GETTING OUT OF THE PITS
text: Psalm 40:1-3
A. Oh, how WEARINESS effects us at times.
ILLUSTRATION:
I can’t explain how you know for sure. I guess you have to be a preacher to understand. There’s this inner-feeling that a preacher gets when he knows that he’s DONE all that he can for a particular congregation or when he’s no longer EFFECTIVE or no longer RESPECTED by the membership. When this occurs, it’s time to MOVE ON!
I had been preaching at my very first church in a small town in south Texas for 3½ years when I had such a feeling. My relationship with two of the elders became very STRAINED, making my ministry UNBEARABLE. I knew deep down that it was time to LEAVE. On occasions, ministers, although it is not what they want and it’s certainly not for the BEST, have to SECRETLY make inquiries into another WORK. Some elderships have been known to FIRE their MINISTERS on the spot once it is learned that they want to MOVE. This was a church known for FIRING PREACHERS. So I felt that it was necessary to SECRETLY look for another congregation.
I was invited to PREACH and INTERVIEW at a church in Oklahoma. I took my VACATION time, and my family and I went up to look at the work. After preaching that Sunday I drove to Oklahoma City to visit my sister. While there, I got a call from one of the elders of that congregation to inform me that it was between me and another preacher. But before they could make a decision, they wanted to me to come and preach the next Sunday. Well, I was supposed to be back in my home congregation by then. As much as I dreaded it, I had to call one of my elders to tell him that I was looking at another work in Oklahoma and needed that Sunday off. He agreed, but wasn’t very HAPPY.
I brought only two SERMONS with me, and had already presented them to this congregation the Sunday before. I had only two days to write two new sermons. They HIRED the other guy. We drove to my parents’ house in Altus, Oklahoma to spend the night. The next day, Brenda and I loaded up the CAR preparing for the 8 hour drive back home.
By this time I was so WEARY! The SECRECY, the HOURS and HOURS of DRIVING, the STRESS of trying out for a new WORK, the WORRY of finally telling one of my ELDERS of my intentions of leaving, the PRESSURE of writing two SERMONS in such a short time, the DREAD of returning home not knowing if I still had a JOB or if my FURNITURE might be MOVED out of the preacher’s home onto the driveway, had all gotten the BEST of me.
After my wife, the kids, and I got settled in the car, I started the engine, put the car in GEAR, and just sat there for a moment with my foot on the BRAKE. Then, all of a sudden, I started to CRY. I was so EMBARRASSED. I didn’t want my daughters to see my CRY, so I tried to stop but couldn’t CONTROL myself. I was EMOTIONALLY and SPIRITUALLY DRAINED!
COMMENT:
Have you ever experienced anything like that? Have you ever been so WEARY of the pressures and demands and burdens that are placed on you that you simply can’t take it anymore!
I think most, if not all, of us have had similar experiences. These situations effect us in different ways. Some, like myself, simply lose control and all you can do is CRY or SCREAM. Others may silently deal with their WEARINESS, that often cause HEALTH PROBLEMS.
B. This WEARINESS or DESPONDENCY can attack anyone!
1. We call it having the BLUES or BLAS, being DOWN and OUT or in the PITS.
COMMENT:
Elders, preachers, teachers, parents, everybody, at one time or another, becomes DISCOURAGED and FRUSTRATED.
Some of the finest men and women of FAITH found in the Bible were VICTIMS of DISCOURAGEMENT.
2. One such man was David- Psalms 40:1-3 (READ and COMMENT)
MESSAGE:
I. GOD TURNED TO HIM AND HEARD HIS CRY- v. 1
A. Here is a picture of a DESPERATE man.
1. David, during his life time, faced all kinds of TROUBLE.
a. Jealousy of King Saul
b. Sin of adultery with Bathsheba
c. Murder of Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband
d. Death of his baby son born to Bathsheba
e. Rape of his daughter Tamar by her half-brother Amnon, who was then murdered by his half-brother Absolam.
f. The rebellion of Absolam
g. Death of Absolam.
2. David’s HEART was BROKEN time and again. As you read the Psalms you get a GLIMPSE into the TROUBLED HEART of this man.
B. There are so many today, like David, who have or are facing PROBLEMS and you CRY OUT in DESPERATION.
1. ILLNESS
ILLUSTRATION:
There are several in our own number who are AFFLICTED with a variety of ILLNESSES: DIABETES, CANCER, HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, HEART DISEASE, CRIPPLING ARTHRITIS, ALZHEIMER, STROKES, SLEEPING DISORDERS, etc. Can you imagine the DESPERATION our brothers and sisters are going through?
