His message as I was preparing
it today certainly blessed my heart, and I hope it will yours.
But I want to talk about tonight two things, two things that are
good for me. David, the sweet psalmist of
Israel, found in his experience that there were some things that
were good for him, that were good for him. And I want to talk
about just two of those things. And I've never laid claim to
know that I've learned these things or fully learned them
yet. But I want to learn them. I want to learn them. Not only
in my head, but in my heart. In my heart. And if God would
bless us and bless me to learn them in my heart, then by His
grace, I could submit myself to Him more fully, commit myself
to You, more fully, and to His blessed Church. And it's plain
to me that Our Gracious Father's teaching, and Our Gracious Father's
teaching me these two things. But oh, how slow a learner I
am. Let's look at these two things that are good for me, and maybe
you'll say they're good for you. Turn with me to the 119th Psalm.
Let's look at the first one, Psalm 119 and verse 71. Two things that are good for
me. Psalm 119 and verse 71. It is good for me that I have
been afflicted, that I might learn by statute. It's good for
me that I have been afflicted. Now, that doesn't fit well. That's one good thing that he
said that's good for him, that he's been afflicted. And this
doesn't go with today's health and wealth gospel. In fact, it's
so contrary to it. But it's the Word of God. And
don't go along with this, God's got a wonderful plan for your
life. It doesn't go along with this seed faith you give to God,
and God will give you ten times more back. When David said, it's
good for me that I've been afflicted, that I've been afflicted. You
know the Scriptures tell us, Paul told the Philippians, he
said, it's not only given to you on the behalf of Christ to
believe on Him, but also to suffer for His name's sake. And he says
that if you be without chastisement, You're a bastard, and you're
not a son." And Paul, when he had such revelations, and lest
he should be exalted above nature, the Lord sent him a thorn in
his flesh, and he says, my strength is made perfect in weakness,
so my grace is sufficient for you. And Paul said, well, I will
most gladly, therefore, rather glory in mine infirmities, that
the power of Christ may rest upon me. Nobody wants to be able,
to want to be brought to so weak that they say, I'll rejoice in
my infirmities. But beloved, you think about
your infirmities. How many infirmities do we have?
Infirmities in our prayers, infirmities in our commitment, infirmities
in our temperament, infirmities in our faith. We've got infirmities
in so many things. But anyway, our Lord says, you
know, in the world you're going to have tribulation, but be of
good cheer, I've overcome the world. And James says, oh, let
the rich rejoice. If God hasn't done this for you,
let the rich rejoice in that God brought him love. And then
Peter says, can it not be strange concerning the fire trials which
is to try you? So what I'm saying is this, when
David said, it's good for me to be afflicted, no man, no man,
should be disturbed by affliction. Nobody should be. For you know
that we were appointed to it. Now I'm not saying that trials
and afflictions are good for everybody. But they're good for
the believer. I know they're good for the believer
because this is what he said here. David's a believer. David's
a prophet. David's a man full of weakness
and infirmities like us. But see, afflictions make some
people bitter, make them sour, make them rebellious. But for
the true believer, afflictions are good. And I'll give you several
reasons why they're good. Because if God doesn't send these
afflictions to us, we would never know the reality of our faith.
If God didn't try us, if God didn't send afflictions, then
our trials would never reveal the reality of our faith. How
can I know I have faith in the Lord unless my faith is tested,
unless it's tried? How can I know it's true faith?
How can anybody, it's good for me to be afflicted, and let the
trials reveal the reality of our faith? An ever true believer,
and you go through the scriptures, if we don't, if trials, if trials
make us quit, We didn't have any faith. Faith, trials don't
make you have stronger faith. Trials don't make you have better
faith. Trials just reveal what faith
you have. That's all it does. If it's there,
it's going to reveal it. If it's not there, it'll reveal
it. And every true believer in the Bible was put to severe tests. Oh, they were put under great
trials. And they come forth from all
these trials, trusting in God Himself. Now you keep, look over
here in Job 23 with me just a moment. Look in Job 23. You look throughout
the Scriptures. You look at Abraham. His whole
life was one trial after another. But Abraham, when he was in the
area of Taodiz, and God called him out, and the first thing
he had to do was he had to leave the place where he was born and
raised in. He had to leave all of his family. took his wife
and went out, not knowing where he was going. He hadn't been
out there very long. And God says, now I'm going to
give you a son. And he waited years and years
and years and years and years until he says, we're not going
to never have a child. So he went into Hagar and had
a child of the flesh. And then after he had that son,
he had a family, went down into Egypt. After you come back from
Egypt, God says, take your son, your only son, and offer him
up there on that. So I need one trial after another. And yet
the Spirit just said that he was strong in faith, giving glory
to God. Look here in Job 23 and verse
10. But he knoweth the way that I
take. When he hath tried me, I shall
come forth as gold. My foot have held his steps,
his way have I kept and not declined. Neither have I gone back from
the commandments of his lips. I have esteemed the words of
his mouth more than my necessary foot." It's good for us to be
afflicted. Trials reveal our faith. The
reality of it in all trials, let me tell you this about them,
all trials are not unpleasant. Sometimes prosperity. God sends
great prosperity. God sends a lot of sunshine.
