Title: God’s Way is Perfect Meta: A great part of walking with God is surrendering to His way in your life. A life surrendered to God’s way is a life built on His Word. A life built on His Word is one that takes refuge in Him. This God– his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. – Psalm 18:30 Tags: Psalm 18:30,peace,perfect,God,prayer,hope,Christian 1 00:00:01,534 --> 00:00:05,941 I like that song we sang, "Abide With Me." 2 00:00:05,941 --> 00:00:09,470 Because, I like that line "help of the helpless." 3 00:00:09,470 --> 00:00:13,333 And I'm always encouraged 4 00:00:13,333 --> 00:00:14,733 when I'm reminded 5 00:00:14,733 --> 00:00:17,622 that God knows what He has to deal with. 6 00:00:17,622 --> 00:00:19,557 Helpless. 7 00:00:19,557 --> 00:00:21,499 But He's a helper. 8 00:00:21,499 --> 00:00:23,736 And when you're left to yourself, 9 00:00:23,736 --> 00:00:25,959 you can't even stand before a servant girl, 10 00:00:25,959 --> 00:00:27,566 but when God's with you, 11 00:00:27,566 --> 00:00:29,890 you can stand before thousands. 12 00:00:29,890 --> 00:00:33,094 Nothing is impossible. 13 00:00:33,094 --> 00:00:40,638 Turn with me, if you will, to Psalm 18. 14 00:00:40,638 --> 00:00:56,559 Psalm 18 15 00:00:56,559 --> 00:00:58,169 What's amazing about this psalm 16 00:00:58,169 --> 00:01:00,054 is that we could read this text here, 17 00:01:00,054 --> 00:01:01,971 what I'm about to read from here, 18 00:01:01,971 --> 00:01:05,303 or we could read it from 2 Samuel 22, 19 00:01:05,303 --> 00:01:08,181 because this psalm in its entirety 20 00:01:08,181 --> 00:01:10,759 is also quoted over there in 2 Samuel 22 21 00:01:10,759 --> 00:01:12,944 which is pretty significant when you consider 22 00:01:12,944 --> 00:01:15,898 how important the real estate of the Bible is; 23 00:01:15,898 --> 00:01:18,010 that there are things in this psalm 24 00:01:18,010 --> 00:01:19,800 that are so important 25 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:22,167 they bear repeating twice. 26 00:01:22,167 --> 00:01:24,481 And this is certainly one of them. 27 00:01:24,481 --> 00:01:30,362 We'll just read verse 30. 28 00:01:30,362 --> 00:01:35,700 "As for God, His way is perfect. 29 00:01:35,700 --> 00:01:38,233 The Word of the Lord is tried. 30 00:01:38,233 --> 00:01:43,295 He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him." 31 00:01:43,295 --> 00:01:47,380 Let's pray. 32 00:01:47,380 --> 00:01:49,267 Lord, I was thinking there earlier 33 00:01:49,267 --> 00:01:51,028 of those verses in Amos, 34 00:01:51,028 --> 00:01:52,673 where it talks about 35 00:01:52,673 --> 00:01:55,096 there would be a famine of the Word of the Lord, 36 00:01:55,096 --> 00:01:56,603 and how they'd go to and fro 37 00:01:56,603 --> 00:01:58,296 and stagger, 38 00:01:58,296 --> 00:02:00,738 and they'd look for it and never find it. 39 00:02:00,738 --> 00:02:02,611 And how that's about the worst thing 40 00:02:02,611 --> 00:02:04,336 that could ever happen to a people, 41 00:02:04,336 --> 00:02:07,891 is that God would stop talking to them. 42 00:02:07,891 --> 00:02:10,379 And so, God, we're conscious of that tonight. 43 00:02:10,379 --> 00:02:12,122 Lord, it didn't say there would be 44 00:02:12,122 --> 00:02:13,201 a famine of preaching, 45 00:02:13,201 --> 00:02:14,742 but it said there'd be a famine 46 00:02:14,742 --> 00:02:16,071 of the Word of the Lord. 47 00:02:16,071 --> 00:02:19,471 And so we don't take it for granted tonight, Lord. 48 00:02:19,471 --> 00:02:22,027 But we come once again 49 00:02:22,027 --> 00:02:25,104 on a covenant that has been enacted 50 00:02:25,104 --> 00:02:26,855 on better promises 51 00:02:26,855 --> 00:02:28,354 by a new and living way 52 00:02:28,354 --> 00:02:30,950 inaugurated by the Lord Jesus Christ, 53 00:02:30,950 --> 00:02:32,511 and we ask You, 54 00:02:32,511 --> 00:02:35,296 would You speak to Your people? 55 00:02:35,296 --> 00:02:37,014 Thank You, O God, tonight 56 00:02:37,014 --> 00:02:38,155 we have a Good Shepherd 57 00:02:38,155 --> 00:02:39,916 Who goes out ahead of us, 58 00:02:39,916 --> 00:02:42,118 and calls us by name 59 00:02:42,118 --> 00:02:43,496 and leads us into pasture, 60 00:02:43,496 --> 00:02:45,305 and so Lord, would You please 61 00:02:45,305 --> 00:02:47,462 open Your Word tonight? 62 00:02:47,462 --> 00:02:53,336 Would You please save Your people? 63 00:02:53,336 --> 00:03:00,404 God, we just want the saints to be encouraged. 64 00:03:00,404 --> 00:03:04,280 Amen. 65 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:07,600 This verse has meant a lot to me. 66 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:09,657 Some of you may know, 67 00:03:09,657 --> 00:03:12,563 a while back, my youngest son 68 00:03:12,563 --> 00:03:14,627 had some pretty serious health conditions, 69 00:03:14,627 --> 00:03:17,409 and we had to uproot and move to St. Louis 70 00:03:17,409 --> 00:03:18,994 and we lived in the CICU there 71 00:03:18,994 --> 00:03:21,090 for a couple months, 72 00:03:21,090 --> 00:03:24,826 and right about the time that was happening, 73 00:03:24,826 --> 00:03:27,348 our house was also falling apart 74 00:03:27,348 --> 00:03:29,292 in the truest sense of the word. 75 00:03:29,292 --> 00:03:30,930 To the point that they actually 76 00:03:30,930 --> 00:03:34,547 had to come in and cut out all the walls downstairs, 77 00:03:34,547 --> 00:03:39,330 and jackhammer out the concrete down to the dirt. 78 00:03:39,330 --> 00:03:41,202 And we were pretty discouraged. 