1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:07,640 Well, would you open your Bible, please, at Psalm 73? 2 00:00:07,640 –> 00:00:14,080 Today is the last in the series of five messages from this Psalm that tells us the story of 3 00:00:14,080 –> 00:00:19,400 Asaph, a mature believer who at one point in his life faced such discouragement that 4 00:00:19,400 –> 00:00:22,459 he tells us frankly he almost gave up. 5 00:00:22,459 –> 00:00:29,379 And I’d like to read through the Psalm, picking up what we’ve learned over this last 6 00:00:29,760 –> 00:00:36,060 month together, so that we can understand the flow of this testimony into the ending which 7 00:00:36,060 –> 00:00:38,779 is our particular focus today. 8 00:00:38,779 –> 00:00:45,060 So, if you have your Bible open at Psalm 73, that would be helpful as we review together 9 00:00:45,060 –> 00:00:47,340 what we have learned. 10 00:00:47,340 –> 00:00:51,459 Asaph tells us at the beginning what he had always believed. 11 00:00:51,459 –> 00:00:57,139 Verse one, surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. 12 00:00:57,240 –> 00:01:02,560 He tells us that there came a time, verse two, where as for me my feet had almost slipped. 13 00:01:02,560 –> 00:01:06,800 I nearly lost my foothold. 14 00:01:06,800 –> 00:01:10,239 The reason for this problem, he sets out clearly in verse three. 15 00:01:10,239 –> 00:01:15,800 The reason was I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 16 00:01:15,800 –> 00:01:20,559 He goes on, they have no struggles, their bodies are healthy and strong, they are free 17 00:01:20,559 –> 00:01:22,599 from the burdens common to man. 18 00:01:22,599 –> 00:01:27,540 They are not plagued by human ills therefore pride is their necklace, they clothe themselves 19 00:01:27,540 –> 00:01:31,760 with violence, from their calloused hearts comes iniquity. 20 00:01:31,760 –> 00:01:36,940 The evil conceits of their mind knows no limit and you sense his frustration, you see, here’s 21 00:01:36,940 –> 00:01:39,940 the problem, God lets them get away with it. 22 00:01:39,940 –> 00:01:42,620 Makes no sense. 23 00:01:42,620 –> 00:01:51,320 Verse twelve, this is what the wicked are like, always carefree, they increase in wealth. 24 00:01:51,400 –> 00:01:55,639 So as Asaph looks at the way in which God rules the world, it makes no sense to him. 25 00:01:55,639 –> 00:02:01,360 Things just don’t seem to be ordered in a way that adds up. 26 00:02:01,360 –> 00:02:05,739 And then as we saw when he looked at his own life it didn’t make much sense either. 27 00:02:05,739 –> 00:02:12,960 Verse fourteen, all day long I have been plagued, I have been punished every morning. 28 00:02:12,960 –> 00:02:20,600 Look at my own life here, I’m trying to honor the Lord, I’m trying to pursue Godliness. 29 00:02:20,660 –> 00:02:24,539 Look at the way things are, it makes no sense. 30 00:02:24,539 –> 00:02:28,820 And so he’s fast coming to the conclusion in verse thirteen that there really isn’t 31 00:02:28,820 –> 00:02:31,679 any point in pursuing a godly life at all. 32 00:02:31,679 –> 00:02:38,220 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure, in vain I washed my hands in innocence. 33 00:02:38,220 –> 00:02:40,279 In vain, you see, what was the point? 34 00:02:40,279 –> 00:02:44,220 What was the point? 35 00:02:44,220 –> 00:02:48,820 Now the first thing that we’ve learned then from this series is that even the strongest 36 00:02:49,220 –> 00:02:55,020 believer—because remember Asaph was a mature believer, a man in ministry—even the strongest 37 00:02:55,020 –> 00:02:57,979 believer can come to an experience like this. 38 00:02:57,979 –> 00:03:01,820 my feet had almost slipped. 39 00:03:01,820 –> 00:03:07,660 And the good news is that when that happens to you, God knows how to bring you through 40 00:03:07,660 –> 00:03:11,460 an Asaph experience. 41 00:03:11,460 –> 00:03:17,320 And we’ve been seeing the pattern that God brought this man through a five-point turn, 42 00:03:17,320 –> 00:03:22,399 and that Asaph’s five-point turn is really a pattern of what God will do in your life 43 00:03:22,399 –> 00:03:26,960 and in mine in times of discouragement when we feel like giving up. 44 00:03:26,960 –> 00:03:30,600 And to review what we’ve learned, to seal it into our minds on this last Sunday in the 45 00:03:30,600 –> 00:03:34,160 series, we saw that first Asaph had to stop. 46 00:03:34,160 –> 00:03:39,440 His recovery began not with the answering of all his unresolved questions, but with 47 00:03:39,440 –> 00:03:43,919 a decision of loyalty to God and to his people. 48 00:03:43,919 –> 00:03:49,619 His mind was going off in all the wrong directions, and he had to bring that to a halt, stop. 49 00:03:49,619 –> 00:03:52,539 If I had said, verse 15, I will speak thus. 50 00:03:52,539 –> 00:03:56,919 I would have betrayed your children. 51 00:03:56,919 –> 00:04:00,000 Then secondly, he had to think. 52 00:04:00,000 –> 00:04:02,919 He couldn’t make sense of his problems, thinking on his own. 53 00:04:02,919 –> 00:04:09,059 That’s verse 16, when I tried to understand this, it was oppressive to me. 54 00:04:09,940 –> 00:04:13,419 But the turn around came when he went into the presence of God, verse 17. 55 00:04:13,419 –> 00:04:17,019 I entered the sanctuary of God. 56 00:04:17,019 –> 00:04:21,679 And then I understood there that’s the wicked’s final destiny. 57 00:04:21,679 –> 00:04:24,559 Surely you place them on slippery ground. 58 00:04:24,559 –> 00:04:30,339 You cast them down to ruin how suddenly they’re destroyed, completely swept away by terrors 59 00:04:30,339 –> 00:04:37,500 as a dream when one awakes so when you arise, oh Lord, you will despise them as fantasies. 