INTRODUCTION
• VIDEO CLIP
• SLIDE #1
• Today I will begin a three-part series simply entitled LIFE. This series will tackle three issues, who do you trust, building your life without blueprints, and we will conclude with a message that will offer a blueprint for purity.
• Life is not always easy is it, life can be filled with stress and difficulties, even when life is going well, what keeps you anchored?
• We can tell a lot about ourselves by how we react, and where we turn to when life gets difficult.
• Who or what do you rely on when life gets difficult? When it is time to go to battle, who do you take with you, who do you trust to help get you through the battlers of life?
• Today we are asking the question, WHO DO YOU TRUST!
• I think that many of us in this room would say, well, we trust Jesus, and that is good, that is where we should place our trust, but in truth do we?
• When we find ourselves is difficult or stressful situations, I believe that many people rely on worry and fear more than they trust God.
• I have had periodic struggles with relying on worry instead of trusting God.
• When we place our trust in things such as worry, or we allow ourselves to be stressed out over everything that happens in life, it will cause other problems, like health problems.
• Plus, when you do not place our trust in the right place, the problem will defeat you because worry and stress are no defense for the battles life can present to you.
• Today we are going to examine Psalm 20, this Psalm was written by King David. Some say that it was written somewhere in the time frame of 2 Samuel 8-10 particularly in 2 Samuel 10 when David was about to do battle with the Ammonites.
• The people knew David needed something special in order to be victorious in battle, so Psalm 20 shows us a path to victory as God’s chosen people elected to put their trust in God for the protection of their nation. This Psalm was a song and a victory chant offered by the people.
• This Psalm is so applicable today as we need to put our trust in God rather than politicians in order to right the problems within our own country.
• Let’s open the Word to Psalm 20. We will begin with verses 1-5.
• SLIDE #2
• Psalm 20:1–5 (HCSB) — 1 May Yahweh answer you in a day of trouble; may the name of Jacob’s God protect you. 2 May He send you help from the sanctuary and sustain you from Zion. 3 May He remember all your offerings and accept your burnt offering. 4 May He give you what your heart desires and fulfill your whole purpose.
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. How to prepare for life. 1-4
• This observation could have been entitled HOW TO PREPARE FOR BATTLE, but I opted for the word LIFE because life is a battle and we need to know how to be prepared for it.
• In our video clip, Colonel Moore knew that his success in battle would be tied to connection with God.
• 1st, He prepared for battle with prayer!
• Life is not a cakewalk; it can be difficult even when things seem to be going well.
• Psalm 20 offers some insight as to how to be prepared to take on the day.
• Psalm 20 shows us that to be prayerful is to be prepared.
• The nation was about to face a difficult challenge, and the people understood that prayer was their best weapon.
• They are pleading with God to answer the Kings prayer in his time of trouble. The people knew that King David was a man of God, that he was a man of prayer. The people wanted God to know they stood with their king in prayer also.
• May God hear your prayers for victory in the distress of battle." Throughout this prayer, you refers to the anointed King David. Likewise, may the name of the God of Jacob protect you was a request that the king's physical safety be preserved by divine providence and power. Holman Old Testament Commentary - Holman Old Testament Commentary – Psalms 1-75.
• The people knew the king did not have absolute power, but rather, his power was bestowed upon him by God. The people were asking the God who empowered The King, to protect the King!
• When you find yourself under duress, where to you turn for help, where to do turn for the assurance of victory in your situation?
• When Jesus faced life, what did He do? Jesus spent vast amounts in time in prayer, why would Jesus, the Son of God need to pray?
• Because He too relied on God while He was here in the flesh!
• We cannot go it alone, we need God!
• In verse 2, we see the petition on the king’s behalf does not stop at HEARING them, but verse 2 gets specific as to what kind of action the people are seeking.
• So second, the people are asking God to intervene on behalf of David, the God would send help from heaven itself to deliver their king!
• Zion became the earthly counterpart to heaven in the eyes of the people since at that time, the Ark of the Covenant was there.
• Zion referred to Mt. Zion, a mountain on the Southwest side of Jerusalem, it is first mentioned in 2 Samuel 5:7.
