Jean Marais – 2023-11-26 Leviticus 7:11-15
As the Deer Pants for the Water
Psalm 42:1-11
November 18-19, 2023
I think most of your Bibles will show that Book Two starts with Psalm 42. The Psalms are divided into five books. Not sure exactly how or when that got to be divided that way. From the earliest manuscripts, we have these five divisions. Book One that we just finished was almost entirely written by David. Book Two that we now begin is 31 of the Psalms, 18 or so were written by David.
This one, Psalm 42, it’s easy to become confused in regards to the author of Psalm 42 because the introduction says, “For the choir director, a Maskil of the Sons of Korah.” Now, many people believe, therefore it was written by the Sons of Korah. I submit that the book was written, or the song was written by David and then given to the Sons of Korah, who were the choir masters, the chief musicians in David’s court. They were the masters of music and of choir, very, very gifted.
I mentioned before, and Barry’s repeating that David, of course, was a great musician himself, loved worship, loved music, and he had a massive choir and orchestra, you might say, all full-time. Can you imagine full-time musician’s, full-time choir? How good would they be if that’s all that they did five days a week? No, five days. That’s the American thing. Six days a week. All week long, they’ve just worshiped, practiced the harmonies, perfected the tone, and all that.
I would’ve loved to have been there. Just imagine how glorious, and that was David’s heart. “God is a worthy of great honor. We want our worship to be lifted to the heavens and glory.” That was the Sons of Korah. Now, the context of the Psalms, as we’re going to see, fits exactly with one of David’s greatest and deepest troubles, again, as we will read into the context going through it.
I want us to look at the Sons of Korah because they are very interesting. They are descendants, of course, of Korah. Korah was one of the greatest troublers of Israel in all of their history. He was the greatest troubler when they were in the desert. Yet they themselves, the Sons of Korah are the very opposite of trouble. They were the masters of worship, as I said in the courts of the king. Their heart was to create the most beautiful glorious God-honoring worship that people would rejoice in the house of the Lord.
What happened? What an amazing turnabout. That turnabout is a great lesson all in itself. All right. Their ancient father Korah, he and the family were Koa fights, Levites. They had the honor and the responsibility of carrying on their shoulders the most holy of artifacts in the Tabernacle. The arc of the covenant itself would be born on their shoulders. What an honor is this? Now, they could not see it because it was covered, of course, but what, in honor to carry the arc, the very presence of God upon their shoulders.
No, that honor was not enough for Korah and those who conspired with him. No, he wanted the highest place. He wanted to overthrow Moses himself. Right away we go, “Whoa. What?” Exactly, he wanted to overthrow Moses and Aaron. “You have gone far enough. All the people are holy. what makes you think that you stand above all the others?” Because they have been calling. We want to elect someone to bring us back to Egypt. “Don’t you remember the good old days when we were in Egypt?”
He led a rebellion and it almost worked. In fact, so much so that if they had voted, Moses would’ve been voted out. He swayed so many people over to his side that Moses and Aaron would’ve been voted out. If Korah was voted in as the leader, he would’ve marched them right back to Egypt, right back to oppression and slavery. Moses went before the Lord and then gathered all the people together, a great assembly, and declared that everyone should pull back from the tents of Korah and the other conspirators. When they pulled back, of course, the ground opened and Korah and the others were consumed.
Now, we read many generations later, here are the Sons of Korah serving in the house of the Lord, becoming some of the greatest leaders of worship, great musicians, choir leaders, writers of songs and hymns that lead people into revival. What an amazing turn. Could it be grace? Could it be that they were so thankful that God extended such mercy by keeping their family in that place of honor in the house of God, that they were so thankful to that, that they spent the rest of the generations honoring God in the highest way?
See, I believe this is a great lesson, a great life lesson itself, and that it does not matter what attitude or bearing that you inherited from your father. God can start afresh and anew in your generation. You do not have to repeat whatever attitude or bearing that you received from your father, no matter what it was. I give you my own testimony because many of you know my story. My father was an alcoholic and angry and contentious and difficult. I’ll tell you what, I remember calling out to God saying, “God, let this thing end and let it end with me,” and God has honored his word.
We do not have to repeat the sins of our fathers. We can be set free when God is our Father. Amen? Let’s give the Lord praise for that. Amen. In fact, the Sons of Korah wrote some of the most beautiful God-honoring Psalms. For example, Psalm 84:10, “One day in your courts is better than a thousand days elsewhere. I would rather stand at the threshold of the doorway of the house of my God than dwell in the tense of wickedness.” That is a beautiful, beautiful word right there. “One day in your courts is better than a thousand days anywhere else. I would rather stand in the doorway of the house of God than in the tens of wickedness.” That is so beautiful.
Here we are, Psalm 42. Let’s read it starting in Verse 1. “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants on lungs for You, oh God. My soul thirsts for you, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night while they say to me all day long, ‘Where’s your God now.'”
See David, again, we’re going to look at this. David was king at this point, and he had to flee Jerusalem from his own son who had conspired against him, so David fled Jerusalem and was dwelling on the other side of the Jordan longing to be in the presence of God in the house of the Lord. He says, “Oh, tears are my food day and night. While they say to me all day long, ‘Where’s your God now? Where’s the help of God now, David?'”
They accuse, and then he says, “These things I remember and I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go along with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God. With the voice of joy in Thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival. Oh, I long again my soul longs for the glory again.” Then Verse 5 is so interesting. He says, “Why are you in sow despair? Oh, my soul, why have you become so disturbed within me? Hope in God, man, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence.”
“Oh, my God, my soul is in despair within me. Therefore, I remember you from the land of the Jordan and the peaks of Hermon from Mount Mizar.” I love Verse 7, “Oh, what a beautiful poetic image He gives us.” In Verse 7, “Deep calls to deep. At the sound of your waterfalls, oh, Your breakers and waves have rolled over me.” “The Lord will command His loving kindness in the daytime and His song will be with me in the night, a prayer to the God of my life.” That is beautiful.
I will say to God my rock, “Why have you forgotten me?” In other words, God, I wait and I wait and I wait. Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of my enemy? As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile while they say to me all day long, “Where’s your God now?” He says again, repeats, “Why are you in despair, oh, my soul? Why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.” What a beautiful Psalm is this.
I. Deep Calls to Deep
I want us to go back, of course, and look at some ways that God would apply these wonderful words to our lives. Starting in verse 7. I love that beautiful poetic image he gives us, that deep calls to deep at the sound of your waterfalls. I tell you, this is a really wonderful image. It is revival itself. What he means is that the deep things of the Lord are calling to the deep things of my soul, the depths of my soul. The deep things of God. Deep is calling to deep. David is pointing out his soul to God. Longing to being near to God again in the house of the Lord.
Now this is something to take hold now for us as well. It truly is a deep spiritual picture that the deep things of the Lord are calling to the deepest desire of the soul. Now, as I mentioned, words of the Psalm seemed directly connected to the time of greatest trouble when his son Absalom conspired against him. Now, the backstory is very helpful to understand the Psalm. That was that David was in his life doing very well really, until he’s made tragic choices that brought epic consequences. All of that culminating in David fleeing Jerusalem from his son Absalom. Darkest hour of David’s life.
What had happened was David had sinned terribly. We know the story of Bathsheba. David sinned terribly there. At first, he tried to hide it within himself, but that did not go well because the hand of the Lord was heavy on him. The conviction upon his soul was agony within. Finally, God sent the prophet Nathan to confront him. “You are the man,” Nathan said.
Then how David responded to that is a great lesson. He fully then trusted that God would forgive and would rescue and save. Notice, for example, Psalm 32:5-7. David wrote, “I acknowledged my sin to You. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave the guilt of my sin.'” This is something that we are so very, very thankful for that God’s grace and God’s mercy is extended in the forgiveness of sin. How amazing is that?
The forgiveness of sin that was bought and paid for by the blood of His own son that day when Jesus died on the cross. It is that provision of forgiveness for which we are very, very thankful. Then David says, “You are my hiding place.” David is the one who acknowledges, “I did it. I was the one who did it, but God, I hide myself in thee. You preserve me from trouble and You surround me with songs of deliverance.”
All right. Now, David’s failure there, it began to then be seen in his family, and that is often, of course, the case. His son Amnon raped his half-sister, Tamar. David, paralyzed by his own sin, took no action. Finally, Tamar’s brother, Absalom, took matters into his own hands. Arranged for Amnon’s death. Then Absalom himself had to flee the country, banished for three years, while again, David took no action.
Finally, David extended mercy to Absalom and brought him back to Jerusalem but would not see him, refused to see him. For two more years, bitterness is building up in Absalom’s heart because David would not see him. Finally, Absalom pleaded to see David’s face, David relented. When David saw his son, Absalom, it was a moving scene, David wept. He’s weeping over his son now, kisses his son.
You might say it was too little too late because Absalom had already been brewing bitterness in his heart and a conspiracy was hatching in his mind. What he did, to win the people over, he wanted to give the impression that he was a great warrior. He had 50 men running in front of his chariot. Wherever he goes about the city, he’s got 50 men running in front of the horses and his chariot.
He’s done the regalia. Trying to give the impression that he was a great warrior when he had not fought a day in his life, but he wanted to give the look of the thing. He did have the look of the thing. We understand reading the scripture that he was tall and handsome. If you’re going to do a conspiracy, it helps that you’re handsome. He had hair. This is part of the story, he did a long, flowing, really beautiful hair. It’s like, hair. It really looked beautiful.
The women, oh, woo-hoo. The guys are like, “Oh, here’s a man.” That was the impression he gave. Here’s a man. He’s a leader. Then he would stand to win the people over. He would stand by the gate when people are coming in. “Oh, come here my friend. I’m the king’s son. You have something to say? I have ears to hear. What concern may I bring?” “Oh, Absalom, he cares. He’s very concerned for all of us. He listens.”
Little by little he started to win the people over. Then he set up headquarters in Hebron, which is just the south there in the hills. That’s when David got wind. That’s when David heard just how deep this conspiracy was. When David heard how deep it was, he realized that he had to flee Jerusalem in order to spare the city from the calamity of war because Absalom was determined to bring an army down to bear on Jerusalem, and David would not have it, not in his beloved city. Jerusalem must be spared.
A. The soul was made for God
David fled Jerusalem, crossed over to Jordan. It was from there he wrote this Psalm longing to return to the nearness of God in the house of God. Deep is calling to deep. That’s what we see. Notice, for example, in Verse 1, we see that the soul was made for God. The deep things are calling to the deep places of my soul because the soul was made for God. Verse 1, “As the deer pants for the water so my soul longs for you.” See, deer can smell water. We cannot smell water. They can smell water in the air for a long way off. They turn toward it and long forward. They could be in a dry and weary land, but water far off, they can smell it.
What a picture, he says, of my soul. Now, you might recognize the words of that because one of the most beautiful worship songs on the church has come out of that verse. “As the deer panteth for the waters, so my soul longeth after thee.” Beautiful, beautiful. Your heart just wants to resound in the words of it. Reminds me of what David wrote in Psalm 63. Also, he says, “Oh God, you are my God and I seek You earnestly. My soul thirsts for You. My flesh yearns for You in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”
In many ways, I submit that that describes our times today. We are living in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Our nation is in deep trouble. Turning our back on the Lord. People mock the things of God. Today, we are in deep trouble as a nation, and we are living in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
David then says, “Your loving kindness is better than life.” That’s the water. That’s the soul satisfied. It’s your loving kindness, for my lips will praise you. You have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings, I sing for joy. Notice Verse 4 where he says, “My soul longs. I remember. Oh, I remember. My soul is poured out within me. Oh. To lead the multitude in celebration. Oh, glorious days. I long for it again.”
See, here’s what he’s telling us, that once you’ve tasted and seen that the Lord is good, once you’ve tasted that the glory of God is beautiful on the soul, once you’ve been filled with the joy of the Lord, peace that passes understanding, then the deep things of God will always call to the deep places, the depth of your soul to long for it. Again, my soul longs like a deer pants for water. My soul longs for you.
Deep is calling to deep, but then would you notice what follows next in Verse 5? Speak life to your own soul. Notice Verse 5 where he says, “Why are you in despair, oh my soul? Why have you become disturbed within me?” Hope in God, man, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence. My question to you is this, who is David speaking to there? “Why are you in despair? Oh, my soul?” Who is he speaking to? He’s speaking to himself. He’s speaking to his own soul.
B. Speak life to your own soul
Question, how many people talk to themselves? Do you talk to yourself? How many people talk to themselves? I read, see, I’m glad I’m not the only one who talks to themselves. I read that people who talk to themselves, it’s a sign of intelligence. I’m pretty sure it’s true. Pretty sure it’s true. I mean, after sometimes you just need an expert opinion. Forget I said that. That didn’t sound right. That didn’t sound right at all. Forget that, but it’s true.
Here’s the fact. Everyone talks to themselves. Every single person talks to themselves. The question then is, what do you say to yourself, because this soul now sets the standard for how to speak life to your soul? The reason I say that is because there are many who defeat themselves because they speak out of a lack of faith to themselves. They just dwell in that weakness or that failure or whatever it was. They just dwell in it.
Have you ever done something really dumb and then just say to yourself, “That was really dumb.” Then you just revel in like, “I can’t believe I would do–“ and you just revel in the failure. Many do. They’re defeated because they speak out of a lack of faith, and their lack of faith informs what they say to themselves. Here, the Psalm, Dave gives us the standard for how to speak life to your soul. Your soul is in despair. Your soul is downcast.
Then speak life. Speak faith within your own heart. Speak faith to life. Remind yourself again of the great truths of who God is toward you. Speak life. Remind yourself again. Stand on the great truths and speak to your soul. You’re downcast? Why so downcast? Hope in God now.
Notice, for example, Proverbs, I should say Proverbs 23:7, “For as a man thinks in his heart, so he is.” That is a great truth. As a man thinks, as a person thinks, so you will be. You think defeated, you will be defeated. You speak faith, you speak life, you speak hope, you’ll stand on that hope. Proverbs 4:23. “Watch over your heart with all diligence.” Watch over your heart. “For from it flow the springs of life.” See, here’s what I’m trying to say. When the attitude of the heart is wrong, nothing good can come out of that.
When the attitude is defeated and wrong, nothing good can come out of it. We must learn to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. That’s what Paul wrote to us. We must learn to take every thought captured through the obedience of Christ. In other words, we must understand how to convert despair within. We must learn how to convert the despair, the downcast by drinking from the water of life abiding within the soul.
I submit that there is a well. If you’ve received the Lord Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior, that God has taken resonance in the soul by the Holy Spirit, and it is a well of water springing up to life that you might drink from it abundantly.
I want to repeat some of the verses I mentioned last week because they’re so appropriate to where we are today. Notice for example, in John 4, again, Jesus is speaking to that Samaritan woman at the well, and He says to her, in verses 13 and 14. Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water,” the water from that well, “will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give will never thirst, for the water that I give will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
For example, Psalm 36, oh, how beautiful are these verse is? Psalm 36:8-9, “They drink their fill of the abundance of your house, and you give them to drink of the river of your delights, for with you is the fountain of life and in your light we see light.” David understands giving us here that great lesson of how to speak to the soul that’s downcast or in despair, speaking life.
There’s another example of this by the way that we see powerfully in David’s life. This is quite a bit prior, back before David was king, and the story unfolds in that David and his men were out and about, and when they came back that evening to the village, they came back to discover that the Amalekites had raided the village. Again, this is David’s village. They were out and about. They come up back and they discovered the Amalekites have raided and burned the village and taken the women and children hostage. David became very distressed because the men blamed David for this and even spoke of stoning David. Again, here now we see a great lesson of life unfold.
1 Samuel 30:6 is that great story. It says, “Moreover David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him for all the people were embittered, each because of his sons and his daughters.” David, you see, here’s where David now, now we learned a great lesson from a great leader. David is distressed. I mean, this is a very, very dark moment, even as though men are speaking against him. David is embittered, excuse me, distressed rather, because the men are embittered. What does David do? David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. How did David do that?
I believe what we see in the story is that David went and dwelled just him and God. David need to get it alone with God, just him and God, just calling out to God. “God, strengthen me now. Be my help. God, show me your help. Show me your power. Show me your strength. God strengthen my soul within me. Oh God, be my help now.” Then David and God just did this business, and then David came back before these men like a roaring lion.
David now stands up like the leader and captain that we’ve respected him to be. He stands before the men. First, he calls the priest and says, “Seek this question from the Lord. Shall we pursue?” The priest comes back and says, “Yes, the Lord says, ‘Pursue and you shall surely overtake.’” David spin before his men and said, “Then, get on your horses. We are going to pursue them. You’re too tired, stay behind. I’m going, let’s go.” David is like the bold lion now. Why? Because he went and strengthened himself, just him and God. I’ll tell you, this is a great lesson.
I know it’s true because I have seen this and experiences with my own life. I have been through many, many distresses and many difficulties, and I know that if I can just get alone with God, I just need to get alone with God. If I can just get alone with God, God and I can do this. I know that I can call out to my God. I know my God and I know what He can do to my soul, and He will speak life to me. I just need to get alone with God.
Then when I have done that with God, then I’ll come back like a roaring lion. Then I know that God is with me. Then I know that God will show me the way to lead through this trouble. I know my God. I know he’ll do it and He’ll do it for you. Amen. Amen. Amen.
II. His Song Will be with You
We see that in the rest of that psalm. I love Verse 8 where he is showing us that his song will be with you. Notice Verse 8, “The Lord will command His loving kindness in the daytime.” Notice, now again, David is speaking life to his soul. “I know this, the Lord will command His loving kindness in the daytime, and His song will be with me in the night, a prayer to the God of my life.” That is beautiful.
There’s two parts to that verse, both are so beautiful. Deep is calling to deep. David is reminding his soul that Jehovah will command His loving kindness. In other words, His favor, His help, His hand to save. David’s confidence is in the loving kindness of God, and that David believes that God will command the loving kindness in His favor toward David. Then he adds that beautiful phrase, “His song will be with me in the night, a prayer to the God of my life.”
This is, again, may the soul sing. This is understanding that God will minister to your soul. God will minister to your soul. There’s that strengthening of that soul within, “His song will be with me in the night. It is a prayer to the God of my life.” Now, the darkness of night there is a picture of the dark hour of the soul going through some great trouble. “Your song,” David understood this very deeply, “Your song will be with me in the night. I’ll sing it as a prayer to the God of my life.” God ministering to you, strengthening your soul to trust Him, to look, to watch. Help is on the way.
A. May the soul sing a song of prayer
Reminds me of Psalm 63 where David wrote this in Verses 6-8, “I think of You through the watches of the night because You are my help. I sing in the shadow of Your wings. My soul clings to You and Your right hand upholds me.” See, when I think of that verse, “Your song will be with me in the night, ministering help to the soul, a prayer to the God of my life,” I think of other examples in the scriptures.
A great example, there’s Paul and Silas in the Book of Acts. They’re on a missionary journey. They were in Philippi, they were arrested, of course, for the gospel, beaten it says with rods as thick as a man’s finger, and then thrown into this inner prison. In other words, the darkest, deepest place of the prison. Then it tells us, Acts 16:25-26, that about midnight, Paul and Silas were praying, singing hymns of praise to God. Other prisoners were listening to them.
Can you imagine, suddenly there came a great earthquake so that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were open. Everyone chains were unfastened, Paul and Silas would not leave, by the way. I wonder about that scene. What did they sing? What song is this that they’ve been beaten with rods, thrown, now they’re in the darkest inner prison, they’re sitting on the cold stone in the dark, and they sing?
“Your song will be with me in the night. Prayer to the God my life.” What did they sing? I imagine that scene unfolding something like this. Paul says, “Are you okay Silas? “I hurt.” “I know, I know. Me too. I like to sing. I want us to sing that hymn.” “Yes, let’s sing.” Maybe they sing that song that Jeremiah the prophet wrote in the darkest hour of Israel’s history that we have captured in a great hymn.
Great is thy faithfulness
Oh God, my Father
There is no shadow of turning with me
Now, change is not thy compassions
They feel not as thou has been forever will be.
Jeremiah wrote that, Lamentation 3:21-24, in the darkest hour of Israel’s history where he says, “This I recall to my mind?” Does that remind you of song? “Oh, I remember you. This I recall to my mind. Therefore, I have hope.” See, I recall it to my mind. It’s like David is speaking life to his soul. I’m reminded again, therefore, I have hope that the Lord’s loving kindnesses indeed never cease, that His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning
New every morning
Great is your faithfulness
The Lord is my portion declares my soul
Therefore, I have hope.
When the jailer saw their heart, their character, their faith, he cried out, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” The Holy Spirit was just pouring life. In fact, we believe that that jailer became one of the great leaders of that church in Philippi. Would you notice, and I want us to look at Psalm 43, I want to close with this. Psalm 43, many believe by the way, is an extension of 42 because it’s so identical to it. It just continues it. The lesson of it is this, that God will lead you to His holy hill.
B. God will lead you to His holy hill
Notice Psalm 43:3-4, “Oh, send out your light and send your truth and let them lead me. Let them bring me to your holy hill. Then I will go to the altar of God to God my exceeding joy.” See, David finishes both Psalm 42 and 43 as he began by speaking life to the soul. “Why are you in despair, oh my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God for I shall praise Him the help of my countenance and my God. Oh, lead me to your holy hill. Lead me to your glory.”
I love that verse in the Hebrews where it says, he will lead many sons to glory because deep is calling the deep. The deepest things of God are calling to the deepest aspect of your soul. Only God can fill that. “As the deer pants for the water so my soul longs for you God.” It’s what God does in the soul that matters. Deep is calling the deep. Let your soul arise because deep is calling to the depths of your soul. Oh, along there’s something that so longs for the courts of the Lord. Lead me to Your holy hill. Lead many sons to glory because deep is calling to deep.
Let’s pray. Lord, we are so thankful. Oh, how beautiful are the words, the song has captured that deep is calling to deep, that the soul longs, desires like a deer panting for water. My soul longs for you, oh God, for deep is calling to deep. Church, how many would say that to the Lord today? God, my soul is longing. There is a deep desire in my soul. Lead me to your holy hill, lead me to your glory, for deep is calling to deep. My soul, deep within me, longs, desires like a deer panting for water. I have a deep, deep desire in my soul for glory, for God in my life.
Is that you? Would you just raise your hand to the Lord in that declaration of desire? Deep is calling to deep. God, my soul is stirred. I long like a deer panting for water. I long for you. Oh, the depths of my soul long. Lord, thank you for everyone raising their hand or lifting their soul, crying out to you in that deepest desire of the soul. We give you honor. We give you praise for it all in Jesus’ name, and everyone said, Amen. Let’s give the Lord praise and glory and honor. Amen. Amen.
Drink from the River of God’s Delight
Psalm 37:1-40
November 11-12, 2023
David wrote this Psalm, and we know that he was old when he wrote it. How do we know that? Is because he told us. “Once I was young, now I’m old.” What follows then is a Psalm that is filled with David’s greatest life lessons. He looks back on his life and wants us to have those insights that he has gained from walking with the Lord by that faith since he was a young shepherd, the youngest of eight brothers.
Now, he’s old, he wants to share that wisdom, those life lessons for us. Whenever someone is old and they’ve been there, they’ve done it, they’ve lived, they’ve been filled with wisdom, people are eager to hear what they have to say. To learn from them, to glean from that wisdom that they’ve collected and gathered through the many years of life experience.
I was thinking of an example. Many of you have heard the name Warren Buffett. Warren Buffett and his partner, Charlie Munger, they have an annual Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders Meeting and they take questions from the crowd. Literally, they will fill in coliseum, and they will be in there for hours as people hang on every word they have to say because they’re old, they’ve done it, they’re successful. People are like, “Oh, they’re Oracle of Omaha.” They want to hear what he has to say.
Here’s the thing, that’s only about money and business. Oh, there’s way more to life than that. David understood that. David understood how to bring his faith into every aspect of life. If you want to know how to take faith and live it, David would be one of those that you would say, “I want to hear what he has to say. He’s done it.” He was a captain and king, victorious in battle, inspiring in leadership. He knew how to trust God as a rock, a fortress, a refuge, and how to delight his soul in the Lord.
This Psalm is filled with wonderful, wonderful lessons of life, and we would do well to pay close attention to what David has to say so that we can live by our faith, victorious in adversity and trouble, and understanding how that our souls can be delighted. That’s probably the one theme that rises above all other themes in David’s life. Now, we know that because he told us in Psalm 27, and we read through that, where David said, “One thing I’ve asked from the Lord, one, that I have desired, that I would dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord.”
That’s the one thing that he desires above all things, that the Lord is beautiful on the soul, and it was the delight of David’s life. Now David is old, and he says, “Take hold of this life lesson for yourself.” Let’s read. We’re going to read in two sections today because it’s very long. Psalm, we’re not going to read all these verses as we go verse by verse, we’ve covered the rest.
I want us to start in Psalm 37:1. Again, life lessons, notice how we begins. “Do not fret because of evildoers. Don’t be envious toward wrongdoers. No. They will wither quickly like grass, they will fade like the green herb. No. You trust in the Lord. Do good.” This is life lesson. “Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.” There’s a great phrase. We’re going to look at that carefully. It is a picture of understanding how to walk in that faith. No, you cultivate faithfulness
Then verse 4 is famous. I love quoting it because it is David’s greatest theme. “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord. Trust in Him and He will do it.” David is telling you, “He will do it. He will bring forth your righteousness like the light and your judgment as the noonday. No, rest in the Lord.” Wage, in other words. Rest in the Lord. Be still. Stop all this striving. Wait, and wait patiently, longingly for Him.
Don’t fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. No, cease from anger. No. Forsake wrath, don’t fret, it only leads to evildoing on your part. Don’t do it. For those who wait for the Lord, they will be blessed. They will inherit. Wait, God will do it. Great, great lessons. These are the verses I want us to look at first. We’re going to look at other verses later, but I want us to know the life lessons. David is old. He’s now telling us some of the great keys of his faith.
I. Cultivate Faithfulness
He tells us in verse 3, “Cultivate faithfulness.” Faithfulness is something that you cultivate in your life. It’s your picture of somebody like planting, nourishing, growing, cultivating that which they wish to harvest, to reap. You cultivate. That’s the cultivating part. The faithfulness part is the steadfastness of that, doing that faithfully, cultivating, and then you will reap that which is good in your life.
See, this is one of the themes that comes out of this Psalm and out of David’s life, and it is a theme that runs through the Scriptures. Understand that life has consequences, that you reap what you sow. Therefore, cultivate faithfulness because it’s the theme that runs both ways, both for good and for evil. It’s a great life lessons. In other words, be thoughtful about what you are cultivating because it will affect the outcome of what you then will be harvesting or reaping in your life.
See, you can’t just will an outcome into existence, something that you want to achieve, no. You plant, you sow, you build, you cultivate, you cultivate faithfully, you cultivate steadfastly, David said. In other words, be very careful how you walk, how you cultivate. Make sure that you cultivate faithfulness. Then notice what he says from the very beginning, verse 1, “Do not fret or be anxious. No, don’t do it,” he says. It’s a life lesson I’ve learned. Don’t fret because of evil doers.
A. Don’t fret or be anxious
Why not? It can be so frustrating, so infuriating, so aggravating when someone does wrong to you. We understand, but please don’t do it. You can be so infuriated, you’re at your flesh, wants to rise up against them. David’s life lesson, “No, don’t do it. Don’t fret because of those who are hurtful or evil doers.” Then he gives several reasons. “Firstly, understand,” he says, “That it will not end well for the wrongdoers.” See that it will not end well for them. It’s the principle of the harvest. They are cultivating anger or hurt or evil, and there’s no faithfulness in it and will not go well for them. Know that in advance.
Notice, for example, verse 2, “They will wither quickly like the grass. They will fade like the green herb.” Then he says in verses 12-13, “The wicked plot against the righteous and gnashes at him with his teeth, but the Lord laughs at him for He sees that his day is coming.” Take hold of that. Don’t fret, don’t be anxious, don’t be aggravated. No, the Lord sees. The Lord knows his day is coming. God settles all matters. God settles all accounts. Don’t fret. Don’t let that upset your faith. No.
He says in verse 15, “Their sword will enter their own heart.” In other words, their wrongful and hurting plotting is only going to come back on their life. That’s the first reason. The second reason he says not to fret or be anxious is because it won’t end well for you. Cultivate faithfulness. Do not allow the root of bitterness or anger to arise in the field that you are sowing. You are trying to sow.
He says, “Do not fret. Do not forsake anger or wrath.” He says, “Don’t fret, it only leads to wrongdoing on your part.” Now, this reminds us of what James said in the New Testament, very similarly, James 1:19-20, he says, “Now, this you know my beloved brethren, that everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.” Now, see, it does not achieve, it will achieve something, but it’s not the righteousness of God.
I was thinking of an illustration of this, when I was going through Bible college many, many years ago, I was in Bible college preparing to go into ministry and God provided an opportunity for us to manage apartments. It was great provision for a Bible college student. Had free rent and free utilities, a little stipend for groceries. I was like, “Yes.” We managed 40 unit apartments. We had a particular tenant that just refused to be a good neighbor.
He was just difficult, cantankerous, angry. Anybody that bothered him, he would just make such a ruckus over that. If he didn’t like the smells of the food cooking in the neighbor, he’d pound on their door. If he heard anything from the neighbor below, he’d stamp with his cowboy boots. We talked and we talked and we tried our best to convince him to be a good neighbor, but no matter what we said or did, he just refused to be a good neighbor. Finally, we realized we got to just remove him.
One day I posted an eviction, 30-day eviction notice. He comes home and he sees the eviction notice and calls me on the phone, “Hey, what’s this?” I said, “Pretty sure it’s an eviction notice.” He said, “Hey, meet me in the back parking lot right now.” I have to tell you, it caught me off guard a little. I laughed and I said, “Hey, I got over that stuff in eighth grade. Man, you can be in the parking lot by yourself, I’m not going to join you.” “Oh, shall we let our attorneys handle this?” I said, “Fine, let our attorneys handle this. Meanwhile, you need to be out in 30 days.” Then just to be spiteful, he removed all of the light bulbs before he left.
You know what his greatest punishment is? He has to take himself with him everywhere he goes. Imagine, what is he sowing? What is he cultivating in life? Everywhere he goes he’s doing this. You can imagine, everywhere, all the relationships, everything. Everybody that bothers him, he is like this. What is he cultivating? Anger, wrath, bitterness, sorrows. What’s he going to harvest? What’s he going to reap? David says, “No good will come from this.” You’ll not read good of that.
I remember when we, of course, adopted our boys, one of them came from a home for emotionally disturbed children. He had so much anger. He told us very straightforward that he was angry, hurt, angry, mean at himself and everybody. Now, he’s turned out to be a fine, wonderful young man. In those days, oh, we had so many discussions and talks about it and the theme that I wanted him to see, over and over I would say to him, “Look, you must learn to master your anger or your anger will master you. It will master your life. You must learn to master it or it will master you.”
B. Trust in the Lord and do good
That reminds me what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:12, “I will not be mastered by anything.” There’s a life lesson that David is giving to us. Don’t fret, don’t be anxious, don’t be aggravated. No, God settles all matters. Notice what he says next, “No. You trust in the Lord and do good.” In other words, cultivate faithfulness by doing good while you are trusting in the Lord. If you believe that the Lord is the blesser of your life and that you’ll reap what you sow, well, then do good and you’ll reap that which is good.
Cultivate faithfulness. This is a lesson of life from David. No, cultivate it. It reminds us of what Paul wrote in Galatians 6:9, “Do not lose heart in doing good.” See, steadfastness in it. Don’t lose heart in it, for in due time, you will reap if you don’t grow weary in it. Now, that’s the summation of what he introduced to us in Galatians 6:7-8. That’s what I call the principle of the harvest. You’ll want to dog-ear that page because it’s a great principle of life.
He says in Galatians 6, “Do not be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. The one who sows to the flesh will from the flesh reap corruption.” Life lesson. “The one who sows through the spirit will reap from the spirit life, even eternal life.” It is a life lesson. Notice how he begins. Those are very, very strong words there in Galatians 6, where he says, “Do not be deceived.” No, God is not mocked. It’s a principle set down by the Almighty. No, it’s a principle. God’s not mocked. That principle will stand.
See, a person mocks when they have derision, when they disregard it, they have no respect for it at all. It’s like they’re saying, “Whatever.”
Yet, whether you recognize it or not, it’s a principle that will stand. Now we can even add to that principle. You reap in the manner of which you sow. If you sow corn, you’re going to reap corn. If you sow anger, you’re going to reap from the anger. If you sow discontent, you will reap discontent. If you sow in the flesh, you’ll reap from the flesh. Then, we know, of course, that you reap more than you sow. In fact, Hosea 8:7, “They sowed the wind, but they’re going to rape the whirlwind.” This is a lesson. Oh, if a person could understand this when they’re young.
See, a lot of young people, they have a really hard time understanding consequences. They have a hard time understanding that their actions are the cultivation of life, that they are producing something that they will reap in the future. If they only knew– See, I’ll tell you how many people, how many people have said to me, “If I had known what it would cost me, I wouldn’t have done it. If I had only known how much it was going to cost me, I wouldn’t have done it.” How many would have the same? “Oh, I look back at life, if I had known, I wouldn’t have done it.”
II. Delight Yourself in the Lord
See, that’s the principle that David is giving us. I want you to see that when you cultivate faithfulness, it will come to you. You’ll reap, believe me, He’s a trust God in it. You’ll see. That’s why he gives us this wonderful principle in the next verse, “Delight yourself in the Lord. Cultivate faithfulness.” Cultivate this by delighting yourself. It is everything to do with your soul. Would you notice the emphasis on your choosing, your choice in the matter? As for you, choose to delight your soul in the Lord. How?
Actually, we get a picture of this in Psalm 36. They’re just interwoven together. It’s really one of the most beautiful pictures, where he says, “Drink fully from the river life.” Beautiful, poetic. Notice Psalm 36:8-9 how David writes it, “They drink their fill of the abundance of your house.” Drink fully. Notice? “You give them to drink of the river of your delights.” How beautiful is that? A river full, wide, flowing, fresh, refreshing. “Drink fully and of the river of your delights, for with you is the fountain of life. In your light we see light.”
A. Drink fully from the river of life
Whatever you partake of in your soul will have a direct impact on your life. Be thoughtful about what you are partaking. That’s why drinking is that beautiful picture because you are bringing it into your soul. See, now, I think one of the most powerful pictures of that has to be of when Jesus had an encounter with a woman at a well, she’s a Samaritan woman. This is a famous story out of John. John 4 tells us that a woman from Sychar came to this well where Jesus was resting. He was by himself. The disciples had gone into town to seek provisions.
The woman comes to draw water. Jesus says to her, “Woman, give me a drink,” and then she says to Him, “Now, how is it that you being a Jew ask me for a drink since I’m a Samaritan woman?” See, the Samaritans were hated and despised by Jews. “How is it that you asked me a Samaritan for a drink?” This is John 4:10, Jesus said to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is who says to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ then you would’ve asked Him and He would give you living water.” She says, “Sir, give me this living water.” He says to her, “Go call your husband.”
Now, right away you might think, “Well, that’s a very strange thing to say to someone who just says, ‘Sir, give me living water.” Well, He is going to give her living water, but first, He’s going to show her that there is no life in the well from which she has been drinking.” “Go call your husband.” “I have no husband.” He says, “You have answered well that you have no husband because you have had five husbands and the man you are now with is not your husband.”
There are many people like this woman. Her life is a mess. She’s had five failed marriages, and now she’s given up even trying that anymore. She thought she could find life there in relationships, but they were all messed up. Instead, all she fell into was pain, and emptiness, and loneliness. You can imagine how many times she went out under the stars at night in anguish, crying out, “What’s wrong with me? I failed at every relationship. I’m despised and hated by everyone. I’m lonely. I’m lost. Everything I touch fails. What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with my life?”
But then she said, “But I know when Messiah comes, He will have the answer.” There she’s talking to, “Is He the one?” See, this reminds me of that worship song that we sing. This is one of my favorites, O Come to the Altar. I’m going to just read some of the lyrics to you.
Are you hurting and broken within,
Overwhelmed by the weight of your sin?
Jesus is calling.
Have you come to the end of yourself?
Do you thirst for a drink from the well?
Jesus is calling.
Come to the altar.
The father’s arms are open wide.
Forgiveness was bought with
The precious blood of Jesus Christ.
Oh, what a savior.
Isn’t He wonderful?
Sing hallelujah, Christ is risen.
Beautiful, beautiful picture of that invitation to the ones who have come to the end of themselves. I thirst along for a drink that would satisfy. That’s why Jesus said John 4:13 and 14, Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I give shall never thirst, and the water that I give shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” That is a beautiful picture. Verse 4, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires–” Notice, “He will give you the desires of your heart.” Desires is what you desire, seek, long for, searching.
See, so many people, they’re pursuing their longing. There’s a great searching. People are looking for something to fill their soul with joy, happiness, meaning, purpose. They’re longing, they’re searching. He says, “I’m going to give you a lesson of life if you will drink fully from the river of His delights.” If you will delight yourself in the Lord, you’ll find all that you are desiring, all that the soul longs for. Drink fully. Let me give you a life lesson, drink fully. I know where it is found, and it is found by drinking of the river of His delights.
B. And God will delight in you
God wants your soul delighted. That’s what He says. Notice the next section I want to read to you, where God then shows us you drink from the river of God’s delight and you walk in that path cultivating faithfulness, God will delight in you. Oh, it’s a beautiful picture. Let’s read it starting in verse 23. Go back to Psalm 37, starting in verse 23, “The steps of a man are established by the Lord, ordained the way of God, and God the Lord will delight in him, in his way. When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong.”
He won’t fall off the cliff. No, because the Lord is the one who holds his hand. “I have been young, now I’m old, and I have never seen the righteous forsaken. Never, or his descendants begging bread.” No. All day long He’s gracious and lends, and His descendants are a blessing. In other words, He’s abundantly blessed. He’s just so blessed that He’s generous even, gracious. He says, “Depart from evil, do good, and then you’ll abide forever, for the Lord loves justice and He does not forsake His Godly ones.” No, they’re preserved forever. Descendants of the wicked, they are cut off, but the righteous they will inherit the land to blessings in favor and they will dwell in it forever.
Then verse 30 is beautiful, “The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom.” This will be the result in your life. You will be filled. You delight and drink from the river of His delight, what will come out of you, you will utter words that are wise. Wisdom. Your tongue will speak that which is right, just, because the law of God is in His heart and His steps do not slip. All right. Those are the verses I want us to see where He is showing us now God will delight in you when you know that He is ordaining your way, He is establishing your steps.
David is an old man now. He can look back over his life. Now he can see it. He can see it so clearly now. “God was the one. I see it now. God ordered my way. God established my steps. God ordained. He opened the doors. He made the path. I see it now. God did it.” He’s saying this so that you would trust in it. “God will do it for you. I’m an old man. I look back, I see it now. God did it. He ordained my way. He established my steps. He will do it for you.”
Trust in the Lord and He will do the same. God will ordain your steps. They will be established by the Lord into that which is good, the favor, the blessing, because God is delighting in your path as you are cultivating faithfulness, as you are walking by that, God delights to pour out His favor on your life. See, I’m old enough now that I can look back and I can see it so clearly. I could never have told you in advance how God would move, how God would bless, the doors that He would open for me, the steps that He would establish for me.
There have been so many miracles in my life, so many ways that God has blessed. Many of you know my story, I would never have known, I could never have predicted what God did in my life. Many of you know my story. I was raised in extreme poverty. My father was an alcoholic, angry, contentious. There was chaos and dysfunction all in my growing-up years. Statistically, people that are raised in environments like that don’t do very well in life. That’s statistics, but God did take hold of my life. God ordained my way. He showed me early in life that He is the delight of the soul. If you will delight in the Lord, He will establish your path. He will open the doors.
I tell you what, I am so thankful what God has done in my life. I am so, so blessed. What a privilege it is to be able to pastor a church like this. I have a wonderful marriage. I love my kids. I am so, so blessed, and I give God all the glory for it all. Amen. Amen. Amen. David is saying, “I want that for you.” Would you know the miracles that God will do, the ways that God will prove His favor? I’ll tell you what, I can literally write a book on the way that God has established my steps with His favorite and with His love.
Oh, do not get me wrong, there have been troubles, many troubles, but God has always been there. In fact, He says it right there in Psalm verse 24, “If you fall, you will not be hurled headlong.” No. God will be in there. He is the one who holds your hand. He will establish you on the rock and put you on that path that He’s established. Then lastly, when God establishes your way, ordaining the steps of your life, when you cultivate faithfulness, when you drink from the river of His delight, it will bring forth wonderful results in your life.
What will come back to you will be so amazing, so wonderful. He pictures it for us in verses 30-31. Notice what he says, “The mouth of the righteous will utter forth wisdom.” Words of Wisdom will come off of your mouth. Why? Because he says the word of the Lord is in his heart. He speaks that which is good and right. Everyone will see it.
In other words, when you’re working the steps that God has ordained, and you’re cultivating faithfulness along the way, and you’re drinking from the river of His delights, God will increase your stature, He will increase your soul, He will increase your wisdom, He will increase your stature in life. It is a great reward and a wonderful blessing to have God’s Word in your heart so that you can speak of the abundance of what God has done.
I’m reminded of what job– When we were studying the book of Job, we saw this in his life, where– Notice, Job 23:11-12, where he writes, “My foot has held fast to His path.” Now you see right here a direct correlation to Psalm 37, “My foot has held fast to His path. I have kept His way. I have not turned aside. I’ve not departed from the command of His lips. I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.” Job delighted in the Almighty, he says. He treasured God’s word more than his necessary food and God was increasing him in stature and in wisdom. God was building in him the construct.
See, that’s it. When you’re faithfully steadfastly walking in the path that God has established with His favor and His blessing, when you’re drinking of the river of His delight, when your soul is delighted in the Almighty, knowing God will construct and build in you as He did in Job the construct of integrity, of wisdom, of stature. It’s the posts, the beams, the steel, the rocks, the strength of integrity and character of the soul. God builds that when you delight in the Almighty, when you drink from the river of His delight, when you walk in the path that God has established for you, and then the result is something that everyone can see.
Everyone can see it when you walk in that steadfastly over the course of years. Everyone can see it. It’s evident in your life. This is why Job said, Job 29:7-11, he said, “When I went out to the gate of the city, when I took my seat in the square, young men saw me and hid themselves.” In other words, they were intimidated. “Old men would rise, stand on their feet. Princes stopped talking. Voices of nobles was hushed. When they heard, they called me blessed.” That’s the value of the soul which God builds. He constructs.
This is David saying, “Look, I want to give this great truth to you. I tell you that God will build it. You cultivate faithfulness. You walk in the path that God has established by His favor when you delight in Him. When you drink from the river of God’s delight, God will establish this. He will build this. He would pour the increase of your stature. It will become the poster being, the steel, the rocks of the strength of your life, your integrity, your character of your soul.
God will build it when you delight in Him, when you drink from the river of His delight. Oh, what it will bring forth in your life is amazing. You’ll see it. Man, you’ll look back on your life and see it. “God did that. He built that. God established my path, I see it now.” You’ll be so thankful. You will be so thankful that you drank from the river, fully drank from the river of God’s delight. What it will do to your soul words cannot express. “I want this for you,” David says. God says in His word, “I will do it. Trust. I will do it. I will delight to do it. Drink fully.”
Let’s pray. Lord, we do thank You. We’re amazed. You have proven Yourself. You’ve shown us a great truth that if we would just cultivate faithfulness, if we would just walk in the steps that You have ordained, if we would just drink from the river of Your delights, oh, what God would build. Oh, what God would do that we can look back in our lives and see it. God, You have been the greatest blessing in my life. It begins with that decision to delight yourself in the Lord, to drink fully from the river of His delight.
Church, how many would say that to the Lord today, “I want to drink fully from the river of His delight. I want to be filled and overflowing. I want to walk in the steps that God has ordained. Construct that in me. Build that in me. God, I want to drink fully from the river of Your delights”? Would you just raise your hand as a way of expressing that desire to the Lord? I want to drink fully from the river of Your delights. Oh, do that wonderful work in me, Lord. God, we thank You, we honor You, we praise Your name for showing us the way to work in the joy of the Lord. We praise Your name in Jesus’ name.
Taste and See that the Lord is Good
Psalm 34:1-22
November 4-5, 2023
Psalm 34, written by David is an acrostic Psalm. There’s a few of those, and what it means is, there are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Notice there’s 22 verses. Every verse begins with the next letter in the Hebrew alphabet. The first verse starts with Alef, Bet, Gimel, Dalet, et cetera, all the way down through the Hebrew alphabet, and the reason is so that it’s easy to remember. Great memorization technique, and of course, the idea is that every word, every verse of this amazing Psalm is so important. You want to memorize it, you want to write it on the soul of your heart because it is filled with so many practical living applications for us.
Now, the introduction of the Psalm tells us what was happening in David’s life when he wrote it. David was in great peril, he got himself in a very, very difficult and dangerous predicament. Afterward, he escaped to the cave of Adullam, and there he sat down and wrote this Psalm in honor of God, because God had rescued and saved him yet again. This is one of the most famous, it’s certainly one of the most quoted of the Psalms, and you’re going to see how many of these verses are very familiar to those who, of course, take hold of great truths in the Word of God. This is so important for us.
David was in great predicament and peril, so he gives us in the Psalm principles that guide us through predicament and peril and difficulty. Life is filled with difficult predicaments, and we would do very well to learn from David. You see, there are principles for navigating through troubles, even in the most difficult predicaments of life that are found in this Psalm. When you’re navigating through difficulty, perils and predicaments, you come to what I call decision points, right? Turns in the road, paths that cross, decision points, what do you do? Do you go this way? Do you do that? What do you do? There’s no GPS turn by turn navigation for troubles.
Wouldn’t that be marvelous if there was? Don’t go straight, there’s a big jam up ahead. You’re going to get into great trouble. No, take this exit, go this way. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a GPS to navigate through troubles? Just my luck, it would be a GPS with an attitude. Do you remember back in the day when GPS was first a thing? Remember they used to get GPS devices and then you would put them on your dash or whatever? Back in the day, I discovered that you can download different voices, and I thought it would be fun to download Yosemite Sam. Only problem was Yosemite Sam had an attitude, and if I missed a turn, Yosemite Sam was saying to me, “I said turn left, you hermit,” and “Okay.”
Back to our regular story. There’s no such thing as GPS to navigate you through troubles. No, but there are principles from God’s Word. God’s Word is a lamp to your feet. It is a light for your path, and we are going to see those principles that you need to know and take hold of before the peril, before the predicament of life. All right. Now, the backstory here is found in 1 Samuel, and it’s this. King Saul had become jealous and angry over David. What happened was, of course, after David killed Goliath the Philistine, he became famous in Israel. Saul attached him to his army, made him and captain and he was amazing.
Just a hero on the battlefield, one victory after the other, and the women started to sing songs that Saul did not like at all. The women were saying, “Saul has slain his thousands, but David his ten thousands.” and Saul was infuriated. What more can he have of the kingdom? There was the problem. The prophet Samuel had already told Saul that God had found a man after his own heart to replace him as king. It became quite obvious to Saul that David was that man. Therefore, Saul sought to destroy David and thwart the will of God that was against him. In fact, twice David was in the dining hall there with the king and the king’s men, and at one point, actually twice, Saul became so hot with rage, he took hold of a javelin and a spear, and hurled it at David trying to pin him to the wall. David ducked.
Now, that’s a sure sign right there that Saul’s not happy. David realized the peril and that he needed to flee. At first, he fled to the Prophet Samuel, but Saul sent men in pursuit there. Then David went to Ahimelech, the priest at Nob and interestingly, when David went to Ahimelech the priest, he did not reveal to the priest the true reason that he was on the move, not wanting to expose the priest to danger. He did not want to put the priest in the predicament of having to choose sides, of having to side with David, which would make him become treasonously disloyal to King Saul. David was trying to save his life by keeping the truth from him.
The truth was that David was on the run from that murderous, jealous, angry king. Instead, David said to the priest that Saul had sent him on a secret mission and that no one must know that he was there. David did ask for help from the priest, and that request put the priest in a difficult place. He asked the priest, “Do you have any weapons? I left. The king’s mad, it was urgent, and I brought no weapons. Do you have any weapons?” The priest said, “No, the only weapon we have is the sword of Goliath the Philistine who was slain there in the Valley of Elah, but if you wish it, take it.”
David said, “The sword of Goliath. There is none like it,” and he took that. Then he said, “Do you have any food? Do you have five loaves of bread? Anything?” The priest said, “We have no ordinary bread. We have only the consecrated bread of the presence.” In other words, every Sabbath day, the priests would bring 12 loaves of flat bread into the presence of the Lord, and then that would be all week without those loaves, and then he would take the old loaves, and that would be for the priests and the priests only were allowed to eat of that consecrated bread. He said, “I have no ordinary bread, I only have the consecrated bread. However, if you and your men have kept yourselves consecrated, you may have it.”
I. Choose the Highest Good
Here’s where some interesting principles arise out of the story. David withheld truth from the priest so as not to put the priest in the predicament of betraying the king, which would be treasonous. The priest offered David consecrated bread, which was lawful only for priests. Here is where the principles unfold. What do you do when no matter which path you choose, it is a difficult choice? What do you do when principles collide? Here is the principle. Choose the highest good when principles collide, when no matter what path you choose, it is fraught with difficulty, what do you do? There’s the principle. Choose that which is highest good.
Now, if decision points are hinge points that change the course, then we need wisdom. How do you choose the course? The wisdom of God’s principles that help us know the way to choose when principles collide, here it is. You choose the highest good. Here’s an example from our own life. Not nearly as apparent as this, but nevertheless, the story is this. My wife was pregnant with our third and about 10 days before the due date, she woke up with this pain. So excruciatingly painful was this that she said it feels like her pelvic bone was broken and she could not move, excruciating pain.
I called the hospital, they said, “This is an emergency, you need to get her here either by ambulance or by car. She needs to get to the hospital right now. The baby could be in peril, you must get her to here right now.” I said to my wife, “It’s an emergency, either we take the ambulance or I drive you, we got to go now.” She says, “Drive, let’s go.” Of course, part of the problem now is that she feels like a her pelvic bone is broken, she cannot move, so I had to pick her up. I picked her up and brought her in the car. Now that part of the story is not important but I just had to mention that part there.
Anyway, all right, so we get in the car and we’re driving down the road, down teeny highway and we came upon a red light. Now, the law of the land for law abiding citizens is that when you come upon a red light, you wait. You cannot go through a red light, that’s the law. All law body citizens agree. That’s the law. Of course, now the baby is in peril. This is an emergency but there’s a red light, that is the law. I sat there and waited for three minutes. No, I did not. I looked both ways and went right through that red light. I have to tell you, it felt good, and then we came to the next red light, I did the same thing, looked both ways, went right through it.
I came to another red light. Interestingly, there was a car there, and I just felt something, and I went and threw the red light, quickly it turned green, he caught up to me, and then there’s another red light went through that one. He turned me into the police. He called. Yes, me. He did. All right, now the story unfolds, then we get to the hospital. Turns out the baby had a raging blood infection and they had to do an emergency C-section, of course, the baby was quarantined, mom was quarantined and later the doctor said, “Yes, if you had not brought that baby in, if you had not come in when you did, the baby would’ve died.”
I said, “Well, what was that pain? I mean a blood infection that does not explain that degree of pain.” He said, “I have no idea but if it wasn’t for that pain, then you would not have been here and the baby would’ve died.” He said, “We have a phrase for that in the medical world, we call that providential intervention.” I go, “That’s interesting. We have a name for that in the church too. We call that the hand of God, a miracle.” Amen. I get home, the quarantine, the baby is all better. We get home and there’s a letter from the sheriff. “You were seen going through red lights in this and that section.”
I thought, oh, we better call the sheriff’s office. We don’t want that pastor arrested for red light. No, we had to– I called the sheriff’s office and explained what happened, and interestingly, the sheriff’s representative said, “You did not break the law. When life is in peril, you go through that red light. Now, call us next time we’ll give you an escort, but you don’t wait. If that’s an emergency, you go through it.” That is interesting. Bring God into every equation, into every decision of choosing and He will direct your course into that which is highest good. Do you run through a red light? You break the law, or do you save a life?
Either way, the choice is that which is the highest good. Jesus interestingly, spoke of this very principle when the Jewish leaders one day accused Jesus of doing that which was not lawful to do on the Sabbath. He and the disciples were walking through a grain field, they had picked some grains of wheat and rubbed it and ate it. They said, “Oh, that is harvesting, you’re doing that which is not lawful.” Jesus said to them, Luke 6:3-5, Jesus answered them and said, “Have you not even read what David did when he was hungry, how he entered the house of God and how he took and ate the consecrated bread which is not lawful for any to eat except the priest alone and gave it to his companions.”
A. Bless the Lord at all times
The sinner man is Lord of the Sabbath. That path is that path of highest good, choose the highest good. All right, now, back to Psalm 34. Let’s read the Psalm, starting in verse 1. “I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” All right, David again, he’s in the cave of Adullam and he looks back now and God has rescued and delivered and saved David from one peril after the other. He says, “I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise will continually be in my mouth. My soul will make its boost in the Lord.” Oh, the humble will hear this and they will rejoice.
I love verse 3. “Oh, magnify the Lord with me. Let us exalt his name together and come on, let’s exalt his name together.” He said, now verses 1-3 by the way, is like a blanket that covers the whole Psalm. Then he’s looking back and says, this is what happened. Verse 4, “I saw the Lord, He answered me, He delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant and their faces will never be ashamed those who look to God.” This poor man cried, David says, the afflicted, I was afflicted. This poor man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all of his troubles. That’s the theme.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, another great principle and will rescue him. Then verse 8, very famous, very, very quoted, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.” He’s saying to everyone who reads this, taste for yourself and see that the Lord is good. How blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Oh, fear the Lord. Now, the word fear in English, I think is better translated to Hebrew revere. Definitely powerful, poetically beautiful. “Oh, revere the Lord, oh you his saints, for to those who revere Him, there is no want.” There is no lack. The young lions lack and suffer hunger dependent on the matriarch lion.
No, but those who seek the Lord, will be in want of no good thing. They shall not be in want of any good thing. Great principle. Then he says in verse 11, he becomes our instructor. “Come children, listen to me. I will teach you the revering of the Lord. Who is the man who desires life.” Of course, we would all raise our hand there. “Who is the man who desires life? Who is the one who loves length of days that he may see good?” Then listen. “Keep your tongue from evil, keep your lips from speaking lies, deceit, depart from evil, do good.” This is the revering. You do this out of revering out of respect.
Seek peace, pursue it. Why? Because the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears are open to their cry. Now, the face of the Lord is against evil doers to cut off the memory of them from the earth, but the righteous cry, and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all of their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted. Here’s another verse very famously, “The Lord saves those who are crushed afflicted of spirit.” In verse 19, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers them out of them all.” Now the famous verse, write that one down. Verse 20, “He keeps all his bones, not one of them is broken.”
All right, this is quoted in John 19, referencing the Lord on the cross, not one of his bones was broken, is fulfillment of our verse. Verse 21, “Evil shall slay the wicked.” In other words, they’ll come back on their head and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. They’ll be held guilty “But the Lord redeems the soul of his servants and none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.” All right, this is our Psalm. Beautiful, powerful, great principles, again for all of us to take hold of. Notice starting in verse 1, “Bless the Lord at all times. His praise will continually be in my mouth.”
See, David is writing the Psalm now, after all is said and done, he looks back. God has saved him over and over and over. He’s giving God glory for rescuing and saving him, but when you notice, first of all, please notice the attitude of David’s faith. This is very important, David’s attitude of faith. Faith has this attitude of trust. I will
bless the Lord at all times. His praise will continually be in my mouth. This is important because David has gone from peril to predicament, to difficulty, to trouble. Many people do not know how to navigate through predicament, or peril, or trouble. They get angry, they get frustrated, they say things, then they get hurt, angry even at God.
David is showing us a very important key to navigating through peril and predicament. No, I will bless the Lord at all times. There’s an attitude of faith. His praise will continually be in my mouth. I will not do it. I will not get angry. I will not get frustrated. Now this is a very important principle and I’ll tell you why. Anger is destructive. When you’re angry, frustrated and do things and say things, it’s destructive but faith, trust, looks and believes. It’s constructive, it builds. Let me give you another word. I wish I would’ve put this in the notes. Isaiah 26:3-4 “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in you.
Trust in the Lord at all times for the Lord is a rock.” Now that’s a good word. That’s a great word. You will keep in perfect peace him who trusts in you. This is the key to David’s attitude of faith, and peril, and predicament. Anger is destructive. Now watch, wait, trust, he’s a rock. Here’s an example. When Israel was rescued and saved out of the oppression and slavery of Egypt, they had been crying out in their oppression and God look and hear us. They were so going through difficulty. God by his miraculous hand brought them out of that and into the desert, and then provided for them there in the desert again by God’s miraculous hand, but they’re in a desert.
They got to go through the desert which is hot. Frankly, if you’ve ever been through a desert you know it is hot and you get irritated. It’s difficult. All right, how do you navigate through? You got to go. We’re not done. He saved them out of Egypt. We’re not done. We got to get through this desert. There’s a bearing, there’s an attitude of faith. We got to get through this thing, but what did they do? They started to grumble, complain. You know what? They didn’t need to be in the desert for 40 years. They could’ve made straight way but that attitude kept them, and so God said those grumblers and those who lacked faith and those who were complainers, every one of them will perish in the desert.
The next generation they’re the ones that will go into the land I promised. For example, Numbers 11:4-6. He says, “The rabble among them,” interesting description. “The rabble among them had greedy desires.” He said, “Oh we remember the fish we had for we used to eat free in Egypt. Oh, the cucumbers and the melons, and the leeks and the onions. Oh, don’t you remember the good old days when we were in Egypt? Don’t you remember the good old days when we were oppressed and slaves? No there’s nothing now here for us at all except this manna. Manna, manna, manna.”
It says Numbers 11:1 “The people became like those who complained of diversity in the hearing of the Lord.” They became like those who complain of adversity. When you’re doing adversity David is giving us the key. I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise will continually be in my mouth. There is an attitude of faith. This is important. This is a key for us. Then he says verse 2, “May your soul boast in the Lord.” Notice verse 2, my soul will boast in the Lord. See it’s interesting that David begins there by saying my soul boasts. See in other words, within his own heart, within his soul, he’s giving God a glory, a boasting of God in his own soul. It’s just like it’s between him and God.
B. May your soul boast in the Lord
God, you are amazing. You did it again. Lord, I’m amazed. Bless your name, how you have done this I boast of God in my own soul. Now he says the humble will hear of this. Oh, and they’ll rejoice. He starts out by saying I’ll boast in my soul. This is a key again to David. You did it, God. It’s between him and God. Notice 2 Samuel 22:36. David here in 2 Samuel 22 is looking back over his life. “You have given me the shield of your salvation.” The shield is what you hold up in front of adversity. “Your help makes me great.” This is another great key to victorious faith. Walking through the life’s predicaments in peril., God’s help.
David walked through every peril. He marched right into trouble with that faith believing God is with me. Your help makes me great. You enlarge my steps under me and my feet have not slipped. Psalm 32, “You surround me with songs of deliverance.” That’s beautiful. Now when David left Ahimelech the priest, remember the story. Do you have any weapons? Only the sword of Goliath, the Philistine. David took the sword and after he left Ahimelech the priest, he went immediately to the area of the Philistines. Now he went there believing that Saul would not pursue him there, and the area that he went to, the city he went to was that of Gath.
Now if you remember your history you might remember that Goliath just so happened to be from the city of Gath. This was likely not David’s finest hour. Here’s my point. Now we can understand why David thought to escape Saul, his wrath by fleeing the country, but to arrive in Gath the city of Goliath, carrying the sword of Goliath on your side is probably not going to end well. Now he gets there and the servants of Achish who’s the king of Gath they recognize David. “Wait a minute isn’t this David? Isn’t this the one that they sing about, Saul has slain thousands but David his ten thousands, is this not him?”
Now when David heard those words he immediately knew there is trouble. He is out of options. What do you do when you’re out of options? He has no army with him. What do you do? He’s out of options, and there David gets creative. There and just in that moment, we believe that God just put an idea on his heart. He just David got creative. He feigned madness. He started acting mad and crazy. He’s scribbling on the doors letting saliva run down his beard. It was a convincing ruse because the King Achish wanted him out of his presence.
Notice 1 Samuel it should say, 1 Samuel 21:14-15 “Then Achish said to his servants, ‘Behold oh you see this man, you see this man behaving like a mad man why did you bring him to me? Do I like madmen, in my kind– Is that it? Do I like madmen that you brought this one to act like a madman in my presence? What should I bring him into my house? Get him out of here.’” It worked. David escaped to the cave of Adullam 7, 10 miles away. He’s looking back, he’s blessing the Lord, God you did it. David was out of options and God put this on his heart to escape from the grip of danger.
