My Light and My Salvation
Notes
Transcript
Have any of us ever had rough patches in life, where it seems nothing ever goes right? Doesn’t matter how hard we try, how much we pray, how much we do the right things, it seems everything and everyone is against us. We know we have been called to a job, to a relationship, to a church - yet it seems every step we take seems impossible. When we face what seems impossible, it is easy to become fearful and be troubled in our soul, especially when we do not have control over the situation.
Just in the past few months, we have seen teenagers facing cancer and heart failure. We have those within our own congregation that are facing health decline, incidents, and unwanted diagnosis. While many prayers have been lifted on their behalf though, most of us will never know the feelings of their family members. We may sympathize, but we cannot empathize unless we are invested with them. So what do we do when these things DO hit our life, and we are searching to answers? We go through periods of doubt, fear, and a troubled heart.
Often, we are fearful of our humanity - knowing its temporary state. Satan knows this, and uses this against us. By staying in a state of fear, though, is not the life God intends for a believer. It paralyzes us, robs us of peace, and leaves us questioning our service for the Lord.
In Psalm 27, David was facing a time of fear his life. While we do not have specific examples of what caused his fear, from scripture it seems that everyone and everything was against him. But, we see the picture of a mature Christian who looks squarely at the circumstances of his life and says that he will not fear anything going on. Wow, to have that type of faith. How is it we get there? How do we grow to this place? You see, fear is more than a feeling, it is a spiritual enemy. Scripture tells us that the spirit of fear is NOT from God.
7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
David found strength in the Lord, even when things seemed to be falling apart around him.
Of David.
1 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?
2 When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall.
3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.
4 One thing have I asked 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 gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.
5 For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.
6 And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me!
8 You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.”
9 Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation!
10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in.
11 Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.
12 Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence.
13 I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!
14 Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
David declares the Lord is his light and his salvation. Salvation here is not in the spiritual sense, but a literal physical sense. He knew God would physically deliver him from whatever circumstance he found himself in. As a result, he could boldly declare “Whom shall I fear?”. We can look back at the life of David, from protecting his family flock from lions and bears; he boldly followed God and defeated Goliath; he was able to elude death at the hand of King Saul. David had seen reasons to be fearful his whole life. Now, we see the spiritual side of David and WHY he could address life’s obstacles boldly.
God was the light in his life. God brightened his life, and gave his a reason to rejoice even in times of uncertainty. He was the source of David’s strength - a place of shelter, safety, and protector. It can also be translated as fortress, stronghold, or refuge. David boldly and confidently knew God would protect him from his enemies. He knew God had delivered him from everything he had faced so far and he was confident he would deliver him from everything he would face. As long as he trusted God, he was safe.
How do we grow in our faith so that we too can face life challenges like David? With encouragement! David encouraged himself in the Lord.
6 And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
David found strength in God’s past faithfulness. Like David, we can face fear and enemies with our confidence in the Lord. Our words should be spoken if faith, not doubt. God tells us in His Word that He is faithful to see us through.
6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
His Word is our weapon against the stronghold of fear. When we learn more about God, about His Word, and see His faithfulness to see us through trials of life - our faith grows in Him. Notice that David gives us an example here - he declares his faith in God BEFORE he prays. It gave him the opportunity to pray, then, in faith instead of doubt.
He prayed to stay in God’s presence. David wanted to remain in God, so God could remain in him. Notice, he did not want to dwell in the house of the Lord when things got tough, when he was concerned or fearful, or when life seemed to be falling apart, no he wanted to be with the Lord ALL the days of his life. David’s priority was to remain with God on a continual basis so he could focus on God and God alone.
Notice the difference in how David approached this - His desire was to truly KNOW God, not just get something from Him. To me, there is something valuable we can learn here - prayer is not an emergency line only. It is not for our convenience! Prayer is to help grow our relationship with our Heavenly Father. So WE can know HIM better, NOT so we can simply get something from Him. David understood that the relationship he had with God was the most important thing he could pursue - and we can learn from David’s example.
