WWUTT 1079 Envying the Wicked?

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We are weak in flesh, and it's easy for us to desire the things of this world, which is why we regularly need to be with the people of God, so that we may be reminded of the promises of God when we understand the text.

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This is When We Understand The Text, a daily Bible commentary to help encourage your time in the

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Word. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we feature New Testament Study, an Old Testament book on Thursday, and our

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Q &A on Friday. Now here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky. In our study of the

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Psalms, we are up to Psalm 72 today, which is the last Psalm of Book 2.

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And then when we get to Psalm 73, we start Book 3. We're almost halfway through with the Psalms.

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Psalm 75 would be the halfway mark, at least as far as the numbered Psalms are concerned. Psalm 119 is like a book of the

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Bible by itself. We might have to split that one up into a few different podcasts. But anyway, let's come to Psalm 72 here of Solomon, this

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Psalm being written by Solomon. Verse 1. Give the king your justice,

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O God, and your righteousness to the royal son. May he judge your people with righteousness and your poor with justice.

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Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people and the hills in righteousness.

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May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor.

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May they fear you while the sun endures and as long as the moon throughout all generations.

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May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth.

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In his days may the righteous flourish and peace abound till the moon be no more.

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May he have dominion from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth.

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May desert tribes bow down before him and his enemies lick the dust. May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute.

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May the kings of Sheba and Seba bring him gifts. May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him, for he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper.

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He has pity on the weak and the needy and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence he redeems their life and precious is their blood in his sight.

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Long may he live, may gold of Sheba be given to him, may prayer be made for him continually and blessings invoked for him all the day.

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May there be abundance of grain in the land, on the tops of the mountains may it wave, may its fruit be like Lebanon and may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field.

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May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun.

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May people be blessed in him, all nations call him blessed.

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Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever.

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May the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and amen.

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The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended. Now even though this psalm begins by saying of Solomon, it's interesting the way that it concludes.

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The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended. It's possible that David wrote this psalm and he wrote it about Solomon and it was the last psalm that he wrote in sort of a blessing upon his son who was going to reign continuing the

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Davidic line on the throne of Israel, the throne of Judah. But this psalm is not just about Solomon, it is also about a

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Messiah. There is kind of a looking toward one who is going to reign on this throne forever and ever as the

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Lord had promised David in the Davidic covenant. On your throne I will establish my kingdom forever.

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And Jesus is sitting on that throne even now. He is seated at the right hand of the

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Father, reigning on high. And through his church, he is accomplishing his will, expanding his kingdom.

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Every person who comes to believe in the gospel, turns from sin and follows Christ is one more person that is added to the kingdom of God.

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And he has dominion from sea to sea. As we read in verse 8, And from the river to the ends of the earth, desert tribes bow down before him, his enemies lick the dust.

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May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute. Would not technically be literally

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Tarshish, but just talking about how even kings from pagan lands would end up coming to Christ to give him tribute.

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May the kings of Sheba and Seba bring him gifts, likewise there. And we saw the queen of Sheba come and give treasure to Solomon.

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But then even that was a foreshadowing of Magi from the east who would come and bring exactly those same tributes to Christ the

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Messiah. The queen of Sheba brought gold and spices. What did the Magi bring when they came to Jesus and gave him gifts?

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They gave him gold and spices, frankincense and myrrh. I talk about this in the book 25

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Christmas Myths and What the Bible Says. You can look that up on Amazon and pick it up in paperback or for your

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Kindle. A great devotional book to do with the whole family during this upcoming

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Advent season. So go ahead and order it now so you can have it in time for December.

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But we see these things even spoken about concerning the Messiah here in Psalm 72. May all kings fall down before him and all nations serve him.

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He delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy and saves the lives of the needy.

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From oppression and violence he redeems their life and precious is their blood in his sight.

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In the book of Revelation we see those who have been martyred asking God when they are going to be avenged and the

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Lord gives them robes and says to hold on a little while longer because their number is going to be added to.

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Those who have been martyred for the gospel. There are still more martyrs that will be added to that number.

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But the Lord is not going to leave their blood to be unspoken for.

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He is going to bring vengeance upon his enemies. Vengeance is mine, sayeth the

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Lord. As we have in the Old Testament and then the Apostle Paul repeats that also in Romans chapter 12.

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We leave it up to the Lord to avenge. So here we have those messianic statements that are pointing to a coming

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Christ. A king who will reign forever here in Psalm 72. Now notice the start of the

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Psalm says, Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son.

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May he judge your people with righteousness and your poor with justice. Think back to what

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Solomon asked for when the Lord appeared to Solomon and said, You can ask for anything that you want and I will give it to you.

