Sunday March 14, 2021 AM

Good morning everyone. Hope you enjoyed the organ music this morning.

Be sure and thank Wylene. It's so good to have her back with us today. All right.

Well, welcome to Sunnyside Baptist this morning. We're glad you're joining us. If you're joining us on live stream, we're glad that you're with us that way as well.

A few announcements as we get started this morning. Our evening service tonight at 530. Come back for that if you can.

Also Wednesday, even though it is the week of spring break, we are still having church dinner at 545 here at the church in the fellowship hall for everyone.

And then 630 Bible study and prayer time for the adults and tag for the kids after that.

And then looking ahead at the end of the month, truth group after the evening service on that Sunday night.

Okay. Our fighter verse for the week is from Philippians chapter two verses eight and nine being found in human form.

He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bespoke bestowed on him the name that is above every name.

Few needs still in the nursery. If you are able to volunteer to be a full -time worker during the

Sunday school hour in that infant room, please see Marla Hovarter. Um, we need several of those additional slots filled for the

Sunday morning services in their operation. Christmas child giving is still going little small stuffed animals.

If you can give those during the month of March and then, uh, as if we needed an excuse to eat frosting, uh, in the bulletin, there's a need for some little tubs of frosting for the tag, uh, group.

They're wanting to use those for a craft sometime this semester. Uh, so if you've got some of those lying around, uh, if you don't go ahead and go get you some, um, they need about 20 of those for their craft.

All right. I think the frosting needs to be removed from the can, but they might have some volunteers to clean that up in the tag ministry if they need to.

All right. Any other announcements before we get started this morning? Okay.

It's good to be together this morning. We're going to have a time of, uh, quiet prayer and preparation, uh, before worship.

And then after that, uh, dad will open us in prayer. Lord God almighty, how grateful we are to be able to come into your presence in Jesus name.

How grateful we are for the gift of faith in Christ alone and in his righteousness, which clothes us, gives us access into your presence, enables us to be accepted and received because of Jesus.

Lord, how grateful we are for the counsel of your word that reminds us to be still and to know that you are

God and reminds us that it is the fool who says in his heart that there is no

God. Lord, you are great and greatly to be praised.

So we pray for grace this morning that we would worship and bow down and kneel before the

Lord, our maker. Lord, may we find our rest this morning in Christ alone.

We thank you for your loving kindness. And that is because of your mercies,

Lord, that we are not consumed. Great indeed is your faithfulness.

Lord, we give you glory and honor and blessing this morning in Jesus name and because of Christ in his name we pray.

Amen. Would you stand with me for our call to worship?

Our passage this morning is found in Psalms chapter 60. We'll be reading verses four and five.

And when we get to the word Selah, we're going to pause just briefly.

My understanding is in music, this term means rest. So when you take a rest from your music, so to think and to meditate upon the scripture that God has given us.

Read with me together. You have set up a banner for those who fear you, that they may flee to it from the bow.

Selah. That your beloved ones may be delivered. Give salvation by your right hand and answer us.

Our first song this morning is a new song, at least it's a new for me. It's called,

Oh, for a heart to praise my God. There was a handout at the podium in the back. If you were able to pick one up as you came in.

Also, the words are up on the screen for us. And this melody is very soothing.

And more importantly, the words cause us to think about our heart being in tune with God to give praise from our heart to him because he alone is worthy.

And then after we sing, Oh, for a heart to praise my God, then we'll also sing the chorus of to you alone on page 124 of your little black emails.

I turn with me, if you will, to Deuteronomy 34.

We'll be starting in verse one and reading to the end of the book, which is only 12 verses.

Now, Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho.

And the Lord showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, and all

Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah as far as the

Western Sea, and the Negev, and the plain, the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees as far as Zoar.

And the Lord said to him, This is the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying,

I will give it to your descendants. I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.

So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab according to the word of the Lord. And he buried him in the valley of the land of Moab opposite Beth Peor.

But no man knows his burial place to this day. Although Moses was 120 years old when he died, his eye was not dim, nor his vigor abated.

So the sons of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end.

