We are up to Psalm 50, and the title for the Psalm, or the title for the sermon I should say,
uh, tonight is Hypocritical Preachers. Hypocritical Preachers. Now, you'll understand why I've got
that title for the sermon as we keep going through this chapter, but of course no one likes a
preacher that is hypocritical. You know, someone, or you know what, just hypocrites in general,
right? No one likes people that are saying, you know, they're telling you to do one thing,
but they themselves do not carry that out. Or they rebuke you for something small that you've done,
they're doing greater, greater sins. And this is something that you'll see as we progress through
this Psalm, that God is very angry with preachers that are very hypocritical. Well let's start there
in verse number one, Psalm 50 verse number one, it says, the mighty God, even the Lord,
have spoken and called the earth from the rising of the sun until the going down thereof. And so,
you know, we're introduced to who the Lord God is, once again, he's the mighty God, and you know,
this Psalm again is being sort of preached throughout the whole earth, it says from the
rising of the sun, and of course the sun rises on the east, and it says to the going down thereof,
and the sun sets in the west. And so basically the Psalm begins by saying, just everybody that
lives on the earth, you know, from the east to the west, you know, whether in your time frame
the sun is going up, or whether in your time frame the sun is going down, you know, this is just
something that God wants to proclaim to the entire earth. But of course, in comparison to the previous
Psalm, Psalm 49, this is really a Psalm still targeting believers, or at least, you know,
revealing to the heathen who the true God is, because it said the mighty God, and a lot of
people, yeah, you know, they say, yeah, I believe in a God, or I believe in, you know, some mighty
God, but it says the mighty God, even the Lord, and of course the Lord there, you know, taking
that back to the Hebrew is the term Jehovah, when you see capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D
in your English Bibles, you know, God is saying, I'm not just a mighty God, or the mighty God in
general, but I'm Jehovah, I'm the Lord God, okay, the God of Moses, the God that is of the Bible,
the God of the Israelites, of that time anyway, that were under the old covenants, and God is
revealing to the whole world who he is. All right, verse number two, it says out of Zion, so not only
is he Jehovah, but again, targeting which area Zion here, of course, represents Jerusalem, you
know, we just sang, we're marching to Zion, and of course, there's a Zion that we're marching to,
and the Zion that we're thinking about is, of course, heavenly Jerusalem, but of course,
under the old covenant, Zion here represents the earthly Jerusalem, so out of Zion, so it's the God
of Zion, it's the God of Jerusalem, it's the God of Israel that's speaking these words. The
perfection of beauty, God has shined, and so God has shined out of Zion, okay, the teaching,
the scriptures, the word of God, you know, the practice of faith, the salvation, you know,
at the very least, it's meant to be coming out of this earthly nation of the old covenant,
and then it says in verse number three, now verse number three, we begin speaking of prophetic
events, events still to come in the future, so the first part of this psalm, we're dealing with
future events, and then God takes that thought about future events and applies it to the present
time when this psalm was written. It says here in verse number three, our God shall come. Now,
of course, you might think, well, that might be when Christ was born in Bethlehem's manger,
that's when God came, that's when God was born in Bethlehem's manger, Jesus Christ the Son of God
manifested in the flesh. Well, yeah, you know, that's true, but you'll actually see that this
is about the second coming of Christ, because it says our God shall come and shall not keep silence,
okay, so this is not going to be a quiet event. It says a fire shall devour before him,
and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. So does that sound like the first coming? You know,
when Christ came, was there this great fire that devoured the earth before him? No, this is speaking
about the second coming, and if you don't mind, keep your finger there and go to 2 Thessalonians,
go to 2 Thessalonians chapter one for me, 2 Thessalonians chapter one,
2 Thessalonians chapter one, and verse number seven. So let's have a look at what the Bible
speaks of when it comes to the second coming of Christ. In 2 Thessalonians chapter one verse seven,
it says, and to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be reviewed from
heaven with his mighty angels. So of course, you know, when the book of Thessalonians was written,
Christ had already come the first time, he's already ascended up to heaven,
and we were waiting for his return, we were waiting for his second coming, okay,
when he's going to be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. Look at verse number eight,
inflaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel
of our Lord Jesus Christ, okay? So Christ is going to come inflaming fire. In fact,
shortly before Christ comes on his horse riding into Armageddon, you know, before he sets his
feet on the earth, there's going to be great fire of God's judgment, of God's vengeance,
and God's wrath upon a very wicked world, okay? So yeah, I mean, the world literally is burning up
during God's wrath, that's the seven vials, the seven trumpets that you read about in the book of
Revelation. And following that, leading that, sorry, after that, Christ comes, okay, and he
takes this revenge, you know, upon this earth. And so, you know, this is definitely talking about the
second coming of Christ. Now if we keep going there, it says in verse number nine, and by the
way, so those that do not know God, those that do not obey the gospel, you say, how do we obey the