I believe that in that predicament God will put on your heart in that moment what you need. I’ll give you an example from my own life. Again far far less than what David experienced but the story is this. We were in Russia, we were adopting our boys. It was a Russian adoption. We were in Moscow, the night before our departure and our plane was going to leave the next day I think around noonish. Our interpreter was going through our paperwork and said “Hey, those passports–” they just got new passports, “They don’t have the stamps or the signatures. They’re not leaving this country without those stamps and those signatures, they’re not going anywhere.”
The problem is the office that they would get those stamps and signatures was an hour and a half drive through snow and ice one way.
We thought, what do we do? We decided we would get up in the middle of the night, drive there be the very first ones when that office opened, we had it all figured out. We’d be the very first ones. The office opens we get our stamps and signatures, we then drive quickly to the embassy get that stamped, and then go to the airport. We had it exactly, had to be just so and we have to be the first ones. All right, so we get up and it’s dark it’s icy, it’s cold.
The driver that they hired was going down 80 miles an hour and I’m thinking, oh God, here we are in your hands. We get there to the office and I thought, oh no, there was a line in the no, probably 20 deep. I thought, oh no, what do we do? We are out of options if we wait for that whole 20 people to be processed I know Russian bureaucracy, this will take forever. What do we do? We are out of options. Then I see the officials drive up in their official cars, and then instantly an idea comes to my mind. I realized I am wearing an army surplus coat. I inherited it from my brother. It meant a lot to me.
It was a nice thick wool army surplus one of those real long ones. I realized that’s an army surplus coat, that looks official. I thought, hmm. I said to the people with me, I had one other father, the interpreter, and the oldest boy. I said, “Follow me, do not speak. Walk the way I walk.” We went over stood by in the snow as they’re getting out of their cars. When the last official started going past me, I got right behind him. I walked and looked like authority, and I walked right past the whole line and they opened the door. I walked in and I stood before the official with a bearing of authority. I said to him in Russian, “[Russian language] I need your help, please, sir.”
He looked at me and said, in Russian, “What do you need?” I turned to the interpreter. In other words, “My assistant will take it from here.” He said, “He needs these stamps and these signatures. It’s urgent.” He looks at me, he looks at the passports.” Stamp, stamp, sign, sign, go. Yes. Amen. I believe that God will give in the moment the predicament. If the attitude of faith is show me, God what do we do now? Don’t relent on faith. What do we do now? Then notice back to Psalm 34:8 “The word of the Lord is tested and tried.” See, notice verse 8 “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”
II. The Word of the Lord is Tested and Tried
He’s saying taste it for yourself. See, the relationship with God is far more than a theological understanding to David. No, it is a manner. It is a way of life. It is a spiritual bearing of faith. David’s trust was everything to David. David went from peril to predicament, to trouble, to difficulty. This was the bearing of that faith relationship with God. It’s everything. Now taste it yourself. Taste and you’ll see it yourself because the word of the Lord is tested. Notice Psalm 18:30. “The word of the Lord is tried, tested.” God has proven himself to me. He’s a shield to all who take refuge in him. Taste it for yourself.
See, when you taste and see that the Lord is good, you are partaking in the life of God for yourself. It becomes life within you. See this verse suggests that when you partake of the Lord, it is good on the soul. It settles well on the soul. This is far deeper than any theological understanding. This is not mental agreement. Taste and see that the glory of God settles well beautifully well on the soul. You must partake on the soul. It’s glorious. See there’s a great difference between studying the ingredients in food and eating it. There are many people that are very well-studied that are empty and hungry.
They have nothing in their soul. They’re studied well, but they have not tasted of it. You must taste of it. When you go to a restaurant you don’t just study the menu. I’m not leaving till I have– I want my soul nourished. You must partake. David is showing us a king here. God wants all of us to take hold of this great principle. No, you must partake of it. Oh, it is good. It settles well on the soul. It is beautiful in the life and in the heart. See, when you partake you’re tasting and you’re being transformed, your soul is being transformed by it. However, let there be no mistake. The opposite is also true.
Notice Job 20. We studied it when we were going through the Book of Job, “Though evil is sweet in the mouth and it is the world is sweet on the mouth, but in the stomach, it’s changed to the venom of cobras within.” That is a good word right there. You want a principle of life. You want one of those principles that would guide you, should I go this way? Should I go that way? What should I do? Here’s a principle. Write this one down. Evil is sweet in the mouth. You might look at something and you say, “You know what? That is very sweet to the flesh but is poison to the soul.” It becomes the venom of cobras within.
A. There is no want in those who revere God
Interestingly, the one who delights in the taste of evil will even lose his financial bearing. That’s what it says. He swallows riches but he’ll vomit them right back up because God will expel them from his belly. You want a good word? That’s a good word. Then he says, notice in contrast to that, notice where he goes next in the Psalm. “There is no want in those who revere God.” That’s a great practical life-bearing word. There is no one in those who revere. See, notice verse 9 “Oh revere the Lord you his saints for to those who revere him, there is no lack.” Now the Hebrew poetry then is beautifully seen as that David then recites that truth beautifully over and over.
Notice verse 10, “Young lions lack, suffer hunger but they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing.” Notice the key those who seek, it’s an active faith. Those who seek the Lord, taste and seek, desire and hunger for that which is gloriously beautiful on the soul, actively seeking. For those who revere will seek him. If you respect God and revere him you will seek. For those, they will have no lack. He will be your Jehovah Jireh. The eyes of the Lord, verse 15 are toward the righteous. He will be your Jehovah Jireh, your provider. Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want, I shall not lack.”
Then David becomes our instructor. Notice verse 11 David will be our instructor and life principles will follow. David says, “Come Jordan, listen to me. I will teach you the revering of God. I will show you now the revering of God.” David says. Immediately our ears perk up. David’s going to show us something of the revering of God because we know that this is a key to David’s understanding. This is a key to David’s victorious faith. He’s going to show it to us now.
“Listen, children, I will teach you the revering of God. Who is it that seeks for life?” We do. “Length of days that he may see good.
Then let me show you, verse 13 and 14. Then keep your tongue from evil. Keep that out of your mouth because of your revering God. If you revere God, if you respect God, then keep that out of your mouth.” I’m saying that boldly but I think that’s what David is trying to say. David is trying to say something bold here. You want to– it’s a key to David’s understanding. You want to revere God, keep that evil out of your mouth. Notice then, keep your lips from speaking lies, deceits, no depart from evil. Do good, seek peace and pursue it. See, your bearing is a pathway of your choosing. Do you desire life that you may say good?
Then revere God and show it by the choosing of the path. The pathway of peace. The pathway of life, or the pathways of good are loving kindness and truth. Choose that. You want to revere God, you want to respect God, choose that path because there’s another path too. There’s a path of worldliness and disrespect and dishonor. You will not do well in your soul. You will not do well in peril. You will not do well in a predicament. Let me give you a key to life’s perils and predicaments. Choose the pathway of peace that which is good, pursue it. Seek it, long for it and then notice verse 19, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers them out of them all.”
B. Many are the afflictions of the righteous
David says, “Let me tell you, taste for yourself. Taste and see that the Lord is good. You’ll see it. I know this many are the afflictions of the righteous.” Jesus said in very similar words, in this world you’ll have many troubles but take courage starting with your faith now, the bearing of your faith. Take courage man, I’ve overcome the world. There will be troubles, there will be afflictions. In fact, many are the afflictions of the righteous. Many people do not know how to navigate through peril or predicament. This song will show you how. There are many afflictions but the Lord will deliver them, Him from them all.
David ends the Psalm similarly to how he began. David has endured one affliction after the other but he maintains his faith victoriously. I will bless the Lord at all times. The attitude of David’s faith, the bearing of David’s faith. His praise will continually be in my mouth. That’s what’s in my mouth. My soul will make its boast in the Lord. Yes, many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers him out of them all, and He’ll do it for you. The attitude of faith. The bearing of faith. There will be many afflictions, many troubles, David is saying, but he shows us a key to his understanding.
I will not be moved, I will not be shaken. I will not quit. I will stand on this rock for I know my God and I know that He rescues and says that He’s good. I have tasted and I’ve seen that the Lord is good. The glory is good on the soul. I want that for you. He says, taste it for yourself. Let’s pray, Lord we stand amazed of who you are. How glorious is the promise. Taste it for yourself, David says. How many would say to the Lord today, I want to taste in full. I want my soul filled, overflowing because I know it’s good. I know that it settles well on the soul. It’s beautiful. It settles beautifully on the soul. God, I want that. I want to be filled to taste it for myself.
Church, would you say that to the Lord? Would you just raise your hand as a way of saying that to the Lord? I want to taste it myself. I want to be filled. I know it settles on the soul beautifully, I want to pursue more. I seek God, I seek you, I want to taste it for myself. I want to see the glory that settles well in the soul. Just raise your hand as a declaration to God. Father, we are so thankful for everyone who’s stirred, moved of God that we would be those who are victorious in our faith. Show us the life of victory that is found in the name of our Lord and Savior in Jesus name, and everyone said, can we give the Lord praise and glory and honor. Amen.
Behold the Beauty of the Lord
Psalm 27:1-14
October 14-15, 2023
Psalm 27, behold the beauty of the Lord and I got to tell you out of all the Psalms, Psalm 27 is my personal favorite. Now I know you’re not supposed to have favorites. Is it like kids, in the sense that you’re not supposed to have a favorite child? We raised five kids, and many times we were asked by our kids, “Who’s your favorite?” [laughs] I always would give them the answer. I would tell them who my favorite was. I said, my favorite is whoever needs me most. That’s my favorite. Amen. I’m going to be there.
I think in some ways it’s perhaps like that with the Psalms, your favorite, I think, is the one that ministers to you most, that resonates with you most. Maybe it ministers to you in your time of need, or maybe it just speaks life to you when you need a word of encouragement. I know that for me when I’ve gone through a valley of trouble or I’ve gone through a circumstance that it’s difficult, I know that just opening my Bible and just reading the Psalms, they just bless the soul. It’s just like refreshing water to the soul. It just brings life.
There’s just something about the Psalms that just brings life. Have you experienced this? It’s just so beautiful. Psalm 27, I think, resonates with me personally because God used it to transform my life and confirm my call to be a pastor. Of course, I’ve given you this story, many of you know my story, but it’s just so important to me because here we are in Psalm 27. The story is this, when I was a young man in my early 20s trying to find my way in life, I would go to church oftentimes, and I would oftentimes go to church alone. I know.
I would get there early and I just loved being at church. I loved the smell of it. [laughs] I don’t know, I just really loved just sitting. I would get there early. I would just sit there in the chairs, the pews, and they would have beautiful worship playing, and I would just sit there and read my Bible. One day I’m sitting there and I’m reading Psalm 27 and the words of this Psalm sitting there in that sanctuary, listening to that beautiful music in that place. The words became beautiful to me. Those words became just resonating on my soul, that when you read the psalm, you’ll know what I mean.
They just speak a heart after God. It blessed me and I immediately knew that I wanted to be a pastor. It just confirmed in my heart, reading that psalm. See, this is one of those psalms that revealed the inner workings of David’s faith. David’s perspective on God, David’s relationship with God was the very substance of his faith, right? David, in several places is called a man after God’s own heart. That is something we all ought to desire to be, a man or a woman after God’s own heart. You see that in several places, for example, in Acts, but it’s in not the places in the Old Testament too.
Acts 13:22, after God had removed Saul, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He testified and said, “I found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart who will do My will.” That’s the key now, to David’s faith, his victorious life is because he is a man after God’s own heart, which means he loved God. He delighted in the Almighty, his soul was filled and was overflowing. Remember Psalm 23, my cup overflows, his soul prospered in the light of God. That’s what it means to be a man or a woman after God’s own heart and that is what we all ought to desire to be.
I. Deeper Faith brings Confidence in God
God loved David because he was a man after His own heart. See, for David, faith was more than just a belief system, you might say, more than just a theological understanding or a theological bearing. No, no. It had everything to do with how you live. The practice of living was born out of thou faith. In other words, how you live, how David lived is because of what he believed, his faith, his relationship to the living God. David was a man of action. Men and women of faith are men and women of action. See, David encountered many, many troubles, many conflicts, many battles, many difficulties.
For him, his faith was a practical part of victory. In those conflicts, in those troubles, in the day-to-day struggles, he did those struggles by his faith. His faith was tried and tested over and over and over because God was with him. God walked with him through every one of those, and he walked by faith. David gives expression to that faith in the Psalm. See, you see a Psalm now where his faith is defined. Ah, this is David. This is what David believes. This is how David lives. This is how David takes that faith and puts it into life. That’s why it’s so important.
Anyone who desires to be victorious in the practice of living, and I think everybody would say, “Yes, I want to be victorious in how I live my life.” See, if anyone wants to be victorious, if anyone wants to have a heart after God, then these words out of Psalm 27 will resonate in your soul. Let’s read it and then we’ll look into it together. Psalm 27 and will begin in verse one, “The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear?” Now, see, I don’t know, you got to read it with a determined faith, right? The Lord is my light. The Lord is my salvation so whom should I fear?
The Lord is the defense of my life. Now, by the way, the word Lord is in all caps, which means it’s the name of God, it’s Yahweh, Yahweh, Yahweh, however, you want to say. It’s the name of God. He’s naming God by name. Yahweh is the defense of my life, so whom then should I dread if God is the defense of my life? When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, my adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell. Notice verse three, “Though a host in camp against me, my heart will not fear.”
This is faith right here in the practice of living. He then says, “Though war arises against me, in spite of this, I shall be confident.” Then verse four. This is what, when I was sitting there in that church on that beautiful evening, these were the words right here. Verse four, “One thing I have asked from the Lord and that I shall seek one thing. One thing above all other things I ask and I seek and it’s this, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in his temple.”
I read those words and I thought, I want that. That’s what I want. I want to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. I’m a pastor. I get the privilege of dwelling in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. I get to teach five times a week the word of God. Am I blessed? I’m blessed. Amen. I’ll tell you what, and we’re going to read it because all of the paths of the Lord are loving, kindness, and truth. All the paths of the Lord are loving, kindness, and truth. When I get to teach the word of God, I get to bless, but I am blessed.
See, whenever you’re blessed, you get to receive a blessing. Oh, I am so, so blessed. David, that’s his prayer. That’s what I’m asking all the days of my life. Then he says verses five and four, “In the day of trouble, He will conceal me in His tabernacle or His shelter in the secret place of His tent He’ll hide me and He will lift me up on a rock. Now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me. I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy, I will sing. Yes, I will sing praises to Yahweh, to the Lord. I will shout it. I will sing it. I will praise his name.
Hear, oh Lord, when I cry with my voice, be gracious and answer me. When you said, ‘Seek My face’ my heart said to You, ‘Your face, oh Lord, I will seek.’ Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger. You’ve been my help. Do not abandon or forsaken me. Oh God of my salvation. Father and mother have forsaken me but the Lord I know will take me up.” Verse 11, “Teach me your way. Oh Lord, teach me, lead me in a level path because of my foes. Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries.
False witnesses have risen up against me.” David had many opponents, many challengers, many who would rise up against him. He said, “As such, they breathed out violence. I would’ve despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” Yes, I know I will see the goodness of the Lord when I breathe my last, and I’m in His presence. I believe I will see the goodness of the Lord right here, right now in the land of the living.” That’s why he says verse four, he turns his attention to those who would read this Psalm.
“Wait for the Lord, be strong.” He means, here, “Arise, in your faith, let your faith arise in strength. Be strong and let your heart take courage.” Yes. Wait for the Lord. Oh, now is that a good psalm or what? Yes, it’s a good psalm. It’s the best one of all of ’em. Okay. It was a little strong, but it’s awesome. Let’s read it. Let’s look at it. There’s so much to apply. Starting with this, deeper faith brings confidence in God. This is a theme, one of the great themes of David’s life. Confidence. David was a very, very confident man. This is a theme of David.
David was confident because of his faith. He was not self-confidence. It was confidence because of faith in God. It’s boldness in David. It came from the depths of faith. God wants this for you, that you be a man after God’s own heart means to walk in that faith. A boldness, man of faith are men of action. David faced his troubles straight on. He drove straight into a storm that you got to just admire the boldness, the courage, the faith. He would drive straight into the storm knowing that God was with him, that God was for him. That with God there would be victory.
By the way, some are I think sometimes confused on this point because there are other Scriptures that suggest that victory is ours when the battle is the Lord’s and that God will do the fighting for us. We do not have to engage the enemy at all. That is true. We do see examples of that in the Scriptures. In other words, God works in many different ways. We need to wait on God to discern how God is moving in the circumstances. We do need to see that God does move in different ways.
For example, later on in Israel’s history, the story unfolds that nations on the other side of the Jordan had formed an alliance of countries and nations against David and even across the Jordan and encamped at En Gedi. Jehoshaphat was the king. He gathered all the assembly from the cities of Judah to seek the Lord, pray for God’s help. They were standing there with their infants, their wives, and their children just waiting on God. That right there is a great lesson. Then notice the word of the Lord. 2nd Chronicles 20:15-17. “Then the spirit of the Lord said,” Okay, there they are.
They’re all standing. They’re waiting. Got their babies in their hands. They’re just waiting. Jehoshaphat had made an amazing prayer. Yes. Then they’re just waiting on God. Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Jehaziel. He said, “Listen, oh, Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat. Thus says the Lord to you, do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude for the battle is not yours, but God’s. You need not fight in this battle station yourselves. Stand and watch and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf.”
We know the story. God set the armies of those nations into confusion and they attacked one another. While the army of Judah stood and watched the scene unfold them, they did not engage in the battle. That’s a powerful example of how God can move in your behalf. God moves in many different ways in the Scriptures, but your confidence is in Him. You pray and you seek the heart of God, and you do not move until you have the direction of God for whatever you are encountering. Whatever challenges before you, you wait and hear the direction of the Lord.
There are times when He says, “Do not engage at all. Be silent. Do not even speak a word.” I felt the Lord speak that to my heart at times. Don’t even speak a word in response. Sometimes silence is very powerful. For example, 2 Kings, 18:34, “The people of Jerusalem are silent and answered the captain of Assyrian, not a word, for the king’s command was ‘Do not answer him a word.'” Sometimes that’s what God uses. That’s what God would say. Do not answer. Do not engage, do not speak a word. Sometimes God just wants you to give a gracious answer and move on.
A. If God is for you, who can be against you?
There are other times, however, when God says, encounter the problem head-on, go straight into the storm believing that God is with you in the midst of it and that God will be your help. God is with you in the storm and that God’s help will make you great. God’s help will make you victorious. There’s a theme here in this psalm that is a theme of David’s life. I submit that it is a theme that we see in the New Testament as well. It’s this, if God is for you, who can be against you? It’s the New Testament principle. We see it in David’s faith.
We see it in David’s life, is the very substance of David. If God is for me, who can be against me? It comes right out of Romans 8:31, 37, and 39, where Paul writes this, “What then shall we say to these things if God is for us, who can be against us?” That is a great word right there. Do you believe that word? It’s a strong word of God. If God– and really the best way to see that is since God is for us. In the Greek, it’s even more clear. It’s the word since God is for us then who can be against us?
For in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him, God’s help makes me great through Him who loved us. For nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God which is found in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Romans 8 is one of the most powerful chapters in the whole Bible. There you see the substance of it. See, that was David’s faith. Notice verses one and two. Notice what he says. “The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life. Whom shall I dread?” Is he not saying the same thing?
If God is for me, or since God is my light and since God is my salvation, then you tell me, should I be afraid of someone if God is my light and God my salvation, and God is the defense of my life, should I be afraid? David said, “No, I will not.” See, I love that phrase, the Lord is my light. See, light is vision, light is understanding, it’s clarity, it’s insight, it’s hope, it’s life. Darkness is despair, uncertainty, doubt, confusion. Now, the Lord is my light. I do not have doubt. I do not have confusion. I do not have despair.
God is my light. I have clarity. I have hope, I have vision. God is my light. God is my salvation, whom shall I fear? See, whenever you read Psalm 27, the reason those words are so encouraging is because we know that David did it. That these words are tested and tried. David proved it. Therefore, we look at our lives and say, then I will test it and I will try those words and God will prove it in my life. See, your faith arises when you read a Psalm like that because you want to say, the Lord’s my light, the Lord’s my salvation, and the Lord is the defense of my life and I will not be afraid.
B. You pursue what you desire
“The war arise against me. In spite of this, I shall be confident,” David wrote. See, in other words, his confidence in God was greater than the fear of war arising. God is with me. Then, would you notice verse four? Oh, how beautiful is verse four? Obviously, to me, it’s the high point of the Psalm. I like to perhaps see verse four from this view that you pursue what you desire. It’s one of the most beautiful, insightful verses here. In my view, Psalm 27:4 is one of the most beautiful and insightful verses in the Bible.
I submit that we are right now, you are, we are, I submit we are pursuing what we desire. By nature, by our nature, what we desire, what we long for. See, having desires and longings is part of the nature of men. Everybody’s got desires. We don’t even need to do a show of hands. I know everybody has desires. Everybody has things they long for, things that they’re striving for. You could write a list of the things that you’re desiring and striving for. You pursue the things that you are desiring, that you are searching for.
Therefore, what you desire has everything to do with who you will become. Your desires define who you will become. Now, I can tell you personally that what I pursue and what I desire has changed over time. When I was a young man in my, let’s say teens and early 20s, the things I desired then are not the things I desire now. Anybody old enough to agree with what I say here? I think what happens as you get older, and if you’re in your teens or 20s, trust me, you’ll change because what happens is the value of things change.
You see the things that you value change because the things have different values. See, for example, I’ve come to see the value of my soul like I’ve never seen it in my life. Now, I’ve been a believer since I was very young but the depth of understanding of what God is doing and how precious it is to the soul is what David is saying. David is saying, “I’m asking one thing above all things and that is the one thing I seek.” I ask because I seek. What is that one thing to you? I mentioned this Wednesday, and it’s a good question to ask, if you could ask one thing above all things, one thing, what would you ask of God for you personally?
I’m not talking about world peace, I’m talking about you. What would you ask for, for you? Me? Yes, the one highest, the one that’s above all things. This is got to be you. It’s not world peace. That’s you. What’s the one thing you would ask for from God? David says, “One thing, above all things, one thing I want is this, I want to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. I want to behold the beauty of the Lord. I want to meditate in His temple.” Why would David ask that? Because he understood the value, the beauty of the soul. Even understood what few understand.
He understood the depths of the beauty of the Lord. Once you see the depths of the beauty, the glory, the amazing, beautiful delight of God’s glory, you see it throughout the Scriptures. I’ve used this illustration before, I want to use it again because I cannot think of a better one. It’s like this, it’s like someone who’s colorblind and then they get a gift of those, they’re called EnChroma glasses that allow a colorblind person to see in color. All their life they’ve seen monochrome and that that’s what life is to them, everything’s monochrome.
Then for their birthday, they’re given these glasses where they can see in color. Maybe you’ve seen these videos on YouTube, they’re very moving. You start crying because they put on these glasses for the first time and it’s like, of course, everybody there knows what it is and so they’ve got their beautiful balloons and reds and yellows and blues, what everybody’s wearing and they got flowers. Then the guy puts on the glasses. He goes, “Wow, is this life? Is this real? This is the way you see? This is the way you see?” Yes, this is the way we see. This is life.
“I had no idea.” He goes outside and looks at the green grass and the blue sky, and he’s crying. This is so amazing. He’s discovered the beauty, what he never saw before and everything was monochrome to him. Here’s my point, it’s like that, David sees what many do not see. David sees the glory. David sees the beauty. Many people, they had no idea. They read the Bible in monochrome. God wants to bring a depth. I’ll just tell you what, you see the beauty and the glory, it will bring revival. It will bring revival to the soul. It will.
I’m here to tell you, it will bring revival to the soul because the glory of God resonates upon the soul. That’s why David says, “I want that above all things.” Then he adds, “For in the day of trouble,” verse 5, “He will conceal me in His tabernacle,” or His shelter, “And in the secret place of His tent, He will hide me and He will lift me up with a rock.” In other words, and I know that in that day of trouble that God will draw me closer to Himself, that’s what he means. In the day of trouble, God will draw me into the shelter of His wings.
He’ll draw me nearer to Himself. That is victory. When God draws me near, He covers me with His wings, He covers me with His protection. He says, “And then He will lift me up on a rock.” See, there under the shelter, verse 6, notice under the shelter of the Almighty David says, “And then I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy. I will shout it out and I will sing, and I will sing praises to my God and I will just let my voice be heard on high. I want God to know, I am so thankful to Almighty God for all that He’s done in my life.”
II. God says to you, “Seek My Face”
See, you see what David’s doing? He’s giving something back. See, he’s received and received and he’s received, and he’s received, and he is so amazingly blessed and he wants to give something back. He says, “God, I want to shout it out. I want to give you praises. I want to just declare it.” Now we see David’s faith in the practice of life. Then notice where he goes with the Psalm next, God says to you, “Seek My face.” David said, “When you said to me, ‘Seek my face,’ my heart said, ‘I will.'” I will seek your face.
I submit that God is saying that to you. God is saying to you, “Seek My face.” God wants you to seek His face. Now, you cannot see God’s face, but you can seek God’s face. You can seek God’s face when you pursue God’s presence. The nearness of God to your soul, when you are seeking the glory, the beauty, you are seeking the face of God. See, let’s think of it this way. When you have a relationship with somebody, you address them to their face. See, when I speak to you, you have turned your face to me. Thank you.
When you are addressing me, you see my face. I don’t speak to you with my– that would be very rude. See, what it speaks to is relationship because the face is the expression of the countenance. You can see the countenance. If there’s joy, it’s in the countenance. If there’s peace, it’s in the countenance. You can’t really hide your countenance. I said some people do, the pretenders. Generally speaking, we are where we are. Out of the abundance of the heart is the countenance of the face. Would you agree with me?
Some people you can just tell they’ve been eating sour grapes for a long time. They must have sour grapes for breakfast. They eat sour grape nuts even. Work with me here. At least I think it’s funny. Note to self, don’t use that one tomorrow morning. It’s the countenance of the face. You seek his face when you desire his glory. The glory of God is the countenance of God. The beauty of his presence. You come to see that you seek for more. “Seek My face. Seek My face,” He says, you seek it, you want more. God wants you.
He says it many places. Here’s another one. 1 Chronicles 16:10-11. Glory in His holy name. Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad. Seek the Lord and His strength. Seek His face continually. Then notice in verse 11, and then when you seek His face, He says, “Seeking to know the ways of the Lord.” When you seek His face, then you’ll seek the ways. Notice verse 11, teach me Your ways, oh Lord, and lead me on a level path. There’s a vast difference between God’s ways and man’s ways. Vast, vast, vast, vast difference.
A. Seek to know the ways of the Lord
Proverbs 14:12-14. There is a way which seems right to a man, but the end is the way of death. The backslider in heart will have his fill of his own ways. In other words, God’s way is the way of life. When you seek His face, when you delight in the Almighty, you want to walk in the ways. There’s a path. There’s a way to live. See, for David, faith was the practice of living. He put it into the path. How you live, how you walk, the bearing of your countenance, the bearing of your faith. When you seek the ways of the Almighty, when you walk in the ways of God, it will come back to you as great blessing.
It will come back to you as great blessing. For example, Matthew 6:33, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto to you. It comes back to as blessing. First, seek first the kingdom of God. Order your way by that and it’ll come back to you. Psalm 25, we just read this on Wednesday. Psalm 25 is amazing. You can write a book on Psalm 25. It is so amazing. If you missed it, I taught it on Wednesday. It is on YouTube and on the app. Psalm 25 is amazing. Notice Psalm 25:10 and 12-13. All the paths of the Lord are loving, kindness, and truth.
God says, seek the ways. Talk about the path. Walk on the path. All the paths of the Lord are loving, kindness, and truth. Who is the man who reveres the Lord? God will instruct him in the way that he should choose, and his soul will abide in prosperity. That’s such a good word right there. His soul with abide in prosperity. We’re not talking about prosperity gospel that has nothing to do with it. We’re talking about a soul that’s prosperous because glory abides, because the joy of the Lord is made known because the love of God overflows.
That’s the soul. See, you can choose the way, the path of God, and have your soul alive and overflowing with the joy of the Lord, or you can walk in the ways of the world, the ways of the flesh, the ways of man, and it will bring about a soul that’s sick. All the paths of the Lord are loving, kindness, and truth, but the pathways of the world and the pathways of man bring sickness to the soul. I was thinking of an illustration on a trip that I took down for going time. We were doing pastors conferences and at the end of the week, we brought all of the churches from those pastors all together in one big gathering.
It was wonderful. Oh, the worship, oh, it was amazing. I had the privilege of bringing the word and I was talking on this theme. I was thinking of an illustration. As we were driving through the town, we saw this creek and you can’t help but notice it because everybody throws their garbage in it. They use it as a toilet. It is just, you’re with me on this? I said, “You know that creek?” They all knew that creek. “You know that creek? Would you drink that water?” Of course, in Africa, they’re very, very responsive. “Would you drink that water?”
They all shouted, “No. No, we won’t drink that water.” I said, “What if we put sugar in it? Made it sweet. Would you drink it then?” “No. No, we won’t drink it even if it’s sweet to the taste we won’t drink it.” “Would you drink a glass of water with only one drop in it?” “No. I don’t even want one drop in my glass of water.” “Why?” “I know where it came from and I know what’s in it. I don’t want it.” I submit to you that if we knew what was in the stuff that people drink from the world, if we really knew what it did to the soul, if we really knew, you wouldn’t drink it.
B. Wait for the Lord; be strong
That’s what revival is. That’s what revival is. My eyes have been opened. Now I see the depths of the glory of God. I see that thing which was sweet to the taste, I know what it’s made of. I don’t want it. Now, if none of this makes sense to you, then perhaps you need to taste and see that the Lord is good. Psalm 34:8, taste and see the Lord is good. Oh, how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. Then lastly, we’ll close with this verse 13. Verse 13 is personal with David. Be strong. Wait for the Lord. Be strong. He says, “Great finale,” because he turns his attention to you, the reader.
Wait, let me give you a lesson from my life. Wait for the Lord and be strong. He says, “I would’ve despaired, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. See, David believed with all his heart that he would see the goodness of the Lord, that walking in the pathways of the Lord would mean that he would see the goodness of the Lord right now in the land of the living. To wait on the Lord means that you wait with eager expectation. God is my help. God is my help, the very present help in times of trouble.
I will wait with eager expectation. Don’t be impatient. Look to God to be your help in time of trouble. Wait. Do not move. Do not move until you’ve waited for the Lord, until the Lord shows you the way and God will strengthen you while you wait. Isaiah 40:29-31, “It is He who gives strength to the weary and to him who lacks might. It is He who increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired and vigorous young men stumble badly, those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles.
They will run and not get tired, and they will not be faint.” Wait. Be strong. While you wait, be strong. What he means by that is strong in faith, courageous in faith. Courageous in faith, that’s what he means. David surely knew what he was speaking of. David knew what it meant to be strong in faith. Steadfast, take courage, but wait and God will renew your strength. God will reveal to you the beauty, the beauty of the glory. Seek His face, God says to you. Let’s pray. Father, we are so amazed. What can we say? We are so amazed. God is my light, my salvation, so whom should I fear?
The Lord is the defense of my life, so whom should I dread? The war arise against me. In spite of this, I will be confident. There is one thing I have asked from the Lord, one thing that I seek that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and meditate in His temple. God, when you said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will. I will seek it.” Church, how many would say that to the Lord today? I will seek Your face. I want to know Your ways. I want to know You. I want to seek Your glory.
I want to see the depths of the beauty of what You would do. I see it now. I see it now, God. You’ve opened my eyes. I see it now. I want more, more of God. I seek Your face. Father, thank you for everyone who raised their hand to You as a prayer, as a declaration of desire. You said, “Seek My face,” and we say to You, “Your face, oh, Lord, we will seek.” Show us your glory, Lord. We love you. We delight in the Almighty and we shout a word of praise. We will sing your praise in the house of the Lord, for you are worthy of it all.
In Jesus’ powerful name, and everyone said, let’s give the Lord praise and glory and honor. Amen. Amen. Amen.
The Beautiful Shepherd
Psalm 23:1-6
October 7-8, 2023
This is, of course, the most famous of all of the Psalms. Many people have memorized Psalm 23 at some point in their lives. It’s, of course, memorialized on plaques and cards and artwork and home screen in small. It resonates with us because it touches the greatest desires and the greatest needs of the soul. Now, we know David wrote it and David was a shepherd.
We get the theme of the Psalm right away. The Lord is my shepherd. When David wrote it, we are not really sure. We know that David was a shepherd in his teens. In fact, we know that when David was attending the sheep, the day that Samuel the prophet who was told of the Lord to go to the house of Jesse, David’s father, and there he would anoint the next king of Israel.
Samuel, when he arrives in the house of Jesse, he first sees the oldest son, Eliab, and he thinks to himself, oh, this must be the one. After all, he was tall. He had the look, he was staturely, he had probably a cleft chin, I’m thinking, kind of the Dudley Do-Right look. He thought, oh, surely he must be the one. The Lord said, no, this is not the one. Because he said, do not look at his appearance or the height of his stature. God sees not as man sees. Man looks at the appearance, but God looks at the heart.
This is not the one. The next son appeared before Samuel. This is not the one, and the next one, this is not the one. In fact, seven, David had seven brothers. All seven of his brothers appeared before Samuel and then Samuel’s confused. God did not choose any of these. Is this all you have? Is this all of the children? Then Jesse said, “No, there’s David, but he’s a shepherd.” “Well, go get him.”
I love that scene where Samuel says, “We will not sit down until he comes.” I don’t know. I love that part. David comes and he is the one. He’s anointed there to be the king of Israel. God used those years though when David was a shepherd. God used them. God was preparing David. David had no idea, but God was preparing David for his calling on his life. There he is a shepherd and then a lion, you know the story.
Lion came to tear away one of the lambs from the flock. Then David arising in tremendous boldness of courage, confronts the lion, snatched the lamb from the mouth, killing the lion. Then later on, a bear came attacking the sheep. Again, David confronts the bear, snatching the lamb out of his jaws, killing the bear. God was preparing David to when they face a giant. You can imagine all of the hours that David had alone out there watching the sheep. What would you do with all of those hours?
I just imagine David taking his sling and practicing slinging rocks and taking aim at the trees and whatnot. That’s what young boys would do, for sure, throw rocks but with a sling, oh, you could really send those things like missiles, that would really be helpful when a wolf approached or whatever. Hour after hour, David would throw rocks with that sling, not knowing that God would use David to save the nation using that sling and one rock.
Or maybe David, I imagine him out there writing songs. David was a musician, probably had one of those harps rather one that you can just hold in your arms. David was skilled upon it. David wrote lyrics, songs. I just imagine David out there and there’s nobody out there. David out there just singing to the Lord. The sheep are like– Can you just imagine? David just worshiping the Lord. The lambs are like, oh, well, and there’s something David was learning.
David, his heart was being poured out and those who you see the loving, caring relationship between a shepherd and the sheep. The sheep completely trust the shepherd. In fact, the Scripture tells us the sheep know the voice of the master. It’s really beautiful. The sheep know the voice of the master. I mentioned this on Wednesday. If shepherds would get together, imagine they’d bring all the sheep and the shepherds all come together to say hi to one another. All their sheep are mingling together in some one big thing.
The shepherds are like, oh, how are you doing? How’s your wife? How’s the kids? How about them cowboys? They’re just talking amongst themselves. Then it’s time to leave. How do you separate all the sheep? They’re all mingled up now together and they all look the same. Well, the shepherds would just call out, help and they know the voice of their master. They would just follow. They just follow.
I remember reading the story, took place during World War I when some Turkish invaders broke into a Jewish sheep fold and were driving away the sheep. They’re going to steal the sheep. At night the shepherd hears the commotion and he comes, steps out into the field there at night as they’re trying to drive away his sheep. He stands out into the field. He begins to call out to a sheep and they all just hear his voice and all turn around and just come running back to the shepherd. The Turkish invaders could do nothing to stop them. I love that story. The sheep know the voice of their master, and that speaks volumes about our relationship to the Lord. The sheep know the voice of their master.
David never forgot the days when he was a shepherd. They formed some of the greatest lessons of his life. Very likely, David wrote this psalm. Later you can get a sense of that. David is remembering now. He has survived many battles. He’s faced many challenges. He’s faced many hardships and many enemies. Through them all, the Lord was his shepherd. One day he sat down and wrote out this beautiful psalm, truly one of the greatest ever written. It strengthens your faith. How many people ever read this psalm and it’s encouraged them? The principles here will renew your love for the Lord, who is the beautiful shepherd.
Let’s read it. Psalm 23. I’m going to ask, it’s only six verses, would you read it with me? I’m going to read from the New American and you just read it out loud with me. I know that’s different than what we normally do, but you can do it, right? It’s beautiful. It’s so beautiful. I want to just hear us all sing it together. Yes, we’re going to sing it together. No, no, we’re going to say it together. Can you do me one more favor? Y’all good with this? Will y’all stand on your feet? We’re going to read the Word of God. We ought to be standing on our feet, right?
Let’s read Psalm 23:1. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for thou art with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; and my cup overflows. Surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Amen. Amen.
I. Sheep Need a Shepherd
Go ahead and be seated. What a great psalm. How beautiful is this? Let’s look at it, starting with this, that sheep need a shepherd. For David, see, when he used the phrase, “The Lord is my shepherd,” it’s a beautiful phrase. It portrays the heart of God. When David says, “The Lord is my shepherd,” he is saying wonderful things about the Lord. Now, when God uses the word ‘sheep’ to describe us, however, I’m not sure it’s exactly a compliment.
Can you imagine? Imagine with me sheep that don’t have a shepherd. They would be in such trouble. Sheep without a shepherd? Sheep are gripped with fear, often irrational fear. If a jackrabbit should bolt out of the bushes, they would all stampede. Interestingly, I read an article written by the columnists, Ann Landers and Dear Abbey. You remember them, that used to be a thing. People used to write them, “Dear Abby, here are my problems.” Ann Landers and Dear Abbey wrote that the one problem that dominated all problems was fear. People were afraid. Afraid of losing their health, afraid of losing their wealth, afraid of losing their loved ones. Fear.
Imagine sheep without a shepherd, they’re vulnerable. They’re absolutely prone to wander. They have no natural defenses at all. Their teeth are not even sharp. Without a shepherd, can you imagine? They would be easy prey. In fact, that’s what the scriptures say. Ezekiel 34:5, God is speaking of course of Israel, “They were scattered for lack of a shepherd and became food for every beast of the field.” Matthew 9:36 is referencing to Jesus, “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.”
A. I shall not want
David was a man of great strength. We know that David was, and so for him, he understood the significance of having that good shepherd. It meant everything to David. He writes, “The Lord is my shepherd,” and then everything that follows is related to that relationship that God is that beautiful shepherd in his life. He says, “The Lord is my shepherd. Therefore, I shall not want.” I shall not want.
See, a shepherd knows what the sheep need is a picture of God being Jehovah-Jireh. It’s the name of God. God will provide. God answers your greatest need. He knows your need, and He will answer that need. In the Hebrew, I shall not want literally is I shall not lack. It’s the same Hebrew word that is used to describe God’s provision for Israel during 40 years in the desert.
Interestingly, when Moses in Deuteronomy 8, Moses is looking back now over 40 years of Israel in the desert. Notice what he says in verses 3 to 4. He says, “God humbled you and let you be hungry and then He fed you with manna,” which is a miraculous provision of God. He fed you with manna, which you did not know, that He might, and here it is, that He might make you understand. He did this that He might make you understand. God wants you to understand that man does not live by bread alone but by the provision of the body. No, man lives by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.
God wants you to understand. He is therefore being your provider. He says your clothing did not wear out on you, and your foot did not swell these 40 years, which is a miracle itself, because if you’ve ever been in the desert, your fingers swell up in two hours. The Lord knows your need and He’s answering your greatest need. When David says, “I shall not want,” it’s a declaration. I will not be anxious, that’s what he’s saying. I will not fret, I will not worry.
See, to be anxious is that. It’s to worry, to fret. It’s based on the fear of the unknown. What if this? What if that? Because it could happen, many people worry as if it will happen. Jesus said this in Luke 12:25, “And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his lifespan?” Worry does not add to your life. It can take away but cannot add. If you then cannot do even a very little thing, then why do you worry about other matters? Then, of course, He went on to say, “Do you not be anxious. God knows. God will provide.” That’s why he was saying that.
B. He restores my soul
David says, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Then the next verses culminate in that great phrase, “He restores my soul.” See, the Hebrew poetry here in verses 2 and 3, they’re interconnected. Poetry does that. It connects. “He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”
Now, the idea on lying down, first of all, a sheep will not lie down at all unless they are free from fear. He says, “I will make them to lie down.” Now, I’ve heard several. He says, “He makes me lie down.” It’s peace. It’s rest. I will make them to lie down in green pastures. See the green there? See, it speaks of the freshest, most nourishing lush grass that feeds the soul. It’s a picture of God feeding the soul. “I will make them to lie down in lush green fresh pastures that they will be well fed.”
In other words, God wants you to be well-fed. Now, He’s speaking spiritually, of course. See, in other words, God doesn’t want you to go to a church just because that church serves Krispy Kreme Doughnuts or dinners three times a week or cookies after the Wednesday service. No, God wants you to go to a church that delights in the Word of God. See, that’s one of the reasons I love this church. I know that there is a delight. There is a hunger for the Word of God.
Now, it just so happens we also serve Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, but more than anything, the soul needs to be fed. The Word of God is that which nourishes. We need to be regularly bringing the life of the Word into the soul. That is how the soul is built and strengthened and edified. Life. God wants to give life to you all the week long. My daily bread.
In other words, you don’t eat once a week, right? You look pretty healthy to me. You eat every day. See, now, you might have a feast once a week. That’s my prayer. Come to church and have a feast. That’s what I want Sunday services and Wednesday. That’s what I want. I want a feast in the Word of God. I tell pastors at pastors’ conferences, “Pastors, you are a chef. Take the Word of God and serve it deliciously.” Amen.
You don’t put raw meat on the plate. You prepare it and cook it and add spice and make it nourishing and delicious. The Word of God is the delight to the soul. Come to church and have a feast, but you need to eat every day. He is your daily bread. Amen. Your soul every day nourished on the Word of God. I love Ezekiel 34 where Jesus or the Lord says this about His people in Israel. “As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he’s among his scattered sheep, I will care for my sheep. I will feed them in good pasture and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel.”
Beautiful. “There they will lie down on green grazing ground and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock and I will lead them to rest.” He’s a good shepherd. He’s the beautiful shepherd. Then it says, “And He leads them besides still waters.” It’s all part of the same beautiful poetry. “He makes me lie down in green pastures and then he leads me besides still waters.”
Sheep will not drink from turbulent waters. They will stand there and look at the water, but they won’t drink until it’s calm. The shepherd, actually, if there’s turbulence in the water, will take rocks and form a little pool and then it’s a picture of peace. He leads me to peace. Peace that passes understanding. You can have peace like that in the midst of the turbulence because God is the one who brings. He is my shepherd and He brings me to still waters. He brings peace that passes understanding even in the midst of the turbulence of life.
Then He says, “And He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” You can imagine, of course, a shepherd would make sure that he guides the sheep on the path that is right. It’s good, and that’s the Lord’s heart. He will guide you in the path that’s right and good. Righteousness. He will bring a blessing to your life when you walk in the path that God has set for you. He will keep you from that path of destruction, that path that is danger, that path that is filled with this and that. God will lead you into the right path. Psalm 37:23, he says, “The steps of the righteous are ordered by the Lord.” Literally, ordained by the Lord, “And He delights in His way.”
II. God’s Presence Changes Everything
There’s a beautiful picture. The steps of a righteous man is ordained. God ordains your steps. He sets you in the path that’s right. Then God delights in it. When you walk in the path that God has set before you, God delights in it. Well, let me just submit that not only does God delight in it, you’ll delight in it too. God is keeping you from the path of danger. God is keeping you from the path that’s going to bring destruction. You will delight when you walk in the path that God has ordained. Amen?
All of that then culminates in that He restores my soul, summarizes it all. Restores to what? See, the word ‘restore’ in Hebrew means to come back, to return, to turn back. God turns your soul back from the path of destruction and will restore. See, when God turns you back from that destruction, He will restore by building and edifying into that which is beautiful in your soul.
That’s the beautiful work of God. He takes you out of the mess, takes you out of the mire, takes you out of the mud, takes you out of the trouble that your sin brought you into, and then he’ll start building and edifying and strengthening and He’ll do that. Some work of transforming that’s far, far better than the mess that you had before. He will restore your soul into that which is beautiful. It’s the beautiful work of God.
Then the last section of Psalm 23. I’m telling you, Psalm 23, every verse is so full of depth of understanding. Literally, you could do a message on every verse here, but just the last section is culminated where he says this, “Even though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil.” Why? “For thou art with me.” That’s why I do not have fear in my heart because God, you’re with me. That theme is it right there. God’s presence changes everything. You are with me. It’s one of the greatest themes that runs through the entire Word of God from beginning to end, Genesis to Revelation. It is the greatest, perhaps, of all the themes that runs through the Bible.
God’s presence was broken when Adam sinned but restored to us in what Jesus has done, the Son of the living God has brought the life of the presence of God. He is Emmanuel. God is with us. Everything is founded on that great truth. It was the key to David’s understanding of faith. It was the very substance of David’s confidence in God. That’s why he’s writing it, declaring it. The Lord is my shepherd. I will not be afraid. There it is. Do not be afraid.
A. Do not be afraid
I will not be afraid of 10,000 who have set themselves against me roundabout. Why? Because that word ‘with me’ changes everything. Over and over you see it in the Bible, it runs from beginning to end. For example, when Moses had led the people of Israel out of Egypt, they came to Sinai shortly after they were there. While Moses was up on the mountain those 40 days receiving the law of God, the people grew impatient. They said to Aaron, his brother, make us a god, and so they took gold and fashioned a calf, and then they started to revel and to party and to go wayward. Moses comes down, sees this, and smashes the tablets.
God then later said to Moses, “Take the people up from Mount Sinai and bring them into the land that I promised, but I’m not going with you.” I said I would give them the land, I’m going to give them the land. Moses, take them up, but I will not go with you. My presence will not go with you. Moses, interceding in behalf of Israel, says, “If your presence does not go with us, we’re not going anywhere.” Now, that is powerful. Moses is interceding and he says to the Lord, no, we must have you. We must have your presence. God was so pleased with Moses’ interceding prayer, “I will go.” David captures that beautiful thought here in Psalm 23. “I will not be afraid because thou art with me.” Now, David experienced fear. You can be sure of that. David writes about that.
It’s very, of course, common for people to experience fear. But David is writing this to say, I will not be mastered by it. Fear will not master me. Fear is a terrible master. No, it is faith in my shepherd. I will not be afraid. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not fear.” Now, those words have encouraged so many. If you’ve ever walked through the valley of deep darkness or a valley of deep trouble, even the valley of the shadow of death, you turn to Psalm 23 and it strengthens. It encourages you. You are reminded. Yes, that’s right. I say the same. I also declare it. I will not be afraid for you’re with me, Lord. Even now as I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not be afraid. It will not master me. For you are my great, beautiful shepherd. I was thinking of an illustration.
Many of you, of course, know that beautiful hymn that we’ve sung in the church many times. It is well with my soul. Well, the story behind it speaks to this powerfully, quite beautifully, written by Horatio Spafford in the story of his life is that he endured one tragedy upon another. He was ruined financially in the great Chicago fight of 1871. Then in 1873, he planned to travel to England with his family in order to help D.L. Moody’s upcoming evangelistic campaigns in Europe.
There at the port, he gets news that there are more business troubles and that he must attend to. He had to go back to Chicago. He sent his family on ahead. Then as they’re crossing the Atlantic, the ship that they were on collided with another vessel and sink quite rapidly. All four of Spafford’s daughters perished. All four. His wife, Anna, survived and sent him now what is now a famous telegram, saved alone, broken. Broken financially, broken relationships. His daughters all perished.
Shortly after Spafford boarded a ship, the Ville du Havre, in order to join his grieving wife, crossing the Atlantic, he asked the captain to alert him when he approached the spot where the ship carrying his four daughters went down. One evening, deep into the night, the captain of the Ville du Havre came and alerted Spafford that they were approaching the place. He went out, standing on the deck of the ship in the night, looking across the billows of the sea.
The words that came to his heart are out of the same great truth. He said, “When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll,” do you see what he’s saying? “Whether it be peace or sorrows, whatever my lot thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul.” How can it be well? Because I know I have a rock, because I know I have a shepherd, and though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil for thou art with me. This is my great truth, David is writing. This is my great hope, I stand on this, I know it’s great truth, it’s for me. I can add my own testimony. I’m sure you can add your own testimony.
When our daughter died when she was murdered, it brought us to the depth of our grief, but this I know, that I have a shepherd over my soul, that he was walking with me and still walks with me. I’ve got a rock to stand on, and this I know, that the same Lord who forgave my daughter’s sin is the same Lord who forgave my sin. The same Lord who gave her eternal life is the same Lord who gave me eternal life. The same Lord who welcomed her into his presence will welcome me into His presence and I will see my daughter again. I know in whom I have believed. Amen.
B. May His rod and His staff bring comfort
Yes, let’s give the Lord praise. Absolutely right. That’s why David writes it. The Lord is my shepherd. I will not fear because the Lord is my shepherd. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Then he adds this phrase, and your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Yo, that’s beautiful, may His rod and His staff bring comfort. Here’s why. Every shepherd would carry, of course, his staff of wood, usually made of very hard wood like olive wood, for example. Usually with a crook or a hook on the end, and it would serve meaning, purposes.
It would guide. You can guide the sheep with it. You could use it to pull a lamb close to the shepherd. It could be used to rescue an animal slipping out of the reach, but it could also be used to attack a predator. There, see, David saw that it represents the power, the authority, the might of the king. He says the Lord is my shepherd, and when I see that staff, when I imagine that staff in His hand I’m comforted by it, because I know that my Lord knows full well how to use it. I love that.
In Psalm 3:7, he says, “Arise, Lord; save me, oh my God. For You have smitten my enemies on the cheek; You have shattered the teeth of the wicked.” He says, “Salvation belongs to the Lord.” David is strengthened in his faith when he imagines the Great Shepherd with the rod of authority in His hand. He knows full well to use it. That’s why he says in verse 5, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” See, in other words, with enemies situated roundabout, I sit down at a table prepared for me by my God. I am at rest, I’m at peace, I’m protected.
C. May your heart overflow in God’s anointing
Even with enemies surrounding me, I will not be afraid, because the Lord, you are with me. Psalm 73:28, “As for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge that I might tell of all of Your works.” Then lastly, all of it is culminated, I believe in this great statement. “You have anointed my head with oil and my cup overflows.” This is a beautiful picture. I love this. May the heart overflow in God’s anointing. Now, shepherds would anoint with oil to protect the sheep from disease or to heal a wound.
Yes, but David no doubt remembered that day when the prophet Samuel came to the house of his father Jesse to anoint the future king of Israel. When David was finally summoned from watching the sheep, Samuel literally poured oil over his head, anointing, signifying that he is the anointed one, the chosen one of God to be the future king of Israel. Anointed. See, the oil is a picture of the presence of the Holy Spirit, the presence of the living God is the oil poured out upon the life.
Then David says, “my cup overflows.” All right, so you can see that Samuel would literally pour the oil on his head and it would overflow. It was a dramatic picture, but it’s the spiritual picture also, my cup overflows. The presence of God meant everything to David. God was doing a beautiful work on his soul. So much so that he says I’m filled. See, the oil, the anointing of the oil is the presence of the Holy Spirit, and I’m overflowing. God has done such a work by His Holy Spirit in my life that I am overflowing in it.
By the way, did you know that everyone whose named the name of Jesus is given a gift of the Holy Spirit? The same Holy Spirit that anointed David is the same Holy Spirit that is filling and anointing your life. Do you believe that? That overflowing can be yours. My cup overflow. I love that picture. See, I tell you, I have a joy of the Lord. I love the Lord, and I have a joy of the Lord, and I want that joy to overflow unto you. I want that joy to overflow. I have peace. I have a peace that passes understanding. I do, and I want that peace to overflow unto you.
I have love. I love the Lord and I want that love to overflow onto your life. More than that, I want you to be anointed and filled with the presence of the living God so that you overflow. I want there to be such joy in you. That’s my prayer for the church. That there would be such joy, the joy of the Lord would be yours so much that it would overflow onto people around you. Your children, your wife, your husband. It would just overflow upon them because they can just see it in your life.
Peace. There’s such a peace in your life that it overflows upon the people around you. Your family, your children, your husband, your wife. That there’s such love because the presence of God is love that is filling and then overflowing to your children, your husband, your wife, the people in your life. Let there be the overflowing in your life. God wants that for you. You know what it meant for David? It meant, in verse 6, “Surely goodness and loving kindness will fall on me all the days of my life.”
See, the anointing of the Lord, the overflowing cup of His soul meant that goodness and loving kindness follow me all the days of my life. Now, you might say, well, I think I know the story of David and I know that he encountered many many storms. True, but he drove right through those storms and what followed him was goodness and loving kindness. You can look at Joseph in the book of Genesis. God had given to Joseph this vision of grandeur, of greatness that he would be one day that which leads and blesses his people. Then what followed after the vision was trouble upon trouble upon trouble.
Yes, he encountered many storms, but he drove right through those storms and what followed was goodness and loving kindness. God is truly the beautiful shepherd, and goodness and loving kindness will follow you all the days of your life because God is with you. His rod and his staff will comfort you. He’s anointed you with the Holy Spirit, and when you delight in the Almighty, your cup will overflow, and goodness and loving kindness will follow you all the days of your life. That’s what God wants for you. May you walk in it. May there be victory. David was strong in his faith, and when he declared the Lord is my shepherd, that’s all we need to know about the relationship that David had with his God. He’s the beautiful shepherd and He has blessed my life. Let Him bless your life.
Father, we love you, honor you, praise you for being that beautiful shepherd, because in that we shall not want. You make me lie down in green pastures, lead me beside still waters. You, God, you restore my soul. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for you’re with me. You rod and your staff, they comfort me. You anoint with oil. My cup is overflowing, and goodness and loving kindness will fall in me all the days of my life.
Church, how many would say to the Lord today, ‘I want you to be my beautiful shepherd’? Be that to me, oh God. I want to know all that it means to have you as that shepherd in my life that I would say I shall not want. That you make me lie down in green pastures. You anoint my head with oil and my cup overflows. Goodness and loving kindness would follow me all the days of my life. Be that beautiful shepherd. Be thou to me that in my life.
Church, would you say that to the Lord by just raising your hand? It’s a prayer, it’s a request, saying it’s a declaration of desire. Be that beautiful shepherd to me, Lord, and all that it means. Here I am, Lord. Fill and overflow by your Holy Spirit, the goodness and loving kindness would follow me all the days of my life. God, we love you and delight in you. In Jesus’ powerful name, and everyone said, amen. Let’s give the Lord praise and glory and honor. Can we do that? Amen. Amen.
How to Walk on High Places
Psalm 18:1-50
Sept 30 – Oct 1, 2023
David wrote so many of the Psalms, and he wrote Psalm 18 and I think it’s important to know that David wrote Psalms all his life and all of those critical moments of his life. He poured out his faith and his heart to God through the songs, the Psalms, they are songs. When David was a shepherd, simple shepherd tending sheep, he wrote Psalms. when he was pursued by Saul in danger of his life, he wrote Psalms. When he sinned with Bathsheba and his heart was convicted within, he wrote Psalms. When he was fleeing for his life from his son Absalom, he wrote Psalms.
See, he wrote Psalm 18 as a giving God thanks for being the help and the deliverer. God is that deliverer in David’s life so you might call it a Psalm of deliverance. Now, when you study David’s life, you’ll see how often, how many times God delivered David from trouble. It was a theme. David had epic troubles in his life, but God was the deliverer. Over and over and over, God saved, God rescued. He was a very present help in times of trouble, David wrote. A very present help, and he writes these psalms so that you will know that God is a very present help in a time of trouble.
We all know troubles, we all know difficulties and you need to be encouraged that God is that very present help. David faced more troubles than you can imagine. Years he spent on the run from Saul’s wrath and jealousy. He clashed with the Philistines, he confronted enemy armies from the countries around Israel. His own son, Absalom tried to overthrow him. David had to flee Jerusalem to save his own life. He barely was re-established on the throne when he had another attempt to overthrow the kingdom. In all of these troubles, they’re epic, he looked to God to be that help, that deliverer.
See, we love reading Psalms because the Psalms speak to us right where we are. See, songs and Psalms are meaningful when you experience what they are about. It’s true with music in general, you relate to songs. Music has a way of just drawing your emotion, your connection to that. A song becomes meaningful when you experience what the song is about. In other words, people listen to love songs when they’re in love.
People listen to breakup songs when they’re breaking up. People listen to sad songs when they’re feeling sad. Hello, darkness, my friend. You feel sad. I’ve come to talk to you again, you feel sad. It’s a sad song. David faced mini troubles and he would write a Psalm out of that trouble and anyone who has faced troubles could read that psalm and be encouraged. He called out to God in his troubles and God would deliver him. Many of us face troubles, and you need a Psalm of deliverance to encourage you, to strengthen your faith, to arise, to know how to respond to that trouble, to remind you to have hope, to have faith, encourage you to be steadfast.
Because challenges and difficulties and troubles are part of this broken-down evil world and we see it from early on in David’s life. David trusted in God to be his help from early, early in his life. He stood by that all his life. Even in his old age, he would turn to God to be that help that deliverer. In Psalm 18, he writes these words after he’s been delivered by the Lord, yet again. David is called a man after God’s own heart and the words of these songs, these Psalms, really show you that heart that he had after God.
If you would take these words and apply them to your life, you will be strengthened, you’ll be helped. You will know how to call on God to be your help, to be your deliverer in time of trouble. Let’s read it. Now, we’re not going to read the whole Psalm. It’s quite lengthy. We did that a couple of Wednesdays ago, but we’re going to read some of it, starting with verse one, Psalm 18:1. I would like you to notice how he begins this psalm. I love how he begins this Psalm. Just listen to this, “I love you.” That’s how he begins. Isn’t that a great way to start? I love you, Lord.
Now, you got to just love David. David is bold, David is unashamed, David loves the Lord. Do you remember when David was bringing in the arc of the covenant into Jerusalem? He was so excited that he was out there leading the worshipers, and he was worshiping and dancing before the Lord, and he was just full of joy for the Lord. He’s not ashamed to say it. I love you. That’s one of the keys to David’s faith, by the way, that’s one of the keys to David’s success. That’s one of the keys to David’s strength. He’s unashamed. I love you, Lord, you are my strength.
Notice then verse two, he says, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” This is a great start. Then he says, “I call upon the Lord.” The Lord who’s worthy to be praised. I call on him and I’m saved. I’m saved from my enemies. The cords of death encompassed me, the torrents of ungodliness or destruction terrified me. The cords of shield surrounded me literally in the place of death, the snares of death confronted me.”
In other words, when David talks about trouble, we’re talking about he was concerned for his life. His very life was threatened over and over and over. You thought you had troubles, David’s very life was threatened over and over and over. He says in verse six, “In my distress, I called upon the Lord and I cried.” Now here it means he literally yelled, he literally called, “I cried out to God for help. He heard my voice out of His temple.” In other words, out of the heavens, “He heard my cry, my cry for help before him came into his ears.” “Then,” it says, I love verse seven, “Then when my cry for help came to his ears,” verse seven, “then the earth shook.” It’s like God arose in David’s behalf.
David prayed and God heard, and so much so that it says that the earth shook and quaked, the foundations on the mountains were trembling and there were shaken because he was angry because of his love for David. Now move forward if you would to verse 20, “The Lord has reward in me. blessed me in other words, according to my righteousness. In other words, my heart for God, according to the cleanness of my hands, he’s recompensed me. I have kept the ways of the Lord. I have not wickedly departed from my God. All of his ordinances are before me.
I did not put away his statutes from me. I was blameless or complete, or I had integrity in other words, with God, I kept myself from my iniquity.” That is a phrase right there. That is a great phrase. I kept myself from my iniquity. That’s a great victory. Therefore, the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands before his eyes. Verse 25 is so beautiful, so poetic, so Hebrew poetry, he says, “With the kind, you show yourself kind, with the blameless, you show yourself blameless. With the pure, you show yourself, pure Lord. With the crooked, you show yourself astute. God is not deceived, God sees it all.
For you saved and afflicted people, haughty eyes, you abase or make low. You light my lamp. Literally, you are the light of my lamp.” Isn’t that a great phrase? “You are the light of my lamp. The Lord my God illumines my darkness.” Oh, how many people feel dark in their soul? David says, “No, you are the light in my darkness.” Then to verse 29, oh, I love these verses here. I’ll tell you, you can learn so much from David on these verses right here, verse 29, “For by you, I can run upon a troop. By my God, I can leap over a wall. God is the strength of my heart.” That’s what he’s saying. God is the strength of my life.
