Waiting for the Goodness of God Psalm 27

Discipline & Darkness

Over the years, I have made it a practice to pray the Psalms of the Day, a practice some of you learned in your D.N.A Groups, as often as I can. On December 27, 2022, as I was praying through the Psalms, I cried out to the Lord, “How long, oh Lord?” How long will this discipline and darkness last? How long must the night continue before my joy comes in the the morning? This is not the first time I’ve prayed like this. Over the last 7 1/2 years in Litchfield, at least six of those years have been filled with prayers of lament and longing for deliverance and vindication. Some of you may ask, “Deliverance and vindication from what?”

In my ministry at FBCL, I have learned that lament and longing usually work in tandem with discipline and darkness. If you read and pray the Psalms on a regular basis, you see both the Lord’s discipline and the darkness connected to lament and longing for deliverance and vindication in the Psalms. Fro example,

Psalm 39:7–13 (ESV)

“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.

Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool!

I am mute; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it.

Remove your stroke from me; I am spent by the hostility of your hand.

When you discipline a man with rebukes for sin, you consume like a moth what is dear to him; surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah

“Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; hold not your peace at my tears! For I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers.

Look away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more!”

And,

Psalm 13 (ESV)

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?

How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,

lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.

The Lord’s Discipline

Our Father, who is in heaven, is a good Father. He loves his children with an unwavering steadfast love. When his children walk in foolishness or loose confidence in His gospel power, he expresses his Fatherly love (Hebrews 12:3-11) and commitment to them by through discipline. Solomon encourages us,

Proverbs 3:11–12 ESV

My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.

Love is His motivation. Correction is His goal. God wants to lovingly correct the way his children walk in this world. As his children who are being sanctified, we have a tendency to get side track and lost, like sheep. We also have a rebellious streak in us that pushes back against God’s instruction. A good loving Father will address both of these issues in his children. He does it individually (as His child) and corporately (as His church).

Over the last six years, FBCL has experienced the loving discipline of God. He addressed sin and foolishness in our church. As a result, He has pruned our numbers, going from 275ish people to about 40 regular attenders on Sunday. He pruned our resources, from a budget of over $300,000 to a budget of $173,000. He pruned our ministry outreach. Without the numbers and resources, we do not have some of the leadership and volunteers to do the work we aspire to do.

This is not to say that God has not provided for us as he disciplines. By God’s grace, every time we’ve needed leadership, direction, even resources for ministry, God has provided. If anything, God’s gracious care for us while he prunes is a testimony of His love and commitment to us as His children. Nevertheless, we have felt both the hand of the Lord and the rod of the Lord.

The Darkness of the Genesis 3

There is another factor to our struggle over the last seven years. It is the darkness of Genesis three that seems to loom in Litchfield. On the one hand, Genesis 3 darkness looms everywhere. The entire world is affected by sin and Satan. COIVD 19 was a global pandemic. Every community was impacted but it, and every church has suffered detrimental consequences from it. Church attendance is down 20%-40% in the American church. The West as a whole saw the church as irrelevant during the pandemic. The government had no problem shutting us down. As I’ve said before, the world did not call on us to pray, but to be silent.

On the other hand, some communities suffer a darker cloud than others; I think Litchfield is one of those communities. What I mean by that is there is a spiritual oppression here that hurts the community. Satan has his hooks into people, to blind their eyes and dull their ears from seeing Jesus. Hearts are hard in our community. So many have no fear of God, with little fear of death, and no regard for the law. This works itself out in physical poverty, substance abuse, broken families, poor educational habits, and little to no desire to taste and see the Lord is good. There is strong apathy for the things of God, and even hostility toward the church.

One of the glaring consequences is an epidemic in our community of young 15-25 year old males who succumb to the Litchfield lurch; feeling too far behind to catch up. They have little ambition. No stamina and no foresight for the future. Thee is no fight to make life better. Just staggering around intoxicated by drugs, alcohol, and entertainment. Unfortunately, tis not just the males who are suffering from the Lurch.

So many of our young ladies have no idea what it means to be a woman, made in God’s image. They create their identity based on the world’s criteria that she must perform better than a man if she is a real woman. They settle for boys who are no more than eye candy and have no godly character or gumption. They too stagger around intoxicated by the lusts of the world and the pride of life. This has made ministry to youth and their families a difficult row to hoe for Sonny and Audra, and every volunteer who works with the youth. There are very few “church kids” in our youth. Most of our ministry has been and continues to be to “unchurched children.”

After seven years of ministry under God’s discipline and Litchfield’s darkness, many of you may be crying out to the Lord, “How long oh Lord?” How long Oh lord will your discipline last on us? How long oh Lord will the darkness prevail?

