Wings of a dove
PPT 1 Series title Jukebox lessons
(Note to pastors, I have been doing a series, talking popular songs and playing parts of them and using them as a jump off point for my message. Today however I chose to place the song at the end of the service. The song is Simon and Garfunkel's "Like A Bridge Over Troubled Water." You can find it on Youtube. I cut the last stanza out, to flow better with my sermon. Blessings!)
PPT 2 Msg title
Taken from this verse:
Ps 55:6 And I said, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.
Have you ever wished you had the wings of a dove to fly away from what is going on in life?
Even the strongest of persons can face circumstances that push them beyond their breaking point.
West Virginia is experiencing the worst storm/flooding in 100 years. Another way of saying that is that there is probably no one alive in the state of Virginia who has had experience dealing with that type of storm.
They are facing a challenge no one they know has had to deal with before.
Uniqueness of severity of a storm can make a person wish they could fly away.
The length of a trial can make a person want to fly away. (A soft tongue breaketh the bone)
Pr 25:15 Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.
(Strong wills can be broken with a persistent speech, that works both for good and for negative things.)
A trial that a person cannot see any resolution would make a normal person want to fly away from.
PPT 3 text (picture of withered crops)
Jer 8:20 "Harvest is past, summer is ended, And we are not saved." (NAS)
Jer 8:20 The crops are in, the summer is over, but for us nothing's changed. We're still waiting to be rescued. (MSG)
This passage talks about harvest time that brought in insufficient resources for the year ahead. In an agrarian society, with no long term storage planning or sites, a bad harvest spells doom ahead. Some people looking at their life cannot see good down the road, that leads to feelings of hopelessness, and a strong desire to run from circumstances they cannot run from.
All of us at one time or another have wanted to:
Fly away from a set of circumstances
Fly away from a state of mind
Fly away from some turmoil
What if you can't fly away? Then what?
There are some things you can't fly away from.
Inward grief, the pain of loss.
Usually you cannot fly away from loneliness, because being with other people doesn't cure loneliness. You can be lonely in a crowd.
You can't fly away from:
Some work situations.
Some financial situations.
Some family situations.
Some physical illness situations.
Even if magically you were able to grow wings:
A doves wings cannot out fly slander. (Spurgeon)
A doves wings cannot out fly a lying tongue.
A doves wings cannot out fly heartbreak.
What happens when people got boxed in with no visible way of relief?
This psalm is a prayer of those who do not have the ability to escape. The psalmist clearly states he doesn't have any such wings.
What do you do when life backs you in a corner?
Some people take the wings of suicide.
Some people are so vexed, have so little hope, and are so storm tossed inwardly they take their own lives.. I suppose everyone has thought of that at some point in their life. Most of us talk ourselves out of it, or in my case God intervened.
Here are some very sobering statistics
Nearly 30,000 Americans commit suicide every year.
Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death for 15 to 24-year-olds and 2nd for 24 to 35-year-olds.
Men commit suicide more often than women, but women think about it more then men.
On average, 1 person commits suicide every 16.2 minutes.
There is 1 suicide for every 25 attempted suicides.
All those statistics point to one very tragic reality. There are a lot of people in America, and the rest of the world who are very overwhelmed by life.
You don't have to be suicidal to wish you could fly away.
I want to make a couple of short observations, and then we will give some good news.
1. A change of location won't end many issues.
You don't leave your emotions in one state if you move to another.
You don't leave your mind in one state if you move to another.
You don't necessarily leave loneliness in one state if you move to another.
In short there are a lot of things that travel with you.
2. Jesus said in the world you Shall have tribulation. No place in the world is trouble free.
Often all we do is trade one set of problems for another. The new ones may be worse, the new ones may be better, but no matter where you go, in this world there will always be problems. So no matter what the best course of action always has to involve coping strategies.
3. Sometimes a physical change does bring great change and relief.
A physical change can reset your life's router.
A physical change can bring better results. (Jesus hometown vs. Samaria)
4. But what if you can't make a physical change? If you can't change the world around you, then maybe you can change the world inside you.
I want to read this mornings text out of the book of Psalms, but this time we will also read the next two verses.
PPT 4 text
Ps 55:6 And I said, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.
Ps 55:7 "Behold, I would wander far away, I would lodge in the wilderness. Selah.
Ps 55:8 "I would hasten to my place of refuge From the stormy wind [and] tempest."
David isn't saying there is no place he can go, he is simply saying he can't get there quick enough.
We don't sing hymns very much any more, musical tastes change. But many of the old songs had some very encouraging messages.
One such song, which may in fact have been based on this passage in psalms has these words:
Jesus is a rock in a weary land, a weary land
Oh Jesus is a rock in a weary land,
A shelter in the time of storm.
David isn't saying he has no place of comfort and rest, he is simply saying he can't get there at that moment.
He calls that place, "My place of refuge from the stormy wind and tempest."
He may have had a physical location in mind.
The cave of Adullam
A place on his fathers property where as a shepherd boy he learned to play the guitar, sing songs, and rest quietly with the sheep under his care.
If life is vexing you a solution may be a place where you have found quietness and rest before.
But I think there is something even better than a quiet place.
David wished for the wings of a dove, what he wished for and didn't have, we who are alive today have available to us.
PPT 5 text
Lu 3:21 Now it came about when all the people were baptized, that Jesus also was baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened,
Lu 3:22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, "Thou art My beloved Son, in Thee I am well-pleased."
So here we see the Holy Spirit descending like a dove and remaining on Jesus. In some ways we can say He had the wings of a dove. In other words He had the Holy Spirit to help Him in difficult times.
PPT 6
John 16:7 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
What Jesus is saying is that when He leaves He will send the wings of a dove (the Holy Spirit) to all His disciples. Maybe we can't literally fly away, but the Holy Spirit can take us to a place we couldn't get to by ourselves where we are no longer overcome emotionally and mentally, but we are in a place where are problems are manageable.
We can have help and hope even when our summer crop has been a complete bust.
PPT 7 Like a Bridge Over Troubled Water
Close:
Pastor you have no idea how much I wish I could fly away.
Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to all who would believe on Him. Are you a believer, if not wouldn't you like to have that comforter Jesus promised?...
If you are a believer and you are wishing you could fly away. I would like to pray that you become more aware of the Holy Spirit's help and assistance, and comfort in a difficult season.
