Sermon Tone Analysis

INTRO:

Do you ever find yourself getting angry about the current state of affairs in our country?…in the world?

Do you feel upset when you see wickedness prevailing and the truth being ridiculed?…when

you see corruption?…when you see greed?…when you see the truth omitted and lies promoted?

Do you feel frustrated?…helpless?…hopeless?

When the Wicked Prosper:

A Roadmap for Navigating Tribulation

Prologue: The Problem of Evil (Ps.

37:1-2)

This psalm anticipates our frustrations.

Notice that right from the start we have a command - “do not fret”.

We don’t even get a venting session!

We are told right from the start that God doesn’t want fretting.

The word fret means “to be or to become hot, angry”.

All we have to do is read a headline, a Facebook post, hear a news story and we are HOT!

But God says, “Do not get hot!”

This command is repeated not once, not twice, but three times in this psalm: Psalm 37:1,7,8.

It is also found in Proverbs 24:19 .

Notice that David’s concerns are that the wicked evildoers seem to be prospering.

They just keep rebelling against God, they live in defiance of laws and authorities.

They lie, cheat, and steal with no apparent consequences!

The word “iniquity” can relate to injustice.

And David was envious of them…Why can’t I prosper?

What are we supposed to do when the standards of our culture are being torn down and replaced with pluralism and falsehood ?

What are we supposed to do when lawlessness abounds?...when there seems to be no justice...when we have a broken system...when wrong seems a lot more successful than right?

That’s what Psalm 37 is all about!

(cf.

Psalm 73:3

Rather than worry about the wicked or stress about the sinful, God has given us a path - a mission - a roadmap - for navigating through this life when it seems like all that’s good in the world is gone and the side of evil is in triumph and when lies are touted as truth and truth is criminalized as hate.

God has placed the following verses in His word so that we have a focus point - a confidence - and a plan for moving forward.

Prologue: When Wickedness Prospers (Psalm 37:1-2)

Outline:

I. Trust in the Lord (Ps.

37:3a)

II.

Do Good (Ps.

37:3b)

III.

Dwell in the Land (Ps.

37:3c)

IV.

Feed on His Faithfulness (Ps.

37:3d)

V. Delight in the Lord (Ps.

37:4a)

VI.

Desire the Lord (Ps.

37:4b)

VII.

Commit Your Way to the Lord (Ps.

37:5a)

VIII.

Trust in the Lord (Ps.

37:5b)

Epilogue: When Righteousness Prevails (Psalm 37:5b-6)

I. Trust in the Lord

Psalm 37:3a (NKJV)

3 Trust in the Lord...

‎ trust: בָּטַח bāṭaḥ 118× to trust, rely on, put confidence in; to be confident;1

1 William D. Mounce, Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006), 904.

This seems like a catch-phrase or a “Christianeze” slogan - just trust the Lord...but it means so much more than a quaint saying that we tell people before we roll up our sleeves and do things our way.

This is about our faith in God which drives our thoughts, actions, and attitudes.

Heb.

11.6 - God is only pleased with faith.

God has always been looking for faith.

It is always faith that saves and it is only faith that seasons us - grows us - into spiritual maturity.

We must resist the temptation to trust ourselves.

Trusting God is a great idea when life is good, but when the floor drops out and you are falling into a dark abyss, our sense of self-preservation kicks in, and we start calculating risks and strategizing on how we can keep loss to a minimum and just survive...but God has something better.

In what or in whom are you trusting?

I. Trust In the Lord

II.

Do Good

Psalm 37:3b (NKJV)

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good....

good:  ṭôb, adj.

, n. good; merry, pleasant, desirable; in order, usable; efficient; friendly, kind; morally good.1

1 Rick Brannan, ed., Lexham Research Lexicon of the Hebrew Bible, Lexham Research Lexicons (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2020).

This is the same Hebrew word used throughout Genesis 1-2 where God declares that His creation is “good”.

to “do good” flows right out of trusting in God - it is the natural progression in the Christian life.

If we are truly trusting in the Lord, we will automatically be doing good…the two are inseperable

One who is walking by faith will do good things!

When we are experiencing the effects of the prevalence of wickedness, God wants more than mere survival!

Our faith in God can and will lead us to do good things.

Even when going through a trial, God is still asking us to do good things.

Psalm 37:3b (NKJV)

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good....

Even when we experience the bad things, the unjust things, the lawlessness around us, God says, “Do the good things.”

- but it’s never in our strength - it is always in His strength.

That’s why God gives us a specific chronological sequence: Trust first, do second.

When trials come, we often find ourselves asking, “What should I do?...I don’t know what to do!”...the wicked are prospering!...the evil powers seem to grow without consequence!...lie after lie is perpetuated on us!...what is good is criminalized, while criminals are roaming free!...what do I do?!? Here, God gives us something to do - “Trust God and do good.”

What does this look like?...it will be different for each person depending on their context, but some things should be true of every Christian.

We have a great example given by Jesus in the parable of the good Samaritan.

What can we learn?

find someone that’s hurting, bleeding, wounded, afraid and bind up their wounds.

Go out of your way to love another person.

Find someone who is alone and be good company.

Find someone who is weeping and weep with them.

Find a soul who is hungry and in need and feed them, clothe them.

Find someone with a broken heart and be the hands of Jesus to bring healing.

Be willing to cross social, economic, religious, and political boundaries.

Reach across whatever aisle is fixed and choose to love despite differences.