Turn back with me if you would
to Psalm 39. Psalm 39. I was born November the 9th, 1976.
40 years ago today, I'm still in
shock. I'm still in shock. I know some
of you that have a seven in the first digit are saying, get over
it. But I can't help it. I'm still in shock. 40 years
ago today, 1971, is that when you were born? 1945 years ago today, we had
the same birthday. Forty years ago today, I was
born, the Lord gave me, He gave this body and He gave this soul
on loan for a very short while to two loving parents. I grew
up in a loving home, a very loving home, a home where By God's grace,
I mean by God's grace, it was said, as for me and my house,
we're going to serve the Lord. A loving home. The Lord has been
with me all of my days so far. I say that confidently. And thankfully,
all of my days have not been easy. But he's been with me through
all of my days so far. He has given me a wife. I'm so
thankful for that. He's given me children. He called
me to study his word. I get to study his word and preach
his gospel. I'm so thankful for the life
he's given me. So thankful. I know that 40 years
is, it's just barely turning the corner in life. I understand
that. You know, I'm not an aged man, but I also know the corner
has been turned. It has been turned. You know,
we talk about being over the hill. It's over. I'm over it.
We're over it. And I believe the Lord has convinced
me of a few things in these short 40 years. I believe it's why
I preach the gospel. I believe it's why he gave me
a heart and a burden to preach this gospel, to tell men the
truth about God's word. I believe it's because he burdened
me through revealing some things and convincing me of some things. And I want to tell you tonight
seven things that I believe, and I say this very humbly, I
say this very carefully, but seven things that I believe I
humbly have learned. Seven things that I believe he
has taught me, convinced me of. in these 40 years. I pray I've
learned this. And all of them are right here
in this text. Our Lord teaches us and teaches
us and teaches us, but I found seven things right here that
when I read this text I thought, I believe the Lord has convinced
me of this. The first one is in verse 4.
Psalm 39 verse 4 says, Lord make me to know mine end. I have an end. I have an end. We don't stop and think about that
as often as we probably should, do we? I have an end. When I was a kid, when I was
a teenager, there was no end in sight. None. Sky was the limit. Everything
was in front of me. Everything. Everything I thought
was important in life. I always put a lot of stock in
career, marriage, family. It was all out in front of me.
Today, here I stand in the middle of it. I'm right in the middle
of it. As we say here in Tennessee,
smack dab, whatever that means. I'm smack dab in the middle of
it. Tomorrow, it's all going to be behind me. Then what? Then the end. The end. I have an end and you have an
end. The Lord has convinced us of that, hasn't He? We have an
end. Look with me at Psalm 73. Psalm 73 verse 1 says, truly
God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. But as for me, my feet were almost
gone, my steps had well nigh slipped, for I was envious at
the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. I was so envious
of what I saw. I saw all that prosperity out
there, all that stuff. Verse 4, there are no bands in
their death, but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble
as other men. They're not in anguish over their
sin and over their, the wrath of God and neither are they plagued
like other men. Verse 6 says, therefore pride
compasseth them about as a chain. Violence covereth them as a garment. Their eyes stand out with fatness. They have more than heart could
wish. They are corrupt and speak wickedly
concerning oppression. They speak loftily. They set
their mouth against the heavens and their tongue walketh through
the earth. Therefore, his people return hither and waters of a
full cup are wrung out to them. And they say, how doth God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High? Behold, these are the ungodly
who prosper in the world. They increase in riches. Verily,
I've cleansed my heart in vain and washed my hands in innocency.
For all the day long have I been plagued and chastened every morning. If I say I will speak thus, behold,
I should offend against the generation of thy children. When I thought
to know this, it was too painful for me until I went into the
sanctuary of God, then understood I their end. Surely thou did set them in slippery
places, thou cast them down into destruction. How are they brought
into desolation, as in a moment they are utterly consumed with
terrors? As a dream, when one awaketh,
so, O Lord, when Thou awakest, Thou shalt despise their image.
Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. So
foolish was I, and ignorant I was as a beast before Thee. He said,
I was so ignorant until I saw their end. God revealed to me
this end. A few pages over in Proverbs
14, this is what Proverbs 14 verse 12 says. Proverbs 14, 12, there is a way
which seemeth right unto man, but the end thereof are the ways
of death. The end. Moses said in Deuteronomy
32, oh, that they were wise, that they understood this, that
they would consider their latter end. We have an end. We have
an end. I'm convinced of that. We have
an end. There's an end coming. Everybody today with all this
technology, they just want to keep replacing parts and keep
on going. You need a new hip? Fine, let's
get one and keep on going. There's an end coming. Now here's
the second thing I'm convinced of. Go with me back to our text
in Psalm 39. Psalm 39 verse 4 says, Lord,
make me to know mine end and the measure of my days. I have
an appointed end. My days are measured. I have
a set. And all of the days that I have
on this earth have been given to me by God every single day. It's all ordered. All of my days
are in His hand. Look with me at Psalm 90. Psalm
90 verse 9 says, For all our days are passed away
in thy wrath. We spend our years as a tale
that is told. Is that not so true? The things
that we've done in our past, don't they seem like another
life? Isn't it when you tell the stories of the things that
have happened to you and don't you feel like you're talking
about somebody else? Completely different life. A tale that's
told, verse 10, the days of our years are three score years and
ten, and if by reason of strength, they'd be four score years, yet
is their strength labor and sorrow, for it is soon cut off and we
fly away. Who knoweth the power of thine
anger? Even according to thy fear, so
is thy wrath. So teach us to number our days,
that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." Teach us to number
our days. David said in Psalm 31, Lord,
my times are in thy hands. All my times, all my days. I
have an end, but I have a God who controls that end. Isn't
that wonderful? All of my times are in thy hands. I believe we would all be lying
if we said we didn't have a little bit of fear concerning our end. It's an unknown thing to this
flesh. It's a fearful thing. But it
is so comforting to know that we have a God who controls that
end. Every day leading up to that
end. Lord, teach us to number our days that we may apply our
hearts to wisdom. We all have an end, but it's
an ordered and sure end. And Job said, my days have been
determined. The number of my months are with
thee. I believe the Lord has convinced
me of that. I believe that. I really do. I believe I have
an end coming. And I believe I also have a God
who's controlling it. Every day of it. Here's the third
thing I'm starting to see here, 40 years in. Back in Psalm 39, verse 4 says, Lord, make me to
know mine end and the measure of my days, what it is that I
may know how frail I am." Man thinks himself to be something,
doesn't he? Man thinks he's something. Man
wants to be something. Somebody told me one time when
I turned 30, he said, if you're going to do something, you better
do it now. And I listened to him. I thought, I better do something.
My days are Man wants to be something. He
wants to get to the end being something. He wants to be respected. He wants to be looked up to.
He wants people to come to him for his knowledge, for his wisdom. And the Lord teaches all of his
people that man may think he's something, but he's nothing.
He's nothing. The Lord said, don't fear man.
Don't listen to man. Don't put your trust in man. Man is nothing. He's nothing. He thinks he's something, but
he's nothing. There's a time in every single one of our lives
where we all say, I'm really something. There is some point
in time where we convince ourselves, I have this thing licked. If
you want to see how to do it right, look at me. I got it. You know what the mercy of God
is to us? It is so difficult, but it's great mercy. It's when
He lovingly shows us how frail we are. How frail we are. The Lord convinces all of His
people, all the days of their life, that without Him, we can
do nothing. We can do nothing. Verse four
says, Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days,
what it is that I may know how frail I am." As soon as a believer
sees that, he cries, I need Christ. I need Christ. I need Christ
when I go meet God. I need Christ right now. I don't
want to stand before God without the Lord Jesus Christ. I don't
want to enter into tomorrow without the Lord Jesus Christ. I don't
want to do anything. I don't want to take a step.
I need Christ. I need the Lord Jesus Christ.
