The question: Have you ever watched Columbo?
He was a great detective - and he, like me, always asked a lot of questions.
And often just when the person he was speaking to thought Columbo was finished with his questions, Columbo would often open his mouth and say:
just one more thing.
So that leads me to the next question for you: If you could ask God for just one more thing what would it be?
This morning I want us to consider Psalm 27 together, this psalm of David is a prayer.
A prayer in which David asks God for just one thing.
Listen to Psalm 27 from the Message:
1Light, space, zest—that’s God!
So, with Him on my side I’m fearless, afraid of no one and no thing.
2When vandal hordes ride down ready to eat me alive,Those bullies and toughs fall flat on their faces.
3 When besieged, I’m calm as a baby.
When all hell breaks loose, I’m collected and cool.
4 I’m asking God for one thing, only one thing:
To live with Him in his house my whole life long.
I’ll contemplate His beauty; I’ll study at His feet.
5 That’s the only quiet, secure place in a noisy world,
The perfect getaway, far from the buzz of traffic.
6 God holds me head and shoulders above all who try to pull me down.
I’m headed for His place to offer anthems that will raise the roof! Already I’m singing God-songs; I’m making music to God.
7-9 Listen, God, I’m calling at the top of my lungs:
“Be good to me! Answer me!”
When my heart whispered, “Seek God,” my whole being replied, “I’m seeking him!”
Don’t hide from me now!
9-10 You’ve always been right there for me; don’t turn your back on me now.
Don’t throw me out, don’t abandon me; you’ve always kept the door open.
My father and mother walked out and left me, but God took me in.
11-12 Point me down your highway, God; direct me along a well-lighted street; show my enemies whose side you’re on.
Don’t throw me to the dogs, those liars who are out to get me, filling the air with their threats.
13-14 I’m sure now I’ll see God’s goodness in the exuberant earth.
Stay with God! Take heart. Don’t quit.
I’ll say it again: Stay with God.
We live in a difficult world.
We experience difficult situations and difficult circumstances.
Big problems and little problems, the economy, Ebola, Iraq, food prices, illness, even the weather causes grief at times.
The Bible tells us that even in the midst of the turmoil we and others may experience in our lives that God is good and we can always trust Him
The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
But often that is easier for us to read than it is to live out in our daily lives.
When we pray, we want God to give us instant solutions.
When we pray, we want instant freedom from anxiety.
When we pray, we want something to happen that will relieve us of our fears, something instant to reassure us that God is listening to our prayer.
When we pray we want a guaranteed instant response from God that will transform the situation and give us perfect peace in our hearts the moment we say Amen.
But God’s timing is not our timing.
Often we need to wait. Often we need to pause.
Often we need to spend time trusting before God moves in our situation and circumstance.
Some people don’t like to wait for God.
Some people get impatient and try to force God’s hand.
Other people may look for security or reassurance elsewhere.
But aside from God there are no solutions that can really give us peace in every situation.
God is Good and God is Faithful and Psalm 27 is a prayer of David that reminds us that God is faithful.
God can be trusted in every situation, in every circumstance.
Psalm 27 effectively tells us to Seek the Face of God in every situation - to focus on the faithfulness and goodness of God in every circumstance.
King David has confidence in God and even in the midst of terrible circumstances his focus is on God.
God is his light, his salvation, and his fortress.
David turns his face to God and lives in His presence. He listens to God’s voice.
David has confidence in God and he sings with joy.
In the midst of his troubles he knows God will never forsake him, he knows God will always guide him.
David knows that even when he has to wait patiently for God to answer his prayer, he can be confident he will see the Lord’s goodness.
Do you have that confidence in God this morning?
Do you trust His faithfulness to you?
Is your focus On God or on your circumstance?
Think about when Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water towards Jesus.
Peter began to sink when his focus moved from Jesus to the water.
He turned his face from Jesus and the situation took control.
But when Peter called out to Jesus - Jesus immediately reached out to save Peter.
Isaiah said of God in Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!”
and Philippians 4:6-7 says, Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
All of us, at some stage of our lives need to make a choice - we can choose to focus on the problem or we can choose to focus on God.
To wait patiently for the Lord.
To Stay with God! Take heart. Don’t quit.
Let’s dig a deeper into some of Psalm 27 and learn a little more from King David.
In Pslam 27 verse 1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?
David focuses on God - he sees he has no reason to be afraid.
Think about what God has already done in your own life - God is faithful.
God has been with in you in the good times and in the dark times.
Jesus is the light in the darkness of this world.
He leads us through the darkness safely.
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David knows the Lord is his Salvation - God is his rescuer, God is his deliverer.
David knows God is the one who saves, God is the one who sets free. Salvation is of the Lord.
David knows his God is a Mighty God,
the great I AM, the Alpha and the Omega,
the First and the Last, the Rescuer, the Deliverer, the Saviour.
David trusts the Lord for his salvation.
With The One who calms the storm with a word on his side there is no reason for David to tremble.
