Somebody Loves You

Raul Ries: The psalmist has his eyes on man instead of having his eyes on God. We need to be careful of keeping our eyes on and comparing ourselves to other people. Be careful. It will destroy you.

Wanting what somebody else has will destroy you. Trying to be like somebody else will destroy you. If you're not content, it will destroy you.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Somebody Loves You Radio, the Bible teaching ministry of Raul Ries in Diamond Bar, California. Today, Raul will encourage us to walk through hardship, resting in God's goodness, choosing to trust him with our life and eternal future.

It may feel like the Lord is allowing the wicked to prosper while you're suffering. But as you stay with us today, you'll be assured that God sees everything, and his justice will come. Here's Raul Ries with our lesson, The Tragedy of the Wicked. Join us in Psalm 73.

Raul Ries: In this psalm, he's writing about the tragedy of the wicked and the blessedness of those who trust in God. This is a psalm that is related to Psalm 37 and Psalm 49. It's interesting because I have wondered why we come to the house of the Lord. Why is church so important? What does that mean to us?

Do we have to go to church? Why do we have to go to church? A lot of times when little kids ask their mommy and daddy, "Do we have to go, Mom?", you need to give them an answer. Why do we come? We don't just come for fellowship. We don't come just because we feel like coming, but we come to the house of the Lord to get God's perspective for my life. I want to hear what God has to say to me about my life and my future.

We come to the house of the Lord to be taught God's word so we can deal with the problems of life that everyone of us face every day. We also learn how to share with others our faith. People have questions; we have the answers through the Bible.

At the same time, Psalm 73 is a unique psalm because the psalmist is dealing with a great problem: why a just God would permit the wicked to prosper and the righteous to suffer and be oppressed. Why did 9/11 happen? Why do good people get cancer and die? Why does it seem like the wicked don't have any pains or problems? They go out and they sin like hell. That's what the psalmist is dealing with. The problem of the wicked getting so much and doing so much, and yet nothing happens to them.

It's amazing that the psalmist in Psalm 73, beginning with verses one to three, presents this unique problem. The first three verses deal with the psalmist's spiritual problem concerning the wicked. "I serve you, God. I love you, and yet you don't bless me like you bless the wicked." The psalmist has lost hope. He's actually discouraged, especially when he sees the wicked committing murder, fornicating, committing adultery, lying, and cheating on their taxes.

They drink their fine wines. They fly first class. And yet, "Lord, I serve you and I love you, and what do I have? Nothing." Listen to how the psalmist begins with this great problem in verse one. He says, "Truly God is good to Israel, to such as are of a pure heart." So the psalmist begins by sharing his faith in the fact that God is good to me.

But all of a sudden, I see my neighbor. I see my neighbors. I go down to the supermarket and I see people there. I go down to the bank and I see people there. They're leaving the bank smiling, counting their hundreds. And yet I can just barely feed my family, and I work hard. Why doesn't God bless me? But he blesses the wicked.

Verse two, "But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled. My steps nearly slipped." He almost totally backslid. He said, "Forget you, God. I'm going to cheat. I'm going to lie. I'm going to murder. I'm going to steal because that's the only way you're really happy. That's the only way you can get ahead in life, by cheating and lying and murdering." They don't believe in God. "And God, why haven't you stricken them? How come you don't kill them?"

They laugh at you. They mock you. They call upon you and they say, "Oh, you're not there. There is no God." But what happens is that the ungodly forget that they may be shouting and screaming against God, but Sunday's a-coming. There is a day of judgment. Maybe God is not consuming them right now, and they're getting away with everything they can, and that may be so. But there is a day of judgment coming for everyone.

The psalmist is really heartbroken. He says, "But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps nearly slipped. For I was envious of the boastful when I saw the prosperity of the wicked." When he saw how much they had, he became envious. It's really sad, but this is the problem that the psalmist was having. It bugged him, and he became envious of the wicked because of the way they boasted. There's an arrogance about them, and he saw all this and it discouraged him.

