In the sermon 'A Right Preparation for 2021' by Trent Moody, the speaker uses Psalm 37:1-11 to discuss how believers should prepare for the year ahead. The sermon emphasizes three key actions: committing one's way to the Lord, resting in the Lord, and ceasing from anger. Committing to the Lord involves rolling one's burdens onto Him and trusting in His sovereignty over the unknown future. Resting in the Lord is described as being still and patient, accepting His providence without lazy resignation. The sermon stresses the importance of not fretting over the prosperity of the wicked, as God is sovereign and His plans will prevail. The speaker encourages believers to set their hope and confidence in God, trusting that He will bring about His righteous purposes. Believers are reminded that God's providence is ultimately for the good of His church and the glory of Jesus Christ. The sermon concludes by urging believers to trust, rest, and commit their ways to the Lord, ensuring that their response and preparations for 2021 glorify God.

The book of Psalms 37, chapter 37 in the book of Psalm. And I'm going to read the first 11 verses again, just bringing that context together, really just picking up where I left off. And as I mentioned last week, this Psalm really was in a right way helping us to understand our right response to the year 2020, but it also at the same time is the right preparation for 2021. And so that's what I want to speak to you about today, the right preparations for 2021 to get us through this next year. So Psalm 37 verses 1 through 11, David writes, 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 earth. 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." Let's pray. Our Father we thank you for your word.

We pray to your God that your word would fulfill its intended purpose, Lord, that it would bring such encouragement, such diligence, such faith, such confidence in who you are. So Lord, we pray that your spirit would work now and we ask it in Christ's name. Amen. So last week we spoke about the proper response to 2020 and thinking back over this past year. We spoke specifically about that what took place this past year should not cause us to fret.

We spoke about trusting in the Lord. We spoke about delighting in the Lord. And now this week the theme is the right preparations for 2021 and we're going to talk about three other things. Very clearly laid out in the passage, really elementary in understanding the points or the emphasis that I want to make. And it's these three things, commit your way to the Lord, rest in the Lord, and cease from anger.

And then at the end of ceasing for anger we're going to look at why. Why should we cease from anger? So first and foremost commit your way to the Lord verse 5. Commit your way to the Lord. Trust also in Him.

Literally what he is saying here is that we are to roll our burdens on to the Lord. The word here, commit, has this idea. You're rolling something off onto something else. God is big enough and able enough to sustain all that you have, all of your burdens, all of your worries and all of your fretting, you roll these things off, you commit your way unto the Lord. 1st Peter 5-7 says it this way, Peter writes, casting all your care upon him for he cares for you.

That is what the psalmist here is calling us to do. Remember this psalm in this instance is one that is a believer speaking to another believer to encourage them in the way that they should go. Encourage them when times are difficult. To encourage them when we see the wicked man prospering. And so that is what David is wanting us to hear.

So I'm telling you this morning by the authority of God's Word that you are to cast your cares upon the Lord. Commit your way unto him. Not one of us knows what tomorrow holds. Not one of us knows what throughout 2021 is going to look like. But we know this, there is a God in the heavens who is sovereign over every event that is going to take place in your life and he is more than able for you to cast and commit your way to the Lord.

The psalmist tells the reader through song, rolling these cares and fretting unto the Lord and keep in mind that the purpose of this psalm again is one that gives opportunities for believers to speak and literally sing to believers the truth that I've just spoken to you. One of the songs that came to my mind was this, Oh soul are you weary and troubled, no light in the darkness you see. There's light for a look at the Savior and life more abundant and free. Turn your eyes upon Jesus and look full in his wonderful face and the things of earth will go strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace." Think about the passage of Scripture that was preached to you this morning. You received a picture, if you will, a pictorial Christology is how Scott described it.

You were giving a picture of the Savior, look full in His face, and the things of earth will grow strangely to him in the light of his glory and grace and that's what I hope for you today. I hope that you look at this coming year not with fretting, not with worry, not with this this sense of dread but I want you to look at it as something that my God is in heaven and he stands for us. Think about it when Stephen was stoned he looked into the heaven and Jesus Christ stood. He was standing and I believe that Stephen saw that because of the confidence that he wanted him to have. Knowing that in life or in death that our God reigns.

