1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:02,900 Please open your Bible at Psalm 73 2 00:00:02,900 –> 00:00:05,060 as it’s been read for us again. 3 00:00:05,060 –> 00:00:07,560 So we continue to follow this marvelous story 4 00:00:07,560 –> 00:00:10,380 of Asaph, who tells us about how God 5 00:00:10,380 –> 00:00:15,380 brought him through a great crisis in his life. 6 00:00:15,400 –> 00:00:18,860 Now remember that Asaph was a mature believer, 7 00:00:18,860 –> 00:00:20,420 but he’s telling us in this Psalm 8 00:00:20,420 –> 00:00:24,400 about a time when his feet had almost slipped. 9 00:00:24,400 –> 00:00:26,240 That’s verse two. 10 00:00:26,320 –> 00:00:28,520 I almost lost it, he says. 11 00:00:29,400 –> 00:00:32,400 I almost gave up. 12 00:00:33,959 –> 00:00:36,320 And we’ve seen that even the strongest Christian 13 00:00:36,320 –> 00:00:38,840 can come to an experience like this. 14 00:00:38,840 –> 00:00:41,820 There was a time in Asaph’s journey as a believer 15 00:00:41,820 –> 00:00:43,439 when he could make no sense 16 00:00:43,439 –> 00:00:45,759 of what God was doing in the world, 17 00:00:45,759 –> 00:00:47,680 couldn’t really understand what God was doing 18 00:00:47,680 –> 00:00:49,560 in his own life, 19 00:00:49,560 –> 00:00:51,720 and could no longer really see the point 20 00:00:51,720 –> 00:00:55,560 of pursuing a godly life. 21 00:00:55,599 –> 00:00:57,160 And the good news of this Psalm, 22 00:00:57,160 –> 00:00:59,880 because all of us may come to such times in our lives, 23 00:00:59,880 –> 00:01:03,720 is that God can bring you through an Asaph experience, 24 00:01:03,720 –> 00:01:07,360 and Psalm 73 tells us how that happened. 25 00:01:08,540 –> 00:01:10,080 God brought this man we’ve been seeing 26 00:01:10,080 –> 00:01:12,980 through a five-point turn, 27 00:01:12,980 –> 00:01:15,879 and we’re discovering that Asaph’s five-point turn 28 00:01:15,879 –> 00:01:18,279 is really a pattern of what needs to happen 29 00:01:18,279 –> 00:01:21,680 when we feel that our feet are also slipping 30 00:01:21,680 –> 00:01:26,680 and we are in danger of leaving God’s path for our lives. 31 00:01:26,779 –> 00:01:29,040 And just to review where we’ve come very quickly, 32 00:01:29,040 –> 00:01:31,699 we saw that the first part of that five-point turn 33 00:01:31,699 –> 00:01:34,099 was that Asaph had to stop. 34 00:01:34,099 –> 00:01:35,839 If you’re going to turn around, 35 00:01:35,839 –> 00:01:39,040 the first thing that you have to do is to stop, 36 00:01:39,040 –> 00:01:41,879 you have to stop moving in the wrong direction. 37 00:01:41,879 –> 00:01:45,080 This happened for Asaph when he made a decision 38 00:01:45,080 –> 00:01:48,279 of loyalty to God and loyalty to his people. 39 00:01:48,279 –> 00:01:52,000 Remember, the first step in turning your life around 40 00:01:52,000 –> 00:01:54,279 is not to get an answer to all your questions, 41 00:01:54,279 –> 00:01:57,339 it is to make a decision of loyalty to God 42 00:01:57,339 –> 00:01:58,860 and to his people. 43 00:01:58,860 –> 00:02:01,519 Then, we saw that Asaph had to think. 44 00:02:01,519 –> 00:02:05,239 He went into the sanctuary, he remembered God’s truth, 45 00:02:05,239 –> 00:02:06,419 he met with God’s people, 46 00:02:06,419 –> 00:02:09,339 he considered the ultimate outcome of life. 47 00:02:09,339 –> 00:02:12,759 And that’s when the light went on for this man. 48 00:02:12,759 –> 00:02:15,119 And God straightened out his thinking 49 00:02:15,119 –> 00:02:17,820 as he came into the presence of God in worship, 50 00:02:17,860 –> 00:02:20,059 one of the wonderful blessings 51 00:02:20,059 –> 00:02:21,899 of coming together in worship 52 00:02:21,899 –> 00:02:24,580 is that God ministers to us in this way, 53 00:02:24,580 –> 00:02:27,500 in his presence, and as we seek his face, 54 00:02:27,500 –> 00:02:31,580 he straightens out our thinking around his truth. 55 00:02:31,580 –> 00:02:33,660 Then we saw that in the light of that thirdly, 56 00:02:33,660 –> 00:02:35,440 Asaph had to confess. 57 00:02:35,440 –> 00:02:37,740 There are some sins we saw to which 58 00:02:37,740 –> 00:02:41,699 you and I are especially prone when our hearts are grieved 59 00:02:41,699 –> 00:02:43,740 and Asaph confesses these. 60 00:02:43,740 –> 00:02:48,339 I was bitter, he says, I let my heart rule my head. 61 00:02:48,339 –> 00:02:52,300 I acted on impulse, I was like a brute beast 62 00:02:52,300 –> 00:02:56,220 before you, the beast’s always acting on impulse. 63 00:02:56,220 –> 00:03:00,779 Now today, we’re coming to the third dimension 64 00:03:00,779 –> 00:03:05,220 of Asaph’s turnaround, and I want us, 65 00:03:05,220 –> 00:03:08,360 as we come to it, to notice the progression 66 00:03:08,360 –> 00:03:11,899 that there is through this five-point turn. 67 00:03:11,899 –> 00:03:15,759 Last week, we noticed how the discovery 68 00:03:15,759 –> 00:03:18,800 of truth leads to prayer. 69 00:03:18,800 –> 00:03:23,800 We saw that prayer flows out where truth flows in, 70 00:03:23,979 –> 00:03:25,740 that the pattern was very simply that God 71 00:03:25,740 –> 00:03:27,619 straightened out this man’s thinking 72 00:03:27,619 –> 00:03:29,600 when he came to worship, and the result 73 00:03:29,600 –> 00:03:33,000 of the encounter with truth is that he begins to pray. 74 00:03:33,000 –> 00:03:35,660 Prayer flows out where truth flows in. 75 00:03:35,660 –> 00:03:38,100 Now, what flows out where prayer flows in, 76 00:03:38,100 –> 00:03:40,279 what comes of prayer? 77 00:03:41,139 –> 00:03:42,360 And the answer is faith. 78 00:03:43,240 –> 00:03:45,839 Faith flows out where prayer flows in. 79 00:03:45,839 –> 00:03:47,380 You see there’s a progression here. 80 00:03:47,380 –> 00:03:52,380 Truth bringing him to prayer, prayer building his faith. 