WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:21.900 Hi, and welcome to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast. 00:00:22.380 --> 00:00:25.500 This is where you can find audio for our current and past sermons. 00:00:25.800 --> 00:00:29.980 We hope that you enjoy this week's installment, and be sure to check back next week to hear 00:00:29.980 --> 00:00:32.080 the latest message. Thanks for listening. 00:00:44.980 --> 00:00:49.800 Well, good morning. I'm glad you guys are with us today. If you've got your Bibles, go ahead 00:00:49.800 --> 00:00:57.380 and open up to Psalm 90 is where we are going to be. As you turn there, I want to remind everybody 00:00:57.380 --> 00:01:03.100 to come back this afternoon at 4 o'clock. We're going to be gathered in here together for 00:01:03.100 --> 00:01:08.300 a night about missions and prayer. And so it's going to be a wonderful time for us to gather 00:01:08.300 --> 00:01:13.640 together. We have one of the missionaries from one of our partnering agencies is going to be 00:01:13.640 --> 00:01:19.240 here with us to talk to us a little bit about what God is doing in the particular area where 00:01:19.240 --> 00:01:25.700 he and his wife have served for the last 16 years. And so we're going to celebrate all that 00:01:25.700 --> 00:01:30.060 God is doing here from them. Look at some other things that God's doing all over the world. 00:01:30.420 --> 00:01:34.720 And then we're going to have some time of prayer that we're going to be able to go back and pray 00:01:34.720 --> 00:01:40.740 for all of our missionary partners. But because of where this man and his wife serve, as they share 00:01:40.740 --> 00:01:45.520 that with you guys this evening, there might be some questions. And so after all of this is done, 00:01:45.580 --> 00:01:50.300 we're going to head over into building two tonight in room 200 and gather in there in a little 00:01:50.300 --> 00:01:56.980 smaller setting for a Q&A time with them. And so I want to ask you to be there, to be a part of this 00:01:56.980 --> 00:02:03.340 and hear all that God is doing. I'm sure you are going to be extremely blessed to hear all that God 00:02:03.340 --> 00:02:08.560 is working and that God is doing. I also hope as we go through, I think, I believe we're in our last 00:02:08.560 --> 00:02:15.220 two weeks of going through the Psalm series. I hope it's been a refreshing series for you. I want to 00:02:15.220 --> 00:02:20.680 share my thank you for Burger and the band and all those that each week are working really hard to 00:02:20.680 --> 00:02:26.120 take these Psalms and learn them and put them to music and to perform them and to lead us in worship 00:02:26.120 --> 00:02:30.660 and all those. It's been a wonderful blessing. I do want to put a little bit of pressure on him. 00:02:30.760 --> 00:02:35.380 I'll just say this. I've been waiting for this Psalm 90 song since we got started, right? One of my 00:02:35.380 --> 00:02:40.360 favorite songs of worship is found in this. And I heard them playing it this morning and it is, 00:02:40.360 --> 00:02:47.100 it is powerful. And so I'm looking, looking forward to that. My wife pointed out a bit of irony to me 00:02:47.100 --> 00:02:53.180 a couple of weeks ago, and I didn't realize this. She said, we were done with church service and we 00:02:53.180 --> 00:02:57.720 were getting ready to do what all Southern Baptists do after worship. We were headed to a Mexican 00:02:57.720 --> 00:03:04.240 restaurant. And she said, she said, how many more weeks are we in this series? And I gave her the wrong 00:03:04.240 --> 00:03:10.040 number. I don't remember what I told her, but it wasn't right. And so she said, oh, okay. And I said, why? 00:03:10.360 --> 00:03:16.840 And she said, it just feels like whatever Psalm you're preaching out of, we walk through that 00:03:16.840 --> 00:03:22.020 week. And I hadn't really realized that. And she's right. And this Psalm that we're going to look at 00:03:22.020 --> 00:03:26.280 this morning, Psalm 90, I'm just going to tell you, like, I feel like I've been up to my eyeballs 00:03:26.280 --> 00:03:32.920 in it this week. And in that, when we say that sometimes, that means it's been difficult and it's 00:03:32.920 --> 00:03:40.420 been difficult, but we're reminded of God's goodness in that. God's goodness in the difficulty. 00:03:40.680 --> 00:03:45.160 And so as we go through this morning, that's what we're here to celebrate. That's what we're here 00:03:45.160 --> 00:03:51.860 for all he is and all that he has done. And so as we look at this, so Psalm 90, a little bit of 00:03:51.860 --> 00:03:58.440 information about it, even though it is Psalm 90 and not Psalm one, it is the oldest Psalm that 00:03:58.440 --> 00:04:04.520 theologians believe that was written. And they believe it was the oldest Psalm because Psalm 90 00:04:04.520 --> 00:04:11.080 was written by Moses. If your Bible was like mine before verse one, you'll see a prayer of Moses, 00:04:11.320 --> 00:04:17.280 the man of God. And when we think of Moses, most of us don't think of Moses as the poet, 00:04:17.740 --> 00:04:24.220 Moses as the writer. But Moses was a great writer. He recorded Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, 00:04:24.220 --> 00:04:30.040 and Deuteronomy as part of his leadership as working under the inspiration of God. And most 00:04:30.040 --> 00:04:37.120 people, as well as myself, believe that he wrote Job, which is a poetic themed book as you read 00:04:37.120 --> 00:04:45.580 through that. So Moses is a gifted author in what he is doing as he records God's word for his people 00:04:45.580 --> 00:04:52.800 and for us today. But this is the only Psalm that he recorded. And so it's significant. It's Moses. 