His success in talk radio came about because many feel that he expressed on national radio what many Americans think and cannot express.
That is, he gave his listeners a voice to public express what they believed.
One reason many people like to read the Psalms in the Old Testament is because they feel that the Psalmist in his writings gives voice to how they feel.
For example, in our text the Psalmist said, “...Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.”
The Psalmist is expressing what many people feel.
At times, as we face the difficulties of life, we all wish that we could sprout wings and just fly away from all the problems that surround our life.
This is why:
• Many enjoy going fishing to get away from all their problems.
• Many enjoy going camping to get away from their problems.
• Many enjoy golfing to get away from their problems.
• Many enjoy taking their spouse out for evening meal at some restaurant to get away from their problems.
• Many enjoy going to the mountains to get away from their problems.
• Many go shopping because it takes their mind off of their problems.
Speaking of getting away from everything…
Illus: Reminds me of the man who went to the bus station to purchase a ticket.
He walked up to the bus clerk and said, “I want to purchase a ticket.”
The clerk said, “Sir, that is what I am here for. Where do you wish to purchase a ticket too?"
The man said. “There isn't a bus I wouldn't take. I just want to get away from this place as fast as I can get away!”
This is the way many of us feel at times.
But sometimes running from our problems leads to bigger problems.
Illus: Remember Jonah in the Old Testament?
God told him to go to Nineveh but instead he chose to run from the problems in Nineveh and flee to Tarshish.
Jonah’s reason for running was that he did not like the Assyrians. Assyria was an idolatrous, proud, and ruthless nation bent on world conquest and had long been a threat to Israel. When God sent Jonah as a missionary to the capital, Nineveh, the prophet balked. At the end of his story, Jonah specifies his reason for resistance in Jonah 4:2: “That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. In other words, Jonah wanted Nineveh to be destroyed. He felt they deserved God’s judgment. Jonah didn’t want to see God’s mercy extended to his enemies, and he knew in his heart that God’s intention was to show mercy.
Jonah discovered that God’s salvation is available to all who repent, not just to the people of Jonah’s choosing. So he fled Tarshish and went to Nineveh.
Jonah later found out running brought him a bigger problem then he had when he was swallowed by a whale.
Illus: I know a woman that was married to good hard working Christian man. She watched these slop operas on television each day while he was working.
After watching these slop operas she decided she did not want to be married anymore. She caught her husband blind sided and told him she wanted a divorce.
They got a divorce and she lived in sin for a couple of years.
She later told her best friend I made the biggest mistake I ever made when I divorced my husband. She told her friend if he would take me back I would wash his feet every night.
She tried to go back to him but after being hurt by her he said, I WILL NEVER HAVE HER BACK!
The devil can make sin look attractive and flee into a life of sin. BUT IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME WE WILL SEE THAT HE IS A DECEIVER.
The psalmist was hurt in many ways and he said, Oh if I was only a bird and had wings and fly away.
But flying away from our problems is not the answer.
1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
But how often we RUN when we should TRUST!!!
Let’s think about fleeing…
I. WHAT WE ARE FLEEING FROM
Illus: In 1993, there used to be a television program called, “The fugitive”.
The plot of the weekly series was about Dr. Richard Kimble, who was unjustly accused of killing his wife.
Each week the program was filled with excitement in two ways.
(1) Sometimes it would show him in hot pursuit of the real killer, a one-armed man that kept us on the edge of our chairs.
(2)Sometimes it would show him avoiding Marshal Sam Gerard, only narrowly escaping.
It was an exciting program as he fled from city to city pursuing and being pursued.
No doubt the reason that program was so popular was because we find ourselves being pursued by things that we are trying to flee from.
For example-
A. SOME ARE FLEEING FROM DISAGREEABLE PEOPLE
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger was walking into a business as one of the employees came walking out with her hands cupped over her ears. She was saying very loudly, "Let me out of here. Before I do something or say something I will be sorry for later!”
It was obvious that she had just had a disagreement with one of her co-workers and she had all she could take of that individual.
Every day of our life we have to deal with people we describe as troublemakers.
Illus: School teachers have to deal with them.
