Perspective

Good morning. Welcome to Calvary Chapel. We want to welcome all those who are joining us online, Facebook, that technology type stuff. We just welcome all. Would you stand and join me in prayer? Father, we thank you for this opportunity this morning that you've given us to be able to come and worship you in song, to study your word together, Lord. Father, we come just as we are. We ask that you would just, by your Holy Spirit, fill us afresh.

May we be real before you, sing as unto you, look to you. By your Holy Spirit, open our eyes to see, our ears to hear, our hearts to perceive that which you have today. That we would be yielded to you, Lord, because you love us, we love you. We respond and we thank you in Jesus' name. You may be seated. For all that's going on and all we see before us, Lord, we thank you that you are faithful.

We can trust you in all things. And Father, those times we feel weak, we know in our weakness you're made strong. So we would ask for your encouragement today as you do encourage us. Bless our fellowship with you and with one another, Lord. And we just want to just continue. We need to praise you this morning. Praise you, Lord. Realize that and know that in our hearts that without you, we have nothing and we are nothing, Lord.

We need you to do, say, our hearts just let go. As well as our hearts. Yes, Lord. Yes. Father, may we be yielded to you, Lord. Yielded to to be used by you. For loving us and dying on that cross for us. Father. Make his face shine.

Lord, turn his face shine. Make his face shine. Before you and behind you and beside you. In Jesus' name, amen. Let's have a little fellowship time.

Good morning. Glad you can be here this morning. If you would go ahead and locate your seat. Grab a bulletin. We'll go over a few announcements. Over on the left. Hand side of the bulletin. All of the things are happening as usual this week. So take note of those. And find a spot to get plugged in. The other thing that is happening this week that is not in the middle section of your bulletin here.

Is that the prophecy update that Rick Hawkins does. The second Thursday of every month. Is happening this Thursday. So take note of that. Be down at the other end of the building. A few other things to pay attention to. We have both men's and women's. Fellowship breakfast this Saturday. The men will be here in the agape room. And the ladies will be over at Bricks.

Both of them at 8 o'clock. We also have our baptism coming up this week. This coming Sunday. Next Sunday. Not today. Next Sunday. August the 15th at Camp Horizon. That will be a time of also just family sharing together. So bring a covered dish. And we'll have a great time. Fellowshiping together as family. But also seeing some new lives. And so again if you haven't been baptized.

Please come talk to me afterwards. So I can get you on my list. And then the other thing is that Mark Austin. Is coming this Wednesday. August the 11th. That's 7 o'clock. Going to be sharing with us about the work. That the Lord is doing with them. With the Jesus Film Project. That they work on. So matter of fact I ran into him at the Brahms the other night.

So we got to visit for a few minutes. I'm very excited about what he has to share with us. So the only other thing that's not in your bulletin. Is that the Sunday. Sunday. School promotion is next week. Sunday August the 15th. So if you've got some little ones. They will be switching classes next week. So if you would make sure that your mobile device. Is switched over to the non-noisemaking position.

And we for our responsive reading this morning. Are going to be looking at Psalm 8. Psalm 8. We'll be looking at the New American Standard Bible. Just so that we all sound the same. If you don't have one. There should be one in your row. And as you are turning to Psalm 8. If you would stand in the honor. Of the reading of God's word.

I will read the odd verses. If you will follow along with Pastor Allen. And the even verses. Psalm 8. For the choir director on the getith. A Psalm of David. O Lord our Lord. How majestic is your name in all the earth. Who have displayed your splendor. Above the heavens. From the mouth of infants. And nursing babes. You have established strength. Because of your adversaries.

To make the enemy. And the revenge shall cease. When I consider your heavens. The work of your fingers. The moon and the stars. Which you have ordained. What is man. That you take thought of him. And the son of man. That you care for him. Yet you have made him a little lower than God. And you crowned him with glory and majesty. You make him to rule over the works of your hands.

And have put all things under his feet. All sheep and oxen. And also the bee. Beasts of the field. The birds of the heavens. And the fish of the sea. Whatever passes through the paths of the seas. And if you'll read verse 9 with me. O Lord our Lord. How majestic is your name in all the earth. And Lord we do thank you for that. We thank you for the fact that though you are so great.

And powerful and mighty. And beyond our understanding Lord. You have made yourself known to us. You've allowed us. The privilege. The grace. The mercy. To be able to know you. And to be in relationship with you. And so Father I pray that as we spend time in your word this morning. That you would Lord reset our minds. Reset our eyes on you. Help us to regain our godly perspective.

To take our eyes off of the wind and the waves. And to put them squarely upon Jesus. The author and the finisher of our faith. And we just thank you Father in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. You may be seated. And if you would open up in your Bibles to Psalm 33.

Psalm 33.

Last week we finished up the book of 2 Corinthians. And my plan is for us to move into the book of Matthew next. And so I was starting to think that way. Particularly because the book of Matthew presents Jesus as the king. And so I wanted to focus on that. For the next thing that we begin to look at. But as I was thinking about the book of Matthew. I was in my devotions.

This week. And the Lord really laid something on my heart through Psalm 33. Every now and then in my devotions. God will just lay something out where all of the points are even there. Where I just write it in my journal that way. And I don't know how it happens. It's just a gift of the Holy Spirit. That he just lays out there. And I'm like man that was really good.

