SERMON TITLE: The Maze of Life
TEXT: Psalm 5
SPEAKER: Scott Miller
DATE: 3/21/21
You can watch the sermon here.
You can find the sermon notes here.
Good Morning Gateway!! CR 9, North Main, Online
1.2 miles….extremely difficult
250 rescues per year.
We didn't make it. We turned around. It was the wise decision to make.
We swallowed our pride and took a better path.
So why am I telling you this story: today we are going to be talking about Psalm 5 and it talks about a path that God has created for his people. Not easy but good and it will require us to make wise decisions.
Today we're going to continue on in the Psalms series. Several of the staff and Elders have been preaching through the Psalms and last week we heard from Pastor Jon on Psalm 4. And today I will be preaching on Psalm 5.
This Psalm was written by David and you can just hear his frustration in this psalm with all the evil in the world. It compares following the path of God with the path of evil. To help us understand this Psalm we're going to use an illustration that will hopefully help you to understand this Psalm and then to apply it to your life.
I'm going to spend the next ten minutes explaining this illustration. So stay with me or you’ll be lost.
When I was in elementary school in Apple Creek, Ohio we would have times when the teacher didn't have anything else for us to do, so she would give us a game to play on a piece of paper and this game was a maze. And this maze was like a puzzle and it was designed with a start and finish. You would take a pencil and at the starting point you would try to make your way through the maze to the finish.
Here is an example
Now if you're over the age of 40, you probably remember these from school. Remember we didn't have tablets or cell phones to play with or to occupy our time back in those days. The object of the maze was to find your way through the maze without getting lost or turning down dead-end paths. There was only one path through the maze and the purpose of the game was to find that one path.
Now I want you to imagine that this maze represents your life. Remember the title of this sermon is The Maze of Life. You have a starting point and a finishing point. The starting point or the entrance to the maze represents that point in time when you accepted Jesus Christ as your savior or as
John 3:16 (ESV)
For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only Son,
that whoever believes in him
should not perish but have eternal life.
So that is the entrance to the maze: Born Again In Christ.
The finish of the maze or the exit from The Maze represents our physical death here on this earth. So the maze represents your life journey.
The blue line represents your ideal, Christ filled life and more specifically the life and path that God has mapped out for you. It's living life according to his promises, commandments, and principles.
The roadmap for this blue line is the Spirit of God working through the Word of God in our lives. Remember when we enter the maze, HERE, we receive the Spirit of God , as OUR OWN PERSONAL TOUR GUIDE, which uses the Word of God to guide us through life
So This is God's desire for all of his children; that they would live a life according to his path because that's what we were designed for and created for :
John Piper said:
God is not just showing up after the trouble and cleaning it up. He is plotting the course and managing the troubles with far-reaching purposes for our good and for the glory of Jesus Christ. -John Piper.
God wants what is good for us…….. let me say that again …..God wants what is good for us and since he is our creator and he is good, he knows what path we should follow………..HOWEVER
However, our lives have many delays, detours, and turning points and that's what all these other paths represent in the maze. All these other paths are not of God and they lead to dead ends and disappointments.They may appear on the surface to lead us into a path of happiness, but in the end we are simply going down a wrong path. These other paths represent evil so everything off the line is not of God and therefore evil. We will talk more about this soon.
Are you all with me so far? Shake your head!!!!
I have identified four different points that you could be in your life in relationship to God in this maze. In just a second, I'm going to ask you to be honest with yourself and identify with one of these four points. Let me explain the four different points:
POINT A: This point represents a person who is outside of God's family. In other words, you have not committed your life to following Jesus Christ.
Maybe you have decided to do things your own way.
Or Maybe you have decided that you’re just not good enough to travel on God’s path. You have done too many bad things in your life that you just don’t deserve to be in God’s Kingdom.
Or Maybe you know about God and your searching for that doorway into the maze, but you just haven't pulled the trigger and made a commitment to being a Christ follower.
Either way, You're located outside of God's Will and plan for your life and you’re trusting in your own understanding.
