Follow The Leader
Psalm 73:1 ||Truly God is good to aIsrael, Even to such as are †of a clean heart.
2 But as for me, my feet were almost bgone; My steps had well nigh slipped.
3 cFor I was denvious at the efoolish,[1]
I. Truth
A. Righteous
B. Respectable
II. Temptation
A. Attitude
B. Aptitude
III. Trap
A. Spiteful
B. Sick
Introduction: The so-called plague has invaded this generation and has taken many people. The results that affect those of us who are left are crippling many facets of our lives. The freedom to walk without fear among others who we don’t know is gone at least for a time until those in power decide to lift their temporary restrictions. Once we argued about the cost of going to an event like a ballgame or a concert. We had sticker shock when the restaurant bill came. Now we can’t even go to those things. It reminds of a drought when the rain is gone and the crops are drying up. We complain about that too. Then the rain starts and we can’t go outside and do what we want and yes we complain about that too.
Years ago I was in corporate work when the company decided to merge and get rid of resources that would be acquired from the company that was being acquired. My job was to become a contracted position. I was out of my office but the company decided to help me to become a contract supplier. My coworkers that were left behind were more upset at having to pick up tasks that I used to do then they were about losing a friendly face in the office.
We live in a time when things seem to not work out well for the church as a whole. There has been a large migration away from the small community family church, The mega-church idea has thrived in the environment of being with people you don’t know. For now ten or less are OK outside in the parking lot of the church but hundreds and thousands are OK at the big chain grocery stores.
People are indeed like sheep. When a change comes they get a little disoriented for a time but they adapt and take what they are left with for the most part. Some have a harder time though. They look for what should be yet see what God does not desire and then the few speak out.
Today we are looking at the words of a song leader who did not recognize worship anymore. His name is Asaph. Many of the Psalms are his yet not much is said or known about him other than he was David’s praise leader.
Scripture: The scripture is Psalm 73:1-3. When you have found it please rise to your feet for the reading of God’s written word.
Prayer: Please be seated
Message: The Psalms are broken down into several books of ancient songs. In some copies of the Bible these breaks are shown at the beginnings by the book number along with a note of explanation. At the last verse of Psalm 72 we learn there that the psalms of David are completed. Psalm 73 is the first of the 3rd book of Psalms and Asaph is the author of several of these.
This is what the New Bible Commentary has to say about this Asaph,” ASAPH (Heb. ’?s?p?). 1. A descendant of Gershom, son of Levi (1 Ch. 6:39); nominated by the chief Levites as a leading singer, using cymbals, when the ark was brought to Jerusalem (1 Ch. 15:17, 19). David made him leader of the choral worship (16:4–5). The ‘sons of Asaph’ remained the senior family of musicians until the Restoration (1 Ch. 25; 2 Ch. 20:14; 35:15; Ezr. 3:10; Ne. 11:17, 22; 12:35), primarily as singers and cymbalists. Asaph himself had a reputation as a seer, and was recognized as the author of psalms used when Hezekiah revived the Temple-worship” [2]
It doesn’t say that Asaph was still alive when Hezekiah was king. That would have been a long time after David. It says that Asaph’s songs or Psalms were still being used when the temple service were restored.
As we read the first three verses of Psalm 73 we hear from a man who led the praise service at his church. He believed that God did indeed choose Israel as His chosen people but now things were not as they once seemed. Instead of leading others in worship, Asaph was on the verge of being led astray. Are we there today? Can you empathize with Asaph?
Truth is, Asaph is exactly right, God is good. He is righteous and He is the only one who is righteous and good so He alone is the only one who can lead us where we should be. When the rich young ruler asked Jesus what he could do to inherit eternal life, Jesus told that rich young ruler that there is no good except God. To attempt to follow anything other than God then is a stupid mistake.
Many understand that Israel’s rise and fall is to see how God deals with those He has chosen, those God has chosen to elect. To see what will happen to the church when we corrupt worship, a person can see what happened to Israel. So for example you might remove “Israel” there in verse one and replace it with “The Church.” Truly God is good to the church. If anyone argues with that let me remind that Jesus calls us His bride. Now read those three verses again and think about what is going on today in the church.
So what then does it mean to say that a person has a clean heart? It used to mean something entirely different than it means today. A clean heart once was something to be respected because a person’s character was such that they could be counted on to do what they said without alternative purposes. A good reputation was highly desirable. Now it seems more than ever that whoever gets by without being caught while doing unto others what they would not have others do unto them is a good thing. Now it seems that being sneaky and clever is better than being taken at your word.
