To be honest, I would be very angry, if one of her step-sisters foot fitted the glassy shoe and got married to the prince instead.

Transcription

1 This year, CCBC s theme is Come, Follow Christ taken from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 9, verse 23. In that context of Luke 9, we read that Christ was preparing Himself, and His disciples and those who were listening to Him, to understand His called Mission on earth, and challenged His disciples to understand the cost of being His disciples to die to self (whatever (earthly longings) that might cost him/her), and willing to take up his/her cross (sacrifice) to willingly follow Him with his/her whole heart. I do not know what challenges each of you will face in 2018, and what obstacles some of you will have to jump over, but my prayer is that no matter the circumstances, it would definitely do us good to consider how we look at life s accompanying challenges as believers. When we look around us and ask if it mattered at all, if we live differently think, feel, and act as true believers who understand what it means to have and experience the Presence of God in our lives, even during times when we are tempted to doubt His goodness and grace upon us. This morning, I would like for us to look at a Psalm, penned by the Choir Director in king David s large musical orchestra. Asaph, the author, penned Psalm This man penned 73 perhaps in his deepest moments of deep doubt and struggle over what he had seen and experienced in life as believer and follower of Yahweh! From Psalm 73, I would like for us as we begin 2018, to learn to look at life as Asaph learned from the perspective of God by adopting the long-range view and hence not envy the prosperity of the wicked, but instead would trust the goodness of God upon our lives because we have the presence of God to guide them into eternity. Come, Follow Christ is also a call to worship God for Who God is, and Psalm 73 encourages us to see God as He is worthy of our allegiance and worship. I want to demonstrate from Psalm 73 that God is worthy of our worship when our perspective to life is changed when we understand the goodness of God toward us, and there is no room in our hearts to envy the prosperity of the wicked. We all love stories, but we like them to have the proper ending. We want the good guys to win and the bad guys to lose. We can handle any pain, tragedy or loss as long as justice prevails in the end. Every child knows this for our fairy tales have taught us well. Perhaps a fairy tale that you might be familiar with all of us is Cinderella. This charming lady was raised in a cruel home by her wicked stepmother and stepsisters. Then she had a miraculous opportunity to attend a party where she met the prince. She was told by her fairy godmother that she had to leave by midnight or else her beautiful carriage would turn into an ugly pumpkin, and her beautiful ball gown would turn into shabby work clothes. We could handle this mishap if it happened because she had been warned earlier in the story. We also knew that the story ended with the prince marrying her when the glass shoe fitted her foot to a tee, and they got married, and lived happily ever after. To be honest, I would be very angry, if one of her step-sisters foot fitted the glassy shoe and got married to the prince instead. 1

2 Another story that may be familiar with most of us is the story of Robin Hood and his merry companions. There was Friar Tuck, and Little John. Together, they robbed the rich and gave to the poor in Nottingham forest, England. I sometimes, wondered if they were doing the right thing, but somehow my mind could rationalize that their actions were acceptable fairness between the rich and poor were always equalized. Those poor people needed the money more than the rich, while the rich were arrogant and unkind, and they deserved to be robbed, and anyways, their robbed possessions were nothing to them they remained rich, despite being robbed. But, what if the story of Robin Hood is twisted we discovered that RH had been running a money laundering scheme or something like the loan sharks and all their money were hidden perhaps in a Swiss account and RH and his merry men were hustlers and swindlers after all I doubt if I would be able to handle such disparity of behaviors. To be honest, if you were like me, we want all stories to end well the good triumph over the bad we long for fairness and justice to prevail. But the reality of life as I grew up to be an adult is that many times the facts of life do not square with the idealism of my childhood and growing up years of my life my worldview about how life ought to be a world of fairness and justice was just but many times a passing mist when we see, we read, and many times when we experience it for ourselves the helpless, the weak, the unprotected, the disadvantaged, the innocent suffer while the guilty ones, the strong, the powerful, the famous, and many times the rich get away unpunished, unchallenged, and unscathed. If you were like me, who live long enough in a storybook worldview about life, you will be disillusioned and cynical. My guess is that some of us here are already angry, perhaps even bitter with life, and if you re honest with yourself, sometimes bitter and angry with God as well. WHY do the righteous suffer, and the wicked prosper? is perhaps a regular refrain that we muse to ourselves in our moments of deep pain and anguish. I am not sure if anyone of you here ever had struggles or doubts about the goodness of God in your Christian walk. When I talk about the goodness of God, I mean times when you ve wondered if God cared about your life and how perhaps it had been difficult for you, particularly when it comes to issues of finances and material well-being. You re concerned about what the future and what that might look like. So the question that I hope to raise with you this morning is about: What do we do when we are tempted to doubt God as we envy the prosperity of the ungodly? This psalm models honesty regarding the struggles of the soul, and it models the process to restoration and peace with God. From the study of this psalm, I would like for us to see Asaph as one who brings his heart honestly before God first as a Complaint about his plight of envy about the prosperity of the wicked. Second, as a Conclusion how Asaph resolves his plight of envy and doubt when he enters the sanctuary of God: He realizes his worth in the sight of God and the glorious destiny that awaits him when compared to the destiny that awaits the ungodly rich, Asaph no longer envies the prosperity of the wicked. 2

