April 22, 2018 - How Long O Lord?

Psalms  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  46:57
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Prayer
We’ve heard these numbers before...
Joseph waited 13 years...
Abraham waited 25 years...
Moses waited 40 years...
All of these men of God - USED by God…and yet - USED by God in HIS timing...
On His time-table...
**You ever have a situation where you needed to tell someone something very urgent, and you needed them to respond to you right away...
and instead…you get....nothin
No reply!?
And you just - Wait!
We’ve all been in those situations…and we know that AS THE WAITING goes on and on...
your FRUSTRATION - RISES!
And for some of us - We’ve probably felt like - at one point or another - that we’ve come to the end of our ROPE!
That we have nothing else to GIVE!
And so in case we might think that those in Scripture didn’t have to deal with these sorts of things...
We come to Psalm 13...
Psalm 13 ESV
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. 1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? 3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, 4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken. 5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. 6 I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.
Does anyone feel like they could have written this Psalm?
We connect with this Psalm because we’ve been there before!
And we know that someday, our kids will be there too...
Our friends and co-workers might be there now
This Psalm will hopefully not only help us but also encourage us to help others who are dealing with the same things we’ve dealt with…or worse...
SLIDE:
God makes us wait in life so that we might feel the weight of life, in order that we might press into the Lord.
In other words...
As Christians…your WAITING in life - is working FOR you
Psalm 13:1 ESV
1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
We see here that David - is waiting…and he’s at the end of his rope...
If you remember last week, we talked about that time in David’s life, when he defeated Goliath...
…And over time, he gained popularity among the people...
It got to the point where we see this -
1 Samuel 18:7 ESV
7 And the women sang to one another as they celebrated, “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.”
How did this make Saul feel?
1 Samuel 18:8–9 ESV
8 And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?” 9 And Saul eyed David from that day on.
From there…Saul tries to kill David many times...
So from the time David was anointed King....
…to the time he actually began to RULE…it was about 15 years...
Now - for us - that’s a long time!
So David is sitting in GOD’S WAITING ROOM - if you will - and he writes...
Psalm 13:1 ESV
1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
And it’s in the very EXISTENCE of this verse, that we see David’s WAITING is working FOR him…not against him.
How so?
Everyone WAITS in life - for something - at some point … NO?
But who is David writing to?
His WAITING has brought him to a place where he is REACHING out to GOD!
His WAITING has DRAWN him closer to God - seeking GOD!
NOW - is that the case for everyone?
Has that ALWAYS been the case for you?
Any time you’ve had to WAIT for something....has that time period DRAWN you closer to God?
Have those times caused you to SEEK after God…?
OR - have those times caused you to become EMBITTERED towards God!??
God doesn’t MIND when we come to Him SEEKING ANSWERS...
He DELIGHTS in TAKING OUR NEEDS...
Matthew 11:28–30 ESV
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
And for DAVID here - his WAITING has brought him to the THROWN of Grace...
Psalm 13:1–2 ESV
1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
For David and for us - it’s those times in life when it seems there is an APPARENT DEFEAT...
that it’s IN THOSE TIMES when we have to EXAMINE what our next move is...
You remember last week what Psalm 4 said?
Psalm 4:3 ESV
3 But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him.
Here David says - God is ON MY SIDE! David KNOWS that God is FOR HIM...
*What happens when you’re on the playground, and you get first pick?
*What comes with getting first pick in the DRAFT?
*What happens when EVERYONE you know tells you that you HAVE to go to this restaurant because the food is SOOOO good?
With all of these situations - comes EXPECTATIONS!
Now David KNOWS that God is on HIS SIDE…David KNOWS that God is FOR HIM...
And so what we see here in verse 2 is David LEANING in on the expectations that he has…KNOWING he’s a child of God...
Psalm 13:2 ESV
2 How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
He’s saying - WAIT - shouldn’t MY HEART be full of JOY?
WAIT - God - aren’t MY enemies - YOUR enemies?
WAIT - Aren’t WE on the same team....God?
And this is why SO many of us can RELATE to David...