In a class one day, Mr. Johnson called Johnny over to his desk after a test, and said:
* “Johnny I have a feeling that you have been cheating on your tests.”
* Johnny was astonished and asked Mr. Johnson why he would say such a thing.
* “Well,” said Mr. Johnson, “I was looking over your test and the question was, ‘’Who was our first president?’ And the little girl that sits next to you, put ‘George Washington,’ on her test and so did you.”
* Little Johnny said, “So, everyone knows that he was the first president.”
* “Well, just wait a minute,” said Mr. Johnson. “The next question was, ‘Who freed the slaves?’ Mary put ‘Abraham Lincoln’ and so did you!”
* “Well, I read the history book the other night and I remembered that,” said Johnny.
* Wait! Wait!” said Mr. Johnson. “The next question was, ‘Who was president during the Louisiana Purchase?’ Mary put ‘I don't know,’ and you put, ‘me neither’.”
We all have to deal with TROUBLEMAKERS, and there are times we wish we had wings so we could fly away.
At those times we would rather be anywhere, than to be with that individual.
* Some people have moved out of neighborhoods to keep from being around people that annoyed them
* Some have transferred from one college to another to get away from someone who irritated them
* Some have quit their job to get away from someone that they disliked and disagreed with
* Some pastors have left their churches to get away from troublemakers
We all know that feeling of having someone irritate us so much that if we saw that person coming down the street we would want to cross the street just to keep from talking to them. (Listen, do not bother to look at me like you are too holy to do such a thing…you know it is true!)
B. SOME ARE FLEEING FROM DISTURBING NEIGHBORS
There was a time when folks were born and grew to adulthood in the same neighborhood. Many would live in the same neighborhood all of their lives. Many even lived in the same house until they died. That is not so common today.
Living in a neighborhood today can be challenging.
Illus: One young man found out about the difficulty of living with others when he went to college and lived in the dormitory with other students. After he had been there a month, his mother came to visit him.
She noticed immediately that it was very noisy. She said, “How can you ever study with all this banging on the walls and this hollering that is going on next door?”
The young man said, “I don’t know why one side bangs on my wall and the other one screams. Mom, I have learned to ignore them! All I do is sit in my room and play my bagpipes.”
Often we feel like the psalmist who said, “...oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.”
C. SOME ARE FLEEING FROM A SPOUSE IN A BAD MARRIAGE
Illus: A detective was inquiring about the strange accidents in a man's life.
* The detective asked. "How did your first wife die?” The man replied, "From eating poison mushrooms.”
• The detective then asked, “How did your second wife die?”
• He said, “She also died after eating poison mushrooms."
• * Then the detective asked, "Well, how did your third wife die?” He answered, "She died with a broken neck.
• * The detective said, "How did she get a broken neck?"
• He said. "She would not eat the poison mushrooms!”
Many have found themselves in a bad marriage and they think like the Psalmist, “...Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away. and be at rest.”
We see WHAT WE ARE FLEEING FROM, but look at -
II. WHAT WE ARE FLEEING TO
People recognize that we can’t be like a bird and just fly away. So what are people doing with their unbearable problems?
A. SOME FEEL THAT SUICIDE IS THE ANSWER
Illus: A survey of high school and college students was made.
Surveyors asked the question, “Do you ever think suicide is an option for young people?”
Listen to this; 49% percent said “Yes!”
* Suicide is the leading cause of death for young people.
* Suicide is a major problem with our veterans. In Vietnam we lost 58,000 soldiers to combat. But did you know that there have been 75,000 Vietnam veterans' suicides since the war?
(Bruce Larson, "When Your Enemy Prospers," Preaching Today, Tape No. 78.)
Illus: For years, Dr. Jack Kovorkian went around the country promoting suicide as an option to some problems. He is believed to have assisted at least a hundred people commit suicide, and finally, when one patient could not release the poison to kill himself, Kovorkian himself did it for him.
That sent him to prison for twenty-five years.
Listen, this man was a LUNATIC!
We can’t find one scripture in the Bible that gives a person the right to take their life…NOT ONE!
God who creates life is the only one who should have the right to take life.