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What did Solomon ask for? You know this story right? Solomon asked for wisdom. He wanted wisdom to lead the people of God.

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And because this is what Solomon asked for instead of power over his enemies or great riches and wealth or long life.

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Because Solomon asked for wisdom, God gave him wisdom and then all of these other things as well.

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Solomon was one of the richest kings to have ever lived and was certainly the wisest until another king came along who of course was

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Jesus Christ. But we're still quoting Solomon's wisdom sayings even to this day.

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It's most of the book of Proverbs. So the Lord indeed blessed him with these things. I mention that because this is exactly what a pastor should ask for.

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A pastor should ask for wisdom because he is leading the people of God.

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A pastor, a word that means shepherd. He is shepherding God's flock. Peter talks about this in 1

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Peter 5 that we are all subject to the chief shepherd. And if we continue to do this work humbly then when the chief shepherd appears then we will receive our reward.

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Now I say it in the collective we because I myself am a pastor and am speaking on the part of other pastors.

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But this is first and foremost what a pastor should be after. Wisdom, the wisdom of Christ to lead the people of God and do so in a wise way.

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I think that Solomon's example is a good one to follow in this case. Because Solomon saw himself inherently lacking when it came to knowing how to lead such a great people that God would call them his own.

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And so in order to lead this people he needed the wisdom of God. And every pastor must ask for the same.

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In shepherding the flock of God ask for wisdom and it will be granted. We are told in James 1 .5

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if any of you lacks wisdom and the follow up to that is you do.

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Everyone lacks wisdom. Let him ask of God who gives generously to all and without reproach.

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Everyone should ask of this wisdom. But certainly the pastor. Certainly those who are leaders in a position of leading

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God's people. That's it for Book 2 of the Psalms. And now as we jump into Psalm 73.

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This is Book 3 and we begin with a Psalm of Asaph.

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They are not stricken like the rest of mankind. Therefore pride is their necklace.

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Violence covers them as a garment. Their eyes swell out through fatness.

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Their hearts overflow with follies. They scoff and speak with malice. Loftily they threaten oppression.

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They set their mouths against the heavens and their tongues struts through the earth. Therefore his people turn back to them and find no fault in them.

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And they say how can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High? Behold these are the wicked.

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Always at ease they increase in riches. All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.

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For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. If I had said

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I will speak thus I would have betrayed the generation of your children. But when

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I thought how to understand this it seemed to me a wearisome task until I went into the sanctuary of God.

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Then I discerned their end. Truly you set them in slippery places.

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You make them fall to ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment. Swept away utterly by terrors.

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Like a dream when one awakes. O Lord when you rouse yourself you despise them as phantoms.

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When my soul was embittered. When I was pricked in heart. I was brutish and ignorant.

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I was like a beast toward you. Nevertheless I am continually with you.

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You hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel. And afterward you will receive me to glory.

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Whom have I in heaven but you. And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

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My flesh and my heart may fail. But God is the strength of my heart. And my portion forever.

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For behold those who are far from you shall perish. You put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.

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But for me it is good to be near God. I have made the Lord God my refuge.

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That I may tell of all your works. This is a psalm of Asaph.

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A name that we first saw in Psalm 50. He wrote that psalm and then these first 11 psalms of Book 3.

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So 12 psalms total were written by Asaph. He was likely among the guild of musicians that David had appointed to the temple.

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And this particular psalm, Psalm 73. The gist of this psalm is to encourage the hearer or the singer.

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Not to be envious of those things that the wicked possess. Especially the peace that the wicked have.

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Like you look at a wicked person. Those who live without the fear of God. And they have such peace in their lives.

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And the person who is righteous and pursuing godliness and holiness. Is vexed in their spirit because of the things they see going on in the world around them.

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So how is it that the wicked man has peace when the righteous man does not? And this might tempt the righteous man to want what the wicked has.

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So that maybe I can feel a little bit more at peace with my life. Because they look like they're just fine.

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But the psalm reminds the person. Reminds the hearer or the singer.

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Where the wicked go and where the righteous go. The righteous will be in the presence of God.

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And will be in his presence forever. Whereas the wicked will perish and be cast from his sight.

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We saw a very similar theme in Psalm 49. So Psalm 73 presents that from the very beginning.

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Truly God is good to Israel. To those who are pure in heart. We kind of begin with our father in heaven hallowed be thy name.

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That's kind of the way that Psalm 73 begins. And then it jumps right into the theme of the rest of the psalm.

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But as for me. My feet had almost stumbled. My steps had nearly slipped.

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For I was envious of the arrogant. When I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

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Now it's likely that the singer here. Asaph being the writer. Looked at himself and realized that his whole pursuit of godliness was a sham.

