INTRO.- ILL.- A little boy went into a grocery store and asked the clerk for a box of Duz detergent. The clerk said, “What do you need the detergent for?” The little boy replied, “I want to wash my dog.” The clerk said, “Well, son, that Duz detergent is pretty strong for washing a little dog.”
The little boy said, “But that’s what I want.” The clerk said, “Well, okay, if you’re sure. But you need to be careful when you wash your dog in it. That Duz detergent is very strong. It might kill him.”
About a week later the little boy came back into the store and the clerk recognized him and asked, “Son, how’s your dog?” The little boy said, “He’s dead.” The clerk replied, “Oh, I’m sorry, but I told you that Duz detergent was awfully strong and that it might kill him.”
The little boy shook his head and said, “I don’t think it was the Duz detergent that killed him. I THINK IT WAS THE RINSE CYCLE THAT GOT HIM.”
Brothers and sisters, I think all of us go through the “rinse cycle” of life at some time or other, in some form or another.
It may be as a result of our marriage, our job, our kids, our health, or something else, but it does happen.
ILL.- The man in the supermarket was pushing a cart which contained, among other things, a screaming baby. As the man proceeded along the aisles, he kept repeating softly, "Keep calm, George. Don’t get excited, George. Don’t get excited, George. Don’t yell, George."
A lady watching with admiration said to the man, "You are certainly to be commended for your patience in trying to quiet little George." "Lady," he declared, "I’m George." PARENTING IS A TOUGH BUSINESS!
ILL.- One time a 30-year-old woman, an industrial designer, masqueraded as an elderly woman for three weeks. She said she wanted to see how it felt to be old in America. AND WHAT SHE LEARNED WAS HEARTBREAKING. She was robbed, insulted, and frightened by a world that isn’t easy on its elderly folks.
BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE, TO CHRISTIAN PEOPLE, AND TO ALL PEOPLE!
Why do these things happen? They happen for several reasons. Let me remind you in case you have forgotten.
1- Bad things happen to us in life because the devil is a real, evil spiritual being who is out to get us.
I Pet. 5:8 “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around...looking for someone to devour.”
ILL,- Back in central IL Elaine and I were visiting with a neighbor lady one day. She and her husband did not go to any church that I knew of. I don’t remember all the particulars of the conversation but the devil was mentioned and probably by me. She quickly replied, “Nobody believes in the devil any more.” And I quickly replied, “I DO!”
Many people in our country still don’t believe there is an evil being called Satan who is out to destroy, damage and damn people. BUT WE CHRISTIANS SHOULD NOT BE IGNORANT OF SATAN NOR OF HIS SCHEMES!
2- Bad things happen to us in life also because we live in an imperfect world where imperfect things happen all the time.
ILL.- One man said, “In the spring our family was driving from Fort Lauderdale to Tampa, Florida. As far as the eye could see, orange trees were loaded with fruit. When we stopped for breakfast, I ordered orange juice with my eggs. The waitress said, ‘I can’t bring you orange juice because our machine is broken.’”
He said, “At first, I was dumbfounded. We were surrounded by millions of oranges and thousands of gallons of juice. But the machine that delivered the good stuff was broken.”
Machines break down, cars break down, houses fall apart and so do human bodies, and it’s because we live in an imperfect world.
3- We also experience bad things in life because we sin.
Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap! This is God’s ordained law in Gal. 6:7-8. If we sow good things, we will reap good things. If we sow bad things, we will reap bad things.
ILL.- If a person is traveling down the interstate at 90 mph and he gets pulled over by the highway patrol more than likely he will be given a speeding ticket! We reap what we sow.
ILL.- When I went to my 40th high school class reunion two years ago one of our high school jocks who was a top-notch athlete is now a broken down old man, having to walk with a cane. Someone told me that he had drank booze heavily all his life and is now suffering as a result of it. We reap what we sow.
4. Sometimes we experience bad things in life because of another person’s sin.
Some drunken driver runs a red light and smashes your car and you end up in the hospital. We sometimes suffer bad things because of the sins and mistakes of other people.
5. It is also possible that some bad things happen to us in life as a result of God’s discipline.
Heb. 12:5-6 “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves…”
ILL.- In 1995 I had to quit running because I wore out my hip. I told another preacher about it and he immediately replied, “Ah ha, God humbled you, didn’t he?” As if to say, “God did that to you.”
Sometimes we are quick to accuse people. “Well, that happened to you because you weren’t living right.” I know this: all judgment is in the Lord’s hands and should be left up to Him. We don’t have the right to judge anyone or accuse anyone. When the Lord disciplines a person and how He does it, is His business.
Bad things do happen to people, to all people.
ILL.- Someone said, “Most of life’s problems are like cloverleaf exchanges on the highways. It may not seem like it at first, but there is a way out.” And that way out is the Lord.
Matt. 11:28 Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
PROP.- in Psalm 37 we have been given the divine prescription for a better life.
