Thou, Me, and the World

Q: What does the Bible say about hypocrisy?

The Bible condemns hypocrisy as it dishonors God and reveals a lack of sincerity in one's faith. The Scriptures make it clear that hypocrisy is abominable to God. Jesus condemned the religious Pharisees for their pretentious behavior, as seen in Luke 16, highlighting that what is highly esteemed among men can be detestable to God. This reflects a profound truth found in Psalm 139, where God knows the heart and sees beyond outward appearances. To pretend to be what we are not, especially in our relationship with God, is considered the most foolish action one could undertake, denying God's omniscience and character. Thus, embracing sincerity and authenticity in our walk with the Lord is essential for true worship.

Q: How do we know God's sovereignty is true?

God's sovereignty is affirmed through His intimate knowledge of us and His control over creation as depicted in Scripture. God's sovereignty is a foundational doctrine in Scripture, emphasized in many passages that reveal His omniscience and omnipotence. Psalm 139 illustrates this beautifully, showing that God knows our thoughts, actions, and even our formation in the womb. He possesses perfect knowledge of all things before they come to pass. Furthermore, God's sovereign design ensures that nothing occurs outside of His will. As believers, we can take comfort in knowing that we are known and loved by a God who orchestrates all events according to His purpose. This acknowledgment deepens our trust in His plans and reinforces the assurance of His sovereign grace in our lives.

Q: Why is knowing God personally important for Christians?

Knowing God personally allows Christians to experience His love, guidance, and the fullness of life He offers. The personal knowledge of God is paramount for Christians as it transforms our faith into a living relationship. Psalm 139 expresses the depth of God's understanding of us—He searches us, knows us, and is intimately acquainted with our innermost thoughts and emotions. This personal relationship fosters a profound sense of belonging and assurance in His love and mercy. Furthermore, by knowing God personally, believers gain wisdom, guidance for life decisions, and strength to endure trials. This intimacy is a source of comfort and stability, enabling us to navigate life's challenges with the knowledge that we are seen and valued by our Creator.

Q: What does Psalm 139 teach us about God's knowledge of us?

Psalm 139 teaches that God has perfect, intimate knowledge of every aspect of our lives. Psalm 139 presents a powerful affirmation of God's omniscience and intimate knowledge of His creation. The psalmist declares that God knows when we sit and when we rise, signifying that there is no moment of our lives hidden from Him. He understands our thoughts even before they form in our minds. This all-encompassing knowledge serves both as a source of comfort and a call to accountability. It illustrates God's deep love and concern for us, as He is aware of our struggles and weaknesses. Therefore, knowing that God comprehensively understands us encourages us to come to Him without pretense, fostering a genuine relationship based on honesty and trust.

Q: Why is simplicity in worship significant?

Simplicity in worship underscores sincerity and authenticity in our relationship with God. Simplicity in worship is significant as it reflects the sincerity of our hearts toward God. The Apostle Paul emphasizes the importance of simplicity in his ministry, urging believers to engage in worship and service without ostentation or pretense. This resonates with the teachings of Psalm 139, where the psalmist desires to be known and accepted by a God who looks beyond outward appearances. Simple worship highlights our genuine love and devotion, creating a space where we can encounter God's presence authentically. Furthermore, in a culture that often values complexity and grandeur, returning to a simple and sincere worship practice reminds us of the core of our faith—an honest relationship with God formed in the humility of our hearts.