gospel? You obey the gospel by believing the gospel, okay? The moment you believe the gospel,
you're saved, you're a child of God. But it says there in verse number nine,
who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory
of his power, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that
believe, because our testimony among you was believed in that day. And so if you want to be
a saint of Christ, you know, you don't want to be overtaken by God's wrath and God's judgment,
then all you need to do is believe, believe on him, believe the gospel, and you become a child
of God. And then you're saved from this fiery destruction, coming, you know, coming soon,
you know, coming to this earth at some future time. And so you can definitely see how this psalm,
speaking about God coming to this earth, it's all about Christ coming and clean house,
destroying the wicked, and of course, he will ultimately prepare his millennial reign on this
earth. And, but look at verse number four, if you go, you can go back to Psalm 50 now,
go back to Psalm 50 and look at verse number four, Psalm 50 in verse number four. And obviously,
we know that before he establishes his kingdom, you know, before he, you know, lands his feet on
this earth, there comes the rapture, right? The rapture takes place before that. And that's why
it says in verse number four, he shall call to the heavens from above and to the earth, that he
may judge his people. And so this psalm is also teaching us about how God, how Jesus Christ is
going to judge his people. Yes, he's going to judge the wicked. Yes, the wicked are going to
be destroyed, those that did not believe the gospel, but he also comes to judge his people.
All right. Now, I'm going to quickly read to you from second Timothy, chapter four, verse number
eight, second Timothy, chapter four, verse number eight, which reads, henceforth, there is laid up
for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day,
and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. Hey, what is the appearing
of Christ? Well, it's the second coming, okay? And for us, we're not going to see Christ, you know,
when he comes in Armageddon, we as God's people, we're going to see him at the rapture, at the
resurrection, when we're caught up to see him in the clouds. And it says there that when Christ
comes on that very day, that he's going to judge his saints. And Paul is telling Timothy that he's
excited that he's going to face the righteous judge, and that the righteous judge is going to
give him a crown, a crown of righteousness. But you know what's wonderful about this? You might
say, well, the Apostle Paul, I'm sure he's going to get a lot of rewards, a lot of crowns, because,
he did so much work for the Lord. But that's why, what I like about that passage, Paul says,
it says, and not to me only, I'm not the only one Timothy that's going to get this prize,
it says, but unto all them that love his appearing. And so brethren, do you love the
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ? Are you excited? You know, you're looking forward to seeing Christ
in the clouds and facing that righteous judge. You know, you're looking forward to going before
the Lord and say, Lord, you know, look at what I've done for you. You know, Lord, you know,
you've saved me, and you've given me everlasting life. And you know, because of that, because of
the greatness that you've given me, you know, I've gone throughout the world, and I've done
these works for you. I've won these souls for you. Lord, you know, I fixed up my marriage,
and I've walked in accordance to your paths, Lord, and I taught from your word, and I instructed
others, and I helped other people, Lord, through your guidance. And now think about the great
things that we can do for the Lord in this life. You know, Lord, I served at church, and you know,
I was humble, and I just lowered myself to serve my brothers and sisters in the Lord. Well, one day,
when Christ comes back, and if you're looking forward to that coming, he's also going to give
you that crown of rejoicing. And so definitely, Christ is going to judge his people. Now,
he's not going to judge us for our sin, because our sins have been paid for on the cross,
but he's going to judge us for the works that we've done for him, the faithfulness that we've
shown for him on this life. You know, even the persecutions and trials, you know, even
people that might falsely accuse you. You know what? Christ is going to give you great rewards
in heaven, you know, especially if you stood up for the name of Jesus Christ.
All right, look at verse number five. Verse number five, of course, must be the rapture.
It says, they gather my saints together unto me, those that have made a covenant with me
by sacrifice. When you say, hold on, well, the saints are going to be gathered together with
Jesus to the Lord Jesus Christ, then yes, that's definitely going to take place. In fact, can you
please turn to Matthew 26? Please turn to Matthew 26. You might say, well, Pastor Kevin, I don't
know, this might be just about, you know, the Israelites under the old covenant, because it
says there, those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. And of course, we know that the
Israelites of old, you know, under the old covenant that God gave them, they were to offer
sacrifices, you know, there were all kinds of sacrifices, they'll continue daily sacrifices
taking place in the temple. And so maybe this is just for the Old Testament saints, you might say,
because, you know, we're not coming for the Lord and bringing some type of sacrifice. And,
you know, we're not under that kind of covenant, are we? Well, you know, if you think that you
have a misunderstanding, okay, I know, look, yes, you're not under the old covenant. Okay,
once Christ died on the cross, He brought in the new covenant. And see, the moment you're saved,
the moment you call upon the Lord for salvation, you have been brought under the new covenant. So
you are under a covenant. But you say, yeah, but we're not offering a sacrifice. Of course not.