1- Trust in the Lord (3)
2- Delight in the Lord (4)
3- Commit to the Lord (5)
I. TRUST IN THE LORD
Ps. 37:3 “Trust in the Lord and do good…”
ILL.- Do you like Donald Trump? I don’t either. I don’t like his looks. I don’t like his TV show. And I don’t like his attitude. He has an arrogant attitude. To me he does. He sometimes acts like he’s the wealthiest person in the world, but he is not. He is ranked number 205 in the world at 2.5 billion dollars. I realize that’s not pocket change, however. Most of us cannot begin to imagine what it would be like to be worth 2.5 billion dollars.
Many people with money trust only one thing and that’s money!
Matt. 16:26 “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” There is a point where money will do no one any good? When is that? At death.
ILL.- Arnold Schwarzenegger owns these items: Porsche 911 Carrera convertible, Mercedes SL600, El Dorado Biarritz convertible, 4 Hummer Humvees, Harley Davidson motorcycle, and a Gulfstream III private jet. And I’m sure that Arnold owns even more than these.
But Jesus said: Luke 12:15 “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." A man’s life, his joy, his greatness, etc. does not consist in the abundance of what he has, material possessions or otherwise.
ILL.- Again, it’s been said that he who dies with the most toys is still dead.
ILL.- Cyclist Lance Armstrong won the prestigious Tour de France race last Sunday for the 6th time in a row, something that no other rider has ever done. And what makes it even more outstanding is the fact that he did it after beating cancer some five years ago. Armstrong is being applauded as one of the greatest endurance athletes of all time.
But even Lance has his problems. An Italian rider said that Armstrong has threatened him by saying, “You made a mistake to take legal action against me. I have money and time and lots of lawyers. I can destroy you."
True or not, no matter how popular you are in the eyes of the public or how great your reputation is, someone will not like you.
ILL.- Preacher Dwight L. Moody once said, “Trust in yourself and you are doomed to disappointment. Trust in money and you may have it taken from you. Trust in your reputation and some slanderous tongue may blast it. BUT TRUST IN GOD AND YOU ARE NEVER TO BE CONFOUNDED IN TIME OR ETERNITY.”
Even though God allows us to enjoy the things of this world: money, material things, sports, hobbies, etc., and even our own abilities, none of these deserves our trust.
I Tim. 6:17 “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”
I John 2:17 “The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”
God is our creator, sustainer and savior. He is all-wise. He is all-powerful. He is everywhere present. He is eternal, from everlasting to everlasting! He has no beginning and no end. He is rich in mercy. He is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love, and doest no treat us as our sins deserve. WE MUST PUT OUR TRUST AND/OR OUR FAITH IN HIM ALONE!
Trusting Him will make a difference in our lives. He is the only person who can make a difference.
II. DELIGHT IN THE LORD
Ps. 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
ILL.- The sign reads: WELCOME TO PIZZA DELIGHT and the story reads like this: In 1968, pizza was still a pretty new taste to many Canadians. Which is precisely why Bernard Imbeault and two of his friends thought the time was right to start a pizza restaurant chain.
Their starting place was a small take-out restaurant named Pizza Delight in Shediac, New Brunswick. Their exclusive sauce recipe, and fresh, hand-made dough were an instant hit, and within a few years Pizza Delights were popping up across Atlantic Canada and Ontario.
Today, over 110 Pizza Delight restaurants still make their dough fresh every day, and top their pizzas with our exclusive sauce and custom blend of mozzarella and cheddar cheese.
Brothers and sisters, I don’t know anything about Bernard’s PIZZA DELIGHT, but I admit, I do delight in pizza.
While pizza may not be your favorite food, food is a favorite delight with most people! We all have our delights in life: food, sports, money, material possessions, cars, houses, family, etc.
James 1:16-17 “Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father….”
Brothers and sisters, we’re all blessed with delightful things in this life. We must not be deceived nor dumb about this. GOD IS VERY GOOD TO US!
ILL.- TOKYO (Reuters) - Officials in western Japan were marveling on Sunday (July 25, 2004) at the generosity of a mystery philanthropist who donated a $1.8 million lottery ticket to help victims of recent torrential rainstorms.
In an extremely rare display of charity, a winning lottery ticket good for a 200 million yen ($1.82 million) grand prize was mailed to the governor of Fukui on Friday with a note saying it was intended as a donation for rain victims.
"I am sending a lottery ticket that is blessed with luck hoping that it will be of some help to the people who had the misfortune of suffering damages," the letter said.
One official said, “It was a wonderful letter ... It was definitely not intended as a hoax or a joke. It must be from a rare type of person who has a big heart and hopes it will help people who suffered a lot.”
Most of us cannot begin to imagine winning $1.8 million in some lottery, much less giving it away. HONESTLY, DO YOU THINK I’D GIVE AWAY THAT WHOLE AMOUNT IF I HAD WON IT? Some of it, yes, but not all of it.