81 00:03:52,979 –> 00:03:54,919 And there’s a logical progression there 82 00:03:54,919 –> 00:03:58,580 because faith is simply truth embraced 83 00:03:58,580 –> 00:03:59,820 and applied to life. 84 00:03:59,820 –> 00:04:02,619 It’s not just truth heard, it’s truth embraced 85 00:04:02,619 –> 00:04:03,940 and applied to life. 86 00:04:03,940 –> 00:04:06,839 So this man hears and rediscovers the truth of God, 87 00:04:06,880 –> 00:04:10,679 he embraces it and applies it in prayer 88 00:04:10,679 –> 00:04:13,960 and the result is that his faith grows. 89 00:04:16,040 –> 00:04:20,880 A mind opened, a soul cleansed 90 00:04:22,600 –> 00:04:24,440 and a faith restored. 91 00:04:25,359 –> 00:04:27,040 Now that’s really where we’re headed today 92 00:04:27,040 –> 00:04:28,160 in these next verses 93 00:04:28,160 –> 00:04:31,399 because we’re going to see how Esau’s faith was restored 94 00:04:31,399 –> 00:04:33,799 and so our one simple word today of course 95 00:04:33,799 –> 00:04:36,000 is the word believe. 96 00:04:36,000 –> 00:04:39,220 Now let’s begin with the big picture. 97 00:04:39,220 –> 00:04:43,059 Before we get to Esau’s affirmation of faith, 98 00:04:43,059 –> 00:04:46,239 I want you to notice the radical shift 99 00:04:46,239 –> 00:04:48,899 that is taking place in these verses. 100 00:04:49,760 –> 00:04:51,779 See the first 14 verses of the psalm, 101 00:04:51,779 –> 00:04:53,299 the whole of the first half. 102 00:04:53,299 –> 00:04:56,440 Esau has been completely and utterly absorbed 103 00:04:56,440 –> 00:04:58,399 with himself. 104 00:04:58,399 –> 00:04:59,359 What’s it been about? 105 00:04:59,359 –> 00:05:02,320 Why are things going wrong in my life? 106 00:05:02,320 –> 00:05:03,739 Why can’t I make any sense 107 00:05:03,739 –> 00:05:05,320 of what God is doing in the world? 108 00:05:05,320 –> 00:05:08,200 Why is God blessing other people more than me? 109 00:05:08,200 –> 00:05:10,820 What is the point in me pursuing a godly life? 110 00:05:10,820 –> 00:05:13,000 When I tried to understand all this, 111 00:05:13,000 –> 00:05:15,079 it was oppressive to me, verse 15. 112 00:05:16,839 –> 00:05:19,579 As you see Esau has been absorbed with himself. 113 00:05:21,459 –> 00:05:22,739 And it’s only really when he comes 114 00:05:22,739 –> 00:05:23,959 into the presence of God 115 00:05:23,959 –> 00:05:25,839 that he understands the problem. 116 00:05:27,019 –> 00:05:28,640 See throughout the first half of the psalm, 117 00:05:28,640 –> 00:05:31,399 he’s been quite convinced that the problem is with God. 118 00:05:32,239 –> 00:05:35,700 And he’s been quite convinced that the difficulties 119 00:05:35,700 –> 00:05:39,600 that he is facing are the root of all his unhappiness. 120 00:05:41,739 –> 00:05:43,739 But when he comes into the presence of God, 121 00:05:43,739 –> 00:05:46,660 God turns on the light and then Esau sees 122 00:05:46,660 –> 00:05:50,459 that the real problem that he’s struggling with is himself. 123 00:05:51,359 –> 00:05:56,000 My heart was grieved, my spirit embittered. 124 00:05:56,000 –> 00:05:58,459 I was senseless and ignorant. 125 00:05:58,459 –> 00:06:00,220 I was a brute beast before you. 126 00:06:00,260 –> 00:06:01,660 After all this time, he’s saying, 127 00:06:01,660 –> 00:06:04,700 when I was going round and round and round 128 00:06:04,700 –> 00:06:06,380 trying to make sense of all of this, 129 00:06:06,380 –> 00:06:08,619 wrestling with these great questions about God 130 00:06:08,619 –> 00:06:11,260 and about life and about everything that’s happening, 131 00:06:11,260 –> 00:06:13,100 I discovered after all this, 132 00:06:13,100 –> 00:06:14,619 when I came into the presence of God 133 00:06:14,619 –> 00:06:18,299 that the real problem is actually myself. 134 00:06:19,260 –> 00:06:22,500 That’s his discovery, and that’s his confession. 135 00:06:24,299 –> 00:06:26,420 Let me quote here from Dr. Mark Lloyd-Jones 136 00:06:26,420 –> 00:06:28,320 who’s writing on this, is, 137 00:06:28,839 –> 00:06:32,440 on this is, I found so insightful. 138 00:06:32,440 –> 00:06:37,440 He says, self is our most constant enemy. 139 00:06:38,279 –> 00:06:43,279 It is the most prolific cause of all our unhappiness. 140 00:06:44,440 –> 00:06:45,279 It’s true. 141 00:06:46,119 –> 00:06:49,200 Self is our most constant enemy. 142 00:06:49,200 –> 00:06:54,200 It is the most prolific cause of all our unhappiness. 143 00:06:54,679 –> 00:06:59,679 What’s the biggest cause of your unhappiness. 144 00:07:01,700 –> 00:07:02,799 Yourself. 145 00:07:05,059 –> 00:07:08,000 What’s the biggest cause of my unhappiness. 146 00:07:08,799 –> 00:07:10,600 Myself. 147 00:07:12,000 –> 00:07:13,260 Lloyd-Jones continues, 148 00:07:13,260 –> 00:07:16,579 as a result of the fall of Adam, we are self-centered. 149 00:07:17,720 –> 00:07:19,980 We are sensitive about ourselves. 150 00:07:20,500 –> 00:07:24,579 We’re always selfish, always protecting ourselves, 151 00:07:24,579 –> 00:07:27,220 always ready to imagine offenses, 152 00:07:27,220 –> 00:07:29,140 always ready to say we’ve been wronged 153 00:07:29,140 –> 00:07:30,440 and dealt with unfairly. 154 00:07:30,440 –> 00:07:33,299 He says, I am speaking from experience. 155 00:07:33,299 –> 00:07:35,079 May God have mercy on us. 156 00:07:35,079 –> 00:07:37,260 It’s the truth about us all. 157 00:07:37,260 –> 00:07:38,320 You recognize that? 158 00:07:41,579 –> 00:07:46,440 Now, if self is the problem, what is the deliverance. 159 00:07:46,980 –> 00:07:51,980 The answer is God is the deliverance. 160 00:07:52,839 –> 00:07:57,839 If self is the problem, God is the deliverance. 161 00:07:58,660 –> 00:08:00,980 Now let me just read these verses with some emphasis 162 00:08:00,980 –> 00:08:03,040 and I think you’ll see how Asaph moves 163 00:08:03,040 –> 00:08:06,600 from the misery of preoccupation with himself 164 00:08:06,600 –> 00:08:09,839 to the joyful freedom of confident faith in God. 165 00:08:09,839 –> 00:08:12,480 Look at these verses with me just for a moment, 166 00:08:12,480 –> 00:08:14,119 beginning with verse 22. 