It's a blessed thing to have a firm conviction that
God is right and has done right no matter
what. Look at verse 75. Verse 75. I know, O Lord, that thy judgments
are right, and that thou in faithfulness
hast afflicted me. I repeat, it is a blessed thing
to have a firm conviction. And you can't give yourself this.
God has to do it. But how very blessed to have
a firm conviction that God is right, has always done right,
no matter what. The psalmist says, I know, O
Lord. I don't have to guess. I know. I'm sure of this. I know that thy judgments, that is,
thy determinations, how things are going to be in
thy purpose and thy wisdom, the judgments you make, O Lord, they're
always right. I know this, the psalmist says. And I know it this morning. I don't always approve. I know a lot of religious folks
that would have me believe and you believe that they're just
thrilled to death with everything God does and the way everything
goes in life. You need to turn and run from
that person fast as you can run. Because it's not always pleasant. Things are not for my comfort
and they're not for my pleasure. But with the Psalmist this morning,
I can say, I know, I do know, oh Lord, that thy judgments are
right. It's, it's pretty easy to say
that about what's going on in other people's lives. We're good
at that. But when it comes home, everybody has an opinion about
what the preacher ought to do and ought to be, ought to not
do. Well, the preacher has an opinion
about what everybody else ought to do and not do. It's a two-way
deal. But that's all it is, is opinion,
see? That's all it is. But when it comes home, when
it's your life, You have to come to grips with
the fact that God is running things. And he's not exactly doing what
you want. That's another matter. That's
another matter. If it's somebody else's world
falling apart, we've all got good words of explanation
why this or that happened. And we've got these very little insufficient supposed
words of encouragement. Well, God makes no mistakes. He don't. And we think that's supposed
to make a person feel better. They don't. But when there's hurt on top
of hurt and your heart is torn out and you say it's not right,
it's just not right. And it's not from the human standpoint. And it would be easier sometimes
to believe there is no God. But you know, there is, you know,
there is. I know. O Lord, that Thy statutes are right, and that Thou in faithfulness
hast afflicted me." Faithful to what? The Lord is faithful to Himself. He is faithful to His own character.
He is faithful to His covenant. He is faithful to His commitment
to make all of His children like His Son, like His only begotten
Son. Romans 8.29 tells us that. For
whom He, God the Father, did foreknow. He, God the Father, did also
predestinate, which means predetermined, to be conformed to the image
of His Son, that He, God the Son, Christ Jesus, might be the
firstborn among many brethren. That's what God's doing in our
lives. Now, I don't have to tell you, God has a big family. And he's decreed and he's determined
and he's committed to make every one of his children like his
dear son with whom he is well pleased. First John three, two beloved.
Now are we the sons of God right now? And it does not yet appear what
we shall be. Thank God. We're not going to
be what we are now. But we know that when he shall
appear, we shall be like him. For we shall see him as he is.
And every man that hath this hope in him purified himself,
even as he is pure. This Bible is too plain for the
comfort of our sinful flesh. What did that just say? Every
man that hath this hope in him purifies himself, even as he
is pure. In other words, people with no
heart to live clean and to live upright and have a sorrow for
sins and, and grieve over our sins and repent about, confess
our sins. That person has no reason whatsoever
to believe they're God's child. It's not ours to judge. I know
that. But it said every man that hath this hope in him purified
himself even as he is pure. Now, look at our verse again,
Psalm 119, 75. I know, O Lord, that thy judgments
are right. The last part of the verse says,
and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me. That word afflicted means to
be humbled, to be brought down, to have our pride broken, to experience what we would choose
to call unmerited trouble and unasked for. And often we say undeserved. And most always misunderstood.
I repeat, our heavenly father is
committed. To making us like Christ. And
that don't happen with the sunshine and all the time. And no storms in your life. You
see Christ himself. walk this earth. And he, Isaiah
the prophet, said 700 years before he got here, he's a man of sorrows
and acquainted with grief. He's no stranger to trouble. People say, oh, wouldn't it have
been wonderful to live when he lived and to walk the streets
of Jerusalem Shores of Galilee with Jesus. Wouldn't that have
been wonderful? What would have been wonderful
about it? Hebrews says he learned obedience
by the things he suffered. He was tempted in all points
like as we are yet without seeing. See, we'd rather avoid suffering
and remain ignorant. We're like the fella in Matthew
8 who came to Jesus and said, Master, it was a nice address,
wasn't it? Master, I will follow thee whether
so ever thou goest. He didn't even put any conditions
on it. He didn't say if we don't do this, that or other. Master,
I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. The Lord never told him he could
or couldn't. He just said, mister, here's
how it is. The foxes have holes. The birds of the air have nests. But the son of man hath not where
to lay his head." We're not going to be the honored
guest at any banquets in this world. And we're not going to
be staying at the Hampton Inn. And you know what? How that fellow
responded? The Bible don't say. He's not
heard from anymore. Never been heard of since. In our generation, especially, we've been so influenced, so
affected, so brainwashed, you could use the word. We're so
materialistically minded and so consumed with self will. You spend your early years, and
there's a few of you here under 50. You spend the first part of your
life trying to accumulate and acquire and get, and get, and
get. And there'll come a time, and I'm
about there, when you'll wonder, what are you going to do with
this? It's just stuff. Got to get rid of it. Who will
appreciate it? Who will love me for it? Materialistically minded, self-willed. And I say that to say this, not
many people in any church are much interested in being made
like Christ. Because we hate trouble. We hate
conflict. We hate suffering. There was
a man in Luke 4 full of demons which said to the Lord, leave
us alone. Leave us alone. What are we really? We're a bunch
of wrong people. full of wrong attitudes and wrong
actions with a little religion to cover it up. That's who we
are. I'll hurt you, but I won't be
hurt. That's how we are. It's very easy to blame second
causes for our hurts. It's always what he did, what
she did, what they did, what so-and-so said. Well, where's
God at in it all? I'll tell you where he's at.