3 Like Asaph, in our weakness, we are sometimes tempted to doubt the goodness of God when we envy the ungodly rich of our society (1-14). Asaph describes his doubts in the goodness of God when he compares his life with the materially rich who live their lives without God: He envied the prosperity of the wicked (1-3) 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. Asaph describes the prosperity and arrogance of the materially rich when compared to the common person which perplex him to no end (4-12) 4 They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. [a] 5 They are free from common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills. 6 Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. 7 From their callous hearts comes iniquity [b] ; their evil imaginations have no limits. 8 They scoff, and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression. 9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth. 10 Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance. [c] 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. They are wealthy, healthy, and arrogant in their ways and seem free from what affects the common man on the street. Sometimes perhaps when you look at the rich and well heeled, you d wondered if life was made for them, but not for you. Since a number of years ago, the Singapore Government and Singaporaens are keenly aware of the stratifying layers of social and economic divide in this society. Till today, it is still a major concern. This class-divide has led academics and many on the streets to wonder if there is any way to mitigate this gap in order that Singapore may stay united as a people. New study finds clear divide among social classes in Singapore (Clarissa Yong, The Straits Times, December 28, 2017) The Institute of Policy Studies s (IPS) on Social Capital in Singapore. Singaporeans who live in public housing have fewer than one friend who lives in private housing. who study in elite schools less close to those in non-elite schools, and vice-versa. The Straits Times carried an article, Are the rich flaunting it? (Insight, Saturday, Oct 27, 2007, p. S8). One people one nation but Are we one class? (thesundaytimes, think, July 4, 2004, p. 24). Accompanying the same newspaper report, Yes, Singaporeans are class-conscious: Subtle class tensions revealed in survey; 60% of lower class feel the haves look down on the havenots (thesundaytimes, news, July 4, 2004). Asaph is so troubled by his doubts that he becomes confused over the value of his salvation (13,14) 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. 3

4 Like Asaph, to overcome our doubt about the goodness of God, we need to adopt the long range view of life from the Perspective of God, and not the short range view of life from the perspective of man when we compare the different destinies that await the ungodly rich, and the godly poor (15-28). Aspah confesses the sinfulness of his doubts and acknowledges that he overcame his doubts when he discovers the destiny of the rich who live without God (15-20) 15 If I had spoken out like that, I would have betrayed your children. They are heading for judgment without God: 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! Their prosperity doesn t last, and their prosperity doesn t satisfy: 20 They are like a dream when one awakes; when you arise, Lord, you will despise them as fantasies Asaph acknowledges the conviction that restored his confidence in God s glory that awaits him (21-26): The promise of God s presence in his life; and the promise of God s guidance for his life. 21 When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, 22 I was senseless and ignorant;i was a brute beast before you. The promise of God s presence in his life: 23 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. The promise of God s guidance for his life: 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. For the Christian not to be tempted to envy the ungodly rich, we must see life from the long range view, like peering through a telescope. There is a difference between the destinies of the ungodly and the godly. When we take the short view of life, like Asaph, we may begin to overestimate the prosperity of the rich, and underestimate the prosperity of those who belong to God. Unfortunately, living in the Singapore culture and context lends us naturally to looking at life from the short term view. We are most concerned for the temporal, rather than the eternal. Asaph concludes that those estranged from God will perish, but as for him it is good to draw near to God (27,28) 27 Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. 28 But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds. If you have everything this world can offer, but have no God in your heart, you are indescribably poor; but if you have nothing, but God in your heart, you are most indescribably rich (see Luke 9:23-25). Before Asaph entered the sanctuary (vv. 1-16) After Asaph entered the sanctuary (vv ) -He felt sorry for himself, pitiful for -He felt sorry and pitiful for the 4

5 himself -He envied the ungodly rich -He saw life through temporal eyes -Eyes of envy for the ungodly rich the ungodly rich -He was enriched by the presence of God -He saw life through eternal eye -Eyes of eternity for the godly poor Dr. David Chan, Director of the Behavioural Sciences Institute, and professor of psychology (SMU), recently wrote in The Straits Times, By Invitation column, The search for meaning amid tasks galore and race to be first (November 4, 2017) In a merit-based and achievement-oriented society like Singapore, to succeed in school or at work often means standing out in a crowd and ranking ahead of other competitors. The most common indicators of success are tangible ones, defined by societal and group norms. These dimensions had to do with academic grades in school, a promotion or political power at work, or more wealth and fame relative to what others had. What is your perspective to life now you have heard Psalm 73 preached this morning? When you look at your neighbor, your classmates, your colleague, when you look at the person sitting next to you in a restaurant? When you ride pass by Telok Blangah Road on a doubledecker bus and look at the Sails and perhaps peer at Sentosa Cove for a glimpse, do you wish that you were a resident in one of these most expensive real estates in Singapore? What will your prayer be for yourself in 2018? Will it be to win the several Million Dollar TOTO draw that has drawn so much attention of the public in recent days, when long lines of bettors are found snaking in and out of several betting outlets of The Singapore Pools? If we live our lives with a short-term view of seeing the world through our human eyes, we will come to define success and happiness in worldly terms and definitions. The world we live in will be a battlefield, a combat arena, a Grand Prix held around and about the Marina Bay area once a year a constant struggle for advances and advantages a zero sum game of winners and losers. But, if we were to take the long view of life through the lens of God, then perhaps our concept of success and happiness in life will not be one of worldly desires, but rather affirming Who God is to us. Perhaps, our prayers may be like those of Asaph: 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. 28 But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds. 5

6 The question that we ask of ourselves today is: What do we do when we are tempted to doubt God in moments when we envy the prosperity of the ungodly? When we draw near to God and see our worth in the sight of God and the glorious destiny that awaits the believer when compared to the destiny that awaits the rich who live without God, we will no longer envy the ungodly rich. 6