August 6, 2023 - The God On Our Side
Notes
Transcript
We are coming ever so close to the end of this book of 2 Samuel that we’ve been walking thru as a church.
There are 24 chapters in 2 Samuel - and today - we’ll focus in on chapter 22.
Something we need to know ABOUT this book - is that starting in chapter 21 (so the last 4 chapters of this book)...
…actually BREAK from the chronological nature of the book PREVIOUSLY...
And BEGINNING in chapter 21… THRU chapter 24...
The accounts in those chapters are a collection of DIFFERENT periods of time within David’s career.
And so the accounts in those chapters - DON’T CONTINUE in chronological order...
THEY POINT to different periods throughout David’s life.
With that said - we come TODAY - to chapter 22.
Chapter 22 resembles a Psalm…something David was obviously familiar with.
David - if you DIDN’T know… was a musician…a poet.
I feel a CONNECTION with David - IN THAT...
What I want to do today - is dive into this Psalm - this SONG...
And hopefully be encouraged today.
This song of David is a song of deliverance…And so I think we ALL can find comfort and encouragement in these words!
David follows a thematic pattern - as he wrote this song...
And it looks like this:
SLIDE: Theme Outline
Praise for the Lord
The Lord’s Deliverance of David
Reasons for David’s Deliverance
The Lord’s Deliverance of David
Praise for the Lord
You can see how David revisits WHAT the Lord did…AND bookends this whole thing with - - Praise for the Lord!!
And so we’ll walk through each section as it comes...
SLIDE: The God On Our Side: Praise for the Lord
The God On Our Side
The God On Our Side
1 And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.
2 He said, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
3 my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence.
4 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.
We need to know that the God we PRAISE - and SING about here and elsewhere...
Is a - PERSONAL God!!
God is not simply some ABSTRACT thought - OUT OF OUR REACH!!
God is a PERSONAL God...
The story of redemption - ALL throughout scripture - is a story that entails - INDIVIDUAL - PERSONAL - salvation!
I think a great example of this that we see in scripture is when Jesus meets Nathaniel for the first time - face-to-face...
45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”
48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
Nathanael comes to see Jesus...
When Jesus sees him He says- “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, i saw [YOU]”...
And it was THIS phrase that ROCKED the mind of Nathanael.
Did Nathanael take that comment - PERSONALLY?
of course!!
Jesus spoke into this man’s life - (SPECIFICALLY) and it ROCKED him!
The God that we serve is NOT LIKE - the government.
We have SOME LAWS in this country that are meant to - protect you…right?
It is against the LAW - for someone to break into your house and harm you.
BUT - THAT LAW - just HANGS out there…right?
The people in government - don’t ACTUALLY CARE about ME!
How many people have their houses broken into - and are HARMED? Every year?
LOTS!
Yet - those in the government don’t lose sleep over that!
The God we serve and LOVE - is not like the Government!!
The God we serve is a PERSONAL God!
He cares about - YOU!
He sees - YOU - RIGHT NOW - under the fig tree you find yourself under!
And DAVID COMPLETELY understood this!
Listen to the language David uses in this song!
2 He said, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
3 my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence.
Here we see 8 PRAISE-FILLED descriptions of God…!
And they ALL have something in common!
What is it? 8 PERSONAL PRONOUNS!
The Lord is...
MY rock
MY fortress
MY deliverer
MY shield
the horn of MY salvation
MY stronghold
MY refuge
MY savior
Can it get ANY MORE PERSONAL than that!!??
8 descriptions...
8 personal pronouns!
And think of each of these names...
7 of them - DEFENSIVE in nature!
Rock / Fortress / Deliverer / Shield / Stronghold / Refuge / Savior
These are PRAISEWORTHY!!
Jesus AS my ROCK!
a FIRM Foundation on which I can STAND - in the midst of the storm!
THINK of ALL the things in this world that is NOT MY ROCK...
Culture…? Culture is always changing
Science…? What do they say - Science is always - changing
The wisdom of man…? man is so limited!!
Academics?
Sports?
Family?
None of these things - in and of themselves - can support ANY OF US - in the storm
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
Build your life on the sand....on the culture...
…on Science...
…on Academics - Sports...
…on the wisdom of man...
AND YOU WILL end up - FALLING!
So think through what David said - He said God is “MY ROCK”!!
Which MEANS - God is YOUR ROCK!!
YOUR PERSONAL rock!!
So WHATEVER you’re walking thru...
I KNOW it’s SOMETHING!!
God is the ROCK that YOU (YOU) can stand on - in the midst of YOUR PERSONAL situation!!
And so when you feel like - you’re on your knees...
SEEMINGLY no relief...
You’re on the rock of God!
When you’re ON your face...
Under the weight of the situation...
YOUR situation...
You’re still on the ROCK!
He’s ON YOUR SIDE!!
Whatever it is! - God as ROCK - is - - one size fits all!
David says God is also HIS Fortress!
What does a Fortress do?
Where the ROCK of God can keep us UPRIGHT during the storm...
the FORTRESS of God can actually protect us FROM some of the storms!