00:04:52.800 --> 00:04:58.320 It stands out here. And so I'm excited. And I want to say this, preparing through this this week, 00:04:58.580 --> 00:05:04.300 I want to be honest with you, and maybe one day we'll do this, but we could land in an entire series 00:05:04.300 --> 00:05:11.060 for two months in Psalm 90 over all the things that Moses is going to work through in the pictures 00:05:11.060 --> 00:05:15.460 that he's going to paint for us to wrap our mind around this. So as you're reading through, 00:05:15.720 --> 00:05:19.500 I hope what the Holy Spirit is leading in your heart to say, well, why didn't he talk about that? 00:05:19.560 --> 00:05:23.280 Why didn't he talk about that? Why didn't he talk about that? Because we'd be here till tonight. All right. 00:05:23.380 --> 00:05:30.140 But it is a wonderful, wonderful Psalm. And I'm excited as we as we walk through this together. Now, 00:05:30.220 --> 00:05:38.380 there's going to be some kind of thematic drama that unfolds throughout Psalm 90. And what's going 00:05:38.380 --> 00:05:45.080 to kind of come into conflict and come into crashes is oftentimes what you and I maybe feel in our heart, 00:05:45.080 --> 00:05:52.620 but we don't know how to verbalize it. And what we're going to feel in this is, and in the life of 00:05:52.620 --> 00:05:59.040 a Christian, we should feel this, that you and I oftentimes live in a world where opposites collide 00:05:59.040 --> 00:06:06.160 in our faith. The practicality of the world that we live in and even the decisions and the choices 00:06:06.160 --> 00:06:13.740 that we make sometime coming to collide with the reality of who God is and what we believe to be true 00:06:13.740 --> 00:06:21.680 and what we know to be true. And some of those are like the eternal nature of God always was, 00:06:21.800 --> 00:06:29.200 always is, and always will be. And the finite nature and the finite being of you and I here on 00:06:29.200 --> 00:06:35.120 this earth, right? We all have a birthday. And we all have a day when we will pass. 00:06:37.000 --> 00:06:44.360 God's not going to be destroyed, but yet the frailty of you and I and who we are. 00:06:45.280 --> 00:06:48.720 Maybe even more importantly, and the one that we struggle with the most, 00:06:49.520 --> 00:06:53.560 the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man. 00:06:54.840 --> 00:06:58.620 Right? Even though we know what God has for us, we know what God has called us to, 00:06:58.680 --> 00:07:03.420 we know the standard, we know what Christ died for, and what the Holy Spirit is beginning to do in us, 00:07:03.420 --> 00:07:08.000 we still have that conflict that's within us that Paul writes about where he says like, 00:07:08.220 --> 00:07:12.540 I know what I need to do, but yet there's this peace that's in me that drives me to want to do 00:07:12.540 --> 00:07:18.640 something else that's not glorifying to the Lord. And so as you read through Psalm 90, you're going to 00:07:18.640 --> 00:07:27.540 see this conflicting peace that comes through of the eternal, holy, perfect nature of who God is, 00:07:27.540 --> 00:07:37.260 but yet this broken reality that you and I still live in as we navigate and go through this. So let's go 00:07:37.260 --> 00:07:43.100 ahead and dive on in. Let's start reading Psalm 90 verses 1 and 2. Moses writes, and he says, 00:07:43.180 --> 00:08:07.800 Well, we're not entirely sure when Moses wrote this, but we do think that it was looking back at a later 00:08:07.800 --> 00:08:14.960 year of his life and looking back, kind of like what we read about David a few weeks ago in the 23rd Psalm. 00:08:15.400 --> 00:08:21.760 And so we're kind of seeing this piece of a man who sought the Lord and was obedient to the Lord, 00:08:21.840 --> 00:08:27.940 but had his own struggles and his issues in looking back into life. And so again, there's that picture 00:08:27.940 --> 00:08:36.780 painted of the elderly, wisdom-filled follower of God looking at those that, and to impart some wisdom 00:08:36.780 --> 00:08:45.260 on what life looks at when it's lived with the Lord in a life that glorifies God. So this is what we 00:08:45.260 --> 00:08:52.380 begin to see here. And what I want us to look at or draw from this in Psalm 90 verses 1 and 2 is that 00:08:52.380 --> 00:08:58.900 in this life for you and I of what it means to walk with the Lord is this, travelers that abide. 00:09:00.160 --> 00:09:08.980 Travelers that abide. I love to go on trips. I love to go on vacations. I love to go on road trips. 00:09:09.080 --> 00:09:14.000 My wife, she's not necessarily a road trip kind of person. Like 45 minutes, she's ready to get out of 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:19.060 the car. Maybe you're like that. Like, I like to get in and go, and we'll figure it out as we go. 00:09:19.060 --> 00:09:24.260 But I love to go on trips. Now, I got to think about this week, though. I've been on some really 00:09:24.260 --> 00:09:30.340 great trips, but I've been on some really bad trips too, right? Where everything seems to fall 00:09:30.340 --> 00:09:35.400 apart. So I ask myself, what's the worst road trip that I've ever been on? I want you to think, 00:09:35.440 --> 00:09:39.900 what's the worst road trip you've ever been on? I want to take you back to mind, my worst road trip 00:09:39.900 --> 00:09:48.560 I've ever been on was in 1992. My aunt and uncle lived in Miami, Florida, and we were going to go 00:09:48.560 --> 00:09:54.260 spend spring break down in Miami, Florida. And you're like, I don't know what's wrong with that at this 00:09:54.260 --> 00:10:00.920 point in time, right? Well, my grandparents were going. It was my grandparents, my