And so a couple of days later I thought. I think I'm supposed to talk about that this Sunday. And so it was interesting. Because the title that I feel like God gave me for this. Is the title perspective. Because I think in a lot of ways. We're losing a little bit of perspective right now. We're back in one of those places in our culture right now. Where it's easy to get our eyes a little bit off of the prize.

To get our eyes off of the author and the finisher of our faith. Because of all of the things that are going on in the world right now. And so as I read Psalm 33. The thing I wrote in the title of my journal entry there. Was a really good Psalm to reset our perspective on the things of God. And so that was kind of what the Lord said. And so as I was thinking about this aspect of perspective.

And resetting our perspective. I was thinking about the things in the world right now. That seem to have our eyes. If we're not careful. Off of the things of God. Off of the perspective of the fact that God is in control. In all of these things. I started thinking about the issues that we've had in government. Both domestic and foreign. And no matter what your opinion is on anything.

Or what side of the political aisle that you sit on right now. We know that there's a great deal of division within our government. In the governmental system. And sometimes we can go. Oh man. How's this whole thing going to play out? How is this whole thing going to end? Because no matter which side of the political aisle you sit on. No one's real excited right now.

I had thought about the fact that we see natural disasters. And I know we always see natural disasters. But does it seem like they're a little more intense than they used to be? Not only domestically. But foreign. Not only within our own nation. But you know we're seeing flooding in places in Europe. We're seeing all kinds of issues. There was an incident. Higher town in California.

They got wiped out by a wildfire the other day. I don't know if you saw that or not. The whole town is just gone. And you see these things. And I know that natural disasters are nothing new. And perhaps it's the news cycle that we can see them a little bit more. But as you see these things. There's an intensity that builds with all of it. We've been watching the return of COVID.

And it's not a sweet sequel that we get to watch. Right? We've seen this come back again. We've seen it begin to resurge. And no matter what your opinion is on how we should be dealing with it. No matter what. We're seeing it happen. No matter what kind of precautions are being taken. I got a message from a friend of mine that's a nurse last night. And they said things are overwhelming right now.

We need a lot of prayer in the ER. We've seen all kinds of division within our nation. Particularly over things like masks and vaccinations. And things like that. And we've seen a deeper division. Not only in our culture. But even within the church. Over these sorts of subjects. Perhaps than I've seen over. Or just about any other thing. Besides something majorly doctrinal.

We've seen major divisions over that. And last but not least. We've seen incredible supply shortages throughout our country. You can't get anything right now. Right? Now, I understand that some things are going to be in short supply. And I understand. But when they tell me there's a potential coffee shortage. That's when things get real for me, my friends. I don't handle that very well.

Right? That's when I start hoarding. Listen. Toilet paper. Whatever. I've got other issues. But when it comes to coffee running out. That's when I get real angry. That's when I start to have a real issue in life. And no matter what you try to go get right now. They're going to tell you probably one of three things. Either one. It's much more expensive than it used to be.

Two. They don't have it. Or three. They can order it for you. But they can't guarantee the price. I helped somebody pick up a piece of furniture the other day. And they ordered a nightstand. And they said. Do you have a second nightstand? Or they didn't order that one was in stock. They said. Do you have a second one of these? They said. We'll have to order it for you.

But I can't quote you a price. Because I can't guarantee a price. Whatever price I tell you right now. Might change later this afternoon. When I order this. And by the time I order it. When it comes in. It may cost something completely different. I've never seen things like that happen before. And I know I'm only 41. But I've asked some people that are more seasoned than myself.

And I say. Have you seen things like this before? And they're like. No. This is the craziest time we've ever lived in. And because of all of those things. Going on. It's a little easy to become chicken little. Running around with our heads cut off. Saying that the sky is falling. I've been a part of it. I know some of you have been a part of it. But not only that.

There's overwhelming things that I've seen take place. In people's personal lives right now. Some of you. Your family issues. Or your family situations. That you're dealing with. Whether it be with your kids. Extended members of your family. Or for some of you. Even parents. Where you're having to care for them. That's a little bit overwhelming to you right now.

And you can sometimes. Lose your perspective. Because that feels like too much. And it's easy to get our eyes off of Jesus. Some of you are dealing with job issues. Not just because some people don't have a job. But some of you have too much work at your job. Because they can't find people. To fill all of the roles in your work. And you're going. I'm so overwhelmed with my job right now.

Because I'm doing three people's jobs. Because I can't get anybody to come to work for me. Some of you are dealing with issues of finances. Because it costs so much more to do everything. Right now. You're going. I don't know how I'm going to be able to pay for. X, Y, and Z. Because it costs so much more than it used to. And some of you are just plain old. Dealing with the busyness of life.

That we live in a culture right now. That says. You've got to just keep going. If you're not running to the next thing. Then you're not doing enough. And in all of those things. It's so easy to get our eyes off of Jesus. And to absolutely lose our focus. I was reminded of a story from the New Testament. And the story is about Jesus. And Peter. And walking on the water.

You know the story really well. But we may as well recount it. Because we're here. Jesus had fed the 5,000. And he sent his disciples off in a boat. To go across the sea. And as he sent his disciples off in a boat. He said I'm going to go pray. I'll meet you at the other side. And while they were in the middle of the sea. A storm came up. A great storm that caused them all great fear.

