Turn with me in your Bibles,
Psalm 73. Psalm 73. The message this evening, while it's
somewhat different than this morning's, there's no way that, like this
morning's message, there's no way you can listen to this message
indifferently. There's no way you can listen
to this message and not come to some conclusion about your
relationship with God. And I'm convinced of that. I've
tried it on myself. The relationship of a child of God with God is
described in the Bible as the relationship between a father
and a child, between a husband and a wife, between the Lord
and His disciple, between a master and his follower. The believer
is described as a child of God, a follower, a seeker, a lover,
a friend of God, the bride of God, thy maker, and be thy husband. Every man and woman, every believer, is a man or a woman after God's
own heart. Every true believer, like David,
is a man or a woman after God's own heart. Christ said, The time
is coming, and now is, when true worshipers shall worship the
Father in spirit, that is, in heart, in the soul, in the strength
of your very inner being with an utmost strong desire. Do you
remember reading that there in Psalm 63? My soul followeth hard
after thee. That's a description. That's
the thing trying to press this moment. Since John the Baptist,
do you remember that text? Since John the Baptist, the gospel
is preached and men press into it. True spiritual worshippers
worship God in truth, that is, in Christ. And you know what
Christ said after that? He said, The Father seeketh such
to worship Him. Does that sound vaguely familiar
to this morning's text? The Father. The time is coming,
and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit
and truth. For the Father seeketh such to
worship Him. That's exactly what Christ said
when he said, when the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith?
He's looking for it. Now, he's talking about, will
he find any true seekers, followers, diligent disciples, patiently
watching and waiting for his coming? Will he? Those truly longing and desiring
to see him. Him. Will he? Yes, he will. There may be just a few, but
there will be some people waiting and watching. There will be.
Every true child of God will be. Every last one of them will
be anxiously awaiting and desiring more than anything to see Christ,
see their Master, whom they love. This was David's desire, and
it's the desire of every man and woman's heart. who is a man
or a woman after God's own heart, because the heart of God is within
that man's heart. Now listen, David was just a
man. Let's not make David or any of
the Old Testament saints out to be more than they were. David
was just a man, like any man in here. Like, when David was
a young man, he was just like Sam Farmer. Same temptation,
same desire, same perhaps pursuit in life, whatever a young man
desires, you know, just like him. When David grew to be middle-aged,
I guess I could be called middle-aged, half of seventy is thirty-five.
My age, David was just like me. Same thoughts, same problems,
and so forth. When David got to be fifty years
old, he was just like John there, and some others. Just like us.
Just a man, albeit though, he was a man of God. That is, a
man of God's own choosing, a man of God's working. God had chosen
him, God had called him, and God had operated on David to
where David wasn't the same man he was before. God changed him,
caused a change of heart. But nevertheless, for our country,
David, as James said of Elijah, was a man of like passions as
we are, yet David was a man of God. Now,
like I said, I think it was last Sunday morning, let's not dwell
on David's sin so much with Bathsheba. Let's think a little more about
David's lifelong walk with God. And let's emulate it. Son of
David. Christ called himself the Son
of David. Now, David at times, though, David at times was bitter
with his lot in life. That's what we're going to see
here in Psalm 73. David was bitter with his lot in life, and he
became envious of other people, just like we do, just like we
did. He got in such a bad state of
self-pity and murmuring and complaining, like us, that he was full of
doubts and unbelief and fears, and he said in one place, I'm
ready to quit. I'm religious in vain. Psalm 37. He said in Psalm 30, I'm ready
to quit. I'm just ready to quit. I'm going to call her quits.
What's the sense in all this? He got like that. I'm glad God
recorded that, aren't you? Now look at verse 2. They've gotten in a bad shape
here in Psalm 73. He said, God's good to Israel,
verse 1, even to such as are of a clean heart, pure heart,
but as for me, I'm about gone. I'm a goner."
My step said, well, now I slip. Ready to quit. Wow! Well, here's
the biggest part of his problem, verse 3. He said, I was envious. I was full of envy and jealousy
and self-pity and I was in a root of bitterness. I was in a gall
of iniquity. I had a bad spirit within me at the time. forgotten
God, God's past mercies, forgotten God, and just dwelling on my
problem, my own problem. Then began to look all around
me and grow envious of other people, and jealous of other
people. Just got in a bad way. Especially
he began to envy the foolish. He said, I was envious of the
foolish. I saw the prosperity of the wicked. Old David, just
like us, we live in a materialistic society. We're bombarded with
it on television and in ads all around us. We're bombarded with
this world. The beauties, enticements of
Egypt, aren't we? The dainties. David got a taste
of the riches of Egypt. He got a whiff of the aromas
of the world's dainties, you know. And it smelled good to
him. And come on now, it smells good to us too, doesn't it? David
got a sight of the treasures of the wealthy while he lived.