He is the one that will sustain us through whatever this year holds and he has done that for the last thousands of years of this earth and he will do it this year as well. Next he tells us to trust your life to the Lord. Trust also in him. Set your hope, set your confidence upon the Lord and this trust It is the confidence that God is directing your life. Commit your way to the Lord.

You have many plans this year I'm sure. You've been thinking about what you're going to do this year. You young people may be thinking about what you're going to do with your life. Maybe even who you're going to marry or will we have children this year, what kind of job will I take, all of these things that you're thinking about, commit your way unto the Lord, trust also in him. Don't try to figure out the secret details of your life.

The secret things belong to the Lord our God. But we have the things that have been revealed to us. Hey, this morning we had the revelation of Jesus Christ before our eyes. It was a glorious picture of our God and Savior. It was a glorious picture that would show us that he is sovereign.

That all these things of the earth that are going on are nothing compared to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So you do not fret, you do not worry, you trust in the Lord. God will bring his purposes to pass, That's what he says in the latter part of verse 5, and he shall bring it to pass. He shall. You set your hope and confidence there and he shall bring it to pass.

It what? Your way. You commit your way to the Lord. He shall bring it to pass. That's what he's talking about.

Proverbs 16 3 says, commit to the Lord whatever you do and he will establish your plans. You commit those things to the Lord first and foremost. Lord my life is yours. I've committed these things to you and you have the confidence to know that whatever that is that you commit to the Lord, he will establish that according to his good purpose and plan. He shall bring forth, he says, your righteousness.

In verse 6, he shall bring forth your righteousness as the light and your justice as the noonday. He will bring this forth. John Gill says this, that this, that is the good man having committed his course and his calls to the Lord that judges righteously. He will, God will, in his own time clearly make it appear that it is a righteous one. There are times that we commit ourselves to the Lord and and we falter sometimes in believing that God will bring these things to pass.

We struggle, we have trials. As John was, imagine what John, in the book of Revelation, before he wrote that, what he was feeling. Here he was, a prisoner on the Isle of Patmos, most likely in the quarries, and here he is on the Lord's day. He was in the Spirit. And what happened?

He saw a revelation of Jesus Christ. Think about that. No matter what difficulty, no matter what tribulation that you may find yourself in, God is bigger. He is greater. He is stronger and he is with you.

He will walk with you. You commit your way to him. He shall bring forth your righteousness, the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He will bring it to pass in your judgment, he says, as the noonday. Next in verse 7, I want us to look at this.

He says to rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. The word rest here means to be silent and to be still. These are the two most difficult things for a person to do when they are experiencing trials or tribulations or when their plans do not go their way. I promise you the plans that you have for this coming year there are going to be some monkey wrenches thrown right in the middle of those things. You're going to have plans, you're going to have hopes, and you're going to have desires, but God is bigger than those.

And when God works in that situation to change your plans or in his sovereign plan to bring about something totally different than what you could see or hope to see in this coming year that it says this, you rest in the Lord. Literally, you rest there. You be still and you be silent, But I want you to realize that the psalmist is encouraging us that once we have committed our way to the Lord Then we are to quietly accept what God has ordained according to his all-wise providence There is one who knows all that will happen this year and that is our God. Remember there is a God in the heavens who has ordained all of these things of this past year and he is working all of these things out to his good purpose in this year. I really like what John Gill says here on this.

He says in the comments, and it's a sobering fault because it begins by instructing us what resting in the Lord is not. This is what it is not. It, which he speaks of our quiet submission to his providence, does not design a faultless laziness. Don't take what I'm saying resting in the Lord will, I'll just let go and let God this year. That old terminology needs to be driven from your mind.