I HAVE GREAT NEWS FOR YOU!!!
We'll talk more about this later.
SO MAYBE YOUR AT POINT A
POINT B: This point represents a believer….. A true follower of Christ. Someone who has denied themselves, picked up their cross and is following Jesus. They truly want to please God and follow in his ways.They realize that they need to trust in the Lord with all their hearts and not lean on their own understanding.
Their preference is to live on this blue line.
SO MAYBE YOUR AT POINT B
POINT C: This represents a Believer who has just gotten off of God's path. They haven't ventured far down that road away from God but they're starting to drift away. The evil of the world and the desires of the flesh are much more enticing and desirable then God's path.
Maybe you have just made a few bad decisions in your life but you know God is there, and he is still with you. You've just been blinded to the truth.
SO MAYBE YOUR AT POINT C
POINT D: This point represents a Believer who has ventured a far distance away from God. You barely can hear his voice anymore and you're now reaping the consequences of the evil and wrong decisions that you've allowed to creep into your life. Relationships are not what they're supposed to be and you find yourself worshipping other things which are called idols.
SO MAYBE YOUR AT POINT D
OK, do you get it? Can you identify with one of those four points.
A: outside of God’s Kingdom…
B: I'm a believer and living in God’s will
C: I'm a believer but i've started to flirt w the world and my own ways
D: I'm a believer but I've lost my way and I need to find my way back home.
Now I want you to look at this Maze and call it your own. In the blank put your name. Like Scott's maze. And then identify with one of those four points.
THIS IS YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW!! You're either at point A, point B, point C, or Point D. The reality is that we have all been at all four points sometime in our lives.
Right………….. I know I have.
When I was a young boy I was at point A:
I just didn't know God
Then at Camp Luz in Kidron, Ohio I gave my life to Jesus and I entered the maze and started living my life like a point B person.
Then I started to drift: sometimes at point C, slightly off the path, sometimes on the line at point B
and one very significant time which you will hear about, I was at point D.
But my point is that we can probably identify with all 4 of these points.
Now... we're going to look at Psalm 5 and we're going to look at some bad news and some good news. This Psalm looks at what it's like to live our lives on the blue line. That's the good news. That's living God's way. But there is also some bad news: This represents living our lives outside of God's will, which would represent the part of the maze outside of that blue line.
OK ...Let's start by reading the entire psalm
Psalm 5:1-12 (ESV):
Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning.
2 Give attention to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God, for to you do I pray.
3 O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.
4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil may not dwell with you.
5 The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;
you hate all evildoers.
6 You destroy those who speak lies;
the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
7 But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
will enter your house.
I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you.
8 Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies;
make your way straight before me.
9 For there is no truth in their mouth;
their inmost self is destruction;
their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue.
10 Make them bear their guilt, O God;
let them fall by their own counsels;
because of the abundance of their transgressions
cast them out, for they have rebelled against you.
11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them ever sing for joy, and
spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may exult in you.
12 For you bless the righteous, O LORD;
you cover him with favor as with a shield.
Now I just want you to notice in the first three verses that David is getting God's attention. It's kind of like when your child grabs your face and turns it towards them so that you will listen to them. My kids used to do this all the time because a lot of times I would tune them out. Well that's what David is doing with his Father. He is frustrated with all the evil in this world and he is longing for something better. Let's look at those first three verses:
Psalm 5:1-3 (ESV)
Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my groaning.
Give attention to the sound of my cry ,
my King and my God, for to you do I pray.
Oh Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.
Do you ever talk to God like this? It's kind of like,”Hey God, are you listening? Please pay attention!!!! “ Well be encouraged because God wants us to pray and he is paying attention. So what do I want you to get from this:
God’s listening...Pray…. Talk to him like you would a friend.
God will make sense of your ramblings….
He is your King and your God
Alright let's move on to the next section.We're going to look at versus 4, 5, and 6 . I've entitled this section, God vs Evil . Now before I read these 3 verses I want to define EVIL for you.