Illus: A California woman has written this about suicide. She said, “No matter how bad the pain is, it is never so bad that suicide is the only answer. Suicide doesn't end pain. It only lays it on the broken shoulders of the survivors!”
God’s Word never encourages a person to take this route!
Some would say with the Psalmist, “...Oh that I had wings like a dove! For then would I fly away. and be at rest.”
B. SOME FEEL THAT ALCOHOL AND DRUGS ARE THE SOLUTION
This false solution is so big among Americans that we can’t come close to grasping the truth about alcohol and drugs in this nation.
Illus: We do know this:
* Over 60% of the world’s illegal drugs are consumed in the United States.
* There are over 5,000 new cocaine users every single day in the United States. Two thousand will begin using crack.
* Some 3.3 million American teenagers are alcoholics.
* An estimated 10% to 23% of workers use drugs on the job.
* Federal agencies estimate that substance abuse costs nearly $100 billion in labor productivity each year.
Multitudes of people in our nation are hooked on drugs and alcohol.
Some feel the answer to their problems is to "fly away on the wings of drugs and alcohol!
C. SOME FEEL THAT DIVORCE IS THE ANSWER
Illus: A Judge in Toledo, Ohio, said, “To call me a judge is something of a misnomer. I am really sort of a public mortician. In the past eleven years I have presided over the death of twenty-two thousand marriages.”
Illus: Listen, I came from a generation where you lived in a community where you would not find a divorced person. But today it has changed so much that it is difficult to find a home that has not had a divorce.
Some believe that if they can get rid of their spouse they can find the happiness they seek to find.
Illus: A dietitian was addressing a large audience in Chicago: "The material we put into our stomachs is enough to have killed most of us sitting here, years ago. Red meat is awful. Soft drinks erode your stomach lining. Chinese food is loaded with MSG. Vegetables can be disastrous to some and none of us realize the long-term harm caused by the germs in our drinking water. But there is one thing that is the most dangerous of all and we all have eaten or will eat it. Can anyone here tell me what food it is that causes the most grief and suffering for years after eating it?"
A 75-year-old man in the front row stood up and said, "Wedding cake."
Illus: They say the only perfect marriage took place between Adam and Eve.
* He didn't have to hear about all the men she could have married.
* She didn't have to hear about the way his mother cooked.
Many today recognize they do not have the perfect marriage.
And they are convinced that they can find the happiness they want, if they can fly away from those wedding vows they took years ago.
We see:
I. WHAT ARE WE FLEEING FROM
II. WHAT WE ARE FLEEING TO
But we need to look at -
III. WHY WE ARE FLEEING
There are reasons why people FLEE from things.
They are fleeing for the reason David wanted to flee.
WHY DID DAVID WANT TO FLEE?
A. FIRST HE FELT OUTNUMBERED BY HIS ENEMIES
David wanted God to deliver him.
Look what he said in Psalm 17:8b-9, he said, “...hide me under the shadow of thy wings. From the wicked that oppress me. from my deadly enemies, who compass me about.”
Illus: David’s situation was similar to the cowboys who lived in the era when there was war with the Indians.
David found himself in the dilemma the cowboys often found themselves. Often they were in their covered wagons, alone, when Indians would ride up and surround them and attack.
David asked God to deliver him from the deadly enemies who surrounded him.
lllus: A pastor called up his pastor friend from another town and told him he was going to resign his church. The pastor stated the reason for resigning was that he had made a lot of enemies preaching the Word of God.
The pastor he called made him promise he would not resign until they had a chance to talk. The discouraged pastor agreed to put it off another week.
The next week the pastor friend went to see the discouraged pastor. They decided they would go downtown to eat while they discussed his problems. The pastor that had come to help said, as they were driving down town, “Have you changed your mind about resigning?”
The discouraged pastor said. "No. I am convinced that my work in this town is finished!”
As they were driving through town, he pointed out several people that were vehemently opposing him.
He said, “No. I am going to resign. I have too many enemies in this town to overcome....It is time to move on!”
He did exactly that, and in a few short years that wonderful church dwindled down to a handful of people. Today that church's doors are closed.
