The Basics Of Life

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ come to grips with. No matter what age you are in this room right now their people. This guy joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie when Pastor Bill Gebhardt now is once again shows us how God's word. Our world.

I believe the desire of any parent is that your children will become better equipped to navigate themselves more smoothly through this life.

One things for sure though that if those parents are going to be successful, they need to establish a really clear foundation for their children. As a matter fact if any of us are to live the life that God intended us to live.

We need to live them on the basis of a solid foundation is my goal this morning I give you six basic truths how to live your life based on a really solid foundation.

I also want to ask you six diagnostic questions for you to discern whether you really incorporate that in your life yourself always find in one single Psalm open your Bibles to Psalm 90 Psalm 90 Psalm. Everything is said sort of in the superscription of the Psalm it says a prayer of Moses, the man of God.

This is the only song that Moses wrote David is given direct responsibility for 75 songs a soft 12 human and even each had one enters about 60 that are unknown.

David probably wrote several of those. But this is the only one that Moses wrote much importance of that.

This is the first Psalm ever written. This is five 600 years before David writes this Psalm is written by Moses in the wilderness. He's led the people out there now in the process of they were heading to the promised land.

And if you remember, they went to a place like call Kadesh Bonilla and when I got there they sent spies into the land.

10 of them came back and said we can't do it to them. Caleb and Joshua said we need to going to the land.

The people didn't. And God pronounced the fact that everybody 20 years old or older, of that generation die in the wilderness so they don't going the promised land for about 40 years. That's the context of which Moses is writing this. The first two verses Jesus Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations before the mountains were born you gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting you are God. The first foundational truth is simply this, God is great God is great. Notice he says Lord first word. It's not Yahweh is added. I uses that term because he's talking about creator sovereign Lord, he said, Lord, you have been our dwelling place that's an interesting thing a berry difficult words rare in Hebrew the word is made on in Hebrew the Berkeley translation translators were home. Probably the best translation is the word refuge. The ideas he says you would be our dwelling place you been our home. You will be in our refuge. Notice in all generations. Is it really doesn't matter.

It doesn't really matter if we were in the wilderness your refuge. It doesn't matter if we were flying years in Egypt as slaves. You are refuge. You are home. He says guy that's how you are not just the Creator but your personal you have a relationship with us.

He then says before the mountains were born you give birth to their earth and the world. You are the creator God, the great uncaused cause he says you are an everlasting God, you are eternal.

In other words, God is great that's always starts aside, God is great.

The question I have for you is this. Are you rightly related to God. No, I don't mean necessarily your own idea of God. I don't mean that. I mean a very specific way as specifically as Jesus said, Jesus said I am the way the truth and the life and no one will come to the father but through me. Those words I believe with all my heart.

The question you have is have you done that. Have you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ and his finished work on the cross.

Pastor Brad talk about that that as soon as these children are old enough to truly understand the gospel. The parents responsibility is to present the gospel as clearly as they can so that those children can get rightly related to God using when you have a relationship with God gives your life perspective. If you have gone your life and you live out there in that real world there's a lot of perplexity there's a lot of things out there that don't make sense. There's a lot of things that are going well. You don't have to leave me for you.

Just watch the news, but we have God as a perspective service center. She won almost every Possible Way, God inserted becomes the Norstar by which you navigate your life as mariners have for centuries because of a relationship with God. God is great.

Now notice versus 3 to 6.