These seasoned fishermen. That were used to this sort of thing. Found themselves in great fear. Thinking that they might die in this storm. And then here comes Jesus. Walking on the water. And they're of course a little bit scared about this. Because rather than thinking that Jesus is powerful enough. To walk on the water. They thought instead surely this is some sort of a ghost.

Surely this is some sort of a spirit. That's walking to us. And they were even more terrified. Than when they had started. And so Peter yells out if you're Jesus. Call me to come out to you on the water. And Jesus says come on Peter. Come join me. And so Peter begins to. Walk on the water. An amazing miraculous thing. That only the ultimate power of God. Could allow him to do.

But as soon as Peter started walking on the water. Something happened to him. The same thing that's been happening to a lot of us. Over the past few weeks. He took his eyes off of Jesus. And he started looking at the wind. And the waves around him. Forgetting that he never should have been able. To walk on the water to begin with. Whether there were winds and waves or not.

He took his eyes off of. Jesus and when he took his eyes off of Jesus. You know what happens. He begins to sink. He begins to sink into the culture. Because the culture became too much for him. But here's the wonderful thing that Peter did. He did the one right thing that we can all do. Any kind of situation. When we begin to put our eyes on the wind and the waves.

Instead of on the author and the finisher of our faith. He looked back to Jesus and he said. Lord help. And it says immediately. Jesus reached out his hand. He pulled him out of the water. And they got into the boat. Today. I want us rather than looking at the wind and the waves around us. That are causing us to sink. I want us to look back at Jesus and say.

Lord help. That's what I want to do. In Psalm 33. Now I'm going to be reading to you out of the New King James Version. Because that's what I'm doing my devotions in right now. And I try to do it in the New American Standard. But it was one of those things. Where enough of the verses are worded slightly different. That the Lord just really ministered to me through this.

So I felt more comfortable reading it out of this. So if your translation doesn't 100% match up. It's okay. It's still the same Bible. They just translated a few words a little bit differently. Psalm 33. Rejoice in the Lord. Oh you righteous. For praise from the upright is beautiful. Praise the Lord with the harp. Make melody to him with an instrument of ten strings.

Sing to him a new song. Play skillfully with a shout of joy. For the word of the Lord is right. And all his work is done in truth. He loves righteousness and justice. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made. And all the host of them. By the breath of his mouth. He gathers the water of the sea together as a heap.

He lays up the deep in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spoke and it was done. He commanded and it stood fast. The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing. He makes the plan of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the Lord stands forever. The plans of his heart to all generations.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. The people he has chosen as his inheritance. The Lord looks from heaven. He sees all the sunsets. He sees all the suns of men. From the place of his dwelling he looks on all the inhabitants of the earth. He fashions their heart individually. He considers all their works. No king is saved by the multitude of an army.

A mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety. Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. Behold the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him. On those who hope in him. His mercy to deliver their soul from death. And to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the Lord. He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in him.

Because we have trusted in his holy name. Let your mercy oh Lord be upon us. Just as we hope in you.

Five things that I found out of this. That I feel like the Lord gave me out of this. That I think can help to. To set our perspective. To get our eyes off of the wind and the waves. And to put them back on the Lord. Number one. An exhortation to praise. An exhortation to praise. Notice what he says. Rejoice in the Lord you righteous. For praise from the upright is beautiful.

Praise the Lord with the harp. Make melody to him on an instrument of ten strings. I love the phrase that he uses there. When he says rejoice in the Lord you righteous ones. For praise. Praise from the righteous is beautiful. As I heard that all I could think. As I read that all I could think of. Is how wonderful it is. To hear all of God's people praise together.

I love to go to men's conferences for this reason. Listen I love listening to ladies sing too. I think ladies have amazing voices. But there is just nothing quite like. A room full of men. Pouring out their hearts to God in praise. In that deep sound. There is a power to it. There is a beauty to it. Unlike anything else. I think it is because God has made men to be spiritual leaders.

And so when men take that lead. And praise God with all of their hearts. I think God blesses it. By causing a resounding noise to come out. But may I say it is true of all of God's people. When you hear God's people praise. There is a beauty that comes into it. It is beautiful to the ears. And if it is this beautiful to my ears. Can you imagine how beautiful it is.

To the ears of the Lord. To hear God's people sing with all of their heart. I love to sing. But I am really bad at it. So I don't do it in front of people ever. But when I sit back there in my little chair. At the back of this room. I like to sing as loud as I possibly can. And I would assume that the sound guys. And the people on the back row are like. What is that noise?

It is me. It is okay. Don't worry. Your sound is still okay. You have not screwed up the volume. It is just me singing out. Because I just love to sing as loud as I possibly can to the Lord. You know why? Because praise from the upright is beautiful. Worship does something for us. Praising God does something for us. I think it does three things for us actually.

Number one. It puts me back in my place. It allows me in my mind to get back to where I know that I should be. And what is my proper place? Submission and dependence upon the Lord. You see that is what praise does. That is why praise should never be about me. Praise should always be about Him. Because praise ultimately puts me back where I belong. And I realize that I am submissive to the creator of the heavens.

And I am fully dependent upon the one who not only spoke the world into existence. But holds the world in its motion by the word of His mouth. We will talk about that in just a minute. It puts me back in my proper place. And you know what? When I realize that I am submissive and dependent upon the Lord. All of a sudden all the worries of the world. They are not that important anymore.