Now Joshua, the son of Nun, was filled with the spirit of wisdom. For Moses had laid his hands on him, and the sons of Israel listened to him and did as the

Lord had commanded Moses. Since that time, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the

Lord knew face to face, for all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh, all of his servants, and all his land, and for all the mighty power and for the great terror which

Moses performed in the sight of all Israel. Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we're so grateful to once again be here with each other, and we're mindful of the blessing that it is to fellowship with your saints.

Lord, I pray that you will be with us today, and I pray that we'll keep our thoughts on you.

I just pray for Michael as he comes, that you would embolden him to say the words that you've put on his heart this past week.

Just pray for those who are sick among us, Lord. I pray that in their suffering, you'll draw them close to you.

I pray that their thoughts will be on you. Just thank you that Wylene was able to join us today, and the blessing that it is to hear her playing the organ again.

I just pray that you will help us to concentrate only on you during this time, and I pray that our hearts would be receptive to the words that you bring to us.

In Christ's name, amen. You can be seated. We're going to continue our song service and our

HMA hymnals. If you would turn to page 123, to the praise of his glorious grace, and then we'll also sing page 110,

Speak O Lord. And we are asking that the

Holy Spirit would continue to speak as he already has in Sunday school, in our call to worship, and through song to him, speak to our hearts, that we may give him the praise he deserves.

Sing with your heart with me. Praise of his glorious grace.

From existentially ruling all things, to mysteriously governs and brings, his eternal wise plans into time.

He works out every step, every trace, to the praise of his glorious grace.

To the praise of his glorious grace.

To the praise of his glorious grace.

Long before the creation began, he was coming

Christ. Long before time told how good was man, he ordained us to be sacrificed.

In the cross he removed our disgrace, to the praise of his glorious grace.

To the praise of his glorious grace. To the praise of his glorious grace.

We were blessed in the heavenly realms, long before we'd been included in Christ.

So we heard that the news he is bearing, speak

O we sing.

Take heart, speak

O we say.

Teach us love and obedience, test our thoughts and our paths, of your glory.

Cause our veins to rise, cause our eyes to see, your majestic love and authority.

Speak the words of power, that can never fail, and the truth prevail,

O I believe. Speak O let us grasp the might, of your plans for us.

Truths unshamed, from the darkness, and by grace we'll stand, on your proud throne.

And my name will walk, as you walk with us.

Speak O Lord, to your church. It's good to be here with you.

It's good to sing together. It's good to sit together and see each other. Worship the Lord together.

It truly is an unparalleled blessing. Let's pray together. Father, I thank you for this day.

This day that you have made. Thank you for bringing us together in this way and in this time.

And I pray, that you would bless us with a special blessing by your

Holy Spirit. As we turn our attention to this word that you have, that you have breathed out by your

Holy Spirit flawlessly and fully through holy men of your choosing.

As we read these words that are living and active and sharper than any two -edged sword. As we consider these words that are good for doctrine and for reproof and correction and training and righteousness.

That you would do your work in us. That you would feed us. That you would form us.

And that we would rejoice in your truth today. So Father, we know that you know our needs before we even ask.

And that you are a good and heavenly Father. That every good and perfect gift comes down from you and you never change even in the midst of all of our changing circumstances.

You are perfect and right and true. So here we are today needy and hungry and asking you for food.

And we ask that you would by your Holy Spirit in this holy scripture give us a clear and full and wonderful view of your son

Jesus Christ. So that we would be able to worship him and rejoice in him and be formed more and more into your image as we follow him.

We pray these things for the sake of Jesus Christ, the one with whom you are well pleased. Amen.

I invite you to open your Bibles to Psalm 116. Psalm 116 and we're going to be looking at verses 9 through 11 this morning.

The Lord has been dealing very personally with me through these

Psalms. We started in Psalm 111 and aiming to go through Psalm 118.

And the Lord has been dealing very personally with me as we have been going through each of these special compositions, each of these special songs that teach us what it is to praise the

Lord. How it is that God wants to be praised. What we should include in our worship to him.

How our hallelujahs are to sound. And when they are to be offered to him.