60 00:04:37,640 –> 00:04:42,380 It was when I came into the presence of God that I remembered His truth, I met with His 61 00:04:42,380 –> 00:04:49,179 people, I saw the ultimate outcome of life, and God turned on a light in my mind. 62 00:04:51,320 –> 00:04:52,619 Stop, think. 63 00:04:52,619 –> 00:04:55,679 And then the third thing we saw, confess. 64 00:04:55,679 –> 00:05:02,700 When you embrace God’s truth in your life, you will begin to pray. 65 00:05:02,700 –> 00:05:07,420 And as you grow in the truth, you will see things in yourself that you did not see before 66 00:05:07,779 –> 00:05:10,480 and they will cause you to confess. 67 00:05:10,480 –> 00:05:16,100 So in verse 21, he says, when my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless 68 00:05:16,100 –> 00:05:17,459 and ignorant. 69 00:05:17,459 –> 00:05:19,519 I was a brute beast before you. 70 00:05:19,519 –> 00:05:26,880 And we learned together, that when your heart is grieved, the sins of Asaph will be crouching 71 00:05:26,880 –> 00:05:27,880 at the door. 72 00:05:27,880 –> 00:05:28,880 So watch out for them. 73 00:05:28,880 –> 00:05:29,880 What are the sins of Asaph? 74 00:05:29,880 –> 00:05:37,339 I became bitter, I let my heart rule my head, I acted on impulse, I was a brute beast. 75 00:05:38,000 –> 00:05:40,320 before you. 76 00:05:40,320 –> 00:05:44,420 Now the amazing thing we saw, of course, is that God held onto him. 77 00:05:44,420 –> 00:05:48,519 Asaph said, my feet had almost slipped, well why didn’t he slip? 78 00:05:48,519 –> 00:05:52,140 Why didn’t he fall to utter disaster? 79 00:05:52,140 –> 00:05:57,239 The answer, of course, in verse 23, the reason that Asaph is still and always with the Lord 80 00:05:57,239 –> 00:06:05,040 is just this, you held me by my right hand, you guide me with your counsel and afterwards 81 00:06:05,059 –> 00:06:07,679 you will receive me to glory. 82 00:06:07,679 –> 00:06:11,660 And so in this way, his faith is wonderfully renewed and restored. 83 00:06:11,660 –> 00:06:16,140 Stop, think, confess, believe was the fourth thing we saw last week. 84 00:06:16,140 –> 00:06:18,880 And he’s able to say, whom have I in heaven but you? 85 00:06:18,880 –> 00:06:21,940 On earth there is nothing that I desire besides you. 86 00:06:21,940 –> 00:06:29,359 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 87 00:06:29,359 –> 00:06:34,899 Stop, think, confess, believe. 88 00:06:35,980 –> 00:06:41,739 Now, today we come to the last two verses of the psalm and our key word is commit. 89 00:06:41,739 –> 00:06:51,459 Psalm 73 ends with Asaph making a clear commitment to live near to the Lord and to tell his story 90 00:06:51,459 –> 00:06:53,000 of what God has done. 91 00:06:53,000 –> 00:06:57,380 He opens his hands and his heart to God and to others. 92 00:06:57,380 –> 00:07:00,739 Let’s look at these last verses, 27 and 28. 93 00:07:01,019 –> 00:07:05,019 Those who are far from you will perish. 94 00:07:05,019 –> 00:07:09,640 You destroy all who are unfaithful to you. 95 00:07:09,640 –> 00:07:17,079 But as for me, it is good to be near God. 96 00:07:17,079 –> 00:07:20,600 I have made the sovereign Lord my refuge. 97 00:07:20,600 –> 00:07:25,820 I will tell of all your deeds. 98 00:07:25,859 –> 00:07:31,980 Now the thing that has struck me most reflecting on these verses, over these last days, is 99 00:07:31,980 –> 00:07:34,459 just how natural they are. 100 00:07:34,459 –> 00:07:42,100 I mean, how else would you expect this psalm to end? 101 00:07:42,100 –> 00:07:45,739 You look at the path, and that’s why we reviewed it over these moments together. 102 00:07:45,739 –> 00:07:48,380 You look at the path on which the Lord has led him. 103 00:07:48,380 –> 00:07:50,459 You look at how the Lord has turned him around. 104 00:07:50,459 –> 00:07:52,820 You look at what God has been doing in his life. 105 00:07:53,739 –> 00:07:57,399 What’s the natural flow of that? 106 00:07:57,399 –> 00:08:00,959 There seems nothing more natural, no other way really in which the psalm would end but 107 00:08:00,959 –> 00:08:05,660 for him to say, well now there’s nothing that I want more than to live near the Lord, and 108 00:08:05,660 –> 00:08:12,420 indeed, I will naturally want to tell of all his deeds. 109 00:08:14,160 –> 00:08:18,040 Now, I think that’s very important for this reason. 110 00:08:18,040 –> 00:08:25,579 It’s often been said, and I think it’s true, that if you scratch an evangelical you will 111 00:08:25,579 –> 00:08:32,539 find very close to the surface a bad conscience about two things. 112 00:08:32,539 –> 00:08:37,900 One is prayer and the other is evangelism. 113 00:08:37,900 –> 00:08:42,219 And that being the case, it should not be surprising that we will come across perhaps 114 00:08:42,219 –> 00:08:51,460 from time to time, in Christian world, a form of teaching that plays on that guilt. 115 00:08:51,460 –> 00:08:54,599 And it goes something like this. 116 00:08:54,599 –> 00:08:59,299 Are you living near to the Lord? 117 00:08:59,299 –> 00:09:03,739 Do you know that Martin Luther prayed for three hours every morning and that if he was 118 00:09:03,739 –> 00:09:05,760 really busy, he added an extra hour? 119 00:09:05,760 –> 00:09:08,260 Do you know that Jesus prayed all night? 120 00:09:08,260 –> 00:09:10,299 What do you think you’re doing then? 121 00:09:11,119 –> 00:09:13,140 And what about telling of God’s deeds? 122 00:09:13,140 –> 00:09:15,479 When was the last time you shared your tale? 123 00:09:15,479 –> 00:09:17,239 You know this kind of thing? 124 00:09:17,239 –> 00:09:21,340 And the congregation kind of cringes and says, oh boy, here we go, we’re in for a right 125 00:09:21,340 –> 00:09:24,440 lashing this morning. 