1 00:00:00,640 –> 00:00:02,080 Great to be worshiping together, 2 00:00:02,080 –> 00:00:04,700 anticipating the Lord’s table and opening the Bible. 3 00:00:04,700 –> 00:00:07,500 If you’d open the Scriptures at Psalm number 12. 4 00:00:08,540 –> 00:00:10,240 And I’ve given this one the title, 5 00:00:10,240 –> 00:00:13,880 How to Pray When You Fear for Your Children. 6 00:00:13,880 –> 00:00:15,220 And I want you to see straight away 7 00:00:15,220 –> 00:00:17,379 why I’ve chosen that title. 8 00:00:17,379 –> 00:00:19,860 This is a generational Psalm. 9 00:00:19,860 –> 00:00:22,959 If you look at verse eight right at the end, 10 00:00:22,959 –> 00:00:24,000 you’ll see it says, 11 00:00:24,000 –> 00:00:27,340 You will guard us from this generation. 12 00:00:27,340 –> 00:00:30,780 So, it’s talking about times present in future 13 00:00:30,780 –> 00:00:33,540 in which we and our children are living. 14 00:00:33,540 –> 00:00:35,980 Notice in both verse one and verse eight, 15 00:00:35,980 –> 00:00:38,820 we read about the children of man. 16 00:00:38,820 –> 00:00:42,320 And so the focus here is on one generation 17 00:00:42,320 –> 00:00:45,279 and its concern for the next. 18 00:00:45,279 –> 00:00:48,980 And the reason why the person praying this Psalm 19 00:00:48,980 –> 00:00:51,779 is concerned is in verse one. 20 00:00:51,779 –> 00:00:55,380 Save, O Lord, for the Godly One is gone. 21 00:00:55,380 –> 00:01:00,160 The faithful have vanished from among the children of men. 22 00:01:00,160 –> 00:01:02,259 It’s a very striking statement. 23 00:01:03,080 –> 00:01:07,099 Godly people, faithful people, 24 00:01:07,099 –> 00:01:09,260 not seeing so many of them around. 25 00:01:09,260 –> 00:01:11,580 That’s what’s being said in the Psalm. 26 00:01:12,580 –> 00:01:15,540 And as parents and as grandparents 27 00:01:15,540 –> 00:01:17,239 who are concerned for our children, 28 00:01:17,239 –> 00:01:20,400 for the future generation, 29 00:01:20,400 –> 00:01:22,980 we want our children, we want our grandchildren 30 00:01:22,980 –> 00:01:25,059 to be surrounded by faithful people, 31 00:01:25,059 –> 00:01:28,779 by models of godliness, good examples and so forth. 32 00:01:28,779 –> 00:01:32,540 And David, in uttering this prayer, 33 00:01:32,540 –> 00:01:34,379 is praying out of a concern 34 00:01:34,379 –> 00:01:35,900 that it’s getting more difficult 35 00:01:35,900 –> 00:01:38,559 to find Godly friends for your kids. 36 00:01:38,559 –> 00:01:40,620 And more than that, if you look in verse eight, 37 00:01:40,620 –> 00:01:43,760 on every side, the wicked prowl, 38 00:01:43,760 –> 00:01:48,760 as vileness is exalted among the children of men. 39 00:01:49,199 –> 00:01:52,239 So David is noticing a significant change. 40 00:01:52,239 –> 00:01:53,820 Isn’t that a striking phrase? 41 00:01:53,900 –> 00:01:56,980 Vileness is exalted. 42 00:01:56,980 –> 00:02:01,300 So something that is a vice gets made into a virtue, 43 00:02:01,300 –> 00:02:04,639 and good gets called evil and evil gets called good, 44 00:02:04,639 –> 00:02:08,039 and everything gets turned upside down. 45 00:02:08,039 –> 00:02:10,419 And parents and grandparents increasingly 46 00:02:10,419 –> 00:02:14,020 find themselves concerned, and saying what hope is there 47 00:02:14,020 –> 00:02:16,800 for our children and for future generations 48 00:02:16,800 –> 00:02:19,740 in this world in which they are growing up, 49 00:02:19,740 –> 00:02:22,360 in which everything seems to be turned on its head. 50 00:02:22,360 –> 00:02:25,559 And it’s harder and harder to find them surrounded 51 00:02:25,559 –> 00:02:28,880 by faithful and by godly example. 52 00:02:28,880 –> 00:02:30,880 Now, that’s the burden of the psalm. 53 00:02:30,880 –> 00:02:33,000 That’s why I gave it this title, 54 00:02:33,000 –> 00:02:35,300 How to Pray When You Fear for Your Children. 55 00:02:35,300 –> 00:02:38,259 And just to say that in these moments of introduction 56 00:02:38,259 –> 00:02:40,500 is surely to make it immediately obvious 57 00:02:40,500 –> 00:02:41,880 that this is a psalm that we need, 58 00:02:41,880 –> 00:02:44,160 and we’re very glad it’s in the Bible 59 00:02:44,160 –> 00:02:48,520 because surely it speaks exactly to our situation today 60 00:02:48,520 –> 00:02:50,720 where, increasingly, parents and grandparents 61 00:02:50,720 –> 00:02:53,399 are concerned for what it will mean 62 00:02:53,399 –> 00:02:56,479 for our children, next generation, 63 00:02:56,479 –> 00:02:59,679 to be growing up in a world that is, in many ways, 64 00:02:59,679 –> 00:03:03,399 significantly different from the one in which we grew up 65 00:03:03,399 –> 00:03:06,039 or our parents grew up. 66 00:03:06,039 –> 00:03:08,539 And it’s a prayer that comes out of that 67 00:03:08,539 –> 00:03:10,919 and flows into that. 68 00:03:10,919 –> 00:03:13,360 Now, two parts in the message, today. 69 00:03:13,360 –> 00:03:15,520 The first and the longest part is going to be 70 00:03:15,520 –> 00:03:19,199 an analysis of the assault 71 00:03:19,199 –> 00:03:21,300 that our children are facing. 72 00:03:21,300 –> 00:03:22,679 So, there are many young people 73 00:03:22,679 –> 00:03:24,279 in the congregation, here, today. 74 00:03:24,279 –> 00:03:26,800 Always so glad you are here. 75 00:03:26,800 –> 00:03:29,100 And what I want to show you, from this psalm, 76 00:03:29,100 –> 00:03:30,199 so, hope you’ve got a Bible, 77 00:03:30,199 –> 00:03:32,479 or you can grab a Bible and see it, 78 00:03:32,479 –> 00:03:35,440 I want to show you, from this psalm, 79 00:03:35,440 –> 00:03:40,440 the pressures that you are facing as you grow up. 80 00:03:40,600 –> 00:03:42,220 And you can tell me, afterwards, 81 00:03:42,220 –> 00:03:44,839 if you think that this psalm has, accurately, 82 00:03:44,839 –> 00:03:48,479 described what you’re facing, the reality of your life. 83 00:03:48,779 –> 00:03:50,119 I promise you, because it’s the word of God, 84 00:03:50,119 –> 00:03:51,699 you’re gonna say, that’s it? 85 00:03:51,699 –> 00:03:53,440 That’s exactly what my life is like. 86 00:03:53,440 –> 00:03:55,320 And it’s all here in Psalm 12. 87 00:03:55,320 –> 00:03:58,100 So, what we’re gonna do an analysis, from this Psalm, 88 00:03:58,100 –> 00:04:00,440 of the assault that our children, 89 00:04:00,440 –> 00:04:02,199 our grandchildren, are facing. 90 00:04:02,199 –> 00:04:03,960 And, then, second, and more briefly, 91 00:04:03,960 –> 00:04:08,000 a strategy for prayer and for action 92 00:04:08,000 –> 00:04:10,660 in the light of that reality. 93 00:04:10,660 –> 00:04:12,880 So, all of this in this wonderful psalm, 94 00:04:12,880 –> 00:04:15,899 and I hope, therefore, that you have it open 95 00:04:15,899 –> 00:04:17,200 in front of you. 96 00:04:17,200 –> 00:04:19,239 Now, just one other cross-reference in the Bible 97 00:04:19,239 –> 00:04:21,220 that I want to touch at this point, 98 00:04:21,220 –> 00:04:23,679 because it’s important for our understanding 99 00:04:23,679 –> 00:04:25,399 of what is happening in this psalm. 100 00:04:25,399 –> 00:04:27,679 And, that is 2nd Corinthians, in chapter four, 101 00:04:27,679 –> 00:04:30,579 and verse four, where Paul says, 102 00:04:30,579 –> 00:04:31,959 he speaks about Satan, 103 00:04:31,959 –> 00:04:34,600 and describes him as the God of this world. 104 00:04:34,600 –> 00:04:36,679 And he says, Satan, the God of this world, 105 00:04:36,679 –> 00:04:39,320 has blinded the minds of unbelievers 106 00:04:39,320 –> 00:04:41,559 to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel, 107 00:04:41,559 –> 00:04:45,980 of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 108 00:04:45,980 –> 00:04:47,739 So, what he’s saying is that there is a particular, 109 00:04:47,739 –> 00:04:52,739 and an ongoing work of the enemy of everyone’s soul, Satan, 110 00:04:53,940 –> 00:04:58,940 and, he’s always at work to bring blindness to human minds. 