Overcoming tough time! How?
Psalms 27:1-6
Fear and Tough time?
Psalm 27:1-6, The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell. 3 Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident. 4 One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will 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 to inquire in His temple. 5 For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. 6 And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
We live in difficult times!
There is much fear and concern not only about the future, but there is also fear of the present. Companies closing their doors and moving production to other areas or even foreign countries! Jobs that were once considered stable are now questionable. Our children are no longer safe from harm in our nation's schools. How do we handle the difficult times in which we live?
This morning, I want us to consider that difficult times are not just now occurring. Life is hard now, but it has never been easy! Perhaps life in earlier days was different, but not without difficulty. We need to be reminded that God is eternal, and the principles of His Word are also eternal. They do not change!
Even in a changing society. In the 27th Psalm, David presents several principles that enabled him to handle difficult times in his life. These principles will help us deal with whatever may come our way as well. The first part of the psalm expresses his confident trust in the LORD for blessings received in the past, and his desire to dwell in the house of the LORD who will protect him in the future (1- 6).
In the second part David offers an anxious plea for God's mercy and deliverance from his enemies (7-10). It ends with a confession that he would have lost heart without faith in God's goodness, and an exhortation to wait on the Lord for strength and courage of heart (11-14).
2. Our Confidence in Him
3. Our Worship of Him
1. Our Relationship with God. V 1, The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? This is foundational. We must have an anchor that holds us steadfast in the midst of the storms of life.
James tells us that we do not know what tomorrow will bring.
James 4:13-16, Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is
even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” 16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. None of us have any idea of what may be just around the corner. This should not cause us to be afraid or to worry about the uncertainty of life.
But it underscores the need of us having a personal relationship with God that we can draw upon no matter what.
- a) Assurance of Salvation is Vital.
The songwriter put it this way, 'I don't know about tomorrow, but I know who holds my hand!' David knew he was saved! David did not say maybe or might be, but he is! No wavering. There are those that might say that I was being presumptuous to say that we can know that we are saved, but we do not have to look any further than the Word of God for that assurance.
1 John 5:13, These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have
eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
- b) Our relationship with God is a reality.
Either we really have a personal relationship, or we really do not! Salvation is both fact and faith. The Lord is my light and my salvation. The Lord is my strength of my life. "Fact"- Christ died for the ungodly.
Romans 5:6, For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
Romans 5:8, But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:10, For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. "Faith"- All who believe will be saved.
Romans 10:8-13, But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the
Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
One of the reasons people have trouble handling the difficulties of life is that they lack the assurance of a personal relationship with God.
Ephesians 2:8-9, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Titus 3:4-7, But when the kindness and the love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
The apostle Paul could deal with the hardships and difficulties that he faced during his ministry because of his assurance.
2 Timothy 1:12, For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.
Do you have that assurance today? If not, we can get that settled once and for all right now!
Acts 2:21, "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." 2. Our Confidence in God. V 2-3, When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell. 3 Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident. David remembered his experiences with Goliath. He remembered how God delivered him. Goliath represented all that was wicked and evil. He was the enemy that no man could conquer, but God enabled David to be victorious that day.
We all have giants that we must face from time to time.
What giant is in our path today? What is it that seems too big to overcome?
Have confidence in God? Do not be afraid. Trust in the Lord.
Psalms 112:7-8, He will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. 8 His heart is established; He will not be afraid, Until he sees his desire upon his enemies.
This is not the power of positive thinking! It is not about summoning up loads of self-confidence. This is about trusting the promises of God. A God with whom we have a personal relationship!
Psalms 118:8-9, It is better to trust in the Lord Than to put confidence in man. 9 It is better to trust in the Lord Than to put confidence in princes.
Proverbs 3:5-6, Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
3. Our Worship of God. V 4-6, One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will 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 to inquire in His temple. 5 For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. 6 And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
Worship as a part of our life. We need to realize that worship is not just something that is done on one day of the week. It is to be a part of our lives. David said it was his one (first priority) was to 'dwell'or remain in the presence of God.
To be where God is to dwell in His house.
What is our number one desire?
What is our desire of the Lord? He is not like the fairy tale genie in the lamp. But if we had one wish, one request that we could make to God.
What would it be? No wonder David was referred to as a man after God's own heart.
Luke 10:42, But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” V 5 is the connection. 5 For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. In time of trouble. I do not want to have to go looking for God. I do not want to scramble around and stumble through some prayer. I want to be able to trust in Him in times of trouble. Set me upon a rock.
When I begin to sink deep into the mire of sin and problems. I want to be able to call out to Him, knowing He is near. To have confidence that He will reach down, lift me up, and set my feet upon the solid rock.
Psalms 30:1, I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up, And have not let my foes rejoice over me.
Psalm 40:2, He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.
The rejoicing. V 6, And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord. Offer sacrifices of joy. (Literally means I will shout loudly like sounding the battle cry) Sing praises unto the Lord. (Literally means like a strolling minstrel) Let it be known to others!
Psalms 107:2, Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,
There is no promise that we will not have to face difficulties, but we can rest upon these principles to be able to get us through them.
Conclusion
One thing
Mark 10:21, Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”
John 9:25, He answered and said, “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.”
Philippians 3:13-14, Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
- Our Relationship with the Lord
- Our Confidence in Him
- Our Worship of Him