He sends a lot of good your way. And you know what? I tell you,
He does that to Christ. More men have fallen through
prosperity than they ever did through poverty. More men have
left God when they had a whole lot of stuff than they did when
they didn't have anything. I remember a man one time who
told me, and this is what he said, and he was a preacher,
pastor in a church, and he had a family, and he decided he wasn't
making enough money. And he said, I'd rather go hollering
with the hogs than scratching with the chickens. And sure enough,
he did, and he made lots and lots of money. But you can have
no confidence in a man who decides, I need money more than I need
to preach. Devas hath forsaken me, having
loved this present evil world. Judas sold Christ for thirty
pieces of silver. Prosperity hath slew its millions
and billions. But when a man realizes he ain't
got nothing but Christ, then he needs Him. And let me show
you, look in Proverbs 30 with me. I don't know if it's been
a while since we've looked at this, but look in Proverbs 30.
This is what we're talking about. know, they're not all. God will
send us great prosperity. He'll just fill our cup and let
it run over and run over and run over to see what we're going
to do if we're going to trust Him or trust our wealth and our
riches. Look here at Proverbs 30 and
verse 8, or excuse me, verse 7. Two things have I required of
thee. This is Agar speaking. Two things have I required of
thee. Deny me them not before I die. Remove me far from vanity and
lies. Now listen. Give me neither poverty
nor riches. Feed me with food convenient
for me. Lest I be full and deny the Lord,
and say, Who is the Lord? Or lest I be poor and still,
and take the name of my God in vain. Give me just what I need. Give me just what I need. No
more. And another thing about trials, not only reveal our faith,
but trials enable us, these afflictions enable us to see the frailty,
the frailty of our flesh, the weakness of our flesh, and in
that long to see the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. Solomon,
the wise man, you look at him through Ecclesiastes and through
Proverbs. He says this, he said, I've tried it all. I've tried
everything that a man could try. I've tried it, you name it, I've
tried it. And he says, you know what the
conclusion I come to? That all is vanity. Vanity of vanity, says the preacher.
Everything's vanity. When it's all said and done,
it's all gone, it's all vanity. Now you can't read Ecclesiastes. and just read it and know it. It's something that has to be
experienced. God's got to make us understand the frailty of
our claims, and understand that everything is but vanity. And,
beloved, a few trips to the graveyard, it reveals to us that it's appointed
unto men once to die, no matter whoever it is, and how much we
love them. A few trips to the hospital reveals
to us that all flesh is granted. and that grass withers. A few
trips to confusion reveals that in me, that is in my flesh, dwells
no good thing. A few trips to the valley of
disappointment and depression and doubt reveals our utter and absolute
dependence on God. Oh my, when you get disappointed,
you get depressed, and there's just days of darkness and darkness
and clouds and doubt. And you say, if you finally find
out you know that in your flesh dwells no good thing, and our
Lord Jesus says, without me, without me, without me, without
me, you can do nothing. Oh, trials reveal the frailty
of our flesh. And trials and afflictions But
know why they're good for us is because they leave us. Leave
us, leave me, looking to the grace of God alone for strength
and for help. That's why Paul says, let's come
boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace
to help us. When? In a time of need. When Paul had that thorn, and
he asked the Lord three times, he said, would you take it away
from me? And God said, no. And in that thorn that was sent
to him, God taught him two things. Taught him this, that with all
of his great learning and all of his God's blessings and all
of his revelations and being used of God, God taught him this
first and foremost, that he was still a frail man. That he was
nothing but a clay pot. But that though, beloved, he
had everything and knew everything, he claimed to be nothing. And
the second thing God taught him was that no matter what happens
to you, Paul, you can have this thorn in your flesh till the
day you die. And you will. But he said, I know one thing.