aunt, my sister, 00:10:01.360 --> 00:10:10.180 myself, and their pet poodle, Ginger. And we all loaded up in North Augusta, South Carolina into my 00:10:10.180 --> 00:10:17.700 granddad's Cutlass and made the drive from North Augusta to Miami, Florida. Now, I think if you 00:10:17.700 --> 00:10:25.220 jumped on Google Maps right now, that trip is going to take you somewhere around 10, 11, 12 hours. We got 00:10:25.220 --> 00:10:33.400 in the car at North Augusta before the sun came up. And 15 hours later, we got to Miami, Florida, as my 00:10:33.400 --> 00:10:43.060 granddad refused to go over 50 miles an hour on the interstate with no radio, all right? That wasn't the 00:10:43.060 --> 00:10:51.540 worst. Do you remember that dog? Ginger was in the back seat. Ginger doesn't like to ride in cars. 00:10:52.480 --> 00:11:04.640 Ginger gets nervous riding in cars. And for 15 hours, that dog whined and whimpered and paced 00:11:04.640 --> 00:11:10.660 across that back seat. There was no taking a nap. There was no anything that was going to happen. 00:11:11.060 --> 00:11:16.160 And by the time we got out of that car, it was the begging for my parents to fly me back 00:11:16.160 --> 00:11:22.460 from Miami to North Augusta, right? Worst trip that I've ever been on, right? But I've been 00:11:22.460 --> 00:11:31.600 on a lot of good ones as well. And you and I, as we live this life, what scripture points us to 00:11:31.600 --> 00:11:40.460 is that we're on a journey. We're on a journey from birth to death. And then in Christ, we're on a 00:11:40.460 --> 00:11:46.720 journey from death to eternity. And the reality is that it's not an easy journey. 00:11:48.120 --> 00:11:56.020 It's got its ups and its downs and it's in-betweens. Moses is a guy who knows about journeys, amen, right? 00:11:57.020 --> 00:12:02.200 For 80 years of his life, he lived in a somewhat settled life. Can't jump back into all of the 00:12:02.200 --> 00:12:07.440 details. I'm going to spend 40 years leading a nation of people from slavery to wandered in the 00:12:07.440 --> 00:12:15.260 desert for 40 years. And I can imagine it was tough. I can imagine it was difficult. I can imagine it was 00:12:15.260 --> 00:12:20.320 frustrating. I can imagine as you read through his writing, you see the stories, you begin to 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:29.200 understand that it was filled with depression and regrets and anxiety. But Moses, as he looks back 00:12:29.200 --> 00:12:37.400 on this in verse one, does not begin with a complaint, but he says, Lord, you have been our dwelling place 00:12:37.400 --> 00:12:47.880 in all generations. Now when Moses uses this word dwelling, it should bring us to a word or a thought 00:12:47.880 --> 00:12:53.300 that we've been using and we've been reading in the Psalms over the last few weeks, this word 00:12:53.300 --> 00:12:59.200 refuge, right? We've talked about that, that God is our tower, that he is our refuge, that he is a place 00:12:59.200 --> 00:13:06.760 that we can go in. And there seems to be some parallel nature in these two. And there are, but there's some 00:13:06.760 --> 00:13:15.160 differences as well. That in the refuge is a place to go and the difficulties. You didn't live in the 00:13:15.160 --> 00:13:21.920 tower, you would refuge in the tower. It's where you would go in hardships and it's where you would go 00:13:21.920 --> 00:13:33.320 in struggles. But the dwelling place is where you would go to find life and to live. That in the dwelling 00:13:33.320 --> 00:13:43.060 place is where home would be. John writes in 1 John chapter 2 verse 4, he says, whoever says I know him 00:13:43.060 --> 00:13:50.600 but does not keep his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word 00:13:50.600 --> 00:14:02.060 in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him. Whoever abides in him 00:14:02.060 --> 00:14:12.180 ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. This nature of dwelling, of finding life, of who we are, 00:14:12.280 --> 00:14:19.380 it is found in dwelling in the Lord. Now, John knows what he's talking about with this. He's seen this 00:14:19.380 --> 00:14:26.040 taught. He's heard this concept of abiding was important to Christ and it carries on in that 00:14:26.040 --> 00:14:33.960 meaning for John. And as he communicates for this, it's this concept of knowing Jesus is what it means 00:14:33.960 --> 00:14:40.700 to abide, but also remaining in Jesus is what it means as well. And John would have heard this in John 00:14:40.700 --> 00:14:50.920 chapter 15. Jesus says, I am the true vine and my father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that 00:14:50.920 --> 00:14:56.660 does not bear fruit, he takes away and every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes that it may bear 00:14:56.660 --> 00:15:05.440 more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I've spoken to you. Abide in me and I in you as 00:15:05.440 --> 00:15:11.880 the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you 00:15:11.880 --> 00:15:21.640 abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that 00:15:21.640 --> 00:15:28.260 bears much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown 00:15:28.260 --> 00:15:34.320 away like a branch and withers and the branches are gathered thrown in the fire and burned. But if you 00:15:34.320 --> 00:15:40.960 abide in me and my words abide in you, whatever you wish and it will be done for you. By this my father 00:15:40.960 --> 00:15:47.280 is glorified that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the father has loved me, 00:15:47.960 --> 00:15:56.300 so I've loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love just