Sermon Tone Analysis

GOD WORKS BEST

2 I long and yearn

for the courts of the LORD;

my heart and flesh cry out for the living God.

3 Even a sparrow finds a home,

and a swallow, a nest for herself

where she places her young—

near Your altars, LORD of Hosts,

my King and my God.

4 How happy are those who reside in Your house,

who praise You continually.

Selah

5 Happy are the people whose strength is in You,

whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,

they make it a source of springwater;

even the autumn rain will cover it with blessings.

s

7 They go from strength to strength;

each appears before God in Zion.

Being in the valley of trials stinks.

It’s painful, disorienting, and confusing.

As we stagger and stumble along we often wonder, Where is God?

Why is he allowing me to go through this?

We feel stuck and broken, like we can’t move forward.

We are perplexed, crushed, weighed down, and in the dark.

We move ahead slowly, groping and grasping, hoping to find a handhold.

The reality is, however, that God often does his best work in your darkest hour

The reality is However that God works best in your darkest hour

Pay attention to verse 6 as they go through the valley of baca one this part of a place that is Dry or as as a sterile place.

Also the word Baca literally means weeping the valley of weeping.

AS we look back over 2000 years imagine trailing through a area a desert something like death valley were there is no waster the heat is scorching you the “valley of weeping” begins to make since.

I remember being out at my west Texas ranch I had not brought any water with me we were out clearing trees and Its was in the middle of summer the heat was well over 100 degrees I went to cool off at the water spicket and no water flowed.

The well had broken.

I was overheated and on the verge of heat exhaustion of not for my truck ac and being able to drive 45 miles to get water I would have been in the valley of tears myself.

Now imaging wandering through the desert without the modern conveniences we have today in the heat no water in sight The desperation was real.

But wait whats the next thing they did they dug a well and waited for the Lord to fill it The Kings James Version says it like this

Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well;

The rain also nfilleth the pools.

Because their faith is steadfast in the Lord, In a moment of desperation, in a moment of weeping, they stopped and dug a well, knowing through faith, that the lord will fill it

He Produces Steadfastness in us

Count it all joy,my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.

for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness

The tern Steadfastness in the Webster dictionary simply means firmly fixed in one place

The Holman Christian Dictionary :STEADFASTNESS is a word meaning to endure patiently.

A steadfast person is one who is reliable, faithful, and true to the end.

Paul said Jesus was a person of steadfastness ().

The NASB translates steadfastness with “perseverance” ().

James said that trials that test our faith produce steadfastness (1:3 KJV “patience”; HCSB, NRSV, NASB “endurance”; NIV “perseverance”).

Without being steadfast or simply firmly fixed in one place not budging one inch you will never truly be able to enjoy the full blessings God had in store for you.

You will be more like the seed that springs up quickly but has no root.

You will have the life the happiness the joy choked out you by trying to please the world.

God wants you to have a steady faith a faith that is not easily rocked when the waves of the storm of adversity crashed into their life God wants you to have a steadfast type of faith.

He forces us to rely on Him and not on ourselves

How many times do you pray and you think God is not listing God is not hearing me God is not Answering my needs.

God sometimes says wait and allows the adversity in your life so that you will better appreciate the grace and blessings He gives you.

Is your faith steadfast?

Is your faith solid like the rock in the storm?

I remember a time where I had to be perfectly still and not because of my own choosing either.

Back in my military days I had been selected to attend 50 machine gun training at Fort Beaning Georgia We as a unit convoyed from Fort Sill Oklahoma in the heat of the summer in Hummvees to Georgia to participate in this training.

The first day they designated ammo protection detail.

One other soldier and I we put on a ammo storage facility way out away from the rest of the base they gave us each 3 mre and 2 canteens of water they would come first thing in the morning .

We sat on the ammo the first night we ate our meals and drank our water that night expecting to be relived in the morning.

Morning came and no one showed the day went on it was in the 100’s or felt that way any way night came we are out of all food and water at this point by our orders we were to maintain our post until properly relived or be subject to military court martial.

two days passed extremely dehydrated and hungry we began to panic we were at a point of the fort where no radio or cell reception was possible.

We then off in the distance saw a cloud of dust the saving grace it was a com’s truck headed out to maintain some equipment but he was headed in the wrong direction.

With no other means of communication we remembered from basic that in a emergency situation you can fire 3 shots in rapid succession as a sign of duress.

We began to Fire the shots and He heard the commotion came and found us and went back for help.

We had been forgotten about they had gone to another ammo depot and left us there.

Upon arrival they apologized and took us out to dinner.

Have you ever felt forgotten about have you been let down by people.

Well as long as we put our faith in people we will continue to be let down but the great news is that God Will never leave you or Forsake you as we remain steadfast in our time of adversity in a moment of our duress send your prayer up let the Father hear your worries give him your needs and allow Him to comfort you.

And so it is so with God if he were to give us anything we wished we would become unappreciative of his blessings and grace.

He FORCES US TO RELY ON HIM

He forces us to rely on Him and not on ourselves

He FORCES US TO RELY ON HIM

Indeed, We felt that we had recieved the sentence of death.

But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the Dead

He fORCES US TO rELY ON HIM

INDEED, WE FELT THAT WE HAD RECEIVED THE SENTENCE OF DEATH.

BUT THAT WAS TO MAKE US RELY NOT ON OURSELVES BUT ON GOD WHO RAISES THE DEAD.

()

INDEED, WE FELT THAT WE HAD RECEIVED THE SENTENCE OF DEATH.

BUT THAT WAS TO MAKE US RELY NOT ON OURSELVES BUT ON GOD WHO RAISES THE DEAD.

()

teach us some important lessons about adversity.

Perhaps it is better that we do not know exactly what Paul’s “trouble” in Asia was; we can apply his experience to any kind of serious difficulty we must face in living for the Lord.

(1) We have to face the fact that great trials can be experienced by the Lord’s servants, such testings as seem beyond human ability to bear (v.

8).

(2) One thing to be learned from such experiences is that we cannot rely on ourselves but must put our trust in God.

His very nature as the One who raises the dead makes Him trustworthy in the severest trial

TRIALS REMIND US OF WHAT IS ALREADY TRUE: WE ARE DESPERATELY DEPENDENT ON GOD.

WE CANNOT FUNCTION APART FROM GOD.

WE CANNOT MAKE IT TO HEAVEN APART FROM THE SUSTAINING GRACE OF THE GOD WHO RAISES DEAD MEN.

GOD TAKES US THROUGH TRIALS TO DECREASE OUR SELF-CONFIDENCE AND INCREASE OUR CONFIDENCE IN HIM.

TRIALS REMIND US OF WHAT IS ALREADY TRUE: WE ARE DESPERATELY DEPENDENT ON GOD.

WE CANNOT FUNCTION APART FROM GOD.

WE CANNOT MAKE IT TO HEAVEN APART FROM THE SUSTAINING GRACE OF THE GOD WHO RAISES DEAD MEN.

GOD TAKES US THROUGH TRIALS TO DECREASE OUR SELF-CONFIDENCE AND INCREASE OUR CONFIDENCE IN HIM.

Trials remind us of what is already true, WE are desperately dependent on God We cannot function apart from God.

We cannot make it to heaven apart from the Son Jesus Christ.

From the sustaining grace of the God who raises the dead.

God takes us through trials to decrease our self-confidence While increasing our confidence in the Lord.