111 00:04:59,820 –> 00:05:02,260 And the reason he’s always doing this, 112 00:05:02,260 –> 00:05:04,980 is because the glory of Jesus Christ 113 00:05:04,980 –> 00:05:08,820 is like a bright light, a brilliant light. 114 00:05:08,820 –> 00:05:12,200 And Satan has to do everything that he possibly can 115 00:05:12,200 –> 00:05:13,940 to try and prevent people 116 00:05:13,940 –> 00:05:16,540 from seeing the brilliance and the glory 117 00:05:16,540 –> 00:05:18,100 of the bright light of Jesus, 118 00:05:18,100 –> 00:05:21,440 Who says I am the light of the world. 119 00:05:21,440 –> 00:05:23,820 And how does he bring this blindness, 120 00:05:23,820 –> 00:05:26,279 this dullness, so that people don’t see 121 00:05:26,279 –> 00:05:28,299 what otherwise would be completely obvious, 122 00:05:28,299 –> 00:05:30,100 the glory of Jesus? 123 00:05:30,100 –> 00:05:34,859 The answer is that he is a liar, and the father of lies. 124 00:05:34,859 –> 00:05:38,660 That’s what Jesus said about Satan, our enemy, John 8 44, 125 00:05:38,660 –> 00:05:41,959 He’s a liar and the father of lies, 126 00:05:41,959 –> 00:05:45,920 and lies are his stock in trade 127 00:05:45,920 –> 00:05:48,880 for blinding our eyes whether we’re young 128 00:05:48,880 –> 00:05:53,440 or whether we’re older to the glory of Jesus Christ. 129 00:05:53,440 –> 00:05:57,079 And the lies that he uses are different 130 00:05:57,079 –> 00:05:58,600 in different cultures, 131 00:05:58,600 –> 00:06:01,559 and they’re different in different generations, 132 00:06:01,559 –> 00:06:03,720 but the overall strategies that he uses 133 00:06:03,720 –> 00:06:04,920 are largely the same, 134 00:06:04,920 –> 00:06:07,559 there’s nothing that’s particularly new. 135 00:06:07,559 –> 00:06:11,000 And so what I want to show you from this Psalm 136 00:06:11,000 –> 00:06:14,799 is really three brands of deception 137 00:06:14,799 –> 00:06:18,720 that Satan uses to keep people from seeing 138 00:06:18,720 –> 00:06:21,839 the light of the glory of Jesus Christ. 139 00:06:21,839 –> 00:06:22,880 And I’ll give you the heading 140 00:06:22,880 –> 00:06:24,000 so we know where we’re going 141 00:06:24,000 –> 00:06:26,040 and they’re all in Psalm 12. 142 00:06:26,040 –> 00:06:29,399 He uses the lies of vanity. 143 00:06:29,399 –> 00:06:32,519 He uses the lies of flattery 144 00:06:32,519 –> 00:06:35,720 and he uses the lies of blasphemy. 145 00:06:35,720 –> 00:06:36,959 These are the three 146 00:06:36,959 –> 00:06:38,619 and they’re all in the Psalm. 147 00:06:39,040 –> 00:06:42,459 Three brands of deception. 148 00:06:42,459 –> 00:06:44,420 And this is the assault 149 00:06:44,420 –> 00:06:48,059 that Satan is currently deploying 150 00:06:48,059 –> 00:06:50,540 upon all of us in this culture 151 00:06:50,540 –> 00:06:52,179 and especially upon those 152 00:06:52,179 –> 00:06:53,660 who are young, growing up 153 00:06:53,660 –> 00:06:56,540 and forming life in this culture. 154 00:06:56,540 –> 00:06:58,859 You are facing the assault 155 00:06:58,859 –> 00:07:02,100 of Satan trying to keep you blind 156 00:07:02,100 –> 00:07:06,019 by three brands of deception. 157 00:07:06,019 –> 00:07:09,200 Now the first one then is vanity. 158 00:07:09,200 –> 00:07:10,420 Vanity. 159 00:07:10,420 –> 00:07:15,299 Verse 2, everyone utters lies 160 00:07:15,299 –> 00:07:18,220 and literally, several commentators point this out 161 00:07:18,220 –> 00:07:20,459 that the word that’s translated lies there 162 00:07:20,459 –> 00:07:24,079 literally means emptiness. 163 00:07:24,079 –> 00:07:27,880 Everyone utters emptiness 164 00:07:27,880 –> 00:07:30,519 to his neighbor. 165 00:07:30,519 –> 00:07:32,839 So David has a particular brand 166 00:07:32,839 –> 00:07:35,179 of lies in view 167 00:07:35,179 –> 00:07:36,019 and it’s this. 168 00:07:36,019 –> 00:07:39,480 Everyone utters emptiness 169 00:07:39,480 –> 00:07:42,820 to his neighbor 170 00:07:42,820 –> 00:07:44,859 and I’m gonna suggest to you 171 00:07:44,859 –> 00:07:49,279 that there could hardly be a more powerful description 172 00:07:49,279 –> 00:07:52,279 of our culture today. 173 00:07:53,739 –> 00:07:56,940 Now all of you know there’s this big discussion 174 00:07:56,940 –> 00:07:58,579 that’s going on in our country at the moment 175 00:07:58,579 –> 00:08:00,160 about spying. 176 00:08:00,160 –> 00:08:03,600 You know, the NSA listening to people’s conversations 177 00:08:03,640 –> 00:08:06,000 around the world and all this kind of thing 178 00:08:06,000 –> 00:08:08,899 and I’ve been interested just to follow that conversation 179 00:08:08,899 –> 00:08:10,640 not only from the U.S. perspective 180 00:08:10,640 –> 00:08:14,200 but reading a paper as I do from the U.K. 181 00:08:14,200 –> 00:08:17,059 getting a different perspective as well 182 00:08:17,059 –> 00:08:21,880 and I particularly enjoyed a sort of satirical piece, 183 00:08:21,880 –> 00:08:24,799 I suppose it was, written by a British journalist 184 00:08:24,799 –> 00:08:29,480 who said that the person she felt sorry for 185 00:08:29,480 –> 00:08:34,479 was the poor guy that she pictured working at the NSA 186 00:08:34,520 –> 00:08:38,280 who had the miserable job of sifting through endless, 187 00:08:38,280 –> 00:08:42,280 meaningless emails and voice mails and text and tweets 188 00:08:42,280 –> 00:08:44,080 and Facebook posts 189 00:08:44,080 –> 00:08:47,219 the vast majority of which everybody knows 190 00:08:47,219 –> 00:08:51,200 contain absolutely nothing of consequence whatsoever 191 00:08:51,200 –> 00:08:53,000 and she goes on to muse 192 00:08:53,000 –> 00:08:55,679 that if this guy tapped into her cellphone 193 00:08:55,900 –> 00:08:58,320 that he would hear, for example, 194 00:08:58,320 –> 00:09:01,400 her weekly conversation with her elderly mother 195 00:09:01,400 –> 00:09:03,280 who goes along the lines of 196 00:09:03,280 –> 00:09:05,919 and how was your week this week? 197 00:09:05,919 –> 00:09:08,840 Well, I went to the grocery store. 198 00:09:08,840 –> 00:09:10,539 Oh, that was nice. 199 00:09:10,539 –> 00:09:11,500 And what else? 200 00:09:11,500 –> 00:09:13,760 Oh yes, Cousin Mabel came along. 201 00:09:13,760 –> 00:09:15,640 Oh, really, and how is she? 202 00:09:15,640 –> 00:09:16,640 Oh, not so good. 203 00:09:16,640 –> 00:09:17,840 She’s been to the doctor 204 00:09:17,840 –> 00:09:19,159 and then on and on on the list 205 00:09:19,159 –> 00:09:21,679 of everything that’s wrong with Cousin Mabel and so forth. 206 00:09:21,679 –> 00:09:22,760 You know what this is like? 207 00:09:22,760 –> 00:09:24,460 I mean and she pictures this guy 208 00:09:24,580 –> 00:09:27,880 snoozing off in sort of complete 209 00:09:27,880 –> 00:09:31,580 and utter boredom going through the million female 210 00:09:31,580 –> 00:09:36,099 in which nothing of any great significance is being said. 211 00:09:36,099 –> 00:09:37,219 Just think about that, 212 00:09:37,219 –> 00:09:39,419 all of you who are younger today. 213 00:09:40,419 –> 00:09:44,940 This psalm describes exactly 214 00:09:44,940 –> 00:09:46,820 the world in which you are growing up. 215 00:09:46,820 –> 00:09:49,979 Now you watch up for this next week. 216 00:09:49,979 –> 00:09:52,859 Just keep your eyes open and watch the tweets, 217 00:09:52,859 –> 00:09:57,859 the texts, the posts, what are they all about? 218 00:09:58,940 –> 00:10:01,739 Will any of them matter in one year’s time? 219 00:10:03,179 –> 00:10:05,859 Will any of them matter in 10 years’ time? 220 00:10:05,859 –> 00:10:10,299 Will anything that’s there matter in 50 years’ time? 221 00:10:10,299 –> 00:10:15,299 You are growing up in a world of trivia. 