126 00:09:24,440 –> 00:09:26,799 Now. 127 00:09:26,799 –> 00:09:37,140 Asaph’s commitment is wonderfully releasing, because he talks about living near to God 128 00:09:37,559 –> 00:09:43,500 and he talks about telling the deeds of the Lord, and none of it comes from guilt. 129 00:09:43,500 –> 00:09:45,979 It is the natural outflow. 130 00:09:45,979 –> 00:09:48,859 I mean, you read it, how else would the Psalm conclude? 131 00:09:48,859 –> 00:09:55,859 It is simply the natural outflow of what God has been doing in his life. 132 00:09:55,859 –> 00:10:04,340 I want to live near the Lord and I will tell of all that he has done for me. 133 00:10:04,340 –> 00:10:09,260 So I want you to notice the order here, the order of progression, the flow throughout 134 00:10:09,260 –> 00:10:12,260 this Psalm is really very very important. 135 00:10:12,260 –> 00:10:18,299 And for us to grasp this principle, you see that it is faith that leads to commitment, 136 00:10:18,299 –> 00:10:20,780 not the other way around. 137 00:10:20,780 –> 00:10:24,460 If you want to write down one thing in your notes at this point, that’s it. 138 00:10:24,460 –> 00:10:31,500 It is faith that leads to commitment, it is not the other way round. 139 00:10:31,659 –> 00:10:37,659 Now, you see, if you get this the wrong way around you will always struggle. 140 00:10:37,659 –> 00:10:43,979 Some folks have the idea that the way you become a real Christian is really all about 141 00:10:43,979 –> 00:10:45,260 commitment. 142 00:10:45,260 –> 00:10:49,340 And that becoming a real Christian means having a stronger commitment, having more commitment, 143 00:10:49,340 –> 00:10:52,599 so forth, that it’s all about being disciplined in your commitment. 144 00:10:52,599 –> 00:10:59,179 If you’re a 100 percenter, then you’ll be the real deal and so forth and so on. 145 00:10:59,179 –> 00:11:06,179 Your focus, in other words, is entirely on personal effort, discipline, trying harder, 146 00:11:06,179 –> 00:11:10,719 behavior modification, trying to do certain things in the hope that this will make you 147 00:11:10,719 –> 00:11:12,619 a real Christian. 148 00:11:12,619 –> 00:11:17,960 Let me tell you this, it never works. 149 00:11:17,960 –> 00:11:20,960 It never works. 150 00:11:20,960 –> 00:11:26,700 Faith is never the fruit of commitment. 151 00:11:26,700 –> 00:11:29,099 It is always the gift of God. 152 00:11:29,099 –> 00:11:32,619 That’s Ephesians 2 and verse 8. 153 00:11:32,619 –> 00:11:40,159 Faith is a gift that comes down, it is never an effort that is worked up. 154 00:11:40,159 –> 00:11:44,119 Okay if it’s a gift that comes down, how does the gift come? 155 00:11:44,119 –> 00:11:47,340 Well Asaph’s story has been telling us this. 156 00:11:47,340 –> 00:11:52,719 It was not the result of his own efforts that he was restored, indeed he says, verse 16, 157 00:11:52,919 –> 00:11:59,859 When I tried to understand all of this, it was oppressive to me and got me nowhere. 158 00:11:59,859 –> 00:12:01,200 How was faith restored? 159 00:12:01,200 –> 00:12:05,159 It was restored when I came into the sanctuary, he says, into the presence of God. 160 00:12:05,159 –> 00:12:09,520 I remember God’s truth and what happened was that God turned on the light for me. 161 00:12:09,520 –> 00:12:13,239 You see, he’s discovered this great principle, that salvation is from 162 00:12:13,239 –> 00:12:16,239 the Lord. 163 00:12:16,960 –> 00:12:22,200 See, it’s God who does things like turning on the light in your mind so 164 00:12:22,200 –> 00:12:24,559 that you begin to see your sin and confess your need. 165 00:12:24,559 –> 00:12:31,039 It is God who does things like bringing you to faith and restoring your soul. 166 00:12:31,039 –> 00:12:32,919 Now, you see, this runs all the way through the Bible. 167 00:12:32,919 –> 00:12:35,039 We’ve been looking at Psalm 73. 168 00:12:35,039 –> 00:12:40,219 It’s the same thing as David found in Psalm 23. 169 00:12:40,359 –> 00:12:42,979 The Lord is my shepherd. 170 00:12:42,979 –> 00:12:46,380 That’s why I shall not want. 171 00:12:46,380 –> 00:12:49,799 He makes me lie down in green pastures. 172 00:12:49,799 –> 00:12:52,020 He leads me by the still waters. 173 00:12:52,020 –> 00:12:58,619 And guess what, it’s he who restores my soul. 174 00:12:58,619 –> 00:13:05,239 How will your soul be restored when you are desperately discouraged? 175 00:13:05,239 –> 00:13:07,200 God will do it. 176 00:13:07,200 –> 00:13:09,580 Thank God. 177 00:13:10,239 –> 00:13:15,520 See, this opens the door of hope for all of us. 178 00:13:15,520 –> 00:13:22,739 Some of us will be desperately discouraged today. 179 00:13:22,739 –> 00:13:24,940 Life has not worked out as you hoped. 180 00:13:24,940 –> 00:13:32,179 And when you’re in the middle of an Asaph experience, you need to know that the Lord 181 00:13:32,179 –> 00:13:35,780 will restore your soul. 182 00:13:35,780 –> 00:13:41,260 When your feet have almost slipped, you need to know that the Lord will hold you by your 183 00:13:41,260 –> 00:13:42,380 right hand. 184 00:13:42,380 –> 00:13:45,039 This is the gospel, you see. 185 00:13:45,039 –> 00:13:47,520 It’s God’s grace. 186 00:13:47,520 –> 00:13:49,320 It’s God’s faithfulness. 187 00:13:49,320 –> 00:13:53,340 It’s God’s unshakable commitment to you in Jesus Christ. 188 00:13:53,340 –> 00:14:01,000 That when you feel that everything else is letting you go, God will not let you go. 189 00:14:01,739 –> 00:14:07,119 Now, we called this series, I Almost Gave Up. 190 00:14:07,119 –> 00:14:12,020 Practical help for discouraged believers. 