June 26, 2005
Morning Worship
Text: Psalm 40:1-17
Subject: Part 1 in the Perseverance Series
Title: Hold On, Cause I’m Coming!
One of the most difficult things for me to do is wait. It’s not that I am not a patient man, I am, but the waiting game is hard for me. As we have waited for an explosion of new people in this church for the last 3½ years, there have been times when I wonder what is going on. Why aren’t the new people coming in? Is there something about me or is it a stigma with this church body or what? At any rate the wait is not easy for me. It just seems like something should be happening and it’s not. Or is it? I think there is more happening than we can see with our physical eyes. If our spiritual eyes were opened we would see the battle that is raging over this church.
An old song from the sixties had these words:
Don’t you ever, be sad
Lean on me, hen times get bad
When the day come, and you know your down
In a river of trouble, your bout to drown
Hold on, cause I’m coming
Hold on, I’m coming
I’m on my way, your lover
If you’re cold, I will be your cover
Never have to worry, because I am here
You don’t need to suffer, cause I am near
Hold on, cause I’m coming
Hold on, cause I’m coming
Hold on, cause I’m coming
Hold on, I’m coming
In our passage today we see David, the Psalmist, experiencing the same thing we are going through here. AS he goes through trials he must wait for the Lord to answer. We are called to persevere even when it seems as though there is no relief in sight. Jesus is saying, “Hold on, cause I’m coming.”
I. THE JOY OF WAITING (1-3)
If we look at the scriptures we see a lot of common concepts that are scattered throughout. One of those is that God doesn’t always answer as quickly as we would like. Look at the promise made to Abraham. He was a hundred years old when he received the son of promise. Joseph was sold into slavery and spent years in jail before the dreams that God gave him came to pass. David suffered through many trials in his life as well. He was sent to the fields as a shepherd, opposed by a giant, hunted by a king, his kingdom overthrown by a son and his relationship threatened by an illicit affair with a soldier’s wife. And in the midst of all the junk in his life he begins this psalm by writing, “I waited patiently for the Lord…” Friends, it’s easy to get a word from God, or a vision of what He is going to do in your life. The hard part is waiting. But there is an indescribable joy that comes from waiting. That joy comes from knowing 1) that God hears your cries. “And He inclined to me…) 2) That He not only hears but answers. The word translated “inclined” can also mean, “to bow down, to take aside, or to offer.” Look at those three translations of the word in the context of this Psalm. He “bowed down” and “brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay…” He “took me aside” and “set my feet upon a rock and established my steps…” and He has “offered” me new life. “He has put a new song in my mouth – Praise to our God. Many will see and fear and will put their trust in the Lord.” There is joy to be had in waiting. Isaiah wrote, “but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength…” The word wait means to have expectation. Those who expect something from the Lord shall renew their strength. I waited patiently…
(Because David expected something from God.”) Psalm 30, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”
II. THE EFFECT OF TRUSTING (4-8)
Two different times when Saul was chasing David, David had the opportunity to kill the king. Isn’t it so tempting to take matters into our own hands and try to make things happen the way we think they ought to go? Let’s look at what these next verses say about that very thing. “Don’t respect the proud nor turn aside to lies…” What is it that makes men of God take their problems into their own hands? It’s pride! I want to pastor a bigger church. I want to have all the right programs. I want this church to be known as a great church. I – I – I … “sacrifice and offering You did not desire.” We have to stop and rely upon what God wants. “Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust…” What is the effect of trusting God? We are blessed! “Many, O Lord, are Your wonderful works which You have done; and Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; If I would declare and speak of them they are more than can be numbered.” God desires the best for us. But it has to come in his timing. Verse 8, “I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart.” We can know God’s will for us according to His own word. Do you have difficulty waiting on and trusting in the Lord? Then you need to look back over your life and count your blessings. Looking at God’s work in your life is a faith builder. As your faith is built the more you will understand that God blesses those who trust in Him.
