Your Personal Sense of Destiny which is a plan designed by the LORD Jesus Christ and tailored just for you.

Grace Bible Church
Pastor Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Tree of Life
Weekly Review
101418

We continue with our main passage in PSA 73, And we have been noting that there will be frustrations that believers have as they seek to fulfill the Pre-Designed Plan of God (PPOG) and their very own PSD.

PSD = Your Personal Sense of Destiny which is a plan designed by the LORD Jesus Christ and tailored just for you.

We begin however in PSA 37:1, which tells us that David is the one to write the Psalm or song which is called A Psalm or a song of David.) David gives us a warning and a command when he says, "Do not fret because of evildoers, Be not envious toward wrongdoers."

The word fret is the Hebrew verb ‎charah meaning to be angry, to be jealous, or to covet.

PSA 37:2-3, For they [in context David is talking about a certain group he calls wrongdoers will wither quickly like the grass, And fade like the green herb. Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

Here is a word I have told you about in the past which is the Hebrew verb anag translated trust but the basic meaning is to be intimate, to make love, to be close to someone. And then we have PSA 37:5-7, which says, Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. - [Notice He, the LORD will do it not we will do it.] Then in PSA 37:6 And He [the LORD Jesus Christ] will bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your judgment as the noonday. Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in HIS way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. So, tHIS principle of "why do the wicked prosper or why are they blessed" is actually dealt with throughout the Word of God.

Now, go forward to PSA 73:1-2, which starts out with the phrase; "Surely God is good to Israel, To those who are pure in heart! But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling; My steps had almost slipped."

Why?

He almost fell and slipped because he had become jealous and envied the prosperity of the wicked. PSA 73:3, "For I was envious of the arrogant, {As} I saw the prosperity of the wicked."

Now, as we noted in closing on Friday evening, the point is are you thinking in the realm of human viewpoint which really has no solution to your problems or are you thinking with Divine Viewpoint which has a solution which is the mind of Christ that is able to deliver your soul from anything.

In fact look at ISA 55:6-11, Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake HIS way, And the unrighteous man HIS thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. For {as} the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth, And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding {in the matter} for which I sent it.”

The writer Asaph saw what the wicked had as far as blessings are concerned and as a musician, he also functioned with the talent that the LORD had given him and others. Remember that there is a difference between your talent and your spiritual gift. The difference is that your talent, whatever it is, is given by God to all members of the human race whereas our spiritual gift is the supernatural ability that God the Holy Spirit has in given us whatever He sees fit for us to be given as far the spiritual gifts are concerned. THIS is part of one of the 40 Things that are given to us at the moment you were saved.

Now, with all of these principles in mind, all we have to do is learn the doctrine and God the Holy Spirit will bring whatever we learned to our memory center.

How do we know that?

We know that because of what our LORD said to HIS disciples just hours before HIS death on the Cross. Now, the predesigned plan of God is revealed by God the Holy Spirit who is our Mentor or teacher in Joh 14:26.

In JOH 14:22-27, Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "LORD, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us, and not to the world?" Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me. These things I have spoken to you, while abiding with you. But the Helper (God), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”

So, whether it is Asaph the musician or David the king, they are going to learn that lesson. The Lesson = They saw what GOD had given them. Now, in Psa 73 the author Asaph saw the outward display of prosperity that those who live for themselves like the wicked or the wrongdoers have as well. He saw what he had. Some believers do just that!

They see what people have. A New car, new home, better job, fine clothing, no problems with the finances, everything is going right. You look at what they have but you only see their outward display not the inner changes. And so, what we see may not be real or at all.

Why?

Because we do not see the discomfort and lack of contentment in the wicked soul. We do not see when they go to sleep at night even though that they have all these riches and all these things and all this form of prosperity, there's something missing in their soul. What is missing in their soul?

What is missing is mentioned in ECC 3:11 He has made everything meaningful in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart or set the desire for eternal things that are eternal without which [the setting of the desire for eternal things] mankind will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.

Now, for the believer who spends HIS life in the cosmic system, death is horrible. However, better an end with horror than horror without end. And this means that anytime you become critical or upset, blaming God for whatever it is like the departure of a loved one, you're in a state of blasphemy. Because it isn't a matter of when we think the death should be; it is a matter of what God has decided; PSA 68:19-20.

God cannot be unfair. HIS decision about the death of any person is never unfair. Some die healthy; some die ill. And if GOD decides to take you out by some terrible disease, all the health food and vitamins in the world won't help you; you will die of disease. The point is that nothing will prolong your life beyond GOD's time for you to die.

Therefore let's continue with PSA 73:4, For there are no pains in their death; And their body is fat. Now, in reality, this man has no idea of what happens to the wealthy or the wicked at death. In fact, this man Asaph can only guess what is happening, but he has no idea what is really going on because no one knows the day or the hour of anyone's death. We can only solve our own problems not by means of our understanding but by means of the word of God that He has provided for all believers.

Now, this man doesn't know whether or not there are "no pains" in the death of the wicked, only GOD knows the details that are involved concerning what the individual is going through. This is one of the reasons why the LORD will even take HIS people home early so that they would not have to suffer any longer, ISA 57:1.

ISA 57:1, The righteous man perishes, and no man takes it to heart; And devout men are taken away, while no one understands. For the righteous man is taken away from evil.

Now then, look back at PSA 73:4, where he says PSA 73:4, For there are no pains in their death; And their body is fat. In reality, Asaph has no idea of what happens to the wealthy or the wicked at death. God, and only God knows what an individual is going through at death. And so, this man Asaph doesn't know whether or not there are "no pains" in the death of the wicked, only God knows the details that are involved concerning what the individual is going through.

