During Your Troubled Times
WHAT MANIFESTS IN YOUR LIFE?
Psalm 3:1-8
“O LORD, how my adversaries have increased! Many are rising up against me. Many are saying of my soul, "There is no deliverance for him in God." Selah. But You, O LORD, are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head. I was crying to the LORD with my voice, And He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah. I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustains me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people Who have set themselves against me round about. Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God! For You have smitten all my enemies on the cheek; You have shattered the teeth of the wicked. Salvation belongs to the LORD; Your blessing be upon Your people! Selah.”
INTRODUCTION
There is story about a meeting of council of spiritual power called "Devil’s Assembly." Christianity was spreading rapidly and growing fervently, and they needed to devise a way to undermine the work. Their leader, Satan, called for suggestions. “We could bring some more hypocrites into the church” said one. “No,” reacted by some devils, “the Christians may realize that there will always be hypocrites, and are teaching each other to look to Jesus. That won’t work.” Then Lucifer suggested, “We’ll bring them troubles? If we give them troubles somewhat unbearable, they’ll run away for sure.”
Have you ever found yourself at a point in life where you were so beaten and discouraged that you even doubted God to help you solved it?
My beloved in the Lord, we have lost many members of this church because of problems. Whether it’s a personal, family or relational problems still greatly affect our church. I’m really sad for this! I hope that the Lord’s message today will help you strengthen your faith in Him when you encounter any problem, trial, trouble, or dissapointment in life.
Remember this word: "Problems are the spices of Christian maturity!"
Our text is Psalm 3, a lament Psalm that was written by King David. This Psalm is directly linked to 2 Samuel 15, where David is fleeing his son Absalom who is trying to kill him and take over the throne. It is one of only a few Psalms that ties a Psalm to a specific incident in the life of David.
The title above this text is called "The Lord Helps His Troubled People." In our lives we encounter troubles and difficulties and as a natural response we become discouraged and defeated. David certainly had reason to be discouraged and troubled by the turn of events he now found himself in.
David begins this psalm by going to God and telling Him the trouble of his heart. At this point in David’s life there was one specific foe who greatly troubled David, his own son Absalom.
But David states in these first 2 verses that "Many are they who rise up against me." David’s trouble with Absalom had multiplied, no longer was it just his son, but Absalom had raised an army to come against David.
But the problems didn’t stop there. David’s own friends had turned against him telling him that no one would help him, not even God.
Have you ever been in a spot in your life where it seemed you were stuck in a vicious cycle of trouble that turns into discouragement, that turns into more trouble, and that turns into more discouragement? And in this cycle you have friends that give you great advice like "You don’t need God" or "Why do you want to go to church there’s no one there that can help you, it’s full of hypocrites"
Does this sound familiar? When you are discouraged and down, have you ever received excellent encouragement like Job got from his wife?
Job 2:9 Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!"
Now there is some horrible advice, and thankfully Job didn’t follow it and thankfully David never considered it and thankfully as believers in Jesus Christ we don’t have to either.
Today God is giving us a message through His servant David. He wants those of you that find yourselves discouraged to see how David deals with his problem.
We will focus on David’s personal life. We can see in his life some manifestations that make his life a good pattern for our lives today.
WHAT MENIFESTED IN DAVID’S LIFE DURING THOSE TROUBLED TIMES?
I. DAVID’S CONFIDENCE IN GOD MANIFESTED HIS LIFE (vs.1-4)
“Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have strong confidence before God” 1 Jn. 3:21
What did David do during those troubled times?
A. HE BOLDLY WENT TO GOD
“O Lord!…But you O Lord…O my God…(4x)
Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."
-Just like David, when we find ourselves in that downward spiral of trouble and discouragement let me encourage you to call out to Jesus, to ask, to seek and when you do so you will find a peace and a love that this world can not understand. A deliverance this world can not grasp.
-In the words "But You, O Lord," we see David’s heart change from discouragement and dejection to confidence and renewed faith.
David strongly confessed 4 important truths:
1) When no one would help him; God was his shield. God provided the protection that only He can provide against the slings and arrows of evil. He shielded him.
2) When David had nothing to treasure, God was his glory. God meant more to him than all the riches of David’s earthly kingdom. God’s love for David was priceless.
3) When there was no one to encourage him, God Himself would encourage him and lift his head.
4) When David cried out God heard him from His holy hill. HEAVEN.
(From SermonCentral.com)
James 4:10 “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”
-When we confess Christ and give testimony for Him we are reminded of His greatness and allow us to come in humility. When we do this His Holy Hands take hold of our head and lift it. Are you rejoicing in that victory?
B. HE STRONGLY PLEADED TO GOD.
“I was crying to the Lord…” /”Arise, o Lord; save me…”
-David called out to God to arise, to move and take action in his behalf. He called for God to strike down his enemies, to deliver him from them.
-David called upon God to strike at the source of the power of his enemies, breaking their teeth and their jaws.
-You know, with prayer I’m not teaching this church to insist God what we do want. Because we always consider God’s will. But in the presence of our enemies, it’s better to rebuke their deeds through our prayers. We can use His mighty name to destroy the works of our enemies.
II. DAVID’S FAITH IN GOD MANIFESTED HIS LIFE (vs.5-6)
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Heb. 11:1
A. HE NEVER BECAME WORRIED
“I lay down and slept; i walk for the lord to sustain me.”
Illustration
One time there was a man went to the doctor complaining of a number of pains. After examining him the doctor said, "I can’t find anything organically wrong with you. But sometimes physical problems are the result of worry or stress. Maybe you need to find a good counselor & tell him your troubles. He might be able to advise you & make you feel better."
