Illus: That reminds me of two Canadians, Elmer and Huey that live in Newfoundland. They were walking down the street in New York looking for a way to make some easy money. They only had $350 between them and when it was gone they would be broke and on the streets.
They saw a sign on a store window which read:
• Suits $5.00 each
• Shirts $2.00 each
• Trousers $2.50 per pair
Elmer says to his pal, "Huey LOOK! At these prices we can buy a truckload of them and go back to Newfoundland and make a fortune." Huey agreed!
Elmer says, “Listen, when we go in there you let me do the talking because if they can tell by our accent that we are Canadians they may jack the prices up and sell them in Newfoundland themselves!” Huey agreed!
They go inside and Elmer says with his New York accent, "Excuse me sir, but I'll take 50 suits at $5.00 each, 100 shirts at $2.00 each, 50 pairs of trousers at $2.50 each. I'll back up my pickup and. . . ."
The owner of the shop interrupts, "You boys are from Newfoundland, aren't you?"
"Yah," says a surprised Elmer "How did you know?"
The owner says, "Because this is a drycleaners."
We all have problems, but if we want to find a solution to our problems we have to go to the right place.
Illus: This reminds me of the television commercial where the man goes to a store to get a cell phone and the lady who is busy putting stock on the shelves said, “Mister, this is a hardware store.” He then realized he had come to the wrong place for help.
Now some folks have problems and even if they go to the right place they still do not seem to be able to get any help.
Illus: Some folks have written to “Dear Abby” for some help, but some folks are helpless. For example, let me read REAL LETTERS that were sent to her:
• Dear Abby,
I have a man I can't trust. He cheats so much, I'm not even sure the baby I'm carrying is mine.
• Dear Abby,
I've suspected that my husband has been fooling around, and when confronted with the evidence, he denied everything and said it would never happen again.
• Dear Abby,
A couple of women moved in across the hall from me. One is a middle-aged gym teacher and the other is a social worker in her mid twenties. These two women go everywhere together and I've never seen a man go into or leave their apartment. Do you think they could be Lebanese?
• Dear Abby,
What can I do about all the Sex, Nudity, Fowl Language and Violence on my VCR?
• Dear Abby,
I am a twenty-three year old liberated woman who has been on the pill for two years. It's getting expensive and I think my boy friend should share half the cost, but I don't know him well enough to discuss money with him.
There are some people that we know and we can't help but wonder if there is help for them anywhere.
But for most folks there is hope if they know where to look for help in times of need.
In this particular Psalm that I read to you we find that David is in BIG TROUBLE!
David was a fugitive, fleeing for his life as King Saul sought to kill him. Just before he wrote this Psalm, David had come as close to being killed as he had ever come. What had happened? Well, Saul and his men had surrounded David at Mt. Maon and were about to close in for the kill when news came to Saul that the Philistines had just invaded the land. Since that was more urgent than killing David was, it diverted Saul's attention and gave David time to escape.
It is in this Psalm that we can see what a GODLY MAN NEEDS TO DO DURING THE TRYING TIMES OF HIS LIFE. Notice what David did. First...
I. HE LOOKED ABOVE
Look at verses 1-2, we read, "Preserve me. 0 God: for in thee do I put my trust. 0 my soul. thou hast said unto the Lord. Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee."
Illus: A woman was at work when she received a phone call that her daughter was very sick with a fever. She left her work and stopped by the pharmacy to get some medication. She got back to her car and found that she had locked her keys in the car. She didn't know what to do:
• She called home and told the babysitter what had happened. The babysitter told her that the fever was getting worse. She said, "You might find a coat hanger and use that to open the door."
• The woman looked around and found an old rusty coat hanger that had been thrown down on the ground, possibly by someone else who at some time or other had locked their keys in their car. Then she looked at the hanger and said, "I don't know how to use this."
• So she bowed her head and asked God to send her some help. Within five minutes an old rusty car pulled up, with a dirty, greasy, bearded man who was wearing an old biker skull rag on his head. The woman thought, "This is what you sent to help me?" But, she was desperate, so she was also very thankful.
• The man got out of his car and asked her if he could help. She said, "Yes, my daughter is very sick. I stopped to get her some medication and I locked my keys in my car. I must get home to her. Please, can you use this hanger to unlock my car?"
• He said, "Sure". He walked over to the car, and in less than a minute the car was opened. She hugged the man and through her tears she said, "Thank You So Much! You are a very nice man."
• The man replied, "Lady, I am not a nice man. I just got out of prison today. I was in prison for car theft and have only been out for about an hour."
• The woman hugged the man again and with sobbing tears cried out loud, "Oh, Thank you God! You even sent me a Professional!"
God is always there to help us…ALWAYS! But the problem is that many do not look to Him for the help they need.
David looked up for the help he needed in time of need.
So many times we get so busy in life that we do what the airplane pilot does; we put it on “Automatic Pilot”.
That is, we live in the fast lane of life and we do not have time to stop and reflect on what our needs are, we just set everything on the "routine" button and keep on trucking!
Many have compared life to a Merry-Go-Round where each day we go round and round.
Illus: Let me give you a question and an answer.
QUESTION: You are driving in a car at a constant speed.
• On your right side is a valley.
• And on your left side is a fire engine traveling at the same speed as you.
• In front of you is a galloping pig which is the same size as your car and you cannot overtake it.
• Behind you is a helicopter, flying at ground level. Both the giant pig and the helicopter are also traveling at the same speed as you.
• What must you do to safely get out of this highly dangerous situation?
ANSWER: Get yourself off the Merry-Go-Round before you fall off.
For many people life has become a big Merry-Go-Round and it seems they can not get off.
