Sermon: Who Shall Dwell? Examining ourselves using Psalm 15 as a guide.

Presented by Russ Devilbiss Milwaukee, Wisconsin – April 9, 2011, Sermon Transcript

Happy Sabbath to everybody. Hope everyone is enjoying the Sabbath day, a time of rest, a time of fellowship, of growing closer to God. I was talking with my dad not too long ago and he was sharing with me a story about a man who went in to see the doctor. He said, “Doctor, I know this sounds kind of strange but I hear voices coming from my leg.” The doctor said, “You hear voices huh?” The man said, “Yeah.” The doctor said, “Let me see.” He puts on his stethoscope, puts it right down on the ankle and he hears, “I don’t think I can make it until payday. Can you loan me ten bucks?” He moves the stethoscope up to the knee and he hears, “Oh man, my car broke down. I have to spend five hundred bucks fixing my car. I don’t know if I can make the payments.” The doctor moves it up toward his thighbone and he hears, “Oh, I got my mortgage due and I don’t think I can…” He takes the stethoscope off and says, “Well, it’s pretty clear, sir. Your leg is broke in three places.” It’s one of my dad’s favorites. If you don’t laugh real loud you won’t offend him. During this time of year, there are many topics that can be covered leading up to the spring feasts. We heard about one during the sermonette, a very good sermonette, about examining ourselves and more specifically our relationship with God. We know God wants to have a relationship with His children.

We talked about that a couple weeks ago and it’s possible only through the death and resurrection of our Savior. It’s a special gift He has given to us and to all of mankind, both those He is calling now and those He will call in the future, opening the minds of everyone. We talk about this topic of examining ourselves and we heard about it during the sermonette. How do we examine ourselves? How do we focus on these activities and if we are not careful will allow us to drift away from God? Today I would like to use one psalm; it’s one of my favorite psalms. We have a song in our hymnal, I believe, that’s written on this psalm and it’s Psalm 15. Please turn in your Bible to Psalm 15. Psalm 15 begins with an interesting question: O Eternal, who may abide in your tent? Or, as some translations say: …who may dwell (or sojourn) in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill? It’s an interesting question. This psalm is attributed to David and many scholars believe it is written in anticipation of the ark’s restoration to Israel and the reestablishment of public worship and the public sacrifice in Jerusalem. You can read about that in 2 Samuel 6. So this was written, potentially, about the restoration. David is asking the question, Who may abide in your tent, O Eternal. Who may dwell on your holy hill? Who may participate? This question is not unique to one place or time. It’s a fair question today. We’re here to dwell together, to worship our God, to learn and it’s a fair question for us as well – Who may dwell, who may sojourn, in God’s tent, in God’s spiritual tabernacle? Some may view my question or interpret this question to be: Who has earned this distinction so that they may enjoy a relationship or a communion with God?

We understand we can look at Romans 3:23 and it tells us that all have sinned and fallen short, we know that without Jesus Christ’s sacrifice we don’t this ability to sojourn. It’s not a question of “earning.” No one has earned this privilege of sojourning with God. Without the wedding garment approved as provided by Jesus Christ we are not fit to sojourn or to dwell in God’s tent or to spend time with Him. However, we know from scriptures that integrity and righteousness and truth – those are attributes that God wants from us. This will not be a law and grace sermon, that’s not the intent. This sermon of and by itself, or a series of sermons, but we do understand from the scriptures that God wants us to respond in kind to His ways. Maybe it’s an example – a good example or not, we’ll find out – but sitting around the dinner table, the kids don’t earn the right to be around the dinner table. It’s a gift, it’s a blessing, but while we’re all sojourning or sitting around the dinner table, we expect a certain behavior do we not? We expect a certain decorum. That’s what we want, that’s what we enjoy as parents; to enjoy that beautiful relationship and if someone misbehaves they spend a little time in the corner but are they kicked out of the dinner table? No. It’s a gift from us, it’s enjoyable time, but we expect a certain decorum. And God expects the same thing from us. He’s called us, He’s invited us and He’s given us His wonderful gift of grace but as we read in the scriptures God also expects us to go on to perfection, go on to spiritual maturity. So God asks the question: What do I want from one who wants to dwell in My house and sojourn with Me? Not earning it, but what pleases Him? The answer is contained in the remaining verses of Psalm 15.

