Ungodly Fool (Psalm 14)
Frank Bailey was a faithful member of the congregation in Owingsville, Kentucky, and when Frank suddenly died of a heart attack one evening, the family asked me to conduct his service. I was more than happy to oblige. The funeral went well, and the committal service at the cemetery went well, too. That is, until I was leaving. Of course, the minister customarily drives immediately in front of the hearse in the funeral procession; therefore, at the cemetery, I was parked right in front of the hearse. I got in my car, started it up, put the car in reverse, and backed into the hearse in front of a host of Frank’s family and friends.
You may never have hit a hearse after conducting a funeral, but I imagine you’ve done some rather foolish things. Maybe you wrecked your car in a moment of foolishness—perhaps you looked down at your cell phone, took your eyes off the road for a split second, or bit into a burger right before an accident. Or, you might have made a major purchase that got you into some financial trouble. Some of you might have started a do-it-yourself project, and it ended up a complete disaster—you had to call someone else to finish it, and you spent a lot of money fixing your mistake. Perhaps you had a nice meal planned for some guests, and you burned the main course.
Let’s be honest: Each of us has made some rather foolish decisions in life. David looked at the world and saw people making foolish decisions regarding their souls. It’s one thing to hit a hearse at a funeral, and it’s another thing altogether to go to hell. The people David described in this morning’s text were well on their way to hell.
As David explored his society, he declared that: “The foolish reject God.”
Scripture (Psalm 14)
verse 1:
In biblical literature, “fool” means someone who does not pay attention to God; he ignores God’s commands and lives an ungodly life.
This foolish person says, “There is no God.” This person may or may not be an atheist; the point is that he lives as though there is no God. That seems to be the best reading of the text, for these fools are corrupt and do abominable deeds. Their hearts are far from God; therefore, their actions are far from God.
verse 2:
God looks down from heaven to see if anyone seeks after him. The Hebrew term means that God bends over to look. God is looking through all of society to see if anyone seeks him.
verse 3:
God cannot find even one who will acknowledge and serve him.
verse 4:
The evildoers did not have knowledge of God; therefore, they were willing to attack God’s people.
verses 5-6:
While evildoers attack God’s people, God is with his people, and he protects his people.
verse 7:
David wished for salvation to come from Zion. In David’s day, Zion referred to Jerusalem in general, but David conquered Mt. Zion where the temple would be built by Solomon. Zion came to mean the temple, the dwelling place of God. Salvation did ultimately come from Zion on the Day of Pentecost; I personally believe that the apostles preached in the temple on Pentecost—salvation came from Zion.
Application
“The foolish reject God.” We constantly see foolish people reject God. Some say there is no God. Others live as though there isn’t a God—they sleep in on Sunday morning, engage in immorality, are greedy, or never tell the truth.
You wouldn’t be here this morning if you wished to be in that number. But how can you be positive that you will never foolishly reject God? David told you in this morning’s text.
One: You Say.
The fool says in his heart there is no God. In your heart, you Say there is a God.
You must believe in your heart that there is a God and that Jesus Christ is his Son raised from the dead. “Without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Heb 11:6). “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom 10:9).
Most of you have known there is a God since the time you could walk. However, bring that truth to the forefront of your consciousness this week. Knowing there is a God in heaven impacts how you live, and how you live impacts where you’ll spend eternity. Know beyond any doubt that God lives, Jesus is his Son, God raised him from the dead, and confess that truth with your lips.
Two: You Seek.
God looked down from heaven to see if anyone sought after him. To be his child, you must Seek after him.
God wants people to seek him. God “determined allotted periods and the boundaries of [man’s] dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him” (Acts 17:26-27). God “rewards those who seek him” (Heb 11:6).
How can you seek God?
- Spend time in Scripture, for it is the very word of God: “We also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers” (1 Thess 2:13.
- Spend time in prayer, for in prayer you have access to the throne of God: “We have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus” (Heb 10:19).
- Spend time imitating him: “Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked” (1 Jn 2:6).
How much are you seeking God?
Three: You See.
David looked and saw the salvation which would come from Zion. You must look and See the salvation coming from the new Zion, heaven. You, like David, look to the future when God will vanquish all his enemies and all the world will submit to the Lord Jesus Christ.
“According to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Pet 3:13). We live in a time of fools—a time when Christianity is attacked and mocked (but Jesus said it would be) and where evil seems to reign supreme. But one day God will have the last word. Look forward and See that day and don’t let the present difficulties trouble you.
On that great day when God vanquishes his enemies, his anger will be fierce: “The day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed” (2 Pet 3:10). Are you looking forward to that day, or are you dreading that day?
This sermon was originally preached by Dr. Justin Imel, Sr., at Church of Christ Deer Park in Deer Park, Texas.