Delight

You are listening to a message from Thrive Community Church, a church located in Southwest Florida. For more info, visit us at thrive-fl.org. We are in a series called Wonder, and it's about how we have tended to lose the ability to wonder at what God has done in our lives and what God has done in the universe. I will be reading today's text. It's from Psalms 37 and you can read with me up on the screen. I'll be reading from the New King James Version. And just as a personal note, this is actually one of my favorite chapters in the whole Bible and there is a verse in here that has really sustained me in some very difficult chapters of my life. So I'll start reading for you guys. Here we go. This is Psalms 37. Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity, for they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light and your justice as the noonday. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger and forsake wrath. Do not fret it only causes harm. For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the land. For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more. Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, but it shall be no more. But the meek shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. The wicked plots against the just and gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord laughs at him, for he sees that his day is coming. The wicked have drawn the sword and have bent their bow to cast down the poor and needy, to slay those who are of upright conduct. Their sword shall enter their own hearts, and their bows shall be broken. A little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous. The Lord knows the days of the upright, and their inheritance shall be forever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord, like the splendor of the meadow, shall vanish into smoke they shall vanish away. The wicked borrows and does not repay, but the righteous shows mercy and gives. For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, and those cursed by Him shall be cut off. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delights in his way, though he fall. he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholds him with his hand. I have been young and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread. He is ever merciful and lends, and his descendants are blessed. Depart from evil. and do good, and dwell forevermore. For the Lord loves justice, and does not forsake His saints they are preserved forever. But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell in it forever. The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, and his tongue talks of justice. The law of his God is in his heart none of his steps shall slide. The wicked watches the righteous and seeks to slay him. The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged. Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt you to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it. I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a native green tree, yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more. Indeed, I sought him, but he could not be found. Mark the blameless man and observe the upright for the future of that man is peace. And the transgressors shall be destroyed together the future of the wicked shall be cut off. But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord He is their strength in time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them and deliver them He shall deliver them from the wicked and save them, because they trust in Him. This is the word of the Lord. I have the fortune of working with some great people, having you all as members of this fellowship, this church, and to have really cool interns that have a heart for pastoral ministry, and to have a university that kind of came to us, well, came to me a year and a half, two years ago and said, John, you can have interns through FGCU. And I look at them and going like, FGCU is a public university and you do know what I do for a living. And this is the head of internships at FGCU who I don't, she's really sweet. I really like her, but I don't think she's got a faith background necessarily. She just says, yeah, I know you're a pastor. That's great. We've got a lot of st...