222 00:10:16,380 –> 00:10:19,599 Of little stuff in which, this is what David says, 223 00:10:19,599 –> 00:10:24,599 everyone utters emptiness to his neighbor. 224 00:10:25,500 –> 00:10:29,400 You’re growing up in a world that is dominated 225 00:10:29,400 –> 00:10:34,400 by the next game, the latest reality TV show, 226 00:10:34,700 –> 00:10:36,940 the thing that’s just gone viral 227 00:10:36,940 –> 00:10:40,119 on YouTube or whatever that is. 228 00:10:40,119 –> 00:10:42,260 That becomes the obsession of people 229 00:10:42,260 –> 00:10:44,960 and what everybody’s talking about all the time. 230 00:10:46,640 –> 00:10:48,440 And if you begin to look at it carefully 231 00:10:48,460 –> 00:10:51,840 and say how much of this actually really matters, 232 00:10:51,840 –> 00:10:55,719 just ask that question, you will come to the conclusion 233 00:10:55,719 –> 00:10:57,280 that what David says in Psalm 12 234 00:10:57,280 –> 00:10:59,119 is exactly speaking to the world 235 00:10:59,119 –> 00:11:01,320 at which you’re growing up, in school today, 236 00:11:01,320 –> 00:11:06,320 in which everybody utters emptiness to his neighbor. 237 00:11:06,640 –> 00:11:11,640 And you know what, that is why serious conversation 238 00:11:11,640 –> 00:11:14,000 begins to feel like it’s really odd. 239 00:11:14,960 –> 00:11:18,320 You say, do you believe in God or something like that 240 00:11:18,320 –> 00:11:22,059 that actually matters, it’s a bit heavy isn’t it. 241 00:11:22,059 –> 00:11:25,020 Let’s get back to tweeting about whatever’s happening 242 00:11:25,020 –> 00:11:27,280 in the latest reality show that’s on last night 243 00:11:27,280 –> 00:11:30,080 and some outrageous thing that some person has said. 244 00:11:30,080 –> 00:11:33,880 That is exactly what the world in which we live. 245 00:11:34,919 –> 00:11:38,700 This is what I’m calling Satan’s vanity brand 246 00:11:38,700 –> 00:11:41,979 of lies, emptiness. 247 00:11:41,979 –> 00:11:44,099 Here’s the effect of it, now you think about this 248 00:11:44,099 –> 00:11:45,859 as you’re growing up. 249 00:11:45,859 –> 00:11:49,320 The result of this first brand of Satan’s deception 250 00:11:49,320 –> 00:11:53,640 is that it is possible and this actually happens 251 00:11:53,640 –> 00:11:58,380 for people to go through high school and through college 252 00:11:59,219 –> 00:12:04,080 and through an entire career and through retirement 253 00:12:04,080 –> 00:12:09,080 and never in all of that time ever get around to asking 254 00:12:09,219 –> 00:12:10,919 the most important questions 255 00:12:10,919 –> 00:12:14,359 like who am I and why am I here 256 00:12:14,400 –> 00:12:19,000 and what is life for and what actually lies beyond? 257 00:12:19,840 –> 00:12:24,599 And Satan thrives on getting more and more people 258 00:12:24,599 –> 00:12:27,059 obsessed with more and more trivia 259 00:12:27,059 –> 00:12:31,679 so that you never actually stop and think. 260 00:12:33,679 –> 00:12:36,380 It’s a huge deception and you’re growing up 261 00:12:36,380 –> 00:12:38,859 in a world that’s just awash with it, 262 00:12:38,859 –> 00:12:42,820 with all the wonderful technologies that are around you, 263 00:12:44,760 –> 00:12:48,539 now, when I was at high school, which was a long time ago, 264 00:12:49,460 –> 00:12:52,719 we read two books about the future. 265 00:12:52,719 –> 00:12:54,599 Now I promise you, we read more than two books 266 00:12:54,599 –> 00:12:57,580 at high school, but we read two books particularly 267 00:12:57,580 –> 00:12:59,280 about the future that were part 268 00:12:59,280 –> 00:13:04,039 of the prescribed reading list in English literature. 269 00:13:04,039 –> 00:13:09,039 One of these was Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World 270 00:13:09,760 –> 00:13:12,940 and the other one was George Orwell’s 1984. 271 00:13:14,580 –> 00:13:18,159 A number of you will have read these books. 272 00:13:18,159 –> 00:13:20,239 And what was so interesting about reading both of them 273 00:13:20,239 –> 00:13:23,679 is that they offered very very different views 274 00:13:23,679 –> 00:13:25,140 of the future. 275 00:13:25,919 –> 00:13:30,919 Orwell, in 1984, thought that the future 276 00:13:31,039 –> 00:13:34,840 would be one of totalitarian brutality. 277 00:13:34,840 –> 00:13:37,919 He thought that communism, oppression would spread 278 00:13:37,940 –> 00:13:41,119 around the world, that it would suppress truth. 279 00:13:41,119 –> 00:13:42,520 Here’s how he said it. 280 00:13:42,520 –> 00:13:45,859 He said, if you want a vision of the future, 281 00:13:45,859 –> 00:13:50,859 imagine a boot stamping on a human face forever. 282 00:13:53,200 –> 00:13:55,039 Isn’t that an awful phrase? 283 00:13:55,039 –> 00:13:55,880 That’s what Orwell said. 284 00:13:55,880 –> 00:13:58,440 That’s what the future’s gonna be, Orwell said. 285 00:13:58,440 –> 00:14:00,099 Totalitarian oppression. 286 00:14:00,960 –> 00:14:04,280 Huxley had a very very different view of the future. 287 00:14:04,280 –> 00:14:07,400 He thought that it would not be 288 00:14:07,440 –> 00:14:11,440 that totalitarian powers would enslave people. 289 00:14:11,440 –> 00:14:13,159 But that what would happen, actually, 290 00:14:13,159 –> 00:14:16,840 is that people would end up enslaving themselves. 291 00:14:16,840 –> 00:14:18,080 And this is what he said. 292 00:14:18,080 –> 00:14:20,760 This is fascinating because it’s so many years ago. 293 00:14:20,760 –> 00:14:23,559 Because they would adore, he said, 294 00:14:23,559 –> 00:14:28,559 the technologies that undo their capacity to think. 295 00:14:28,840 –> 00:14:30,799 Isn’t that, it’s prophetic? 296 00:14:30,799 –> 00:14:32,219 He said that’s what’s going to happen, 297 00:14:32,219 –> 00:14:34,080 that people will enslave themselves. 298 00:14:34,099 –> 00:14:38,159 It won’t be some authority that is brutal towards them. 299 00:14:38,159 –> 00:14:39,840 What will happen in most of the world 300 00:14:39,840 –> 00:14:42,799 is that people will enslave themselves 301 00:14:42,799 –> 00:14:46,140 because they adore the technologies 302 00:14:46,140 –> 00:14:49,460 that undo their capacity to think. 303 00:14:49,460 –> 00:14:50,239 In other words, they live in a world 304 00:14:50,239 –> 00:14:51,880 of trivia and tweets and text 305 00:14:51,880 –> 00:14:54,000 and never actually think, who am I? 306 00:14:54,000 –> 00:14:55,979 Why am I here? 307 00:14:55,979 –> 00:14:57,919 And what is life for? 308 00:14:59,200 –> 00:15:01,799 And in 1985, so just immediately 309 00:15:01,799 –> 00:15:04,200 following the actual year 1984 310 00:15:04,200 –> 00:15:06,159 that people who had read Orwell 311 00:15:06,159 –> 00:15:07,559 in earlier years were kinda thinking, 312 00:15:07,559 –> 00:15:09,440 oh, what’s gonna happen? 313 00:15:09,440 –> 00:15:12,119 In 1984, and nothing particularly new 314 00:15:12,119 –> 00:15:14,340 that I can recall ever did, 315 00:15:14,340 –> 00:15:17,880 1985, Neil Postman writes a fascinating book 316 00:15:17,880 –> 00:15:20,900 that was called Amusing Ourselves to Death. 317 00:15:21,919 –> 00:15:23,880 And it’s even more relevant today 318 00:15:23,880 –> 00:15:26,719 than it was then when I first read it. 319 00:15:26,719 –> 00:15:27,760 And he just contrasts the two. 320 00:15:27,880 –> 00:15:32,880 He says, what Orwell feared was those who would ban books. 321 00:15:32,979 –> 00:15:34,619 What Huxley feared 322 00:15:34,619 –> 00:15:38,580 was that no one would seriously want to read a book. 323 00:15:38,580 –> 00:15:42,780 Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. 324 00:15:42,780 –> 00:15:45,679 Huxley feared those who would dely you just with so much 325 00:15:45,679 –> 00:15:48,559 that we’d be reduced to complete passivity. 