As for God, his way is blameless. The word of the Lord, It’s tried. In other words, I’ve tested it. I can tell you it’s true. I put it into practice, and he has proven himself. That’s what it means. The word of the Lord is tried. God proved it over and over and over. God proved it. He is a shield to all that take refuge in Him. Who is God but the Lord? Who is the rock except for our God, the God who girds me with strength and he makes my way blameless? Verse 33 is one of those classic verses, so beautiful. He makes my feet like Heinz’s feet. What does that mean? He sets me on high places. There it is, that beautiful picture.
He trains my hands for battle so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. That takes some strength there. To bend a bow of bronze.? That’s amazing. Then he says, “You have given me the shield of your salvation, your deliverance, your help, and your right hand upholds me, and your gentleness, literally, your help makes me great.” That is an insight right there. Your help makes me great. David was a great leader. David was a great king. David was a great warrior. David was a great man of God. Your help made me great. It was you, God, and me that did it.
Your help made me great. You enlarge my steps under me. You enlarge my steps. You are the one that’s made greatness in my life. My feet have not slipped. I pursued my enemies, overtook them, and I did not turn back until they were completed or consumed. Those are the verses I want to look at. We looked at the other verses around this on Wednesday. I want us to take hold of these verses and to see there’s so much to apply to our lives starting with this. Make God your confidence. See, David was surely confident. Anybody who looked at David, his leadership, his stance before the Lord whenever he would face an enemy, you can be sure that David was not afraid.
I. Make God Your Confidence
David was confident. What was the root of that confidence? It was God. It was not self. David was not self-confident. I said it before, it’s very important and worth repeating. God does not want you to be self-confident. You say He doesn’t? What does he want me to do? Should I be insecure and afraid? No. Are those the only two options? Is that all we got? Are those the only two options we got? Either you’re self-confident, prideful, arrogant, self-confidence, or you’re weak, insecure, and fearful. Is that all we got? Is that all the options there are? Are there no more options than that?
Oh, no, there’s another one. There’s another option. How about confidence in God? Let God be your confidence. David looked to God for that help because he knew and he believed that God was for him. He had confidence in that. He knew his God and he knew that God would help. That is faith. Notice Psalm 71. We’re just going to pick some of the verses. David writes, “Be to me a rock of habitation to which I may continually come.” This is an insight on how to have strength like David. Be a rock of habitation to which I may continually come. You have given commandment to save me.
God, I know you have sent your word and that word is help David, I know you did. From before, you’re my rock. You’re my fortress. You’re my hope. Oh, Lord God, notice this phrase, you are my confidence. I love that phrase. I’m telling you what, if we can understand the depth of that phrase, it would transform your life. Anybody agree with me? It will transform your life. It will transform your life to have that kind of faith by which you have confidence in God. God does not want us to be weak, insecure, and fearful. God wants us to be confident in God and that will change who you are.
That’s why he says, “I have become a marvel to many.” Many people Marvel at David. Look at David. Would you look at David? That’s amazing. Look at David. He says, “But you are my strong refuge. It’s you, God.” It’s fascinating to study the names of God. Do it sometime. It’s fascinating. What’s even more fascinating is to understand that each of the names of God is personal. See, in other words, one of the names of God is Jehovah Jireh, God the provider. When you see it personally, then it’s not just God the provider. No, God is my provider. It’s personal. The name Yahweh, YHWH, Jehovah, this is the name of God.
What does it mean? It means I am, but a fuller meaning is all that I am, I am to you. See, that is a whole different thing then. All that God is, He says, “I am to you.” Let it be unto you. All that God is, He is to you. He wants to be all of that to you. When you take all of that of God into you and for you, now that’s going to change your life. It’s powerful. One of the great keys right there to David’s spiritual life is that he knew God. He knew who God was and is, and that God was for him. “All that God is,” David said, “is for me.” That’s why David said over and over and over, it’s one of the great phrases, “You are my rock.”
A. You need a Rock to stand on
You need a rock. We need a rock. We need a rock to stand on. If you’ve ever had an opportunity to go to Israel, and hope that you do some time, one of the things you’ll notice in Israel is that there are a lot of rocks. In fact, when you come home and you look through your pictures, you go, “I took a lot of pictures of rocks.” There are a lot of rocks in Israel. David writes, “God is my rock.” There were many times that David had to hide in a cave in the mountains. When David said, “God is my rock,” it was personal. It meant God is my rock. A cave is a cleft in a mountain, a place of safety, protection, a fortress.
You can imagine David writing the Psalm there in the cave under the secure passage when Saul was trying to pursue him, there, David was camped out, “You’re my rock.” Another aspect of a rock is that it doesn’t move. It’s like a foundational rock. It’s bedrock. It doesn’t move. It’s a great picture of God to David. See, David knew God doesn’t change. He doesn’t move. He’s immovable. He’s steadfast. He could trust in God. See, that’s why he made God the foundation of his life. See, contrast to that is that when you don’t have a rock and then your life, something tragic happens, something untoward happens, and your whole life is just shaken, it’s disturbing. It’s upsetting. It’s distressing.
“Oh, no, what do I do? The whole thing is shaking me. What do I do?” I don’t know if you’ve ever been through an earthquake. I’ve been through one earthquake that I know of. I’m sure I’ve been through others I never felt. The first earthquake that I ever experienced was 1993. Anybody remember the famous Oregon 1993 earthquake? The thing about it was it was a 5.6 magnitude earthquake, which is pretty strong. It happened at 5:34 AM in the morning. I happened to have gone to bed at 3:00 AM in the morning. The reason I went to bed so late is because I was in Southern California for a pastors’ conference and decided to drive straight through.
I had to figure out what time we left, but we left way too late, and I ended up getting home and in bed at 3:00 AM. I know. Can you imagine going to bed at 3:00 AM and then at 5:30 AM, the whole house starts to shake? The lights were shaking, everything was shaking, right? I had never been through an earthquake in my life. I was just like, “Oh. What do I do? What do I do?” I jumped out of bed and I said to my wife, “We have to get out of the house,” pointing at the closet. “What?” “I said, “We have to get out of the house,” I’m pointing at the closet. Now, in my mind, I have it all figured out.
I’ll grab the kids, you grab my bathrobe. I don’t want to go outside not wearing a bathrobe. “We need to get outside.” “What?” By the time that we did this several times, it settled down. Now, I know all of you people from California were probably in your beds going, “What do you think that is honey? About a 5.3?” “No, no, no, that’s a 5.6, pretty sure, pretty sure. It’s nothing.” For me, it’s like, “Ah, everything is shaking”
I know that feeling in life too. It’s like you get some news, bad news, something, and it’s like, “Oh, no, what now? No, what might this mean? I don’t know what this might mean. This could be bad.” You need a rock. See, God proved himself to David over, and over, and over. He was a rock, he was solid, foundation. David and God had a history. God proved Himself. See, the word of the Lord is tried, He’s proven it. See, when you’ve been with God so long, and He has rescued you over and over and over and over, then you know that He’ll do it again. That’s when you got confidence.
Now you got confidence in God, “I know my God, I know how He moves. I know this is bad, I know this is trouble, I know this is distressing, but I know my God and I know how He moves. God is going to rescue, God is going to deliver, God is going to save, I know my God.” That’s what God wants for you, to have faith like that. Psalm 40:2, “He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, He preset my feet on a rock making my footsteps firm.” Psalm 62:6, “He and He alone is my rock and my salvation. He is my stronghold,” and I love this, “I will not be shaken.”
B. Learn to call out to the Lord… more
You cannot shake David’s life, you cannot shake my life. That’s strength, isn’t it? You cannot shake my life. We learn from David. Notice, learn to call out to the Lord more. We see this. Verse six, “In my distress,” what did David do? “I called out upon the Lord. Yes, cried out to the Lord.” Literally, he raised his voice. “Help, Lord. I know you, I know that you will send your word to say, ‘Do it again.'” That’s crying out to God. You’re literally calling, “I know that you sent your word to say, ‘Do it again, God.’ Here I am, I’m in distress.” We need to learn to call out to God more, cry out.
He knew that God would hear his voice, we read it. That his crying for help would come to the ears of the Lord. That’s the key, that is the key to God’s help, crying, calling out to Him. I remember one time when I was a young man, I was early high school and I was going through– many of you know my past. It was traumatic, and I was going through one of those trauma times of my life. We lived way, way on the country. In my distress, in my anguish of soul, I went way out to the woods where no one could hear me and I just yelled, I just called out, “God, this is wrong. Help, Lord, do something.”
I tell you what, something changed in me that day. It’s good to call it out to the Lord. Some people, they expect that when they call out to God, that He will move to rescue and save and that it will be done immediately at the word of His commands. Now, I have seen God do that, I have seen God move, where I cry out to Him, I call out to Him, I’m in some distress, I call out, and I have seen God move very, very quickly to answer. I have also seen where there is a long journey out of the distress, that God does not solve the concern in full right away, but rather, it is a long, enduring journey through it.
I have learned that when God brings me through a long, enduring journey, He is still with me and that He is going to use that long enduring journey for the equipping of my soul, for the strengthening of what he wants to do, for the lessons that he wants me to take hold of in my life, that God will use those for His glory. In other words, I will not complain when God brings me through a long, enduring journey, I will not complain because I know my God, and I’ve seen Him rescue and save right away. I can give you many stories, but I’ve also seen long enduring journeys.
Jesus gave a parable. Luke 11:5-10, Jesus said this, He said to them, Jesus did, “Now suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at night, and you say to your friend, ‘Friend, lend me three loves. A friend of mine has come to me from a long journey, and I have nothing to set before him.’ From the inside, he answers and he says, ‘Do not bother me, the door has already been shut, and my children and I are in bed, I cannot get up and give you anything.'” Jesus then continues, “I tell you that even though he will not get up and give him anything because he’s a friend, yet because of his persistence, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.”
Now you see the parable? “Friend, give me three loves. A friend of mine has come from a long journey, and I have nothing to give to him.” The friend says, “I cannot help you, I’m in bed, the door’s locked, the children are in bed. I’m not I’m not getting up, no, I’m not giving you anything.” Jesus says, “Even though he’s as a friend, he says no, but if you keep knocking, ‘No, no, I really need the loaves of bread, I need this loaf of bread.’ If you just keep persisting, ‘I really do need this loaf of bread, I need you to get this loaf of bread. I’m not leaving until I get that loaf of bread, three loaves of bread, I’m not leaving.’ Finally, your friend will say ‘Okay, fine.'”
Is this not true? Mostly true, yes. Jesus says, “So how much more will God do this when you’re persistent?” See, because he’s persistent. Why is Jesus giving this parable? Because He wants you to learn to be persistent, persistent in asking. That’s why He continued the parable in Luke 11, “So, therefore, I say to you, ask.” The Greek is clear, it’s a continual ask. The Greek mix is so helpful. It’s a continual ask, it’s a persistent ask. Ask, I say to you, ask and it will be given to you. I say to you, seek, and there’s a persistency in seeking and you will find. Knock, and there’s a persistency and the knocking, and it will be opened unto you.
For everyone who asks of God, receives, and he who seeks, finds, and to him who knocks, it will be opened. Now, some people, they feel hypocritical when they called out to God in their distress because they were not calling out to God when they weren’t in distress. Now they feel, “Oh, I feel really conflicted because I wasn’t doing it with God. I wasn’t very faithful but now I’m in trouble. Now, I got to have help and now I feel conflicted because is God going to say, “Fine, now, you come to– where were you before? Oh, now you’re in trouble, you come, oh, I see.”
Is that the way God is? God is not like that but people think He is. See, this is what I say. There’s nothing wrong with calling out to God in your distress. In fact, do it. You must call out to God in your distress but don’t forget to thank him when he answers. Don’t forget to give him glory and honor and it will bring you back to Him over and over so that you don’t stray, you stay near. We all need to stay near to the Lord. Amen? In fact, this very Psalm was written as a praise. This very Psalm was written as that, “I thank you God.”
Did you know by the way, God says, “I want you to call out to God.” You’re asking, you’re seeking, you’re knocking, did you know that the Scripture says that the Holy Spirit is also interceding in your behalf? In fact, did you know that the Scripture says that the Son of the Living God is also interceding in your behalf? That’s amazing. Really, when you think about that, that’s amazing. The Holy Spirit of the living God is interceding. He’s asking in your behalf to the Father. The Son is asking in your behalf, to the Father.
I’ll give you some verses. Romans 8:26-28. In the same way, the Spirit helps our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we should but the Spirit himself is interceding for us.
Even with groanings too deep for words and then he says, “We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God. Called according to His purpose,” during the same chapter. How about 1 John 2:1-2. John writes, “If anyone sins, we have an advocate. That’s amazing. That really is amazing because many people think that when they sin that God rebuffs them but he says, “If anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father.”
It’s Jesus Christ, the righteous and he himself is the propitiation for those sins and not only ours but also for the whole world. We need to call out to God more. That’s the bottom line because not only does God hear us but he strengthens our faith and our confidence in Him. When you call out to God, your faith is increased, your confidence in Him is increased. How could you not be comforted and strengthened by words like this? Romans 8:35-39, where he says, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? You tell me,” he says, “Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? Oh no.
In all of these things, we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I’m convinced, I am persuaded. I know this, that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God which is found in Christ Jesus, our Lord.” That is a declaration of victory. Amen? Let’s give the Lord praise. Can we do that? Amen.
C. God rescues because He delights in you
Then notice this in verse 19. God rescues because he delights in you. David wrote, He rescued me because He delighted in me. I love that. Can you say the same thing? Yes, God delights in you because he’s your father and you are the sons. You know how difficult it is for people to believe that God delights in them. No doubt, people have a hard time believing that God delights in them because they’re very much aware of their sin.
They’re very much aware of their shortcomings and so they think God can’t delight in me but isn’t that true? That our own children are far from perfect and yet we love our own children? Isn’t that true, all your parents? Anybody have perfect children? No. So you’re telling me that all of your children are imperfect? Is that what you’re telling me? All of your children are imperfect, yet you love them? How can this be? Of course, you love them. How much more is God a Father than that? Notice, Jesus said in Luke 11, “Now, suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish, he wouldn’t give him a snake instead of a fish.
If you then being evil or of the world know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more your heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit which is the greatest thing He could give to those who ask Him?” 1 John 3:1, how great is the love the Father has lavished on us? How great is that love? He’s lavished his love that we should be called children of God and that is what we are. Zephaniah 3:17, the Lord your God is with you, He’s mighty to save, He will take great delight in you, He will be quiet in his love and will rejoice over you with singing. Back to Psalm 18, I’m realizing the time is slipping away from me.
II. God Strengthens Those Who Trust in Him
Notice this out of Psalm 18, that God strengthens those who trust Him. I love verses 29 and following. David, looked to God to be the strength of his life. For by my God, I can run upon a troop. By my God, I can leap over a wall. Your help makes me great. Those are great verses. To be strengthened in life is to be able to know that you can call on God and he will answer. David’s confidence was God. He gave God the honor by letting it know that it was God in him that gave him strength. In other words, strength of faith brings strength of life. See, when your faith is strengthened, your life is strengthened.
A. Strength of faith brings strength of life
The way you live your life is through strength. Strength of faith brings strength of life. It’s very practical. That’s what it means. David accomplished great victories, survived deep troubles even against terrible odds but David made clear that every one of those victories was accomplished by God’s strength. Your help makes me great. I’ll tell you what, I want to test the limits of God’s help. I want to test the limits of what God can do in my life. How far, how high, how much, how strong, how far, I want to test the limits of God’s help in my life. Anybody want to join me? Amen? See, this is what Joshua said to Israel when he came to the end of his life.
Joshua 23, notice this, it’s a great word. He’s recounting. Joshua’s old now. He’s recounting. Look back, one of your men puts the flight a thousand for the Lord your God is He who fights for you just as he promised you but then he says, “So take diligent heed to yourselves, to love the Lord your God. They are connected. That’s why David began the Psalm, “I love you.” They are connected. Take diligent heed to love the Lord your God. Love Him. God wants a relationship of love. I love you Lord. Joshua says, “Take diligent heed.” Then notice, we’ll close with this. He makes your feet like hind’s feet. He says beautiful there in that.
B. He makes your feet like hinds’ feet
Verse 33, David paints his beautiful picture when he says that God makes his feet like hind’s feet. What is a hind? I’d love to say a hind is a doe, a deer, a female deer. It is. That’s what it is. It is. When you go to Israel, one of the things you’ll see, you look up on the cliffs and you see these deer walking on what seems to be a sheer cliff. How is that even possible, you think? David saw that and he wrote, “You make my feet like that. You make my feet like hind’s feet.” In other words, God makes you surefooted in difficulty. You are sure afoot. You’re steadfast, you’re immovable, unshaken. You walk on high places because you’re sure afoot.
That’s his point exactly. Surefootness is what caused you to arise. See, the idea of walking high places is spiritual victory. You walk in ways that are higher, higher than the world’s ways because God’s ways are higher than the world’s ways. That’s why David says in verse 34, “By my God, I can bend a bow of bronze.” That is great strength, but I submit that there is even greater strength in withholding the arrow from those who deserve it. An example, when David was fleeing Jerusalem because of Absalom, Shimei, one of from the family of Saul came out and on the other side of the goalie, safely on the other side of the goalie, took dirt clods and started throwing them at David.
Get out, get out. You deserve all of it. You got blood in your hands, you get out. In fact, David’s general next to him said, “Shall I go dispatch him?} No. Let him be. Maybe God will take mercy on me. Later when all of the trauma with Absalom had been resolved and David’s coming back to Jerusalem now victorious, Shimei came running quickly to David before David could even cross to Jordan, and he fell down before David. “Have mercy. I was wrong. I sinned.”
David’s General said, “Shall I dispatch him?” David said there’s been enough dying today. Mercy, my friend. It takes more strength to withhold old than the shooting arrow sometimes. That is character. It’ll make you walk on high places. When you arise in character, when you arise in integrity, when the manner of your life is of godliness, He’s making you walk on high places. You are sure afoot because you’re sure of faith because you have a rock and that rock is God.
Let’s pray. Father, we are so so blessed. What can we say? You are amazing. God, we want to trust you with faith like that. To say with great boldness, “I love you. Be my rock. Be my help. Be my deliverer. Be my fortress,” but I want to know what it means to love you more fully. David began the Psalm, I love you. Everything that follows comes from that one phrase right here. You want God to be your help, your deliverer, your rock? Everything comes from that one great truth.
Would you say to the Lord, “I want to love you like that. I love you, Lord. I want to love you like that”? Would you raise your hand as a way of saying that to the Lord as a declaration of your desire? I want to love you like that. Father, thank you for moving by your spirit, by stirring us up. We love you. Oh God, you have blessed us so much. What can we say? Because you have proven yourself to us over and over and over. We love you and we thank you for it all in Jesus’ powerful name, and everyone said AMEN.
The Joy of the Lord is Victory!
Psalm 16:1-11
September 16-17, 2023
All right. It tells us in your introduction that David wrote this psalm, and it also says a Miktam of David. Now, David did not write that introduction, but one of the scribes who read the psalm and felt so strongly about it that he called it a Miktam, which of course, leads you to the question, okay, well, what is a Miktam then? Well, it’s not a common Hebrew word at all. In fact, it’s only used in ancient Hebrew.
The best approximation of its meaning is that it refers to valuable gold covering over something, likely with writings of precious, treasured value. In other words, it’s not just the fact that it’s a gold-covered whatever, it’s what is written on it. Treasured words written on it. That’s why I like to refer to this psalm and others as the golden psalm. You’ll see why. I have been excited all week and looking forward to speaking on this psalm. This is truly one of the great ones.
Now, I love all the psalms, don’t get me wrong, but there are just some psalms that stand out. You know what I’m saying? They’re just so amazing that they are amazing. That’s why it’s a golden psalm. It stands above the rest. This is one of those psalms, literally where every word is treasured. You can memorize this psalm and treasure every word. It’s so filled. Every word is amazing.
You must really understand each word. Now, it’s also a psalm that has a direct reference to the resurrections of Jesus Christ, as we’re going to see in it. Of course, the Messiah of Israel, the Redeemer of the world. Now, we know that there is a direct connection because Peter told us there was a direct connection in Acts 2, on the day of Pentecost. You remember the story, no doubt, when the Holy Spirit fell upon the disciples there and Pentecost.
A great multitude came together to see what this was. They were bewildered because of the power of the Holy Spirit that they were witnessing, and so they proclaimed, “What does this mean?” Peter stood up with the disciples and lifting up his voice, he declared to them that this is what the prophets foretold in Joel, and then said that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord would be saved.
Then Peter began to proclaim the resurrection. That this Jesus whom you crucified was raised from the dead, and in so doing, He broke the curse of death. He said, “This was foretold by David in–” quoting then Psalm 16 directly. Now, when you see the psalm in that light, well, every word takes on deeper meaning. When Christ was raised from the dead, He broke the curse of death, the condemnation that comes from sin, and that made possible, therefore, because of that, now we can have relationship with the Almighty.
Psalm 16 speaks of everything that flows out of that relationship with the Almighty. It’s all contained in Psalm 16. That’s why it is so amazing. Every verse, verse by verse, word by word, David describes the treasure, the value, the blessing that comes from relationship with the Almighty. David treasures it all. That’s why it’s a Miktam, a golden psalm. Such golden words are to be treasured. See the value of it. Many people, they just read through the Psalm and they don’t understand the value.
I’m telling you, this is a golden psalm. This is one of the amazing golden psalms. Every word is amazing. You must truly see. It’s one of the most beautiful, insightful, powerful psalms ever written. Take hold of the treasure. I’m thinking of an illustration. Ever seen one of those programs where there’s an expert in antiques evaluating some relic, something has been sitting on the shelf for years and finally, the family here’s, “Oh, the antique roadshow is coming into town. We ought take that old thing sitting on the shelf and see what it’s worth. Maybe worth a few dollars.”
They bring it in and they get in line, and then they bring it up to the guy. He looks at it and he turns it this way and that way. He starts to light up and he says, “This piece is the long lost sculpture of a famous artist. I would not insure this for less than $1 million.” You’re going, “Whoa. I had no idea of the value of what I had sitting on my shelf.” It’s like that. I had no idea of that psalm that was sitting in my Bible. That was like, “That’s amazing.”
I. Everything Good Comes from God
Let’s read it. Psalm 16:1, “Preserve me, oh God–” which is a deeper word than help me, “–preserve me. Oh God, for I take refuge in you. I said to the Lord, You are my Lord.” Okay, in the Hebrew it’s more clear. “I said to Yahweh, you are my Adonai, my Lord, my Captain. I have no good besides you. As for the saints who are in the earth–“, the saints, the holy ones, those who delight in the Almighty. “As for the saints who are in the earth, well, they are the majestic ones, in whom is all my delight.” I delight in those who delight in the Almighty.
- The Lord is your inheritance
Now, “The sorrows of those who have bartered for another god their sorrows will be multiplied. I will not pour out their libations of blood, their drink offerings.” I won’t have anything to do with them. In fact, He says, “I will not even take their names upon my lips.” Now verse 5, “The Lord is the portion of my inheritance, and the Lord is my cup, and He, you support my lot.” We’re going to look at this. It’s amazing. “The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. The inheritance that I have received.” God, you are my inheritance. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. “Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.” My heritage that I have in God, God is my heritage. My heritage is beautiful to me.
“I will bless the Lord who has counseled me. Indeed my mind instructs me in the night.” Oh, this is deep. This is the deep understanding. “I have set the Lord continually before me because He’s at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore, my heart is glad and my glory rejoices. My flesh also will dwell securely for You, will not abandon my soul to Sheol.” This is a declaration of the resurrection.
“I know that You will not abandon me to Sheol,” the place of the dead, “Nor will You allow your Holy One to undergo decay.” This is a direct reference to the Lord Jesus fulfilling it. “Therefore, You will make known to me the path of life, and in your presence, oh Lord, there is fullness of joy, and at your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.”
At first look, you say, okay, that is good. That is really good. Oh, let’s go deeper. It is the golden psalm, starting with what David declares. “Everything good comes from God.” Notice how he starts out in verse 1. “Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in you.” Now, the word “preserve me” here, it’s a beautiful word. It literally means to be surrounded, to be hemmed in, to be protected on every side.
He says, “Preserve me, O Lord, for I take refuge in you.” All right. Picture that might be this. It’s like a man knocks on a door of a great house because he’s seeking shelter from a storm or from some great trouble. He’s knocking on the door, he needs help, and the owner of the house opens the door and invites you in. All right, you have found refuge, but there’s more. You come in, you have found refuge in this great house, but there’s a warm fire and wonderful books and sumptuous meals, and beautiful company. You have found more than refuge from a storm or trouble. You have found that you are in the company of the Almighty.
That’s what David is declaring, verse 2, “I said to Yahweh, to Jehovah. You are my Adonai, You are my captain, my commander, my sovereign, and I have no good besides You.” Now that reminds me, see, he’s declaring, God compared to You, You are everything. All things good are in You.
Notice, I love James 1:17 he speaks similarly, “Every good thing given–” This is a great correlating verse out of the New Testament. “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.” God gave it to you. With whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. See what James is saying is similar in that everything wonderful and true comes from God. Everything good.
Now, I’ve often said, I mentioned it Wednesday, bears repeating, that anything I have, I want God to give it to me. If God gave it to me, it is good and it is wonderful. I want it to come from God’s hand. Now, it’s a great test. That thing that you delight in, from where did it come? Did it come from God’s hand? If it did, if it came from God’s hand, then it will be a great blessing to you. If it came from the world, no, it will not end well. Anything I have, I want God to give it to me because every good thing given comes from above, from the Father of lights.
David is saying something even deeper than that. David is saying, “I have no good besides you.” In other words, no good thing compares to the good, the beauty, the wonder of having God Himself. Then, the rest of the psalm flows from that great truth. Notice where he goes then next, “The Lord is your inheritance.” Notice verse 5, “The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup.” Okay, G big word, “The Lord is the portion of my inheritance.” This see it’s the next high point of the song. It’s like the crescendo of the chorus, it’s to be sung. It’s a crescendo of a chorus. It flows out of that great truth that there is no good compared to the wonder of God Himself.
Notice then, you see how David is building up to this high point. Notice verse 3, “As for the saints who are in the earth, they are the majestic ones in whom is my delight. I delight in the majestic ones.” Now, the saints he’s describing, as for the saints that are in the earth, he says, “The saints are the ones who have set themselves apart for God.” They delight in the Almighty, and they have set themselves apart. It is the word Kadosh in the Hebrew.
Actually, this is an important word. I know sometimes a Hebrew word is not relevant, but this is. Kadosh is one of the great words in Hebrew, one of the wonderful words. It means set apart, but it’s often translated holy in your Old Testament. When you read the word holy in the Bible, oftentimes it’s the word Kadosh, and it means set apart. When we think of the world holy, we often think of moral perfection, the pure glory of God’s moral perfection, but in the Old Testament, the word holy is often Kadosh, set apart.
In other words, Leviticus 19:2, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”” You’ve heard that. The word is better translated like this, speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, you shall be Kadosh. You shall be set apart, for I the Lord your God I’m Kudosh, set apart. See God is set apart from all other gods. There is none like Him, that’s the declaration. There is none like God. He stands above them all so-called gods.
Notice Psalm 86:8-10, “There is no one like You among the gods oh Lord. All the nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, Lord, and they will glorify Your name, for You are great and You do wondrous deeds, and You alone are God.” He is set apart. There is none like Him. He says, “I am set apart. I Want you to be set apart.” In other words, come away, my beloved. Come away from the world. Come away from that mess. Come away from the worldliness and come, my beloved.
There are those who have set themselves apart because they delight in the Almighty. David delights in them. David calls them the majestic ones. Don’t you love that description? There are certain people in the earth that are the majestic ones. I don’t know, I love that description. Wouldn’t you like to be one of those? Imagine David knows you, sees your life, and says, “Ah, you are one of those, the majestic ones. You are the– Ah, you delight in the Almighty. You set yourself apart. You are one of the majestic ones.”
Now, because David delights in the Almighty, his closest associates are those who also delight in the Almighty. That is a life lesson itself, because David delights in the Almighty, his closest associates are those who delight in the Almighty. Can you imagine what a blessing it would be in your life if your closest associates delight in the Almighty? I mean, what a blessing they would be to your life. Let me just tell you something. I am blessed. I am so, so, so blessed. You know why I’m blessed? Well, many reasons. I’ll tell you one reason.
I am so, so blessed because my closest associates delight in the Almighty. I have wonderful, wonderful friends. Many of them are on staff at the church, the pastors that we have, the leaders that we have here. They are my closest friends, and I tell you, they delight in the Almighty, and I delight in them. I’m truly blessed. Amen. I want you to be blessed. Choose your associates well. Delight in the majestic ones. Find them. They’re in the world. They’re in the earth. They’re around. Find majestic ones, and then let them be your closest associates.
The majestic ones, I want to find them. I want them in my life. Here’s a part of David’s life, it’s very interesting. Remember when David– I referred to it recently when David faced down the Philistine giant at the Valley of Elah? You remember this story, right? Well, when David went out there and faced down that giant, it tells us that Saul’s son, Jonathan, was there. Soul’s son, Jonathan, saw this whole scene unfold. He was there when David went out there and the Philistine giant says, what? You send out a boy? What? Am I a dog that you come to me with sticks? What?
His disdained for David is clear and he’s cussing up a storm. Then David famously answers, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord, God of Israel whom you have just taunted. The Lord will give you into our hands this day so that the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.” Then there’s Jonathan watching this whole scene unfold. That’s amazing. He’s going to face this giant, and it’s all God.
Then the Philistine giant started to come to David, so David took the stones that he had from the brook and he started to– The great sling, a sling that David had is not anything like the slings we grew up with when I was a kid. We used to take surgical tubing and [sound]– I mean you could really put someone’s eye out with that thing. At least that’s what my mom said, but David’s sling, it was probably three, four feet long with leather straps and a good-sized rock smooth and he [sound]. Can you imagine the speed? Then he let that thing go. I tell you, it was directed by the Holy Spirit of the living God.
Now, don’t get me wrong, David was a good marksman, but it was supported by God. Then the route was on. Of course, David ran to the Philistine, took his sword, he removed his head, and then the battle ensued as the Philippines fled and the army of Israel pursued them. Then when it was all done, David came and reported to Saul. “Whose son are you?” He’s going to give him many rewards.
This is first Samuel 18:1. “Now, it came about that when David had finished speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David and Jonathan loves him as himself.” That is amazing. That is an amazing man right there. That is amazing. I respect and love a man like that. That’s what David says. I find people that delight in the Almighty, and they’re my closest associates. When you see someone with faith like that, delight in them.
In contrast, David continues in the psalm, in beautiful Hebrew poetry in contrast, David speaks of those who do not delight in the Almighty. “They are bartered with the gods of the world” he says, “I will not even take their names on my lips.” I will have nothing to do with them.
Verse 4, he says, “they will find–” those who barter with the gods of the world,”– they will find that their sorrows will be multiplied”. See, David knows very well. Their sorrows will be multiplied. David says, “I want no such sorrows.” I do not want to associate with them. Their sorrows will be multiplied. I want no such sorrows. “No, I will not pour out their libations of blood” he said. In other words, I will not join them when they give their drink offerings to the world. I will not even mention, I will not even take their names upon my lips. No.
B. Your heritage is beautiful
Then he continues in beautiful Hebrew poetry, when he says– he turns his attention back to God, “Your heritage is beautiful to me.” My inheritance is beautiful to me. This is what I have. See, that’s why you must make this psalm, the golden psalm of your heart. You must make this psalm the golden psalm. “Your heritage is beautiful.”
Notice verse 3, where he says, “the lines have fallen to me in pleasant places.” Pleasantness is a better translation pleasantness. “The lines have fallen to me in pleasantness. My heritage indeed, is beautiful to me”. Now, at that time in Israel, one could receive an inheritance typically of land. Then upon hearing that you have an inheritance, what would you do? Well, you would want to know the lines. You would want to know the borders of what you have inherited.
David says in verse 5, “the Lord is the portion of my inheritance” where are the lines? You just got word you have an inheritance. You go, whoa, I have an inheritance? That’s amazing. Oh, where are the lines? I want to know the borders. How much did I get? How much did I inherit? How many acres or he hectors or whatever it is? How much did I inherit? You want to go check out the borders, right?
He writes, “The Lord–” is what I inherited “–is the portion of my inheritance. You support my lot.” Okay, what does that mean? Well, he said, “The lines have fallen into me in pleasant places–” pleasantness. Every part of those verses right there is beautiful. Every word is beautiful. Every word right there, every phrase is beautiful. When Israel first entered the promised land, they divided it up into sections according to the tribes of Israel by lot, same word, by lot. Then each of those sections was further subdivided according to family, again, by lot.
In fact, today even we use the word, when someone receives a portion of something, we say it’s their allotment, comes from the same word. That’s your allotment. It fell to you. Where are the borders? They determined it by lot. David says, “I love the lot. I love the lot of my inherits. The lines have fallen to me.” See, by lot, they determine, where do the lines fall? He says, “You support my lot.”
Literally, Your hand made the lines. Your hand did it. You made the lines. God, you controlled the lot. The lines that fell. You determine them. God is my lot. “God is my portion,” David says, “The lines have fallen into me in pleasantness. My heritage is beautiful to me.” See, it’s beautiful. I tell you, to understand this right here, is victory in itself. To understand this is victory itself. It is one of the most beautiful and powerful understandings in the whole Bible.
That my heritage is beautiful to me. If you can only understand the depth of the beauty of what you have received in God, the lots have fallen into you in beautiful places. May your heritage be beautiful to you. I mentioned this before, it is so important, I want to mention again.
Have you ever seen YouTube videos of someone who’s colorblind and then the birthday is coming up, and so the family gets together and gives this colorblind fellow, for his birthday, they give him glasses. Now, the glasses are special glasses. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen these, but these are really touching videos. They have glasses now that can make colorblind people see in color. For his birthday, he opened the gift and it’s glasses. They look like sunglasses.
He’s like, “Oh, that’s nice. Sunglasses. Very thoughtful. Thank you”. “No, no, no, no, no, no. Put them on.” “Oh, I can do that later”. “No, no, put them on. We really want you to put them on.” Of course, they know what they are. They’ve got balloons that are yellow and red and blue. Everyone’s wearing like red and blue shirts, they’re vibrant in color. “Put them on, put them on, put them on.”
He takes out the glasses and he puts them on. “Whoa! Is this the way you see? Is this real?” Now, by this point, he’s crying, “It’s beautiful. I had no idea. This is normal? This is life? This is normal? This is the way you see?” Yes. He walks outside and sees the sky and trees and the flowers. He’s weaving and crying. “Oh, it’s beautiful. I had no idea. All my life, I had no idea.”
He sees, but he did not see before. Now he sees in color. Here’s why I love that illustration. Once you see that your heritage is beautiful, that the lot has fallen to you at beautiful places, you have seen what many do not see. It is the beauty, the color of beauty, of glory, of what God does on the soul is beautiful. I say to you that once you see it, you’ll never see the Scriptures the same again. They’re beautiful. That’s what he says. “My heritage is beautiful to me.” That’s what he says, “I will not associate with those who barter with the world. I won’t even take their name on my lips because my lot has fallen into me in the Lord, and my lot is pleasant to me.” It’s pleasant to me. It’s beautiful to me. My heritage is beautiful.
II. Set the Lord Before You Continually
Then he goes on to say this, “Therefore, I set the Lord continually before me.” It’s beautiful so I set the Lord– Make that personal, set the Lord before you continually. Verse 8, “I have set the Lord continually before me. This is my heritage, it’s pleasantness itself to me. It is beautiful to me.” See what David is saying? “I have no good besides You. You are the greatest good of my life. My heritage is beautiful to me.” Then he speaks of what he receives from the Lord when he sets the Lord continually before him. Notice verse 7. “I will bless the Lord who has counseled me. I set the Lord continually before me, and I bless Him because He has counseled me.”
A. The Lord’s counsel is wonderful
See the Lord’s counsel is beautiful. It comes out of setting the Lord continually before you and that you’re dwelling in the beauty of the Almighty and therefore, He begins to speak. counsel, He begins to pour out to your life, counsel and His counsel is wonderful. God’s counsel will bless your life.
Notice verse 11, where he says, “You make known to me the path of life,” right? The counsel of– You are making known to me the path of life. Notice, for example, Isaiah 30:21. Similarly, he says, “Your ears will hear a word behind you.” As you walk your way, your ears will hear a word, “This is the way. Walk this way. Do not go there. Go here.” The counsel of the Lord is guiding. The counsel of Lord is speaking. Isaiah 9:6, we read it every Christmas, “A child will be more born to us. A son will be given to us, and the government will rest on His shoulders, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor,” not just counselor. Wonderful.
God’s Word to you is not just advice. God’s Word to you is beautiful. God’s Word is beautiful on the soul. God’s Word is not just commands to be followed. The counsel of the Lord is beautiful on the soul. His counsel is wonderful. His counsel is beautiful. See, God is making known to you the counsel, the path of life. Then he later says, “And in Your presence, there is fullness of joy.” Fullness of joy. How many people– We can do a show of hands. How many people would like to have some joy in their life? Yes, right, of course, we want to have joy. David says, I know where joy is. I know where there is fullness of joy.”
He later says, “My cup overflows” do we know? It’s wonderful. God is making known to you life, His presence, His fullness. When you write God’s Word on your– when you set the Lord continually before you and the counsel of the Lord, you hear, it will be there when you need it the most.
See verse 7, notice verse 7 is fascinating word to me. Verse 7, I’m telling you right here, you could write a book. I could write a book on verse 7. It is amazing. Notice “Indeed my mind instructs me in the night.” Is his mind separate from him? Literally, my heart instructs me, but there there is this, set the Lord before you, He will counsel you that which is wonderful and you’ll have a living treasure of wisdom, like a living library of glorious treasure of wisdom, because you accept the Lord before you, you are receiving the living treasure of wisdom like a library of wonder. That’s what you are receiving.
Notice Hebrews 5:14 says something similar, “Solid food–” he’s talking about here the Word, the milk of the Word or some people need the ABCs, the elementary things. He’s challenging them to long for the deeper things, the solid things, the wonderful things. Long for the deeper things. Solid food. He says, solid food now is for the mature. “Milk is for babies, but solid food is for the mature who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.” What does the word sense mean?
In Greek, it is the faculty of your mind. Training the faculty of your mind. How? By setting the Lord continually before you, by delighting in the Almighty and recognizing that your heritage is beautiful and that His counsel is wonderful, and that you are receiving a living treasure of golden wisdom for life. You are then training the faculty of your mind to be able to discern good and evil.
The counsel of God’s heart will advise you when you need it because you have been filling your soul with a living treasure of glorious wisdom, it will be there when you need it. When you’re in a conflict, when you have trouble, when you don’t know what to do, when you need discernment, when you need insight and understanding. God show me the path of life. Show me the way through this. Navigate with me through this trouble. Lord, You are the treasure of my life. Your Word is the glory of wisdom and You have counseled me. My mind instructs me in the night. It’s there when you need it.
Now, this is for the spiritually mature who because they have been putting this into their life, they have trained the faculty of their mind to be able to discern good from evil. That is good, that is evil. That is good. That is pleasant. That is wonderful. That will harm. That is not good. I don’t want that. I want this. The discernment that comes. Jesus spoke to this also because, please hear this. Please hear this. I love you. God does not want you weak. God does not want you weak-minded. God does not want you weak of soul. God wants you strong of soul. When David stood in front of that giant, you can believe he was not weak of soul. God wants you strong a soul. This is what Jesus said.
Luke 6:47-48. “Everyone who comes to me and hears my words–,” His words are a treasure. His words are the living treasure of wonderful counsel that are pleasant and beautiful on the soul. “Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and acts on them–” lives by them, “–I will show you whom he is like. He is like a man building a house who dug deep, laid a foundation on a rock, and when then the flood occurred–“, troubles, difficulties, storms, conflicts, challenges, “–when the flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house, but it could not shake it because it was well built.” You see there’s deeper words here.
B. You will not be shaken
God does not want you weak, does not want you weak-minded or weak of soul. Strengthen the house. Build it well, strengthen– This is the posts, the beams, the steel, the rock, build the soul. How? By seeing that your heritage is beautiful and set the Lord continually before you. His counsel is wonderful. It’s beautiful. Then He says, “You will not be shaken.” Notice verse 8, Psalm 16 says the very same word. Psalm 16:8, “Because He’s at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” Now, the writer of Hebrews says that in the later days, there will be a great shaking upon the earth. The earth is going to be shaken. Now we know this is so. We see the Scriptures indicating the signs of the times.
The writer of Hebrews says, every thing that can be, will be shaken, so that those things which cannot be shaken will remain. David wrote, “I will not be shaken.” See, I will not be destroyed, you will not abandon me to Sheol. I know in whom I found my life. Now there is a greater counting coming to the earth, we are living in those days that Jesus said are the birth pangs leading up to the latter days. We are seeing the signs of the times unfolding before our eyes.
In those days, everything that can be, will be shaken, so that those things that cannot be shaken will remain. When Jesus was raised from the dead, He defeated death and the condemnation of sin for those found in Him, He was the first fruit of the resurrection. Those who follow Him, will find the path of life. For God sent His Son to lead many sons to glory. How many times did Jesus say, “Follow me”? He will lead many sons to glory. Follow me. Follow Him where? Philip says, “We do not know where You’re going.”
I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. I am the way to the Father. No man comes to the Father but by me, but how do you follow Him? By communion. By communion? Communion is a symbol of a deeper truth. It’s a symbol only of something far deeper. When you partake of His death, when you follow Him by partaking in that death, you’re being baptized, Romans 6, you’re being baptized into His death. Galatians 2:20, “I’ve been crucified with Christ, and the life that I now live, I no longer live in the flesh but by faith in the One who gave His life for me.” You follow Him. By partaking of that, you are also then partaking of His resurrection.
Then you partake of the newness of life that comes from that resurrection, He is leading many sons to glory. That’s why, Peter on that day of Pentecost, Acts 2:29-33, “He stood up that day, and he proclaimed, “Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day, and so because he was a prophet, he was looking ahead and he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay.
This Jesus, God raised up again, therefore, having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, which is poured forth, this which you have both seen and heard today. What shall we do to be saved?”” 3000 came to faith that day. David finishes the psalm powerfully, just as powerful as it began. As a result of looking ahead and seeing the resurrection of the Lord, the Messiah of Israel. He said, “My life will not be shaken. You will not abandon me to Sheol. I know in whom I have believed.”
God will make known to the path of life and in His presence, there is fullness of joy, and at the right hand of God, there are pleasures forevermore. Until your soul is delighted in God, it does not know life. Life is found in Him and there is no other. I am the way, the truth and the life. Until you know the life of the Spirit of the Living God, until your soul is made alive, you do not know life. Put on these glasses and you will see the living color of the glory of God. He will lead many sons to glory. There is life. You make known to me, life, the path of life.
God wants to build something beautiful, something beautiful in your life. Settle for nothing less. Compromise no more. Settle for nothing less than the beauty of what God wants to give to you in your life. God wants you strong. God wants you blessed. God wants you victorious. God wants to lead you to glory. How many agree with me?
Father, we are so truly blessed. Oh what a golden psalm. How beautiful. What can we say? You have blessed us. We are truly blessed. Our heritage is beautiful. The lines have fallen to us in beautiful places. We will set You before us continually, we delight in the Almighty. We love You. We honor You.
Church, tell me we’re saying that to the Lord today. I want this beauty in my life. I see it now. This heritage that God gives is beautiful to me too. I want this. I want my soul to be made beautiful because of what He has done to it. Church, would you raise your hand if that is your prayer, your desire that you would delight in the Almighty and say, “God, do that in me. Do that in me, Lord.”
Father, thank You for everyone stirred of God, moved by the Spirit. You are leading many sons to glory and so we honor You and we praise Your glorious, glorious name in Jesus’ name and everyone said– Let’s give the Lord praise and glory and honor. Amen? Amen.
God Leads Many Sons to Glory
Psalm 8:1-9
September 9-10, 2023
Now, at the beginning of your Psalm, it has a little introduction that says, “For the choir director on the Gittite.” A Psalm of David. David wrote it, gave it to the choir director, as we know that the Psalms were meant to be sung. David had a choir. Did you know that David had a full-time choir? That’s all they did was to sing and worship. Can you just imagine how good a choir can be if that’s all they did all day long, every week? Oh, what a glorious choir David had. I mean, David loved worship, and David had a heart of a worshiper, which is God’s heart. David wanted a full-time choir. Oh, amazing.
This song he wrote, gave it to the choir director, wanted it to be accompanied by the Gittite. We don’t know what that is. Could have been a stringed instrument. Now, someone from Gath is called a Gittite, so many presume that it was an instrument used in the Philistine area where David was hiding. You remember when he was running from Saul, who was pursuing him for his life? He hid amongst the Philistines. David very likely saw this instrument, loved that instrument, maybe learned it. He was a very good musician and wanted that Psalm to be accompanied by the Gittite.
This is Psalm, again, sung by the choir, filled with majesty, declarations of worship. It’s also filled with deep insight in the nature of God, the splendor of the majesty of creation, but it also speaks of the nature of man in his lowly condition, but here in the Psalm, there is also a very deep insight, prophetic picture of the Lord Jesus Christ and the restoring of man to glory.
Now, Psalm 8 is quoted and referred to many places in the Bible, in the New Testament, and it’s a very deep Psalm. He writes of the majesty of God and that He displays His splendor above the heavens. Then when he considers the majesty, the splendor of God, then he says, “What is man that you would take thought of him? God is great and wondrous in glory. Why would you even take notice or give any thought to man?” He does. Not only does He take thought of man, He crowns him with glory and majesty. David is like, “That’s amazing.” How He does it is also a display of His splendor. Far above all that He has even done in creation, that is how glorious it is.
I. Worship His Majesty
Let’s read it, Psalm 8:1. “Oh, Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth?” Now, right there. Oh, that’s beautiful in declaration. “Jehovah Adonai, how majestic is your name. In all the earth, your name is Majesty. You have displayed your splendor, far above the heavens, and then turning from the majesty and the splendor of all that he’s seen, he turns, he says to infants.” Look, from the mouth of infants and nursing babes, you have established strength or a bulwark or praise for yourself because of your enemies or your adversaries to make the enemy and the revengeful feasts.” In other words, it is the glory of God to confound his adversaries by the joyful, simple children.
Then he pauses again. Then he says, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have ordained, which you have established and set into place, when I consider all of that, then I say, what is man that you would take thought of him or the Son of Man that you would care for him, yet you made him a little lower–” and I’m going to use the Hebrew here, “you made him a little lower than Elohim.” Now, that is a word commonly translated as God or the angels.
Now, the writer of Hebrews interprets this for us as the angels, so that is the interpretation. You have made man a little lower than the angels, Elohim, yet you have crowned him with glory and majesty. That’s amazing, God. You make him man to rule over the works of your hand. You gave him dominion, that you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen and beasts of the fields, birds of the heavens, fish of the sea, whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
Then he finishes the Psalm as he began it. “Oh, Jehovah Adonai, how majestic is your name and all the earth?” Oh, is that not a wondrous, glorious Psalm? Beautiful in aspect and much for us to take hold of and apply to our lives, starting with the beginning. “Worship His majesty.” See that? What a glorious declaration. Oh, Jehovah Adonai, how majestic is your– There’s just something about that that makes your soul want to sing. It makes you just want to lift up your hands and shout.
See, God made our souls to resonate with the glory of God. When you read that, there’s something in your soul that just wants to arise to it. “Oh, Adonai, how majestic is your name.” See, the word majesty is beautiful. I don’t think there is a more fitting word to describe not only the greatness but the goodness of God. All of that is captured in the word majesty, greatness and goodness of God.
David wrote this Psalm, as I mentioned, and it brings to mind that David wanted to build a temple in Jerusalem to the glory and honor of God. See, David was so amazed that God and what God had done for David in his life, that he wanted to build a house for God. The idea that he had was that this was going to be so amazing, so filled with glory, it would be like one of the wonders of the world, and it was.
Now, David was not allowed to build the temple. He had envisioned this grandiose thing, but he could not build that because God says that he was a man of war. It would be built by a man of peace, his son, Solomon. In fact, the name Solomon Shalom, you can see in it, and yet David designed it. He had the architects draw it. He gathered all the materials for it, all the wood, the gold, the silver in vast, vast supply, gold which would cover the walls and the floor. When you walked in the room, the outer court is like, “Oh, amazing Lord.” He was one of the wonders of the world.
The gold from which they would make the ark of the covenant and the mercy seat we set upon it, and the poles which ran through the rings to support it, and the angels that were behind it. All of this, David assembled it all. Then he wanted every aspect of that to be dedicated to the Lord, and so he gathered all the leaders, all the people. Can you imagine? David gives a prayer that is filled with majesty and glory itself. The prayer is so honoring to God, so powerful.
Listen, in 1st Chronicles 29:10-13, where David says in this great prayer, “Blessed are thou, oh, Lord, God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, oh, Lord, is the greatness and the power, and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth. Yours is the dominion, oh, Lord.” Here it is, “The dominion Lord is yours and you exalt yourself as head over all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all and in your hand is power and might, and it lies in your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. Now, therefore, our God, we thank you and we praise your glorious name.
A. He silences His adversaries in glory
Isn’t that a great prayer? We praise your glorious name. There’s something in your soul that wants to just say amen. Just arise to the great prayer. Oh, amen, Lord. David then in Psalm 8, he speaks of the majesty, the splendor of God, then turns to the babes. There’s glory here. He silences his adversaries in glory by using the simple, joyful little children from the mouth of infants and nursing babes, you have established strength or praise for yourself. It’s a declaration of God’s glory that He would silence His enemies using the simple. Doesn’t it remind you, that verse might remind you of the Lord Jesus who quoted that verse when the chief priests and the scribes became indignant at Jesus. Remember the story? This was on that day that we called a triumphant entry or Palm Sunday, He descended from the Mount of Olives. There was Jerusalem laid out before Him.
He entered the temple, and there He saw those money changers and those selling doves and He took hold of their tables and He threw them over and get out. This is my Father’s house, and it ought to be a house of prayer, and you are making it a den of robbers. Get out. Then it says that the lame and the blind came to Him and He healed them all.
Then the children, they saw Him there in the temple, and then the children started like, “Hosanna, Hosanna.” They were in the crowd that day. Remember when the crowd was shouting Hosanna, Hosanna? That’s Psalm 118. Everyone knew you don’t bring out that Psalm until you got the Messiah. The children, they see Him in the temple and they’re like, “Hosanna, Hosanna.”
See, I love imagining the scene because God loves children. You know this, right? God loves children. I just imagine the scene. You can imagine kids, they’re like, “Hey there He is. There He is. Let’s say it. Let’s say it. Let’s say it. Hosanna, Hosanna to the son of David.” That’s a Messiah declaration. Jesus sees the kids, “Hi kids,” smile on His face. “Hi kids.”
The chief priests and the scribes are like grr, “Do you see all the wonderful things that He’s doing? Look, He’s healing people. We can’t have this. He’s healing the blind, He’s healing the lame, if He goes on like this, He will win everyone over too, and look at the children shouting, Hosanna, Hosanna.”
They say to Him in Matthew 21, the chief priest and the scribe say to Him, “Do you hear what these children are saying?” Jesus said to them, “Yes. And have you never read?” I love that because these were supposedly experts in the law, “Yes,” “And have you never read?” and he quotes Psalm 8, “Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babes, you have prepared praise for yourself.”
God is using children in their simple, sincere joy to silence His adversaries. Children are not complicated by political intrigues. Children are not complicated by dark and ungodly conspiracies. They see the wonderful things and they know that they’re wonderful and they declare them. “Oh, wonderful. Look what He’s doing. Hosanna.”
God uses the simple to confound the wise because it gives Him glory. It’s a declaration of the majesty and the glory of God. Reminds me of First Corinthians 1:27-29 where Paul wrote this, “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong. And the base things of the world, and the despised God has chosen. The things that are not that He may nullify the things that are so that no man may boast before God.” It gives Him all glory. Can you imagine God turning the world upside down using a few fishermen and a despised tax collector? I’m talking about the disciples of the Lord Jesus.
In fact, there’s an interesting story in the book of Acts chapter 4 where Peter and John, they’re in the temple and a man is healed and there’s a big crowd commotion and so they arrest them and bring them in front of the Jewish leaders to give an encounter of this thing. “In whose name are you doing these things?”
Peter and John stand up in front of the Jewish leaders of council. “If you wonder in whose name these things are being done, well, it is the name of Jesus of Nazareth whom you crucified. He is that stone whom the builders rejected. You rejected Him, but He is that chief cornerstone and it is in that name that this man stands healed today.”
When they beheld the confidence of Peter and John, they noticed that they were uneducated and untrained men, but that they had been with Jesus. I love that. That God is using the fishermen and tax collectors to turn the world upside down. Can you imagine. Why not use the clever? Why not use the eloquent debaters of the day? Because their so-called wisdom blinded their eyes.
God chose the foolish things. Can you imagine God taking the number one enemy of the church, talking about Saul who was later Paul, a man enraged at Christians, persecuting them at every turn and then knocking him off his high horse, literally, and then making him the greatest advocate and preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ?
It gives Him all glory. Can you imagine God bringing about a revival by using hippies and druggies to lead a worldwide movement of teaching God’s word verse by verse and leading hundreds of thousands to faith? Talking about The Jesus Movement, The Calvary Chapel Jesus Movement. Can you imagine? I love imagining God explaining this to the angels.
I love just how scenes might unfold. I just imagine God explaining, “All right, here’s what we’re going to do. Here’s the plan. We’re going to bring a revival and we’re going to use these hippies.” Angel goes, “What are hippies?” These are, you’ll see them, they have long hair and they’re rebellious, they’re counterculture revolutionaries who are strung out on drugs, and we’re going to use them for a revival,.
You can just imagine the angel saying, “You’re right. That’s amazing. That is glorious.” I love that scene. Can you imagine what God would do? He takes the simple and He takes the humble. Second Corinthians 4:7, we have this treasure in earth in vessels, the treasure, the glory of the gospel, the plan of the ages.
We have that treasure in earth in vessels, simple, clay pots, clay pots. That’s what earth and vessels are. That’s what we are He says. I suppose the older we get, the more we look like clay pots, but His point is that glorious treasure we have in earth in vessels, plain old clay pots, so that the surpassing glory or the surpassing greatness of the power would be of God and not from ourselves.
It gives Him glory. It declares His majesty to do such things. Jeremiah chapter 9 is another one of those places, verses 23-24, “Thus says the Lord, Jehovah, let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows me.
B. In the light of God’s glory, who is man?
That I am the Lord who exercises loving kindness and justice and righteousness on the earth. For it is in these things that I delight.” It gives Him glory. I delight in these things. Then He turns, back to Psalm 8, He turns His attention and He says, “In the light of God’s glory and the grandeur of your splendor, who is man?”
In other words, when you compare man to the glory of God’s majesty, well, man is nothing. Maybe you’ve done this. Have you ever gone out at night, stood under the stars and just stood amazed? “God, will you look at this? This is amazing. Who am I when I consider the vastness of all that you have created by the power of your might and earth is just a speck?
On the corner of the universe and then I stand here on the shore under the stars as nothing. Who am I that you would take note of me? Why do you care for us?” He does notice. He does care. First of all, I think it’s important to point out that of all the stars and the planets in the sky, there is only one that He calls His footstool.
There is only one to whom He sent His Son to give His life as a ransom for many. It is unique. There is only one. Isaiah 66:1-2, “Thus says the Lord, heaven is my throne and earth is my footstool. Where then is a house that you could build for me? Where is the place that I might rest? For my hand made all these things. Thus all these came into being, declares the Lord, but to this one I look. My hand made all these things, but to this one, I look. To him who is humbled -and contrite in Spirit and trembles at my word.”
You might wonder, why would God care for me? Why would I consider the grand jury of your Spirit? Who am I? In fact, you might even say, not only am I just a simple common person, I’m a sinner. Why would God care? Why would God love? I am a sinner. I have messed up my life. Why? Why would God love me?
Answer, because you were made in the image of God. He made you in His image. He loves you. Because you’re made in His image, He’s grieved and broken of heart that you have sinned and messed up the life and He has sent His Son to redeem because He loves. He sent His Son to seek and to save, to reconcile to Himself because you were made in His image.
When I think of that, I think of an illustration, and that is when I was a young man, I was really never into babies. It’s like if you have a baby, that’s nice for you. That’s nice. That’s really nice. “You want to hold my baby?” “Not really. That’s nice. That’s good for you.” I was never into babies until I had one. If there’s a switch to be switched, they were switched. If there’s a light to go on, that light went on.
It is like I’m in now. It’s like, this is my baby, and I’m in. I’m all in. I took the recording of the heartbeat and brought it all to my friends, “This is my baby. Are you listening? This is my baby here.” I was saying, “This is my baby. This is my image.” I was so in. I went to every doctor’s appointment. In fact, I even said to the doctor, “Look, I’m so into this. I want to deliver the baby.”
Our doctor was one of the leaders in the modern birthing movement and whatever that is. He said, “Sure. You can deliver the baby.” I thought, “Yes.” He said, “Now there are two conditions.” I said, “Okay. What are they?” He said, “Well, the first one is if anything goes wrong, you step aside and I take over.” I go, “Oh, I like this one. That’s right. If anything goes wrong, you take over.”
I said, “Now you said there were two. What’s the second condition?” He said, “The second one is that you’re still paying the same price.” “I understand. That’s no problem.” Anyway, it’s like, “I’m in. I’ll get up at night. I’ll change the diapers. I’m in. It’s my baby.” That was our first, Nicole. There’s something about the first, I suppose. We were close all her life. She died when she was 29.
Many of you know my story. We were close. There was something special. All the other kids knew it. She just loves her dad. There was something between us. The night before she died, we were at Starbucks. It was a hot August evening, drinking a cold drink, talking about God, about family, about life. For hours we sat just talking. I’ll never forget what a blessing God gave me to have a conversation like that the night before she died.
II. God Leads You to Glory and Majesty!
Why does God love? Why does God care? Because you were made in His image and He cares deeply, so much so that David says, “Then why wouldn’t you take thought of men? Not only that, but you lead him to glory and majesty. You crown him with glory and majesty.” God leads you to glory and majesty. It’s one of the great declarations of the Psalm. It’s a prophetic declaration because it is fulfilled in the Son.
A. God sent His Son to lead you to glory
God sends His Son to lead you to glory. That’s how God declares His greatness by sending His son to lead many sons to glory. If you step back and you see the purpose and intent of God from the beginning, you are made in the image of God. One great aspect of that image is to move in the authority of God. Notice, for example, Genesis 1:26. Then God said, “Let us make man in our image according to our likeness, and let them rule.”
Very first declaration of the aspect of the image of God. Let them rule to have dominion that is operating and moving in the image of God. Let them rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the cattle, and over the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. The intent of God and the purpose of God was broken when Adam sinned. The relationship to the earth itself was broken as a result of that sin.
Notice Genesis 3:17, where then to Adam, God said, again, this is after the fall, the sin of Adam. As the result and consequence, He said to Adam, “Cursed is the ground because of you. In toil, you will eat of it all the days of your life, but thorns and thistles, it will grow for you and you will eat of the plants of the field, by the sweat of your face, you will eat bread.” That relationship is broken, but it is restored.
B. Dominion is restored under Christ
See, dominion is restored under Christ. We have to see that relationship, dominion is restored under Christ. Notice verse five where he says, “You made him a little lower than the angels.” Hebrews 2 explains what that means. God sent His Son to break the power of sin and darkness over your life. It was sin that brought the curse of death. It was sin that broke that relationship to God.
It was sin that broke even the relationship to the earth. God restores by reconciling you to Himself through His Son. How explains to us because Jesus was made a little lower than the angels. In our behalf, He came to carry our sins upon His shoulders to pay for them in full and then to lead many sons to glory. Notice Hebrews 2 explains it’s a definite specific reference to Psalm. You can read the whole Psalm and see it.
Hebrews 2:9-10. He writes, “We see Him who has been made for a little while lower than the angels.” Meaning He came as a man and suffered as a man. It says in Isaiah 6:53, he had no stately form or majesty. He was marred beyond recognition as a man. He took upon us the iniquities of us all. Scourged on our behalf.
He was made for a little while lower than the angels. Hebrews 2 goes on mainly, “Jesus because of the suffering of death, He was therefore crowned with glory and honor that by the grace of God, He might taste death for everyone, for it was fitting for him, for whom are all things and through whom are all things in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through suffering.”
Oh, what a wonderful phrase. That is the intent of purpose and God to restore that was broken and amen. Let’s hear the Lord Praise. Absolutely right. The intent of purpose of God is to restore what was broken and then to bring many sons to glory. All that was lost through sin has been restored through Him who suffered on our behalf. God even restores dominion over the works of His hems when He led many sons to glory. Romans 8.
