*below are pre-sermon manuscript notes not sermon transcript ;)

Be Cool and Trust | Psalm 37:1-3

 

What makes you think you’re going to be a Christian when you wake up in the morning?

Chew on that for a second… 

What makes you think you’re going to be a Christian when you wake up in the morning?

I came across that question in my reading this week and it jumped out at me pretty quick.

Your answer to that question is significantly important when it comes to how you look at all the problems that we see in our country and around the world.

One of the most significant kings in history was King David. 

This is what he wrote:

Psalm 103:19 (KJV)

The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.

Over all!

What makes you think you’re going to be a Christian when you wake up in the morning?

• “I’m a member at Holland Avenue Baptist Church.”
• “I’ve been faithful to my spouse.”
• “I’ve put my kids through school.”
• “I volunteer in local charities.”
• “I’ve never been arrested.”
• “I’m an honest American and I work an honest day for an honest wage.”

Those are all super noble, fantastic things!

But if any of those are your answer for why you think you’re going to be a Christian when you wake up in the morning you will likely not be a Christian when you wake up in the morning.

“I have repented of my proud, arrogant, rebellious sin against the One who is known as ‘holy, holy, holy’ and I’ve surrendered my life to him through his Son, Jesus, and tomorrow morning the kingdom of my sovereign, saving, redeeming God will be the kingdom above all kingdoms and he will still be ruling over all – and that’s why I will be a Christian in the morning!”

Around 1529, Martin Luther wrote the hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”.

This is how he penned the last part of the last verse:

Martin Luther

Let goods and kindred go,

this mortal life also;

The body they may kill:

God’s truth abideth still,

His kingdom is forever.

(*go to YouTube and watch the live Steve Green version)

“I will be a Christian tomorrow morning because I am believing in and trusting in and relying on and clinging to the One whose kingdom is forever!”

After September 11, 2001, a company developed what is now known as the High Rise Emergency Chute.

This is how the chute is officially described by the company:

APCO Aviation

In case of emergency, it offers an ultimate alternative to rescue people from buildings in case of fire, terrorist attack etc. when no other way of exiting the building is possible, and people are under clear and present danger.

APCO Aviation

The chute presents a last chance resort of life saving in an extremely dangerous emergency situation.

I applaud this company for responding to the tragedy of 9/11 with strategic purpose and creating a unique piece of emergency safety equipment that could save someone’s life.  

Someone asked if that unique emergency chute can remove all the fear that comes with clear and present danger?

No.

So, besides emergency chutes and emergency precautions and emergency plans, how do we battle the fears and the frets and the frustrations of life?

Well, we are going to ask King David to help us.

David was about 60 years old when he wrote Psalm 37. 

He had experienced some fear and frets and frustrations in life.

He knew a thing or two because he had seen a thing or two. 

So, what did he learn?

Listen to Psalm 37, beginning with verse 1:

1 Do not fret

After 60 years of being on the earth and experiencing numerous real-life battles in war and numerous real-life battles in his family and numerous real-life battles in his own heart and in his own mind, David’s advice is this:

• Do not fret
• Do not get all worked up
• Be cool

Be cool about what?

1 Do not fret because of evildoers,

Do not fret and do not get worked up when sinful people do sinful things. 

Do not fret and do not get worked up when evil people do evil things. 

Wait a minute!

Does that mean we are just supposed to be like lazy watchdogs in life and just passively roll over when we see clear and present danger?

No.

First responders are trained to respond, not just react.

Respond means that they do not ignore clear and present danger, they have eyes on it and they engage it as they are called upon.

But first responders don’t freak out.

You won’t see a first responder standing on a chair in the kitchen of someone’s house screaming:

“I can’t help you, lady, until someone finds where that mouse went!”

Why?

They are not trained to freak out.

They are trained to help those in need.

Christians are called to respond not just react.

Christians are not supposed to turn a blind eye to sin and evil and act like those things are no big deal and just let someone else handle that kind of stuff.

No, we are supposed to do the exact opposite.

This is what Jesus said to those who would follow after him:

Matthew 5:16

…let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

We are supposed to be big-time titanium tactical flashlights in the darkness of our culture. 

We are supposed to have eyes on our culture so that we can bring light to our culture so that as our culture gropes in the dark they might find the fame and the glory and the greatness and the beauty of our God who ruleth over all!

His kingdom is forever!

