Let's all stand together for a scripture reading. Tonight, our first scripture reading comes from Philippians chapter 1. Philippians chapter 1, starting from verse 19 to 30. And then our text for tonight is Psalm 73. But first, I'll be reading Philippians chapter 1, starting from verse 19. I will read it in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior. For I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage, now as always, Christ will be honored in my body. whether by life or by death, for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means a fruitful labor for me, yet which I shall choose, I cannot tell. I'm hard-pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. but to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus because of my coming to you again. Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ. so that whether I come and see you or I'm absent, I may hear of you that you are stand firm in one spirit, with one mind, striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ, you should not only believe in him, but also suffer for his sake. Engaged in the same conflict that is so I had, and now here that I still have. Turn your Bibles to the Old Testament, Psalm 73, which will be my text tonight. And hear God's word from Psalm 73. Truly, God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled. My steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pangs until death. Their bodies are fat and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are. They are not stricken like the rest of mankind. Therefore, pride is their necklace. Violence covers them as a garment. Their eyes swell out through fatness. Their hearts overflow with follies. They scoff and speak with malice. Loftily, they threaten oppression. They set their mouths against the heavens. and their tongues stretched through the earth. Therefore, his people turned back to them and find no fault in them. And they say, how can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High? Behold, these are the wicked, always at ease. They increase in riches. All in vain have I kept my heart clean. and washed my hands in innocence. For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. If I had said I will speak thus, I would have betrayed the generation of your children. But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task. Until I went into the sanctuary of God, then I discerned their end. Truly, you set them in slippery places. You make them fall a ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors. Like a dream, when one awakes, oh Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms. When my soul was impeded, When I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant. I was like a beast toward you. Nevertheless, I am continually with you. You hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel. And after word, you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail. But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For behold, those who are far from you shall perish. You put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. But for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works. May the Lord bless the reading of his word by the power of his Holy Spirit into our hearts. William E. Brown in his article on in making sense of your faith. He writes about the story of a farmer and the story goes like this. a farmer in Midtown State who had a strong disdain for religious things. As he plowed his field on Sunday, on Sunday morning, he would shake his fist at the church people who passed by on their way to worship. October came, and the farmer has his finest crop ever, crop ever, the best in the entire country. When the harvest was complete, he placed an advertisement in the local paper, which he belittled the Christians for their faith in God. Near to the end of his diatribe, he wrote, faith in God must not mean much if someone like me can prosper. The response from the Christians in the community was quiet and polite. In the next edition of the town paper, a small ad appeared and it read simply, God doesn't always settle his accounts in October. In Psalm 73, We see Esef being tempted from seeing the wicked, those who hate God, those wicked men and women prospering, unlike the Christians in that town that we have been reading about, who did not envy the foolish and arrogant farmer, Esau did stumble, almost fall from seeing the wicked flourishing, the wicked having the things that he did not have. Esau was a member of the Hebrew tribe. He was a music leader in the temple of the Lord. who was the one who provides assistance to the priestess in the worship at the temple. So he was a servant of God and he stands in the temple every time people gather for worship. Now Esav being a servant of God and his people in the temple, what he saw and troubled him a lot was A scenario that the wicked seem to do very well in this world, much better than the godly. They get richer and richer, and the godly go through poverty, persecution, and trials in this life. As a believer, does these things bother you? When you see the wicked prospering and flourishing every day. When it seems that the wicked are getting stronger and stronger in opposing the Gospel. Opposing the mission of the Church of Jesus Christ. Even in distorting the message of the Gospel. Does it bother you? You see, Esau was not denying God. Esau was not rejecting the existence of God and the fact that God loves his people and loves Esau. But he was tempted about the providence of God. He was tempted about how God in his providence rules the universe, including the wicked. Notice in verse 1, you see an assertion, a confident and forceful announcement from Esau. Esau says, truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. You see, the declaration that Esau is making now is nationalistic. He is representing the nation Israel and he is acknowledging God as God who has been good to Israel. Truly, God is good to Israel. And what does it mean? You see, God is good to Israel from the mouth of Esau. What it means is this. Esau is saying, look how God has been to the nation of Israel. how God redeemed and vindicated his people from the bondage in Egypt. Esav is saying, look to the love and the mercy of God to the people of Israel, even though they were sinners and rebellious, yet he was good to them. And by this declaration, Esau means the only one who is good is God. God is the source of all good things. In fact, good is God himself. That's what Esau is declaring. There is no goodness anywhere and in anyone apart from God. God is good. And he also said to those who are pure in heart, In the Old Testament and the New Testament, you see, both Old Testament and New Testament makes a distinction between an Israelite by nation and a true Israelite by faith. Jesus, in the Gospel of Matthew 5, 8, he said, blessed are the pure in heart. They will inherit the kingdom of God. Who are the pure in heart? Those whose heart has been changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Those whom God has changed them for His glory, for salvation, for justification, for sanctification, for glorification. Those are pure in heart. Esau knew all these things deep in his heart. He knew that God is always good to his people. But you come to verse 2. He makes it so personal, and he suddenly changes his declaration about God, and who God is, and how God is good to his people. In verse 2 he says, But as for me, my feet had almost tumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. This is a very surprising confession that Esau is making. In fact, Esau is now descending. with his confession and faith and confidence about God. Because he said, ask for me. He has been good to Israel, but not to me. That's what Esav is saying. The way I see it, yes, God has been good to the people of Israel, but the way I see it, I don't think he's good to me. What is true for Israel doesn't seem true for me personally. He's making it very personal and he's doubting God's providence for him and how God rules the universe by his providence. And the most distressing temptation is to an opposite belief. led him to deny, almost deny providence. The psalmist experienced the same thing in Psalm 22 verse 14 when he said, I'm poured out like water and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax. It is melted within my breast. You see the psalmist was to his climax frustration in life. when he was struggling with what was taking place in his life and around his life. As of descent, you see, he said, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. My friends, true faith is walking on the path of trusting God. That's true faith. Whatever is happening around you, whatever is taking in your life, as the child of God, as a believer, God wants you to walk by faith, to trust Him, to depend on Him. Now, Esau almost slipped, which means to lose one's foothold. Slipped on the icy ground. That's what was happening with Esau. And the cause for his dreadful depression in life was that he was tempted because he became envious of the prosperity of the wicked. Now, you need to know, you see, only, you know, for someone to be envious is not necessarily a sin. But when envy is accompanied with resentment, you really want to have that someone else has in his life. That resentment and that is sin. He was tempted with envy. He was jealous of the prosperity of the wicked. And remember what the psalmist says in Psalm 37, verses one and two, fret not yourself because of evildoers, for they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. They will die quickly. So do not be jealous of the wicked. And this may signify two things for us as believers. One, Esau, felt sinful envy towards the wicked. He was so angry towards them, simply because they were blessed by God. Simply because common grace blessed them with prosperity, and they were flourishing, so he was upset about it. And secondly, it means he was jealous of God's favor on the wicked. For God just showering outward blessings on them. That made Him very, very jealous. In verse 4 through 8, He describes the attitude of the wicked by saying, for they have no pangs until death. Their bodies are fat and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are. They are not stricken like the rest of mankind. Therefore, pride is their necklace. Violence covers them as a garment. You see, Esav is trying to argue that Lord, even when death comes to their life, they don't care. They are not afraid of death. Pride is their necklace. That's his argument. But remember, the reason why they don't care about death is because they don't know what is waiting for them. They don't know anything about judgment. They don't know anything about eternal condemnation that makes them to live at ease for the time being. And he couldn't perceive What the law of God teaches him about that, because he was overwhelmed and he was taken by jealousy. Especially if you notice in verse 9 through 12, he even makes a very silly argument with God. He tells God or he says to God, you know God, I'm not upset about this. for my sake. I'm not stumbling, I'm not offended, because of the diseases that I see around, and the persecution that your children goes under. But what really upsets me as your servant, is these people insult you. Listen, what is this? It says in verse 9, They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue stretched through the earth. Destroy them! They insult you. They don't respect you. Why do you bless them? They don't deserve your blessings. Also, he doubts the faith he chose for his own life. In verse 13, he says, All in vain have I kept my heart clean. and worship my hands in innocence. You see what he's doing now? Is this why I follow you? Is this why I worship you? So that you would bless the wicked and not me? Why do I come to church every Lord's Day to worship you? And they prosper. They get whatever they want in life. I will show you I'm not going to come to church. I'm not going to worship you. Is this what I get for my innocence, for my purity, for my faith? upon you, O God. Brothers and sisters, if you tend to have that attitude towards God, God wins. You will not win. You see, a doctor prescribes a medicine for you. If you refuse to take it, you will get sick and it will get worse. And if you try to make an argument like this, simply from seeing the prosperity of the wicked, you know what the ISIS is doing, what the people who support same-sex marriage are doing in this land, you see all these wicked people prospering, and the prosperity and the riches of celebrities in America, you see all these things, And you come to God and say, but you are not blessing me. They are blessed. What's going on? If you say that, then God wins. You are not speaking, you are not acting as a child of God in the presence of God. But you see, Esau understood one thing. He was very careful with his temptation. Because in verse 15, this is what he tells us. If I had said, I will speak thus, I would have betrayed the generation of your children. You see what he's saying? You see his carefulness? Him being responsible in the temple of God, he's saying to God, I'm tempted. I don't understand what's going on. I'm jealous. I'm envious towards the wicked. But I will not proclaim it to your people. Brothers and sisters in Christ, when you struggle with doubts, when you struggle with false doctrine, don't bring it to the Church of Jesus Christ. Don't proclaim it to the people of God. Because Esau said, if I have done that, I will betray the generation of your children. So I kept it for myself, but I'm still struggling. And in verse 16, he comes to a realization as a servant of God. And the realization that he came to was this, truly in verse 16, but when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a worrisome task. You see, he's saying, I'm doubting, I'm struggling, and I'm trying to understand what's going on. But it's beyond of my comprehension. I can't argue with you. I can't comprehend everything that is taking place in this world. You are sovereign, and I can't argue with you. Romans 11, verse 3, the people of God. Oh, the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways. Esau came to that realization and he said to himself, what am I doing? Who would argue with God? I have to go to him and seek his counsel. And then we see a radical turning point in Esau's life. But when did this radical change came to his life? Verse 17, until I went into the sanctuary of God, then I discerned their end. What happened? He came to the sanctuary. He came to the church. to the assembly of the worship of the people of God. When he came to the church and heard the law of God being proclaimed, you see, he was in the worship of God. When he came to the worship of God, he was able to see clearly You see, when we worship God, when we hear His Word being preached to us, when we attend the instruction of the Word every moment of our life, that's when we see clearly. And that's what Esav is saying here. Martin Luther, the Reformer, expounds this verse by saying this, when Esau said, until I went to the sanctuary and I discerned their end, Luther said he meant this, until I hear or read the word of God and find what God has said concerning the ungodly. I came to the sanctuary and your word, your law, showed me what is preserved for the ungodly. Psalm 19, 7, the law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The commandments of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. When we come to the church, to the assembly, to the worship of the people of God, and we hear the preaching and the proclamation of God's Word from here, from the pulpit, it's for our enlightenment. It's for our discernment. It's for our understanding. It's for our growth in the knowledge of who God is and how God rules His people. and the future of all humanity in his hand. The power of God's word brings transformation to life. The Holy Spirit attending the preaching of the word of God brings to our mind a transformation, an understanding of God and his works. but also the soul is moved and renewed. The prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 31 verse 18, he said, bring me back that I may be restored for you are the Lord my God. God's people who restores our heart, who revives our soul, who gives us the understanding of his providence, his rule, his majesty, and how he brings and accomplishes his purposes in this world, the word of God. And where do we find the word? We find the word in the house of the Lord. It has been entrusted to the Church of Jesus Christ. You see, the central part of our gathering every Lord's Day is the proclamation of the Word of God. Because you need to be fed by the Word of God. You need to receive counsel from God through the preaching and the teaching of His Word. And that's what Esau is telling us. Esau is telling you the reason why I go to the sanctuary is to be instructed. to receive counsel from my God. I was wrong. I was tempted. And then I came to the sanctuary and God helped me in giving instruction to my life. And then I saw what their end will be. My eyes were opened and I understood. You see, the Word of God enabled Esau to see everything from God's perspective, rather than from his own limited and sinful worldly view. You see, because of his temptation, he almost changed his view about God. A change took place in his view. Almost. He was almost there. But God helped him when he came to the sanctuary. He saw the lives of the wicked and of himself from the perspective of eternity. The families of the victims in Charleston, when he heard their testimonies, when he heard the family members of those who were killed in the sanctuary calling the wicked man, the one who killed their beloved, When you hear them telling him that they forgive him and they want him to come to Jesus Christ in repentance, what does it tell you? Those people understood life in the perspective of eternity. Yes, someone whom they loved was killed, murdered by the hand of a wicked person in the sanctuary where people come to pray and worship God. It's heinous sin. And yet, they saw and understood what happened to their beloved members of their family in the perspective of eternity. And because of that, they wanted to show Jesus to that person. Call him to repentance. You see what Esau saw in verse 18 and 22. It was so instructive. how they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors. Like a dream, when one awakes, oh Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms. And that's what God showed him in the sanctuary. God showed him in the sanctuary, Esaf. If they don't repent, you see Philippians chapter 1, Paul when he was addressing his suffering and his purpose in life for me to live is Christ, to die is gain, he also told his hearers and all of us, we preach the gospel as apostles, as pastors, as the church of Jesus Christ, we preach the gospel to all people. And it will be either for the salvation of those who hears the message, or it will be for their judgment. One of the two. That's Paul saying. And God showed Esau, if they don't repent, destruction is waiting for them. That's what is awaiting for them. And he saw that clearly. And God showed him that their life is like what a person dreams. He said, occasionally my wife dreams. And she wakes up and she always tells me, I'm glad that what I dreamed last night is not true. Because she dreams very scary dreams at times. And she's just glad that it's not true. It's gone. It's like a dream. You see all these wicked people around us, what they say, what they do against the Church of Jesus Christ, against the saints, the people of God. They will be accountable for their words. You see, Paul tells us God will judge the conscience of all persons by His Son, Jesus Christ. Their words, their actions, If they don't repent, God will punish them forever. So what do you do as a believer? You imitate Esau, not in his temptation, but in his declaration of faith. Because the last point that we see in the life of Esau is this, this wonderful declaration of faith. In verse 23, Esau says this, nevertheless, after he saw all the revelations that God showed him about the end of the wicked, nevertheless, I'm continually with you. You hold my right hand. Some people think that It was because Esau was continually with God that God was holding him by his right hand. No, it's to the opposite. It's because God was holding him by his right hand that Esau was able to be with the Lord continually. If he doesn't hold us, if he doesn't help us to be with him continually, there is no way that we can do that by our own strengths. So as I've been saying, nevertheless, in spite of my doubt and the foolishness that I have in my heart, even after I questioned your providential care and rule, I'm continuing with you. I'm with you continually. Psalm 16, 8, I have said the Lord always before me, because he's at my right hand, I shall not be shaken or moved. My friends, this is the constant care and support of divine providence for you, not only for Esau, but also for you, God's people. Peter in 2 Peter 2, 9 said, the Lord knows How to rescue the godly from trials. You see, the Lord rescued Esau from the trial that he faced in his life. Envy, jealousy of the wicked. God is able to rescue from temptation. But you need to come to His presence. You need to come to the sanctuary of the living God and receive instruction from Him. By faith, we hold on God, but our grip is often feeble. You remember Peter, when Christ commanded him to walk on the water, he did it for a while, for a short period of time. And he started seeing all the circumstances around him, storm, wind. And he started to sing. Thomas, when the other disciples told him Christ was indeed risen from the dead, he doubted the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The father of the boy in Mark chapter 9, he said to Jesus Christ, I do believe, but help my unbelief. You see, our faith is always mixed with weaknesses. It's not perfect. We need to come to Jesus Christ so that our faith would be perfected. And the way God would perfect your faith every day of your life is when you heed what you hear from his word in your life. When you apply the things that God instructs you from his word. My brothers are great satisfaction in this life. lies in this. God holds us with an omnipotent grasp, and he will never entirely let us go. We will be preserved in the hand of the Great Shepherd, our Lord Jesus Christ, forever. You see, in verse 24, it's a special spiritual care, not only for Esau, but for all who trust in the Lord. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward, you will receive me to glory. What a care, what a love. You see, Esau is saying, you instruct me while I'm here on earth. And then when I die, you will take me to glory. That's the hope for believers. That's our hope, the hope that we have in Christ Jesus. Romans 8, 17, and if children then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. The people of God, not Christ, no. heavenly inheritance. We need to be in Christ. You see Esau was walking by faith, even though he was tempted, even though he doubted the providence of God. But once he came to the sanctuary, he saw God, his goodness and providence to him. How do we apply all these things in our life? The question to all of you tonight is this. Is your faith, your faith in God, your faith in Jesus Christ, descending or it is ascending by God's grace? Where is your faith? What is the stats of your faith tonight? Are you doubting? the providential care of our Heavenly Father, especially when you see the wicked prospering. The way Elder John Voris prayed on our behalf tonight was very instructive. When we see the wicked prospering, it doesn't mean that things are out of control. Our God is in control. Our God is in control and he is going to accomplish his purposes even with the wicked incidents and events that we are experiencing every day in this world. Our God reigns forever as the word of God reminds all of us. So my friends don't envy the prosperity of the wicked. No. their destiny. Keep worshipping God. Keep coming to the sanctuary. Keep coming to the temple of God where you will be instructed, where you will receive the kind of instruction that you need for your life as a Christian. Your God is in control. Keep worshipping and trusting Him. Let's pray. Our gracious and heavenly Father, Once again, we bless you, our God, for your Word. Your Word is eternal. Your Word is the source of instruction and wisdom in life. If we don't have your Word, then we have no wisdom. If we do not have your Word, we have no instruction. We have no discernment. So we thank you for the availability of your word to each and every one of us, the minister of your church, the way you have been instructing us by your holy word. But tonight, we also pray that you would help us by your Holy Spirit to heed everything that we have heard today in our heart, to make them the treasure of our life, and apply them in our daily work with you, our God. O Lord, enable us by your grace not to envy the wicked, their prosperity, their foolishness, and not to make foolish arguments with you, the maker of heaven and earth. even by not coming to worship, by not reading a word, by not praying, by not saying not to sin. Instead, help us to follow the example of Esau and be in the house of the Lord all the days of our life and keep receiving instruction from you. Thank you for your word. and bless what we have heard tonight in our hearts for your glory and for our spiritual growth. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.