People problems are Jesus' problem

Introduction

Glad to be back with you all in this capacity.

Intro self

Dismiss children

Last week was pretty great though. No responsibility and just came to church. That’s rare.

I’m thankful for a church family that allows me to get away with my family like I did. Did you know I’ve heard from pastors that can’t do that. They can’t miss a couple Sundays, they are expected to be available all the time even when it’s not a pressing need.

I’m thankful for those you that understand a church is not meant to be dependent upon it’s pastor for all things at all times. It’s meant to support one another.

Remeber what Gal 6:2 teaches? Pastor beaar all their burdens?

Gal 6:2 “2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”

I just want to express my gratitiude and appreciation to you as a church family that does this. Thank you.

Today, we are jumping into a quick 2 week series titled Jesus in the Psalms.

The week before I left I preachd a message from psalm 121, which is a psalm of ascent or degrees depending upon your bible version.

Psalm 120-134 are a set of Psalms that israelites would sing on their journey to Jerusalem for passover or another festival.

For them, that was where the presence of God was. They did not have the Holy Spirit indwelling them. They had not seen the Messiah crucified and risen again.

Today we are looking at the first one of those Psalms in that collection, Psalm 120.

Whil yyou turn there or pul it up onn your phone let me ask you, hve you ever had people talk about you behind your back?

Ok, hands down. Now, we are in New England. That behind the back stuff is for the southerners right? So let’s try this, have you ever had someone speak against you right in front of you and to your face?

OK…now for the 21st century warriors…Through a text? On Social media? Ok…I think we covered everyone then.

If that’s you then you know exactly where David was at this point in his life writing this Psalm. And whether you are a follower of Jesus or not, this message will help you.

David is desiring to live His life for God and lead others around Him to do the same but he is dealing with some ridiculous people.

Today I want to help you as you live your life for God. I want to be real and forward with you. Can I do that?

Today I want you to know that people can be your problem more than the place you are in.

Then I’m going to help you see that you can’t change people, but God Can and feel confident in Him to do the work.

Than lastly I’m going to tell you what to do when people discourage you and how you can help people that are discouraged.

Sound like something that would be helpful to you?

Alright, let’s jump in.

Psalm 120:1-2 “1 In my distress I cried unto the Lord, And he heard me. 2 Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, And from a deceitful tongue.”

Exegete:

A little back story here. This is David writing while on the run from the king, king Saul. if you not faamiliar with all I”m saying that is ok. Put yourself in the position of the kings son in law that he wants to kill, runing fgrom him.

At one point a man named Deog, goes to Saul and tells him Hey…these priests helped David. So saul takes Deog and his other men to these priests. The priest tell him it’s a lie, and to the degree it was said it was. Saul, in his anger tell his men to kill the priest. They don’t do it.

Saul turns to Deog and he gladly goes and kills the 75 priests. The word has got back to David.

He is trying to do right by God. He iis trying to live a godly example. He is following the Lord the best he knows how. He hasn’t killed saul when he had the chance. In fact, he told the men around him he would not lay his hands on God’s annointed.

It didd not meean tht David didn’t want to kill Saul…he most certanily did. however, He restrained himself becuase he wasn’t living according to his flesh but according to how God was leading him.

He finds hiimself in distress, yes beccuase of the dath of the priests but what is it he calls out to the Lord for help with? the situation? The place he is in?

No the people that are causing the problem.

Deliver me from lying lips and decceitful tongues. These re people that are negative ttowards his walk with God, people that are gossiping about him, people that are lying about him, to his face or behind his back.

They have caused him, directly or indirectly in the case of Deog, to be in a situation of distress which is a state of extreme anxiety. He is very stressed right now.

Why? The place he is? The work he is doing? No…the people around him.

More often than not, people are going to be the cause of your stress. Your interactions with them can either help or hurt you.

Illustrate:

In 2022 there was a study done titled “Stress recovery with social support:A Dyadic stress and support task”

In this experiment they took two people and isolated them. Then allowed themt o hear the others answers to mental math questions and some public speaking things they had to do.

THis caused a physiologicaal response with increased heart rate and so on.

Then they allowed them some time together unmonitered. Then, they put them in a room with aan interview who woudl only ask them qustions and if they finnished asking before a certain time, they would just stop talking and sit there making notes.

The results found that stress levels were reduced when they were together being jovial, discussing the test, and relating to one another about whats going on.

Stress levels increased or at least remained the same when placed in the room with the neutral to negative individual.

Life is full of stressors. Stressful situations and stressful people.

It’s not wrong for you to find yourself with stress, anxiety, and distress as David did.

But you have to do what David did here in these first couple verse to move beyond it.

Apply:

Go to the one person who is alway there for you and seek reprieve from what is causing you the stress, in David’s case…the people.

We Find Jesus throughout the BIble and in this Psalm He is right here. Right at the beginning. It’s thorugh his death burial and resurrection yyou have access to God and can just cry out “God help me these people are crazy!”