Illus: Listen, one reason that some denominations will only allow a pastor to stay in a church for 3 or 4 years is because he is going to ruffle some feathers if he preaches the Word of God.
He is going to have some who will oppose him and try to destroy him. If a pastor is at a church 20 or 30 years, he will be able to drive through town and see a lot of folks who have opposed him as he preached the Word of God.
• But if a preacher lives in a town that has 300 or 400 thousand people, he might have 20 or 30 that hate him. But he has many more that he preaches to every week that love him.
• He has thousands of people who he can yet win to the Lord. But the devil can make a few enemies in our life seem like an entire army against us.
Illus: Most of us have heard the old saying, “Can’t see the forest for the trees.”
We can’t see what’s right in front of us often because so many things crowd it out.
Allow me to share a passage with you today from Matthew 20, verse 29 -34.
“As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him.
Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us.”
The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
Jesus stopped and called them, “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
• “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”
• Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes, and immediately they received their sight and followed him.”
What’s interesting about these blind men is they knew the Messiah would be a descendant of David and they could see that Jesus was him, while the people who actually had their sight could not.
So many times in counseling with people who want to FLEE FROM THEIR PROBLEMS I want to shake them and say…GET YOUR EYES OFF YOUR PROBLEM AND GET THEM ON THE LORD!!!
It’s funny, but seeing with your eyes doesn’t mean you’ll see with your heart. It can be laid out in front of us, but we’re too spiritually blind to see the truth.
So many times when we want to FLEE God wants us to BE STILL AND LET GOD BE GOD!!!
There are too many trees in our forest.
David was saying, “...Oh that I had wings like a dove! For then would I fly away. and be at rest.”
He was saying that he was surrounded by enemies, and he wanted to get out of there.
B. HE HAD BEEN BETRAYED BY HIS BEST FRIENDS
Listen, no one can bless us like a good friend. But no one can hurt us like a friend that betrays us. The devil knows this!
David's good friend, Ahithophel, had "stabbed him in the back” and had broken David's heart.
We may all have enemies who at one time were our best friends.
Illus: A pastor was preaching about how to deal with our enemies. He said, every one of us has enemies.
In the back of the church a ninety-five-year-old man raised his hand. The pastor recognized him and said, “Bro. Horace, you are shaking your head, you don’t have any enemies? The old man said, “I do not have one enemy on this earth.” The pastor said, “Bro. Horace, why don’t you stand up and tell us how you can live your life and not have one enemy. The Lord Jesus was perfect but he had many enemies, please explain.”
The old man said, “I will be glad to explain. The reason I do not have any enemies on earth is because I have out-lived every one of them!”
No enemy can hurt us like a good friend that betrays us.
How did Ahithophel betray David?
Ahithophel was originally the counselor of King David, but he later betrayed David, aiding Absalom in his rebellion to overthrow David’s kingship. Ahithophel was well-known for his advice, so much so that “Absalom followed Ahithophel’s advice, just as David had done. For every word Ahithophel spoke seemed as wise as though it had come directly from the mouth of God” (2 Samuel 16:23, NLT). Ahithophel had the gift of wisdom.
After Absalom captured Jerusalem, Ahithophel’s first piece of advice to him was that he sleep with all his father’s concubines—in a public manner—so as to become a “stench in your father’s nostrils,” and to strengthen his following (2 Samuel 16:21–22). In those days, taking possession of a king’s concubines was a declaration of one’s right to the throne.
This fulfilled God’s word to David after his adultery with Bathsheba: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel’” (2 Samuel 12:11–12).
Absalom followed the advice of Ahithophel and performed this wicked act on the top of the palace roof for all Israel to see (2 Samuel 16:22).
When Absalom began his rebellion, King David knew that Ahithophel’s advice would be dangerous in the hands of his son.
During his escape up the Mount of Olives, David prayed to the Lord that Ahithophel’s counsel would be turned into foolishness (2 Samuel 15:31).
In answer to David’s prayer, when David reached the summit of the Mount of Olives, he met Hushai the Arkite. David sent Hushai back to Absalom in Jerusalem as a secret agent to frustrate the advice of Ahithophel (2 Samuel 15:32–37).