326 00:15:48,559 –> 00:15:52,440 Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. 327 00:15:52,440 –> 00:15:55,239 Huxley feared that the truth would be drowned 328 00:15:55,299 –> 00:15:58,000 in a sea of irrelevance. 329 00:15:58,000 –> 00:16:02,460 Orwell feared that we would become a captive culture. 330 00:16:02,460 –> 00:16:07,059 Huxley feared there we would become a trivial culture. 331 00:16:07,059 –> 00:16:09,400 And what these last years have proved 332 00:16:09,400 –> 00:16:13,979 and what you are experiencing as you grow up in this world 333 00:16:13,979 –> 00:16:16,159 is that although as we were praying earlier, 334 00:16:16,159 –> 00:16:18,580 there are some places that do experience 335 00:16:18,580 –> 00:16:21,260 the Orwellian nightmare of the boot stamping 336 00:16:21,679 –> 00:16:23,700 on the human face, awful cruelty 337 00:16:23,700 –> 00:16:26,940 and awful oppression in some places. 338 00:16:26,940 –> 00:16:29,280 But in most parts of the world today, 339 00:16:30,400 –> 00:16:35,380 it is Huxley’s prediction that has come to be the reality. 340 00:16:35,380 –> 00:16:37,520 In most places in the world today, 341 00:16:37,520 –> 00:16:42,520 Satan’s primary strategy is that being awash 342 00:16:43,140 –> 00:16:48,140 in a sea of trivia, you might go through your entire life 343 00:16:48,979 –> 00:16:53,719 without ever seriously thinking about yourself, 344 00:16:53,719 –> 00:16:58,260 about God, about eternity at all. 345 00:16:59,500 –> 00:17:01,460 And this is the extraordinary thing 346 00:17:01,460 –> 00:17:05,459 that Satan is so good at this tactic of deception, 347 00:17:05,459 –> 00:17:07,079 of keeping you from thinking, 348 00:17:07,079 –> 00:17:11,300 that it is highly possible and you will see 349 00:17:11,300 –> 00:17:12,140 that it happens. 350 00:17:12,140 –> 00:17:14,579 You know that this happens. 351 00:17:14,579 –> 00:17:17,380 For people to come to a service like this, 352 00:17:17,380 –> 00:17:20,140 even a service where the Bible is preached, 353 00:17:20,140 –> 00:17:23,300 and then to hang out with your friends afterwards 354 00:17:24,339 –> 00:17:26,160 and to do this for 10 years. 355 00:17:27,979 –> 00:17:31,180 And still never to seriously think. 356 00:17:32,520 –> 00:17:33,359 Who am I? 357 00:17:33,359 –> 00:17:34,479 Why am I here? 358 00:17:35,939 –> 00:17:39,339 Who is God and what is this claim that he lays upon my life 359 00:17:39,339 –> 00:17:40,540 and what is this eternity 360 00:17:40,540 –> 00:17:42,540 and what am I going to do with Jesus Christ 361 00:17:42,540 –> 00:17:44,800 and why in the world am I living for myself 362 00:17:44,800 –> 00:17:46,500 when the Son of God loved me. 363 00:17:47,619 –> 00:17:49,260 And gave himself for me. 364 00:17:52,540 –> 00:17:53,979 And you know that happens, 365 00:17:55,400 –> 00:17:56,979 but have you ever asked why? 366 00:17:59,020 –> 00:18:01,680 The answer is because Satan is always at work 367 00:18:01,680 –> 00:18:03,140 to bring this blindness 368 00:18:03,140 –> 00:18:05,579 even where the truth is very, very near at hand. 369 00:18:07,140 –> 00:18:11,420 And he does it first by this brand of lies 370 00:18:11,420 –> 00:18:13,160 that I’ve described as vanity. 371 00:18:14,380 –> 00:18:15,780 Don’t let him do that to you. 372 00:18:16,660 –> 00:18:18,180 Second, flattery. 373 00:18:18,180 –> 00:18:19,579 More briefly. 374 00:18:19,579 –> 00:18:20,660 Notice verse two. 375 00:18:20,660 –> 00:18:24,579 With flattering lips and a double heart they speak. 376 00:18:24,579 –> 00:18:28,699 Verse three, may the Lord cut off all flattering lips. 377 00:18:29,979 –> 00:18:30,939 Now what is flattery? 378 00:18:30,939 –> 00:18:34,300 Flattery is saying only what other people want to hear 379 00:18:34,300 –> 00:18:36,420 so you only say what other people want to hear 380 00:18:36,420 –> 00:18:39,780 and it is hearing only what you want other people to say. 381 00:18:39,780 –> 00:18:42,260 In other words, anything that pushes you 382 00:18:42,260 –> 00:18:44,099 outside your comfort zone, you just shut it down. 383 00:18:44,479 –> 00:18:45,739 I don’t wanna hear that. 384 00:18:46,819 –> 00:18:51,099 You hear only what you want other people to say. 385 00:18:52,420 –> 00:18:56,300 Flattery becomes the spoken language 386 00:18:56,300 –> 00:18:59,380 in any culture where people give themselves to vanity. 387 00:19:00,500 –> 00:19:03,979 Since that is largely true of the culture in which we live. 388 00:19:03,979 –> 00:19:06,979 Flattery, saying what you think other people want to hear 389 00:19:06,979 –> 00:19:10,020 and only hearing what you want other people to say 390 00:19:10,020 –> 00:19:14,900 just becomes the the common language of our culture 391 00:19:14,900 –> 00:19:18,140 and it is Satan’s second great tool of deception 392 00:19:19,140 –> 00:19:23,260 because if you only hear what you want other people to say 393 00:19:24,420 –> 00:19:27,859 then you will never see the light 394 00:19:27,859 –> 00:19:31,859 of the gospel of the glory of Jesus Christ 395 00:19:32,859 –> 00:19:37,660 and this desire for just say what we want to hear 396 00:19:37,660 –> 00:19:40,219 it runs very, very deep 397 00:19:40,219 –> 00:19:42,760 and it even affects the Christian Church you know 398 00:19:44,060 –> 00:19:45,579 you know in the New Testament Paul says, 399 00:19:45,579 –> 00:19:47,640 in the last times one of the ways 400 00:19:47,640 –> 00:19:48,859 you’ll know it’s the last times 401 00:19:48,859 –> 00:19:51,260 is more and more people will gather teachers 402 00:19:51,260 –> 00:19:54,439 who say what their itching ears want to hear 403 00:19:55,640 –> 00:19:57,219 you’ll be familiar with that 404 00:19:57,219 –> 00:19:58,619 you might be less familiar 405 00:19:58,619 –> 00:20:02,500 with the Old Testament version of the same statement 406 00:20:02,500 –> 00:20:04,000 which is so striking 407 00:20:04,920 –> 00:20:07,920 it’s in Isaiah chapter 30 408 00:20:08,719 –> 00:20:11,099 in verse nine through 11 409 00:20:11,099 –> 00:20:12,520 and what’s so striking here 410 00:20:12,520 –> 00:20:13,800 is that this is to Israel 411 00:20:13,800 –> 00:20:16,040 so it speaks directly to the people of God 412 00:20:16,040 –> 00:20:20,119 and so has an application to the church today at least 413 00:20:20,119 –> 00:20:24,579 and look at how deep the desire for flattery runs here 414 00:20:24,579 –> 00:20:27,800 he speaks about children unwilling 415 00:20:27,800 –> 00:20:31,079 to hear the instruction of the Lord 416 00:20:31,079 –> 00:20:33,400 and so they say to the seers do not see 417 00:20:33,439 –> 00:20:36,199 and to the prophets do not prophesy 418 00:20:36,199 –> 00:20:38,280 what is right, here’s what they say 419 00:20:38,280 –> 00:20:41,939 speak to us smooth things 420 00:20:44,199 –> 00:20:46,560 and let us hear no more 421 00:20:46,560 –> 00:20:48,420 about the Holy One of Israel 422 00:20:50,180 –> 00:20:53,280 you’d imagine that Israel would say this 423 00:20:53,280 –> 00:20:54,739 we don’t want what the seers says 424 00:20:54,739 –> 00:20:56,400 we don’t want what the prophet says 425 00:20:56,400 –> 00:20:58,380 we want people who will speak to us 426 00:20:58,380 –> 00:21:00,239 smooth things 427 00:21:00,239 –> 00:21:01,839 and we do not want to hear 428 00:21:01,839 –> 00:21:03,680 about the Holy One of Israel 429 00:21:05,699 –> 00:21:08,099 now, our children are growing up 430 00:21:08,099 –> 00:21:10,380 in a culture where increasingly 431 00:21:10,380 –> 00:21:12,579 even in church 432 00:21:13,699 –> 00:21:15,239 many around our country 433 00:21:15,239 –> 00:21:16,699 are saying we want to hear 434 