79 00:03:41,202 --> 00:03:43,758 And we were really struggling with the whole thing. 80 00:03:43,758 --> 00:03:47,859 And I remember walking down there one day 81 00:03:47,859 --> 00:03:50,876 and seeing the only wall that they could not cut out, 82 00:03:50,876 --> 00:03:52,139 for structural reasons, 83 00:03:52,139 --> 00:03:54,616 it was where all the electricity came in 84 00:03:54,616 --> 00:03:55,768 and it was load bearing, 85 00:03:55,768 --> 00:03:57,421 and it was literally the only wall 86 00:03:57,421 --> 00:03:59,008 of the interior walls they couldn't cut out. 87 00:03:59,008 --> 00:04:00,667 And it was also the only wall down there 88 00:04:00,667 --> 00:04:02,215 that had anything on it. 89 00:04:02,215 --> 00:04:04,041 And the thing that it had on it 90 00:04:04,041 --> 00:04:05,432 was this verse. 91 00:04:05,432 --> 00:04:06,885 And I remember looking through 92 00:04:06,885 --> 00:04:09,258 this bombed out area 93 00:04:09,258 --> 00:04:11,416 with insulation hanging down out of the roof 94 00:04:11,416 --> 00:04:12,848 and wires hanging everywhere, 95 00:04:12,848 --> 00:04:14,398 and reading the words, 96 00:04:14,398 --> 00:04:20,147 "As for God, His way is perfect." 97 00:04:20,147 --> 00:04:22,051 But the reality of this verse 98 00:04:22,051 --> 00:04:24,082 is this is not just for times when 99 00:04:24,082 --> 00:04:25,590 the house falls apart 100 00:04:25,590 --> 00:04:27,802 and one of your kids is dying. 101 00:04:27,802 --> 00:04:31,609 This verse is also for everyday life. 102 00:04:31,609 --> 00:04:36,847 This verse is for the monotonous days of motherhood, 103 00:04:36,847 --> 00:04:38,661 like when you've done laundry, 104 00:04:38,661 --> 00:04:40,838 you've done five loads of laundry that day 105 00:04:40,838 --> 00:04:43,388 and in a miracle on the same level 106 00:04:43,388 --> 00:04:45,360 as the loaves and the fish, 107 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:47,218 there's somehow more laundry 108 00:04:47,218 --> 00:04:51,530 than when you first started. 109 00:04:51,530 --> 00:04:53,055 And you want to read the book 110 00:04:53,055 --> 00:04:54,821 that everybody's talking about on Facebook 111 00:04:54,821 --> 00:04:56,290 that's so good, but you can't, 112 00:04:56,290 --> 00:04:59,360 because the kids are crying again. 113 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:01,428 Or, you've been trying really hard 114 00:05:01,428 --> 00:05:02,788 to work on your finances 115 00:05:02,788 --> 00:05:04,109 and honor the Lord in it, 116 00:05:04,109 --> 00:05:05,927 and you've been making some progress, 117 00:05:05,927 --> 00:05:09,108 but then the car dies. 118 00:05:09,108 --> 00:05:11,932 Right? 119 00:05:11,932 --> 00:05:13,052 Or you're going along, 120 00:05:13,052 --> 00:05:14,399 you're sitting at your desk 121 00:05:14,399 --> 00:05:16,629 on just a mundane everyday Wednesday 122 00:05:16,629 --> 00:05:18,322 and you're thinking in your mind, 123 00:05:18,322 --> 00:05:22,675 I thought I was going to be a missionary. 124 00:05:22,675 --> 00:05:25,749 These verses are for the cataclysmic times, 125 00:05:25,749 --> 00:05:28,015 but they're also for the times in your life 126 00:05:28,015 --> 00:05:29,710 when it just feels like your life 127 00:05:29,710 --> 00:05:32,801 is one big distraction from the things that really matter. 128 00:05:32,801 --> 00:05:35,614 And it feels like something has gotten off track. 129 00:05:35,614 --> 00:05:37,570 And if you could just get to the point 130 00:05:37,570 --> 00:05:40,004 to where you could get some of these distractions 131 00:05:40,004 --> 00:05:41,148 that are bombarding you 132 00:05:41,148 --> 00:05:42,236 out of your way, 133 00:05:42,236 --> 00:05:46,443 then you could really live the Christian life. 134 00:05:46,443 --> 00:05:48,176 Through all that confusion, 135 00:05:48,176 --> 00:05:49,804 this verse comes to you and says, 136 00:05:49,804 --> 00:05:51,362 no, no, no. 137 00:05:51,362 --> 00:05:54,513 God's way is perfect. 138 00:05:54,513 --> 00:05:56,214 It is perfect. 139 00:05:56,214 --> 00:05:57,647 Verses like this clear the fog 140 00:05:57,647 --> 00:05:59,045 so that we can see the things 141 00:05:59,045 --> 00:06:01,070 that happen to us on a daily basis 142 00:06:01,070 --> 00:06:05,612 are not haphazard or the result of a distant God. 143 00:06:05,612 --> 00:06:08,884 Your life is handcrafted 144 00:06:08,884 --> 00:06:11,069 by a loving Father 145 00:06:11,069 --> 00:06:14,517 Whose way is perfect. 146 00:06:14,517 --> 00:06:17,226 It's perfect. 147 00:06:17,226 --> 00:06:18,745 And this truth will anchor you. 148 00:06:18,755 --> 00:06:22,404 It will anchor you when you enter into difficulties; 149 00:06:22,404 --> 00:06:24,249 when something happens you feel like 150 00:06:24,249 --> 00:06:25,458 shouldn't have happened, 151 00:06:25,458 --> 00:06:27,409 or something hasn't happened, 152 00:06:27,409 --> 00:06:29,486 you feel like should have happened. 