That is not what he's saying here. It is not a thoughtless laziness, and I go back to the quote, or a stoical apathy that we should be like sticks and stones without any concern at the hand of God upon us, nor an entire silence under the affliction. We should own that they are of God and that we are deserving of them. We should pray to him to sanctify them, to support under them, and to deliver out of them. We should bless his name that they are not worse and that they are any ways useful to us and we should speak to others of the divine goodness experienced under them.

That's what David did. Before I was afflicted he said, I went astray but now I keep your law he goes on but this stands opposed to an accusing or murmuring at the providence of God and intends a patient bearing the hand of God and a resignation of His will to His will or of our will, excuse me, to His will. This quiet resignation that our wills are submissive to the will of God. So in this coming year, no matter what we face, we need to understand that there is a God in the heavens. I don't know if you understand.

I'm wanting to get a point across. There is a God in the heavens who is ruling and reigning. He is the king over the rulers of the earth and he is sovereign over your pathway and over your life and you are to rest upon his kind providence and even though as the song says that behind this providence by this frowning providence there is a smiling face because all that God does is for the good of his church and for the glory of his son Jesus Christ. I was thinking about that this week and when we think about what God did with his son Jesus Christ and how that God had ordained certain things to come to pass that Christ would be brutally beaten and crucified and how the disciples did not know what to do with this situation. Peter at one point draws out his sword and strikes at the high priest's servant and cuts his ear off.

Jesus tells him to put that, put it in your sheath. Shall I not drink the cup that my father has given me? And think of the abundance of fruit that came from Christ drinking that cup. And I want to tell you this year no matter what takes place this year, you are not to be fretting but to be trusting in the Lord. That if the cup that we must drink is difficult, I want you to think of the fruit that God can and will work through that difficulty for the glory of his son Jesus Christ and for good of his church and for the good of this church.

I want you to understand that. So often I have found myself in the middle of a home renovation and in the midst of that renovation a homeowner wants to come and talk to me and say what in the world is going on because it looks worse now than it did before and they're confused by these things and that's when I take my time and I sit down and I talk with them and I have to explain to them the process of a renovation. And you can imagine a heart patient going in for heart surgery and their loved one coming and being able if this was possible to look into this window into the operating room and see this doctor opening the chest of a patient and that loved one would no doubt say what in the world are you doing you're killing my loved one but the doctor would say no I have to do this in order to heal the loved one. That surgery looks awful. It looks terrible.

Opening a chest or as how they used to do it anyway, they would open this chest to do that. But the doctor knows, no, this is for the healing. And it may be for the healing of this church that God has to open the womb. And he may have to bring about surgery upon this nation and upon our church, upon you individually, but know that God does it for the good of his church and for the glory of his son. Spurgeon notes at this point this precept requires much grace to carry out resting on the Lord.

It requires much grace to hush the spirit, to be silent before the Lord, to wait in holy patience the time for clearing up the difficulties of providence. That is what every gracious heart should aim for. The obstacle to this exhortation is fretting. That's what he tells us. Look with me.

Rest in the Lord, wait patiently for him, Do not fret. Second time he mentions that in this Psalm. Do not fret because of him who prospers in the way. Fretting because of the prosperity of the wicked, the accomplishments of the wicked, a stolen election, a corrupt judiciary, a cowardly and unscrupulous Congress, a dishonest co-worker, an unethical boss, a wayward spouse. Whatever form the wicked man takes, the exhortation is, do not fret because of him who prospers in the way.

Again, we see this word fret is repeated three times in these 11 verses. It is repeated because, as you well know, it is important. The natural tendency of our hearts are to fret. When we see things not going the way that we designed, we fret, we worry. Our tendency naturally is fretfulness, but our tendency being led by the Spirit of God is trusting in the Lord, resting in his ways.

We see this sinful man prosper in his way and our response is fretting when what it should be is resting. So I want to encourage you trust in the Lord and do good. Rest upon the Lord and rest upon his perfect will. Imagine as you're reading a great book and a great novel and you get to the middle and this wicked man in this book and in this story seems as if he is conquering over the good. You do not close the book because of your discouragement.