He might have been in a cave at this time. I'm not sure where
he was. He lived in mediocrity anyway,
and he became envious and covetous. And then he relates. So now he
begins to relate how God brought him out of this bad state of
mind. God brought him out of it and said, down to verse 20,
this is the beginning of it, down to verse 20 he said, God
had to wake me up. He said, I was like one that
has a dream when one awakes, so O Lord, when thou awakest,
He had to wake me. He said, I must have been dreaming.
I must have been asleep and full of unbelief. He said, verse 22,
said, I was so foolish. What a fool I've been. How ignorant. He said, I'm like a beast. I'm ignorant. I was lacking in
understanding as a brute beast before God, without understanding. Have you ever been there? Huh? God awakens you to see your utter
sinfulness and foolishness, and you think, what a fool I've been.
How could I ever get in such a sad shape? It's like a brute
beast. Well, where did David find his
answers? Look over in verse 17, verse 16. He said, when I got
to thinking about these things, verse 16, when I got to thinking
about all this, oh, it pained me. It caused me such pain and
grief and sorrow to think about these things until... I was in such a bad shape, such
a bad state of mind, full of a root of bitterness that sprang
up and troubled me. Indecent to foolish and to prosperity
to wicked and full of jealousy and self-pity and all this sort
of thing. In such a bad state and then
Sunday morning I got up and didn't feel like going to church. But
I went down there anyway, pained, in a bad state. And then he said, and then I
understood it. God in mercy and grace opened
my eyes, by opening my ears, first of all. I just didn't understand,
like a beast, until I went into the sanctuary of God, went to
church, heard the gospel. The only place to find answers
and overcome difficulties. And this life is in the house
of God, right here. Yes, it is. Where the Word of
God is preached in its full counsel, in its truth, and in its entirety. God speaks through the preaching
of His Word. It's truth. God speaks to His
people through the preaching of His Word. God is chosen by
the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. That means to keep believers
safe, even. God gives light and understanding
through the preaching of his word to know our hearts and to
give us understanding of our circumstances and ability and
strength to deal with them. Like David, when we hear the
word of God, all the doubtings, like David, all our doubts and
fears and unbelief will be dispelled. If we really hear the word of
God, all our doubts and fears and unbelief will be dispelled,
and we'll say, How could I? Oh, that's so plain. Why was
I such a beast in understanding? And he'll rightly order our minds
and our hearts and our affections. Okay. We're going to have to
see what David saw. What did David say? Well, he
saw the end of this material world. David saw the end of this
material world and the seekers of it, those that seek after
it. Look at verse 18 with me. He said that. I saw what the
end of these fellows, these people, the world and all that are in
it that seek after it are going to be. Surely you set them in
slippery places. In other words, they got a foot
on a banana peel and another on a bar of soap. They're slippery
places. are in a dying and decaying world,
and they're going to die along with it. Verse 19, they're going
to be brought to a terrible end, an awful end. Desolation is in
a moment, a twinkling of an eye. They're going to be utterly consumed
with terrors. Terrors. David saw that. And
we're going to have to see that, too. Outward prosperity and worldly
ease. outward ease is no evidence of
God's blessings. It could be the curse of God. Contrary to the false prophets
of our day, outward prosperity and ease in this world is not
a sign of God's blessing. It could be the opposite. Don't
envy the world, the wicked, and the prosperity of it, even though
your circumstances may be bad. They seem to be firm, firmly
rooted. That's what David said in Psalm
37, Psalm 73. He said they don't have any problems,
but God's people are waters of a full cup that are run out to
them. The wicked, the world seems to be firmly established, so
at ease and so happy. But he said, he came to understand
their foot's going to slide in due time. And we may seem like,
hey, we're slipping, we're sliding. Slip, sliding away. But you're
planning on a rock. It's not like it seems. Like
the old black preacher said, it ain't like you thought it
was. It's not like it seems. Things that are seen are temporal. Things that are unseen are eternal. Don't enter the wicked world
Because you've got an inheritance, Paul said, that fadeth not away.