167 00:08:14,119 –> 00:08:16,040 I was senseless. 168 00:08:16,040 –> 00:08:17,660 I was ignorant. 169 00:08:17,660 –> 00:08:19,660 I was a brute beast before you, 170 00:08:19,660 –> 00:08:22,000 yet I’m always with you. 171 00:08:22,920 –> 00:08:25,559 You hold me by my right hand. 172 00:08:25,559 –> 00:08:27,679 You guide me with your counsel. 173 00:08:27,679 –> 00:08:29,899 Afterward, you take me to glory, 174 00:08:29,899 –> 00:08:32,000 whom have I in heaven but you, 175 00:08:32,000 –> 00:08:35,840 and earth has nothing I desire besides you. 176 00:08:35,840 –> 00:08:37,200 My flesh and my heart may fail, 177 00:08:37,200 –> 00:08:40,460 but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 178 00:08:40,460 –> 00:08:41,919 Now, do you see the movement? 179 00:08:41,919 –> 00:08:43,239 It’s very marked. 180 00:08:43,619 –> 00:08:47,500 Asaph discovered the glorious freedom 181 00:08:47,500 –> 00:08:49,919 of a God-centered life, 182 00:08:49,919 –> 00:08:54,080 the deliverance from preoccupation with self. 183 00:08:55,479 –> 00:08:57,159 That’s what faith is about, 184 00:08:58,799 –> 00:09:03,799 because Biblical faith is utterly God-centered. 185 00:09:04,619 –> 00:09:06,419 By the way, that is good news. 186 00:09:06,419 –> 00:09:10,460 Faith is not about your capacity to believe. 187 00:09:11,820 –> 00:09:12,820 If faith was about you, 188 00:09:13,559 –> 00:09:14,479 if it was about your ability to trust, 189 00:09:14,479 –> 00:09:15,840 then frankly, some of us would have 190 00:09:15,840 –> 00:09:18,580 a great advantage over others. 191 00:09:18,580 –> 00:09:20,900 Some of us find it very easy to trust, 192 00:09:20,900 –> 00:09:23,099 some of us find it very difficult to trust. 193 00:09:23,099 –> 00:09:26,940 Frankly, your ability to trust has a great deal to do 194 00:09:26,940 –> 00:09:29,039 with your past experiences of whether trust 195 00:09:29,039 –> 00:09:32,179 has been honored or whether your trust has been let down. 196 00:09:32,179 –> 00:09:35,179 If faith is about your ability to trust, 197 00:09:35,179 –> 00:09:37,020 then some of us will find it easy 198 00:09:37,020 –> 00:09:38,039 because of our background, 199 00:09:38,039 –> 00:09:39,619 some of us, frankly, will find it hard 200 00:09:39,619 –> 00:09:40,840 or almost impossible. 201 00:09:40,840 –> 00:09:44,179 So thank God that faith, Christian faith, 202 00:09:44,179 –> 00:09:46,960 is not about your ability to trust. 203 00:09:46,960 –> 00:09:50,359 It is about the trustworthiness of God. 204 00:09:50,359 –> 00:09:52,320 And that’s the same for all of us. 205 00:09:55,000 –> 00:09:57,239 And the whole point of a God-centered faith 206 00:09:57,239 –> 00:10:00,520 is that I’m liberated for myself and my hurts 207 00:10:00,520 –> 00:10:04,820 and for my wounds, and I am centered in Him 208 00:10:05,820 –> 00:10:08,960 who is altogether trustworthy. 209 00:10:08,960 –> 00:10:10,719 This is the great movement. 210 00:10:11,419 –> 00:10:14,119 It takes place for Asaph. 211 00:10:14,119 –> 00:10:18,799 There is a god in Heaven, and He can be trusted. 212 00:10:18,799 –> 00:10:23,159 Your faith will grow as you get your eyes off yourself 213 00:10:24,719 –> 00:10:26,859 and fixed on to Him. 214 00:10:28,159 –> 00:10:29,799 Now this is then the fourth dimension 215 00:10:29,799 –> 00:10:32,039 of the five-point turn, 216 00:10:32,039 –> 00:10:36,099 and we’ve expressed it in this one word to believe, 217 00:10:36,099 –> 00:10:39,520 to come to a God-centered faith. 218 00:10:40,359 –> 00:10:43,159 And really, what we have in these verses before us 219 00:10:43,159 –> 00:10:46,000 is one of the finest expressions of faith 220 00:10:46,000 –> 00:10:50,280 that you will find anywhere that you will ever hear. 221 00:10:51,719 –> 00:10:53,039 Let’s look at it in three ways 222 00:10:53,039 –> 00:10:57,320 as we focus in on verses 25 and 26. 223 00:10:57,320 –> 00:10:58,880 The first is this. 224 00:10:58,880 –> 00:11:03,119 He affirms a faith in God who is in Heaven. 225 00:11:03,119 –> 00:11:07,320 God in Heaven, for you. 226 00:11:08,280 –> 00:11:12,219 Whom have I in Heaven? 227 00:11:13,799 –> 00:11:15,679 But you, verse 25. 228 00:11:17,679 –> 00:11:19,039 Now, the first thing that you need to know 229 00:11:19,039 –> 00:11:20,340 about Heaven, of course, 230 00:11:20,340 –> 00:11:24,320 is that Heaven is utterly God-centered. 231 00:11:25,840 –> 00:11:28,260 When John saw his vision of Heaven 232 00:11:28,260 –> 00:11:30,320 that’s recorded in the Book of Revelation, 233 00:11:30,320 –> 00:11:31,619 you remember that he saw, 234 00:11:31,619 –> 00:11:34,719 he states it twice in chapter five and in chapter seven, 235 00:11:34,760 –> 00:11:38,599 that the Lamb of God, that’s Jesus Christ, 236 00:11:38,599 –> 00:11:40,919 was at the center. 237 00:11:42,380 –> 00:11:43,880 If there is just one thing 238 00:11:43,880 –> 00:11:45,739 that you need to grasp about Heaven, 239 00:11:46,659 –> 00:11:51,119 it is that Jesus Christ is at the center 240 00:11:51,119 –> 00:11:53,200 of everything there. 241 00:11:56,419 –> 00:11:58,539 God wants you to know that he 242 00:11:58,539 –> 00:12:01,140 is at the center of all things in Heaven, 243 00:12:02,380 –> 00:12:04,599 so that knowing that you will know 244 00:12:04,640 –> 00:12:07,840 how to live your life wisely on Earth. 245 00:12:10,719 –> 00:12:12,880 Now, of course, there are other people 246 00:12:12,880 –> 00:12:14,900 in Heaven besides Jesus. 247 00:12:16,400 –> 00:12:17,840 So let’s take a moment to think 248 00:12:17,840 –> 00:12:20,840 about Asaph’s question together. 249 00:12:20,840 –> 00:12:24,039 Whom have I in Heaven 250 00:12:25,919 –> 00:12:26,760 but you? 251 00:12:29,239 –> 00:12:30,599 Who do you have in Heaven? 252 00:12:30,900 –> 00:12:35,020 Let me tell you who I have in Heaven. 253 00:12:36,479 –> 00:12:40,919 I have a grandmother and a grandfather in Heaven 254 00:12:40,919 –> 00:12:43,479 to whom I was very, very close. 