Show Me What You Working With

Text:

Psalms 115:2-8:

2 Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?

3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.

5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:

6 They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not:

7 They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.

8 They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.

 

Theme:

Show Me What You Working With

 

Introduction:

• The Book of Psalms is the 19^th book of the Old Testament and 2^nd of the books of poetry. It is known to be the longest book of the bible with 150 chapters and contains the longest chapter of the bible, the 119^th chapter of Psalms.  Psalms is also organized in five divisions.
  • The author is David, the God-Appointed King and originator of the Davidic line of Kingship and rule in Israel.
  • Psalms is a book of praise and song consisting of verses that were rhythmically relayed in song as in poetry.
  • Psalms can be divided into 6 classes based on their content:
    • Hymns of praise to Jehovah
    • Temple hymns
    • Religious and moral songs of a general character
    • Elegiac psalms, that is, lamentations, psalms of complaint, generally united with prayer for help
    • Messianic psalms
    • Historical psalms
• The 115^th Psalm is reminder that all glory belongs to God!
  • As it confirms in the final 18^th verse, “But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the LORD.”
• However, in our text, David actually taunts the idols made by people in his glorifying God…
  • 2 “Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?”
    • David speaks in confidence of 1)Who his God is! And 2)Who their god isn’t!
    • The Bible gives other examples of the man of God taunting the adversary in confidence of who the True and Living God:
      • Elijah did it on Mount Carmel with King Ahab and his folks
        • 1Kings 18:27, “And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.”
      • The Hebrew Boys did it as they were being put into the fiery furnace
        • Daniel 3:16-18, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”
      • Even David got a little “funky” with his attitude when he stated so boldly…
        • Psalms 14:1 & 53:1, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God…”
    • We are supposed to be BOLD in Christ!
      • Hebrews 4:16, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
      • Proverbs 28:1, “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.”
• It is out of this context that our text arises.
  • The other gods of this world cannot compare to my God!
    • Psalms 139:7-10, “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.”
    • We can be just as bold as to taunt the other Gods just like David, Elijah, and the Hebrew boys. We can tell other folks to…SHOW ME WHAT YOU WORKING WITH!

Body:

• In the world, we know what it means to SHOW ME WHAT YOU WORKING WITH!
  • The world wants to SEE what you HAVE
  • The world wants to HAVE what it can SEE
• David in our text is speaking within the carnal language and context of the world à Worldly language for worldly people using worldly things
  • I thank God that He breaks His Word down to my level!!!!
    • 1Corinthians 1:21, “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”
• We must use David’s example in addressing the world’s options either socially, mentally, academically, or theologically.
  • We must not ARGUE or DEFEND God…cause we can’t
    • It is not our place à 1Samuel 17:47, “And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands.”
    • We don’t have the authority à Job 38:4, “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.”
  • We must simply make the facts clear for all to see and make the decisions on their own!
    • SHOW ME WHAT YOU WORKING WITH!
      • WORLD, show me what you got to offer
        • Let me compare what God can give
      • ENEMY, show me what you can do
        • Let me compare what God can do
      • SATAN, show me your weapons
        • Let me show that my God is greater!
• When we solicit the response of the world and its gods or idols, we will find the following to be true:
  • 4 “Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.”
    • “Silver and gold” à made of things of this world
      • Limited things bring limited results à 2Peter 3:10, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”
        • limited value
        • limited life span
        • limited resources
    • “the work of men’s hands” à Shaped and molded by man
      • within man’s ability
      • within man’s conceptualization
      • within man’s convenience and needs
      • OUR WORK ALONE IS NOT GOD’S WORK!
        • Deuteronomy 4:28, “And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.”
        • Deuteronomy 27:15, “Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman….”
        • Deuteronomy 31:29, “For I [Moses] know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.”
  • Verses 5-7 “They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.”
    • These verse give further clarity to the fact that the idols…
      • Are in the image of Man, but are not as capable as Man
        • Formed to have eyes, ears, noses, mouths, and hands but cannot use them
        • Man has something that that idols can never have!
          • Genesis 2:7, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
      • Are placed in the role of a god, but are not ABLE as my God is ABLE
        • The idols can’t SEE but…
          • my God can see every ditch my enemy digs for me
          • my God can see every tear that I cry even before it falls
        • The idols can’t HEAR but…
          • my God hears my faintest cry and will answer by and by
          • my God can hear my prayer even when others don’t care
        • The idols can’t SMELL but…
          • my God makes me to know that there is a sweet, sweet spirit in this place
          • my God can “smell” that “there is a dead cat on the line” in my life
        • The idols can’t TALK but…
          • my God tells me that I am His own
          • my God spoke “Let there be” and the world came into being
        • The idols can’t TOUCH but…
          • I know that my God TOUCHED me!

He touched me.  He touched me,

And, oh, the joy that floods my soul.

Something happened and now I know

He touched me and made me whole!

• Let us not forget Verse 8 that informs us that…

“They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.”

• Those who CREATE or TRUST IN these idols are just like them!
  • We are only going to CREATE what is conducive to our carnal self à Avoiding conviction!
    • ..rearing children…church…friends…giving à nothing outside of our comfort zone!
  • We are going to TRUST IN what is convenient for our carnal desires à WIIFM (What’s In It For Me)
    • ..fame…cars…houses…jewelry…education…outer beauty à what we can see, hear, smell, touch, or taste
• Then the old folk used to always say that, if you feed it, it will look like you! 🙂

Conclusion:

• Although we can’t ARGUE or DEFEND God, we must PROCLAIM (testify of) God
  • We must also show the world what God is working with!!!
  • David does in Verse 3, “But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.”
    • David makes very clear the two most evident differences between the Lord God and their idols….
      • 1) “But our God is in the heavens”
        • The idols can only exist here on earth whereas God is in Heaven! ….product of the environment!
      • 2) “he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased”
        • The idols can do nothing, BUT God can do whatever He wants to do!

Sovereign, Sovereign.  The Lord, my God, is Sovereign.

He can do whatever He wants to do.

He can do whereever He wants to do.

He can do when ever He wants to do….however He wants to.

Because He’s Sovereign

God is God!!!!!!

#400