["Pomp and Circumstance"]
Sunlight in my soul today.
Sunlight, sunlight, all of the day.
Take a sip around me.
Jeff will never stay.
I will never stop.
My love is all I care.
Oh, when you are light of God, I speak with you in pride.
I bless the most broken heart in me, the broken eyes.
Sunlight, sunlight, in my soul today.
Sunlight, sunlight, all of the day.
Take a sip around me.
Jeff will never stay.
I will never stop.
My love is all I care.
I cross the wide ocean.
It builds a journey on the plain.
And in the sunlight, I'll be sobering the broken brain.
Sunlight, sunlight, all of the day.
Take a sip around me.
Jeff will never stay.
I will never stop.
My love is all I care.
You guys are singing good tonight.
You know, we're all tired.
It's a Wednesday evening service.
So let's go ahead and sing it out on the last page.
231, on the last page.
Sunlight, sunlight, all of the day.
Sunlight, sunlight, in my soul today.
Sunlight, sunlight, all of the day.
Jeff's the savior.
Well, we took away my sleep.
I am now the son of the Lord of the day.
Amen.
Welcome to Verity Baptist Church in the Wednesday evening Bible study.
Let's open up in a word of prayer.
Heavenly Father, thank you so much for this church, Lord.
Thank you for these people who come out here in a Wednesday evening to serve you.
I pray that our singing would glorify you, Lord.
I pray that you would bless the service and the preaching would come.
In Jesus' name I pray.
Amen.
All right.
Turn in your song books to page number 22.
Page number 22.
Let me get there.
Are you washed in the blood?
That's page number 22.
Let's go ahead and sing it out on the first.
Have you been to Jesus?
Have you been to hell?
Are you washed in the blood of the lamb?
Are you fully trusting in his grace?
This hour are you washed in the blood of the lamb?
Are you washed in the blood of the lamb?
Are you fully trusting in his grace?
This hour are you washed in the blood of the lamb?
Are you garbageclogged?
That's why I ask you.
Are you washed in the blood of the lamb?
That's why I ask you.
Are you stormy?
That's why I ask you.
Are you garbageclogged?
Are you watching the blood of the Lamb?
Is He blood of the Lamb?
Are you born, raised, loved, and smart, and kind as you?
Are you watching the blood of the Lamb?
In the light of your blood, will your bones be white?
Are you watching the blood of the Lamb?
Will your soul be ready for the vengeance?
Are you watching the blood of the Lamb?
Are you watching the blood in the soul?
Are you watching the blood of the Lamb?
Are your garments bloodless, white, and white as gold?
Are you watching the blood of the Lamb?
Aren't you glad to see now on the last page, number 22,
on the last page?
I love your returning wisdom.
Can we watch in the blood of the Lamb?
There's a mountain flowing through the shore.
Can we watch in the blood of the Lamb?
Amen.
Great singing.
Amen, and we welcome you to Verity Baptist Church
this evening.
We're glad that you are with us.
Let's go ahead and take our bulletins.
We'll look at some announcements real quickly.
If you do not have a bulletin, just raise your hand,
and one of our ushers can get one for you.
If you need a bulletin, just put your hand up,
and we will get one for you.
The verse this week, Psalm 118, 24,
this is the day which the Lord hath made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
And that's a good verse there.
We like that.
If you open up your bulletin, you'll
see our service times Sunday morning service, 10 30 AM.
We do invite you, of course, to be with us on Sunday morning
on the Lord's Day for church, and then Sunday evening
service, 6 PM.
We're glad you're here for the Wednesday evening Bible
study at 7 PM.
And of course, we'd love for you to join us for soul winning.
We've got the soul winning time tomorrow at 2 PM,
and then our big soul winning rally on Saturday morning at 10
AM.
If you look at the announcements and upcoming events,
of course, we have our I Love My Church Sunday coming up
on Sunday, February 9.
And you should have one of these cards there in your bulletin.
We'd love for you to, of course, be here
for I Love My Church Sunday, and we'd
love for you to invite a friend, a family member, a coworker,
someone you've been thinking about inviting to church.
It would be a great time to do that.
We're going to have special music, of course,
from the BBC choir and orchestra,
and we're going to have bags of popcorn, Valentine's Day
popcorn for everyone in attendance.
And then in the evening service at 6 PM,
we're going to have a potluck, so we'll
have a time of fellowship with that after the service.
Also for the homeschool group, there's
a Valentine's Day party on Friday, February 14 at 11 AM.
And they're going to have all sorts
of different little activities to do.
If you'd like to volunteer, parents,
and we could use your help, there's
a sign-up sheet in the back for you
to help bring sugar cookies or prepare frosting,
decorating bags.
And then, of course, the kids can bring Valentine's Day
cards, and also there will be pizza there for lunch.
So just make a note of that.
And then PE class, we've got different days coming up there,
so make a note of that.
Biblical Leadership Institute resumes on Tuesday, February
11, so make a note of that if you're interested.
Nine chapters a day challenge, we're pretty much done now.
I think just a couple of days left in the month,
so we hope you'll stick with it.
Don't give up.
And then there's choir practice at 5 PM for the adult choir,
as they are practicing for I Love My Church Sunday.
If you look at the back of the bulletin,
birthdays and anniversaries for this week.
This week, we have Miss Ermalisa Garza's birthday
on February 1.
John Bakulczyk has a birthday on February 1.
Brother Oliver and Miss Melody Gonzalez have an anniversary
on February 1.
Praise Report, Money Matters, all those things
are there for you to look at.
And I think that's it for all of the announcements.
We're going to go and take our song books,
and we're going to sing page number 119
as we prepare to receive the offering this evening.
We're going to sing 119 Till the Storm Passes By.
And let's go in and sing it out on the first.
119 on the first.
In the dark, I want to cry.
But I don't want to get my bridge.
But the storm calls on my knee.
And there's no fighting grace.
In the past, I'll not love you.
But since you're here, I know.
We'll be safe till the storm passes by.
Till the storm passes by.
Till the mother's love's gone.
Till the mountain's back on the sky.
Oh, we ask that we stand in the hall of the head.
We will stay till the storm passes by.
19, sing it out on the second.
When time seems to whisper, there is no need to try.
Oh, let us run, let us go.
Let us go by and by.
Let us go by our feet.
Let us run on the night.
Let us walk through the night.
Let us go by our feet.
Let us go past this world.
Till the dark nights are gone.
Till the mountain's back on the sky.
Oh, we ask that we stand in the hall of the head.
We will stay till the storm passes by.
On the last one long night of the day.
Let us march on the morn to the sky.
We will march on the bright, peaceful shore.
The land of the deafest and the home of the brave.
