August 19, 2001

What Are You Investing In?

Psalm 37

I assume that everybody in here knows what the stock market is, how you try to make money buying stocks, and then if they go up in value, you sell them for a profit. I have a friend named Don that's a retired Air Force B-52 pilot, and he has sort of combined business and hobby by becoming what is called a "day trader" at his home. Every day, Don gets on his computer, punches up various stock trading activities, and buys and sells stock on a minute to minute, and hour to hour basis. He buys stock because he thinks it is going to go up in value, and then when it does, he sells it, and makes a little bit of money. Of course, sometimes it goes down, and then he loses some money. The idea is, if he can stay on top of it, respond to price changes quick enough, his profits will exceed his losses. Something that is interesting, Don could care less about the company whose stock he is buying. Good company, bad company, makes no difference, all he is looking for is an immediate profit.

This is a very different approach from the traditional stock investor. The traditional investor would look at a company, decide if the company seemed reliable, did it seemed trustworthy and stable for a long term investment? If so, you buy a big chunk of stock and then just sit tight. Doesn't matter if the market goes up or down, doesn't matter if the price of the stock fluctuates, you lock in for the long haul.

I have a very close friend whose grandfather bought a couple hundred dollars worth of stock years ago. He gave the stock to his daughter, and then she passed them on to my friend. My friend cashed them in, and after all those years, after all the stock market ups and downs, economic turmoil and everything else, the stock paid a good return. It was a good investment.

In the spiritual world, there are also investors and day traders. People with very different goals. Day traders want to improve their lot in the world, and all they care about is a quick, short term profit. If following Jesus means having any pain or hardship, they sell out just as fast as they can. Real investors in the kingdom of God take a different approach. Whether things are good or bad, whether they go up or down, they have trusted their lives, their souls, and their fortune to Jesus Christ, and they are focused on a long term investment.

If you have your Bibles with you today, and I hope you do, turn to Psalm 37, and verse one. In thousands of years, some things haven't changed. There were day traders in David's time that were preoccupied with getting all that they could get out of this life, maximize their short term investment, and their apparent success troubled the godly folks around them. When godly people looked at them, and their short term profits, they probably wondered if they were smart to invest in the kingdom of God. I mean, if the day traders are all apparently getting rich, is it really smart to invest in the long term? That is an honest question. It was honest back then, and it is still an honest question today. What does God say about this?

Verse 1: " Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
Psa 37:2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
Psa 37:3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
Psa 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Psa 37:5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
Psa 37:6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
Psa 37:7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
Psa 37:8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
Psa 37:9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
Psa 37:10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
Psa 37:11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." And we will stop here for now.

The problem is that there will always be sinful, sorry people around that seem prosperous and happy, as opposed to righteous people that are suffering with problems and affliction. Why would we want to be investors that are in it for the long term, when it appears that the short term day traders are doing so good? That stinks! How are we suppose to deal with that?

First off, God tells us what not to do: don't fret about it. Fret means to get all hot and bothered about something, get mad and brood about it, spend a lot of time worrying about it. God tells us not to get all wrapped around the axle worrying about them, and not to envy them in their apparent success.
Verse 7 also tells us: "Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
Psa 37:8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil."

There is always a big difference between what we see in other people, how they appear to us, and what they're really like. How things really are. Don't be envying and wanting what they have, because you just might end up getting what they've really got. And it might not really be as good as they would like it to look. And don't copy and imitate those people, because if you imitate their methods, there is a good chance you will end up imitating their character.

"Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity." When we see their apparent success today, it is easy to forget that things will be very different for them tomorrow. Their success and pleasure is only temporary.
Verse 2: "They shall soon be cut down like the grass," verse 9: "they shall be cut off," verse 10: "for yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be; yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be." Their success is very temporary, but their destruction is ultimate and complete. Look at verse 35: "I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.
Psa 37:36 Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.
Psa 37:37 Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.
Psa 37:38 But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off."

Often it seems that we see evil persons who prosper and have the power to do whatever they want for a period of time, but eventually they crash and burn. There was an article on one of the internet news services a couple days ago, I wish I had saved it, but the president of one of those African nations that is in turmoil and civil war, a man who came to power through violence and bloodshed, is haunted by what he thinks is the ghost of the man he killed. Every night he sets an extra plate at his dinner table for the ghost of the man that was president before him, trying to make peace with this evil spirit. He is haunted day and night by a demon. Imagine the most powerful man in the country, he has everything that luxury and power can provide, and he is in a whirlpool of destruction. His days as a leader are numbered, demons surround him, and hell awaits him with an open mouth. That is just what we see in verse 12: "The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.
Psa 37:13 The LORD shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.
Psa 37:14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.
Psa 37:15 Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken."