00:21:16,699 –> 00:21:19,060 smooth things 435 00:21:19,859 –> 00:21:21,319 and not so much about 436 00:21:21,319 –> 00:21:22,959 the Holy One of Israel 437 00:21:24,020 –> 00:21:25,359 and remember that Jesus said 438 00:21:25,359 –> 00:21:26,160 the distinctive work 439 00:21:26,160 –> 00:21:27,060 of the Holy Spirit 440 00:21:27,060 –> 00:21:29,280 is going to be to convince us of sin 441 00:21:29,939 –> 00:21:31,479 well, that’s not a smooth thing 442 00:21:32,719 –> 00:21:34,479 and to convince us of righteousness 443 00:21:34,479 –> 00:21:35,180 and judgment 444 00:21:35,180 –> 00:21:38,319 nothing is smooth there 445 00:21:38,319 –> 00:21:39,319 so that the light 446 00:21:39,319 –> 00:21:40,760 may be shone on Jesus Christ 447 00:21:40,760 –> 00:21:41,560 and we’ll come to Him 448 00:21:41,560 –> 00:21:42,760 because we understand 449 00:21:42,760 –> 00:21:45,939 our need of Him 450 00:21:45,939 –> 00:21:47,280 and there won’t be much of that 451 00:21:47,280 –> 00:21:48,280 there won’t be much 452 00:21:48,280 –> 00:21:49,839 of the work of the Holy Spirit 453 00:21:49,839 –> 00:21:52,199 that leads to real life change 454 00:21:52,199 –> 00:21:52,880 that comes through 455 00:21:52,880 –> 00:21:56,040 flattering ministries 456 00:21:56,040 –> 00:21:57,719 that say smooth things 457 00:21:57,719 –> 00:22:00,880 and stroke egos 458 00:22:02,079 –> 00:22:03,780 by saying what people want to hear 459 00:22:03,780 –> 00:22:08,579 not much about the Holy One of Israel 460 00:22:08,579 –> 00:22:10,040 what happens increasingly 461 00:22:10,040 –> 00:22:11,900 where the church goes down that road 462 00:22:11,900 –> 00:22:13,920 is that a generation of kids 463 00:22:13,920 –> 00:22:16,359 who have been brought up in church 464 00:22:16,359 –> 00:22:18,420 come into adulthood 465 00:22:18,420 –> 00:22:20,439 and actually they cannot see 466 00:22:20,439 –> 00:22:22,780 the light of the Gospel 467 00:22:22,780 –> 00:22:23,880 of the glory of Christ 468 00:22:23,880 –> 00:22:24,040 why? 469 00:22:24,040 –> 00:22:25,239 Because they’ve been brought up 470 00:22:25,280 –> 00:22:26,760 not on truth but on a diet 471 00:22:26,760 –> 00:22:28,160 of smooth things 472 00:22:28,160 –> 00:22:30,300 and not the Holy One of Israel 473 00:22:30,300 –> 00:22:33,380 there is no sense of being a sinner 474 00:22:33,380 –> 00:22:35,400 no sense of needing a savior 475 00:22:35,400 –> 00:22:37,699 no sense of engaging with the eternal 476 00:22:37,699 –> 00:22:40,079 just smooth things about how great you are 477 00:22:40,079 –> 00:22:41,479 and what your potential 478 00:22:41,479 –> 00:22:43,599 and your capacity is 479 00:22:43,599 –> 00:22:45,540 that’s a tragedy 480 00:22:45,540 –> 00:22:46,800 because that’s how satan 481 00:22:46,800 –> 00:22:49,479 blinds the minds of people 482 00:22:49,479 –> 00:22:51,420 to the reality of gospel truth 483 00:22:51,420 –> 00:22:54,699 and the glory of Jesus Christ 484 00:22:54,780 –> 00:22:56,160 and do you see it’s all around us 485 00:22:56,160 –> 00:22:58,699 you see this as the world in which you’re growing up 486 00:22:58,699 –> 00:23:00,439 can you recognise from the Bible 487 00:23:00,439 –> 00:23:02,959 oh this is speaking to what’s real 488 00:23:04,140 –> 00:23:05,439 and Jesus speaks about it 489 00:23:05,439 –> 00:23:07,599 he says to the Pharisees 490 00:23:07,599 –> 00:23:11,819 now, how can you believe 491 00:23:11,819 –> 00:23:14,859 when you are seeking praise from each other 492 00:23:14,859 –> 00:23:16,540 there’s the flattery 493 00:23:16,540 –> 00:23:17,900 and you’re not making any effort 494 00:23:17,900 –> 00:23:20,099 to seek the praise that comes from God 495 00:23:20,420 –> 00:23:22,119 the whole trajectory of your life 496 00:23:22,239 –> 00:23:23,660 is you want people to 497 00:23:23,660 –> 00:23:26,219 support this sort of built up self image 498 00:23:26,219 –> 00:23:29,180 that you’ve created of yourself 499 00:23:29,180 –> 00:23:30,660 and that’s going to keep you from faith 500 00:23:30,660 –> 00:23:31,500 how can you believe 501 00:23:31,500 –> 00:23:33,000 it’s a barrier to believe 502 00:23:34,199 –> 00:23:36,079 there’s the second brand of deception 503 00:23:36,079 –> 00:23:39,520 you build up this, this little world 504 00:23:39,520 –> 00:23:40,880 in which you seek out people 505 00:23:40,880 –> 00:23:43,599 who will say what you want to hear 506 00:23:43,599 –> 00:23:44,660 and you become more and more 507 00:23:44,660 –> 00:23:46,319 preocupied with yourself 508 00:23:46,319 –> 00:23:47,180 and as you do 509 00:23:47,180 –> 00:23:49,140 your eyes become more and more dim 510 00:23:49,140 –> 00:23:50,380 and you see less and less 511 00:23:50,540 –> 00:23:54,280 of the brightness of the glory of Jesus Christ 512 00:23:55,839 –> 00:23:56,560 and you know what 513 00:23:56,560 –> 00:23:57,979 this desire for flattery 514 00:23:59,439 –> 00:24:00,660 once it is fed 515 00:24:00,660 –> 00:24:03,180 it becomes a powerful addiction 516 00:24:05,020 –> 00:24:06,060 and you all know people 517 00:24:06,060 –> 00:24:07,599 who are like this 518 00:24:07,599 –> 00:24:10,219 and it’s a tragic situation to get into 519 00:24:11,739 –> 00:24:12,880 the endless hunger 520 00:24:12,880 –> 00:24:14,140 for the smooth talk 521 00:24:14,140 –> 00:24:15,900 of only affirmation 522 00:24:15,900 –> 00:24:17,380 and it leads to a person 523 00:24:17,380 –> 00:24:19,540 being locked in this prison house 524 00:24:19,739 –> 00:24:22,359 incapable of hearing anything else 525 00:24:24,739 –> 00:24:26,420 and as with any other addiction 526 00:24:26,420 –> 00:24:27,660 they can never get enough 527 00:24:27,660 –> 00:24:30,319 and the more this person is affirmed 528 00:24:31,180 –> 00:24:32,920 addicted to affirmation 529 00:24:34,280 –> 00:24:35,959 the more and more desperate they are 530 00:24:35,959 –> 00:24:37,439 for more and more and more of it 531 00:24:37,439 –> 00:24:39,160 and the more and more blind they become 532 00:24:39,160 –> 00:24:41,380 to the realities of their own sin 533 00:24:42,760 –> 00:24:45,260 and therefore of the glories of Jesus Christ 534 00:24:45,260 –> 00:24:46,260 who somehow remains 535 00:24:46,260 –> 00:24:48,579 at a complete and utter distance 536 00:24:48,579 –> 00:24:49,739 because they have chosen 537 00:24:49,739 –> 00:24:52,760 to be at a distance from Him. 538 00:24:53,939 –> 00:24:56,239 So, this is the world in which we live, folks. 539 00:24:57,300 –> 00:25:01,140 Satan’s brands of lies to blind people to the truth. 540 00:25:01,140 –> 00:25:02,780 This is the world in which our kids 541 00:25:02,780 –> 00:25:03,619 are growing up 542 00:25:03,619 –> 00:25:05,900 and this is why we’re concerned for them, 543 00:25:05,900 –> 00:25:08,060 why we need a prayer for them, 544 00:25:09,939 –> 00:25:11,780 is surrounded by vanity and by flattery 545 00:25:11,780 –> 00:25:14,359 and here’s the third one by blasphemy. 546 00:25:15,380 –> 00:25:16,640 That’s verse four. 547 00:25:17,599 –> 00:25:20,199 Those who say with our tongue we will prevail, 548 00:25:20,199 –> 00:25:21,839 our lips are with us. 549 00:25:21,839 –> 00:25:25,119 Who is master over us? 550 00:25:26,199 –> 00:25:28,160 Now this is the brand of lies 551 00:25:28,160 –> 00:25:30,400 that has a kind of clenched fist to it 552 00:25:30,400 –> 00:25:32,199 and you’ll recognize this one, too. 553 00:25:33,219 –> 00:25:35,199 This is the one that says, 554 00:25:35,199 –> 00:25:37,339 it’s my life 555 00:25:37,339 –> 00:25:40,040 and I’m going to decide what’s right for me. 556 00:25:40,880 –> 00:25:43,000 I’m the captain of my own ship, 557 00:25:43,000 –> 00:25:44,459 I’m gonna be my own lord 558 00:25:44,459 –> 00:25:45,680 and my own savior 559 00:25:45,719 –> 00:25:46,660 and my own master 560 00:25:46,660 –> 00:25:47,819 and my own guide 561 00:25:47,819 –> 00:25:51,640 and te right word to describe that is blasphemy. 