God-Help

0:00 Let me pray. Good and gracious God, may the words of my mouth and the meditations upon all of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our Savior. Amen. You may be seated. Well, friends, we enter the time of the message for today, and today's message I've entitled it, God Help. God Help, and I'll explain that in just a moment as to why I put it that way. Are you all familiar with self-help books? Yes, so I'm playing off of self-help idea and looking at God help, if you will.

0:39 So there's no shame here. Has anyone ever read a book for self-help reasons? Yeah, I have for sure. Remember my first self-help book was How to Ask a Girl on a Date in Three Easy Steps. Just kidding, but there probably is a book like that. It would be a good help, I'm sure. It would be a good help. But a self-help book is what it says it is. It's how do you help yourself in some area? How do you grow? Whether it's time management, maybe it's some addiction issues, maybe it's relationships, maybe it's making money.

1:11 There's a lot of good self-help books out there. I'll be talking about a few of them. But what's key for today is that humans, I believe, we want to be better at something. We want to improve ourselves. And that's what self-help books tend to do. So to ease into this a little bit, here's a little bit of a joke to get us going. It's about self-help. It's this. So for today's purpose and my main point of the sermon, it's this. Psalm 119, verses 33 to 40.

1:51 There's a promise there. And the promise is that God is going to enable people who seek him through this type of prayer or in general. But this is a God help section of the Bible, if you will. God wants to help his people. So what we're going to look at today is some, not specifically self-help books, but again, how God helps you in this. And I'm going to frame it by referencing kind of, I think, some very popular self-help books, two of them fairly older, one a little more recent.

2:21 But before we get to that, I want to talk just briefly, you might be familiar with some of the things about Psalm 119 and then this section specifically. Psalm 119, if you're not familiar, it's a very, very long psalm. And it's because it's an acrostic poem that's split into 22 stanzas, and it typically has eight verses for each stanza. And it also goes along with the acrostic piece of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. So this section that we're in, verses 33 through 40, it's on the fifth Hebrew letter of the alphabet called the He.

2:59 The He. It looks like H-E. And the interesting part about the He, a word, or typically verbs and words that start with this, they're usually about causation. They're usually about it will affect something. So the point of these verses, as you'll start to see, is that this person is praying and asking God in a way that God is going to do something, that God is going to affect something and change something. This person will experience an interaction with God, and it will change and transform, because if in a way it's about a cause and effect between you and God or the psalmist and God.

3:40 So, a little bit about that, the background, the context, some interesting language pieces. But for this to make a little more sense, I want to frame again this sermon around self-help books, and maybe contrasting them to help us with this. So the first section of verses is verses 33, 34, and 35. And that's where we'll look briefly. And this part, have you ever heard of the book, How to Win Friends and Influence People? Yeah, very popular book, and it was published in 1936 by Dale Carnegie, if you're not familiar.

4:15 I've actually never read the book, but I'm pretty sure I've come across all sorts of concepts. I'm sure you have as well. And the reason I bring it up is because it's still very popular. I Googled it, it's the top three, and this was the number one, apparently, still. But I think that's because everybody wants to know how to make friends. We all want to be liked. You know, if you want to start something, you have to find, well, how do I influence people to catch my idea and run with it?

4:42 How do I maintain relationships? How do I be a good person so people will like me and vice versa? So I think it's very interesting in telling that that's still a popular concept. And then when we look at Psalm 119, verses 33 to 35, you'll notice that I'll read it briefly over here. It says, teach me, give me, lead me. That starts with how and what does God expect? Teach me what I need to know. Give me kind of what I want from your perspective. Verse 35 is where I'll begin to focus.

5:18 And it says, direct me in the path of your commandments. What we see here is if you pray and you ask for help, you're asking what am I should be taught about? How should I live God? And this is in the connection to how you relate with God, a relationship. Relationships typically come down to expectations. What does my wife expect of me when it comes to the trash? Husbands, tend to take out the trash. There you go. So, when I was thinking about this, I was like, well, this person is asking for directions on how to relate with God so he can have a good outcome.

5:58 And I was thinking about this, how I think it connects with us all. Do you all, probably when you're driving and going somewhere, whether you know it or you don't know it, and I'd recommend you do use it, but do you use your map system on your phone? Well, yeah, for various reasons, especially if you don't know where you're going. But I always use it now because of traffic. But I bring this up because if you think about it, your phone has become this friend who sits in the car with you, and they have memorized the route.

6:28 They know every in and out. I mean, GPS is amazing. These map systems, whether it's Apple, your Google phone, or Waze, those types of applications, they're using GPS. They've mapped everything out. They know exactly where to go. It talks to you. It tells you, go here to avoid this. Turn left in 200 feet. It's a spectacular thing, and it's very helpful. Now, I bring that up because it's a relationship of sorts, and you don't have to do much other than hopefully trust it. Now, assuming it knows where it's going, it typically will work.