So let’s continue in Psalm 15. The second verse contains, in essence, the first three actions I want to focus on are more of a mindset. The three actions are more of a mindset, a concept on how we should live our lives. Let’s read verse 2 and I’m reading from the New American Standard: He who walks with integrity and works righteousness and speaks truth in his heart. So let’s break down those three actions: Walks with integrity, or as the New King James puts it, “walks uprightly.” That is from the Hebrew tamiym {taw-meem'} and is translated “whole” or “complete”, “unimpaired”, “having integrity”, “what is complete or entirely in accord with truth and fact.” So one who walks with integrity is one who walks unimpaired, innocent, having integrity, complete or entirely in accord with truth and fact. That’s integrity and we see an example (keep your place in Psalm 15, we’ll be coming back that quite a bit) in Proverbs 20 verse 7. Prov 20:7 – The righteous man walks in his integrity; (or walks completely or entirely in accord with truth and fact.) Verse 7 (cont’d) – How blessed are his sons after him. Those sons see that example, can follow that example and they indeed are blessed from that example. Walks in integrity – and notice that it is walking uprightly, walking with integrity, and not necessarily talking uprightly. It’s walking uprightly not talking uprightly. It’s easy to talk uprightly, it’s easy to say the right things, it’s easy to quote the right scriptures. It’s a bit more difficult to walk uprightly.

Galatians 2. You may say that’s a pretty simple statement; and it is. Some of us have grown up in the faith, some of us have been called into the faith for quite a number of years. We can rattle off the ten commandments, we can quote the Holy Days and explain God’s plan of salvation – we can do all those things, it’s a good thing. The question is translating it into walking uprightly. Gal 2:11 – But when Peter came to Antioch I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. (It’s Paul speaking here.) Verse 12 – for prior to coming of certain men from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdrew and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. (Or those who still held to the Talmud or the Pharisees.) Verse 13 – And the rest of the Jews joined him in the hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. Verse 14 – But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in the presence of all, "If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews? It’s interesting and a couple things come to mind that are brought out here with Galatians 2. Peter, an apostle, isn’t someone who just didn’t “grow up in the faith” or had listened to the teachings of Jesus Christ either directly or through the apostles. This is an apostle, one who walked with Jesus Christ, one that was trained by Jesus Christ after his resurrection. He was very knowledgeable but we find the position Peter was in where he was not walking with integrity. He, in essence, feared people that Jesus Christ said you shouldn’t fear and he made some decisions and did some things that were not consistent with integrity. Peter, in this case, did not walk with integrity, he just talked with integrity – a very important distinction. Now, will we do it perfectly?

Obviously not, that’s why we have the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It’s important for us and we’re thinking about our relationship with Jesus Christ during this special time of year, celebrating God’s plan of salvation. We examine ourselves throughout the year, not just during this time. We should always be mindful of our walk with Jesus Christ in the things that we do but we spend more time than normal during this time of year. But as we do that, we need to understand is it just a question of talking or is it a question of walking? The second point I want to focus on in addition to walking with integrity in verse 2 is: Works righteousness. Who shall dwell on the holy hill? One who works righteousness. That is from the Hebrew word tsedeq {tseh'-dek} and it is translated, “what is right or just or normal.” He who works what is right or just or normal, or justice, righteousness, justification, deliverance, victory, prosperity of God as covenant-keeping in redemption. That’s the definition of righteousness. But the key here, once again, is the word “works.” Who works righteousness. Let’s look at Acts chapter 10 verse 35. Let’s begin in verse 34 – Opening his mouth, Peter said: "I must certainly understand now that God is not One to show partiality. Acts 10:35 – But in every nation whoever fears Him and does what is right (“does what is right” is that same Hebrew word tsedeq {tseh'-dek})… for example, the King James does translate it that the one who works righteousness is welcome to Him. So in every nation the man who fears Him, Jesus Christ or God, and does right or works righteousness is welcome to Him. In essence, the activity is contributing to a condition that is acceptable to God. What’s the difference between walking uprightly and working righteousness? We may say, isn’t it the same thing? It kind of seems so but there is a distinct difference. If you walk uprightly or walk with integrity, you personally – I can walk uprightly or walk with integrity without any interaction with another human being. The working righteousness seems to address the interaction with God’s people in the world. So walking uprightly or walking with integrity is about us while working righteousness is what you do with those around you. Do we work righteousness with those around us?

