Title: Coming Out Of The Pit
Text: Psalms 40:2-3
Intro: We all get discouraged. How many of you have ever been in a pit of discouragement? We try to live our lives according to God’s word, but many times we find ourselves in trouble. We fall into a pit and find that not only are we deep in a pit but the pit if miry clay. What do we do?
Ill. Of man walking through graveyard and falls into a grave. Not able to get out, just about to give up when he hears a voice say, “I couldn’t get out either.” The man found new motivation to get out.
Many of us fall into Satan’s miry pit of discouragement and while we are there we lose our joy of salvation, our excitement of service, and our determination for holiness.
ILL. I heard about a woman who owned a little bird. The bird lived in a cage and he would sing all day long. That little bird was always happy. He brought joy to the whole household with his singing. One day the mother was cleaning house with a vacuum cleaner. She wanted to do the bird a favor and vacuum the bottom of the cage. While cleaning out the cage she dropped a vacuum attachment. So, she bent over to pick it up. When she did, the hose went up to the top of the cage. She heard something go Phoof! And the vacuum began to race. The bird disappeared like magic as he was sucked inside. The woman was frantic. She turned off the vacuum cleaner and opened the bag. She dug around in all of that dirt and dust until she found that little bird. She gently cleaned out his mouth and wiped off his eyes. She brushed him off and put him back on his perch. But that little bird never sang again. He lost his song!
Have you lost your song today? Has the devil sucked you up in his vacuum cleaner? Has the devil caused you to lose your song? I’ll tell you most of us have been down in the devil’s vacuum sweeper. The devil’s done his best to get you discouraged. The devil’s done his best to get you to give up and quit! He’s done his best, but His best isn’t good enough! You see, we serve a God who’s greater than any devil. He sucks us up, but we just keep coming out! When you come out of the devil’s vacuum cleaner... When you come out of the devil’s pit...
You’ve got to clean out our mouth.
- You’ve got to wipe your eyes.
- You’ve got to shake yourself.
- And then you’ve got to trust God to give you a song again!
I. DON’T STAY DISCOURAGED
A. Don’t let the Devil steal your song
1. That little bird never sang again
2. He just got up on his little perch and stared.
3. He was in shock.
4. Some of us get shocked when bad things happen to us.
- I’m a child of God.
- This is not supposed to happen to me.
- I serve God.
- Go to church
- Pay my tithes
- Love my neighbor
5. We get discouraged and we want to just give up.
- If this is the way God takes care of me, I give up
6. But God wants you to sing again.
7. God puts a new song in your heart and it’s up to you to sing it.
8. The devil has sucked you up in his vacuum sweeper.
9. Trouble has come. So what!
B. God is Alive
1. So what if trouble has come?
2. Our God is the Living God!
1 Timothy 1:17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
3. Clean out your mouth, wipe your eyes, brush yourself off, and get
ready to sing.
C. God Hears Our Cry
1. David said, "I waited patiently for the Lord... and He heard me.
2. God heard me and brought me up out of the pit!
3. God heard me and brought me up out of the miry clay!
4. And he set my feet on the solid rock.
5. God heard David, and God will hear you also!
Psalms 3:4 I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.
Psalms 34:4 I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
Psalms 120:1 In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he heard me.
6. But, I’ve been knocked into the pit.
7. I’ve had the daylights knocked out of me!
8. God still hears you in the pit.
9. God sees you even though you don’t see Him!
10. So many stay there in the pit of disappear because they give up to easy.
- God sends the help but we give up before they get there
- Be determined to do what is right, even if we don’t see immediate results
- God I’m going to tithe even though my finances are in turmoil
- God I’m going to believe for healing no matter what the doctor says
- God I’m not giving up
11. You must P.U.S.H.
PRAY
UNTIL
SOMETHING
HAPPENS
II. BIBLICAL EXAMPLES
A. ISRAEL GOT DISCOURAGED BECAUSE OF THE WAY
Numbers 21:4-5
4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to
compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged
because of the way.
5 And the people spake against God, and against Moses...
1. They got discouraged and they spoke!
2. Sometimes people get discouraged because they have the wrong kind
of words coming out of their mouths.
3. They may live "Home, home on the range..." but they have plenty of
discouraging words they have to put up with.
4. Joshua was told, "Let not these words depart out of thy mouth..."
5. What kind of words?
6. Joshua was told, "Be strong and of good courage."
7. Courage is the opposite of discouragement.
8. What kind of words brought this courage?
9. What kind of words kept Joshua strong?
10. It was the commands, counsels, and promises of God!
11. It was God’s words that were supposed to be on his lips.
B. ELIJAH GOT DISCOURAGED (1Kings 18 & 19)
1. Elijah saw all those wonderful miracles of God.
- He saw the fire fall from heaven and consume the sacrifice.