Some of you have undergone TREATMENT for several months or years. You’ve seen DOCTOR after DOCTOR, undergone TREATMENT after TREATMENT, spent THOUSANDS of dollars. There are times you feel that you finally got your ILLNESS beat. You’re EATING better and REGAINING your STRENGTH. Your DOCTOR is hopeful. But after a few months you have a SET BACK, and back into the HOSPITAL you go. Your HEALTH is like a ROLLER COASTER: up-and-down, up-and-down! You become FRUSTRATED. And although you may appear to be CONTENT with your CONDITION, I know deep down some are CRYING OUT of DESPERATION.
Your families also feel the DESPERATION. They want so much for you to GET WELL. It HURTS them to see you HURT. They’ll do anything they can to make you BETTER, but feel so HELPLESS. And many nights they go to bed CRYING: “Lord, please help my Dad feel better.” “Be with my wife, Lord.” “God, please let them find what’s wrong with my son, this time.”
HAVE YOU BEEN THERE?
2. DEATH OF LOVED ONES.
ILLUSTRATION:
Many in this congregation knows what it is like to experience the DEATH of a FAMILY MEMBER or dear FRIEND. Some have felt the HEART-WRENCHING pain of losing a HUSBAND or WIFE, a CHILD or PARENTsome through DISEASE others by more TRAGIC MEANS. The LOSS might have occured MONTHS ago or maybe years but the HURT is still there, and you still find yourself from time to time CRYING out of LONELINESS or DESPAIR.
3. DIVORCE
COMMENT:
To lose a MATE to DEATH hurts deeply. But that person still receives words of COMFORT, SYMPATHY, and CONCERN from others. But to lose a SPOUSE to DIVORCE is another story. Often the only words that a DIVORCED person hears are WHISPERS, SNEERS, and RUMORS. They are HURTING too, but where’s the SYMPATHY and COMFORT?
In the church, especially, there are those who AUTOMATICALLY JUDGE the DIVORCED person and CLASSIFY him or her as a SINNER. I know many who have had DIVORCE thrust upon them when that was the very LAST thing they wanted to happen. These people, our BROTHERS and SISTERS are CRYING OUT: “Please HELP me! LOVE me! ACCEPT me! I need your ENCOURAGEMENT. I need your CONCERN. I need your PRAYERS.”
4. LOSS OF JOB OR FINANCIAL PROBLEMS
ILLUSTRATION:
I know what FINANCIAL WOES are. I know how EMBARRASSING it is to have only a certain amount of MONEY to spend on GROCERIES and then having to put some back after DISCOVERING at the CHECK-OUT that you were short $3.00. I know what it’s like not having enough MONEY to pay your BILLS or even to take a SICK CHILD to the DOCTOR. But I’ve never LOST a JOB.
I can only IMAGINE what it would be like to WORK at a JOB for years and then one day get the PINK SLIP. I can only imagine the FRUSTRATION that one must go through when the PAYCHECK stops and the BILLS start PILING UP. When you don’t have enough money to PAY the RENT, and the BANK calls saying they are going to REPOSSESS your CAR, and the UTILITIES are turned off. I can only IMAGINE it, but some of you in this congregation have EXPERIENCED it. And what do you do? You CRY OUT in DESPERATION.
C. In David’s moment of DESPERATION he CRIED unto the Lord, and so can we.
COMMENT:
Paul describes God as the “Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.”- II Cor. 1:3 He knows what we NEED. He knows what it takes to help us OVERCOME the WORRIES, FRUSTRATIONS, and DIFFICULTIES that plague us. When it seems that there is no one else to turn to, God is always there to COMFORT and HELP us. All we have to do is CRY OUT, and He turns and hears our CRIES. Aren’t you thankful that we have a Father who CARES?
II. GOD LIFTED HIM FROM THE SLIMY PIT OF MUD AND MIRE AND PLACED HIM ON SOLID ROCK- v. 2
A. Scholars are uncertain if this Psalm was written before or after David’s sin with Bathsheba. Even so,
the term “MUD and MIRE” is often used in Scripture to describe the hideousness of SIN.
1. David was certainly one who knew what it was like to WALLOW in the MUD and MIRE of sin.
COMMENT:
One evening, David took an innocent stroll on his roof and then saw a beautiful woman, the WIFE of Uriah, bathing. Burning with LUST, he sent for Bathsheba and committed ADULTERY with her. Weeks later David received word that Bathsheba was carrying his baby. David, shamefully trying to cover the GUILT of his sin, LIED and DECEIVED and finally committed MURDERhaving Uriah KILLED in battle so he could MARRY Bathsheba.