We are astounded by such a tremendous gift of love. And yet there is a greater gift.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…”
I John 4:9 “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
Even though we are greatly humbled by a person who would give away $1.8 million dollars, which was probably the greatest thing that ever happened to them, WE SHOULD BE EVEN MORE HUMBLED BY WHAT GOD DID FOR US! God gave His best for us and far more valuable than money!
DELIGHT YOURSELF IN THE LORD. Our greatest delight in life should be in the Lord. He’s not, but He should be. I’m not sure we’ll ever understand how much we owe Him and how to delight in Him until we leave this world.
The Psalmist said, “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
Some people think this Scripture is a blanket promise from God to get whatever we want. Just get close to God and He’ll give you whatever you want! NOT SO!
This verse of Scripture does not give us a blank check for anything and everything we want just because we come to church! But if we truly learn to delight in the Lord and get excited about our relationship to Him, He will bless our lives with greater peace and joy and with things we never thought possible! And His wants will be our wants. His desires will be our desires.
III. COMMIT TO THE LORD
Ps. 37:5 “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this.”
Prov. 16:3 “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”
Phil. 4:6 “Do no be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
I believe that the Lord is saying in these verses of Scripture and others that if we will pray about everything that concerns us in life He will bless us! He will give us an answer and bless us in some form or another. And sometimes He will even bless us with a certain amount of success.
ILL..- Christine Burke in Major League Dad wrote: Traded from the Montreal Expos to an AA team in Nashville, pitcher Tim Burke, in his worst starting inning, allowed Chattanooga to score 4 runs. His wife recalls:
"That evening Tim said, ’After tonight, there’s a strong chance I’ll be released. I could be out of baseball for good.’ "’Tim,’ I told him, ’maybe we need to turn your career over to the Lord.’ "Tim responded without hesitation, ’That’s a good idea.’
"On our knees by our kitchen table, Tim prayed: ’Lord, I never even thought about you caring about this stuff. If I’m holding on to baseball too much, help me to let it go. But if You want me to keep going, I’ll fight to make it. You know best.’ "Then I said, ’Lord, if You’ll give Tim the strength and opportunity, he’ll give it his all. But if it’s not Your will for us to stay in baseball, please show us what You have next for our lives.’
"When we finished, we still had no idea what lay ahead, but we had a new sense of peace"—and Tim didn’t lose another game all season.
That sounds like their prayer was answered. That sounds very much like they committed the matter of Tim’s baseball career to God.
There may be a couple of ways to look at this business of “committing everything to the Lord.”
ILL.- When I worked for Safeway Grocery in the early 1960’s, I worked with another Christian man who was also attending Ozark Christian College. I don’t remember what the subject matter was, but my Christian friend, John Watson said, “I don’t even have to pray about some things. I simply trust the Lord that He will take care of it.”
I WAS SOMEWHAT ASTOUNDED! First, I thought he didn’t have enough faith to pray about some things. Secondly, I suddenly realized that perhaps he had more faith than most people because he believed the Lord was going to take care of his problem without even asking.
There are times when we must simply “trust the Lord” and believe what He says in His Word. I’m saying that some of our prayers have probably already been answered in Scripture. It is as though God is saying to us, “Hey! Didn’t I already tell you that I would take care of that? What are you so worried about? WHY NOT TRY TRUSTING ME FOR A CHANGE?”
But for us who are weaker in faith and don’t always trust the Lord in everything, we must go right on asking God to take care of us, to provide for us, etc.
God is our Heavenly Father. He does love us more than life itself. He is deeply concerned about everything in our lives. He is touched by our feelings of insecurity, our lack of faith, our worries and our cares. SO WE MUST GO RIGHT ON PRAYING, ASKING, AND SEEKING HIS WILL ABOUT EVERYTHING!
And the end result will be good. It will be very good. We will receive answers. We will receive direction for our lives. Some doors will be shut. Others will be opened. And God will provide for us and bring peace to our hearts and minds. WE WILL BE BLESSED. WE WILL LIVE BETTER LIVES!
CONCLUSION----------------------------------------
ILL.- In 1895, Andrew Murray was in England suffering from a terribly painful back, the result of an injury he had incurred years before. One morning while he was eating breakfast in his room, his hostess told him of a woman downstairs who was in great trouble and wanted to know if he had any advice for her. Andrew Murray handed her a paper he had been writing on and said, “Give her this advice I’m writing down for myself”—
In time of trouble, say, “First, he brought me here. It is by his will I am in this place; in that I will rest.” Next, “He will keep me here in his love, and give me grace in this trial to behave as his child.”
Then say, “He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me lessons he intends me to learn, and working in me the grace he means to bestow.”
At last, say, “In his good time he can bring me out again. How and when, he knows.” The divine prescription of God is always the best to follow. We often have our own, but His is best. Trust in Him, Delight in Him, Commit to Him.
