I ALMOST SLIPPED
Ps. 73:1-5,9,11-18, 22-26.
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: When trouble is not what you thought
1. A man awoke one morning to find a puddle of water in the middle of his king-size water bed. In order to fix the puncture, he rolled the heavy mattress outdoors and filled it with more water so he could locate the leak more easily.
2. The enormous bag of water was impossible to control and began rolling on the hilly terrain. He tried to hold it back, but it headed downhill and landed in a clump of bushes which poked it full of holes.
3. Disgusted, the man threw out the water-bed frame and moved a standard bed into his room. The next morning, he awoke to find a puddle of water in the middle of the new bed. The upstairs bathroom had a leaky drain.
(Reader's Digest, March, 1993, p. 123)
B. TEXT
1 Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. 2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. 3 For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4 They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. 5 They are free from common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills. 9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth. 11 They say, “How would God know? Does the Most High know anything?” 12 This is what the wicked are like— always free of care, they go on amassing wealth. 13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence. 14 All day long I have been afflicted, and every morning brings new punishments. 15 If I had spoken out like that, I would have betrayed your children. 16 When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply 17 till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their
final destiny. 18 Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. 22 I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you. 23 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Ps. 73:1-5,9,11-18, 22-26.
C. THESIS
1. Asaph sees himself standing at the edge of a deep precipice, and having not been aware of its danger, almost having fallen in. This Psalm emphasizes the importance of keeping our eyes and faith upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. What makes people slip? How do people lose out with God? It’s really easy, because this world is filled with stumbling blocks.
3. The enemy has a million tools to use to bring us down. We, however, have one all-powerful defense – our Mighty God. He is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble!
4. We’re looking at a believer named Asaph who tells his story of how he almost walked away from God and how God helped him overcome the terrible trial he went through.
5. The title of tonight’s message is: “I Almost Slipped.”
I. SLIPPERY SPOTS FOR ASAPH
A. TEMPTATIONS
1. In a recent survey in Discipleship Journal Magazine, readers reported that their greatest spiritual challenges came from:
a. Materialism b. Pride
c. Self-centeredness d. Laziness
e. Anger/Bitterness f. Sexual Lust
g. Envy h. Gluttony
i. Lying
(somehow they left off death, divorce & job loss! Many of life’s most traumatic events can put us in a tailspin.)
2. Temptations are more powerful when we neglect our time with God or are tired physically.
3. That’s what happened to Asaph. Life threw him a curve-ball. He expected things to work out but instead everything crashed.
4. Verse 3, tells us that when his life crashed, he began looking at how the ungodly have it. "I envied." The ungodly seemed to prosper more than the godly. “If God is real & blesses His children, how can this be?”
B. CULTURE RESISTANCE FATIGUE
1. "They have no struggles... free from burdens" (4-5). Not only do we have temptations from the enemy, we have the constant barrage of wrong thinking & values.
2. One translation of Rom. 12:2 says, "Do not let the world squeeze you into its mold."
3. That's why we are told to "fight the good fight of faith," and to be "strangers and pilgrims in this present world." We can become worn down in this fight.
4. Be not conformed, but be transformed. Only the internal pressure of the Holy Spirit can keep out the pine beetles of the world from invading our souls and destroying us.
C. CARES & AFFAIRS
1. [They are] "always carefree, they increase in wealth" (12). These emblems of the affluent Society embitter those who have less.
2. Maintaining a level of affluence has become an obsession with millions of Americans, even believers. Affluence is now more important than Christianity to many.
D. BAD LIFE EXPERIENCES
1. "They are healthy... not plagued by human ills" (4-5). "Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure... wash my hands in innocence." "I have been plagued and punished" (14).
2. Many tragic experiences, like an untimely and unexpected death in the family, inability to conceive, persecution, spouse divorcing, long-term loss of employment, or long-term illness can make people question God's reality or if He does exist, why He doesn't care about them.