191 00:14:12,020 –> 00:14:19,359 I think we need the encouragement of this Psalm and I tell you I thank God for it. 192 00:14:19,359 –> 00:14:25,119 Let me tell you the story of a man I know very well. 193 00:14:25,119 –> 00:14:29,780 I am going to call him Joe. 194 00:14:30,320 –> 00:14:34,260 Joe was a pastor for some years. 195 00:14:34,260 –> 00:14:35,880 It wasn’t easy 196 00:14:35,880 –> 00:14:43,099 Joe and his wife endured great difficulties over many years. 197 00:14:43,099 –> 00:14:49,900 They scraped by in ministry on a desperately low income. 198 00:14:49,900 –> 00:14:59,419 They did what they did in a small church for the sake of Christ. 199 00:14:59,840 –> 00:15:06,719 After some years the pressures of the pastorate began to affect Joe’s health and so he left 200 00:15:06,719 –> 00:15:07,960 the ministry. 201 00:15:07,960 –> 00:15:14,440 He was desperately discouraged, broken. 202 00:15:14,440 –> 00:15:20,020 Joe and his wife started attending a church in London. 203 00:15:20,020 –> 00:15:23,020 Sometime later I heard they had stopped going. 204 00:15:23,020 –> 00:15:27,200 A short time after that, Joe’s wife died. 205 00:15:28,179 –> 00:15:29,960 I took the funeral. 206 00:15:34,039 –> 00:15:39,179 It was sometime after that that he told me why he gave up. 207 00:15:43,099 –> 00:15:49,080 It has left a deep and a lasting impression on all my thinking. 208 00:15:49,080 –> 00:15:57,320 It said it was the same every Sunday, Colin, he said. 209 00:16:00,559 –> 00:16:03,640 We just got slammed about making a commitment 210 00:16:06,200 –> 00:16:07,320 and I was desperate. 211 00:16:09,880 –> 00:16:17,219 I didn’t have any strength, and I was just looking for hope. 212 00:16:17,659 –> 00:16:30,619 Years ago, I heard a well known pastor, many of you will know his name and his ministry well, 213 00:16:30,619 –> 00:16:37,200 Warren Weirsbee. In an interview, he was asked if he could have all his years of 214 00:16:37,200 –> 00:16:41,619 ministry over again, what would he do differently? He said this, one thing, 215 00:16:41,659 –> 00:16:49,719 if I could have all my ministry over again, I would encourage God’s people more. 216 00:16:49,719 –> 00:16:57,039 That blew me away because I think Warren Weirsbee is one of the most encouraging 217 00:16:57,039 –> 00:17:02,080 people I have ever met in all of my life, but that’s what he said. 218 00:17:02,099 –> 00:17:19,140 Now, Asaph’s story tells us what Joe and thousands of others need to grasp in the 219 00:17:19,140 –> 00:17:28,160 middle of an Asaph experience, and it’s this, God will sustain you when your 220 00:17:28,260 –> 00:17:34,920 strength is gone. When your feet are sliding, he will hold you by your right 221 00:17:34,920 –> 00:17:42,939 hand. He will guide you with his counsel, and afterwards, he will bring you to 222 00:17:42,939 –> 00:17:52,060 glory. And if you have been wounded by a version of Christianity that makes the 223 00:17:52,060 –> 00:17:57,760 gospel seem like an endless list of demands and impossible expectations, you 224 00:17:57,760 –> 00:18:06,140 need to take in the grace of God from this psalm. The gospel is not an endless 225 00:18:06,140 –> 00:18:11,020 exhortation to what you should be, what you must be, what you are to do, and all 226 00:18:11,020 –> 00:18:19,239 the rest of it. The gospel is about the grace of God, right? And it’s not your 227 00:18:19,239 –> 00:18:23,880 commitment that will lead to God’s grace, it is God’s grace that will lead to your 228 00:18:23,880 –> 00:18:30,439 commitment, all the difference in the world. Now I want to suggest three ways 229 00:18:30,439 –> 00:18:35,959 in which we might use this psalm as we come to a conclusion this morning. First 230 00:18:35,959 –> 00:18:39,859 is simply a very practical idea that I hope might be useful, and that is that 231 00:18:39,859 –> 00:18:43,939 you may find at times when you go through an ESAPH experience, that it is 232 00:18:43,939 –> 00:18:51,160 useful for you to write your story as ESAPH wrote his story here. Obviously 233 00:18:51,500 –> 00:18:55,459 this whole psalm is this man writing out his story under the inspiration of the 234 00:18:55,459 –> 00:18:59,400 Holy Spirit of course, and it is being preserved for our encouragement in the 235 00:18:59,400 –> 00:19:04,959 scriptures, but think about it, when you go through an ESAPH experience you may 236 00:19:04,959 –> 00:19:10,680 find it helpful also to write out your story and you could use the main points 237 00:19:10,680 –> 00:19:17,780 from Psalm 73 as a kind of grid to frame your testimony. Here’s how you might do 238 00:19:17,839 –> 00:19:22,459 it. You might take a piece of paper and put up the following headings, 239 00:19:22,459 –> 00:19:30,219 my feet almost slipped because and then write down what it is, what it has been 240 00:19:30,219 –> 00:19:36,260 that has been your struggle. Write it out as honestly as ESAP did. He wrote it 241 00:19:36,260 –> 00:19:44,020 out no holds barred, right? You can do that. You can write it out before the 242 00:19:44,060 –> 00:19:52,619 Lord it will be helpful for you. My feet almost slipped because. Then you’ll have 243 00:19:52,619 –> 00:19:57,199 a second heading if you’re following the grid of the sum, God taught me that. 244 00:19:57,199 –> 00:20:01,020 You remember that he went into the presence of God and the light went on. 245 00:20:01,020 –> 00:20:09,699 Well, God taught me that. Now if you can’t fill this part out yet, ask God 246 00:20:09,939 –> 00:20:14,739 that he will turn on the light in your mind. And then do what Asaph did. 247 00:20:14,739 –> 00:20:21,780 Keep coming to the place of worship. Keep coming into the presence of God. 248 00:20:21,780 –> 00:20:27,619 Keep opening and reading the word of God in the scriptures, because these are the 249 00:20:27,619 –> 00:20:32,859 ways in which God will speak. In his word and in the company of his people. 