When God is with us we do not need to be afraid of the storm, the circumstance or the situation.
We can have peace in the midst of the storm because we are safe and secure when God is with us.
Do you feel anxious about anything this morning?
Are you afraid of the storm you are in or the storm that might come?
The truth is God is with you, even when you can’t see Him, even when it is difficult to sense His presence, be assured GOD IS WITH YOU! He is your light, He is your salvation, He is your rock, He is your fortress, do not be afraid GOD IS WITH YOU!
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Psalm 27 verses 2 & 3
2 When evil people come to devour me,
when my enemies and foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.
3 Though a mighty army surrounds me,
my heart will not be afraid.
Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident.
David focused on God, he was confident in God, he knew he was safe but he also knew that at times troubles would still come into his life.
Yet here David reminds us that our hearts can be at peace when trouble comes - we can be confident in God in every situation and circumstance.
Focus on God , have faith in Him, trust Him, be confident in Him.
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Psalm 27 verses 4-6
4 The one thing I ask of the Lord—
the thing I seek most—
is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
delighting in the Lord’s perfections
and meditating in His Temple.
5 For He will conceal me there when troubles come; He will hide me in His sanctuary.
He will place me out of reach on a high rock.
6 Then I will hold my head high
above my enemies who surround me.
At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy, singing and praising the Lord with music.
Do you ask God for just one thing? or is it just one more thing, then one more thing, then one more thing?
We should pray about the things that concern us, we should pray that God will meet our needs out of His riches in glory,
we should bring our prayers and petitions before Him but, loving and following and trusting God should be our highest priority, our greatest desire.
Our focus must be on God and His will and purpose for us each and every day.
God is all sufficient, we can trust Him.
David had faith in God and confidence in God.
David focused on God, in every part of his life.
David had a single minded focus on God.
He wanted to experience and live in the presence of God, he wanted to stay close to God all the days of his life.
We should want that too!
Our lives continually focused on God,
in intimate relationship with Him,
confident in His ability,
confident in His mercy,
confident in His grace,
confident in his love,
confident in every situation,
confident in every circumstance,
confident in the storm,
confident in the time of blessing.
God at the centre of our lives, every day,
not just in a service on a Sunday,
not just in the prayer meeting,
not just when troubles come,
God at the centre, not pushed off to a dusty unvisited corner of our lives!
Our desire must be to focus on God and to draw close to Him.
To experience God’s perfect presence,
to focus on His faithfulness, His power, His love.
To listen to His voice, to listen to His counsel,
to seek His will, to seek His Purpose,
to seek His direction for our lives. -------------------
Psalm 27 verses 7-12
Hear me as I pray, O Lord.
Be merciful and answer me!
8 My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.”
And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”
9 Do not turn your back on me.
Do not reject your servant in anger.
You have always been my helper.
Don’t leave me now; don’t abandon me,
O God of my salvation!
10 Even if my father and mother abandon me,
the Lord will hold me close.
11 Teach me how to live, O Lord.
Lead me along the right path,
for my enemies are waiting for me.
12 Do not let me fall into their hands.
For they accuse me of things I’ve never done;
with every breath they threaten me with violence.
David sought God during the time of trouble.
David knows he needs God.
David knows he can’t handle everything on his own David turns his face to God in prayer and asks God to act.
David seeks God’s guidance and protection.
Oh how we should always do the same!
We need to stop trying to handle things on our own. We need to trust Him who is able to calm the storm.
We need to be confident that we can come to God with our problems, with our fears, with our doubts, we are his children and he will never turn us away.
God’s commitment to you is greater than your commitment to Him.
God loves you and God will protect you.
Remember the words of Jesus in John 14:21, Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”
David asked God to teach him how to live are you willing to do the same?
You see, to live the way God wants us to live may impact how you live your life.
If you desire a deeper relationship with God, you may need to move away from some of the things that are blocking a deeper relationship with Him.
The books you read, the movies you watch, the music you listen to, the TV programs you watch, maybe even some of the words you use in every day conversation will need to change.
David asked God to lead him along the right path, would you do the same?
Living in His presence and following His path, will may alter your thoughts,
may change your activities,
may effect your relationship with certain people.
Your life, your words and your actions must honour God if you are truly walking on his path in his footsteps.
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Last 2 verses as we draw to a close
Psalm 27 verses 13, 14
13 Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness
while I am here in the land of the living.
14 Wait patiently for the Lord.
Be brave and courageous.
Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.
David focused on God and was confident he would see the goodness of God.
David had problems, and circumstances and situation in His life but he also had peace.
We need to be like David and keep our focus on God
we need to remember He is our Light,
He is our Salvation, He is our Fortress,
in Him we have the victory.
Let me encourage you to make God your top priority and seek Him with all your heart.
Turn your thoughts to God, turn to Him and pray, always remember He will never turn away from you and He has promised that when we wait for Him we will see and experience His goodness, His mercy, His love and His grace.
Just one more thing... this week remember the words of Phillipians 4:6-7
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
May God bless you.