I need Him to strengthen me. I need Him to uphold me. I need Him to lead me and guide
me and protect me. I'm convinced of it. I need Christ. Here a 40-year-old man stands
and he says, I'm frail. I need Christ. I'm just convinced
of it. I'm a frail, frail creature. Now, on this particular day,
40 years in, I believe I'm convinced of this. Look at verse 5. Behold, thou hast made my days
as a hand breath. And we know what that is. That's
nothing. Thou hast made my days as a hand breath, and mine age
is as nothing before thee." What that means is Christ is my wisdom,
and Christ is my knowledge, and Christ is my understanding. I'm nothing. I'm nothing. My age is nothing. That's what
he said and I love that. My age is nothing. It's nothing. Look with me at Matthew 11. Matthew 11 verse 25. At that
time, Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord
of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from
the wise and prudent and has revealed them unto babes. Does that describe us? All of God's people are babes. All of us. All of us. We're all babes. All of us. Every one of us. Look over at
Mark 10. Mark 10 verse 15 says, Verily
I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God
as a little child, he shall not enter therein. We're babes. Every single one of us. The Lord
called Abraham when he was 75 years old. 75 years old. At that moment in time, he became
a babe in Christ. He immediately became a babe
in Christ. We receive all of God's gifts
as a little child, just like a little child. Every one of
us can say, He must increase and I must decrease. I must. I'm convinced of that. I am convinced of that. Our Lord
said, he that is the greatest among you, let him be your servant. Let him humble himself. Let him humble himself. Before
I was called here, called to be pastor, I had a lot more time
on my hands. I could travel on the weekend
if I needed to. And I was able to attend, for
a while, the preacher's class that Brother Todd Nybert has
in Lexington. He does it once a month. And
I was talking to somebody about it, and the man said, you've
gone up there quite a bit, haven't you? And I said, yeah, a few
times. And he asked me, he said, well,
how When will you, at what point do you, and I said,
graduate? He said, yeah. I said, you don't. You don't. The gospel is not something you
graduate from. Never. Never. The teacher is just as much a
child as the student. Isn't that right? Just as much
a child. You never. We do grow in grace. We most certainly do. We grow
in grace, but not outside of Christ. And the Lord convinces all of
his people, no matter what he calls them to do, my age is nothing. My status, my place is nothing. Wisdom to this world is age,
40, 50, 60, 70. Wisdom to a believer is Christ.
He's it. Age has nothing to do with spiritual
maturity. It's all dependent on the gift
of the Spirit of Christ and the evidence of it. If God gives
it to a sinner the way you know it is, he becomes lower and lower. smaller and smaller. And he says,
my age is nothing. Here's the fifth thing. Back
to our text in Psalm 39. And I pray this is a comfort
to us. This one is a special comfort
to me. This is a painful thing to learn,
but this is a comforting thing to learn. The end of verse 5
says, Verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Now we first start to realize
that when we see how frail we are. Every man at his best state
is altogether vanity. We start to enter into that when
we realize that our age is nothing but here's the comfort in it.
Our Lord will never leave us, never leave us to look to ourselves
for assurance. He will never tell us to turn
from looking to him and tell us to start looking to ourselves
for assurance in our salvation. I just said, we just said that
we do grow in grace, but not outside of Christ. Not without
Him. We are holy and we are righteous
and we are sanctified, but not outside of Christ. Not without
Him. We don't ever leave the blood
of Christ and turn to ourselves to find something right here
in this flesh that's pleasing to God. Never. Man at his best state is still
altogether vanity. The only thing that gives a man
or a woman any value is Christ in that man or Christ in that
woman. That's it. That's the only thing
that gives them any value. Believers sit under the gospel
for decades. decades, after hearing it, believing
it, trusting it for decades, then they look at themselves
and they're so disgusted by what they see. Just so disgusted by
what they see. They say, if it be so, why am
I thus? If God has done something for
me, then why am I still this way? The reason is because man
at his best state is still Still, the flesh, the old man is still
altogether vanity. I love what Brother David Pledger
said about those who come to him saying that they're struggling
to find assurance. They just can't find any assurance. He said, I asked them, do you
mean to tell me you don't believe that Jesus is the Christ? And
they said, oh yeah, I believe that. I definitely believe that. He said, well, then do you mean
to tell me that you don't believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God?