In this passage, what really is important are the lessons that this man will learn and apply concerning WHY  the wicked prosper while the believer always seems to be in need, one way or another. All believers who understand these principles realize the fact that the answers will come but they may not be the answers we expected or the blessings you thought would give you +H or inner happiness and contentment. Like most believers, we want those blessings in "our time," or "under our timing" rather than waiting for the Divine Timing of our LORD to act on our behalf according to HIS timing and not ours.

Therefore, once again we need to perceive the "Word of God" under the "power of God the Holy Spirit" so that we are always "able and ready" to worship our LORD according to HIS Word. Our LORD also taught the importance of always being ready when He said to HIS disciples LUK 12:40, "You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect."

The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but divinely powerful. Therefore, in 2CO 10:3, For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, the world is dog‑eat‑dog out there in the Cosmic system. The cosmos or the world doesn't fight fair. But we don't live or fight our battles that way‑‑never have and never will.

2CO 10:4, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.

The tools of our trade aren't for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing any viewpoint from the Cosmic system.

2CO 10:5, "We are} destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and {we are} taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,"

We use that which our powerful God has provided for us. Such things, like smashing warped philosophies, tear down the barriers erected against the truth of GOD. And now here is another "be ready" passage when the apostle says in 2CO 10:6, And we are ready or we need to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.

According to the divine will of GOD which is for us and not against us, GOD's timing is not like man's timing which is why all of us need to be ready and prepared to face whatever the LORD desires for us. This is also because many believers think and say such thing like; "If you have money and prosperity all of your problems can be solved and that simply is not so."

That's not what the richest man in the world thought, King Solomon said in ECC 5:10, He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance {with its} income. This too is vanity. The one who loves money is never satisfied with money, Nor is the one who loves wealth with big profits. It's all vanity or nothing more than smoke.

ECC 5:11-12, When good things increase, those who consume them increase. So what is the advantage to their owners except to look on? [The more loot you get, the more looters show up]. The sleep of the working man is pleasant, whether he eats little or much. But the full stomach of the rich man does not allow him to sleep.

Hard and honest work earns a good night's sleep, whether supper is beans or steak  a rich man's belly gives him insomnia. He has fears, doubts, hatred, anger, etc.

ECC 5:13, There is a grievous evil {which} I have seen under the sun: riches being hoarded by their owner to HIS hurt.

Solomon is saying in effect, Here's a piece of bad luck I've seen happen: A man hoards or lusts and covets far more wealth than what he needs and it is no good for him.

ECC 5:14, When those riches were lost through a bad investment and he had fathered a son, then there was nothing to support him.

THIS warning was given by a man who had all the money he would ever need and then he loses it all in a bad business deal. He fathered a child but hasn't a cent left to give him.

ECC 5:15, As he had come naked from HIS mother's womb, so will he return as he came. He will take nothing from the fruit of HIS labor that he can carry in HIS hand.

We have all arrived naked from the womb of our mother; We'll leave in the same condition‑‑with nothing except metabolized doctrine or what you did with what the LORD gave you.

ECC 5:16, And tHIS also is a grievous evil ‑ exactly as a man is born, thus will he die. So, what is the advantage to him who toils for the wind?

This is bad luck for sure ‑ we all came into the world naked and that is how we will leave tHIS world naked in God's timing.

THIS is another reason why we should never covert or lust after what the wicked and the wealthy possess, especially in our day and age, with all the deception and lies from the cosmic system concerning such things as sensitive as money. Go forward to ECC 7:12, For wisdom is protection {just as} money is protection. But the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors.

ECC 10:19, "Prepare a meal for enjoyment, and wine makes life merry, and money is the answer to everything."

And, as all of you know, there may be the frustration that comes to us as we behold the glory of our LORD and the love we should have for one another while the wicked seems to prosper in this world.

Now, back in PSA 73:4, When it says in verse 4 that "their body is fat" it means that they enjoy blessings from the LORD but do not want the LORD Himself.

In the ancient world, prosperity was manifested by the strength of the human body being healthy and prosperous through the physical body. However, in PSA 73:3, he almost slipped away from God.

He is saying "There's no pain from their death like there is with others who are dying."

This is a false truth because no one really knows what truly happens when an individual is in the dying stage of their life as well as the time and the manner of our death.

PSA 68:20, God is to us a God of deliverances; And to God the LORD belong escapes from death.

And not only that but I also want you to remember that death has been overcome by the spiritual death of our LORD Jesus Christ who won the victory over death once and for all. 1CO 15 says, "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?   The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our LORD Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the LORD, knowing that your toil is not {in} vain in the LORD.

THIS is why PSA 116:15, Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of HIS godly ones.

You can see a little bit of arrogance coming through those who have been blessed by God who think that "they" are the reasons why they are blessed. We know that the truth and the blessings are not because of something you or I did to earn these Divine Blessings but because of what our LORD desires to give to whomever He wants to.

1CO 4:7, For who regards you as superior? And what do you have that you did not receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

The reason is given in 1CO 1:29, that no man should boast before GOD. We all need to remind ourselves of something, which is the fact that you and I have something in our soul that money cannot buy. One of those doctrinal principles is that you can go through a tragedy, or a disaster and still you can say, I have learned to be content in whatever state I am in.

We can handle anything that comes our way with happiness and joyfulness; DEU 28:27, "Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things;" And this is why PRO 23:23 says  Buy truth, and do not sell {it,} {Get} wisdom and instruction and understanding.\

First of all, you can buy the truth, not with money but with your time and your dedication to the Living Word, TLJC, as well as the written word, Bible doctrine - JOH 1:1.

You cannot buy contentment. You cannot buy love. You cannot buy truth. You cannot buy God's power. You cannot buy eternal life. This is the thinking of the individual that almost totally slipped away from that which was important, the plan of GOD.