David approached God with confidence, because he knew God would hear him. But notice how he approached God in prayer “be gracious to me and answer me”. David understood that all he asked was still being weighed against the will of God. Lord, have mercy on me.
But he confidently reminds God that we are told to “seek my face”. The word seek here is a command to all believers. We are to “seek God’s face”. This means we are to desire a true relationship with God, to not only pray when we are in trouble. While many of us pray only when we are desperate, David’s voice was familiar to God - he prayer regularly and sought the will of God.
I love how the POSB commentary explains this - “In Scripture, when God’s face is turned toward us, it is a symbol of His favor and blessing. When He hides His face from us, it means that we are out of fellowship with Him and have forfeited His protection.”
David wanted to make sure he was in God’s favor and blessing. He even goes on to admit his father and mother had let him down, abandoned him in a time of need - but God… God had never let him down. He recalls God’s promise to always be with us.
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
David knew God would not abandon him in his time of need, but would go with him and care for his every need. We should find peace in this, knowing God will never leave us, but will be with us wherever we go. Through good, bad, times of peace and fear, of boldness and uncertainty - God is with us. David goes on to ask God to guide him - “teach me and lead me”. Oh my, how many of us want to be teachable? Do we truly want to learn from God? You see, if we are TAUGHT by God, then we will want to FOLLOW God.
13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
It is by seeking God with all our heart that we will truly find Him, and when we find Him, then we will want to learn more about Him and grow closer to Him.
You see, it is through Him that we will be victorious over the enemies in our lives. While our enemies might be humans, we also have the enemy of doubt and fear. David would NOT accept defeat. He declared victory, knowing he was seeking God’s will. David declared victory over the things in his life that were preventing God’s Will to be done!
Even when David’s enemies got closer, his faith in the Lord never wavered. David was confident God would see him through, and his fear would be suppressed - even when the enemy was within sight. You see, David was able to stand boldly against the army that wanted to see him dead because the Lord was with him. David boldly declares that he will look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living - he was confident in God’s faithfulness to see him through this battle. He points to the Lords goodness, to His character, and to His promise.
In these verses, God’s Word constructs a course for us to follow when we face a fearful enemy, one that potentially has the power to destroy us: abandonment, some disease, slander, threat, the death of a loved one, a natural disaster, financial devastation, or a host of other crippling circumstances.
First, we should turn to the LORD and seek His face. Since Christ’s coming, we are far more blessed than those who lived under the Old Covenant. Old Testament believers had to seek to enter the LORD’s presence. You see, it is when we believe in Christ and receive Him that God’s presence enters into us through the Holy Spirit. No longer do we have to seek out God like David, God resides within us! The Holy Spirit is ALWAYS with us - and we can declare victory over the things of this world the same way David did. We have a promise that we will never face trials, tribulations, doubts, fears, ANY other troubles alone. So, we - like David - should live our lives fully aware of God’s presence. We should seek Him. We should want to learn from Him. We should desire to see His face.
Does that mean that we will immediately be released from the things of this world? No. Even David knew this - Wait for the Lord. Be strong. Let your heart take courage. In His Will and in His time. Wait for the Lord. I know many of us have difficulties waiting. But I promise you, it will be worth it in the end. By declaring God as OUR light and OUR salvation, He will see us through and will help us overcome our fears and troubles - just like He did David.
Closing
But remember how David could boldly make these statements. He continually stayed in the presence of the Lord. He sought Him, he talked to Him, he studied Him and learned from Him, you see he turned his whole life over to God.
Declare victory today! Declare victory over the things that are preventing God’s Will to be done in your life. Whether it is fear, doubt, a weak prayer life, a lack of studying and seeking God - you can overcome. Or maybe you have never had a relationship with God. You’ve never sought Him, never turned your life over to God. Today is the day to let go of your fear - and turn it all over to God.
Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2013. Psalms: Chapters 1–41. Vol. I. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.