250 00:20:33,819 –> 00:20:37,699 Share perhaps what you’ve written with a friend if that will be helpful to you. 251 00:20:37,699 –> 00:20:42,160 God will draw near, and he will help you. 252 00:20:42,160 –> 00:20:47,540 That’s his promise. Have some hope in that. 253 00:20:47,540 –> 00:20:52,479 He will not leave you without help in your struggle. 254 00:20:52,479 –> 00:20:55,300 Then you might use this third heading, I have confessed. 255 00:20:55,300 –> 00:20:57,839 And write down what God has shown you about yourself. 256 00:20:57,839 –> 00:21:02,099 That’s in the past tense, because once you’ve confessed it, 257 00:21:02,099 –> 00:21:05,880 you mustn’t go on harboring it, you must believe that 258 00:21:06,000 –> 00:21:08,920 what is confessed in the name of Jesus is forgiven 259 00:21:08,920 –> 00:21:11,160 and therefore let it go, 260 00:21:11,160 –> 00:21:13,579 and thank God for his grace that forgives. 261 00:21:14,579 –> 00:21:17,239 Lastly, you may write down this heading, I believe. 262 00:21:17,239 –> 00:21:20,020 Write down what you do know from the gospel, 263 00:21:20,020 –> 00:21:21,560 it’ll do your soul good, 264 00:21:21,560 –> 00:21:23,800 there are many things that you don’t know, 265 00:21:23,800 –> 00:21:26,079 but Aesoph affirms what he does know. 266 00:21:26,079 –> 00:21:29,699 Never allow what you don’t know to hold you back, 267 00:21:29,699 –> 00:21:32,780 instead, use what you do know 268 00:21:32,819 –> 00:21:35,939 to enable you to move forward. 269 00:21:35,939 –> 00:21:38,939 So you may find, as I find at different points in my life, 270 00:21:38,939 –> 00:21:43,939 to write out the experience in which the Lord is meeting you 271 00:21:44,699 –> 00:21:46,839 and the turn through which he’s bringing you 272 00:21:46,839 –> 00:21:51,839 will help to clarify how he is at work in your life. 273 00:21:53,160 –> 00:21:55,319 The second thing is simply learn, 274 00:21:55,319 –> 00:21:57,420 and here we focus in more closely 275 00:21:57,420 –> 00:22:00,660 on the words that Aesoph uses here. 276 00:22:00,660 –> 00:22:03,439 Notice what Aesoph learned from these last verses, 277 00:22:04,400 –> 00:22:06,859 those who are far from you will perish. 278 00:22:07,800 –> 00:22:11,140 You destroy all who are unfaithful to you, 279 00:22:11,140 –> 00:22:14,160 but as for me it is good to be near God, 280 00:22:14,160 –> 00:22:18,160 I have made the sovereign Lord my refuge. 281 00:22:19,680 –> 00:22:23,079 Now, if you look back to the beginning of the Psalm 282 00:22:23,079 –> 00:22:26,880 and compare verse one with verse 25, 283 00:22:26,880 –> 00:22:30,079 you will see how far Aesoph has come. 284 00:22:31,020 –> 00:22:32,560 Remember we saw at the beginning 285 00:22:32,560 –> 00:22:35,380 that verse one was a kind of credal statement, 286 00:22:35,380 –> 00:22:37,060 a sort of statement of faith 287 00:22:37,060 –> 00:22:39,219 that would regularly be repeated in worship. 288 00:22:39,219 –> 00:22:41,540 God is good to Israel to those who are pure in heart. 289 00:22:41,540 –> 00:22:43,680 You see it almost said the sort of thing 290 00:22:43,680 –> 00:22:45,800 you’re brought up with and that every good believer 291 00:22:45,800 –> 00:22:47,540 believes, you know, God is good to Israel 292 00:22:47,540 –> 00:22:50,060 to those who are pure in heart. 293 00:22:50,060 –> 00:22:52,180 This is what Aesoph had always believed, 294 00:22:52,180 –> 00:22:54,800 but it seems from his testimony that he did not 295 00:22:54,800 –> 00:22:57,839 have a very clear idea of what it actually meant. 296 00:22:58,780 –> 00:23:03,780 What does it mean to say that God is good to Israel? 297 00:23:08,219 –> 00:23:12,099 Now, the ancient philosophers, Plato and Socrates 298 00:23:12,099 –> 00:23:14,859 and all these guys, they used to debate 299 00:23:14,859 –> 00:23:19,859 what is the highest good in life? 300 00:23:20,359 –> 00:23:25,359 To use a phrase from today, what is as good as it gets? 301 00:23:26,300 –> 00:23:29,079 And they had a phrase in Latin that they used to use 302 00:23:29,079 –> 00:23:30,819 and it’s still sometimes used today. 303 00:23:30,819 –> 00:23:33,920 They used to talk about the sunum bonum, 304 00:23:33,920 –> 00:23:37,099 which for the kids in grade school, 305 00:23:37,099 –> 00:23:38,819 you can say I was in church on Sunday 306 00:23:38,819 –> 00:23:41,079 and I learned about the sunum bonum. 307 00:23:41,079 –> 00:23:42,839 And that’ll impress your teacher 308 00:23:42,839 –> 00:23:44,739 but don’t get proud about it, you know? 309 00:23:44,739 –> 00:23:47,280 The sunum bonum, the highest good, 310 00:23:47,280 –> 00:23:51,000 what is as good as it gets? 311 00:23:52,060 –> 00:23:55,199 Now you see, the point of this song is that Esau is saying 312 00:23:55,280 –> 00:23:58,859 I looked at other people who were not living a godly life 313 00:23:58,859 –> 00:24:01,760 and frankly, I thought they got it. 314 00:24:03,099 –> 00:24:08,099 I was thinking that the highest good is health and wealth 315 00:24:08,439 –> 00:24:10,560 and fulfilling your personal dream. 316 00:24:12,000 –> 00:24:15,680 Now I realize he’s saying that I was completely mistaken. 317 00:24:17,219 –> 00:24:21,119 I’ll tell you what the sunum bonum is. 318 00:24:22,000 –> 00:24:27,000 As for me, it is good to be near God! 319 00:24:29,560 –> 00:24:31,880 God opened my eyes to this in the sanctuary 320 00:24:31,880 –> 00:24:34,420 when I saw the ultimate outcome of the wicked. 321 00:24:34,420 –> 00:24:37,660 Those who are far from you will perish. 