Why? Because when I do that it also puts God. Number two. Back in His proper place. It puts God back in His proper place of being the almighty God. That is why I am submissive. The creator of the heavens and the earth. And it puts God back in the place of being the one. The only one who is worthy of all of the praise. You see it puts God back in His proper place.

And then the third thing that it does. Is it puts all of my situations. All of the issues that I deal with in life. Back in the proper perspective. Because no matter what I am dealing with. When I realize that I am simply dependent upon God. He is the almighty God who is worthy of praise. Then who is the one that is truly fit to handle all of the situations that come into my life?

It is not me. It is Him. And so I am in the proper mindset to put all of my cares upon Him. To cast all of my anxieties upon Him. Because now I have taken time to praise God. I think that is why the best thing that we can do to start off our time together in God's word. Is to take time to praise God. I hope you realize that is not just 30 minutes of filler time.

So that I can get back to God. So that I can get my mind collected in order to come up here. I hope you realize it is not just time for all of the late people to show up. Which it totally is. I totally get that. Okay. I think I have shared with you before. I went to a Calvary Chapel out in Aurora, Colorado. Really big Calvary out there. One of my favorite Calvary Chapel pastors.

Pastors that church. And I go to that church a couple of summers ago. And we show up about 5 or 10 minutes before church is supposed to start. Because we don't know our way around. So we go and we sit down. And I was kind of like. Wow this is a really big room. I fully anticipate. I anticipated this to be a lot fuller than it is. It just doesn't seem like there is that many people in here right now.

And so they dim the lights during worship. And we are singing. It was great. Praising God with all of my heart. Throwing up my hands. It was just a great time. Tears streaming down my face. Oh that was so good. And I look around. By the time worship is done. I am like the whole place is full. I am like it is not just Calvary Chapel of Arc City. It happens at every Calvary you go to.

It happens at pastors conferences that we go to. Right. But that 30 minutes that we spend in praise time. Is not just so that the late people can show up. It is so that we can get our perspective right again. So that we can put us where we belong. Him where he belongs. And our minds back on the fact that God is good. And so praise is beautiful. When it comes from the upright.

The second thing he says about praise. Is notice in verse 3. Sing to him a new song. Play skillfully with a shout of joy. Now I could play. It wouldn't be skillful. Whatever. For the word of the Lord. The word of the Lord is right. I love that phrase. Sing to him a new song. That word new literally means fresh. He says sing to him a fresh song. Now I think we can take that one of two ways.

Number one. We should always be writing new worship songs. I love the old worship songs. Those are wonderful. I don't think we should ever get rid of them. Because there is great theology in them. There is great doctrine in them. And it is wonderful to remember our heritage. But there is also nothing wrong with having newer worship songs. That is why every generation writes new songs.

Why? Because it is important to make fresh the songs that we sing to God. That we not become stale by saying. Well that is the way we have always done it. So that is the way we are always going to do it. There should be something fresh in the songs that we give to God. But not only that. I think there is an even deeper aspect to this. Because I think the word fresh in the songs that we sing to God.

Can also mean a fresh understanding of God's grace in our lives. You see when we come to God. We should be coming. With that fresh understanding of God's grace in our lives. You say right. I have just got the same understanding I have always had. Then it is time for you to ask God. To give you a fresh perspective. On the grace that he has given to you. Because every day I mess up.

Every day is an understanding of the depth of my own sinfulness. Apart from the truth of who Jesus Christ is. Therefore every day is an opportunity for me to know afresh the grace of God. That is why we are told in the book of Ecclesiastes. That his mercies. Are new with every morning. And so I hope that every morning when you wake up. You sing to God a new song.

You say Ryan I don't write songs. I don't care. Sing him a new song. Make it up. Make it fun. Sing it to God. Have you ever thought about writing your own worship song? I remember the pastor in Johnson County. Always telling us this. He goes I think. I think everybody in the church should try writing their own worship song. He goes I don't want you to bring them to me.

I don't want you to bring them to the worship team to have them play them. I just want you. I want you to do it. Write your own song to the Lord. It could be three words. I love you. That's it. And if you just sing those over and over again. It's the most wonderful worship song God's ever heard. He says sing to him a new song. And then he tells us why we worship.

He says we worship based on his word and his work. Notice what he says. For the word of the Lord is right. And all his work is done in truth. Why do we praise God? Well we don't praise him based on how we feel. We don't praise him based on our current circumstances. Because I can almost guarantee. Most times how you feel or your current circumstances. Would not lend themselves to praise.

Instead what we do is we think beyond what's happening right now. And we think what does God's word have to say about this. And what will he work through this. Because whatever my situation is. I can have the distinct understanding. That it. Is going to be used for God's glory. Therefore I will praise him because his word is right. And I will praise him because his works are faithful.

So he starts off by saying. If you want to get your perspective right. Here is an exhortation. To praise the Lord. Number two. We see the power of God. The power of God. It says in verse six. By the word of the Lord. The heavens were made. And all the host of them. And by the breath of his mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap. He lays up the deep in storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the Lord. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spoke. And it was done. He commanded. And it stood fast. By the word of the Lord. The heavens were made. That will never. Not be fascinating to me. That will never. Not be amazing to me. That all God had to do was speak. I've always said. If you can believe Genesis 1.