An inheritance that's incorruptible. Well, it's spiritual. It's eternal. It's one that lies beyond the
vanities of this present-day living. David was bought to understand
some things by not only seeing the end of this wicked world,
but secondly, by considering who he was. Look at verse 23. Psalm 73, verse 23. David was
brought to some understanding by considering who he was. He
said, in verse 23, Nevertheless, I said, I was so foolish, I just
forgot that I'm with thee. I just forgot that I am thine,
O Lord, and I have heard thy voice, and you've drawn me close
to thee. I forgot who I was. God that
I was a son of God. David said he forgot past mercies
and past deliverances. Verse 24, he said, Surely God
will guide me with his counsel, that is, his word, his gospel,
and afterward receive me to glory. God will teach me. God will guide
me. God will set me straight. He'll
set these things straight before my eyes. God will instruct me. God will turn me. Why? Because He predestinated me.
And whom He predestinated, He called. And He called me. I heard
His voice. Yeah, I did. And whom He called,
He justified. Oh, I'm justified by the blood
of Christ, by the life and the death of Christ. And whom He
justified, He's promised He'll glorify. He'll take me all the
way home someday. I just believe that, David says.
And someday, I just believe He's going to finish the work He started.
And know it's God's work. No it won't. He'll finish. Faithful
as he that calleth you, he'll also do it. Perform. And here's
the greatest means of deliverance from a despairing mind and heart,
like David. Here's the greatest means. Listen.
David saw that God was his portion. That God was his portion. But the world has the world. The world has the world. But
David said, I've got God. Like Abraham. I was sitting out here on the
picnic table yesterday afternoon. I kind of got like old David,
I believe. Sitting out there feeling sorry for myself, full
of self-pity. I don't suppose anybody here
goes do that. But I started reading the psalm. I started reading Psalm 62. It
says, "'Truly my soul waits upon God. From him comes my salvation. He only is my rock, my salvation. He is my defense. He said, in
God is my salvation and my glory. Verse 8, he said, trust in him
at all times, you people. Pour out your heart before God.
God's a refuge for us. Then this Psalm 63 that we read,
God, you're my God. I got to thinking about that.
And that lifted my heart up some up. I thought, what in the world? Why in the world are you worried
about this or that and the other? God's my God. And I'm his child. God's my God. He's my God. And I'm a son of God. My, my,
my. God is my portion. God is my
portion. Is God more important than money? Is God more important than pleasure? God is everlasting everlasting
portion of His people. He is the inheritance that cannot
be taken away, to be eternally enjoyed, enabling us to withstand
all of life's difficulty. I read over here in Psalm 46,
too, God is our refuge and strength, the very present help in time
of trouble. Therefore will we not fear, nor
the earth be removed, the mountains be killed. What in the world
have I got to worry about? Why, out of why are you yet downcast,
O my soul? Hope in God. Why should you? He's your God,
and you're His. Now that lifted me up just to
think that God's my God. My God. He's everybody's God,
yes, but everybody doesn't worship Him as God. Everybody doesn't
delight in Him as being God. He's not everybody's desire.
Not everybody can say, yeah, I'll have Him reign over me.
Now look at verse 25. This is my text, verse 25. Whom
have I in heaven but thee? And there's none upon the earth
that I desire besides thee. He who has God and nothing else is better off than the man who
has all the world and not God. If you know God and live in misery,
it's better than all the worldly happiness. My desires for you as a pastor,
my desires for you, are that your affection and your desires
will be for nothing and no one else than God himself. That's
what I want more than anything. And I take this thing so seriously
and want you to as well. If God becomes your supreme desire,
the most important thing in all this world to you, then you will
be able to overcome all of life's problems. Who is he that overcometh the
world but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? My God,
my Master, my Savior, my Friend. Who can overcome the world? a
man that really believes that in his heart, that Jesus Christ
is the Son of God and came down here for people just like him.
What in the world do you, what about fear worry about? They're
locked in a prison and separated from and forsaken by the world.
Somebody who has God has a companionship that the world knows nothing
about. How can you explain, how else can you explain people that
went to the stake to be burned alive One of them said to his people,
one preacher was walking by, tied up, about to be burned at
the stake, and he looked at his people and he said, if I sit
as much as wince in those flames, don't you believe a word I've
been preaching to you? One man was about to have his
head cut off and he said, I'd gladly give ten more heads, have
them cut off for Christ. How else can you explain people
willing, Hebrews 11, saw in a thunder, stone, and this and that? How
else can you explain it except the real, abiding, true, heartfelt
desire and love for and communion with the true and living God?