322 00:24:39,180 –> 00:24:42,800 I see it now, the reason that God is good to Israel 323 00:24:42,800 –> 00:24:46,300 is that he’s brought Israel near to God. 324 00:24:47,219 –> 00:24:51,060 I see now that even if everything in my life 325 00:24:54,060 –> 00:24:57,319 was as I wanted it to be, and I was far from God, 326 00:24:57,319 –> 00:24:59,300 I would be in a desperate position. 327 00:25:00,540 –> 00:25:02,900 And even if nothing was in my life 328 00:25:02,900 –> 00:25:06,359 were as I wanted it to be, and I was near to God, 329 00:25:06,359 –> 00:25:08,579 then I would still be supremely blessed. 330 00:25:08,579 –> 00:25:11,439 For me, this is the sunum bonum. 331 00:25:11,859 –> 00:25:13,800 To be near God. 332 00:25:14,959 –> 00:25:19,719 There is nothing greater in all of life than this. 333 00:25:21,219 –> 00:25:25,380 This is what Asaph learned from his experience. 334 00:25:27,760 –> 00:25:31,000 See, this is exactly the blessing of the gospel, isn’t it? 335 00:25:33,459 –> 00:25:34,900 What is the whole message 336 00:25:34,900 –> 00:25:37,040 of the Christian faith actually about? 337 00:25:37,040 –> 00:25:38,319 It is simply this. 338 00:25:38,760 –> 00:25:41,040 That those who were once far away from God 339 00:25:41,920 –> 00:25:46,920 have now been brought near in Jesus Christ. 340 00:25:47,500 –> 00:25:49,260 Paul states it in Ephesians, 341 00:25:49,260 –> 00:25:50,599 that Christ came into the world. 342 00:25:50,599 –> 00:25:52,079 He gave His life on the cross 343 00:25:52,079 –> 00:25:55,560 so that you could come near to God now 344 00:25:55,560 –> 00:25:58,000 and come near to Him for eternity. 345 00:25:58,000 –> 00:26:01,359 You who were once far away, he says, 346 00:26:01,359 –> 00:26:03,579 have been brought near, how? 347 00:26:03,579 –> 00:26:07,000 Through the blood of Jesus Christ. 348 00:26:07,839 –> 00:26:11,079 You don’t come near to God simply by coming to church, 349 00:26:12,020 –> 00:26:16,280 by saying prayers, by being religious, 350 00:26:17,160 –> 00:26:19,780 by feeling better about yourself. 351 00:26:20,680 –> 00:26:22,959 How do you come near to God? 352 00:26:22,959 –> 00:26:27,839 Oh, Paul says it is through the blood of Jesus Christ. 353 00:26:27,839 –> 00:26:30,579 You’re brought into a covenant relationship 354 00:26:30,579 –> 00:26:34,479 sealed with His blood that is the fulfillment 355 00:26:34,479 –> 00:26:37,160 of the covenant relationship that God had with Israel, 356 00:26:37,160 –> 00:26:38,699 and their supreme blessing was 357 00:26:38,699 –> 00:26:40,319 that they were brought near to God. 358 00:26:40,319 –> 00:26:42,280 That’s what the sacrifices were all about, 359 00:26:42,280 –> 00:26:44,420 pointing to the shed blood of Jesus, 360 00:26:44,420 –> 00:26:48,199 by which those who are far away are now brought near. 361 00:26:50,199 –> 00:26:52,180 How do you get near to God? 362 00:26:53,920 –> 00:26:56,119 Through the blood of Jesus Christ. 363 00:26:56,119 –> 00:26:58,800 He is our peace. 364 00:26:58,800 –> 00:27:02,140 He came to preach peace to those of you who are far away, 365 00:27:02,140 –> 00:27:05,420 Paul says, as well as to those who are near. 366 00:27:05,420 –> 00:27:07,060 The sunnum bonum, the highest good 367 00:27:07,060 –> 00:27:10,560 that you can know in this life is to be near God. 368 00:27:11,599 –> 00:27:15,099 So why would you remain at a distance from God 369 00:27:15,099 –> 00:27:18,280 when Jesus Christ has come and shed his blood 370 00:27:18,280 –> 00:27:20,359 so that you could come near? 371 00:27:23,819 –> 00:27:25,260 That’s what Asaph learned. 372 00:27:27,839 –> 00:27:30,520 Here’s the last thing to tell, 373 00:27:30,520 –> 00:27:32,160 to write, to learn, to tell. 374 00:27:33,239 –> 00:27:37,520 I will tell of all your deeds. 375 00:27:37,520 –> 00:27:38,640 Verse 28. 376 00:27:40,199 –> 00:27:44,619 Now, again, this really shows us how far Asaph has come. 377 00:27:44,619 –> 00:27:49,420 Remember back in verse 15 that the best thing Asaph 378 00:27:49,420 –> 00:27:53,239 could do for God’s people was keep his thoughts to himself. 379 00:27:53,239 –> 00:27:55,020 He said, if I had spoken, 380 00:27:55,020 –> 00:27:57,619 I would have betrayed this generation. 381 00:27:57,619 –> 00:27:59,000 There was a point in my life where, 382 00:27:59,020 –> 00:28:00,719 if you knew what I was really thinking, 383 00:28:00,719 –> 00:28:03,000 it would have been discouraging to everyone. 384 00:28:04,000 –> 00:28:05,680 So the best thing I could do for God’s people 385 00:28:05,680 –> 00:28:07,579 was simply to keep my mouth shut. 386 00:28:08,880 –> 00:28:11,439 But now the grace of God has worked in his life 387 00:28:11,439 –> 00:28:14,079 in such a way that he has something to say 388 00:28:14,079 –> 00:28:16,140 and he’s able to open his mouth 389 00:28:16,140 –> 00:28:18,859 and share the story of what God has done for him. 390 00:28:19,780 –> 00:28:23,400 Every Christian has a story of God’s grace. 391 00:28:23,400 –> 00:28:25,760 And the wonderful thing is that your story of God’s grace 392 00:28:25,760 –> 00:28:27,180 is still being written. 393 00:28:28,099 –> 00:28:30,959 And every time you go through an Aesaph experience 394 00:28:30,959 –> 00:28:35,119 of real discouragement, another chapter is added. 395 00:28:36,339 –> 00:28:38,319 And every chapter that is added 396 00:28:38,319 –> 00:28:42,260 becomes another part of the great story of testimony 397 00:28:42,260 –> 00:28:45,459 among God’s people to how his grace brings us 398 00:28:45,459 –> 00:28:47,219 through every circumstance of life. 399 00:28:48,300 –> 00:28:50,260 It’s really a wonderful thing to think about it. 400 00:28:50,260 –> 00:28:55,260 Psalm 73 describes the worst time in this man’s life. 401 00:28:58,140 –> 00:29:01,160 And here we are, 3,000 years later, 402 00:29:01,160 –> 00:29:03,900 feeding on the fruit of it, 403 00:29:03,900 –> 00:29:06,000 drawing encouragement from his testimony. 