He says you turn man back in the dust and say return children of men 4000 years in your site are like yesterday when it passes buyer is a watch in the night you have swept them away like a flood. They fall asleep in the morning. They are like grass response anew and in the morning. It flourishes and spouts of new and toward the evening. It fades and withers away God is great. Here's the second truth. Life is short, life is short notice that Moses has a tremendous perspective of death that you and I would never have Moses led the people out of Egypt somewhere between two and two and half million people now just a journey along with an artist for many of them. But remember because of their failure at Kadesh Bonilla. Everyone 20 years old or older was going to die in the next four years before they going to the promised land. So if you project that out as many have somewhere around a million or so people died in those 40 years that you understand and that means that the camp of Israel. They had 70 to 100 funerals every day every day for 40 years. 70 to 100 funerals. Now that is the ringing bell of death using Moses it's got a really good picture of that, he says, look how quickly this happens. He says no me said you have swept them away like a flood came so suddenly, for many of them but notice it from God's perspective verse four 4000 years in your site is like yesterday when it passes buyer a watch in the night, which is three hours is in a thousand years was like three hours.

The Moses of thousands a huge number for Moses if he were alive today might say a million years is like three hours or billion years is like three hours is the God is eternal. See God lives exist outside of time. Time is a creation of God.

He is eternal not remember man was created to live eternally meant was created to be eternal. The problem is that we have to deal with what we call death and he says death can come fast.

Life is short and we ask a question. I really did not see said we'll talk about that plague society we want talk about to come to grips with death, no matter what age you are in this room right now their people this day that we die.

Happens no skating. See if you come to grips with death.

They say every time I teach on at the statistics on death are really impressive one out of one die okay. That's the truth of it. That's the way it works. And when you think about of net perspective. I love the second guarantee that everybody in this room will be here next year. This date I can. In fact, over all the years I've been here. I'm almost certain some of us will not be that's an important thing to teach her children like the short you see it is really short and other what you only have a certain amount of time to spend and that's all there is for you. God is great. Life is short enough to see why life is short. Beginning in verse seven he says for we have been consumed by your anger, and by your wrath.

We have been dismayed you have placed our iniquities before you in our secret sins.

In light of your presence.

All of our days have declined in your fury. We have finished our years like a sigh, he said. As for the days of our life. They contain 70 years or if new strength 80 years if their providers but labor and sorrow for soon it is gone and we fly away.

He said who understands the power of your anger and your fury. According to the fear that is due you. God is great life is short.

Sin is serious sin, a serious that's why life is short. Sin is serious. Moses explained to her why life is short.

As I said earlier death was not part of the original plan. I came about because of the fall. Sin separates mankind from God.

You see, the result is he's holy and righteous.

We are not is his light exposes our darkness.

But what he says in verse eight he says you have placed our iniquities as our outward since before you are secret sins. In light of your presence.

Sin we all sin. While in on every verse 90 says for all of our days have declined in your fury. We have finished our years like a sigh, you know, Moses came a long time before modern ex-essentialism in the philosophy of the day, but the philosophy of the modern extent of philosophers is pretty much like things and then you die.

And that's pretty much it gave study philosophy for 6000 years and that's become a Moses is unity, right, says a little bit different. Moses is and what like hard and then you die outside that's shocking. That's real. That's the way life works. He said life is hard and nieces and then you die member.

He said that the Galatians, God is not mock whatever Mancilla socially reap another reason that that's an important thing to teach people now is especially young people is live in a day and age where if you go out there and you listen to our culture.

There is no such thing as sin. There's no such thing you've met never will hear national newscaster anybody talk about sin is our culture denies there's no such not we we make mistakes.

You see, weekly, and we tell white lies. By the way you want a white lie is it's a lie just to clear that up for you see we just make mistakes, but God is not mocked somewhere in our culture. This is a really is no sin, we also live in a culture with unprecedented murder rates, unprecedented suicide rate. Domestic abuse is everywhere psychotherapy a whole industry in our country.

Prescription drugs in order to cope with our mistakes is a culture denies the idea that there is sin. The question I have is simply this, do you take your sin seriously.

I mean, do you take it seriously dispersed by Wenzel last time I David you would send this God search me know my heart try me know my thoughts. See if there's any sinful way in me, Wenzel estimated his health seriously and you take sin. Moses is it serious God is great. Life is short. Sin is serious and thankfully wisdom is essential to verse 12 he said so teach us to number our days, that we may resent to you a heart of wisdom. You see, in order to navigate in this world.