nothing more foolish, there's
nothing more dishonoring to God. There's no greater denial of
the character of God, nothing more foolish, nothing more dishonoring
to God, and nothing more denying of the character of God than
for you and I in his name or in the name of religion to pretend
to be what we're not. That's the most foolish thing
a man ever engaged upon to do, to pretend to be what he's not
in the light of this psalm, or to claim to believe what we do
not believe and what we have not experienced. This is the
most foolish thing a person could
do. You know, the Scripture says, Let the pot sherds of the earth
deal with the pot sherds of the earth on the basis of whatever
they want to deal with, you know, deceiving one another, or tricking
one another, or conning one another. But a man is foolish to employ
these tactics with God Almighty. That's just the most foolish
thing you could do in the light of the sun. Or to do religious works to be
seen of men. to be heard of men or to be approved
of men. You know, when Samuel went down
to the house of Jesse to anoint a king, and Samuel looked at
the different sons of Jesse, and they all were impressive
young men, very impressive. And every time he looked at one
of those sons as they were brought in In succession, he thought,
now this is the Lord's choice, or this is the Lord's choice,
or this is the Lord's choice. And that was based on human understanding. This man impressed Samuel, and
Samuel impressed this man. They were dealing with one another
as men, so limited in their understanding and knowledge of themselves or
one another. Finally, David came in, and the
Lord said, this is my anointing. Samuel, the Lord does not see
as man sees. Man looks on the outward countenance
and God looks on the heart. That's what we have in this whole
thing. God looks on the heart. And for us to seek to pretend
to be what we're not, or to lie to one another, to
try to deceive one another and claim to believe what we don't
believe and what we haven't experienced, it's the greatest act of stupidity
a person could ever try to perform in the light of what this psalm
says. Or to do our works of religion to impress someone else, to be
seen or heard of me. And you know, our Lord said in
Luke 16, He said He was condemning the religious Pharisees And my,
we have so much of that today. He was condemning the religious
Pharisees, and he said, you do your works to be seen of men.
And you are they which justify yourselves before men, impressing
one another, trying to win the favor or approval of one another,
trying to appear to be more pious than one another, more holier
than thou, or this sort of thing. You justify yourselves in the
eyes of men, but he said God looks on the heart. And that
which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination to God. That
which we highly esteem in religion, God hates. Pretension, hypocrisy,
insincerity. Oh my, I came up with this too. That's the first thing I saw
in this whole thing. I came up with this. Secondly,
now that's the first. There's nothing more foolish,
nothing more dishonoring to God, nothing he hates with a greater
hatred than hypocrisy. He despises it. Our Lord Jesus
Christ had no harsh words for the woman found in adultery.
His harsh words were for the pretenders. Our Lord had no harsh words for
Zacchaeus. His harsh words were for the
hypocrites. Our Lord always read through
the New Testament, through the four evangelists, Matthew, Mark,
Luke, and John, and find how compassionate and affectionate
He was with people who erred and knew it. and how hard and
harsh his hardest words were for religious Pharisees. He called
them a generation of snakes. He called them hypocrites. He
said, how can you escape the damnation of hell just on the
basis of pretending to be what you're not? How can you escape? And the second thing I saw in
looking over this psalm is this, wise indeed. Oh, you know, I
admire Solomon when the Lord came to him, and as I get older,
I begin to understand a little bit more of that for which he
asked. The Lord came to him and said,
Solomon, take your choice. Whatever you want, I'll give
you. Whatever you want. And that man must have been wise
already. That man said, Lord, Give me
wisdom. Give me wisdom. And I see this. Wise is the person, even if it
be one of these dear children, can discover it early. And wise
is the young person and the middle-aged people and us older people. And
wise is the man who's on the very brink of eternity. Like
I was reading today, and David said, there's one step between
me and death. Well, I better be the possessor
of one thing if there's one step between me and death, and that's
Christ's wisdom. But wise is the person who has
laid hold of two things, two things, in his relationship and
knowledge of the living God, his relationship with and his
knowledge of the living God, two things. You know what they
are? Simplicity and sincerity. And that will touch anything. Paul talked about his preaching,
and he condemned these colorful characters and eloquent orators
And he said, Satan is a subtle enemy. He deceived our mother