He's right at the head. He's in the driver's seat of
every bit of it. You remember the story of Joseph,
Genesis 37 through 50? I want to tell you something
about it, and I'm not telling you this just for the sake of
history, Bible history back there, but about what God's up to and what
he's doing in your little world right now and what trouble is
about. Who is it that's got you tore
up? What is it that's got you worried out of your head? It might be me, or you, or you. But whatever you do, whatever
you do, don't fail to read God into it. You've, most of us have listened
to so much false religion that tells us God's not in this
and God's not in that. And, you know, if it's fun, he,
he, he, he wants you to be happy. And if it's hurtful, it must
be the devil. A lot of folks know more about
God than he does. Let me tell you where God's at. He hardened Pharaoh's heart. Now, good religion says he didn't
want to do it. No, this book says in Romans 9, 17, that God
raised Pharaoh up to be exactly what he was and to do exactly
what he did. to give his people hell on earth. Judas Iscariot was born to portray
the Lord Jesus. He said he was a devil from the
beginning. And in the story of Joseph, Joseph's
own brethren sold him as a common slave. How awful, how low down,
how sorry that is. And a lot of folks will say,
well, you know, God couldn't have wanted that to happen. Well, if he didn't, it couldn't
have happened. But it did. I've studied the story of Joseph
a lot of years, and I preach from it a lot of times. And I've
had a lot of trouble forgiving Joseph's brethren. Matter of
fact, I hadn't even much tried. Because they were wrong, buddy. They were bad wrong. About the
hurt they caused him. And yet I have no problem overlooking
the hurt I caused. That's how we are. After a whole lot of suffering,
you know the story, the Lord brought Joseph to a place of
honor in Egypt. And here's the bottom line. He
could not have gotten there any other way than exactly how he
got there. And he said to his brothers in
the end of the story, Genesis 45, eight, You didn't do this to me. And right there, I'm wanting
to say, Joseph Hush, they did do that to you. The lowdown scoundrels
don't take up for them. But see, he saw one bigger than
them. And he said to him, you didn't
do this to me. on the human level, they did.
He said God did it. What? Yeah. God did it. How hard would it be for you
and I to get our eyes off of each other and the hurtful things
we all do and say, Lord, you're in on this. I don't understand
it. I don't know why it's tearing
me apart and I hate it and you know it, he or she is wrong. But I know, oh Lord, that thy
judgments are right. This hurt is not something I
don't need. I'll say I don't need it. But look at the end of the verse.
Thou in faithfulness has afflicted me. Personally, I've been lied on,
falsely accused, criticized, cussed, and hurt bad right here
audibly in this room we're in. And I've spent way too many hours
crying. It's not right. It's just not
right. And on the human level, it wasn't.
But I should have been right here. I know, oh Lord, that our
judgments are right and that thou in faithfulness has afflicted
me. I long for the day when we'll
neither hurt nor be hurt anymore. But it's not in this lifetime.
There's so much wrong with us. And so very much affliction is
needed. And the Lord is faithful in sending
it. That's what this verse says. I think about the affliction,
the sorrow, the trouble, the interruption in a family. You
remember the story of Samson, four chapters, Judges 13 through
16. And I'm thinking for a moment,
not about Samson, but about his parents, godly people, Israelites. And the woman was barren, and
the angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, Thou shalt conceive
and bear a son. He'll be a very special child.