I’ve been there…what about you?

Often time it takes a minute to get there though becuase we will see the calling, the work, or whatever situation we are facing as the primary cause of stress. When in reality it’s the people around you that are being negative, leading you away from what the Lord is calling you to do, ridiculing you for being a follower of Jesus and doing it the way you are (which should be biblical).

I. When people are the problem, pursue Jesus not people

David didn’t immediately go to the people and try to change them. He went to God, the only one who could.

We are too quick in our texting and social media age to express our opinion to people when we have not earned the right to and expect them to adjust their lives based on our ideas.

You say “Pastor, but doesn’t everyones opinion matter?” Chapter and verse?

Everyone deserves to be heard but that doesn’t mean you have to listen to everyone.

And when your being weighed down because of those around you do what David did..call out to God. David is praying for them here and in this prayer look what he says

Psalm 120:3-4 “3 What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, Thou false tongue? 4 Sharp arrows of the mighty, With coals of juniper.”

Exegete:

David did not praay for their safety, he did not pray for their success, he prayed for…what I believe he thought they needed. A reminder of God’s judgement.

The juniper that is being referenced here is picutred on the screen and is commonly referred to as a broom bush.

It’s roots were often used for arrows AND they made excellent charcoal.

David is praying for God to get their attention with his wrath and his judgment.

Why is that important?

Because God’s wrath and judgement will most likely be different from yours and will most defintely be more effective in accomplishing what God desires to happen.

What’s the mistake we make here though? We often believe that if we express ourselves to others…they will listen because…well becuase I said so.

If you haven’t figured out, that stops working right about 11-13 years old.

People don’t listen to you because you are you. People listen because you have earned the right to speak into their life in that area. Remember, people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

And if they don’t think you care…they don’t care what you think.

Sometimes though you can care about them but they still not reccieve what you are saying.

why?

Jer 17:9 “9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

Illustrate:

I knew a young lady one time that was addicted to meth. Her name is Tiffany. She had a rough life adopted by her aunt and uncle who were loving and kind people. The uncle got saved, the aunt got saved, and then Tiffanyy came to know Jesus.

She got clean. She got involved a couple months after being sober. Helped dcorate for Vbs, very artistic. And about 6 months after her sobriety, she got a job. She needed one. But her job was driving a taxi over night.

We knew what she would be exposed to. We knew what was coming if this took place and we tried. We counseled, we checked in on often, we did what we could.

But unfortuntely Tiffany relapsed.

I was in home depot with my pastor one day and we had the church phone forwarded to us for ome reason and she called. II picked up. In the converstation I told her I loved her. I told her we wanted to see her. To which we she told me if I can’t love her with a pipe in her hand then I don’t love her.

I told her I love her so much I don’t want to see the pipe in her hand. She hung up on me. And to my knoweldge is still living in the streets of yuma today if not dead.

Tiffany wasn’t in a place to listen to those of us that loved her.

The people around you that are either hurting themselves or cuasing hurt to you, may not listen to you.

Apply:

However like Jonah couldn’t escpae the whale, each of us will not escape God’s grace in getting our attention.

That’s why we pray for God’s justice, God’s wrath, and God’s grace to fall upon those who are 1. causing us distress or 2. not hearing our counsel.

Not so they can be destroyed, but so they can come back to God. beucae…hear me on this one now…lean in…you listening.

Your counsel to them, could be wrong....But God’s direction never is.

So let him handle it.

II. You can change places and problems, but you can’t change people.

I have a phrase I’m going to trademark. I’ve been blessed enough to live in a few different places in the US and talk to people that have been around the globe for one reason or another. And whether it’s in church or out of church this phrase helps me:

People be peopling

When people be peopling they are doing what people do. They are doing waht you and I are capable of doing but in following Christ, shouldn’t be. and something we have to accept is that sometimes, we be people…

if you have the same problems with people everywhere you go, the problem may not be with the other people

David taalkes about the people he is around, listen to what he wrote

Psalm 120:5-7 “5 Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, That I dwell in the tents of Kedar! 6 My soul hath long dwelt With him that hateth peace. 7 I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war.”

Exegete:

He continues in prayer. He names to places that represent people groups.

Mesech is full of gentile people, non jews. Kedar is full of the descendants of Ishmal, Abrahams other son. They aren’t really friendly with Jews.

He also has his friends that are Israelites around him. They wanted to take Sauls life and install David as king.

He speaks for a peaceful resoluttiona and allowing the Lord ot handle it but they want war.

and for those of us that follow Jesus I’d like to say that it’s easy for us to point to people that don’t follow Jesus and say “look how mean, cruel, unloving, inconsiderate, and negative they are. Thank God that doesn’t exist with believers.”