Oh, let us go by our feet.
Let us go past this world.
Till the mountain's back on the sky.
Let us walk through the night.
Let us go by our feet.
Oh, we ask that we stand in the hall of the right hand.
We will stay till the storm passes by.
Amen. Good singing. Just a quick reminder that we, of course, are a family integrated church.
We've got mother baby rooms and daddy rooms available for your convenience.
And if you wouldn't mind, please make sure you turn your cell phones off.
Please be silent during the service if they're not a distraction to anybody.
We'll have the guys come up and help us with the offering.
Let's go ahead and bow our heads in that word of prayer.
Heavenly Father, Lord, we do love you and we thank you for allowing us to gather together today.
Lord, we pray that you bless the offering, the gift and the giver.
Lord, we ask that you meet our financial needs and our spiritual needs.
Lord, we pray that you meet with us tonight as we take time to pray.
And then, of course, as we open up your word, Lord, we pray that your word would not come back void,
that it would speak to our hearts, that it would draw us closer to you.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
All right. Well, let's go ahead and take our prayer sheets tonight.
If you did not receive a prayer sheet on your way in, just raise your hand and one of our ushers can get one for you.
If you need a prayer sheet, just put your hand up and we'll get one for you.
I want to remind you that the way you add a request to the prayer sheet is through your communication card.
On the back of the card, there's a place you'd write down a request.
Make sure you mark, please, if it's private or public.
If it's private, only I will see it.
If it's public, we'll put it on the prayer sheet.
If you don't mark it, we'll do our best to figure it out, but we usually don't add those.
And, of course, we do add the requests in in the order that they're received and they're removed after a couple of weeks.
So if you'd like for it to be there longer, you'll have to fill out another request.
Let's go ahead and take these requests to the Lord.
I'm going to pray out loud and I'm going to ask that you would pray with me in your mind and your heart.
And let's pray together.
Heavenly Father, Lord, we come to you tonight asking for these requests for our church family.
And we begin, Lord, with these requests regarding health.
We pray for Brother Graham and Ms. Michelle as they're praying for Ms. Michelle's mom, Paula,
and the surgery she had on Monday.
She's praying for her healing and recovery.
And, Lord, we pray that you'd give her quick and rapid healing and that there be no issues with the surgery.
We also pray for Ms. Amy who's praying for her son's health, the Cruz family praying for their family's health,
for the Warren praying for his siblings' health, and Terrence praying that he would be able to walk again,
Simon Chambers praying for his health and recovery as he undergoes cancer treatment,
Ms. Edith praying for favorable test results and for God's guidance with regards to the doctors involved in her care,
Ms. Maria praying for spinal surgery on April 2nd to go well,
and Ms. Christine praying for her health, for the Salvador his health,
Ms. Docma praying for relief of her pain, for the Edgar, and Ms. Lena praying for Uretzi and Jonathan's health.
And, of course, we continue to pray for our missionary, Dave Palantales' wife, Angel, as she is undergoing treatment for breast cancer.
Lord, we ask for all of these individuals, we pray that you would give them all strength.
Lord, we pray that you'd give them all healing.
We ask that you would put your healing hand over them.
You're the great physician.
And, Lord, we ask if it's your will that you would heal them.
We pray that you would give wisdom to the doctors and the nurses dealing with them.
We ask that you give wisdom and discernment to these individuals as they make decisions about their health.
And, Lord, we pray that your will be done in their lives.
We also pray, Lord, for these ladies in our church that are expecting, Ms. Antonina, Ms. Katie, Ms. Ajana, Ms. Masha, and Ms. Morris.
Lord, we pray that you'd give them all healthy pregnancies with no issues, no complications, help everything to go well with their pregnancy.
We also pray, Lord, for Brother Darryl and his family as they are mourning the loss of his father who recently passed away.
Lord, we pray that you'd comfort them at this time and give them peace.
We also pray for these that have requests regarding their friends and family.
Ms. Amy, praying for her friend Sharon and her relationship with her son.
Also, Ms. Nicole, praying for her brother Omar Patterson.
And, Brother Salvador, praying for his family as well.
And, Lord, we just pray for these individuals. We ask that you'd help them and be with them.
And then, Lord, we pray for these that have physical needs, financial needs, for the Warren, praying for the finances of the siblings.
Also, Brother Jeff, praying for his friend Annie for her finances.
And, Brother Salvador, Ms. Christine, praying for their finances as well.
Lord, we pray that you would just take care of these individuals, be with them, and meet their needs.
And then, we pray, Lord, for these that have requests regarding salvation.
Brother Warren, praying for the salvation of his co-workers.
And, Brother Jeff, praying not only for his friend Annie's finances, but for her salvation as well.
Ms. Maria, praying for Roma and Skylar's salvation.
Ms. Natalie, praying for her husband's salvation.
Ms. Christine, praying for her family's salvation.
Ms. Dogma, praying for her daughter and her family's salvation.
And, Lord, we ask for all these individuals. We pray that you would help them.
Lord, we pray that the Holy Spirit would move in their hearts, that you would move in their circumstances,
that you'd bring them to the place where they would be willing to hear the Gospel.
And, Lord, we pray that the Gospel be clearly presented to them, that they might be saved.
We also pray, Lord, for Benjamin, who's praying that the Lord would open doors for him to be able to move to a good church.
Ms. Christine, Brother Salvador, praying for their faith, and they'll walk with you.
And then, Lord, we pray for these that have unspoken requests.
Ms. Ruby, and Brother Montel, Ms. Kimmy, and Brother Nate, and my dad,
Brother Felix, and Ms. Natalie, Brother Salvador, Ms. Dogma, all having unspoken requests.
And, Lord, you know what their petitions are. You know what they're asking for.
Lord, we just ask that you would answer according to your will.
Lord, we pray that you'd make it clear to them when you've answered.
We pray that you'd help them and be with them.
And then, Lord, we pray for our church and our different ministries.
We pray for our missions work and our missionary, Dave Papantala in Cebu.
Also, for Pastor Stuckey and his family in Manila, Pampanga.
And be cool. The location's there. The church is there.
We pray that you'd bless these locations, help keep them safe, Lord, and help them as they continue to reach people with the Gospel.
And then, Lord, we pray for some upcoming events.
I Love My Church Sunday and our Spanish service, also our vision offering.
We pray that you would help these events to be successful.
Lord, help us to be able to draw closer to you, to use these events to reach people with the Gospel.
Lord, we pray that you would help us and be with us.
And, of course, we pray for the preaching tonight.
We pray that you would meet with us tonight and that you would help us to learn from your Word.
Lord, I pray that you'd help us to grow as a result of the things we hear tonight.