153 00:06:29,486 --> 00:06:31,047 Like you're in a difficult job, 154 00:06:31,047 --> 00:06:33,255 and day in and day out, you're laboring in this job 155 00:06:33,255 --> 00:06:35,286 and you're looking and you're trying to move, 156 00:06:35,286 --> 00:06:36,947 and for some reason, 157 00:06:36,947 --> 00:06:39,658 things just don't come open. 158 00:06:39,658 --> 00:06:43,052 Or your singleness has lasted a lot longer 159 00:06:43,052 --> 00:06:45,382 than you thought it would. 160 00:06:45,382 --> 00:06:47,100 And the slanderer comes to you 161 00:06:47,100 --> 00:06:49,200 just like he did in the Garden, 162 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:51,075 and he starts to whisper in your ear, 163 00:06:51,075 --> 00:06:53,090 and he starts to put these subtle thoughts 164 00:06:53,090 --> 00:06:54,170 in your mind, 165 00:06:54,170 --> 00:06:58,315 that maybe God's way is not perfect. 166 00:06:58,315 --> 00:06:59,749 Maybe there are some things 167 00:06:59,749 --> 00:07:00,791 that you should have, 168 00:07:00,791 --> 00:07:01,930 that you don't have. 169 00:07:01,930 --> 00:07:03,786 Or maybe there's things in your life 170 00:07:03,786 --> 00:07:06,766 that you shouldn't have that you do have. 171 00:07:06,766 --> 00:07:08,808 And somewhere along the way, 172 00:07:08,808 --> 00:07:10,957 it got off track. 173 00:07:10,957 --> 00:07:13,603 It got off track and His way's not perfect. 174 00:07:13,603 --> 00:07:16,234 And you feel this subtle disillusionment 175 00:07:16,234 --> 00:07:18,335 and you feel an unsettledness 176 00:07:18,335 --> 00:07:21,333 start to creep into your life. 177 00:07:21,333 --> 00:07:22,760 And during those times, 178 00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:24,393 you need this truth: 179 00:07:24,393 --> 00:07:27,661 God's way is perfect. 180 00:07:27,661 --> 00:07:29,337 It's always perfect. 181 00:07:29,337 --> 00:07:31,254 And that brings me to my first point. 182 00:07:31,254 --> 00:07:32,960 Number one: 183 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:36,669 A great part of walking with God 184 00:07:36,669 --> 00:07:40,883 is surrender to His way in your life. 185 00:07:40,883 --> 00:07:42,962 Surrender to His way in your life. 186 00:07:42,962 --> 00:07:44,480 Let me ask you a question: 187 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:47,245 At the deepest part of you, 188 00:07:47,245 --> 00:07:50,889 is there a glad surrender 189 00:07:50,889 --> 00:07:56,053 to the way that God has and is leading your life? 190 00:07:56,053 --> 00:07:57,089 There can be trials. 191 00:07:57,089 --> 00:07:58,293 There can be difficulty. 192 00:07:58,293 --> 00:07:59,520 There can be pain. 193 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:00,659 And there can be tears, 194 00:08:00,659 --> 00:08:02,249 but I'm asking you the question, 195 00:08:02,249 --> 00:08:04,050 at the deepest part of you, 196 00:08:04,050 --> 00:08:07,658 are you yielded to what God has 197 00:08:07,658 --> 00:08:12,468 and is doing in your life? 198 00:08:12,468 --> 00:08:14,256 Because there are going to be times 199 00:08:14,256 --> 00:08:16,467 when God allows trials to come 200 00:08:16,467 --> 00:08:18,825 that will knock you down. 201 00:08:18,825 --> 00:08:20,241 It's going to happen. 202 00:08:20,241 --> 00:08:21,732 And they may be cataclysmic 203 00:08:21,732 --> 00:08:24,298 or it may just be the slow grind 204 00:08:24,298 --> 00:08:25,840 of a daily trial, 205 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:28,303 which is sometimes the hardest type of trial, 206 00:08:28,303 --> 00:08:30,371 because those types of trials are difficult 207 00:08:30,371 --> 00:08:32,351 because there's just no end in sight. 208 00:08:32,351 --> 00:08:34,630 You just don't know when it's going to be over. 209 00:08:34,630 --> 00:08:36,723 And day after day after day, 210 00:08:36,723 --> 00:08:39,327 this thing goes on. 211 00:08:39,327 --> 00:08:42,641 And you start to feel an unsettledness. 212 00:08:42,641 --> 00:08:44,613 And the temptation during those times 213 00:08:44,613 --> 00:08:46,740 is to allow that discontentment to creep in, 214 00:08:46,740 --> 00:08:48,318 and you begin to question the way 215 00:08:48,318 --> 00:08:49,545 that God orders your life 216 00:08:49,545 --> 00:08:51,255 and the world around you. 217 00:08:51,255 --> 00:08:54,228 And this is actually what happened with Job. 218 00:08:54,228 --> 00:08:55,659 Job was a righteous man, 219 00:08:55,659 --> 00:08:58,583 and he would not outright deny God. 220 00:08:58,583 --> 00:09:01,905 But there was also this subtle unsettledness 221 00:09:01,905 --> 00:09:02,796 that came in. 222 00:09:02,796 --> 00:09:04,478 This kind of unyieldedness. 223 00:09:04,478 --> 00:09:06,519 This wanting an account for the way 224 00:09:06,519 --> 00:09:08,113 God was running the world. 225 00:09:08,113 --> 00:09:08,977 And you see this, 226 00:09:08,977 --> 00:09:10,261 I'll just read this verse. 