And he said, my grace is sufficient for you and always will be sufficient
for you. Never let you down. It'll always
be enough grace to get you through what you're going through. And
oh, beloved, not only did they leave us looking, leave me looking
to the grace of God, but at trials and afflictions. No wonder David
said, it's good that I've been afflicted. Trials and afflictions
enabled me to sympathize with and pray for and understand the
weakness and burdens of others. Paul May and I was talking about
this the other day. I mean, there's people that whenever
they have burdens and you love them so much, you just automatically,
your heart automatically gets under the load with them. Your
soul automatically gets under the load. I mean, when you've
been tried and you've been afflicted yourself, when you've been in
a situation and you've been brought to some awful, awful dark trials
and afflictions, then you learn to sympathize with others. You
learn to pray for them. And you understand the weaknesses
and the verbs that they have. You know, I'll tell you this,
I know this without a doubt, no man can weep with others who
hasn't wept himself. A man who don't know what it
is to weep, he can't never possibly weep for somebody else. And a
man who's never, ever experienced forgiveness, he'll never forgive
nobody else either. And no man, I'll tell you, no
man can show mercy to somebody unless he himself has received
mercy. And you know what God does? He
prepares His people, His people, us, to be able to help others
and minister to others. And you know how He does it?
By actual experience. You're going to experience things
before you know how to do something for somebody else. You're going
to experience sorrow before you can sympathize with somebody
else in their sorrow. You're going to experience loss
before you can ever weep with those that's lost somebody. You're
going to have experience in your flesh and the frailty of it before
you can understand how frail everybody else's flesh is. You
think I'm right about that? And trials, oh, it's good for
me that I've been afflicted. Trials and afflictions and all
these things that God sends our way, they help me to see the
sinfulness of my heart. Oh, trials and afflictions come,
and I see this sinfulness of my heart. I just feel like it's
just running over, just busking, just flowing. But it enables me, but it enables
me to rejoice in the righteousness of Christ, look away from myself
and see that though I may be sinful, And these trials and
afflictions, and I resist, and I cry out, my heart weeps over
it, yet God enables me to turn around and look and rejoice in
the righteousness of Christ. And I may say like David, or
be like Paul, O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver
me from this body of death? But then he turned around the
next line, he says, But I thank God that through Jesus Christ
my Lord, And oh, look with me in Philippians
4. Here's a couple of lessons we
need to learn, that Paul learned. And oh, I'd like to learn these
lessons. Philippians chapter 4, verse 11. Oh, that's good for
me to be afflicted. Trials and afflictions reveal
the reality of our faith. See the frailty of our flesh. Bring us where we sympathize
and weep and see the weakness of everybody else and pray for
them and sympathize with them and get under the load with them.
Philippians 4.11, look what he says. Not that I speak in respect of
want. I'm not talking like I want something
from anybody, for I have learned in whatsoever state I'm in. Now,
one thing of state is what condition we're in at any given time. Our
state may change, but our standing never changes. I stand and thank
God this is true. I stand before God and never
change it. But our state fluctuates. He
said, I've learned in whatsoever state I'm in that I am therewith
to be content. I know both how to be amazed.
I know how to have false say negative things to me. I know
how to be ridiculed. I know how to be blasphemed. I know how to be lied on. I know
how to be misunderstood. I know how to have nothing. I know how to have absolutely
nothing or no one I can trust in or that's it. I know how to
be amazed. And here's something that we really need to learn,
and I know how to abound. Very few of us know how to abound.
We know how to be without, but to abound. For God to really
raise us up and fill us up and cause us to abound. To be able to do both of them.
And be content whether you're down or whether you're up. Whether
you're full or whether you're empty. Whether you're put in
the dust or whether you're lifted up to the third heaven. And He says everywhere and in
all things, I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry. We're full. Christ gives us everything
we need, and yet at the same time, we're hungry for Him. When I talk to the world, I always
say, how are you? I've got no complaints. None
whatsoever. Both to abound and to suffer
need. Oh, what lessons to learn. So,
oh, it's good for me that I've been afflicted. That's the first
thing that's good for us. Good for me that I've been afflicted.