404 00:29:06,900 –> 00:29:08,060 See, what God gives to you 405 00:29:08,060 –> 00:29:12,020 will always be for the good of others. 406 00:29:12,020 –> 00:29:14,099 Your testimony to God’s grace 407 00:29:14,099 –> 00:29:15,800 bringing you through discouragement 408 00:29:15,800 –> 00:29:20,800 will be a strength to the rest of the body of Christ. 409 00:29:21,079 –> 00:29:22,859 Paul puts this in an extraordinary way 410 00:29:22,859 –> 00:29:24,579 in 2 Corinthians chapter four. 411 00:29:24,579 –> 00:29:28,660 He says, death is at work in us, 412 00:29:28,660 –> 00:29:31,719 life is at work in you. 413 00:29:31,719 –> 00:29:34,459 Here I’m going through this experience, Paul was saying, 414 00:29:34,459 –> 00:29:36,459 and it feels like death. 415 00:29:38,400 –> 00:29:40,599 And you know the result of that testimony 416 00:29:40,599 –> 00:29:42,160 of the apostles’ perseverance 417 00:29:42,160 –> 00:29:43,979 was what, life in the church. 418 00:29:45,300 –> 00:29:47,140 Every difficulty that you go through 419 00:29:47,140 –> 00:29:49,540 will be a means of blessing in some way 420 00:29:49,540 –> 00:29:51,520 through God’s grace and mercy 421 00:29:51,520 –> 00:29:54,160 in the life of others. 422 00:29:54,619 –> 00:29:58,880 I will tell of all your deeds. 423 00:30:01,319 –> 00:30:02,500 Now in these last moments, 424 00:30:02,500 –> 00:30:05,099 I want to make another application, 425 00:30:05,099 –> 00:30:08,979 and I want us to think about what this Psalm would mean 426 00:30:08,979 –> 00:30:12,380 in the experience of Jesus. 427 00:30:12,380 –> 00:30:13,459 That’s an important way, actually, 428 00:30:13,459 –> 00:30:15,339 to come to all of the Scriptures, 429 00:30:15,339 –> 00:30:16,500 and especially the Psalms. 430 00:30:16,500 –> 00:30:20,500 Remember, this was the prayer book that Jesus used, 431 00:30:20,500 –> 00:30:22,939 so what would it mean in the experience of Jesus? 432 00:30:25,579 –> 00:30:27,359 This is Asaph’s story. 433 00:30:28,959 –> 00:30:30,319 In some particular ways, 434 00:30:30,319 –> 00:30:32,920 it will become your story, and my story, 435 00:30:32,920 –> 00:30:36,959 but it is also Jesus’ story. 436 00:30:38,640 –> 00:30:43,640 See, all of history is heading up to the day 437 00:30:45,239 –> 00:30:50,099 when Jesus Christ will tell his story, 438 00:30:50,099 –> 00:30:52,900 the greatest story ever told. 439 00:30:55,520 –> 00:30:59,859 The book of Hebrews describes a day, the day, 440 00:30:59,859 –> 00:31:03,380 when Jesus will stand in the presence of the Father 441 00:31:03,380 –> 00:31:06,640 with all of the company of his children 442 00:31:06,640 –> 00:31:09,060 who have been gathered in faith 443 00:31:09,060 –> 00:31:11,140 and brought into the presence of God, 444 00:31:11,140 –> 00:31:13,239 and Jesus will say this, 445 00:31:14,400 –> 00:31:17,459 here I am, he’ll say to the Father, 446 00:31:17,459 –> 00:31:20,699 and here are the children that you have given me. 447 00:31:20,699 –> 00:31:21,520 Can you picture that? 448 00:31:21,520 –> 00:31:23,020 It will be a glorious moment. 449 00:31:24,900 –> 00:31:27,739 Jude also speaks about that day. 450 00:31:28,800 –> 00:31:29,640 He says this, 451 00:31:29,640 –> 00:31:31,780 and it’s wonderfully relevant to Psalm 73. 452 00:31:31,780 –> 00:31:36,280 He said, Jesus Christ is able to keep you from falling, 453 00:31:37,560 –> 00:31:42,359 and more than that he is able to present you faultless 454 00:31:43,660 –> 00:31:48,660 and with great joy in the presence of the Father. 455 00:31:51,599 –> 00:31:54,540 Now, try and picture that day with me. 456 00:31:55,380 –> 00:31:58,819 Jesus stands before the Father 457 00:32:00,719 –> 00:32:05,439 and all who are his people through faith in his blood 458 00:32:06,359 –> 00:32:08,000 are gathered there with him. 459 00:32:09,119 –> 00:32:13,180 We are overwhelmed with joy just to be there, 460 00:32:16,239 –> 00:32:18,359 and there’s awe in our hearts 461 00:32:18,359 –> 00:32:21,079 as we hear his voice begin to speak. 462 00:32:21,900 –> 00:32:25,380 He tells his story. 463 00:32:27,540 –> 00:32:30,719 He tells of how he came into the world 464 00:32:30,719 –> 00:32:32,920 to seek and to save the lost. 465 00:32:34,619 –> 00:32:39,619 He tells of how he was despised and how he was rejected, 466 00:32:42,219 –> 00:32:44,300 and thinking of what it would mean 467 00:32:44,300 –> 00:32:47,939 for Jesus to take the themes of this Psalm 468 00:32:47,939 –> 00:32:51,599 on his own lips and into his ownexperience, 469 00:32:51,599 –> 00:32:54,660 perhaps he would say something like this. 470 00:32:58,140 –> 00:33:00,260 My feet did slip. 471 00:33:03,459 –> 00:33:08,459 I stumbled under the weight of that cross. 472 00:33:11,040 –> 00:33:15,420 And when I fell, no one came to my aid. 473 00:33:15,420 –> 00:33:17,719 They had to press someone 474 00:33:18,119 –> 00:33:20,239 I was standing there just to help me. 475 00:33:23,719 –> 00:33:25,979 I could not go into the sanctuary. 476 00:33:28,319 –> 00:33:30,979 I was shut out from God’s temple. 477 00:33:30,979 –> 00:33:32,540 They did not want me there. 478 00:33:34,619 –> 00:33:37,000 I was driven outside of 479 00:33:37,000 –> 00:33:39,219 the walls of God’s holy city. 480 00:33:41,500 –> 00:33:45,180 And there, I bore the sins of the world. 481 00:33:46,180 –> 00:33:49,800 In my own body, I carried the guilt, 482 00:33:49,800 –> 00:33:52,339 and the shame, and the weight, 483 00:33:52,339 –> 00:33:54,699 and the condemnation of every sin 484 00:33:54,699 –> 00:33:57,939 and every crime that is known to mankind. 