Let’s look at Romans chapter 2. Key verb there is “work,” working righteousness. Rom 2:5 (breaking into the thought here) – But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of the wrath and revelation and the righteous judgment of God. Verse 6 – he will render to every person according to his deeds: Verse 7 – to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality and eternal life; Verse 8 – but for those who are selfish, ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. Verse 9 – There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, Verse 10 – but glory and honor and peace to every one who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Everyone who does good. It’s not enough to just avoid doing evil. Mrs. Plonty and I were talking about this on the way to services today. It’s not enough to just avoid doing evil. But we need to examine ourselves and ask, “Are we working righteousness? Are we working on those things which pass on the goodness of God to others?” And it’s not our righteousness, obviously. It’s not “What can I do, because I’m so great or I’m so smart or I’m so intelligent or I’m so rich?” If we’re not careful, that can put us into a dangerous situation where we’re not working righteousness but we’re working self-righteousness. Working righteousness is passing on God’s truth. It’s passing on God’s blessing. That’s what working righteousness is about. So walking uprightly, working righteousness and the third point of verse 2: speaks the truth in his heart. Truth coming from the Hebrew word 'emeth {eh'-meth} can be translated “testimony and judgment, divine instruction, true doctrine, defining truth.

Let’s look at Ephesians chapter 4. Who shall dwell on God’s holy hill? Someone who speaks truth in his heart. Eph 4:25 – Therefore, laying aside all falsehood, speak the truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Speak truth to one another; God’s truth. It’s an interesting concept about truth and we have a tendency to take the verse and say we’re going to speak the truth in love to one another, which we should do. But the question is what are you defining as truth? All too often we can define that to mean, “I highly value my opinion and therefore I want to share my opinion with you. If this is my opinion and I highly value it, it’s pretty truthful. Therefore I’m going to give you my opinion, in love, because I love you. Now I’m here to speak the truth.” We need to be careful when we think about the concept of truth because, as we see today, unfortunately, people can define their own truth. What is truth and relative moralism. Truth is divine truth; it’s God’ truth. Do we speak God’s truth to one another? Colossians chapter 3 and verse 8. Col 3:8 (Once again breaking into the thought from Paul) – But now put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Verse 9 – Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices… Verse 10 – and have put on the new self, which is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the one who created him. It’s God’s knowledge; it’s God’s truth that we need to make sure that we’re speaking, that is, in our heart because it gets back once again to the self-righteousness thing – I’ve been in this church for how many years or I’m newly called but I’ve studied but it gives me the right to give you my opinion. We need to make sure we speak the truth to one another but is it reflective of God’s truth? The other aspect when we’re thinking about the truth of God being in our heart – not only the truth but where is it?