Now, you might know that the whole of Romans 8 is amazing, but notice these verses. The Spirit Himself testifies with our Spirit that we are children of God. If we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. If indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him, that is the intent and purpose of God to be glorified. He will lead many sons to glory. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
You have no idea. He is saying the glory that God intends, He will lead many sons to glory, the majesty of it all. He says, “The anxious longing of creation itself waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God for the creation was subjected to futility-” Not willingly, but because of Him. “-who subjected it in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. That is amazing.
Even the curse upon the earth itself as He will bring forth in the age to come a new heaven and a new earth and dominion reestablished. Having been reconciled with God, I suggest and submit that He’s beginning that even now. He is reconciling us, He reconciles sinners to Himself and then having been reconciled, He will lead many sons to glory. He is leading you to glory. There is something that God is doing and building and leading and that is glory.
He is restoring even dominion and authority to those who are in Christ and under that authority, who reside well under that authority. He is the captain, He is the commander and those who are under that authority then have authority. Jesus says all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth, and I am with you always even to the end of the age. Sometimes people come to a place in their lives. I mentioned this Wednesday. It bears repeating.
Sometimes people come to a place in their lives where they say, I have enough of God. I’m good. It’s enough. It’s enough to know that I’m saved. I’ll come here, a message now and then. I’m good though. It’s enough for me. To which God would say, “Oh, you have no idea. I sent my Son to lead many sons to glory. I got so much more in mind for you. You’re done? Oh, you have no idea. Don’t miss out. I have something glorious.”
1st Corinthians 2:9. Just as it is written, things which I have not seen, ear has not heard, which have not even entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him. Oh, you have no idea. You have enough? No, you don’t. God has way more in mind for you. God wants you to seek Him, to long for Him, to pursue Him. There’s far deeper things. There’s far greater things. There’s far more glory. You have just got started. He is leading many sons to glory.
Does anybody remember this song? It was very big in the church for a long time a number of years ago, majesty. Anybody remember the song, Majesty, worship His Majesty? That was written by Pastor Jack Hayford. The story behind it is an interesting one. Says, he was vacationing in Great Britain with his wife and it was the same year as the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation.
He said symbols of royalty were evident everywhere. He wrote later while visiting many of the castles. “I begin to sense the influence that one might feel if raised as a child in such regal majestic settings, that it would become quite clear to me how a person accustomed to such regality might more likely conceive of themselves as being bred to influence the world.” He began to see the kingdom correlation.
Now, God is doing a work in majesty in us. He says, as I was driving I wrote, I said to my wife, write this down, write this down. He made the words of the song began to come to his heart and his mind and they declare. He said I began to feel something of Christ’s royalty and dignity and majesty that began to feel my heart. I began to feel something new of what it meant to be truly His.
The triumph on the cross, not only unlock for us. The chains of bondage, that restored to us the fellowship of the Father and unfolded to us a life of authority over sin and over hell and raised us in partnership with Him on His throne. Even now He fills us with His majesty and thus the song, I want to read you the words.
Majesty, worship His Majesty,
Unto Jesus be all glory and honor and praise.
Majesty, Kingdom authority,
Flows from His throne, unto His own,
His anthem raise.
So exalt, lift up on high the name of Jesus.
Magnify, come glorify, Christ Jesus the King.
Majesty, worship His Majesty,
Jesus who died, now glorified,
He is the king of all kings.
Majesty, fill me with that Majesty for He has sent His Son to lead many sons to glory.
Let’s pray. Oh, Lord, how amazing it is when we consider we have looked at the stars and wondered how majestic is your name in all of the earth, how you have revealed your majesty above the heavens. What is man? But not only do you take thought of him, you crown him with glory and honor and majesty. That’s amazing. God, we see it now. We see your heart, the intent or purpose of God made in the image of God. You sent your Son to seek and to save that which was lost, then having reconciled them to God, your Father, you led many sons to glory.
Church, how many today would say fill me with your glory? Do that in me, God, I hunger, I search, I seek, I want more. Fill me with majesty. You are leading many sons to glory? Well, here I am. Lead me to that glory. Fill me with your majesty. Is that your prayer, your heart, your desire? Would you just raise your hand as a way of saying it to the Lord fill me with your majesty, that the glory and the dominion of God reside. Lead many sons to glory will lead me to glory.
God, fill me today a hunger and thirst for more. Fill me with your majesty. Thank you, Lord, for everyone who has raised their hand as a prayer of saying do that in me. We praise your Holy name and everyone said, Amen. Let’s give the Lord praise and glory and honor. Amen.
Faith to Trust God in Troubles
Psalm 3:1-9
September 2-3, 2023
As I mentioned last week, David wrote many of the Psalms and he wrote this one, Psalms 3, and it’s interesting to note that David would write the Psalms whenever he was at one of those momentous times of his life. If he was in a place where he wanted to just bring adoration, worship, and glory, he would write beautiful, beautiful words of praise that would be written as a song and worship to the living God. Amazing, but there were other times when David was maybe going through one of those critical, difficult moments of life where he would write a Psalm that would be like a declaration of faith, maybe a prayer for God’s help, God’s deliverance, calling out to God.
He would write during those critical momentous times to remind himself even of the strength of his faith, that God was the one who would help and he would be writing, he’s like he’s speaking faith to life as he writes these declarations. Psalms 3 is one of those Psalms that would help anyone who’s going through a critical momentous time of trouble. Jesus said that life would be filled with troubles. John 16 He said, “In this world you will have many tribulations, many troubles, but take courage, I’ve overcome the world.”
David’s troubles were epic, as we’ve been reading, of course, in the life of David, but to do well and to be victorious in the trouble, you need faith. You need faith to arise and that’s what Psalms 3 would do. It strengthens your faith. You are reminded again, that’s why David wrote it. One of those Psalms that you would just turn to, repeat, speak to your own soul, meditate on, stand in, because there are a lot of troubles in life. There are troubles that come because simply we live in a broken, troubled world. There are other troubles that come to us without any fault of our own. They just come to us.
There are other troubles of our own making and the troubles of our own making are often the most difficult to know how to respond to it because I think a lot of people, they say it’s very common for them to assign themselves to the trouble. In other words, “I did this. I deserve this and I guess I’ll just have to endure this,” but here’s the thing. I don’t believe that’s the way God would see that at all. Does God look at the troubles of our lives, especially, let’s say, the troubles of our own making and does he say, “Don’t come to me for help. You’re the one who made this mess. You’re on your own on this one, pal.” Does God say that?
I submit that he most certainly does not. That’s one of the things I have always loved about the Lord. Oh, I’ve always appreciated this, that he does not leave us in times of trouble, even if that trouble is of our own making. The key to fully trusting God is to call out to him, that he is the one to rescue and to save, even if it’s a trouble of your own making. Now, Psalms 3. To really appreciate Psalms 3, we need to understand what was happening in David’s life when he wrote it. In most of your Bibles, maybe all of them, there’s a little introduction written at the beginning of the Psalm and it reads or it says, “A Psalm of David when he fled from Absalom, his son.”
Now, what happened in David’s life that would culminate in he having to flee from his own son? What culmination of events have conspired to bring David to such a low point of his life that he’s got to flee for his own life from his own son? Now, this is a story that is important. It’s worth remembering. David made tragic choices that brought epic consequences and all of that culminated in him fleeing from his own son. This is his darkest hour. The backstory, very important, David sinned terribly when he took Bathsheba as his own and then arranged for her husband to die in battle.
Now, first he tried to keep it to himself. God would not have that. He sent Nathan the prophet to confront David. “You are the man,” and how David responded to that is another life lesson. David fully trusted that God would forgive him, but also that God would rescue him and save. Notice, for example, Psalms 32:5-7, “I acknowledged my sin to you. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and you forgave the guilt of my sin,” but then he trusts God to rescue. He says, “You are my hiding place. You preserve me from trouble. You surround me with songs of deliverance.”
Now, the consequences of that epic failure in David’s life began to be seen in his family. Now, that is actually a common thing when it comes to sin. It begins to promulgate itself and it begins to be seen in the outcroppings of those who are consequent to it. Tragic drama story. David’s son Amnon raped his half-sister, Tamar. That’s just tragedy of tragedies inside of a family, but then David, paralyzed by his own sin, took no action. Absalom, here’s Absalom now coming into the story, is Tamar’s brother. Absalom took matters into his own hands and he arranged for Amnon’s death.
Absalom then fled the country himself. Banished for three years. Again, David took no action, paralyzed, hobbled by his own consequent of sin. Finally, David extended mercy to Absalom and brought him back to Jerusalem, but he would not see him, refused to see his face. This went on for two more years, a bitterness building up in Absalom’s heart because David refused to see him. Finally, Absalom appealed to David. David relented and saw his son, and when he saw his son, he fell on him and kissed and reconciled but it’s too late.
Absalom had been building up this now for years and he decided to conspire against David. What he did was this. He provided for himself chariots and horses and then 50 men as runners before him wherever he would go about the city. Oh, what an entourage this was, right? 50 men running chariots and horses. It made it look like Absalom was a great warrior, but Absalom had never fought a battle a day in his life. Oh, it gave the impression that he’s a great leader and a great warrior. Then he positioned himself at the gate of the city and he began to win the favor of the people.
He’s there at the city when people would come in and out and he would greet them and, “Oh, my brother, you have a problem? You have something to say? The king is quite busy. Why don’t you tell me your troubles? I’m the one. I listen. I can help people.” Now, he’s little by little winning the people over. Now, it’s important to recognize also that Absalom was very good-looking. He was very nice looking. Now, that is important because if you’re going to pull off a political intrigue, it helps a lot if you have the look. Absalom had the look. He had beautiful, long, flowing, dark hair.
He had the look, the hair, and the Scriptures really bring out his beautiful, long, flowing, dark hair. It’s like, and the women were like, [gushes] and the guys were like, “Oh, yes, he listens, he cares. you can trust Absalom. He listens,” and little by little he started to win the people, and when he had built up enough, then he made his move. He set up headquarters in Hebron shortly to the south and he built this conspiracy ready now to move a coup de Etat. He is fully intending to march upon Jerusalem and overthrow the city and to overthrow David and to make himself the king.
Now, when David got word of just how deep this conspiracy was and that Absalom had won the people. David decided that he must flee Jerusalem in order to spare the city. Oh, David loved Jerusalem and he wanted the city spared from the battle. It’s like David was saying, “Let’s take this outside the city.” David was now fleeing Jerusalem from his own son Absolom. That’s when David sat down at some moment and he penned this song facing the greatest trouble of his life in his deepest anguish, he wrote the song.
I. Your Help is Found in God
If you are going through some monumental, troublesome difficult thing, Psalm 3 will strengthen you, encourage you, there’s much here for us to receive. Let’s read it, Psalm 3:1, “Oh, Lord,” now remember, he’s crying out and writing the psalm in his deepest anguish. “Oh, Lord, oh, how my adversaries have increased. Many are rising up against me. Many are saying of my soul, ‘there’s no deliverance for him and God.'” God does not help him. God’s against him. That’s what, “But thou, oh, Lord.”
He writes, “Many say manner of things against me. They say, God’s against me but you, Lord, now I declare this,” David writes, “But you, oh Lord, are a shield about me. You are my glory. You are the one who lifts my head. I was crying to the Lord with my voice and he answered from his holy mountain. I lay down and slept. I awoke for the Lord sustains me.” And then verse 6, that declaration, “I will not be afraid of 10,000 who have set themselves against me roundabout. Arise, Lord, save me, oh, my God. Arise in my behalf. Arise, oh Lord, save me, oh, my God, for you has smitten all my enemies on the cheek. I look back and I know that you have done it. I’ve seen it. God, you have smitten my enemies on the cheek.”
What does that mean? To smack someone on the cheek. Again, this is a one-on-one battle thing where one would take his fist and just smash it into his opponent’s face and the teeth go flying. I know that’s a picture but that’s what it is. David says, “I have seen you do it, Lord. You have smitten my enemies under cheek. You have shattered the teeth of the wicked. I’ve seen you do it. Salvation belongs to the Lord.” See how David is writing a declaration in the midst of his epic momentous trouble, “I’ve seen you do it, Lord, you have smitten my enemies in the face. Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing is upon your people.”
All right, let’s look through these verses because they are so key to help us. Starting with this. “Your help is found in God,” verse 2. Many are saying no, there is not God’s against you because look, just the fact that you’re going through all of this trouble is a declaration that God is against you. David will not believe this. No, there is help for me in God and this is where all of us must stand on this great truth. No, there is help. David was in such deep trouble. People were saying, “Oh, David was once a great warrior. David is the one who defeated the Philistine giant. Oh, David could put foreign armies to flight. He was saved from his enemies over and over. Oh, that great, David,” but no more.
Now God’s against him. Look, he’s fleeing but David would not believe it. David refused to give up on God. David would not give up. Sometimes when people are going through troubles, they’re encountering all manner of difficulties, especially troubles of their own making, they quit. They give up on God. They give up either because they think that God has given up on them or because they’re angry with God for even allowing this trouble to come at all, but one of the things you’ve got to really appreciate about David is that he would not give up.
A. God is a shield about you
David never gave up. “I will not relent,” and so he makes and writes out such a declaration, “They say all this about me. God’s against me. There’s no help for me,” but he says, “Oh, you, oh Lord, are a shield. I know it.” God is a shield about you. That is a take hold of that great truth. This is David’s faith. “Oh, there’s no help for him. God’s against him,” but no, he says, “You’re a shield.” A shield is protection. A shield is favor to stand between you and the trouble. “God, you are a shield to me. Come and stand between me and the trouble.” Psalm 32:7, “You, Lord,” as I read it, “You are my hiding place. You preserve me from trouble. You surround me with songs.” I love that. What a picture is that? How poetic, “You surround me with songs of deliverance.”
Psalm 5, we were just looking at this Wednesday, verses 11-12, “Let all who take refuge in you, be glad. Let them ever sing for joy. For it is you who bless the righteous man. Oh Lord, you surround him with favor like a shield. I know you would do it, Lord, may say all manner of things against me but Lord, you are a shield, surround me now.” Now, it is important to know the story that not everyone turned against David. In fact, there was a really interesting scene that unfolds as David was fleeing Jerusalem. He stopped at the last house and he stopped at the last house to just acknowledge all those who had come with him.
As they passed by and beside him, he acknowledged them. Can you just imagine the sadness, the grief, the burden that they’re all carrying, having to leave the city and there’s David standing there acknowledging them as they come by? Then, he sees a man there coming by. His name is Ittai and he’s a Gittite.
The story is 2 Samuel 15:17-21, “The king went out and all the people with him and they stopped at the last house. Now, all the servants passed on before him, all the Cherethites, Pelethites, and Gittites.” These are people from the nations that were right around who had come, who had surrounded David. They believed in David’s God and David himself but then the king saw this man, Ittai. He says to Ittai the Gittite, “Will you go with us? You came only yesterday. You going to come with us? You just arrived yesterday. Now today I shall make you wander with us. You’re going to go with us into all this trouble, you just got here yesterday.”
He says, “Go back, return, go back. Take your brothers with you. Mercy and truth be with you.” In other words, “I respect you, I honor you but go back. Why would you bring such trouble upon yourself? Go back.” Itai answered the king. Oh, you got to love this declaration, “As the Lord lives.” Now here, he’s a Philistine but he’s declaring the God of Israel, Yahweh, Yahava, Jehovah, “As the Lord, Jehovah lives and as the Lord, my king lives. Surely wherever my Lord the king may be, whether for death or for life, there your servant also will be.”
Oh, such loyalty could only have encouraged David in his darkest hour, “Not everyone’s against me. Not everyone says such terrible things about me.” Many were saying such terrible things. They were taking the opportunity. As David was leaving, there’s another story about a man who was walking alongside of him. His name is Shimei. He was walking alongside just across the gully and he’s throwing dirt clods at David, “Get out, blood’s on your hand, you deserve it, get out.” People were saying all things against David. I’ll tell you, it feels terrible when people are saying things about you. When people think terrible things about you especially if you don’t deserve it, it feels terrible.
I was thinking of an illustration of something that happened in my life, not anything close to what David experienced. The story is this. Several years ago, it was a Sunday morning and there was a big snowstorm that had come in and so we decided to cancel all the services and so I was here at the church like, “Sorry, there’s no church, snow was piling. It’s really snowing thick now.” The problem was we had boxes and boxes and boxes of Krispy Kreme doughnuts and I thought, “What do we do with the doughnuts?”
I thought, “Oh, I know what we’ll do. I’ll take them out to the community around where I live and I’ll start giving them to all the neighbors, be a little blessing. I stacked them all in my car and drove through the snow. It’s king. It’s really thick now. I parked out there and I took the first box of doughnuts, walked down the sidewalk, and up their walk, rang the doorbell, “Merry Christmas, I’m the pastor of the church just down the way. Merry Christmas.”
Then I walked to the next one. Sometimes they answered, sometimes they were not. About six doors down, snow’s getting really thick. I’m walking down with a box of doughnuts and I see that there’s a newspaper, someone delivered it but threw it out in the snow. I thought, “Oh, that’s just terrible. I’ll pick up the newspaper and bring it up to the door.” This is back in the days when newspapers were a thing and the Sunday paper was really thick and special. I picked it up, took it underneath my arm, wrapped in plastic. I put it under my arm, had my doughnuts, walked up to the door, rang the doorbell and I waited, no answer. Rang the doorbell, no answer and I thought, “Okay.”
I started to go back and I walked all the way down his walk and down the sidewalk, and I realized, “Oh, I forgot to lean the newspaper. Then I’m going, “Oh, I got to trudge all the way back in the snow and I’m like, “Aah.” I looked over and there’s the neighbor across the street leaning against his shovel, “What are you doing with that paper?” What do you say? No matter what you say now, it looks terrible, “I was just going to leave it at the door.” “You bet you are.” What do you say? How do you say anything? “Oh, I’m the pastor of the church down the street. Come visit us sometime. We have integrity and honor at our church. We steal newspapers while we deliver doughnuts.”
What do you say? I could not say a thing, I just had to trudge back and leave. I thought, “Lord, you know the truth.” I’m sure he’s got all manner of thoughts in his mind. “Lord? you know the truth about who I am, and that’s enough for me.” Amen? What amazing loyalty in Ittai? What commitment? What strength of character? What loyalty of heart as the Lord Jehovah lives and as my Lord the King lives. He knew that David was the Lord’s anointed. It was a declaration of faith, wasn’t it? God has anointed the King of Israel, and therefore, the favor of God surrounds him like a shield, “I will not leave you.” Notice now, there’s more to the verse.
B. My glory and the One who lifts my head
“They’re saying such things against me, but you, oh Lord, our shield,” and then he says, “And you, oh Lord, are my glory and the one who lifts my head.” My glory. Do you have glory? Many people don’t think in such a way, my glory. It just sounds, “Oh yes, my glory.” David is not saying that his glory is his own glory. He says, “You are my glory and the one who lifts my head.” Maybe a way to see it would be this, the moon has no light unto itself, yet a full moon lights the night sky with light because it casts forth the light that it receives from the sun. That is the picture of the fact that God’s glory is ours. We receive that glory and it bears forth out of our lives. You are my glory.
Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.” Earlier Jesus said that he was the light of the world but both are true. You are the light of the world because Jesus is the light of the world and you have received it. He has given it to you. You received that. The light of God, the glory is the manifest beauty of God, the beauty of his holiness, the beauty of his presence, the beauty of what he does in your life. The manifest beauty of God is his glory.
The light of God. You are that light. That beauty of God has shined forth in your soul, therefore, you now be that light to the world. Then he adds a city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. You can’t hide that light or he says, if anyone has a lamp, nor does anyone light a lamp and they put it under a basket. No, he puts it on a lamp stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. Let your light so shine. Let your glory so bear that they may see your good works in your life and they glorify your Father who is in heaven. Glory is the manifest beauty of the Lord. The word glory can be translated, fame or renowned.
My glory, the fame, what is the renowned of your name? When people think of your name, what is the renowned of your name? Now, the word literally comes from a meaning heavyweight. In other words, glory is the heaviest, grandest, greatest aspect of who you are, your renowned, your name. What is your renowned? What is the heaviest, greatest aspect of who you are?
David says, “You are my glory. It is the greatest and heaviest aspect of who I am because of you. You are my glory. Because of you, because of your glory, you’re the one who lifts my head.” Now, lifting his head is not a sense of any arrogance at all, not in a haughty way, no. In a way that says, I know my God and I will walk steadfast in my king.
II. Because of God; Do Not be Afraid
When Moses had opportunity to ask for something for himself, personal, what did he ask for? Glory. Then back to Psalm 3, notice in verse 6, it culminates, he builds and he builds and then he culminates, “I will not be afraid of 10,000 of people who have set themselves against me. If an army arises against me, I will not be afraid.”
Because of God, do not be afraid. This is a key to victory in the terrible times of trouble. You need that faith to arise. David is, he’s speaking faith to life, “I will not be afraid.” He’s writing it, declaring it, “If 10,000 of people arose against me, I won’t be afraid,” because David and God had a long history of walking together through many troubles.
A. Faith is built one trouble at a time
Now, in his deepest trouble of all, now is the time to declare that faith that has been established over all those years. In other words, faith is built one trouble at a time. Notice verse 7, “Arise, oh Lord, save me. For you has smitten all my enemies on the cheek. You have shattered the teeth of the wicked.” In other words, over and over and over, David is saying, “God has done it. I have seen. God and I have been through a lot of troubles together and I have seen God do it over and over and over. You have smitten my enemy on the cheek, I have seen it over and over. Salvation belongs to God. I know this because God has proven himself. He’s done it.”
Notice that declaration, “Salvation belongs to God.” David has a part, I submit, that you see here now one of the great keys to faith, that salvation belongs to God but David had a part. What was David’s part? David’s part was faith, David’s part was trust, and David’s part was action. I submit that this is a very important part of faith. Your part, God– David says, “Salvation belongs to God. God will do it. I’ve seen God do it over and over and over. You have smitten my enemies on the cheek. I’ve seen it. I know God is the one. Salvation belongs to him.” You have a part, your part is the faith. Your part is the trust, and your part is the action.
Here’s what I mean, a ship that never leaves the harbor will never be shipwrecked, true, but it will also accomplish nothing. From the very beginning of David’s life, from the very beginning of David’s story, you see that he is willing to get out into the ring. To face the giant, to face down the troubles. David doesn’t say, “Oh, God fights my battles. I guess I’ll go back and watch the sheep. I don’t engage. I don’t like battles and I just let God do my finding for me. I’m going to be with the sheep.” David does not say that.
The story that when David was just a teenager, young lad, his father sent him to check on his older brothers who were serving in the army of Israel. When David came into the camp, he heard that Philistine giant, calling out those taunts against Israel that he had been doing for 40 days. The giant would come out, “I defy the armies of Israel. Send out a man to fight if you have one. I defy the armies of Israel.” Then he would begin to cast insults against God and taunt them and insult them and cuss, oh, he’s just ugly in his words and just cussing violently and insulting them and taunting them, “I defy you. I defy the armies of Israel.”
David arises into the army and he hears this. The men are shrinking back in fear and David is incensed, “Will no one go out to fight him? Is there not a God in Israel?” He’s incensed at this. Of course, the word comes to Saul about David’s words. Saul, you know the story, eventually sends David out. When the Philistine giant sees David, he’s just a youth carrying a staff and the Philistine giant, “What? You send out a boy with a stick? What? Am I a dog that you send a stick? Come here.” Again, the way they would speak, “Come here, boy, I’ll rip your body apart and I’ll feed your dead body to the birds of the air.” That’s the way they speak and more.
That’s what the giant said, “What? You come to me with sticks. Come here.” David responds. Now, the response of David is so important because he declares his faith. Of all the people there, it was David and David alone that was willing to get out into the field. Then he makes his speech and his speech makes it very clear that this is God’s doing. “Know this,” David said to the Philistine, “Oh, you come to me with a sword and a spear and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, whom you have just taunted.”
Again, David is out there. He is not bragging about himself like, “Oh yes, I am a great–” No. “You come to me with sword, spear, javelin. I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, whom you have just taunted. This day the Lord will do it. The Lord will deliver you into my hand. God will do it so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. That all this assembly may know.” Here I think he turns to the army of Israel, “So that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear. For the battle is the Lord’s and he will do it. He will give you into our hands.”
You see, David, his part is faith. His part is trust and his part is action. Men and women of faith are men and women of action. That’s how you and God build your story, your history of God’s rescuing and saving over and over and over one trouble at a time. Faith like this is faith that is built. People are not born with faith like that. It’s built brick by brick, stone by stone, trouble by trouble. David and God had a long history together, and now in his darkest hour, he can recount all of those victories and know that God will do it again.
“Arise, oh Lord, see me. Oh, my God. You have smitten my enemies on the cheek. I’ve seen you do it over and over and over. You have shattered the teeth of the wicked. I say to you, Lord, do it again. Salvation belongs to God. Do it again, Lord. Here we are now. We’ve been through so many troubles, Lord, and now we face the darkest, do it again. I’ve seen you do it over and over.” David and God have a long history. They built now a story of faith, trouble by trouble, brick by brick, stone by stone. The faith is arising that David can say, “I’ve seen it. I know it. You’ve done it over and over. Do it again, God, and you will build that story. God will rescue and save and deliver when you call out to him when you trust him when you believe that salvation belongs to God, God will do it again. Your part is faith. Your part is trust. Your part is the action to believe that God is with you in the midst of it. I will not be afraid of 10,000 of people who have arisen against me roundabout. I’ve seen you do it over and over and over. You’ve smitten my enemy in the cheek. Do it again.”
B. Let the peace of God guard your heart
I’ll tell you from my own life, I’ve seen God prove himself to me over and over and over and over and over again. God and I, we have a story together and God’s not finished yet. How many would add your own testimony? Oh, we have a story. Yes, amen. Let’s give the Lord praise. Exactly right. Do it again, but then notice the peace. Let God be the peace that guards your heart.
“I cried out to the Lord and He answered me from His holy mountain. I know my God.” This is David, “I know my God. I know how he moves. I have seen him do it over and over and over. When I cry out to God, I know that he moves. I know that he hears. I know that he will answer for his holy mountain. I will call out to God and I know my God.” That’s why he says, “I lay down and I slept. I awoke. For the Lord sustains me.” That’s peace. That’s peace in the midst of it, that’s faith that has arisen to believe. That’s peace.
There is help for you in God. Interestingly, when David was fleeing Jerusalem, he ascended the Mount of Olives. If you’ve ever been to Jerusalem, you know that when you ascend the Mount of Olives, you can turn around and there is the city laid out before you. It is the same mountain that Jesus descended on the same path in order to enter into the city and to offer himself as the sacrifice for sin, that you and I would have our sins paid and paid in full, that we would be reconciled to God, that we would call God our Father, and know with every confidence that he is a shield about us.
That he pours forth his favor like a shield, that he is our glory and the one who lifts our head. That we can declare it, God, I know that you’ll walk with me on the journey of this life and that you will do it over and over and over. You have proven yourself to me. You have smitten my enemy on the cheek. Do it again. Jesus won that for us. He won for us the privilege and right to be called children of the living God, that you would know that you can trust him in the midst of all of the turbulence and trouble of this broken life. God will walk with you and he will prove himself to you over and over and over and he’ll do it again. Lord, we love you and thank you.
It’s amazing, but you have shown us in your word. We truly are blessed. Church, how many would say to the Lord today, I believe, God, you have proven yourself to me over and over and over and I know that you will do it again. Lord, here I am. I call out to you. I declare it to you, I know my God, I’ve seen you move. I know that you will do it again, how many would say that to the Lord today? Lord, I need you this very hour. Do it again. Do it again Lord, move in my behalf. Arise, oh Lord, save. Do it again.
Lord, thank you for everyone. Steward of the Lord, we are so thankful to you. Oh Lord, move, reveal yourself. We are truly thankful to you in Jesus’ powerful name, and everyone said, Amen. Let’s give the Lord praising glory and honor. Can we do that? Amen.
God Gives the Key to Happiness
Psalm 1:1-6
August 26-27, 2023
The book of Psalms continues the poetry section of your Bible and, as I mentioned, when we were going through the book of Job, Hebrew poetry is different than English poetry. English poetry rhymes in sound. Hebrew poetry rhymes in thought. For example, English poetry, as I mentioned before, is like roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, and so are you, and that is how poems work in English usually. That didn’t rhyme but you get my idea. That poem does not sound poetic in French or German or something but you take a Hebrew poem and you can translate it into any language in the world and it will still beautifully be poetry because it rhymes in thought and not in sound.
All right. Now, David wrote most of the Psalms. Well, just under half of them. His worship leader, Asaph wrote 12. The descendants of Korah wrote 10. Solomon wrote 1 or 2. Moses wrote 1, Psalm 90. Some we do not know the author. In Hebrew, the book is called Tehillim, which means in Hebrew praise songs. Our English word Psalms comes out of the Greek translation, and it means songs of praise. Right away, you get a sense that is a book of songs to be sung. Exactly right. In fact, a lot of our modern praise songs are written on the words of some of the most beautiful of the Psalms because it is a book that is meant to be sung.
In fact, some of the songs say, for the instruments so and so, or for the worship leader, thus and so. You get a sense right away it is meant to be sung. This is so important because we were made by God to sing, and the soul resonates in the glory of God when we sing and worship. As the Psalms declare the worship of God, the soul resonates in the glory of God. Do you believe that there will be music in heaven? Oh, it will be glorious. Can you believe that there will be singing in heaven? Oh, the worship of heaven will be amazing.
It makes me think about when we gather at the church for a worship night. You guys are awesome because we will call worship night, the house is full and there is worship. There is amazing worship that is happening here because hearts are alive, and the glory of God is revealed. To me, that is the taste of heaven. That is what heaven will be in many ways. Glorious as we resonate in the glory of God. In fact, in the book of Revelation, it describes that when the Lamb of God takes the book out of the right hand of the Almighty, that the four living creatures and the 24 elders, they fall down before the Lamb, and they worship. They sing a new song. New song, glorious.
Can you just imagine when they sing, “Worthy art thou to take the book and to break its seals for you were slain, and you purchased with God with your blood, men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation and all the angels shout amen.” The glory of God revealed in the resonating of worship. Now, Psalm 1, as we turn there, it captures one of the great themes really, not only that runs through the Psalms but really through the entire Word of God, that your soul can be alive. That you can choose the course of life and then you can find a happiness that resides deep in the soul.
Notice, for example, how the book begins, how the chapter begins. O, how blessed is the man? See, this word blessed, now, it’s very important to understand, this is not the most commonly used word in Hebrew. There are two main Hebrew words that describe blessing, blessed. The main one is not this one. The main one is the word Barukh. In fact, almost all Hebrew prayers, except for the Shema, begin with the words Barukh ata Adonai. Blessing are thou O, Lord. Blessed. See, that’s the word Barukh, and it’s the most popular word but it’s a very important word to understand.
When the Lord was speaking to Abraham, He said, “I will make you a great nation. I will bless you.” See? “I will pour out to you a great blessing.” Then He says, “I will make your name great and you will be a blessing.” Same word, Baruch. Those who bless Israel will be blessed. Baruch. It is the pouring out. That is not the word here. The word here is the word esher, and it can be translated happy, although it’s much, much deeper than that. It is the condition of the heart. It is the condition of the soul. It’s much more than a momentary emotional moment of elation. No, it’s much deeper than that.
It is the condition of the soul that is contented, that is at peace. There’s a peace that passes understanding. The soul is right with God. God is doing a beautiful work on the soul. That is what He means by blessed. Esher. It’s a deep, deep word. One of the deepest words in the Hebrew language. Now, it speaks to that many. Well, I would say all people want to be happy. We don’t even need to do a show of hands. How many people want to be happy? Everybody wants to be happy because there’s a longing for something. There’s a deep longing for that soul to be that way, and so people want to be happy.
In fact, nine years ago, I think it was, there was a song that came out that was so popular. It was called Happy by Pharrell Williams. Anybody remember the song? It was a song that made people happy. “Tap along if you feel.” It just makes you want to be happy. “If you feel.” It’s such a happy song. Well, why did people resonate with that? It was number one pretty much in every nation of the world for months. Why? Because people want to be happy. It’s a longing, deep desire because most people are not happy. In fact, many surveys, polls have been conducted that show that most people, many people are quite unhappy. They’re unhappy with their jobs. They’re unhappy with a lot in life. They’re unhappy with their life.
At the same time though, the polls and surveys reveal that they haven’t thought, they have some ideas as to what would make them happy. “Oh, if I just had enough money. If I just had the job that would create the income stream, thus. If I could just buy a house.” A lot of single people think, “Oh, if I could just be married, it would solve all my problems.” Oh, there must be married people in the house. In the Declaration of Independence, our founding fathers wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
See, in other words, the founding fathers established this nation on the principle that you’re guaranteed the right to pursue happiness. Guaranteed the right to pursue it but they don’t tell you where to find it. You know why? Because, and this is such a very important point, happiness cannot be found by pursuing it. Happiness cannot be found by pursuing it. See, the problem is that people believe that they can find happiness by what they have or what they do or by pursuing the American dream. “If I could just achieve the American dream, then I would be happy.”
See, the problem with the American dream is that as soon as you have it, it’s out of date. Well, except for clothes. They have a tendency to come back in 30 years. Although a word of caution, you know those skinny jeans that are so cool today? Yes, they’re not going to fit in 30 years. I’m just saying. Then there’ll be muffin top jeans. I’m just saying. Happiness cannot be found by pursuing it because happiness is found by pursuing God, and happiness is the result of finding God.
I. Happy is the One Who Does Not Do
It’s a much deeper word than just happy. It is the soul that is right with God, there’s a peace that passes understanding that God is doing a beautiful work on the soul. That’s blessed. That’s esher. Let’s read it. Psalm 1. We’ll read the whole of the Psalm starting in verse one, “Oh, how blessed is the man who does not do.” He starts out by saying the negative, “Oh, how blessed you’ll be if you do not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers.” But his delight, “Oh, how blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of God.” You might say, “The word of God.”
In His law, he meditates day and night. Then it shows the result of that soul that delights in such, “He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water.” You might say, “By living water.” “Which yields its fruit in its season, its leaf does not wither, and in whatever he does, he prospers.” The wicked are not like that. They’re not so. They’re like chaff, which the wind drives away. “Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the day of judgment. Sinners will not stand in the assembly of the righteous, for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” Notice how He begins or how He ends. “There is a way of the righteous, and there is the way of the wicked.” There is a path of life and there’s a path of death.
See, this is a tremendously important theme for us. Let’s go back and see how God would reveal these principles through our lives. Notice how He begins, “Happy is the one who does not do.” See, you’ll find happiness in what you do not do. In other words, one of the best ways to solve problems is to prevent them from happening the first place. God wants to keep you from these troubles. You might even reverse this and say, “Miserable is the one who does these things. Happy is the one who does not do.”
Over and over, God contrasts the different paths, then He calls you to choose. Choose. There are certain matters in life in which you have a choice. Deuteronomy, “I set before you life and death, now choose.” Of course, He then says, “I love you. I want you to choose life, but there is a choice.” There are certain matters by which you have choosing.
Now, certainly, there are some things in life you do not choose. Troubles that come seemingly out of nowhere, you had nothing to do with them at all. I understand that. For example, maybe you read in the news some weeks ago about this woman in Texas who was riding her lawnmower in the backyard, minding her own business, mowing her lawn when a snake literally fell from the sky and wrapped itself around her arm. Anybody read this in the news? It’s an amazing story. She’s minding her own business in the backyard, mowing her lawn. Snake falls from the sky, wraps itself around her arm, and she is of course trying to get it off of her arm, but it won’t let go, and it’s trying to strike her in the face. She’s got glasses on. She’s trying to shake this and it won’t let go.
Now, you think that’s bad enough, oh, but then a hawk comes swooping down and lands on her arm trying to wrap the snake off of her arm. Now she’s trying to get both of them off her arm. The snake is trying to bite the hawk and her, and the whole thing finally ends when the hawk snatches the snake and flies off with it. She was minding her own business. Then she runs to her husband. He’s in the front yard and she gives him an amazing story of what amazing things happened. Then, of course, they run to the emergency room. By the way, she was fine. The story ended well with her. I should tell you, the end of the snake was not so good, but that’s the end of the story.
A. Do not walk in the counsel of the wicked
See, in other words, yes, there are troubles. You had no part in choosing them at all. But there are other matters you can choose, and did choose. God is saying, “In the course of this life, I want you to set the course by the choosing of life.” Miserable is the one who does this. Happy, blessed, contented, the soul is made alive in the one who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked. See, people with this kind of soul are marked by what they do not to do.
Now, somebody might read this verse and say, “Man, there’s so much negativity here.” Yes, you’re right, because there’s power in it. See, God is laying a foundational understanding of life, that what you say no to is just as important as what you’re saying yes to. Must learn the power of saying no to those things which will bring misery to your life. Happy is the one who says no.
Here’s an illustration. Imagine an athlete in training, and then you ask them, “Oh, what do you eat?” They’ll tell you they’ll eat all manner of healthy things, but that’s only half of the story. See, you ask them, “Oh, what is your eating regimen?” They’ll say, “Oh, I eat vegetables, and healthy proteins, and complex grains. Then right before bed, I have a tub of ice cream and a half a chocolate cake.” You’ll never hear them say that because what you say no to is just as important as what you say yes to.
Do not walk in the counsel of the wicked. Beware of the counsel, the advice of the ungodly. Oh, there is so much of our culture today that wants to speak that ungodly counsel into your life. There’s so much noise today. In fact, let me even say further that there is a great battle being waged today in our modern time and culture. There’s a great battle and they are desperately wanting to speak into the lives, especially of children because they know that they are vulnerable. If they can speak these ungodly words, the culture is trying to get a hold of children when they are young, knowing that it will set the course of their life. Many lives are being destroyed today because of the voices of the counsel of the ungodly. I say being destroyed because that’s where the path leads.
B. Do not stand in the path of sinners
Miserable is the one who walks in this path. God is saying to you, “How blessed are you who do not walk in such counsel.” But notice in the next phrase, “Nor do they stand in the path of sinners.” This is the key, God’s key to happiness. A deep-seated joyful happiness. Notice that there’s a progression here. Those who walk in the counsel of the ungodly will soon find themselves standing in the path of sinners. You might say standing in the path with sinners. In other words, those who listen to the counsel of the ungodly will soon find themselves standing with them. In other words, be careful who you choose as your associates. Be careful who you hang with.
Paul wrote this in 1st Corinthians 15:33, “Do not be deceived. Bad company corrupts good character.” We know this is true. You might call it peer pressure. The influence of the culture of the peers, of the associates, their ungodly counsel will transform. You are becoming like them. That’s the power of peer pleasure. Children particularly are vulnerable to it because their character is not yet made solid. They’re growing, but they’re vulnerable, and so they’re easily influenced.
That’s why when we were raising our kids, as many of you know, we raised five kids, and peer pressure is a tremendous force in their lives. When opportunity arose, I try to say to them, “Look, when it comes to peer pressure, you be the pressure. You pressure them to that which is godly and right. Don’t let them pressure you into that which will bring your path towards misery.”
Jesus is wonderful, the greatest of examples in this. Jesus was called the friend of sinners. The Jewish leaders would accuse Him, “You sit in their house. You have dinner. You are friends with the worst of the worst of the worst publicans and sinners.” Yes, it’s true, Jesus understood, of course, that they are sinners who need to be reconciled to God, but you can be sure Jesus was far too strong to be influenced by them.
C. Do not sit in the seat of scoffers
No, he wanted them to come out of that. He was far too strong. Those who are walking in the council of the ungodly are being weakened. Weakened by that council and soon find themselves standing within the path of sinners. Then he says, “And do not sit in the seat of scoffers.” See, oh, how happy, oh, how blessed the soul that is made alive in the one who does not sit in the seat of those who scoff. Again, notice the progression.
This is the person who’s gone from walking in ungodly counsel to standing in the path with sinners, and now they’re sitting in the seat of scoffers. They’re scuffing themselves. They’ve been completely transformed now. They are scoffers. Oh, there are so many mockers and scoffers today. It’s trending in our society. You might say it’s going viral. This he’s describing is the person who’s joined them. They sit in the seat. This is not the way that leads to life. That’s what the Psalm is saying.
This is not the way that leads to blessing, this happiness. Oh, how miserable is the one who pursues such things. It will destroy the thief. Jesus says, “Come. The enemy of your soul has come to steal, to kill, and destroy. That’s what God is trying to save you from. Do not go down this path. It’s the path of misery.” Let me give you a very extreme example, if you don’t mind. The God of sexuality is a terrible master that will destroy. It steals, it kills, it destroys, but God will bless your marriage in wonderful ways.
You see the path, the God of drugs and alcohol will destroy everything. It will take your life, it will take your money, it will take your position. It will destroy and destroy. If sex could truly satisfy the soul, well, then prostitutes would be the happiest people on earth, but they are most certainly not. If alcohol could truly satisfy the soul, then alcoholics would be the happiest people on earth, but they are not. God is saying, “Oh, how blessed, how happy, how content of soul are those who do not walk in these things.”
II. Happy is the One Who Delights in God
Then the Psalm poetically shifts in verse 2, “Happy is the one who delights in God,” is the great summary of the poetic shift. “Oh, how happy,” He says, “is the one who delights in the law of the Lord.” You might say the word of God. Notice his perspective on the word of God. He delights in it. He delights in it. It’s not a drudgery. Oh, he delights. This is the one who sees that the one who gave that word is the one who wants to pour life into you, and he uses the word of God to do it. You delight in it. It’s not a drudgery. You delight in it.
Many, many Christians have heard, many pastors have said many, many times, “Oh, how important it is to dwell in the word of God.” Don’t just dwell in it with drudgery. Okay, fine. The pastor has said, “It’s important to be in the word of God.” “Okay, fine. I guess I got to do– it’s the new Christian law. I guess I got to do this to please God. Okay, fine. I’ll read it. Oh, how blessed is the man who walked in the Council of the Wicked. Okay, fine. I’ve done it.” No, he says he delights in it. He delights in it. He delights in it.
In fact, he goes on to say, and in that law, he meditates. He thinks, he meditates day and night upon it. The word, meditate here in the Hebrew, suggests like a muttering or a repeating to oneself under your breath. In other words, you’re considering it deeply. You are chewing on them, you might say. You’re like, they’re good to the taste. Sometimes you do that when you’re eating. “Mm-hmm, that’s good.” You’re repeating the words. You’re slowing down to consider how good they are.
Psalm 19:8-10, “The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoice in heart. They are sweeter than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Oh, how good they taste. Oh, how sweet they are.” You know, though, the word of God is filled with the treasure of God. I was thinking about when we were in the book of Leviticus, I remember, in fact, I was at a pastor’s gathering, and I was sitting with a pastor I’d never met, and we’re getting to know each other. He said, “Oh, you’re in Calvary Chapel.” I said, “Yes.”
He said, “So you do the Calvary Chapel thing?” Yes. That means go through the whole Bible. He said, “So all of it?” I go, “Yes, all of it.” “You teach even through Leviticus?” “Like that.” “Like Leviticus?” I go, “Oh, yes.” Oh, there is so much in the book of Leviticus. I remember when maybe some of you remember when we were in the book of Leviticus and I would say, “I’m excited to announce that we’re getting in the book of Leviticus today,” and everybody would start clapping.
That’s how strange of a church this is. What? Yes, we’re delighting in it because there’s great treasure. We were just in the book of Job. Oh, many people, they don’t want to study the book of Job. It’s a very heavy book. Oh, what treasures we found. Anybody with us in the book of Job? Oh, what treasures we found. Because we considered it deeply. You meditate on it. I remembered some years ago teaching a class of new believers.
People could ask questions and someone asked, “Do Christians meditate like in the Eastern religions?” I said, “Well,” and I referenced Psalm 1. “Well, there is, of course, the idea of meditating in the Christian life, but it’s not like the Eastern religions. In Eastern religions, the idea of meditation is to empty one’s mind, empty of all thoughts, empty one’s mind of all thoughts, so that they can become one with the universe.
That’s the goal of such meditation. In order to empty, empty, empty, empty, they would repeat the sound of the universe. You know what the sound of the universe is? I hear the sound of universe. They would repeat the sound to empty, empty, empty. I said, “The Christian idea of meditation is not to empty. It is the exact opposite. It is to fill, to fill, to fill. See, to meditate by filling your heart and your mind with the very thoughts and words, filling the pages of your Bible so that you can delight in the one who made the universe.
We don’t want to become one with the universe. We delight in the one who made it. Amen. Let’s get to the Lord praise. That’s where glory is. Amen. See, when you’re delighting in the word of God, you’re delighting in Him who sent it, and now your soul is content, there’s peace. God is doing a beautiful work on the soul. The result, He describes next, “You will be like a tree planted by living water. A tree planted by streams of water is strong. Its roots run deep. They’ve found a source of life that fills and nourishes every branch.
They reach out with their roots and they draw into them. They draw that water into their soul, and that’s why they’re happy, contented, joyful. The beautiful work of God is glorious because they’ve reached deeply and they’ve drawn into that. Notice that the tree is planted there. See, in other words, it’s not going anywhere. See, I love that picture right there. Oh, I have found my source of life. I have found that which brings my soul joy. My soul is contented. There is a peace that passes understanding. God is doing a beautiful work on my soul, and I’m not going anywhere.
A. You will be like a tree planted by living water
There is nothing that would satisfy my soul like this water. Nothing. It’s the steadfastness to drink from the water is what brings that life. It will be like a tree planted by living water. My wife loves palm trees. We’ve collected them. We’ve got six palm trees in the front of our yards, three in the back, and so we look like California and people. The palm trees that are doing the best are the ones planted by the water, by the pond. It’s like, oh, they love the water and they’re vibrant. Because notice what it says. They will be like a tree planted by streams of water and they will yield their fruit.
B. You will yield fruit in season
Yes, that’s it. You will yield fruit in season. See, the tree that’s full of life brings forth fruit. God made the tree to bring forth fruit. God even expects the tree to bear fruit, that which comes out. Because you’ve been drinking, because you’ve been receiving that life, God expects there for something to come from you. Notice, John 15:4-5, Jesus here says, “He who abides in me,” there is that abiding, that steadfast drawing from that water, “He who abides in me and I in him, he is the one who bears much fruit.”
Apart from me, you can do nothing. See, the result of abiding, the result of being a tree planted by living water is that fruit comes out of your life because it’s the result of what came into your life. Notice, Luke 6:45, love quoting the Lord here on this because it’s such a deep truth. Jesus said, “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart will bring forth what is good.”
The good man out of the good treasure, see, will bring forth from that good treasure. You draw in, you delight in the word of God, your roots run deep and you draw from that life, and your soul is filled with the joy of the Lord. A peace that passes understanding, the beautiful work of God is resonating in your soul. That is the good treasure of your heart. Well, what’s going to come out is what is filling the heart, the glory.
Notice that it yields its fruit in season. In other words, it does take time. There’s a maturing process that comes from abiding. See, stay steadfast, abiding. Stay there and you’ll see step by step verse by verse, day by day your soul is going to be increasing because you’re just continually drinking from that, you’re drawing from that and day by day, see, it doesn’t happen all at once.
I say that because a prison doesn’t come to faith in Christ one day, and then they walk in the maturity of it the next. No, there is an abiding, so patiently waiting for that soul. God will bring that life, then you’ll see it will yield its fruit, it ripens. Now, I love that He uses the word fruit to describe the godly result of your life.
Fruit is good. It’s tasty. It’s a blessing. It’s sweet. Have you ever been around someone who is refreshing? It’s just a delight to be with him. You are so encouraged just being around them. It is like you want to say, what is it with you? Well, that is describing a Psalm 1 kind of person right there. Their soul is filled with the joy of the Lord, peace that passes understanding, their God is doing a beautiful work in their soul.
What is it that comes out of them is refreshing. It’s the fruit of refreshing. It’s good. What is it with you? God wants you to be like that. That’s why God wants you to be and me, all of us. That is that work. “I want your soul to be like this, that you’re filled and overflowing. Your soul finds the joy of the Lord, the peace that passes understanding, that God is doing such a beautiful work of glory that that fruit which is the result of your life is sweet.”
It’s good. It blesses. It’s ripe. It’s good. It’s tasty. It’s like a cold watermelon on a hot day. Oh, it’s good. God wants you to be like that. That’s the result of God doing something glorious. It’s like a peach ripening on the tree that’s so juicy, it runs down your face. Oh, it’s so good. That’s the result of your soul, the joy of the Lord.
Notice Galatians chapter 5:22-23. He describes the fruit of the spirit. That is to say the result of the spirit of the living God abiding, that is the presence of God abiding that it brings forth a fruit. Notice, the fruit of the spirit is love. When you’ve been dwelling and delighting in the love of God, the love of God is filling your soul so that the result of it is that love is what comes out of you.
You drink from bitter water and your soul is bitter, and then bitterness is going to come out of you. When you’re delighting in the Lord and your soul is filled with joy, God is doing a beautiful work, that’s what comes out. The fruit of the spirit is love and joy is an extra, right when joy of the Lord, that’s what’s going to come out of you. God is saying that is the result of your soul.
We’re not to be the Christian e-whores of the day. “Oh, how are you?” “I’m fine. My soul is sad.” No, look, I’m not speaking of just walking around in some kind of false elation. I’m not speaking of that at all. What I’m speaking to is a deep, settled peace. Deeply settled Joy. I’ve had all manner of trouble in my life, but God has walked with me through every one of them and my soul is at peace. God is filling.
God is doing a work that is glorious and I want more of that, the joy of the Lord, even in the midst of many troubles because there’s a deep settled peace, that’s blessedness. Patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control. These things are what comes forth because you have been abiding. Notice then he says, “And in whatever he does, he prospers.”
C. In whatever he does, he prospers
Now, this is not prosperity gospel at all. That’s not at all what he is saying here. What is he saying? Well, do you know the difference between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea? You might say, yes, the Dead Sea’s dead. Right, but why? Well, the Sea of Galilee is alive because it brings the headwaters of the Jordan into it, but then it pours forth from it, the Jordan River.
It brings into it life, fresh living water, but it brings forth out of it the Jordan River. It’s alive. The Dead Sea, do you know that there is much fresh water flowing into the Dead Sea? There is a lot of fresh water flowing into the Dead Sea, but it’s dead because it receives and never gives. Me, I need, I need. Me, I take, I take, I take. I must have. Me, I need, I need, I need.
Never blesses. Never gives. The one who receives living water finds his soul, contented gloriously at peace and then gives it. It refreshes. When that happens, God will entrust with you more and give you more and give you more and build and give you more and strengthen and give you more. Well, Matthew 6:33. Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.”
Seek first. Now, this is not a trite verse, this is not just a saying, this is a deep understanding of great truth. I know this is true. I’m telling you this is a deep word. Drink from it deeply. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and He will add, and He will add, and He will add, and He will add because your soul is full and overflowing. Then He finishes the song by describing the end result of the path that you choose.
Every path has an end, choose well. The wicked are like chaff which the wind drives away. They cannot stand on the day of judgment. Sinners will not stand in the assembly of the righteous. They’re like chaff, which the wind blows away, but the Lord knows the way of the righteous. In other words, there comes a time of choosing. You’ll never regret planting your life by streams of living water.
You will never regret delighting your soul in the living God because there’s nothing that compares to it. You’ll never regret the joy of the Lord. You’ll never regret a soul that is made beautiful by the glory of God. You never regret that because it bears life. Choose well.
“Father, we thank you, for you set before us a wonderful understanding of life, blessed life.” Church how many will say to the Lord today, “I want a soul like that. I want to be planted by streams of living water. I want to bear the fruit of it. I want my soul to be at peace. I wanted the joy of the Lord. I want a peace that passes understanding. I want God to do a beautiful work that is glorious. I want a life like that. I want a soul like that. I want to be planted by streams of water. I want that all my life.”
Church, would you say that to the Lord by simply just raising your hand to the Lord? I want to just declare it to you. “God, I declare it to you now, I’m asking for this, that my soul would be filled and overflowing, that others around me would even be blessed because of what comes forth out of my life. I want that. Thank you for offering it to me. Thank you for showing it to me. I want that. I take hold of it. Do that in me Lord in Jesus’ name,” and everyone said can we get the Lord praise and glory and honor? Amen.
How to Spend Your Life Well
1 Samuel 20:1-23
August 5-6, 2023
After David defeated the Philistine giant, y’all remember that story, no doubt, the people of Israel loved him. The story unfolds that, after that great victory, whenever King Saul would come to a village or a city, that the women of that village or city would come out to meet King Saul singing and dancing with joy, with musical instruments, with tambourines. They would sing a song and the words went something like this, “Saul has slain his thousands, but David his ten thousands.”
When Saul heard that he became so angry and the singing so displeased him, he said, “Wait a minute. They’ve ascribed to David ten thousands, but to me they have only ascribed thousands. What more can he have but the kingdom?” From that moment on, Saul despised David. Anger, fear, jealousy was all-consuming for Saul. See, in other words, the Holy Spirit had left him. He was no longer moving in the anointing and the covering of the Holy Spirit on his life, which by the way is a great lesson in itself because anyone who’s received the Lord Jesus in his life is filled and given the same Holy Spirit by which you must live and move and have your bearing. That is a great lesson. For Saul, was not.
In fact, Saul was living by the nature of man in all of his ugliness. We all know very well that the nature of man is quite ugly. That’s in living color with King Saul now. God is rejecting him as king. He’s finding himself now fighting against God, kicking against God, you might say, desperately trying to hold on to his position as king and David is standing in the way.
I. Live Like You’re Only a Step Away
As a matter of fact, in Chapter 20, in this chapter, David says, “There is hardly a step between me and death.” David was surely right. Saul was relentless in his pursuit of David, now filled with rage, filled with jealousy. Twice Saul tried to pin David to the wall by hurling a spear at him twice. Then when he heard that his daughter, Michal, loved David, well, he agreed to the marriage, but only because he thought it would be an opportunity for David’s death.
See, instead of a dowry, oh, don’t worry about a dowry. I would like instead the lives of 100 of my enemy, the Philistines. See, he thought, oh, let the Philistines kill him. Oh, what a great father-in-law he would be. You thought your family had drama? Oh, can you imagine Thanksgiving dinner at that house? Oh, see, now that plot failed. Instead of bringing back the lives of 100 of David’s enemies, he brought 200 of the lives of the Philistines. Saul’s plot, in other words, is backfiring.
You look at the situation. Now not only is David alive, but his popularity in Israel is increasing. Saul’s son, Jonathan, is his best friend, and now he’s married to his own daughter. This is not working, but Saul would not give up. He sent messengers to David’s house to watch for him to put him to death when he came out, but his wife let him out through the window, and he escaped.
David was right. There was hardly a step between him and death. In a way, that is true for every one of us. You don’t know how long you will live. You don’t know the day. To live with that perspective, well, change how you live. In other words, we need to know what it means to spend our lives well. Let’s read it. We’re in 1 Samuel 20:1. “David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and he came and he said to Jonathan,” now remember Jonathan is Saul’s son. They’re best friends because Jonathan saw something in David. From the moment that David confronted that Philistine giant with such amazing faith, Jonathan saw in David a man of character, of faith, of integrity, of courage, and he loved him. They formed a friendship, a covenant between them, which was amazing.
He comes to Jonathan and he said this, “What have I done? What is my iniquity? I don’t understand. What have I done? What is my sin before your father that he is seeking my life? What did I do?” Jonathan said to him, “No, far from it.” See, Jonathan doesn’t see it. “You won’t die. Behold, my father does nothing, either great or small, without disclosing it to me. Why would my father hide this thing from me? No, it’s not so.”
David vowed again and said, “No, your father knows very well that I have found favor in your sight so he said, ‘Don’t let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved,’ but truly as the Lord lives and as your soul lives,” and here it is, “there is hardly a step between me and death.” Jonathan said to David, “All right, whatever you say, I will do it for you.” David said to Jonathan, “Now behold, tomorrow is the new moon and I ought to sit down to eat with the king. So let me go that I might hide myself in the field until the third evening.
Now, if your father misses me at all, and then you say, “Well, David earnestly asked leave of me to run to Bethlehem, his city, because it is the yearly sacrifice there for his family.’ Now, if Saul says, ‘Oh, that’s good, then you servant is safe,’ but if he becomes angry, then know that he has decided on evil. Therefore, now deal kindly with me, your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord.” They made a covenant of friendship together.
“But if there is any iniquity in me, if I’ve done anything to deserve this, then I want you to take my life yourself. Why should you bring me to your father?” Jonathan said, “No, don’t say such things. Far be it from you.” In other words, don’t speak like that. “For if I should learn that evil has been decided by my father to come upon you, then what did I not tell you? David then said to Jonathan, well then who will tell me if your father answers harshly?”
All right, move to verse 18 for the sake of time. Jonathan then said to him, “Now tomorrow is the new moon and you will be missed because your seat is empty. So when you have stayed three days, you shall go down quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself on that eventful day, and you shall remain by the stone Ezel. Now, I will shoot three arrows to the side as though I was shooting at a target. Behold, I will send a lad and I will say to him, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ Now, if I specifically say to the lad, ‘Behold, the arrows are on this side of you,’ then come for their is safety for you and no harm, as the Lord lives, I mean this. But if I say to the youth, ‘Behold, the arrows are beyond you,’ then go, flee for the Lord has sent you away. Now, as for that agreement of which you and I have spoken, that covenant of friendship, behold, the Lord is between you and me forever.”
All right. These are the verses I want us to see, much to take hold of in these verses. Starting with this perspective that we have from David, it’s a right way to live. Live like you’re only a step away. See, in other words, there is no fear of death for those who understand that taking that one step means being in the presence of God, your savior. See, that changes your perspective entirely to know that when you breathe your last on this earth, that is the culmination day. That’s your day of victory. That’s the day that you step into the presence of your Lord and King. That is a completely different perspective. See, when you have that in your view, it changes the way you see life.
When Paul was arrested and was being held in prison, he was waiting to stand before Caesar, he did not know if he would live or die. He gave a very famous saying in Philippians Chapter 1:20-21, where Paul wrote this. He said, “According to my earnest expectation and hope, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.” Then he famously said, “For to me, to live is Christ, but to die is gain.” In other words, if I live, I will live to the glory of God and I will live for the benefit of your soul. If I live, then good. If I die, it’s my gain for I will be with Christ. Now there is a victorious perspective. I am at peace no matter what comes to my life. What a great truth.
A. Our days are ordained by God
Then we see this out of the story, that our days are ordained by God. See, from David’s perspective, there’s only one step between him and death, but he knew that he wouldn’t take that step unless it was ordained by God. Notice, for example, Psalm 1:39. Now, we get to Psalm 1:39. It’s an amazing Psalm. Notice this verse because he gives this here a perspective that is so victorious. He says it this way, “In your book were all written the days that were ordained for me when as yet there was not one of them.” Now do you see what he’s saying? Before you were even born, God wrote a number next to your name, the number of the days that God has ordained for you.
Notice also that he says that they are ordained. Every one of those days that God wrote next to your name is ordained by God. Every day is ordained. See, when you realize that, it makes you want to cherish every one of those days, makes you want to see that God has given every one of those to cherish. Many of you know our story, of course. Our daughter died when she was 29. I tell you, I took such comfort from this verse that God wrote a number next to her name, and that number was 10,724. That was the number of her days. Knowing that God wrote that number, that God ordained that number, gave me such peace. I respect God and so I respect that number.
God wrote a number next to my name. I don’t know how many days He wrote down, but I know that He wrote a number. I respect God and therefore I respect that number. I also know that God has ordained every one of them. See, when a person is young, they have oftentimes a sense of immortality, they don’t think about such things, but when you get older, you begin to realize, “Oh ,no. Our days here on this earth are limited.”
For some it brings a fear, a fear of death. In fact, the writer of Hebrews says that those who have a fear of death are subject to slavery all their lives. Other people, in other words, they’re almost oblivious to the possibility of death. For them there’s something exciting about living on the edge. These are the bungee-jumping, base-jumping, thrill-seeking people who live for thrill and excitement.
Although, there was an interesting article in Time Magazine that captured it well. Again, Time Magazine, “The people who face the real danger are on the road. If you really want to live on the edge of life, then just join the daily commute of thousands of cell phone-talking, coffee-drinking, texting, make-up-applying idiots all driving over the speed limit.” Now there’s a quote. Someone once said, “Some live as if they will never die, and then die as if they never lived.” See, in other words, life is a gift, spend it well. See, if every one of the days that God wrote next to your name is ordained, and ordained by God, then every one of those days is a gift for you to spend, spend it well.
B. Life is a gift, spend it well
David wrote in the Psalms, Psalm 103:15-18. He says, “Now, as for man, his days are like grass. They’re like a flower of a field. So he flourishes and the wind passes over it, and it is no more.” Life is fleeting, in other words. Then he says, “And his place acknowledges it no longer, but the loving kindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him and His righteousness to your children’s children to those who keep His covenant.” See, in other words, one perspective, life here is fleeting, but those who are in the Lord will find the love of God is from everlasting and to everlasting. There’s a perspective.
