TRAVELING THROUGH THIS WORLD OF SORROW
TEXT: PSALM 20:1-2; 7
INTRODUCTION:
The song, “I Want to Know More About My Lord,” was written by Lee Roy Abernathy. I believe David, who wrote Psalm 20, would relate to this song. The first verse says, “While traveling through this world of sorrow, I’m on my way to Glory Land. I’ll not turn back for some tomorrow. My trials here, I’ll understand.” David was navigating a dangerous world. At one point in his life, he said, “I feel that there is but a step between me and death” (I Sam. 20:3).
But this world has always been a dangerous place for followers of the Lord. Jesus said, “If the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love his own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:18-19). The word “Hate” in the Greek is mis-eh'-o and means “detest.” Detest is a stronger word than hate and implies violent opposition.
Following Jesus got Stephen stoned to death. It got the Apostle James, John’s brother, killed with the sword on the order of King Herod Agrippa I. Following Jesus led to the violent death of all the twelve Apostles save John, and got Paul beheaded. In more modern times, we have such martyrs as the five American missionaries – Jim Elliot, Pete Flemming, Ed McCully, Nate Saint, and Roger Youderian, who were killed by the Ecuadorian natives they were trying to reach for Jesus in the 1950s. Many Christians are martyred daily for their faith in countries such as China, N. Korea, Nigeria, Afghanistan, and other Muslim-ruled countries.
I want to read the first two verses of our text again: “The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee; send thee help from the sanctuary and strengthen thee out of Zion...” Verse 7 says, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.”
I like J. Vernon Magee’s commentary. He said, “Israel, from the beginning, said this psalm spoke of the Messiah. The Targum…and the Talmud teach that the king mentioned in this psalm is the Messiah. The great [11th century] Talmud scholar, Rabbi Solomon Isaaci…endorsed this interpretation but suggested that it should be given up because Christians [were] making use of this psalm as evidence that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah. I feel that this is a very good testimony to the fact that this psalm does refer to the Lord Jesus.”
Yes, while we as Christians are traveling through this world of sorrow on our way to Glory Land, we do not look to our own strength for help, nor to man, neither governments nor the might of armies to protect us. We look to the Lord Jesus Christ for our help in times of trouble.
I want to preach about the spiritual qualities we need, and that the Lord makes available to us as we travel through this world of sorrow. These are appropriated by faith. They are Reliance, Resistance, Resilience, and Recovery.
I. RELIANCE
A. The definition of Reliance is: “dependence on or trust in someone or something; a person or thing on which someone depends.”
B. My search in the KJV for rely on or relied upon brought up two references: I Chron. 13:18 and II Chron. 16:7. In both, the Hebrew word translated as relied is shaw-ann' and means “to lean on, trust in, support.”
C. In the first reference, we read of King Jeroboam. In 930 BC he rebelled against Rehoboam, son of Solomon, and took 10 tribes and formed the independent Kingdom of Israel in the north. The tribes of Judah and Benjamin set up the Kingdom of Judah in the south.
D. Several years later, when Abijah was King of Judah, Israel’s 800,000 men came against Judah’s 400,000 warriors. Before the battle, Abijah stood on top of Mt. Ephraim and called out to Israel, condemning them for their wickedness in departing from Jehovah, for creating a false priesthood, and for setting up golden calves to worship.
E. Abijah said God was the Captain of Judah’s forces, and Israel could not prevail in the battle. Jeroboam set half his forces in front of Judah and half behind, surrounding Judah. What did Judah do? Scripture says, “They cried unto the Lord, and the priests sounded with the trumpets. Then the men of Judah gave a shout: and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass, that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. And the children of Israel fled before Judah: and God delivered them into their hand…and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon the Lord God of their fathers” (II Chron. 13:14-16; 18).
F. Later in history, in II Chron. 16, we read that Baasha, King of Israel attacked Judah under King Asa, and took territory from Judah. Instead of relying on God, Asa took silver and gold out of the Temple and from his own treasure and sent it to Benhadad, King of Syria as an offering to ally against Israel. Benhadad took the offering and when Baasha heard and gave up and went back to Israel.
G. Then God sent a prophet named Hanani to Asa and said, “Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand…In this you have done foolishly; therefore, from now on you shall have wars” (II Chron. 16:7 & 9). Three years later Asa became diseased in his feet and died.
H. Let’s determine to be like Abijah who relied upon the Lord and not like Asa, who relied on money and the King of Syria.
II. RESISTANCE
A. Not only do we need to rely on the Lord, but we also need to be able to resist evil. The dictionary defines Resistance as “the refusal to accept or comply with something; the ability not to be affected by something, especially adversely.”
B. The first verse that comes to mind for most Christians when we hear the word resist is James 4:7: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Here resist is from the Greek, “anth-is'-tay-mee” and means “To set one's self against, to withstand, resist, oppose.”
C. The devil is the author of evil. To resist him we must first submit ourselves to God - we need to rely upon the Lord. When the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again, He took away a great power that the devil had been granted: death. How do I know that?
D. Referring to Jesus, scripture says, “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil (Heb. 2:9).
E. It had been decades since John had seen Jesus when Jesus appeared to him on the Isle of Patmos. John said it “looked like” Jesus, but His head and hair were white. His eyes were flames of fire and His feet shone like brass. His voice sounded like a waterfall, and He was shining like the sun. Scripture says, “John fell down as dead.”