as I 00:15:56.300 --> 00:16:03.140 have kept my father's commandments and abide in this in his love. These things I've spoken to you 00:16:03.140 --> 00:16:10.800 that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full. Again, another passage of scripture we could 00:16:10.800 --> 00:16:20.760 we could spend weeks on. But the connection points are clear in here. But in this life, on this journey, 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:30.540 drawing life from Jesus is essential. That the branches, where do they get life from? They 00:16:30.540 --> 00:16:40.340 get life from the vine. And a branch only bears fruit. It only finds purpose. It only bears what it 00:16:40.340 --> 00:16:47.580 needs to do when it's attached to the vine. So I want to ask you a question as you're going through this 00:16:47.580 --> 00:16:54.140 life as you're going through this life as you're going on this journey. As you hear the words of Moses that says, 00:16:54.520 --> 00:17:01.960 for generations, our dwelling is in you. And you hear Jesus abide in me as I abide in you. 00:17:02.680 --> 00:17:07.620 The question I want to ask is, what are you trying to draw life from? 00:17:08.620 --> 00:17:16.120 What are you trying to cling to and attach yourself in the hopes that from this can be where you find life and find hope 00:17:16.120 --> 00:17:19.620 and find meaning and find purpose and find satisfaction? 00:17:20.900 --> 00:17:26.180 Where are you trying to draw life from? Because here's what I find. 00:17:27.180 --> 00:17:34.080 That you and I oftentimes try to attach ourselves to things that look like they'll give life. 00:17:35.080 --> 00:17:46.620 But like us, they'll fade. Like us, they'll end. Like us, their time has been set. And in that life cannot 00:17:46.620 --> 00:17:53.760 be drawn from them. You know, I like to look at it this way. 00:17:55.200 --> 00:18:03.360 Things of this world can scratch itches. You know, you get that itch on your shoulder, that itch on your 00:18:03.360 --> 00:18:07.920 back. And you just need someone just to come in and get that for you. And you can't quite reach it. 00:18:08.080 --> 00:18:14.740 And so they do that for you. But then the next day, what happens? It comes back again. 00:18:15.260 --> 00:18:21.560 And it comes back again. And it comes back again. And you and I are constantly trying to 00:18:21.560 --> 00:18:25.720 attach ourselves and find life from something that just scratches an itch. 00:18:26.420 --> 00:18:35.440 But the next day we'll be right back where we were. And that can never offer the lasting satisfaction of 00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:41.200 Christ. Do you remember the largest complaint that the Israelites had to Moses and to God? 00:18:42.380 --> 00:18:50.280 That if God was just going to lead them into the desert to die, that we should have just stayed in 00:18:50.280 --> 00:18:57.840 Egypt. Even though God was providing, even though God was taking care, even though God was doing all 00:18:57.840 --> 00:19:05.160 that he said he would do in that world, they're only focused on the momentary afflictions that 00:19:05.160 --> 00:19:11.560 they're seeing and that they're experiencing. And in that, they're missing the whole peace that God is 00:19:11.560 --> 00:19:18.300 working and moving in his faithfulness. Because the truth is, God didn't lead them into the desert to die. 00:19:18.560 --> 00:19:26.620 And our tendency in your life and mine is to look around and to see the things of this world that 00:19:26.620 --> 00:19:33.300 create itches all over us, the things of this world that create the uncomfortable moments of 00:19:33.300 --> 00:19:41.840 suffering in this, and think, but I've done all of this. If I'm doing this, then God, what is the point? 00:19:43.240 --> 00:19:49.200 I should have stayed where I was. But just as God didn't lead them into the desert to die, 00:19:50.140 --> 00:19:59.220 God didn't bring you and lead you to where you are to die either. He brought them into the desert 00:19:59.220 --> 00:20:07.900 so that they could learn to abide. And he's taken you and I through this journey of life so that we 00:20:07.900 --> 00:20:17.840 could learn to abide in him, to trust him, to put our faith in him, and that in that we would know him 00:20:17.840 --> 00:20:28.020 and remain in him. Church, he provided for Israel and he provides for you too. And as he provides 00:20:28.020 --> 00:20:37.280 in the midst of the storm, as he provides in the midst of the journey, what he gives us in his grace and his 00:20:37.280 --> 00:20:46.660 kindness is not the reward in full that we can see here, but is the glimpses of it. And he's faithful. 00:20:47.020 --> 00:20:56.020 For Israel, it was the promised land. And for you and I, it's the eternity with Christ. And that's what it 00:20:56.020 --> 00:21:04.800 looks like to abide in him. Let's keep reading in verse 3 of Psalm 90. Moses continues on. He says, 00:21:04.800 --> 00:21:14.720 You return man to dust and say, return, O children of man. For a thousand years in your sight are but as 00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:22.820 yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. You sweep them away as with a flood. You're 00:21:22.820 --> 00:21:29.400 like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning. In the morning it flourishes and is renewed, 00:21:29.400 --> 00:21:37.600 and in the evening it fades and withers. For we are brought to an end by your anger. By your wrath we are 00:21:37.600 --> 00:21:45.700 dismayed. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sin in the light of your presence. For all our 00:21:45.700 --> 00:21:54.800 days pass away under your wrath. We bring our years to an end like a sigh. The years of our life are 70, or 00:21:54.800 --> 00:22:03.600 even by reason of strength 80. Yet their span is but toil and trouble. They are soon gone and we fly away. 00:22:03.600 --> 00:22:12.320 Who considers the power of your anger and your wrath according to the fear of you? So teach us to number 00:22:12.320 --> 00:22:20.860 our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Next one that I want us to look at is this. It's being 00:22:20.860 --> 00:22:29.720 stewards of time. Being stewards of time. As we look at this passage of scripture, a complicated passage in 00:22:29.720 --> 00:22:37.400 these nine or ten verses, there's just some things I want us to be able to pull from. Reminders for 00:22:37.400 --> 00:22:44.780 most of us, if not all of us, but set in a context of who God is and what God has for you. And the first 00:22:44.780 --> 00:22:53.720 one is this, life is brief, make the best of it. Life is brief, make the best of it. Now this isn't a careless, 00:22:54.340 --> 00:23:02.720 reckless abandonment of responsibility, but this is making sure that we're investing and that we're doing in what 00:23:02.720 --> 00:23:09.680 matters in our life. Look at verse four. Moses writes, he says, for a thousand years in your sight are but as 00:23:09.680 --> 00:23:18.220 yesterday when it is past or as a watch in the night. So Moses gives two descriptions here to remind the people and to 00:23:18.220 --> 00:23:29.420 remind us that in the scope of humanity, our lives are brief. Your life's brief. My life is brief. The first one that he 00:23:29.420 --> 00:23:36.180 says, he says, he says, you know, like in the scope of eternity, that a thousand years are like a day. 00:23:37.960 --> 00:23:44.920 A day. But it's not enough. It's like he, he doubles down on it and he says, well, well, it's like this, that, that 00:23:44.920 --> 00:23:50.360 life, he says, like a thousand years is like a watch in the night, which was four hours. 00:23:52.320 --> 00:24:00.580 That's what it's like. That you and I, our life is here, but just for a moment. And what's brought 00:24:00.580 --> 00:24:09.000 into that is the harsh reality of death. Genesis 3, 19. In the description of this life, by the sweat 00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:15.540 of your face, you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, right? For out of it, you were taken 00:24:15.540 --> 00:24:24.240 for you are dust and to dust you shall return. Not really like the really feel good ones that you 00:24:24.240 --> 00:24:30.640 want to throw on your bumper sticker in your car, right? But Moses says that this is the reality for 00:24:30.640 --> 00:24:36.020 us, that this is coming, that our life is brief. It's but a moment. He says that when death comes, 00:24:36.100 --> 00:24:42.080 when this happens, it's like sweeping it away like a flood. It's like the grass that comes up in the 00:24:42.080 --> 00:24:47.360 morning, but then the cool coldness of, of night, it destroys it. And you'll have to come back the 00:24:47.360 --> 00:24:53.840 next day. That that is what it is. Believe this, when you leave your job, there will be someone there 00:24:53.840 --> 00:25:01.560 the next day. When you leave your house, there will be someone there the next day. But in the course of 00:25:01.560 --> 00:25:07.720 this, that our life is just moving from moment to moment, whether you live 10 years or a hundred years, 00:25:07.720 --> 00:25:15.100 it's like, but a second in the scope of eternity. So here's the challenging for this. End this with 00:25:15.100 --> 00:25:25.300 your life being brief. What are you doing with it? Are you making every moment count? 00:25:27.480 --> 00:25:33.120 Not this Moses, but this Moses over here, right? Make sure we're, we were talking this morning. If I 00:25:33.120 --> 00:25:37.180 told you that me and this Moses were talking this morning, we'd have some theological issues, 00:25:37.240 --> 00:25:42.320 right? So me and this Moses were, we're talking this morning and he was sharing with me about a 00:25:42.320 --> 00:25:49.740 friend of his that passed away this weekend. And we were talking about it and we were saying, 00:25:51.240 --> 00:25:55.880 we're talking about looking back on those who were there. And we, we sometimes think within this 00:25:55.880 --> 00:26:03.700 life there's always tomorrow, right? But tomorrow is not promised. So what are we doing with today? 00:26:05.020 --> 00:26:09.520 What are we doing with today? And what are we doing with today with things that matter? 00:26:10.920 --> 00:26:17.700 What are we doing today with things that mold and shape history and eternity? That put the ripples 00:26:17.700 --> 00:26:26.740 in the water that write the words onto the page for God's glory and for his kingdom. This life is brief. 00:26:27.840 --> 00:26:37.560 Are we doing what we can do to make the most of this for the glory of God? But also while life is brief, 00:26:38.160 --> 00:26:43.600 life is difficult. And maybe you're going through a season right now that feels like eternity. Amen? 00:26:45.120 --> 00:26:52.160 Life is difficult. Use it to grow. In verses 7 through 11, Moses reflects back on a time in Israel's 00:26:52.160 --> 00:26:59.960 journey when the nation refused to obey God and entered the promised land. A foolish decision that 00:26:59.960 --> 00:27:07.260 led to four decades of wandering in the desert. And you could look at that and say, what a waste of time. 00:27:07.260 --> 00:27:12.800 What a waste of useless difficulties that you had to walk through. But God said this, 00:27:13.060 --> 00:27:18.340 watch what I'm going to do that in this time, in this season of difficulty, that you're going to walk 00:27:18.340 --> 00:27:23.640 through and the consequences of what you've done and the consequences of what others done and the 00:27:23.640 --> 00:27:29.280 brokenness of this world. You're not ready. We're going to take you through this process. So those of 00:27:29.280 --> 00:27:34.800 you who were 20, when this happened, you'll be 60 when you walk into the promised land and watch what's 00:27:34.800 --> 00:27:41.100 going to happen in this. Then I'm going to use all of this time to take you and to use you and to grow you 00:27:41.100 --> 00:27:44.820 and to build you. Because for God, there's not a wasted moment. 