In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
Please open up to Psalm 27.
Psalm 27, if you do not have a Bible, please raise your hand.
And unless you could bring your Bible.
Psalm 27. Just keep your hand up and she'll come by.
Psalm 27.
Psalm 27, beginning of verse number 1.
The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
Though no host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear.
Though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.
One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after.
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.
From the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion.
In the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me.
He shall set me up upon a rock.
And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me.
Therefore, while I offer in His tabernacle sacrifices of joy, I will sing yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.
Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice, have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
When thou sayest, Seek ye my face, my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.
Hide not thy face far from me, put not thy servant away in anger.
Thou hast been my help, leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.
When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.
Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path because of mine enemies.
Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies, for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.
I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thy heart.
Wait, I say, on the Lord.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you for this evening. God, I thank you for your word and for our church.
I say, please, meet with us tonight. Give us all tender hearts with a message.
And please, be the pastor. Please, strengthen him and fill him with your spirit.
We love you. In Jesus' name, pray. Amen.
Amen.
All right, well, we're there in Psalm 27.
And, of course, on Wednesday night, we've been making our way through the Book of Psalms.
And we find ourselves tonight here in Psalm 27.
Not a long psalm like the psalms we've been looking at.
Only 14 verses.
And, of course, you'll notice there in verse 1, the superscription says a psalm of David.
And this is, again, a psalm that David wrote.
And what we see in this psalm is David in trouble.
And it's a pretty common theme in the Book of Psalms.
We see him in trouble a lot.
And David had a lot of troubles in his life, as you can imagine.
And it's hard to pin down when exactly he happens to be in trouble here.
As far as what we know about him, his life in scripture, or if it's even mentioned there.
But we find him here in trouble.
And we see how he prays through this and how his confidence is in the Lord.
And, again, it's only 14 verses, but I'd like for you to notice three different things from this psalm.
And I'll give you the psalm. We'll outline it for you under three different headings if you're taking notes.
And I always encourage you to take notes.
On the back of your course of the week, there's a place for you to write down some things.
Maybe you bring a notebook or something like that.
I'd like you to, first of all, tonight see David's defense.
David's defense.
In Psalm 27 and verse 1, the Bible says this.
David wrote, the Lord is my light and my salvation.
And then I want you to notice this question that he asks.
He says, whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life.
And then he says, of whom shall I be afraid?
And it's interesting to me that David begins with these confidence statements.
And what he's saying is basically this.
I've got no one to fear.
If the Lord is my light and if the Lord is my salvation, then who shall I fear?
If the Lord is the strength of my life, he says, of whom shall I be afraid?
And this is a sentiment that's echoed throughout the Bible.
We would spend all night looking at this idea of who to fear and what to fear and things about fear.
And I'm not going to do that.
But I would like to just share one passage with you.
If you would, go with me to the New Testament book of Luke.
The Gospel according to Luke, Luke chapter 12.
In the New Testament, you've got Matthew, Mark, and then Luke.
Keep your place there in Psalm 27.
That's obviously our text for tonight.
But find the Gospel of Luke.
And if you wouldn't mind, I'd like for you to put your ribbon or a bookmark or something there.
A bulletin maybe in the Gospel of Luke because we're going to leave it and we're going to come back to it several times tonight.
And I'd like for you to get to it quickly.
David says the Lord is my light and my salvation.
And I think it's interesting he uses those words.
Obviously light is associated with the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is the light of the world.
Light is associated with God.
But of course light is also associated with fear.
And maybe I should say the lack of light is associated with fear.
Isn't it true that in the darkness our imaginations tend to run wild?
In the middle of the afternoon you could hear some noise somewhere and not think anything of it.
But you hear that same noise in the middle of the night and you think somebody is breaking in.
You think somebody is going to hurt you.
And often times it is in darkness that we feel the most fear.
But David says the Lord is my light.
He says the Lord is my salvation.
He says whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life.
Of whom shall I be afraid?
You know the Bible teaches that you and I as Christians do not need to fear anyone.
In Luke chapter 12 and verse 4 the Lord Jesus Christ he said these words.
Luke 12 and verse 4.
And I say unto you my friends.
I like how Jesus says that. My friends.
Be not afraid of them that kill the body and after that have no more that they can do.
And I think it's funny I always kind of chuckle when I read that.
I imagine that Jesus maybe I don't know is saying that with a smile.
A little bit of sarcasm there.
Because I think that probably the biggest thing that all of us fear is death.
I mean I think probably the biggest thing to be afraid of is that somebody is going to hurt you.
Somebody is going to murder you.
Somebody is going to kill you.
Jesus says be not afraid of them that kill the body.
He says if they kill your body.
He says after that they have no more that they can do.
And what Jesus is saying is this.
And it may be a comfort to you.
Maybe it won't be.
But what he says is this.
The worst thing that can happen to you as a believer is that somebody kills you.
And if you're a believer.
If the Lord is your light and remember what David said.
The Lord is my light and my salvation.
If the Lord is your salvation.
If the Lord Jesus Christ is your light.
If he's your salvation.
If after you cross into eternity what awaits for you is heaven and eternity with the Lord Jesus Christ.
And the worst thing that anybody could do to you is take your life.
Then you really have nothing to fear.
He says don't fear them that kill the body.
And after that have no more that they can do.
And don't we allow so many things to scare us.
Don't we allow so many things to cause us to fear.
And cause us to quake.
Cause us to doubt and to lack the confidence in God.
And you might be afraid of the economy or of losing your job.
You might be afraid of disease and a sickness.
You might be afraid of enemies.
But what Jesus is telling us is this.
That if the worst thing.
You say well I'm afraid of disease and health.
And I'm waiting for results to come back from the doctor.
And I don't mean to minimize it.
I understand the stress that can come from something like that.
But what I would say to you is this.
The worst thing that can happen to you is that it takes your life.
And if the Lord is your light and your salvation.
It's not so bad.
David says the Lord is my light and my salvation.
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life.
Of whom shall I be afraid?
But I want you to notice what Jesus says there in Luke 12.
He says that I say unto you my friends be not afraid of them that kill the body.
And after that have no more that they can do.
But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear.
He says let me tell you who you should be afraid of.
And in the Bible, and I'm not going to take the time to develop this.
You can study this out on your own.
We've mentioned this many times in sermons.
But in the Bible fear is a sin.
The Bible tells us that we are not to fear anyone.
The Bible tells us that God has not given us a spirit of fear.
The only person we should ever fear is the Lord.
We should have the fear of the Lord.
And Jesus says that in verse 5.
He says but I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear.
Fear him which after he hath killed have power to cast into hell.
Yea I say unto you fear him.
The idea is this.