And, oh, beloved, there's only one way to learn, and that's
by trial, that's by affliction. Let me show you the second thing
that's good for me, back over in Psalm 73. Let me show you
the second thing. Psalm 73. verse 28. The psalmist said here, but it's
good for me, but it is good for me to draw near to God. And watch what he says, I have
put my trust in the Lord God. Oh, when a man's afflicted, When
these afflictions come, because it's drawn near to God, and say,
I put my trust in the Lord God, I'm going to tell what God's
done for me. I'm going to tell how God upheld
me. I'm going to tell how God kept me. I'm going to tell how
God preserved me. And as you read this 73rd Psalm,
you learn that these words that David is talking about, these
words were born out of distress of mind and affliction. Look
what he says there in verse 12. He said, Behold, these are the
ungodly who prosper in the world. They increase in riches. And
watch what he says about himself. Verily, I have cleansed my heart
in vain and washed my hands in innocency. The world's got everything. And here I've got enemies. I've
got afflictions. I've got burdens. I've got heartaches. I've got sorrow. I've got all
these burdens. And yet I look out into the world
and I see people, they've got everything seemingly. And here
I am. And he said, oh my. I said, why did I wash my hands?
Why did I cleanse my heart in innocency? Oh, and look what
he says up here in verse 21. 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. Nevertheless, I am continual
with thee, that hast holdeth my right hand." I may have been
a beast. I may have said, why did I worship
my aunt through innocence and cleanse my heart? He said, but
you held my right hand. Oh, bless His name. Oh, my. And then it comes to this conclusion,
thou shalt guide me with your counsel. And afterward, receive me to
glory. Who have I in heaven but thee?
Everybody says, I want to go see mama. I want to go see daddy. I want to go see this one. I
want to go see that. And David said, I ain't got nobody
in heaven I want to see but you. I won't see nobody but you. I
want to see you. And there's none on earth that
I desire but you. My flesh and my heart fails,
but God is the strength of my heart, my portion forever. So
it's good for me to draw near to God. I put my trust in the
Lord God. Now, I'll tell you what, as believers,
we make some pretty startling discoveries about ourselves as
we go along as believers. We find out that everybody doesn't
rejoice when you tell them about your faith in Christ. It seems
like everybody would be happy to say, well, I trust Christ.
I believe Christ. What a blessed Savior He is.
What a wonderful, wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord. He saved me
from my sin. He's been faithful to me all
these years. And oh, and you want to tell people about Him
and then they don't, they don't rejoice over it. In fact, most
of the time they'll act like they ignore you and say, well,
you know, you go your way and I'll go mine. You know, or just
act like they don't hear you. And another thing we learn about
ourselves. That's why it's good for us to draw near to God. Our
fleshly appetites. and our sinful thoughts, the older we get, it seems like
the worse they get. You think that they're going
to be curved one of these days. You think they're going to be
subdued one of these days. You think one of these days they're
not going to ever bother you again. But it seems like the
older we get, the farther along we get, that the worse our fleshly
appetite and sinful thoughts get worse. That's why he says,
oh, the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against
the flesh. They're contrary one to the other. And I cannot, I
cannot, I want to, the will is present with me, but how I perform,
I don't know how. I cannot do the things that I
would. That that I wouldn't do, I do.
And what I would do, I don't. So I cannot do the things that
I would. The flesh lusts against the Spirit,
and the Spirit against the flesh, and I cannot do the things of
the Word. Oh, and I'll tell you another
thing that surprises us. It seems like our seemingly sincere
and reasonable prayers are not always answered in a favorable
way. How many times have we prayed for our children? That seems
reasonable. We're sincere in it. How many times have you prayed
for your wife or your husband? How many times has there been
people in this congregation that I've prayed for, Lord, open their
heart. Please bring them to where they'll confess Christ, and they'll
say, Preacher, I want you to baptize me. I couldn't tell you
the time. That's a reasonable prayer, a sincere prayer. But why ain't they answering?
We want to give Him all the glory. We know He's not the one who
can save them. He's the only one who can do anything for him.
Nobody else can. We say, come hear the gospel.
Oh, I'm coming one of these days. And another reason it's good
for us to draw near our spiritual growth and all we have this,
we discover these things about ourselves and they startle us
about ourselves. Our spiritual growth seems to be so slow. We
have an appetite for knowledge. Oh, we want to know more about
Jesus, what I know, more of his love, tell me, show more of his
saving fullness, see more of his love who died for me. We
have an appetite for maturity. We have an appetite for growth.
