August 8th, 2021 “Finding God in Confusion!”

Partners in Prayer

Dear Partners in Prayer Team, “So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a

heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12 (NKJV)

Morning, prayer team and family members. I want to let you know that I am looking forward to getting away with Lori to Keswick family camp this coming week. Truly, aside from a few pastoral getaways, Lori and I haven’t had a vacation in two years; since before the Covid pandemic. So, please pray for us as we take time away, that God will give us both a season of rest and refreshment. I also want you to know that next week, I will not be printing a Partners in Prayer since we are away. I will, however, restart it when we begin our sermons on “Revelation- Unveiling Christ!” Will you keep me in prayer and remember to write down questions about the study and return them to me? This is a crazy time of life in our world, isn’t it? Can it get any worse? Have you ever been confused? I don’t mean that moment of forgetfulness, but I’m talking about an extended period of time and panic that you feel paralyzed by fear, and you don’t know what to do or say. Often I believe in these last times we will face more and more situations and people with confusion causing us to ask ourselves, “Lord, what should we do in this situation and through these confused times?” This last week my attention was drawn to the Olympic Games as I heard about the Fiji Men’s Rugby team who won the gold medal by beating New Zealand team. Rugby is by far the most popular sport in Fiji, and some would even say the smaller, faster version of the game, known as rugby sevens, would more accurately qualify as the national sport. Regardless, Fijian men are the best rugby sevens squad in the world. So when they won, they didn’t respond as most Rugby teams in the past. They stopped everyone in their tracks as they broke down in tears and unashamedly prayed out loud. Several, if not all the team are believers in Christ, and when they actually won the game, instead of cheering themselves, and instead of drawing attention to themselves, they all dropped individually onto the field and cried and prayed. Then the group gathered, and instead of moving over to talk with the New Zealand team, they got in a circle and continued to pray and sang a hymn.

The secular media was more than confused and baffled by the actions of these men. They didn’t have words to report what the team was doing. There was nothing but silence and awkwardness. So confused and dumbfounded, the reporters were heard saying “I don’t know what to say.” They didn’t know how

to report the actions of the Fiji team. When they tried to figure out what they were doing, they were saying, “Oh, the team is singing the National Anthem, or another kind of song.” They were so confused that they couldn’t report that they were singing a praise hymn to God. It was interesting, that when these men gave glory and drew all the attention to praising God, the world was confused and didn’t know how to

respond. I often think that we will, as a church, see more of that in the end times. When Christ’s coming gets closer, the world will respond with confusion when they see how we worship and tell boldly of Jesus. So I wanted to cut through the confusion, and find out what the song was. The emotional team performed the hymn “E Da Sa Qaqa” – which translates to ‘we have overcome’. I then began to search the internet for the translation, because the news media couldn’t identify the song. They kept saying it’s about “We won in the world” but that wasn’t the right translation. I found out that the words they sang were taken from Revelation 12:11, “And they overcame… by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” So, in glory to God, these men were singing praise to the blood of Jesus and pointing and giving Jesus all the glory for their winning achievement. So how are we in these end times going to show glory to Jesus instead of being confused? So I went to Moses’ words of Psalm 90:12 to help us gain understanding against the world’s confusion and to help us understand how to gain a heart of wisdom. So what do we do when we are confused? The question I want to answer is “How do we number our days when this world is so confusing?” So I am going to try to explain what it means, how we do it, and the results that it gives us. 1. What does "teach us to number our days" mean? Psalm 90 was penned by Moses, a man with whom the Lord spoke “face to face, as a man speaks with his friend” (Exodus 33:11; see also Numbers 12:7-8). Yet Moses wrote about the fierce anger of God against sin. He pleaded with the Lord to help humankind realize that we will all answer to God for deeds done in the body (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:10). In Psalm 90:11, Moses wrote, “If only we knew the power of your anger!” Moses was a man who knew God better than most mortals, yet he had experienced the sting of God’s punishment for his sin and yearned to help others avoid it (Numbers 20:12).