And this one in particular has been very poignant for me. The reason why we're going so slowly through the thing.

But it just impacts me again and again. Dark nights, weary mornings, painful days are all part of the fight of faith.

It's all part of it. Living by experience and walking by sight puts me quickly into doubt.

Quickly into discouragement. We are told that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.

We are told that we are to walk by faith and not by sight.

So there ought to be praise in my prayers and praise in my soul.

Praise in my songs. Praise is indeed God's gracious choice for us in the struggle.

In the fight for faith. And this is what Psalm 116 shows us. Verse 11 verses.

That we see that we are to call upon the name of the Lord whom we praise in the fight or at the feast.

The second part of the Psalm verses 12 through 19. Whether it's chaos and it's suffering or whether it's orderly and it's feasting.

In either case we are to call upon the name of the Lord whom we praise.

And that the Lord who is praiseworthy in all things is trustworthy at all times. No matter what those times may be.

So I invite you to stand with me as I read this word. Psalm 116 verses 1 through 11.

Let us hear the words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by His Spirit through His holy servant.

I love the Lord because He has heard my voice and my supplications.

Because He has inclined His ear to me. Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.

The pains of death surrounded me and the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me.

I found trouble and sorrow. Then I called upon the name of the Lord. O Lord I implore you deliver my soul.

Gracious is the Lord and righteous. Yes our God is merciful. The Lord preserves the simple.

I was brought low and He saved me. Return to your rest O my soul for the

Lord has dealt bountifully with you. For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.

I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. I believe therefore I spoke.

I am greatly afflicted. I said in my haste all men are liars.

This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated. My mother was in very many respects a gracious woman but she was not a southerner.

People didn't get that. She was raised in Minnesota, in Iowa and also in Chicago, Illinois.

So she did not ooze with southern charm. But she had lots of Midwestern and northern sensibility and practicality and she loved children.

She was a teacher for decades. One of her favorite things to do was to read stories to them. It was a pastime that she did with my brother and I and she would read to us all sorts of stories before bed.

One chapter and then we'd beg for the second one. Okay, two chapters. And one of the things she did was she read to us the series the

Laura Ingalls Wilder series, Little House on the Prairie. And of course Farmer Boy is the best one in the bunch.

But my second favorite was Little House by Plum Creek when they lived in a dugout.

And then later on they built a house next to Plum Creek. There was a moment there in the story where there was a plague of locusts, grasshoppers, just covered everything.

And Paul's crop was completely decimated. And Laura recalls the grasshoppers in every nook and cranny in the house, all over the ground, everywhere.

And Ma looked about and saw the chickens running for all the grasshoppers and eating and eating and eating until they could run no more because they were so fat.

And this is a moment where my mama really liked what Ma Ingalls had to say. She said there was no great loss without some small gain.

No great loss without some small gain. At least the chickens are fed. And I've always remembered that because my mom made a point of pointing it out to me.

You know, we don't really have trouble believing that most of the time if we can't see a silver lining in some great tragedy, somebody else could point it out to us and we can agree in principle.

There's no great loss without some small gain. What we have trouble believing is the testimony of the scriptures because it seems so far -fetched.

It seems so too much even. What the word of the

Lord says. In 2 Corinthians 12 verses 9 through 10 we read this.

The Lord says to Paul, and he said to me my grace is sufficient for you for my strength is made perfect in weakness.

This is where it's tough to believe it. Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

It's even harder. Verse 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities in reproaches in needs in persecutions in distresses for Christ's sake for when

I am weak then I am strong. It's true but it's hard to believe it when you're in it.

Isn't it? That is not an isolated testimony among the apostles.

A one -off statement by a man who had been through a great deal.

We also see this in Peter, 1 Peter chapter 1 verses 6 through 7

In this you greatly rejoice though now for a little while if need be you have been grieved by various trials that the genuineness of your faith being much more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire may be found to praise his honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Again, James chapter 1 and I'm reading this because we need to believe it we need to build ourselves up on our most holy faith.

James 1 verse 2 My brethren count it all joy when you fall into various trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience but let patience have its perfect work so that you may be perfect and complete lacking nothing lacking nothing.

