45.140 --> 00:30:45.900 ultimate security, 00:30:46.120 --> 00:30:47.900 freedom from abandonment 00:30:47.900 --> 00:30:49.000 and death and decay. 00:30:49.220 --> 00:30:51.039 It can be yours in Christ. 00:30:51.820 --> 00:30:52.880 He is the only God 00:30:52.880 --> 00:30:54.900 who can offer this to us. 00:30:55.500 --> 00:30:56.120 Only Jesus, 00:30:56.920 --> 00:30:57.759 only the resurrected 00:30:57.759 --> 00:30:58.480 Son of God 00:30:58.480 --> 00:30:59.420 has made known 00:30:59.420 --> 00:30:59.980 to the world, 00:31:00.080 --> 00:31:00.480 verse 11, 00:31:00.560 --> 00:31:01.759 the path of life. 00:31:02.400 --> 00:31:03.279 Only the resurrected 00:31:03.279 --> 00:31:04.299 and ascended Lord 00:31:04.299 --> 00:31:05.200 seated on the throne 00:31:05.200 --> 00:31:05.660 on high 00:31:05.660 --> 00:31:06.640 can guarantee us 00:31:06.640 --> 00:31:07.279 our deepest, 00:31:07.820 --> 00:31:08.140 highest, 00:31:08.140 --> 00:31:09.700 and purest desires. 00:31:10.720 --> 00:31:11.420 Because it's only 00:31:11.420 --> 00:31:12.980 in his resurrection presence, 00:31:13.320 --> 00:31:14.140 which we will celebrate 00:31:14.140 --> 00:31:15.180 here at this table, 00:31:16.000 --> 00:31:16.960 that there is fullness 00:31:16.960 --> 00:31:17.520 of joy. 00:31:18.020 --> 00:31:19.780 It's only in his right hand, 00:31:19.900 --> 00:31:21.500 his nail-pierced hand. 00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:23.100 It's only by his pain 00:31:23.100 --> 00:31:24.300 that he has secured 00:31:24.300 --> 00:31:25.280 for us pleasures 00:31:25.280 --> 00:31:26.420 forevermore. 00:31:26.759 --> 00:31:27.780 And this is the gospel. 00:31:28.440 --> 00:31:29.560 This is the good news. 00:31:30.240 --> 00:31:31.320 Not only that God 00:31:31.320 --> 00:31:32.680 offers us abundant life, 00:31:32.820 --> 00:31:33.560 fullness of joy 00:31:33.560 --> 00:31:34.100 and pleasures 00:31:34.100 --> 00:31:34.880 forevermore, 00:31:34.960 --> 00:31:36.200 but that he passionately 00:31:36.200 --> 00:31:37.539 wants it for us 00:31:37.539 --> 00:31:38.819 and that he passionately 00:31:38.819 --> 00:31:40.319 pursues it for us. 00:31:40.819 --> 00:31:42.039 So passionately 00:31:42.039 --> 00:31:43.640 that he gives himself 00:31:43.640 --> 00:31:44.779 over for us 00:31:44.779 --> 00:31:45.840 and to us 00:31:45.840 --> 00:31:46.759 in Christ. 00:31:47.420 --> 00:31:48.400 At his own expense. 00:31:48.480 --> 00:31:49.279 That's the gospel. 00:31:49.960 --> 00:31:50.100 See, 00:31:50.160 --> 00:31:51.819 every other counterfeit God, 00:31:52.480 --> 00:31:54.140 every other counterfeit God 00:31:54.140 --> 00:31:55.880 makes us pay the cost. 00:31:56.460 --> 00:31:57.100 Every other God 00:31:57.100 --> 00:31:59.059 makes us chase after them, 00:31:59.600 --> 00:32:00.640 but not the God 00:32:00.640 --> 00:32:01.440 revealed to us 00:32:01.440 --> 00:32:02.019 in Christ. 00:32:03.059 --> 00:32:03.480 Verse 4, 00:32:03.480 --> 00:32:04.579 For many are the sorrows 00:32:04.579 --> 00:32:05.460 of those who run 00:32:05.460 --> 00:32:06.660 after another God. 00:32:06.740 --> 00:32:07.380 Many are the sorrows 00:32:07.380 --> 00:32:08.440 of those whose gods 00:32:08.440 --> 00:32:09.559 make them pour out 00:32:09.559 --> 00:32:10.519 again and again 00:32:10.519 --> 00:32:11.980 sacrificial drink offerings 00:32:11.980 --> 00:32:12.440 of blood 00:32:12.440 --> 00:32:13.180 day by day 00:32:13.180 --> 00:32:14.420 with no end in sight. 00:32:14.799 --> 00:32:16.099 But the gospel says, 00:32:16.420 --> 00:32:17.360 Many are the joys 00:32:17.360 --> 00:32:18.440 of those whose God 00:32:18.440 --> 00:32:19.539 runs after them. 00:32:20.559 --> 00:32:21.380 Those whose God 00:32:21.380 --> 00:32:22.120 does not cry out 00:32:22.120 --> 00:32:23.140 for more of their blood 00:32:23.140 --> 00:32:23.759 but offers 00:32:23.759 --> 00:32:25.039 his own blood. 