227 00:09:10,261 --> 00:09:11,436 Job 13:3 228 00:09:11,436 --> 00:09:12,676 He says this, 229 00:09:12,676 --> 00:09:15,251 "But I would speak to the Almighty 230 00:09:15,251 --> 00:09:20,370 and desire to argue my case with God." 231 00:09:20,370 --> 00:09:21,746 The implication here is 232 00:09:21,746 --> 00:09:24,023 if I could just talk to God, 233 00:09:24,023 --> 00:09:26,460 there's some things that I could inform Him about 234 00:09:26,460 --> 00:09:29,289 and He would learn something. 235 00:09:29,289 --> 00:09:32,903 If I could just explain how things are going right now 236 00:09:32,903 --> 00:09:34,288 and how I've acted 237 00:09:34,288 --> 00:09:36,229 and the things that have happened to me, 238 00:09:36,229 --> 00:09:37,690 we could clear the air 239 00:09:37,690 --> 00:09:40,149 and God could order things aright. 240 00:09:40,149 --> 00:09:42,495 That's the implication here. 241 00:09:42,495 --> 00:09:45,431 Trials can have a way of causing us 242 00:09:45,431 --> 00:09:47,655 to overestimate our ability 243 00:09:47,655 --> 00:09:50,655 to understand our circumstances. 244 00:09:50,655 --> 00:09:52,928 And that's what happened to Job. 245 00:09:52,928 --> 00:09:55,341 And so God answers him. 246 00:09:55,341 --> 00:09:57,162 He almost comes against him. 247 00:09:57,162 --> 00:09:59,782 In Job 38, he says this, 248 00:09:59,782 --> 00:10:01,627 "Then the Lord answered Job 249 00:10:01,627 --> 00:10:03,165 out of the whirlwind and said, 250 00:10:03,165 --> 00:10:06,104 'who is this who darkens counsel 251 00:10:06,104 --> 00:10:09,629 by words without knowledge? 252 00:10:09,629 --> 00:10:11,120 Dress for action like a man. 253 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:13,554 I will question you 254 00:10:13,554 --> 00:10:17,544 and you make it known to me.'" 255 00:10:17,544 --> 00:10:20,397 Let me ask you a question. 256 00:10:20,397 --> 00:10:25,251 How does God's response to Job strike you? 257 00:10:25,251 --> 00:10:27,286 I mean, have you ever had the thought, 258 00:10:27,286 --> 00:10:30,497 especially if you've read the first several chapters, 259 00:10:30,497 --> 00:10:33,076 God's a little harsh here? 260 00:10:33,076 --> 00:10:35,844 The guy has lost everything. 261 00:10:35,844 --> 00:10:37,253 Do you think God is being 262 00:10:37,253 --> 00:10:38,584 unnecessarily harsh here? 263 00:10:38,584 --> 00:10:40,107 Let me tell you a story. 264 00:10:40,107 --> 00:10:42,707 When my oldest son was much younger 265 00:10:42,707 --> 00:10:44,184 and learning to swim, 266 00:10:44,184 --> 00:10:45,575 it was not going well, 267 00:10:45,575 --> 00:10:46,472 and then one day, 268 00:10:46,472 --> 00:10:48,286 it started going a little bit better. 269 00:10:48,286 --> 00:10:50,406 And he could swim a little bit. 270 00:10:50,406 --> 00:10:52,430 But the ability to swim a little bit 271 00:10:52,430 --> 00:10:53,981 gave him so much confidence, 272 00:10:53,981 --> 00:10:55,478 he was utterly convinced, 273 00:10:55,478 --> 00:10:57,078 it is time for the deep end. 274 00:10:57,078 --> 00:10:59,038 Like, that's where we're going right now. 275 00:10:59,038 --> 00:11:00,412 We're going to the deep end. 276 00:11:00,412 --> 00:11:02,480 And I was seriously having a problem 277 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:04,791 because almost every time I turned my back 278 00:11:04,791 --> 00:11:06,959 I would see him start creeping over there 279 00:11:06,959 --> 00:11:08,343 towards the edge to jump off 280 00:11:08,343 --> 00:11:09,432 into the deep end, 281 00:11:09,432 --> 00:11:10,636 to the point that I was 282 00:11:10,636 --> 00:11:12,546 really getting concerned about it, 283 00:11:12,546 --> 00:11:14,642 because I knew if he jumps in the deep end, 284 00:11:14,642 --> 00:11:16,139 he's going to drown. 285 00:11:16,139 --> 00:11:19,428 And I could tell that there was this subtle thought 286 00:11:19,428 --> 00:11:22,423 that I was withholding something good from him. 287 00:11:22,423 --> 00:11:24,649 So what did I do? 288 00:11:24,649 --> 00:11:26,330 I took him. 289 00:11:26,330 --> 00:11:28,767 I waded him out over his head, 290 00:11:28,767 --> 00:11:31,924 and I dropped him. 291 00:11:31,924 --> 00:11:34,612 And I let him struggle just long enough 292 00:11:34,612 --> 00:11:36,831 to see that he was in a context 293 00:11:36,831 --> 00:11:39,798 where leaning on his own understanding 294 00:11:39,798 --> 00:11:44,324 would cost him his life. 295 00:11:44,324 --> 00:11:46,557 That's what's at stake here. 296 00:11:46,557 --> 00:11:48,717 That's what at stake here with Job. 297 00:11:48,717 --> 00:11:51,328 And that's what's at stake when you feel like 298 00:11:51,328 --> 00:11:53,508 something's not going on in my life 299 00:11:53,508 --> 00:11:55,308 that should be going on. 300 00:11:55,308 --> 00:11:58,658 A subtle thought that God has missed the boat. 301 00:11:58,658 --> 00:12:01,241 There's something that God has ordered in my life 302 00:12:01,241 --> 00:12:02,847 that should be different. 