So what is the testimony of the word of God? Ma Ingalls says no great loss without some small gain.

For the Christian the word of God says there is no small loss without some great gain.

There's no small loss without some great gain. And we see that in the life of the believer here in Psalm 116 we we have seen that he is afflicted that the pains of death surround him.

He feels the pain and the weakness of his flesh and the pangs of Sheol have laid hold of him and all the sorrows attending what would accompany his death or the death of those that he loves and he has found trouble and he has found sorrow he was brought low he is in great pain and suffering he is afflicted but then we've been considering how it is that he is to live with the hallelujah in his in his heart that he would say hallelujah to himself inwardly that he would say hallelujah to the

Lord upwardly and that he would say hallelujah to all around outwardly that's what we're looking at this morning verses 9 through 11 and how does he do this?

How does he bring the outward hallelujah? He does it before God and he does it in faith and he does it despite men when we're looking at verses 9 through 11 we are to consider our daily conversation and that's the older use of the term our going about and our doing of this and our saying of that and when we see the psalmist in suffering what kind of what kind of life is he living but one full of difficulty but our difficulties you see give us occasion it gave the psalmist occasion it gave

Christ occasion it gives us occasion for praising God and giving testimony to others of God's glory and as we've read from Peter and James and Paul that there are that through these trials

God uses these things as his image refining idle removing means for our great good these are image refining idle removing these afflictions these sufferings and so we have cause to give praise to God we see his goodness we understand that he is praise worthy in all things and thus we can that he's trustworthy at all times and so that our hallelujahs are not restricted to only certain times and certain places when everything falls just right but the hallelujah can be offered to the

Lord in an outward and public and real fashion no matter what's going on because we know who

God is and so we have this first before God verse 9 I will walk before the

Lord in the land of the living you see verse 7 he talks to himself return to your rest oh my soul for the

Lord has dealt bountifully for you he's talking to himself verse 8 he's talking to the Lord you have delivered my soul from death my eyes from tears in my feet from falling now he's talking outwardly here's what

I'm going to do here's what I'm going to do I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living he's giving praise to God in saying that and it's really because of all that's happened all of his needs have been laid bare beneath the providential watch of the

Lord and his weakness is laid obvious before the Lord and he needs the strength of God he's got nothing left only

God can help now and because of what he's preached to his own soul of God's good and sovereign attentions because of what he has declared of a bountiful shepherd he says

I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living he is determining something here he says this is my plan

I'm not going to sit back and wait I'm not going to dig a hole and hide I'm going to walk before the

Lord in the land of the living that's the plan and that is an approach of faith and it can only occur at verse 9 because of what verses 1 -8 say because of who

God is how he has been how he has been praised how he has revealed himself it is the doctrine of God that sets the direction for the godly it's the doctrine of God that sets the direction for the godly who

God is matters for the everyday and that's why he says this

I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living oh what does he mean he means that all my daily conduct everything that goes on in my day all of it is in the presence of God well of course that's true

God is omnipresent he's everywhere God is omniscient he knows everything so that goes for everybody doesn't it well yes of course it does but not everybody recognizes it and then not everybody rejoices in it he's recognizing it and he's rejoicing in it now wait a second this is the

God who in his sovereignty has brought him into the pains of death and the pains of Sheol hang on a second this is the

God who controls all things he is omnipotent all powerful and look he's found nothing but trouble and sorrow for so long now hang on a second he was brought low so how can he with such confidence say well

I'm going to walk before the Lord in the land of the living it's a matter of faith isn't it and he knows that God is good he knows that God is good and he'll let

God determine the definitions of that before the face of God is the idea

R .C. Sproul was fond of talking about quorum deo before the face of God everything we do is before God's face we have to recognize that God is paying attention and that he cares and that it matters everything that we do before the face of God and he says

I'm going to walk before the Lord in the land of the living why is this important for us because so often we think we're walking before men in the land of the dead our first consideration is that well what will others think our first assumption is it's bad and getting worse this man says

I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living he's been rescued from Babylon from Persia he's been brought back to the land of Israel he gets to live in Jerusalem here and he knows