Because Christ is our sacrifice. Okay, Christ is my sacrifice. Christ is your sacrifice if you're
saved. And so yes, you know, yeah, of course, when we look at the Old Testament, they were under that
covenant, they were sacrificing, but all of that is a shadow, a picture of the new covenant that
we're under. Our sacrifice is perfect. You know, our sacrifice is, of course, the Son of God,
the Lord Jesus Christ. And while you're turning there to Matthew 26, I'll just read to you from
Hebrews chapter 12, verse 23. Hebrews 12, 23 reads, to the General Assembly, look at this,
and church of the firstborn, okay, which were written in heaven, sorry, which are written in
heaven, and to God the judge of all, so there again, God being that judge of all, and to the
spirits of just men made perfect, hey, those that are saved, that's us, the just men made perfect.
Then it says in verse number 24, and to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant,
and to the blood of sprinkling, that speak of better things than that of Abel. And so Christ's
blood speaks of greater things, salvation through his blood, we've been brought under that new
covenant, the new covenant. You're there in Matthew 26, look at Matthew 26, verse 28.
Matthew 26 and verse number 28, the Bible reads, for this is my blood, says Jesus, of the New
Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. And so brethren, can we be
numbered in there in Psalm 50, verse 6, where it says, gather my saints together unto me, those
that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice? Of course, we are under that covenant, the new
covenant, the new testament, by the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. Can you please go to
Matthew 24 now? Please go to Matthew 24 and verse number 29. Matthew 24 and verse number 29.
Another confusion that a lot of Christians have, you know, about the old covenant and
new covenant, a lot of people have confusion about the rapture. When is the rapture going
to take place? You know, when is Christ coming back in the clouds to take us? When is he going
to gather the saints? When is he going to gather the believers? Unfortunately, many Christians
have bought into the pre-tribulation rapture, but the Bible is very clear that Christ is coming
after the tribulation, but before God pours out his wrath. The Bible says in Matthew 24 29,
Matthew 24 29, the Bible reads, immediately after the tribulation, immediately after the tribulation,
immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not
give her light and the stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens shall be
shaken and then shall appear the sign of the son of man in heaven and then shall all the
tribes of the earth mourn and they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven
with power and great glory. Look at verse number 31. Remember when we read 2 Thessalonians,
it had mentioned how Christ would come with his mighty angels? It says here in verse number 31,
and he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together
his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other. And so what's taking place
here in Matthew 24? The Lord Jesus Christ for the help of his angels gathering together his elect
from the four winds. What did it say in Psalm 50 verse 5? Gather my saints together unto me.
Of course this is speaking about the rapture. Still prophetic events to come in the future.
And so let's go back to Psalm 50. So you know the passages I read there should be crystal clear
that the coming of Christ is after the tribulation of those days. Not before the
tribulation, not pre-tribulation, but after the tribulation or post-tribulation. But once again
it's before God pours out his wrath, the viral judgments, the trumpet judgment. I've preached on
this in other sermons. God's wrath will fall on this earth and we're going to be together with
the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's keep going there. Psalm 50 and verse number 6.
And the heavens, so following the rapture, we're going to be caught up together with the Lord in
the clouds. And the heavens shall declare his righteousness for God is judge himself,
Selah. Why would heaven declare his righteousness? Well I'm going to read to you the very most
famous passage on the rapture which is 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 16.
1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 16. It reads,
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel,
and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air,
and so shall we be with the Lord, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Okay so what do we learn? Yeah of course the heavens are going to declare the righteousness
of God. Okay why? Because we're in the heavens. All right so they're the heavens so we're going
to be caught up in the clouds of the Lord. You know when it comes to the first heaven we're
going to be up there. You know you say I'm scared of heights. You're not going to be scared of
heights because you're going to have a new resurrected body. The graves are going to open
up. The dead body's gone. A new body's going to rise out of that. Okay and those that are
alive and remain we're going to have our bodies changed in a moment and twinkle of an eye
and then we're going to be with the Lord in heaven in the clouds and so shall we ever be with the
Lord. So we're going to return with him to the third heaven and of course the heavens are going
to declare his righteousness. We're going to be rejoicing. We're going to be praising God that
he's come and we've been delivered and we've been given the new resurrected bodies and we've seen
the end of salvation. You know the salvation of the flesh excited for the eternity to come.