• In verse 3 we see a third principle.
• Be prepared before you pray, in other words do not live without God, then when you are in need, run to Him out of fear.
• In verse 3, the people are aware of the fact that David is a man of God, and they are asking God to remember that fact as they offer up their request to Him!
• Even though David had his moments of failure, David was a man who loved God and lived for Him.
• The people knew that David’s heart was so close to the heart of God, that his requests would be in line with God’s will.
• Jesus told us to ask as we will receive. John 16:24. This of course is predicated on knowing God well enough not to ask for stuff outside of His revealed will.
• For a forth principle, let’s look at verses 5-8.
• SLIDE #4
• Psalm 20:5–8 (HCSB) — 5 Let us shout for joy at your victory and lift the banner in the name of our God. May Yahweh fulfill all your requests. 6 Now I know that the Lord gives victory to His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with mighty victories from His right hand. 7 Some take pride in chariots, and others in horses, but we take pride in the name of Yahweh our God. 8 They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand firm.
• SLIDE #5
II. Possess an attitude of confidence in God. 5-8
• How many times have you asked God to help, but when you asked, you did it because someone made you do it, but you felt no real confidence that anything would change or happen?
• In verse 5, the people went to God in full confidence that He would do something, they might not have known what He was going to do, nonetheless, they were confident that God would indeed ANSWER their petition!
• Listen to verse 5 again.
• 5 Let us shout for joy at your victory and lift the banner in the name of our God. May Yahweh fulfill all your requests
• They are shouting for joy because they KNOW that God will answer, that the battle belongs to the Lord and victory is assured because God is with them!
• The phrase TO LIFT UP THE BANNER was a sign of victory over the enemy at that time. It was done after the battle was won. The people were ready to raise the banners BEFORE the victory because they had confidence that God would deliver!
• SLIDE #6
• Matthew 21:21–22 (HCSB) Jesus answered them, “I assure you: If you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you tell this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done. And if you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
• Jesus speaks of the tine in of faith to response.
• Once we lift it up to God, what do we do? Do we still stress about it? I AM GLAD I NEVER STRESS ABOUT STUFF!
• Do we raise the banner of victory because we have confidence in our God to whom we prayer? Or do we continue to worry, continue to stress, continue to shorten our lifespan?
• In Matthew 6:25-33, Jesus tells us worry does nothing for us. He reminds us of what we should be seeking.
• SLIDE #7
• Matthew 6:33–34 (HCSB) But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
• Verse 6 expresses the depth of the confidence the people have in their prayers to God.
• 6 Now I know that the Lord gives victory to His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with mighty victories from His right hand.
• Verse 6 is probably David’s response to the prayers of the people.
• David announced with inner assurance that their prayers on his behalf had surely been heard and would be answered: Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed.
• When you pray to God, do you have a plan B? David did not, His plan A was God, and he had no plan B. THAT is confidence!
• Verse 7 and 8 show that!
• David realized that, ultimately, "the battle is not yours, but God's" (2 Chr. 20:15). Those who trusted in their weapons instead of God would be brought to their knees and fall in defeat (cp. Ps. 33:16-17).
• But those who trusted in God would rise up against the enemy and stand firm in victory.
• He knew with God, David would rise and stand firm!
• Let’s look at verse 9.
• SLIDE #8
• Psalm 20:9 (HCSB) Lord, give victory to the king! May He answer us on the day that we call.
• SLIDE #9
III. Accept your victory with humility and joy. 9
• When it is all said and done, we always have to know where the victory comes from, it comes from God!
• The people knew, David knew that his strength did not come from the army, it came from God.
• It takes a dose of humility to stay in that realm when God has delivered victory after victory in one’s life.
• It should also bring us joy you know how great it is to serve such a great God.
CONCLUSION
• You can deal with the battles of life on one of a couple of ways, depend on yourself, worry and stress out about things you most likely cannot control, or you can TRUST in God to deliver you the victory.
• Who you trust and what you trust in will determine if you live in victory or if you are going to live in the quagmire of defeat.
• Jesus wants you to have victory!