A man by the name of Warren Weirsbe wrote the following in 2008 about verses 5-7 in Psalm 120

Be Exultant We Must Patiently Endure (vv. 5–7)

The psalmist was a peacemaker and tried to encourage his godless Jewish neighbors to be peaceable, but they were more intent on making war. His loving words only made them more and more angry. After over fifty years of ministry, I am convinced that most of the problems in families and churches are caused by professed Christians who do not have a real and vital relationship to Jesus Christ. They are not humble peacemakers but arrogant troublemakers. Until God changes them or they decide to go elsewhere, the dedicated believers must be patient and prayerful.

Let’s make this simple…he said if people are being jerks it’s becuase of their lack of a walk with Jesus. And you can’t change them. God can. And until they yield to him or they leave, you stay faithful. You stay committed.

If God is callinig you to something, you do it. You do it until He calls you somewhere else. But don’t let the troublemakers keep you from being faithful to the Lord. Those troublemakers could be in your home, they could be in your church, they ccould be in yyour workplace, they could be everywhere.

Some of you are going through exactly what I’m talking abotu right now. I know some of us have went through this recently.

If that’s you, keep speaking peace. Keep speaking the name of Jesus. Keep living for Him. Continue turning from sin. Continue changing your lifestyle to better reflect Christ. Continu to go to church when those round you don’t want you to, keep serving, keep growing, you keep doing what God has called you to do until God calls you away or God calls you home.

And pray for those around you to rrecieve sharp arrows with charcoal that would get their attention to surrender their hearts to God.

Now…what about you? Becuase it is easy for each of us to look around and say “Amen preacher, those people need arrows and charcoal.” But what about you? Are you one of those people?

You see, if your a follower of Jesus..your not supposed to be. When you come together with other beleivers it should be time of encouragement. It doesn’t mean you can’t be discouraged. It doesn’t mean you can’t disagree. It does mean your not a troublemaker or a jerk in modern terms.

What abotu you? What are you doing to help ensure other people are not going through what David is going through? That’s why we are supposed to encourage one another when we gather together and build each other up.

Illustrate:

This is one of those things that is pretty black and white in the Bible

Hebrews 10:24-25 “24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”

This verse is often used to tell people to come to church…but why? In reality its about spending time with followers of Jesus. But why come to church? Why make the time on Sunday morning to be apart of a local church family?

You can listen to K-love and sing worship songs and no offense Jordan but Brandon Lake sings better than you. You can watch llive stream an hear a message, there are tons of abetter preachers than me. You ccan study the bible yourself and learn from God’s word directly? Why? Why come?

Becuase it is meant to be an experience where you are provoked to love people more, to do good works, it is a place of exhorting..meaning strenghting for you. You may walk out feeling convicted but I never want you to walk out feeling defeated.

Feeling convicted is saying “wow, yea I can be a jerk with the way I tlak to people sometimes” or “No, I really don’t find myself encouraging other people I’m just a debby downer” Feeling defeated is not knowing how to come out of that…but that’s the great thing about the way I preach, not to toot my own horn becuaase others do this to. You and anyone else that steps in herer will neveer walk of it without hearing about the one who can make all the difference in the world if you choose to trust in Him and follow HIm.

Apply: So if your the debby downer, if your the negative nancy, stop it. What your doing when your that way is reflecting your relationship with God. Becuase if God is for us who can be against? Becuase If it’s for the glory of God and by faith in God according to His grace and mercy I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!

Because like David in the Psalms I can call out to God and ask for Him to restore the Joy of His salvation in me. Because like Paul I can say that I am crucified with Christ and nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ who liveth within me.

You have more reasons to smile and say something kind than you do to be a troublemaker.

Family, let me telly ou we have reason to encourage one another. Becuase they need it.

I’m gonna get real with you for a minute and then I’ll close.

I’m a relatively private person. Now I know, I’m out front of people, I tell stories about ym family, and all this but I don’t talk about my struggles.

Most of you never know when I’m dealing with stuff and that’s ok. Not everyone knows when you are dealing with things either.

Now I’m not looking for sympty right now, I’m sharing wtih you the great impact you can have on someone when they re going through it.

When I opened this passage on Monday to study it, God spoke right to my heart. This was for me. And now I have shared it with yyou.

During this last week I had people know stuff going on with me call me, text me, and even tell me they want to meet with me. Listen, if you send me a text that says “pastor I’d like to meet with yyou...” I don’t automatically think it’s for encouragement. I’ve got a little PTSD with that.

But I had someone do that and what they wanted to meet about was to encourage me and pray with me. Man did I need that.

Then when we were here with our groups Wednesday night, it did my heart good to look around and see people engaged, involved, and bought in to what God is doing here.

When you come to church, when you get around other believers, go into it asking yourself: What can I say, What can I do, to encourage someone here? How could I bring a smile to someones face.

III. Encouraging people can impact people

You may not be able to change them directly. But being an encouragement to someone can help them see Christ through you and Christ ccan change people.

He help them as they go through a trial, He can help them overcome bitterness, he can help them, your encouragement can be what helps them see Him