I'm not in the land of the pagan dead I'm in the land of the living I'm in the land where we worship the Lord and I'm going to walk before him he will be my primary consideration such fear today such fear today of big brother cancel culture what will people think what will people say what will men do to me that is walking before men in the land of the dead but we are to walk before the

Lord in the land of the living live before his face fear God think of him first in all these things

Psalm 56 is the Psalm of David that this

Psalmist drew heavily from you can see that he had memorized

Psalm 56 he had meditated on Psalm 56 he loved Psalm 56 and it just poured out of him here in this

Psalm we don't have time to read the whole thing but notice some key verses

Psalm 56 verses 3 and 4 whenever I am afraid I will trust in you in God I will praise his word in God I have put my trust

I will not fear what can flesh do to me verse 11 in God I have put my trust

I will not be afraid what can man do to me verse 13 for you have delivered my soul from death have you not kept my feet from falling that I may walk before God in the light of the living before the face of God in his presence what is there?

well the scriptures tells us that in his presence there is fullness of joy there is fullness of joy they say happiness is circumstantial joy is not dependent on circumstances which is true but joy is dependent on our abiding in the

Lord joy is dependent upon our resting in the Lord joy is dependent upon our walking before the

Lord in the land of the living in the presence of God there is peace that passes all understanding in the presence of the

Lord there is there is wisdom and there is knowledge and understanding for it is the fear of the Lord that is the fountain of all of this in the presence of the

Lord there is eternal life this is eternal life that we know God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent in the presence of God we know the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ so in the suffering and in the affliction in the pains of death in the pains of Sheol when you look about and you find trouble after sorrow here is what we can determine for our outward hallelujah having dealt with our soul inwardly having praised the

Lord we can say this I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living everything about my life all the problems with it all the details with it

I'm going to walk before the Lord before his face I'm going to walk before him in the land of the living one commentator says it's like you're wholly exposed and wholly befriended completely exposed and completely befriended that's the that's the sense here how is that possible that we can be entirely exposed before God and also entirely befriended by him that we can walk confidently before the

Lord in the land of the living one example of this is given to us in Hebrews 4 it's a practical example

Hebrews 4 verses 12 through 16 for the word of the

Lord is living and powerful for the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword piercing even to the division of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart and there is no creature hidden from his sight but all things are naked and open to the eyes of him to whom we must give account do you hear it it's entirely exposed now to recognize that and then even to rejoice in it means that we have to then consider what is it that God sees what does he see when he looks at me how even to know what he sees when he looks at me well that's the point of the word of God that cuts deep gets right to the heart of the matter so that we may see like a toddler trying to lift up and look over the edge of a tall box to see what's inside the scripture gives us some understanding of what

God sees when he looks at us wholly exposed and yet wholly befriended it's the word of God that shows us our sinfulness our complete and utter disgracefulness in our corruption and yet how is it that we're wholly befriended because we have a whole and complete friend an advocate a high priest the very next verse here in Hebrews 4 seeing then that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens

Jesus the son of God we have him as a high priest so let us hold fast our confession for we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses but was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need you see there's walking walking before the

Lord in the land of the living seeing everything about my life from God's point of view from the scriptures and then knowing that he he's my full and utter advocate and friend he's for me totally entirely through Christ I can come before him every little thing that happens in my life

I can come before him come to the throne boldly bring it all to God in faith nothing makes you so aware of every step you take like pain if you have pain every time you take a step you're aware of every step you take if you have to have support support to walk along with your pain you're conscious of every step you take think about it a lot and here's the great gain no small loss without some great gain for the

Christian here's the great gain that we would live in a solemn and happy awareness of God's present in every moment that I know

God is not absent from me in any moment oh but that my mind that my soul that my spirit would not be absent from him that I would not be oblivious to him and his goodness and his light and his glory but that every step

I take it's so dependent upon him what great gain what joy what fullness of joy what peace that passes all understanding what wisdom what knowledge what understanding is there what great gain that is an outward hallelujah before God and in faith verse 10