One. You'll have no problem with the rest of scripture. Because if you can believe that. If you can believe that God can speak the world into existence. Then I have no problem believing any of the other things that God was able to do. Because if that is the powerful God that I serve. Then redemption isn't hard for him. Sanctification isn't hard for him. The flood wasn't hard for him.

Jonah wasn't hard for him. None of those things are hard for him. Because he's the one that spoke it all into existence. It's his creation. And he can do with it what he wants to. When we were in Colorado. It reminded me of the very first time. We went out to Colorado when I was a little kid. And when we went out there. To a place called the Greenhorn Valley.

All of the mountains were just covered with all of the trees. And I remember looking around and saying. How can you look at all of this. And think that there is. There is no creator. Because that's how I feel when I get out into God's creation. How can you look at all of that. And not think to yourself. There has to be a creator. And to know that God spoke all of those things into existence.

Makes him literally the most powerful being ever. Beyond our understanding. I want you to look at a couple of other verses with me. That speak to this same thing. I want you to hold your finger here. And go over to the book of Hebrews. I want you to look at Hebrews chapter 1. If you can't make it there in time. That's okay. Hebrews chapter 1. I want you to look at verse 3.

Hebrews chapter 1 verse 3. It says. Who being the brightness of his glory. Speaking of Jesus. Who being the brightness of his glory. In the express image of his person. Upholding all things by the word of his power. When he by himself purged our sins. Sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. I want you to pay attention to what it says there. In about the middle of verse 3.

The express image of his power. Or of his person. Upholding all things by the word of his power. What does that mean? It means that the whole reason that the world is staying. Spinning in motion right now. At exactly the right speed. Exactly the right distance from the sun. With exactly the right amount of force. Is because God is holding it in place. By the word of his mouth.

That means that the moment that God says stop. The world stops. That means the moment that God says stop. That God decides it's done. It's done. Because he is the one that's holding it together. By the word of his mouth. That's the most awe inspiring thing I can imagine. Go with me one more place. Stay in the book of Hebrews. Go to chapter 11.

Hebrews chapter 11. Verse 3. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God. So that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. It will never cease to amaze me that God spoke it all into existence. I often wonder what that would have looked like. I talked about this when we went through the creation account. When we were in the book of Genesis.

Because I often wonder as in each of those days. As God spoke these things into existence. How that actually worked. When God said let there be dry land. And the water sort of went. You know where the mountains just like. And the water did this cascading off of them. And all of the land came up. And God said let there be animals. And all of a sudden there was an animal.

Here's what I want to know about when God spoke the animals into existence. Did he say let there be beasts of the field. And they just popped up immediately as full grown animals. Or did God say let there be beasts of the field. And you watch them mature in fast motion. They started off as a little. And then grew up immediately that same day. I'll never know the answer to that.

But that's going to be something I ask God when I get to heaven. If I care about it at that point in time. Because to me it's the most awe inspiring thing. Look at all of the different trees that there are. How did God come? How did God come up with all of the different trees that there are? Look at all of the different animals that there are. Look at the alpaca.

Right? Not only is God powerful. He has a sense of humor. God is so amazing. And we can rest in the power of God. Because of his wonderful power. That's seen in creation. And so I love this next line that he gives when he says. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. I have a question for you.

When's the last time you stopped, looked at the things that God has created, and allowed yourself to be overwhelmed by the power of God? It's a difficult thing to do in the culture that we live in. Remember we talked about busyness? Because of the busyness it sometimes is difficult to stop and allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by the power of God. That's why that Psalm 8 was so amazing.

It says, When I consider creation the work of your hands, what is man that you are mindful of him? The son of man that you would care about him. Do me a favor. Tonight, find a place that you can go out where there's not a lot of light pollution. Where you can just look at the stars. And allow yourself to be overwhelmed by the fact that God put all of those in place himself.

And he spoke those into existence. Because it literally is so... It's so awe-inspiring. And it causes us to go, If the vastness of your creation was in the word of your mouth, then how much more can you handle the thing that sits in front of me right now? Is anything that I face difficult for God? And so we stand in awe of the power of God. Number three, we see the sovereignty of God.

Notice what it says in verse 10. He says, The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing. He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the Lord stands forever. The plans of his heart to all generation. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. The people he has chosen as his inheritance. God's sovereignty in the affairs of man is what we see here.

God's sovereignty in the things that are going on within our world. He says, The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing. I believe in the New American Standard it says, He nullifies the counsels of the nation. Now again, one of the things that we are getting very concerned about in our culture and in our world right now is the leadership that we see.

We say, Oh my gosh, look at what's going on in the leadership of the country. If you were on the other side of the aisle three years ago, two years ago, you were like, Oh my gosh, look at what's taking place in the leadership of our country. Sometimes we can look at world leaders and go, Oh my gosh, that person is so evil. What on earth is going on? How can God be good and still allow this thing to go on?

And, Oh Lord, what's going to end up happening with our freedoms? What's going to end up happening with our rights? And we worry about all of these things, forgetting the fact that God is sovereign in the affairs of all of this. That the person in power in our nation right now is not just there because of whatever your conspiracy theory is. He's there because God allowed him to be in power.

And you say, Oh, it's true. Remember what we talked about right before the election? We talked about the book of Daniel. Remember in the book of Daniel, with that time of Nebuchadnezzar going crazy and all that kind of stuff. We can do a whole other study about that now, right? Anyway, with that whole thing with Nebuchadnezzar going crazy and all that kind of stuff.

