Renewing Your Mind for the New Year #2

Are you entering into this new year with discouragement. Maybe over chronic long-term trials seem to have no end.

Does the new year bring trials to you, beloved, let me encourage you to return to this perspective that were talking about the hand of God is in everything that happens. Glad you're with us on the truth pulpit with John Green, founding pastor of truth Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. I am Bill Wright were continuing our series as the calendar turned last time Don presented part one of his message renewing your mind for the new year we received the first of four principles to help us in that renewal.

We are to embrace eternity in light of that near temporal concerns pale by comparison.

On today's program. Don will give us the final three principles concerning the brevity of life, humility, and what our priorities should be. So have your Bible ready and let's join a teacher now in the truth all the we said you must embrace eternity. Secondly, you must embrace brevity, you must embrace brevity as Moses goes on in his prayer in verses three through six. He turns and contemplates the mortality of man, that life is a brief life is fleeting life is like grass that flourishes for just a little while and then it withers and fades away. If you're going to think rightly about life, you need to calculate that into your perspective. Look at verse three through six, Psalm 90 Moses still praying here to God. He says you turn man back into dust and say return no children of men for thousand years in your cider like yesterday when it passes buyer as a watch in the night you swept them away like a flood.

They fall asleep in the morning. They are like grass was sprouts a new in the morning. It flourishes and sprouts anew toward evening at fades and withers away.

What's he doing here. He simply meditating on the brevity of life. The flowers flourish in the morning and the afternoon sun causes him to, whether by evening they faded away and God sees it from his perspective. God is not inside of time, like we are. He is outside of time so that a thousand years to God is like a four hour watch in the night. God has eternally existed, but you and I are transient, we die and we return to dust, and here's what you gotta think about as you contemplate life life laws's life goals you into a false sense of security. No doubt about it because today was pretty much like Monday was for all of us was in it.

Not much different from Sunday. So life in the days seem pretty much the same and in the years seem to be pretty much the same and it laws you into this sense things are just the same in day to day you start to think it's always not be like this, you just start to presuppose without even thinking about it never occurs to you. Most of you in your conscious thought, the life changes in life brings much difference. Eventually, actually, while we think about life in the same from day to day.

Actually, there's a much different picture that you need to think about Psalm 90 versus seven through 11.

He just said that life flourishes sprouts anew.

Evening fades and withers, why, why is it like that for 74 because we have been consumed by your anger, and by your wrath. We have been dismayed you have placed our iniquities before you are secret sins in the light of your presence for all our days have declined in your fury. We have finished our years like a sigh. As for the days of our life. They contain 70 years worth due to strength 80 years if their pride is but labor and sorrow for soon it is gone and we fly away soon it's gone.

Who understands the power of your anger and your fury. According to the fear that is due you. What he saying is, life is brief and in this next section that I just read.

He says it's brief because God has judged the human race percent. Our secret sins are exposed in his presence. God is a holy God who does not accept the sin and rebellion of man is a permanent condition of the existence of the universe and Romans five.

As you know teaches us that death entered into the world through sin, and so the sin of man has consequences and they are inescapable consequences death surely follow sin because Scripture says that the soul that sends it will die. Now remember what I said about the context here and understand what Moses is saying here in Psalm 90, Moses is writing this at the end of the wilderness wanderings where the whole generation of Israel would die in the wilderness's judgment for their rebellion against God. A generation of Israelites died over 40 years in the wilderness. If you do the math on it. The population of Israel time to the years of 40 years.

He calculated out. It's an average of about 50 people per day in the nation that was dying, 50, 75 somewhere around in there. Here's the thing. Moses is the leader of the people of Israel, day after day after day after relentless monotonous day. More people are dying more people are being buried another 50 people gone another 50 people gone another 50 people gone 400 a week that gets pretty wearisome that gets pretty discouraging.

Each grave reminding them about their disobedience when they wanted to return to Egypt rather than to take the promised land but yourself and Moses the shoes know he's these leading people do for destruction a generation doomed for destruction. I should say you know he must've heaved size at the constant death. Another one, Moses, Omar's gone, Judas gone Levi's gone just picking the names out of a hat and so Moses is writing this from a deep perspective of understanding that life brings sorrow we get started, and then death takes us away. What Moses does. As you can carry on in Psalm 90 is he prays to overcome that false sense of security and there is a pivotal verse right in front of us now in verse 12.

Look at verse 12 with me. He's talked about the terminology of God. He's address the brevity of life.

He's address that life is brief because man is sinful in the presence of a holy God who must be feared. What you do in response to that.

How should you think verse 12 Moses lays it out. This is a verse that has influenced my life significantly verse 12 he says so in light of everything that I've said here about your eternal analogy in the brevity of life. So God teach us to number our days, that we may present to you a heart of wisdom may be that we might gain a heart of wisdom.