Eve. I hope he doesn't deceive you and take you away from the
simplicity of Christ. The simplicity. Learn the simplicity
of worship. Learn the simplicity of prayer.
Learn the simplicity of giving. Paul said, let him that giveth
do it with Simplicity. I know that means liberality.
But simplicity. Unadorned. No trumpets sounded. No horns blown. Simplicity. No decoration. Study the Lord's
table. How simple. Bread. Not caviar. Not all the... Bread. Just the
plain, simple bread. The thing that we take so for
bread. And the fruit of the vine. and
do it in remembrance of me." Simple. You know, the Apostle Paul summed
up his whole testimony, I know whom I have believed. I am persuaded
he is able to keep that which I have committed. Simplicity. Our Lord turned to the disciples
and said, will you go away? They said, to whom shall we go?
Thou hast the words of life, eternal life, and we believe
and we're sure that you're the Christ, the Son of God. Simplicity. And then sincerity. I was thinking of an illustration
of sincerity, and I thought about Peter after he had denied the
Lord after he had gone back fishing
and led the other disciples to go with him. Remember, he quit
the ministry and Tom went fishing. He didn't have anything to pretend
with, did he? He cursed the Lord. He denied
he knew Him. He quit the ministry. He'd gone
back to his old vocation. And the Lord, on His own initiative,
appeared to him while he was out there fishing, and he came
in humiliated, embarrassed, stripped. In fact, he was naked out there,
and he threw that fisherman's coat around, remember? He didn't
have nothing on, swam to show. And there he stands, there he
is, the fellow that had boasted he'd do this, that, and the other,
and he'd done none of it, in fact, the opposite. And the Lord
said, do you love me? Now, what's he going to say?
There's nothing to pretend about, is there? So he just finally,
he said, Lord, I love you. Finally, the third time, he said,
do you love me? He said, Lord, you know everything. You know
I love you. That's all I've got to hang on to. That's sincerity. That's sincerity. I'll tell you
another. Let me read you this. If you
want to, turn to Romans 1. Listen to Paul. I like this. This is about as close as Paul
comes to swearing. In Romans 1 verse 9, he calls
on God to be his witness. Sincerity. I stand here tonight
and preach to you. I'm your pastor. I go other places
and preach. And how do you convince me that
you're sincere? Everybody's suspicious. Everybody
deals so much in other areas with crooks, they just expect
you to be a crook. Did you know that? I went down
to apply for my Social Security Monday, and they gave the impression
they thought I was a crook or something, you know. I guess
they deal with so many crooks, they expect you to be a crook.
And finally, Paul says in Romans 1-9, God is my witness. I call on heaven, I call on Almighty
God as my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel
of his son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always
in my prayer. I'm not after what you have,
I'm not after what you can give, I covet you for Christ, that's
what he's saying, and God Almighty is my witness. He did it again
over, I saw it in 1 Thessalonians 2, turn over that. 1 Thessalonians
chapter 2. 1 Thessalonians 2, listen to
him in verse, 1 Thessalonians 2, 5. Talking about his ministry. Verse 4, 1 Thessalonians 2, 4,
listen. But as we were allowed of God
to be put in trust. with the gospel. What a sacred,
sacred trust. Beck and Bob are going to be
gone starting tomorrow for a few days. And again, I've used this
illustration before, but they're going to trust Darcy and I with
their greatest treasures, the children. That's a sacred trust
to me. And God has trusted us with His
gospel. Put it in our hands, Richard.
Trusted us with it. That's what Paul's saying. He's
trusted me with the gospel. Even so we speak, not as pleasing
men, but God, which trieth our hearts, for neither at any time
use we flattering words as you know. nor a cloak of covetousness,
God is my witness." That's what I'm talking about. Sincerity. Half we can get a hold of those
two things. Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity. Christ is all in
him, dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily and I'm
complete in him. absolutely, undeniably, unchangeably
complete in Christ. And if I can just come around
with this right here, God is my witness, whom I serve with
my spirit in the gospel of His Son. I am sincere in my commitment
to Christ. I am sincere in my dealings with
you. I have no, I don't have a, I'm
not Covering covetousness with a cloak of religion. Now what
he's saying there, see, I'm not covering a covetous heart with
a cloak of religion. God is my witness. Now, and that's
what this psalm's all about. Come clean before God. What this psalm's all about,
the Lord God sees us. The Lord God knows us. The Lord God understands us. The Lord God is intimately acquainted
with our persons, with our nature, with our thoughts, with our emotions,
with our motives, with our character. And it's oh so important that