I believed therefore I spoke I am greatly afflicted I believed therefore I spoke

I am greatly afflicted now we've heard the psalmist talk about what he's going through we've talked about the terms pains of death pains of sheol trouble sorrow he was brought low so he's talked about it already was he complaining one of the first verses my parents made my brother and I memorize do all things without murmuring and disputing every time we start arguing and complaining it's like do all things without murmuring and disputing was he complaining here he was not complaining he was not complaining you see it is not complaining to state in faith in faith

I am greatly afflicted right isn't he's not complaining he's stating it in faith he's walking before the

Lord and then he declares this and what is the Lord here he hears this and he notes our suffering but we are suffering in faith and when and when others hear this they know that God is worth trusting we've not abandoned the reality that God who is praiseworthy in all things is trustworthy at all times this is true and God is good and he is gracious and righteous and merciful and I am afflicted stating it in faith that is very difficult to do it is difficult to do

I know many personal failures in this regard and it comes every time

I lay hold of forbidden fruit and try to define good and evil on my own terms in my own self centered rotten headed way if I grab the fruit from the tree and I begin to say what is good and evil then what comes forth is very often complaints because God is not up to my standards that is not faith that is not faith also having confessed the goodness of God just basically saying

I am afflicted that's not complaining that is saying

God is good and righteous and merciful and I am afflicted it's just stating the way that it is many in our time in the name of Christ think that it is faith to say

I am not sick I am not sad I am not dying when they are sick when they are very sad when they are dying or they think it is faith to say

I am healthy and I am happy and I am living to 105 when in fact they're not that's witchcraft that's called witchcraft it's a word rebellion against a sovereign

God to try to speak things into existence that do not exist we are in faith we are to state with full trust and belief in God I am greatly afflicted that may sound a little weird but what is a good example what would that sound like if we would say in full faith in God trusting in God that I am afflicted well got a great example in 2nd

Corinthians 4 verses 8 -10 now listen to the way that Paul does it here this is a good example we are hard pressed on every side yet not crushed we are perplexed but not in despair persecuted but not forsaken struck down but not destroyed always caring about in the body the dying of the

Lord Jesus that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body that's how you do it

I am greatly afflicted but I am walking before the

Lord in the land of the living I know that God is good and I know there is hope ahead because I am with Christ and Christ has suffered and died for me and He is risen from the dead and I am with Him and therefore

I know I am greatly afflicted but I am walking in faith and how do we know that this is the great example that it is well look at verse 13 2nd

Corinthians 4 Paul says and since we have the same spirit of faith according to what is written notice the quote

Psalm 116 verse 10 I believed and therefore I spoke we also believe and therefore speak knowing that he who raised up the

Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus and will present us with you for all things for your sakes that grace having spread through the many may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God you see what

Paul does he's quoting Psalm 116 verse 10 he has this in mind I believed therefore

I spoke I am greatly afflicted how do we do that well we do that by saying this is the fact

I am hard pressed but not crushed and he goes through the whole list this is how we do it this is how we in faith and our outward hallelujah our afflictions become the platform for praise to God by telling everyone how you doing

I'm greatly afflicted praise the Lord he's good that is not the normal way of speaking but it is a

Christian way of speaking it is a God glorifying way of speaking and I and it's so important that Paul puts the suffering that he's undergoing and that the other

Christians are undergoing he puts it into the context of the hope of the resurrection of Jesus Christ he who raised up the

Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus why is that so important well he says it in 1

Corinthians 15 the fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ means that all those who are in Christ our labor is not in vain it's nothing worse than when you're in suffering and affliction and so many setbacks and you begin to say to yourself well this is useless well this is pointless we're not getting anywhere but if you're in Christ and Christ is in you and you're united to Christ by the grace of faith in the life of the

Holy Spirit you will be raised up with Christ and so nothing you do in this life before the face of God is in vain you can walk before the

Lord in the land of the living and that is the outward hallelujah that is done in faith and that is great gain that is great gain faith in Christ amid affliction gives us life in the light of the resurrection life in light of the resurrection is great great gain and lastly it's despite men this outward hallelujah is despite men

HM writer H .F. Light composed these two lines when other helpers fail and comforts flee help of the helpless oh abide with me when other helpers fail this outward hallelujah is despite men