303 00:12:02,847 --> 00:12:04,740 You are in a context where you are 304 00:12:04,740 --> 00:12:06,226 on your own understanding, 305 00:12:06,226 --> 00:12:09,491 and it will cost you your life. 306 00:12:09,491 --> 00:12:12,533 And so what does the loving Father do to Job? 307 00:12:12,533 --> 00:12:15,389 He continues to question him. 308 00:12:15,389 --> 00:12:16,725 "Where were you when I laid 309 00:12:16,725 --> 00:12:19,346 the foundation of the earth? 310 00:12:19,346 --> 00:12:22,405 Tell me if you have understanding. 311 00:12:22,405 --> 00:12:24,195 Who determined its measurements? 312 00:12:24,195 --> 00:12:26,269 Surely you know. 313 00:12:26,269 --> 00:12:28,637 Or who stretched the line upon it? 314 00:12:28,637 --> 00:12:30,443 On what were its bases sunk? 315 00:12:30,443 --> 00:12:31,879 Or who laid the cornerstone 316 00:12:31,879 --> 00:12:33,673 when the morning stars sang together 317 00:12:33,673 --> 00:12:36,579 and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" 318 00:12:36,579 --> 00:12:39,270 And what is the answer? 319 00:12:39,270 --> 00:12:44,433 Not me. Not me. 320 00:12:44,433 --> 00:12:46,802 I wasn't there when in wisdom 321 00:12:46,802 --> 00:12:49,259 God created the world. 322 00:12:49,259 --> 00:12:51,570 I wasn't there when the cornerstone was laid 323 00:12:51,570 --> 00:12:53,789 and all these things are happening. 324 00:12:53,789 --> 00:12:56,136 I am insufficient. 325 00:12:56,136 --> 00:13:00,349 Not me, God. Not me. 326 00:13:00,349 --> 00:13:03,666 Listen to just a few more portions of this. 327 00:13:03,666 --> 00:13:05,412 "Or who shut in the sea with doors 328 00:13:05,412 --> 00:13:07,178 when it burst out from the womb? 329 00:13:07,178 --> 00:13:08,906 When I made clouds its garments 330 00:13:08,906 --> 00:13:11,357 and thick darkness its swaddling band 331 00:13:11,357 --> 00:13:12,721 and prescribed limits for it 332 00:13:12,721 --> 00:13:14,565 and set bars and doors 333 00:13:14,565 --> 00:13:16,885 and said, 'thus far you shall come, 334 00:13:16,885 --> 00:13:18,350 and no further, 335 00:13:18,350 --> 00:13:22,684 and here shall your proud waves be stayed.' 336 00:13:22,684 --> 00:13:24,151 Have you commanded the morning 337 00:13:24,151 --> 00:13:25,511 since your days began 338 00:13:25,511 --> 00:13:27,763 and caused the dawn to know its place? 339 00:13:27,763 --> 00:13:30,149 Have you entered into the springs of the sea 340 00:13:30,149 --> 00:13:32,328 or walked the recesses of the deep? 341 00:13:32,328 --> 00:13:34,646 Have the gates of death been revealed to you 342 00:13:34,646 --> 00:13:38,144 or have you seen the gates of deep darkness? 343 00:13:38,144 --> 00:13:40,593 Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? 344 00:13:40,593 --> 00:13:44,709 Declare if you know all of this." 345 00:13:44,709 --> 00:13:46,823 And what's the answer? 346 00:13:46,823 --> 00:13:49,748 Not me. 347 00:13:49,748 --> 00:13:51,250 Not me. 348 00:13:51,250 --> 00:13:55,619 I can not talk to the ocean. 349 00:13:55,619 --> 00:13:58,202 I have never commanded the morning. 350 00:13:58,202 --> 00:14:00,756 I have never walked the recesses of the sea. 351 00:14:00,756 --> 00:14:03,629 I have not seen the gates of death. 352 00:14:03,629 --> 00:14:06,409 And I, in my own understanding, 353 00:14:06,409 --> 00:14:10,750 am insufficient to interpret my own circumstances. 354 00:14:10,750 --> 00:14:12,794 Not me. 355 00:14:12,794 --> 00:14:16,000 The only thing you have, beloved, 356 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:18,412 is a Shepherd. 357 00:14:18,412 --> 00:14:20,040 His name is Jesus. 358 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:22,772 And He can talk to waves. 359 00:14:22,772 --> 00:14:26,330 And He was there when the foundation of the world was laid. 360 00:14:26,330 --> 00:14:29,231 And He has walked the recesses of the deep. 361 00:14:29,231 --> 00:14:33,480 And He has seen the gates of death. 362 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:37,104 And He is sufficient to order your days. 363 00:14:37,104 --> 00:14:38,741 You have a Shepherd. 364 00:14:38,741 --> 00:14:40,646 You don't have your own understanding, 365 00:14:40,646 --> 00:14:42,477 but you do have a Shepherd 366 00:14:42,477 --> 00:14:44,562 and if you will yield to Him, 367 00:14:44,562 --> 00:14:46,913 He will lead you. 368 00:14:46,913 --> 00:14:49,354 He will lead you. 369 00:14:49,354 --> 00:14:53,443 You must base your life on this solid truth 370 00:14:53,443 --> 00:14:56,855 by interpreting everything that happens to you 371 00:14:56,855 --> 00:14:58,952 through who He is and who He has 372 00:14:58,952 --> 00:15:00,740 revealed Himself to be. 373 00:15:00,740 --> 00:15:02,602 And that brings me to my second point, 374 00:15:02,602 --> 00:15:04,934 which flows from our text. 375 00:15:04,934 --> 00:15:09,453 Number one: A great part of the Christian life 376 00:15:09,453 --> 00:15:11,207 is surrender to the way of God. 377 00:15:11,207 --> 00:15:13,980 Number two: A life surrendered to God's way 378 00:15:13,980 --> 00:15:17,315 is a life built on His Word. 379 00:15:17,315 --> 00:15:19,173 That's the implication of our text. 380 00:15:19,173 --> 00:15:20,054 It says this, 381 00:15:20,054 --> 00:15:23,012 "The Word of the Lord is tried." 382 00:15:23,012 --> 00:15:24,815 What is God doing? 