There's no other way you can explain it. And that's what I
want. That's what I desire more than anything else. a nominal,
notional religion. True people of God—verse 25,
look at that again. True people of God prefer God
over all things in heaven. He said, whom have I in heaven
but they? I want you to search your heart
right now, tonight. Search your heart and examine
what your desires for eternal life are. But you think about it, the things
I'm going to say. I believe there's going to be
a true discovery of your heart and your mind right now by our answer to these questions. What do you desire about heaven? What is it that you desire for eternal life or from eternal
life. What is it that you desire? No
tears. No pain. Freedom from suffering. Sorrow. Eternal happiness and
bliss. Want to see the angels? Chairs. Want to see the golden streets?
Jasper walls, pearly gates? If so, then you reveal that all
you have on your mind is a carnal and a materialistic desire for
some kind of material utopia or paradise without God. That
God could be there. He might not. It doesn't matter. The child of God has one desire
in heaven. And that's God himself. That's
what heaven's going to be all about. God himself. To be in
the presence of God. To enjoy God. To worship God. To know God. To see God in Christ. To be in the presence of God.
And this is a desire that's prevalent right now. Right now. in every
child of God. This is like to enjoy God, not
to be taken up with anything, but God is like a little child
who cannot be comforted. And you ladies that keep the
nursery experience this. A little baby who is in a strange
place, and somebody's mother brings a new baby here, and you
can't comfort it. You can't, you can't calm it
down. He starts crying when the mother
leaves it. You promise it toys and try to
make it as happy and as comfortable as you can. It won't be comforted.
Why? What's it want? Mama. And that's the child of God.
There's strangers and pilgrims here. How are they going to be
satisfied with toys? Get to heaven. Yeah, here's your
yo-yo. Here's your little cabin in the pool. Well, yeah, but
But where is he. You know I'm looking for scars
up in there. But you dare. Want to go to heaven. When I. Meet my mom. You might not be there that's
your only hope is that We're not going to be singing
about mama in heaven. Besides, mama may not be there
anyway. And I tell you what, if mama is there, mama ain't
going to be mama. Mama going to be sister. They're
going to be brothers and sisters. Christ is going to be mama. Christ
is going to be papa. Christ is going to be all in
all, as he should be here. The saint of God desires God
above anything in heaven. Gold? That's the reason I believe
the streets are going to be gold, because we're going to walk on
it to show our utter disdain for gold. We wouldn't be walking on gold
now. Gold! There's gold. But up there, we're
just going to walk on it. You see those streets? I hadn't
even noticed. Yeah, they're pretty. It can
be something. Sure we want to see those that
we love. Sure we do. We love them. Just
like we do here. I told Joe this afternoon, yesterday,
you know, one of those things, one of those evidences of true
love for somebody is you want to be with them. And you just
can't fake this. If you love somebody like your
children, how long could you go, Deborah, without seeing your
children? If they're away from you, how
long would it take till you'd be missing them? You'd probably miss them while
you're at work. I told old Joe, I went over, just drove by to
see him yesterday, just pop in on him. You know, I thought before I
went over there, I thought, well, they may be doing something.
They may be busy, and they may be this, they may be that. But
I said, no, I'm going to go see Joe. I want to see Joe. And that's
it. But I got Joe on my mind. I love
Joe. He's my brother. My father, my mother, my sister. I love Joe. I want to be around
Joe. I thought, I want to go see Joe. I miss Joe. I want to
be around Joe. I believe you feel the same way.
And I tell you what, if we want to see those with love, sure
we do. If we want to be free from pain and sorrow and trouble,
sure we do. If we want to have pleasure and
happiness, sure we do. But our main concern isn't going
to heaven. It's got to be to want to see
God. It's got to be. To be brought into everlasting
communion with God Himself. Everlasting enjoyment and fellowship
with Christ Himself. Like a young couple in love. A young couple in love is not
concerned with outward circumstances, at the first. They're not concerned
with outward circumstances because they have each other. They have
each other. And the bride of Christ, he's
not concerned with the circumstances in this array of men. He's in
love with Christ. He's going to have, he's going
to ever have eyes for Christ like that bride walking down
that aisle, you know, looking at her. I remember when Mindy and I first
got married. We lived in a three-room apartment. All of you have been
through this. We lived in a three-room apartment. It wasn't very big
at all. Every piece of furniture we had
was given to us. Slip covers on them. Springs
broken in the couch. At the front of the couch popped
up with bricks. The bed sunk in the middle of
nowhere. We just rolled together. That's just fine. But we wanted
it. Happier than we've ever been
in our lives, Emmett. Marital bliss. Marital bliss. We ate good. We slept good. We... You finished the rest? Feast on each other. Feast in
on one another. weren't we? Happy as larks. And I tell you what, the believer,
when he gets to heaven, is going to be on an eternal honeymoon.