255 00:12:43,479 –> 00:12:44,799 Very, very close, indeed. 256 00:12:45,960 –> 00:12:47,760 I look forward to seeing them again. 257 00:12:49,440 –> 00:12:50,719 I have another grandmother. 258 00:12:50,719 –> 00:12:52,640 I have another grandfather in Heaven 259 00:12:52,640 –> 00:12:54,739 who I only ever met once in my life. 260 00:12:56,520 –> 00:12:59,299 I look forward to getting to know them in Heaven. 261 00:13:01,500 –> 00:13:06,500 I have a pastor who shaped my life in a formative way 262 00:13:07,719 –> 00:13:10,380 through his personal care and through his ministry 263 00:13:10,380 –> 00:13:13,500 when I was a teenager and he’s in Heaven. 264 00:13:14,840 –> 00:13:17,080 I have thought many, many, many times 265 00:13:17,080 –> 00:13:22,039 how much I would love to share my life with him now. 266 00:13:23,159 –> 00:13:27,020 But he died 20 years ago, just in his early 50s. 267 00:13:27,919 –> 00:13:32,419 And some of you have a husband or a wife in heaven. 268 00:13:34,099 –> 00:13:36,380 Some of you have a child in heaven. 269 00:13:38,500 –> 00:13:40,580 Sometimes you think about seeing them 270 00:13:40,580 –> 00:13:42,820 and you wonder what it will be like. 271 00:13:44,140 –> 00:13:45,880 There are people in heaven. 272 00:13:48,080 –> 00:13:51,320 And one of our great boys when we arrive there 273 00:13:52,539 –> 00:13:54,880 we’ll be that reuniting with them. 274 00:13:55,599 –> 00:13:57,119 Wonderful thing. 275 00:14:00,080 –> 00:14:02,179 Then there are pleasures in heaven. 276 00:14:03,020 –> 00:14:06,000 Psalm 16 at your right hand 277 00:14:06,000 –> 00:14:09,719 there are pleasures for evermore the psalmist says. 278 00:14:09,719 –> 00:14:11,919 We’re not told very much about these pleasures 279 00:14:11,919 –> 00:14:13,239 they’re largely hidden from us 280 00:14:13,239 –> 00:14:16,000 but we’re certainly told very clearly that they’re there. 281 00:14:16,000 –> 00:14:18,780 Paul says that the human mind can’t conceive 282 00:14:18,780 –> 00:14:21,799 what God has prepared for those who love him. 283 00:14:22,679 –> 00:14:24,539 We wouldn’t be able to imagine it frankly 284 00:14:24,539 –> 00:14:26,520 even if God told us. 285 00:14:27,700 –> 00:14:29,539 And there are possessions in heaven. 286 00:14:30,880 –> 00:14:33,359 Certain things will be given to you in heaven 287 00:14:33,359 –> 00:14:37,419 that you do not have now crowns, rewards. 288 00:14:40,140 –> 00:14:44,059 Many songs have been written about the things of heaven. 289 00:14:45,619 –> 00:14:48,340 I’ve got a mansion just over the hilltop 290 00:14:48,340 –> 00:14:49,359 remember that one? 291 00:14:50,119 –> 00:14:53,340 I’m gonna walk the streets of gold. 292 00:14:53,340 –> 00:14:54,320 Remember that one? 293 00:14:57,239 –> 00:14:59,400 Now it’s surely significant that the Bible 294 00:14:59,400 –> 00:15:03,000 says very little about the people, 295 00:15:03,000 –> 00:15:05,419 the pleasures, and the possessions of heaven. 296 00:15:06,979 –> 00:15:10,599 They are there but the one thing 297 00:15:10,599 –> 00:15:12,799 that is made unmistakably clear 298 00:15:12,799 –> 00:15:15,640 because it is the central thing 299 00:15:15,640 –> 00:15:18,679 is that Jesus Christ is in heaven. 300 00:15:18,679 –> 00:15:22,700 To be in heaven is to be in the presence of Jesus. 301 00:15:24,119 –> 00:15:26,119 Now it seems to me that this is precisely 302 00:15:26,119 –> 00:15:28,320 the point that Esau has grasped. 303 00:15:29,159 –> 00:15:32,400 He comes to a God-centered faith and it begins here. 304 00:15:32,400 –> 00:15:37,320 Whom have I in heaven but you? 305 00:15:42,200 –> 00:15:44,559 Any other perspective on heaven 306 00:15:44,559 –> 00:15:46,559 and you’ve completely missed the point? 307 00:15:49,679 –> 00:15:51,679 Let me try and illustrate this for you. 308 00:15:52,580 –> 00:15:55,919 Imagine with me please, Tom and Mary, 309 00:15:55,919 –> 00:15:59,479 a young couple engaged and about to be married. 310 00:15:59,479 –> 00:16:02,080 The wedding is just five days away 311 00:16:02,080 –> 00:16:05,659 and Tom takes Mary out for a candle-lit dinner. 312 00:16:06,799 –> 00:16:08,299 And looking over, you know, 313 00:16:08,299 –> 00:16:11,320 get in a bit of a romantic mood here, will you? 314 00:16:11,320 –> 00:16:15,859 Looking over the candle Tom says, 315 00:16:15,979 –> 00:16:19,159 I can hardly wait till Saturday comes. 316 00:16:20,479 –> 00:16:22,340 Mary smiles as she looks back 317 00:16:22,340 –> 00:16:25,599 over the candle into Tom’s eyes. 318 00:16:25,599 –> 00:16:30,599 Tell me, she says, why are you so excited about Saturday? 319 00:16:32,419 –> 00:16:36,260 Now, all Tom has to do at this moment is to say, 320 00:16:36,260 –> 00:16:40,640 because on Saturday I get to marry you. 321 00:16:41,900 –> 00:16:43,979 But Tom’s a bit of a dummy. 322 00:16:44,140 –> 00:16:48,260 He doesn’t always get his cues. 323 00:16:49,039 –> 00:16:52,859 So he says, Saturday my great uncle Jack’s 324 00:16:52,859 –> 00:16:55,799 coming in from Boston and I haven’t seen him for 10 years. 325 00:16:56,940 –> 00:16:59,739 Or he says, Saturday the guys 326 00:16:59,739 –> 00:17:02,039 from the football team at college are all going to be here 327 00:17:02,039 –> 00:17:04,540 and we’re going to go out Friday night. 328 00:17:05,420 –> 00:17:07,719 Or he says, oh, the reception is going to be 329 00:17:07,719 –> 00:17:10,219 at the Grand Hotel Ballroom 330 00:17:10,219 –> 00:17:13,339 and I love the food that they serve there. 331 00:17:14,459 –> 00:17:18,880 Now of course, all these things may be wonderfully true. 332 00:17:18,880 –> 00:17:21,540 It is great that Uncle Jack and the football team is coming 333 00:17:22,380 –> 00:17:23,239 and there will be a marvelous meal. 334 00:17:24,119 –> 00:17:28,520 The problem is that by making them his focus, 335 00:17:28,520 –> 00:17:31,560 Tom has completely missed the point, right? 