What was the one phrase that got repeated over and over and over again? Until you understand that God puts in power who he wants to put in power for his purposes and for his reasons. Why? Because God nullifies the counsel of the nations. Remember the story in the book of 2 Kings when Sennacherib shows up to Hezekiah and says, Hey, don't let Hezekiah and the whole nation of Judah.

He says, Don't let Hezekiah tell you that your God is going to deliver you. I've worked over every other single God. None of the other gods have been able to withstand me. And so Hezekiah does exactly what he's supposed to. He goes directly into the temple and he offers up prayers to God. And then Isaiah comes and gives him a message. And he says, This is what God says.

He wouldn't be able to do the things that he was able to do unless I put him in power. He wouldn't have taken over the kings that he took over unless I had made them weak like little girls in front of him. He would not have been able to do what he was able to do if I had not ordained it beforehand. And so know and understand that I will deal with him. You keep focused on me.

That's what God told Hezekiah. That this guy who seemed like such a mighty warrior in the world's eyes was only able to do what he was able to do because God allowed him to do those things because he was being used as an instrument of judgment in the lives of all of these other kings. And now God would bring his judgment on Sennacherib. Is it not true in our culture as well that God has a plan over all that he is working out and we don't have to worry about who's in power?

Ryan, what about if he takes away all of our religious liberties? Who cares? Is that going to keep you from loving Jesus? What if all of our rights get taken away? Do you remember the story of Elisha? Remember Elisha? The king constantly came against him because he hated Elisha so much. And as the king came against him, he was completely surrounded by all of the king's men.

And Elisha's servant was like, oh, we're in trouble now because look at all of these men that we're surrounded by. And what did Elisha do? He prayed, Lord, would you open his eyes to see the army that we have on our side? And God, God opened this kid's eyes to see all of the host of heaven around this foreign army. And he was like, oh, never mind. And so then Elisha goes to all of these guys

and he casts blindness upon them through the power of the spirit. And then he leads them to a foreign army and says, here, these are the guys that you're looking for. And they take them all captive. You know why? Because God is sovereign in the affairs of man and he nullifies the counsel of the nations. So they can take away every single right that we have,

they can't stop Jesus. Because as Paul says in the book of 2 Timothy, the word of God is not chained. You know where Paul was when he wrote that? He was in chains.

The entire book of Daniel should be the greatest testimony to the fact that God is sovereign in the affairs of man. I love that God lays out so many things before they even begin to happen, right? The fact that God laid out the fact that first of all was going to be the Babylonian empire, which was going at that point in time. He said, but don't worry, then the Persians are coming and then the Greeks are coming and then the Romans are coming.

And he even told us what was going to be happening here in the near future with a 10 nation confederation that's going to end up coming together sometime soon. God told all of those things. Why? Because God nullifies the counsels of the nation and he does what he sees is right to work out his plan. And so the next time that you find yourself going, oh my gosh, what's going on in Washington?

Say, it doesn't matter because I know what's going on in heaven because I know that God is in control of all of these things and I can rest in it instead of fretting over it. I can rest in the fact that God makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the Lord stands forever. The plans of his heart to all generations. Friends, we can rest in that.

And then we can go back to doing what God has called us to do because what has God called us to do for all of those that are making plans? He says, I would that men everywhere would lift up holy hands in prayer for all those in governing positions. I don't remember the exact verbiage he uses but that's the terminology. That's the idea. I would that men everywhere would pray for them

and that's... What we need to be doing, understanding that God is sovereign and God is in control.

The next thing he tells us, number four, is that God is concerned for each of us individually. God is concerned for each of us individually. Notice what he says. Verse 13. The Lord looks from heaven and he sees all the sons of men. From the place of his dwelling, he looks on all the inhabitants of the earth. He fashions their hearts individually. He considers all their works.

He says, the Lord looks down from heaven and he sees all the sons of men. The word sees there literally means to see with your own eyes. Now, we're given an indication and understanding here of the way that God views all of us here on earth. And that's that God with his own eyes sees everything that's going on right here on earth. And he sees it in each of us individually.

I'm reminded of the children of Israel when they were in captivity in Egypt or when they were enslaved in Egypt. Remember what God said right before he called Moses. I have seen their affliction. I have heard their cries. I know what they're going through. And now I'm about to act on their behalf. That phrase is repeated over and over again in the book of Exodus.

Because we, we need to have the distinct understanding that God sees what's going on in our lives. As we look at the things happening in our world with supply shortages and all those kinds of things, those don't escape the understanding and the vision of God. Those don't escape his sight. And the thing that you have going on in your life individually, God sees it and God is well acquainted with it.

He's looking at it right now. And we can know and understand that God sees, he hears, and he knows what's going on in each of our lives. He sees, he hears, and he knows what's happening in our world, what's happening in our nation. He sees and he hears and he knows all of the people that are being affected by all of the natural disasters that are happening in our world right now.

