Living by Faith: Satisfaction

Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked. That's Psalm 37 16, one of the verses from today's text. It reminds us that earthly abundance, wealth, fame, power, will all come up short. After all, how could our souls ever be fully satisfied with anything other than the Maker for which they were made? We're continuing our Living by Faith series, focusing today on the satisfaction that comes from a confidence and surrender to the Savior.

Let's listen in. This is the second part of a message first preached on March 3rd, 2019 at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. It springs from this one thing, the human heart must have satisfaction, but there is only one being who can satisfy the last abyss of the human heart and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what David knew. This is what he is affirming in this paragraph of Psalm 37. This is what it looks like to live by faith.

So we've had two foundations of life contrasted here in verse 16. What do we do with that? Because the foundation of your life is the fountain of your satisfaction.

Now let's talk about that for a moment. What is the fountain of satisfaction for the righteous? He outlines it for us in three main phrases here in Psalm 37 verses 17, 18. Three points here to the fountain of satisfaction. Number one, and it's the phrases at verse 17.

Look at it with me. The arms of the wicked shall be broken, but here it is. The Lord upholds the righteous. What is that truth through the New Testament lens?

It is the fact that you in Christ, you are predestined. The Lord upholds the righteous. Verse 17 makes it clear that no earthly wealth or human power can uphold. The arms of the wicked will be broken. No earthly wealth or human power can uphold. But you are in Christ, which means you are predestined. Let me tell you what that looks like in a practical sense. God doesn't look at you and says, okay, now, gay has made a decision.

Now let's just see what happens. That's not what God does. Aren't you glad that's not what God does? Because it's not necessarily about, you're making the decision isn't what has made it true.

But here's the truth of the matter. When it says the Lord upholds the righteous, looking at it through the New Testament lens, it looks like this. For those who are in Christ, that is the righteous. For those who are in Christ, God already upholds the righteous. For those who are in Christ, God already knows and has you at the heights of his throne. Isn't that a wonderful truth?

He already has you there. That is a truth that is revealed to us in Romans eight and is also revealed to us in Ephesians chapter two. Those whom he called, he justified, he glorified. From God's perspective, we're already glorified.

We are seated with Christ in the heavenlies, the way the apostle Paul puts it in Ephesians two. So he already knows you and has you at the height of his throne. This is an indescribable confidence and security. And the outflow of that is the satisfaction in the life of the believer.

Because the word upholds is a word that means to sustain. He is my ally. I've got God on my side. God is for us. Therefore, I can rest upon him in a very secure way. That is a picture of satisfaction. So the Lord upholds the righteous. The fact that I am predestined. My life is in his hands. That brings me satisfaction.

Secondly, providence. Verse 18, the Lord knows the days of the blameless. The Lord knows the days of the blameless.

The blameless is those who have the righteousness of Christ. We contrast this, for example, with verse 13. Look at verse 13 with me. The Lord laughs at the wicked and he sees his day coming. But the Lord knows the days of the blameless. In other words, all my ways are known to God. Every moment of every day, every thought, everything, all of it is known to God from here to eternity.

And God is weaving all of that together. There is a song that I have discovered by a group. It's a church in Australia. And the group is called City of Light. It's their worship.

Team in their church. Here is one song that I really like. All my ways are known to you. It's printed on the back of the bulletin, by the way. The reason why is because we're going to learn this song. But let me read a little bit to you. In days of peace and days of rest, in times of loss and loneliness, the rich or poor, your word is true, that all my ways are known to you. No trial has come beyond your hand. No step I walk beyond your hand. No step I walk beyond your plan.

The path is dark outside my view. Still all my ways are known to you. And oh, what peace that I have found wherever I may be. For all my ways are known to you. Hallelujah, they are known to you. You see, there it is.

That's a portrait of satisfaction, isn't it? Why? Because the Lord knows the days of the blameless. This is another way of saying what Paul said in Romans 8, verse 28, that all things, all things do what? Work together for what?

Good. For whom? For those who love God. For those who are called according to His purpose.

The Lord knows the days of the blameless. That is a truth from Scripture. And what it means is just simply this.

Take everything put together, every aspect, every element, every sign. Every circumstance of your life, God lovingly weaves together all of it to produce His purpose in you. And that purpose is good. And the end of that is the full likeness of Jesus Christ.

We sang about it this morning. He is taking you to the place that He has for you. The Lord knows the days of the blameless. See, this is key in the fountain of satisfaction. And then thirdly, Portion, verse 18. Their heritage will remain forever. Their heritage will remain forever. This is in contrast to what he says of the wicked in verse 20. They will vanish like smoke.

They vanish away. That word heritage is a word that means possession. It's a word that means property.

It is a plot of ground. The Lord is my portion. The Lord is my secure plot of ground. For how long?

Forever. And this is what Peter affirms again in the New Testament. That we are saved to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.

This is at the fountain of satisfaction. This is what Jesus prayed for the night that He was betrayed, the night before He was crucified. He prayed for His disciples. He prayed for all those who would believe in Him through the word of the apostles.

That's you and me. Do you know that the night that Jesus was betrayed, He prayed for you. If you are in Christ, He prayed for you.

Think about that. What did He ask? He asked what was in His heart that they may be with Me. That's God's heart.

And He has made that prospect a sure thing through His redemptive work. You see, this is our fountain of satisfaction. The apostles' comforting words were this, so shall we ever be with the Lord. You see, that's our destiny. Now, this is our fountain of satisfaction, that we are in Christ, that He is my portion.

And you say, Rich, that's fine, but what does that mean for me now? Because all of this sounds kind of future for us. This is what God has for us in the future.

That's wonderful. What does that mean for me now? Well, David speaks to that because he knew you would ask that question. What is the relevance today of these truths? The relevance comes to us in verse 19. Two points here. First of all, significance.

Significance. They are not put to shame in evil times. I think you would agree with me that if we were to describe, if we were to characterize the short, temporary, broken life under the sun, it could be categorized as evil times. That's why whenever I follow a car that has a bumper sticker that says, Life is good, I don't believe them.

It might be good, they might think it's good because they have a shiny new jeep, but that doesn't make life good because it's fleeting. Life is hard. Life is broken. And it does us no good to deny the brokenness and the evilness of this life.

Life is broken and yet here we are. But God is good. And so they are not put to shame in evil times and that word shame means to experience the stress of disapproval.

That's what shame is. Experiencing the stress of disapproval. And God says of the righteous, they are not put to shame in evil times. In this evil time, this temporal broken existence under the sun, we who are His are not having to endure the stress of disapproval. You say, Rich, there's a lot of people who disapprove of me. Does it count? Whose opinion are you living for?

The one whose opinion counts, he approves of you, if you are in Christ. That should mean something. That should bring great satisfaction to us. Because it means just simply this, that you as a person, you are not valued by the measurable things of this life. You are not valued, the criteria of your value and worth is not in the same stuff that the world looks to.

You know, as they march down that fancy red carpet. And I'm not knocking entertainment, although I think it probably has a little too much of a rule in our lives. But what do they value? They value beauty, they value wealth, they value possession, they value talent. And these are good gifts from God, but they are not at the foundation of our lives because these things do not determine the worth and the value of the individual. And when we allow them to determine the value and the worth of the individual, we will be put to shame. We will be disappointed. You've been listening to Rich Powell, the lead pastor at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. The Delight in Grace mission is to help you know that God designed you to realize your highest good and your deepest satisfaction in Him, the one who is infinitely good. We hope you'll join us again on weekdays at 10 a.m.