On one page of the Psalms he’s SINGING out in praise to God, and then 3 verses later he’s like - GOD WHERE ARE YOU?
And what we see in that is - the LIMITATIONS of Man...
**If you’ve ever gone for - any kind of a drive - with small kids - - What’s the #1 question heard during that time?
SLIDE: Are We There Yet?
The reason this question is even asked is because KIDS don’t have an understanding of the bigger picture...
**Recently drove to Chicago (after 15 minutes)
The SAME is true with us (Christians) as we walk through life**
And because we’re NOT GOD - we end up asking these questions we see here in v2
Psalm 13:2 ESV
2 How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
And for us Christians - I think we tend to ask these questions of God when there seems to be an apparent DEFEAT in our lives...
When it seems that Satan has WON a particular battle!
Maybe there’s a particular sin that won’t seem to let you be
Maybe there’s a situation that seems to have OVERTAKEN you...
Maybe there’s a person in your world who’s GOAL IN LIFE seems to be to destroy you...
What we see from David here is that - He’s been there!
Which is GOOD for us - because he helps us know what to do!
He shows us that in those times, we need a NEW PERSPECTIVE…a NEW WAY OF SEEING...
Psalm 13:3–4 ESV
3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, 4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
We bear the weight/wait of life by seeing more clearly the light of life, Jesus Christ.
“Light up my eyes” David says...
David KNEW that the ONLY way that he was going to be able to bear the weight of GOSPEL suffering…
…was to SEE Jesus more clearly...
NOW - how do we do that today?
Colossians 3:16 ESV
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Let the word of Christ DWELL in you richly...
We SEE Jesus more clearly as we SEEK to have His Word DWELL in us...
*How many of you have your kid’s Social Security Number’s memorized?
*How many of you have a favorite song? Know the words?
How does this happen?
MEDITATION!
Christian MEDITATION is to feed the mind on the Word of God…and digest it slowly...
*Facebook: Spider / Venus Fly Trap
Christian Meditation is:
Shaped by the Scriptures
Reliant upon the Holy Spirit
Exercised in Faith
Shaped by the Scriptures - and so it’s no surprise what David said back in Psalm 1
Psalm 1:1–2 ESV
1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
Psalm 119:5–6 ESV
5 Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes! 6 Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
Psalm 119:48 ESV
48 I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes.
Clearly Meditation is SHAPED by the scriptures...
and fueled by DELIGHT
We also see that it's RELIANT UPON the Holy Spirit...
Psalm 19:14 ESV
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
LET my words...LET the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you... LET this happen!
Psalm 119:27 ESV
27 Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous works.
Cause me to understand...
And so this meditation is reliant upon the Holy Spirit...
And David KNEW this!!
What did he say?
Psalm 13:3 ESV
3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
Light up my eyes LORD - YOU do this!
I CAN’T MAKE this happen!
Ephesians 3:4–5 ESV
4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.
The truths of God are revealed to us BY the HOLY SPIRIT
God's Word is meant to:
Saturate our lives
Give us direction
Shape our minds
Form our patterns
Fuel our affections
Inspire our actions
This is what God’s Word is MEANT to do for us...
AND it DOES these things...
It Saturates our lives - by the power of the Holy Spirit - AS we continually dip ourselves into it’s truth
It Gives us direction - by the power of the Holy Spirit - AS we continually deny ourselves and turn toward Christ
It Shapes our minds - by the power of the Holy Spirit - AS we continue to MEDITATE on it’s truth
It Forms our patterns of life - by the power of the Holy Spirit - AS we continue to pursue walking with the Spirit
It Fuels our affections - by the power of the Holy Spirit - AS we continue to grow in the knowledge of Christ
It Inspires our actions - by the power of the Holy Spirit - AS we continue to joyfully live out the obedience of Faith
We all I’m sure have lived out Psalm 13: 1-2 ...
We’ve ASKED the “HOW LONG” questions...
We’ve lived our lives WANTING to love Christ more!
We’ve tasted the goodness of God and yet FEEL distant from Him
We can say with Paul...
2 Corinthians 6:4–10 ESV
4 but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6 by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; 7 by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8 through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.
