Title Psalm 73 (2010.8.24)
Contents
Title: My Lord Closer
Text: (Psalm 73:1-28)
Hymns: 338. close my lord
Date: August 24, 2010 (Tuesday) 5 am
Venue: Jeonju Yebut Church Small Worship Room
In Psalm 73, the main text, the psalmist realizes that the most important homework in his life is not to be successful or to succeed, but to “draw close to God” one day when he has doubts and complaints about his life. Perhaps the author of this poem, Asaph, was a king David's beloved court musician and a king's man who could be close to the king and power, but one day he discovered that it was not the answer to life's problems, he fell on his face before the Lord and confessed this poem. appears to have been given to the Lord. Then, through this Psalm 73, we would like to think about how life is closer to God why it is important.
Why is it important to draw close to God in your life?
1. It is because if you distance yourself from God, you will perish. (verse 27)
Here, the psalmist refers to “those who are far from the Lord” in other words, “those who depart from the Lord” or “harlots.” He does not have a God in his heart who places his worth and love on something more important than God. There can be any number of these people, even in the church. The Bible calls these people idolaters. The psalmist says that God will eventually destroy these people in God's righteous judgment. The problem, however, is that without seeing any signs of God's judgment, we are witnessing more and more of the stomachaches of those who live apart from the Lord, who live in the seat of so-called success, enjoying power and riches, and living loudly. And indeed, because of such an unfair aspect of life, do we ourselves, who have tried to pursue a life of faith faithfully, feel the crisis of stumble like the psalmist? Don't you think, "Is it true that God lives?" Haven't you ever thought, "Isn't it just a loss in the end of my life of faith? This was the psalmist's crisis of faith.
(See text verse 12). In the next verse that follows, he asks himself whether all my efforts to live a clean life were ultimately in vain. (verse 13).
In fact, the whole theme of Psalm 73 is “the prosperity of the wicked.” He confesses that he almost stumbled upon seeing a paradoxical world where the wicked prosper. (See text verse 2).
What was the cause of the fall? (See text verse 3).
But how did he finally solve this problem? In (verse 17) we find the answer he got. “But it was only when I finally entered the sanctuary of God that I realized what was going to be the end of the wicked.”
That's right. As he entered the sanctuary of God, worshiped and meditated, he came to believe the truth of the Bible about the ultimate end of life for those who live apart from God. And from that moment on, he no longer had to suffer from this unfair world. Because I could trust God's judgment to make all things fair.
2. Because it is a blessing to draw near to God (verse 28).
How does (text verse 28) begin? “It is a blessing for me to be close to God.” What a beautiful confession. If you look at the way your neighbors live in this world, you will find that there are not a few people who struggle to reach out to the so-called powerful people. Isn't that what our society calls 'to put a line on top'? But what is really difficult to understand is, ‘I wonder why these people don’t try to put a rope on the most powerful person, Almighty God. Is it because he can't be seen? Or is it because you don't know how to get close to him? The Bible teaches that in order to draw close to God, we must first have a desire to draw near to Him.
Draw close to the mighty God. With His power, you will live a life of enduring adversity and overcoming trials. Draw close to the God of love. God's love will make waves in the depths of our hearts. Draw close to the Holy God. His holiness will be the nobility and dignity of our lives. Draw close to the God of wisdom. His wisdom will guide our path in life. Being close to God is a blessing. Drawing closer to God is victory. Getting closer to God is the answer to life.
3. To spread the gospel of God (verse 28).
He confesses in verse 28, “I will make the Lord God my refuge, and I will proclaim all that you have done.”
The gospel is the act of sacrifice that God has made for us. Didn't His sacrifice on the cross save us? But in order for us to clearly communicate the Lord's works to more of our neighbors, we first need to experience His love up close, deeper and more intimately. Now make the Lord Jehovah your love your refuge. Come before Him and be immersed in His forgiveness, the rest He has prepared, the grace of His unconditional love. And when you can no longer be silent about the ecstatic love we experienced, go ahead and tell us shout out Only Jesus is salvation, only Jesus is hope, and only Jesus is life--that is evangelism and missions.
I hope today will be a blessed day where you can draw closer to God and spread the love of God.