Then he says, I love that, he says, “And the place knows it no more.” In other words, your bank account won’t remember you. Your car won’t remember you and your golf clubs most certainly won’t remember you. In fact, they’re trying to forget you right now. Heaven will remember you. See, in other words, how you live your life matters. God gave every one of those days that you would spend it and that you would spend it well.
See, Paul knew this. That’s why he wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:15. He said, “I would very gladly spend and be spent for you. That is the purpose of my life.” He says, “For your souls, I will gladly spend and be spent.” God gave every day to spend. I’ll gladly spend them and for you. 2 Timothy 4:6. Now he’s come to the end and he says, “I have already been poured out like a drink offering. I’ve been poured out, I spent it. My life was poured out, and the time of my departure is come.”
See, too many people, they live their lives in the pursuit of the accumulation of stuff, of things. They forget that they’re supposed to be spending their lives for Godly purpose and Godly meaning. That’s what gives glory and honor to those days. See, if you spend your life accumulating for yourself and not spending it, you may look back one day and wish you had chosen a different course.
Jesus said this in Luke 12:15. He said, “Beware for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” Life does not consist of things. There is nothing in this world that will satisfy a soul that longs for more. I want more. Sometimes, people, they come to a point in their life where they look and they say, “Is this all there is? Is this it?” I have an answer. No, this is not it. There is more. There is a way to live your life so that there is more, for the soul wants more.
I was thinking of a story of a United States surgeon. He was trained in America, but he decided to go to Africa and do surgeries there. A friend was visiting, a surgeon friend from America came, visited, saw him in the surgeries, and said, “Man, you have a skill. You have a gift.” He said, “Do you know how much money you can make in the United States? Do you realize how much you could have?” His friend serving in Africa says, “Well, it’s true we don’t have much here. Our equipment is old, the people can hardly pay us, but there’s just this one thing. Man, this is living. My life has purpose and meaning. I’m making a difference, and that’s what gives meaning to my life.”
See, there are those who know in their heart that this world is not enough. That there’s more. I want more. There are deeper places for the soul’s desire. There’s more meaning and purpose than can be found in the pleasures of this world. Psalm 63, David wrote this, “Oh, God, you are my God and I seek you, and I seek you earnestly. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh yearns for you in a dry and weary land where there is no water for the soul because your loving kindness is better than life. My lips will praise you and I will bless you as long as I live, and I will lift up my hands in your name for in you my soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness.”
Now, in other words, the soul wants more than whatever the world has. Now, having said that, I want to say that the pleasant things of the world are certainly pleasant. They are. I agree, the pleasant things of the world are pleasant. Caramel macchiatos. This is pleasant. It is. I have nothing against them. I think they’re quite nice. Bacon cheeseburgers. Air conditioning, hallelujah. These things are wonderful. Microwave popcorn, Doritos. These are wonderful.
C. Live with eternity in your heart
These are pleasant things, but they’re not enough. Not enough for me. I want more than that. My soul needs more than that, for there are deeper places for the soul. There are deeper things for the soul that desires more. I want glory. I want honor. I want my King to be magnified in my life. I want more than whatever this world has. See, in other words, live with eternity in your heart. Live with the kingdom of God. Live with relationship to the Almighty.
See, many people, they live for this life. That’s it. They’re the ones who say, “Is this all there is?” See, Jesus wants you to live life to the full. Jesus said that was a purpose for which He came. Go to John 10:10. Jesus said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” David said, “My cup overflows.” Jesus is speaking. I want you to have life and life abundantly, but what does it mean to live?
What does He mean by life? Jesus came that you would have a personal relationship to the Almighty. That He would come to seek and to save that which was lost, to take sinners and to reconcile those sinners to God that they would have a relationship to the Almighty. Having a relationship now means that there is the glory of God’s presence in your life, and that now God is moving in the beauty of His presence in such a powerful way. That’s where life is found. Jesus said this in John 11:25-26. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.”
Well, what does resurrection mean? It means taking that which is dead and making it alive. That’s what resurrection is, taking that which is dead and making it alive. Jesus defeated death. “I am the resurrection. I am the life. He who believes in me will live, even if he dies, when the physical body dies.” In other words, everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Then He made it personal. Do you believe this? See, this is something for you to take, hold off for your life. Do you believe this? David understood this very well. You can see David’s heart for God in so many of the Psalms that we’re going to look so forward to studying. He knew that only in God would he truly find life, through this, for example, Psalm 16:11, “You God will make known to me the path of life.” There is a path of life. Then he says, “For in your presence there is fullness of joy. A joy for the soul that comes from the presence of God.” In your right hand there are pleasures forevermore for the soul.”
David wrote this in Psalm 27:4. We’ll get to Psalm 27. Oh, it’s one of my favorite of all of the Psalms. There’s so many beautiful psalms, but Psalm 27 is one of my favorites. Of Psalm 27:4 has got to be like a capstone verse. It really means so much to me. It’s very personal to me. Here’s why. Back when I was a young man in my early 20s, I would go to church. I loved going to church. I would go to church and I would go to church alone because I had no one to go with. I know, but I’d love going to church.
I would get there by myself. I’d get there early, and I loved to just sit there in the sanctuary. They would have worship on the speakers, and I would just sit there and often read the Psalms. I loved the smell. I just loved everything about it. I just loved the smell of the place. I loved being there. One day I’m reading Psalm 27, and this verse just jumped out at me. It goes this way. “One thing I’ve asked from the Lord, one, and that I shall seek one thing. Above all things this is what I’ve asked you, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord.”
I want to see how beautiful is the Lord and to meditate in his temple. That’s what I want. That’s what I seek to behold. I read that Psalm and my heart’s so stirred. It’s like, “Yes, that’s me. That’s what I want.” Ever since I first accepted the Lord, I had that in my heart that I wanted to be a pastor and I tucked it away, but when I read that verse that day, it’s like it locked it in. “That’s it. Time for me to go. I got to do this, and I want to dwell.” Can you imagine what a privilege it is for me? Every Wednesday, every Saturday, three times Sunday morning, worship God, five times a week at church. I love this. Then I can be working on the lawn mower and listening to worship. I can be driving down the road, it’s beautiful. The presence of the Lord is beautiful.
See, when Jesus said that He was the resurrection and the life, that he who would believe would live and not die, He gave us an eternal truth. Jesus defeated death and proved it. In other words, Buddha is still in the grave. Muhammad is still in the grave. Joseph Smith is still in the grave, but there is an empty tomb in Jerusalem, and that declares that Jesus is the resurrection and Jesus is the life. He proved it. Amen. Amen.
II. God is with You on the Journey
Then you see this out of this story, that God is with you on the journey. In other words, God has ordained every one of those days that He wrote next to your name. If God has ordained it, then God will be with you in it, every one of those days on the journey. See, the storms that David is going to have in his life, they’re not going to get easier. You think, “Oh, it’s bad. It’s really bad.” It’s not going to get easier. This continues for 15 years. 15 years.
See, here’s what I want to show you. God is making a king out of David, and trials and difficulties are required for the making of a king. Now, this is important. This is a very important perspective. God is making a king out of David, and trials and difficulties are required for the making of a king. God is going to construct in you a purpose, meaning, and purpose. He’s constructing and He is building, and He will use the trials and the difficulties to construct that in your life.
But David’s confidence was in God, and he was convinced that God would be with him and walk with him through every one of those trials. Notice, for example, Psalm 23. We love Psalm 23, right? He wrote this in verses 4, 6. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil.” Why not? “Because you’re with me.” I know this, surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Now, you might say, “Well, wait, I’m confused. Now, wait, you said you that there would be trials and difficulties for 15 years. Then you said that surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me out the days of my life. Well, which one is it? Because I’m confused. You said, goodness and loving kindness. That doesn’t sound like troubles to me, so which one is it? I’m confused. Why don’t you tell us which one it is, Pastor?” I will. It’s both. Goodness and loving kindness will follow you every day of those troubles. He will walk with you through every one of them. Amen.
He also wrote this in Psalm 27. Speaking of Psalm 27, “The Lord is my light, and the Lord is my salvation.” You tell me, whom shall I fear? Should I be afraid if the Lord is my light and the Lord is my salvation? Of whom should I be a afraid? The Lord is the defense of my life, so whom should I dread? He said, “Listen, though a host in camp against me, my heart will not fear. Though war arise against me, in spite of this, I shall be confident.” Ah, there it is. “I’m confident,” David says.
A. Faith is learning to rely on God alone
Then you might say, “Oh, David must have read the latest books in self-confidence. They’re available in bookstores everywhere. He must have read about how to be self-confident.” I submit to you that David was not self-confident. I also submit that God does not want you to be self-confident either. You say, “Well, He doesn’t? What does He want? Shall I be fearful and insecure?” No, He doesn’t want that either. See, self-confidence by definition is confidence in self. That’s why He doesn’t want you to be self-confident. David’s confidence was in God. David was convinced that God would be with him through every trouble, every trial, every difficult storm. God would be with him through it all. See, in other words, faith is learning to rely on God, and God alone.
Everything was taken out of David’s life that he could have relied on. At first he was taken from his family and those in his family he was closest to. Then Saul tried to kill him, and so the security of being around the army and being in the palace all gone. Then David sent men even to his home. He had to leave his house. He had to actually leave his wife, even, to flee for his life. Doesn’t have that. Then he ran to the Prophet Samuel, but Saul sent men there. He could no longer stay with Samuel. He had no counselor.
In fact, when David came to Jonathan, his best and most loyalist friend, his friend had to send him away for his own safety. Now he’s lost his best friend. That’s where you must learn a great lesson, to learn to rely on God. That God will build, that God is with you. To rely on God, that is what faith is. David was alone, but now you see what happens in David’s life, God begins to build. God is building. God is making a king. God is building. Yes, he’s alone but now God is going to bring around him amazing people. God is going to build and build and build.
Starts out with just David and God, just David and God. Then builds and builds and builds. I tell you, it’s a great lesson. I think about my own life. When I was a teenager and going through all the teenager things in the young 20s, in many ways I was a loner. I know and I was. I was different and I didn’t have close friends. I thought that was my lot in life, but then God started doing a work of revival in me and turned my life around because it was going down the wrong way.
He turned that around and started to build and build and build. Oh, what He has built. He has given me a blessing of blessings of blessings. I am surrounded by people that God has added to my life, that have made my life gloriously blessed. My wife, who loves to walk together with me, serve together in ministry, the friends that I get to serve with, the pastors that are on our team, the leaders that we have in our church. I am surrounded by people that God has added that are just blessing my life. We are truly blessed as a church with amazing, amazing people. Amen. Awesome.
B. Storms strengthen faith
David was built. God is building something, because storms strengthen. That’s what we see, storms strengthen. They strengthen faith. All of these storms that David went through prepared him to become king. See, in other words, every rescue, every close call, every difficult situation that God brought David through became part of the story of God and David together. God is building a story. Every rescue, every close call, every difficult situation is part of the story.
God rescued David again and again and again and again so that one day you come to a point when you see it and you realize, “I know my God. I know how my God moves, and I know that my God rescues and saves. I know that my God is a very present help. I know my God. I know how He moves. I know my God.” Why? “Because we’ve been through so many storms together. Every rescue, every close call, every difficult situation, all of it is part of my story,” David was saying,” and now I can tell you with all confidence, I know my God, and I know how He moves.”
God wants that for your life and mine. God and me, we have a story together. I’ll tell you what, I haven’t been in situations anything like David’s troubles, but I have been through many of my own situations and troubles, and God has rescued and saved me from every one. He’s been with me every step along the way. I know my God and I know how my God moves. I have every confidence in my God for I know how my God moves. Every rescue, every time He saved, every time He helped me, He’s building a story. How about you? Would anybody say the same? God is building a story in my life? Yes, let’s give a little praise.
I was remembering a time when I was traveling to Africa. Normally I don’t travel to Africa alone, but this particular time I was. I was going to be met by pastors there. I was at Kinshasa, the capital of DRC, the Congo. At one point they went out and rented a van and a driver. Just found a van and a driver and said, “Would you take us here?” They brought us from the hotel to the conference center where we were going to have the pastors join us.
It was quite a little journey. We had to go through this part of town where they said, “Now, in this part of town,” and it’s a huge city, 8 million plus, “when we get to this part of town, it’s very dangerous. Everybody has to roll your windows up.” “Ah, there’s no AC.” “Yes, well, still, you got to roll your windows up. People can reach in. It’s very dangerous. You got to go slow. Roll your windows up.”
We rolled the windows up and we’re going through, and then the pastors say, “Oh, pull the van over.” “Why are we pulling over?” They say, “Oh, we got to get some water. We got to find cases of water for the conference, so just stay here. Keep the doors locked, keep the windows up,” and they leave. I’m alone with the driver that I had never met. Windows are up, it’s hot, and the minutes are ticking by. I’m thinking, “Okay, what do I do?” I tried some French and some Lingala. I get through all of my French in about two minutes. That didn’t work. I’m thinking, “This is bad. I don’t know him. He doesn’t know me, but he knows I’m an American. I’ve got a case with me. No doubt I’m sure he knows I’ve got money with me. He could just leave. Take me anywhere he wanted to. I’m not going to resist him. I’m not going to get out.” I’m just assessing this.
This is bad. I’m alone here. My cell phone doesn’t work. They could take me anywhere. Minutes are going by, 10, 12, 15. This is bad. Hot. It’s very hot. I’m thinking, “What do we do? All right, God, here we are. God, you’ve been with me through every one. Here we are again. What do we do?” I just felt this prompting, “Give him some sugar. It might help him feel better.” I thought, “Oh, would you like a candy bar? They’re going to melt anyway.” “Oh, yes, sí.” In other words, yes, merci.
He eats the candy bar. “Oh, give him another one.” He eats that one. “Oh, you want another one? Take some for your family.” Finally, they come back, without water. “What happened to you?” “We couldn’t find water. That’s why it took us so long.” I said, “Never do that to me again.” There are times when you just have to say, “God, I don’t know what to do. Here we are again. What do I do? I don’t know.” You can pray, you can wait. God will rescue.
You come to a point where you begin to see, every day that God has ordained for me I want to live with the glory of God. How many will say that? Whatever I got, Lord, I don’t know how much time I got left. Whatever I got, whatever time I have, it’s for you. I want to live it. Every one of those days that you have ordained, I want every one of those days to be lived for your glory.
Lord, we honor you. We thank you. It’s amazing to see your heart for us. Church, how many would say that to the Lord today? I don’t know how many days I got left but whatever it is, it’s yours. I want to live it to your glory. I want to live it to your honor. God, you and me, let’s build a story together. Let’s build a story of walking together on this journey. God, whatever I got left I want to live it to your glory and to your honor, and I want to build a story with you. Walk with me, God, and let’s build a story.
Let’s build a story of victory. Let’s build a story of you amazingly revealing your hand. In every rescue, every deliverance, every help, every time, let us build a story. I want my life to be lived to your glory every day. Would you say that to the Lord by just lifting up your hand as a declaration? Whatever I got left, God, whatever I got left, I don’t know what it is but it’s yours. Let’s build a story to your glory. Lord, we honor you, we thank you that you made it possible that we can say, I know my God. I know how my God moves, and I love you for it. In Jesus’ name and everyone said, giving the Lord praise and glory and honor. Amen. Amen.
The Heart of a Leader
1 Samuel 24:1-22
July 29-30, 2023
There’s much to say, of course, about David. He was the youngest of eight brothers, youngest. He grew up during the time when Saul was King over Israel. Saul was the first of the kings, of course, but Saul was not faithful as king, and so God instructed the Prophet Samuel to go to the House of Jesse, David’s father. There he would find the one whom Samuel would anoint to be the next King of Israel.
When Samuel the prophet comes to Jesse, he looked at the oldest of the sons, Eliab, and he thought to himself, “Well, surely the Lord’s anointed is he.” He was the oldest, he was tall in stature. He had the look, you know what I’m saying? He had the look, and so he said, “Surely, this is the one,” but God spoke to Samuel’s heart, “Do not look at his appearance, do not look at the height of his stature because God sees not as man sees. Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.”
It matters. What happens in the heart matters to God, and it will matter in life. That is one of the things that we’re going to see in the story that we’re going to look at in 1st Samuel 24, it matters in life. One by one, the brothers were presented to Samuel, but none of them were the ones whom God had chosen. Finally, Samuel, somewhat confused, said, “God has not chosen any of these. Is this all you have? Is this all of the children?”
Jesse said, “Well, there’ s one more, but he’s the youngest, and he’s a shepherd,” so Samuel said, “Well, send and bring him, we will not sit down until he comes.” I don’t know why I love that, I just love that right there. “Well, go and get him, and we’re not sitting down– no one’s going to sit down until he gets here.” Right? When David arrived, then God spoke to Samuel’s heart, “Arise and anoint him, this is the one,” because God sees not as man sees.
There was something different about David. What was it that was different? His heart? His love for God? His devotion to the Lord? David was a shepherd, and David had written beautiful songs to the Lord, there, as a shepherd. He was a musician, he would play his harp. David didn’t write Psalms because he thought that they would make him famous one day. No, he wrote Psalms only for the Lord. David never knew what his life would become, he didn’t know any of that. He was just a shepherd being faithful but loved God, and he worshipped and he wrote songs.
Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David, there, in the midst of the brothers. Then it says that the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Now, that is the key to understanding David’s life, that the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David at that moment, and from that moment forward. Now, it would be many years before David takes the position of King. Many years must pass.
Many troubles will arise, but God is going to now construct in David the heart of a leader, the heart of a king. He’s going to build in him– and God is going to use much of the troubles of David’s life to build that construct of leadership, of faith. David must learn to navigate through by that Holy Spirit by which he is now anointed, he must learn to live by the power and the covering, and the leading of that Spirit in his life.
Here’s one of the things we need to recognize at this moment, which is that, in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was given for those who were called to a special purpose. It was not given to everyone, only to those who were called for a special purpose. However, now, for us living in the Covenant of Grace of our Lord Jesus– everyone who receives the Lord, everyone who trusts Him for life and forgiveness and for eternal life, everyone who’s named the name of Jesus in their life has the same Holy Spirit.
The same Holy Spirit that anointed David is the Spirit that is given to every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, we now must understand what it means to live by that Spirit in our lives for we must learn to navigate through troubled waters. We must learn what it means to live by that Holy Spirit. It is one of the great keys of life. We all must recognize that life is filled with decisions, how are you going to navigate through life?
We need to understand how to live, how to live victoriously. David will become a great leader, and there’s a distinct need for leadership today. We are living in difficult times and there are great troubles in front of us, and in times of trouble, that’s where you need those who will arise, who understand what it means to live by that Holy Spirit, to understand how to live victoriously, to navigate through troubled times. To navigate through troubled waters requires an understanding of how to live by that Holy Spirit. Many decisions must be made in life.
All right, that brings us to 1st Samuel 24. David, here, is facing trouble of epic proportions. It is a defining moment. What happens here in this chapter is a defining moment. I think you will find, in your life, that there are also defining moments. Certain things that happen that define the course– that set the course of your life, defining moments. David is in epic trouble. He’s literally in danger of his life. How he responds is a lesson in leadership, and it’s a lesson in being led by the Lord’s Spirit in your life.
Anyone who has ever desired to be a leader ought to study this chapter, but anyone who wants to live by the Holy Spirit should study this chapter. You remember David’s story, right after he defeated the Philistine giant, Goliath, he became quite famous in Israel. The people loved David and, of course, King Saul saw, in this young man, tremendous potential and so he attached David to his army, gave David command of 1,000 men.
God was with David, there was victory everywhere he went. That’s when King Saul began to feel quite threatened by David because the Prophet Samuel had already made very clear to Saul that God had rejected him as King, and that God has sought after a man after his own heart. Well, Saul could see, “Look at this David here, arising in power,” and he began to feel very threatened by David.
Saul refused to accept God’s determined will. He would fight, he would kick against, he would resist. He would wrestle against God, and, no longer anointed by the Holy Spirit, he raged in fear and anger, and jealousy against David and attempted to take his life many times. At one point when they’re in a dining hall, Saul got raged with anger, took a javelin, and hurled it at David, and he ducked and it hit the wall. That’s a pretty good sign that maybe this is not going very well, and so David eventually decided to go into the wilderness, to flee into the wilderness to the cave of Adullam.
There, it says, in Chapter 22, that many people started to come to David. In other words, now David is going to build a ragtag group of men, and it says 400 men. Everyone who was in distress, everyone who was indebted, everyone who was discontented gathered to David there, and he became captain over them. Then, later, 200 more joined this ragtag group of malcontents but, together, they form a band of warriors, you might call them a “band of brothers.”
David is now going to lead them. David himself, learning to live and to navigate life by the leading of the Spirit, now is going to transform these men. In fact, if you know the story of David’s life, some of these ragtag malcontents become mighty men of God because of David’s leadership, because of David pouring into them that they might be transformed from ragged malcontents into mighty men of God. That is a great part of the story. What happens in Chapter 24 is one of those moments, defining moments in David’s life, but in their life as well. Let’s read it.
We are in Chapter 24, we begin in Verse 1. “Now, it came about that when Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of En Gedi.”
Saul took 3,000 chosen men from all Israel.” David has 600 malcontents, you might call them, a ragtag group of guys, and Saul has 3,000 Special Forces. They went to seek David and his men in front of the Rocks of the Wild Goats. When he came to the sheepfolds on the way, where there was a cave, Saul went in a cave to relieve himself, and David and his men just so happened to be sitting in the inner recesses of that very cave.
“And the men of David said to him, ”Behold, this is that day of which the Lord said to you, “Behold, I’m about to give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him what seems good to you”.” In other words, “David, this man has been trying to take your life, and you have been one step away from death for all of this time. Now he enters into this cave by himself without a guard. You couldn’t ask for a better opportunity than that. He’s literally handed to you quite easily. David, this is a God thing. Do it, take his life. You’re a warrior. He’s trying to take your life, you have every reason to take his. Do it.”
David rose and cut off the edge of Saul’s robe secretly. Okay, so you’ve seen the scene. Saul goes into the cave, takes off his robe, puts it over here, and then goes to do his business, and David sneaks over and cuts off a quarter of the robe. Now, it came about, Verse 5, afterward, that David’s conscience bothered him because he even did that. That he cut off the edge of the robe, so he then said to his men, “Far be it from me–” By the way, if you wonder how this could be happening while Saul’s in the cave and not notice them. Well, when you go to En Gedi, and I hope that you do, it all becomes clear because, there, waterfalls are coming down the mountain in the cracks of the mountains, and there are caves everywhere there in En Gedi.
You’ve got to go to Israel with me sometime, we go to En Gedi and you’ll see how this is. The water is outside crashing and stuff, and echoing into the cave, so of course, once you go there, say, “Ah, I see now.” David then says to his men, “No.” They’re saying, ”David, it’s right before you. You couldn’t ask for a better thing than this. It’s handed to you. David, he doesn’t have any guards with him, do it.”
David says, ”No. Far be it from me, because of the Lord, that I should do this thing. Far be it from me that, because of the Lord I should do this thing? No, He is my Lord.” He is the Lord’s anointed, literally, in Hebrew, Messiah, “Mashiach.” “I will not stretch out my hand against him since he is the Lord’s anointed.” David persuaded his men, it’s a defining moment, but there’s more to the story. David’s men were persuaded with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul, so Saul rose, left the cave, and went on his way.
Now, afterward, David rose and went out of the cave and called after Saul, ‘My Lord, the King.” All right, now picture this in your mind because when you go there, you’ll see it. The caves are up on the face of the cliffs. Saul would’ve gone up some distance, done his business, and then, afterward, he’s coming down the hill. After he comes down the hill, David appears on the edge of the cave, the mouth of the cave, and calls out to him. ”My Lord, the King.”
Saul turned about and Saul looked behind him, and David bowed his face to the ground– prostrated himself very respectfully, in other words, and David said to Saul, ”Why do you listen to the words of men who say that, “Behold, David is seeking to harm you.” That’s not true. Behold, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord had given you, today, into my hand, there in the cave. Some said to kill you, but my eye had pity on you, and I said, “I will not stretch out my hand against my Lord for He is the Lord’s Messiah,”– “Mashiach,” “the anointed.”
“Now, my father, look. Look and see. See the edge of your robe in my hand? For, in that, I cut off the edge of your robe, and then I did not kill you? So know and perceive that there is no evil or rebellion in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you are lying in wait to take my life, so may the Lord judge between you and me.” Here, David’s defining moment. David has to navigate through a critical decision of life, “May the Lord do this. The Lord will judge between you and me, and may the Lord avenge me on you. I won’t. The Lord will, but my hand will not be against you.”
David is declaring, right now, his intention. “Look, you are pursuing me. You can chase me, you can pursue me all you want. I will never lift my hand against you. I will never do it.
Then, as the proverbs of the ancients say, “Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness,” but I have not done wickedness. There’s no sin in my hand against you, but my hand will not be against you. After whom is the King of Israel coming out? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog? Who am I? A single flea? The Lord, therefore, judge and decide between you and me, and may He plead my cause, and may He deliver me from your hand. I will not do it.”
Now, it came about that when David finished speaking his words to Saul, that Saul said, ”Is that your voice, my son, David?” And he began to weep, and he said to David, ”Ah, you are more righteous than I.”
Please take note of that, “You are more righteous than I for you’ve dealt well with me and I have dealt wickedly with you, and you have declared today that you have done good to me. That the Lord delivered me into your hand, and that, yet, you did not kill me. If a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safely? May the Lord, therefore, reward you– I know he will, with good in return for what you’ve done to me this day. And now, behold, now I know you surely will be king, and that the Kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand. Now, swear to me. Swear to me by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not destroy my name from my father’s house.”
David swore to Saul and Saul went home, and David and his men went up to the stronghold. All right, these are the verses. There is so much here, so many principles. We have to learn to navigate life, and David’s anointing by the Spirit is the key for us to understand. There is a higher way to live, that’s what we have to recognize. There is a higher way to live. In other words, you can say it this way, the end does not justify the means. Does it matter how you live? Oh, it certainly does.
Look at the facts of the case, it would’ve been better for Israel if Saul was not king. True. He was no longer filled with the Spirit, he was filled with jealousy and rage. He was putting his own personal desires over the needs of the country. He’s trying to kill David, a hero of Israel, simply out of jealousy and fear. This is not good for Israel. He’s not a leader. David would’ve been justified in taking Saul’s life because Saul is trying to take his. What would David do?
I. The End Does Not Justify the Means
It would be better for Israel if Saul was not king. He’s faced with a dilemma, “Does the end justify the means?” See, in other words, you need a philosophy of life. How do you navigate through very difficult defining moments? Here’s what I want us to see, that God’s ways are higher than man’s ways. There is a higher way to live, and we are called– if we are going to live and navigate through life victoriously, then we must recognize that how we live matters, that there is a higher way to live. Anybody agree with me? There is a higher way to live because God’s ways are higher than man’s ways. The Machiavellians of the world. You know Machiavellian? He had a philosophy that’s saying, “The actions may be condemned, but the end result may justify it. The end justifies the means.”
A. God’s ways are higher than man’s ways
By the way, that philosophy is the underpinnings of modern Political Theory. It is the driving force of modern politics, that you may have to do unscrupulous, immoral things in order to get something done that we deem as good. God says, “No, there’s a higher way to live. How you live matters.” Isaiah 55, I love quoting it, Verses 8-9, God says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, your ways are not my ways.”
He says, “As the heavens are higher than Earth, my ways are higher than yours, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” There’s a higher way to live. David’s men were counseling David, “David, do it. Take the matter, it’s right there.” The men were even using, “Did not God say to you that your enemy would come into your hand and that you could do whatever was in your heart?” In other words, they’re saying, “It’s a God thing.” There’s an importance to discern the applying of God’s word.
That is part of the navigating of life, to discern the applying of God’s word correctly. There is a higher principle at work. David could see. This, again, I submit is because he is anointed by, empowered by, led by the Spirit. Therefore, his spirit within him says, “There’s something at work here that is higher. There is a greater principle at work.” David’s heart even troubled him when he cut off the edge of the robe, it says he was convicted even for doing that.
By the way, if your spirit is troubled, there’s a reason. Those who are wise will listen to that troubled unction of the Spirit. That is the Holy Spirit warning you. If you’re troubled of spirit, take careful note, that is one of the keys to navigating life. Listen to the Spirit’s giving you that. David made a decision, “No, no one must touch him,” and once that decision was made, his heart was set and it would not be moved.
B. A leader leads
See, David made a decision that there is a principle at work, God’s principle at work. That principle guided him that Saul is the Lord’s anointed. “The Lord anointed Saul. He is the Lord’s anointed. God put him there, and God’s going to have to take him out of there. I won’t do it.” Now he’s got 600 men saying to him, “David, do it.” It’s 600-to-1. 600-to-1, but here’s one of the principles of life, a leader leads. If the Holy Spirit is leading, a leader is called to navigate by leading by that Holy Spirit leading, a leader leads.
Take note of how David would respond to these men, they’re all convinced. In fact, they’re saying, “It’s a God thing.” Well, how do you argue about that? That’s a pretty compelling argument, isn’t it? “David, it’s a God thing.” It’s pretty compelling, but there’s more to it. David is not led by circumstances, David is not led by emotions. David is not led by the pressure. David must navigate, “Well, there is something higher at work. There is something deeper here,” and a leader sees it.
“There is something at work, there’s something deeper. Things are not always as they first appear. Look deeper, look deeper. There’s more at work here.” I was thinking of an illustration of this. Many of you know my story, God miraculously provided for me to be able to go to Bible College. A man, a friend from church, felt God put it on his heart to pay for my Bible college and seminary entirely. It was amazing.
Now, I’m in school and doing the work, and a woman from church came up to me and said, “Hey, I just got an inheritance and I want to give you a gift. I know you’re in school, I want to give you a gift.” I said, “Well, thank you. Thank you, that’s very kind of you, but God’s taking care of me. I’m good. God’s paid for it all. I’m good.” She said, “Well, no, I still want to do something. I want to give you something, so give me a basic budget and I’ll figure out what I want to do.”
A week later, I gave her a budget, she gave me a very large gift. I decided I’ll meet with my friend, and I met with him every semester for lunch, the fellow that’s paying for my school. I would meet with him, give him my grades. I wanted him to see that I was pouring my heart into this. I was a straight-A student, and I gave him my grades. In fact, he would say, looking at my grades, “You don’t have to do that for me.”
I said, “I’m not doing it for you, I’m doing it for God. If God has provided so amazingly for me, I’m going to put everything I got into this.” Right? I said, “But I want to tell you an interesting thing. A woman from church gave me a very big gift and I want to tell you about that in case you need a break or something, and we can use that, instead, for a semester or whatever.” He said, “Well, you know, it’s interesting. For the first time, my business is losing money. We’ve never lost money.”
I go, “See, there, it’s a God thing. The very moment that you’re losing money, another provision comes. See, it’s a God thing.” He says, “So, that’s how you see it?” “Well, yes. How do you see it?” He said, “I don’t see it that way at all, I see it this way. I made a commitment, and God is testing my faith to see if I hold to my commitments, if I believe what I say, if I do what I say. That’s what this is. At the very moment, now that we’re losing some money, an opportunity– an easy way out for me. No. I see, now, it quite differently. No, I made a commitment, and I don’t care if it’s the last dollar I spend, I am going to pay your way through Bible College. I made a commitment and I’m going to do it.”
I go, “Wow, that is amazing.” He said, “Oh, and one more thing. This is my blessing and I’m not sharing it with anybody,” and he meant that. In fact, he loved when we planted the church and he loved to just sit over there– In fact, he used to sit over here, and they moved away now, but years and years, he said, “Oh, I just love to watch what God is doing, how God used that for the Kingdom of God.” Well, next semester– I’ll finish the story, I met with him again, gave him my grades. I said, “By the way, I want you to know that I’ve been praying for you. You said you were losing money, and that concerned me. I’ve been praying for you.”
He said, “What? Don’t be concerned about me. We just signed the biggest contract we’ve ever signed, it’s worth millions. Don’t worry about me, God will take care of me.” God is amazing. Amen? What He showed me there, and what I think we see in the story, there’s deeper things at work. The discernment to navigate means that you look deeper. David persuaded his men, “There’s deeper things at work.” He would not allow them to rise up.
C. Godly results require godly ways
David was submitted, David was committed. David would not be led by the emotions of the moment because, here’s what we see, godly results require godly ways. Godly results require godly ways. David said in Verse 13, “As the ancient proverbs say, “Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness,” there’s no wickedness in my hand. I have nothing against you, Saul.”
Jesus, by the way, said a very similar thing, “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart will bring forth what is good. The evil man out of the evil treasure will bring forth wickedness, but the good man out of the good treasure, is not the Holy Spirit then filling your soul with that which is good? The good Word of God, the good presence of God? The Holy Spirit is the very presence that will transform you into that which is good and godly, and out of the good and godly comes forth, out of your life, that which is good.”
See, one of the great lessons of life I learned, do the right thing and let the chips fall where they may. Decision points, defining moments. “What about this consequence? This might happen. That might happen. I don’t know. What about this? What if that happens? What if I do the right thing and then trouble comes because of it?” Do the right thing and let the chips fall where they may. Anybody agree with me?
How you live matters. Godly results require godly ways. That’s one of the great lessons of the story, we are all called to live uncommonly, supernaturally. Not according to any natural way, not according to the way of the world. There’s a higher way to live. We must navigate through these waters. This world is filled with troubles, we must learn to navigate through them. By what will we navigate? By what will we decide? There are defining moments. Godly results require godly ways. In other words, as we look back at the story, you can say it this way, stay out of the weeds of the conflict. Stay out of the weeds.
II. Stay out of the Weeds of Conflict
I submit to you, if you consider this deeply, it’s a very powerful principle, “Stay out of the weeds.” It is power. I’m telling you, it is a deep thought. It’s a deep understanding. We must learn to navigate. Stay out of the weeds. When you’re navigating life, when you’re pursuing the course through the troubled waters, stay out of the weeds. Stay out of the rock, you might say.
Not only would David not take matters into his own hands by taking Saul’s life, he then forthrightly said, “I will never put my hand against you. I have nothing against you, Saul. I will not, I will not do it. I will never put my hand against you. I won’t do it because your part is peace.” We must learn to navigate through life, and your part is peace. Oh, conflicts happen. Conflicts are part of life. We live in a world of conflict.
A. Your part is peace
There’s conflicts in relationships, conflicts everywhere around us, but you must learn to live by that leading of the Holy Spirit, “Your part is peace.” Notice, Verse 11, David said to Saul, “Know and perceive that there is no evil or rebellion in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you are lying in wait to take my life.” See, in other words, if there’s conflict, make sure that, A, number one, you’re not the cause of the conflict, but, secondly, that you are the one that your part is peace.
Romans 12:18, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.”I love where it says, “If possible,” because we all understand that some people are quite impossible, but, “If possible–” In other words, your part of that is peace. Their part may be conflict, but your part is peace. That is the leading of the Spirit. As you are navigating through the turbulent waters of life, your part is peace.
Let it not be said that so and so and you are having a conflict, rather so and so may be having a conflict, but your part is peace. May your character come through. “My hand will not be against you, I will not do it. I won’t do it. I will not do it.” Your part is peace. See, in other words, just because somebody is doing something to you doesn’t mean that you should do the same in return.
If somebody raises their voice to you, you don’t have to raise your voice in return. If somebody says something mean, you don’t have to say something mean in return. If somebody posts something rude on Facebook– anybody know where I’m going with this? You don’t have to respond with rudeness in return. Our way ought to be peace. The world is filled with conflict. It’s more conflict today than I’ve ever seen, anybody agree with me?
I’m talking about even interpersonal, people-to-people conflict. Social media is filled with conflict and confrontation and rudeness, and brashness. God’s people ought not be that way, anybody agree with me? Right? There’s a higher way to live. Your part is peace. 2 Corinthians 6:3-4, “Give no cause for offense in anything.” That’s a tall word right there. That’s a pillar of a word right there, “Give no cause of offense.”
Now, I want us to pause for a moment because I want you to consider there is power in this. It’s powerful, it is effective. It is transforming. It will help you to navigate through with power, with victory. God will use it. It is far deeper of a word than just, “Oh, isn’t that nice? Isn’t that a nice verse? I should remember that verse.” No, it’s far deeper than that. It is power itself.
“Give no cause of offense in anything.” God will use it in your life so that the Ministry will not be discredited, but, in everything, commending ourselves as servants of God. In much endurance, infliction in hardships, in distresses. In much distress, affliction, hardship, give no cause of offense. Twice David said a remarkable thing, “I won’t do it. My hand will not be against you.” Saul was convicted.
Here’s where you see the power of it come through. David’s men all heard him say that, Saul’s men all heard David say that. They all could see this right before them. It was the whole conflict was in living color right before them, and David arose out of it. What if David would’ve taken matters–? What if David–? By one stroke of the sword, he would’ve ruined everything. By one stroke of the sword, he would’ve ruined everything.
No, by patience and by understanding, and by the higher principles of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit, Saul is convicted. “You are more righteous than I. Now I see it. Now I know you will be king over Israel. I see it.” Everyone else there saw it too, “Oh, here’s a man of character. Here’s a man who leads. Here’s a man who navigates through, who lives by a higher way. Now I know.”
B. You have a ministry of reconciliation
Oh, what great principles there are in this book, in this chapter. Lastly, you have a ministry of reconciliation. Your way is peace, it brings reconciliation. The heart of God is reconciliation, both between people and between God. God and man. God will use a person like that. That’s less leadership. That’s navigating through troubled waters.
God will use people like that who know how to be led by the Spirit, become effective in their lives. It is power itself to live by such principles, and God will use people like that to bring reconciliation. Reconciliation between people, and reconciliation between God and man.
Let’s pray. Father, we are so amazed and so thankful for your word, that you show us that there’s a higher way to live. That we want to navigate through the turbulent life by the principles of God’s heart. Church, how many would say that to the Lord today? “I want my life to give you glory. God, there are defining moments. I want to see deeper. I want to live by that which glorifies your name. God, I want to be useful to the Kingdom. Use me, teach me, construct in me, build in me. I want to be like that. I want a life like that. I want to be effective in the Kingdom, I want to grow in that. I want those things built in my life.”
Church, would that be you? Would you say that to the Lord? Would you say that by just lifting your hand as a way of declaring it to God? “God, I just want to say build that in me. I’m asking for that. I want to be useful for the Kingdom. I want to navigate through turbulence by your leading.” Father, we love You, we honor You. Oh, we’re so thankful for You. We give You praise and glory for it all. In Jesus’ name, and everyone said, “Amen.” Let’s give the Lord praise and–
The Restoring and Rebuilding of Job
Job 40-42
July 22-23, 2023
I tell you what, I am going to miss the Book of Job because it is one of the deepest books of the Bible. Interestingly, this last week, I was at a Pastors & Leaders Conference. I was leading the breakout session for all of the senior pastors. We were talking about messages and whatnot. I happen to mention that I’m teaching through the Book of Job. The expression in everyone’s face was, “Woo, tough book,” right?
I am excited about this book because it touches on some of the deepest, most important issues of life. It speaks of the nature of God. It will stir up your faith. It will show you how to live and endure through a very troubled and broken-down, messed-up world, how to live victoriously through adversity. It is a book filled with great depth. Now, as we were reading the story of Job, of course, as we know, his story endured relentless misery and suffering for months.
He lost his vast wealth. His children all perished in a great tragedy. His health was impacted in that he was covered with boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. At first, as we read in the story, Joe bore the calamities with inspiring integrity. From the very beginning, when the tragedy first struck, he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord.” I mean, inspiring.
Then when his health was impacted and he’s sitting there in the ashes scraping the boils with a piece of pottery, that’s when his wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die then.” Again, inspiring how he responded. He said, “Indeed, shall we accept good from God and not adversity? You speak as one of the foolish women speaks.” As the suffering and the misery dragged on and on month after month, it just wore him down.
Now, if you’ve ever been through a long, enduring, difficult time, some great tragedy that’s gone on and on, you know that it just wears and wears you down. Joe began to complain against God. He knew. Job knew in his heart that he was holding on to his integrity, so why then would God allow him to suffer? He didn’t understand. He was accusing God of being unjust. “I will complain in the bitterness of my soul,” he said. “Does He not see my ways? Let God weigh me in accurate scales, then He will see my integrity.”
See, in other words, it says, and we read through the story, Job wanted to speak to God. “I got some things to say. I want to speak my mind. That’s what I want. I want to know where He is. I want to come to where He’s sitting. I want to present my case. I want to fill my mouth with arguments. I got some stuff to say. Oh, I would like to learn the words, which He would answer, and perceive what He would say to me.”
He says, “Would He contend with me by the greatness of His power? No. Surely, He would listen to me.” In other words, Job is saying, “God owes me an explanation.” Now that brings us to the last chapters of the Book of Job. God does speak out of the storm. God does speak to Job. He does not explain why Job suffers. Instead, He says, “Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who reproves God answer.”
Now, in other words, God is not going to stand trial before Job. Job is the one who’s going to give an answer. God begins to speak to Job out of the storm starting in Chapter 38. Again, we’ll look at that at the Wednesday service, but He begins by saying, “You want to question Me? Gird up your loins like a man and I will ask you. No, you’re going to answer me. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?”
“Have you ever in your life commanded the morning and caused the dawn to know its place? Have you ever walked in the recesses of the deep? Have the gates of death been open to you? Have you understood the expanse of the earth? Who is it that put wisdom in the innermost being or who has given understanding to the mind? Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars? Is it at your command that the eagle mounts at wings and makes its nest on the cliffs?”
Now, Job hearing this, of course, there’s much more to it. We see this Wednesday. Job responds with humility. “Behold, I am insignificant. What can I reply? I lay my hand on my mouth. Once, I have spoken and I will not answer. Even twice and I will add no more.” See, before these chapters are over, Job will see. He will understand that God weaves His purpose into our lives. Everything that God does declares the greatness of His glory.
Then, finally, before the story’s over, Job’s life is rebuilt and restored. The blessing on Job’s life is even greater at the end than it was at the beginning. All right, now, what we’re going to do, we’re going to read this today in two sections. We’re going to read right now out of Chapter 40 and then later out of Chapter 42. Beginning in Chapter 40:1, again, we’re picking it up right in the midst of this.
I. Would You Contend with the Almighty?
The Lord then said to Job, “Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who reproves God answer it.” Then Job answered the Lord and he said, “Behold, I am insignificant. What could I reply to You? I lay my hand on my mouth. Once, I have spoken, and I will not answer. Even twice, I will add no more.” The Lord answered Job out of the storm and He said, “Now, gird up your loins like a man. I will ask you. You instruct Me. Will you really annul My judgment? Will you condemn Me that you might be justified?”
“Do you have an arm like God? Can you thunder it with a voice like His? Adorn yourself with eminence and dignity. Clothe yourself with honor and majesty. Pour out the overflowings of your anger. Look on everyone who’s proud make him low. Yes, look on everyone who’s proud and humble him. Tread down the wicked way he stands. Hide them in the dust together. Bind them in the hidden place. Then you do that. Then I will confess that by your own right hand, you can save yourself.”
Now, of course, He continues on and on in beautiful, powerful ways. I want us to look at these verses here because there’s so much for us to take hold of and apply to our lives starting with this, “Would you contend with the Almighty?” I love that. Verse 2, “Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty?” Well, people find fault with God all the time. They don’t agree with God. They don’t agree with the way He rules the world.
They say, “God’s not fair. Why does God allow evil to exist?” and on and on. “You say you love me, and yet I have troubles in my life.” It’s as though they are the ones who sit on the judgment seat and God is the one on trial. I love Verse 8 where God says to Job, “Really? Will you really annul My judgment? Will you condemn Me that you might be justified? Will you contend with the Almighty?” See, I submit that rather than contending with the Almighty, we need to be at peace with the Almighty. That’s one of the great results of the story.
A. Be at peace with the Almighty
Ah, it’s much better to be at peace. See, now, there’s a vast difference. When someone is going through a longstanding adversity or a longstanding trial. There’s a vast difference between an honest trying to understand, trying to understand the ways of God or what is happening. There’s a vast difference between that and standing in judgment of God. “God, I don’t agree.” That’s different. See, now, you may wrestle with the trouble.
You may wrestle with some trouble in your heart, but you must come to that place where even if you do not understand why something is happening, you come to the place where you trust God’s heart. I don’t know why. “God, I don’t know what is happening. I don’t know why, but I trust You. I know that You love me. I know that You’re for me. I trust You. I don’t know why this is happening, but I know who does. It’s You. I trust You. That comes to a place of peace.
Peace with the Almighty in the midst of trouble or adversity. That’s the place to come to. Many of you know our story. We’ve been through great troubles. Our daughter was killed many, many times. I don’t know why, but I know who does. I’m at peace because I know that God is with me. I know that God is for me and I know that God will walk with me through it all. There is peace. Peace with the Almighty. Come to that.
It reminds me of Isaiah 26:3-4, “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace.” That is a beautiful picture. “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace because he trusts in thee. Trust in the Lord forever, for in God the Lord, we have an everlasting rock.” That is a great declaration. Amen? Yes, let’s give the Lord praise. He is worthy of praise. Job has been contending with God. Now, in these chapters, he puts his hand over his mouth and he sees now the majesty and the authority.
See, when you come to that place of peace, peace with the Almighty, when you’re no longer contending, wrestling, resisting, contending with God, when you stand in awe of His majesty and authority, that’s when you come to see that all of that majesty and all of that for you is for you. God will take all of that majesty and authority and bring it to bear to bless your life. You can either contend against God or you can be at peace and God will contend for you and pour out that authority and majesty in your behalf.
Here’s a great set of verses out of the next chapter, Chapter 41. Again, God explains more, but notice in these verses how He builds up to a great statement. He says to Job, “Can you draw out Leviathan with the fishhook?” Now, we don’t know exactly what Leviathan this creature is, but by the description of it, it’s some great and powerful monster of the deep. We don’t know. Again, maybe it’s now past, but the description is some monstrous creature.
“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook? Can you put a rope in his nose? Can you pierce his jaw with the hook?” Will he make supplication to you? Will he speak soft words to you? Can you fill his skin with harpoons? Can you fill his head with fishing hooks? Lay your hand on him and you will remember the battle and you will not do it again.” I love that little description there. Yes, you try laying your hand on him, you’ll never forget that battle because you’ll never do it again.
He’s building up now. He’s building up. He says, “No one is so fierce that he would dare to arouse Leviathan. Who then is he who can stand before Me?” See how He’s building up that great conclusion? “Who then is so fierce that he would dare to arouse Leviathan? Who is he who can stand before Me? Who has given to Me that I should repay him? I owe no man a thing. Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine.”
See, it’s so much better to recognize the majesty and the authority and the greatness of God to be at peace with the Almighty and to know that that majesty of God is for you. I was thinking of an illustration. When we adopted our boys from Russia, the youngest one particularly really struggled with having a father who had authority in his life. You understand what I’m saying? He was in an orphanage and there were no parents to speak of. He grew up there and so he had no authority.
Now, we’ve adopted him. He’s in our home and he’s just struggling. “Ah, the internal struggle. There’s an authority in my life now.” One day, he was only with us a few weeks, and I came to his bed and I said, “Hey, did you brush your teeth?” He said, “No.” I said, “Well, here’s the thing. In our family, we brush our teeth before you go to bed. I need you to get out of bed and I need you to go brush your teeth.” He said, “No. No, you’re not my father.” “Well, that’s where you’re wrong.”
I swooped him up in my arms. I brought him downstairs and I put him on a nice, hard floor. I say, “You are going to sit right there until you and I resolve this. In other words, until there’s peace right between us, you’re going to sit right there until we get this thing resolved.” He said, “Well, this isn’t fair. You’re bigger than I am.” I said, “Well, now, I think you’re beginning to understand how this works.” Amen, parents? That’s when he started screaming and just screaming.
I’m with him there. I’m laying on the bed listening to him scream. I’m pretending to be bored. Scream, scream, fine. My wife comes in. She said, “Oh, he’s right next to the window. The neighbors are going to hear him screaming and they’re going to call the police.” I said, “Well, good. Let the police come, then he’ll know the police are on my side. No, he needs to scream. Screaming is good for the lungs, right? It’s good. It’s healthy. He needs to scream. He needs to scream. Let him scream.”
He’s just screaming it out and then that doesn’t work, so then he steps it up. Out come the claws, starts to rake his face. Oh, the inner anguish. Of course, I come. I take hold of him and I wrap him up and then I say, “Now, scream. Scream. Let’s go. Scream.” He’s screaming, “No, more, more, louder. You need to get this out. Get this out. Scream. We need to scream.” He’s screaming and screaming with everything he’s got. Finally, he starts to calm. My opportunity. My lips are right next to his ear.
“Listen, I understand. It’s okay. I understand. You lost your mom. You lost your dad. You were taken from your brother. You’re taken out of your homeland. You’re brought to a foreign place. I understand. It’s okay. I’m your father and I’m not going anywhere. This thing that just happened here, it doesn’t change my love for you. We’re going to wrestle this out. We’re going to walk through this thing and we’re going to walk through it together. I’m not going anywhere. I am your father and I’m for you. You can scream in my arms anytime you want because I will not stop loving you.”
He says, “Dad, Dad, I’m so sorry. It’ll never happen again.” “It might. You can scream in my arms anytime you want. We’re going to walk this through and we’re going to walk it through together because I’m not going anywhere and neither are you.” God is our father and He’s going to contend and He’s going to stand until we get this thing resolved because God’s not going anywhere and neither are you.
B. Do all things through Christ who strengthens you
Let’s come to peace with the Almighty. When you come to see that that father that you have been contending with and against is for you and all of that majesty and authority stands to support and to strengthen your life, then you can come to peace with the Almighty. Then we see this, “Do all things through Christ who strengthens you.” Now, I’m bringing in a New Testament understanding here, but it applies directly to the Book of Job.
See, that verse comes from what Paul wrote to the church there, Philippi, and it has everything to do with learning to suffer well, which is why it directly applies to the Book of Job. We must learn to suffer well. Notice the verse, Philippians 4:11-13. Paul writes, “I have learned to be content.” What does it mean to be content? “I have peace. I have peace with the Almighty. I’ve learned to be content in whatever circumstance I am.”
“I know how to get along to do well in humble means. I know how to live in prosperity. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of being filled or going hungry, of having abundance, or suffering need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” grand conclusion to those verses. This could be called Paul’s spiritual secret. Notice how it applies to those going through a time of trouble or adversity?
Now, many people, they love those verses. Of course, they will often memorize one part. When they look at those verses, they will memorize one part. That one part that they like to memorize is, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” They see that as a great declaration of their victory, right? “I can climb a great mountain. I can do some great things. I can be victorious in battle. I can climb great things and great feats,” until you look at the context.
The context is I have found that I can be at peace even in times of hunger, even when suffering need. Oh, now, we see it differently. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Pastor Shawn and I were in Africa a few years ago. I was struck by what we saw in the believers there. They have learned to suffer well. You want to talk about difficulty enduring troubles. Many of them have to walk great distances.
It’s difficult sometimes even to put food, but the joy of the Lord, I tell you what, those people know how to worship. The joy of the Lord is in that place. They have learned to suffer well in the sense that the joy of the Lord resounds in their heart and in their soul. Oh, they will worship. Oh, they’ll turn the music up so loud. The speakers are almost blown. Some of them are blown. They just are joy. If they come here, it’s like, “You people don’t know how to worship. Let me tell you something.”
Worship is when your soul is amazed in the majesty of God. They’ve learned to suffer well. Here’s another way to see it. Growing up, I had friends who had every advantage in life. They had wealthy parents. They lived in a nice home. Their parents did not fight. There was peace. They were nurtured and encouraged all along the way. This is very helpful. No doubt. This is a great advantage in life.
Somewhere along the way, they’re going to have to learn to endure hardship and endure hardship well. Somewhere, they grew up in every advantage. There was peace everywhere around them. Somewhere, they’re going to have to learn to endure hardship well. In contrast, others like me grew up in poverty, had abusive, alcoholic father. There was dysfunction. There was yelling and chaos constantly.
Here’s my point. Suffering itself does not teach one how to suffer well. Suffering alone does not teach one how to suffer well. In fact, such hardships have broken many lives. Many have been shipwrecked. Suffering itself does not teach you that. It’s only when you come to discover that God’s presence is enough. It’s only when you come to discover that the joy of the Lord is your strength. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. It’s only when you come to that understanding.
When the nation of Israel was wandering in the wilderness those 40 years, it says the people became like those who complain of adversity in the hearing of the Lord. What a description. The people of Israel there in the desert. You might describe it as adversity and trouble and difficulty. It says the people became like those who complain of adversity in the hearing of the Lord. Adversity has tested the faith of many people.
It’s also a shipwreck, the faith of some. The question is, how do you respond to adversity? To what was it that God expected from Israel? What was it that He expected them to do? Well, God expected them to endure the wilderness by faith. God was taking them through the wilderness. There was a promise on the other side. Yes, it’s a desert. Yes, it’s dry. It’s hot. It’s difficult. It’s irritating and the flesh stands ready to complain.
God promised to be with them. “I will walk with you in this. We will get through this. We will get through this wilderness. I promise you. I will be with you. We’ll get through the other side.” God wanted them to endure it by faith. The flesh stands ready to complain, but you must master it. You must learn to master adversity or adversity will master you. That is one of the great lessons from the Book of Job. You must learn to master adversity or adversity will master you. Then we see this. Now, turn your Bibles, please, to Chapter 42. Because now, we see the grand conclusion that God’s purpose will stand. Notice Chapter 42.
II. God’s Purpose Will Stand
As we begin reading, we continue now the story, Chapter 42:1, “Job answered the Lord and he said, ‘I know now that You can do all things and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.’ Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge, you’re saying? Well, I have declared things which I did not understand, things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me. I did not know. ‘Hear now and I will speak,’ you say. ‘I will ask you. You instruct me,’ you said. I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye has seen. Therefore, I retract. I repent in dust and ashes.”
Verse 7 came about that after the Lord has spoken these words to Job that the Lord then spoke to Eliphaz. Remember those three friends who came to comfort Job? We’ve been seeing them in the story. They were his friends, but they were terrible counselors. You remember them? He says to Eliphaz, the first of the friends, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends because you have not spoken of me what is right like my servant Job has.”
Move to Verse 10, “Then he says the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends. The Lord increased all of that Job had twofold, then all his brothers and his sisters and all who had known him before, they came to him and they ate bread with him in his house. They consoled him and comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought on him. Each one gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold.”
Then it says, “The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than the beginning. He had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, 1,000 female donkeys, and he had 7 sons and 3 daughters. He named the first–” Now, he’s going to make the daughters in the story stand out. We know their names of the three daughters. It says he named the first daughter, Jemimah. Now, I understand from history that she later became wealthy selling syrup in pancakes.
Although that part of the story has not been verified, I just thought I would put it out there. The name of the first daughter was Jemimah, the second was Keziah, and the third was Keren-Happuch. In all the land, no women were so fair as Job’s daughters. Their father gave them inheritance, even them among their brothers, which is unusual, but they stood out. After all this, Job lived 140 years. He saw his sons, his grandsons, four generations. Job died an old man and full of days.
Great, glorious end. I want us to see this. Let’s see the grand conclusions. God’s purpose will stand. Now, in Chapter 41, remember what he said. God said to Job, “Who has given to Me that I should repay him?” In other words, God owes nothing to anyone, nor does He owe an explanation. Chapter 42, Job responds, “I declared that which I did not understand. Things too wonderful. I didn’t understand. Things too wonderful for me. I did not know them.”
A. No purpose of God can be thwarted
The things too wonderful for Job to understand were the ways of God that God declared to Job. “Where were you, Job, when I laid the foundations of the earth? Where were you when I laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together, and all of the Sons of God shouted for joy?” Beautiful picture. What Job could see was that the purpose of God was far greater than he had ever imagined. Then he says, “Now, I see that no purpose of God can be thwarted.”
God had purpose in all that Job endured. God does not owe an explanation and He does not give one. Job now understands that God’s purpose will stand and that no purpose of God can be thwarted. Then you see that the purpose of God is revealed throughout the Word of God. For example, the purpose of God can be revealed and seen in the majesty of God’s creation even. Notice Romans 1.
Romans 1:20-21, “Since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes, His eternal power, His divine nature have been clearly seen being understood through what has been made.” One of the great purposes of God’s creation is that it declares the wonder and majesty of who He is. When you stand under the stars at night and you behold, that’s the time to say, “God, You are amazing. Majesty, I stand in awe of who You are.”
When you stand on the seashore and you look at the sunset and the sky is lit with reds and purples and oranges and you stand there, that’s the time to say, “God, You are amazing. All the creation declares the greatness of who You are.” He says, “Since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes, His power, His divine nature have been clearly understood, being understood through what has been made so that they are without excuse.”
The unrighteous, the ungodly. They have no excuse for even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, but His purpose was revealed. Another one God declares that there is purpose in allowing evil to remain for now. The question of evil, He speaks to it. There is purpose, He says, for allowing evil to remain for now. Romans 9:22-23, Paul writes, “What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience, vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?”
Now, vessels of wrath, he’s speaking here of the evil of this world. There are evil people in this world. You know it. I know it. They are called vessels of wrath prepared for destruction. What if God, quite willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, what if God endured with much patience these vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? He did so in order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory.
You, those who recognize the name of the Almighty, you are those vessels of mercy. He says that He has a great purpose. He has prepared you beforehand for the glory, for the revealing of glory that you might be eyewitnesses, and to declare the greatness of His majesty and His glory. God reveals His purpose. Then you can see that God weaves His purpose into every person that He has created. God weaves His purpose into your life. Do you believe that?
You can see it, Romans 9:11-12, “For though the twins were not yet born,” he’s speaking here of Jacob and Esau. “For though the twins were not yet born and had done nothing good or bad, but in order that God’s purpose according to His choice might stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, it was said to Rebecca, the older will serve the younger,” which is not the normal way.
Normally, the younger would serve the older, but it says God has a purpose. God is going to weave that purpose into the lives of Jacob and Esau. He says to Rebecca, “No, the older will serve the younger. God will weave His purpose and God will weave His purpose into our lives.” You watch. You’ll see it. Watch for it. God will reveal it. God will weave in the fabric of your life the purpose of God. I was thinking of an illustration. We were married, I think, maybe only a few months.
At one point, I was sitting at home playing the piano. Jordy was in the room next door or next to us. She came into the room and she said, “What was happening in your life during such and such time?” She named the year and the time. “What was happening in your life then?” I said, “Why?” She said, “Because I just remembered. I was in high school,” and she had rededicated her life to the Lord and God was moving in her life.
She said, “I felt a burden. I can’t explain it, but a wave of grief came over me. I felt that it had to do with my future husband.” She said, “What do you do with that?” I went to my youth leader and I said, “I don’t know what this is. I have this grief. Something is wrong. I just think it has to do with my future husband.” The youth leader says, “Well, that is God. God has put this burden on your heart that you would intercede and pray,” so she did. She interceded. She prayed.
Her youth leader said, “Do that until the burden is lifted,” so several weeks. She says, “I just remember that. Now, I know who my husband is. We’re married.” “Tell me, what was happening in your life such and such a year, such and such a time?” “Well, my foot had almost slipped, I almost lost my way. I was with the wrong person. It all came to a point when, one day, we’re at dinner at a restaurant. I said to this person, the wrong person, I said, ‘What do you think about being married to a pastor?'”
Now, where that question came from, I wasn’t planning on asking that question. Did those words come out of my mouth? Where did that come from? I was in business. I was involved in business, a business owner. I studied business management in college. Where did that come from? Well, I know where it came from. When I first came to the Lord, I felt that I was supposed to be a pastor, but I tucked it way back. It never left me.
There we are at dinner and it just came out of my mouth. I wasn’t planning on asking that question for sure, but it just came out. I said, “Well, what do you think about– How would you feel if you were married to a pastor?” She said, “No. No, I’m going to be married to a businessman. That’s who you are. No.” I said, “Okay. Well, thank you.” Right away, a lightning bolt hit my heart. This is not right. All of it is not right.
I remember I was polite, but I was troubled. We went out to the car. I opened the door. She got in. I closed the door. The walk from that door to that door was the longest walk of my life. “God, get me out of this. It’s wrong. It’s all wrong. All of it’s wrong. I see it now. I’ve been blind. Now, I see. Get me out of this. It’s wrong. All of it’s wrong,” and then it all resolved, got out of that, rolled the tape forward a few years.
Now, I’m sitting at dinner with Jordy, just asked her to marry me, and then I said, “Question. How would you feel about being married to a pastor? I don’t know how. I was a business owner. You know my story. Business management. I don’t know how that would ever happen. I don’t know. I’m just asking. How would you feel if you were married to a pastor?” She said, “Really? That’s my dream. I’ve always wanted to be in ministry. Introduce that together would be a dream to me.”
B. God restores what the locusts have eaten
I thought, “Oh, Lord, Your purpose is amazing.” Here we are, Amen, because here we are 40 years later. We’ve been in ministry almost 40 years. God very quickly started opening doors. How He weaved His purpose here at the very time I almost lost my way, at the very time my foot almost slipped, He puts on her a burden to intercede for a person she had never met. The purpose of God is woven into the fabric of your life. If you watch, you’ll see. Amen.