The only one that should be feared is the Lord.
Especially if you're not saved you should fear.
Because once they kill your body he can cast you into hell.
But if you're on the Lord's side.
If the Lord is the light of your life and your salvation.
Then you have nothing and no one to fear.
Whom shall I fear David said.
Keep your place there in Luke 12.
We're going to come back to Luke.
Go back to Psalm 27.
He says the Lord is my light and my salvation.
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life.
Of whom shall I be afraid?
And again I don't know what you're going through tonight.
I don't know what you're dealing with.
I don't know what fear you may or may not have.
But I know this that from time to time we all have fears.
And we're all afraid of things.
There are all sorts of things that can scare us and cause us to doubt.
But David here is telling us if the Lord is your light.
And if the Lord is your salvation.
You've got no one to fear.
Whom shall I fear?
He says of whom shall I be afraid?
And then I want you to notice in verses 2 and 3.
He tells us something that we can do in the midst of fear.
Because even though we understand that we should not fear.
Obviously it's a human tendency to fear and an emotion to fear.
And in verse 2 he says this.
He says when.
That word when speaks to a moment in time.
And David's mind is going to go back to a moment in his life.
A moment in history.
And specifically what he's referring to we don't know.
He says something here very general.
But the idea is this.
That there is something in his prior life that he's referencing back to.
Verse 2 he says when the wicked.
Even mine enemies and my foes come upon me.
Notice the imagery here.
He says to eat up my flesh.
Now I don't know if that's literal.
Eat up my flesh.
Maybe David is using hyperbole here.
But he says when the wicked even mine enemies and my foes come upon me to eat up my flesh.
He says they stumbled and fell.
And David is referring to the fact that there was a time in his life when wicked men.
When enemies and foes came to not only kill him but to desecrate him.
To kill him and then he says.
And again maybe it was just hyperbole.
But he says they were going to eat me up.
I mean they were going to eat my flesh.
I mean they were going to cannibalize me.
And not only kill me but desecrate my body and not allow it to have a proper burial.
He says but when the wicked even mine enemies and my foes came upon me to eat up my flesh.
He says they stumbled and fell.
He said they stumbled and fell.
And what we see here is this.
That prior protection can give us current confidence.
The fact that God has seen us through at different times in different situations.
It should allow you to have faith to get through whatever it is that you're going through right now.
David is remembering the fact that there was a time when his enemies were about him.
His enemies were against him.
They were coming to eat up his flesh.
And he said as they were coming they stumbled and fell.
The Lord protected me. Notice verse 3.
He says though an host should encamp against me.
He says though an entire, the word host is referring to an army.
He said though an host should encamp against me.
He said though I should be surrounded by enemies.
And when I read this my mind goes to our 2016 protest.
When we had thousands of people, hundreds of people surrounding us.
And it was a scary thing.
He says though an host should encamp against me.
He says my heart shall not fear.
Why? Because he says I remember when the wicked even mine enemies and my foes came upon me to eat up my flesh and they stumbled.
He said and because of that though an host should encamp against me my heart shall not fear.
The war should rise against me.
He says, notice this word, he says in this.
In what? He says in this.
In the fact that they in the past when the wicked even mine enemies in the past they came against me and they stumbled and fell.
He said in this will I be confident.
I want you to notice that here we see David's confidence.
We see David's defense. What's his defense?
His defense is the Lord.
His confidence is in the Lord.
And specifically in this moment in his life he's telling us that prior protection gives us current confidence.
This is something that is illustrated throughout scripture.
Let me just give you some examples.
Go with me if you would to the book of Exodus. Exodus chapter 17.
The second book in the Bible should be fairly easy to find.
Genesis and then Exodus. Exodus chapter 17.
The Bible teaches us that we should on a regular basis remember prior victories.
Remember prior protections.
Remember prior battles.
Remember prior times where God saw us through.
In Exodus 17 and verse 13. Exodus 17 and verse 13.
The Bible says in Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
And they had of course this great victory and there's a whole story there we're not going to go into it.
But Joshua was able to be used of God to have a victory over Amalek.
And in verse 14 the Bible says,
And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua.
For I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.
And what God is saying here and what God is telling Moses to do.
He says look I just gave you a victory and I don't want you to forget about it.
He said I just gave you a victory and I want you to write it down.
Write this for a memorial in a book.
He said don't just write it down. I want you to talk about it.
I want you to rehearse it. I want it to be something you talk about.
Why? Because he says you're going to have other battles.
Other wars. Other enemies.
And when you go into those battles you should remember hey the Lord helped us here with Amalek.
The Lord brought us through battles in the past and prior protection can and should give us current confidence in God.
This is why I think that everybody should, whether they do it physically or in their own mind or in your heart,
you should keep a record of answered prayer.
You say well how can I have a record of answered prayer?
Well step one, start praying.
And step two, when God answers those prayers and when you have those wrestling matches with the Lord in regards to prayer,
as he answers those prayers you ought to remember those prayers.
And you ought to, those prior protections.
Even today I was praying about some things and as I was praying I was reminding the Lord,
Lord you answered this prayer over here and that was a mountain that needed to be moved.
And I didn't see how that could be done but you stepped in and you did this and you did that and you've taken care of it.
And sometimes when we go back and we take a stroll down memory lane and we remember how the Lord met us and the Lord took care of us
and the Lord defended us and the Lord was with us and we rehearse those things,
that prior victory gives us current confidence to say, Lord you did it before you can do it again.
Every once in a while we need to just brag on the Lord.
Every once in a while we need to just remember what God has done and where God has brought us from and what the Lord has done for us.
In 1 Samuel chapter 7, you have to turn and I'll just read this for you.
In 1 Samuel chapter 7 and verse 12 the Bible says this,
And Samuel took a stone and set it before Mizpeh and Shen and called the name of it Ebenezer.
He set up a stone. This was a common practice in the Old Testament.
Remember Joshua, when he brought the children through the Jordan River they set up 12 stones.
The Bible says as a memorial and they said that when your children asked,
what meaneth these stones that you can go back and tell them the Lord delivered us
and the Lord brought us out of the wilderness. The Lord brought us into the promised land.
And here after this victory the Bible says that Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpeh and Shen
and called the name of it Ebenezer saying, Hither to hath the Lord helped us.
He said they set up the stone. He called it Ebenezer. What does Ebenezer mean?
It means hitherto hath the Lord helped us.
I like that word hitherto. It's an older word. We don't use it a lot today.
But it means up to this point, up to this place, up to this point, the Lord has helped us.
The idea is this, that the Lord has brought us here where we are is because the Lord brought us
and if he brought us here he can take us the rest of the way.