383 00:15:24,815 --> 00:15:26,753 What is God doing in your circumstances? 384 00:15:26,753 --> 00:15:28,528 Why does He bring these trials? 385 00:15:28,528 --> 00:15:30,341 Why does He let these things happen 386 00:15:30,341 --> 00:15:32,024 that we don't understand? 387 00:15:32,024 --> 00:15:35,589 He is moving you off of your own feelings. 388 00:15:35,589 --> 00:15:37,467 Off of interpreting the world 389 00:15:37,467 --> 00:15:39,317 through your narrow viewpoint, 390 00:15:39,317 --> 00:15:43,207 on to something solid like His Word. 391 00:15:43,207 --> 00:15:44,996 We hear this same thought come up, 392 00:15:44,996 --> 00:15:48,374 I'll just read this from Proverbs 30. 393 00:15:48,374 --> 00:15:49,234 Listen to this: 394 00:15:49,234 --> 00:15:51,774 "Surely, I am more stupid than any man 395 00:15:51,774 --> 00:15:53,986 and do not have the understanding of a man." 396 00:15:53,986 --> 00:15:55,561 I thought man, this is the ESV, 397 00:15:55,561 --> 00:15:57,691 I should probably go check the NASB. 398 00:15:57,691 --> 00:15:59,618 Because that just does not sound right. 399 00:15:59,618 --> 00:16:00,786 I read the NASB. 400 00:16:00,786 --> 00:16:02,202 Same thing. 401 00:16:02,202 --> 00:16:05,102 This is what the Bible says. 402 00:16:05,102 --> 00:16:07,009 Probably not going to find that 403 00:16:07,009 --> 00:16:09,956 in "Chicken Soup for the Soul." 404 00:16:09,956 --> 00:16:12,152 "Surely, I am more stupid than any man 405 00:16:12,152 --> 00:16:14,316 and I do not have the understanding of a man. 406 00:16:14,316 --> 00:16:15,835 Neither have I learned wisdom, 407 00:16:15,835 --> 00:16:18,424 nor do I have knowledge of the Holy One." 408 00:16:18,424 --> 00:16:20,377 Now listen to this language: 409 00:16:20,377 --> 00:16:23,195 "Who has ascended to heaven and descended? 410 00:16:23,195 --> 00:16:26,502 Who has gathered the wind in His fist? 411 00:16:26,502 --> 00:16:28,998 Who has wrapped the waters in His garment? 412 00:16:28,998 --> 00:16:31,825 And who has established the ends of the earth? 413 00:16:31,825 --> 00:16:34,088 What is His name or His Son's name? 414 00:16:34,088 --> 00:16:36,437 Surely you know." 415 00:16:36,437 --> 00:16:38,187 Now listen for our text. 416 00:16:38,187 --> 00:16:40,679 "Every word of God is tested. 417 00:16:40,679 --> 00:16:44,989 He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him." 418 00:16:44,989 --> 00:16:46,717 What is God doing? 419 00:16:46,717 --> 00:16:49,810 God is moving you off of the burden 420 00:16:49,810 --> 00:16:52,032 of your own understanding 421 00:16:52,032 --> 00:16:56,130 on to His Word. 422 00:16:56,130 --> 00:16:58,057 And I love this, 423 00:16:58,057 --> 00:17:00,065 the language that it uses here. 424 00:17:00,065 --> 00:17:03,174 It just doesn't say, "the Word of the Lord," 425 00:17:03,174 --> 00:17:07,282 it says, "the Word of the Lord is tried." 426 00:17:07,282 --> 00:17:09,441 It's tried. 427 00:17:09,441 --> 00:17:11,014 Nobody wants to walk across 428 00:17:11,014 --> 00:17:12,565 that weak looking bridge, 429 00:17:12,565 --> 00:17:14,411 but neither do we like walking across 430 00:17:14,411 --> 00:17:16,016 brand new bridges. 431 00:17:16,016 --> 00:17:17,655 If we had it our way, 432 00:17:17,655 --> 00:17:19,918 we like to walk across a solid bridge 433 00:17:19,918 --> 00:17:22,911 with a few footprints on it. 434 00:17:22,911 --> 00:17:25,305 Why is that? 435 00:17:25,305 --> 00:17:26,838 We'd like to see it work. 436 00:17:26,838 --> 00:17:28,746 I'd like to know this works. 437 00:17:28,746 --> 00:17:30,944 I actually ran into this with my little girl 438 00:17:30,944 --> 00:17:32,885 after we worked on some swimming lessons 439 00:17:32,885 --> 00:17:34,529 with the son. 440 00:17:34,529 --> 00:17:36,427 I was trying to get her to jump 441 00:17:36,427 --> 00:17:38,018 off the side of the pool to me, 442 00:17:38,018 --> 00:17:40,342 and we'd do "one, two, three," 443 00:17:40,342 --> 00:17:41,471 "four, five, six..." 444 00:17:41,471 --> 00:17:42,968 I mean, we got really high. 445 00:17:42,968 --> 00:17:44,240 She still hadn't jumped. 446 00:17:44,240 --> 00:17:45,596 And then finally, 447 00:17:45,596 --> 00:17:47,736 she looked at me and said, 448 00:17:47,736 --> 00:17:49,763 "can he do it first?" 449 00:17:49,763 --> 00:17:51,191 What's she asking? 450 00:17:51,191 --> 00:17:53,071 She's like I'd like to see this work 451 00:17:53,071 --> 00:17:54,542 before I do this. 452 00:17:54,542 --> 00:17:57,144 I want to see that this is tried. 453 00:17:57,144 --> 00:17:59,806 And can we just take a moment 454 00:17:59,806 --> 00:18:03,309 to thank God, beloved, 455 00:18:03,309 --> 00:18:06,579 He has given you a tried Word. 456 00:18:06,579 --> 00:18:09,635 In His authority and in His sovereignty 457 00:18:09,635 --> 00:18:10,986 and in His holiness, 458 00:18:10,986 --> 00:18:14,097 He owes no man an explanation. 459 00:18:14,097 --> 00:18:17,441 God needs no authority outside of His Word. 460 00:18:17,441 --> 00:18:19,008 He doesn't need to show you 461 00:18:19,008 --> 00:18:20,563 that this works 462 00:18:20,563 --> 00:18:22,667 for you to submit to it. 463 00:18:22,667 --> 00:18:24,777 But in His mercy, 464 00:18:24,777 --> 00:18:26,609 and in His condescension, 465 00:18:26,609 --> 00:18:30,344 He has given you a tried Word. 466 00:18:30,344 --> 00:18:32,369 When was the Word of the Lord tried? 