00:27:47.620 --> 00:27:57.080 And we're living in that reality. Yesterday, we loaded up and we headed back to Jackson, South Carolina to get 00:27:57.080 --> 00:28:04.880 some family pictures taken. And the guy that was taking our pictures there with my wife's whole family used to 00:28:04.880 --> 00:28:10.880 serve on staff with him at another church. And as we were walking back, he's now into photography. He's really excited. 00:28:11.220 --> 00:28:17.180 The Associated Press just picked him up to do that. So now he literally gets paid to go to Carolina and 00:28:17.180 --> 00:28:22.640 Clemson athletic events and take pictures. Man, he's living his dream now, right? But as we're headed back to the car, 00:28:22.780 --> 00:28:29.540 we began to talk about our past together. We talked about the life that we lived when we worked together 00:28:29.540 --> 00:28:37.840 and ministered together. We talked about the good and the bad, the easy and the difficult. And then we had a journey 00:28:37.840 --> 00:28:45.700 back to Lexington. And I was thinking about those of all of that, the stuff we talked about, the stuff we shared, 00:28:45.700 --> 00:28:53.460 and the stuff that we didn't. And at the end of it, with Psalm 90 on my heart, reminded me of the goodness of 00:28:53.460 --> 00:29:02.960 God that he took all of those things. The good, the bad, the easy, the difficult to grow me. I'm going to borrow a 00:29:02.960 --> 00:29:11.620 cheesy illustration from our culture, but I think it rings true in our walk with the Lord. When difficulties of life 00:29:11.620 --> 00:29:22.960 come, when we face struggles, they're going to change us. We can either let them grow us and grow us bitter, 00:29:23.380 --> 00:29:34.000 or we can let them grow us and grow us better. To allow God to work and to move in them so that we're 00:29:34.000 --> 00:29:41.340 more like Christ. I love that last verse, verse 12 there, that when you and I, when we are reminded 00:29:41.340 --> 00:29:47.300 that our life is temporary, that it's brief, that we live this life to matter for the sake of the 00:29:47.300 --> 00:29:55.520 kingdom, Moses says, so teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom. We may get a 00:29:55.520 --> 00:30:04.100 heart of wisdom. That God, when I'm reminded by that my time here is minimal, that my time here is but 00:30:04.100 --> 00:30:10.020 just for a moment, but I live it for your name and for your glory and for your goodness and the 00:30:10.020 --> 00:30:20.980 struggles and the good and the bad, that every day, every moment is another opportunity to glorify your 00:30:20.980 --> 00:30:27.660 name. Because it's not that tomorrow isn't promised. It's that this next moment is. 00:30:30.060 --> 00:30:37.960 So teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom. Let's wrap up. Start in verse 13. 00:30:39.740 --> 00:30:49.020 Moses writes, I can hear the cry of my heart right now. Return, O Lord. How long have pity on your 00:30:49.020 --> 00:30:58.000 servants? Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. 00:30:59.260 --> 00:31:26.280 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us and for as many years as we have seen evil. Let your work be shown to your servants and your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us and establish the work of your hands upon us. Yes, establish the work of our hands. 00:31:26.960 --> 00:31:36.540 Lastly, we're going to close in this. As we move from moment to moment, day by day, as the seasons of life change, 00:31:38.240 --> 00:32:06.360 return, O Lord, how long have pity on your servants? Another cliche expression, right? Is the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Growing up, that was something my mom had to remind me of daily. 00:32:06.360 --> 00:32:19.480 Well, did you know so-and-so had this? Did you know so-and-so had this? And then I was that kid, right? Well, I wish I was their kid, right? And my mom, who always knew more than I knew, would throw it back to me. 00:32:19.640 --> 00:32:34.340 You know, the grass isn't always greener on the other side. And in this life, and in this life, there's no greater truth of that. But I want to say this. When it comes to eternity, the grass is greener. 00:32:35.200 --> 00:32:50.920 The grass is better. The grass is perfect. That in this, in the brokenness of this, so the cry of our heart and the brokenness of the world is, return, O Lord, as we go through this life. 00:32:50.920 --> 00:32:53.720 Paul writes in Romans 8, 18, 00:32:53.720 --> 00:33:07.440 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 00:33:08.720 --> 00:33:22.480 That as we walk through the struggles, as we walk through the pain, as we walk through the sufferings of this world, they pale in comparison to what awaits. 00:33:24.160 --> 00:33:30.500 This past week, it feels like it's becoming all too of a consistent pattern of my week. 00:33:31.760 --> 00:33:32.960 We had a funeral here. 00:33:34.740 --> 00:33:40.600 And as we were concluding the service, I said, I want you guys to think of something. 