I'm going to ask you, how many Ebenezers do you have in your life?
Do you have any Ebenezers? Are there any stories you tell?
Are there any stones and memorials you've set up?
Are there any things you look back on and things you can remember, things you can tell your children about
and your grandchildren about and tell them about the prayer of victory?
Why focus on the past? Why focus about what was done in the past?
You know we ought to focus on it because prior protection gives us current confidence to move forward for God.
David said, When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh,
they stumbled and fell and those prior protections, he said, they give me confidence.
He says, though a host encamp against me, my heart shall not fear.
The war should rise against me, he says, in this I will be confident.
Here I raise mine Ebenezer, hither by thy help I'm come.
Can you say that? Can I say that? Can we say that as a church?
Can we look back at prior times and difficulties and say the Lord got us through that?
The Lord brought us through that. The Lord gave us victories and those prior victories give us current confidence in God.
So I want you to notice that we see first David's defense.
His defense is the Lord. He said, The Lord is my light and my salvation.
But then I want you to notice, secondly tonight, not only do we see David's defense, but we see David's desire.
In verse 4, David says these words. That's where I take the title of the sermon tonight.
He says, One thing. I like that phrase.
One thing have I desired of the Lord.
That will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.
I want you to notice that here we see a little insight into the man David.
David, of course, had his sin. David had his moments of failure.
We know that. But the truth of the matter is this, as much as we can point at David and Bathsheba, we can also point at David and Goliath.
And though David, like any man, had his failures, David also had his victories.
And the Bible says that David was the sweet psalmist of Israel. That's what the Holy Spirit said.
The Bible tells us that David was a man after God's own heart. That's what the Holy Spirit said about this man.
And I don't think anybody can doubt the fact that David was one of the greatest believers in all of human history.
And I think here we find a little insight, because I don't know if you've ever noticed this, but not all Christians are created equal.
Some Christians are just a little more serious than others. Some believers are just a little more right with God than others.
Some believers just take the things of the Lord just a little more seriously than others.
And here we see David, and as he writes under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, we get a little insight into his mindset and what drove him.
And here's what David said. David said, One thing have I desired of the Lord.
He said just one thing. I wonder if you and I were to write down our one thing.
And if we were honest. If you and I were to desire, write down our one desire.
And we knew nobody was going to read it, even if we knew God himself maybe wasn't going to read it.
What would that one thing be if you were honest in your heart?
And by the way, you can't hide anything from God. God already knows what the desires of your heart are.
David tells us, David says, One thing have I desired of the Lord. He said one thing. There's one thing I want that will I seek after.
What would your one thing be? David says that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
And here we see the devotion of this man David.
Not only do we see the devotion of David, but we see what should be the devotion of every believer.
You know that for every believer, their one thing should be God. God is the goal.
God should be. I'm not saying he is. I don't know what your one thing is, but I will tell you this.
God should be your one thing. The one thing, the one desire of your heart, the one desire of your life.
The one thing you pursue, as David says, one thing have I desired of the Lord is that I may seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord.
I can't help but think of the words that the apostle Paul says in the New Testament as I read these words from David.
A man in the Old Testament who had a heart for the Lord, who was used of God mightily, maybe probably more than any other man than most men.
In the Old Testament, David says this one thing. He said, one thing have I desired of the Lord.
I can't help but think of the words of the apostle Paul, who was a man who was mightily used in the New Testament.
A man who was used more than maybe any other man in the New Testament.
And the apostle Paul said these words. He said, brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but there's one thing I do.
I don't think that's a coincidence.
David, one of those most greatly used men in the Old Testament said, one thing have I desired of the Lord.
And Paul, one of the greatly used, most greatly, probably most greatly used men in the New Testament other than the Lord Jesus Christ himself,
he said, this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth into those things which are before.
He said, I press toward the one thing. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of Christ Jesus.
When I think of these words, one thing, it reminds me of a story in the book of Luke. Did you keep your place there in Luke?
I'd like you to find Luke chapter 10 if you would. Luke chapter 10.
These men, they were focused. Paul didn't say these 12 things I dabble in. No. He said, this one thing I do.
He said, there's this one thing. There's one focus. There's one thing. And that one thing can have branches, of course.
Paul said, this one thing I do. And then he gives us a list of things. He says, in the process of doing that one thing,
I'm forsaking those things which are behind. I'm reaching forth into those things which are before.
We understand that that one thing can have branches that come off of it. But Paul said, and David said, my life is about one thing.
One thing. I'm not distracted. I think the problem with most Christianity today is that it's just a little too casual.
This casual Christianity. This take it or leave it Christianity. When David said, one thing have I desired of the Lord,
that will I seek after that I may dwell in the house of the Lord. I just can't imagine that David saying,
one thing I want is God and I want the house of God and I want to dwell in the house. I just can't imagine David then
being on his phone during the church service. Not when it's his one thing. Do you understand what I'm saying to you?
I just can't imagine David just hanging out in the foyer, hanging out in the mother baby room or a daddy baby room,
hanging out somewhere outside, just messing around, just joking around. I can't imagine it.
I can't imagine David not reading nine chapters a day. I can't imagine David skipping out on soul winning.
I can't imagine David skipping out on prayer. Look, I'm just saying, for some Christians, for some people,
it's not one of many things. It's one thing have I desired. It's God. In Luke chapter 10 and verse 38,
I want you to notice a story. Luke 10 38, the Bible says, and it came to pass as they went that he, this is of course Jesus,
entered into a certain village and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house and she had a sister called Mary.
Notice these words. Aren't these beautiful words? Which also sat at Jesus' feet. I don't know about you,
but that's how I'd like to be described. Which also sat at Jesus' feet. You say, well, how can I sit at Jesus' feet?
He's not physically here. Notice, she sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word. Jesus is the word.
Did you spend time with Jesus today? So how would I know if I spent time with you?
Did you spend time with his word? Did you spend time in his word? Every time you come to church,
you have an opportunity to hear the preaching of the word of God. What are you doing during the time,
the preaching of the word of God? Are you sitting at Jesus' feet? I'm not talking about me.
I'm talking about the word of God. Which also sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word.
But Martha, notice we've got two sisters here and we are going to compare and contrast them in the story.
Mary sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about.
The word cumbered means burdened, overloaded. She was stressed out. She was cumbered about.
And look, she's not doing anything bad with much serving. Martha was cumbered about much serving
and came to him, Jesus, and said, isn't it funny how we sometimes try to correct Jesus?
She came to him and said, Lord, does thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?
Bid her therefore that she help me. She's cumbered about. She's busy running around doing all sorts of things.
Doing all sorts of good things. Busy and stressed and overwhelmed and overloaded.