It’s like 360* protection!!
Do you think Satan is able to BREAK INTO the fortress of God - and REMOVE some of God’s children?
NO - the Bible says this about WHO WE ARE in Christ...
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
SEALED - IN CHRIST.... in the FORTRESS of God!!
And if you ARE in Christ - - THEN the fortress of God - is YOUR Fortress!!
You may FEEL LIKE the devil has REMOVED you from the fortress of God - He HASN’T....he cannot!
He may be testing you - but make no mistake - you REMAIN in the fortress of God!!
That’s praiseworthy!
But David wasn’t done!
David says that God is ALSO his deliverer!
Time and time again - God delivered David from trouble…and David KNEW it was God at work!
37 And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”
The God we SERVE is a PERSONAL deliverer!
How many of you have been DELIVERED from addictions?!
Listen - God still moves!!
And so maybe you’re in the middle of a battle RIGHT NOW!!
Maybe you feel like you’ll NEVER be delivered from this thing!!
What’s the ANSWER?
Pray about it!! KEEP praying about it!!
KEEP taking it to the Lord....
AND - this!
SLIDE:
Fight until you’re free!
What dod I MEAN by “FIGHT”??
- Plead - pray - plead - pray - KEEP at it…until you’re free!
There is NOTHING too big for our God!!
That’s PRAISEWORTHY
But David wasn’t done!
David says that God is also HIS Shield!!
We saw this THROUGHOUT David’s life didn’t we?
God was constantly PROTECTING David from his enemies!
Constantly guiding David on WHERE to go AND WHEN...
Always in communication with David!
And the GOOD NEWS for us - is that God is MY Shield as well!
He’s YOUR shield as well!
He will - and DOES - protect you from the spiritual forces at WORK all around us!
Now - SOMETIMES we find ourselves in a battle...
But that doesn’t mean God is ABSENT...
It means that God is (WORKING) trying to...
Change us
Transform us to be more like Him!
It means that God is trying to REVEAL Himself to us in DEEPER ways!
*How many of you can say that your DEEPEST times with God are in the VALLEYS of life!!??
He is ON OUR SIDE!! - listen - EVEN in the fire!
David wanted US to know this!!
David says God is HIS Stronghold…!
Our immovable…impenetrable...
FORTRESS
He cannot be stopped!!
He cannot be BREACHED!
He CANNOT be OVERCOME!!
He CANNOT be stopped!
This is our GOD....and He is ON OUR SIDE!
David says - God is our refuge and our SAVIOR!!
IN YOUR circumstance - IN YOUR PARTICULAR - Specific - circumstance.... He is ALL of these things!!
And He is the HORN of your salvation!
He’s not just a PASSIVE God…on the defense!
Our God - MOVES - and ACTS on our BEHALF!!
Like the HORN of a BULL… God protects us from the evil that wants to OVERTAKE your soul!!
We can’t even FATHOM how many ARROWS of the enemy the Lord has shielded from us - today!
…in our OWN, personal circumstances!
He is a PERSONAL God - and He is on our SIDE!!
That’s PRAISEWORTHY...
But David wasn’t done…!
As David continues - we’ll see this!
SLIDE: The God On Our Side: He Delivers Us
The God On Our Side
The God On Our Side
5 “For the waves of death encompassed me, the torrents of destruction assailed me;
6 the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.
7 “In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I called. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry came to his ears.
8 “Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations of the heavens trembled and quaked, because he was angry.
9 Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him.
10 He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet.
11 He rode on a cherub and flew; he was seen on the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness around him his canopy, thick clouds, a gathering of water.
13 Out of the brightness before him coals of fire flamed forth.
14 The Lord thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered his voice.
15 And he sent out arrows and scattered them; lightning, and routed them.
16 Then the channels of the sea were seen; the foundations of the world were laid bare, at the rebuke of the Lord, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
17 “He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters.
18 He rescued me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.
19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support.
20 He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me.
The ROLLER COASTER ride of this passage is one I think we all can relate to…!
It’s one of the reasons I think David is so endearing to us...
On one hand - he felt the absolute WEIGHT of life on his shoulders!
he felt the HEAVINESS of TROUBLE!!
And you can hear it in the text...
Listen for the VERBS that are ATTACKING him in the text...
5 “For the waves of death encompassed me, the torrents of destruction assailed me;
6 the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.
Death - encompassed (surrounded)
Destruction - Assailed (attacked)
Cords - entangled
Death - confronted
David here - is where?
At the bottom! He can’t get any LOWER!
He feels - TRAPPED!
He feels like - there’s NO WAY OUT!!
We’ve BEEN there!!
In probably a billion different situations - COLLECTIVELY - we’ve BEEN there!!
YET - God is - ON OUR SIDE!!
And BECAUSE He is...
He’s ABOUT to RESPOND....but FIRST....
7 “In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I called. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry came to his ears.
Remember what I said before -
Fight until you’re - FREE!
Listen = you may HAVE cried out to God - and gotten no response...
Maybe you’re still sitting in the bunker - WAITING for back-up!