467 00:18:32,369 --> 00:18:34,907 Well, it was tried in the life of Abraham. 468 00:18:34,907 --> 00:18:36,217 God told him, 469 00:18:36,217 --> 00:18:38,589 you're going to be the father of a multitude, 470 00:18:38,589 --> 00:18:40,212 but what happens? 471 00:18:40,212 --> 00:18:42,657 He starts getting old. 472 00:18:42,657 --> 00:18:44,053 And the years roll on 473 00:18:44,053 --> 00:18:45,442 and he's getting older, 474 00:18:45,442 --> 00:18:47,390 and Sarah's getting older, 475 00:18:47,390 --> 00:18:50,178 and it looks like the Word of the Lord is going to fail, 476 00:18:50,178 --> 00:18:52,541 but what happens? 477 00:18:52,541 --> 00:18:53,883 They have a baby boy 478 00:18:53,883 --> 00:18:56,549 just like God said. 479 00:18:56,549 --> 00:18:58,265 The Word of the Lord was tried. 480 00:18:58,265 --> 00:19:00,213 And so that later on in his life, 481 00:19:00,213 --> 00:19:02,245 when God says take your only son, 482 00:19:02,245 --> 00:19:03,387 your beloved son, 483 00:19:03,387 --> 00:19:05,963 and go sacrifice him, 484 00:19:05,963 --> 00:19:07,953 what does Abraham do? 485 00:19:07,953 --> 00:19:09,402 He wakes up early 486 00:19:09,402 --> 00:19:11,815 and he quietly walks up that mountain. 487 00:19:11,815 --> 00:19:14,417 How does he do that? 488 00:19:14,417 --> 00:19:17,266 How can he cut through his circumstances? 489 00:19:17,266 --> 00:19:19,151 How can he get through what 490 00:19:19,151 --> 00:19:22,592 you would be just riveted to your own understanding 491 00:19:22,592 --> 00:19:24,729 and churning and really struggling 492 00:19:24,729 --> 00:19:26,525 and saying how is he waking up early 493 00:19:26,525 --> 00:19:27,941 and diligent to do this? 494 00:19:27,941 --> 00:19:28,896 Why? 495 00:19:28,896 --> 00:19:31,065 Because he's got a tried Word. 496 00:19:31,065 --> 00:19:34,188 I've seen God do this before. 497 00:19:34,188 --> 00:19:36,538 His promise holds. 498 00:19:36,538 --> 00:19:39,029 When was the Word of the Lord tried? 499 00:19:39,029 --> 00:19:41,091 It was tried in the life of Joseph. 500 00:19:41,091 --> 00:19:42,183 God told him, 501 00:19:42,183 --> 00:19:44,154 your family is going to bow down to you. 502 00:19:44,154 --> 00:19:45,378 And then what happens? 503 00:19:45,378 --> 00:19:49,265 His family gathers and says, "praise the Lord, we're going to bow." 504 00:19:49,265 --> 00:19:50,922 That isn't what happened. 505 00:19:50,922 --> 00:19:52,324 All chaos breaks loose 506 00:19:52,324 --> 00:19:54,297 and it seems like the more that he tries 507 00:19:54,297 --> 00:19:55,478 to pursue righteousness, 508 00:19:55,478 --> 00:19:58,640 the further he gets from the Word of the Lord. 509 00:19:58,640 --> 00:20:00,292 So that by the end of the thing, 510 00:20:00,292 --> 00:20:02,640 there he sits in a dungeon 511 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:05,411 and completely forgotten. 512 00:20:05,411 --> 00:20:08,290 And it looks like the way of the Lord is not perfect 513 00:20:08,290 --> 00:20:11,178 and His Word is untried. 514 00:20:11,178 --> 00:20:12,677 But what happens? 515 00:20:12,677 --> 00:20:14,417 God orchestrates a situation 516 00:20:14,417 --> 00:20:16,333 that nobody else in the whole kingdom 517 00:20:16,333 --> 00:20:18,005 can solve but him. 518 00:20:18,005 --> 00:20:19,280 And before he knows it, 519 00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:23,556 his family is gathered around him bowing. 520 00:20:23,556 --> 00:20:25,534 The Word of the Lord is tried. 521 00:20:25,534 --> 00:20:27,347 When was the Word of the Lord tried? 522 00:20:27,347 --> 00:20:29,090 It was tried in the life of Joshua 523 00:20:29,090 --> 00:20:31,787 so that at the very end of his life, 524 00:20:31,787 --> 00:20:33,402 he could say this, 525 00:20:33,402 --> 00:20:37,118 "And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, 526 00:20:37,118 --> 00:20:41,599 and you know in your hearts and souls, 527 00:20:41,599 --> 00:20:43,169 all of you, 528 00:20:43,169 --> 00:20:46,682 that not one word has failed 529 00:20:46,682 --> 00:20:48,884 of all of the good things 530 00:20:48,884 --> 00:20:50,507 that the Lord your God promised 531 00:20:50,507 --> 00:20:52,099 concerning you. 532 00:20:52,099 --> 00:20:54,536 All has come to pass for you. 533 00:20:54,536 --> 00:20:59,084 Not one of them has failed." 534 00:20:59,084 --> 00:21:00,808 You've got this old man 535 00:21:00,808 --> 00:21:02,661 standing there at the end of his life, 536 00:21:02,661 --> 00:21:03,988 and what is he saying? 537 00:21:03,988 --> 00:21:06,637 He's saying God's way is perfect 538 00:21:06,637 --> 00:21:09,797 and His Word is tried. 539 00:21:09,797 --> 00:21:12,106 His Word is tried. 540 00:21:12,106 --> 00:21:13,751 So the question is tonight, 541 00:21:13,751 --> 00:21:16,932 are you leaning on your own understanding? 542 00:21:16,932 --> 00:21:19,768 And that's how you're interpreting your circumstances? 