336 00:17:34,859 –> 00:17:37,719 Do you know that surveys show that something 337 00:17:37,719 –> 00:17:42,719 like 90% of all Americans think they’ll be in heaven? 338 00:17:44,300 –> 00:17:49,280 Heaven’s big among the people who work beside you. 339 00:17:50,859 –> 00:17:52,219 They think they’ll be there. 340 00:17:54,160 –> 00:17:57,160 A good question to ask someone 341 00:17:57,160 –> 00:17:59,439 who thinks they’ll be in heaven is this. 342 00:18:00,280 –> 00:18:03,060 Why would you want to go there? 343 00:18:05,880 –> 00:18:08,560 And actually, your answer to that question 344 00:18:08,560 –> 00:18:11,280 may just be one of the most revealing things about you. 345 00:18:12,099 –> 00:18:15,459 Because the reality is that a lot of people, 346 00:18:15,459 –> 00:18:19,680 their conception of heaven is about people, 347 00:18:19,680 –> 00:18:22,239 possessions and pleasures. 348 00:18:22,239 –> 00:18:23,099 That’s all it is. 349 00:18:25,280 –> 00:18:28,520 And their idea of heaven is as Christless 350 00:18:28,520 –> 00:18:30,660 as their life on earth. 351 00:18:35,280 –> 00:18:36,560 I like to try and keep in touch 352 00:18:36,560 –> 00:18:39,719 with what’s popular on the reading list. 353 00:18:39,739 –> 00:18:41,520 I picked this one up. 354 00:18:41,520 –> 00:18:43,680 It’s on the New York Times Best Seller list. 355 00:18:43,680 –> 00:18:44,859 You seen this one? 356 00:18:44,859 –> 00:18:49,040 Mitch Album, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, 357 00:18:49,040 –> 00:18:51,079 very cleverly and well written book. 358 00:18:51,079 –> 00:18:54,479 It says some good things about people you meet in heaven 359 00:18:54,479 –> 00:18:56,060 and how that ought to affect the way 360 00:18:56,060 –> 00:18:57,260 that you treat them here. 361 00:18:59,060 –> 00:19:01,140 Been reading through this book, I’m absolutely fascinated. 362 00:19:01,140 –> 00:19:04,819 Five people you meet in heaven and Jesus isn’t one of them. 363 00:19:06,800 –> 00:19:08,040 It’s a Christless heaven. 364 00:19:09,719 –> 00:19:11,839 Which doesn’t exist. 365 00:19:14,479 –> 00:19:16,420 There is only one heaven 366 00:19:16,420 –> 00:19:20,099 and Jesus Christ is at the center of it. 367 00:19:21,859 –> 00:19:24,060 Heaven is about Christ. 368 00:19:25,719 –> 00:19:29,900 Eternity, eternity is about Christ. 369 00:19:31,520 –> 00:19:34,640 And once you’ve grassed that God-centered, 370 00:19:34,640 –> 00:19:37,660 Christ-focused reality of eternity 371 00:19:37,660 –> 00:19:40,079 then you know how to live life in this world. 372 00:19:43,199 –> 00:19:45,479 Whom have I in heaven? 373 00:19:47,400 –> 00:19:48,239 But you. 374 00:19:50,520 –> 00:19:51,359 But you. 375 00:19:54,439 –> 00:19:55,680 God in heaven for you. 376 00:19:56,680 –> 00:20:00,660 Second, God on Earth with you. 377 00:20:03,079 –> 00:20:05,719 Whom have I in heaven but you, verse 25, 378 00:20:05,719 –> 00:20:10,719 and Earth has nothing I desire besides you. 379 00:20:11,760 –> 00:20:13,180 This is the second dimension 380 00:20:13,180 –> 00:20:16,560 of this God-centered expression of faith. 381 00:20:16,560 –> 00:20:19,040 You’re at the center of everything for me in heaven. 382 00:20:19,040 –> 00:20:24,040 You’re at the center of everything for me on Earth. 383 00:20:24,219 –> 00:20:27,780 Earth has nothing I desire besides you. 384 00:20:28,959 –> 00:20:31,699 Now you can see here how far Esaph has come, can’t you? 385 00:20:32,099 –> 00:20:35,180 At the beginning of the psalm he’s all tied up 386 00:20:35,180 –> 00:20:37,119 because there are certain things in his life 387 00:20:37,119 –> 00:20:39,500 that are not as he’d like them to be. 388 00:20:39,500 –> 00:20:42,599 He’s bothered by other people’s prosperity. 389 00:20:42,599 –> 00:20:44,380 He wants certain things to be different 390 00:20:44,380 –> 00:20:47,119 and because they’re not he’s miserable, 391 00:20:47,119 –> 00:20:52,119 but now he finds a new freedom in this God-centered faith. 392 00:20:52,199 –> 00:20:54,719 What’s my life on Earth really all about? 393 00:20:57,199 –> 00:21:00,900 Thank God I can be released from this preconceived agenda, 394 00:21:00,900 –> 00:21:03,079 this life plan. 395 00:21:06,579 –> 00:21:07,900 It’s what my life on Earth is about 396 00:21:07,900 –> 00:21:10,339 now that I’ve discovered that you’re at the center of heaven 397 00:21:10,339 –> 00:21:11,699 that I can live with freedom 398 00:21:12,839 –> 00:21:14,619 with you at the center of my experience 399 00:21:14,619 –> 00:21:15,540 and life on Earth. 400 00:21:18,060 –> 00:21:19,900 Now Esau of course is not saying 401 00:21:19,900 –> 00:21:22,219 that there are no other legitimate desires 402 00:21:22,219 –> 00:21:24,060 for life on Earth. 403 00:21:24,060 –> 00:21:26,180 He’s simply saying the same thing 404 00:21:26,180 –> 00:21:27,900 as the apostle Paul said 405 00:21:27,900 –> 00:21:30,339 and we sang it earlier in our worship. 406 00:21:30,380 –> 00:21:34,199 I want to know Christ. 407 00:21:34,199 –> 00:21:36,300 That’s what matters. 408 00:21:36,300 –> 00:21:39,500 That’s the driving ambition of my life. 409 00:21:39,500 –> 00:21:41,339 Paul and Esau are expressing 410 00:21:41,339 –> 00:21:43,520 precisely the same biblical faith. 411 00:21:43,520 –> 00:21:47,319 On Earth nothing I desire beside you, says Esau, 412 00:21:47,319 –> 00:21:50,219 I want to know Christ, says the apostle Paul. 413 00:21:50,219 –> 00:21:51,739 They’re saying the same thing. 414 00:21:53,339 –> 00:21:55,939 Now of course Paul had other desires. 415 00:21:55,939 –> 00:21:57,060 He wanted to preach. 416 00:21:58,339 –> 00:22:00,020 He wanted to plant churches. 417 00:22:01,260 –> 00:22:04,020 He wanted to see people converted to Jesus Christ. 418 00:22:04,020 –> 00:22:06,119 These are good desires. 419 00:22:07,099 –> 00:22:07,939 But here’s the thing. 