Help From Above

INTRO.- ILL.- WIFE: "There’s trouble with the car. It has water in the carburetor."

HUSBAND: "Water in the carburetor? That’s ridiculous."

WIFE: "I tell you the car has water in the carburetor."

HUSBAND: "You don’t even know what a carburetor is. I’ll check it out. Where’s the car?"

WIFE: "In the swimming pool."

ILL.- When Joe’s wife ran away he got so depressed that his doctor sent him to see a psychiatrist. Joe told the psychiatrist his troubles and said, "Life isn’t worth living."

"Don’t be stupid, Joe," said the psychiatrist. "Let work be your salvation. I want you to totally immerse yourself in your work. Now, what do you do for a living?" "I clean out septic tanks." Joe replied.

Job 14:1 “Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble.”

Life sure seems to be full of trouble, does it not? If it isn’t one thing, it’s something else or someone else causing us trouble. And it applies to everybody. No one is immune.

ILL.- I know of two different preachers in Oklahoma and both are having trouble with at least one leader in their church. One of these preachers is a young man about 30 years old, maybe less. The other preacher is tried and proven in his upper 50’s. He’s been in the church for years, been around the block and is completely committed to Christ. The older preacher hasn’t been in a his church a year and said, “I came to preach not to fight with an elder.” What a shame for both of them!

And there is, of course, even bigger trouble for millions of people. Hurricane Katrina and now Rita. We have heard the stories and/or seen the pictures by the hundreds, it seems. Most are very disheartening.

ILL.- And did you hear the one about the woman who begged her husband to take her somewhere expensive for a change? He drove her to the corner gas station.

The rising price of gasoline. We wonder where it will end or if it will end. Of course, we think we have it bad in Arkansas but I have a preacher friend in East LA who said gas last Monday morning was $3.50 a gallon. And we know that this doesn’t just affect us personally. Rising gas prices affect the whole American economy!

What else? What next? How much more can people take? Where can we get some help?

ILL.- I am reminded of the story about the sophomore student at Yale University who said to the chaplain, “Sir, you must admit that religion is just a crutch?” The chaplain replied, “You are right, but who isn’t limping?” Everybody limps in life because of something and everybody has a crutch. We happen to believe that the Lord is the best crutch there is!

The Psalmist, David, knew about how tough life could get.

PROP.- Ps. 86:1-4 gives us some help from above for life’s troubles. 1- Hear my prayer 2- Guard my life 3-Forgive my sin 4- Increase my joy

I. HEAR MY PRAYER

Ps. 86:1 “Hear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.”

ILL.- A woman was at work when she received a phone call that her daughter was very sick with a fever. She left her work and stopped by the pharmacy to get some medication for her daughter.

When returning to her car she found that she had locked her keys in the car. She was in a hurry to get home to her sick daughter.

She didn’t know what to do, so she called her home and told the baby sitter what had happened and that she did not know what to do. The baby sitter told her that her daughter was getting worse. She said, "You might find a coat hanger and use that to open the door."

The woman looked around and found an old rusty coat hanger that had been thrown down on the ground, possibly by someone else who at some time or other had locked their keys in their car. Then she looked at the hanger and said, "I don’t know how to use this." So she bowed her head and asked God to send her some help.

Within five minutes an old rusty car pulled up, with a dirty, greasy, bearded man who was wearing an old biker skull rag on his head. The woman thought, "This is what you sent to help me?" But, she was desperate, so she was also very thankful.

The man got out of his car and asked her if he could help. She said, "Yes, my daughter is very sick. I stopped to get her some medication and I locked my keys in my car. I must get home to her. Please, can you use this hanger to unlock my car?"