Where does it reside? As we know, the Bible talks about the heart being the seat. It’s our intellect, our emotion, the core of who we are. If that’s the case and if truth is there, we allow it to be at the core of all our decisions. We’re really good, are we not, at justifying anything we want to do? It’s acceptable for me to do this because… It’s alright because… We’re really proficient when it comes to justifying things but do we really stop and think about God’s truth and is it core to all of our decisions? John 8:32 (for your notes) – and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. There’s a certain amount of freedom we have that we know if we do things according to God’s truth, there’s often a blessing. Does that mean we’ll have a perfect life? Unfortunately not. We’ll still go through trials and tribulations but we know that if we have the truth of God and we make decisions that are based on God’s truth and we don’t justify and explain things away, that truth is at the core of who we are, we can rest assured and feel very comfortable that those blessings will be there, in this life and in the Kingdom to come. These three broad concepts are the basis of our evaluation of walking uprightly, of working righteousness, the outward giving of God’s righteousness and a deep love of the truth, making sure that it’s core to us, that it is God’s truth not our own. Those three are the basis for evaluating ourselves. Oftentimes we need to break it down into a bit more manageable tasks. So after giving you three broad concepts, David goes on to give further actions and examples to those who wish to dwell in His holy hill. So let’s continue in Psalm 15. Psalm 15:3 – (let’s review these specific examples) He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend; Let’s look at those three: Is not a slanderer. Interesting fact here is that the Hebrew word for slander comes from the root word for “foot.” So if you can visualize, slander is giving legs to gossip, whether it’s true or untrue. If you talk about slander or gossip, it’s only slander if it’s untrue. Slander or gossip applies to whether it’s true or untrue. When we gossip, when we slander with our tongue we give foot to gossip. Let’s look at James chapter 4 verse 11.

James 4:11 – Do not speak evil against one another, brethren. He who speaks evil against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. James 1:26 (just back a couple pages) – If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless. Interesting. It talks about a man’s religion, your belief, your keeping of the Holy Days, your keeping of the Sabbath, your loving God as yourself, and loving man, your fellow man – that is loving God and your fellow man as yourself, I meant to say – you’re doing all these wonderful things but if you’re gossiping, according to James, your religion is almost worthless if you’re not able to bridle your tongue. An interesting perspective. Let’s go to Proverbs 6 and verse 16. You may think what’s a little storytelling? It’s just a vice, it doesn’t really hurt anything but it’s interesting what James says as well as Proverbs and how Solomon, who we believe wrote Proverbs, describes… Prov 6:16 – There are six things which the LORD hates, seven which are an abomination to him: Verse 17 – haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, Verse 18 – a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, Verse 19 – a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers. Think about slandering. It’s also spreading strife. You could say that slander and gossip are three of the things that Solomon writes that God hates. It’s pretty serious if we read it from this perspective – a lying tongue, a false witness, and one who utters lies and one who spreads strife among brethren. Are we slanderers, do we give foot to gossip? Yiddish folklore offers a telling tale about gossip makers. One such man had told so many malicious untruths about the local rabbi that overcome with remorse, he begged the rabbi to forgive him.

He said, “Rabbi, tell me how I can make amends.” The rabbi sighed, “Take two pillows, go to the public square and there cut the pillows open, wave them in the air and then come back.” The rumormonger quickly went home and got two pillows and a knife, hastened to the square, cut the pillows open, waved them in the air thinking this is some rite, some activity, then hastened back to the rabbi’s chambers. “I did just what you told me, rabbi.” “Good,” the rabbi smiled. “Now to realize how much harm is done by gossip go back to the square and collect all your feathers.” Kind of visualize gossip and slander, you can’t take it back, you are giving it legs, and once you pass it on it’s not something you can take back. Romans chapter 1 and verse 30. Rom 1 (let’s begin in verse 28) – And they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind to do those things which are not proper. Verse 29 – Being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil, envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice. Some pretty heavy stuff here. First thing in Verse 30 – slanderers… That is pretty important to God. In today’s society, it’s just harmless, but to God it’s serious. Gossip is not something we can take back. Maybe a couple things to keep in mind is that before I tell this story, before I share some information… would I tell it if the person was standing here? If that person was standing right beside me would I tell the same story?