"In fact," he said, "last week I had a fellow who was complaining of pains similar to yours & I couldn’t find anything wrong with him, either. But after talking a while, he told me that he was worried sick about a $5,000 debt he owed & couldn’t pay. Well, we talked about it & I was able to help him."
The man asked, "How did you help him?" "Oh, I told him that life was too short to worry about a piece of paper that said he owed $5,000. I suggested that he tear up the paper & throw it away, & stop worrying about the debt, & get on with his life. So he did. And now he feels great!"
"Yes, I know," said the guy. "I’m the one he owes the $5,000 to." (SermonCentral.com)
Worry means “To feel uneasy or concerned about something; to feel anxious; be troubled.”
Phil. 4:6-7 “Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life…Verse 27 And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? Verse 32 Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. Verse 34 Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.”
-Given the stress and pressure that David was under, his possible murder, the overthrow of his throne and kingdom, and friends and family turning against him, he must have been a very burdened man and sleep must not have come easy.
-When we are faced with tremendous trials and tribulations in our life we often find ourselves struggling to eat or sleep to the point that it affects our health.
-David demonstrated strong faith by declaring that he was able to sleep because of God’s sustaining power and grace. My friends the same sustaining power, the same grace, the same peace that David knew and enjoyed, that allowed him to sleep in terrible times, is available to you right now. You just have to have the faith of David to stand upon the rock, Jesus Christ.
Matthew 11:28-30 - "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
B. HE NEVER BE AFRAID
“I will not be afraid…”
-There is an old definition of faith that can help us in my times of troubles.
F = Forsaking
A = All else,
I = I
T = Take
H = Him
-In Psalm 23: 6 David boldly declared: “Though I walk in the shadow of death I fear no evil for thou art with me.”
-Fear is faithlessness. If you have faith in God fear must be out of your life. You trust that everything with you will be permitted without God’s approval. He will not allow us to suffer from the hands of our enemy because He cares!
-Casting all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you” (1 Pet. 5:7)
III. DAVID’S LOVE OF GOD MANIFESTED HIS LIFE (vs.7-8)
-A lady went to the doctor to examine herself because she can not sleep well and always worried. After less than half hour of interview and physical examination the doctor declared that he found nothing and everything is well. He said that may be that is the result of LOVELESSNESS! Love is a cure for the troubled life!
-David did it because it’s not his love that made it but God’s love (AGAPE) manifest in his life…”
A. HE PRAYED FOR HIS ENEMIES
“Salvation belongs to the Lord…”
-Most of the time, we want to retaliate for those who did wrong to us! But we see David here that God’s love manifest in his life.
Matthew 5:44a “Love your enemies, pray for them which despitefully use you…”
-It is important to note that he was not asking that they be completely destroy, he was only asking that they would no longer be a threat to him and his kingdom.
-David was calling out to God for salvation, to be delivered from not only his enemies but from the trials, the troubles, and yes the discouragement that goes with it.
B. HE BLESSED HIS ENEMIES
“Your blessings be upon Your people!”
-Most of the time, we can easily pray for our enemy to stop them persecuting us. We can pray that they may realize what they do to us is not good, but to bless for our enemy is another thing!
-If the love of God is not with us, we cannot bless those who persecute us! Only the love of God within us induces us to love those who are against us.
Matthew 5:44b “bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you,...”
-David finishes his psalm by making a statement, that God’s blessing upon David would also be a blessing upon God’s people. By that he meant that the people, the very people that had turned on David, would see God’s blessing upon David and would turn to God.
CONCLUSION:
Yes! As David dealt with trials and discouragement he never lost his faith and confidence that God would deliver him. Why wasn’t he defeated? Because he loved God and was completely dedicated to Him.
Today, perhaps you are here and you have been ravaged by the world. You are so deep in despair and discouragement that light can not shine in the pit you now find yourself in.
Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? Have you been covered by the blood of the Lamb? If not, won’t you give your life to Christ today and let Him lift you out of that dark, desperate pit of sin.
God bless!
******************SERMON***STRUCTURE******************
During Your Troubled Times
WHAT MANIFESTED YOUR LIFE?
Psalm 3:1-8
WHAT MENIFESTED IN DAVID’S LIFE DURING THOSE TROUBLED TIMES?
I. DAVID’S CONFIDENCE IN GOD MANIFESTED HIS LIFE (vs.1-4)
“Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have strong confidence before God” 1 Jn. 3:21
What did David do during those troubled times?
A. HE BOLDLY WENT TO GOD
“O Lord!…But you O Lord…O my God…(4x)
James 4:10 “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”
B. HE STRONGLY PLEADED TO GOD.
“I was crying to the Lord…” /”Arise, o Lord; save me…”
II. DAVID’S FAITH IN GOD MANIFESTED HIS LIFE (vs.5-6)
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Heb. 11:1
A. HE NEVER BECAME WORRIED
“I lay down and slept; i walk for the lord to sustain me.”
Worry means “To feel uneasy or concerned about something; to feel anxious; be troubled.”
Matthew 11:28-30 - "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
B. HE NEVER BE AFRAID
“I will not be afraid…”
-In Psalm 23: 6 David boldly declared: “Though I walk in the shadow of death I fear no evil for thou art with me.”
-Casting all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you” (1 Pet. 5:7)
III. DAVID’S LOVE OF GOD MANIFESTED HIS LIFE (v.7-8)
A. HE PRAYED FOR HIS ENEMIES
“Salvation belongs to the Lord…”
Matthew 5:44a “Love your enemies, pray for them which despitefully use you…”
B. HE BLESSED HIS ENEMIES
“Your blessings be upon Your people!”
Matthew 5:44b “bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you,...”
CONCLUSION:
Yes! As David dealt with trials and discouragement he never lost his faith and confidence that God would deliver him. Why wasn’t he defeated? Because he loved God and was completely dedicated to Him.