So it makes perfect sense so far the Psalms speaking prophetically speaking about the
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. But then we get to verse number seven in Psalm 50. So
so far it's all been a future declaration but now with this thought you've noticed one of the
themes so far is that God is our judge. Okay he's going to judge us. So with that thought that God
is going to judge us all right he's going to reward us for the great works we've done.
You know now the psalmist takes his thought and brings it to the present
because even though God's going to judge us in the future that does not mean God is not judging us
right now. God is judging us in the present as well. God watches what we do. You know when we
do what God wills he's going to reward us he's going to bless us even on this earth and brethren
when we do wrong. God's eyes upon that as well and his judgment can fall upon the wicked as well
and so God is saying hey I'm not just going to judge in the future I'm watching what you're
doing right now Israel right because of course the timing of this is Israel of the old covenant and
he's watching him and says look I'm judging you right now okay don't think it's just a future
thing it's happening right now right now because then it says in verse number seven it says here
oh my people and I will speak oh Israel and I will testify against thee I am God even thy God
so even though he's going to judge us in the future he goes I'm going to testify against you now
you know listen to me now Israel I'm going to judge you and so what we're going to read for
the rest of the psalm is God's judgment against Israel. You know what has Israel done that God
has to step out through the psalm and teach them about their or tell them about their wickedness
and how he's going to judge them he says I am God even thy God this judgment is coming from God
okay our God is a judge our God does not like he hates sin okay he's got to judge sin brethren
you know that there's weakness God is angry with the wicked every day the bible says
there comes a time when when wickedness is so so great or so long without repentance
that God has to step in and cast judgment okay upon the earth he says in verse number eight
now we learned a few things about Israel at the time of this psalm verse number eight he says
I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices all thy burnt offerings to have been continually before
me so he goes look to reprove is to basically to to correct to you know to to call out some wrong
that they're doing he goes look I'm not calling you out because of the sacrifices all right now
so we learned something there that Israel were not doing the sacrifices the way they ought to
okay maybe there were certain sacrifices that were not being followed through or perhaps you know one
of the requirements to sacrifice was to bring bring the best you know the best of your flock
you know there are times when they would bring the maim and the blind you know God's instruction if
you were to bring an animal for sacrifice it was to be the best it was to be a good quality uh
you know animal and so you know they're not doing the sacrifices properly all right they're not
doing that properly but God is saying look even though that's the case that's not why I'm going
to approve you that's not why I'm judging you right now okay but he's telling them you are
doing these wrong he's not saying it's okay that you're doing this wrong that's just not the reason
I'm judging you right now there's there are greater things going on than you not sacrificing
the way that you ought to all right he continues there in verse number nine I will take no bullock
out of thy house nor he goats out of thy foals he goes because you've not offered your bullocks
and your goats I'm not going to come to your house and take them for me okay that's not what I'm
upset about right now you know I'm not trying to balance the books in that area right now okay
because then it says in verse number 10 for every beast of the forest is mine
and the cattle upon a thousand hills what God is saying is I don't really look God does not really
need the sacrifices okay now should the Israelites be doing it of course they should be doing it
God commanded that they should do that and we know that it's a picture a shadow a type a story of what
Christ's sacrifice would ultimately be okay but God says look don't think that I need your animals
I don't really need an animal sacrifice he goes I've got what every beast every beast is is the
Lord's right a cattle upon a thousand hills what he's saying is I own it all I own the entire earth
that's why he mentioned at the very beginning in verse number one you know from the rising of
the sun to the setting of the sun you know from east to west it's all the Lord's you know it's
one God above this world you know and I you know I love that thought I love the thought that God
is above all and that he owns it all I love it because then I know that he'll always look after
me like I know I serve at all power for God like I know that in reality I have nothing to fear
because God sees it all and he owns it all you know what it's it's it's just it's a wonderful
thought that the God I serve you know is is is the great God is the mighty God is the Lord God
Jehovah you know I'm so thankful the God that I worship he owns it all brethren and so you know
he's saying look yes it's wrong that you're not sacrificing but I don't really need animals okay
don't think I need an animal I owe it all I if I needed an animal I can take whatever I needed
okay so let's keep going there verse number oh by the way I'll just quickly read to your passage
in the new testament Hebrew chapter 10 verse 6 Hebrew chapter 10 verse 6 reads in burnt offerings
and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure okay so the old testament sacrifices it it's not
for God's pleasure it's not like God looks at the animal sacrifice and goes wow what a great job
you know I really needed that animal sacrifice to me and you know now you're all forgiven for
your sins because you've done that to an animal that sacrifice of an animal did not please God
it did not satisfy God you know it did not take care of our sins once again it's just a picture