The core essence of evil is worshipping
anything more than God
Let me say that again……..
Evil is an act of worshipping or preferring or exchanging or valuing something more than God . Evil is always defined in the Bible with reference to our worship:
The Israelities worshiped the Golden Calf….
rather than worshipping God
The Pharisees worshiped the Law and themselves….
rather than worshipping the Son of God, Jesus
In Today's culture, We worship ourselves or others or
Pleasure rather than worshipping God
We prefer what we think is good for us
rather than God’s goodness.
DON'T YOU FIND YOURSELF DOING THAT!!!!
We exchange the glory of God for a lie. A lie that says something other than God will make me happy and give me purpose in this life. IT IS AN ISSUE OF WORSHIP!!!
Romans 1:21-23 (MSG)
21 What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn't treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives.
22 They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life.
23 They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand.
That’s what evil is…. We trade or exchange or WORSHIP cheap, silly, foolish things over God.
So this line in the Maze represents God's path or God's ways and anything outside of that line is evil.
When we don't live in accordance with God's ways on this line we are worshipping something more than God.
WE ALL STRUGGLE WITH THIS, Because we all have a sin nature that desires something different than this line.
all right let's read verses 4, 5, and 6: God vs. Evil
Psalm 5: 4-6 (ESV)
For you are not a God who Delights in wickedness;
evil may not dwell with you.
the boastful shall not stand before your eyes;
you hate all evil doers.
you destroy those who speak lies;
the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
Let's take a look at all the names for evil. .This is what is waiting for you when your life deviates off of this blue line.
wickedness, evil, boastful, evildoers, speak lies, bloodthirsty, deceitful.
Doesn't sound very good…. RIGHT?
These are God's enemies that are waiting for you when you deviate from God's will...This Blue line.
They want you to transfer your worship of God, Our Creator, to the worship of created things, like money, food, sex, jobs, people, etc.. You see...It's worshipping things/stuff/ourselves more than God.
So what does God think of evil?
Well let's look back at these three verses:
he doesn’t delight in it, it will not dwell with him, it cannot stand before his eyes, he hates it, he will destroy it and he abhors it.
What do you think God thinks of evil? He hates it. Can't stand it. He will eventually destroy it and he doesn't want this for his sons and daughters. That's why he's created a path for us to live and he's given us his spirit to help guide us and to direct us. God wants what is good for us.
Let me summarize:
Worship God and he will lead us
Ready for some good news?
Psalm 5:7,8 (ESV)
But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
will enter your house.
I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you
Lead me, O Lord,
in your righteousness because of my enemies;
make your way straight before me.
David now moves from contrasting evil and God to his preference. Verse 7 starts out with “but I” or “but as for me”... I WILL ... “enter your house and bow down toward your temple in the fear of you”. What does that sound like? Enter your house/ bow down/ fear (reverence) of you. WORSHIP.
David is saying that I prefer to worship you Lord and not evil. I prefer to be on this path and not some random chaotic path that is not of God.
Now I want you to notice that I left out the phrase “through the abundance of your steadfast love’. This is a reference to Jesus and the Gospel. We will talk more about this at the end of the sermon but for now just know that this is very good news!!!!
Then in verse 8, David asks God to lead him because this is a dangerous world we live in. Lead me in your Righteous path because there are enemies out there. Make your path straight so that I can see the way. God has done this by his Holy Spirit. When you enter the maze or God’s Kingdom, he gives you his Holy Spirit to guide you and direct you.
When you get to roadblocks and detours in life God will guide you and give you wisdom. He wants to help you!!
There was a time in my younger days when I walked away from the Lord for 8 years. I was at point “D” in my life. I was wandering around with no direction and my life was chaotic and unfulfilling. I thought that the stuff that I was doing would bring me happiness but it only led to despair and emptiness. I was worshipping things of the world over God. It was a dark time in my life.
** But God was faithful and he led me back to his path.
By surrounding me with good influences, my wife, his Word, and a bible believing church, I returned to walking on his path. I started to worship God over the things of this world and he led me back to his path.
