The Grind Of Fear

SERMON OUTLINE:

David’s Confidence (vs 1-6)

David’s Prayer (vs 7-12).

David waiting (vs 13-14).

SERMON BODY:

Ill:

Video clip - What are you afraid of? (UK) – Available from: www.Sermonpice.com

We all have fears:

• For some it is fear of ‘things’ i.e. spiders, the dark, heights etc.

• For others it is a different type of fear:

• i.e. Not fitting in

• i.e. Ill-health

• i.e. Debt or even bankruptcy

• i.e. Death

• i.e. Family issues

• i.e. Losing your job

• i.e. The future.

• i.e. We could easily make a long list.

• If we allow our fears to get a grip on us then we become its victim!

• And it can quite easily play a huge negative part in our lives.

• Psalm 27 is designed to help us overcome those difficult times;

• When ‘fears’ comes into our lives:

Notice:

• When we read Psalm 27 did you notice the contrast in the Psalm?

• There is a big difference between the start of the Psalm - verses 1-6;

• And the end of the Psalm - verses 7-14.

The first part of the Psalm is filled with praise, confidence, victory, and even singing.

• Praise (vs 1).

• “The LORD is my light and my salvation, The LORD is the stronghold of my life”

• The Psalmist starts by declaring three of God’s great characteristics.

• Confidence (vs 1):

• "Whom shall I fear? ...of whom shall I be afraid?”

• You can almost hear him saying; “Bring em on! The bigger they are the bigger they fall!”

• Victory (vs 2-3):

• His enemies will: “stumble & fall”

• Even if he is attacked by an army & is at war: “He will not fear” He is “Confident”

• Not because he has a great army but because he has a great God!

• Singing (vs 6b):

• “I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.”

• This is one noisy individual!

• He is not hiding away scared but openly drawing attention to himself

• So the first part of the Psalm is filled with;

• Praise, confidence, victory, and even singing.

Note: The second part of the Psalm is very difficult:

• The second part of the Psalm is filled with needs, wants, desires and requests.

• Again just scan the Psalm and see the various expressions that David uses.

• Verse 7:

• “Hear my voice when I call, LORD; be merciful to me and answer me.”

• Verse 8:

• “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”

• Verse 9:

• “Do not hide...do not turn...do not reject me or forsake me...”

• Verse 11:

• “Teach me your way, LORD”;

So on first impressions the two halves of the Psalm appear to be very different:

• Yet, when you look a bit closer the two halves actually balance each other out;

• If we want to know praise, confidence, victory, and even singing in our lives.

• It will require regular times of prayer & petitions and waiting on God.

• There are no short cuts – in the Christian life;

• Times of prayer, petitions, waiting will lead onto praise, confidence, victory & singing.

Now in dealing with times when fear, worry & anxiety come into our lives - there is contained in the Psalm three key principles to note.

(1). David’s Confidence (vs 1-6)

• The key to this Psalm is actually found verse 1:

• What we are told there is like a key that will then unlock the rest of the Psalm to us.

• Notice that this verse consists of two sentences;

• Each sentence finishes with an obvious answer.

“The LORD is my light and my salvation—

whom shall I fear?

The LORD is the stronghold of my life—

of whom shall I be afraid?”

• Notice that David’s knowledge of God is not distant, impersonal, and theoretical.

• David did not say that “God was a light, God is a saviour, or God is a stronghold.”

• That would have been true…but it is not what David said!

• David’s knowledge of God is relational, it is personal, it is intimate:

• So David actually says “God is MY light, MY salvation, MY stronghold.”

• Don’t miss those personal pronouns.

• To David the Psalmist his knowledge of God is individual,

• To David he views God as a friend and a helper and a companion.

• Not as some distant deity.

Ill:

• That has been David’s experience in a variety of situations:

• i.e. As a boy looking after his sheep & when he thought Goliath.

• 1 Samuel chapter 17 verses 35-37.

“But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”