a symbol a shadow of what Christ would do okay so of course what pleases God what satisfies God
the sacrifice of his son all right so Israel old testament Israel please don't think I'm
angry at you because of this though it's wrong that you're doing that but that's not the main
reason I'm angry at you there's obviously something much worse that God is angry at
then the sacrifice has not been done properly let's keep going there verse number 11
verse number 11 the bar reads I know all the fowls of the mountain so all the birds
and the wild beasts of the field are mine so God's making it very clear
okay he has all the animals verse number 12 if I were hungry I would not tell thee for the world
is mine mine and the fullness thereof so can God get hungry you know of course when when Christ
became came in sinful flesh or in the likeness of sinful flesh I should say of course Christ
got hungry because he was in a body a hundred percent man a hundred percent God but in reality
God does not get hungry and so hypothetically even if God could get hungry God is saying would
I come to you and tell you I'm hungry like is there anything that we can do to give to God to
satisfy his hunger when God owns it all anyway okay so what God is saying look I don't really
need anything from you you know you know don't think that you know by sacrificing these animals
it's just something that God needs you know it's not for God it was for man right the commandments
the laws of God it's for man so we can live a righteous life so we can understand the sacrifice
of our Lord Jesus Christ in the long term okay it's not something that just God needs all of a
sudden right God and if God could get hungry he can take care of his own needs is what God is
saying right he says there in verse number 13 will I eat the flesh of bulls and drink the blood
of goats you know is that why you're sacrificing you think that I need to eat this and drink this
you know now when it came to the Levites and the priests doing these sacrifices
they literally did have to eat of that animal that was their meal okay the burnt sacrifice that took
place they had a barbecue that you know the Levites were were having meat every day as it were okay so
yeah for man they had to eat of that but not for God okay so again that thought well what can we
offer God so when you get to the verse number 14 God does tell us what we can offer him right this
is what we can really offer him verse number 14 offer unto God thanksgiving and pay thy vows unto
the most high okay so what does God want from you well you know when God does something great in
your life give him thanks you know when you wake up in the morning and you wake up and you know
Anna I've got life today give God thanks you know for the roof that you've got over your head give
God thanks you know for the Bible that you can read and learn the wisdom of God give him thanks
that's what God wants from you you know it's more important to give God thanks than to just offer
some animal sacrifice okay and it says and pay thy vows unto the most high so of course if you've
made a promise to God you should keep it okay you've said God I promise I'm going to do X Y and Z
you know what you've got to fulfill that to the Lord you know don't take it back your word
to that you've given to the Lord now keep your finger there please go to Matthew chapter 5
please go to Matthew chapter 5 and verse number 33
Matthew chapter 5 and verse number 33 now God is saying look if you've made a vow keep it
but you know what's even better don't make a vow okay this is a teaching of Jesus Christ in the
New Testament in Matthew chapter 5 and verse number 33 Matthew chapter 5 is number 33 the
Bible reads again the words of Christ again you have heard that he has been said by them of all
time thou shall not forswear thyself but shall perform unto the Lord thine oaths all right so
if you've made an oath you've made a vow all right keep it okay but Jesus Christ says but I say it to
you swear not at all to swear is to make a vow I make a promise all right neither by heaven for
it is God's throne nor by the earth for it is his footstool neither by Jerusalem for it is the great
for it is the city of the great king neither shall they swear by thy head because thou canst
not make one hair white or black but let your communication be yea yea nay nay for whatsoever
is more than these cometh out cometh of evil all right so God is in Christ is teaching us
don't make vows like don't just make these empty vows and promises to God and it's quite interesting
to me because there are a lot of churches where once the preacher has done a very emotional
sermon and people are cut in the heart and then they come before the altar if you know what I'm
talking about they come before the pulpit and they they go on one kneel such and they bow and they
they make these promises oh Lord I'm just going to walk in your past the rest of my days Lord I'm
going to get into full-time ministry I'm going to do x y and z there's so many promises that have
been made in the house of God and those people are not keeping those promises people that have
promised to get in the ministry they're not in the ministry people that promise to walk every
day of their life in the ways of God you can't do that brethren because we sin you can't you can't
live a perfect righteous life we sin we're going to be careful about the promises in fact Christ
says just don't make the promises you're better off not making the promises then making a promise
all emotional and then you break it okay because can you change the color of your hair you can't
you can't promise you can't make vows upon these things you have to be careful now when I got
married I made a vow to my wife till death do us part and I'm gonna keep that okay you know I have
no desire the word divorce doesn't even enter my mind you know what if I'm having a disagreement
with my wife the word divorce does not come out of our mouth we've made a vow till death do us
part you know in sickness in health richer or poorer two percent interest rates ten percent
interest rates I don't know if that was in our vows something like that you know what we're
committed to each other to the day one of us dies all right then the vow is finished all right but
brethren you know what you've made your vows whatever else you made keep them and just don't
do any more hey especially to the Lord don't promise the Lord things again we saw in the psalm
God doesn't really need anything from you just give him thanks and God is happy just to be
thankful for what God has given you and that's sufficient brethren don't make vows that you
can't promise rather if you are able to do something do it yeah I'll do that if you can't
do something no I can't do that don't over commit yourself to something the way you might be breaking
your word and look this person needs to work on that we all need to work on that okay because
again we've got to be careful about the words that we say you know we're just human beings
we've got limitations and we have to be careful about the words that come out of our mouth
all right back to the psalm psalm 50 verse 15 chapter 50 verse 15
what else does God want us to do verse number 15 and call upon me in the day of trouble I will
deliver thee and thou shall glorify me so what else does God want from you he wants you when
you're going through trouble to call upon him God help me God I'm going through a difficulty
can you come in and give equip me to get through this that's what he wants that's wonderful all
right I think sometimes we might get scared to go before God in a time of trouble oh man do I
you know what's God going to think about me going to him about this well that's what God wants he's
pleased when you're going through difficulties and we have the faithfulness to go before God
and not full of pride thinking we can just fix everything we go before God and say God I need
your help can you do a miracle can you fix this situation you know what and when God delivers you
thou shall glorify me when God answers your prayer God gets you through a time of difficulty then
glorify him thank him continue to thank him thank you Lord for delivering me out of that difficulty
that's what God prefers all right just doing these simple basic things thanking the God of the
universe the creator of all things for everything he's given us now the next verses that we're
about to read explains to us why God is actually going to judge Israel okay again it wasn't about
the sacrifices they weren't doing all right wasn't so much about that there was something even more
wicked that was going on all right let's read about that in verse number 16 but unto the wicked
God saith what hast thou to do to declare my statutes or that thou shouldst take thy covenant
take my covenant in thy in thy mouth so what's that he said the wicked he's saying the wicked
in Israel are those that are declaring those that are speaking the covenant of God out of their
mouth those that are preaching God's words the preachers the religious leaders that's who he's
targeting here because what are you doing preaching my word who are you to do such things
why is he saying that to the preachers because in verse 17 it says seen thou hatest instruction
and castest castest my words behind thee so what are they they're hypocrites they're preaching
God's word okay but really they hate instruction they don't they don't enjoy God's word they're
not walking according to God's commandments and when it comes to God's word they're just
casting behind them they're telling other people do x y and z follow this commandment rebuking
people but they themselves are not walking righteously they themselves are not seeking
God through his word these are hypocritical preachers this is more wicked more wicked
than forgetting to sacrifice the animals you understand that okay this is more wicked than
not being thanks not being thankful toward God he's judging Israel because of these wicked
preachers they say one thing and they do another and this reminds me of the pharisees in jesus day
okay jesus christ says about the pharisees when he's teaching his disciples or his followers about
the pharisees he says in matthew 23 verse 3 it says all therefore whatsoever thou they bid you
observe that observe and do but do not ye after their works for they say and do not for they say
and do not so christ is telling the people look the pharisees are in the place of moses they do
have authority yes what they're preaching is right do what they say to do but don't observe
their works because they say but they don't do okay so of course many of the most of course
the majority of the pharisees you know hated the lord jesus christ they did not believe on him
okay but then what were they doing christ says they're preaching moses they're preaching the
bible but they themselves do not do it they do not do the works and the lord keeps later on we
don't have time to go through it but he goes on explaining that they love the praise of man they
walk around in their long robes right uh you know they put great burdens on on people but they don't
push that burden with a little finger with a single finger and so you know christ of course
in his day was walking about with hypocritical preachers and condemning them rebuking them for
their for the for what they were for the the hypocritical hypocriticalness the hypocrisy
right that they were committing and of course psalm 50 is the same god is just sick and tired
of these hypocritical preachers now you say pastor kevin aren't you a preacher yeah i am so you know
what i gotta be careful and you know what men you know this sunday a new life after church we had a
few brothers preaching for us brethren you gotta be careful too i i mean look i appreciate you know
you know i appreciate you guys coming and preaching and i love the sermons and i i you know
i'm sure you appreciate being able to serve jesus christ but you also have to have in your
mindset that you know man when i preach i gotta make sure that i'm at least trying to carry out
what god requires and um you know at the end of the day of course we're all hypocrites to some
extent of course right look i'm required to preach the whole council of god do you think me as a
preacher or any pastor do you think we're just perfect on every commandment every issue we just
know everything we're just walking righteously about everything of course not because we're
human beings we still have a sinful nature we still make mistakes okay but you know at the end
of the day we're still commanded to preach the whole council of god all right so obviously