Do you see the DICHOTOMY of the Christian life?
If you are a child of God you will experience this DICHOTOMY (this contrast)
Impostors / and yet TRUE
Unknown / and yet WELL KNOWN
Dying / and yet WE LIVE
Punished / and yet NOT KILLED
Sorrowful / yet ALWAYS REJOICING
Poor / yet MAKING MANY RICH
Having nothing / yet POSSESSING EVERYTHING
The Christian LIFE - and DAVID - in verses 3-4 points to the LEFT SIDE of this - and says - My enemies believe:
I’m an impostor
that I’m unknown
dying
deserve punishment - to be killed
And David says - Turn the Tables Lord!
HOW? - Crush my enemies? Destroy them RIGHT NOW?
NO!! - He says - change me Lord!
(I) NEED to see you MORE - I need to REMEMBER the RIGHT SIDE (slide)
In other words!!
David is saying - Lord, help me take my eyes OFF MYSELF!
YES this hurts, YES I’m at the end of my rope...
BUT i need to get my eyes off of myself - and onto YOU!
*Trey- Gymnastic’s Meet - Started out touching the mat (totally convicted by God - that i DO NOT know ANYTHING!)
God is constantly telling us to GET OUR EYES OFF of ourselves!
Only GOD KNOWS the beginning from the end...
And so David here in verse 3 is not necessarily asking for his circumstances to change...
He’s asking that God would ALLOW him to view his circumstances in a whole new LIGHT!
Psalm 13:3 ESV
3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
See the question we have to ask ourselves is this - Do I trust that the Lord is loving, regardless of what He’s walking me through?
Romans 11:34 ESV
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?”
Who wrote this?
PAUL did! right?
Well, Paul’s not looking for an answer here!
We KNOW the answer - NO ONE has counseled the Lord!
We’re SOO limited in our understanding, and YET, we SOO TRUST our own understanding!
And in our understanding - we TRY to do the MATH problem to figure out God…!
We know and believe that God is LOVING and KIND, and yet we walk through - trials...
And in our thinking - we say - Why am I dealing with this??
I KNOW FOR A FACT that my kids have asked themselves this VERY question about Rachel and I!
I know that at some point, we’ve denied them GUM, or CANDY, or RIDING their BIKE in the street, and they’re like - WHAAATT?
And we KNOW that their questioning is coming from - IGNORANCE!
They can’t SEE the big picture!
They can’t SEE the multiple dentist visits, the hospital visits down the road - Like we can.
And so in our RENDERING of judgment -
What my kids at times VIEW AS PAINFUL....as a TRIAL...
I view as - LOVING!
Why?
Because we can look to the cross of Christ, and in GETTING OUR EYES OFF OF US...AND ONTO THE CROSS OF CHRIST...
...our confidence that HE is FOR us and not AGAINST us grows... ..as we know that He's at work in the mess.
He's at work in the mess!
And so many in the world look around at the mess of this world, and say - see, there's no God!
Well here's the thing... The Bible is full of mess.
God never said there would be no mess...
He's just saying - I'm working thru the mess.
David actually KNEW this and reminds us of this...
Psalm 13:5–6 ESV
5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. 6 I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.
This Psalm is really a reflection of LIFE -
We feel God has forsaken us...
We call out to Him for help...
We remind ourselves that He is FOR US!...
that our TRIUMPH was purchased on the cross of Christ!
And we can...
trust in that
rejoice in that
sing about that
As Christians - we have a great weapon in our arsenal against - the VALLEYS of life...
JUST when we THINK that God is HIDING from us...
We must REMIND ourselves of this - the GOSPEL!
in the SALVATION of God!
in the CROSS of Christ!
It reminds us that He is FOR US!!
That He’s NOT AGAINST US!
How else does DAVID go from:
How long O Lord will You forget me?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
How long must I have sorrow in my heart all the day?
TO
my HEART SHALL REJOICE!!?? Finish it!
My heart will rejoice - IN YOUR SALVATION!!
Let’s finish by doing just that!!
“Our God”
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