The last thing we must close with this, God restores what the locusts have eaten. The story of Job would not be complete without seeing the restoring and the rebuilding of Job’s life. It says that the Lord increased all that he had twofold, that the Lord blessed the latter days of Job even more than the beginning, and he died an old man and full of days and richly blessed. See, the hope of God is seen in that it is a principle of God’s heart that He restores.
God restores the broken. God rebuilds those who turn to Him. He restores that which the locusts have eaten. God wants to restore. God wants to rebuild your life. This time, He will build in on a better foundation. God will rebuild your life, but He will build it on a better foundation. Then when He builds the foundation, He will build on that foundation, the construct of integrity.
That is also one of the great lessons that we receive from the Book of Job that upon that foundation, He will build the construct of character of God, the posts, the beams, the steel, the rocks of integrity, of character, of godliness. There is no greater way to live than that. Amen? Father, we love You and honor You for the revealing of the greatness of who You are. Your Majesty, we stand in awe that we might have peace with the Almighty and that You weave Your purpose. We see now that Your purpose is greater than we’ve ever imagined.
God, here we are. We say to You, weave Your purpose into the fabric of our lives with the glory of Your hand. Church, how many would say that to the Lord? How many would declare that to the Lord? Here am I. Here I am, Lord. Weave Your purpose. I see now, Your Majesty. I stand in awe of who You are. I’m at peace. My heart has found peace with the Almighty, so here I am. Weave Your purpose into the fabric of my life. I want my life to give You glory. I want my life to be in Your honor.
Church, would you declare that to the Lord by simply raising your hand as a way of expressing that declaration? God, here I am. I say to You, weave the purpose of God into my life. I stand in awe of who You are. Here am I, Lord. Let my life be for Your glory. We pray that in Jesus’ name and everyone said, let’s give the Lord praise and glory and honor. Can we do that? Amen.
Covenants of Victory
Job 31:1-8
July 15-16, 2023
All right, as we’ve been reading through the Book of Job, of course when most people think about the Book of Job, they immediately think of Job’s suffering. Of course, it’s understandable because he certainly did suffer greatly, but as we have been seeing, there is so much more to the Book of Job than just job suffering. Although, obviously that’s important, but it’s one of the deepest books of the Bible and it speaks to some of the deepest issues of life.
Job, when you study it and see it, it will strengthen your faith. It will truly inspire your soul to desire more of God in your life. As we’ve seen the story unfolds, Job’s three friends come to comfort him in his suffering. As I mentioned before, they are his friends, but they’re terrible counselors and they’re terrible comforters. In fact, some of Job’s responses to their so-called comforters is quite interesting.
He said sarcastically to these comforters, “Oh, what a help you are to the weak. Oh, what helpful insight you have provided. Sorry comforters are you all.” Now these are friends that can obviously talk very boldly with each other. “Is there no limit to your windy words?” Job’s, friends, as we see in the story, they’re convinced that Job deserves all that he is going through. All of this suffering, they’re convinced you deserve it.
Now, they don’t know why he deserves it, but they’re convinced that he does. What they’re convinced is they’ve come to the conclusion that if sin and wickedness and iniquity bring forth hardship and trouble and suffering, which it actually does, that is a principle of the Scriptures, sin and inequity and wickedness will be bringing troubles in a person’s life.
We know that’s true, but they have concluded that anyone then who is suffering or going through trouble must have done some sin or iniquity to deserve it, or they’re harboring iniquity in their hearts. However, from the earliest chapter in the Book of Job, God declares that there is no one like Job in all of the earth, blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil. In other words, Job is not suffering because he’s wicked, he’s suffering because he is righteous.
As I mentioned before, is it possible for a person to suffer for righteousness? Oh, it is. You just stand up for God in this old world and you’ll find trouble more than you can handle. Yes, it’s possible, but here’s the thing, Job knows his own heart and Job is not going to relent. He will not give in to their relentless pressure. In fact, at one point he says, “Far be it from me that I should declare you right. Until I die, I will not put my integrity away from me.” You’ve got to love Job.
Things like these, “Until I die, I will hold onto my integrity. I will hold fast to my righteousness and I will not let it go. My heart does not reproach, any of my days.” Then he adds something interesting and very important.
In chapter 27, he says, “Will the wicked delight in the Almighty? Will the wicked call on God at all times?” Job does, its proof and evidence that their accusations are not true. Job does delight. “I delight in the Almighty.” Do the wicked do that? Of course, they do not. They’re offended at God. They want nothing to do with God. What a great answer to their accusations. If he were as wicked and evil as his friend suggests, would he delight in the Almighty?
No, but I do delight in the Almighty, he says, “I will let go. I will hold fast.” That brings us to chapter 31, where we will be today. Chapter 31, Job goes even farther to describe his integrity, the heart of integrity he has, and he gives here one of the most quoted verses of the Book of Job here in chapter 31. That is this, “I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze upon a maiden?” It is a verse that declares the integrity of Job’s heart. It is a powerful verse.
I submit that there is far more to this than just a covenant with his eyes, which is of course amazing. It’s a tremendous spiritual victory for one to have a covenant with his eyes and mean it is a great spiritual victory. Anybody agree with me? It’s amazing, but I suggest that there’s far more to it. The reason that Job made a covenant with his eyes is because he delights in the Almighty. That’s what we’re going to see, there is power to these verses and power to what God would have us to receive tonight in His words.
Let’s just read the first eight verses. Of course, as many of you know, we are looking at the verses in and around this at the Wednesday verse by verse service, but tonight we’re in chapter 31. We begin reading in verse 1. Again, he’s refuting his friends and he’s standing and he’s holding on relentlessly. He says, “I will not let go. I have integrity in my heart.” He goes and says, verse 1, “I have made a covenant with my eyes so then how can I gaze upon a maiden or a virgin?” He says, “What is the portion of God from above or the heritage of the Almighty from on high for the unjust? Is it not calamity on the unjust and disaster on those who work iniquity? We know that is the principle of the harvest. It is true.”
I. Make a Covenant with Your Soul
He says, “Does God not see my ways?” Now remember, that’s part of Job’s dilemma. It is like I have been holding on to my integrity. Doesn’t God see? That’s his dilemma. Why does He not see? Now of course all of this is going to come out. God’s going to speak before the book is over, but now he says, does he not see? Does he not number my steps if–
Then he says, “If I have walked in falsehood, if my foot has hastened after deceit, then let Him weigh me in accurate scales and let Him know my integrity.” Then he says, “If my step has turned from the way or if my heart has followed my eyes, or if there is any spot that is stuck to my hands,” in other words any impurity in my hands, “Then fine. Let me sow then and another eat and let my crops be uprooted. If that is, if I have done that, then I deserve it, but I haven’t. I have been holding on.” These are the verses that we want to look at.
I want to start with this understanding. This is about covenants of victory. Now he’s mentions here that he makes a covenant with his eyes, but then I want to begin with this, make a covenant with your soul. Now we want to look of course, at this covenant that Job made, but we first must understand where the desire for such a covenant with his eyes, where did that come from?
Now, a covenant by the way, is one of the greatest defining concepts of commitment in the scriptures. For example, marriage is a covenant. The greatest commitment between a man and a woman. God’s commitment to Israel is seen in a covenant that He made with them through Moses. In fact in the temple, in the holy of holy places, under the mercy seat was the Ark of the Covenant and the people of Israel are often called the people of the covenant.
A. Understand the value of your soul
It’s one of the greatest understandings of commitment and dedication. In other words, before Job made a covenant with his eyes, he made a covenant with his soul. In other words, here’s where we have to see the depth of this book. Understand the value of your soul. Understand the value. See, if people can only understand the value of their soul, it would completely transform how they live. See, these bodies of ours is just flesh. The Scripture says that this flesh of ours, these bodies, they’re just temporary tents to dwell in. We’re not taking these things with us, but our souls, they live forever. What then is the value of the soul?
Well, Jesus spoke to it in Mark 8:36-37. Jesus says, “What does it profit a man if he gained the whole world and forfeited his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Jesus is trying to declare, do you not understand the value of your soul? Job did understand, I submit, and he treasured what God was doing in his heart, in his soul. Job delighted in God and he treasured what God was doing in his soul.
Notice, for example, Job 23:11-12, “My foot has held fast to His path. I have kept His way. I have not turned aside. I have not departed from the command of His lips.” Then he adds, “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.” Ah, there is a declaration. How he values the words of God. He understands, Job also understands the value of pouring wisdom into the soul, the wisdom that comes from God and God alone. He spoke about that in Chapter 28. Job 28:13-18 Job says, “Man does not know the value of wisdom.”
Now, how valuable is wisdom? If you were given a choice between wisdom and great riches, which would you choose? Wisdom is more valuable than great riches. Anybody agree with me? In fact, he goes on to say, “Wisdom is not found in the land of the living. Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it. You cannot buy it. Silver cannot be weighed as a price for it. The acquisition of wisdom is far above that of Pearls.” Job understands that the soul is made alive only with it delights in the Almighty. He wants that pour out what you are doing in my soul. I delight in you. I delight in the Almighty.
B. God delights in those who delight in Him
That reminds me so much of David. David, he understood this. David wrote this in Psalm 27. I love Psalm 27. The whole Psalm is amazing, but verse 4 he says, “One thing I’ve asked from the Lord, one.” David’s greatest desire, “One thing I’ve asked from the Lord and that I shall seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple.” David understood that the presence of the Almighty was beautiful on the soul.
The presence of God is beautiful on the soul. Do you believe it? That is what God desires to show us in His word. That is revival. When the soul delights in the Almighty. When you desire to see the beauty of the presence of the Lord, that is revival. See, then we have to see this. That God delights in those who delight in Him. It goes also both ways. See, this is a theme of the Scriptures. It’s a relationship. God wants a relationship. A relationship goes both ways. When you delight in God, God is well pleased. You feel His pleasure, it says, and He will build and construct in your soul that which gives him glory.
King David understood that. David was a young shepherd out there under the stars watching over the sheep. He was worshiping the Almighty, playing his harp, writing the Psalms, singing, making melody. He was worshiping. There was something beautiful that was happening in David. He was delighting in the Almighty, so God delighted in David.
Notice 1st Chronicles 28:4. David said, “God took pleasure in me and made me king over all Israel.” It goes both ways. See, when I think of that, understanding that God delights in you when you delight in Him reminds me of the Eric Liddell or Liddell. You, no doubt, heard about the famous Olympian runner made famous by the movie Chariots of Fire. He was an Olympian runner and, of course, amazing. Many, of course, you saw the movie. There’s that wonderful scene in the movie that shows not only his ability to run, but his grit of character.
This is early on in the movie and he’s running. It’s not even the Olympics, but he’s running, I think it’s in college, and somehow somebody hits him. His knee gets hit and he falls and he tumbles. Now he’s like dead last and he’s way behind everybody else. Most people would have quit. Then Eric Liddell gets up and then he starts running and that’s when the music starts. [sings] Your heart swells within you because he turns the last corner. He’s passing runner after runner after runner, and then he passes the whole field and he finishes first.
It’s like–There’s a grit of character in him. Interestingly, he had an urge, God called him to be a missionary. Very strong Christian. I think many of you know his story. A friend one time said, “If God called you to be a missionary, then why do you run?” I love his answer. He said, “I’d run because God made me fast, but when I run, I feel His pleasure.” I thought, “I love that. To feel the pleasure God delights in you when you delight in Him.” If I can I add a personal twist to that. God called me to be a pastor. When I teach His word, I feel His pleasure, I love– Amen.
I love what God is doing here. God is doing something amazing. I’m still thankful for that. 2nd Corinthians 5:7,9, “We walk by faith and not by sight.” Therefore, we have as our ambition to be pleasing to Him. See, chapter 29 is interesting. In chapter 29, Job remembers the life that he had before all of this suffering. Now, in chapter 29, we get a picture of Job’s life that we don’t read anywhere else in the Bible. It’s very interesting. In chapter 29, he remembers, I’m just going to give you a snippet of it, but this is very important.
Job 29:2-5. “Oh, that I were as in days gone by or months gone by.” You get a sense of the time, how long he’s been suffering now. Notice he says, “Oh, that I were as in days gone by when friendship with God was over my tent, when the Almighty was with me.” Now, of course, he does not understand what’s happening and he thinks that God has withdrawn His hand. Now we know that’s not true, but as Job sees it, that’s his dilemma.
He remembers when the friendship of God was over my tent, when the Almighty was with me. See, Job knows. He looks back on months gone by, and he remembers what God had built when there was this relationship where he said, “The friendship of God was over my tent.” Now, can we make it personal? Does God have a desire that life and relationship would be ours today? In the same way we can say the same, the friendship of God is over our tent. If you are a son or a daughter of the living God, then the friendship of God is over your tent. Do you believe that? Let’s give the Lord praise. Absolutely right.
See, he remembers what God built. Job delighted in the Almighty. He treasured God’s word more than his necessary food, and God was building in him the construct of integrity. God was building him the construct of wisdom and of stature. The posts, beams, the steel, the racks of the strength, of integrity and the character of soul, God built that. God built that in Job because Job delighted in the Almighty. Amen.
Let’s give the Lord praise. Absolutely right. Here’s what’s interesting, everyone could see it, what God built. There was none like Him in all the earth and everyone could see it. Notice for example, Job 29:7-11 Job says, when I went out to the gate of the city, when I took my seat in the square, young men saw me and hid themselves. In other words, they were intimidated by Job.
Old men rose and stood on their feet. Imagine now it’s such stature that when Job came and sat down in the square of the city, that old men would stand up out of respect. God built that. Princes would stop talking. The voice of nobles was hushed. When the ear heard, they called me blessed. Job, you are blessed with wisdom, man. Where did you get that wisdom? Job, you are blessed.
See, this is the value of the soul. When God builds in you that construct of integrity. Is integrity important? God will build in you the construct of integrity. He will pour wisdom and stature into your life and it will become the posts, beam, the steel, the rocks of the strength of integrity and the character of your soul. God will build that when you delight in the Almighty, when you delight in the Almighty, when your soul is made alive, God will build that.
See, this is the covenant God wants you to make with your soul. I submit that you start there, make a covenant with your soul, that you value what God is building in your soul, and that you treasure that beautiful work that God does on the soul more than your necessary food. That is when you’ll be able to make a covenant with your eyes and mean it. That is when you can be victorious. This is about the covenants of victory.
II. Make a Covenant with Your Eyes
Make a covenant with your soul and then make a covenant with your eyes. Now that, making a covenant with your eyes not to look upon a young maiden, it means of course to not have lustfulness in the heart. That’s what it means. If we can be specific, can we be specific? That’s what it means. It is the very definition of spiritual victory, to make a covenant with your eyes. That is the very definition of victory.
Is it possible to have victory over the flesh? Does anybody believe it’s possible to have victory over the flesh? Yes, it is. I also say that many people even now, are fighting this battle. They’re fighting and they’re not winning. God will show us how that victory is possible. You start with a covenant with the soul to delight in the Almighty. See, this is important because the eye is the lamp of the soul.
The Scripture says the eye is the lamp of the soul. There are more worldly things for the eyes to see today than ever before in the history of the world. Anybody agree with me? Today there’s more things, more worldly things to see, for the eyes to see than ever before in the history of the world. Is it possible to have victory over the flesh in times like these? Is it possible? Yes, it is.
God wants that victory for you. God wants to open your eyes so that you can see that which is truly beautiful. See, in other words, you can only make a covenant with your eyes and be victorious when you have made a covenant with your soul. When you have come to see that what God is doing in the soul is of greater treasure than anything that the flesh desires. In fact, the things of the world and spiritual defeat will rob you blind. You know where that phrase rob you blind. You know what it means? It means that you will be robbed as if you were blind.
A. God builds – sins tears down
It will rob you blind and spiritually speaking, that person who is defeated is blind. This is what I want us to see. God builds, sin tears down. God builds, sin tears down. God wants to build. Anybody agree with me? God wants to build. God wants to build. God wants to build. Absolutely right. God wants to build, but sin will tear down. God wants to build, but sin will tear down.
See, Job made a covenant with his eyes to be spiritually victorious over his flesh because he wanted nothing to tear down that which God was building. God builds, sin tears down. What God had built into his soul, into his character was of such value to Job, the stature of integrity. The steel, the posts, the beams, the rocks. I want nothing to tear that down. God is building, sin will tear it down. I want nothing to tear down what my God is building. See, unrighteous, this will tear down your life.
God wants to open her eyes to see what God will build, is of greater treasure than anything the world has to offer. Value that, value that, let nothing stand in the way of that which God is building. Let me give you some examples. Sin will distort the mind and will affect your judgment. It will tear down your mind and will affect your judgment. You will become unwise. God builds wisdom. Sin will tear it down. You’ll become unwise. Sin will blind you.
In other words, sin will hide from you the depths of the beauty of spiritual life. One thing I want, David said, to behold the beauty, how beautiful is the work of God on the soul? How beautiful is the almighty? Sin will tear down. Sin will tear down your finances. Can we get specific? I’ll give you some verses. Job Chapter 20:12-15 Job. Oh, there’s great wisdom in Job. “Though evil is weak in the mouth, in the stomach it is changed to the venom of cobras within him. He swallows riches but he will vomit them up. God will expel them from his belly.”
This is in Job, this is amazing. This is great wisdom. This is great insight. Though evil is sweet in the mouth, oh, that is true in other Scriptures, “Stolen water is sweet, bread eaten in secret is pleasant.” It’s sweet in the mouth, oh, but it is yucky in the soul. That’s a deep theological word, yucky, deep but it’s true. If you’ve ever done the world, if you’ve ever done the world and the sin thing, it’s ugly on the soul.
Anybody agree with me? It feels terrible inside, yes, let’s give that a little praise, absolutely. Oh, here’s another one. Proverbs 6:26, “On account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread.” It reduces. It reduces. It reduces. God builds, sin tears down, God builds, sin tears down. God wants to build, to edify, to strengthen, to bless, to build the construct of integrity. When Job was thinking of the value of wisdom upon the soul he said this, Job 28:28, “And to men God said, behold to revere the Lord or to fear the Lord, that is wisdom.”
Then he says, “To depart from evil, that is understanding.” That’s wisdom. That is understanding. That is understanding. See, in other words, those who partake of evil know nothing of the constructs of integrity, they know nothing of the value of the posts, the beam, the steel, the rocks of God, the strength of God, and the character. They know nothing of such things and they value them not at all, but there is joy in the construct of integrity. There is joy in the soul. It is pleasant to the soul when God is building the construct, the steel, the beam, the post, the stature, it’s pleasant on the soul.
B. God wants to give you eyes to see
That’s why Job remembers it with such fondness. Oh, it was such a wonderful time. Then I say this, God wants to give you eyes to see. See, sin will blind you, it will reduce you to a loaf of bread. Jesus said, “The enemy has come to steal, to kill, and to destroy.” Job understood this. Oh, there is such great wisdom in this book. Job delighted in the Almighty. He treasured God’s word more than his necessary food because he understood the beauty of what God was doing in the soul.
Therefore, those things of the world, he says, I had no appetite for those things. They had no flavor to me. Job 6:6-7 he says it in Hebrew poetry, it’s very beautiful. The way he says it, he says, “Can something tasteless be eaten without salt, or is there any taste in the white of an egg? My soul refuses to touch them. They are lonesome food to me.” Now is there a taste in the white of an egg? The answer is no. There is no taste in the white of an egg. I should know, I am on a strict diet and I will often eat egg whites for breakfast.
To make them edible, I make them into French omelets with goat cheese. The point Job is making, I have no appetite for such things. Those things are loathsome to me. I will not touch them, I will not touch them, those things of the world like that, those things that poison. They are lonesome, I won’t touch them. You know why? Because I don’t want anything to tear down what God is building. What God is building is too precious to me. Amen. What God is building is too precious to me.
What God is building here is precious, let tear it down, let nothing tear it down. If you make a covenant with your eyes not to look upon that which is worldly, if you will make a covenant with your soul to delight in the Almighty, God will open your eyes. Your soul will have understanding, your soul will have wisdom, you will have a depth of understanding and insight to see. With spiritual eyes, you can see. You’ll have a depth to see. 1st Corinthians 2:14-15, “A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, they are foolishness to him, he cannot understand them because they are spiritually appraised, but he who is spiritual appraises all things.”
God will give and construct in you the wisdom of understanding, spiritual insight. God is calling you to make a covenant with your soul to desire the construct of integrity that God would build in you, God will build this, God will build this, to build in you the construct of integrity, the posts, the beam, the steel, the rocks, the strength of God, the character, that is the value of the soul.
If you understand that, if you understand that, if you value that, then you will make a covenant with your eyes. You will make a covenant with your eyes and you’ll mean that because you want nothing to tear down on what God is building. Let nothing tear it down because it’s too precious to me, it’s too valuable to me, I don’t want anything to tear down what God is building. Anybody agree with me? Is it possible to be spiritually victorious? Yes, it is. Let’s give the Lord praise.
Absolutely. Amen. Amen. Amen. Lord, we honor you and thank you for such great wisdom found in such a wonderful book, and God, every one of us here in this room now can see with spiritual eyes what you are showing us in your word, that the value of the construct of integrity is precious. To desire that God would build something, that God would build the strength, the post, the beam, the steel, the rocks, build that, build that, and I don’t want anything to tear it down. I will make a covenant with my soul, I’ll make a covenant with my eyes, I want nothing to tear it down. I want God to build something.
How many would say to the Lord today, “Build something, build something in me, build something in me, God. I want that, that you would build, the strength of character, the posts, the beam, the steel, the rocks, build that, that’s what I want. Build that.” Will you just raise your hand if that’s your heart to say that to the Lord, build that, that’s what I want. Build that and I’ll make a covenant with my eyes that nothing will tear it down. Oh Lord, we honor you, we thank you for how amazing you are. Thank you for meeting us in this place in Jesus’s powerful name and everyone said, can we give the Lord praise.
What Great Things God has Done
Deuteronomy 32:7-14
July 1-2, 2023
All right, at this point in the history of Israel, they’re coming to the end of their 40-year journey in the desert, and they’re just about to enter into that land that God has promised. Moses has one final opportunity to speak to them before they enter in. Now he already knows God has already let Moses know that he will not be the one that leads them, that will be Joshua. This is literally the last opportunity that he has, and he gives them this epic speech, which is the Book of Deuteronomy. It is in so many ways a book of revival, which is why this book is so important for us to hear, to receive because there’s an urgent need for revival today.
This is a broken world, but you do not have to be broken in this broken world. God can be a foundation of life and revival is the key to that. This is an epic speech where he gives here in the Book of Deuteronomy the greatest words that God has ever spoken. Now, you might say, pastor, how do you know that God’s greatest words were found in the Book of Deuteronomy? Well, because Jesus said so. An expert in the Jewish law came to Jesus at one point and he said, “Now, Rabbi what is the greatest and the foremost of all the things that God has ever said?”
Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy, “The greatest, the foremost is this, that you shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, your mind, your strength, and that you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” All of that is in Deuteronomy. It is a message of revival. After that, God took Moses aside and said, “Now these people, they will go after strange gods of that land in which they’re going. They will forsake me. They will break my covenant, which I will make with them. In that day that they turn from me and the many troubles arise and the adversity comes upon them as I forewarned them, that they will blame me in that day and they will say, this is happening because God is no longer with us.”
I. Never Forget What God has Done
He said, “So therefore, I want you to write down the words of a song that they would learn the words of this song and be reminded of all the great things that God has done for them. In the times of adversity, in the time of trouble. That they would look back and they would see the words of this song–” which we’re going to read here in Deuteronomy 32, “Will remind them, oh, they need to know all of the great things that God has done for them. For then they will be brought back to a place of revival.” See, there comes a time to choose, to choose the way to walk, to choose the way you will live your life.
In many ways, that call that revival is a choice. Here’s what I mean. God says through Moses, “I said before you, life and death, prosperity or adversity, you choose. I want you to choose life.” God says, “I love you. I want you to choose life, but you must choose it. I set before you prosperity adversity life, and death. When you choose adversity,” because he says, “You surely will.” He says to Israel, “I want you to be reminded in the words of this song, how much that God has done. Oh, what great things God has done and will do again if you would only come and return to the Lord and choose again the way of greatest blessing, I want you to sing it to him.
Now, see, in those days, remember Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible and at first, they had just one copy. Now we are blessed because we’ve got many copies. All of us, I think have multiple copies of the word of God. Anytime you want to read the promises of God, they’re right there for you to read but they didn’t. Scribes would write by hand some copies, but the average Hebrew, no did not. What they did, they would gather them all together and read the word of God once every seven years. Once every seven years, that’s really not enough we would say, right?
Therefore, he said, “This song is a song that I want them to learn to sing and to sing it over and over,” because songs have a powerful way of embedding themselves in your mind, your memory. That’s why even today, companies will hire songwriters to write songs to sell their products, right? Jingles we would call them. These are powerful. Today it’s very commonly used. I still remember some of the jingles from when I was a kid. That’s how it gets embedded into your mind. You probably still remember some of them too. Plop, plop, fist, fist.
There you go. See, it’s embedded in your mind, right? Some of these just are locked in, right? Like a good neighbor. It’s there, it’s locked into your mind, right? There was great wisdom when God says, “Teach them a song. Let them sing the song and be reminded again in that day of adversity when they turn their hearts towards the gods of the world, that they would remember the words of this song.” These are the words that would remind them of the great things that God has done and will do. Now we’re jumping into the midst of it. We’re not going to read the whole of it, but chapter 32, we start in verse seven. I don’t know the tune of the song and it was written in Hebrew so we’re going to do our best.
Chapter 32:7 “Remember that days of old, the song went. Remember, consider the years of all generations. Ask your father, he will inform you. Ask your elders, they will tell you. When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of man, he set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel.” That is amazing. He determined the boundaries of the nations by first establishing the boundaries of his people. Very interesting. Then he says verse nine, “For the Lord’s portion is his people.” Jacob is the allotment of his inheritance. Then it says, “God, he found Israel, found him in a desert land.”
He found him in a howling waste of a wilderness. Very poetic. It’s a beautiful Hebrew way of saying, I brought you out. Never forget what I brought you out of. I found you in a desert land. I brought you out of a howling waste of a wilderness. Then he had circled him. God had circled Israel. He cared for him. He guarded him as the pupil of His eye. That is the apple of the eye, we say. Like an eagle that stirs up the nest, that hovers over its young, He spread his wings, He caught them. He carried them on his pinions. The Lord alone guided Israel and there was no foreign gods then. He made him to rise.
Speaking of the eagle here again, He made him to ride on the highest places of the earth and he ate the produce of the field. He made him to draw honey from a rock and oil from the flinty rock. That is very interesting here. He’s speaking also of the great things that God will do. They will find oil in the rock. That’s just so interesting. Did you know recently, fairly recently, Israel has discovered oil so much so there’s such reservoirs of oil discovered by Israel that they will become one of the great oil exporters of the world? They found oil in Israel, black gold, Texas tea. They found oil. Here it is in Deuteronomy, right?
Then he says, “Of the great things,” notice “And there will be curds of cows, milk of the flock, fat of lambs, and of rams, even the breed of Bashan” that’s the best, “And goats with the finest of the wheat, and from the blood of grapes, they shall drink wine.” Oh, what God will do, write it in a song. Let them sing it over and over. Never forget. That’s the whole point of the song. Never forget what God has done. Sing it over and over in the times of adversity. When the heart wanders away and goes after the things of the world, there’s no hope there. There’s no life there.
You’ll find trouble and adversity there but when you do remember the song because it speaks of all of the great things that God has done and will do if you’d only come back to revival. See, I love the picture of this. Never forget, in other words, never take God for granted. Oh, what great things he has done. I’ll tell you what, when you come to the end of your life and you look back, don’t you want to be able to look back and say, “It was a good journey, Lord, God and I, we had a story. God and I, we had a journey and God, you have proven yourself to me over and over and over. Oh, what great things you have done in my life.”
A. You are God’s portion
I’ll tell you what, I am so, so blessed. God has done great things for me. Oh, I’ve been through troubles. Some of them epic in proportion but I’ll tell you what, God has been with me through them all, God has done great things for me. Anybody want to agree with that? Yes, let’s give the Lord praise. Absolutely right. Then he starts speaking of the aspect of it. Notice, you are God’s portion. See, verse eight is interesting. He starts out by saying that when God established or set the boundaries of the nations, he first established the boundaries of the sons of Israel.
Fascinating, and then he set the boundaries, even within the boundaries of Israel, by dividing up the land according to the tribes and then further interesting, he said to Levi, the tribe of Levi, “You will have no land in Israel. You’ll have me.” God says, “I will be your inheritance.” What a picture is that, how beautiful, “I will be your inheritance.” Then he says, God’s inheritance is his people. You are the alignment. Notice Deuteronomy 26:18 “The Lord has declared today, he declared you to be his people, a treasured possession as he promised you.” See, that’s what he says to Israel.
Does he say something similar to the church? Oh, yes, He does. He says, even says to the church, you are so treasured and so valued that he calls the church the bride of Christ. That speaks of love, that speaks of depth of love, of relationship that God desires. That’s why Paul said this prayer in Ephesians 1:18. It’s a prayer. Paul says, “Oh, I pray that the eyes of your heart would be enlightened. Open the eyes of your heart that you might see,” in other words, “That you will know the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.”
Do you know who you are? He says. You are so treasured that I call you the bride. It speaks of love. Now, one of the ways to understand the value of something is by the price that was paid for it. What price was paid for you? The redemption of your soul. Oh, the price was so high, and nestable in value. The price was the Son of the living God, the blood that was shed that day. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Do you not know that you are not your own? You have been bought with a price. You have been redeemed with the greatest and most precious blood.”
Or how about Revelation 5:9 “And they sang a new song saying, worthy are you now, worthy are you, oh Lord, speaking of the Lord Jesus, to take the book, break it seals for you were slain and you purchased for God with your blood, men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. Do you know who you are? Never forget who you are.” Then he adds, “And never forget from where you came, where God brought you out of.” Notice how he says in verse 10, “He found you in a dry place. Found them in a desert land.” He says in verse 10. In other words, never forget the condition of your life which God found you, He says to Israel, and the same is true for you and me. Never forget the life that he brought you out of, that desert of a land, of a life, you might say.
B. He found you in a dry place
He found you in a dry and weary life. He pictures the soul that’s thirsty. See, there is no water. The soul is wanting water. There’s such a deep longing in the human soul, there is a deep searching, a deep longing. There’s a deep thirst, the soul thirsts and we are living in a dry and weary land where there is no water yet the soul thirsts, the soul lungs for more, is a picture of all the stuff of the world that does not satisfy the soul. Psalm 63:1, “Oh God, you are my God, and I shall seek you earnestly. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh yearns for you.”
That’s the thirst of the soul in a dry and weary land where there is no water. There’s nothing in this world that will satisfy the thirst of a soul, that longs for more, longs for that which is deeper. I was thinking of an illustration. One of the most famous rock songs of all time came out of the ‘60s. It was 1965, and it was a song by The Rolling Stones. Now I know all about The Rolling Stones. I read about them in the history book. Anybody remember The Rolling Stones? You have to be old to remember The Rolling Stones but they wrote a song that became iconic, and it’s really actually become one of the most popular songs of all time, rock songs of all time. Iconic because it’s people were relating to it and the words of the song went like this.
‘I can’t get no satisfaction. Bam, bam, bam. I can’t get no satisfaction.’ Now, first of all, you have to ignore the poor grammar. They had more important things to do in the ‘60s than learn grammar like start a revolution, for example. ‘I can’t get no satisfaction but I try and I try and I try.’ That’s pretty much the whole song right there. That’s the whole lyric. ‘And I try and I try and I try.’ Maybe the problem was that they didn’t understand the difference between a rolling stone and a solid rock. See, what I did there? Praise God. In other words, yes. If you have a foundation, you have a rock, then the soul is satisfied. I’ll tell you what, you honor God in your life, you have a rock to stand on, and your soul is satisfied.
Notice Psalm 63, how it continues, verses three to five, “Because your loving kindness is better than life” that right there is a picture of a soul that has been satisfied. There’s nothing in this world that will satisfy a soul that longs for more. Your loving kindness is better than life. “Therefore, he says, my lips will praise you. I will bless you as long as I live. I will lift up my hands to your name. For my soul is satisfied, as with marrow and fatness, as my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.” One of the great songs or church history was written on those verses.
Then verse 10 continues, “I found you in a dry and weary land” and then it says, “And out of a howling waste of a wilderness, I found you. I brought you out of the waste.” Ah see, now there’s a picture, it’s a powerful picture of a waste of a life. The life that’s lived in the world, the life that pursues all of the things of the world is a waste, He says. Another expression that came out of the ‘60s was, I was wasted. I was wasted, man. That’s how they would say it. I was wasted, man. Right on, that’s how you say. That was in chapter three on ‘60s expressions. I remember reading that very carefully. It’s a picture of someone who was high, and then later they say, “Yes, I was wasted.”
I’ll tell you what, that is a very appropriate way to describe it. When I see what’s happening in the world today, it’s heartbreaking to see such a waste of life. So many are wasting, the ‘60s in many ways was a drug culture revolution but what’s happening today, I’ll tell you what, that pales in comparison to what’s happening today. So many are losing their lives. You want to talk about wasted life, they’re losing their life. Epic proportions of loss. So many people are wasted and wasting their lives.
I’ll tell you what though, it’s not too late. God will redeem. God will turn it around. If you come to the point where you see it, God will redeem it. Reminds me, many of you know the story of my dad. He was an alcoholic, angry, abusive, but when he got to 75 years old, he saw it. We were having a heart-to-heart talk and he said, “I see it now. Now I understand, I have wasted all of my life. Whatever I have left, I want to do something with it, can you help me?” Oh, I waited all my life to hear those words and yes, I will help you. The result was we established his life, we rebuilt his life and brought him back up and gave him a life up here.
We brought him to church, he accepted the Lord Jesus Christ. I got to baptize him with my own hands and we had four years with him as a changed man. It’s not too late. If you see that there has been waste, I’ll tell you what, you honor God with your life and your life will not be wasted. He’ll make meaning out of it, He’ll bring purpose. God is the one who can redeem the wasted life. Amen. Then God says, “I brought you out of that dry and weary land. I brought you out of the howling waste of a wilderness.” Then He says, “And then I will make you the apple of my eye.” That’s such a beautiful picture. “I brought you out of waste. I brought you out of the dry and weary land and then I made you the apple of my eye.”
C. God watches over the apple of His eye
He says God watches over the apple of his eye. Notice verse 10 It says, “He encircled Israel. He cared for him. He guarded him as the apple of his eye.” The pupil is the apple of the eye. It means the look is focused on that which he’s speaking of. He’s describing a relationship of commitment. My eye is upon you. Speaking of the relationship, I brought you out of that and I will set you on a rock and then I will watch your life. The pupil of my eye is what he says, you’re the apple of my eye and I will guard you. See when the eyes of the Lord range to and fro, He says, “But on you I set the pupils on my eye.” I will keep you. I will guard you.
Speaking of songs, beautiful songs there was a song we used to sing in the church many years ago, some of you might remember. His eye is on the sparrow and it speaks of the words that Jesus said, “Hey, if God takes notice of a sparrow, who is only worth two farthings, then you know that the eye of God is upon you. How much more valuable are you?” That’s why that song was so beautiful. I’ll read some of the lyrics, “Why should I feel discouraged? Why should the shadows come? Why should my heart be lonely and long for heaven or home.
When Jesus is my portion, my constant friend is He, if his eye is on the sparrow, I know he watches over me. I sing because I’m happy. I sing because I’m free. His eye is on the sparrow and I know he watches over me.” It’s a very beautiful song, Psalm 17:17, “Oh wondrously show your loving kindness.” See how beautiful is that? I brought you out of that mess. I brought you out of that dry. I brought you out of that howling waste of a wilderness and I will wondrously show you love. Wondrously show your loving kindness oh savior of those who take refuge at your right hand. Keep me as the apple of your eye.
Zachariah 2:8 is like a warning, He says, “For thus says the Lord of hosts, really to all others, he who touches you touches the apple of my eye.” You are the apple of my eye He says to Israel and he says to the church, you’re the bride of Christ. That is a beautiful picture of a very similar thing. You might say, “I don’t feel like he’s guarding me. I’m going through troubles.” Well, look at the next verses, because it speaks to what God does in the midst of that trouble, starting with this understanding that God’s favor covers you, I brought you out of the howling waste of a wilderness. I set your life on that rock. You became the apple of my eye. Then he pours his favor. God’s favor covers you.
II. God’s Favor Covers You
Notice verse 11, He compares the relationship that God has with you like an eagle to her young. He covers. He says when they need protection, and of course the eagle will build their nest way high, oftentimes in the direct sun, but the eagle will cover her young when it’s hot, will actually take the heat of the sun herself to protect them from it, and it’s a beautiful picture. In fact, in Psalm 91, He speaks of the beauty of that where He says, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.” Oh, I love the beauty of that.
The nearness of God is the dwelling in the shadow of the Almighty. He will cover you with his pinions and under his wings, you may seek refuge. His faithfulness is a shield, is a bulwark. Having said that, his wings will cover you, God’s favor covers you but notice he also then says in those verses that the Lord may stir up the nest. That Lord may stir it up. We were on a vacation recently for our 39th anniversary. We had an opportunity to do a cruise to Alaska which was beautiful, except for the rain, but on the trip, we saw so much wildlife, which is why it’s so beautiful.
We saw so many bald eagles. At one point we came upon this creek and there were like 10 of them all together, and they’re having a meeting or something. Look at all these things. There was a lot of them and so they give you education along the way, and of course we love to learn. It says some interesting things about eagles. First of all, they will mate for life, which is right there very good, and then it says, they will build and continue the same nest year after year after year and it just gets bigger and bigger and bigger. Some the nests are 15 feet deep, 20 feet wide. God makes this comparison with the way of an eagle and God’s relationship to Israel and to you.
A. The Lord may stir up the nest
He says that He will stir up the dust. See when it’s time for the eagle to learn to fly, the nest may be 20 feet wide. The eagle will begin to beat upon the nest, just stirring it up, beating upon the nest that the young eaglet might feel that wind, might feel the wind, it catches the air as it rises beneath it, stirring it up, stirring it up, but up to this point, they’ve been living on the nest in perfect comfort. At ease, protected from all things, from all harms but now it’s time to arise. The eagle begins to bring disturbance into the nest, to disturb it, to stir it up, because he wants that eaglet to learn to fly. Verse 13, it says, “And He made him to fly or to ride on the high places of the earth.”
It’s a picture of that soul that has been stirred so that it learns that it can soar, it can fly, it can soar to high places. It’s a soul that’s come to understand life. The soul that sings, the soul that soars the soul that has found revival is the soul that’s filled with an abundance of the life of God, is a picture of a spiritual glorious riding on the high places but what is it starting with? Starts with the stirring up and the beating of the nest because it was comfortable. It was all comfortable and warm there in the nest, but it knew nothing of flying. Comfortable, warm, protected, but knew nothing of flying. Knew nothing of rising.
The nest would be beat and stirred up, it’s this picture of the trials and the difficulties and the sufferings and the trials of life. He would use those things to strengthen and increase your faith, your life for the purpose that he has for you. He will use those things. It’s oftentimes in the struggles, in the difficulties, and in the sufferings that God proves himself to you over and over, and God will prove himself to you in the troubles, in the trials, and in the sufferings.
See if you know that’s true, then you’ll look for it. You’ll know that God does use the troubles and the trials to stir you up, that your faith would increase. Those things that cause sorrow or pain are the very things that God can use to bring in greater depth of faith to your soul. Notice Psalm 30:11-12. “You, oh Lord, have turned for me my morning into dancing. You have loosed my sackcloth.” Now, sackcloth is what one would wear when he is in the depths of grief or despair. “You have loosed my sackcloth, and you have girded me with gladness that my soul may sing praise speaking of rising. The soul is rising in a high place. I will sing. I’ll sing praises to you, and I will not be silent. Oh Lord, my God, I will give thanks to you forever” because God has proven himself to you over and over and over. God will prove it to you. Amen.
B. Wait on the Lord and gain new strength
Then lastly, wait on the Lord and gain new strength. There’s a picture again of the lesson that comes from the eagle. Wait on the Lord. Don’t be impatient. God will do. God will move. His hand will move. God will help in time of need but wait. Don’t become impatient. If you become impatient, you’ll make a mistake. Wait for the hand of God to move. Wait for the inside of the Lord to show you, wait. Those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength. Faith increases when you wait. When you wait with hope, be patient. Don’t make a mistake.
Isaiah 40:29-31 speaks of it. “It is he who gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might he increases power. Though youths grow tired and weary and vigorous, young men stumble badly yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles.”
Here it is. He uses the same picture. “You’ll gain new strength. You’ll mount up with wings like eagles. You will run and not get tired. You’ll walk and not faint, wait. God will do it. Waiting on the Lord.” Psalm 27:14. “Wait for the Lord. Be strong. Let your heart take courage. Yes, wait. God will do it. God will take you out of that wasted howling waste of a wilderness, and that dry and weary land, and he’ll put your feet on a rock and he’ll bring forth that into your life that you would increase.” That’s why this message from Deuteronomy is so important, but you must choose it.
I set before you a course, and there comes a time, a crossroad in that journey by which you must choose. He’s setting forth a beautiful picture of what God wants to do. First, He says, look back. Never forget what God has done. Sing it. Sing it over and over. Be reminded again of great things that God has done and will do. There comes a time of choosing. I set before your life or death or prosperity or adversity. There comes a time to choose the course. Let’s pray. Lord, we love you, and thank you for showing us the way of life. Lord, you’ve shown it to us. The words of this beautiful song reminded us of it.
That you brought us out of the dry and weary land where there is no water. There’s nothing in this world that can satisfy a soul that desires and longs for more. You’ve taken us out of a howling waste. You set your eye upon us. Your favor rests upon us, but then you say, choose. Come to a crossing point. Come to a decision point, choose. I set before you, life and death, prosperity or adversity. Remember the great things that God has done and will do, but you must make that choice. Church, how many would say to the Lord today, “I choose to build my life on that rock? I choose you. I have no one in heaven but you and there’s nothing on this earth I desire but you, Lord. For my soul has found nothing that would satisfy that thirst but you have. You have satisfied the longings of my soul. I choose life. I choose you. I choose your hand. I choose to build my life on this rock.”
Church, would you say that to the Lord by simply raising your hand as a way of declaring it to the Lord? “I choose to build my life on that rock. For there is no other name. There is no other way. There is nothing that would satisfy you, Lord. I build my life upon that rock.” Lord, we thank you for everyone is moved of God, stirred up by the Spirit to settle this with you, God, today. We give you honor and glory for it all in Jesus’ name and everyone said, can we give the Lord praise and glory and honor? Amen. Amen.
My Redeemer Lives
Job 19:23-27
June 24-25, 2023
Of course, the Book of Job is about Job, and he’s infamous or famous for his suffering. That is why the book is so important, and a book that will strengthen your faith. How do you respond when you’re going through long-suffering troubles or trials? There are so many difficulties in this world, how do you respond? Will you curse God and die, which is what the enemy here wants Job to do? Will you shipwreck your faith, or will you hold on to the integrity of your faith? Will you honor His name, even if you do not understand why something is happening? This book is so strengthening to faith because it’s about having faith to trust God, not only when you don’t understand but because you don’t understand.
There’s so much that we do not understand. Why does this tragedy happen? I don’t know. This book gives us such a depth of understanding. In this chapter that we’re looking at, here Job is in the depths of his suffering, and he cannot understand why this is happening to him. Everything is against him. He’s lost his great wealth. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world, outside of kings at the time. Everything he has, he’s lost. All of his children have perished in a great tragedy, and even his friends are no consolation. His friends, we met them last week, they accused him of hidden sins and iniquities, saying that his suffering proves that he must have done something to deserve this great suffering. However, the book begins by making it very clear, Chapter 1, that as it described Job’s character, that he was blameless, upright, fearing God, turning away from evil.
In other words, no, he had a heart after God. It was so clear that his heart was toward the Lord, and that God had blessed him. He had seven sons, three daughters, blessed with tremendous wealth. Then we were brought into that scene of the angelic realm, where angels are presenting themselves before God. Satan also comes, God says, “From where do you come?” Satan responds, “From roaming about on the earth.” God then said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant, Job? For there is none like him in all the earth.” None. “There is none like him in all the earth, blameless, upright, fearing God turning away from evil.” Satan then argues that Job only honors God because he’s so blessed, and because God has placed a hedge around him, which is a very important principle.
He says, then, “Remove that hedge and all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” The story then unfolds, tragedy befalls Job, he loses all that he has, his great wealth is all gone, his family is destroyed in a great tragedy. Yet it says, “In all of that suffering, Job did not curse God.” He says, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, naked I shall return. The Lord has given, the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” In other words, I came into this world with nothing, I’ll leave this world with nothing. Anything that I have, God has given it to me. God, you don’t owe me anything. You don’t owe me anything. The Lord has given, the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Now it says, “Therefore, through all of this, Job did not sin, nor did he blame God.”
Then his health is struck in that he has sore boils from the sole of his feet to the crown of his head. He had to scrape the boils with a broken piece of pottery, there, sitting in the ashes. That’s when his wife famously said, “Do you still hold on to your integrity, curse God and die, man?” She’s not encouraging either. That becomes the theme of the book, that Job holds fast to his integrity. You might say, to the integrity of his faith. Job responds to his wife, “Shall we indeed accept good from God and not adversity? You speak as what other foolish women speak.” All right. Now, that part of the story is when we meet Job’s friends. Now, as I mentioned last week, they are his friends, but they are terrible counselors. Now, they start out well in the sense that they see how much Job is suffering, and they just sit with him and say nothing, which is actually a right way to comfort.
Sometimes we want to say something profound, but oftentimes, just to simply sit with someone, just to let them know that you care enough to be with him in it is a tremendous help. They start out well, but as I mentioned, Job’s friends are convinced that Job deserves this suffering. When they begin to speak, they are adding to his suffering by falsely accusing him of hidden inequities and hidden sins, and he’s already suffering. He’s lost everything he has, and he’s got his health now, he’s suffering with boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. Now they’re adding to his suffering by accusing him falsely of hidden inequities. If you’ve ever been falsely accused, you know how much it hurts. He knows the truth. He knows God. He knows his heart. He knows that he’s honoring God, and so, it hurts to be falsely accused.
I don’t know if you’ve ever been falsely accused, but it hurts. I have been falsely accused. When I was 15 years old– I’ll tell you the story. I was 15 years old. Back in those days, I hitchhiked everywhere I went, which I do not recommend. Do not do that today. I was hitchhiking from Hillsboro to our home, which is way out in the country. I was going through North Plains, and I had to go to the bathroom. My best friend lived there in town, and so I stopped by his house. No one was home, but I knew that he left the door open. I went in and used the bathroom, and went on my way. Well, later that evening, my friend called me and he said, “Were you at our house today?” I said, “Yes, I had to use the bathroom. Thank you very much.” He said, “Oh no. My dad wanted me to call you because we’re missing a scientific calculator.”
Now, back in those days, that was the thing. That was really a thing. He said, “We’re missing our scientific calculator, and he thinks maybe you took it.” I said, “We can solve this so easily. Tell him I didn’t do it. I didn’t do it. Just tell him. That’ll fix the whole thing. I didn’t do it. We’re talking about me here. I didn’t do it. Tell him I didn’t do it. It solves the whole thing.” He gets back on the phone, “No, my dad says you did take it, and you’re not allowed to be on this property ever again.” “No. What? I didn’t do it.” Now, he didn’t stop us from being friends, and so, whenever we would need to go by his house or something, I would stand on the other side of the road leaning against the telephone pole. Then a few months later, my friend calls me, “Oh, my dad found the calculator. It was behind the couch.” “What? He’s not going to call and apologize?”
I had been in counseling ever since. It hurts to be falsely accused. They are accusing him falsely. Their reasoning is faulty. Here’s what I mean. Their accusation is built on a principle that is true. There’s where we have to look more deeply. As I mentioned, it’s like taking a Bible verse, which is filled with truth, but then wrongly applying it, and you’re going to end up with terrible results. Their reasoning is faulty. Here’s what I mean. They correctly believe that those who plow iniquity, and those who sow trouble, will harvest it. That is a truth. Is it not? Yes, it’s a truth. It’s a principle of the harvest which we looked at. It’s found in several places. Galatians 6, perhaps the greatest place. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked. That which a man sows, he will also reap. If a man sows to the flesh, he will, from the flesh reap corruption.”
It is a truth. Completely true, and everyone would be wise to take the truth to heart. However, Job’s counselors had wrongly concluded that since Job is suffering, he must have plowed the inequity, he must have sowed the trouble that he is now harvesting. Now, for the record, this is a logical fallacy. I used to teach a class called Logic and the Christian Faith. I think that it’s very important for Christians to think well and to reason well. If we’re going to speak of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we got to think well and reason well. God is reasonable. In fact God says to Israel through the prophet Isaiah, “Come let’s reason together.” It’s good to understand how to think well and reason well, so this is a logical fallacy. It’s called affirming the consequent. Sometimes it’s called the fallacy of the converse. The fallacy works like this. It occurs when a person wrongly concludes that since X results in Y then Y must always come from X. That’s the fallacy. The best way to see it is by an extreme example. Here’s an extreme example. If someone falls from the Empire State Building, they will die. That is the truth.
If someone falls from the Empire State Building, they will die. So-and-so died, he must have fallen from the Empire State Building. Now right away you go, “No, no way. That’s not the way that works.” You can easily see it because that’s an extreme example. Many people draw wrong conclusions when it comes to the troubles of this life. If sin and iniquity bring forth hardship and trouble, which they do, Sin and inequity do bring forth trouble. X does bring forth Y. If sin and inequity bring forth trouble, then hardship and trouble prove that inequity and sin caused it. Now we need a deeper understanding. That’s why this book is so important. Job’s counselors are wrong, but how can Job prove it? How can he prove that you’re not hiding inequities? How can you prove that you’re not harboring secrets? How can he prove that?
He cannot. He can only stand on what he knows to be true. That brings us to chapter 19. “This is what I know,” Job will say. When you cannot see, when you cannot understand, you rely on faith. You rest on the assurance of what you know. See, my personal Bible was given to me as a gift in 1990 when we planted the church and the person who gave it to me wrote in the back cover a great saying, “Never doubt in the dark what God has shown you in the light.” A great principle. Let’s look at it. We’re in Job 19, we’re going to jump right into it. We’re going to start in verse 23. As I mentioned, the other verses around this, we’ll look at at the Wednesday service. Come to that verse-by-verse service, but we jump right into chapter 19:23. As Job is responding to these friends, he says this, “Oh, that my words were written. Oh, that they were inscribed in a book.”
I. Words Matter
Now we might say, “Great idea. Let’s call it the Book of Job.” No, no. He means something far more than that. What he means is this, “Let it be on the record. Write this down. What I’m about to say, in other words, is so important, I want to write this down. Let it be on the record. Write it down.” Notice what he says, “Even that with an iron stylist and lead, that they would be engraved in a rock forever. Write this down.” This is very important what he’s going to say now, write it down. “I want it inscribed in a rock for this is what I know. As for me, I know that my redeemer lives.” See, he’s standing on what he knows. “This is what I know. Write it down. Put it on a rock. I know that my redeemer lives and that at the last, he will take his stand on the earth.” This is one of the oldest books of the Bible giving us a prophetic insight of the latter days.
“This I know, write it down. I know that my redeemer lives, and that at the last he will take his stand on the earth, and that even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh, I shall see God.” This is amazing. “Whom I, myself will behold, whom my eyes will see. I myself, my own eyes will see even after I’m dead. In my flesh, I will see him. Oh, how my heart faints. Oh, how my heart yearns within me.” Oh, what a great set of verses these are. One of the greatest declarations in the Bible, in the Old Testament, right here in the Book of Job. As I say, we’ll look at the other verses Wednesday. I want us to look at these starting with his understanding. Words matter. Oh dear, words matter. Write this down. I want it written on a rock, inscribed forever. He felt so strongly about what he’s declaring. “I want it inscribed down.” It’s as though he’s saying, “Let the record show, I feel so strongly I want it chiseled in stone.”
See, these counselors are throwing words at him like waves, wave after wave of accusations and words, insults even, you might say, but he’s like– when I think about this, I think of the Oregon coast has these rock face cliffs and the waves crash against him and the rocks just throw them back. It’s like that. It’s like they’re throwing waves at Job and he’s standing on a rock, “Write this down.” See, the words of his counselors are hurtful, but Job knows the truth and he is unwavering. He will not relent because he has the truth. He knows the truth because the truth is written on his heart. Ah, there is a great principle for all of us. Write truth on the tablet of your heart, right there. See, because words matter, words are powerful, words matter. Job stands on what he knows to be true, while these counselors are throwing words carelessly without regard for how they hurt.
A. Write truth on the tablet of your heart
Words can hurt. Words are powerful. Words matter. Notice Job 19:2-3, “How long will you torment me and crush me with words? These 10 times you have insulted me and you’re not ashamed to wrong me.” He’s standing, he’s throwing it back. Job 6:14, “For the despairing man, there ought to be kindness from his friends.” That’s a truth. “For the despairing man, there ought to be kindness from his friends.” See, he’s throwing them back. See, he knows the truth and he’s about to declare some of the greatest words known to man. When the truth is written on your heart, what you live and what you speak comes out of that truth. The condition of the heart matters. See? Here’s what I mean. During the times of the Lord Jesus, there was a point when a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus. Jesus cast out the demon and healed him so that the man could speak and see.
The crowd that was there were amazed, and the crowd said, “Could this man be the Son of David?” In other words, could this be the Messiah? Could this be the redeemer of Israel? The Jewish leaders, the Pharisees, when they heard that, they were very concerned. They said, “Oh, no, no, no. This man is casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” Do you see what they just said? “Oh, no, no, this is not a man of God. This is a man of Satan.” Words matter. “This is not a man of God, this is the man of Satan.” We know that they know that’s not true. We know that they know. You say, “How do we know that they know?” John 3:1-2, there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night, didn’t want others to see him.
He comes by night and he said, “Now, Rabbi, we know that you’ve come from God. We know that you’ve come from God as a teacher. No man can do these things that you do unless God was with him. We know.” How do we know that they know? Because he says, “We know.” Therefore, when the Pharisees accused Jesus of casting on demons by Beelzebul, “This man is not a man of God, this isn’t a man of Satan. They deserved what they got in rebuke. Matthew chapter 12 is amazing. You’ve got to read the whole chapter. It really is amazing, but just a few verses. Notice verse 34-37. Jesus says, “The mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.” Now, he’s speaking to the Pharisees. “Those words that you just spoke, words matter. Those words that you just spoke, words matter.” He says a great truth. He says, “The good man will bring out of his good treasure that which is good.” Now, that is a wonderful truth. Therefore, it is important what is written on the heart. What is inscribed on the soul is very important for you will live and move and have your bearing by what is written on your soul, what is written on your heart. “The good man of the good treasure will bring forth what’s good, but the evil man brings out of his evil treasure that which is evil.” You see how he is speaking to the Pharisees here. “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they will give an account of it on the day of judgment for by your words, you are justified and by your words, you are condemned.”
B. God is the only Rock on which to stand
See, Job knows the truth. Everything has been stripped, but he has this. God is a rock. God is the only rock on which to stand. He’s got nothing left. When you boil it all down in your life, what is the rock? What is the bottom of the rock? It’s right there. God is that rock. God is the only rock on which you can stand. Job does not understand why. He doesn’t know why God would treat him this way, but he will not let go of his integrity. Now, he will cry out in the anguish of his soul. He will complain in the bitterness of his soul, but he will not let go of his integrity. Notice, for example, Job 7:11-20, he says, “I will not restrain my mouth.” In other words, “I don’t know how much longer I have to live, but I will not restrain my mouth. I will speak in the anguish of my soul. I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. Have I sinned?”
He’s speaking to God, “Have I sinned? What have I done to You, O watcher of men? Tell me.” Job 10:1-3. He says, “I loathe my life.” We have compassion. Job’s going through suffering of which we cannot relate. The depth of it is so great. “I loathe my own life and I will give full vent to my complaint. I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. I will say to God, ‘Don’t condemn me. Let me know why.'” Many have cried out those words. I’ve cried out those words. “Why? I don’t know why? Why?” He says, “Why do you contend with me? Is it right to oppress, to reject the labor of your own hands?” Yes, he complains, and for the record, before this book is over, he will stand corrected about his complaints, but he does not dishonor, he does not disrespect. God is all that he has left. He’s going to hold on to that.
God is all he’s got left. Everything else has been taken from him. Notice, for example, in the verses leading up to this, starting in verse 13. Chapter 19, starting in verse 13, he says, “All my acquaintances are completely estranged from me. My intimate friends have forgotten me. My maids consider me a stranger. I called on my servant, he won’t answer. My breath is offensive to my wife.” That could be said of a lot of people. In other words, “She’s offended at me. I’m loathsome to my brothers. Even young children despise me. All my associates abhor me and those that I love have all turned against me.” What do you got left? I got God. Throughout the book, you can see that Job is going to stand on that rock even if he doesn’t understand. That’s why this book is so important.
Even though you don’t understand and because you don’t understand when you strip it all down, “I got this. He is my rock. I will not let go. He is my rock. I will not let go.” John 6:10. “It is still my consolation and I rejoice even in unsparing pain that I have not denied the words of my holy one.” There’s the Job. The character, the strength of his bearing. John 10:11-14. “Did you not clothe me with skin and flesh, knit me together with bones and sinews? You are the one who granted me life and loving kindness and your care has preserved my spirit.” He will not let go of this rock. John 13:15 is nothing short of amazing, where he says this, “Though He slay me, I will yet hope in Him.” That’s the Job. There’s the character. There’s the faith right there.
II. Your Redeemer is Jesus the Messiah
“Even if you were to slay me, I would still hope in Him. I have a rock. When you strip it all away, I have a rock and I will stand on and I’ll tell you what I know. I know that my redeemer lives.” See, we know his redeemer. We know his redeemer by name. Your redeemer is Jesus the Messiah, Yeshua Hamashiach. We know His name. “Write this down. Let the record show, I want it written on a rock so that it would be remaining forever.” That’s the faith. That’s the faith that holds onto integrity. There’s so much he doesn’t know. “I don’t know why these strategies, I don’t know why the suffering, I don’t know why my friends would torment me with such hurtful words.” There’s so much he doesn’t know, “But this I do know.” See in the tempest storm of suffering not knowing why, Job stands on what he does now. “This I know.”
A. “I know that my Redeemer lives.”
See, never doubt in the dark what God has shown you in the light. “This I do know, I know that my redeemer lives.” That is such an encouraging word. Oldest book in the Bible. This was his hope. Somehow, some way, he would be redeemed. “I know my redeemer lives.” That’s his faith. Verse 25. Then he says, he adds, “At the last, He will take His stand on the earth.” He’s speaking of the latter days that his redeemer will take his stand on the earth. Now, his hope here is that when his redeemer takes the stand on His earth in the latter days, that He will make all things right.
B. Yet from our flesh we will see God
“I don’t understand why this evil, why this suffering. I don’t understand,” but he believes that God will make all things right. This is our hope. This is our faith. We read the news and see how messed up this world is. This is an evil-filled, broken-down world and there is evil that is arising as the world is turning their back on God. It’s a messed up world, but this we know, our redeemer lives, and at the end, He will take His stand on the earth and when He takes His stand at the end of the age, He will make all things right. Amen? Let’s give a little praise. Absolutely. Then he adds, “From my flesh, I will see God.” There it is. Yes, we can say the same. From our flesh, we will see God. Notice verse 26. “Even after my skin is destroyed from my flesh, I shall see God.” This is amazing.
See, in one of the oldest books in the Bible, the hope of eternal life is the hope of the resurrection. First, he says, “I know my skin will be destroyed.” Now, if you’re a King James version reader, the King James reads this way, “After my skin, worms destroy.” That’s a very graphic way of saying the same thing. Everyone will die and everyone will suffer decay. That’s the natural course of death. Although some believe that they can cheat death and the natural course of it, but the statistics on death are pretty impressive. I think it’s something like one out of everyone. Have you ever read about these who are paying to put their bodies in deep freeze? They believe they can cheat death by putting their bodies in deep freeze, hoping to wake up in, I don’t know, 2193 or something.
Everything will have advanced. Probably everyone will be walking around with big heads and little arms. No, it’s not going to happen. They’ll end up with freezer burn, that’s all. No, they will stand, and give an account of their lives, they’re just going to be standing there cold and shivering. They better hope for a robe of righteousness to keep warm. See what I did there? [laughs] Back to our story. Job believed that from his flesh, he would see God. In the Old Testament, he’s speaking of bodily resurrection. Now we know the New Testament has made it very clear, Paul has revealed very well, that these bodies of ours are not eternal. These bodies of ours are just temporary tents to dwell in and the older you get, the more the tents get tattered and worn. We are well-weathered and well-worn old tents. The older you get, the more you know what I’m saying. We’re not taking these old things with us.