- He saw the defeat of the prophets of Baal.
- He saw a nation cry out to God
- He outran the chariots of Ahab twenty miles across the plains.
- He was full of God’s power; the hand of God was upon him.
2. But, Jezebel got after him and he got discouraged.
- But when he heard that Jezebel was after him, he got discouraged.
3. Elijah began to run.
- At first he was running with the hand of the Lord upon him.
- Next, he was running from the hand of Jezebel with fear upon him.
- He hid under a Juniper tree and said, "Oh God, let me die."
- He got discouraged.
4. Don’t condemn yourself if you’ve been discouraged.
- Maybe you’ve seen great things like the fire falling...
- Perhaps you’ve had some mighty victories in your life...
- Then, you got discouraged.
- Quit beating yourself up over it.
- Quit crying over it.
- Clean out your mouth, wipe your eyes, dust yourself off, and sing!
C. DAVID GOT DISCOURAGED (1Sam.30:1-6)
1. David had an army.
- They went out to fight a war.
- While they were gone, the enemy burned their town and took their
wives.
- When David’s army came back, they were ready to stone him.
- The bible says, "And David was greatly distressed because the
people thought to stone him."
2. When somebody steals your wife, it’ll get you discouraged.
- When somebody else wants to stone you over it, it’s even worse.
3. Nobody was there to encourage David.
- Nobody was there to say, "It’s going to be alright, David. We’ll get
’em."
- On the contrary, everybody was against him.
- But, the bible says, "David encouraged himself in the Lord..."
4. If you don’t have anyone else to encourage you, just encourage yourself.
- David encouraged himself.
- David was almost ready to give up.
- He had been anointed to be the next king over Israel.
- But, now he was discouraged.
- He encouraged himself in the Lord, and in 72 hours he was King.
- He was at his darkest hour.
- He was "GREATLY DISTRESSED"
- He could have given up.
- He could have just quit!
- He could have said, "That prophet Samuel didn’t know what he was
talking about. I’m not fit to be a king!"
- It was the most discouraging moment of his life up to that point, but
72 hours later he was sitting on the throne.
- Can you praise the Lord this morning?
- If you’re discouraged, you praise Him in the midst of discouragement?
III. DON’T SPEAK DISCOURAGEMENT
A. ISRAEL WAS DISCOURAGED AND SPOKE IT
1. If you are down and discouraged and dark things are about you, be
careful.
2. When you are discouraged, watch what you say.
3. Be sure you speak the Word of God and not the word of
discouragement.
4. Notice, "they spake against."
5. Negative words are easy to come by when you’re discouraged.
- Don’t distress yourself with your own words
· I’m stupid
· Nobody likes me
· I don’t have any friends
· I mess up everything I touch
· I’m lonely
· I’m ugly
· I’m fat
· My hair is stupid
- Speak the word of God over your life
· I’m an overcomer
· I am the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ
· I’m a lover
· I walk in love
· I’m blessed
· God’s blessings chase me down
· I walk in the fruits of the spirit
· I have favor
· I have friends
B. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY WHEN YOU’RE MAD
1. Notice they spake against.
2. When you get mad, when you get down, when you get discouraged, be
careful.
3. It’s easy to speak against others when you’re down.
- God gave us a mouth to praise Him & to give thanks
- Not to backbite; gossip; complain and fault find
- If you want to come out of the pit you must quit the things that keep you in the pit
4. "They spake against Moses."
5. The preacher was the first one they talked about. Listen.
James 3:3 Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.
James 3:4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.
James 3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
James 3:7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:
James 3:8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
James 3:9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
James 3:10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
6. If you’re discouraged, don’t talk about the preacher.
7. Don’t blame me; I’m on your side.
C. THEY SPOKE AGAINST GOD
1. How smart is that?
2. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son...
3. You get discouraged, and somehow it’s God’s fault.
4. Listen, the Bible says God is FOR you!
5. He’s on your side!
6. Don’t blame God!
7. Ask and you shall receive (Matt 7:7)
D. HOW DO MY WORDS AFFECT ME
Proverbs 18:20 A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled.
Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
1. Be careful you may have to eat those words
2. Words fall out of our mouths; goes into our ears; and down into our spirits
3. Must do it at home as well as church
4. We are doing it to ourselves
Proverbs 12:14 A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth: and the recompence of a man’s hands shall be rendered unto him.
5. If you can be satisfied with good fruit you can be dissatisfied with bad
Proverbs 13:3 He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.
Proverbs 15:23 A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!
Proverbs 21:23 Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.
CONCLUSION:
If you’re discouraged... If you’re upset... If you’ve just found yourself in the pit of despair... Clean out your mouth, wipe your eyes, dust yourself off, and sing!