Those don't escape him. He's not like, oh gosh, I should have been reading the paper the past few days because I had no idea that stuff was going on. He pays attention to it. And God is personally involved in the understanding of everything that's taking place, not only globally, domestically, but individually. With each one of us. Because he also sees that you're overwhelmed

in your life right now. He sees that sometimes you're not handling the stress of life very well. He sees that that is causing you anxiety in your life right now. He sees that that's causing you some depression right now. He sees that that's causing you fear right now. He sees that you're not sleeping very well at night right now because you keep waking up thinking about

the overwhelming nature of life. He sees that you, you are not spending as much time in the word right now, not because you don't want to, but because you can't get your mind focused because you're too worried about all the things that are going on in the world right now. He sees that you're having a hard time praying because you're having a hard time getting your mind settled down enough to really spend time in prayer with him. He sees all of those things.

And he knows all of those things. And he cares about all of those things. And he wants to act on your behalf. He wants to be your peace. He wants to be your calm. He wants to be your focus. He wants to do all of those things in your life. But we first have to understand that he sees these things. Sometimes when we're going through things in life, we tell ourselves the lie that we're all alone.

We talked about this last week, didn't we? We tell ourselves that lie, I'm all by myself and nobody else can see what goes on. Nobody else can see what's happening. God, I'm all by myself. I'm all by myself. I'm all by myself. God sees and he knows. One of the things that I battle with sometimes is trying to figure out how to put my thoughts into words, how to put all of the things that go on in my mind

into the words that I want to say. I just say, Lord, but you know what? Because he sees and because he knows. What does scripture tell us? That he intercedes on our behalf with groanings that can't be heard. That he can't be uttered in words. He sees all of those things. And so he is personally paying attention to the things going on in your life individually.

But then I want you to notice what it says. It says, The Lord looks from heaven. He sees the sons of men. He looks on from his dwelling place on all the inhabitants of the earth. And then look at verse 15. It says, He fashions their hearts individually. He fashions their hearts individually. It's a great word, this word fashion. It's the same word that's used

in the book of Genesis about creation when God says that he created us from the dust of the earth because the idea is that he fashions us like a potter molding clay. Here's the thing. When God created us, as it tells us, when he knit us together in our mother's womb, the same idea is there. There's a hands-on approach. But God did not stop. Once he created us,

God did not just say, okay, you're on your own now. No, what's he still in the process of doing? He's still in the process of molding, shaping, and fashioning our hearts to be who he has created for us to be. It starts with salvation. I personally believe God is individually or personally involved in the individual life of every single individual. It's just some people are rejecting him

because that shaping of our hearts begins with salvation. You know how I know, at least I feel like I know why God, is involved with everybody, even if they're not saved. It's because what is the story everybody tells you when they come to know Jesus? I looked back on my life, and I realized that was God. I looked back on my life, and I realized that was Jesus at work in my life.

What was he doing all of that time? He was fashioning your heart like a potter would fashion clay. Do you know what I think is going to be the saddest thing in the world for people that end up going to hell? Is they're going to be able to look back on their life and go, that was Jesus. He was giving me an opportunity, and I rejected it. It's kind of like that story of the guy

that needed to be rescued from a flood, right? You've heard this story, right? It's not a true story. It's just an idea. The guy hears that there's a hurricane coming, and he goes, oh man, I bet the floodwaters are coming too. I should be prepared. Nope. God has promised he's going to deliver me. Well, the floodwaters start rising, and as the flood, before the floodwaters,

the floodwaters start rising. Somebody comes along in a pickup truck and says, hey, floodwaters are coming. Why don't I rescue you? Because I think your house is going to get flooded. And he goes, nope, God's going to rescue me. So the pickup truck goes by, and he says, nope, God's going to take care of me. So floodwaters start rising. He gets up on his roof.

A boat comes by. He says, hey, let me rescue you. Your house is totally flooded. You've got to get out somehow. And he says, nope, God is going to rescue me. And then pretty soon a helicopter comes along, lowers a rope and says, let me haul you off your house. You need rescue. That whole thing is going to get covered in water. He says, nope, God's going to rescue me.

Eventually he drowns. He gets to heaven. And he says, what happened? I thought you were going to rescue me. And God says, I sent a truck, I sent a boat, and I sent a helicopter. What else was I supposed to do? And that's what people are going to do when they get to, not heaven, and they realize God was at work that entire time. But you see, not only does the fashioning

take place in salvation, but it continues. Because God is personally involved with the shaping of your heart to fashion you into who he wants you to be. I like the idea that is used here with this word of a potter fashioning clay because it means a real hands-on approach. I think I've shared with you before, sometime if you ever have the chance, you should go over to Elk Falls, Kansas and see if you can show up sometime when Steve Fry, who's an elder over at the Calvary Chapel over there, when he is making, he's making some stuff.

He's a potter and he fashions the clay and I love watching him do it. First of all, it's just an amazing process to watch because he takes this lump of clay and he spins it on this wheel and he gets his hands all wet and he starts fashioning it into what he wants for it to be. And he tells an interesting little story about it while he's at it. But it's so amazing to watch because his hands are so intimately acquainted with every part of that piece of clay because he is personally involved with it.

He can't just step back and say, okay, there it is. He has to have his hands in it. Now, if God were to want to, he could just speak and your heart would become exactly what he wants for it to be. But God chose a different way to work in our lives. God chose to work in our lives in a very personal, hands-on sort of fashion because he cares about each of us individually.

And so he is at work in your life fashioning you into who he wants you to be. It says he fashions their hearts individually. And then the third thing he says is that, he considers all of their ways. Now, in this particular one, I do appreciate the New American Standard Translation. He says, he understands all their ways. Isn't that the great thing about God?