F. Jesus laid down the seven stars that were in His right hand, then laid that right hand on John and said, “Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
G. Preachers, myself included, usually only quote the first half of Peter’s statement in I Pet. 5: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour…” But we neglect to finish Peter’s statement as he writes: “…whom resist steadfast in the faith…” (vs 8-9).
H. But remember, every power the devil has was given to him by God. He only has delegated power. Remember when God allowed the devil to torment Job so mercilessly? But God told the devil he could not kill Job, because God holds the ultimate power over all life.
I. Let us rely on God and resist the devil, the source of all evil in this world of sorrow.
III. RESILIENCE
A. If we rely on the Lord alone, and resist the devil and his evildoing, God will help us to be resilient. That’s not a word we use much. The dictionary defines resilience as “the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.”
B. One description of resilience I heard recently was “the capacity to adjust to difficulties, misfortune, and change: the ability to withstand and overcome adversity.” Some synonyms are durability, toughness, and adaptability.
C. When I think about resilience I think of the Apostle Paul. When Jesus sent Ananias to pray for Paul, among other things the Lord said of Paul was “…he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake” (Acts 9:15-16). And suffer he did!
D. Turn to **II COR. 11:24-28 PINK READ**. Another synonym for resilience is “springiness.” I want to pull out that phrase from Paul where he said, “…once I was stoned.” Acts fourteen has Paul and his missionary band in the city of Lystra in the province of Galatia. This was where Paul was stoned by the Jews from Antioch and Iconium. They carried him out of the city, supposing him to be dead.
E. The Bible says the disciples stood around him, also thinking him to be dead. Now, remember the synonyms for resilience: durability, and toughness. There is another synonym for resilience. It is “springiness.”
F. As the disciples stood around, they saw the body of Paul begin to stir. The Bible says, he “…rose up, and came into the city…” I believe he “sprang up” and said, “Let’s go to Derbe. I feel like preachin’!” And that’s exactly what he did.
G. Scripture says “…the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. And when they had preached the gospel to that city and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch. Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. (Acts 14:19-22).
H. Because Paul relied upon the Lord and resisted evil, the Lord gave him the grace of resilience. Since “God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34), he will do for us what He did for Paul and all His other servants.
IV. RECOVERY
A. All those who rely upon the Lord alone and resist the devil and his evil will be given the grace of resilience. And even after we’ve been battered, bruised, and beaten down by the adversities of this world of sorrow, we will be able to recover.
B. The dictionary definition of “recover” is “a return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength: regain possession of something stolen or lost.”
C. David pursued the Amalekites after they had raided his town of Ziklag and had taken away the women and children, and “…recovered them all…” (I Sam. 30:19).
D. Hezekiah, King of Judah had a close relationship with God, one who did “what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God” (II Chron. 31:20). He is mentioned many times in the OT. II Kings 18:6-7 says of him, “For he held fast to the Lord…he kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses. The Lord was with him; he prospered wherever he went.”
E. He relied on the Lord, resisted evil, and was resilient and because of this, when he prayed to the Lord with tears, God heard him, and he recovered from a disease unto death. The Lord extended his life for 15 years (II Kings 20:5-70).
F. Just as David was able to recover all that the Amalekites had stolen, as Hezekiah recovered from his terminal illness, and as Paul recovered and “sprang back” from his stoning, the Lord will help us to recover from every onslaught the world throws at us.
Closing:
Other examples of those who relied on God, resisted evil, were resilient in the face of difficulties, and thus were able to recover and face uncertainty with faith, was Noah who built a boat on dry land because he believed God who said it was going to rain when no one knew what rain was; David, who as a young man, brought down the giant, Goliath, with a stone and a sling and cut the giant’s head off with Goliath’s own sword; Daniel who prayed on when told to stop by Babylon’s king, and relied on God for safety in the Lions’ Den, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who trusted in God to bring them out of the fiery furnace.
We have talked about the Jews who faithfully trusted Jehovah and the NT Christians who by faith overcame every evil thing the world and the devil threw at them, but what of those in more recent times? I don’t know how many of you have heard of Richard Wurmbrand. I’ve read his biography, “Tortured for Christ,” and seen a movie based on his life. I am also reading a book he wrote called “Marx and Satan.” Wurmbrand was a Communist atheist who was saved and became a Christian minister.
He was imprisoned two times totaling fourteen years and tortured by the Soviet-controlled Communists of Romania for his refusal to give up his Christian faith. He spent three years in solitary confinement…in a cell twelve feet underground, with no lights or windows. There was no sound because…the guards wore felt on the soles of their shoes. He…maintained his sanity by sleeping during the day, staying awake at night, and…composing…then delivering a sermon each night. During his imprisonment…his physical torture included mutilation, burning, and being locked in a…frozen icebox…[He]…recounted having the soles of his feet beaten until the flesh was torn off, then the next day beaten again to the bone, claiming there were no words to describe that pain” (credit Wikipedia). I hope and pray that none of us ever have to endure this kind of pain, but if we do, God will give us the grace to overcome.
I believe this upcoming Presidential election is crucial But with that said, we should not trust a party or a person to save us or the country. Instead, remember the words of my text: “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” Remember the words of Daniel: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings…” (Dan. 2:21). Remember the words of King Nebuchadnezzar of old: “And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up my eyes unto heaven, and my understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him that lives forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? Reliance, Resistance, Resilience, and Recovery: Claim them by faith.