If you can’t pass that test chances are it’s probably not something you should be saying then, if you’re not willing to share the story with the person standing right next to you. Or, would I need permission from this person? They may have told this in confidence but would I need to seek permission? Many times we may use the copout, well I want to share the story so that you can pray. I’ve had that actually been told to me. I want to tell you about this so you can pray about the situation. It’s good that you want to be praying about the situation but I think that’s a copout. If you’re concerned then pray for that person or if you think the person would want others to pray for them, then what did we just talk about? Go get permission. Ask. Gossip is a cancer that eats away at a congregation’s effectiveness to care for itself and to care for others, simply put. Gossip divides, gossip causes issues and it affects our ability to care for each other, to preach the gospel, to care for others. So as we examine ourselves during this time we need to ask ourselves, once again throughout the year, do I give foot to gossip or am I giving the boot to gossip? The second thing that David mentions in verse 3 is: Who shall dwell on the holy hill? One who does not evil to a neighbor or takes up a reproach against a friend. Evil in a sense is anything that causes harm as a result of sin – misery, pain, affliction, etc. Reproach is a taunt, a scorn, a cutting criticism or personal attack which causes emotional pain. Do we do evil to a neighbor? Or do we take up reproach against a friend? Psalm 101 Psalm 101:5 – Whosoever secretly slanders his neighbor (getting back to the previous point) him I will destroy. No one who has a haughty look and arrogant heart will I endure. Verse 6 – My eye shall be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in a blameless way shall minister to me. Verse 7 – He who practices deceit shall not dwell within my house; he who speaks falsehood shall not maintain his position before me.

Verse 8 – Every morning I would destroy the wicked of the land so as to cut off from the city of the Eternal all those who do iniquity. It’s an attitude of doing evil to others and God says, I don’t have patience for that. You may say, well, I’ve got the “doing evil to my neighbor” down pat. I don’t bust their windows out, I don’t slash their tires. But how about reproach to a friend? Let’s spend a little bit more time in that. Reproach to a friend – Do we have a tendency to be harsh or short with those that are closest to us? Do we not? We think, can this really be a friend? It’s interesting how it’s worded, reproach to a friend. If a friend does something against you or about you, well he’s not my friend. Yes, he’s still your friend. Have they done something they shouldn’t have done? Well, probably, possibly. I don’t know any of us who can say we’re perfect and always treat our friends with respect and honor and dignity. I think we’re all to that point. I think if we put our relationship to the point where, when we’re offended by our friend we would no longer be friends, I’m not sure we would have any friends would we? I would hate to start listing on the board all the things I’ve done out of ignorance and sometimes accident and sometimes letting my emotions get away with me to those that I call friends. I’m very thankful that they have forgiven me and allowed me to be human and allowed me to grow. I’m very thankful for that. The question is, do we return the favor? Do I return the favor? Do you return the favor to the point where we don’t respond with reproach to a friend. Although verse 3 doesn’t specifically say it, the concept also applies to retribution. In other words, doing something about it. Let’s look at 1 Peter chapter 3. Someone who’s a friend or not a friend, doesn’t matter but sometimes when they offend you we also want some type of retribution. !

Pet 3:8 (instructions given by Peter on how we should treat each other) – To sum up, all of you, be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted and humble in spirit. Verse 9 – not returning evil for evil or insult for insult; but giving a blessing instead. For you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. Whether a friend or not, let’s say a co-worker, when they (whether they’re being purposely malicious or by accident does something to offend you) are we looking for a reproach, are we looking for a retribution to that? I a work study, this past week, I received a few emails about a situation and I’m thinking I’ve got to respond to this. I can’t let this go. So I start typing and I’m sure they could hear me on the keyboard three hallways down because I was so mad, banging on the keyboard thinking, this is so good, this is biting sarcasm, everyone will understand what I know here but I’ll coach it in some flowery language. All that carnality coming out; I know you’ve been in the same position that I am where you want to lash out. But as we’ve just read we are not to respond evil with evil. What good would that do? We know that sometimes we suffer for what other people do to us but what does the scripture say? The scripture says when you do right, and you should be doing right, but when you suffer for injustice and you do it properly, and you make the right decisions and you don’t respond, that’s righteousness. That’s God’s righteousness. Let’s go to Matthew chapter 5. I think to the point where a lot of turmoil and frustration we’ve seen over the last year comes from not following some of the basic principles we’ve seen here today, slander, did you hear what so-and-so said, did you hear what happened, did you read it on Facebook? And then the response of needing a reproach or retribution. But instead, we’re talking about Passover, we’re talking about it coming up and memorializing annually the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Matt 5:21 – "You have heard that the ancients were told, `You shall not commit murder; and whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.' Verse 22 – but I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, you good for nothing, shall be guilty before the supreme court, and whoever says, `You fool!' shall be guilty enough to go to that fiery hell. Verse 23 – Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, Verse 24 – leave your offering there before the altar and go;… You may think how important is it for us to go and observe the Passover; how important is it for us to be there? It’s very important for us to observe, very important for us to be there but part of the instruction that Jesus Christ gives us is that, to me, you need to first go and reconcile with your brother. It is so important that the priority becomes to make things right, to have no reproach, to not have the hurt feelings, to not be treating each other with disrespect. Go fix that and then come and present your offering. That’s the priority that Jesus Christ gave. We need to ask ourselves as we’re examining ourselves: Do we have something to clear up with others as we approach the Passover?