7:04 Now, back in the day, this will date me a little bit, but I think it will connect. Do you all remember how you used to get around? The Thomas Guide. The Thomas Guide. Usually a map or Thomas Guides. If you're not familiar with the Thomas Guide, it's actually still pretty fascinating, but it's a book, pretty thick, per each city and kind of state, and it was set up into a grid system. You'd look, but the problem with it was you'd have to stop every once in a while because you could not look at the map and drive at the same time, and then you'd still have to have maybe your co-pilot, your driver, to do that for you.

7:40 But even then, it was still kind of confusing because at a certain point, you'd have to flip and find out what page you need to go to next. Still not very convenient. So the Thomas Guide was helpful. And I bring this up because, again, your phones are now almost with you constantly. You use them. You trust them. They guide you. Isn't that interesting? The Thomas Guide was helpful, but this is kind of better. Friends, my point is this. God is better than Apple Maps, than Waze, and definitely Thomas Guide's.

8:13 And then here's the connection piece. You're going to go to pray to him. You're going to have anticipation that God is going to teach you about which road you should go on, why this road is better to go on, why you should probably get off of this exit at this point in life. And then why, more than likely, if you listen to it, and you heed it, and you let it cause an effect to you, it will probably give you a sense of delight. Because maybe you will avoid some of life's traffic.

8:46 Or maybe you will go through the traffic, but you know what? God will be with you. Isn't that interesting? Think of it like that. The co-pilot. You listen to it. You follow it. It helps you. It's there for you. Can I get an amen? All right. So, friends, God is available. Expect that he will help you. But you do also have to, if you're teaching, asking, giving. Follow those directions, and they'll be helpful. Well, from there, I want to talk about how we go from relating to God into the next piece.

9:23 And this is about money. Money. This is always fun. One of the most popular books, when I looked up for self-help, it was written way back in 1937. And it was by Napoleon Hill. This is not a familiar book to me, but Think and Grow Rich. Think and Grow Rich. I'm sure these ideas are still populated in some shape or form. More recently, though, I think there's the book called Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Very practical guide. Very helpful. People like, oh, his name is something, Ramsey.

9:54 A lot of financial advice, those types of things. So, money is an important piece when we think about self-help ideas. So, how does this psalm speak to that? The way I'd look at this is verses 36 and 38, which it speaks to. It says, What I see from that and how I talk about that today is there's a commodity being talked about here. What's valuable in life? What's the most important thing? Money is very useful. We need it. You've got to pay your bills. You've got to pay the lighting bill, air conditioning, all these sorts of things.

10:44 But when we look at this part of the psalm, there's an interesting piece. He says, turn two times, and then he says, fulfill, in verse 38. And fulfill so that something will become fearful. And I'll explain more of that in a second. But to talk about this, I was just recently watching a movie. As you know, I love to watch movies. And the movie, I won't tell you the title or anything, but it plays on many themes. But this is a movie about a very famous comedian.

11:14 He discovers that he has a very rare form of cancer. And he has little to no hope of survival. He does get some experimental treatment. Now, he doesn't tell anybody, which isn't uncommon for people in these cases. But the reason he doesn't tell anybody is because he's focused so much on his career and money and being famous that he's burned basically every relational bridge in his life. So he has no friends. Even if he had somebody to tell, hey, I have cancer, they wouldn't care because he's never cared about other people.

11:45 Well, long story short, he ends up finding a young man. Basically, he hires and pays him to be his friend and his assistant to help him through this journey. In the movie, halfway through, he does beat cancer. He comes to the reality that he would die. But then he goes, oh, my gosh, now I have a choice. Am I going to stay the same way I was before? Because I was prepared to die. OK, but now I actually have a choice. Am I going to live differently?

12:15 And it's an interesting piece because that's when the movie takes a turn that we start to see. Is he going to develop? Is he going to evolve? Is he going to learn from this situation? And so in verses 36 to 38, it reminds me of the power of things of being valuable and staying connected with God is probably the most valuable thing you can do. Are you with me? In verse 36, it says, turn my heart towards God's things, not selfish gain. Interesting. Verse 37, turn my eyes from things that look good but are not going to produce a helpful life.

12:55 Verse 38, one translation says, fulfill your promise to your servant so that you may be feared. And I think one of those reasons that's brought up is interesting is I think it just says feared in the sense of how scary is it when you think about I have to change and change is possible. And people can say, wow, you actually changed. And in the movie, that man had the opportunity. He beats cancer. But now it's scary because he actually has to live a different life. And so as a Christian, we're given a choice.

13:30 Do you turn from those things and do you show people, wow, God changes people? And it's not a fearful and a negative way. It's sort of a, are you going to take that challenge? Are you going to take that risk? Are you going to take that adventure and learn something new? So if you can imagine it happens to people all the time, they're given a choice, but are they going to change? As Christians, we believe if you pray these prayers, if you live this life, you will be changed.

13:58 And that's why I think it says, Bill, people will see and fear God because they'll go, oh, my gosh, this God changes people, hopefully for the better and usually for the better. Are you with me? All right. My final point here as we continue with the self-help book theme I bring up. Have you heard of Stephen Covey? Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Very good book. I've read this book two times. I really enjoy this book. I'd recommend it. But I bring it up for this reason.