god is not expecting his preachers and his pastors to be perfect in everything because there is no
such thing while we're in these sinful bodies but we should be careful we should be mindful
that we don't just come preaching and putting trying to put burdens on people when ourselves
we're just not even not even coming close to living that kind of life okay so of course you
know when we think about the new testament we think about pastors god has qualifications for
a pastor for a for a deacon for a bishop right because god wants a man who has at least in his
life and his family reflected the qualities that god wants in a christian and then for that man to
be able to then to preach god's word and to be involved in full-time ministry taking up an
office so god is is mindful even in the new testament about who gets put in place in an
official office for the church let's go back to psalm 50 i think you're there anyway psalm 50
verse 18 psalm 50 verse 18 what else do these hypocritical preachers do it says when thou
sorest a thief then thou contested can consentest with him and has been partaker with adulterers
and so these people right they don't care about sin these are preachers that are not preaching
against sin right it's the happy feel-good sermon week in week out now brethren is there a time for
a happy feel-good sermon of course there is there's a time for everything but these preachers never
hit sin they never preach against sinners and not only that these preachers are partakers with
adulterers with adulterers okay i mean think about okay mentions a thief there is is is theft
wrong is it a crime of course it is but look it's not punishable by death adultery was punishable
by death these preachers are hunting you know married women right you know talk you know lifted
with they're lifted with pride i guess they're some type of celebrities amongst the people
and the ladies are looking up to them right they're not respecting their husbands you know
what you know me as a pastor i'll tell you this and if you know you know you've heard my preaching
or you know me as a person i respect and honor every man of his house you're in charge man
the husband is ahead of his wife do you hear me okay 2022 the husband is ahead of his wife
wives you honor and you respect your husband okay in fact you honor and respect your husband more
than this pastor okay i'm just a man god's given me authority in the church and that's it when it
comes to every other aspect of life your husband is the one that you look after you look up to
you honor and you respect him okay i'm sick and tired of churches where women are honoring and
respecting their pastors above their husbands i'm sick and tired of that okay how do you think
adultery takes place all right women's emotions and hearts are led towards a man who preached
some truth behind the bible okay but you know what that man behind the pulpit is a sinner as well
okay and look because you live with your husband every day you see all his problems you see his
sins you see the hypocrisy sometimes of your husband but look if you live with me every day
you'll see the same thing all right which i'm you know preachers these men that stand behind
pulpit's passes we're just men you honor and respect the man that god has put over you that's
the husband okay you be obedient to him you submit to him it's going to protect you from adultery it's
going to protect you from being deceived okay so please be careful okay ladies you know what i just
want every man to be empowered to take ownership for his family for his wife and his children
god has given you that little kingdom for yourself to rule okay to gain the experience and one day
god's going to give you a part of this earth to ruin reign with christ when he comes back in the
millennium verse number 19 these preachers it says they'll give us thy mouth to evil and thy tongue
frame of deceit so the same mouth that is preaching god's word is then preaching evil
deceit deception lies thou sittest and speakest against thy brother thou slanderous thine own
mother's son so the brother here is speaking about family okay they don't even you know they they
even have conflict they can't even get along with their own flesh and blood says god i mean these
people these preachers are so wicked they don't even get along with their families and again this
kind of reminds me again the qualifications of the new testament pastor i'll just quickly read
to you in first timothy chapter three verse five first timothy chapter three verse five which says
for if a man know not how to rule his own house how shall he take care of the church of god
all right so you know family is important to god you know what if a man can't even get along
his own family okay uh you know you're slandering them deception arguments fly look of course you
know what sometimes your family if you've got an unsaved family if you stand for christ they're
going to be a bit standoffish they might cause conflicts because of your stand and god's word
in the bible i'm not talking about that i'm just talking about normal family relationships okay
where you just try to tear each other down you hate your own flesh and blood you hate your family
you hate your wives you hate your children and then these people they want to become pastors be
lifted up before you know a congregation and be considered a man of god how wicked you know what
so important for a man to become a pastor that it's very clear that he rules his house his wife
is submissive to him his children are obedient to him you know he's gotta throw he knows how to lead
and only then can he take the next step and lead god's house verse number 21 god says these things
hast thou done this is this is a problem okay and i kept silence so this has been going on for some
time god says i've kept silence why does god keep silence well you know what i like the fact that
god keeps silence i like the fact that when i do wrong in sin god gives me space for repentance
god gives me space for confession to go before god and say sorry lord help me god help me overcome
this sin god gives us space because if he just destroyed us the moment we sin we would not be
walking right now okay god gives them space but instead of repenting they take advantage of that