420 00:22:07,939 –> 00:22:12,040 Even good desires, even the best desires, can become idols. 421 00:22:15,300 –> 00:22:17,380 And Esau gets it exactly right. 422 00:22:17,380 –> 00:22:21,060 He teaches us that beside the Lord himself 423 00:22:21,060 –> 00:22:23,619 everything else must take a secondary place. 424 00:22:24,500 –> 00:22:27,060 Earth has nothing I desire 425 00:22:28,500 –> 00:22:29,939 beside You! 426 00:22:32,459 –> 00:22:34,339 See how God-centered it is. 427 00:22:37,459 –> 00:22:39,979 Now, if we’ve really come to love the Lord Jesus Christ 428 00:22:39,979 –> 00:22:43,180 and have entered into what biblical faith is all about 429 00:22:43,180 –> 00:22:46,599 then, surely, we will see the rightness of this. 430 00:22:47,459 –> 00:22:49,380 Let’s go back to our friends Tom and Mary 431 00:22:49,380 –> 00:22:52,979 and fast forward their story five days 432 00:22:53,020 –> 00:22:56,660 and we now come to their wedding on the Saturday. 433 00:22:56,660 –> 00:23:00,319 They stand in the church and they take their vows. 434 00:23:01,219 –> 00:23:05,660 I, Tom, do take you, Mary, to be my wife, 435 00:23:05,660 –> 00:23:08,380 to have and to hold from this day forward 436 00:23:09,439 –> 00:23:13,260 for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer 437 00:23:13,260 –> 00:23:15,640 in sickness and in health. 438 00:23:17,020 –> 00:23:21,160 Now, think with me about what Tom is actually saying. 439 00:23:23,359 –> 00:23:28,359 He’s saying, if being with you means I am richer, 440 00:23:29,300 –> 00:23:30,239 I am with you. 441 00:23:32,219 –> 00:23:35,880 If being with you turns out to mean that I am poorer, 442 00:23:36,900 –> 00:23:37,819 I am with you. 443 00:23:40,180 –> 00:23:44,339 What matters to me, Mary, is not richer or poorer. 444 00:23:45,660 –> 00:23:49,939 It’s not better or worse, and it’s not sickness or health. 445 00:23:50,920 –> 00:23:53,479 What matters to me is you, 446 00:23:56,739 –> 00:23:58,500 so bring it on! 447 00:24:00,699 –> 00:24:02,439 Because no matter what happens, 448 00:24:02,439 –> 00:24:04,060 that’s the agenda of my life, 449 00:24:04,060 –> 00:24:05,819 that’s the commitment that I’m making. 450 00:24:05,819 –> 00:24:09,680 I’m with you, come what may. 451 00:24:15,420 –> 00:24:17,819 Now you see, that is how a real Christian 452 00:24:17,819 –> 00:24:19,459 feels about Christ, isn’t it? 453 00:24:20,880 –> 00:24:23,800 And isn’t that why the New Testament 454 00:24:23,800 –> 00:24:26,119 uses the picture of a marriage 455 00:24:26,119 –> 00:24:29,439 to describe the relationship between Christ and His people? 456 00:24:29,439 –> 00:24:31,959 Christ bonds to us, whatever. 457 00:24:33,520 –> 00:24:36,599 And we bond to Him, whatever. 458 00:24:36,599 –> 00:24:38,260 For better or worse. 459 00:24:39,119 –> 00:24:43,859 For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, 460 00:24:45,680 –> 00:24:47,219 when life goes as I want it to, 461 00:24:47,219 –> 00:24:48,959 when life goes as I don’t want it to, 462 00:24:49,020 –> 00:24:52,400 I’m with you, bring it on, what matters to me is you. 463 00:24:56,160 –> 00:24:59,199 This came to me this week with great force. 464 00:25:00,760 –> 00:25:04,219 Because just looking again at biblical faith 465 00:25:04,219 –> 00:25:07,420 as it’s framed in this God-centered way, 466 00:25:08,260 –> 00:25:10,520 it came to me in a fresh way. 467 00:25:10,520 –> 00:25:14,699 What have we done to the Gospel in our time? 468 00:25:14,699 –> 00:25:15,540 No. 469 00:25:18,479 –> 00:25:21,459 Because if you turn on your television these days 470 00:25:22,339 –> 00:25:26,020 you will hear a very different message from some. 471 00:25:28,239 –> 00:25:31,520 You will hear preachers who invite you to come to Christ 472 00:25:31,520 –> 00:25:33,479 for three reasons. 473 00:25:34,920 –> 00:25:36,000 Health, 474 00:25:37,439 –> 00:25:38,859 wealth, 475 00:25:38,859 –> 00:25:40,760 and a better life. 476 00:25:41,439 –> 00:25:45,939 In other words, we have moved in large parts 477 00:25:45,939 –> 00:25:47,959 to an alternative gospel. 478 00:25:49,239 –> 00:25:53,599 A gospel that is geared to our unchanging self interest. 479 00:25:54,819 –> 00:25:57,579 In which your person is invited to make a commitment 480 00:25:57,579 –> 00:25:59,020 to Christ that would amount 481 00:25:59,020 –> 00:26:01,300 to saying something like this. 482 00:26:01,300 –> 00:26:06,300 I, Colin, do take you Jesus to be my savior. 483 00:26:07,260 –> 00:26:09,260 I, Colin, do take you Jesus to be my savior. 484 00:26:09,260 –> 00:26:14,260 For better, for richer and for health. 485 00:26:18,819 –> 00:26:23,459 And by the way, if you don’t deliver 486 00:26:24,319 –> 00:26:27,920 on what I’m asking of you, I got a problem. 487 00:26:31,020 –> 00:26:33,839 That’s not loving Christ, that is self-worship. 488 00:26:36,500 –> 00:26:39,699 And the person who comes to Jesus on that basis 489 00:26:39,699 –> 00:26:41,540 will abandon Jesus on that basis 490 00:26:41,540 –> 00:26:46,160 as quickly and as surely as Judas did. 491 00:26:49,859 –> 00:26:53,359 Now listen to biblical faith, Asaph’s faith. 492 00:26:54,900 –> 00:26:59,900 Earth has nothing I desire beside you. 493 00:27:00,859 –> 00:27:05,859 You are the center of all things in Heaven. 494 00:27:09,660 –> 00:27:11,719 Grasping that, I now know how to live 495 00:27:11,719 –> 00:27:13,420 in these short years that I have 496 00:27:13,420 –> 00:27:15,459 before I enter into your presence. 497 00:27:16,280 –> 00:27:18,739 You are to be the center 498 00:27:18,739 –> 00:27:22,579 of all things in my life on Earth whatever. 499 00:27:24,040 –> 00:27:27,339 Whatever, and it’s absolutely liberating. 500 00:27:30,760 –> 00:27:32,359 God, for you in Heaven, 501 00:27:32,359 –> 00:27:34,339 God, with you on Earth, 502 00:27:34,339 –> 00:27:37,880 God, at death beside you. 503 00:27:37,880 –> 00:27:41,140 God, beside you at death. 