But letting our light shine doesn’t mean we bang our titanium tactical flashlights on the hood of someone’s car because we get angry and worked up over evildoers. 

We are supposed to respond, but we are not supposed to freak out.

Does that mean we will never freak out?

No. 

I’m pretty good with roaches and skinks and spiders and lady bugs, but I might freak out at a sudden random anaconda in my office or a sneaky crocodile in the baptism pool.

But the pattern of my life as a believer should not be marked with freaking out because of evildoers.

Why?

We have a perfect answer to that question if we look at Jesus.

50 days after Jesus rose from the dead, Peter stood in front of a crowd of people and preached a pretty rockin’ sermon. 

In that message he said that Jesus had been “nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men” – godless evildoers.

And before he was nailed to the cross by godless evildoers he was beaten mercilessly by other godless evildoers and it has been said that Jesus should have died from those beatings long before he made to the cross.

About 30 years after his rockin’ sermon, Peter wrote this about Jesus:

1 Peter 1:21

…Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,

What kind of example did he set?

1 Peter 1:22-23

who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats,

Why did Jesus not do any of those things?

1 Peter 2:23

but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;

Jesus kept reminding his own heart and mind:

• “My Father ruleth over all!”
• “His kingdom is forever!”
• “He will have the last judgement call on godless evildoers!”

Jesus has left us the example to follow.

• Do not fret
• Be cool

David expands that idea a little bit.

Listen to what he says next:

1 Be not envious toward wrongdoers.

Do not be envious when sinful people who are not following God:

• Make a lot of money
• Live in magnificent homes
• Receive tenured positions at the university
• Get elected to significant political offices
• Get carline mom of the year
• Win the red velvet cake at the booster club raffle

Steven Cole breaks that down in more detail:

Steven Cole

Your neighbor brags to you about how he cheats on his taxes each year. His home is loaded with the finest in furniture and appliances. He has two new luxury cars and all the latest toys. They vacationed in Hawaii last year.

Steven Cole

You are honest and pay your taxes. You give faithfully to the church. Your furniture would be rejected by Goodwill. Your one clunker of a car is on its second 100,000.

Steven Cole

And the closest thing to a vacation that you could afford last year was to manage to go to [Charleston] for a day.

Then he shares another picture:

Steven Cole

You’re single and trying to follow the Lord. You will only date Christian guys. Your last date was [4 years ago]. The girl next door has no moral standards and she’s got handsome hunks lining up to see her.

Most of us have had a run-in with an evildoer or a wrongdoer that not only seemed to get away with their sin, but they also seemed to prosper and succeed sometimes even because of their sin.

As an older man, what is King David’s advice?

Do not be envious.

Do not get mad or angry or worked up when something that seems good happens to an evildoer or a wrongdoer.

Do not be envious.

Be cool. 

Why?

Because even under the whip of godless evildoers, Jesus:

1 Peter 2:23

…kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;

Jesus kept reminding his own heart and mind:

• “My Father ruleth over all!”
• “His kingdom is forever!”
• “He will have the last judgement call on godless evildoers!”

But is there another reason to not fret over evildoers or be envious of wrongdoers than just the example of Jesus?

Is there another reason Christians should be cool?

Yes – David tells us next:

2 For they will wither quickly like the grass and fade like the green herb.

I need to update a statistic I shared with you last Sunday.

One out of every one person will die.

Nope, actually that was the same number as last week. 

Evildoers and wrongdoers will not live forever. 

But someone might say:

“So, we are just supposed to ignore evildoers and wrongdoers and their evil and wrong actions because “one day” they are going to die?”

No. 

If someone breaks into my house tonight I’m not going to just roll over and go back to sleep – I’m going to tell Karen to go downstairs and check things out. 

David’s advice is not a call to do nothing.

It is a call to not let the normal pattern of your life be an attitude that frets and gets worked up before, during or after we respond to evil or wrong things.

We will all have moments when we fret or freak out or get worked up, but the gospel presses us to keep looking in the mirror and asking ourselves:

“Is that who I usually am?”

And if it is, then David is handing off this fantastic advice to us to remember that our God ruleth over all!

His kingdom is forever!

David Guzik

We think of a wicked man eating a magnificent dinner while a godly man goes hungry. The wicked man eats anything and everything he wants, and his table is loaded as he enjoys his meal.

David Guzik

Then we see the bigger picture: he eats his last meal on death row and in a moment will face terrible judgment. Now, with larger perspective, the godly man doesn’t envy or worry about the wicked man.