00:33:40.700 --> 00:33:43.160 And I would like for you this morning to think of this as well. 00:33:44.400 --> 00:33:53.720 I want you to think of the things of this world that bring you pain and hurt and suffering. 00:33:54.160 --> 00:34:02.660 And tears and anxiety and anger and hatred. 00:34:04.220 --> 00:34:05.680 I want you to think of them. 00:34:08.860 --> 00:34:10.260 All that's broken. 00:34:13.140 --> 00:34:14.500 All that's busted. 00:34:17.040 --> 00:34:19.300 All that is corrupted by sin. 00:34:22.860 --> 00:34:27.100 All the sufferings of this present time. 00:34:30.820 --> 00:34:36.540 And then in those things that conflict us from time to time because we can't fully wrap our minds around them. 00:34:38.800 --> 00:34:44.000 Wrestle with in eternity, they're gone. 00:34:45.660 --> 00:34:46.660 They're gone. 00:34:48.420 --> 00:34:49.820 There's no more abuse. 00:34:52.240 --> 00:34:53.460 There's no more hurt. 00:34:55.380 --> 00:34:56.640 There's no more death. 00:34:58.380 --> 00:35:00.180 There's no more sickness. 00:35:02.380 --> 00:35:03.880 There's no more loss. 00:35:05.780 --> 00:35:06.820 It's all gone. 00:35:08.420 --> 00:35:18.760 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time, Paul says, are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 00:35:20.420 --> 00:35:23.240 Paul will write in 2 Corinthians chapter 4. 00:35:25.240 --> 00:35:27.340 It's a reset for their mind. 00:35:28.780 --> 00:35:30.460 So we do not lose heart. 00:35:31.820 --> 00:35:37.340 Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 00:35:38.660 --> 00:35:40.340 I love verse 17. 00:35:40.340 --> 00:35:54.340 For this light, momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. 00:35:55.340 --> 00:36:00.680 As we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. 00:36:01.480 --> 00:36:07.480 For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. 00:36:09.240 --> 00:36:11.420 What you're going through right now. 00:36:13.840 --> 00:36:20.520 Your loss, your hurt, your pain, your suffering, your sickness, your doubt, your brokenness. 00:36:20.680 --> 00:36:22.660 What you're going through right now. 00:36:23.540 --> 00:36:24.940 Scripture tells us. 00:36:25.920 --> 00:36:28.620 In the scope of eternity is light. 00:36:29.440 --> 00:36:30.840 I know it doesn't feel like it. 00:36:32.860 --> 00:36:34.260 I know it hurts. 00:36:35.660 --> 00:36:40.860 I know you're going through and you're like, man, I don't know how tomorrow I'm going to make it through. 00:36:41.860 --> 00:36:43.900 But God's word says it's light. 00:36:45.140 --> 00:36:46.440 And it's not wasted. 00:36:47.320 --> 00:36:49.560 It's doing something, God's word says. 00:36:49.760 --> 00:36:51.440 It's preparing something. 00:36:51.440 --> 00:36:57.080 So that sickness, that struggle, that pain, that death, it's working. 00:36:57.280 --> 00:36:58.520 And we can't see it. 00:36:58.940 --> 00:37:00.380 We can't understand it. 00:37:00.520 --> 00:37:01.420 But it's working. 00:37:01.620 --> 00:37:02.860 And it's doing something. 00:37:03.100 --> 00:37:04.040 And God's in it. 00:37:04.120 --> 00:37:05.400 And it's working for us. 00:37:05.540 --> 00:37:11.380 An eternal weight of glory that God's word said is beyond all comparison. 00:37:11.660 --> 00:37:12.840 So is it better than this? 00:37:13.060 --> 00:37:14.180 Yes, it's better than that. 00:37:14.280 --> 00:37:16.900 It's better than that thing that's scratching the itch. 00:37:20.260 --> 00:37:24.100 It's the eternal weight that is there. 00:37:28.300 --> 00:37:29.940 I'll maybe try to end a little wider. 00:37:31.060 --> 00:37:31.880 I love this week. 00:37:31.880 --> 00:37:32.200 I love this week. 00:37:33.140 --> 00:37:34.100 It's Thanksgiving. 00:37:36.100 --> 00:37:36.860 That's right. 00:37:39.020 --> 00:37:43.820 The week of the year that I'll get to wear stretchy pants. 00:37:46.020 --> 00:37:49.560 And I'm going to eat, and I'm going to eat, and I'm going to eat, and I'm going to eat. 00:37:49.620 --> 00:37:59.480 And I'll be honest with you, I just love the fact that on Thanksgiving Day, dressing, macaroni, and cheese, and deviled eggs are vegetables, right? 00:38:00.160 --> 00:38:01.140 Praise the Lord. 00:38:02.260 --> 00:38:06.340 And fried turkey is good white meat for our bodies, all right? 00:38:06.860 --> 00:38:08.480 Rejected with butter and hot sauce. 00:38:08.540 --> 00:38:10.560 That's just how we roll at the Bradbury house, all right? 00:38:11.940 --> 00:38:13.180 And here's what I'll do. 00:38:14.380 --> 00:38:20.900 I'll stop eating Wednesday at, like, five, right? 00:38:22.260 --> 00:38:28.120 And I'll just let my body condition itself for what's about to happen the next day, all right? 00:38:29.060 --> 00:38:29.820 I'll wake up. 00:38:29.860 --> 00:38:30.860 My wife will cook breakfast. 00:38:30.980 --> 00:38:31.500 It'll be good. 00:38:31.560 --> 00:38:32.420 I ain't eating none of it. 00:38:32.820 --> 00:38:37.600 It's coffee and water until two o'clock, and then it's on, right? 00:38:38.380 --> 00:38:39.460 It is on. 00:38:39.740 --> 00:38:41.680 And I'll have to repent for it later, right? 00:38:41.780 --> 00:38:42.860 But it is there. 