You keep reading and you see, you wait patiently to see what happens to the villain. You wait patiently in this book that we read. We wait patiently on the Lord. Look at the book of Revelation. We know the end.

As Scott said this morning, we've read the last chapter and Christ destroys all his enemies. The question is not will America endure to the end, but rather will you be found faithful on that day when Christ returns? That is the question that we need to ask. Blessed are those, he says in the book of Revelation 22, 14, blessed are those who do his commandments that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter through the gates into the city. That is the promise.

We can enter into the gates of the city to be with our Lord. I really want you to determine something in your heart. I know that we can easily declare this truth but I want you to believe it. I want you to own it. Every event that has taken place in this past year and every event that will take place this year has been determined and ordained by a loving God.

Ephesians 1 11, in him also we have obtained an inheritance being predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will. Our God is working all events according to the counsel of his will. Isaiah 46 8 through 11 says, remember this and show yourselves men. Recall to mine, oh you transgressors, remember the former things of old for I am God and there is no other. I am God and there is none like me.

Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure. That is our God. There is a God in the heavens who rules over the affairs of men and you are to rest in him. What better place to rest? Listen to what the early church said while they prayed together in the book of Acts chapter 4 verse 27 and 28 they say jointly for truly against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together to do whatever your hand and your purpose determined before to be done.

That is what the church prayed concerning the crucifixion of our Lord. God was ruling in that. Think David says in verse 7, Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Why? Why not fret?

Because there is a God in the heavens who ordains and works through the course of history to bring about his perfect will. Every surrounding event regarding the death of his son and look what benefit came from that. And I want you to realize everything that seems dark and dreary in this year, in this past year, there is a God in the heavens who is bringing his will to pass. Settle this in your heart. Believe this.

God is sovereign over conspiracies. Our God is always working his purpose. God ordained all of these events. Turn with me to Isaiah quickly to Isaiah chapter 8 and verse 11. Isaiah 8 11.

Isaiah 8 11 says, for the Lord spoke thus to me with a strong hand and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people saying, do not say a conspiracy concerning all this people call a conspiracy nor be afraid of their threats nor be troubled for the Lord of Hosts Him you shall hallow let him be your fear and Let him be your dread He will be ace as a sanctuary but a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel as a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and many among them shall stumble. They shall fall and be broken, be snared and taken. Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples, and I will wait on the Lord who hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. Here I am and the children whom the Lord has given me, we are for signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord of Hosts who dwells in Mount Zion." And I could go right on down and continue to read and we come into Isaiah chapter 9 where he talks about that the government shall be upon his shoulders, the Lord Jesus Christ.

And think of the blessings that came through that what they were calling this a conspiracy a conspiracy God was working through that to bring about an ultimate purpose of redeeming the world and bringing all of his people into the kingdom. So back to Psalm 37. Listen to what the words of God say. Rest in the Lord. 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. Think of this. Think of all the good that has come through this past year. Think of it. Think of how it has increased our desire to be together.

It has brought joy to my heart. Every Lord's Day when I come here and I see people pressing in, I have joy in my heart and this is a result of the things that have happened this year. We have COVID refugees here today who have come in to worship God. These are good things. Praise the Lord.

Think of how it has increased our pleasure in hearing the preaching of the Word of God and in prayers. Think of it as it has increased your desire to come to Wednesday night and seek the face of God. Think of how God has separated his sheep and the goats. Think of the new people who are here today with us that were not here last year. Think of all the gospel opportunities that we have.

The fear of death is on everyone's mind and we have the answer to the fear of death. We have the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. So what does this mean for us? Do we sit back and do nothing and say, well, God is in control and therefore I need not do anything. God forbid.

Absolutely not. Look at Acts 4.29. Now, Lord, look on their threats. These are their praying to God. Look on their threats and grant to your servants that with all boldness we may speak your word.