But this is one reason God set aside a day for Israel that is called the Sabbath.
When God set up the Sabbath for the Jews He told them to work six days and rest one.
That day of rest does not mean we lay in the bed and rest all day.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
It is like when a musician is playing his instrument and he comes to a rest note, he stops everything and rests for a short time before he resumes playing again.
God knew that we all would find ourselves in the rat race of life and we needed a day when we can STOP DOING ALL THE THINGS THAT WE DO FOR SIX DAYS and STOP AND REFLECT ON GOD.
We all know what a short, relaxing vacation from the routine of life can do for us. There are many people that are making dumb mistakes that they probably would not make if they would take some time and get alone with God and forget about the routine of life and LOOK ABOVE like David did and let God lead them in getting their priorities straightened out.
This is why Christians should have a “Quiet Time” with the Lord each day. This is a time when they can take the focus off the things down here and LOOK UP to see the Lord Jesus.
David knew his greatest resource could be found in LOOKING ABOVE. He recognized it was GOD WHO WAS THE PRESERVER.
We read, again, in verse 1, "Preserve me. O God: for in thee do I put my trust."
David had been a shepherd. One thing a shepherd did was protect his sheep from wild creatures that would prey upon them.
Illus: Wherever the President of the United States goes there are people that dislike him and would seek to kill him if they had the chance. But, he travels with a group of men that we call "secret service agents," that are no more than glorified body-guards. That is, their job is to protect him, and protect him is what they do! The president puts his life in the hands of these men wherever he goes.
David made it clear where he had put his trust. Read verse 1 again, "Preserve me. O God: for in thee do I put my trust."
Many years earlier David had made the decision to put his trust in the Lord. We know that because he reminded himself of what he had said to the Lord many years before. He said, in verse 2, "O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord. Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;"
Look at the word "extendeth" in verse 2. Notice, it is in italics, which means the translators later added this word so the verse would be clear as we read it. Actually David was saying, "Thou art my Lord, you do not need my goodness extended to you, but I sure need your goodness extended to me."
Illus: To best explain what that means, we need to consider the story of a wealthy Roman who had a son who was everything his father had hoped he would not be. The wealthy Roman also had a slave, named Marcellus, who was devoted to him and was everything he had hoped his son would be.
The wealthy Roman died and left everything to Marcellus. However, he made one stipulation in his will. He decreed his son might choose one thing from his estate before it was given to his slave, Marcellus.
The time came for the son to make his choice. He looked over the list of everything his father owned, including his slaves, and he said, "My choice of all that my father owned is - Marcellus!"
David looked around and saw all that was available to him and he said, "Lord. I will take you. I have nothing to offer you. but I want you. I am perfectly SATISFIED in you and you alone!"
David not only looked ABOVE for the help he needed, also...
II. HE LOOKED AROUND
When he did, he saw his second greatest source of help came from GOD'S PEOPLE.
In verse 3 we read, "But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is ALL MY DELIGHT!"
How many times have we been discouraged and felt that we could not go any further; then some of God's people lifted us up and energized us spiritually?
Illus: Every pastor can tell you that many times people have come to them and said, "Preacher, you do not know how discouraged I was when I came to church tonight, but after hearing the comforting Word of God and being around God's people, I feel like I have just gotten saved and I am ready to hop on the front lines and get back into the battle for the Lord."
Look at verse 3, David said that God's people were his DELIGHT and every time he associated with them, he was spiritually strengthened.
We have seen that HE LOOKED ABOVE, HE LOOKED AROUND and -
III. HE LOOKED WITHIN
There are times when we feel that we are all alone. We may be surrounded by people, yet we still feel all alone! However, it is amazing when we discover that we are not alone, but that WE HAVE GOD WITHIN US!
One of the names of God is "Immanuel" which means: "God with us."
This is one thing many Christians are not as aware of as they should be, but the fact is, God is with us wherever we go.
• Many Christians would not do some of the things they do if they were really conscious of the presence of God with them.
• Many Christians would not feel so hopeless if they were conscious that God was with them to help them.
• Many Christians would not feel so lonely if they were conscious that when God said, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee" He really meant it.
Illus: Sometimes a mother will walk away and leave her children, or sometimes a dad will walk away and leave his family, but listen, God has promised - "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." (Heb. 13:5)
What a comfort it is to know that God is with us, and when no one else will, or can, help us, HE IS THERE AND HE CAN HELP US I
In verses 5-9 we read, "The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places: yea. I have a goodly heritage. I will bless the LORD. who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope."
As David looked within, he found great strength.
Illus: A lot of folks do not know that King George VI was a born-again Christian and he really loved the Lord. While king, he went to Canada for a visit. The Canadian officials felt that while he was visiting that vast land that he would like to meet one of the native-born chiefs. The time came that he was introduced to Chief Whitefeather, and it happened that the chief was also a born-again Christian.
Chief Whitefeather was asked if he would sing a song for King George, and the chief was more than happy to do so. But, what song could he sing for a king! So, this is the song he sang, see if you recognize it. The words go like this: "I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold, I'd rather be His than have riches untold, I'd rather have Jesus than houses or land, I'd rather be led by His nail-pierced hand-Than to be the king of a vast domain or be held in sin's dread sway; I'd rather have Jesus than anything This world affords today."
The king, who had everything the world had to offer a man, walked up to chief Whitefeather and said, "I WOULD TOO!"
David felt the same way. As he sought comfort for his soul, he LOOKED WITHIN and said, "The Lord is my portion..."
Conclusion:
I. HE LOOKED ABOVE
II. HE LOOKED AROUND
III. HE LOOKED WITHIN