He knows everything about us. And what's really great is that even though he knows everything about us, he still loves us. And he's still willing to work in us individually. Because I guarantee if you knew everything there was to know about me, you might not love me anymore. Quite frankly, if I knew everything there was to know about you, I might not love you anymore.

But God knows it all. And he still loves us. And he still works in us individually. Number five, God delivers those who trust in him. Notice what he says in verse 16. No king is saved by the multitude of an army. A mighty man is not delivered by great strength. And a horse is a vain hope for safety. Neither shall it deliver any by his great strength. So he talks first of all about the things

that we should not be delivered by. He says, we can't count on an army. We can't count on our strength. And we can't count on a horse. I've never really depended upon a horse except that time I went on a trail ride. But I think I get the idea of what he's talking about there. Because a horse was considered to be something of great strength at that point in time.

Basically, he says, there's nothing in you. There's nothing in other people. And there's nothing. There's nothing on earth that we can put our trust in. And what are we battling with right now? We're battling with putting our trust in ourselves. We're battling with putting our trust in a government. We're battling with putting our trust in an economy. And what we're starting to find out is

none of those things are worth putting our trust in. So what do we need to do? We need to put our trust in the only one who can truly deliver us. Notice what it says. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his mercy. To deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine. I love the idea that he gives us here when he says,

behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him. I looked that up to see exactly what he meant by the eye of the Lord. And here's the idea that's given to us with that phraseology. The idea is, I'm going to keep my eye on them. It is a protecting, watchful eye that's being kept on each and every one of us. But let me give you a little illustration. When we were in Colorado,

and we decided to climb up the mountain, we were there with three families. One of the families didn't want to go, but their 11-year-old son did. And they were a little nervous about him going because he's an 11-year-old kid. And so when we got ready to leave, I said, don't worry, I'll keep my eye on him. And they said, thanks, that means a lot. And so that entire trip, the whole time we were walking,

I was always making sure where that young man was because I had told them, I will keep an eye on him. That's the same idea that's given to us here with God, is that he keeps his eye on us, a watchful, protective eye that he keeps on us. You say, Ryan, then why do bad things happen sometimes? Because God's plans are greater than ours. If God was keeping a protective eye on me,

then why did this happen to me? Because everything that happens to us has already been filtered through the hands of a loving God and is being kept under watchful eye. And so we can know and understand that whatever comes into our lives is for God's glory and for our good. And God will ultimately work it out for something beautiful. We're promised that in Scripture,

that for those who love God, he works all things together for good. He says, I was thinking about another story from the Old Testament with this idea of famine. I was thinking about Elijah. Remember there was a widow that Elijah, Elijah befriended during the famine that was taking place. Elijah had said, there won't be rain for, I believe it was three years,

won't be rain for three years. And he came across a widow and God said, you need to go talk to her. And so he goes and talks to her. He says, what do you have in here? She said, I have enough to make one more cake of bread. I'm going to make that. We're going to eat it. And then me and my son are going to die. And he said, do me a favor, make that cake for me.

And then I promise you, you will not run out. And so she made him that last little cake of bread with the last bit of what she thought was the last flour and oil that she had in order to make bread. But do you know what happened? That flour and that oil did not run out until there was rain again and she could grow more. Why? Because his watchful eye is on those who love him

to keep them safe in famine. I love that Psalm that says, I was young and now I am old. And I have never seen the descendants of God begging for bread. Why? Because he takes care of us. All of the things that the world says we should put our trust in, they'll do nothing for us. Our trust needs to be in God. And he goes on to say that. He says, our soul waits for the Lord.

He is our help and our shield for our heart shall rejoice in him because we have trusted in his holy name. Let your mercy, oh Lord, be upon us just as we hope in you. Our soul waits for the Lord. And sometimes that's the process we have to take is a process of waiting. But as we wait on the Lord, what does he do for us? Those of you that are here Wednesday night,

he renews our strength, right? As we wait on the Lord, he renews our strength and our hope is in him. I don't know where everybody here sits this morning as far as how your mental well-being is or what you're doing, but I know that you're doing it. I know that you're doing it. I know that you're doing it. I know that you're doing it. I know how your perspective is.

Perhaps this was only for me. But if you have found yourself in that same place of getting a little overwhelmed with things that are going on in the world or perhaps the things going on in your own personal life, take heart in the fact that we can be exhorted to praise God. There is power in God. God is sovereign. He cares about each of us individually and he delivers those who trust in him.

Amen? Let's all stand. Well, we're back in a place where I don't know what one week is going to hold because who knows what's going to happen over this next week. We all kind of feel like maybe there's a hammer that's about to drop in some way, shape, or form and whatever it is, we can know and understand that God is in control and that God is faithful and we can trust him, right?

Father, we come before you and just thank you for the morning that we've had. Thank you for the time and your word that we've had and I pray that you would just go before each of us now as we head out from this place. Lord, I pray that you would prepare our hearts for what you have for us and Lord, that you would put our eyes back on you. Help us to rest in you.

Help us to trust in you. And we just thank you, Father, in Jesus' name. Amen. Be blessed.

In the morning when I rise In the morning, in the morning Give me Jesus Give me Jesus Give me Jesus You can't have all But give me Jesus Give me Jesus All this world But give me Jesus Give me Jesus Amen. Amen. The Lord bless you.