Whether you're just being dedicated or you're a child or teenager or young adult pushing light along any wisdom you see really need wisdom. Wisdom is the skill for living it's a supernatural skill and script of the God imparts to us if there be one thing I would ever prefer for my own children to be that they have some sense of wisdom so often. By the way, we miss this so often people are culture and probably many of us what we want for our children is knowledge. You see what I'm to make sure you get really good education.

That's what's really important. Get really good education and you get a lot of knowledge for you might not get any wisdom at all really. None. In some places it's not a matter wisdom.

You see, we need wisdom. Children need wisdom. Adults need wisdom.

We need the skill. In order to live.

Notice he starts out by saying so teach us to number of days again were back to a limited amount of opportunities.

He said 70 if you're lucky.

85 no. When I was younger I had a goal I don't.

Annually is a stupid innocent site having to do with but I wanted to make it the 70 okay that was just ago I had my just off the top my aunt by the way, when I was younger that seemed so far out there just like while like eternity. It's not. I have revised my goal is a little bit different now because yeah what's happening when you're older you start numbering days. You see, you see that give me give you an example, if your 25 right now. You have 16,075 days on average. If you're 35. You have 12,775 days. If your 40 5 PM 9175 days. If you're 55 yeah 5575 days. If you're 65, you have less than 2000 days on average I can. The one that a guy get depressed like no one, and by the way, if your past 80 we have a word for you in New Orleans during the lagniappe time of day that's that's a little bit different time for you. It happens Moses is 120 D understood that, but he understood this idea that you have a limited amount of time. So the question is am I spending my life or my investing my life. That's what comes under you spend your life or do you invest your life.

You see, it always comes down to if you're going to investor like always, was neither the same thing.

And boy what you want on parting her children invest in relationships first invest in a vertical relationship with God. Let him speak to you in his word you speak to him in prayer walk with him every day on the horizontal life level and fast in people we we spent so much time investing and stuff investing in work investing in things we need to invest in people and especially for these parents are dedicating children years ago and it's finally been diminished a little bit. I don't know exactly why, but I'm glad it is but when I was a little bit younger, they used to say something is quite interesting that always talk about when you parented the key to parenting is investing quality time. That's the key quality time. That's the key.

I don't think that's true. I think in the key to parenting is investing quantity time.

I think the whole idea of investing only quality time is the way people alleviate guilt because I don't spend enough time with her kids had spent time so you have to spend time you're married to someone spend time with them. You have to spend time if somebody is your friend, you have to spend time with your friend got to spend time has to be some Invest so you spending your life are you investing your life does get better.

God is great. Life is short.

Sin is serious. Wisdom is essential, but maybe the most important thing is found in verses 13 to 15.

Grace is available for my thank you for this dual eternal Lord, how long will it be be sorry for your servants. Oh satisfy us in the morning with your loving kindness. As you know, if you're here very often as my favorite word in the Old Testament.

That's the word Hasid is knowing which word for lovingkindness doesn't even come close. It's the word of loyal love.

It's the word of grace, unconditional grace, it's the word of mercy.

It's a word for loyalty.

That's what this word is it's a great word oh satisfy us in the morning with your grace, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

Don't forget, where are they.

They are in the wilderness where were they they were in slavery decision.

What because of your grace, we can still sing for joy every single day. It's not circumstantial.

Make us glad according to the days that you have afflicted us in the years that we have seen evil. How that's incredible the grace of God when is that we have all kinds of things unmerited favor gift type things. Listen carefully as I read what Max the Cato rights and is only matched piece of the meaning of life, the wasted years of life. The poor choices of life.

God answers the mess of life with one word, grace.

We talk as though we understand the term.