We will have glorified bodies made new in the presence of our Lord and Savior. It’s our great hope. We’re not taking these– these are just temporary tents. We’ll have glorified bodies when we stand in the presence of God. He says, “I know.” See for Job, it’s personal. “There’s so much I don’t know, I don’t understand but this I do know, I know that my Redeemer lives. I know that at the end, He will take His stand on the earth, and I know that after my skin is destroyed, that in my flesh, I shall see God whom I myself shall see.” See, is personal. It must be personal. It must be personal. Notice John 11:25-26, Jesus says, “I am the resurrection, I am life. He who believes in me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” Then He says, “Do you believe this?”
It has to be personal, “I am the resurrection. I am the life, he who believes in me will live, even if he dies. Do you believe this?” It’s personal, do you believe this? After the resurrection, the story, Jesus appeared to the disciples. Thomas was not with them. They said to Thomas, “We have seen the Lord,” Thomas responds, “I will not believe unless I see the imprint of the nails and put my hand into his side, unless I see that and do that I will not believe.” Eight days later, you know the story, Jesus appeared to them again. This time Thomas is with them. Jesus speaks personally to Thomas, “Thomas, reach here your finger and see my hands. Reach here your hand, put it into my sight. Do not be unbelieving, be believing.” Thomas then fell down and worshipped, “‘Oh my Lord and my God,’ he exclaimed.”
John 20:29, Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen me you have believed? Blessed are they who do not see and yet believe.” He’s speaking there of you and of me. “Blessed are they who have not seen and yet believe. This is what I know. I know that my Redeemer lives because our Redeemer has defeated death for us that we would have the promise of eternal life. This is what I know. Write this down.” How many would say the same? “Write it down, let the record show, write it on a tablet of stone, let it be known forever I know my redeemer lives,” Amen. Amen. “After my skin is destroyed, I will see my Lord and I know that He will take His stand on the earth and when He takes His stand on the earth, He will make all things right.” That’s a rock you can stand on.
Let’s pray. Lord, we are so thankful for such great truths, such great promises as that. There’s so much we do not understand. Why evil? Why this? Why that? Why all these troubles? There’s so much we don’t know, but this we do know. I know my Redeemer lives and at the end, He will take a stand on the earth and He will set all things right, and even after my skin is destroyed, in my flesh, I shall see God. This is what I know, my Redeemer lives. Sure somebody would make that declaration, would you just raise your hand as a way of declaring it? I just want to declare it, I just want to say, this is what I know. I know that my Redeemer lives and that He will take His stand on the earth on the latter day and in my flesh I shall see God. This I know write it down, write in on a stone, write it down forever because this is what I know.
Father, we thank you. You strengthen us by your Spirit. We stand on that great truth and we stand on that rock. We love you for it, in Jesus’ name. Everyone stand. Can we give the Lord our praise and glory and honor Him? Amen. Amen.
Faith Built on a Rock
Job 4:1-8
June 17-18, 2023
On what is your faith built, is the question of the book. This book will stir up your faith and strengthen your faith. When I was young, we used to sing a hymn in the church, On Christ the Solid Rock. I love the lyrics of it because it just declares that foundation of faith. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name on Christ, the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, but then verse 2, when darkness veils his lovely face, I rest on his unchanging grace in every high and stormy gale, in other words, in every storm of life that comes, my anchor holds within the veil. I love that declaration. My anchor holds.
See, when you’re in distress and life’s troubles, you need to know that your anchor holds on Christ, the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. That has everything to do with the book of Job. It has everything to do with how you interpret the circumstances of life when life begins to be difficult. Everything is against Job here in the story. Many of you know, of course, that Job is famous for the enduring of the suffering of Job. Will he curse God and die, which is what the enemy wants him to do, or will he hold on to his integrity in spite of the circumstances?
This book is about building a foundation for your faith that is beyond the circumstances of life. You see, it causes us to look more deeply. We need to look more deeply at what is happening in our life so that we don’t make wrong conclusions. If you make wrong conclusions, you will make tragic decisions, and they will bring terrible consequences. The book of Job begins a whole new section in your Bibles. You might know the first five books are the Pentateuch, the books written by Moses. The next section, we could call history, that brings us from when Israel was in Egypt and enslaved there, all the way up to the point where they are returning back from their exile in Babylon history. Then the next section, which we’re just beginning here, would be called poetry. That would be Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon. Those are all we would call poetry.
Now, Hebrew poetry, it’s important to note, is different than our, let’s say, English poetry. Hebrew poetry rhymes in thought, not sound. See, our English poetry rhymes with sound. Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, and so are you. It’s rhymy. That’s what makes it a poem. It sounds rhymy. Well, that doesn’t work so well in French, even though French is a beautiful language, that doesn’t work, or Greek, or Russian, but here’s what’s interesting. If you take a Hebrew poem, you can translate it into any language in the world and it will translate because it is the rhyming of thought.
Now, the book of Job is one of the oldest books of the Bible. It takes place probably during the time period of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, somewhere around there. It deals with some of the deepest issues of life. It has to do with how do you interpret life? How do you interpret circumstances, especially tragedies, because we want to know why. See, we’re deeply burdened by things, and we, “Why? Why is this happening?” What we understand out of the book is that what we need is an anchor for the soul. We need a rock on which to stand. We need to know that faith can endure and not be shipwrecked. This book reminds me that there are many things I do not understand about God, which I readily admit. For I then say that if I understood everything about God, He would be as small as my understanding. You see what I’m saying?
No, there’s so much more that I do not understand. In fact, let me give you a couple of verses that I think say that. 1st Corinthians 13:12, “Now we see as in a mirror dimly.” Now, our mirrors are quite good, but in those days, a mirror would be polished metal, which would not be good. You look all distorted. He says, “Now we see as in a mirror dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I have been fully known.” See, there is that perspective. We’re limited in our understanding, but then we will know as we are fully known.
Then Isaiah 55:8-9, God says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord, “for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” There’s that perspective. There’s so much more I cannot understand. I cannot understand, for example, why, why something happens. A great tragedy arises, why did that happen? I don’t know why. The book of Job helps us to see that there is something greater at work that God has not yet explained. As we will see, by the time we reach the end of this book, God does not owe me an explanation either. The question has to do more with the integrity of faith. How will you respond when you don’t know why? Will you curse God and die, which is what the enemy of course wants Job to do. Will you shipwreck your faith, or will you hold on to your integrity? Will you honor His name, even if you do not know why?
Now, the story begins by describing Job’s character. Now, again, we’re looking at the verse by verse around this on Wednesday, and that’s where we were looking at this. The very first chapter begins by describing Job’s character. He says he’s blameless, he’s upright, fearing God, and turning away from evil. Now, in other words, Job is a good man with a heart after God. Now, we need to see that it’s very important in the story, foundational to the story, that he’s a good man with a heart after God, and he’s very blessed. It tells us he has seven sons and three daughters. Now, in those days particularly, it was a huge blessing to have a lot of sons. That way, they can help you work in the farm. Job had seven, and three daughters, and was very, very wealthy. In fact, I would say he was probably the wealthiest man outside of kings that lived there in the East.
Then we are brought into a scene of the angelic realm where angels are presenting themselves before God, and Satan also comes. Now, right there it bothers us that Satan has access there. Even in the book of Revelation, it describes and says that the accuser of the brethren, that would be the enemy of your soul, the devil and Satan, the accuser of the brethren accuses them before God day and night. Now, we know what his end will be. We know that he will be cast into the lake of fire that is at the end of the age reserved for him and his evil realm. For reasons beyond my understanding, the accuser of the brethren is not cast down until the events of Revelation take place. He is not cast into the lake of fire until the end of the age.
Now, until that time, it appears, that he has access to a realm about the earth inciting evil, accusing brethren, and having access to God. Now, if God had asked me my opinion, I would have suggested a different plan, but God did not ask my opinion, which is my point. See, by faith, I believe that there is a purpose that is greater than my understanding. I believe also that God will reveal all things. Now, we know in part, but then we will know fully. God will reveal all things, and when God does reveal all things, I submit that we will give him all the glory. As the angels of heaven declare the glory of God, so will we when we know fully.
Now, back to our story. All right, we’re brought into that scene where angels are presenting themselves before God, and Satan also comes. God says to him, “From where do you come?” Satan answered, and he said, “From roaming about on the earth, and walking around on it.” Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job for there is none like him on the earth. Blameless, upright, fearing God, turning away from evil.”
Now, as I mentioned at the Wednesday service, if God and Satan are having a conversation, I would say, please do not bring up my name. Whatever you do, don’t mention me. Satan then argues that Job only honors God because he’s so blessed. “You have placed a hedge around him and blessed him. Now, you remove that hedge and all that he has, and Job will curse you to your face.” Satan responds. Now, that hedge of protection, by the way, is an important, a spiritual principle, which I do believe applies. See, Satan will be allowed to put his hand on Job, but only by permission and only so far. The story unfolds that tragedy befalls Job, and he loses all that he has. Great tragedies, his great wealth, his family are destroyed. Yet in all of that suffering, Job does not curse God. He responds and says, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb and naked I shall return. The Lord gave, and the Lord is taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
It says, “Through all of this, Job did not sin, nor did he blame God.” Now, do you see Job’s perspective? “I came into this world with nothing, and I’ll leave this world with nothing.” God, you don’t owe me anything. Anything that I have, God gave it to me. The Lord gave, the Lord is taken away. God, you don’t owe me anything. Blessed be in the name of the Lord.
Now, then he struck with sore boils from the soul of his foot to the crown of his head, his health now is affected, and so he takes a pot shirt, that’s a piece of broken pottery, scraping his boils there as he’s sitting among the ashes in his grief. That’s when his wife famously, or maybe infamously says to him, “Are you still holding onto your integrity? Curse God and die, man.” How much suffering can a man endure? Are you still holding onto your integrity? Curse God, give it up, curse God, and die, man. Which is what Satan wants him to do. That is actually the theme of the book. That Job does not curse God but holds fast to his integrity. You might say the integrity of his faith. That’s why this book is inspiring. That’s why this book will encourage you, encourage your faith. He holds on, he says, “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and that adversity? You speak as one of the foolish women speaks,” he says, and in all of this, Job did not sin with his lips.
All right. Now, that’s the point in the story, that we meet Job’s friends. As you might know in the story, three of Job’s friends come to join him. We meet a fourth one later. Now, I say that these are indeed friends. They’re just terrible counselors. They’re terrible counselors because they’re misinformed, and their lack of understanding causes them to accuse Job of hidden sins. You’re only going through this trouble because you did something to deserve it. Why don’t you just admit it? Why don’t you just come out with it? Why don’t you just say it? Why don’t you just let it be known so that God, you can repent of it? Now, let me just say it right there. That’s not exactly how you comfort someone when they’re going through tragedies. They’re just terrible counselors, and they’re wrong. You see, that’s why this book is so important.
I. Look for that Which is Deeper
Many people draw wrong conclusions when it comes to the troubles of this life. What we need is to have a deeper understanding of life. We need to look more deeply of the issues of life. We need a deeper understanding, and we need to see that faith can endure through the distresses and troubles, and not be shipwrecked. God will use this book to strengthen and encourage you. We’re in chapter 4. We’ll begin reading again. We look at the verses around this at the Wednesday service.
Chapter 4, Eliphaz is one of those friends. He’s the first to speak. By the way, a little context more here. When these three friends first join Job, they sit down with him in the ashes and do not say anything for seven days. They’re just sitting there because they see that his pain is so great. No, I submit that that actually is a good thing right there. They’re good comforters. Sometimes when a friend goes through something really tragic, you want to say something profound, you want to say something really deep to really help them in their healing, but sometimes the best thing you could do is just be there. That’s what they do. That part’s good. They’re just there.
The first one to speak is Job. That’s in the previous chapter where he starts to speak and he says, “I ruined the day that I was born. I wish I had never been born.” Oh, my birthday. You know how it is. Everybody celebrates their birthday. No, Job says, “I despise the day of my birth. I wish I had never been born.”
All right, so now Eliphaz speaks, 4:1. “Then Eliphaz, the Temanite, answered, ‘If one ventures a word with you, would you become impatient? Who can refrain from speaking?'” In other words, I’ve got to say something. I’m sorry. I’ve got to respond. I’ve got to talk now. He starts out by saying, “Now, look, behold, you have admonished many, you have strengthened doing cans. Your words have helped the tottering to stand, and you have strengthened female knees.” Which is to say, now, Job, you have been a leader, you have been an instructor, you have helped others, you have helped other people. You’ve helped plenty of other people when they’ve been going through troubles. Now that it’s come to you, now you’re impatient. Now that it touches you, now you are dismayed.”
Well, sure, with all of everything he’s been through. No, he’s accusing Job. Oh, is not your fear of God your confidence, is not your integrity of your ways your hope. Here it comes, verse 7. Here we go. “Remember now, whoever perished that was innocent? Do the innocent perish? Or where have the upright been destroyed? Look, according to what I’ve seen, those who plow iniquity, and those who sow trouble, harvest it, and by the breath of God, they perish, and by the blast of His anger, they come to an end.” These are the verses I want us to look at. Again, we’ll look at the other verses on Wednesday. There is a lot for us to see and to take hold of in these verses, starting with this.
Look for that which is deeper. We need a deeper understanding. Eliphaz has jumped to the conclusion that Job must not be innocent, he must be guilty, and his suffering proves it. The fact that you’re going through this trouble proves that you deserved it. Now, his reasoning is faulty. Here is a dangerous part of his argument. He is in fact stating something that is true. This is why it is such a dangerous argument. He is stating a true principle, but it’s like if you take a principle and then you apply it wrongly, you’re going to get wrong conclusions and wrong results, and it could be disastrous.
A. Wrong conclusion – God is punishing you
It’s, for example, it’s like taking a Bible verse and then wrongly using that Bible verse like that. That’s the truth. You just took that truth, but you wrongly applied it, and the results are going to be disastrous if you don’t rightly apply truth. Correct? Problem is, this reasoning is correct, but this reasoning does not work in reverse. He’s made wrong conclusions. We’re going to look at that first wrong conclusion. God is punishing you.
Now, let’s start with, first of all, what is right about what he said. Again, as I say, he’s using as a premise here, a truth. Now, it is, in other words, straightforward, that if a person sins, if a person does iniquity, he is sowing the seed that will bear unpleasant fruit. Is that not true? Yes, it’s true. If a person sins, if a person does iniquity, they are indeed sowing seeds that will bear very unpleasant fruit. That’s the main premise of his argument.
It’s true, when looking forward, notice verse 8, according to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble harvest it, and by the breath of God, they perish. God is punishing you, is the assumption. As I say, he’s giving a truth, it is out of the Bible, I’ll give you the verses. There’s several, but I’ll give you two key ones. Hosea 8:7, “For the sow to the wind and they’ll reap the whirlwind.” All right, that’s one. Probably the main one is Galatians 6. Galatians 6:7-8 contain what I call the Principle of the Harvest. Very key, very important, you would be very wise to take hold, and to really know and understand these verses. It starts out, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked.” Now, right there is a pretty strong way to start any verse.
That means this is very important. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, this, he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh, will, from the flesh, reap corruption. The one who sows through the Spirit will, from the Spirit, reap eternal life.” It’s an important truth, and it’s the truth. It’s the Principle of the Harvest. Everyone would be wise to take hold of that great truth. Again, it’s important to rightly understand how to apply it. It’s looking forwardly. If you sow to the flesh, you will, from the flesh, reap corruption. We know that is a great truth, but can you make the same conclusion in reverse?
In other words, if someone is going through trouble, can we conclude that they sowed the seeds that brought about their trouble? See, now, that’s why the first chapter of this Book of Job, so very clearly, from the earliest verses, so very clearly points out that Job is upright, fearing God, turning away from evil. In other words, he’s not going through this trouble because he’s evil, he’s going through this trouble because he is righteous. Be very careful about coming to that conclusion.
Is it possible to do something righteous, and then it bring forth trouble? Is that possible? Sure it is. Try standing up for God today in the culture in which you’re now living, and you’ll see what kind of trouble comes. You try to take a no-compromise stand in the name of Jesus Christ in today’s modern world, and then you’ll see what kind of troubles come. Is it possible to do something righteous and then troubles come? Yes. Be very careful, in other words. The conclusion, we need to look deeply.
For example, all right, Jesus one time came upon a man born blind. The disciples were with him. The disciples, seeing that the man was born blind, they said, “Now, Teacher, who sinned that this man was born blind?” In other words, we’ve already concluded someone had to sin, we just don’t know who it was. Teacher, who was it? Was it this man? Somebody had to sin. Was it this man or was it his parents? Teacher, who was it?” John 9:3. Jesus said, “No, neither. It was neither that this man sinned nor his parents, but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”
Are you going through some difficulty or some great period of trouble? Could it be that the works of God might be displayed in you? Don’t assume that what God is doing is to punish, maybe God is preparing. Maybe God is preparing to display something of glory in your life. Don’t assume. Do you know, the reason that people oftentimes jump to that conclusion is because everyone has enough sin to “prove” that conclusion is right? Everyone has sin in their lives. Therefore, there’s enough sin that you could “prove” that conclusion, but we need to look more deeply.
B. Wrong conclusion – bad things shouldn’t happen
For example, wrong conclusion number two, bad things shouldn’t happen. Well, to say it more completely, bad things shouldn’t happen to good people. Now, it’s very common for people to come to that conclusion when something bad happens. In other words, it’s the same kind of thinking, it’s the same kind of logic used in the first conclusion. If every tragedy is the result of sin, then every good thing is a result of doing something good that you deserved it.
Then they take it one step further and say, if a person does good things, then it ought to protect them from bad things. In other words, bad things shouldn’t happen to good people, good things should happen to good people. As I used an illustration on Wednesday, Imagine you’re golfing, and you hit a shot, and it goes flying down the fairway and then veers off to the right. I know all about this, I’ve seen many people do it. You hit a shot, it goes careening off to the right, ricochets off a branch, flies up into the air, and lands right in the middle of the fairway. Then what do you say? “Wow, I’m good.” No. You know what happens? You careen that shot off to the right, ricochets off them. The more branches it ricochets off, the better, and it comes down right in the middle of the fairway. Inevitably, somebody in your group will say, “Man, you must be living right.” See, that’s the way we think. Oh, you must have done something right.
Here’s another example. You know the movie Sound of Music? In the movie, Sound of Music, after they figure out what to do with a problem like Maria, Maria discovers that Captain von Trapp is in love with her. She sings this song, which I am now going to sing for you. No, I’m not. No, I’m not, but I am going to quote the words of this song because the words of this song contain that thinking. Notice.
Perhaps I had a wicked childhood,
Perhaps I had a miserable youth.
But somewhere in my wicked, miserable past,
There must have been a moment of truth.
For here you are, standing there, loving me.
All right. That’s it. That’s all I’m going to give you, forget it.
Here you are, standing there, loving me,
Whether or not you should.
So somewhere in my youth or childhood,
I must have done something good.
Nothing comes from nothing,
Nothing ever could.
So somewhere in my youth or childhood,
I must have done something good.
See, many people believe that if you’re doing something good, something worthy, something honorable, then you ought to be protected from bad things happening. Therefore, when something bad does happen, they cannot understand. Why, when I’ve been doing something good? Why does it not protect me from something bad?
Surely after our daughter was killed, maybe you know our story. Our daughter was killed. She was murdered. In fact, this year marks 10 years. When it first happened, the reporters were outside our door. For several weeks, we did not speak to them, but finally, I did realize we must. I went out to speak, and one of the first questions that a reporter asked me was this, “You’re a pastor, how do you reconcile this with your faith?” Now, do you see the assumption behind that question? The assumption behind that question is, I’m a pastor, and because I’m a pastor, and because I’m a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, only good things should happen to me. No need for an umbrella for me. When I walk in the rain, I don’t get wet.
Bugs don’t splatter my windshield. I don’t get burned in the sun. No, only good things happen to me. Really? Then why was I raised in extreme poverty? Why did I have an alcoholic father that abused our mother? Why was my daughter killed by someone who simply wanted to know what that felt like? The other question might be, why do bad things happen to good people, and why do good things happen to bad people?
There is Psalms 73. Psalms 73 takes on this question. The psalmist here is Asaph, he was David’s main worship leader, which was a significant position. He writes– You’ve got to read the whole of The Psalms, it’s quite amazing. I’m going to give you the cardinals of the Psalm. Psalm 73:1.
Psalm 73:1, “He lays out here a premise of a truth,” which is right. Surely, God is good to those who are pure in heart. Now, that is the truth, that is a right principle. Isn’t that true? Yes, it’s true. Surely, God is good to those who are pure in heart. However, as for me, my feet came close to stumbling. My steps almost slipped, for I was envious of the arrogant, and I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They were not in trouble as other men. In other words, it troubled me, good things were happening to bad people. Then he says, “Surely in vain, I’ve kept my heart pure. Surely in vain, I’ve washed my hands in innocence, for I’ve been stricken all day long, I’ve been chastened every morning. Oh life, he says, life is hard for me. Well, life is hard. He said, when I pondered this, when I pondered to understand this, it was troublesome to me, troublesome in my sight, until that, is I came into the sanctuary of God.
Then his view, then the way he sees it is changed. It troubled me until I came into the sanctuary of God. Then I perceived their end. Surely, you set them in slippery places. Surely, you have cast them down to destruction. Oh, how they have been destroyed in a moment. See, in other words, what he’s declaring is, I know, in other words, my faith is that I know that God will settle all accounts. God will see to it. All accounts will be settled. Therefore, I trust Him. I trust Him with my eternal life, and if I trust Him with my eternal life, then I will trust Him with my life here on earth. That’s why he concludes Psalm 73, in a grand way. Psalm 73:25, where he says, “Therefore, whom have I in heaven but you, and besides you, I desire nothing on this earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, and God is my portion forever.”
In other words, what He’s saying is, I’ve come to see something. I’ve come to understand something far greater, that my soul is made alive. God is the one who gave me a soul. There is something far greater than what my eyes can see. By God’s glory and God’s presence, he has made my soul to be alive. Because of God, my soul now sings whom have I in heaven, but you Lord. There’s nothing on this earth that I desire, but you, for you are the one who’s made my soul alive, and if your soul is alive, the meaning and the purpose and the depth of life is fulfilled. God, your glory and your presence, means everything to me. Because of you, my soul sings. Amen. Amen. Let’s give the Lord praise and glory. Amen.
II. God has a Higher Purpose
Then we also see this in the story. God has a higher purpose. You see, we see what they could not see, which is why we have this book, to give us a deeper understanding. We see what they could not see that there is something greater at work. Here’s an example. During the days of Elijah, a widow was kind to him. She allowed Elijah to stay in a room that she had prepared on the roof. She provided food. She treated him kindly. In other words, she was doing good. Sometime later, her son died. Now, at first, she drew the same conclusion as Job’s friends. 1 King 17:18, she said to Elijah, “What do I have to do with you, oh man of God? You have come to bring my iniquity to remembrance, and then put my son to death.” You see how she sees it? Everybody has enough sin, and so she said, “What do I have to do with you, oh man of God? You’ve come to bring my iniquity to remembrance and to put my son to death.”
Now, at first, Elijah didn’t understand what was happening either. “God, are you causing her son to die?” And then he prayed for the child’s life to return. The Lord heard Elijah’s prayer, and the life of the child returned to him. This is where we see a different view, different perspective. Something greater was at work. There was a purpose He could not see. This had nothing to do with this woman, whether she did good or bad, and nothing to do with her at all. It had to do with the fact that God was doing something greater. There was a greater work. God was even preparing the way for the Messiah. For when Jesus raised a widow’s son, everyone exclaimed. Everyone remembered Elijah. When Jesus raised a widow’s son, everyone remembered Elijah. Behold, a great prophet is among us. God has visited His people. God was preparing the way for the Messiah all the way back in the events of Elijah.
A. God transforms us through our pain
There is a greater work, a greater purpose, and one of those is that God transforms us through our pain. We know also that God can use it in our lives. There is something greater at work. God can bring beauty out of ashes. This is a great hope for us. God is able to bring beauty out of ashes. God can use the pain to transform us, and I know that He has.
The story of our daughter, as I mentioned– By the way, you can pray for us in the sense that the Oregon Supreme Court has overturned the conviction due to a technicality, and the whole thing has to be retried, which will very likely happen this year or perhaps early next but pray for us. Nevertheless, sometime after our daughter was killed, shortly after a few weeks, I was having coffee with a friend. We were discussing the case. At some point in the conversation, my friend mentioned the killer by name. I interjected, “I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t use his name.” I didn’t want to hear his name. It was so raw. My friend graciously responded, “I know it hurts, I know, but God will heal this. I know that someday you will let go of this. I know someday God will heal your hurt. You will not hold on to anger,” and he was right. God did heal, God did transform, so much so that I went from not wanting to hear his name, to standing in front of him in court and offering him forgiveness by name. God can heal, God can transform, God can bring beauty out of ashes. God can use it for His glory. Do you believe? This, I know, God does not cause, but God is the one who can bring beauty out of ashes. God does not cause, but God is the one, and God is the only one that can bring beauty out of ashes, that much I know. Amen. Let’s give the praise. Exactly right.
B. Our hope is not for this life only
Then we see this, our hope is not for this life only. See, in other words, our perspective, how we see, it’s so limited. We commonly see things only in the light of what is happening in the moment. There is a bigger picture, there is something, there’s more to life than what we see with our eyes. For example, it takes a long time for a little child, it takes a long time for them to understand the idea of a future of tomorrow. A child has to grow into that understanding. In the same way, we oftentimes, we only, we see things so limitedly. We evaluate things according to what we see with our eyes. When God brings purpose out of our pain, God is giving us an eternal perspective. There is so much more to life than what you can see with your eyes.
1 Corinthians 15:19, “If we have hoped in Christ for this life only, we are of all men most to be pity.” No, our hope, our glory is eternal in perspective. Here’s an illustration. For example, many of you know the name Fannie Crosby. Fannie Crosby was born with perfect sight. She could see perfectly well for the first six weeks of her life, but she developed an eye inflammation, and as was common in those days, the doctor applied mustard poultices, which is like a mustard paste, which was a lack of understanding, but that was common in those days, but it was far too strong, and it burned her eyes, and she was blind.
Later, she wrote, and I just quote here from what she wrote, “It seemed intended by the providence of God that I should be blind all my life,” and I thank him for it. I thank him for the disposition. If perfectly earthly sight was offered to me tomorrow, I would not take it. I would not accept it.”
Now, would you notice there, “If perfect earthly sight could be given to me, I would not take it,” because in her physical blindness, she was given tremendous spiritual depth and insight to perceive. She went on to write more than 8,000 hymns and poems, some of the most powerful in church history. She is the one who wrote Blessed Assurance. Jesus is Mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine watching and waiting, looking above, filled with his goodness, lost in his love. This is my story. This is my song. Praising My Savior. All the day long. She could see.
There is more to this physical life. There is more to life than this physical world in which we live. God’s purpose is higher. There is more to life than what we can see with our eyes. God wants you to change the way you see your perception, to look deeper, to understand God’s heart. This is what you must know. God is faithful. God is faithful in His love for you.
When Jeremiah, the prophet, saw the Babylonian army destroying his beloved Jerusalem, impended these words in Lamentation 3:21-23, the Babylonian army was destroying his beloved city, yet he wrote this, “This, I recall to my mind. Therefore, I have hope that the Lord’s loving kindnesses indeed never cease. His compassions, they never fail. They are new every morning. New every morning. Great is thy faithfulness.” Ah, those are the words that is the foundation of the great hymn, Great is thy faithfulness. Oh God, my Father, there is no shadow of turning with thee. For His mercies are new every morning. New every morning. Great is their faithfulness. This is what you must know. God is the one who gave you a soul. God, He gave you a soul to sing, to be alive. There is far more to life than what you can see with your eyes. God wants to give you a depth of understanding that your soul would be made alive and that your soul would sing, “There is purpose, there is meaning, and there is life.” That your soul would be made alive in the presence of the King.
Let’s pray. Lord, we are so thankful to you that you help us to understand that there’s more, more than what we can see with our eyes. You are the one that poured life. You’re the one that made our soul to be alive. You’re the one that made our soul to sing. God, we know that there’s where purpose is found. There’s where meaning is found. We give you glory and honor. Make our souls alive. That’s our prayer. There’s far more to life than what we see with our eyes. God, we say it to you today, make our souls alive. Make our souls to sing, by the glory of the presence of the King.
God will Make a Way
Esther 4:1-17
June 10-11, 2023
All right, as we mentioned before, when we were in the book of Esther, that the name of God is not mentioned in this book at any time. However, I submit that God is the main character of the story because this book of Esther is about how the hand of God moves in ways that you cannot see, to make a way where there is no way. When you hear that, when you are reminded of that, then your faith is strengthened.
I tell you, we need our faith strengthen for we’re living in a world that is filled with trouble, life is filled with trouble, and we need to know that God still says, still rescues, and delivered. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and God’s hand still moves in power. When you come to the story of Esther, Israel is in great peril, they are at risk of total annihilation. It’s like the Holocaust plus. I mean, that is how dire the situation is of great peril.
What happened was, and we studied this before when we are in the book of Esther, that a decree has been issued against them, signed by the signet ring of the king of Persia, that every Jew was to be killed on one day, and they had selected by the casting of lots, the 13th day of the 12th month. Now, that decree signed by the signet ring of that king of Persia was sent by couriers to every province that was under the domain of Persia in that day, 127 provinces from Ethiopia to India. We’re talking here about total annihilation, the Holocaust, and plus.
Now, the thing that we’re going to read as we see this in the story, that once a decree has been issued and signed by the signet ring of the king of Persia, it is irrevocable, even the king himself cannot revoke that decree or that edict. This is my point, that the edict for the destruction and annihilation of the Jews has gone out. It’s been sent by couriers. It’s done. It’s over. It cannot be revoked. It’s done.
Now, see, this is important. That is the dilemma of the story. The couriers went out, the decree has gone out. It’s done. It cannot be revoked. It’s done, it’s over. Yet God makes a way where there seems to be no way. That is the story of faith, and there are principles of faith that we can gain from seeing God’s hand move in such a way that there is a way that God rescues and save and deliver.
The story of Esther is celebrated by Jews around the world in the Feast of Purim every year. Now, the word Purim, actually, it’s a Persian word, it means lots, so the casting of lots. The reason that the Feast of Purim is called that is because Haman, who is the wicked enemy of Israel in the story, he is the one who manipulated the king of Persia to set forth that edict and decree. Haman determined the day that would determine the destruction of Israel by the casting of lots. It came on the 12th month, and then the 13th day, and so that’s why it’s called Purim.
The Jews celebrate Purim every year, and the reading of the book of Esther because it is a reminder year after year after year that God moves in ways that we cannot see. That God will make a way where there seems to be no way. That God still saves, still rescues, and still delivers, and that when you read the story your faith is stirred up. Now we’re going to read because there are principles of faith that are found in the story to stir up our faith, that God’s hand is moving. God’s hand is moving to prepare you to fulfill His purpose and calling in your life. We pick it up in Esther 4, the decree had just gotten out by couriers to all the provinces.
Chapter 4:1, “Now, when Mordecai–” now, Mordecai is her much older cousin who has taken her in, adopted her. She lost her parents, she was orphaned when she was young, so Mordecai took her and raised her and brought her. We see from this story that he raised her with character and integrity and in faith, and at this point in this story by the sovereign moving of God in the circumstances of life, she is now the Queen of Persia, having replaced Vashti.
Mordecai, now hearing about this decree that has gone out by couriers, it says, “When he learned all that had been done, he tore his clothes, he put on sackcloth and ashes, and he went out into the midst of the city and he wailed loudly and bitterly. And he went as far as the king’s gate for no one was to enter the king’s gate, clothed in sackcloth. And in each and every province when the command and decree of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, with weeping and wailing, and many were laying on sackcloth and ashes,” not just only wearing, but they will actually sit down ashes and sackcloth and lie on them, wailing in mourning.
Then verse 4, Esther’s maidens and her eunuchs came and told her. Now, what they told her was that Mordecai is wailing and mourning and wearing sackcloth out by the king’s gate. That’s what they told her. The king, when hearing this writhed in great anguish, “What is this trouble?” So she sent garments to clothe Mordecai, that he might remove that sackcloth, but he would not accept them.
“Then Esther,” verse 5, she summoned Hathak from the king’s eunuch, whom the king had appointed to attend to her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what this was, and why it was. So Hathak went out to Mordecai to the city square, in front of the king’s gate, and Mordecai told him, oh, that happened, and exact amount of money that Haman had promised to pay to the king’s treasuries for the destruction of the Jews.
He also gave him a copy of the text of that edict which had been issued there from Susa, for their destruction, that he might show it to Esther and inform her and to order her. Now, see, he’s still her father. Even though she’s the Queen of Persia, he’s still the father, to order her to go into the king to implore his favor and to plead with him for her people. So Hathak came back and relayed Mordecai’s word to Esther. Now, Esther spoke to Hathak and ordered him to reply back to Mordecai with these words. Verse 11, “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that for any man or woman who comes to the king to the inner court who is not first summoned,” well, there is only one law, in that he has put to death.
Now, this is actually understandable. It was a matter of national security. You can just imagine you have a king who has over 127 provinces, you can’t just have someone showing up unannounced. That could be tremendously dangerous, and so they set forth a law. The default action of that law, if anyone shows up unannounced, unsummoned, he will be put to death. That’s the law. The only exception, the only act of mercy, it says, is if the king holds out his scepter, the golden scepter, to that person. Then he would live, but the default is death. I have not been summoned to the king for these 30 days, so they related these words to Mordecai.
I. For Such a Time as This
Mordecai replied back. Now, his reply here is the center of the whole of the book. Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not imagine that you in the king’s palace can escape.” See, at this point she has not told anyone. Under Mordecai’s instruction, do not reveal that you are a Jew, and so no one knows that she’s a Jew. Do not think that you will escape, that decree will find you out. You are a Jew. That is a decree, it’s been signed, it will find you out, don’t think you can escape any more than all the Jews.
“If you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, and you and your father’s house will perish. But who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?” That’s a theme as and we’re going to look at those words. Answer. Esther then replied to Mordecai, okay, I will do it, in other words. I will do this thing. Even though it’s against the law, there’s one default law, and that is death. I will do it. First, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, the capital, and fast. “Fast for me. Do not eat or drink three days, night or day. I and my maidens also will fast in the same way, and then I will do it. I will take the risk of life. I will go in to the king, which is against the law.” Then she adds, “And if I perish, I perish.”
Mordecai went and he did, just as Esther had commanded him. All right, I looked at the verses around this, at the Wednesday verse by verse service, but I want us to look at these verses because there are principles of faith. Starting with that answer that Mordecai gave, “for such a time as this.” Perhaps you have attained royalty for this very thing. He’s giving you this as a turning point of the story. Do not think you can escape. No, it will find you out. Trouble will find you out. This indic will find you out.
A. Living faith moves you to action
Just because you live in the king’s palace will not save you. “But know this,” Mordecai added, “if you remain silent and do nothing, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place.” Now, that right there is light in the darkness. That right there is faith arising in the midst of adversity. What is he saying? He’s saying this, look, I know that the promises to Israel will stand. I know that God will save. I know He will. How He will, I do not know, but I know my God. And I know that somehow, some way, He will rescue and He will save. He’s stirring her up in her faith, because living faith moves you to action.
You see, there are different kinds of faith. There’s living faith and there’s dead faith. Oh, there is dead faith. Dead faith is where it does not move you at all. Living faith moves you, moves you to action. God will make a way where there seems to be no way, Mordecai is saying. If you remain silent, if you do not move, relief and deliverance will arise. God will make a way.
See, God’s purpose will stand. God will see to it. God’s hand is not so short that it cannot save. God will make a way. He’s stirring her up. Now, see, when I think about this, I think about that time that Jesus, when He was descending the Mount of Olives on that day that we call the Triumphant Entry or Palm Sunday, He’s coming, descending the Mount of Olives there before Jerusalem. A great crowd of disciples are with Him. They began to praise God joyfully, shouting about all the miracles for which they have seen. They’re shouting out Psalm 118.
Now, everyone knew in that day that that Psalm was reserved for the Messiah. No one is going to shout or declare or going to sing that Psalm unless you got the Messiah. Unless you have the Messiah with you, you’re not going to shout or declare that Psalm. Well, they brought out Psalm 118 and they started shouting it out. “Blessed is He, blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest.”
Well, Luke 19: 39-40, some of the Pharisees, Jewish leaders were in the crowd. They said to Him, Teacher, rebuke your disciples. Let them not say that. That’s reserved for the Messiah. You rebuke them. Jesus said, “I tell you, if these remain silent, even the stones will cry out.” Oh, I love that right there. See, in other words, this was a day ordained by God. Nothing and no one can stand in the way. When God’s purpose is set forth, no one and nothing can stand in the way. If the disciples don’t shout, oh, God will cause the rocks to cry out.
Nothing and no one can stand in the way of God’s purpose. God’s purpose will stand and is still true today. Do you believe that? Let’s give the Lord praise and glory. Amen. See, when I think about that, I think of Isaiah 43:18 and 19, where the Lord says through the prophet Isaiah, “Do not call to mind the former things. Do not ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new. Now it will spring forth. Are you not aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness. I will make rivers in the desert. I will do what needs to be done that my purpose will stand.”
See, Mordecai is saying this to her to stir her up, that she may believe, to arise in faith, to believe that God will find a way. If you don’t move, God will still do it. If you don’t take action, God will still save. But what a privilege for God to use you. What a privilege, what an honor to be useful to the kingdom. See, when I think of that, I think of Isaiah 6:9, where it says, “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall I send and who will go for us? And then I said, here am I, Lord, send me.”
See, that’s a declaration that says, it’s a privilege. It’s an honor to move in God’s purpose in my life. Here am I, Lord, send me. It’s an honor. It’s an honor to carry your name. It’s an honor to be useful to the kingdom. It’s a privilege to carry your name and to be useful. Here am I, Lord, send me. How many would say the same? It’s an honor. It’s a privilege to be useful to the kingdom. Here am I, Lord. Amen. Let’s give the Lord praise for that. Here am I, send me, Lord.
B. Perhaps you arose for this very purpose
This is what he’s saying to her. “Perhaps you arose for this very purpose.” See, verse 14 here is the most famous line, most impactful line of the whole story. Who knows whether you have obtained royalty for this very time, such a time as this? Perhaps the very reason that you have come to this place in your life was for this purpose. In other words, this is not happenstance. God has been working in unseen ways. His unseen hand has been working in the circumstances to bring about this very circumstance that you are now in. God’s hand moved. This is not happenstance. God’s hand has been moving for His purpose to be fulfilled.
In other words, God works all things together for His glory and for your good. Now, I’m quoting there from Romans 8:28, “We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Now, a more literal translation of that verse would be, “We know that God works all things together.” See, I love that perspective, the way that that presents it. God works all things together. In other words, the hand of God moves in ways you cannot see. God is moving with his hand in the circumstances of life to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
As we see in the story and in other places, God can even use the things that are difficult, the troubles, the trials, the tribulations to bring about His purpose in your life. Now, I do not say that God causes those troubles. I say that God works all things together for His great purpose. Perhaps one of the best illustrations of that in the Bible would be Joseph, which we read about in the book of Genesis.
In that story, if you remember the story, Joseph is a very young man, and he has a vision in a dream that God’s going to allow him to arise to a place of stature and authority, so much so that all of his brothers even will bow down to him. Oh, he was so excited about this vision, this dream that God has given him. Oh, God’s going to allow me to arise to a place of authority so that even the brothers bow down to me.
Oh, he was so excited. He couldn’t wait to share it with them. Oh, listen to me. Listen to what God did. He’s giving me a vision. I’m going to arise. I’m going to arise and have a place of authority, and you’re all going to bow down. Isn’t that exciting? Well, they were not excited. They took seize hold of him and sold him to Midianite slave traders. Ha. Let’s see what comes of your dreams now, you dreamer. Let’s see what comes now. You think it’s going to be fulfilled now? Ha. We bow down to you? I think not.” They sold him to Midianite slave traders, presumably never to see him again.
Taken to Egypt, sold as a slave to Potiphar who was the head of the guard of Pharaoh. Then he’s falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and ends up in prison. He goes from bad to worse, to worser. I made that word up. Everything was against him. He could have shaken his fist at God. He could have walked away from his faith. Oh, so this is what happens? Oh, yes, you give me a vision, and then all of this? All of this trouble? He could have shaken his fist, he could have given up his faith, but he didn’t.
That’s a key to the story. He did not. In fact, everything that seemed to be against him were the very things that God used to bring about His purpose. This is a key to understanding. The very things that are against him are the things that God uses in the moving of His hand to bring about that very thing that He had given to him in the vision. Now, at the end of the story, as we know, that gift of vision and dream God used to secure not only his release, but also to help save many, many people, and Pharaoh raises him up in the kingdom to a position of great authority.
Then later in the story, of course, the brothers realizing, ah, it’s Joseph, our long lost brother. Ah, they come and they beg forgiveness, pleading for their lives, and they bow down just like that vision. They bow down and they say, “Behold, we are your servants.” He answers in Genesis 50:19-20, “But Joseph said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. Am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me,'” it’s true, you did, you meant evil, “‘but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to keep many people alive.” Joseph’s answer is filled with insight. You meant it for evil, you did, but God meant it for good to bring about this purpose in your life.
Do you believe that God still moves in the circumstances of life? God does. Esther was not in her royal position by accident. The king’s decision to make her queen was not at random. No, God is at work. Everything happened in her life up to that point for this very reason. In other words, things don’t just happen. God has a purpose. God is moving even in the circumstances. Even in the things that are against you, God can use those things that are against you to bring about His very purpose in your life. God will rescue, God will save, God will deliver in ways that you cannot see.
II. Faith Overcomes Fear
Who knows? He says, “Perhaps you are brought into this very place for this very reason, for this very purpose.” Perhaps your life has come to this point for such a time as this to fulfill a purpose. Then we must see this in the story, there’s still this, Esther still faces great peril. Now, God’s going to rescue, God’s going to save, and God’s going to deliver, but she has a part. Now, that also is a life lesson. God’s going to save, but there’s a part that God has for you in it. She’s going to have to overcome her fear. There is only one law. The default law is death. This could well end in my death. She has to overcome this. See, you must overcome fear in order for God’s purpose to be accomplished.
This is about the arising of faith. See, faith overcomes fear. Fear is a condition in which we were all born, it’s a natural condition of man, but it stands in the way of faith, and faith must move. Faith overcomes fear. Oh, the fear of death was very real. There is one law, it’s a matter of law. It’s a default that anyone would be killed except for mercy. Mordecai’s stirring up her in faith, “If you remain silent, relief and deliverance will arise from another place, but who knows if not you were given that place for such a time as this.” She replied to Mordecai, I will do it, but I want you to do this, I want you to assemble all the Jews living in the capitol city of Susa, and I want them to fast.
Now, fasting and praying go together, hand in hand. “I want you to fast for me for three days and three nights. I and my maidens will all do the same.” Now, this is a great key to the story. In other words, never forget the prayer factor. Never forget. God has decided that He will use the prayers of His people to accomplish His purpose. Esther is determined to move. She’s going to do it. She’s going to take action. She’s not going to remain silent, but she’s not going to move until they have prayed and fasted. She’s asking all the Jews in the city to pray for her and with her.
A. Never forget the prayer factor
I submit God does not need Esther’s prayers nor the prayers of Mordecai. However, God has decided to include us in what He is doing, and one of the ways that He includes us is through our prayers. God has decided that the kingdom of God will be moved by the prayers of His people. That is the way the kingdom of God moves. God is going to use the prayers of His people. See, the effective spiritual life begins by understanding the factor of prayer. The effective spiritual life understands the factor of prayer. God has decided that the kingdom of God will move by the prayers of His people. James 4:2, “You have not because you asked not.”
James 5:16, “The fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much.” Now, I love that verse because I love the idea of accomplishing much, but it is the hand of God that moves and prayer recognizes that it is the hand of God that is the power behind the rescue, behind the save, behind the deliver. God will use His prayers. God will make a way where there is no way. Never forget the prayer factor for when you pray, you are reminded that it is God’s hand that moves, it’s God’s hand that saves, and you look to His hand to do it. I’ll tell you, if anyone understood trouble and God delivering out of trouble, it’d be David. Oh, David saw so many troubles, but God saved him from them all.
In fact, he wrote this in Psalm 3:2-8, “Many are saying of my soul,” see, many looked at David’s troubles, many had said, “there is no help for him in God.” That’s that he’s in too deep of trouble. There’s no help now, but see, Psalms 3 is a prayer, “But you, O Lord, are a shield about me. You are my glory, you are the one who lifts my head. I cried to the Lord.” See, David understood that in the midst of that trouble, “I cried out to God. I cried out with my voice and he answered from his holy mountain.” Then he says, “Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing is upon your people.” That’s still true today. Salvation is from the Lord and blessings of God is upon His people is still true today. He understood it. I know where help comes from. I know where deliverance comes from. I know that my God helps. I know that my God saves.
B. Your life is in His hands
Esther is stirred up. She’s going to do it. She asks for prayer, they pray for three days, and then she adds such a perspective. She says, essentially, my life is in His hands. If I perish, I perish. There’s a principle. Your life is in His hands. There’s freedom in that. When you come to that place of recognizing your life is in His hands, if I perish, I perish, there’s freedom in it.
I think of Psalm 139:16. You might want to write this down because it is a really, really great perspective on life. David writes it this way, “In your book, they were all written all the days that were ordained for me when as yet there was not one of them.” See what he’s saying? In your book, my name is written, and next to my name, you wrote a number. That was the number of the days that were ordained for me before there was even one day. Before I was even born, God wrote that number next to my name.
See, that’s a perspective that brings tremendous freedom. I know that God has written a number next to my name. I don’t know what that number is, but I know this. I know that I respect God, so therefore I respect that number. Whatever that number is, it’s all right with me. Whatever God wrote, it’s all right with me. The key is what you do with those days that God has given you. The days that were ordained were the days that He gave to me. See, what will you do with the days that God gave you?
Life is a journey to be walked and God wants you to walk that journey with Him fulfilling His purpose in your life. These are the days ordained for me, and who knows whether you have been given your life for such a time as this, to fulfill this purpose? When I think of that, I think of 2 Chronicles 16:9. 16:9 of Chronicles is like a life verse. What principle is this where it says, “The eyes of the Lord search to and fro throughout the whole earth in order to show Himself strong in behalf of those whose hearts are completely His.” That is a tremendous understanding.
God is looking, God is searching. The eyes of the Lord range to and fro looking to show Himself strong in behalf of those whose hearts are completely His. God’s wanting to show Himself strong. Walk with God. He will reveal His hand. When I think about that, I think about when Moses came to the end of his journey. God had called him at the end of his life to walk up to the top of Mount Nebo alone. There he would see the land that God promised to give Israel. He would not enter into it. He could see it, and then he would be laid to rest at death.
Now, by the way, we were in Israel maybe a month or so ago, and we had the opportunity to cross over the Jordan on the other side and to go to Mount Nebo where this place you can see what Moses saw. In fact, it’s so interesting because you can look down in the valley and you can see where Israel would’ve camped on the other side of the Jordan preparing to enter in. Moses gave them that final message, which is the book of Deuteronomy, to prepare them to enter into the land. He would not enter in, Joshua would lead them, but he gave them the final preparing message, and then when he finished it all, God told him to walk up that mountain alone.
I often wonder, what was in Moses’ heart as he took that long last walk alone up Mount Nebo? It’s a long walk. What went through his heart? What went through his mind as he was taking that long last walk alone? Did you think that he was, as he was walking, was like, “Oh my, all means come to this? Oh no. Oh no. Oh my, oh my.” I don’t think that for one moment. You know what I think? I think that Moses would’ve walked up that mountain recounting all the wonderful things they did together.
It says that all the way back when they were at Mount Sinai there in the early days of leading them out of Egypt, it says that God would meet with Moses, Moses would meet with God, and they would talk like a man speaks to a friend. I just imagine them walking that last long walk. Moses recounting all of the wonderful things they did together. “It’s been a good walk, Lord, it’s been a good journey. Oh, there have been troubles. There have been many, many troubles. When you parted the sea, oh, that was amazing. Then the way you provided for your people in the desert miracles and the way you brought watered out of a rock, oh, the things we did together. It was a great journey, Lord. Thank you for walking with me through it all. Thank you for the privilege of walking with you.
C. God’s rescue is amazing
When I think about that, that perspective, it makes me want to have something to look back on. Makes me want to have a journey with God so that when I come to the end, I look back. It’s been a good walk, Lord. It’s been a good journey. Oh, there have been troubles, but you were with me through them all. Oh, the things that you allowed me to do, to be part of. Oh, how we walked together. Thank you. It’s been a good walk. It’s been a good journey. Then lastly, there’s this. God’s rescue is amazing. The story will not be complete without knowing the ending.
How did God rescue, how did God deliver? Well, when she fasted and prayed, three days, she fasted and prayed and all the Jews praying for her there in Susa. After the three days of fasting and praying, a plan came to her heart. Exactly right. See, now this is a very important principle. Please hear this. It’s a very important principle. When you pray, when you wait on God, He will press onto your heart insight and understanding into the situation, and then you’ll see what God would have you to do in the circumstance. This is a very important thing.
I’ll tell you, I have seen God move. God has saved me over and over. God has delivered. I know that when you are in trouble, when you pray and when you wait, when you wait on God, that He will press on your heart insight in how to move. Here’s my point. Don’t move. Don’t move until God has done it. Don’t move. Wait. Wait for God to press His heart into your heart. God will show you. God will give you insight, God will give you understanding. Do not move until you have prayed, until you have waited, until God has pressed His heart into yours. He will show you insight, understanding. She waited. Three days, they prayed.
She has a plan. Her plan is to invite the king and Haman to a private banquet that she will give to them. Now, there are other attendings, but she is giving this banquet for the king and Haman. The others are just servants. Now, he knows that something is troubling her. What is it that’s troubling you? What is your petition, Queen Esther? What is your request? What is it? Up to half the kingdom it will be done. You can see right there. He loves her. What is it? What’s troubling you? What is your petition? What’s your request?
Esther 7:3, Queen Esther answered and said, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, my petition is this, my life.” “Your life?” “My life. That’s my asking. My petition is for my life. My request is for my people. For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, to be annihilated.” Now, you can see in the story, in fact, we know at this point that anger is starting to arise in King Ahasuerus. He loves Esther and he has no idea that she’s a Jew until this very moment. “I have been sold, I and my people, to be killed, to be annihilated.”
Anger is arising up in King Ahasuerus, and he says, “Who? Who is he? Where is he? Who would presume to do such a thing as this?” You can just imagine Esther, “Who? Where?” She says Esther 7:6. Esther says, “A foe and an enemy is this wicked Haman.” Then Haman became terrified before the king and queen. In fact, the king was so enraged, and then an assistant said, “Haman has built a gallows to hang Mordecai on.” He said, “Hang him on it.” That settles that, but what about that decree? What about that decree that went out that all the Jews were to be killed on the 13th day of the 12th month? That decree was irrevocable. What about that? Even the king cannot revoke it.
Well, Mordecai now arises as a counselor to the king in a given position, and so working together, they come up with this idea to set forth a second decree. The first one is set, it’s already been out, but another decree is issued and set forth by couriers that granted the right to every Jew to defend himself. That’s the answer. The first one is irrevocable, but the second one grants the right for them to defend themselves. They banded together, took up arms, and defended themselves on that fateful day.
It tells us in Esther 9:1, “Now in the 12th month, on the 13th day when the king’s command and edict were about to be executed, on the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain mastery–” See, there were many enemies of the Jews and have been for many, many centuries. Those enemies thought to gain mastery, to take advantage of that opportunity. On that day, when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain mastery over them, no, it was turned to the contrary so that the Jews themselves gain mastery over those who hated them.
The hand of God moved here in the story, so the Feast of Purim was established so that they would never forget how God rescued and delivered from their troubles and from their enemies to be reminded over and over. Never forget that God still saves. God still rescues. God still delivers. I’ve seen it over and over and over in my own life. He’s not done yet. When I get to the end, I will look back. It’s been a good journey, Lord. He’s already seen me through so many troubles. I know He’ll walk with me through every one. There are many troubles ahead, but I know this, God will walk with me through them all so that when I get to the end, I can say it’s been a good walk, Lord, it’s been a good journey.
Thank you for walking together with me in it. It’s been a good walk. It’s been a privilege to walk with you, Lord. Amen. Lord, we love you and thank you for your word. You were reminding us again that the hand of God still moves, that you’re the same yesterday, today, forever. That you still, by your sovereign hand, move in the circumstances of life that you rescue and say that you deliver.
Church, how many would say to the Lord today, “I know this, that I want to walk the rest of my days, I want to walk the rest of this journey. I don’t know how many days I have, but whatever I have, I want to walk it with God so that when I get to the end of my life, I can look back and say, ‘It’s been a good journey, Lord, it’s been a good walk. Thank you for walking with me through it all. It’s been a privilege. It’s been an honor. Thank you, Lord.'”
How the Hand of God Moves
Esther 3:1-15
May 20-21, 2023
The name of the book is named after the hero of the story, Esther, who is used by God to save her people from disaster. Israel, in the story, finds themselves on the very precipice of destruction. Literally, the complete annihilation of the Jews is planned in this book. Very, very important book, by the way. To Jews all over the world. This is a very important book, and it’s celebrated every year in the feast of Purim.
Now, if you have any Jewish friends, you might know that Purim is a huge thing every single year. It’s one of the great holidays and is one of the most festive of the holidays because they are, of course, celebrating the victory that God moved in their behalf to save Israel. The story, of course, unfolds in the Book of Esther. The word Purim is a Persian word, and it means lots. It comes from a part of the story where the mortal enemy of Israel, who’s plotting against them to determine the day on which Jews all over the world would be annihilated, he cast lots to determine the day.
They use the word Purim to describe the casting of the lots. Very festive, as I mentioned. When they celebrate Purim, they read the Book of Esther in the evening and then again in the morning. Then as they’re reading the story, usually the father of the house will read the story and whenever the name of their mortal enemy is mentioned in the story, then all of the children have noisemakers. Every time, Haman is his name, every time Haman is mentioned, everybody starts shaking the noisemakers and hissing that evil Haman.
It’s a great way of reading the story. The children, they dress up with costumes. It’s really a big thing every year. Of course, they have a very festive holiday meal, huge eating, of course, and everyone gives gifts. They will make pastries, usually triangular-shaped pastries that have inside of them a hidden filling. It represents the fact that though God’s name is not mentioned, it is the hidden moving of God that is really the story of Esther. It’s the hand of God that moves.
Then they give gifts to their neighbors, and then they give gifts of money or food or drinks to the poor. Everyone must give gifts to at least two people that are needy on Purim or the days leading up to Purim. The day before Purim is called the fast of Esther. It commemorates how Esther and the entire Jewish community fasted for three days before Esther approached the king of Persia to intercede. You’ll hear that in the story. They fast the day before that.
In many ways, the story of Esther really is the story of how the hand of God moves. How the hand of God moves in nations, but also through the events of everyday lives and the history of nations is turned by the events of individual lives. I know that God is still moving in the events of our lives, that God’s hand is moving in power, and that that’s part of the story.
Now, although, of course, the book is about Esther in other words, what I’m saying is that God is the main character in the story. Interestingly, however, the name of God is not mentioned in the book. There’s no mention of God’s name anywhere or reference to Him anywhere. I submit He is the main character in the story, for it is irrefutable in the story that it’s about how the hand of God moves, how He moves in nations, and how He moves upon the details of life in saving His people, Israel.
When you see that, when you see how the hand of God moves in nations but in lives, then your own faith is strengthened. God’s power is on full display here in this story. Also, spiritual warfare is also part of the story, as we are going to see as we read that. We need spiritual discernment to understand the spiritual warfare that is part of our world today, for we are seeing the shifting of nations in our world today.
The hand of God, we must understand, is still moving in the nations of the world. The prophecy of Scripture comes fully to bear in the story of Esther, as we will see. Now, the story takes place in Persia, the capital of Persia, or Susa, modern-day Iran, and during the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. It’s well suited here in the Bible. Remember that Babylon defeated Israel, exiled them to Babylon for those 70 years.
This takes place immediately after those days for Persia then defeated Babylon. The story begins in chapter one by declaring the expanse and power of the Persian empire in those days. It stretched all the way from Ethiopia in North Africa, all the way to India. Most of the known world was dominated by Persia in those days, 127 provinces, it says.
Leaders in Iran today long for their days of such power. They remember this. They read the stories of when Persia was that great world power, and they long for their day to be that world power. As part of the story unfolds, a harboring of great resentment against Israel is still a part of the culture of Iran today. There is still a deep hatred for Israel. Iran is on the move, trying to build coalitions of nations and provinces for the very purpose of destroying Israel, which is an important part of prophecy of Scripture.
Now, we know the history of this king. This king is mentioned here many times in the story. We know a lot about him. In the Bible, he’s called Ahasuerus. In history, he’s also known as Xerxes, son of Darius I. Now, we know a lot about his father Darius also, because we read about him when we studied through Ezra. If you remember, enemies were arising against Israel in the book of Ezra. Darius, his father, strongly supported Israel and issued a decree that nothing should hinder the work of rebuilding the Temple.
Darius’ father in Persia, is also infamous for his invasion of Greece, which Darius wanted under his control. His forces, however, were defeated at a very famous Battle of Marathon. In fact, modern-day races, marathon races are named after the events that happened there. The story unfolds in that he brought his army in to attack Marathon, and Marathon there in Greece defeated the Persians, but then they turned their ships towards Athens. The people of Marathon were concerned for their beautiful city of Athens.
A runner ran all of the way from the city of Marathon to Athens, Greece, nonstop. Then once he got to the city, announced and warned them of the impending danger of the Persian navy, then he collapsed and died. The distance between Marathon and Athens is now the official distance of every Marathon race. Isn’t that an interesting part of the history? I love history, and I’m sure you would agree there’s some fascinating parts of history to study.
Then Darius, after that defeat, attempted to rebuild his forces, but he died before that could be completed. His son Xerxes or Ahasuerus here, restarted the rebuilding in preparations for a second invasion of Greece. That’s all backstory to chapter one of this book and tells us in chapter one that the Persian king, Ahasuerus, gave a banquet and a gala celebration of 180 days where he displayed the grandeur and power of his kingdom. He brought in army officers and princes.
Now, from history, we know that he did all of this to try to strengthen their confidence in his armies and to assure them of the victory and the plan that this would succeed. For 180 days, he displayed his power, and then at the end of that, he put on a great feast, seven days of a banquet of drinking and eating.
All of this is in chapter one. At the end of the seventh day, when the king was intoxicated with wine, he called for his queen, Queen Vashti, to come and display her beauty before all of the army officers and princes who were also drunk. Queen Vashti had no desire to come and display her beauty in front of a bunch of drunken army officers and flatly refused to come.
Someone says, “Hey, good for her.” King Ahasuerus was furious, however, no one dissipated direct order of the king. He called in the law experts. “What ought be done to anyone, a queen such as her, who disobeys an order?” The advisors advised that the queen had wronged not only the king but all of the army officers and everyone in the kingdom because as soon as women heard that Queen Vashti stood up to her husband, well, women all over the kingdom will stand up to their husbands and there will be plenty of anger and contempt in the entire kingdom and we cannot have that. She was demoted and her royal title taken from her and never allowed into the presence of the king again.
Now, pausing this story for a moment, from history, we know that King Ahasuerus then proceeded to attack Greece. He brought more than 350,000 soldiers into Greece for this attack. He brought 700 to 800 ships in support. He made two floating bridges in order to get over there, but a storm destroyed them– true story, this is all in history, so he had the sea whipped as punishment for destroying his floating bridges. Literally, he had soldiers going waist-deep into the sea with whips, whipping the sea in punishment for destroying his bridges.
Now, this is important to understand his mentality because it does play into the story of Esther. In other words, in his mind, he was a divine sovereign, and a position of any type must not be tolerated even by the sea. Now, the story unfolds, we know this from history that Ahasuerus or Xerxes did defeat and pillage Athens, but a week later, his naval ships were defeated and destroyed. Without a fleet of ships to supply the army, he was forced to retreat and it was the beginning of the decline of the Persian Empire.
Now, in fact, we know from history that returning from this defeat that he immediately turned his attention back to his harem, and that’s all part of history outside of the Bible, which fits in perfectly to the history that we read in the Book of Esther. He then turned again his attention to his harem to replace his queen, and that’s where the intrigue of the story brings us next. He must find a new queen.
Beautiful young ladies were brought in from all over the kingdom, given a full year of beautification, which seems a little bit much in my mind. I don’t know what can be going on for a whole year of beautification. All right, and then after a year, they were brought into the harem. The one who pleased the king most would become queen to replace Vashti. Now, that’s where Esther enters this story. She was young, probably in her early 20s. She was orphaned. Her mother and father died.
Her cousin adopted her, Mordecai. He is a very important part of the story. It tells us that her form and beauty were noticed by the officials. She was brought into the harem, given the full year of beautification, and then sent into the king. She found favor with the king and found kindness with him more than all the others and so, he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen.