And listen to me, there's all sorts of things you can do. There's all sorts of things you can give your life to.
There's all sorts of things that you can pursue. There's all sorts of things.
But notice what Jesus says, verse 41.
And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful.
The word careful means anxious. You're full of care. He says, thou art careful and troubled about many things.
Don't miss this. Please don't miss this. Verse 42, Jesus says, but one thing is needful.
You know what Jesus said? He said, Martha, you know what you need is just one thing. One thing.
You don't need lots of things. You don't need many things. He said, you need to just focus on one thing.
David said, one thing I desire of the Lord. Paul said, this one thing I do.
And Jesus looks at this woman who's busy and overwhelmed and overloaded and stressed out and he says,
but one thing is needful and Mary hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her.
You know what we need? We need some one thing Christians. Some one thing Christians.
Who say, God's not just a part of my life. God is my life. God's not just something I do.
God's all I do. He's all I am. Everything I do is in pursuit of this one thing, to know him.
Paul said that I may know him in the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings.
Being made conformable unto his death. He said, it's my one thing.
And listen Christian, there's just too many Christians that are distracted with all sorts of things.
All sorts of comfort about, busy with all sorts of things. But one thing is needful. It's the one thing.
You know what we need is we need a Christianity that says in all things he should have the preeminence.
You know what we need is a Christianity that says, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
You say, but pastor, you don't understand. There's all these other things I got to worry about.
There's all these other things. I can't just do one thing. I mean, I've got to pay the bills and I've got to go to work and I've got to do this and I've got to do that.
You know what the Bible says? The Bible says, but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.
You worry about the one thing and he'll worry about the these things.
See, you and I got it all mixed up. We spent our lives running around worrying about all these things.
All these things that are temporal, all these things that will burn up, all these things that don't matter.
Jesus says, you know what you need? He says one thing is needful.
Let me ask you, Christian, how's your walk with God? How's your fellowship with the Savior?
How's your relationship with the Word of God? How's your relationship with the house of God? How's your relationship with the things of God?
Because I think what separated David and I think what separated Paul and I think what separated these types of men is that they said, I've got one thing.
One thing have I desired of the Lord. In Colossians chapter 3, you don't have to turn there, I'll just read this for you.
In Colossians chapter 3 and verse 3, Paul said this, he said, for ye are dead.
If you're saved, this is how it's supposed to be. For ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God.
You say, Pastor, I've got all these hobbies, make God your hobby.
Make the Word of God, make the things of God, make that your thing, your one thing.
For ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God when Christ, I just love how this is worded here.
He says when Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.
See, Christ is not supposed to be a part of your life. He's supposed to be your life. Christ who is our life.
So we see the devotion that David had, that Paul had, that Jesus told Mary she should have and that Martha had.
He says, but one thing, one thing is needful. Just one thing.
But I want you to notice if you go back to Psalm 27, in verse 4 we see the devotion that David had
and I would say the devotion that every believer should have.
We should all get to the place where we say the goal is God. God is the goal.
And what God wants and what God desires.
When you and I can get to the place where we say what God desires is what I desire, it will change your life.
But then I want you to notice the protection that every believer wants to have.
We see the devotion that every believer should have.
One thing have I desired of the Lord that will I seek after that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple.
That's the devotion that every believer should have.
But notice the protection that every believer wants to have.
He says, for in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion.
In the secrets of His tabernacle shall He hide me.
He shall set me up upon a rock and now shall my head be lifted up above my enemies round about me.
Therefore will I offer in His tabernacle sacrifices of joy.
I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.
Now look, I understand that we read these verses and they just sound like spiritual talk if you're not in tune with the things of the Lord.
But in verse 5 and in verse 6 isn't this what we want?
In the time of trouble He shall hide me, isn't that what you want?
In the secret tabernacle He shall hide me, isn't that what you want?
See, what we all want is the protection.
This is the protection, this is the blessing, this is the favor, this is the help that I think every Christian wants.
But here's what you and I, I think, don't understand.
Let me just share a verse with you and maybe this will highlight it.
If you would look at Psalm 90, you're there in Psalm 27, just flip over to Psalm 90 and verse 17.
I want you to notice Psalm 90 because it's connected to Psalm 27.
If you remember in verse 4 he says, one thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after.
He says that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
Here's what he said, he said to behold the beauty of the Lord.
Let me ask you something, when's the last time you came to church and you beheld the beauty of the Lord?
When's the last time you came to church and you actually heard from God?
You actually had an experience with God.
I'm not talking about some Pentecostal charismatic feeling.
I'm talking about you came here and you heard clearly from the word of God.
God spoke to you, you say, wow, the Lord, I've met with the Lord.
Isn't that what we're here for?
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire to get my questions answered, to get what I need in his temple.
And notice the connection, the beauty of the Lord, Psalm 90 verse 17.
And let the beauty of the Lord our God, look at this, isn't this what we all want?
Be upon us. Isn't that what we all want?
I mean, don't you want the beauty of the Lord to be upon you?
The blessing of the Lord to be upon you, the hand of the Lord to be upon you?
I know that's what I want in our ministry here.
I think, isn't that what you want for your business, for your job, your career?
That the hand of the Lord be upon you?
Isn't that what you want for your marriage and for your child rearing?
That the hand of the Lord and that the beauty of the Lord would be upon you?
That the beauty, he says, then let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us.
And look at these words, tell me this isn't what we all want.
And establish thou, this is a request to God.
God, will you establish thou the work of our hands?
Isn't that what we want?
Lord, I'm working at this and I'm putting work, I'm putting effort into this.
Whether it's ministry, whether it's business, whether it's relationships,
whether it's your health, whatever it might be.
Don't we want that God would establish thou,
that God would establish the work of our hands upon us?
Yea, the work of our hands establish thou it, Lord.
Lord, will you help me? Will you favor me?
Will you marvelously bless me in the things that I endeavor?
Isn't that what we all want?
But here's what I want you to understand and I think this is the part that we don't get.
Is that the blessing of God is connected to our devotion.
See before you can come to Psalm 27, you can head back to Psalm 27 if you'd like.
Before you can come to verse 5,
for in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion
and the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me.
Before you can claim that, you've got to be able to declare
Are you listening to what I'm saying?
Before you can claim the protection and blessing and help in favor of God in verse 5,
you've got to ask yourself, can you declare verse 4,
one thing by the desire of the Lord?
And here's what I'm saying to you.
The Bible says we reap what we sow.
The Bible says that we should do unto others as we would have them do unto us.
And here's what I'm saying to you, that applies to God as well.
And this idea that says, well I'm going to be casual with God.
Let me tell you something, you go ahead and be casual with God
and then don't be surprised when God is casual with you.