What's he saying this is a very simple but earnest and profound prayer. This should be a defining prayer for you to say Lord in light of the reality of your E turn analogy and the brevity of life. All God would you buy a work of your spirit grant to me the capacity to understand the brevity of my own life so that I would use my own window of opportunity wisely teach me God.

To number my days teach me to understand that life is brief and let that that knowledge and understanding cause me to live differently, live in a way that is wise rather than according to the manner of those who do not take that perspective into account.

Moses is saying and you should be thinking along with him. God, I only get one shot at life.

I don't get to do it over if I mess it up. Therefore, God help me to get it right on the front end so that I don't come to the end. With regret on the back end. Now brings us to our third point you must embrace humility, you must embrace humility.

Understanding the brevity of life humbles us. You and I we need help Moses, the great leader of Israel needed help. How much more us so look at what he does in verse 13 he turns to prayer any.

He starts asking God to be merciful to him looking verse 13. In light of what he's been through. Here's the edifying closing thoughts that Moses brings to us here. Verse 13 he says do return, oh Lord, how long will it be and be sorry for your servants all satisfy us in the morning with your loving kindness, we may sing for joy and be glad all our days make us glad.

According to the days you've afflicted us in the years we have seen evil.

He's asking God to show him mercy. He's asking God to give him joy in what he saying is, and perhaps this is where your at. He says God we would be depressed. I would be discouraged by this weakness of the brevity of my life except for the fact that I am appealing to you to be gracious to me. I'm asking you to show me mercy so that I could transcend the despair that the brevity of life would otherwise impose upon me.

God you are the giver of life, God, you are the source of joy. God, the joy of the Lord is our strength than God, grant me grace that I might be able to walk through this brief life with a sense of your mercy of confidence in your goodness of joy, despite the brevity he sees asking God for spiritual blessings in the midst of this, you see you see that these realities don't bring you to a dead end of despair is simply brings you to the throne of God and in a humbled position by his eternal nature and the brevity of your life. You, as a humble, suppliant saying God be merciful to me, God show grace to me.

God intends this brief existence with your eternal joy be good and kind to me.

God, because I'm so weak and failing on my own and then he goes further and he asked God to bless his labor. He comes to God.

Look at verses 16 and 17 says God, give me an inward sense of joy and then he expands out and having been humbled by the brevity of his life. He says in verses 16 and 17.

Look at it with me. He says let your work appear to your servants and your majesty to their children, 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.

God I am as I go through my life is I'm doing what you've given me to do God I pray that you would bless it that you wouldst establish it in ways that go beyond natural human ability. I pray that you would supernaturally bless the work of my hands in a way that it establishes it as something that was valuable in your site. Beloved, you may have regrets about the past, you may look back and see how people have wrecked your lives with their dishonesty and unkindness.

Maybe you've wrecked the lives of others with your own sins. But here's the thing. This is where Psalm 90 brings you to finish in the grace of God in the in the hand of our omnipotent, gracious God who loves to bless his weak and feeble children like you and me in the grace of God. Despite the regrets of your past, you can finish well. Moses is writing this at the end of his life, saying, God established the work of our hands in your own individual personal lives, even those of you with gray hair and you know there's a you're like me, and a lot more is in the rearview mirror than's in the windshield ahead of you look this is true for every one of us. What I'm about to say, your prayer should be. This Lord I'm still here and I detected by that, I detected by my presence in my life now. I detected by that that you still have something appointed for me to do that. There is still purpose in my existence. Lord, in the time that I have left please oh God, help me get it right. Help me to see the circle of relationships that you have given me and let me be an influence for godliness in Christ upon them. That kind of renewed thinking will serve you well in the new year. No doubt about it. See you and I should be thinking about ourselves from the sense that were were simply were simply agents in the furtherance of the eternal purpose of God. Lord, let me wire into that let my mind be saturated with that so that I live out that in whatever realm you've given to me your life. Beloved is not about you it's not about you. How could be about us when Christ died for us.

It has to be about him now.

Final thing said that you must embrace eternity must embrace brevity and you must embrace humility. All of these things. Humble us and make us think differently about life, but to give you fourth point goes beyond Psalm 90 and that is this is that you must embrace priority you must embrace your priority. I'm so glad I get to say this, I want you to know: timeout here.

I want you to know that I can't begin to express how much I appreciate the fact that you all come to hear God's word. You are a blessing and a gift from God to me to be able to have a people that want to hear Bible teaching and for me to be able to do it.