III. THE SANITY OF PREACHING (9-10)
If we have concluded that waiting on God brings us joy and trusting brings blessings, doesn’t it just make sense that we should be telling others about those things? Verse 9, “I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness in the great assembly. Indeed I do not restrain my lips…” When David spoke of the great Assembly, he was referring to temple worship, when much of the nation would gather for worship. He didn’t hold anything back. Now we know that just because these people were Jews, it didn’t make them heirs of the promise – they were not justified by their faith. They were going through the motions of religious practice. David was carrying out the Great Commission before Jesus commanded it. Was David something special in God’s eyes? He had the same anointing that is available to you. He suffered with the same temptations we see today. He was weak in his flesh. But he had a heart for God. He says, “I have not hidden Your righteousness in my heart…” He had it there, but he didn’t hide it. He shared it with others. What we are asked to do is the same thing. God has sealed us with His Holy Spirit to salvation. It really isn’t an option as to whether we keep it inside or share it with others. Acts, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be My witnesses…” Luke, “Thus it is written … that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witness of these things.” Mark, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” Matthew, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit…” Even though the message seems insane to the world, the sanity is in the fact that Jesus told us to do it. “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.”
IV. OUR UNDERSTANDING OF LIFE. (11-15)
You know that throughout the history of the church one of the messages that has confused people is, “If you become a Christian, all your problems will go away.” Then when people get saved and it doesn’t happen, they turn away. Now, undoubtedly, when we are saved we can expect great things, because we have God’s promises. But trouble doesn’t stop. David understood this. Verse 12, “For innumerable evils have surrounded me; my iniquities (sins) have overtaken me… my heart fails me.” Our Christian life is not always lived on the mountaintop. We have ups and downs. When we are effective for Christ we are setting ourselves up for attacks from the enemy. You know, I believe satan focuses on two groups of people – new Christians, and effective Christians. He wants to discourage new Christians so they will give up and he attacks effective Christians so they won’t produce new Christians. He doesn’t bother the world – they are his anyhow. He doesn’t attack nominal Christians – they aren’t breaking down the gates of hell. He doesn’t bother complacent Christians. With an attitude like, I’m saved and that’s good enough, he doesn’t have anything to worry about. But just wait till you begin to tell someone about God’s mercy and grace and lead them in a sinner’s prayer. Now, just because we come under attack does not me we have to succumb to that attack. Psalm 27:1-3, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; when the wicked came against me, to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident…” Verse 5, “For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me upon a high rock.” This is the thing that we understand. We are not excluded from the battle. We are simply protected from defeat.
V. THE SAFETY OF THE RELATIONSHIP (16-17)
How do we maintain the type of relationship with the Lord where we can continually know that we are under His protection? Verse 16, “Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in you; let such as love Your salvation say continually, ‘the Lord be magnified’.” We worship Him as God; the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, eternal, holy, just, loving, longsuffering and awesome God. We confess Him for who He is and remember who we are without Him. Verse 17, “But I am poor and needy…” I know who I was without Jesus and I know who I am in Him and I can tell you this much, I look a whole lot better in Him than I do outside Him. We never lose our perspective of the relationship. “Yet the Lord thinks upon me; You are my help and my deliverer…” He never stops thinking about you. He is waiting patiently to hear from you.
Look how the psalm really encompasses who we are as an imperfect people. Verse 1 says, “I waited patiently for the Lord”. It ends with this, “Do not delay, O my God.” We’re not perfect, but we are being made perfect through the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We are being changed into His image. We are renewing our minds. As long as we are chasing after God we are safe in His presence.
Over the next several weeks I will be continuing this series as we look more deeply into the various aspects of our faith; waiting, trusting preaching, understanding, and, finally, the relationship itself.
Our Christian walk isn’t a perfect one. We do fall down occasionally. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t good Christians. It simply means we are human and saved by grace.
During a Monday night football game between the Chicago Bears and the New York Giants, one of the announcers observed that Walter Payton, the Bears’ running back, had accumulated over nine miles in career rushing yardage. The other announcer remarked, "Yeah, and that’s with somebody knocking him down every 4.6 yards!" Walter Payton, the most successful running back ever, knows that everyone --even the very best-- gets knocked down. The key to success is to get up and run again just as hard.
Jeff Quandt, Irving Wallace, Book of Lists, 1980.
Our enemy will try to knock you off your feet every day if you are living for the Lord. The struggle is hard, but knowing that you’ve made satan mad should be an encouragement. If he knocks you down, get back up and run. If he gets you off course, find the right path and keep going. Paul wrote, “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended (laid hold of); but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
We will not give up.
We will not give in.
We will not give out.
We will fight the good fight till Jesus comes.
To which Jesus responds, “Hold on cause I’m coming.”