we know Him who knows us. That's what it's all about. Know
Him. Not talk about Him. Somebody else that knew Him.
That's what they do at so many of these conferences now. They
talk about our forefathers who knew the Lord. That's right.
They talk about our forefathers who knew the Lord. I want to
know Him, eternalized to know God. And the Son of God had come
and given us an understanding that we may know God, the true
and living God. Paul prayed, O that I may know
Him. who knows me. I may know him who knows me.
Alright, Psalm 139, let's look at it. Oh Lord, thou hast searched
me, searched me and known me. You ever had a physical? I mean
a real, bona fide, genuine physical. I had one one time down in New
Orleans, Louisiana, Tulane University Hospital. I was down there three
days. And brother, I had a physical. It's embarrassing. A physical
is embarrassing. I'm not talking about one of
these where they take your blood pressure and pull some blood out, you
know, and listen to your heart. I'm talking about they find out
all about you. Have you ever had a spiritual? Not a physical, a spiritual.
That's what this is all about. Lord, thou hast searched me. Woo! I had known. Boy, I thought about this. I'm
such a small part of this vast universe and the whole kingdom
of God's dear Son. I'm such a peanut. I'm such an
infinitesimal, minute atom in this whole universe, yet the
Lord knows me. And the Lord God knows me as
thoroughly and personally as if I were the only creature in
this universe, and He has examined me so minutely and searched me
individually with His sovereign eye that David said he knows
the innermost secrets of my soul. Now that's what I was talking
about. Lord, thou hast searched me and known me. And I'm not just talking about
the sole of our feet to the top of our head. I'm talking about
clear down where the joints in the marrow are and the innermost
secrets of the heart and soul. God knows it as if it were the
only object of His searching. That's how plain it is. What's
this? Verse 2, And thou knowest my
down sittings and my uprisings. He knows my movements when I
sit down to read, when I sit down to write, when I sit down
to watch the television, when I sit down in my easy chair to
take a nap. He knows my down sittings. He
knows my uprisings. He knows when I rise to walk,
to work, or to play. Thou understandest my thoughts
afar off. what they have been, what they
are, and even what they will be. He knows my thoughts before
I think them. Everything that I've thought
this past thirty seconds, God knows intimately and personally. He knows my thoughts afar off. Somebody said, isn't that disturbing? That God so thoroughly, completely
knows my thoughts? Well, yes and no. Yes and no. God knows my thoughts. He knows why I think them. He
knows what I'm thinking. He knows what I will think. Is
that disturbing? Yes. It's disturbing to me that
I should continue to be so sinful and so self-centered and so proud,
so full of pride. So yes, in a sense, it is disturbing
that God knows my thoughts. But secondly, no, it is not. It is comforting. Because He
remembers my frame, and He knows I'm dust, and He expects it.
Is that wrong to say that? But it's so anyhow. He expects
it. He knows my frame. He remembers
that I'm dust. But He considers me not in myself,
but in Christ. And not only are my sins forgiven,
my thoughts are forgiven. That's right. So I'm glad he
knows my thoughts. How could he forgive them if
he didn't know them? And then verse 3, thy compasses,
that's encircled. You encircle my path. You encircle
me, whether awake or asleep, my path, my lying down. He's
totally acquainted with all my ways. Art thou acquainted with
all my ways, and my motives, and my purposes? Verse 4, and
there's not a word in my tongue, not a word in my tongue, but
O Lord, thou knowest it all together. Somebody said, God knows what
we say, yet He knows why we said it. He knows the motive and the
reasons, and think about it, He knows the results too. And verse 5 said, Thou hast beset
me behind and before. What's that word beset mean?
Hemmed me in. Thou hast surrounded me, encompassed
me, and hemmed me in before and behind. There's no escape. Thou
hast chosen me and separated me and set your affection upon
me and beset me before and behind. I'm encircled. I'm hedged about. Satan said of Job, you've hedged
him about. And I tell you that's true of
all of God's sheep. He's hedged us about. He's beset
us before and behind and hemmed us up. We belong to Him. Now
watch this. And laid your hand on me. And laid your hand on me. Spurgeon
said this when he talks about the Lord hedging us about. That
hedge is not very far away because He has laid His hand on us. He's
not only hedged us about and beset us before and behind, but
He's literally laid His hand on me. If you're one of His children,
He's laid His hand on you. Now Moses may flee to the desert
sands and stay there forty years, but the Lord laid His hand on
him. And Jacob may have to leave home and live in a strange land
and fear the wrath of his brother Esau, but God laid His hand on
him. And David may flee from Saul
and live in a cave or in a forest. He may sit on a throne. He may