485 00:34:00,160 –> 00:34:03,800 And when that happened, I looked up to heaven for comfort, 486 00:34:05,459 –> 00:34:09,919 and there was no light, for me. 487 00:34:11,780 –> 00:34:13,260 I cried out in anguish, 488 00:34:13,300 –> 00:34:16,060 my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 489 00:34:16,060 –> 00:34:18,719 And there was no answer to my cry. 490 00:34:21,379 –> 00:34:26,379 Yet, Father, I put my trust in You. 491 00:34:29,520 –> 00:34:33,840 Into Your hands, I commit my spirit, I said. 492 00:34:36,899 –> 00:34:40,419 On the third day, You raised me from the dead. 493 00:34:41,179 –> 00:34:45,300 And ever since that day, I have been at work 494 00:34:46,520 –> 00:34:49,560 drawing men and women to repentance 495 00:34:49,560 –> 00:34:53,020 and to faith, sustaining them in their journey, 496 00:34:53,020 –> 00:34:56,060 sending them out into the world in my name. 497 00:34:56,060 –> 00:34:59,179 And now, Father, here I am, 498 00:34:59,179 –> 00:35:03,159 with the children You have given to me! 499 00:35:07,540 –> 00:35:09,020 You know, it’s a great thing 500 00:35:10,820 –> 00:35:13,360 to know that Jesus is in your story. 501 00:35:14,600 –> 00:35:16,620 It is an even greater thing 502 00:35:16,620 –> 00:35:20,360 to know that you are in Jesus’ story! 503 00:35:22,060 –> 00:35:24,260 Actually, that’s your ultimate assurance. 504 00:35:29,100 –> 00:35:31,120 I want you to try and picture this 505 00:35:32,939 –> 00:35:34,500 in these last moments, 506 00:35:36,979 –> 00:35:39,080 even though it is so difficult. 507 00:35:40,439 –> 00:35:41,899 To imagine these things. 508 00:35:43,979 –> 00:35:45,580 He 509 00:35:45,580 –> 00:35:47,300 will 510 00:35:47,300 –> 00:35:49,260 present 511 00:35:49,260 –> 00:35:50,199 you 512 00:35:51,419 –> 00:35:52,899 to 513 00:35:52,899 –> 00:35:53,760 the Father. 514 00:35:55,020 –> 00:35:58,100 You are part of 515 00:35:58,100 –> 00:35:59,060 his 516 00:36:00,120 –> 00:36:00,959 story. 517 00:36:07,040 –> 00:36:09,719 He’ll be standing with us, you see. 518 00:36:11,360 –> 00:36:13,040 Here am I, 519 00:36:13,040 –> 00:36:15,899 and the children you have given me, Jesus is saying. 520 00:36:18,600 –> 00:36:20,959 John, I know you well enough to ask you to stand. 521 00:36:21,780 –> 00:36:23,959 And he comes alongside you. 522 00:36:24,500 –> 00:36:26,120 John, how long have you been a Christian? 523 00:36:26,120 –> 00:36:27,159 About 30 years. 524 00:36:27,159 –> 00:36:29,659 30 years. 525 00:36:30,479 –> 00:36:32,479 Here’s John. 526 00:36:33,979 –> 00:36:35,979 I drew him to faith 527 00:36:36,000 –> 00:36:38,000 30 years ago. 528 00:36:38,879 –> 00:36:43,020 His feet almost slipped many times. 529 00:36:44,580 –> 00:36:47,760 But I held him by his right hand. 530 00:36:47,760 –> 00:36:49,199 And that’s why he’s here today. 531 00:36:50,239 –> 00:36:52,239 Imagine Jesus saying that of you. 532 00:36:55,360 –> 00:36:56,840 I try and picture that. 533 00:36:56,840 –> 00:36:58,600 You know what I think I’d be saying? 534 00:36:58,600 –> 00:37:00,320 What John would be saying and what you’d be saying? 535 00:37:04,320 –> 00:37:07,060 Jesus, I can hardly believe I’m here. 536 00:37:08,780 –> 00:37:10,379 I mean, I almost gave up. 537 00:37:12,719 –> 00:37:14,659 My feet had almost slipped. 538 00:37:16,679 –> 00:37:17,800 I was senseless. 539 00:37:17,800 –> 00:37:19,040 I was ignorant. 540 00:37:19,040 –> 00:37:21,000 I was a brute beast before you. 541 00:37:24,159 –> 00:37:26,600 But you held me by my right hand. 542 00:37:26,600 –> 00:37:28,620 You guided me with your counsel. 543 00:37:28,620 –> 00:37:30,120 You’ve now brought me into glory. 544 00:37:30,120 –> 00:37:32,919 Who, have I in heaven but you? 545 00:37:32,919 –> 00:37:36,600 Oh, for me, it is good to be near God. 546 00:37:36,600 –> 00:37:39,100 I will tell of all your deeds. 547 00:37:41,459 –> 00:37:44,899 And in that moment, you will discover with greater clarity 548 00:37:44,899 –> 00:37:48,260 than at any other point in your entire life 549 00:37:48,260 –> 00:37:49,840 what Asaph learned here. 550 00:37:52,000 –> 00:37:55,199 I almost gave up. 551 00:37:57,379 –> 00:37:59,000 You almost gave up. 552 00:38:01,139 –> 00:38:05,659 And the reason you didn’t give up on Jesus 553 00:38:06,860 –> 00:38:11,139 is that Jesus didn’t give up on you. 554 00:38:12,540 –> 00:38:13,919 Amen? 555 00:38:13,919 –> 00:38:15,260 Amen, let’s pray together. 556 00:38:18,840 –> 00:38:22,520 Oh, if arriving there depended on me, O Lord, 557 00:38:23,620 –> 00:38:25,340 what prospect would there be? 558 00:38:27,719 –> 00:38:28,540 Thank you. 559 00:38:31,100 –> 00:38:33,159 Thank you that it is you 560 00:38:33,659 –> 00:38:34,399 as my mentor, 561 00:38:35,439 –> 00:38:38,080 who begins, continues and completes 562 00:38:38,080 –> 00:38:40,840 the work of Grace in my life. 563 00:38:44,020 –> 00:38:46,159 With all the wretchedness and failure 564 00:38:46,159 –> 00:38:49,000 that we see within ourselves, we can surely say 565 00:38:50,739 –> 00:38:52,379 you hold me by my right hand, 566 00:38:52,379 –> 00:38:53,899 you guide me with your counsel, 567 00:38:53,899 –> 00:38:56,020 and afterward, you’ll receive me to glory. 568 00:38:57,939 –> 00:39:00,560 Breathe encouragement into our souls 569 00:39:01,479 –> 00:39:05,199 that freely and gladly, we may offer ourselves 570 00:39:05,199 –> 00:39:06,419 back to you, even now, 571 00:39:08,040 –> 00:39:12,699 until that day when we shall see you face to face 572 00:39:12,699 –> 00:39:14,879 through Jesus Christ, our Lord, 573 00:39:14,879 –> 00:39:15,959 in whose name we pray. 574 00:39:17,139 –> 00:39:17,979 Amen.