00:32:26.220 --> 00:32:27.339 This is the only 00:32:27.339 --> 00:32:28.180 kind of God 00:32:28.180 --> 00:32:29.019 whose name 00:32:29.019 --> 00:32:29.819 is worthy 00:32:29.819 --> 00:32:30.799 of our lips. 00:32:30.799 --> 00:32:32.220 And that's what 00:32:32.220 --> 00:32:33.419 we get to celebrate. 00:32:33.919 --> 00:32:34.500 That's what we get 00:32:34.500 --> 00:32:35.099 to proclaim 00:32:35.099 --> 00:32:36.159 at this table 00:32:36.159 --> 00:32:37.819 where we will rightfully 00:32:37.819 --> 00:32:38.639 and joyfully 00:32:38.639 --> 00:32:39.700 take his name 00:32:39.700 --> 00:32:41.240 and his body 00:32:41.240 --> 00:32:42.480 and his blood 00:32:42.480 --> 00:32:43.519 upon our lips 00:32:43.519 --> 00:32:44.319 and we will taste 00:32:44.319 --> 00:32:45.039 and see 00:32:45.039 --> 00:32:46.119 that he is good. 00:32:46.819 --> 00:32:47.759 And we will remember 00:32:47.759 --> 00:32:48.799 the pain 00:32:48.799 --> 00:32:50.019 of his nail-pierced 00:32:50.019 --> 00:32:50.500 right hand 00:32:50.500 --> 00:32:51.859 which secured for us 00:32:51.859 --> 00:32:52.619 pleasures 00:32:52.619 --> 00:32:53.859 forevermore. 00:32:54.619 --> 00:32:55.659 Pleasures even enough 00:32:55.659 --> 00:32:56.619 to satisfy 00:32:56.619 --> 00:32:57.659 the eighth grade boy 00:32:57.659 --> 00:32:59.220 in each of our hearts. 00:33:00.139 --> 00:33:00.399 Amen. 00:33:01.720 --> 00:33:02.440 Let's pray. 00:33:07.200 --> 00:33:08.039 God, we want to 00:33:08.039 --> 00:33:08.799 delight ourselves 00:33:08.799 --> 00:33:09.339 in you. 00:33:10.779 --> 00:33:11.419 Delight yourselves 00:33:11.419 --> 00:33:11.859 in the Lord 00:33:11.859 --> 00:33:12.659 and he will give you 00:33:12.659 --> 00:33:13.279 the desires 00:33:13.279 --> 00:33:14.079 of your heart. 00:33:14.200 --> 00:33:15.279 That's what the psalmist says. 00:33:15.480 --> 00:33:16.599 God, be our desire. 00:33:17.559 --> 00:33:18.559 Be our delight. 00:33:21.259 --> 00:33:22.500 Allow us to know 00:33:22.500 --> 00:33:23.119 the pleasure 00:33:23.119 --> 00:33:23.899 and the joy 00:33:23.899 --> 00:33:26.279 of habitual communion 00:33:26.279 --> 00:33:26.859 with you 00:33:26.859 --> 00:33:28.559 and make us 00:33:28.559 --> 00:33:29.639 that garden of trees 00:33:29.640 --> 00:33:30.400 planted by 00:33:30.400 --> 00:33:31.460 your stream 00:33:31.460 --> 00:33:32.400 of living water. 00:33:34.480 --> 00:33:35.420 Lord, we desire 00:33:35.420 --> 00:33:36.220 to be with you 00:33:36.220 --> 00:33:38.320 and for those of us 00:33:38.320 --> 00:33:38.960 who don't, 00:33:39.580 --> 00:33:40.360 I pray that they'd 00:33:40.360 --> 00:33:40.980 want to want 00:33:40.980 --> 00:33:42.000 to want you, God. 00:33:43.000 --> 00:33:44.500 Because in your presence 00:33:44.500 --> 00:33:45.180 is the fullness 00:33:45.180 --> 00:33:45.680 of joy 00:33:45.680 --> 00:33:47.660 and at your right hand, 00:33:48.100 --> 00:33:48.980 your nail-pierced hand 00:33:48.980 --> 00:33:49.560 in Christ, 00:33:50.120 --> 00:33:50.920 there are pleasures 00:33:50.920 --> 00:33:52.020 forevermore. 00:33:52.019 --> 00:33:54.039 God, help us 00:33:54.039 --> 00:33:54.559 to believe that 00:33:54.559 --> 00:33:55.440 with all our hearts. 00:33:56.180 --> 00:33:56.980 Draw us near to you. 00:33:57.119 --> 00:33:57.839 Thank you for running 00:33:57.839 --> 00:33:58.559 after us 00:33:58.559 --> 00:34:00.240 and we ask that you 00:34:00.240 --> 00:34:01.339 continue to do so 00:34:01.339 --> 00:34:03.019 because that's what we need 00:34:03.019 --> 00:34:04.420 as your people, 00:34:04.859 --> 00:34:05.519 as your children. 00:34:05.519 --> 00:34:07.259 In Jesus' name, 00:34:07.799 --> 00:34:08.059 amen.