That is what Asaph thought even back then. Today is seems that whoever dies with the most toys wins. The truth is still the truth though. He who dies from this life who has accepted Jesus Christ wins eternal life. You know that. Asaph knew God chose Israel but he was seeing things from a corrupt world view and for that instant, he was confused. He was tempted. He almost fell. My feet were almost gone. That which once held me up that I counted on was a little wobbly. My upstanding was not so much straight vertical.
We pilots require three “A’s” to fly; Altitude, attitude, and aptitude. Until we get ready to put the aircraft back on the ground, we better be high enough to maintain sight of what’s ahead. We have to be at the right altitude. Christians need that too. We need God’s view when things on earth are getting too close.
We need attitude. Attitude is the right relationship between the surface you are landing on and the aircraft you are strapped to. If your nose is too high, you will lose airspeed and stall and unless attitude is corrected. You will fall which will result in a very hard landing we pilots call a crash.
Asaph watched people being rewarded who had no regard for others. They had a bad attitude and it rubbed off on Asaph. Why not me too? Do you ever feel that way? Eventually it caused the crash of Israel. If we don’t change our attitude and return to what God intends, it is not going to work out well for the church either.
Do we have time to correct? Do we care to correct? Do we know how? That is where the third “A” comes in for the pilot and the Christian. If a person doesn’t have the aptitude, the skillset and desire to learn and do, then nothing they attempt will ever work. There is that crash thing again. The most powerful engine in the world will not keep you from crashing if you don’t care. The prettiest aircraft that man has ever put together will not fly unless God allows and chooses to let it fly. Because he was being tempted by seeing others who seemed to be having it easier, Asaph’s aptitude was slipping. He wasn’t looking at or understanding things as before. What he knew he was forgetting. Have we forgotten our first love church?
We had a really scary experience once on the way home. The instruments lost their drive. When a pilot is instrument rated he/she is legal to fly without sight of the ground. The instruments provide reference to attitude and altitude and speed which are instrumental elements of flight. If what turns the gyroscopes is lost, then there is no spatial orientation. Your body can lie to you because the forces of nature are not at work anymore. What I knew to be true was out of sight for a while. Rachael was worried, Jamie was scared, Jim was nearly petrified but Jim had to keep flying or we would have all died. I prayed and God responded.
The trap to pull up when you don’t know if you are upside down is a really bad thing in a case like that. Asaph was there. He had enough sense to recognize the trap in front of him which was to covet what others had. He was envious. Webster has many synonyms for envy. Spitefulness means that you have the idea that if someone has something that I cannot have, I need to figure a way for them to not have it either. If old Gov Roy boy can have someone come in and cut his hair and stand in front of the camera with no mask, that’s just not right. Why should he have what most in our church are being prevented from having. That’s what I heard one preacher say recently on the news. I have thought that myself!
We must deal with that last word in the outline and in this focal text. Foolish! People would sometimes look at me strangely back when we used be able to eat in a restaurant. I would feel eyes on me after I would offer thanks to God before we eat. Maybe it’s because some people think that is a foolish waste of time to pray openly before eating. In some places it’s even against the law. Personally I feel it’s really foolish to ignore God. Thinking it’s better to do things that are absolutely against what the Bible says than to pray before eating in a restaurant is sick! Should I hate those people who don’t believe? They are sick! Don’t hate them, pray for them. Don’t fall into the hate trap. Don’t follow the haters!
Are you now where Asaph was then? Are you sick and tired of this what we consider to be a mess? If you really believe that God possesses the attributes of omniscience, omnipotence, love, and holiness, then we must trust that this too will pass because He knows and has the power and the love and perfection to make it right. Let us not be led so that we get caught in the trap of envy.
Prayer:
Invitation: The invitation today is the same that God has given us to accept since we decided to trust Him. Let the world go by and keep your eye on the prize. This world might be turning upside down right now. What was up now seems down. Trust Him and not what you hear and see and feel. He still is God. He will not change. Watch your attitude and make sure you are level with Him. Watch your altitude and climb to where He is so you don’t crash and burn. Read His written word so that you will possess the aptitude to comprehend His love. When it’s time to land, do it gently but firmly, rolling to a stop at the place He has prepared for you.
If you are off course, turn back, repent, and follow Him home as we sing…
|| Or, Yet. Rather as ver. 13, 18.
a John 1:47. Rom. 9:6.
† Heb. clean of heart. Ps. 24:4 (Heb.).
b Nu. 20:17 (Heb.).
c See Job 21:7.
d Gen. 30:1. Prov. 23:17.
e See Ps. 5:5.
[1] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Ps 73:1–3). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[2] Lilley, J. P. U. (1996). Asaph. In D. R. W. Wood, I. H. Marshall, A. R. Millard, J. I. Packer, & D. J. Wiseman (Eds.), New Bible dictionary (3rd ed., p. 91). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