562 00:25:52,900 –> 00:25:53,780 Because blasphemy, 563 00:25:53,780 –> 00:25:56,339 I just looked up the dictionary to check it 564 00:25:56,339 –> 00:25:57,619 and Merriam-Webster says, 565 00:25:57,619 –> 00:26:00,099 blasphemy is the act of insulting 566 00:26:00,099 –> 00:26:02,819 or showing contempt for God. 567 00:26:02,819 –> 00:26:06,140 It is the act of claiming the attributes of deity. 568 00:26:07,140 –> 00:26:07,979 In other words, 569 00:26:07,979 –> 00:26:11,180 it is attempting to put yourself in the place of God 570 00:26:11,180 –> 00:26:12,880 which is exactly what Satan did 571 00:26:12,880 –> 00:26:14,260 before the beginning of time 572 00:26:14,280 –> 00:26:17,140 in what he tried to co-opt Eve to join him in doing. 573 00:26:17,140 –> 00:26:18,180 You can be like God, 574 00:26:18,180 –> 00:26:21,439 he said to her in the garden of Eden. 575 00:26:22,920 –> 00:26:27,920 And so, here is the third brand of this awful deception 576 00:26:29,540 –> 00:26:31,199 that Satan tries to work. 577 00:26:31,199 –> 00:26:34,719 Vanity, get you just absorbed and awashed 578 00:26:34,719 –> 00:26:36,420 in everything that’s about nothing. 579 00:26:37,760 –> 00:26:39,280 In the trivia of day-to-day life, 580 00:26:39,280 –> 00:26:40,800 so you never really think, 581 00:26:41,439 –> 00:26:45,760 flattery, a built up kind of self-image 582 00:26:45,760 –> 00:26:47,780 that’s just reinforced by people around you 583 00:26:47,780 –> 00:26:48,619 saying what you want to hear 584 00:26:48,619 –> 00:26:50,319 and everything else being shut out. 585 00:26:51,939 –> 00:26:53,800 And putting yourself in the place of God, 586 00:26:53,800 –> 00:26:55,660 the ultimate blasphemy in which you become 587 00:26:55,660 –> 00:27:00,079 the Lord and the attempted savior of your own life. 588 00:27:01,099 –> 00:27:02,520 He’s always doing this. 589 00:27:04,300 –> 00:27:06,739 Do you know he even tried it on the Son of God? 590 00:27:07,680 –> 00:27:08,959 Tried it? 591 00:27:09,880 –> 00:27:10,780 Vanity. 592 00:27:12,180 –> 00:27:15,739 Here you are seeking God in prayer and fasting. 593 00:27:15,739 –> 00:27:18,040 Why don’t you just think of yourself and the immediate 594 00:27:18,040 –> 00:27:20,140 and turn these stones into bread. 595 00:27:22,939 –> 00:27:23,780 Flattery. 596 00:27:25,540 –> 00:27:29,099 You know you could make an amazing impression on people. 597 00:27:29,099 –> 00:27:31,300 Suppose you were to stand on the pinnacle of the temple 598 00:27:31,300 –> 00:27:32,959 and then just float down. 599 00:27:32,959 –> 00:27:34,660 I mean everyone would say, 600 00:27:34,660 –> 00:27:37,260 think what people would say about you then. 601 00:27:37,260 –> 00:27:38,660 You’d have such a fan club. 602 00:27:39,579 –> 00:27:41,479 Imagine that on Twitter, right? 603 00:27:42,939 –> 00:27:43,780 Blasphemy. 604 00:27:45,300 –> 00:27:47,140 You can have the whole world 605 00:27:47,140 –> 00:27:50,900 just bow down and worship me. 606 00:27:52,719 –> 00:27:54,939 Think about Jesus Christ on the cross 607 00:27:54,939 –> 00:27:55,979 and he’s hanging there. 608 00:27:55,979 –> 00:27:57,180 Why is he hanging there? 609 00:27:57,180 –> 00:28:00,140 What’s going on while he’s hanging there? 610 00:28:00,180 –> 00:28:01,939 See what he’s surrounded by, 611 00:28:01,939 –> 00:28:05,660 vanity, flattery, and blasphemy. 612 00:28:07,060 –> 00:28:07,900 Vanity. 613 00:28:07,900 –> 00:28:10,979 The son of God is bearing the sins of the world 614 00:28:10,979 –> 00:28:13,219 and what are sinners doing? 615 00:28:13,219 –> 00:28:15,579 They’re gambling on the floor beside him 616 00:28:16,560 –> 00:28:19,459 over a piece of clothing 617 00:28:19,459 –> 00:28:20,859 that they don’t want to tear. 618 00:28:22,420 –> 00:28:23,540 Flattery. 619 00:28:23,540 –> 00:28:26,479 Pilate, a judge charged with justice, 620 00:28:26,479 –> 00:28:29,579 finds no fault in Jesus. 621 00:28:29,959 –> 00:28:31,640 This man has done nothing wrong 622 00:28:31,640 –> 00:28:33,800 but he hands him over to be scourged. 623 00:28:34,880 –> 00:28:38,020 Lashed, crucified. 624 00:28:38,020 –> 00:28:38,959 Why? 625 00:28:39,979 –> 00:28:42,000 Because he wanted to please the people. 626 00:28:43,880 –> 00:28:44,719 Blasphemy. 627 00:28:45,619 –> 00:28:47,140 The son of God is on a cross 628 00:28:47,140 –> 00:28:49,339 because in their hearts the people have said 629 00:28:49,339 –> 00:28:54,319 we will not have this man to rule over us. 630 00:28:54,319 –> 00:28:56,500 He says he is a king. 631 00:28:56,500 –> 00:28:58,260 We have no king. 632 00:28:59,219 –> 00:29:03,660 But Caesar that he is on the cross. 633 00:29:04,959 –> 00:29:07,079 And on the third day he rises from the dead 634 00:29:07,079 –> 00:29:08,839 and he’s lowered over vanity 635 00:29:08,839 –> 00:29:10,380 and he’s lowered over flattery 636 00:29:10,380 –> 00:29:12,439 and he’s lowered on the blasphemy 637 00:29:12,439 –> 00:29:15,459 and he’s able to deliver you from all of these prisons. 638 00:29:16,719 –> 00:29:19,280 That’s why Paul says I was a blasphemer. 639 00:29:19,280 –> 00:29:23,199 I was a violent man but I was shown mercy. 640 00:29:24,859 –> 00:29:27,040 Counter with this Jesus Christ 641 00:29:27,079 –> 00:29:32,040 who’s able to break a person out of this trivial world 642 00:29:32,199 –> 00:29:35,640 or the self-absorbed world or this blasphemous world 643 00:29:37,020 –> 00:29:39,400 to bring you into the power of a new life 644 00:29:39,400 –> 00:29:41,119 that will be an eternal life 645 00:29:42,380 –> 00:29:44,359 and entirely different from everything 646 00:29:44,359 –> 00:29:45,959 that is in the world around you. 647 00:29:47,780 –> 00:29:49,420 So that’s an analysis. 648 00:29:49,420 –> 00:29:50,479 And I said we’d spend by far 649 00:29:50,479 –> 00:29:52,400 the largest amount of time on this 650 00:29:52,400 –> 00:29:53,479 because it’s so important. 651 00:29:53,479 –> 00:29:56,000 And it’s the main part of the psalm. 652 00:29:56,000 –> 00:30:01,000 An analysis of the assault that our children are facing, 653 00:30:01,199 –> 00:30:03,040 the culture in which we’re living, 654 00:30:03,040 –> 00:30:05,040 the culture in which those of you who are younger 655 00:30:05,040 –> 00:30:06,520 are growing up. 656 00:30:07,500 –> 00:30:09,520 And it’s marked by vanity and it’s marked by flattery 657 00:30:09,520 –> 00:30:10,880 and it’s marked by blasphemy. 658 00:30:10,880 –> 00:30:13,020 You start getting your eyes open to it 659 00:30:14,119 –> 00:30:16,099 and how Jesus Christ is calling you 660 00:30:16,099 –> 00:30:17,540 to be different from it 661 00:30:18,660 –> 00:30:22,599 and reaches out to you as savior in it. 662 00:30:22,599 –> 00:30:25,000 And then the last thing I just want us to see here 663 00:30:25,000 –> 00:30:27,380 is then the strategy for prayer and for action. 664 00:30:27,380 –> 00:30:28,660 We began by saying, here we are. 665 00:30:28,660 –> 00:30:30,599 Parents, grandparents. 666 00:30:30,599 –> 00:30:31,640 And we’re concerned. 667 00:30:31,640 –> 00:30:33,719 We see the pressures on our kids. 668 00:30:33,719 –> 00:30:35,199 What hope is there for them 669 00:30:35,199 –> 00:30:38,319 when they’re swimming in all of this stuff? 670 00:30:38,319 –> 00:30:40,319 And let me just give you this encouragement 671 00:30:40,319 –> 00:30:41,400 in these last moments. 672 00:30:41,400 –> 00:30:42,880 Here’s the first. 673 00:30:42,880 –> 00:30:44,800 God listens. 674 00:30:44,800 –> 00:30:47,280 This is a prayer. 