Intro: What If.....?
Genesis 15 has the same type of rejoicing that we find in this Psalm of David. Another year gone will make many ask the question, “What if..?”
I guess it is a part of life for us to ask questions like “what if..?”
Many times we tend to think of what could have been. But also, we may think of Why it has not been. But there is a “what if” in our text that should make us all think! WHAT IF IT HAD NOT BEEN FOR THE LORD ON OUR SIDE?
Jehovah - "the existing one" held to be so sacred that it was never pronounced except by the high priest on the great Day of Atonement, when he entered into the most holy place. The psalmist puts these feelings into words with deep feelings that we would have trouble expressing. If it had not been for Jehovah, Where would we be?
- This Short Psalm contains
- An Acknowledgment of Favour - vs. 1-5
- An Act of Worship - vs. 6-7
- An Announcement of Confidence - 8
- In this Psalm you find the answer to the Past - “The Lord was on our side.”
-You find the answer for the Present - “The Snare is broken” - freedom is available.
- And the answer for the Future - “Our help is in the name of the Lord”
We must notice the implied:
I. The Attention of the Lord - If it had not been for what He has done!
A. The Lord Examined our Despair - Ps 102:19 "For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth; 20 To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death;"
B. He Embraced our Dilemma - Heb 2:17 "Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people."
C. He was Emptied for our Deliverance - 2Co 8:9 "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich."
II. The Awareness of our Possibilities - if not for the Lord, we would have been:
A. Doomed - vs. 1-2 (Some would have been on other’s sides - Egypt, Babylon)
1. Alienated from God
Psalms 10:4 "The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts."
2. Barricaded from Hope - Ephesians 2:12 "That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:"
B. Devoured - vs. 3 -
1. Sought Out By the Enemy (Eat alive - quick means alive)
Job 1:7 "And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it."
2. Swallowed by the Enemy The Adversary is hungry (swallowed)
1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:"
C. Defeated (36 Men died) - God was not on their side! Vs. 4
1. The Way of Defeat (Disobedience - Message preached recently)
Joshua 7:10 "And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? 11 Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff."
2. The Weariness of Defeat
Joshua 7:12 "Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you. 13 Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee,"
D. Disappointed - vs. 5 Ecclesiastes 2:11 "Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun." Without God, all is Worthless
III. The Answer of our Provision -Since there is a GOD in WHOM WE can TRUST:
A. We can find Pardon instead of Doomed - vs. 6 Micah 7:18 "Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy."
B. We can be Protected instead of Devoured - vs 7 "Escaped" - delivered
Psalms 91:4 "He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler."
C. We Can Prevail instead of being Defeated - vs. 7 "The snare is broken"
Psalms 44:5 "Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us."
Isaiah 59:19 "So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him." No human hand could deliver - The LORD is always there
D. We Can be Pleased instead of Disappointed - vs. 8
Psalms 36:8 "They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures."
Psalms 63:5 "My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:"
Psalms 107:9 "For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness."
Isaiah 58:11 "And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not."
Concl. OUR HELP IS IN THE NAME OF THE LORD! Heb 13:6 "So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me."
- It Depends on the SELF EXISTING ONE.
- His NAME depends on it.
- My God has a GOOD NAME, and has never failed.
- I Am Satisfied!
You can have a new year because as God’s Child, your “what if” is settled! When we are resting with God on our side, storms still come.
If we will trust in the Lord, we can live out Isaiah 40:31 "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
When faced with a storm, we can do as the eagle. Tho the stormy winds blow, at hurricane force, tho the clouds are dark, lightning is striking, the eagle will swing his breast into the storm and use the storm to rise above the trouble. We too can turn our storm clouds into chariots when we walk in the ways of our God.
By realizing where we would be without the Lord, how will we live for Him in this New Year? What about when this year ends, whether in heaven or entering 2010 - IT WILL BE HERE BEFORE YOU KNOW IT!
What if you decide to face 2009 on your own? What if you stay in the way you are now?
Disclaimer: A man once told me that if it is true, it is not new. If it is new, it is not true. We all know there is nothing new under the sun. With that said, I glean ideas for my sermons from God’s Word, my own thoughts and work, and many other sources. Any similarity to my sermons and others, where credit is not given, is either coincidental, or an unintentional mistake on my part. As none of us have a corner on the wisdom and teaching of God’s Word, it is my desire that any of my outlines be an encouragement, a help, and hopefully a motivation for others to preach God’s Word clearly. Please feel free to use any portion of my sermons if they can be of help to you and your ministry. It is all for His Glory.