Oh, yes, I definitely believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
He said, well, then your problem is not that you can't find assurance.
Your problem is you're looking to yourself. And he's so right. Man at his best state is altogether
vanity. Look to Christ. Look to Christ. I'm not happy. Forty years in, I'm not happy
with what I see right here. I'm just not happy. Every time
I turn my eyes within, all is dark and vain and wild, filled
with unbelief and sin." And it makes me say, can I deem myself
a child? Not if I'm looking right here.
Look to Christ. Look to the Lord Jesus Christ.
I'm going to be quick about the sixth thing because it just doesn't
need any comment. Verse six. Surely every man walketh
in a vain show. Surely they are disquieted in
vain. He heapeth up riches and knoweth
not who shall gather them. Everything in this world is empty. Everything in this world is empty. I have an end. It's an ordered and sure end. And I'm frail. I am so frail. My age is nothing. Absolutely
nothing. Every man at his best state is
still altogether vanity. I need, I must always look to
Christ because every single thing in this world is empty. everything. It is so empty. It will not last. It is fleeting
vanity. That's all it is. Therefore,
here's the seventh thing. I believe the Lord has convinced
me of this. Verse 7 says, And now, Lord,
what wait I for? What am I waiting for? Here I
am, 40 years in. How much longer do I have? I
don't know. An hour? I don't know. 40 more years?
What am I waiting for? I'm waiting for you. What do you do for a living?
Wait on the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm waiting for you. My hope
is in thee. Hebrews 11 says, Faith is the
substance of things hoped for. It's the evidence of things not
seen. Faith is believing God. It's
believing His Word. This is what He said. He said
that He chose some sinners to save. You've read it, haven't
you? That's what He said. That's what he said. Why? I don't
know. He said that it wasn't based
on anything that they were. He said the chief of sinners.
That's just what he said. He said that his death completely
redeemed those people back to God. That's what he said. Nothing
added to it. Nothing taken from it. His death
just redeemed them. He died one time. One man died
for them all. One time. Every generation. One shedding of blood accomplished
it. That's what He said. That's just what He said. He said that every soul He died
for is going to be carried up into glory. Not one of them is
going to be lost. Now here's the thing about it.
I believe him. And that's what gives me hope.
I believe him. I really do. I truly do. Somebody might say, do you still
believe him even if he didn't choose you? Even if he didn't
die for you? Would you still believe him?
Even if he hasn't chosen me? HE HAS CAUSED ME TO STILL BELIEVE
IT. I DON'T TAKE THE CREDIT FOR IT. BUT HE'S CAUSED ME TO BELIEVE
IT. NO MATTER WHAT. AND THE FACT THAT I BELIEVE IT,
IT GIVES ME HOPE. I HAVE HOPE. THAT FAITH IS MY
EVIDENCE. I BELIEVE. NO MATTER WHAT HE
DOES, I BELIEVE IT. AND THAT FAITH IS MY EVIDENCE
THAT HE DID CHOOSE ME And He did die for me, and He will call
me to Himself. The fact that I believe God's
Word. So I have an end. I'm convinced
of this. I have an end. This is not my
continuing city. I can try to scrape up all that
I can while I'm here, but it's still not my continuing city.
I have an end. But it is an ordered and sure
end. And I am nothing but a frail,
frail creature. My age is nothing. It means nothing. All my accomplishments mean nothing. And it's because of this flesh.
This flesh in its best state is never going to be more than
vanity. That's all it's going to be. Everything in this world
is empty. Every single thing. Nothing in
this world can help me. But I have a hope. I have a hope. It is a sure hope. I hope in
thee. I have someone who has given
me a hope. And I pray the Lord will convince
all of us of that. All right, let's stand together.