675 00:30:47,280 –> 00:30:51,079 And Psalm 12, is David, moved by the Holy Spirit, 676 00:30:51,400 –> 00:30:54,400 is praying for this and future generations. 677 00:30:57,780 –> 00:31:00,339 We need to pray for our kids. 678 00:31:00,339 –> 00:31:02,859 And Psalm 12 is an encouragement to do that. 679 00:31:03,739 –> 00:31:06,040 We need to pray for our kids as parents. 680 00:31:06,040 –> 00:31:09,180 We need to pray for our kids as grandparents. 681 00:31:09,180 –> 00:31:11,380 We need to pray for our kids in the home. 682 00:31:11,380 –> 00:31:13,959 We need to pray for our kids in the church. 683 00:31:13,959 –> 00:31:15,119 We need to pray for our kids 684 00:31:15,119 –> 00:31:17,540 and go on praying for our kids. 685 00:31:18,400 –> 00:31:20,660 I know at least one group in the church 686 00:31:20,699 –> 00:31:23,319 of several couples who have been meeting together 687 00:31:23,319 –> 00:31:26,640 to pray for their kids for 30 years. 688 00:31:26,640 –> 00:31:29,540 They’re obviously onto their grandkids now. 689 00:31:29,540 –> 00:31:32,719 And they’ve seen some wonderful answers to prayer. 690 00:31:32,719 –> 00:31:35,660 And they’ve got some heavy burdens on their heart 691 00:31:35,660 –> 00:31:37,900 that they’re still interceding about. 692 00:31:39,540 –> 00:31:42,819 Find some other friends who will pray for your kids. 693 00:31:42,819 –> 00:31:44,119 And you pray for their kids. 694 00:31:44,119 –> 00:31:45,819 And make a covenant in regards to that. 695 00:31:45,819 –> 00:31:47,859 Let’s pray for each other’s kids, 696 00:31:47,859 –> 00:31:48,859 each other’s grandkids. 697 00:31:48,859 –> 00:31:50,900 Let’s do this together. 698 00:31:50,900 –> 00:31:52,760 You don’t have children of your own? 699 00:31:53,780 –> 00:31:55,540 Connect with some younger people 700 00:31:55,540 –> 00:31:56,920 and become a prayer partner, 701 00:31:56,920 –> 00:31:58,300 an aunt and uncle, as it were, 702 00:31:58,300 –> 00:32:01,180 a spiritual mentor to someone. 703 00:32:01,180 –> 00:32:02,500 Connect with a family 704 00:32:02,500 –> 00:32:06,020 and become part of praying for their children. 705 00:32:06,020 –> 00:32:09,020 Engage in some area that relates to youth ministry. 706 00:32:09,020 –> 00:32:11,099 Get behind praying for someone 707 00:32:11,099 –> 00:32:15,260 who is teaching and directly influencing younger people. 708 00:32:15,260 –> 00:32:17,739 Let’s take seriously that we are called 709 00:32:17,839 –> 00:32:19,439 in the Scripture to pray 710 00:32:19,439 –> 00:32:21,619 and that God listens when we pray 711 00:32:21,619 –> 00:32:23,079 with regards to our children. 712 00:32:24,219 –> 00:32:27,219 And then the second thing is that God speaks. 713 00:32:27,219 –> 00:32:28,739 Here’s this wonderful encouragement. 714 00:32:28,739 –> 00:32:30,319 Not only does God listen to us, 715 00:32:30,319 –> 00:32:32,520 but God is capable of speaking to them. 716 00:32:33,459 –> 00:32:35,839 Verse six, the words of the Lord. 717 00:32:35,839 –> 00:32:39,239 It kinda springs out after all this lies. 718 00:32:39,239 –> 00:32:40,079 Now we’re being told 719 00:32:40,079 –> 00:32:41,959 the words of the Lord are pure words. 720 00:32:41,959 –> 00:32:44,719 They’re like silver refined in the furnace on the ground, 721 00:32:44,719 –> 00:32:46,780 purified seven times over. 722 00:32:46,780 –> 00:32:49,640 In a world of lies, there is such a thing as truth. 723 00:32:51,000 –> 00:32:52,760 And there is nothing vain in the Bible. 724 00:32:52,760 –> 00:32:54,500 Nothing flattering in the Bible. 725 00:32:54,500 –> 00:32:56,459 The Bible is not blasphemous. 726 00:32:56,459 –> 00:33:00,099 The Bible is the very Word of God and it’s pure. 727 00:33:00,099 –> 00:33:01,400 And it will never deceive you 728 00:33:01,400 –> 00:33:03,619 when you can trust what God says to you. 729 00:33:04,859 –> 00:33:06,319 It is of supreme value, 730 00:33:06,319 –> 00:33:10,160 silver that is refined seven times. 731 00:33:11,099 –> 00:33:15,300 And it is through His word that God brings light. 732 00:33:15,300 –> 00:33:18,300 Remember, everything’s dark in the beginning 733 00:33:18,300 –> 00:33:21,380 and God says let there be light and there was light. 734 00:33:22,380 –> 00:33:25,500 And when Satan brings this darkness to human minds, 735 00:33:25,500 –> 00:33:26,780 what does God do? 736 00:33:26,780 –> 00:33:28,699 Why, you read a couple of verses forward 737 00:33:28,699 –> 00:33:30,459 in second Corinthians four, 738 00:33:30,459 –> 00:33:33,699 agora who said let light shine out of darkness 739 00:33:33,699 –> 00:33:37,619 has caused the light to shine into our hearts, 740 00:33:37,619 –> 00:33:39,699 giving us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God 741 00:33:39,699 –> 00:33:42,859 in the face of Jesus Christ. 742 00:33:42,859 –> 00:33:46,219 The entrance of God’s word gives light. 743 00:33:47,959 –> 00:33:49,540 So I want to give this encouragement 744 00:33:49,540 –> 00:33:53,180 to all parents and to grandparents and for us as a church, 745 00:33:53,180 –> 00:33:57,579 get the word of God in the formative years of your children 746 00:33:57,579 –> 00:34:00,339 as much as you can into their lives. 747 00:34:00,339 –> 00:34:03,819 That was so wonderful to have younger people in the service 748 00:34:03,819 –> 00:34:06,099 and engaged in ministries in the church 749 00:34:06,099 –> 00:34:07,819 and to have families that are serious 750 00:34:07,819 –> 00:34:10,280 about reading something from the Bible at home 751 00:34:10,280 –> 00:34:12,020 on a regular basis. 752 00:34:13,080 –> 00:34:16,360 And to have youth ministers and youth lay leaders 753 00:34:16,360 –> 00:34:18,919 who are seriously committed to saying, 754 00:34:18,919 –> 00:34:22,159 if we’re going to see life change in a world of trivia, 755 00:34:22,159 –> 00:34:25,340 then the dominant note of youth ministry cannot be trivia, 756 00:34:25,340 –> 00:34:27,260 the dominant youth ministry, 757 00:34:27,260 –> 00:34:29,520 which must always be wonderfully fun, 758 00:34:29,520 –> 00:34:32,739 nonetheless, must be the pure silver of the word of God 759 00:34:32,739 –> 00:34:35,320 because that’s the way in which God speaks, 760 00:34:35,320 –> 00:34:38,080 that’s the way in which God brings life change. 761 00:34:38,080 –> 00:34:39,879 That’s the way in which we’re delivered 762 00:34:39,879 –> 00:34:41,080 from a world of trivia 763 00:34:41,120 –> 00:34:43,520 that is what’s happening everywhere else. 764 00:34:44,719 –> 00:34:49,719 So God listens, God speaks, and God saves. 765 00:34:51,040 –> 00:34:53,479 You notice that’s how it begins. 766 00:34:53,479 –> 00:34:58,479 Save, O Lord for the Godly one is gone. 767 00:35:00,080 –> 00:35:02,120 For every parent or grandparent that’s worried 768 00:35:02,120 –> 00:35:06,520 about the difficulty of finding Christian friends. 769 00:35:07,419 –> 00:35:09,120 This is a great prayer. 770 00:35:10,100 –> 00:35:12,739 I’m worried because there are not a group of Christians 771 00:35:12,739 –> 00:35:17,320 immediately right now around little Johnny, or whatever. 772 00:35:18,580 –> 00:35:22,199 The Godly one is gone, Lord, I’m looking to you to save. 773 00:35:23,300 –> 00:35:27,100 I can’t rely in this situation on the circle of influence. 774 00:35:27,100 –> 00:35:28,580 I’ve gotta look to you to do something. 775 00:35:28,580 –> 00:35:31,379 That’s a wonderful prayer for that situation, isn’t it? 776 00:35:32,800 –> 00:35:35,280 Here David recognized that God does save, 777 00:35:35,280 –> 00:35:37,800 and he asks him to do it. 778 00:35:37,800 –> 00:35:38,919 So here’s your strategy. 779 00:35:38,919 –> 00:35:42,679 You pray, which is what Psalm 12 is encouraging us to do 780 00:35:42,679 –> 00:35:45,320 in this situation because God listens. 