Whatever an evildoer or wrongdoer may get away with today, unless they repent, one day they will be cut down like the grass in your front yard by death and then they will be cut down by the wrath of God.

Justice will be served. 

So, that’s what we don’t do. 

• We don’t fret
• We don’t freak out
• We don’t get worked up
• We don’t get envious

So, what do we do?

David tells us:

3          Trust in the LORD

Be cool and trust the Lord. 

What does it mean to trust the Lord?

Jesus described it this way:

Matthew 5:5 (KJV)

Blessed are the meek…

Blessed and happy and satisfied are people who are meek.

In our culture, though, meek sounds weak.

Moses was one of the greatest leaders in the history of the world. 

By the grace and power and authority of God, He led more than a million people out of slavery.

This is what the Bible says about Moses:

Numbers 12:3 (KJV)

Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.

 

Kent Hughes

Moses was the most meek man on earth, but at the same time Moses was a man who could act decisively, be as hard as nails, and rise to anger at the proper time –

Kent Hughes

those who are gentle and meek are immensely powerful people, for they are controlled by God. 

Moses was meek because he was controlled by the truth that God ruleth over all!

He was controlled by the truth that God’s kingdom is forever!

That’s what it means to trust in the Lord:

• You keep surrendering to God’s power
• You keep surrendering to God’s plans

You keep singing to your soul that God rules over all!

But it’s more than just a mental trust – it is a practical trust that actually moves you from attitude to action. 

What kind of action?

3          Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

Be cool and trust in the Lord. 

And be cool and do good. 

A pretty immediate cure for fretting and freaking out and getting worked up is doing good. 

• Do something kind for your spouse or your kids
• Do something kind for your neighbor
• Go visit someone in the hospital or assisted living center
• Go volunteer at God’s Helping Hands or Mission Lexington
• Write someone a note and mail it or email them a note
• Text someone you know who is going through a tough time
• Call a friend you haven’t talked to a in a while
• Get your pastor a gift card for some BBQ

Be cool and do good.

And also dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

What does that mean?

The language here translates more like feed on faith. 

In other words, feed on the truth of God that is found in the Bible.

One of the most strategic ways to not fret and to be cool is to be soaking up a lot of Scripture. 

Why?

Because the news and your horoscope and the football game and that game you play on your phone will not tell your heart that God rules over all and his kingdom is forever!

But the living and active Word of God will. 

Five years ago, Scotty Smith wrote a prayer about Psalm 37.

This is how part of it goes:

Scotty Smith

Today, Father, I’m worked up over the apparent success of those who bring harm to others, and even get rewarded for their madness.

Scotty Smith

Whether it’s the ongoing reach of terrorism, the evil exploits of trafficking; the gazillion-dollar-machine of pornography; the political posturing the last few weeks in Washington, or any of many other broken storylines in the world.

Scotty Smith

How long, O Lord, before you send Jesus back to put all things right?

Scotty Smith

Your answer to me today in this Scripture is just what I need. You won’t give me a date, but as always, you do give me yourself. I hear you loud and clear, Father.

That’s what the truth of the Bible does:

It helps you hear God loud and clear in your heart and soul when the evildoers and wrongdoers of the world are screaming and shouting in your face.

The truth of the Bible helps you see and hear and know what it means to be cool because it helps you see all the reasons you don’t need to fret or get worked up.

The Bible feeds your faith. 

His words are always so timely and encouraging, I feel like I could close every sermon quoting Charles Spurgeon.

C.H. Spurgeon

Faith cures fretting. Sight is cross-eyed, and views things only as they seem, hence her envy; faith has clearer optics to behold things as they really are, hence her peace.

May the Lord give us the grace and strength:

• To walk by faith and not by sight
• To not do life cross-eyed this week

Why?

So that we can see more clearly his love and his power and his glory and his kingdom and that we would be able to enjoy the peace that comes from knowing that he rules all and his kingdom is forever.

So, here is the call of the gospel today:

Be cool and trust in the Lord.

Dow Welsh | September 9, 2018 © Holland Avenue Baptist Church

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Above are pre-sermon manuscript notes, not sermon transcript

Sermon scriptures NASB unless otherwise noted

Lots of help from many pastors and theologians

Weekly help from Bruce Hurt at http://www.preceptaustin.org/

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/scotty-smith/a-prayer-for-not-vexing-and-fretting-evil/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRJHKzU_t1M