00:38:43.440 --> 00:38:45.200 And what I like about it is this. 00:38:45.460 --> 00:38:56.500 I try to get as hungry as I can get so that I can understand what it means to be satisfied and full with that meal. 00:38:59.000 --> 00:39:07.240 Do you understand that in this life, if we didn't face suffering, we wouldn't understand hope? 00:39:09.260 --> 00:39:23.400 That in this life, if we didn't go through light momentary affliction, the eternal weight of glory would not register in us what God wants us to. 00:39:25.500 --> 00:39:49.700 And so as you're going through it, as what's creating within you is struggle, is pain, through your tears, through your brokenness, through the hurt, through the loss, through the affliction, cling to the goodness of the glory of God. 00:39:49.700 --> 00:40:06.100 And may verse 14 register in your soul, satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days because of him. 00:40:07.380 --> 00:40:08.020 Let's pray. 00:40:12.020 --> 00:40:29.920 Lord, we come to you this morning with joy in our hearts, not for what surrounds us, but because of what is in us and who we are in. 00:40:32.920 --> 00:40:45.380 Lord, I pray that we would cling to and abide in you to recognize that this life is but a journey that we're on. 00:40:47.500 --> 00:40:59.080 And what brings us hope, what brings us hope, what brings us hope, what brings us life, what brings us meaning, is not found in all the things that we want to attach ourselves to. 00:41:01.240 --> 00:41:23.740 Lord, teach us to count our days, to know that this life is both brief and this life is temporary. 00:41:25.740 --> 00:41:36.380 Lord, may from this life, what it create in us is to work for the goodness of your glory in your name. 00:41:37.640 --> 00:41:42.140 To make the most of every day that you've blessed us with. 00:41:44.620 --> 00:41:48.380 And that in the difficulty, Lord, that we would grow. 00:41:51.700 --> 00:42:00.520 That the struggle would produce in us a determination, a love for you. 00:42:05.660 --> 00:42:07.300 Lord, but may this world, 00:42:10.980 --> 00:42:13.700 can we see this place differently? 00:42:14.620 --> 00:42:19.440 Lexington is not our home. 00:42:22.680 --> 00:42:24.560 South Carolina is not our home. 00:42:26.660 --> 00:42:28.780 The United States is not our home. 00:42:30.340 --> 00:42:31.960 This world is not our home. 00:42:34.360 --> 00:42:35.140 You are. 00:42:37.180 --> 00:42:37.960 You are. 00:42:40.960 --> 00:42:42.860 And Lord, for everyone this morning 00:42:42.860 --> 00:42:46.720 who's going through affliction. 00:42:48.580 --> 00:42:50.340 Lord, it does not feel light. 00:42:53.740 --> 00:42:54.880 It feels heavy. 00:42:56.600 --> 00:42:58.040 It feels cumbersome. 00:42:59.640 --> 00:43:01.580 It feels like we can't take another step. 00:43:01.580 --> 00:43:05.880 It feels like it's consuming us. 00:43:08.200 --> 00:43:11.600 And Lord, remind us that as we live in this world 00:43:11.600 --> 00:43:14.540 filled with opposites, 00:43:15.600 --> 00:43:17.680 that as heavy as that feels, 00:43:18.840 --> 00:43:21.480 as insurmountable as it feels, 00:43:22.200 --> 00:43:24.540 as hurtful as it feels. 00:43:25.620 --> 00:43:27.120 Lord, what you are doing, 00:43:27.240 --> 00:43:28.140 what you are working, 00:43:28.440 --> 00:43:29.520 what you are preparing, 00:43:29.880 --> 00:43:31.540 is an eternal weight of glory 00:43:31.540 --> 00:43:33.060 beyond all comparison 00:43:33.060 --> 00:43:35.480 that makes cancer 00:43:35.480 --> 00:43:37.220 and criticism 00:43:37.220 --> 00:43:39.020 and death 00:43:39.020 --> 00:43:42.020 and destruction 00:43:42.020 --> 00:43:43.880 and slander 00:43:43.880 --> 00:43:48.460 look microscopic 00:43:48.460 --> 00:43:51.560 in the light of eternity. 00:44:03.480 --> 00:44:05.520 Lord, satisfy us. 00:44:08.140 --> 00:44:10.680 May we be satisfied with you. 00:44:12.340 --> 00:44:13.720 And it's in your name we pray. 00:44:14.500 --> 00:44:14.840 Amen. 00:44:15.280 --> 00:44:15.540 Amen. 00:44:16.260 --> 00:44:17.580 We've got prayer encouragers 00:44:17.580 --> 00:44:19.200 on either side of our auditorium. 00:44:20.260 --> 00:44:20.960 Hear my heart. 00:44:21.860 --> 00:44:23.020 I know your affliction 00:44:23.020 --> 00:44:24.100 doesn't feel light. 00:44:26.240 --> 00:44:27.240 And if you need somebody 00:44:27.240 --> 00:44:28.220 to pray with this morning 00:44:28.220 --> 00:44:29.440 and they'd love to pray with you, 00:44:30.180 --> 00:44:31.440 I'll be right here as well. 00:44:31.520 --> 00:44:33.060 I would love to pray with you 00:44:33.060 --> 00:44:34.040 as well. 00:44:36.280 --> 00:44:37.860 Also, if you're here this morning, 00:44:38.140 --> 00:44:40.500 and something is just kind of 00:44:40.500 --> 00:44:42.260 stirring in with you, 00:44:42.580 --> 00:44:43.680 Moses said whether this is 00:44:43.680 --> 00:44:44.400 your first time 00:44:44.400 --> 00:44:45.360 or 50th time 00:44:45.360 --> 00:44:46.860 or anywhere in between. 00:44:48.560 --> 00:44:49.280 Something's stirring. 00:44:49.360 --> 00:44:50.260 You don't know what it is. 00:44:51.240 --> 00:44:52.280 Something's drawing you 00:44:52.280 --> 00:44:52.880 to this Savior 00:44:52.880 --> 00:44:54.080 we've been talking about. 00:44:54.980 --> 00:44:56.240 We love to talk with you. 00:44:56.280 --> 00:44:57.460 We love to pray with you. 00:44:57.520 --> 00:44:58.660 We love to share more 00:44:58.660 --> 00:45:00.060 about who Jesus is 00:45:00.060 --> 00:45:02.040 and why our hope 00:45:02.040 --> 00:45:02.940 is found in Him 00:45:02.940 --> 00:45:04.600 and in Him alone. 00:45:04.600 --> 00:45:20.060 Thanks again for listening 00:45:20.060 --> 00:45:21.200 to the Willow Ridge Church 00:45:21.200 --> 00:45:22.000 weekly podcast. 00:45:22.540 --> 00:45:23.520 We hope that you enjoyed 00:45:23.520 --> 00:45:24.800 listening to this week's message. 00:45:25.300 --> 00:45:26.360 If you'd like to learn more 00:45:26.360 --> 00:45:27.200 about who we are 00:45:27.200 --> 00:45:28.820 or explore additional resources, 00:45:29.420 --> 00:45:30.300 visit us online 00:45:30.300 --> 00:45:33.860 at www.willowridgechurch.com 00:45:33.860 --> 00:45:35.080 or by searching 00:45:35.080 --> 00:45:36.080 for Willow Ridge Church 00:45:36.080 --> 00:45:37.420 on Facebook and Instagram.