504 00:27:42,479 –> 00:27:45,319 My flesh and my heart may fail, 505 00:27:46,560 –> 00:27:49,020 but God is the strength of my heart 506 00:27:49,020 –> 00:27:51,119 and my portion forever. 507 00:27:52,239 –> 00:27:53,920 Now, clearly, this statement moves 508 00:27:53,920 –> 00:27:55,000 in the direction of death. 509 00:27:55,000 –> 00:27:57,219 My flesh and my heart may fail. 510 00:27:57,219 –> 00:27:59,180 That’s moving in the direction of death. 511 00:27:59,280 –> 00:28:00,979 He may be talking about, you know, 512 00:28:00,979 –> 00:28:03,040 heart-stopping experiences, 513 00:28:03,040 –> 00:28:05,739 at times when our heart fails us, 514 00:28:05,739 –> 00:28:07,099 even through life, 515 00:28:07,099 –> 00:28:09,239 times when we come to these great difficulties 516 00:28:09,239 –> 00:28:10,920 like Asaph has been enduring. 517 00:28:10,920 –> 00:28:13,380 But he’s talking about the progression through life 518 00:28:13,380 –> 00:28:14,819 that ultimately is going to come 519 00:28:14,819 –> 00:28:17,000 to the moment of our death 520 00:28:17,000 –> 00:28:19,199 and he says, well, even there, 521 00:28:19,199 –> 00:28:21,880 God is the strength of my heart 522 00:28:21,880 –> 00:28:26,920 and is my portion forever. 523 00:28:26,920 –> 00:28:28,680 The New Testament way of saying this 524 00:28:28,719 –> 00:28:30,459 again comes from the Apostle Paul, 525 00:28:30,459 –> 00:28:31,979 there are some fascinating parallels 526 00:28:31,979 –> 00:28:33,780 that run right through this 527 00:28:33,780 –> 00:28:36,400 and the New Testament way of saying the same thing 528 00:28:36,400 –> 00:28:39,219 as verse 26 is Paul’s wonderful statement, 529 00:28:39,219 –> 00:28:41,859 remember, to me to live is Christ 530 00:28:42,800 –> 00:28:44,199 and to die is gain. 531 00:28:44,199 –> 00:28:45,680 That’s what Asaph’s saying. 532 00:28:45,680 –> 00:28:47,959 See, even if my flesh and my heart fail, 533 00:28:47,959 –> 00:28:49,739 even when I die, 534 00:28:49,739 –> 00:28:51,880 it’s God who is the strength of my heart 535 00:28:51,880 –> 00:28:53,380 and my portion forever. 536 00:28:53,380 –> 00:28:54,819 What has been my life now 537 00:28:54,819 –> 00:28:56,760 because there’s nothing on earth I desire beside you 538 00:28:56,760 –> 00:28:57,979 will continue through death 539 00:28:58,099 –> 00:29:00,540 and into heaven itself where he is exalted. 540 00:29:00,540 –> 00:29:02,219 For me to live is Christ 541 00:29:03,079 –> 00:29:04,079 and to die is gain. 542 00:29:06,239 –> 00:29:07,739 John Piper has made, 543 00:29:07,739 –> 00:29:09,540 I think the central point of that verse 544 00:29:09,540 –> 00:29:11,680 or expressed the point of that verse very well 545 00:29:11,680 –> 00:29:12,520 by saying this, 546 00:29:12,520 –> 00:29:17,280 that if living is Christ for you, 547 00:29:18,319 –> 00:29:21,400 then dying will be gain for you 548 00:29:22,239 –> 00:29:25,800 because in dying you get more of Christ. 549 00:29:25,800 –> 00:29:27,060 That’s it, see. 550 00:29:27,079 –> 00:29:28,040 For me to live is Christ, 551 00:29:28,040 –> 00:29:29,040 to die is gain. 552 00:29:29,040 –> 00:29:30,660 If living is Christ for you, 553 00:29:31,680 –> 00:29:34,359 then dying will be gain for you 554 00:29:34,359 –> 00:29:37,020 because in dying you get more of Chist 555 00:29:37,020 –> 00:29:39,079 and right into his presence. 556 00:29:41,079 –> 00:29:43,160 Now think about that. 557 00:29:43,160 –> 00:29:47,619 You see, if you take Christ out of that verse, 558 00:29:47,619 –> 00:29:51,040 you’ll soon see that any other way of living 559 00:29:51,040 –> 00:29:52,319 ends with disaster. 560 00:29:53,500 –> 00:29:56,099 See look at this text if we blank it out. 561 00:29:56,099 –> 00:29:59,319 For me to live is blank, 562 00:29:59,319 –> 00:30:01,520 to die is blank. 563 00:30:03,479 –> 00:30:04,619 Now fill in the blanks. 564 00:30:07,680 –> 00:30:09,439 For me to live is career. 565 00:30:12,199 –> 00:30:13,819 But you see if for me to live is career, 566 00:30:13,819 –> 00:30:15,619 then to die is disaster isn’t it? 567 00:30:15,619 –> 00:30:16,719 It’s all gone. 568 00:30:20,260 –> 00:30:23,640 For me to live is family or friends, 569 00:30:24,459 –> 00:30:27,939 Then to die is just loss because I’m taken away from them. 570 00:30:27,939 –> 00:30:30,400 That’s all it is, just loss, just loss. 571 00:30:34,859 –> 00:30:38,339 For me to live is health, fitness. 572 00:30:40,160 –> 00:30:43,739 That is for some of us right shape. 573 00:30:45,739 –> 00:30:48,339 Well to die is a total failure for you then isn’t it? 574 00:30:49,439 –> 00:30:50,739 Ultimate failure. 575 00:30:53,979 –> 00:30:56,180 By the way, it won’t just be at death 576 00:30:56,180 –> 00:30:57,280 that you discover that. 577 00:31:00,959 –> 00:31:03,739 If for you to live is sex, 578 00:31:05,319 –> 00:31:07,400 expect a tough time as you get older. 579 00:31:07,400 –> 00:31:09,560 You lose your appeal, you lose your vigor. 580 00:31:14,660 –> 00:31:16,099 Some of us are living in ways 581 00:31:16,099 –> 00:31:19,280 that are setting us up for disaster. 582 00:31:24,300 –> 00:31:27,180 If for you to live is family, 583 00:31:28,520 –> 00:31:30,760 the kids leaving home will destroy you. 584 00:31:34,880 –> 00:31:39,880 If for you to live is work, retirement will destroy you. 585 00:31:43,800 –> 00:31:48,800 If for you to live is pleasure, sickness will destroy you. 586 00:31:49,760 –> 00:31:54,760 If for you to live is Christ, nothing will destroy you. 587 00:31:59,880 –> 00:32:04,359 For me to live is Christ, and even to die is gain. 588 00:32:05,079 –> 00:32:07,439 I have no fear as I look at the future. 589 00:32:09,319 –> 00:32:11,719 Paul was in prison when he wrote these words. 590 00:32:11,719 –> 00:32:13,560 Things had not worked out as he had hoped 591 00:32:13,560 –> 00:32:16,599 or he’d expected, but hey I’m not preaching anymore, 592 00:32:16,599 –> 00:32:18,280 I’m not doing what I thought I’d be doing 593 00:32:18,900 –> 00:32:22,239 anymore, but for me to live as Christ, I have no loss. 594 00:32:23,560 –> 00:32:28,560 I wanna know Him, that’s what my life is about. 