3. ILLUSTRATION
a. A man was a janitor at St Peter's Church in London. One day the man’s employer discovered that the janitor was illiterate and fired him.
b. Jobless, the man invested his meager savings in a tiny tobacco shop, where he prospered, bought another, expanded, and ended up with a chain of tobacco stores worth several hundred thousand dollars.
c. One day the man's banker said, "You've done well for an illiterate, but where would you be if you could read and write?"
d. "I'd be janitor of St. Peter's Church in Neville Square." Somerset Maugham, Bits and Pieces, June 24, 1993, p. 23
4. Asaph experienced this. He was "plagued." “Never attempt to bear more than one kind of trouble at once. Some people bear three kinds--all they’ve had in their past, all they have now and all they expect to have.” Edward E. Hale
E. OFFENSES BY CHURCH MEMBERS
1. "They lay claim to heaven... They say, "How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?" (9, 11).
2. Evidently Asaph was seeing people who claimed to have a relationship with God but were really scandalous in their values & morals.
3. This created an "offense," a stumbling block. Many times believers are hurt or betrayed by other believers. They are wounded and think, "If this is how Christians are, I don't want to be around Christians anymore."
4. But Christians are just people too. They backslide, they get worldly, they fall back into old fleshly patterns from time to time.
5. They don't follow through on being conformed to the image of Christ. They have parts of their old fallen nature that still have a foothold.
6. We can't get our eyes on people, but must keep them on Jesus. He's the perfect standard. Others WILL fail us, but not Jesus!
7. The N.T. churches were full of people making mistakes. At Corinth there were divisions, Christians suing each other, getting drunk, being selfish, etc. etc. -- yet it was still God's church!
II. SOLUTION: RESTORED VISION & PRIORITY
A. VISION RESTORED (16-20)
1. TEXT: 16 When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply 17 till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. 18 Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. 19 How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors!
2. In a revelation, all the glitz and glitter of the world taken away and Asaph again saw the stark difference in the outcomes of the ungodly and the righteous.
B. RECOGNIZED HIS DANGER (21-22)
1. TEXT: 21 “When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, 22 I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before You.”
2. Asaph saw how far he’d fallen. He’d become brutish – unspiritual, out of touch with God – so that he wasn’t operating on the level of redeemed Sons of God. The Message Bible says, “I was a…dumb ox in your very presence.”
3. DUMB JOKE
a. A 73 yr. old lady named Judi from the backwoods of Tennessee loved country music so much she saved up for years so she could go to a performance of the Grand Old Opry.
b. When she arrived in the big city of Nashville for the first time, she checked into her hotel, and the bellhop took her bags.
c. She followed the man, and as the door closed, she looked around and shook her fist at him, exclaiming, "Young man-I may be old, straight from the hills, but that don’t mean I’m stupid! I paid good, and this room won’t do at all! It’s too small, no ventilation, no TV, & there’s not even a bed!"
d. Said the bellman: "But, Ma’am, this is the elevator."
C. REUNITED WITH HIS SAVIOR
1. “You Hold me, guide me, take me.”
2. You’re my greatest desire (25-26)
D. COMPARISON OF FINAL ENDS, WICKED & GODLY
(27-28)
Asaph finds the great principle by which he determined to abide with God: It’s the goodness of God, a truth which can’t be shaken. Knowledge of God’s goodness fortifies us against Satan’s temptations.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. Eight-year-old Frank had looked forward for weeks to this particular Saturday because his father had promised to take him fishing if the weather was suitable.
2. There hadn’t been any rain for weeks and as Saturday approached, Frank was confident of the fishing trip. But, wouldn’t you know it, when Saturday morning dawned, it was raining heavily and it appeared that it would continue all day.
3. Frank wandered around the house, peering out the windows and grumbling more than a little. "Seems like the Lord would know that it would have been better to have the rain yesterday than today," he complained to his father who was sitting by the fireplace.
4. Then, about three o’clock, the rain stopped. Still time for some fishing, and quickly the gear was loaded and they were off to the lake. Whether it was the rain or some other reason, the fish were biting hungrily and father and son returned with a full string of fine, big fish.
5. At supper, when some of the fish were ready, Frank’s mom asked him to say grace. Frank did--and concluded his prayer by saying, "And, Lord, if I sounded grumpy earlier today it was because I couldn’t see far enough ahead."
6. May God help us as we struggle to see far enough ahead.
B. THE CALL
1. How about you today? Are you questioning God? Are you living the life of prosperity? Are you in that number with the wicked?
2. If you’ve been tempted to give up the fight, or felt overwhelmed, stand, and we’ll pray for you.
3. Prayer & salvation call.
