Assurance of Salvation
PPT 1 Title
PPT 2 Text
Ps 35:1 ([A Psalm] of David.) Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; Fight against those who fight against me.
Ps 35:2 Take hold of buckler and shield, And rise up for my help.
Ps 35:3 Draw also the spear and the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me; Say to my soul, "I am your salvation."
This morning I want to talk briefly on assurance. Not just assurance, but a very specific kind of assurance.
People go to the doctor for assurance their bodies are Ok, and how they breath a sigh of relief when the doctor says, "the report came back negative, you are fine."
People go to God when things are going wrong for assurance things will work out the way they want them. But that is not the kind of assurance David is praying for in this passage.
David in our Psalm is praying for assurance of salvation
It is an interesting prayer because in all likelihood this Psalm was one written when he was fleeing for his life from Saul. He does ask for help with his temporal battles, but I sense there is something more pressing on his mind as he reflects on these battles, if I could put it into words it would be, "Am I sure God is on my side?"
I think David was saying, if you will just say to me, "I am thy salvation, then I will have the courage to face a thousand giants. But without that voice echoing in my soul I feel my strength fleeing from me."
Or it could have been David saying, "I don't care if I lose this battle, but please, please tell me again that when all life's battles are over, you will receive me into your eternal habitations.
This is not the kind of thought David would have on a sunny day at the beach. It is the kind of thought you have when trials have absolutely worn you out. Those trials got him to the place where he was asking Himself, "Am I sure I am saved?"
You need assurance.
The Church can't give it to you
Books can't give it to you
Preachers can't give it to you.
Only the Holy Ghost can. Only God can.
So I want to ask, and answer, a couple brief questions from our text:
Who asked this question?
The answer is David, of course.
But let's think about that for a second.
Isn't David called the man after God's own heart, by God Himself. As if to say, "this is the guy who I really enjoy being with."
Isn't this the guy who killed Goliath?
Isn't this the guy who was anointed king by the prophet Samuel.
Isn't this the guy who inspired of God to write so many of the Psalms. And who is written of in many books of the bible?
BTW at the very moment he is pleading for assurance of salvation, he is being inspired to write part of the bible. Inspiration of scripture is the highest level of intervention there is by God.
On one hand God is superintending his words, and on the other he is crying out God where are you? How is that possible? How can a person be anointed to write scripture at the very time they are doubting their salvation? I guess it just goes to prove salvation is not about what you are feeling,
The lessons are that the best of saints can go through seasons of doubt. The best of saints don't always, "Feel saved." The best of saints groan at times because they have lost the glow of the Spirit.
Moses wore a veil to conceal the glory of God that was fading away. The glory was a reflection of the law, which God intended to fade. With its fading the children of Israel was supposed to seek after the glory of the latter house. I believe God allows the glory He gives His children to feel as if it is fading to drive them into His presence.
Next Question, what and where and from whom did David ask for assurance.
The short answer is that he asked for personal assurance in His soul, and asked God to personally deliver it.
First David asked God to personally deliver the news:
God would you speak to my soul and say I am thy salvation.
He didn't want a priest to say it to him.
He didn't want a pastor to say it to him.
He didn't want a church creed to say it to him.
He didn't want friends to say it to him.
He didn't want a book to tell him he was Ok.
He wanted God Himself to speak it to him. Because He knew God Himself is the only one who could really guarantee what he wanted.
On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.
Secondly David would not be content to have a doctrine given to him, he wanted a personal guarantee. Say to my soul... Not tell me that whosoever will, or whosoever believeth in me shall have eternal life. Say to me, not what is possible to anyone, but what is real for me personally.
Ro 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Tell me that I am thine. Not that anyone can be saved. Tell me, and tell me alone, whisper it in my ear, say it to me personally so as to remove all doubt that I am a saved man.
The Apostle Paul even told people to take a quiz to see if they were saved:
2Co 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
There is a great lesson here. Those who know it best that they are saved, long to hear it again and again. Who doesn't check their bank account? Who doesn't examine their retirement portfolio? I'll tell you who, those that don't have one. People who are never concerned about their salvation probably aren't. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
In times like these you need a Savior, in times like these you need a friend, be very sure, be very sure your anchor grips and holds the solid rock.
Lastly, David wanted God to say he was saved in his soul. In the deepest recesses of his being, in the place that mattered the most. If your mind tells you are saved, it means nothing. The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are they children of God.
There are people all over the world who are deceived by their circumstances Jesus told the parable of the rich man, this night thy soul shall be required of thee. The implication is that his earthly riches masked his spiritual poverty. The bible warns us to beware of the deceitfulness of riches. One of the ways riches deceive people is that they then make the assumption since I am doing well financially God must like me the way I am. Likewise there are many in poverty who are the Lord's favorites, yet their circumstances lied to them of the Lord's tender care.
That is why David said, "say to my soul". Not give me a victory, increase in riches is proof of very little, it may mean you are more conniving than those around you.
Let me close with this thought, God loves to be asked that question, He it is that inspired David to ask it, after all.
Close: Do you need to hear God say, "I am thy Salvation"?