781 00:35:45,320 –> 00:35:47,360 You are able to trust God to speak, 782 00:35:47,360 –> 00:35:49,840 and that is why you bring the pure silver 783 00:35:49,840 –> 00:35:53,560 of the Word of God into the life of your children, 784 00:35:53,560 –> 00:35:56,600 your grandchildren, whenever you have opportunity. 785 00:35:56,600 –> 00:35:58,360 You get them in a place where they’re going 786 00:35:58,360 –> 00:36:00,120 to be receiving the Word of God, 787 00:36:00,120 –> 00:36:03,020 such as we are committed to in the life of the church. 788 00:36:03,020 –> 00:36:06,760 And you can ask of God that he will save 789 00:36:06,760 –> 00:36:08,919 because God reserves the right to move freely, 790 00:36:08,919 –> 00:36:09,979 and our God is in heaven, 791 00:36:09,979 –> 00:36:12,860 and he’s able to do whatever he pleases. 792 00:36:12,860 –> 00:36:15,419 And those who he saves he keeps. 793 00:36:16,340 –> 00:36:17,860 Children go off to university. 794 00:36:17,860 –> 00:36:19,139 Here’s someone in Christ, 795 00:36:19,139 –> 00:36:21,739 and here’s a great promise in verse 7. 796 00:36:21,739 –> 00:36:26,739 He will guard us from this generation forever. 797 00:36:31,280 –> 00:36:33,879 So Karin and I have been greatly blessed 798 00:36:34,719 –> 00:36:37,739 with the gift of two sons. 799 00:36:37,739 –> 00:36:40,280 So grateful that they both love the Lord 800 00:36:40,280 –> 00:36:43,300 and have married wonderful women, 801 00:36:43,300 –> 00:36:47,959 both of whom our daughters-in-law love the Lord. 802 00:36:47,959 –> 00:36:50,300 And now we’ve been given the wonderful gift 803 00:36:50,300 –> 00:36:51,379 of two granddaughters, 804 00:36:51,379 –> 00:36:54,020 one on each side of our family. 805 00:36:54,020 –> 00:36:57,399 So very, very grateful and so very, very conscious 806 00:36:57,399 –> 00:37:02,239 that they are growing up in a world 807 00:37:02,239 –> 00:37:04,219 that is significantly different 808 00:37:04,219 –> 00:37:05,919 from the world in which we grew up in 809 00:37:05,919 –> 00:37:08,000 and even the world in which their parents grew up in. 810 00:37:08,000 –> 00:37:09,719 It’s changing, it really is. 811 00:37:10,679 –> 00:37:14,520 And it may very well be that our granddaughters 812 00:37:14,520 –> 00:37:16,100 grow up in a world 813 00:37:16,100 –> 00:37:20,340 where there is not the broad Christian consensus 814 00:37:20,340 –> 00:37:23,979 that was kindly towards a Christian faith 815 00:37:23,979 –> 00:37:26,679 in so many ways in past generations 816 00:37:26,679 –> 00:37:29,540 throughout the history of this country. 817 00:37:30,379 –> 00:37:32,639 And I think about that 818 00:37:33,840 –> 00:37:35,600 and here’s what I think about that. 819 00:37:37,399 –> 00:37:39,739 I want more for them 820 00:37:41,139 –> 00:37:42,979 than that they will drift along 821 00:37:42,979 –> 00:37:47,580 with some kind of Christian consensus 822 00:37:47,580 –> 00:37:49,179 that existed in the past. 823 00:37:50,699 –> 00:37:54,060 The kind of Christians 824 00:37:54,060 –> 00:37:57,080 who are born of drifting along 825 00:37:57,120 –> 00:38:00,800 with the Christian consensus 826 00:38:02,439 –> 00:38:05,899 are not people who are on fire for Christ. 827 00:38:07,040 –> 00:38:09,479 They’re not people who see the light 828 00:38:09,479 –> 00:38:13,100 of the gospel of the glory of Jesus Christ. 829 00:38:14,239 –> 00:38:16,520 They’re not people who say with Paul, 830 00:38:16,520 –> 00:38:18,379 I want to know Christ 831 00:38:18,379 –> 00:38:20,659 and the power of his resurrection. 832 00:38:20,659 –> 00:38:24,239 I’m even ready to be conformed to his likeness 833 00:38:24,280 –> 00:38:28,820 and his death and whatever suffering comes my way. 834 00:38:28,820 –> 00:38:30,560 I went from our little granddaughters 835 00:38:30,560 –> 00:38:33,300 as I begin to think and pray about them 836 00:38:33,300 –> 00:38:36,659 for these years that lie ahead of them, 837 00:38:36,659 –> 00:38:40,280 that there are gonna be people who know and love Christ 838 00:38:40,280 –> 00:38:44,439 and are aflame with the life of the Holy Spirit within them, 839 00:38:46,179 –> 00:38:48,340 and so I’m gonna be praying Psalm 12, 840 00:38:48,340 –> 00:38:52,120 which begins with saying save them, save them. 841 00:38:52,800 –> 00:38:54,959 Bring them to know the light of the gospel 842 00:38:54,959 –> 00:38:57,219 of the glory of Jesus Christ 843 00:38:57,219 –> 00:38:59,179 and maybe it will be that precisely 844 00:38:59,179 –> 00:39:00,860 because they do not grow up 845 00:39:00,860 –> 00:39:04,360 in the general benevolence of a Christian consensus 846 00:39:04,360 –> 00:39:07,800 that they will come to be distinctively different from it. 847 00:39:07,800 –> 00:39:09,959 What a vision that is. 848 00:39:09,959 –> 00:39:13,899 Maybe we are living in days in which precisely the change 849 00:39:13,899 –> 00:39:15,820 will be the means that God will use 850 00:39:15,820 –> 00:39:19,179 to ignite new fire in the church 851 00:39:19,179 –> 00:39:21,500 and to raise up a new generation 852 00:39:21,500 –> 00:39:23,899 who love Christ in a way that is stronger 853 00:39:23,899 –> 00:39:26,600 and more passionate than has been seen 854 00:39:26,600 –> 00:39:30,060 in the kindly benevolence of the consensus 855 00:39:30,060 –> 00:39:31,860 that has reigned in the past. 856 00:39:32,760 –> 00:39:34,399 Oh God save. 857 00:39:35,659 –> 00:39:36,860 Oh God keep. 858 00:39:38,340 –> 00:39:41,580 You glad that Psalm 12 is in the Bible? 859 00:39:41,580 –> 00:39:43,560 Do you think we need a prayer for when we fear 860 00:39:43,560 –> 00:39:46,300 for our children and for our grandchildren 861 00:39:46,300 –> 00:39:48,100 and God has given it to us. 862 00:39:48,100 –> 00:39:49,600 Let’s pray together, shall we? 863 00:39:50,600 –> 00:39:55,540 Father, we are so grateful 864 00:39:57,600 –> 00:40:01,760 that in a world marked by vanity 865 00:40:03,120 –> 00:40:06,479 and flattery and blasphemy Jesus Christ has come 866 00:40:08,479 –> 00:40:11,959 and endured manifestations of all of that 867 00:40:13,159 –> 00:40:16,120 out there in the wilderness tempted by the devil 868 00:40:16,120 –> 00:40:18,100 and triumphed over it completely 869 00:40:19,800 –> 00:40:22,060 and was surrounded by all of that 870 00:40:22,060 –> 00:40:27,060 that participated in our nailing the savior to the cross 871 00:40:27,659 –> 00:40:30,300 and that he endured it and that he bore it 872 00:40:30,300 –> 00:40:33,679 and that he triumphed over it and that he reigns exalted. 873 00:40:35,120 –> 00:40:37,760 We thank you that this savior reaches out to us 874 00:40:37,760 –> 00:40:40,820 in mercy and then love and in grace. 875 00:40:40,820 –> 00:40:44,959 Reaches out to us in our vanity and our blasphemy 876 00:40:44,959 –> 00:40:46,780 and our flattery even now. 877 00:40:47,780 –> 00:40:50,219 And we pray that we may see 878 00:40:50,219 –> 00:40:53,340 those of us who have loved you for a long time 879 00:40:53,340 –> 00:40:57,439 and those of us who have not come to love you yet 880 00:40:58,840 –> 00:41:01,260 that we may see with fresh clarity 881 00:41:02,419 –> 00:41:06,260 as the bandages as it were are cut from our eyes 882 00:41:06,260 –> 00:41:11,260 the light of the gospel of the glory of Jesus Christ 883 00:41:12,040 –> 00:41:15,639 of Jesus Christ, that your light may so shine 884 00:41:15,639 –> 00:41:20,159 in our hearts now and in these coming days 885 00:41:20,159 –> 00:41:25,159 that we may behold this glory in the face of Jesus Christ 886 00:41:25,379 –> 00:41:28,060 and so be inwardly transformed and to live for you 887 00:41:28,060 –> 00:41:30,139 for these things we ask in Jesus name 888 00:41:30,139 –> 00:41:33,020 and everyone together said Amen.