UNDERSTANDING ASAPH’S STRUGGLE

IS A KEY TO THE COMING REVIVAL 

TEXT: Ps 73 “How good God is to Israel-to those whose hearts are pure. 2 But as for me, I came so close to the edge of the cliff! My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone. 3 For I was envious of the prosperity of the proud and wicked. 4 Yes, all through life their road is smooth! They grow sleek and fat. 5 They aren't always in trouble and plagued with problems like everyone else, 6 so their pride sparkles like a jeweled necklace, and their clothing is woven of cruelty! 7 These fat cats have everything their hearts could ever wish for! 8 They scoff at God and threaten his people. How proudly they speak! 9 They boast against the very heavens, and their words strut through the earth. 10 And so God's people are dismayed and confused and drink it all in. 11 "Does God realize what is going on?" they ask. 12 "Look at these men of arrogance; they never have to lift a finger-theirs is a life of ease; and all the time their riches multiply." 13 Have I been wasting my time? Why take the trouble to be pure? 14 All I get out of it is trouble and woe-every day and all day long! 15 If I had really said that, I would have been a traitor to your people. 16 Yet it is so hard to explain it-this prosperity of those who hate the Lord. 17 Then one day I went into God's sanctuary to meditate and thought about the future of these evil men. 18 What a slippery path they are on-suddenly God will send them sliding over the edge of the cliff and down to their destruction: 19 an instant end to all their happiness, an eternity of terror. 20 Their present life is only a dream! They will awaken to the truth as one awakens from a dream of things that never really were! 

21 When I saw this, what turmoil filled my heart! 22 I saw myself so stupid and so ignorant; I must seem like an animal to you, O God. 23 But even so, you love me! You are holding my right hand! 24 You will keep on guiding me all my life with your wisdom and counsel, and afterwards receive me into the glories of heaven! 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And I desire no one on earth as much as you! 26 My health fails; my spirits droop, yet God remains! He is the strength of my heart; he is mine forever! 27 But those refusing to worship God will perish, for he destroys those serving other gods. 28 But as for me, I get as close to him as I can! I have chosen him, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful ways he rescues me.”

INTRODUCTION: 

The Psalmists, Asaph, is venting his frustrations in this Psalm. His name in Hebrew actually means “gatherer.” And true to his name he had gathered a lot of information about the contrast between those who follow God and those who don’t! This Psalm is the struggle of a believer trying to find the answer to the question as to why people in the world, who do not believe in God, seem to be living the good life while those who do believe in God are not!  

I believe what the Holy Spirit revealed to Asaph in this Psalm is a very important revelation that the Church desperately needs today. To many believers are struggling with the very same thing that Asaph was struggling with. And unfortunately to many believers have giving up because they haven’t taken the time to seek God like he did. In today’s message we will reveal the answer to this struggle. Make no mistake about it. The answer to this struggle is part of our preparation in becoming a vessel that God can work through in the coming revival. I’ll show you how. Let’s pray.  

1. The first step in Asaph’s struggle is the question: IS IT WORTH IT?

In this Psalm, Asaph is venting his frustrations. He’s disillusioned because he has allowed the world to get into his thinking. He actually says in verse 2 “But as for me, I came so close to the edge of the cliff! My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone. 3 For I was envious of the prosperity of the proud and wicked.” Those who don’t believe in God seem to be blessed. They are healthy and wealthy. And they don’t appear to be struggling with the same problems that believers have. 

So Asaph is perhaps wondering to himself: IS IT WORHT IT TO WALK WITH THE LORD? I mean after all, why should I deny myself anything if it really doesn’t make any difference? Why should I deny myself the pleasures of sin if there is no reward, if God makes no difference between those who follow Him and those who don’t’?

To be blunt, Asaph is questioning God! Haven’t we all done that at one time or another? I think we have. I know I have. Why are those people blessed like they are? They don’t even serve God and yet they seem to be doing really well—a lot better than I am! They make more money; they live in a nicer house; they drive better cars! They never seem to be sick or have any of the problems that I have to deal with. 

ILL. I remember a particular day many decades ago now, that I was a lowly security guard, pastoring a small church in Jasper and working an extra job for a security company to just make ends meet. One day I was working security at a man’s house who was a multi-millionaire. He had several garages at his home with very expensive cars in each one of those garages! As I walked around his home I was praying. This is basically my prayer or complaint to God. Lord, I’m tired of working two jobs just trying to make ends meet. I’m going to resign from the Church I pastor, and I’m going to go into business where I know I can make really good money! I’ll tell you the Lord’s response to me a little later in my message. 

The problem I was having that day is the same thing that Asaph was having. What problem is that?  I had my eyes on myself, on my problems, on what  others had and what I didn’t have. I was blinded to just how incredibly blessed that I was because I was failing to see that I had the Lord. 

After Abraham had rescued Lot and refused any reward from the King of Sodom, God spoke these words to him in Genesis 15:1, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." 

II.  And that leads me to my second point in Understanding Asaph’s struggle. God broke through to Asaph when he took his eyes off of the world and focused them on the Lord. 

When Asaph gets his eyes on the Lord, he changes the way that he is thinking. He goes from focusing on the temporal, what is passing away, and he gets his eyes on the eternal and what will never pass away. He gets his eyes on who and what really matters! He sees the truth of life!

It may look like the people who don’t believe in God have it made. But in reality, they really don’t. The truth is that what they have will not last. When Bob Hope passed away, someone asked the question: how much did he leave behind? The answer is that he left it all behind! 

Matthew 6:19-21"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Asaph came to understand that he may not have had very much by what the world thinks is much, but the Lord reveals to him, that because he has the Lord, he has everything!  

III. My final point in understanding Asaph’s struggle is his response to the Lord 

Asaph’s response is that he humbled himself before the Lord and repented. And here is the answer to Asaph’s struggle and also ours. 

73:25-26 “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Church this is the key to life. It is also the key to being prepared for the coming move of God. How is that? Because when we receive the revelation that nothing in this life is as good as knowing, belonging and tasting the Presence of the Lord, we will be ready to receive the next great outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Knowing Him and making Him known will be the desire of our hearts! 

When we get our eyes off of ourselves, our issues, and what we don’t have by the world’s standards, we will then realize how truly blessed that we are because we have the Lord! 

CONCLUSION

I want to conclude this morning by sharing with you the Lord’s response to me that day as I poured out my complaints to him at the house of a man who seemingly had everything by the world’s standards, and I had nothing!

When I told the Lord I was through with ministry and with working two jobs just trying to pay the bills and get by, this was His immediate response. “Yes, you can do that, but it is not my will.” 

My response to the Lord was this: Lord, then I will be here and do what I am doing until Jesus comes if that is Your will for my life. 

That day I came to better understand what Asaph said in 73:25-26 “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Lord, Your Presence means more to me than anything this world has to offer! 

And if I may just testify for a brief moment: I finished my assignment in Jasper and then God moved me to my next assignment. The money was not much better, but I can honestly say that it didn’t matter. And I can still say that today. Friends, I wouldn’t change one thing about the life that God has blessed with me. To know Him and walk with Him have been the true riches of my life. And one day, when my life is over here on this earth, I will step into His eternal Presence forever! 

I also believe that when we can receive this revelation from our hearts, we will have taken one step closer to being prepared to steward the coming outpouring of the Holy Spirit: 

73:25-26 “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”