14:29 We all, I think, want to be the best we can be at something. I don't think most people wake up going, today, I want to be mediocre. You know, nobody does that, I don't think. We all have our days. I'll give you that. You know, I get you. I get you. Today, I just got to show up. All right, show up. You're here. But anyways, as followers of Jesus, it doesn't really matter, I think, sometimes. We need to be mindful of how do you deal with failure?

15:00 You can be excellent, but how do you deal with failure? And that's what verses 39 to 40 I'll touch on today. How do you be an effective person if you can't wrestle with the reality that you're not perfect? Are you okay with the reality that you're going to make a mistake? This is hard for type A people. I had the whole spreadsheet. Everything was perfect. And it didn't work. Or I gave them perfect directions, but he did not follow them, and that that's why it didn't work, or whatever it might be.

15:41 Failure, not going through, whatever it might be. So, and I think also, too, this touches the other pieces. We want to be liked. We want to be good at something. We want to be attractive in certain ways. We want people to notice us. And the reality at times is for a lot of reasons, and probably out of your control, it's not always your fault. But you do feel the effects of it, right? So, let me share with this part, too. And this is a tough one, but I think it connects.

16:10 It's important. This is where you're probably thinking in your life stage where you're looking at your mortality. You're looking at the reality that you may not live forever. This isn't just for older folks. This is for younger people, too. You get on that highway. It's an interesting place to be sometimes. But the reality is this. You might be asking in your life stage right now, am I doing something good with my life, God? Have I lived a God-honoring life? When I meet God, what will I expect?

16:44 These are questions you might be thinking about and pondering. And I would suggest this, whether you've done a good job for your boss, for your wife, for your spouse, for whomever, even for God, if you've done a good job. You want to make sure, why are you doing the good job and what does that equate to? And let me explain. And it's key to hear this, verses 39 and 40, which I'll touch on briefly. You as a person are saying, you can try. You can do all the good you want to do.

17:18 You can try to be the best at whatever you'll be. But you're going to face disappointment and you're going to make mistakes. Okay? Are you ready? Yeah. Here's the key. God will still be with you. And you go, of course, pastor. Of course. Who is this guy? Well, we bring this up because look at this verse. In the verse 40 or 39, excuse me. It says, turn away the reproach that I dread because your judgments are good. Take away the disgrace I dread, it says in one piece.

17:57 For your laws are good. The verse is pointing out what you dread, what humans dread, not what God dreads. It's pointing out the things that you do and it's pointing out the things that God does. And when we make mistakes, we tend to hyper-focus on ourselves and how I could have done it better or it was someone else's fault. And you feel a sense of shame or dread or failure. It's a natural reaction. But don't confuse what you're experiencing with what God is continually going to bring to you.

18:33 Are you with me? Because it says it's God's laws that are good. The precepts are good. And it's interesting, too, because the psalmist is praying that he's going to receive these things. And it's notice in verse 40. Behold, I long for your commandments, God's commandments, not mine. And then by your righteousness enliven me. It's God's righteousness which preserves you as you live out God's righteousness. Not your righteousness. Nobody likes a self-righteous person. Am I wrong? Okay. Don't confuse your attempts at being good at something as that is good with God.

19:23 I'll say it again. Don't confuse your attempts at being good at something as that making you good with God. Doesn't mean you don't do good. That's not what makes you good with God. Are you with me? All right. Because this will help you with failure. And it will help you as you look at that day when you're entering into God's full presence. Let me come to a close here and wrap this all up. I offered the idea that Psalm 119 verses 33 through 40 is sort of a self-help but a God-help perspective.

20:00 But here's the question. Will you receive help from God? Ultimately, this is what the gospel is about. Do you want God's help? For this God-help to really make sense, you need to be like this psalmist. You need to pray. You need to pray and believe something's going to change. You need to ask. You need to seek the directions. You need to trust those directions. You need to follow those directions. Because if you want, God will help you. But you have to ask for the help. You have to be willing to say, I need help.

20:44 Now you're like, I've been a Christian for 20 plus years, 30 plus years, 60 plus years. And that's great. But I do think every once in a while, it's good to ask the question, is God helping you or are you helping yourself? It's begging the question here, are you asking for God help regularly? Are you going to pray and live in a way that shows that? The gospel, the good news is that it's okay that you're not perfect. God is not expecting perfection because God loves imperfect people.

21:20 He loves imperfect people. But at times we tend to go, I have to be perfect. God will not love me unless A, B, or C. He loves you for what you do, but it's not what you do that you are loved. Do you hear me on that? So friends, let me pray briefly and we will move on. Dear Lord, in this time, as we've reflected on how you help us, how we need you, I ask for each person in here, people listening online, that they know they're loved, not based on what they do, but who you are and how you're always open to helping those who ask help from you.

21:58 Help us to be like this psalmist. We thank you. Amen.