Contrast the situation of the wicked with the promises that God makes to those that have trusted in Him. Look at verse 9: "For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth."
Same thing in verse 11: "But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace."
Peace is a marvelous thing, and every once in a while I need a good dose of it. This last Tuesday, Barbara and I went camping out on a little island on Cherokee Lake, and I asked the Lord to watch over us and bless us and give us a restful and peaceful time together. God is so generous, and so gracious, He answered my prayer in a wonderful way. It was like we had the whole lake to ourselves. We probably didn't see or hear a dozen boats total the whole time we were there, and only a couple of those even came within a quarter mile of where we were, and it really was peaceful. Next time we go, I think we'll stay for an extra day. Something we did before we left, we cleaned up the island from the trash and mess that other people had left there. I brought back about two big garbage bags full of cans and bottles. If the garbage truck spills my garbage during pick up next week, there is going to be beer cans and beer bottles everywhere. The neighbors will have much to talk about. But I won't worry. Verse 1 says not to fret, so I won't... much...

Anyway, when we camp out in an isolated place like that, it always concerns me that I need to take something along to protect us, because there are evil people in the world, but God says that the time will come when He will settle up all the scores. Verse 32 says: "The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.
Psa 37:33 The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.
Psa 37:34 Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it."
The Lord cares about what happens to me, and what happens to you. He is interested in all those that belong to Him, He gives them special attention, and He stays right on top of whatever happens to them.
Verse 18: "The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
Psa 37:19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied." Verse 23: "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.
Psa 37:24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.
Psa 37:25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread."

As we have gone through all these various verses, have you noticed that there is something that is tucked away in just about every one of them? The element of time. Words that speak of the passage of time, when it goes quickly, or when it seems to be going by too slow. Words like soon, wait, rest, a little while, his day is coming, forever. Words that speak of how we are to respond to all these various situations across the passage of time. God is promising that the person who invests in the world is going to lose out, while the person who invests in Jesus Christ will have a maximum return on their investment.

Verse 3, I want us to go over a few of these verses again, and notice what we are to do, and how we are to do it. Notice especially the time element in them, as it applies to us: "Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
Psa 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Psa 37:5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
Psa 37:6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday."
Do you see how in each of these verses, there is something that we do, and it takes place over a period of time, and then the investment pays off?

Did you notice that there is no instant gratification in any of these verses? There is nothing in any of these verses to cause us to think that if we do such and such today, God is going to stuff our face with cake and ice cream tomorrow. In a world that loves instant results, God says trust, commit, and then wait for the results. We don't like that, do we? We want what we want and we want it now. Verse 7 offers us no encouragement in that direction: "Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him:" Being patient in a society that is eat up with instant gratification is not easy, but it is the way God does things. Does this mean that God wants us to learn how to just tough it out? Just forget about how frail we are, how quick it seems that time goes by, and just try to make the best of things? No. God is too gracious for that. God never leaves us to our own devices, He tells us how to do what He wants us to do. God tells us all kinds of things to teach us how to make trusting and waiting on Him something that we are good at, something that is part of our Christian character.

First, trust. Verse 3: "Trust in the Lord, and do good." First you need to get saved, get born again, trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior. As a result of that, as the natural result of your genuine conversion to Jesus Christ, you should be bringing forth good works, a changed life, a life that imitates Jesus Christ in it's attitudes and attributes. That is primary. If that doesn't happen first, none the rest of it is going to happen either.

Second, delight. Verse 4: "Delight thyself also in the Lord, and He shall give thee the desires of thy heart." We talked about this some Wednesday night. What is it that you take delight in? What is it that fills your heart, your mind, your thought processes? That is what you delight in. Is it your house, your job, your spouse, your kids? God knows that we have need of all those things, and it is normal and natural to be preoccupied with them, but in the middle of the all the stuff that surrounds us, God says: "Delight thyself also in the Lord." When you get up in the morning and you have a list of things to do that's as long as your arm, and you can't imagine how you're going to get them all done, God tells us; "Think about Me, and let it delight you." Stop and think about Me, and let that thought fill you with pleasure. Take a break from worrying about all that stuff, and delight in Me; you'll be glad you did." Do we do that? Or do we miss out on the blessing? If you take time to take delight in the Lord, then it won't matter as much whether or not those other things get taken care of, will it? Finding your delight in the Lord will put a lot of other things in perspective.

Next, we need to commit our way unto the Lord. First, we trust in Him, then we find our delight in Him, and then; we commit our way to Him, and quit trying to meet all our needs from our own strength.
Verse 5 says: "Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass." What is it that you are carrying that God would be happy to carry for you? What are you worried about, that you can't change? What burden are you struggling to lug around, and meanwhile God could put it in His pocket, carry it for you, and you wouldn't have to fool with it any more? "Commit your way unto the Lord; trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgements as the noonday." When the time comes that you stand before Jesus, if you have received Him as your Savior, then He will see you as a reflection of Himself, as a brother or sister, as family. Your righteousness will be His righteousness, and it will be good in His sight.