You go ahead and say, well God, you know, I'll get to it when I get to it.
And then you've got some prayer requests, you've got some urgent need,
you find yourself in trouble and you need the hand of God and the help of God
and God's up in heaven saying, I'll get to it when I get to it.
You say, as the word of God is preached, just sit and fool around and mess around
and you're playing and you're talking and you're on your phone
and then God, I need your help, God, I need your help.
He's like, sorry, I'm scrolling.
Sorry, I'm distracted. Look, here's what I'm saying.
Casual Christianity produces casual blessing with God.
And don't you want God's full attention when you need Him?
You say, how do I get His attention when you give Him yours?
One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after,
that I may dwell in the house, Lord, of the days of my life
to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His holy temple.
So we see David's defense and we see David's desire
but I want you to notice quickly tonight, we see David's doubt.
It's interesting to me because David is very confident in this psalm.
Up to this point, he's very confident and then something happens
and he's not confident anymore.
And what you and I need to remember is this, that we're all going to doubt from time to time.
We're all in the middle of the night in the darkness, in the fear of darkness,
we're just going to wonder, Lord, can you hear me?
In Luke chapter 7, I know you have your place in Luke, you don't have to turn there,
but in Luke chapter 7, you can just write this down for your reference.
In verses 19 to 23, we have John who the Bible tells us sent his disciples onto Jesus
and he asks this question.
John, I mean think about this, John the Baptist, John who was prophesied about,
John who we're told had the spirit of Elijah,
John who is the voice crying in the wilderness.
This John finds himself in prison and he has to ask the question of Jesus,
art thou he that should come or look before another?
He doubted.
Here's what I'm telling you, if John can doubt, so can you and so can I.
And here we find David doubting.
He just got done telling us, he said, look, God, you have helped me,
you have brought me thus far,
you have given me prior protection that gives me current confidence,
I desire you, I want you, I'm right with God, I don't want anything else, I just want God.
And then it seems like he begins to doubt, look at verse 7.
It sounds like me, it sounds like you.
He says, Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice,
have mercy also upon me and answer me.
We see David's doubt, he begins to request, Lord, Lord, will you answer me, will you answer me?
But notice, notice the connection.
In verse 7 we see this statement where this is what he's saying, David is saying, answer me.
In verse 8 he's going to tell us why.
He says, Because, Lord, I need you to answer me,
I need you to hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice,
I need you to have mercy also upon me and to answer me, Lord.
Have you ever been there where you're crying out to the Lord and saying, Lord, I need you to answer this prayer?
I need your help, I need you to hear me.
But notice what David says in verse 8, here he gives us the because.
He says, Lord, answer my prayer, here's why.
Because, when thou saidest, this is what David is saying to God.
David is telling, God, please answer my prayer, because, Lord, don't forget, Lord,
that when thou saidest, seek my face, my heart said unto thee,
thy face, Lord, will I seek.
Did you not get it?
Here's what David said, Lord, when you said, seek my face,
my heart's response was, thy face, Lord, will I seek.
Okay, let's apply it.
David is saying, Lord, answer my prayer.
Lord, hear me when I cry.
Lord, give me the desire of my heart.
Lord, I need you to come through for me, I need you to do this.
And here's why, Lord, because when you said, go soul winning, my heart said, I'll go soul winning.
Because when you said, read your Bible, my heart said, I'll read the Bible.
Because when you said, you need to get rid of that trash music, worldly music you've been listening to,
my heart said, Lord, all I want is you and I'll get rid of it.
Lord, when you cried, when thou saidest, my heart said, when thou saidest, my heart responded,
when thou saidest, seek my face, my heart said, unto thee, thy face, Lord, will I seek.
And David is using that to say, so Lord, please hear my prayer.
And here's what I'm saying to you, is that trying to get right with God in the emergency room, it's too late.
Trying to get right with God once you're in trouble, trying to get the mercy of God once you're in trouble, it's just too late.
This casual Christianity that says, God, it's not that important to me, I don't really care, I'll take it or leave it.
Don't be surprised when you need God and God says, I can take it or leave it.
I can take it or leave it. It's not that important to me. I'll get to it when I get to it.
David says, hear, O Lord, when I cry, with my voice have mercy upon me and answer me.
And he says, here's why, Lord, here's the confidence of my prayer.
Lord, you know this is true, when thou saidest, seek my face, my heart did not.
I didn't backpedal, I didn't give excuses, I didn't say, well, now it's not for me and that's for radical.
He said, when you said, seek my face, my heart said, thy face, Lord, will I seek it.
So David says, because of that, God, verse 9, hide not thy face from me.
You said to seek your face, I sought your face, so don't hide your face from me.
Put not thy servant away in anger.
That has been my help. That's going back to the remembrance, the prayer of victory.
That has been my help. Leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.
And then David says this, which I think is interesting, verse 10.
He says, when my father and my mother forsake me.
What's interesting is that there's nothing in the Bible that has a record that David's father or mother forsook him.
In fact, what we see in scripture is that when David was running from Saul, he actually took the time to take care of his parents and to make sure that they had been taken care of and that they wouldn't be hunted down as well.
I don't think that David is saying that his father and mother have forsaken him, but he's using this example and he says, when my, and David stops.
And I understand he's speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, but I think he stops for a moment and he says, I really want to make this point.
What is the most radical way? What is the most intense way to explain this? He says, when my father and my mother forsake me.
And the idea is this, that these are people, generally speaking, that are not ever going to forsake you, your father and your mother.
And isn't that true? I understand you can find some example here, some example there of parents who forsook their kids, but by and large, human beings, they're not going to forsake their own children.
Good night, you can watch a serial killer go to court and everyone forsakes him and his mother's there in that front row weeping.
David says, when my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me out.
Isaiah said it this way, can a woman forget her suckling child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb?
And the idea is this, a woman could not forget her suckling child, her nursing child, a normal, natural woman. We're not talking about a psychopath or a reprobate.
Just a normal woman is not going to forget her suckling child, but the Bible says, and God says, and Isaiah says, can a woman forget her suckling child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. He's using these extreme examples. He says, if it were possible for a woman who has a nursing baby to forget her child and forsake her child.
He said, if that was possible, they may do it, but I'll never do it. He says, when my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me out.
And the truth is that your mother and your father probably aren't going to forsake you. I'm thankful that I grew up in a Christian home. My father and mother are here tonight and praise the Lord for it.
Here's what David is telling us and here's what the Bible is telling us. When the people that are least likely to forsake you, when they even forsake you, God won't.
He said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. So here's the question I have for you. If he'll never forsake you, why do you keep forsaking him?