be driven off that throne by Absalom and his son. He may be
under great humiliation because of his sin. He may be lying on
a dying bed, but God has His hand on him. Jonah may take a
ship to Tarsus. Peter may deny his Lord. Saul
of Tarsus may blaspheme his name and persecute his church. But
he said, he sent me, he's beset me behind and before and laid
his hand on me. And boy, I'm telling you, in
this business of preaching here and wherever I go, last night
down at Don's and next week up to Illinois', I'm looking for
some folks about whom it can be said, God laid His hand on
them. I might find one on the way to
Tarsus. I might find one sitting in a
desert. I might find one living in a cave. I might find one here
and there, but I'm looking for some folks that God laid His
hand on. Now watch what he said in verse
6. What do you think of that? God has searched me and known
me as if I were the only creature in this universe, isolated me,
not critically, judgmentally, but lovingly. He knows me. He knows my down sittings and
uprisings. He understands my thoughts. He's
encircled my path. He knows my ways. He's acquainted
with all my ways. There's not a word in my tongue
that God doesn't know, and He's hedged me about, and He's beset
me before and behind. He's set His affection and love
on me, and He's laid His hand on me. I'm His. Now watch verse 6. Such knowledge is just too wonderful for me.
Such knowledge. What knowledge are we talking
about? His knowledge of me. You know what we're talking about?
Such knowledge. You know what we're talking about, John? This
kind of knowledge, I can't comprehend. I've lived with Doris 44 years. She's lived with me 44 years.
We know each other pretty well. But we don't know each other
like what we're talking about here. I've been your pastor, some of
you dear people. Paul, Eddie, and some from Russell,
and all the rest of you. Forty years. Y'all know me and
I know you, but not like we're talking about here. This kind
of knowledge. That's when the Lord said to
that bunch at Matthew 7, I never knew you. This is the way He's
talking about it right here. I never knew you. Not this way.
Such knowledge. Such omniscience. Why me? Why have you singled me out?
Why have you set your love upon me? Why have you set your affection
on me? Who am I? His attributes. He
knows everything. His elective grace. I know my
sheep. His incarnation. His life. His death. His resurrection. His present care. His knowledge
is just... He says it's too high. I can't
attain unto it. It's just too high. Too mysterious,
too wonderful. The finite mind just can't attain
to this knowledge. My sheep hear my voice and I
know them. I know them. In verse 7, what's
this? Now if aware of my sin, if full
of fear at this God's presence, full of fear, If desiring to
escape that confrontation with His holiness or that surrender
to His Lordship, where shall I go? Whither shall I flee from
Thy Spirit? Whither shall I flee from Thy
presence? If I sin in the heaven, Thou art there. If I make my
bed in hell, Thou art there. That's Your hand on me. If I
take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts
of the sea, way out there, even there shall Thy hand be on me. and thy right hand hold me. If
I say, surely the darkness will cover me, even the night will
be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not
from thee, but the night shineth as the day, and the darkness
and light are both alike to thee. How long has he known me like
this? Look at verse 13. Thou hast possessed my reign.
Thou hast covered me in my mother's womb." You know what that's saying?
I'm talking about God's elect. I'm talking about God's sheep.
I'm talking about God's jewels, God's people. I'm talking about
those who know Him. That's who David's talking about.
And he says here, the Lord formed me and made my inward parts. When a child is conceived, when
one of these sheep is conceived in the womb with a minute, microscopic
seed, he said, you formed and made my inward parts, even then,
my soul, my spirit, and my mind, where all my body, my height
and weight and gifts, and abilities and personality and soul and
mind and spirit were all in that seed and you possessed me and
you covered me in my mother's womb, you made me, you farmed
me, you owned me, you designed me. That's what he said, you
designed me as I am in my most secret parts. You designed my
soul in my most secret place, my mother's womb. Let me show
you something. I never did see this before.
Proverbs chapter 8. It refers to it here in our center
reference. Proverbs chapter 8. I've read
this about Christ, and it is about Christ. Proverbs 8. Who
is wisdom? But Proverbs 8, 22. When they
referred me back here, I couldn't help but see that he's talking
about Christ's church too, Christ's people. Proverbs 8, 22. The Lord
possessed me in the beginning of His way before His works of
old. I was set up from everlasting,
from the beginning wherever the earth was. That's Christ, but
that's His people too. And that's what he's saying here
in our text in Psalm 139, 13. He owned me. He possessed me. He farmed me. He knit me together