David was not aloof to the discipline of God and the darkness of the world. In Psalm 27, David was looking for deliverance and vindication. Furthermore, it was the darkness that was threatening his joy, his confidence, and his courage; the darkness of being surrounded by enemies and being falsely accused (Psalm 27:12). Fear was welling up inside him that he would be overcome. He was fearful of stumbling in the darkness into unrighteousness and He feared being abandon by the people most loyal to him. He cried out to God to be led out of the darkness, away from despondency, and into the goodness of the Lord. That is how I feel at times in ministry. And that is how, at times, it has felt over the last seven years.

The difference for me this December was where God led me to find courage and confidence to keep moving forward. In his word, he led me to Psalm 27, specifically verse 13-14

Psalm 27:13–14 ESV

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

There is a wonderful promise in verse 13 that just stuck in my heart, like a nail hammered into a 2x4 board; “surely you will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” David trusted that He would see God’s goodness, his deliverance, even blessing, from this situation, and his life on earth would be preserved. From this conviction, he tells others, like you and me, to be strong and wait on the Lord.

The verb for be strong can be rendered, act like a man, be courageous as you wait on the Lord.

Psalm 31:24 ESV

Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!

Its the same language give to Joshua before he was to lead Israel to conquer the Promise Land.

Joshua 1:7 (ESV)

Only be strong and very courageous,

Joshua was to believe the promise that God would go before him and give his people the land flowing with milk and honey. On that promsie, Joshua was to walk by courageous obedient faith.

Just as Joshua was to trust God’s promises and obey His commands, so David says trust God’s promises and wait for the Lord to deliver you and vindicate you.

Be strong and wait for the Lord to deliver on His promises. Wait, trusting that He works everything to our good as a church. Surely we will see the goodness of the Lord at FBCL. We, however, must wait for Him to do what ver it takes to pour his favor on us.

So, the big question is, “what does courageous waiting look like?

It looks like Psalm 27. It looks like obedient faith that is courageous and waits with confident in God (v1-3), stokes his desires for God (4-6), prayers often to God (v7-12), and hopes in God’s future grace (v13-14). Today, we will tackle confidence in God.

Take courage and wait with confidence in the presence of God (Psalm 27:1-3)

Psalm 27:1–3 ESV

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? When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.

There was a French Geologist named Michel Siffre. In 1962, he conducted a series of experiments that involved human beings living underground in dark caves alone. There were no clocks, calendars, or contact with the outside world. There was only one lightbulb that came on when they awoke and turned off when they went to sleep.

From Siffre’s study, he found that darkness has negative effects on the body and mind. His subjects lost a sense of time and their mood became melancholy. Further studies have shown that living in darkness increases your desire to lie and cheat. It also makes you more prone to making mistakes. One participant in the a study said that darkness was like a mirror. It made you see things you don’t want to see. The bottom like is darkness hurts you body and your soul. It is a terrible thing to be consumed by darkness. You have zero motivation to move around, to live life, to thrive and flourish. Fear, disappointment, despondency, consumes your confidence.

Darkness has befallen on David. It is not a literal darkness, but the darkness that comes with with fear. The weight of the darkness is robbing David of life. He’s weak and vulnerable. He knows he cannot stand on his own. Why? David is afraid his enemies will prevail over him. He uses cannibalistic language; his enemies would “eat up his flesh.” He has to preach to his soul not to fear in verses 1 and 3.

How will his soul fight the darkness?

Yahweh’s presence is the light of your salvation, your confidence

He fights the darkness with Yahweh’s presence, which is light. Yahweh, the Lord, is the light of his salvation. Darkness cannot stand light because light makes darkness not exist.

1 John 1:5 ESV

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

The Psalmist says

Psalm 139:12 ESV

even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

Yahweh’s light shines eradicating the shadows of death (Psalm 23:4). Yahweh’s light becomes the stronghold, or a refuge, a place of safety for David. The darkness cannot touch him in Yahweh’s presence. One of the reasons why is because light illuminates the way to walk and live, removing obstacles that make people stumble. It is Yahweh’s light that restores David’s confidence to live and flourish.

Light and God’s presence are one and the same.

The Psalmist says

Psalm 18:28 ESV

For it is you who light my lamp; the Lord my God lightens my darkness.

Consider, for a moment, what life will be like in the new heavens and the new earth. The angel shows John, in Rev 22:1-3, that there will be a river of life flowing rom the throne of God. There will be a tree of life yielding fruit. We will worship freely. He will see us and we will clearly see his face. Everything accursed will be gone and there will be no darkness and no need of a lamp of a sun. John says,

Revelation 22:5 (ESV)

And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

God is light. Being in God’s light is being in his presence. When Jesus saves you, he transfers you out of the darkness and into the kingdom of light and places you in God’s presence.