Getting back to Psalm 15 verse 4, a few more things that David covers about those who dwell on the holy hill. Verse 4 – Those in whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honors those who fear the LORD; who swears to his own hurt and does not change. Let’s cover those points quickly: Who despises the reprobate, but honors those who follow God. There’s a simple message here. First, what are our personal standards? What do we value? Do we despise the reprobate but honor those who follow God? Let’s look at Isaiah chapter 32 verse 5, talking about the future. Isa 32:5 – No longer will the fool be called noble, nor the rogue be spoken of as generous. Verse 6 – For a fool speaks nonsense, and his heart inclines toward wickedness: to practice ungodliness, to speak error against the Eternal, to keep the hungry unsatisfied, and to withhold drink from the thirsty. I like that in verse 5 – no longer will the fool be called noble. Is it fair to say in this day and age, in this culture, things we see on TV, people who maybe do not demonstrate, do not embody what we would say is Godly, righteous behavior are held up as idols. It’s interesting to me that someone who is an admitted drug addict and has significant problems would decide to go on tour and all the dates be sold out. And I mention that not to be critical of the person because once again, we all have our issues, we all sin. I’m not any better than anyone else but people’s reaction is interesting. They’re wanting to see the train wreck. To me that’s the scary part, not the actor’s battle with addiction and other problems, it’s the culture’s response; to hold it up as this is something that’s interesting, this is something that I need to spend a hundred dollars to go see. That’s what’s scary. That’s an exaggerated example but still it’s a fair question. In this world what do we value? Do we value the rich of this world? Or do we put high importance on those that follow God? Let’s look at James chapter 2 and verse 1. We see another example of what we’re talking about of being misled by what we feel is important and what is not important to God.

James 2:1 – My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus, with an attitude of personal favoritism. Verse 2 – For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring, dressed in fine clothes, and also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, Verse 3 – and you pay special attention to the one wearing fine clothes and say, "You sit here in a good place," and you say to the poor man, "You stand over there," or, "Sit down by my footstool," Verse 4 – have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? Verse 5 – Listen, my beloved brethren. Did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to those who love him? Verse 6 – But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? Verse 7 – Do they not blaspheme that honorable name by which you have been called? Is that so apropos today? It’s amazing the complete disregard that those who are popular today have for God. Verse 8 – If however you are fulfilling the royal law, according to the scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing well. Verse 9 – But if you show partiality, you are committing sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. It’s an attitude of love toward everyone. If we love our neighbor as ourselves, if we’re looking to our fellow man, we’re going to be careful when assigning value to those who are successful in man’s terms to the point of looking down on those whom God calls, the weak of the world. We may put more emphasis on that person we know that is very well to do, or who is a successful businessperson, or a successful musician, or ____________ (fill in the blank), to the point where we look down on those whom we share this faith with.