I said in my haste all men are liars what's going on here some translations say alarm some translations say alarm some say haste so which is it well this is a word that brings to mind both it's the kind of word that brings to mind the visual reaction to a fire

I did not invent this illustration that I'm about to give I did not know this was going to happen before it happened but yesterday some kids in the neighborhood tried to set a dead pine tree on fire across the street and you know what happened there was both alarm and haste as the neighborhood surrounded the tree and someone had some water and put it out and he called the fire department and got him over there and there was alarm and haste at the same time and that's the kind of word that we have here so what kind of haste is it there is a kind of haste that is careless there is a kind of haste that is careless

Uriah grabbing the ark there is a kind of haste which is taking care

Joseph fleeing Potiphar's wife so what kind of haste do we have here

I think we have the second type of haste we have the second type of haste here as the psalmist looks to render unto the lord according to his great bounty he hastens away from the words of men he hastens away from men and the opposite is true therefore he's hastening unto the lord as we've seen all the way through the text too often we make haste toward the words of men we make haste toward the words of men rather than to the words of god in our in a careless type of haste we hasten to the news we hasten to find someone to give us some kind of financial or legal assurances we hasten towards the words of men to set our minds at ease to set our hearts back to a steady rhythm we often hasten to the words of men but here he says in his haste all men are liars

I am not going to depend on men there is a great deal of things being said in our day surprisingly or perhaps not so surprisingly the alarm that is sounded today is not very different than what was sounded 50 years ago or 100 years ago or 150 years ago or and so on you read church history if you read the first hand account writings of the men of god in the past generations you will find almost the exact same words

I have read words from the 6th century that could be indistinguishable from the words of alarm today and there are hundreds of examples of that we need to recognize that we do not that neutrality is a myth we live in a pagan society not a secular society secularism is a myth and a lie we live in a pagan society and the religion of paganism is always everywhere despair always and everywhere despair those who are caught up in the pagan religion have one or two or maybe a dozen ways that they know the world is going to end with cataclysm in here in about 5 minutes and they live in great despair and in great fear of people that they have no business being afraid of it's just kind of funny how afraid everybody is of Christians we're the worst evil scum to ever walk on the face of the planet we're so awful why do they live in fear because paganism the religion of paganism is everywhere all the time despair do not make haste to the words of men do not make haste to the words of men you will hear their fear and you will hear their despair and they are giving you their gospel do not make haste to the words of men make haste to the words of God we must give praise to God give precedence to His word let us view the words of men in light of the word of God when men say peace peace or today's the day when braggarts increase you make haste away when talking heads talk doom and gloom they say and their mockers mock you make haste away words are tested through biblical fires for our

God is true and all men liars this is great gain it's great gain when you're not really so concerned with what men are saying that'll help your blood pressure that'll help your relationships with people you'll be a better witness for Christ it is great gain afflictions provide an even greater trust in God's word and every time somebody else fails some other talking head fails somebody else lies somebody else has proven false time and time again what is this except God just knocking off an idol another idol and another idol off our mantles and that is great great gain so we can praise the

Lord for the fight for faith even though it is long and it is complicated and it is difficult we can give

Him praise and call upon the name of the Lord in that praising

Him Father I thank You for the time we've had in Your word this morning I pray that it has been helpful I pray that You would use it to increase our faith in You and shape us into the image of Your Son Jesus Christ we thank

You that You have given Christ to us and given us to Christ help us to live in light of His sufferings and His resurrection as we walk before You in this life we pray these things in Jesus name you stand with me for our solemn benediction we're going to finish the song we sang earlier we sang the chorus to you alone so we're going to sing the whole song now page 124 in your

HMA praise our

Lord ye spirits guide our thoughts and tongues we pray for our pride and selfish vanity too often clouds our grace you alone we sing today you alone our prayers we raise to You our beginning glory for You alone in knowing

Jesus Christ is of all that each step in my life's journey is an answer to the call in the true meditation that His blood has ransomed me

I find hope and reassurance His plan is best for me you alone you we sing today may the love of the