I am so thankful to you, and make the effort to be here and it is a blessing to be a part of this ministry together with all of you and it is a blessing to be able to say what I'm about to say to you because I think it will help you if you're a Christian, you cannot cling to this life and what I mean by that is this is the Christ redeemed you with an ultimate purpose that you would be with him in heaven. That's why he saved you, it's because he wanted you to be in heaven with him and that is the ultimate purpose of your life. It's not about the happy circumstances that we would prefer here in this 70 or 80 year earthly existence. That's not it. That's the inconsequential by comparison. Christ came to dial that cross Christ shed his blood to redeem your soul, not for health and wealth here in this life. It was to secure the certainty that you would be with him in heaven forever. The culmination of your existence is yet to come.

It is beyond the veil is in that room around that glorious realm with Christ and so beloved. What that means is as you grow in your understanding of that is you are sanctified by the spirit of God, and you realize the purpose of your salvation, then your heart should long to be with Christ more than he desires to stay on earth, and that doesn't mean that we have a death wish. That doesn't mean that we don't enjoy the life that God's given us now he's given that the bless us. This is the round that he's given us to serve him, to love him to proclaim him. We enjoy this life now, but beloved. We don't cling to that is if this earthly life is the end of our existence we hold it loosely.

We hold it loosely because we realize that all death that is a simply usher us into the, the culmination, the realization of the purpose of Christ saved us to begin with and that is only going to be glory. Look at Philippians chapter 1. Here's the concluding mindset that I would give you as we contemplate moving forward or if you're listening to this 40 years from now.

As you move forward, Philippians, chapter 1 what that freak them out if they hear that you know someone's actually listen in this 40 years from out of what we really whatever Philippians chapter 1 verse 21. Look at what Paul says in this familiar passage. Here's the priority for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to live on in the flesh.

This will mean fruitful labor for me and I don't know which to choose, but I'm hard-pressed from both directions.

Having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better yet, to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. Was Paul saying he resent all stay as long as Christ wants me to stay and I'll be glad to do it. Paul writing to the church in Philippi says all serve you and it will be to your benefit.

If I stay with you because the deepest desire of my heart is to be with Christ to be with my Redeemer to be the one who glad for my soul.

In the final analysis, I want to be with him say that's a true desire of every true Christian. Maybe you need a little time and help to think through that come to that conclusion and realization but the path of Scripture is so so clear and direct on this that the redeemed heart says I was saved to be with Christ in heaven forever.

That's what I ultimately want. I love Christ more than anything on this earth more than any circumstance in this life more than any position or relationship that I could have. I want to be with Christ, and so so the ultimate culmination is what I long for now with he and his wisdom says no not yet I want you there a little longer. There's things for you to do all embrace, but the heart priority. I want to be with Christ. My goal, the reason that I exist as a Christian.

The reason that you exist as a Christian is so that one day you would enter into God's eternal presence. That's why you exist is for you to be in the immediate presence of Christ forever, and death only escort you into that glory. You know what embracing that priority does it frees you to leave when the time comes, you don't have to be afraid. You don't have to look at it with regrets and all I wish I had a few more years to go know we look at death.

We realize it from an earthly sense. It's an enemy still Christ conquered death with his resurrection, and Christ uses death usher us into the realization of the whole purpose for which he saved us. That is how much he is overturned the consequences of sin. Sin bled to death.

Usher death into the world.

Christ now uses death to usher us as Christians into the presence of God. How is he to be able to turn things so completely upside down like that so there's no fear. There's no reason for you to be afraid.

If you're in Christ there is no reason to look back with regret is Christ discovered that there's no reason to fear the future in this life because Christ is with us. That's our priority for some of you that's not your priority in your soul needs to be rebuked and chasten by everything that was said here you lived in neglect of Christ. You're not even a Christian you wear the mask of one, but underneath is the reality that everyone might not suspect that God knows and you know you not even a Christian, you need to turn to Christ in humble faith for the forgiveness of your sins and turn to Christ, we turn to them and his blood atonement for centers and enter into this great spiritual current.

Not a current that leads to earthly death and regret the current that sweeps us into heaven.

We hope you been encouraged by Pastor Don Greene's message today on the truth, pulpit, and that you will continue to renew your mind daily by immersing yourself into God's glorious word. There's more to come in our current series as the calendar turns so tuned into our next broadcast right now though Don's back your in studio with some closing words hi friend. As we close today.

I just want to make something available to you, you know, as you listen to these radio broadcasts they have to fit into a 25 minute format were very grateful for the opportunity the Lord's given us to do just that. But the radio messages are born out of a longer sermon message that contains more information, more background a fuller explanation of the passage and what were able to do on radio so I encourage you to go to our website and find the link that says follow Don's pulpit that'll lead you to a podcast that gives you the full length sermons from every Sunday and every Tuesday from my pulpit. I really think that old minister to you over time to hear the full-length messages we make that available for free and we would love you to join us in that way as well. Thanks God and friend to take advantage of what Don just mentioned, visit the truth pulpit… I built right inviting you back next time. When Don Greene presents more from the truth.

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