Moses reminds us that while the life of man is frail and short, God is eternal. “Before the mountains were brought forth or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God” (v. 2). Moses takes us back before God created the earth to remind us that our God is before and beyond time and this world. He has always been, and He is sufficient to Himself without us. Moses makes this point in another way in verse 4: “For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.” Time does not have the same meaning for God that it has for us. For us, a thousand years is a time so long that we cannot really imagine experiencing it. For God, it is no different from a very short period of time. He is eternal, above the time that He created (Psalm 90:1-2). John Gill's Exposition of the Bible Commentary on Psalm 90:12 teaches us the beautiful meaning: "Not merely to count them, how many they are, in an arithmetical way; there is no need of divine teachings for that... nor is this to be understood of calculating or reckoning of time to come - no man can count the number of days he has to live… the number of his days, months, and years, is with the Lord but is hid from him...But rather the meaning of the petition is, that God would teach us to number our days, as if the present one was the last. For we cannot boast of tomorrow, we know not but this day, or night, our souls may be required of us. But the sense is, that God would teach us seriously to meditate on, and consider of, the shortness of our days. That they are but as a shadow...and to observe how unprofitably we have spent them, which may put us upon redeeming time, and also to take notice of the goodness of God, that has followed us all our days, which may lead us to repentance, and engage us in the fear of God." The request “teach us to number our days” means that we need God to reveal to us the brevity of life. That revelation will help us grow wise, and wisdom is important because the choices we make during our brief stay on earth have eternal consequences. The remainder of Psalm 90 gives details about God’s wrath against sin and about the meaning of life. Our earthly lives will not last long, and we need wisdom to prepare for what follows. Jesus gave a parable that also explains what happens when we don’t “number our days.” In Luke 12:19–21 He describes a rich man who wanted only to “eat, drink, and be merry” and had no time or thought for God. The rich man believed he had years yet to enjoy his pleasures, but God required his soul that very night. If the rich man had learned to “number his days,” he would have pursued ventures that had eternal significance. We can learn from this parable that none of us know how many days we will be granted, so we must not waste them on silly, selfish pursuits that have no real value. God’s desire for human beings is that we learn, grow, and seek wisdom (Proverbs 2). As we learn to number our days, we will share that desire. We are

created to walk in fellowship with God, discovering the mysteries and delights He has scattered throughout creation. The Lord enjoys partnering with us as we pursue all He designed for us to accomplish (Psalm 37:23; Ephesians 2:10). When we live in harmony with Him, death is simply a change of address. Our enjoyment of Him continues unabated when we step from this life into eternity. Those who have learned to number their days spend them in pursuit of wisdom, goodness, and the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33). They don’t have to fear the wrath of God when their earthly lives are over. Jesus came to earth to make a way for us to be made right with God (2 Corinthians 5:21). But He won’t force His gift of eternal life on anyone (John 3:16–18). Those who never learn to number their days spend them as if this life is all there is. Psalm 90 warns them about the judgment they are destined to undergo (Hebrews 9:27). But when we learn to number our days, we see each day as a valuable gift and an opportunity to store up treasure in heaven (Luke 12:33; Revelation 22:12). 2. What happens when we number our days? This verse is often treated as if it were a proverb that means, “Life is short, so live wisely.” But in the context of the whole psalm, it means much more than that, as we will see. It is a key part of a meditation on God and on living as the people of God. In Hebrews, verse 12 begins with the words “to number our days.” This phrase picks up the theme of time that is so pervasive in this psalm. A reflection on time leads us to see how weak we are and how short our lives are: “You return man to dust and say, ‘Return, O children of man!’ … You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers… The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away” (vv. 3, 5–6, 10). Here, Psalm 90 shows its connection to the concerns of Psalm 89 about man’s frailty: “Remember how short my time is! For what vanity you have created all the children of man! What man can live and never see death? Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?” (Ps. 89:47–48). Such realism about our weakness is the necessary foundation of any true wisdom. “O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am” (Ps. 39:4). The shortness and weakness of human life are the fruit of sin and judgment in the world. The psalmist acknowledged that sin frankly, saying, “You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence” (Ps. 90:8). He knew that his holy God visits His judgment on sinners. “For all our days pass away under Your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh… . Who considers the power of Your anger, and Your wrath according to the fear of You?” (vv. 9, 11). It is surely frightening to think that God’s wrath will equal all the obedience that is due to Him.

Then we "apply our hearts to wisdom." What does that mean? Again, John Gill’s commentary explains wonderfully the what and why behind applying your heart to wisdom - "to seek the way of salvation by Christ - to seek Christ, the wisdom of God, (for it is to fear the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom) and to walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise...For unless a man is taught of God, and by His Spirit convinced of sin, righteousness, and judgment, he will never be concerned, in good earnest, about a future state. Nor inquire the way of salvation, nor heartily apply to Christ for it: he may number his days, and consider the shortness of them, and apply his heart to folly, and not wisdom." Dr. Leslie Weatherhead calculated the average length of a life using the hours of one day to illustrate the importance of recognizing the value of time. He concluded that if your age is 15, the time is 10:25 a.m. If your age is 20, the time is 11:34. If your age is 25, the time is 12:42 p.m. If you’re 30, the time is 1:51. If you’re 35, the time is 3:00. If you’re 40 the time is 4:08. At age 45, the time is 5:15. If you’re 50, the time is 6:25. By age 55, the time is 7:24. If you’re 60, the time is 8:42. If you’re 65, the time is 9:51. And if you’re 70 the time is 11 p.m. Psalm 90:12 reminds us, “Teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom” (NKJV). Or as the Living Bible puts it, “Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should.” Ephesians 5:15 says, “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise” (NLT). Jesus told the story of a man who went on a journey and left his money with his servants. This was not an uncommon thing in those days. A wealthy man or a ruler would have many servants in his household, from those who performed basic labor to those who managed the financial affairs of his household, even his business. In many cases some of the man’s servants would be better educated and skilled than he was. Highly trusted slaves had a virtual free hand within prescribed areas of responsibility while the owner was at home. When the owner would go on a journey, he would leave full authority in the hands of these key servants, who would have the ancient equivalent of a power of attorney. So Jesus described a scenario in which a wealthy man went on a journey and left the key servants in charge of his possessions. It’s difficult for us to know exactly what sum he left them, but one possibility is that he gave the equivalent of $5,000 to the first servant, $2,000 to the second servant, and $1,000 to the third. What is Jesus’ story saying to us? I think it’s quite obvious. Jesus is like that wealthy man who goes on a journey, which spans the day He left this earth to the day He returns in the Second Coming. We are the servants He has invested