in my mother's womb. He covered me with His power
and presence even in my mother's womb. You say, well, God gives
life to all men. Not like this. Not like this. You will see this in a minute,
not like this. And watch this now. So I will
praise thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I am fearfully
and wonderfully made. Marvelous are thy works, and
that my soul knoweth right well. Now watch this. My substance,
that's my being, my body, my life, my substance. That's the
substance of me, that's me, my being, soul, spirit, life, was
not hid from thee, even when I was made in secret. Even in that, way back there
in that very moment of conception, when I had my beginning on this
earth, I was not hid from thee when I was made in secret and
curiously wrought, strangely, mysteriously, wrought in the
lowest parts of the earth. That doesn't mean in hell, that
means in the womb. That means in the darkness of
the womb, where I was wrought, where I was curiously and strange
and mysteriously wrought. What's this now? Your eyes saw
me. How did he see me? A lot of ways
he saw me. Because he doesn't... If you're
watching a parade, You're standing in the door of a store, downtown
Ashton-Winchester, and watching a parade. Here comes the man
who's called the, I don't know, what's he called, parade master,
sergeant at arms. He comes by, and then the drum
majors come by, and then the majorettes come by, and then
the band comes by, and then the soldiers come by, and then the
veterans come by, and the other thing comes by, and you don't
see it until it's right here, and then you see it no more.
But another man's up on top of the bank building looking at
the parade, and he sees the end from the beginning, the whole
thing in one glance. Thine eyes did see my substance,
my beginning in Adam's fall, my nature, my birth, my formation,
my life, my death, my glorification. I just see my substance yet being
unperfect, incomplete. I know we see pictures of babies
as they're growing in the womb. They look grotesque at first.
Then they're nothing, and then they're grotesque, and then they're
the full child, and it's born, and somebody said, little babies
aren't pretty. Mine were. But thine eyes did see my substance,
yet being incomplete. He saw my full being, my full
glorification, before I conceded in the world. That's what he
said. And in thy book all my members were written. I thought
God waited till we walked down the aisle and then he wrote our
names in the blood of Christ in the book of the Lamb of God.
That's not good enough knowledge for me. You see, His knowledge,
He knows me, for He... You saw my substance being incomplete,
and in your book all my members, all my days, all my riches, all
my inheritance was written. That's past tense. They were
written. When in continuance, which in
continuance were fashioned, when as yet there wasn't even any
of them. Yeah, that's it. That's glorious, sovereign, particular
election. Selection. Particular love and
mercy. He knew me. That's not said of
everybody. And God's not busy erasing names
from that book either. They're there. They're there. Now verse 17. How precious are
thy thoughts unto me. Oh God, how great is the sum
of my... He's not bragging about his thoughts
toward God. I want my thoughts to improve.
I want to know Him who knows me. I want to love Him who loves
me. I want to look to Him who has
looked upon me. Don't you? But the thing that
I'm constantly amazed about and taken up with and rejoicing in
is not my love for Him But His love for me, and not my thoughts
toward Him, but His thoughts toward me. My thoughts toward
Him are going to improve. But His thoughts toward me are
perfect. He calls them precious. What are some precious things
in the Bible? Precious promises, precious blood. He is precious. Precious in the sight of the
Lord or the death of His saints. And then His thoughts toward
me. How precious are His thoughts. It's marvelous that he should
even think on me. When I consider the things I've
made, what's man that aren't mindful of him? It's marvelous
that he should think on me. It's marvelous that his thoughts
toward us would be good and not evil. It's marvelous that his
thoughts toward us, listen, he said, if I should count them,
verse 18, they're more in number than the sand on the desert shore,
on the desert the floor and the shores of the ocean. How much
sand is there? That's God's thoughts toward
me. That's His thoughts toward His people. When I awake, I'm
still with Thee. Now, here's the third part of
this message. I call this message, Thou, Me,
and the World. And the first part of the psalm,
David talked about thou, O Lord. And then the second part, from
verse 14 to 18, he talks about me. God's thoughts toward me. How precious are they. Thou didst
see me. You saw my substance being incomplete. Now, he talks about this world.
And he says this. Surely thou wilt slay the wicked,
O God." Just as surely as God redeems His elect, He's going
to slay the wicked. So, depart from me, therefore,
ye bloody men. Depart from me. For verse 20,
they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name