This should ever be our prayer. We need to be praying to God that we would have boldness to speak the gospel to all people. Lastly, in verse 8, cease from anger and forsake wrath. Do not fret, it only causes harm. This last precept is closely tied really to the former.

When we rest in the Lord, we have ceased from anger. We're not going to be angry about the events of providence when we're resting in God. We're not going to be angry about the events of providence when we're resting in God. We're not going to be angry about these things. In fact, the way that we know that we're resting in the Lord is when we have ceased from anger.

For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Spurgeon notes this, especially anger against the arrangements of Providence and jealousies of the temporal pleasures of those who are soon to be banished from all comfort. Anger anywhere is madness. Here it is aggravated insanity, yet since anger will try to keep us company we must resolvably forsake it. I like what the New King or the King James version translates this passage this way, cease from anger and forsake wrath, fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

The ASB says cease from anger and forsake wrath, fret not thyself, it tendeth only to evil doing. When we are fretful people, when we have anger that is pent up because of the prosperity of the wicked, we have a temptation to sin and we must be guarded against that temptation. And he goes on and he says, by no reasonings and under no circumstances to be led into such a course. Fretfulness lies upon the verge of great sin. Many who have indulged a murmuring disposition have at last come to sin in order to gain their fancied rights.

So what am I saying? I'm not saying that we should not stand up and diligently pursue the righteous cause. We should. That's what he says. Trust in the Lord in verse 3 and do good.

What am I saying? What I am saying is that we must be guarded from the danger of allowing fretful hearts to lead us to justify sin in order to establish what we deem to be the right cause. Be guarded. Therefore as we stand for the righteous cause, begin by examining our hearts, repent of any fretfulness over the prosperity of the wicked. Cease any unrighteous anger you have in your heart and remember that fretfulness only causes harm and tends to evildoing.

Remember that you too were once enemies of the cross but now because of the mercy of God, are friends of God. And more than friends, you are children of God. You are co-heirs with Christ. Our first cause is the kingdom of God. Think first of those who stand as enemies of God as needing the gospel, not just correction in whatever view they may hold.

They need the gospel. I want you to be reminded of this truth in the next verse in verse 9. For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait on the Lord they shall inherit the earth. These evildoers will soon be cut down like the grass so there should be this tension in our hearts. This tension is between their need for Christ and God's righteous judgment upon the wicked.

We do not know who the elect are, but we do know this. We are to preach the gospel to every creature and that tension will remain in our hearts. We understand that there is a righteous God in the heaven who brings judgment and we also understand that we deserve that judgment apart from the mercy of our God. So remember that as we are talking to people and as we are standing for a righteous cause, remember they need Christ. After your discussions with them and in regards to some view that we may have or some issue that we may be dealing with, ask yourself after this debate, can I preach the gospel to them?

And if you can't, maybe you need to tone down the debate and just preach the gospel. Be straightforward with them and tell them of the judgment that is to come and tell them of the mercy of the Savior that will save them from that judgment. That should be our goal. Verse 10, yet for 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." And I'll close with this from John Gill. He says, such who attend his word, his worship, and his ordinances, who obey his commands, trust in his grace and mercy, those who wait upon him for the manifestation of himself, for the performance of his promises, for answer of prayer, for supplies of grace, and live in the expectation of the heavenly glory these shall have their inheritance do not fret it only causes harm trust in the lord rest in him Commit your ways to the Lord and he shall establish it. May God be glorified in 2021 through our response and through our preparations. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we give you all the glory and honor and praise.

Oh Lord, the vision that you have given us through the book of Revelation is a glorious vision of who you are. We, Lord, fall down before you and worship you because you are holy and righteous. You are all wise. You have the white hair of the ancient of days who has all wisdom and all knowledge. And do we think that we would know better?

God help us. Lord we trust in you to direct and to guide our ways this year. We pray father that you would grow this church, that we would grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Fill our hearts with your love for the lost or give us wisdom for the times that we are in so that we can discern the times and help us Lord to not fear, to be full of faith and resting in our great God. And we ask this in Christ's name.

Amen.