543 00:21:19,768 --> 00:21:21,825 The things that are happening to you 544 00:21:21,825 --> 00:21:23,570 that you feel like maybe should not, 545 00:21:23,570 --> 00:21:25,376 or the things that haven't happened, 546 00:21:25,376 --> 00:21:27,286 that you feel like should. 547 00:21:27,286 --> 00:21:30,698 Or are you basing your life on His Word? 548 00:21:30,698 --> 00:21:32,350 This is who God is. 549 00:21:32,350 --> 00:21:34,249 So let my circumstances 550 00:21:34,249 --> 00:21:36,303 and my thoughts and my feelings 551 00:21:36,303 --> 00:21:39,124 militate against this all they want, 552 00:21:39,124 --> 00:21:40,929 I reach through the whole thing, 553 00:21:40,929 --> 00:21:42,071 I cut through the fog 554 00:21:42,071 --> 00:21:44,305 and I hold to His promise. 555 00:21:44,305 --> 00:21:47,474 This is who God has revealed Himself to me. 556 00:21:47,474 --> 00:21:50,899 Even though everything looks like it's failed. 557 00:21:50,899 --> 00:21:52,768 God is true. 558 00:21:52,768 --> 00:21:55,375 And every man's a liar. 559 00:21:55,375 --> 00:21:58,308 His Word is tried. 560 00:21:58,308 --> 00:22:01,411 Finally, number three: 561 00:22:01,411 --> 00:22:03,521 A life built on His Word 562 00:22:03,521 --> 00:22:06,799 is a life with a refuge. 563 00:22:06,799 --> 00:22:08,004 It says this, 564 00:22:08,004 --> 00:22:14,035 "He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him." 565 00:22:14,035 --> 00:22:16,325 He's a shield. 566 00:22:16,325 --> 00:22:18,038 The hardest part of the trial 567 00:22:18,038 --> 00:22:19,774 is usually not the trial itself, 568 00:22:19,774 --> 00:22:21,698 but it's what's going on in your heart 569 00:22:21,698 --> 00:22:23,360 during the trial. 570 00:22:23,360 --> 00:22:24,905 It's that time frame 571 00:22:24,905 --> 00:22:26,815 when you're still trying to figure out, 572 00:22:26,815 --> 00:22:30,104 am I going to yield to God in this thing? 573 00:22:30,104 --> 00:22:32,558 Something's come along that I can't understand, 574 00:22:32,558 --> 00:22:35,702 and it seems like something has gone wrong here. 575 00:22:35,702 --> 00:22:37,592 And you're wrestling in your heart. 576 00:22:37,592 --> 00:22:40,549 Those moments when you're not yet settled 577 00:22:40,549 --> 00:22:42,431 and you're not yet yielded, 578 00:22:42,431 --> 00:22:43,763 and during those times, 579 00:22:43,763 --> 00:22:45,455 you don't have a shield. 580 00:22:45,455 --> 00:22:49,057 And you just get pounded. 581 00:22:49,057 --> 00:22:52,409 The unbelief creeps in. 582 00:22:52,409 --> 00:22:55,489 The discontentment creeps in. 583 00:22:55,489 --> 00:22:57,438 Bitterness starts to creep in. 584 00:22:57,438 --> 00:23:01,920 And you can just feel your soul churning. 585 00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:05,415 But what is the call of God to you tonight? 586 00:23:05,415 --> 00:23:08,245 It is to come under My shield. 587 00:23:08,245 --> 00:23:10,313 Don't live any longer 588 00:23:10,313 --> 00:23:12,851 in the burden of your own understanding 589 00:23:12,851 --> 00:23:15,421 and trying to figure out what is best for your life 590 00:23:15,421 --> 00:23:17,151 and whether things have turned out 591 00:23:17,151 --> 00:23:18,436 the way that they should. 592 00:23:18,436 --> 00:23:20,069 Trust God. 593 00:23:20,069 --> 00:23:23,500 His way is perfect. 594 00:23:23,500 --> 00:23:26,465 I used to run a makeshift homeless ministry 595 00:23:26,465 --> 00:23:27,632 there in Birmingham, 596 00:23:27,632 --> 00:23:30,396 and I would reach out to the homeless 597 00:23:30,396 --> 00:23:31,657 and do various things, 598 00:23:31,657 --> 00:23:33,635 and then try and take them to a shelter. 599 00:23:33,635 --> 00:23:35,604 And I was always astounded 600 00:23:35,604 --> 00:23:38,128 by how many of them would get in a shelter, 601 00:23:38,128 --> 00:23:40,091 and before I could get back to my car, 602 00:23:40,091 --> 00:23:42,244 they were already out of the shelter. 603 00:23:42,244 --> 00:23:43,934 And the basic reason was 604 00:23:43,934 --> 00:23:45,702 that they did not want to submit 605 00:23:45,702 --> 00:23:50,322 to the rules of those that were trying to care for them. 606 00:23:50,322 --> 00:23:52,975 Their desire to be independent 607 00:23:52,975 --> 00:23:54,529 was greater than their desire 608 00:23:54,529 --> 00:23:57,135 to submit to people that loved them. 609 00:23:57,135 --> 00:24:00,030 And that can happen in the Christian life. 610 00:24:00,030 --> 00:24:01,428 And so what is the call? 611 00:24:01,428 --> 00:24:05,610 The call is come find refuge in the Lord. 612 00:24:05,610 --> 00:24:07,187 Come find refuge in the Lord. 613 00:24:07,187 --> 00:24:08,729 And trust Him. 614 00:24:08,729 --> 00:24:15,992 Let's pray. 615 00:24:15,992 --> 00:24:19,413 God, we thank You so much tonight 616 00:24:19,413 --> 00:24:21,819 that we have You for a refuge, 617 00:24:21,819 --> 00:24:23,267 and that Your Word is tried 618 00:24:23,267 --> 00:24:25,227 and Your way is perfect. 619 00:24:25,227 --> 00:24:27,077 And so Lord, would You help us tonight 620 00:24:27,077 --> 00:24:30,359 in faith to bow the knee? 621 00:24:30,359 --> 00:24:32,604 We bless You, Lord. 622 00:24:32,604 --> 00:24:34,626 Amen.