in vain. Blessed is the man that walketh
not in this counsel. that standeth not in the way
of these people, that sitteth not in the seat of the scornful.
These are not my people. Verse 21, I hate them. O Lord, do I not hate them that
hate Thee? And am not I grieved with those
that rise up against Thee? I am grieved with them. I turn
from them. I hate them with perfect hatred.
I count them mine enemies because of Your enemies. It doesn't matter
who they are. I count them my enemies. So now
watch as he comes back to where he started. How did he start? Verse 1, he said, Lord, Thou
hast searched me and known me. Searched me and known me. Now
watch this. Keep on. Search me, O God. It's alright. My heart, sincerity, the simplicity
of it, the sincerity of it. Guide me, guard me, hedge me
about, keep me from pretense, keep me from hypocrisy, keep me from insincerity. God help me. Let's don't fall
into that trap. It's so vast and wide and so
many people have fallen into it and religion whatever they
have. It's something that's so phony. It's decorated with words and
adorned with all this other stuff. Lord, keep on searching me. Watch
it now. And know my heart. Lay bare my
heart. Reveal my heart. Try me. Know
my thoughts, especially my thoughts toward Thee. I tell you, we ought
not be nearly so disturbed over these lustful thoughts as we
are our thoughts toward God. That's where the problem is.
You understand what I'm trying to say? I'm not excusing sin. But I wish we were one half as
concerned about our thoughts toward God in giving Him glory,
in giving Him His rightful place as we are over some insignificant,
natural thoughts that springs out of a fleshly nature. You
see what I'm trying to say? I don't know whether I'm getting
this through or not. But I wish I was happy. I see people always
saying, oh, I think such awful things. Well, what do you expect
out of that pile of clay? But here's what I want us to
think, to be concerned about. Do I think right toward Him?
Do I honor Him? Do I glorify Him? Do I ascribe
to Him the honor and majesty and glory He deserves? Thus,
I need to be concerned about those thoughts. I need to be
concerned about my thoughts in times of trial, in my thoughts
in times of testing, in my thoughts toward God when things aren't
going my way, in my thoughts toward God in this very service
of worship, in my thoughts toward God in a lot of areas. How do
I think? towards God. That's why David
was such a man after God's own heart. David was an up and down
and a man's man. Somebody called him a bloody
man and all these things. But I guarantee you this, he
knew something about God in his heart. And you read the Psalms,
he gave God His rightful place. He never compromised the character
and glory of God Almighty. He'd fight you for the glory
of God. Isn't that right, John? That's what he's saying here.
Now, Lord, You keep on searching me, and knowing me, and trying
me, and know my thoughts, and see if there be any wicked way
in me. What's this wicked way? In departing
from the living God. In compromising the truth of
God. You take a preacher that compromises the gospel, he ain't
got the right thoughts toward God. You take a person with a
covetous nature who seeks to please men, he doesn't have the
right thoughts toward God. You take a believer that lives
in constant fear of things about him, he doesn't have to write
thoughts toward God. See what I'm saying? Now you see if there's
any of this wickedness in me, and get it out, we're not going
to lose the flesh. The flesh is going to stay with
us until it's buried. Human nature is going to state
we're supposed to crucify it daily and mortify it daily and
suppress it daily. You're not going to do that once
and for all. It's daily. You're going to have to do it
when you're 85 just like you did when you were 25. But this
thing here is something different. He says, you see if there's any
wicked way in me in regard to my relationship with thee and
you get that out of there and lead me in the path. Leave me
in the way everlasting. What way is that? That's the
way of Christ. That's the way of truth. Isn't this right? The
way of truth, the way of faith, and the way
of commitment. Purge out that spiritual wickedness
in me and leave me in a way everlasting. If that gets straightened out,
the other falls in line. All right, I hope that's a blessing.
Mike, come lead us in a hymn, and we'll be dismissed.

Thou, Me, and the World

What does the Bible say about hypocrisy?

How do we know God's sovereignty is true?

Why is knowing God personally important for Christians?

What does Psalm 139 teach us about God's knowledge of us?

Why is simplicity in worship significant?

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Thou, Me, and the World

What does the Bible say about hypocrisy?

How do we know God's sovereignty is true?

Why is knowing God personally important for Christians?

What does Psalm 139 teach us about God's knowledge of us?

Why is simplicity in worship significant?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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