If he'll never ignore you, why do you keep ignoring him? If he'll never disrespect you, why do you keep disrespecting him?
David said, I'm smart enough to not bite the hand that feeds me. David says, I know where the blessing comes. I know where the protection comes.
Do you understand that every good gift is from above? Do you understand that if you got a paycheck here on the first, that wasn't your strength or your smarts or your skill or your talent. That's God.
And you can go ahead and get all puffed up and prideful. God is the only one keeping you from being in a car accident and losing whatever ability you have.
And the sooner you and I realize that God is the one who's most loyal to us, so I should therefore be most loyal to him.
If it was even possible when my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me out. He said, the Lord will not leave me. The Lord will not forsake me.
So David says, I have one desire and it's God. In Psalm 27 and verse 11 he says this, teach me. I just want you to notice this.
We see here the method of God's blessing and protection. Just highlight this if you want. He says, teach me, teach me thy way O Lord.
And here's the process. Here's how it works. Teach me thy way O Lord and lead me in the plain path. It's not enough to just know it. You got to do it.
I go to church and I get the preaching. Okay, what do you do with it? I go to church and I hear all the things. Okay, but what are you doing with it?
Teach me thy way O Lord. Lead me in the plain path because of mine enemies. Verse 12, deliver me. Do you see the three me's there? Teach me, lead me, deliver me. That's how it works.
Here's what you and I want. We want teach me when I show up, teach me when I'm paying attention, teach me when I'm not acting like a fool at church and lead me if I get to it but deliver me O Lord.
That's not how it works. It's just not. Teach me, lead me, deliver me. You want the deliverance? You want his help? You want his favor? Then you better learn God and you better let him lead you.
Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies for false witnesses are risen up against me.
It's interesting to me how in the Psalms this comes up over and over again, this idea that false witnesses are risen up. You know that a common attack against the people of God is false witnesses rising up against them.
And you know what the best false witness is? The one that has a little bit of truth. That takes a little bit of truth and exaggerates it and embellishes it.
Say, pastor, why should I not be a gossip? Here's why, because false witnesses rise up. And you shouldn't just assume that because you hear something it's true.
David said for false witnesses are risen up against me and such as breathe out cruelty. That's the method. Here's the means. Verse 13.
I have fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord. Just notice his words. I just want you to see his words. In the land of the living.
In the land of the living. I love that phrase. In the land of the living. And I'll just quickly explain to you what I believe David is saying here.
I believe that what David is saying here in verse 13 is this. When he says I have fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
I believe what he's saying is this. He's saying I know that these trials are just temporary. I know that they're just on earth.
And I know that you will ultimately deliver me. Because how did he begin the song? The Lord is my light and my salvation.
So David says I understand. Look Paul would say for I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
And David would agree with that. He would say look I get it. In this life. In this world. This is just temporary. The worst thing. Where do we start? The worst thing they can do to you is kill you. That's the worst.
But here's what David says. He says I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
And David is saying I know that the trials. I know that the tribulations. I know that the temptations. I know that the attacks. I know that the false accusations.
I know that the battles. I know that all of these things are just in this life and they're temporal and I will ultimately be delivered to heaven, to the Lord, the light and my salvation.
But David would say it this way. I think he would say but but I understand it's just temporary but I understand that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.
David would say amen but but God I'd like to see your goodness and your blessing and your protection in the here and the now. In the land of the living.
He said I had fainted unless I believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. And here's a question I have for you. Can you look back at your life and say I've seen the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
I've seen God answer my prayers. I've seen God come through for me. I've seen God protect me and help me and be with me. I've seen God protect my family and I've seen God lead our church. Can you say those things?
Can you say those things? If you can't maybe it's because God is not your one thing. I know he's a thing. You wouldn't be here tonight if he wasn't a thing. But is it your one thing?
Psalm 27 verse 14 waits on the Lord. Be of good courage and he shall strengthen my heart. Wait I say on the Lord. The one thing. I think it's amazing that Jesus would say but one thing is needful.
That Paul would say this one thing I do. That David would say one thing have I desired of the Lord. That will I seek after. So I ask you tonight. What's your one thing?
Father we do love you. We thank you for these Psalms. We thank you for men like David and Paul. Martha. Men and women that walk with you.
Lord if nobody was helped tonight I pray that you do a work in my heart. Lord I pray you'd help me. I pray you'd help me to live my life in such a way where you're my one thing.
And Lord I pray you'd help us to raise an army of believers that wouldn't be casual about this Christianity thing. That wouldn't be casual about God and his word. This one thing is needful. This one thing I do. Help us to be Christians of one thing. We love you. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Well I want to thank you for being here tonight. We're going to have Brother Moses come up and lead us in a final song. Just some quick reminders that we've got a sign up sheet in the back if you'd like to help with the Valentine's Day party.
Of course we're talking to home school moms if you can help us with the different crafts there's things for you to sign up back there and please go by and help us with that. We'd appreciate your help with that.
And then of course we have soul winning on Thursday if you're able to make it. That's the time that you can go. 2 p.m. and then on Saturday morning is our big soul winning rally. We'd love for you to be a part of it.
And of course I want to encourage you to be here on Sunday to be in the house of the Lord. To be like David who says one thing of my desire to dwell in the house of the Lord. I hope you'll be here. If there's anything we can do for you please let us know. We'll have Brother Moses come up and lead us in a final song.
Turn in your song books to page number 370.
Page number 370 we're going to sing throw out the lifeline.
Page 370 throw out the lifeline and let's go ahead and sing it out on the first verse.
There is a brother who some might say, but he's not a one who's guilty.
Do you know how all that life is guilty?
Come on, the second.
Come on, the blackbird.
Move in, make it strong.
I hear you tearing by the ursula.
Singing, singing, thanks you today.
We now put the blackbird away, there away.
Come on, the blackbird.
The blackbird is walking straight on our way.
Come on, the blackbird.
So far, he's singing today.
Come on, the blackbird.
To danger, come on then.
Singing in English, where you'll never hear.
Is it time to cheer him, he'll close the door.
He'll say goodbye, but the door is open.
The blackbird, the blackbird.
So far, he's singing today.
The blackbird, the blackbird.
So far, he's singing today.
Let's see how long that's going to last.
So long as the season of the year will be on.
So long as we'll be together at each other.
He said, my brother, that time will be late.
Oh, brother, the blackbird is here today.
The blackbird, the blackbird.
So long as we'll be together at each other.
The blackbird, the blackbird.
So far, he's singing today.
Amen.
Great singing.
If you're a guest, and if you have
any questions about salvation, church membership, or baptism,
you can see Pastor in the front.
And can I please have Brother Darrell
close us in a word of prayer?
Amen.