Psalm 23:1-4(ESV)
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want
He makes me lie down in green pastures
He leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
God will lead us!! Wherever you are at in the maze, he will lead you if you will worship him. You have enemies out there and you can't walk this life on your own. We need God and we need each other to make it through the Maze of Life.
God is for us and we have nothing to fear!!!!!!
Review: God vs. Evil, Worship God and he will lead you
Back to the bad news. David wants his readers to see the consequences of worshipping other things over God. In other words, what happens when you start to stray off of God’s path? This would be represented by C, D and A
This is the consequence of evil.
Psalm 5:9,10 (ESV)
For there is no truth in their mouth;
their inmost self is destruction
their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue.
Make them bear their guilt, O God;
let them fall by their own counsels;
because of the abundance of their transgressions
cast them out,
for they have rebelled against you.
OK, let's look at verse 9. It should sound familiar to you because it comes from Romans chapter 3. It is a description of all of us apart from any intervention of God’s spirit into our lives. Let's look at Romans 3:
Romans 3:10-18 (NLT)
As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous—
not even one.
No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God.
All have turned away; all have become useless.
No one does good, not a single one.”
“Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave.
Their tongues are filled with lies.”
“Snake venom drips from their lips.”
“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
“They rush to commitmurder.
Destruction and misery always follow them.
They don’t know where to find peace.”
“They have no fear of God at all.”
Don't read this right before you go to bed at night. This is a picture of pure hopelessness!!! THIS IS EVIL!!
Now verse 10 goes on further to tell us the consequences of evil
Psalm 5:10 (ESV)
Make them bear their guilt, O God;
let them fall by their own counsels;
because of the abundance of their transgressions
cast them out,
for they have rebelled against you.
So do you see the progression in the consequences of evil;
You will bear your own guilt…….You will fall by your own counsels……. And finally you will be cast out from God’s presence. Guilt….Fall...Cast Out…. Let me explain!!
So maybe you're at point C. You have just drifted off the path a little bit and you are starting to feel the guilt of your sin. That guilt is for your own good and it's designed to turn you around and get you back on God’s path. It’s a warning sign!! It’s the robot warning Will Robinson of danger, DANGER DANGER WILL ROBINSON. For all you Lost in Space people.
1 John 1:9 (ESV)
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
It starts with CONFESSION!
So maybe you're at point D. You have fallen in some pit by your own counsel. You thought you knew what was best for your life:
Maybe the pit you have fallen in is:
-- some addiction that you have become enslaved to
-- string of bad relationships that have lead you to a dead end
-- maybe it's just apathy and laziness
Whatever it is, God can pick you up out of the pit you are in and lead you back to his path. God is in the business of restoring and renewing his people. There is a wonderful hope for people who are at point C and D. Your salvation is secure inside the maze and you will find the exit door that leads to eternal life with God…..
But for now be committed to finding your way back to God’s path. God has a purpose and a plan for you!!!!!
So maybe you're at point A… outside of God’s kingdom. This is a warning: because of the abundance of your transgressions and your rebellion, you eventually will be cast out of God's presence. But don't be discouraged. I have some good news for you. That good news is Jesus Christ. Will talk about this some more, soon.
Now, God doesn't want any of these things to happen to his children but when we choose to live our lives outside of God’s will he will allow us to experience the consequences of our sin.
He doesn't want us to bear guilt….. he doesn't want us to fall or to be cast out. He wants us to live on this line and that is why he has given us his Spirit and his Word.
So what do I want you to get from this: There are consequences to our choices and decisions as we navigate our way through the maze of life. Camelback Story..
Make Wise decisions……………….
Back to the good news: Here are the results of following God’s path or living on this blue line.(B)
Psalm 5:11,12(ESV)
But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may exalt in you.
For you bless the righteous, O Lord;
you cover him with favor as with a shield.
Doesn't that sound better.
Isn't that what you want for your life?
