DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO KEEP THE FAITH

Psalm 73:1-28

  1. Intro.
    1. some of the greatest saints had struggles (times of doubt) with God
      1. they had a hard time understanding what God was doing in their life (Job)
      2. they had a hard time understanding what God was doing in the world
      3. this Psalm is about Asaph’s struggles with God
        1. why do good things happen to bad people
        2. why do bad things happen to good people
      4. Asaph was questioning the worth of his faith
    2. this Psalm is a testimony of the battle fought in the human soul
      1. it reveals a man’s struggle to keep his faith in God
      2. it is a struggle that brings him to the edge of despair
    3. the problem: how does a righteous God allow the wicked to prosper, and the godly to suffer
  2. the biblical principle that causes the problem – 1
    1. Asaph believed in God
      1. his faith in God created his problem
      2. the unbeliever does not worry about evil
      3. the unbeliever sees evil as a temporary by-product of man’s evolution
    2. Asaph believed that God was good
      1. if God is God, He must be perfect (perfection includes goodness)
      2. Israel’s history is a record of God’s goodness
    3. this principle caused Asaph to doubt the worth of his faith
      1. he was a faithful Jew, obedient to the Law, had a pure heart and clean hands – 13
      2. but, he was not enjoying the goodness of God in his life
      3. his godless neighbors were in better shape than he was
    4. what should he do, was his theology wrong, was there something wrong in his life that he did not see
    5. the rest of the Psalm shows how the problem developed, and was taken care of
  3. he looked around – 2-12
    1. he became envious of their prosperity – 3-5
      1. a pitiful thing; an heir of heaven that is envious
      2. they die well – 4
      3. they don’t suffer like other men – 5
      4. this is a one-sided view; for no one goes untouched by sorrow
    2. he saw their behavior – 6
      1. pride and violence
      2. they seemed to go unpunished
    3. he saw their success - 7
    4. he noticed their wicked speech – 8-11
    5. Asaph began to equate wickedness with success – 12
      1. does it not matter what a man is
      2. does it pay best to be wicked, and God defiant
      3. where is God when this is happening; how can this be
    6. the affect that this had on Asaph – 2 (never compare self with others)
  4. he looks within – 13-16
    1. his first thought was that he had made a big mistake in trusting God and living right – 13, 16
      1. these were the real feelings of Asaph
      2. he was being honest with himself and God
      3. he could have pretended that he was "living victoriously" (hypocrite)
    2. men and women of the Bible had the same struggles in life that we do
    3. Asaph questioned the value of holiness – 13
      1. his life experience was that there is no advantage to living right – 14
      2. he was looking at things through human eyes, and not God’s eyes
    4. Asaph was at a critical crossroads in his life
      1. he declared his theology: God is good
      2. he looked around and became envious of the wicked
      3. his theology did not seem to square with the hard facts of life
      4. he looked within, and found turmoil and a growing feeling of having made a mistake
      5. what will he do
  5. he looks up – 17-22
    1. when he went before God he found understanding – 17
      1. as important as theology is, it can never take the place of personal fellowship with God
      2. whatever we see in the marketplace of life, we must evaluate at the throne of God
      3. when we walk by sight, we see the price tags of life
      4. when we walk by faith, we find the true value and wealth of life
    2. Asaph’s visit with God helped him to see the truth about the prosperity of the wicked – 18-20
      1. he saw the future judgment of the wicked
      2. the important thing about life is not where we are, but where we are going
      3. "what is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul"
    3. Asaph’s visit with God helped him to put things in there proper perspective –21-22
      1. he realized that he had been thinking and acting wrong
      2. the danger of walking by sight, and not by faith
        1. we start thinking like the people of the world
        2. we begin to use a different set of standards for measuring life
        3. walking by sight minimizes the eternal, and emphasizes the here and now
      3. Asaph was not guilty of some gross sin, just wrong thinking
      4. wrong thinking can lead to wrong living
  6. Asaph’s renewed faith – 23-28
    1. he had confidence for the present – 23 [continually with thee]
    2. he gained a true understanding of the past – 23 [thou hast holden me…] [God is good]
    3. he gained assurance for the future – 24-26
      1. guidance from God, and a hope of being in heaven – 24
      2. he had God – 25-26 (the greatest wealth)
        1. the unsaved may have health, wealth, and success; but they don’t have God
        2. if we don’t have God, we don’t have anything
      3. Asaph realizes who has real wealth (compare v7 with v25-26)
    4. he understands that the wicked have nothing of eternal value – 27
      1. to be without God means death and destruction
      2. the worldly crowd may seem to have an easier time on the road of life, but they are heading in the wrong direction
    5. Asaph’s renewed confession of faith – 28
      1. he started out with slippery feet, but ends by standing firm in the faith
      2. at first he thought he might have made a mistake, but now he affirms it is good to draw near to God
  7. conclusion: lessons learned
    1. walk by faith, not by sight
    2. God’s Word is true no matter what our circumstance
    3. we need to spend time with God to keep things in there proper perspective