Don't cut his hair. Don't let him drink strong. He
used to be a Nazarite. And they raised him right. Imagine how their hearts were
torn when this fine young man came in one day. and announced
to them that he intends to marry a Philistine woman. So very shameful on their family. So very hurtful
to these parents. And they pleaded with him, don't
do it, but to no avail. And there's a little line in
the story which says Samson's parents knew
not that it was of the Lord. The little word of meaning from
the Lord. The Lord had occasion against
the Philistines. He's going to use Samson to kill
a whole lot of them. But their sorrow, their heartache,
They didn't know why. You remember the story of David? The shepherd boy, he did absolutely
nothing wrong to make Saul hate him and treat him as he did. David lived for years on the
run from King Saul. Hiding out in the mountains and
living in caves, Saul sought to kill him. Why would God do
that? David, through his much suffering
and sorrow, is able to tell us why. In the same Psalm, back
up verse 71. What did he say? It is good for
me that I have been afflicted. Oh, wait a minute. I look in
the mirror and say, Lord, this is not good. And you whisper, oh, Lord, I
can't take any more. This is not good. But here's a man that's been
brought way up the road, and he's able to say, it is good
for me that I have been afflicted. Why? That I might learn. thy statutes." All these wrong and hurtful things
in Joseph's life, in David's life, in Samson's life, and in
your life. Things that are inexcusable,
we say. But here's the deal for God's
child. He who loves you more than anyone
in this world is much bigger than what happens
to you in this world. He knows where he's headed with
us. He'll get there. Every one of his children is
going to be made into the image of his son. Now, if you're not
God's child, you may be exempt. You play religion and cuss and
fuss about everything and everybody from here to hell, trying to
have you away. Not so for God's children. John
6 45 said, and they shall all be taught of God. All Christ's
sheep are taught to behave like sheep and follow the shepherd. In the world he shall have tribulation,
but be of good cheer, I've overcome the world. Yea, in all that will
live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. It is appointed unto us not only
to believe, but also to suffer. Peter said, think it not strange
concerning the fiery trial, which shall try you trouble, trouble,
Martin Luther in the 1500s, not Martin Luther King. Now don't
mess up Martin Luther. The godly reformer, very bold
in his faith to stand against religion at
Rome, suffered much. And he wrote this on one occasion,
someone gave him a good sum of gold. He wasn't that comfortable financially
most of the time. Someone gave him this. And not
long thereafter, someone gave him a good sum of silver. You know what he said? He said, I feared more than I
ever feared anything. I feared God was giving me my
portion. In this life. What good is heaven? What good
is heaven here? If it's hell, you're after. That
was installed once more. I know, oh Lord. That God judgments
are right. And that thou in faithfulness
has afflicted me. The fairy tale always ends with
the line, they lived happily ever after. Well, the ever after for God's
children is not this world. Not in this world. I'm saying
to you, don't let those who hurt you make you bitter. Don't pause in your mind and
heart and miss the goodness of God. who is planting seeds in
this life. Seeds of hurt, but seeds that
will come to fruition after a while. Our hurts are to drive us to
our knees, not to put us on the defensive to start slaughtering
people. Peter said in the first epistle,
Love, this love of God that he's put in your heart. Love covers
a multitude of sins. People you don't love can't hurt
you. They only make you cuss. It's people you love that hurts
you. You that are parents hear something
bad about someone else's kids, oh well, I hate it for them. Have an altogether different
effect than if it's your kids. See? As God's children, we belong to him and we belong
to each other. And we're to love each other. And we don't always
do each other right. And when we don't, our adversary,
the devil, stirs that. But every ounce of jealousy and
self-will and foolish actions and words are very painful to
others and very poisonous to ourselves. We ought to work more at how
not to hurt than we do at how not to be hurt. It's a hurting world. And the
only way we survive is the common bond we have in Christ. Ephesians
4 32. And this is my final verse. And be kind. one to another, tender hearted. Oh, I don't have
any trouble with that. I do. Be kind to one to another, tender
hearted. Forgiving one another. Wow. Why? Because they deserve it?
No! Here's why. Even as God, for Christ's sake,
hath forgiven you. See, I even lied about that being
the last verse. I got one more. Galatians 6, 1. If any man be overtaken in a
fault, ye which are spiritual, you say,
oh, that leaves me out, does it? By the word spiritual, as
Jim talked about in a class, that doesn't mean those swinging
from a rafters and shouting all the time. No. Ye that are spiritual,
that is, ye that have the spirit of God living in you. Instead of dodging a person,
stomping them, kicking them while they're down, ye that have the
Spirit of God living in you, restore such a one. Go to them. Hey, this is not
the end of the world. I love you. God's doing something
here. Let's hang in here. I'm with you. We'll go through
this together. Restore such a one in the spirit of meekness. And then Paul adds this, by the
way, considering thyself, lest thou likewise be tempted. It could be you next week. Well, guess what, George? It's
now getting quiet enough for me to get started, but I'm through. Let's stand together. Come on, men, let's receive the
offering. And while we wait before the
Lord, I'll remind us not to forget the request of prayer, especially
Brother Earl in the hospital this morning. Nevelyn, I didn't
tell the whole story. He had a fall night before last,
and it was that part of the night. And then last night, early this morning,
this other episode and they're in the hospital and so Nevlin
hadn't slept much, so let's remember them both in our prayers. Amen. Amen. Thank you, Brother Robert. And
in light of this message, let's pray for Earl and Nevlin that
God will do in them that he's purposed this for. They didn't
ask for it. And it's not an accident. God's done it on purpose. And so it is with everything
in your life, in my life. And I repeat, I'm not the hypocrite
some people are, just saying, I'm thrilled to death, I'm tickled
to death with everything the Lord's doing. Hallelujah. He
just, oh yes, he does all things well, he does. But I sure don't
like some of it. Not when it inconveniences me,
not when it costs me, not when it hurts me. But he sees a bigger
picture. What I call hurt, He's really
help. It's help. He's going somewhere. And I'd rather say leave it alone. But I'm glad that he in faithfulness
has afflicted me.