MESSAGE: “THE CRIES OF DESPERATION”
-- Psalm 130
INTRODUCTION:
When death occurs in what we consider to be an untimely manner it is always harder for us to deal with.
It was only last September we gathered here in sorrow and heavy hearts at the passing of ___.
aa.) Today is even more painful because we are still mourning the passing of ___, and now another untimely death has come to this family.
ab.) Today we come to mourn the passing of ___.
aba.) Again, it is what we consider to be an untimely death, and the very nature of ___’s passing makes our losses even harder to deal with.
Yet as hard as it is for us to deal with, I have found that God’s Word always gives us hope even in those times of life that are so hard to accept and deal with.
A.) Today, I want us to seek some comfort primarily from Psalm 130.
B.) In times like this we all have:
QUESTIONS OF THE HEART.
1.) These questions are not new.
Every generation of humanity has had to deal with these questions. The questions of What if, and if only.
aa.) Today we come here with many of those “what if”, and “If only” questions and comments.
When Scripture recorded the death of Jesus’ good friend Lazarus there were also those “What ifs and If only’s”
ba.) When Martha first met Jesus after the death of her brother she said (John 11:21) If you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
baa.) Later when Martha’s sister Mary met Jesus, she said the same thing to Jesus.
Today we also have those “What if”, and “If only” questions.
ca.) “If only I had got to the boat a few minutes earlier?
cb.) “If only I had known ___’s state of mind and could have got him help.”
cc.) What if I had done this, or that, or something else, would it have made a difference?
cd.) Could I have prevented this tragedy from happening?
ce.) Were there signs I should have seen but missed?
D.) These are all-natural questions we ask but for which we have no answers.
da.) The reality is that family, friends, and loved ones did everything you knew to do.
db.) We can look back on a thousand different scenarios of could have, would have, and should have but in the end the only one who knew the fullness of the pain and heaviness of ___’s heart was ___ himself.
dc.) Much of what he was going through was locked up in his own heart and he did not share that with others.
dca.) We so wish he had, as it might have made a difference.
dcb.) Yet many times each of us are also closed books and carry burdens and pain that we do not share with others.
.01) The writer of Proverbs expressed this so well when he said: “Even in laughter the heart may be in pain, and the end of joy may be grief.” (Proverbs 14:13)
II) WHEN A PERSON TAKES HIS OWN LIFE, IT IS BECAUSE HE IS IN THE DEPTHS OF DESPAIR.
It is not an act of rebellion, selfishness, or anything else.
If anything, it is a desperate cry, and the hope for something better.
1) That is the very place the writer of Psalm 130 was at.
A) Psalm 130:1-2 “Out of the depths, I cry to you O Lord; O Lord hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.”
aa.) This is also the same place that ___ had gone to.
aaa.) How many times he must have called out to God we will never know.
B.) There may be some in this room who have never been where ___ or the Psalmist were at.
ba.) If you have never been at that place, you have truly been blessed.
bb.) Yet I expect for many of us in this room there have been times we have been in that same situation.
bba.) Times when it felt like we were in the depths of despair, and that death looked better than life.
bbb.) Times when we could find no answers but had so many questions, and so much pain that we could not even express our heart to others.
bc.) It is possible there have even been some in this room who have yourself attempted to throw away God’s great gift of life.
bca.) It is not something we often talk about, but even if you have not been quite to that place, there are likely several people in this room who have thought those very same thoughts.
.01) I know I have.
The only difference between ___ and you and I is that he came to the place where he could not come out of those feelings and gave in to the pain and brokenness of his heart.
A.) When a person comes to that place there is usually help available, though the person in that situation becomes blind to it.
III) FORGIVENESS OF GOD
1.) When the Psalmist was a that low point in his life, he recognized the forgiveness that comes from the hand of God.
A.) Psalm 130:3-4 “If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore, you are feared.”
B.) We do not know everything that was going through the mind of the Psalmist, but he took great comfort in knowing that God was more than generous in his forgiveness.
ba.) Even as we look at our own lives, we must be grateful for the amount of Grace and forgiveness that God is able to give to each one of us.
C.) One of the questions people always ask at such times is on the sinfulness of the act of ending one’s own life.
ca.) Is suicide a sin? I believe it is, especially since we have been made in the image of God.
cb.) The real question is not if this act is sin, but if the grace of God is greater than our sins?
cba.) I believe the answer to that question comes in Romans 5:20.
“Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.”
cbb.) You see the very work of Jesus is to bring the grace of God to humanity.
cbc.) If I were to ask how many in this room could quote John 3:16, probably a large number could quote that verse.
cbd.) Yet if I asked you to quote John 3:17 likely only a few here could quote that.
.01) John 3:17 goes on to say: For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.”
D) The fact that Jesus became a man makes him more capable to extend large measures of God’s grace to us.
da.) In fact, Hebrews 4:15 tells us “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
db.) Today we might not understand why this tragedy has happened.
dba.) From our perspective we have only unanswered questions, and yet God knows where we are at, and what we are dealing with in life.
dbb.) God also knew where ___ was at and what he was trying to deal with.
dbb.) Proverbs 18:24 tells us “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”
.01) That friend is our Lord and our God.
IV) HOPE IN THE LORD.
1) “My soul waits and, in His word, I put my hope.” (130:5)
A.) In every situation of life, God is present, and He and His word can give us hope.
aa.) In ___’s pain and desperation God was there though he felt so alone.
ab.) In our own sorrow, grief, and pain today, God is also here.
aba.) Even now, God is giving his strength to us one moment at a time.
2) “Put your hope in the Lord.” (130:7a.)
That is a challenge to us today from the Psalmist.
aa.) Today is a day when our hope needs to be in the Lord.
aa.) There is never a day when this is not true, but in the pain and loneliness of the present, and with the questions we have this is particularly true today.
ab.) In times of uncertainty, pain, and sorrow there is no greater place where we can put our trust.
aba.) Right now, everything has changed in our lives.
abb.) Many things are different in our lives since hearing of ___’s death.
.01) In fact some parts of our lives will never be the same.
abc.) With this being the case, it is so comforting to know that God is still a refuge and the one in whom we need to place our hope.
“For with the Lord is unfailing love.” (130:7b.)
ba.) The Psalmist reminds us that God and his love never changes.
Psalm 46:1-2,7 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”
bb.) Today we need to remember that as great as the love is that anyone in this room has for ___ that God’s love for him is even greater.
“And with him is full redemption.” (130:7c.)
ca.) The very purpose for which Jesus came to this earth was to bring redemption to mankind.
caa.) ___ came to the place of recognizing what Christ had done for him and a few years ago obeyed the Gospel in the waters of baptism pledging his faith to Jesus Christ.
cab.) It is our hope that ___ has continued to hold on to his faith in Christ, and to trust in Him.
CONCLUSION:
1.) I want to also challenge each person here today.
A.) Wherever you are today in your walk of faith I encourage you to look to Jesus.
aa.) In times like this, Jesus is and will continue to be your greatest source of strength, and hope.
ab.) It is not just in times like this we are in need of Jesus. He is there for us and wants to be with us in every part of our life.
2.) As we close this service today, I also want to speak for a few seconds on the challenges and desperateness of life.
A.) I have debated rather this is the appropriate time and place to say this but feel that I should.
B.) Sometimes life gets extremely hard for everyone of us.
ba.) As hard as life can be, the storms we go through in life will eventually pass if we can only hold in there.
bb.) If you are having those feelings of hopelessness in your life, please remember there are always people who love you, and are there for you.
bc.) If you are in a particularly hard place today where life seems unbearable and hopeless, please reach out to others.
bca.) Go to your friends, your family, speak to a teacher, a minister, a guidance counsellor, talk to your doctor.
POEM TO READ AT GRAVESIDE SERVICE
Suicide – Eulogy Poem
(c) 2008 Dick Underwood
No one knew the torment,
that you were going through;
We only kept on seeing
What we really wanted to.
We saw the outward smile,
but not your inner pain;
We never really dreamt,
That you would never smile again.
Forgive us if we failed to see,
What we could do to aid;
Or if we failed to comprehend,
How much you were afraid.
We pray your mental anguish,
Will now forever cease;
And that your deep anxieties,
Will be replaced by peace.
We know your pain invaded,
Every single thought you had;
It made you cry internally,
And deeply, deeply sad.
But we in turn remember,
The good times, not the bad;
We remember when you smiled at us,
And not when you were sad.
So when we think about your life,
We won’t dwell upon its close;
We’ll remember all the good times,
And forget about life’s blows.
We’ll remember all the happiness,
The joy and not the tears;
The assurance and the confidence,
And not irrational fears.
Our lives have all been better,
Because you have been there;
So now we leave your memory,
In God’s all-loving care.