In Jerusalem Hushai pledged his loyalty to Absalom but began to give advice to work to David’s benefit (2 Samuel 17:14).
Absalom asked his counsellors what next step he should take. Ahithophel said to pursue David immediately with an army of twelve thousand men and “attack him while he is weary and weak” (2 Samuel 17:1).
Hushai, however, counselled Absalom to delay the attack, form a larger force, and totally annihilate David and his men (verses 7–13).
Absalom chose to follow the advice of Hushai and reject Ahithophel’s counsel. This was of God, since “the Lord had determined to frustrate the good advice of Ahithophel in order to bring disaster on Absalom” (verse 14).
When Absalom rejected his advice, Ahithophel’s pride was injured, and “he put his house in order and then hanged himself” (2 Samuel 17:23).
In following Hushai’s advice, Absalom was defeated and received the punishment due his rebellion (2 Samuel 18:6–15).
Ahithophels was King David very best friend.
David said, “...Oh that I had wings like a dove! For then would I fly away. And be at rest.”
C. HE HAD BEEN HURT BY HIS OWN SON
David’s son Absalom turned on him and tried to take his throne from him.
Listen, children are precious. They can bring joy and happiness into our lives. But at the same time they can bring more misery into our lives than anything on this earth.
Absalom did everything he could to turn people against his own father and take his throne from him.
No wonder David said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.”
Listen, some of the things we have to deal with in life are difficult to face. But God allows these things to come into our life because they DRAW US TO GOD AND THEY MAKE US STRONG!
If we could be victorious over these things in our life within ourselves – WE WOULD NOT NEED GOD!
We need God:
• To See
• To Hear
• To Breathe
• To Smell
• To Touch
We need God when we FEEL LIKE FLEEING!!!
One of the reason He allows us to face things that we are not capable of handling, to teach us to TRUST HIM with what we can’t do for ourselves!
In closing let me share with you 8 Powerful Ways to Seeking God and His Presence when you feel like fleeing…
1. Start And End Your Day In Prayer.
We have the time to spend working and talking with their friends, but need to make time to talk to God daily.
2. Make Conscious Choices To Seek God In Our Lives.
In the Bible, Jesus tells us TO LAY UP OUR TREASURES IN HEAVEN
Each day we are going to make plans to provide for our family, but we must not forget each day to lay up treasures in heaven by making prayerful decisions each day.
3. Asking For Forgiveness For Our Sins Is Another Important Way To Seek God.
We cannot embrace God and His holiness if we are still afflicted by our sins.
4. Never Miss An Opportunity To Say Thanks To Our Lord.
There are many reasons for us to be grateful to God, but because we lack the humility to acknowledge God’s blessings in our lives, we forget the need to seek God.
5. Read The Sacred Scriptures.
If we want to seek God, we should know about Him, and the Bible has everything that we should know about our Lord God.
6. Give Praise To The Lord Our God, Even Though It Is Not Every day That We Experience Triumph.
There will be days when we feel that God is not with us, but there is always a reason for us to offer praise to Him. Also, by showing our faith in our Lord even in difficult times, we are showing our dedication to seeking God in our lives.
8. Learn To Surrender Everything To God.
The Bible tells us that the ultimate move to seek the Lord is to put our trust in Him. There is no greater way of doing this than entrusting our lives to God.
Illus: Some well-meaning folks came up with some bumper sticker that state, GOD IS MY COPILOT. God wants to be the PILOT OF YOUR LIFE and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us on our journey.
Conclusion:
God taught David NOT TO FLEE LIKE A DOVE BUT TO STAND!
* Look at verse 16, we read, “As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me.”
* Look at verse 17, we read, “Evening, morning, and at noon, will I pray and cry aloud; and he shall hear my voice.”
God is now trying to teach us what He taught
David.
We have looked at:
I. WHAT ARE WE FLEEING FROM
II. WHAT WE ARE FLEEING TO
III.WHY WE ARE FLEEING NOW
In closing let us close with the song…TAKE YOUR BURDENS TO THE LORD…AND LET US NOT FORGET TO LEAVE THEM THERE!!!