Something that is neat to me in these verses, is that God uses the word shall. He doesn't say may, might, could, He says shall. That is an imperative word that acts as a command or a directive.
Trust, and you shall dwell in the land. Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you your desires.
Commit your way to Him, and He shall bring it to pass. Because you have committed yourself to Him, He shall bring forth your righteousness. Do you notice that God does not give Himself any options here? Do you notice that God does not give Himself any maneuvering room? Our God does not mealy-mouth around; what He says, He will do.

And while He is taking care of the details, while He is arranging our future, he tells us to rest, verse 7: "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him." Rest here means to be quiet. Not being lazy, but being at peace. Stop fussing. We worry and fuss, and God says that it is unnecessary, just rest and be quiet, He will take care of it. In verse 8, He tells us to cease from anger. I know a lot of you in this congregation have a lot of reasons to be angry. People have messed with you, and in some cases are still messing with you. God says rest. Be quiet. Do not fret yourself because of evildoers who prosper in their way. Right now you have some person who is messing you around, and it isn't fair, it isn't right, and you just want this person to do what's right and then leave you alone. Anybody here in this situation?

"Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass.
Psa 37:8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any way to do evil." Don't worry about paybacks, God will take care of it.
Verse 9: "For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
Psa 37:10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
Psa 37:11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
Psa 37:12 The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.
Psa 37:13 The LORD shall laugh at him: for he sees that his day is coming."

When evil people mess with you, remember that the time will come when they would give anything to trade places with you, because of where they will end up, and they will receive the reward for their evil.
God is very careful to remind us several times not to sink to their level, not to play the game their way. No matter how much they trouble you, don't you be the one to do evil, and in verse 27, He says: "Depart from evil, and do good, and dwell for evermore."

When people did evil to Jesus, He still did good to them. When they crucified Him, He still forgave them, even when they didn't deserve it, even when they were still laughing at Him and mocking Him and cursing Him. That is the kind of life that He calls us into.

One of the reasons that He tells us to reject evil, is that it is hard to follow after something that you are rejecting. It is hard to pursue after something that you have your back toward. If there is something that you know you don't need and shouldn't have, reject it, put it behind you, and don't turn around.

Practice learning how to wait. None of us wants to learn how to be patient, because learning patience is never fun, but learning how to wait is a little different. We learn patience through tribulation, we learn to wait by practicing waiting, and that is not necessarily bad. You can rest while you're waiting. You can be at peace while you're waiting. You can look forward to something good while you're waiting. You can think and meditate about what it is you're waiting for, and enjoy the anticipation.
Verse 34 says: "Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land:"
This is a wait with a built-in hope. There is something wonderful for you to look forward to, and that is seeing Jesus. There is something for you to do while you are waiting, and that is to keep His way. There is a hope of good things to come, and that is a rich inheritance. No instant gratification, but living a lifestyle of investing in the things of God.

Throughout this Psalm, there have been a lot of references to inheriting the land, those promises are to the Israelite. As believers in Jesus, we have better promises to look forward to, keep the promise of land here in context of who king David was speaking to when he wrote this Psalm.

Verse 34 says that the Lord will exalt us; that covers a lot of ground. What is your need? That is where the Lord will exalt you. Where is it that you fail and come short, and you ask the Lord to be your strength in places where you have no strength? That is where He will lift you up. That is where He will show Himself powerful on your behalf. He will exalt you. Count on it. Anticipate and expect that He will be all you need, and He will do more than you can ask or think.

Finally, God tells us to find ourselves a good role model, and observe what that person does; verse 37: "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace."
Is there some body that you know that has learned to walk in the ways of God? God says to take careful note of what they do, and how they do it, because God wants you to do the same thing. Observe and heed what it is that they do, and imitate it. This says something to us about the people that we hang around with. If you spend your time with people that are all good role models for being losers, guess what you'll learn how to do? If you spend your time with people that are all good role models for finding fault with their spouses, tearing down their kids, and passing the blame, guess what you'll learn how to get good at? What kind of investment would that be? Not a very good one. God wants you to get your focus on the right kind of people, and note what it is that they are like, and what they are doing. That is the way you will learn first hand how to have peace in your own life, from having a good role model to follow.

If this earthly life is all that there is, then we all need to fret. We all need to worry. Because there is no time to waste to get all we can, anyway we can. But this life is not all there is, and we don't need to fret. We don't need to be impatient. We can wait to see what God is going to work out. God knows what He is doing, and things probably won't make sense until the whole picture is painted. That's OK, because none of us have seen the big picture yet, and we won't, this side of heaven.

Trust. Commit. Delight. Rest. Wait. Those are all words that speak to us of making a long term investment in an organization with incredibly rich rewards, and the perfect long term retirement plan.

But it all starts with trust and commit. If you have never trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, if you have never committed your life to Him as Savior and Lord, then you have no part of having any hope in that plan. God is willing for you to have a part in that plan, but you need to be willing to bow the knee to Him, repent, and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. If you have never done that, let me invite you to do it today.