And yet we turn around and find out we're so immature. And so
ignorant. No wonder the scripture says
the spirit is willing and the flesh is weak. Old John Newton wrote a hymn
about that. Let me read just a couple of lines of it to you.
Old John Newton, I ask the Lord that I might grow in faith and
love and every grace, might more of his salvation know, and seek
more earnestly his face. T'was He who taught me thus to
pray, and He, I trust, has answered prayer. But it has been in such
a way as almost drove me to despair. I hoped that in some favorite
hour at once He'd answer my request, and by His love's constraining
power, subdue my sins and give me rest. Instead of this, He
made me feel the hidden evils of my heart. and let the angry
powers of hell assault my soul in every part. Yea, more with
his own hand he seemed intent to aggravate my woe, crossed
all the paradise islands I skimmed, blasted my gourds, and laid me
low. Lord, why is this? I trembling
cried. Wilt thou pursue thy word to
death? "'Tis in this way,' the Lord
replied, I answered prayer for grace and faith. These inward
trials I employ from self and pride to set thee free, and break
thy schemes of earthly joy, that thou mayest find thy all in me." Oh, the outspreads of growth
seem so slow. And I tell you, we have these
darling discoveries. We're so often disappointed in
ourselves. Oh, so disappointed in ourselves.
And then we get disappointed in other believers. And then
we grieve because we don't have enough grace to overlook what
we see in another believer. We see the wicked prosper. We
see the rebel get gained. We see the blasphemer free of
trouble, laugh and mock and make fun of God. And here we go burdened
with afflictions of our souls. But look what the psalmist said
here in Psalm 73. He says in verse 16, He said, when I thought to know
this, it was too painful for me. Now watch this. Until I went
into the sanctuary of God, then understood I their end. Surely
you set them in slippery places. Thou castest them down to destruction. How are they brought to desolation
as in a moment they are utterly consumed with terror. Oh, God
said, he said, I went to the house of the Lord and God showed
me what their end is going to be. And David, what's your end
going to be? He says there in verse 24, you'll
guide me with your counsel. And afterwards, you're going
to receive me to glory. He said, you're going to desolate
them to take me to glory. Oh, no wonder, David said. I know
what's good for me. I know what's good for me now.
I know after looking at everything around me, I know what's good
for me now. To draw near to God and put my trust in the Lord
God. And beloved, God does all these
things for us to cause us to cease, to lean upon this arm
of flesh, to wean us from this world. And that's one thing I
do. I want to be winged from myself
in every single way. And then David, he says, I've
learned to draw near to God. It's good for me. So let's draw
near to him. Let's draw near to him in faith. In faith. Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. He that comes to God must believe
that he is, and he's a reward of them who diligently seek him.
Let's draw near to God in worship. In worship. And how in the world
can we do that? Well, first of all, we've got
to come as a sinner. Only sinners is ever going to worship God.
There's this leper come down from the mountain, and he came
to Christ, and he fell down and worshiped Him. And he said, Lord,
if You will, You can make me clean, and I will be Thine clean. We can come as a sinner, and
we can worship Him. We can come as a seeker, Sirs,
we would see Jesus and all draw near to God in worship. Come
as a servant, one waiting to do His will and His bidding.
Come as a son to His Father and pour out your heart. Let Him
know your needs. And then lastly, draw near to
God in praise. Bless you. Let everything that
hath breath praise you, the Lord. And I'll tell you something about
us, about the human race. It's sad, sad proof of our selfiness
and our sinfulness if we never approach God except to ask for
something. Never stop and say, Lord, I bless
you. Lord, I just praise you. Look
out and see a beautiful sunset or a beautiful sunrise and say,
Lord, thank you for letting my eyes see such things. Thank you
for the peace. Thank you for the quiet. Thank
you for the rest. Thank you for the gospel. Thank
you for Christ. Thank you for the blood. Thank
you for a church. Thank you for your word. Thank
you for your trials. Thank you for your afflictions.
Thank you, Lord, that you brought us to where you made us to depend
on. And if it takes breaking me a thousand times a day to
keep me trusting you, do whatever is necessary to keep me trusting
you. Break me and put me back together the way that you see
fit. You're the part of it, I'm the
clay, and I bless your name. And that's why you know it all
through the scriptures. He says, you know, God saved
us according to the praise, the praise of the glory of his grace. Praise to the glory of his grace
in order to glorify him, to glorify two good things, two things.