They’re not as smart, they’re not as capable, look at this person, they’ve been driving the same old raggedy car for years, how embarrassing, how shameful. We see that’s the wrong attitude, the wrong priority of what God puts on what is important. Let’s look at Psalm chapter 16. Psalm 16:3 – As for the saints who are on the earth, "They are the majestic ones, in whom is all my delight." Psalm 119:63 – I’m a companion of all those who fear you and of those who you’re your precepts. That was the attitude that David had. He was saying that he was a companion to those, a friend to those who feared God and followed God and His precepts. Does that mean we are to be a quick judge or hate those who do not follow God. When we think of our neighbors who are not of the household of faith, that we shouldn’t spend any time with them, shouldn’t pay any notice to them? Absolutely not. We do have friends, we do have coworkers, we do have neighbors we should be a light to, be friends with, we should also hold in high regard. But in examining ourselves, what we need to evaluate is how much importance do we put on those folks versus those of the household of faith. Once again we might say, and the answer might be, talking uprightly or honor those who are of the household of faith. But the question is in the walking. If that’s the case, then what is the commitment in the time that we have to those of the household of faith? It’s alright to go out and have dinner with friends and go out and have a drink with friends, go play basketball and volleyball with friends, but if we were to tally up and count up spending 20 hours a week with friends and 30 minutes each day before services asking, How you doing, maybe it’s something we need to think about and evaluate. Are we putting a much greater priority on those outside the household of faith versus those who are of the faith? Once again, I’m not saying we should only spend time with those of the household of faith. That’s absolutely not the case, but where is our balance? Where are our priorities? Do we have a proper balance between the two?

Continuing on in Psalm 15, the second point is: Do we keep our own word even to the point of discomfort, even to the point where it hurts by keeping our own word? Booker T. Washington describes meeting an ex-slave from Virginia in his book, Up From Slavery. Quoting from the book, “I found that this man, this ex-slave, had made a contract with his master. Two or three years previous to the Emancipation Proclamation to the effect that the slave was to be permitted to buy himself by paying so much per year for his body and while he was paying for himself he was permitted to labor where and for whom he pleased. Finding that he could secure better wages in Ohio he went there. When freedom came he was still in debt to his masters some three hundred dollars. Notwithstanding that the Emancipation Proclamation freed him from any obligation to his master, this black man walked the greater portion of the distance back to where his old master lived in Virginia and placed the last dollar, with interest, in his hands. In talking to me about this, the man told me that he knew that he did not have to pay his debt but he had given his word to his master and his word he had never broken. He felt that he could not enjoy his freedom until he had fulfilled his promise.” It’s a very moving story about keeping our word even to the point of discomfort, even to the point of hard work, even to the point of penalty to yourself. Let’s look at Deuteronomy chapter 23. Deut 23:21 – When you make a vow to the Eternal your God you should not delay to pay it for it would be sin in you and the LORD your God will surely require it of you. Verse 22 – However, if you refrain from vowing it would not be sin in you.

Verse 23 – You shall be careful to perform what goes out from your lips just as you have voluntarily vowed to the Eternal your God what you have promised. Pretty strong. It’s better not to make the vow. Even though it’s the right thing to do, it’s better for you not to make the vow to the point we need to be careful what comes out of our lips and that do we make the commitment. Once we make the commitment – commitment to God, commitment to each other, you might even say commitment to yourself. It’s popular in this world to make New Year’s resolutions, to say “I’ll stop doing this, I’ll stop doing that, I’ll stop laughing at Mr. Chance’s jokes. It’s also popular to not keep the New Year’s resolutions even to the point that it’s expected. Around New Year’s time you hear people around the office asking how long it took to break your New Year’s resolutions. It’s expected. As we examine ourselves during the season, as well as throughout the year, we need to think about do we make promises to ourselves, to God, and to others that we can’t keep. Or do we have integrity in the moment of choice. It gets back to the talking versus the walking. It’s so easy to make a vow, much more difficult to stand by the vow. Verse 5 of Psalm 15 – (What else does someone who dwells on God’s holy hill do, he who dwells in His tent, sojourns in His tent?) He does not put out his money at interest nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He does not put out his money at interest. Let me rephrase it: To be a servant of those in need. Exodus chapter 22 Let’s begin in verse 21 – (Instructions God was giving to the land of Israel about how to treat each other. What makes a successful and happy group of folks.) You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You might say, Well since they’re not of the household of faith it’s kind of all right to take advantage of them. If they were in the church it might be a different story. That’s not what we read.