Yes sir, he bought. What concern about the surroundings? Now I tell you what, under the
pure, all things are pure, what I just talked about. You know, well, you can join
the honeymoon while it lasts. It'll be over. Well, they were
right. The honeymoon's over, that excitement
and that joy and that thrill on one another and so forth.
But I really believe the deep abiding love has set in. I can
say that from all my heart for you folks. I believe you feel
the same way. But the child of God prefers
God above all in heaven. Heaven is God. He is God. All right, look at this, second
one. He said, Then there's none upon earth that I desire beside
thee. The child of God prefers God
above everything in heaven, and the child of God prefers God
above everything on earth. Like I said, there's no You can't
listen to this message indifferently. David looked around. Old David looked around at all
of his enemies. His enemies assailed him on every
hand. They troubled on this hand and
that hand from different people. And I tell you what, sometimes
your so-called friends can give you more trouble than your enemies.
But it really nothing hurts worse than that. It's what he said
over here. He said, if it was an enemy that
reproached me, that gave me a hard time, if it had been an enemy,
I could have taken that. But it wasn't. It was a man my
equal, he was my peer. is my guide, my acquaintance,
a fellow I've been taking sweet counsel with and walking in the
house of God with. That's the one that's giving
me all the trouble. And David said, the only fault, the only
way I haven't found guilt is I loved him too much. That's
my problem. He saw I was just a man like
him, and I loved him too much. Came down on his level, and now
I'm a nobody. And he's critical of me. David looked around, and he had
problems. Enemies and friends alike. David
looked around at the prosperity of the wicked. He looked at the
riches and the fame and honor of the world. He looked at his enemies that were assailing him. He looked
at his friends, and they gave him a hard time. And he looked
at the wicked in the world that were prospering. They weren't
even worshiping God, yet they're getting along just dandy. And
he had all kinds of problems. And this is the conclusion David
came to. I ain't got nobody but God. Not only in heaven, but
down here even. You ever reach that point? I
mean, I ain't got no friend in this world but God. And buddy,
he's a friend. If you know him as Christ is
a friend. He's a friend's stick that's
closer than a brother. He said, There's nobody and no
one and nothing I desire on earth above God. Even now, in this life, the believer
desires the enjoyments of God above all fleshly enjoyment.
When the child of God gives a glimpse of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ, when he hears the gospel of his salvation,
he comes to enjoy God and know God, and he wouldn't trade that
for all the pleasures of Egypt, all that this world has to offer. Come on now. I'm telling you what, I wouldn't
trade that 10 by 12 concrete block room down there for a penthouse,
a penthouse office overlooking Central Park and the presidency
of some major corporation. I wouldn't trade it for nothing.
Because I've enjoyed the gun. I've got a little glimpse of
it. I don't know how many times I've thought, I wish everybody
were here right now. got some glimpses of the glory
of God in the face of Christ down there, and I wouldn't trade
it for nothing. Not for nothing. The desire of the saints is to
know God. And this desire—listen—this desire,
unrealized, unfulfilled, completely—unfulfilled completely—this desire is what
causes us more heartache and sorrow and depression in this
life. That's what—read through the Psalms. Just casually read
through the Psalms, and all the way through the Psalms, you'll
find David saying the same thing over and over again. Oh, God,
my soul thirsted. Oh, God, where are you, God?
God, help me, please. Would you look down on me? God,
have mercy. Over and over, just all the way through the Psalms.
God, could you think on a poor and needy fellow like me? Where
is God? He's hid his faith from me. Whom have I but thee? There's none I desire, even on
earth." The presence of God right now. If you've ever experienced—you
can only know what he's talking about here if you've experienced
the presence of God while here on earth. He or she, the child
of God, he or she desires God, thirsts for God, hungers for
Christ, seeks after Christ to know more of Him, be filled with
Him, to be conformed with Him, The child of God lives in a spirit
of desire for God and for Christ. Psalm 27. Turn over there with
me. Psalm 27. One pursuit. Really? In this
life? Really now? This is just the
way it is. The child of God has one real
heartfelt desire, one thing needful, like Mary, who sat at Christ's
feet. And what did Christ say about
that desire? There was one thing that Christ
said, and she's chosen the best part. You know what Christ said?
She's chosen the better part, and Christ said it will not be
taken from her. She's chosen, she longs, she
desires, she wants more than anything to sit and just hear
Christ. And Christ said it will not be
taken from her. Where did you find Mary every time Christ was
around? Sitting at His feet. Where are we going to find Mary
when we get to heaven? Over there talking to Abraham? Sitting at the feet of Christ. Psalm 27. One desire, one thing
have I desired, verse 4, of the Lord, and that's what I'm going
after. My soul presses hard," David
said. That's what I'm after, that I
may dwell in the house of the Lord, that is, heaven, all the
days of my life. Why? See the streets of gold?
See Mama? No! To behold the beauty of the
Lord. How could you have that sort
of desire? If you've beheld His beauty down here, then and then
only. To inquire in His temple. To
inquire about what? Where Cain got his wife? God inquired in riches of His
glory and His grace. Look over Psalm 42. Look at this. Psalm 42, verse 1. To enjoy God. That's what this child of God
longs for more than anything, to enjoy God. Look at Psalm 42,
verse 1. As the heart panteth, blaze,
sighs, is thirsty after the water of
your soul, panteth my soul after thee." Oh, God! A heart, a deer, possibly wounded,
possibly wounded, scared of its enemy, running, scared, chased
by the enemy, hot, tired, thirsty, panting for water. David said,
that's what I want, God. That's the way I want God, he
said. And he, oh, when my soul thirsts for God, for the living
God, when? Did we ever ask this? When? When? Paul said, I have a desire to
depart and be with thee which is ours. Can you imagine what kind of desire
Paul had after he came back from there? Oh, I bet. You talk about a soul
that's downcast within him. Paul went to heaven, then came
back and had to live in this old place for a while. Oh, and
that's the reason he said, I have a desire to depart and be with
Him. It's just far better. Have you ever said that with
David? Oh, when shall I come and appear before God? When's
my time coming? I'll be glad when it's my time. I'll be glad. I asked old Todd,
Dan, I think I read that to you. Thought Todd was going to die. And I asked him, Todd, do you
look forward to dying? And the boy without a moment's
hesitation said, yeah, I sure do. I want to see Christ. You get a man thirsty for water
and all he'll think about is water. Ever been there? I'll tell you, you've worked
so hard at times, where all you could think about, after the
last dig and the last shovel for the last few or so, you got
water on your mind. And all you can think about is
getting to water. You get a man thirsty, and all
he'll think about is water. You get a man under the power
and influence of the Holy Spirit, and all he'll think about is
Christ. And he'll hunger and thirst and want to hear about
Christ, want to worship Christ, want to be with Christ's people.
Yes, this is the way it is. As I said this morning, you can
have your thousands of people that are walking the aisles get
a closer look at Jimmy or Billy. I'll take one person who is storming
the gates of heaven to get a closer look at God. Just one, finally
one. Look over at Isaiah 26. Isaiah
26. This is the common experience
of all of God's people after the things of God. Isaiah 26,
quickly, verse 8. Isaiah is saying, "...in the
way of God's judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee." What
is the way of God's judgment? That's Christ. Worship God in
Christ. I want to know Christ's way.
I want to walk in Christ, and I want to walk like Christ, the
way Christ walked. I want to walk in Christ's way,
and I want to walk the way Christ walked. Thy name. He said, My desire,
verse 8, the desire of our soul is to thy name. That is His person,
His character, taken up with the worship of and learning of
Him. And to the remembrance of thee, oh, with my soul, he said,
I desire thee in the night time. Like David said, David said,
I commune with my heart on my bed. David said, I wake up at
night thinking about it. In the night, I desire thee.
Look at this, he said, yea, with my spirit within me, I'll seek
you early. He said, David said in another
place, he said, my voice you're going to hear in the morning. What do you say when you wake
up in the morning? Now, I know we're human. Do you say when you wake up in
the morning, good Lord, it's morning? Or do you say, good
morning, Lord? David said, my voice you'll hear
in the morning. To the young people here, Shannon, you need to seek Christ now. It's good that a young man or
young woman bear the yoke of Christ in their youth before
the evil days come. This world and all that's in
it is going to get a stranglehold on you. When 99.9% of your classmates
haven't the slightest interest in God or Christ or these things
and think this is uncool, They don't like it. They don't want
to go to church, and never will from there on out, unless God
does something. Will the Lord find faith in you? I sure hope so. It's the prayer
of your mama and daddy, and me, and this church, that some young
people, that are young men, young men, twenties and thirties, Isaiah
talked about young men seeing visions, young men following
hard after the Lord, young men really taking up with Christ
and the gospel and the things of God, not this world. Young
men like David, young men like Jeremiah, young men like that.
Where are they? I hope we've got some here. Early. Seek ye early. Oh boy, this is what the Apostle
Paul said over in Philippians chapter 3. This is what he said
was his heart's utmost desire. He said, I count all things but
loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my
Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all faith, but I
count them just cow manure, that I may win Christ and be found
in Him. not having mine own righteousness
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith in Christ,
that I may know him, the power of his resurrection, the fellowship
of his suffering, being made conformable unto his death, if
by any means, whatever it takes, God, that I might attain unto
the resurrection of the dead, be quickened together with Christ."
Do you enjoy the preaching of the gospel? Do you? Well, I tell you, that's
what heaven's going to be all about. Do you enjoy singing about Christ? Yeah, this is choir practice. We need to turn our voices now.
And whatever men sing about now is what they're That's what's
on their heart. If they're singing about Mama,
well, God will let them sing about Mama in hell for the rest
of their lives, you know. Mama helped me. Heaven ain't a lot like Dixie,
though. I don't want to go. Well, you won't. You won't be
there. If you're singing about God, if Heaven's God, then if
God's Heaven to you, then that's where you're headed. Now, let me ask you some questions,
and I'll quit. This is to ascertain whether you truly desire God
or not. Are you interested? Let me ask you some questions
here. If you do truly desire God—this is important here, what
I'm about to say—if you truly desire God, you will respect
and admire God as God. You will respect and admire who
He is, not so much what you hope to get out of Him. That's what
these charlatans, that's what you were talking about. That's
what these charlatans, that's what the vast majority of this
generation is all about. What can you get out of God?
Yeah, I worship God. What can they really give me?
They don't know God. We all, everybody despises a
woman that marries for money, don't they? We think she's the
most despicable creature on earth. marry some poor old guy, seventy-eight,
eighty years old, about ready to die, you know, some twenty-five
year old girl, and she says, oh, I love him so much. You're
a liar. You're a liar liar. That's some
fire. I could have had to say that. But everybody despises somebody.
That's despicable, isn't it? That's despicable to God Almighty
that people want all they want concerning God's work. They can
get at it. I'll spew you out of my mouth. Do you let God ask God because
He's worthy, because He's God? Secondly, do you want to worship and serve
God? Will you get anything out of
Him at all? They asked John Calvin one time. Listen to this. John
Calvin was the most tireless worker There's just, there's
never been anybody second to, he was second to none,
Apostle Paul, in his endeavors, in his zeal and enthusiasm, in
his works, all of his life, for the cause of Christ and the gospel.
They asked John Calvin one time, they said, John, just suppose
that you found out that your name was not written in the last
book of life. Just suppose you found out for
sure you weren't going to be in heaven. Would you keep going
on at the rate you're going? He said, yeah. He said, God's
the only one that's worth all my time. God's the only one,
the only thing that's worth all my adoration, and praise, and
time, and energy, and effort. This world ain't as dire. God's
still worth it. Whether he saves me or not, he's
still worth it. Now, Buddy John Calvin had seen
the beauty of Christ. And you better believe John Calvin's
sitting at the feet of Christ right now. Questions, quickly. Why do you want to go to heaven? Golden streets, pearly gates,
freedom from problems, trials, sufferings. Do you remember me
asking that? Somebody we went out to eat with one time. Do
you want to see Christ? Do you remember that? An elderly
woman, supposed to be a believer, and she said, do you remember
that? It sunk my heart. It sunk me. It's like an arrow
pierced through my heart. We were talking about, don't
you want to see Christ? I said, and she said, she said, no, I really can't
say, but I do. Secondly, why do you want to
go to heaven? Well, secondly, Listen to this.
Boy, this will separate the sheep and the goats. If you could live
forever, if you could live forever in this world in ease, in pleasure,
free from pain and sorrow and suffering without God, would you choose to stay here? I know that's a supposition,
a hypothetical, but well, that's a good question, I believe. Would
you want to stay here? Well, that's what the world's
after, isn't it? That's the reason everybody's such health nuts.
They want to live forever. If so, you've never seen God.