I don’t know - But what I DO KNOW…is this...
That God HAS NEVER STOPPED being ON YOUR SIDE!
KEEP crying out...
David DID - and this is what happened!!
8 “Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations of the heavens trembled and quaked, because he was angry.
9 Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him.
10 He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet.
11 He rode on a cherub and flew; he was seen on the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness around him his canopy, thick clouds, a gathering of water.
13 Out of the brightness before him coals of fire flamed forth.
14 The Lord thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered his voice.
15 And he sent out arrows and scattered them; lightning, and routed them.
16 Then the channels of the sea were seen; the foundations of the world were laid bare, at the rebuke of the Lord, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
Like a TRILLION momma bears…or papa bears...
COMING for their young!
God will MERCILESSLY devour anything that stands between HIM and HIS CHILDREN!
Why? - because He is on OUR SIDE!!
And then He’ll finish the job...
17 “He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters.
18 He rescued me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.
19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support.
20 He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me.
We can hear the ACTION of God… and now the APEX of the roller coaster!
God TOOK me
He DREW me out of the waters
He RESCUED me
He SUPPORTED me
He BROUGHT me
He DELIGHTED in me...
You ever walk through a situation where you were in a valley...
And you know that God SPOKE to you through the word of another person??
Ever have God speak to your SPECIFIC situation / valley / trial...
Through ANOTHER person?
it’s always a POWERFUL thing!!
Why?
Because in those moments - we realize that God is - REALLY helping ME - in my dark time!
He REALLY is my shepherd!
He REALLY does KNOW what’s going on...
AND so we need to KNOW THIS!!:
SLIDE:
God will deliver us…either from the trial itself, or from despair within the trial.
He will DELIVER us...
Either FROM the trial itself - OR from DESPAIR - IN the trial!
He is ON MY SIDE!
But David wasn’t done!
Reading on - we will see this....
SLIDE: The God On Our Side: Why God Delivers His Children
The God On Our Side
The God On Our Side
And David helps us with this...
As we said a couple weeks ago...
God is - OUR FATHER...
When your kids CRY out for help....how do we respond?
get OVER IT! (sometimes)
But when we know our kids are STRUGGLING…!....
What do we do?
We move mountains trying to get to them!
Trying to - DELIVER them.
BUT LISTEN - Our love for OUR kids - PALES in comparison to God’s LOVE - FOR US!
God DESIRES to deliver us...
He DELIGHTS in delivering us!
What did v20 say?
20 He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me.
Do you as a parent - DELIGHT in delivering your kids from trouble? Of course!
God is the same!
David tells us why his deliverance came...
21 “The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not wickedly departed from my God.
23 For all his rules were before me, and from his statutes I did not turn aside.
24 I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from guilt.
25 And the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight.
26 “With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
27 with the purified you deal purely, and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
28 You save a humble people, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.
29 For you are my lamp, O Lord, and my God lightens my darkness.
We read this - and we might think - “Sounds like David EARNED his deliverance...” in God’s eyes...
Well- that’s partly correct!
What’s faith?
Hebrews 11 tells us...
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
This whole chapter is about faith...
now listen to this...
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Part of FAITH - is believing that God REWARDS those who SEEK Him.
We’ve all (probably) heard this phrase - especially within the last few years...
“Play stupid games, win stupid prizes”
But with God - BASED on Heb 6....we could actually say this....
Pursue righteousness, and win holy prizes.
While we KNOW that Salvation comes APART from works of the LAW - by FAITH ALONE...
We ALSO MUST KNOW…That IF we BELONG to Christ - BY FAITH...
THIS...
SLIDE:
Blessings reside on the other side of obedience
That God REWARDS obedience!!
That BLESSINGS will come - if we obey God…!
6 Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
11 By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown.
25 Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.
20 A faithful man will abound with blessings, but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
And listen to Paul in Galatians...
7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.
8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
Also - From Paul in Romans - chapter 1 and chapter 16...
We find the phrase - the Obedience of - FAITH
Faith in Christ - brings the blessings of God - BECAUSE - Faith obeys!
not perfectly - ON OUR SIDE of things - but AS a follower of Christ - when God looks at me - He sees Christ’s PERFECTION!
And we need to KNOW that the Blessings of God - don’t ALWAYS pass our - Blessing Test!
Would you agree that this is typically the TEST we use when it comes to LIFE>…?
SLIDE:
It’s NOT A Blessing, If:
If it hurts
If it makes me sad
If it brings confusion
If it brings doubt
We need to adjust our thinking!!
The new Blessing Test we need to use is this one...
SLIDE:
It Is A Blessing If:
It brings me closer to Jesus and makes me more like Him.
Ok, so let’s test this...
The stoning of Paul.
Did it hurt? YES
Did it bring Doubt to his mind…? Very well could have!
Well - the typical test we use - would result in us declaring - THAT’S NOT A BLESSING!!
But how about this new Test?
Did Paul’s stoning bring him CLOSER to Jesus and make Paul more LIKE Jesus?
YES!! For sure!!
OK then - