Title : " Why Do the Wicked Prosper ? "
Text : Psalm 73 1-28 - (Esp. V-3)
INTRO :
1. Pastor, I have a Question that I would Like to Ask You : " WHY Do the Wicked Prosper ? " .
2. Mommy, Why is it that Some of the Meanest Kids in School are the Most Popular ?
3. Hey Boss, Why Is it that One of the Laziest Workers in Our Department Got that Promotion & a Pay Raise ?
4. IS THAT FAIR GOD ???
5. Hey God, Are You Listening Up there ? How come My Baby Died & You Gave a Healthy Child to my Drug Addict Neighbor, who Doesn't even Care about the 3 Kids She already has ?
6. Wait a Minute God ; that Just Doesn't Seem Fair !!!
7. Hey Preacher, Why did My Dad Have to Die so Young, & I've Got a 95 year old Neighbor, who is as Mean as the Devil ?
8. Hey Dad, Why is it that that Mean Little Brat Down the Street Gets to Wear Designer Clothes, but All I get to Wear is Hand Me Downs ?
9. Lord, Why Did I get Laid Off at the Factory, and My Family has to Live on Beans & Rice, while My Co-worker Still has his Job, but he Blows his Paycheck Every Week on Drinking and Gambling ?
10. Oh God , WHY Do the Wicked Prosper ???
I. A Statement of Faith in the Goodness of God
Verse 1
II. A Stumbling Block of Envy at the Prosperity of the Wicked
Verses 2-3
A. Wickedness IS Foolishness
Verse 3 -- They are Equated Together.
*** Wickedness Is Foolishness Because of the END of Wickedness.
Psalm 9:17 -- " The Wicked Shall Be Turned Into Hell ... "
B. Everyone has Seen a Foolish & Wicked Person Enjoy More Prosperity than they themselves were Enjoying.
*** Rick Blue & Amy Beth Blue : A Preacher, whose 22 Year old Daughter was Killed on the Way Home from a Ministry Trip for the Lord.
C. Every One of Us has had to Struggle with the Stumbling Block of Envy , when we See a Foolish and Wicked Person having More Prosperity than We Ourselves were Experiencing.
*** Myself , Over Bob Tilton, a Lying "Prophet" out of Dallas with an 8,000 Member Congregation & a $1.1 Million Dollar Salary a Year.
D. The Struggle that We Have with the Stumblingblock of Envy at the Prosperity of the Wicked IS a Struggle of FAITH IN the TRUTH that God is Good to those that Live Right : to those that Serve Him.
Verse 1
1. It is a Struggle or Battle or a Fight of Faith .
II Timothy 4:7
2. It is a TRIAL or Test of Our FAITH IN GOD & the Salvation of His Son Jesus Christ , AND It is Common to ALL Believers.
I Peter 1:6-9 & I Peter 4:12-13
3. It is ULTIMATELY a Struggle Over 2 Questions :
a. Is God FAIR ?
b. Do I REALLY BELIEVE that It is Worth It to Serve the Lord ?
Psalm 73:13-14
4. The Answer to Both of those Questions is ABSOLUTELY , YES .
Romans 8:18 c/f II Corinthians 11:23-31
III. The Prosperity of the Wicked In the World
Verses 4-12
*** The Bible Does NOT Say that EVERY Wicked Person Prospers, but This is a Description of Many of them that Do Prosper IN THIS LIFE .
A. Their Strength is Firm to the Very End.
Verse 4
1. The Rich Man with Lazarus
Luke 16:19-25
2. Politicians and World Leaders
3. Entertainers
B. Their Lives are Relatively Trouble Free Compared to Other People.
Verse 5
1. Money and Power Can Solve Many Problems in Life.
2. Being Famous & Knowing the "Right People" Can Make Many Problems Go Away.
C. They have the Luxury of Being Able to Get Away with Being Arrogant & Mistreating Others.
Verse 6
1. Employers with their Servants
2. People with Special Gifts and Abilities
3. People who Provide a Unique Service
D. They Have an Inflated View of their Own Importance because of the Vastness of their Resources.
Verse 7
1. They Think that They are More Important than the "Little People."
a. I Believe it was Zza Zza Gabor , who Slapped a Policeman when he had Stopped her for Breaking the Law.
b. Athletes & Entertainers who Say : " Don't You KNOW WHO I AM ? " , when "Little People" Get In their Way
2. They LOOK DOWN on People who wouldn't Even Be Able to Let themselves DREAM of Having All of the Abundance that They Take for Granted Daily.
a. What Do You Make -- $20,000.00 a Year ?
b. Why Should I Listen to You ? You're NOTHING !!!
E. They Love to Oppress Others and Pontificate on How the " Little People " Should Do Things, but they Think that They Themselves Should Not Be Held to Such Standards -- Like they are ABOVE them.
1. Politicians - like Our US Congress
2. Entertainers - like Barbara Streisand
*** She has a Web site , and a Section in that Site Entitled : " A Call to Conserve " Calls Upon Others to : " Turn Off Applicances & Lights when Not in Use " & etceteras. * However , when Asked What Advice from the Web site She Followed Herself, her Spokesman said : " She Never Meant that it Necessarily Applied to Her . "
F. Their Proud Heart Even Dares to Speak Out Against the God of Heaven.
Verses 9-11
1. They Say : " I Have No Place in My Life & Heart for a God that Could Send a Man to Hell. "
2. They Say : " Heaven ? I Don't Want to Go to Heaven when I Die ; You Can't Have any Fun In Heaven. Besides, All My Friends are Going to Hell ; that's Where I want to Be , Having a Big Party with All of My Friends ! "
3. They Say : " Christianity is for LOSERS . "
4. They Say : " So God Knows Everything that Each One of Us Does and Writes It Down in a Book Somewhere in a Place Called Heaven, Huh ? Well, He Must Have One Bad Case of Writer's Cramp then . "
G. A Summary of the Wicked
Verse 12
1. Looking Back at Verses 4-11 , the Psalmist says in Essence : The Guys I've Just Described are the Ungodly Men who Prosper IN THIS WORLD .
2. He is Saying in Essence : See, this is Why I Almost Stumble In My Walk of Faith.
IV. The Psalmist's Complaint to Himself
Verses 13-14
A. Doing Right and Serving God is a Waste of Time.
Verse 13
B. Every Day , All Day Long I've Got Troubles .
Verse 14 c/f John 16:33 & Matthew 16:24-26
V. The Psalmist's Chastening of Himself
Verse 15
*** I SHOULDN'T TALK LIKE THAT , because I Might Cause One of God's Children to Stumble Like Me !!!
VI. The Psalmist's Painful Meditation
Verse 16
A. Thinking About ALL of that is TOO PAINFUL for Me.
B. This is the Place where Many Caring Christians SHUT DOWN & QUIT SERVING God Like they Should.
Matthew 24:12 -- " ... the Love of Many Shall Wax Cold."
VII. The Destruction of the Wicked
Verses 17-20
A. The SANCTUARY HAS THE ANSWERS for the Grieving Saint of God.
Verse 17
B. The Slippery Slope of Damnation
Verse 18
C. The Sudden Nature of the Wicked's Destruction
Verse 19a c/f Proverbs 29:1
D. The Consuming Terror of God's Destruction of the Wicked
Verse 19b c/f II Corinthians 5:11 & Hebrews 12:29
E. The Slumbering Judgment of God Awakens
Verse 20 c/f Psalm 121:4 & II Peter 2:3
1. God Never Really Sleeps on the Job, but It May Seem Like it to Us Sometimes.
2. One Day , Like a Man Awakens Out of Sleep , the Judgment of God will " Awaken " to Discern, Despise, & Destroy the Wicked.
VIII. The Conviction , Continuation , Consolation , & Conclusion of the Godly
Verses 21-28
A. The Conviction of the Godly
Verses 21-22 -- I was Foolish & Ignorant.
B. The Continuation of the Godly
Verses 23-24 -- He Continues with God.
C. The Consolation of the Godly
Verses 25-26
1. The Godly Individual HAS God, Who IS his ULTIMATE Desire in Heaven and in Earth.
2. In THIS LIFE God is the Believer's STRENGTH .
a. Strength of Heart
b. Strength of Flesh ( or Body )
3. In the LIFE TO COME God is the Believer's ALL IN ALL - ( Portion ).
*** HE IS EVERYTHING WE WANT & NEED : BOTH NOW & FOREVER !!!
D. The Conclusion of the Godly
Verses 27-28
1. The Wicked WILL PERISH & Be Destroyed.
2. It IS WORTH IT for the Believer to Serve the Lord.