2. Several months later, the prophet Nathan told a REVEALING STORY that helped David to REALIZE and REPENT of the TERRIBLE SINS he had committed, and God FORGAVE him and took him from the PIT of MUD and MIRE and set him on SOLID ROCK.
B. Many of us can EMPATHIZE with David.
1. We know what it’s like to be OVERCOME by SIN! We know the SHAME and GUILT that it produces. We know the HURT that it brings to US, to our FAMILY, and most of all to God.
ILLUSTRATION:
Satan FIGHTS dirty! He waits until your back is turned; until your DEFENSE is down. He aims his DART at your WEAKEST point and . . . BULLS-EYE! You lose your temper. You lust. You fall. You take a drag. You buy a drink. You kiss the woman. You follow the crowd. You rationalize. You say “yes.” You sign your name. You forget who you are. You walk into his room. You look in the window. You break your promise. You buy the magazine. You see the movie. You lie. You covet. You stomp your feet and demand your way.
Satan NUMBS our AWARENESS and SHORT-CIRCUITS our SELF-CONTROL. We know what we are doing and yet can’t believe that we are doing it. We want to STOP but haven’t the WILL to do so. We want to TURN around, but our feet won’t MOVE. We want to RUN and, pitifully, we want to STAY.
Confusion. Guilt. Rationalization. Despair. It all HITS, and hits hard. We numbly pick ourselves up and stagger back into our world. “Oh God, what have I done?” “Should I tell someone?” “I’ll never do it again.” “God can you forgive me?”
COMMENT:
No one who can hear my voice is free from the TREACHERY of SUDDEN SIN. No one is immune from Satan’s SCHEMES. Paul said, “If you think you are, watch out or you might fall”- I Corinthians 10:12.
Satan is out to get us. He can DESTROY the strongest CONGREGATION, PENETRATE the deepest FAITH, and DESECRATE the purest HOME.
2. But how grateful I am that God can take me from the MUD and MIRE and set me on SOLID ROCK!
a. I don’t care how SINFUL you are or you think you are, God can FORGIVE you!
b. Romans 7 is the EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION for those of us who have a tendency to STUMBLE- Romans 7:15-19, 24 (READ and COMMENT)
c. Is there no answer to Paul’s DILEMMA? - Romans 7:25a, 8:1 (READ and COMMENT)
COMMENT:
Claim the PROMISE! Memorize the words. Accept the CLEANSING. Throw out the GUILT. PRAISE THE LORD! STAND FIRM on the SOLID ROCK, which is Jesus!
III. GOD HUSHED HIS CRY AND CHANGED IT INTO A SONG OF PRAISE- v. 3
A. Regardless of how HOPELESS David’s situation seemed, he knew what SOURCE to turn to find COMFORT and MERCY!
ILLUSTRATION:
Here is David in the PIT of DESPAIR crying like a baby: “Help me God! I don’t know what to do! I don’t know where to turn! Take me from this PIT . . . take me from this GRAVE, and fill my HEART with JOY once again!”
Then God REACHES DOWN with His loving arms and LIFTS him from the MUD and MIRE, and turns his TEARS into JOY and his CRIES into a SONG.
B. Have you been CRYING OUT to your Heavenly Father lately?
1. There comes a time in a person’s life that he must QUIT depending upon his own STRENGTH to get out of the PIT and start CRYING to God!
COMMENT:
Without God we can do NOTHING. Without His LOVE, without His HOLY SPIRIT, without His GRACE and MERCY, we will be HOPELESSLY imprisoned in the PIT trying desperately to get out, but only SINKING DEEPER!
2. Whatever DIFFICULTY, whatever CIRCUMSTANCE, whatever PROBLEM you are STRUGGLING with right now, God can EASE your PAIN and CHANGE your CRIES into a SONG of PRAISE!
3. Don’t underestimate the HEALING POWERS of God!
CONCLUSION:
A. David was able to see the GOODNESS of God during some of the DARKEST TIMES of his life.
1. God didn’t always change David’s CIRCUMSTANCES. In fact, he SUFFERED GREATLY on many occasions. Yet, David was able to see God WORKING even during the TOUGH TIMES.
2. David concludes this passage by simply saying, “Trust in the Lord.”
COMMENT:
He is saying, “Don’t GIVE UP. Don’t QUIT. Trust in the Lord.”