Look at verses four through 12: the prosperity that comes along through wealth and pride. He says, "For there are no pains in their death. When they die, they die at peace, God." This is what he was seeing among the rich and the wicked. Their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like other men. "Hey, God, look at all the things that I've gone through in my life, and look at them. They don't get sick. They're not crippled. They don't have cancer."

He's talking about these people that it seems nothing touches; they're untouchable. The psalmist has his eyes on man instead of having his eyes on God. We need to be careful of keeping our eyes on and comparing ourselves to other people. Be careful. It will destroy you. Wanting what somebody else has will destroy you. Trying to be like somebody else will destroy you. If you're not content, it will destroy you.

Therefore pride serves as their necklace; violence covers them like a garment. Their eyes bulge out with abundance and they have more than heart could wish. Imagine that. You come into their homes and you wow. This is incredible. They can buy a diamond ring for $50,000, and it's nothing to them.

They set their mouth against the heavens and start cursing God. Their tongue walks through the earth. Therefore his people return here, and waters of a full cup are drained by them. And they say, "How does God know? And is there any knowledge in the Most High?" Is there a God, really? Does God really see? Does God really hear? Does God really care? Is there really eternal life after death? They don't believe it. They're questioning God.

It sounds like the book of Job. They're questioning the integrity of God. They're questioning the sovereignty of God. They think they're little gods and that they are ruling and in command of their lives. "Nothing can touch me." But to the psalmist, as he's looking at these people, they put down God and they mock God. If you talk about God, they put you down and try to come in with their philosophies and their education to make you look stupid for believing in God.

Look what he says, "And again they say, 'How does God know? And is there any knowledge in the Most High?' Behold, these are the ungodly who are always at ease, and they increase more in riches." They're kicking back. They have no worries, he says.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. Our mission here is to equip you with the Bible's truth so that you can keep your eyes fixed on the Lord and find victory in every trial.

Visit somebodylovesyou.com for a wealth of resources. You can also join Raul on the Somebody Loves You Worldwide YouTube channel. Let's continue with the conclusion of our study, The Tragedy of the Wicked.

Raul Ries: Verses 13 through 20: the progress. Here the psalmist, in light of what he had observed, he was driven out to wonder if he had cleansed his heart in vain. "Do you think that maybe I'm serving God for nothing? Maybe there isn't a God and I'm wasting my life? Maybe I should go out and party and steal and kill and fornicate and commit adultery and do everything that the wicked does because to me it seems like they love it and have fun."

Verse 13, "Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain and washed my hands in innocence." He's saying it doesn't pay to be good and to serve God. It doesn't pay to do what's right. It doesn't pay to be a Christian and to serve God because the wicked have it all.

"For all day long I have been plagued, chastened every morning." I got a lot of problems. Every morning I wake up to some problem, and then I get chastened by God. "If I have said, 'I will speak thus,' behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of your children. When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me." Then I understood their end.

This guy is standing there and he's hesitating and rationalizing everything in his mind concerning the wicked, their prosperity, their wealth, and all the things that they have. As soon as he goes back into the house of the Lord, he sees the truth. That's why it's important to be in church.

He says, "When I thought about this, it was too painful for me until I went into the sanctuary of God. Then I understood their end." Then he saw that everything he said was not true. The wicked go to hell. The wicked are sick. The wicked are in pain. They just drown their sorrows through wine drinking and beer and whiskey and even drugs, and they escape their pain.

"But I came and I understood their end. Surely you set them in slippery places. You cast them down to destruction." When he came to the house of the Lord, he saw that every ungodly person, from the day they're born until the day they die, is walking on slippery soil. By the grace of God, they haven't fallen into hell. God's giving them another day to repent. They don't have steady ground and they don't even know it. They're so blind to sin.

The psalmist's eyes open when he went into the house of the Lord, and he began to see the destruction of the wicked and how their end was fatal. He says, "Oh, how they are brought to desolation in a moment's time. They are utterly consumed with terrors." The market gets shaky, and they get fearful. "Oh no. What about my money?" They have problems.

