In Church
Sermon Notes
The word church is a translation of Ekklesia, meaning call out; or assemble. In the new testament, it usually refers to a local group of Christians. In this sense, a church is an assembly of baptized believers under the discipline of the word of god.
They are organized to carry out the great commission of Christ. The great commission is a simple command with three steps evangelism-- baptism--and education.
Asaph was one of David's chief musicians. He was also the ancestor of a group of temple musicians.
Psalm 73:1 Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart.
I know for a fact that God is good to his church because he is the church.
Psalm 73:2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped.
There was a time when I actually began to wonder. My stance, my faith had almost taken a temporary tumble; a setback.
Psalm 73:3 For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
You see, I began to think how well off the wicked are. Lots of money, can pay their bills, and plenty of food. I started to wish that I was like them.
Psalm 73:4 For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm. Everything seems to be going their way.
They don't suffer as we do. They seem to be strong they do not get sick as we do.
Psalm 73:5 They are not in trouble as other men, neither are they plagued like other men.
They escape many of the troubles and tragedies of decent people like ourselves. They are properly insured against loss.
Psalm 73:6 Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment.
They are self-confident. They still have confidence in themselves.
Psalm 73:7 Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish.
It just seems that they have more than they could wish for.
Psalm 73:17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.
One day I went into the sanctuary of God, not the literal temple in Jerusalem but the heavenly one. I entered there by faith. As I was complaining to the Lord about the prosperity of the wicked in this life, the question suddenly flashed across my mind, “yes” but what about the life to come?
Psalm 73:22 So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee.
It was wrong of me to become bitter over the seeming prosperity of the ungodly. In questioning your justice I was acting more like a beast than a man (excuse me Lord for behaving as I did).
Two strong themes wind their way through these verses.
(1) the wicked prosper, leaving faithful people wondering why they bother to be good.
(2) the wealth of the wicked looks so inviting that faithful people may wish they could trade places but these two themes come to an unexpected end. For the wealth of the wicked suddenly loses its power at death and the rewards for the good-suddenly take on eternal value.
Conclusion: What seemed like wealth is now a waste, and what seemed worthless now lasts forever. Don’t be tempted to wish you could trade places with evil people to get their wealth. One day they will wish they could trade places with you and have your eternal wealth.