595 00:32:31,760 –> 00:32:34,400 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the 596 00:32:34,400 –> 00:32:36,880 strength of my heart and my portion forever. 597 00:32:36,880 –> 00:32:40,780 This is the liberating power of a God-centered life. 598 00:32:42,800 –> 00:32:44,660 And that’s why in the book of Hebrews it tells us 599 00:32:44,660 –> 00:32:47,239 that Jesus Christ came into the world 600 00:32:47,280 –> 00:32:48,199 for this reason. 601 00:32:49,099 –> 00:32:54,000 Jesus came to free those who all their lives 602 00:32:54,000 –> 00:32:56,959 were held in slavery by their fear of death. 603 00:32:59,839 –> 00:33:01,219 And the way that that happens, you see, 604 00:33:01,219 –> 00:33:03,939 is when we’re converted from self-life 605 00:33:05,140 –> 00:33:08,819 to a life that is centered in Jesus Christ. 606 00:33:10,599 –> 00:33:11,900 Well, here’s the fourth dimension. 607 00:33:11,900 –> 00:33:13,180 This is real biblical faith 608 00:33:13,180 –> 00:33:14,920 we’re talking about here, isn’t it? 609 00:33:15,900 –> 00:33:17,739 And Asaph, who no doubt had known it 610 00:33:17,739 –> 00:33:20,060 for many years, reembraces it in a new way 611 00:33:20,060 –> 00:33:21,439 because his feet had almost slipped. 612 00:33:21,439 –> 00:33:24,140 He’d almost lost sight of what it really was, you see. 613 00:33:25,780 –> 00:33:27,619 God in heaven for you, God on earth for you, 614 00:33:27,619 –> 00:33:30,339 God at death beside you. 615 00:33:33,380 –> 00:33:36,099 And Asaph’s God-centered faith 616 00:33:36,099 –> 00:33:40,099 restored, delivers him from the misery 617 00:33:40,099 –> 00:33:42,180 of his own self-centeredness, 618 00:33:42,180 –> 00:33:43,380 and it brings him through 619 00:33:43,380 –> 00:33:47,180 to the glorious freedom of a God-centered life. 620 00:33:50,079 –> 00:33:52,339 You say, well how in all the world am I gonna get there? 621 00:33:52,339 –> 00:33:54,140 Well remember how Asaph got there. 622 00:33:55,780 –> 00:34:00,339 It is grace that births God-centeredness. 623 00:34:01,239 –> 00:34:02,420 That’s what happened to Asaph, 624 00:34:02,420 –> 00:34:05,060 this mature believer, everybody respected him. 625 00:34:05,060 –> 00:34:07,319 He came to the point where his feet almost slipped, 626 00:34:07,319 –> 00:34:09,979 he became bitter, he started living on impulse, 627 00:34:10,000 –> 00:34:11,739 his heart ruled his head. 628 00:34:13,879 –> 00:34:15,639 But he comes into the presence of God 629 00:34:15,639 –> 00:34:17,939 and he sees what’s been going wrong in his life, 630 00:34:17,939 –> 00:34:20,860 he falls on his knees, he confesses his sin, 631 00:34:20,860 –> 00:34:23,360 and he experiences grace. 632 00:34:27,320 –> 00:34:29,419 And somehow his soul is filled 633 00:34:29,419 –> 00:34:31,919 with a fresh love for Jesus Christ. 634 00:34:34,060 –> 00:34:38,620 I was a brute beast before you, Lord, 635 00:34:38,620 –> 00:34:41,739 yet you hold me by my right hand. 636 00:34:42,739 –> 00:34:43,739 That’s grace. 637 00:34:45,000 –> 00:34:47,699 And his experience of grace 638 00:34:49,479 –> 00:34:51,399 restores his faith, 639 00:34:53,820 –> 00:34:55,260 brings him to the point where he’s ready 640 00:34:55,260 –> 00:34:57,979 to face the future in an entirely different way. 641 00:34:59,659 –> 00:35:01,219 You know, there’s wonderful good news here. 642 00:35:01,219 –> 00:35:03,939 This is the redeeming power of Jesus Christ. 643 00:35:04,939 –> 00:35:09,159 He can use your worst sin 644 00:35:10,300 –> 00:35:14,820 to give you a new appreciation of the wonder of his grace. 645 00:35:16,479 –> 00:35:18,239 See some of us have been looking for a long time 646 00:35:18,239 –> 00:35:19,879 about what we can do for God, what we can do for God, 647 00:35:19,879 –> 00:35:22,360 and suddenly we hit something 648 00:35:24,739 –> 00:35:26,699 and we discover what he can do for us. 649 00:35:28,139 –> 00:35:32,600 And grace births God-centeredness. 650 00:35:32,639 –> 00:35:33,719 Do you know about that? 651 00:35:36,679 –> 00:35:39,199 Truth, prayer, faith. 652 00:35:40,919 –> 00:35:42,479 Whom have I in heaven but you 653 00:35:42,479 –> 00:35:45,159 and Earth has nothing I desire beside you? 654 00:35:46,360 –> 00:35:48,580 My flesh and my heart may fail, 655 00:35:48,580 –> 00:35:51,199 but God is the strength of my heart 656 00:35:52,280 –> 00:35:55,320 and my portion, forever. 657 00:35:55,320 –> 00:35:57,280 Let’s bow in prayer together, shall we? 658 00:36:00,199 –> 00:36:02,320 Father, somehow before your word, 659 00:36:02,399 –> 00:36:05,760 our own lives are exposed and we see self-centeredness 660 00:36:05,760 –> 00:36:07,540 as we didn’t quite see it before. 661 00:36:10,139 –> 00:36:10,979 We don’t like it. 662 00:36:10,979 –> 00:36:11,840 We don’t want it. 663 00:36:11,840 –> 00:36:16,840 We want a God-centered faith like Asaph, 664 00:36:17,280 –> 00:36:18,479 like the Apostle Paul, 665 00:36:18,479 –> 00:36:21,239 and we see that that is how you’re calling us to live. 666 00:36:24,919 –> 00:36:27,919 And so we ask that your grace will do a deep work 667 00:36:27,959 –> 00:36:32,780 in our hearts birthing restored faith, 668 00:36:37,239 –> 00:36:41,199 bringing us through the death of self-interest 669 00:36:44,080 –> 00:36:48,159 and into the risenness of new life in Jesus Christ, 670 00:36:51,000 –> 00:36:53,500 that we may take our stand with Asaph and Paul 671 00:36:53,500 –> 00:36:55,760 and press forward from today, 672 00:36:56,540 –> 00:36:58,699 knowing that it’s not about me, 673 00:37:00,919 –> 00:37:04,540 but in life and in death and in eternity, 674 00:37:06,080 –> 00:37:07,199 it’s all about you. 675 00:37:09,719 –> 00:37:13,760 For these things we ask in Jesus’ name, amen.