Look at all the benefits of following God’s ways:
rejoice, sing for joy, protection, blessings, and covered with favor
That's what is waiting for those that take refuge in God. Those that live according to this blue line.
See God wants you to: Taste and see that he is good
Blessed are those who take refuge in him
STOP wasting your time with little, foolish, cheap, insignificant, man made idols.
God wants so much more for you in this life!!!!!
So you say, “OK Scott how do I take refuge in God….How do I live on the blue line” Well first you need to enter the maze. We will talk about this some more in just a minute. THEN:
Spirit of God working through the Word of God.
You have to know this book…..it's the roadmap.
God has not given you a spirit of fear but a spirit of power, of love and a sound mind.
God will lead you through the maze of life and he wants what is good for you.
Let me summarize: This maze represents your life right now. You're either at point A, B C, or D. God has a path that is filled with purpose for every human being and that path is filled with goodness, joy, hope, protection, and fulfillment.
He wants everyone to find that path and to live within that path. God hates evil which is represented by all these other paths and there are negative consequences to choosing these other paths.
If we will believe and trust in God and worship him above anything else…... then he will lead us to the door of his kingdom and along his path.
Now let’s finish with talking about where each of you are at right now. I asked you at the beginning of the sermon to identify with one of these four points:
Point D People:
You are further off the path. It’s been hard to hear God’s voice or sense his leading in the last few years. Your self seeking ways have led you to some mind numbing addictions like: Pornography, drugs, or alcohol.
Or maybe you just don’t care. You have lived your life for many years indifferent to God‘s ways and your ways just seem right to you and the pleasures of this world seem too good to you right now.
Or maybe the weariness of this world has just engulfed you. You're empty and exhausted and the relationships in your life have sucked the life right out of you.
Whatever the situation that you are in, God didn’t create you to live this way. He doesn’t want his children living in hopelessness and despair, and without purpose. He has a plan for you and that plan is for you to live on this line. He wants you to find your way back to his path.
Start With:
Point C People:
You have just slightly got off the path. You have made a few wrong turns in the maze. My guess is that a lot of you would identify with point C right now.
I have been at point C many times in my life.
Maybe it’s just apathy or laziness.
Maybe you’re weary from this pandemic.
Maybe you have been deceived and some friend or the Internet has fed you a bunch of lies.
Whatever is the reason ...There is hope! God dwells in you!
You need to get back on track with God.
I want you to try these three things:
Point B People:
You're in a good spot right now, you're enjoying all the benefits of being in God’s will. Your allowing the Spirit of God through the Word of God to keep you on his path. Keep moving forward and growing spiritually.
Scripture says that we are to be keeping our eyes focused on Jesus and running a good race. Watch out and don’t let someone cut in on you and deceive you.
This race takes work and it is not easy but there are great rewards. Like Jesus saying, “well done good and faithful servant”.
Be faithful ...Be obedient.. Be watchful and Stand Firm
Point A People: if you find yourself outside of God’s kingdom there is great hope. Remember I skipped over the first half of verse 7 in Psalm 5, but I said we were going to come back to it.
Psalm 5:7a
But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love
This is a reference to the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. See, God, out of this abundant love for us, he sent his one and only son to pay the penalty for your sin and now he is offering you a free gift and all you have to do is receive it by faith alone. He wants you to find the starting point of the maze. He wants you to enter his Kingdom …...and all you have to do is believe:
Romans 10:9 (ESV)
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved.
Please…. I plead with you. If you’re sensing that there is something more to this life than what you are living and God is knocking on your heart, talk to someone. Come talk to me. Talk to one of our pastors. Talk to a trusted friend. Talk to your parents. But most importantly, talk to God. He wants you to enter the maze and to start living in his Kingdom!!!!
END
*Way maker: God you have provided a way through life
*Miracle worker: Through your Son Jesus you have worked a miracle
*Promise keeper: guide us
*Light in the darkness: lost in the maze of life
Closing Song: Way maker
Closing Benediction
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