He said the bank will give us a grace period, a seedy politician Folsom grace musician speak of a grace note, we describe an actress is gracious dancer is graceful, we use the word for hospitals and baby girls in Kings and pre-meal prayers. We talk as though we know what grace means especially church graces the songs we sing in the Bible verses we read. Grace shares the church parsonage with its cousins, forgiveness and faith and fellowship preachers explain it. Hymns proclaim at seminaries teach it, but we really understand it even says this I think grace is God as a heart surgeon cracking open your chest removing your heart poisoned as it was with your pride and pain in sin and replacing it with his own rather than to tell you to change. He creates the change do you clean up so that he will accept you know he accept you and then he begins a clean you up his dreams and just to get you into heaven, but to get heaven into you.

What a difference this makes can forgive your enemy can face tomorrow can't forgive your past Christ can. He said he's on the move forgiven people, forgiving people, deep sighs of relief stumbles aplenty, but never despair.

Grace is everything Jesus, grace, lives because Jesus myth. Grace works because Jesus works grace matters because Jesus matters. He placed a term limit on sin and then danced a victory dance in the graveyard to be saved by grace is to be saved by Jesus, not by an idea, not by doctrine, not by a creed or by church membership, but by Jesus himself. Grace hug the stink out of the prodigal son. It scared the hate out of the apostle Paul in a pledges to do the same and you and me.

If you fear that you've written too many checks on God's kindness account drag regrets around like a broken bumper on your car, huff and puff more than you delight and rest, and most of all if you wonder whether God can do something with the mess that is your life and grace is what you write.

Grace, grace and mercy are available. The question is simply this, my experiencing the joy of the Lord in my life.

That's what he said satisfies with the morning of you with your lovingkindness and we may sing for joy and be glad all of our days is that how you are seeking this.

Please mark your life.

The unmerited favor of God's mercy. Mark your life where you don't get what you deserve.

Grace getting what you don't deserve the loyal love of God, the Hasid of God you experience that it always results in the same thing. It's not circumstantial at all, ask yourself this, when you wake up in the morning to bathe yourself in the love and the grace and mercy of God should alleviate guilt and fear how those kinds of things God is great.

Life is short. Sin a serious wisdom is essential in grace and mercy are available in the last one, and rightly so. Success is possible for all those little wives success is possible for your life and mine success is possible success. I love that. He says let your work in verse 16 appeared to your servants and your majesty to their children.

There's a legacy idea God work in my life and then let your Majesty show to my children's. My grandchildren's success is possible. He says let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us and confirm for us the work of our hands. Yes, confirm the work of our hands how your life in my life because the work of your hands is different than the work of my hands.

We are all spiritual snowflakes.

You see God in a sense is often all of us a sense to be a blessing on all of our lives. It doesn't really matter who we are. I love what Chip Ingram writes about this verse. He says this is a way of saying we want to know your work.

We want to know your power. We when we encounter you in our lives and our future posterity. We don't want to live off other people stories of what God has done for them. He said we don't just want to hear how God is working in other families in other places we want to be our experience. We want to pass on to the next generation. And even though we may not be missionaries or pastors we can all cry out for God to establish the work of our hands.

Moses final words are amazing. He is asking God to take. He said even the mundane and the regular grind of life and allowed to be used for his glory and for our good success is possible since this basic fundamental truth but are those to us what you build your life on God is great.

Life is short.

Sin a serious wisdom is essential. Grace and mercy are available and success is possible you know we live in a world of a lot of failing words every single day broken promises empty evolves all the time those children are here for the rest of their life.

People that say one thing and never really deliver.

You never hear filling with David said in Psalm 12 the words of the Lord this morning, through Moses. Six basic really listen to Pastor Bill Gebhardt on the radio ministry of fellowship floor if you ever miss one of our broadcast or maybe you just listen to the message one more time. Remember the good a great website called one place.com that's one place.com and you can listen to Fellowship in the Word online at that website you will find on with today's broadcast but also many of our previous audio programs as Fellowship in the Word. We are thankful for those who financially support our ministry and make this broadcast possible.

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