This is how John Newton could write. He could write. While blessed with the sense
of his love, while blessed with the sense of his love, a prison,
wait a minute, while blessed with the sense of his love, a
palace would a toy appear. And prisons would palaces prove
if Christ would dwell with me there. Old John Bunyan spent
twelve years in a dungeon. He broke food on Filbert's progress
in that dungeon. That doesn't sound like a broken,
sad man to me. It sounds like a man who's had
somebody sitting beside him. Old Paul and Silas, when they
were in jail, they weren't worthy. Oh, well, they do. Singing praise. Thirdly, do you prefer Christ
above all others as the way to heaven? Oh, here's a good question. This will examine your heart. Do you prefer Christ above all
others as the only way to heaven, or would you prefer to get there
by your works, your decision, your baptism? Do you make, like
David, make mention of his righteousness and his only? Would you rather
talk about what you've done? Do you love salvation God's way,
or would you rather have it your own way? You see the glory and
the wisdom of God in it? Thirdly, what is your greatest
happiness on this earth? What's your greatest happiness
on this earth? Enjoyment of temporal things? Or that rare, it's rare, they're
rare, granted, yet unspeakable times of enjoyment with Christ
around the gospel and His people. I tell you what, you get a taste
of it. and nothing else will suffice. Fifthly, are you willing to live
in self-denial in this world? The essence of sin is self-love. The essence of grace and salvation
is self-denial. Now, I'm not necessarily talking
about things. That is, you have to deny yourself
things, though a willingness is required. But I'm talking
about denying—Christ said, The human will come after me, let
him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. That is,
to deny me. Deny my righteousness? Deny my
wisdom? I don't know anything. Deny my
self-worth? I have nothing. Deny my goodness? To deny my rights? I don't have
anything coming to me but hell. To deny my wants and my pleasures? I really don't need much. food
and raiment. That's what it is to deny the
self. The unsaved live for self. That includes the religious.
The saved live for Christ. The unsaved live for self. The
saved live for Christ. Let me read in closing Psalm
73. Read our text in verse 26. Let's
read this together here in closing. Verse 25 and 26, whom have I
in heaven but thee? God's my portion in heaven, and
there's none upon earth that I desire beside thee. But he
says, look at this, for your own comfort, because of weakness. Verse 26, he said, my flesh and
my heart fails though. These desires aren't always to
their fullest. My flesh and my heart fail me.
The Spirit is willing though. It is. The flesh is so weak,
so weak, and such a strong tug there. And he knows, he knows,
Ephraim. He knows. He's been here. He
knows. Satan tempted him, didn't he?
Satan tempted him. He said, I'll give you all this
world. Satan himself knew how strong
the lure and the temptations of this world are to the flesh,
and Christ had a body of flesh. And so Satan said, I'll tempt
him with the greatest temptation of all. I'll give you everything
your heart desires. But it wouldn't work. Christ said, thou shalt worship
the Lord thy God. Give something to eat, then you're
hungry. A man doesn't live by bread alone. Spirit is willing, oh, but the
flesh is so weak Christ said that. My flesh and my heart fails. How about you? My desires aren't
always like this. I can't always say this. John,
can you? I can't always say this. Whom have I in heaven but thee,
and there's none upon earth that I desire beside thee. But the
Spirit, the principle, is there at all times. It's there. If
pressed, if carefully scrutinized, I'd have to say all the time,
yeah, that's right. That's the way I feel. Although
I might deny it at times, or the way I live and whatever.
Well, is my flesh and my heart failing? But God's the strength
of my heart. He's my rock. He's my rock. Christ is most strong, and I'm
the weakest. Christ is my rock and fortress,
my desired haven. And oh, we'll be able to sing
with David right here, this last part. Even my portion forever. What
have you got coming to you. David. God. God. Where you expect to look for
him. Found in him. What a portion. What a sight. Oh, you feel your weakness right
now in the things I've been talking about. You feel your desire is
so weak and so faint. But can you say in all sincerity
from your heart, anybody, can you say, can you confer with
David, can you say somebody, anybody, can you? I sure hope
so, because that's the true child of God. Nobody else. No, no,
no, you cannot serve God and man. A double-minded man is unstable
in all his ways. That's what David, I know, said
in that Psalm 86, too. He said, Unite my heart to fear
your name. Don't give me half a heart for
the world and half a heart for God. It won't work. God requires
a whole heart. That's what David said over there.
Unite my heart to do what? To seek after God. Let these
things appear to be toys to me. And when I become a man to a
woman mature strong and if they let me put away childish thing
or riches increase and they did today that David lived in a palace
that wrong. He said don't set your heart
on. It riches increase it not you heard. There's a difference. There's. OK stand with me I'm
sorry I took this along.