I. God’s Hand Moves Over Nations
Now, the story is careful to mention that Esther never reveals the fact that she is a Jew. For her cousin, Mordecai, had given her strict warnings, “Let no one know that you are a Jew.” She was very obedient. No one knew that behind all of this was a Jewish woman. The story is about how the hand of God moves. To put this in the context of nations, because this is important for our faith today, what unfolds in the story actually has implications for our world today. Let’s begin with this understanding, God’s hand moves over nations. Let’s understand that in the context of the story.
Now, the Book of Daniel, written of course when Daniel was there in Babylon, describes that the king, Nebuchadnezzar, had a dream. The dream was very significant. He dreamed of a great statue, standing large with extraordinary splendor. The head of the statue made of gold, its breasts and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, and its legs of iron and its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.
A. From ancient of days to king of the earth
Then, a stone made without hands in this dream struck this mighty statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them. Then, the entire statue was crushed by this stone. The stone that struck that statue became a great mountain that filled the whole Earth. We understand the prophecy is about our Lord and Savior in the latter days. In other words, from ancient of days to king of the Earth, it’s a picture of Jesus Christ. In this story that unfolds in the nations, it’s a story of the king of the Earth that will reign in the prophecy that will be fulfilled and I submit that we are living in days that are right at the beginning of the birth pangs that Jesus suggested will bring forth and usher in the latter days.
Daniel 2:28: Daniel answered before the king and said, “There is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days.” This has everything to do with our world today. The head of gold, he said, was Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. The world has never seen a kingdom so great. It’s so significant was Babylon that it is the second most mentioned city in the Bible. Jerusalem is first, Babylon is second in mentions in the Bible.
In the latter days, Babylon becomes a picture of all the immorality of the world and all that it represents. In fact, out of the occult practices of Babylon comes the mark of the beast in the latter days, and the number of the name of the antichrist comes out of the occultic practices of Babylon, 666. Now, the chest of silver is the next great kingdom that would arise in the world, the kingdom of Persia, also a world power but inferior to Babylon that in the story of Esther, you see God moving in the nations revealed through Daniel the prophet.
Then he mentions a third kingdom that would arise and that is Greece that would arise after Persia. It arises as a great world power whose influence on the world is still felt today. In fact, our modern New Testament was written originally, most of it in Greek. Again, you see God’s hand moving in the nations for Daniel’s prophecy was referring to the power of Greece under Alexander the Great.
You see the hand of God moving yet again for the story unfolds and we read this in the history outside of the Bible that nation after nation fell before Alexander driving east on his way to defeat Persia, first, he wanted to come and defeat Jerusalem. On the main road to Jerusalem stood the high priest in all of his priestly garb and all of the people who served him standing with him in bright white garbs.
The reason is because the priest knew that Israel could not stand up against Alexander the Great and so he prayed and asked God for wisdom. He felt God pressed it upon his heart that he ought to go and just simply welcome Alexander and wear his high priestly robes. When Alexander approached the city riding on his famous war horse to the shock and surprise of his officers, when Alexander coming up the road saw the high priest, he got off of his great war-horse, bowed before the high priest, took his hand and walked gently into Jerusalem where the gates were wide open, which is not what you do when an enemy’s force is at the door, but they had the doors of the city, the gates of the city wide open.
Alexander the Great and the priest walked into the city hand in hand and then Alexander went to the temple and with the direction of the priest, made offerings in honor of the God of Israel. Now, later his officers asked, “How could this be?” They thought that perhaps he became mentally touched, mentally off. They said, “How could it be that the Great Alexander should bow before the priest of another country?”
Alexander said, “Before I embarked on this journey, I had a dream, a very, very vivid dream, and in my dream was this very man, and he was wearing those exact clothes. The voice in the dream exhorted me to make no delay for that he was giving me dominion over the Persians. I was then convinced that I would succeed, for I was divinely inspired.” Then hearing this, the high priest took out the book of Daniel and showed to him that the prophecy of Daniel declared that a great commander from Greece would destroy the empire of the Persians.
Upon hearing this, Alexander poured great favor out upon the Jews. Again, the hand of God is moving in the nations. The fourth kingdom, the last empire, arises in the latter days, and now it becomes relevant. The statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream had legs of iron, but feet partly of iron and clay. The fourth kingdom would be the great Roman empire, as strong as iron, which crushes and shatters all things.
B. The last Empire arises in the latter days
The legs of iron would be that empire of Rome during the days of Jesus, when he lived in Israel, later divided into two parts but the empire will be revived again in the latter days as a coalition of nations. Some of the kingdoms in that coalition will be strong, some made of iron. Others will be brittle, made of clay but they will not adhere together. This 10-nation coalition will not adhere together, as iron does not combine with pottery.
Out of this 10-nation confederacy, the reviving of that empire arises one who defeats three of the others and becomes the great ruler in the latter days. We know him as the antichrist, arising out of a revived Roman empire. In fact, there have been rulers in the world who long to be the Caesar again. In fact, the leader of the German forces was called the Kaiser, which is another way of saying the Caesar, and have long desired to be the arising power of the world.
The ultimate intent of the antichrist in the latter days will be world domination and the annihilation of Israel. It’s still the intent of the enemy to destroy Israel. The Ancient of Days, as we read in the book of Daniel, the King of kings will arise in the latter days because the hand of God moves in nations. There’s where our faith must arise for what we are seeing happening in the world today would be very concerning were it not for our faith that believes that behind all the events of the world, the hand of God moves. We know how this story ends. We know who will be the victory. Amen. Let’s give the Lord praise.
II. God’s Hand Moves in Everyday Lives
Then we see in the story of Esther, how the hand of God moves in the events of everyday lives. God’s hand moves in everyday lives. Chapter three, that was a long introduction. In the history of sermons, that is one of the longest introductions ever given. Chapter 3:1. After these events, King Ahasuerus promoted Haman. Haman, when they read the story in Purim, every time his name is mentioned, all the children will shake the noisemakers because he is the mortal enemy in the story. The king promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite.
The fact that he is an Agagite is a very important part of the story. In other words, he is an ancient descendant of King Agag, who was an Amalekite, who were the mortal enemies of Israel all the way back to the days of Moses in the desert.
This animosity and hatred has gone from generation to generation to generation. He is an Agagite. The king advanced him and established his authority over all the princes who were with him and all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for so the king had commanded concerning him. Mordecai neither bowed down nor paid homage.
Then the king’s servants, who were at the king’s gate, said to Mordecai, “Why are you transgressing the king’s command?” It was when they had spoken daily to him, and he would not listen to them that they told Haman to see whether Mordecai’s reason would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew. In other words, I cannot bow, I will not pay homage, for I am a Jew and my God is the King over all kings and Lord over all lords. The God of Israel has said to me that I will bow before no man. I am a Jew.
A. God blesses faithfulness
In verse 5, when Haman saw that Mordecai would neither bow down nor pay homage to him, he was filled with rage but he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai only, for they had told him who the people of Mordecai were. Therefore, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews. Not just one Jew, all the Jews, the people of Mordecai who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus. In the first month which the month, Nisan, in the 12th year of King Ahasuerus, Purim, that is the lot was cast. That’s where we get the name Purim.
Pur, that is, the lot was cast before Haman from day to day, from month to month, until the 12th month, that is, the month Adar was selected. In other words, they cast these lots to determine the day in which the Jews would be destroyed.
They cast lots and the lot fell on the 12th month. Now, it’s important to note that this is happening in the first month, but the lot now is indicating that this will happen in the 12th month. Then further we read the lot is cast for the exact day, and it falls on the 13th day. 12th month, 13th day. When is Purim celebrated every year? Yes, same time of year.
Haman then, verse eight, said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people that is scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all provinces of your kingdom, and their laws are different from the laws of all other people, and they do not observe the king’s laws. It is not in the king’s interest to let them remain. If it is pleasing to the king, let it be decreed that they should be destroyed. I will pay 10,000 talents of silver into the hands of those who carry on the king’s business and I will put it in the king’s treasuries.”
In other words, I will pay for this. Then the king and this is the disaster of all disasters, the king then took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. The king said to Haman, “The silver is yours and the people are yours. Do with them as you please.”
The king’s scribes were summoned on the 13th day of the first month, and it was written just as Haman commanded to the king’s satraps, to the governors who were over each province. In other words, letters were sent to the princes of every people in each province according to a script. Each people, according to his language being written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s signet ring.
Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces to destroy, to kill, to annihilate all Jews, both young and old, women and children, all in one day, the 13th day of the 12th month, which is in the month Adar and to seize their possessions as plunder. Now a copy of the edict to be issued as law in every province was published to all the people so that they should be ready for that day.
Couriers went out impelled by the king’s command while the decree was issued in Susa, the capital, and while the king and Haman sat down to drink, the city of Susa was in confusion. Now, seeing how dire is the situation now against the Jews, the edict is complete annihilation written in the annals of the king, letters were sent, and at the end of chapter three, the letters have gone out.
The king’s edict and command now stands that on the 13th day of the 12th month, every Jew must be killed. Men, women and child, complete annihilation, and because we’re speaking of the great kingdom of Persia, we’re speaking of complete annihilation of Israel, of Jews. There is where we see that God’s hand moves is really the story of God’s amazing power in the everyday lives of people in the story.
Each of the characters in the story have great significance. Was it not God’s hand moving through the events of Esther’s life that brought her to the place of being queen of Persia? Was it not the hand of God moving upon Mordecai to warn Esther not to mention the fact that she’s a Jew, for if it was revealed now that she is a Jew, she would be in mortal trouble.
The power of God is in full display in the story and we see the hand of God moving, not only in the story, when you see the hand of God moving in the story, our faith is increased to believe that the hand of God still moves and is today even now moving in the lives of those who trust and believe that God’s power is still on the move today. Does anybody believe that God’s hand still moves?
Yes, let’s give them praise and glory and honor, but would you notice this in the story? Yes, God’s hand moves. Yes, God’s hand moves in the everyday lives, but please note that God blesses faithfulness. When Mordecai refused to bow and pay homage, he knew it was at great risk, but he was standing in faithfulness to God’s word. Honor like that should be given to God, and God alone.
He was a man of faith, he was a man of God’s Word, he was a faithful man who instructed Esther, he brought Esther into his house, raised her as his own daughter, and very surely instructed her in the ways of God. She was a woman of excellence and great character and faithfulness. Now I’ve seen that because God wants His people to be people who are strong of character and strong of faith.
Standing on promises requires the character of faith. Notice in verses three and four, when the king’s servants who are standing at the gate said, “Why are you transgressing in the king’s command?” He told them That is because he’s a Jew. By his faith, he must not compromise. It’s difficult today. It’s becoming more difficult to stand on the principles of God’s Word. There is pressure today like never before. The world is pressuring believers to hide their faith in a closet and to say nothing and do nothing. There is tremendous pressure today for believers to hide their faith in a closet, say nothing and do nothing. Anybody agree with me?
The culture is strongly pressuring believers now to be quiet, speak nothing, but the eyes of the Lord are searching for men and women today who will take their stand wherever God has placed them, wherever God has set them, the eyes of the Lord are looking for people who are willing to stand and not compromise and stand strong in their faith. There comes a time when your faith must be counted. Anybody agree with me? There comes a time when your faith must be counted, and I submit to you that the times are becoming perilous. It’s time for faith to arise. It’s time for faith to be counted.
I’m reminded of when Nebuchadnezzar in that story, in Daniel 3, made that image of gold and demanded that all men fall down in worship before it. That those three, remember the story, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego took their stand, refused to bow down. Then when they were brought before the king, they were given one final opportunity to bow in worship or they would be cast into the fire and their answer is filled with faith that inspires us still to this day.
For their answer, Daniel 3:16-18, “We do not need to give you an answer concerning this oh, Nebuchadnezzar. If it be so, our God, whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and He will deliver us out of your hand, oh, king, one way or the other, by life or by death, He will save us and deliver us from your hand. Even if he does not, let it mean known to you, oh, king, that we are not going to serve your gods, we are not going to worship the golden image that you have set up. No, we will not bow. No, we will not be silent. No, we will not go into the closet. No, our faith will arise because the sense of urgency is ever before us.”
Mordecai is going to be blessed because of that faithfulness, but he cannot know this. He does not have the Book of Esther, we do. He did not have the answer. He did not know where this story was going to end. You and I, in a similar way, do not know the journey that is before us. We do not know what the journey before us will bring, but we do know that God is with us in the journey and we do know that God blesses those who are faithful, and we do know that God’s eyes are looking for those who will stick their stand in the midst of the troubles of the day.
I love that saying, we do not know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future. This is His story in our lives. This is His story. God and I have a story and we are still walking this journey together. God and you have a story and we know. I love that declaration from Daniel 3. We do know how this story ends. We will be with our Lord and Savior and it will end victoriously. Amen. Let’s give the Lord praise for that. It’s a great truth today.
B. God is with you in the battle
Lastly, we’ll close with this. God is with you in the battle. You must understand the story is about spiritual warfare, but God is with you in the battle. When Haman learned that Mordecai is a Jew and despised not only him but all of the Jews. Again, he’s reigning from India to Ethiopia and this is complete annihilation. It’s a spiritual battle with a long history. This we are reading is the very nature of anti-Semitism. By the way, anti-Semitism, as you know, was the root cause of the Holocaust. In fact, did not Hitler bring what he called the final solution? Solution to what? To the question, what shall we do with these Jews? That was the question that was a raging all throughout Europe and Eastern Europe.
What shall we do with these Jews? They tried putting them be ghettos, they tried restricting them, they tried repressing them, but Hitler’s solution was the final one, the final solution. I submit that which he said was the final solution has been attempted by the enemy all the way back in history and is continuing into the future. We are seeing an arising of anti-Semitism today. In fact, if you go and I know I’m running a little over, when you run, if you go to college campuses today, all over this country and listen to the views of young people today, you would be amazed how many people are arising against Israel in today’s world.
In fact, Revelation 12:1-6, Revelation describes the whole nature of it. It says, “A great sign appeared in heaven. A woman–” we may know this woman is Israel– “A woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet and on her head, a crown of 12 stars. She was with child, the Lord Jesus, and she cried out in pain to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven. Behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and 10 horns.” We read that earlier. “The dragon stood before that woman who was about to give birth so that he might devour the child. She gave birth to a Son, a male child who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.”
As you notice, it continues later. Revelation 12:17, “and the dragon was enraged at the woman–” Israel “–and went off to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” He’s referring to us in that verse that the enemy is not only harboring enmity against Israel, but all of her offspring. The church is born from the Jews. Jesus was a Jew.
We, therefore, are offspring of faith and the enemy is not satisfied to persecute Israel only, but has his eyes on you. Yes, we are in a great spiritual battle, but we know how this story ends and we know that God is with us in the battle. We know that the King of kings and Lord of lords will arise and will crush the nations of the world and that that Kingdom will come and will be established on the Earth. We do know how this story ends in the world and we know how this story ends in our lives as well. For when we take our last breath, we enter into the Kingdom of our Lord and Savior, victorious on that day, but He is with us now in the battle. He is with us now.
Ephesians 6:10-14, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against powers, against forces of darkness, against spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places, and having done everything to stand firm. Stand firm”
That’s the admonition of the Word of God, “Having done everything to stand firm. Stand firm.” That’s the Word of God to us today. Time to arise. It’s time for faith to be counted, time to stand firm. I want to say with Paul, when he wrote in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course, I’ve kept the faith.” Anybody else, I’ve fought the good fight, I’ve finished the course. I want to finish strong. Let’s give the Lord praise. Exactly. Amen.
Lord, we honor you. You’re showing us the understanding that your hand moves. God, how your hand moves upon the nations and we are encouraged in our faith to recount it and to see it that your hand is over the nations of the world. For what we are seeing now unfolding, God, is very concerning, but we know how the story ends. God, we know that you’re with us in the battle and you’re calling every one of us to arise in faith, to be strong, to believe that God is with us on this journey and we know how the story will end. Every one of us stands in the victory of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Set Apart for Revival
Nehemiah 13:15-31
May 13-14, 2023
Nehemiah is the governor there of Israel in Jerusalem. He has been since he’s arrived there.
He was in Babylon serving the king, but he heard that the walls were broken down and the gates burned with fire.
It burdened him so greatly that he went there himself, challenged the people to rise up and build.
In many ways, it’s a picture of revival. He built the wall with his good leadership. He set forth the gates. He put guards at every station because there was a lot of opposition.
Then after building the city and building the walls, he wanted to build the people, to build them spiritually. This was such a wise decision.
What he did was this. He gathered the people all together there in the main square of the city. He had Ezra, the priest, stand before them and read the Word of God.
Now, they had never heard the Word of God, so this was an amazing moment for them. It says that they explained the meaning so that they could understand it.
He wanted them to understand the Word of God. They gathered day after day after day.
His idea, and it was such a wise idea that it was, was to build a foundation spiritually in their lives by using the Word of God to do it.
Now, the same is true today. God uses His Word today to build life and to build faith in those who believe in his name.
I tell you, when you build your life on the word, faith is built, life is built. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ.
That’s why I believe it’s so important to do what we are doing here at Calvary Chapel, which is to teach through the whole of God’s Word from the beginning all the way to the end.
Then when we finish, we’re going to do it again. That is the foundation of a spiritual life. God sends His Word in power and God will transform spiritually when we take God’s Word and write it upon our hearts.
Anybody agree with me? Yes, let’s give the Lord praise. Absolutely right.
Then after this, for many weeks, he did this. Then he gathered the people again in the square. This time, with a different mission, a different idea.
He wanted them to do two things. One, to confess the sins of their fathers, their forefathers, and to declare the glory of God.
They had been hearing about what God had done for Israel, but they’d come to recognize that their national history was impacted by the decisions made by their forefathers.
That those decisions that their fathers and forefathers made along the way brought them to that place of national tragedy where they had been defeated and exiled.
Now, though they’re in Jerusalem, they’re slaves, you might say. They’re under the heel of Persia. He wanted them to see the consequences of those decisions.
If they can only look back and see that the decisions of their fathers and forefathers brought them to this place of national tragedy.
That if they could turn the course around, if they could bring spiritual life, that that would, in fact, bring great prosperity and blessing because the principles of God were revealed to them in the Word and they began to understand it.
“I see it now, all of those decisions that our fathers made brought about the national tragedy that we have today.
If we start making decisions based on the Word of God, then God will bring blessing and prosperity and favor. He will pour out great things upon our people and our nation.”
Now by the way, that’s actually a great lesson for us to understand. If you think about our forefathers of this nation, did they not found the nation on the principles of God’s Word? They really did.
Many of them were believers, and grounded and founded our nation very strongly on the principles of God’s Word.
Then generation by generation– Here’s an example, our national debt. I’m sure that you are following that this country has been growing a debt of tremendous size.
This is the decision by the leaders of a country. The thing is, this is going to have a tremendous impact. The children and the generation that comes after them are going to be saddled with a tremendous debt.
This is the decisions that fathers have passed down to those that come behind them. It’s also true spiritually that when we turn our back away from the Lord, is our nation not walking away from God?
Do we not see that this nation is growing weaker and weaker as the country is walking farther and farther away from God? Anybody agree with me? Yes, absolutely.
Let’s give Him praise for His truth will reign in our nation when there is revival. Amen? That’s what we must pray for. Let’s give the Lord praise for that. Exactly right.
After recounting all of that sins of their fathers and declaring that God’s glory was still for them, then Nehemiah had the leaders sign a document, put their names on this document by which they would commit to the Word of God.
They were attaching themselves to the Word of God saying, “We commit ourselves to doing these things.” Then Nehemiah had to leave.
He went back to Babylon, report back to the king as he said that he would. While he was gone, then things began to fall apart almost immediately. That’s where we pick up our story here in Chapter 13.
When he returned to Jerusalem, he discovered that even though they had signed that document and committed themselves to the Word of God, that they were reverting and sliding back toward the very things that had led their fathers down the road of destruction.
He immediately began to set them back on the course to bring them back to revival. What concerned Nehemiah the most is what we’re going to look at here, starting in verse 15.
Those are the things that make them most like the world. God wanted His people set apart unto himself for his glory.
He wanted his people to find the nearness of God would be their blessing and their good. It is in the shadow of the Almighty where souls find revival.
That’s where they would experience that work of God that is so beautiful that God wants to do. Let’s read it. Again, he’s just coming back now from Jerusalem, and he’s correcting the course, for they have fallen back.
Notice in 13:15. “In those days, I saw in Judah some who were treading wine presses on the Sabbath.” We’re going to, of course, look at the fact that God called them to be separate from the nations, to be distinct.
God gave to Israel the Sabbath day to be distinct, that they would be separate and be different. Yet, he says, “They’re treading wine presses on the Sabbath.
They’re bringing in sacks of grain and loading them on donkeys as well as wine and grapes and figs and all kinds of loads.
They brought them into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I admonished them on the day that they sold food.
Also, there were some men from Tyre or Tyre. This is up in the north by the coast there. They were living there.
They were importing fish and all kinds of merchandise and sold them to the sons of Judah on the Sabbath, even in Jerusalem.
Then I reprimanded the nobles of Judah. I said, “What is this evil thing that you are doing by profaning the Sabbath day?
Did not our fathers do that same thing so that our God brought on us and on our city all of this trouble? Yet you are adding to the wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”
Then it came about that just as it grew dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, that I commanded that the doors should be shut and that they should not open them until after the Sabbath.
Then I stationed some of my servants at the gates, that no load should enter on the Sabbath day.
Now, once or twice, traders and merchants of every kind of merchandise would spend the night outside of Jerusalem.
I warned them. I said to them, “Why do you spend the night in front of the wall? If you do it again, I will use force against you.”
From that time on, they did not come out on the Sabbath. I commanded them, the Levites, that they should purify themselves and come as gatekeepers to purify and sanctify the Sabbath day.
For this also, remember me, oh my God, and have compassion on me according to the greatness of your loving kindness.
Again, this is his journal, you might say, writing out. Then he says, “Oh, God, bless me. I’m doing this for your name.”
Then, verse 23. Another issue arose. In those days, I also saw that the Jews had married women from Ashdod there at Gaza, today the Philistines. From Ammon and Moab,
Their children, half of them spoke the language of Ashdod. None of them spoke the language of Judah, but the language of his own people.
I contended with them. I cursed them. I struck some of them and pulled out their hair. I made them swear by God you will not give your daughters to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.
Did not Solomon, King of Israel, sin regarding these things? Yet among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was loved by God.
God made him king over Israel. Nevertheless, those foreign women caused even him to sin. Do we then hear about you that you have committed all this great evil by acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women?
Even some of the sons of Joiada, of the son of Eliashib, the High Priest, was the son in law to Sambalib, the Horanite. I drove him away from me.
Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.
Then thus I purified them from everything foreign and appointed duties for the priests and the Levites, each to his task.
I arranged for the supply of wood and appointed times and for the first fruits. Oh, remember me, oh my God, for good. I’ve done it all for your name, in other words.
All right. These are the verses I want us to look at and understand some principles here to apply to our lives.
Starting from this perspective. Come away, my beloved. This is, of course, the words that we hear out of the Song of Solomon. It is a picture of God’s heart toward his people.
I. “Come away My Beloved”
He wants his people to come away from the kingdom of the world and be distinct unto Him. That’s why he says it that way. Come away.
It’s a picture of God saying, “Come away from that because you are my beloved. I love you.” Therefore, he says, “God has called you out of the world and set you apart for his glory, but also for your glory.”
This is an interesting thing. Notice what David wrote in Psalm 3:3, “But you, O Lord, are a shield about me.
You are my glory, and you are the one who lifts my head.”
God, if there’s any glory in my life, any acclaim, any fame at all, it’s you. That’s what makes you distinct and different from the world.
It’s actually true today. It’s what makes you distinct and different from the world. God wants you to be different, distinct. God has placed His glory on your life.
God has placed His name upon you. His glory is therefore your glory. He’s given His glory to you. He’s placed His name upon you. You carry God’s name.
What an interesting thought is that. You carry God’s name. God has written his name upon you. You’re distinct. You’re different.
You’re called out and he wrote His name. God’s name is powerful. Notice Revelation 3:12. “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God and he will not go out from it anymore.
I will write on Him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God. I will write my new name upon him.”
Then there’s this in Revelation 14:1, “Then I looked. And behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with him, 144,000.”
These are Jewish Messianic believers in Christ who are witnesses for the Lord Jesus in the Tribulation.
He says, “I looked, and behold, standing with the Lamb were these 144,000, having his name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.”
God will write his name and the name of His Father on their foreheads. By the way, isn’t that an interesting thing?
Doesn’t that remind you of the fact that during the Tribulation, or rather during the latter days, that the Antichrist will require people to have a mark of the beast either on the back of their hand or upon their forehead, which is the number of his name, the name of the Antichrist?
You see how the enemy uses those things of God as a way of himself trying to gather power unto his name? See, the name of the Lord is powerful.
He writes his name upon your life. You believe it? Let’s give the Lord praise.
When we adopted our boys from Russia, in Russia, they have a tradition. That is that the children all have the father’s name as their middle name.
Even today, I think it’s still the tradition. All of the children, whether they’re boys or girls, all carry the father’s name as their middle name.
If you want to give someone an address, you want to speak to them respectfully, then you say his name and His Father’s name together.
There’s this. I thought this is actually beautiful. When we adopted our boys, we changed our names so that my name is now their middle name.
Alexander Richard Jones. Doesn’t that sound powerful? Alexander Richard Jones. Michael Richard Jones. I just love the picture of that.
When you receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, God writes his name upon your life. You belong to Him. You are distinct. You’re separate. You’re called out.
You’re now brought into the Kingdom of God. You’re brought into a relationship. Now you are adopted as sons and daughters. You have a name. God places his name on your life.
By the way, one of the Ten Commandments is that you are not to take God’s name in vain. You no doubt have heard that.
One of the 10. Don’t take God’s name in vain. Now, a lot of times when people hear that, they think it means that you shouldn’t use God’s name as a cuss word. Well, that’s true, too.
I suggest to you that it’s much, much deeper than that. It is true. You should not ever use God’s name in such a disrespectful way.
By the way, why do people do that? You know why I think they do that? Because they’re intimidated by that name.
That name is a powerful name. They’re intimidated by that name. They try to make that name common by making a cuss word.
Would you notice that they don’t use that of other gods? They don’t say they hit their thumb with the hammer and they don’t say, “Oh, Buddha.” They don’t do that. No.
The Name of God is the powerful name. That’s the name that they’re intimidated by. That’s the name that they’re afraid of. Amen?
Yes. Let’s give Him praise. I suggest you– Yes, that’s true. You ought not to use God’s name that way, but it’s much deeper than that.
Do not take God’s name in vain means do not carry God’s name. That’s literally what it means. Don’t carry his name in vain. Empty.
Don’t carry his name with emptiness. No, you carry his name. If God’s name is on your life, then you carry that name with honor. It is something of honor.
God’s name is written on your life. Is that not a position of honor? You’re in the kingdom of God now. He’s adopted you as a son or as a daughter.
It is an honorable thing to have God’s name written on your life. Would you agree with me? It’s an honorable. It’s a privilege to have God’s name written on your life. Carry that name with honor.
That’s why he says, don’t carry that name in vain. See, he’s calling you to be distinct and separate unto Himself.
Then He gave to Israel– An aspect of that also is found in the Christian walk. That God gave them a day to be set apart, to be different, for the restoring of the soul.
A. God restores the soul
There is a reason for the Sabbath day, and that is for the restoring. God restores the soul. He wants this day to be set aside for the restoring of the soul.
What is interesting, they had already signed this document attaching themselves saying, we will do what God’s Word says.
Verse 15, “I saw in Judah some who were treading wine presses on this Sabbath, bringing in sacks of grain, leading them on donkeys.”
God never meant the Sabbath to be a burden. God wanted it to be a day set apart for the restoring of the soul, for the renewing of a relationship to God that your soul might find rest.
In so doing, God, when He restores your soul, He is sharing His glory. He’s adding to your soul His very presence to increase. He’s restoring the soul.
Notice this in Isaiah 58:13-14, “If you call the Sabbath a delight and you honor it, then you will delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Isn’t that a good word right there? It’s such a promise. Look, I want the Sabbath to be a delight. Now, the Jewish leaders had made it a burden, and they started to create all kinds of rules.
They wanted to judge according to these rules and these burdens, whether or not you were right with God by how well you adhere to these rules.
They broke them up into 39 rules. Each of the 39 rules have 39 rules. They added to them burden upon burden upon burden.
That’s not what God mean. He wanted it for a day of restoring the soul. Even today, when you go to Israel, they have Sabbath elevators.
A Sabbath elevator is an elevator that stops on every floor, so that you don’t have to push a button. I just don’t think that’s what God meant when he established the Sabbath day. Anybody agree with me?
I remember Matthew and I were in Israel with some pastors. We were told that the Sabbath was coming. We were told, “Oh, by the way, we will not have the bus. We will be walking everywhere we go because it’s the Sabbath.”
I said, “Well, why can’t we not have the bus?” There’s a rabbinical law that says you cannot start a vehicle because that’s starting a fire.
Each of the spark plugs make fire, okay? We can do that. We are going to walk all day. I said, “Wait, wait, wait.”
I also read that you’re only allowed to walk so far on the Sabbath thing. The leader of the guide said, “Oh, that’s outside the city.” Wait, I didn’t read that. No, that’s the rabbinical interpretation.
Outside the city, you can only walk so far, but inside the city, you can walk. I said, “We’re going to walk miles upon miles tomorrow because it’s the Sabbath, and this is because we’re not supposed to work.” I just don’t think that’s what God meant. Anybody agree with me?
When the Pharisees saw the disciples as they were making their way through a field, picking some of the heads of grain, they accused them of doing that which is not lawful in the Sabbath.
Jesus rebuked them in return. Mark 2:27-28. Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.” It was made for men to serve, to bring something into your life that’s good. A restoring of the soul.
The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. The leaders of Israel turned it into a crushing burden and defined relationship to God according to whether people could carry that burden.
Jesus rebuked them for it. Notice in Matthew 23:4, they tie up heavy burdens and lay on them men’s shoulders but they themselves are unwilling to move with much as a finger.
B. Find rest for your soul
That burden, that’s not what God wanted. God wanted the restoring of the soul. It’s to find rest. God wants to rest. Find rest for your soul because life is hard.
Life is difficult. Life is filled with troubles. Life is filled with burdens. The daily stuff of life is burdensome. Anybody understand what I’m saying?
The soul is easily wearied by all of the trials and all of the troubles. Trying to pay the bills, trying to handle this thing and that and thing, and this pressure and that trouble.
The soul can be wearied by all of the troubles and the trials of life. If you’re not careful, your faith can turn into old religion.
That’s the caution. If you’re not careful, your faith can turn into old religion. There is an old song that captures that very well.
Perhaps some of you remember an artist by the name of Keith Green, one of my favorites back in the day.
He wrote a song called My Eyes Are Dry.
He captured the danger of old religion. Be careful. Old religion. The words go like this, “My eyes are dry, my faith is old. My heart is hard. My prayers are cold.
Oh, I know how I ought to be, alive to you and dead to me, but what can be done for an old heart like mine? Soften it up with oil and wine.
The oil is you, your spirit of love. Please wash me anew in the wine of your blood.” Wash me anew. It’s a day of reviving.
That’s why God gave it for a day of reviving, that you might experience that beautiful work of God. When you wait.
Just draw near into the penance of the living God and wait. God is in this place. God is moving in this Word. God is sending his spirit.
God is in this place. God is refreshing because He sends his Word in power. You’re dwelling in the shadow of the Almighty.
You’ve come to be refreshed in God’s Word and God’s spirit and God’s life will refresh. God will bring rest to the weary.
Isaiah 40, “It is He who gives strength to the weary. And to Him who lacks might, He increases power.” Those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength.
They will mount up with wings like eagles and they will run and not get tired and they will walk and not faint. You’ve come to wait and God will meet you in this place.
II. God Calls You a Holy People
Then there’s this– back to our study in Nehemiah. God calls you a holy people. The next section, as He’s bringing that correcting to the course, God calls you a holy people.
Nehemiah corrected the people for they had intermarried. In the book of Ezra, they come and they say, the holy people have intermarried with the nations around them.
What a great way of saying it. The holy people of God have intermarried. Now, interestingly, notice in then verse 25, Nehemiah responds to this when he recognized it.
He says, “I contended with them and cursed them and struck some of them and pulled out their hair.” Now, do you remember when I said that Nehemiah was a really great leader?
Yes. This part here, not so much. This part is not recommended. Do not do this at home or anywhere else for that matter, because that’s not the way that God wants us to be in our modern walk with Christ.
Anybody agree with me? That is not the example to follow there. I just thought I would bring that out in case somebody said, “Well, Nehemiah did it.”
Interestingly, when Ezra the priest heard that they had intermarried with the worldly nations, he also had a strong reaction.
This is Nehemiah 9:3, “When I heard this matter, I tore my robe and pulled some of the hair from my beard and sat down appalled. That’s actually Ezra 9:3.
Why was this such an important issue to God? Why was this so important? They had committed to the Word of God. The Word of God said that they ought not to intermarry with the nations around them.
A. God loves you
Why was this so important? I submit that it was important because God loves you. God loves them. God loves you.
God didn’t want them to intermarry with the peoples of the lands because He knew what it would do to their soul.
See, here’s my point. Marriage is the closest, most intimate of all relationships. It is impossible not to be influenced by a spouse. Intermarriage would draw them away from God.
Nehemiah brought up Solomon. It says in 1 King 11:1-2 that King Solomon loved many foreign women from the nations.
Concerning which the Lord had said to the sons of Israel, “You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods.”
Yet Solomon held fast to these in love. That was the example that he brings up. Even Solomon faltered and it influenced him.
We saw it. Solomon did. He collected foreign women. He had a thing for foreign women. He collected foreign women like some collect foreign cars.
He had a thing for foreign women. It brought his heart away from the Lord. See, God is very concerned about the condition of your soul because God knows what you do not know.
See, God knows how ugly the world is. God knows how poisonous the world is to your soul. God knows how much it will hurt and destroy, but God loves you.
He wants you to have life and life to the full. God wants you to have a spiritual life that is overflowing with the glory of God.
He wants to keep you from that which will steal and kill and destroy life. See, God sees what you do not see. God sees sin as it is.
In fact, let me give you a verse that is one of the most powerful verses I know in this regard. This is Luke 16:15.
What a powerful word. Jesus says, “That which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.” This is a deep understanding.
If we could only grasp the meaning of that statement, it would transform your soul. For what the world calls beautiful, God calls detestable because God sees it for what it is.
God knows what we do not know. God knows how dangerous, how poisonous, how hurtful it is to the soul. It is poison to the soul.
When we were in Africa some years ago, we were in the DRC, the Congo in Kinshasa. We were speaking at a pastor’s conference and in various different churches.
Then on our grand last gathering Sunday morning, they gathered all of the churches together for one big church gathering.
As we were driving there, I saw this creek. The creek, it’s turned into garbage. Everybody throws everything in it. They use it for a toilet.
It’s just tragedy that a creek would be just so ugly. I’m giving this message and I said, “You know this creek?” They all knew the creek very well.
I said, “You know this creek? They said, “Yes, yes.” I said, “Would anybody drink this water?” Right away you go. That’s what they did. “No.”
In Africa, they’re very demonstrative. They all shouted together, “No.” Thank you. Then I said, “Well, what if we maybe took some of that water and put some sugar in it?”
It’s sweet. It’s sweet to the taste. “Now, would you drink it?” They all shouted, “No.” “Why not?” Here’s the question. Why not?
Because you know what’s in it. That’s why you won’t drink it. Because you know what’s in it. That’s what God says. “I know what’s in it.”
This thing, this poison, this thing, this thing that you think is beautiful, I know what’s in it. I know the root of it.
I know the background of it. I know the demonic nature of it. You think it’s sweet. I think it’s poison. God is bold.
God is bold to proclaim sin for what it is. Why is God so bold? He loves you. He knows that people are holding on to cheap imitations.
They’re drinking the water from the creek just because it’s sweet. God has something far more glorious for you than that. That’s why he’s so bold.
God says, “I want you to be set apart. Set apart for glory.” You have no idea. God wants you to do something and you have no idea.
Oh, in fact, 1st Corinthians 2:9, “Things which eye has not seen, things which ear has not heard and which have not even entered into the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.”
B. Holiness is received and fills the soul
Oh, you have no idea what God wants to do. He wants to bless your life. Yes, let’s give him praise. Absolutely right.
He says, “I don’t want you to do that because I call you a holy people.” That’s a great word, “holiness.” “I call you holy,” He says. Holiness is received. It’s something you receive.
You’re not born holy. There’s not a person born holy. God called Israel a holy people.
Deuteronomy 7:6, “For you are a holy people to the Lord, your God. He has chosen you to be a people of his own possession.”
Out of all the peoples that are on the face of the earth, He called Israel to be His chosen people. Separate, Called out. Distinct.
By the way, does God say something similar to you? Yes, we know what He said to Israel. What does He say to you? I submit that He says something very similar.
Notice 1st Peter 2:9, “You–” Now, He’s speaking to you. He’s speaking to the Church that he calls– By the way, he calls the Church the Bride of Christ. Isn’t that a beautiful description?
1st Peter 2:9, “You–” speaking to the church. “You are a chosen race. You are a royal priesthood. You are a holy nation.
You are a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness. He called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
Walk in the light. Be distinct. Come out. Come away. Now, you probably don’t think of yourself as a royal priesthood or a holy person. Most people don’t.
Why? Why do people not think? Well, because they’re very much aware of their sin. They cannot comprehend the idea that they’re holy.
May I submit it this way. God has written His name. God has given you His Holy Spirit. You carry His name, you carry His holiness, and you carry His glory. He’s given it to you.
Holiness is something you receive. You cannot become holy by your own efforts. No. Every one of us was born in the nature and condition of man. Romans 3:9-12.
We’ve already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin. As it is written, there is none a righteous. Not even one.
There is none who understands. All that have turned aside. Together, they become useless. There is none who does good. There is not even one.
That is the nature of man. That is the nature in which each person is born, but God gives to you a gift. I write my name on your life. I brought you unto myself. I write my name.
C. Holiness is beautiful
“You carry my Name,” He says. “You carry my glory. You carry my holiness.” I submit that holiness is beautiful. Holiness is beautiful.
If a pastor gave a message and announced to everybody, “I’m going to give a message on holiness,” I think a lot of people would go, “Oh boy, here we go. I don’t know if I want to hear a message on holiness.”
I submit that holiness is beautiful. When God calls you a holy people, this is not just a theological thing. It’s a transforming power.
You live by more than theological truths. You live by transforming power. Many cannot comprehend or grasp the depths of this truth, but please dive deep into misunderstanding.
It would transform you if you could only understand who God says that you are. I called you out, I called you away, I called you out of that, and then I wrote my name on your life.
I called you my own child. He says, “Child, you’re mine.” I’ve written my name on your life. You carry my holiness, you carry my glory.”
When God calls you holy, He’s calling you to live according to that which He gave to you. When God calls you, He’s calling you to something beautiful.
Holiness is beautiful on the soul. Holiness is who God is. It’s His nature. Every aspect of God’s nature is an aspect of His holiness.
I submit that every aspect of God is beautiful. You carry my holiness, He says. God is love, God is joy, peace, patient.
God is forgiving, God is kind, God is gracious, God is compassionate, God is forbearing. All of these things are beautiful and I give them all to you.
The more God fills your soul, the more your soul is made beautiful. The more that God fills your soul, the more your soul is made beautiful.
God calls you to be separate. God calls you to be distinct. God calls you to be His. You have no idea. He says, “What I want to do in your life. I want to do something you have no idea.”
He says, “I want you to desire more. I’ve written my name. I give it to you, and it’s beautiful.”
Let’s pray. Father, we love you, we honor you. We thank you for what we see in your words such powerful truths such as this.
That you’ve called us out of the world to be distinct, to be different. That you would write your name upon our lives, that you would allow us to carry your name.
You’ve given us your glory, you’ve allowed us to walk in that, to carry that glory. You’ve given us holiness. How beautiful is that, that we would walk in the beauty of holiness?
Oh, Church, how many want to walk in the fullness of God? I’ve called you out. I called you mine. I want to do something.
You have no idea. Oh, I want to bless. No eye has seen, no ear has heard what I want to do.
Church, how many today would say, “Lord, here I am. Do that in me. Do that in me, Lord. I want the fullness of that.
You called me out. You’ve called me to be distinct, different, you wrote your name. I want to walk in the honor of that name.”
That’s a glorious name, that’s a beautiful name, that’s a powerful name. I want to walk in the honor and the glory of that name. Church, how many want to say that to the Lord?
Would you just raise your hand as a way of saying that as a declaration to the Lord? I want to walk in the honor of that name that you’ve written on my life. I want to walk in the honor of that name.
Father, we love you. We thank you, and pray that you would just pour life, and the beauty, the beauty of your presence. Make it known to us now in Jesus’ name.
Declaring the Glory
Nehemiah 9:12-21
May 6-7, 2023
It’s been several weeks, so I thought maybe we should build the background to the story. Nehemiah served the king of Persia as the cupbearer. He was his immediate servant there in Babylon. This was, of course, during the time when Israel, after they were defeated, you remember the story, they were exiled there in Babylon.
Well, one day a friend of his returned from visiting Jerusalem and, of course, he inquired about what’s happening in the city. His friend gave him a report of tremendous discouragement. The people are distressed, the walls are broken down, the gates are burned with fire, and the people are heavily oppressed.
Jeremiah, when he heard this, it just broke his heart. Hebrews all over the world have a heart for that city, Yerushalayim. “Oh, that place where God has placed His name.” He wept and he mourned and he prayed and he fasted. Would God maybe allow him to be part of doing something about this? He asked the king for permission, for leave to go, and the king granted. He went to Jerusalem and really stirred up to people. “Rise up, people. We got to build this thing.”
Nehemiah became their governor and their leader and, as I mentioned, he had the principles of leadership. Many have studied, written books about it. As he led them through, navigating through opposition without and within, leading them to rebuild the walls, put forth the gains, again, put guards in their place. Then not only did he want to build back the city and the walls, but now he wants to build the people, needs to build the people spiritually.
He gathered them all at the main square and then he had Ezra, the priest, stand on the platform to read to them the word of God. They had never heard the word of God ever, ever in their lives. He stood there, took the scroll of the book, and opened it, and the people arose on their feet. He began, “Bless the Lord, people,” and then he read.
Well, now they’re hearing the word of God for the first time, and they’re hearing about the promises of God and how His favor was upon them, and no glory upon Israel through God’s presence and the temple, and the grandeur of what they had. They started to weep when they realized, oh, that they once had and now lost it all. They’re weeping and their mourning.
Nehemiah stands up and the rest of the leaders, “No, no, this is not the time to weep. This is the time to rejoice for the joy of the Lord is our strength.” He gave them one of the principles of revival. See, they were weeping over all that they had lost. “Oh, once we had so much. Oh, we were once such a great people that God had blessed with His glory. We want it back. We want it back. We want our lives back.”
Well, as I said, when we were studying those chapters, you don’t get your life back. You get your life forwards. The path is in front of you. Life is in front of you. You cannot change the past, but you can rejoice in what God has in store for you in the future. Nehemiah, having said that, dismissed the people that day and he said, “Go and eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, give to those who have nothing prepared. We are going to rejoice, people, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
They went home and they rejoiced as their families gathered. Then the next day, they came to hear the word of God again. Day after day after day, the word of God was read to them. That brings us now to Nehemiah 9, “For on the 24th day of that month, he assembled them all again, but this time, with a very different purpose in mind.” It says that, “For a fourth of the day, they read from the book of the law of God, but then for another fourth of the day, they confess the sins of their fathers, the iniquities of their forefathers, and they worshiped the Almighty God.”
Both parts of revival are contained there. They confess the sins of their fathers and forefathers and they worship God. The elements and the principles of revival are there for us to take hold of today. Let’s look at it. We’re in chapter nine. We’re picking it up in the middle of this declaration of glory.
I. Remember His Wondrous Deeds
Again, we look at the other verses around this Wednesday. They start this amazing speech going all the way back where God revealed His wonderful deeds to them. All the way back to creation, when He called Abram and called him Abraham, the father of nations, and then how He rescued them from Egypt and led them to the desert, over and over, declaring the wonderful deeds God did.
Now, we pick it up in the middle of that speech in verse 15. “For you provided bread from heaven to them for their hunger, see the wonderful ways that you bless your people. You brought forth water, miraculous provision of water there in the desert from Iraq for them, for their thirst, and then you told them to enter in to possess that land, that land which you sworn to give to them,” but verse 16, see, those were all declaring the glory, but verse 16 is the confession of sin.
“But they, our fathers, acted arrogantly, they became stubborn,” that means stiff decked, “and they would not listen to your command. No, they refused to listen and they did not remember the wondrous deeds which you performed among them. No, they became stubborn and so they appointed a leader to return them to their slavery in Egypt.”
Now, we go back to the declaring of the glory. “But you are a God of forgiveness. You are gracious and you are compassionate. You are slow to anger, abounding in loving kindness, so you did not forsake them even though they did that.” In fact, verse 18, “Even when they made for themselves a calf of molten metal,” remember that part when Moses was up on the mountain, those 40 days, they didn’t know what happened to him so they said to Aaron, “Make us a God.” He took their jewelry and fashioned a calf. Remember the story?
“Even then when they made for themselves a calf of molten metal, and then they said, ‘This is your God who brought you up from Egypt, people,’ and they committed such blasphemies. Even then you and your great compassion, you did not forsake them there in the wilderness, nor that pillar of cloud did not leave them by day to guide them on their way, nor the pillar of fire by night didn’t leave them to light the way before them in which they were to go. No. You didn’t forsake them. No. You gave them your good spirit.”
Verse 20, “To instruct them, even though they were so rebellious and hard-hearted, you didn’t give up. You poured your favor. That manna, you did not withhold from their mouth. You gave them water for their thirst, even in spite of their hearts. Indeed,” verse 21, “for 40 years you provided for them in the wilderness and they were not in want. Their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell for 40 years. They wore the same clothes for 40 years and they never wore out,” and they never went out of fashion, I should say too, and their feet did not swell.
Have you ever been in the desert? By the time the afternoon comes, your feet are swollen, your hands are swollen, and no, didn’t happen. The miraculous favor of God, the wonders deeds, that’s what they’re declaring. These are the verses I want us to look at. Of course, we’ll look at the verses around on Wednesday, but so much to take hold of, starting with this.
Remember His wondrous deeds. It’s right for them. That’s why Nehemiah was recounting all the way from the beginning, recounting the wonderful deeds, but he is also wanting them to confess their sins. See also in this, “Our fathers acted arrogantly, became stubborn, would not listen. No, they did not remember those wonderful deeds that you performed.”
See, those who remember what God has done are always thankful. Always thankful. Never forget. You and I also have a story. God has proven Himself and done wonderful things I know in my life. God and I have a story, and God is proving Himself to me over and over and over. I’ll never forget what God took me out of and established something in my life. He poured his favor. He became my Father. He demonstrated his hand.
God and I, we have a story together, and he’s not done yet. Do you have a story? Is God proving himself to you? Amen. Never forget. That’s what He says. Never forget because creative remembering is very dangerous. When you think back and you start getting really creative in how you remember, that’s very dangerous. That’s why Nehemiah wanted them to be reminded of God’s wonderful deeds.
A. God has been your daily bread
Notice verse 15, God has been your daily bread. You provided bread from heaven. Manna was God’s miraculous daily provision. How do you feed 2 million plus people in the desert wasteland? God did it miraculously by manna, which fell like dew every morning, and they could go out to the desert and harvest enough for that day.
It described as white, and they can make bread out of it or whatever. It was sweet. Very tasty. It’s described as it tasted like coriander seed with honey. In other words, it tasted like Krispy Kreme donuts, but absolutely nutritious. This is seeing them for 14 years. Completely nutritious, wonderful in taste, but even with that miraculous provision, they grew discontent. They started to complain about not having meat.
Then they got creative on how they remembered their time in Egypt. Nehemiah 11:5-6, “Oh, we remember. Oh, we remember the fish that we used to eat free in Egypt. Oh, the good old days when we were in Egypt. Don’t you remember the good old days? You know when we were in Egypt, then we had all that fish, free. Oh, the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic. Oh, but now, our appetite’s gone. There’s nothing at all the look at except this manna.”
That’s what I call creative remembering. Man, they made it sound like there was a veritable home buffet back there in Egypt. Oh, those were the good old days. No, that’s not the way it was at all. It wasn’t roses and light. Did they forget the tears? The bitterness and slavery? Did they forget the oppression? Did they forget the hardship?
In fact, God gave to them the Passover, and as part of the Passover, that meal, that Passover meal included that they were to eat herbs, bitter herbs, dipped in salt water, as a reminder of those bitter tears, the hardships, the oppression. Never forget it, and so every year and Passover, as part of the Passover meal, take the bitter herbs, dip them in salt water, and eat them. Then you’ll always remember.
See, creative remembering is very dangerous. Sometimes people do that today. Oh, don’t you remember the good old days when we were in the world? The parties we used to have. Oh, we were just so crazy, it was just so fun. Oh, the escapades we did when we were drunk. Oh, don’t you remember the good old days? What? Did you forget the emptiness, the anguish, the soul that was empty, lonely, desolate? Did you forget? See, creative remembering is dangerous. That’s why Nehemiah had them remember fresh and anew the wondrous deeds that God had done.
Nehemiah also had them confessing the sins of their fathers so that they remember that as well. Notice Psalm 106:13-15, they soon forgot his works. They did not wait for his counsel. No, they lusted exceedingly in the wilderness. “We want meat.” They tested God there in the desert, and He gave them their request but sent leanness into their soul. Ah, there’s an interesting scene then unfolded. They were grumbling for meat. “We’re of this manna,” and so God gave them over to their desire.
He gave them meat, He gave them quail. Not just for one day, or two days, or five days, or seven. No, He gave them quail for 30 days so much, and they went after it was such greed, and they ate with greediness that it came out their noses. Now, you say, “Wait, how do you get quail to come out your nose?” Well, you eat so greedily that you’ve throw it up, and you’re snorting it out your nose.
Some ate so greedily that the lord struck them. God gave them their desire, but leanness of soul, see, this is so important because he’s really helping us to recognize that the soul is the most important aspect of who you are. Not the body, not the flesh. These old flesh things, we’re going to leave these things behind. No, that soul, that is internal. That is the most important part of who you are. Be very thoughtful about the soul. He gave that what they were long for. They lusted, their flesh wanted, “Me want meat.”
He gave them so much that they were snorting out their nose, they got sick of it. That was the idea. You’re going to get sick of it. God’s teaching them the lesson. Reminds me of the story of the farmer whose dog killed the chickens. Eat chickens. He had a thing, an appetite for chickens. One day, the farmer took one of those dead chickens and tied it around his neck. There it sat for days upon days upon days, rotting, and then finally, he took it off, and that dog never touched chickens again.
B. The nature of man is quite ugly
God wants the flesh to learn that lesson. See, at first, people think they got this thing under control. Oh, I got it. I got it. I can control this thing. Then the next thing you know, they’re partners with the thing, and then the next thing you know, they’re slaves to the thing. See, He wants him to remember because the nature of man, that’s what he’s highlighting, the sins of their fathers, the nature of man is quite ugly.
Verse 16, “But they, our fathers, acted arrogantly. They became stubborn and would not listen to your command. They refuse to listen, so they became stubborn and appointed a leader to return them back to their slavery. They had a leader.” He’s referring to that Korah, that leader who led Israel in open rebellion. Korah, along with Dathan, Abiram, and 250 other leaders, this was a swell against Moses.
They did this, really, a large group of people, wanting to go back to Egypt, wanting to go back to slavery, confronted Moses. “You have gone far enough. Who do you think you are,” basically. For all the congregation or holy, every one of them. The Lord is in their midst. “Why do you exalt yourself above the assembly of the Lord? Who do you think you are? No, we ought to be leaders.”
I tell you what, if they took a vote that day, Moses would have been voted out. In fact, it was the intervening hand of God that saved Moses. When Moses heard that, he wept. He knew what this meant. He knew where it would lead because the ugly of man was coming out. See, that is the condition in which all of us were born. We were born in that condition. Everyone. Every single one was born in that.
Jeremiah 17:9-10, he said, “The heart is deceitful above all things and is desperately wicked.” Who can know it? This is the condition in which everyone is born. “But I, the Lord, searched the heart and test the mind.” See, the root of man, the condition in which man is born, is quite ugly. Something must change for the root, the nature of man has caused so many troubles. When that comes out, it brings forth the nature of the trouble.
I was thinking of an illustration, a funny one actually, a number of years ago, a group from another church asked if they could tour our building and get some ideas and whatnot, and they said, “Oh, yes, I would love to do that.” I met them and we’re going around the building and whatnot. At one point, a person in their group said, “I have a question. I see that you have signs that say, ‘Please, no coffee in the sanctuary’. My question is, how do you enforce that?”
I said, “We don’t.” We don’t enforce it. Most people will honor it, but I know when someone missing out on hearing the word of God over a cup of coffee, and that’s when he got serious. Why in the world would you make a rule and then not enforce it?” I said, “Because, as they looked him in the eye, because some people are confrontational by nature, and those are the ones who need the word of God most.” Amen. All of the story’s not over. Yes, exactly.
A few weeks later, I ran into their pastor and I said, “What was up with that guy?” He said, “Oh, you have no idea what you started.” “What’d I do?” He said, “Look, the next Sunday, I’m at the back of the sanctuary. I’m greeting people that you’re coming in.” He walked by me with a cup of coffee like this. Oh, yes, yes. Then he sat right there in the front row, sipping the cup of coffee the whole time. I said, “I am so sorry.” He said, “Oh, no, it’s worse. He’s one of my elders.”
I shouldn’t laugh. The nature of man, that’s what it is. It’s the nature of man revealed. That’s why Nehemiah wanted them to confess the sins of their fathers to remember, but also to see the wondrous deeds of God. The contrast could not be more stark, but he wants him to see the wonderful deeds of God that they would remember, but also, and this is so important for us to see, to partake us. See, God wants you to partake and live by God’s divine nature.
II. Partake and Live by God’s Divine Nature
See, over and over in this declaration of glory, God’s divine nature is revealed. Notice verse 17, “You are a God of forgiveness.” That is the divine nature. You are gracious and compassionate. Yes, that’s the divine nature. You are slow to anger, abounding in loving kindness. Yes, that’s the nature of God’s heart. That’s why he said you did not forsake them. See, the contrast between the nature of man and the divine nature could not be more stark.
Now, if we are born in the condition and nature of man and all of its ugliness, something must change. Something must happen, for if nothing changes, nothing happens, and you continue in the condition of man in which you were born, it will bring forth in your life those things which are ugly. You will bury the fruit of it, of that nature of which you will mourn. Something must change. That’s God’s divine nature in you.
A. God’s divine nature is beautiful on the soul
See, God wants you to partake of that nature. That is the transforming power of God, for God’s divine nature is beautiful on your soul. Nehemiah wanted them to remember everything that God had done, and it’s for us to remember as well. Paul wrote this in 1 Corinthians 10:6-11. He says, “These things happened to them, to Israel, as examples for us that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.” Then says it again, “These things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction.”
Now, in the New Testament, Peter thinks that, and then adds greatly, deepens it tremendously when he says that God wants more than to instruct. God wants to transform. How? By having us partake of His divine nature. Let me give you the verses in 2 Peter 1:3-9. Please highlight that chapter, dog-ear it, memorize it, it’s one of the most powerful understandings of the transforming power of God.
2 Peter 1, “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, and He is granted to us His precious and magnificent promises so that by them, you may become partakers of the divine nature.” Right there it is. What does it mean to become partakers of the divine nature? It does not mean that you become the Gods. No. It means that His divine nature is now resident in your life.
See, here’s what I mean. When you receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in your life, when you trust Him for forgiveness of sin, He pays the price for it all on the cross, but you must partake of it. See, He paid the penalty by His blood. That’s why communion is so important because communion reminds us that God is doing more than instructing. He’s transforming by the partaking. This is my body given unto you, take and eat. This is my blood, the blood in the new covenant, take and drink.
Then when you have received that forgiveness because that blood has been applied to your life, now you have been reconciled to God. Oh, what a holy moment is that when a sinner has been reconciled to God. God is the one pursuing sinners. God is the one who’s made a way for sinners to be reconciled to the holy, almighty, glorious, loving, compassionate, gracious, forgiving. That’s his nature.
God is made a way for you to be reconciled to a God of love and grace. Sinners though you be, now, you’re reconciled so that in that new relationship, He will pour out His Holy Spirit upon your life. The very presence of the living God is now resonant upon your soul. If the presence of God is resonant upon your soul, then God’s divine nature will do a beautiful work, and that beautiful work is the transforming power to take you from what you were when you were born in the ugly nature of man into that which is beautiful and glorious because God’s presence does that. Amen. Let’s give Him praise. He is worthy of it all.
By continuing in 2 Peter 1, “Having become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that’s in the world by lust, for this very reason, applying all diligence, all diligence now, in your faith, supply moral excellence.” God wants you to have moral excellence in your life. You know why? Because that’s the greatest blessing, to escape the corruption that’s in the world and to live by the moral excellence of God’s heart will bless your life.
Then add to that knowledge, and in knowledge, self-control, and in self-control, perseverance, and in perseverance, godliness, and godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. These qualities, He says, “If these qualities are yours and are increasing, God wants you to have these qualities and to have these qualities increasing in your life. They render you neither useless nor unfruitful.” That’s a double negative. You can say it useful and fruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, but he who lacks these qualities is blind.
That’s so interesting. God wants you to have His qualities. These are the qualities of God’s divine nature in you, but he who lacks these qualities is blind, short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his sins, forgot what God did. God fully intends that your heart will be changed, eyes will be open, hearts softened. People can change. Do you believe it? People can change. Hard hearts can be broken, stones can be moved, thorns and thistles uprooted.
How? Because God can open ears so that you hear what you did not hear before. God opens eyes so you see what you did not see before. God opens hearts so that you understand what you did not understand before. God will change your desire so that you desire what you did not desire before. Simply put, there is no spiritual transformation unless you partake of God’s divine nature. It’s the very presence of God within the soul that transforms the sinner into that which is glorious. The beautiful work of God is glorious. It’s beautiful. You must partake of it.
See, in other words, the only way that food will strengthen you is if you partake of it. It’s like this, imagine you go to a restaurant and you sit down and you read the menu and then you get up and leave. No, you didn’t come just to read the menu. You came to partake and you’re not leaving until you have partaken because you know it’s only in the partaking will you be transformed. Reading the menu’s not enough. Reading the menu’s not enough. You need to be partaking. You didn’t come just to read the menu. You came to be transformed by it. You came to partake of it. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Partake. That’s why communion is the picture of that partaking.
B. God won’t give up on you
Then lastly, we’ll end with this. God won’t give up on you. See, one of the things Nehemiah wanted them to see was that God was not done with Israel. In spite of all that Israel had done, God never gave up on Israel. In fact, let me add, and God is not done with Israel today either. Notice verse 17, when they appointed a leader to return them to their slavery in Egypt, God didn’t forsake them.
Verse 18, even when they made for themselves a calf of molten metal saying, “This is your God, people,” God did not forsake them. No, He continued to guide them on the way. Pillar of cloud by day, pillar of fire by night. Verse 20, He even gave them the Holy Spirit to instruct them. He did not withhold manna. He did not withhold the water.
Verse 21, indeed, for 40 years God provided for them, and they were not in want. Their clothes did not wear out. Their feet did not swell. Over and over and over, God had compassion. Nehemiah 9:28, “Many times, you rescued them according to your compassion.” Israel would get into trouble, and then they would cry out to God, and God would send a deliverer and save them. Then when they started feeling all good and all that, then they did it again. Then they would cry out to God in their despair and God would send help and then all was good, all was well, and then they did it again. Then God sent a deliverer again.
God does not give up, and God won’t give up on you either because God’s intent is to transform your soul. God loves you so much that not only did He reconcile you to His Father, He poured his spirit of life that you would have the transforming power of a beautiful soul. May His presence truly fill you with life.
Father, we love you and thank you for showing us the wonderful ways that you have blessed us and how you have revealed yourself, and God, that you show us your desire to transform us and having us to be glorious, transformed by your presence. God, you said that if we ask, that you would give. That if we seek, we would find. If we knock, the door would be opened. You’re telling us God that if we want more, that we can ask for more.
Church, how many today would say to the Lord, “I want more of God in my life. I want more of His power that transforms. I want His glory. I want Him to do that beautiful work on my soul. I want more. I want more of God in my life. I’m asking and you said I can ask so God, I’m asking for more.” Is that you? Would you just raise your hand to the Lord as a way of saying that to the Lord? You said I could ask for more and I’m asking for more. God, do that in us today. Pour out your spirit. Meet us here in Jesus’s powerful name, and everyone said. Let’s give the Lord praise and glory.