space okay it says there in um verse number 21 these things hast thou done and i kept silence
now now look at this now when god keeps silence with your sins now you as a believer i want to
understand that god's judgment is coming but he's giving you space to repent okay he's trying to be
merciful toward you so his hand of chastisement does not have to be as heavy all right but with
these people with these hypocritical preachers it says thou thoughtest that i was all together
such and one as thyself god says you thought i was just like you but i will reprove thee and
set them in order before thine eyes you know what these people they're sinning and they they're
sitting and well hey god's silent they continue to sin continue doing the same thing over and over
again god's silent hey we're getting away seemingly we're getting away with this therefore i guess god
you're okay with this you must be okay god that i'm i'm doing this sin and so they think god is
a sinner just like them okay no no no god's given them time and he promises that he's going to come
and set order he's going to rebuke them he's going to judge them he's going to chastise them
same as you and i you know what if we have unconfessed sin if we're not humble enough to
go before god say god help us we failed again and brevin you and i know we have sins that we
struggle with probably the same sins over and over and over again okay but just because you
say you know you struggle with them over and over again you almost you might feel like you don't
have victory you know you still need to confess that before god you still need to come in a broken
contrite heart and say god i'm sorry help me all right and and god will give you space he'll give
you space to repent and god will one day give you that power and victory over that sin that
besets you look at verse number 22 now consider this ye that forget god so when you continue to
sin and think you're getting away with it you're forgetting god okay ye that forget god look at
this lest i tear you in pieces and there be none to deliver because you listen or you're going to
be torn to pieces okay now god's judgment i believe according to this upon these hypocritical
preachers of this day i don't know exactly who they are but god is telling them they're going
to be torn to pieces again because they're committed adultery and we know that the death
the death penalty is the right judgment for such a crime okay so yeah they'll literally be torn to
pieces they'll literally have stones thrown at them their body destroyed because of their
adultery but you know god's just reminding the rest of us hey you know listen look what these
prophets are doing hey when they're judged and they're stoned and they're put to death and
destroying pieces let us be a reminder to you that god will judge you as well again we started
with the future promises to come that god will be our judge he's going to judge us for our righteous
works but brethren while we walk this earth god is still our judge and you know when we do wrong
he's going to chastise us going to judge us okay and we're going to be punished in this life not
punished in hell because our sins have been paid for praise god but we can be punished in this life
for the wrong that we've done so consider this be mindful about this when it seems when you
think god is being silent it's not that god's okay with your sin it's that he's giving you time to
repent and get things right verse number 23 who so offer of praise glorify for me and to him that
order of his conversation are right will i show the salvation of god okay so instead of being
dashed to pieces instead of being torn to pieces that said earlier when none will be there to
deliver you god does want to give you salvation this is not teaching salvation of the soul this
is not teaching how to go to heaven but salvation from god's judgment on this earth all right how
can we save ourselves from a heavy hand of chastisements how can we see the salvation of
the lord in a time of difficulty well like i said in verse number 23 we just offer him praise we come
to church praise god he's coming sunday we'll go back to church brethren we come to offer him
praise we glorify god we're thankful for everything is done for us right we do what we can as best as
we can in the current place that we're at to walk in accordance to his words says to him that order
his conversation all right his behavior you know if you if you change your lifestyle to be aligned
with god you know you change your will to be aligned with god's will then he will show you
the salvation of god then he's going to deliver you from all these trials you know he's going
to deliver you from great chastisements if you can turn around you can use that time of silence
that god gives you to turn around and walk in his ways and he's going to deliver you from your
difficulties deliver you from the sins that you struggle with and the problems that sins create
and so brethren as i said the title for the sermon was hypocritical preachers yeah but
yeah many preachers can be hypocritical you know but what about yourselves can we be hypocritical
sometimes of course of course you know parents we can have certain standards for our children
but ourselves don't live up to that standard you know we don't want to reflect the people like the
pharisees right we want to be people that are striving to be godly you know what and when we
see people fail understand they're sinners understand they have weaknesses understand
they have struggles just like you do you don't have to tear people down because brethren you know
it's so easy to be a hypocrite so easy to just shine the light on someone's sin tearing them
down when you yourselves are full of sin and brethren if you're having a time of silence from
god because of your sin don't think it's okay with it understand god is giving you time to repent
and be made right with him on this earth okay so you can live a life that is pleasing the lord
a life that has minimal problems you can't live a life with no problems no such thing but hey
problems you know problems that you know that god is helping you through not problems that
unnecessary and you know what you can live a life of rejoicing
a life of thanksgiving and a life of joy you know okay let's go to a word of prayer