Light is God’s his truth and righteousness

The light of God’s presence is his truth and righteousness. To fellowship with God in His light is to be in the truth; to walk in the truth is to practice His truth.

1 John 1:5–7 (ESV)

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another...

John says in verse 6, that fellowship with God is practicing truth, which is walking in the light. John also associates walking in the light with being cleansed from all sin. Being forgiven by Jesus, his atonement, cleanses us from all sin. He enables us to walk in the light, the truth, God’s holy truth.

But how can those who are dead in our sin, born citizens of the kingdom of darkness, walk in the light?

Jesus’ atonement is the means by which you walk in the light

1 John 1:7–9 (ESV)

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light... the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (is darkness)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The contrast between verses 7 & 8 is the difference between light and darkness, truth and deception, righteousness and unrighteousness. Jesus is the light that conquers our darkness. Jesus is the truth that corrects our deception. Jesus’s blood is the righteousness that cleanses our unrighteousness.

The Light of the world is the Life in you!

John says of Jesus,

John 1:4–5 ESV

In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

You must believe upon the Lord Jesus and receive Him.

John 1:12 ESV

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

Once your in the Light, you now enjoy God’s presence by walking in the light.

One of these requests of David is for the Yahweh to

Psalm 27:11 ESV

Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.

To enjoy God’s presence, David knows he must walk in obedience. He knows Adam and Eve were kicked out of God’s presence because of disobedience. He knows God’s

Psalm 119:105 ESV

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

and

Psalm 119:130 ESV

The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.

David knows Gods’ word fights the darkness of sin

Psalm 119:11 ESV

I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

David knows God’s word is a feast of joy for your soul

Jeremiah 15:16 ESV

Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.

David knows God’s word revives your soul and giving you wisdom in your hour of need.

Psalm 19:7 ESV

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;

David knows the word of God is your refuge, your hope, your confidence as you battle for faith against the darkness.

Psalm 119:114 ESV

You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word.

To walk in obedient faith in God’s presence is to be in God’s word. David calls on God to teach him, and this morning God calls on you to ask him to do the same as you wait for him.

The darkness, the evil of this world, the sin of your flesh, and Satan himself, will batter you over and over, seeking to extinguish the light that is in you. The word of God, which is living and active, sharper than a two edge sword, is capable of discerning your thoughts and intentions, which means it is capable of reaching the depths of your heart to shore you up and give you confidence while you wait for the Lord to fulfill his promises.

Hugh Latimer was a man familiar to the darkness of this world. He was a zealous evangelical preacher who challenged the Catholic church as a reformer, and was bold enough to call out Henry the VIII’s infidelity by giving him a Bible for a News Year’s gift with the leaf turned down to the passage, "Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge" (Hebrews 13:4). Eventually, Mary Tudor, known as Bloody Mary, took the thrown. She immediately arrested High Latimer and Nicholas Ridley. While in the Tower of London, he wrote, “Pray for me, I say pray for me; at times I am so afraid that I could creep into a mousehole.” Here was a courageous brother in Christ feeling the weight of the darkness; fear, despondency, despair. Queen Mary ordered he and Rodely’s execution on October 16, 1555. This same man is quoted a saying on is way to the be burned at the stake,

“Play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace in England, as I trust shall never be put out.” Hugh Latimer

Where did Latimer find such confidence in His hour of need? Latimer preached a sermon on Ephesians 6:10-20, Put on the Full Armor of God, in 1535 when there was active insurrection in the north land. He said this about God’s word and the fight against darkness,

“Paul giveth us here a sword, “The word of God.” For this sword is it that beateth this great captain, our enemy. Christ himself gave us ensample to fight with this sword; for he answered the devil with the scripture, and said, “It is written.” With this sword he drave away the devil: and so let us break his head with this sword, the true word of God, and not with any word of the bishop of Rome’s making; not with his old learning, nor his new learning, but with the pure word of God.” Hugh Latimer

Surely the goodness of the Lord will come us. Be faithful. Wait with courage and confidence. Wait in God’s presence through the redemption Jesus gives you through his blood and His word. You must have both if you are going to wait in faithful obedience. Apart from Jesus, you cannot enter God’s presence. Apart from His word, you cannot know the heart of God. You have no confidence in His goodness. What you have is his promise of condemnation.

Today is the day of salvation. If you have not repented of your sin and received Jesus as your savior, call upon him today. He will remove God’s wrath and light your soul with his life. For believers, your confidence in God’s goodness will only be strengthened by spending time in His word. Make reading, studying, praying God’s word your first priority everyday, and surely you will see the goodness of the Lord.

Take courage and wait with desire for God (Psalm 27:4-6)

Take courage and wait in prayer to God (Psalm 27:7-10)

Take courage and wait in hope of God (Psalm 27:11-14)