in, and we are to take what He has given us and use it for His glory while we await His return. 3. What are you investing your days & time in? What is the application? In the New Testament a word that was often used for “slave” or “servant” is the Greek word “doulos.” It’s a term that describes a unique class of servant, not someone who was made that way by constraint or by force. A doulos was someone who had been freed by his or her master yet still chose to serve out of love. The servant was so thankful for this pardon that he or she would willfully choose to serve. The apostle Paul often referred to himself as a doulos, and that is what we are as followers of Jesus Christ. Christ has paid an incredible debt for us. He has pardoned us. He has forgiven us. And now we should become His voluntary servants, not because we have to but because we want to – because we love Him. We recognize that He has instilled certain things in our lives that we are to use for His glory. Certain gifts. Certain talents. Certain resources. Everything. Paul wrote, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20 NLT). Jesus said, “If any of you wants to be My follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23 NLT). This certainly is my life verse that I’ve memorized and pray every morning. This doesn’t mean that we must take a vow of poverty. It simply means we recognize that it all belongs to God. Our lives belong to God. Our families belong to God. Our possessions belong to God. Everything is His! Take what God has given to you and do the most that you can with it for His glory. God can do a lot with a little. If you don’t believe me, just ask the boy with the five loaves and two fish who gave everything he had to Jesus. It didn’t seem like a lot, but Jesus used them to feed a hungry multitude. Jesus can take a little, bless it and multiply it. He can use it beyond our wildest dreams. This eternal God directs the course of history by His infinite power. Moses, who had seen the power of God often displayed in the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, continued to pray that the majesty of God’s works would remain before the eyes of the people: “Let Your work be shown to Your servants, and Your glorious power to their children” (v. 16). As God had brought suffering by His power, so Moses prayed that God would send blessing: “Make us glad for as many days as You have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil” (v. 15). If our need is to number our days by contrasting their shortness with the eternal nature of God, then our prayer to God is that He would teach

us: “Teach us to number our days.” We will never learn that lesson in our own strength. We are not only ignorant if left to ourselves, but we suppress the truth in unrighteousness (Rom 1:18). We convince ourselves that we have a long time to live, and as long as we are healthy, we really believe that we will live forever in this body. We need a teacher, and the only teacher who can rescue us from ourselves and all the confusion in all this world is God. Over-confidence, coupled with negligence, can lead to sad consequences. This is the case when a person is so sure of himself that he becomes careless about little things that may pose a threat. I'm thinking, for example, of a stuntman named Bobby Leach. In July, 1911, he went over Niagara Falls in a specially designed steel drum and lived to tell about it. Although he suffered minor injuries, he survived because he recognized the tremendous dangers involved in the feat, and because he had done everything he could to protect himself from harm. Several years after that incident, while skipping down the street in New Zealand, Bobby Leach slipped on an orange peel, fell, and badly fractured his

leg. He was taken to a hospital where he later died of complications from that fall. He received a greater injury walking down the street than he sustained in going over Niagara Falls. He was not prepared for danger in what he assumed to be a safe situation.

If we will humble ourselves, take what we have and offer it to God, if we will be willing to do what He has placed before us and be faithful in the little things, then He will give us more to do. I would rather try and fail than never try at all. Any time you take a chance, you can fail. But it’s better to try than to never take chances and never have anything happen in your life. So seize the day. Seize the moment. Seize the opportunities before you. Don’t wallow in confusion. Don’t be paralyzed by the world’s confusing messages and actions. Do remember you may not have as much time as you think. Be productive with your life. Be productive with your time. Seize the opportunities God has given you. Let’s pray that as a church, we are not confused by the world, but that we show our love and worship of God in a way that silences the world and brings honor to His Name. Will you pray with me, “Redeeming heavenly Father, You have surrounded us daily with Your

goodness and mercy. You have forgiven our sins, covered us with the shining robes of the perfect goodness of Your Son. We should live each day with praise, adoration, and thanksgiving to You, but we often are weak and live in confusion. Father, please rescue us from confusion in our hearts. Holy Lord, we desperately need Your help to think pure and excellent thoughts about You and accurate thoughts about these things happening in this fallen world around us. Open our eyes to see Your perspective, and help us fall down and glorify You in everything You are doing, even when the world can’t figure us out. Make us patient and joyful through our trials, and utterly content in Your love and confident that Your grace will bring us home. In Christ’s Name, amen.” Praying for rest,

Pastor Corvin <>< Quote: “When you have nothing left but God, then you become aware that God is enough.” … Maude Royden.