Verse 22 – You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. Verse 23 – If you afflict him at all, and he does cry out to me, I will surely hear his cry; Verse 24 – and my anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless. Verse 25 – If you lend money to my people to the poor among you, you are not to act as a creditor to him, you shall not charge him interest. It’s an attitude of love to others who are in need. Does that mean it’s wrong to charge interest, wrong to make money? If you’re loaning money and charging interest to someone who wants to borrow five thousand dollars so they can start a business, make money, it’s not wrong to charge interest. What we’re talking about here is when you charge interest of those who are in need or you provide funds and help with strings attached. I’ll help you if you do X, Y, and Z. We need to have the attitude of helping those in need. James 1:27, for your notes, tells us that pure and undefiled religion is to visit the orphans and the widows in their time of need. That servant attitude goes beyond just thinking of someone in need – I’ll pray for you. Obviously, that’s a good thing – the most important thing we can do. But the next question is, Do we go beyond that? Do we follow up and help those who are in need with actions? Prayers are great; prayers are wonderful. We need to pray but we need to take action as well. And the last of verse 5 of Psalm 15 – does not take a bribe against the innocent. Our savior actually did the opposite, did he not? He didn’t take a bribe against the innocent. He died for the guilty. And to finish up in verse 5 of Psalm 15 – He who does these things will never be shaken.

Think about that “shaken” in a few ways. Shaken off of our faith; shaken maybe by God. You can apply that in many different ways but we have stability when we do these things, when we walk uprightly, when we work righteousness when we have the truth in our heart. What if I could give you a magic pill that could fix all the ills of our lives. If you’d only take this pill then you’d have the weight loss you want or you would make the money that you want or you would have the job that you want, you would have the health that you want, or, in my case, I would have the good looks that I want. It would be really easy to give this magic pill. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. Or fortunately, because that doesn’t build character as you know to be given to us. God’s already tried that. He’s already given wonderful opportunities and what happened? Satan and the angels rebelled against Him. He’s looking for people to build character, to be in the trenches, to go through and make these decisions and say, “I want to choose right.” It’s not easy and as we read in Psalm 15 there are things we need to do, things we need to work on. Once again, not that it saves us or that we earn salvation. It’s only through Christ’s sacrifice that we are saved. It’s only through his grace that we have the opportunity for salvation, but it’s these things that God wants us to work on. Let’s look in Matthew chapter 7 and verse 24 as we start to wrap up. Matt 7:24 – (It’s talking about two different ways. You don’t want to be shaken as we read in Psalm 15:5. We want to have that strong foundation.) Every one then who hears these words of mine and acts on them may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock; Verse 25 – and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house, but it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.

Verse 26 – And every one who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand; Verse 27 – and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house, and it fell; and great was its fall. Obviously, we want to have that strong foundation. We don’t want to be shaken no matter who you are, no matter who I am, no matter what life has given us, how privileged we may have been, or blessed by God, storms will batter and buffet you. How you come through them is determined by what we built our life on, what we hold as important. If we built our house on our own self, on our own capabilities, our own sense of righteousness, our own truth, our own wisdom, our own experience, in time it will prove to be an unreliable foundation.

If you built your house on the wisdom of this world, that too will prove itself to be poor ground. But if we’ve built our life upon the rock of God’s word these storms will come and go and you’ll still find yourself, and I’ll still find myself, standing strong, unshaken. As we approach this wonderful time of year, sobering time of year, let’s examine ourselves to see that foundation and use something like Psalm 15 as guidance for things we need to think about and reflect on as Mr. Chance so eloquently put in his sermonette – not an exercise in negativity but an exercise in what we need to focus on so I might dwell with my Eternal.

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