How I love God, the way God humbles us. When you make your plans, they're not God's plans, and you're in for a big disappointment. That's why it's so important to put your plans with God and to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and then all these things will be added unto you. To know that I am in God's perfect will is truly peace in my life. We gotta teach that to our children and to our grandchildren. God's in control. You're not. I'm not. God is in control.

You don't know what tomorrow may have for you, but I know one thing: God loves me. God cares for me. God will never let me go. I know that. I fall back on that which I do understand. Always when I don't understand something, I fall back on the things I do understand. Why? Because I've seen God faithful. How faithful God is.

He says, "As a dream when one awakes, so Lord, when you awake, you shall despise their image." And now their prospect: verse 21 to 27. New insight being in the house of the Lord is given to the psalmist. "Thus my heart was grieved and I was vexed in my mind. I also was so foolish and ignorant. I was like a beast before you, God." God, I am so sorry. Confession, repentance.

There's a lot of people that do not know the Bible that are Christians, that don't study the word of God and they're foolish in what they accuse God of because they don't understand God. That's why you gotta read the Bible and study the Bible to know the mind and the heart of God. You can't fall back on your own philosophy or your own psychological things. You have to trust God by faith. God is in charge. God is in command.

Whether God takes my wife or my husband or one of my grandchildren or one of my sons or daughters, God's in control. That's why non-believers, when someone dies or someone is dying, they have no answers. We have the answer. The answer is Jesus. Jesus Christ is the answer. He's the only one that can give you hope and peace and forgiveness. He cleanses you and he washes you. He writes your name in the book of life.

Yet the psalmist declares how easy it was for him to start sliding backwards away from God, away from the word of God, and to become like a beast without understanding. Verse 23, "Nevertheless, I am continually with you. You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with your counsel and afterwards receive me to glory." God is going to lead you with his counsel through his word. Then afterwards, I'll be in glory.

"Whom have I in heaven but you, oh God." If you're feeling lonely, the Lord is there with you. "Who do I have but you, oh God? And there is none upon the earth that I desire beside you." See how beautiful that is? Seek God first. When you have God, you have it all. "My flesh and my heart fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Underline that. God is there. He cares. He is everything to me when I'm down and cast down and I'm suffering and going through persecution or sickness. God is for me and who can be against me? No one.

Guest (Male): Well, as we've heard today, it can be confusing when those who seem far from God are enjoying more ease and prosperity than his followers. But we've seen that we can rest in God's goodness as we trust in his eternal plan.

You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. Today's study was titled The Tragedy of the Wicked. If you'd like to get an unedited version, we'll be happy to send one to you for a donation of five dollars or more. Just call us at 800-634-9165.

To help you stay grounded in the Lord's saving love and perfect justice, we'd like to tell you about Raul's four-part series titled Heaven or Hell. It features three additional lessons as well as today's and it's available on both CD and thumb drive. Examining what the Bible says about the afterlife, you'll find assurance of God's desire for every person to receive his salvation and spend eternity with him.

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This ministry is completely listener-supported and we are grateful for your partnership. Your donations enable us to keep sharing the Bible's eternal truth. Join us again next time as we quiet ourselves before the Lord and find hope once again in the pages of his word. Now with a concluding thought from today's study, here's Raul once again.

Raul Ries: Look what else he says. This is so cool. "My flesh and my heart fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." And here is his summary: "For indeed those who are far from you shall perish." There's the truth. Those that are far from God are going to perish. They're going to die. They can't take their gold and silver with them. They leave it for others to spend it and misspend it, or the IRS or the government.

"For indeed those who are far from you shall perish. You have destroyed all those who desert you for harlotry." Those that go after other gods or worship their gold or their silver or are in sin are destroyed.

But here it is: "It is good for me to draw near to God" because "I have put my trust in the Lord God that I may declare all your works." I can tell others what God has done in my life. Why? Because God is good, especially to those of a pure heart. And when you see the wicked from now on, know one thing: God is good.

Guest (Male): This program is sponsored by Somebody Loves You Radio in Diamond Bar, California.