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If the desire in his heart was not for God. But rather for the things that the wicked have.

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Desiring a little bit of peace and tranquility in this life. As they seem to demonstrate.

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For they have no pangs until death. It says in verse 4. Their bodies are fat and sleek.

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And then you kind of have that description going through the next several verses. Through about verse 15.

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They delight in their riches. They're sitting fat and happy. Their tongue struts through the earth.

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It's like they just speak. And they have no fear of any sort of judgment coming against them for their words.

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But we need to remember the word of Christ in Matthew. Who said that everyone will give an account for every careless word that they have spoken.

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It is the Lord who searches the mind and hearts of man. And he knows exactly what we have thought.

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As well as what we have said. Lest any of us think that we can get away with saying anything. And will not be judged for it.

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Such a person does not have the fear of God. Even the things that you say online. Things that you're saying on Twitter.

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Or on Facebook. Judgment will come even because of that. So we must in all our ways submit our thoughts to Christ.

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So that whatever we say. Whether it comes out online. Whether it comes out in person. May these things be in submission to Christ.

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And honoring of him. Directing others to the Lord who forgives and who saves.

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Verse 16. When Asaph kind of starts to come to his senses. About exactly what it is that he's lusting after.

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In his flesh. What he covets. He says, when I thought how to understand this. It seemed to me a wearisome task.

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Until I went into the sanctuary of God. And then I discerned their end.

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So just like in Psalm 49. Being in the presence of the people of God becomes a sanctuary.

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Or it becomes a place of solace. A place of reflection. Here I am with God's people.

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And we're being reminded together of the promises of God. That he will give to his faithful.

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Whereas when I was apart from the people of God. And I'm looking at the wicked. I start to feel jealous and envious of what it is that they have.

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This is one of the reasons why we need church regularly. You need to be attending church as often as you get the opportunity to do that.

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Because you go just one Sunday every once in a while. And then you're in the world the rest of the week.

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And perhaps the rest of the month. And you start to become jealous and envious of the stuff that the world has.

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And you lose sight of the promises that we're given in God. Which will not be poured upon us in their fullest in this life.

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But will be in the next. We certainly have hope and peace. And an expectation of the things that are to come.

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Because of the promises that are stored up for us in Christ. But this world that we live in is not heaven.

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So there is a longing that we have for a future kingdom that is not our reality now.

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And because it is not our reality now. It's very easy for us in our flesh to long for the things of this world.

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Instead of the things of the kingdom of God. Unless we make it a point to regularly gather with the people of God.

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So that we may be reminded of these future kingdom promises. That is so important for us as Christians.

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That we be attentive to regular church attendance. That we may as it says in Hebrews chapter 10.

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Encourage one another to love and good works. And all the more as we see the day drawing near. So then verse 18.

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You've set the evil in slippery places. You make them fall to ruin. They're destroyed in a moment.

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And swept utterly away by terrors. When my soul was embittered.

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I was pricked in heart. I was brutish and ignorant. I was like a beast toward you.

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The words of James. He says you adulterous people. Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God.

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And so even Asaph recognizes that here. When I was longing for the things of this world. I was brutish and ignorant.

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And like a beast toward God. Nevertheless. I am continually with you.

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And you hold my right hand. Paul said to Timothy though we are faithless. He remains faithful.

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Though Asaph had this moment of temptation. The Lord was faithful to him.

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And upheld him with his hand. You guide me with your counsel. And afterward you will receive me to glory.

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The wicked will perish. But those who seek after the Lord. Will be welcomed into his glory.

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Whom have I in heaven but you. There is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

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My flesh and my heart may fail. But God is the strength of my heart.

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And my portion forever. For behold those who are far from you shall perish.

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You put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. But for me it is good to be near God.

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I have made the Lord God my refuge. That I may tell of all your works.

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And that is where we need to be. In close proximity to God. Day by day.

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And we need the help of our fellow believers and Christians. To draw us nearer to the

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Lord. As we come into his presence together. And let that be what we do every time that we gather as the church.

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Neglect not the gathering of the saints. For it is heaven practice. All of us gather together.

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Singing the praises of God. And rejoicing in his word being preached to us.

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Let us not forget these promises that are stored up for us in Christ Jesus. And be reminded of them daily.

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For we are weak in flesh. Remember Jesus said to Peter. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

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So let us draw near to God. It is good to be near God. And make the

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Lord our refuge. That we may tell of all of his wonderful works.

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Amen. Thank you for listening to When We Understand The Text with Pastor Gabe Hughes. If you'd like to support this ministry, visit our website www .wutt

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.com And click on the Give tab in the top right corner of the page. Join us again tomorrow as we continue our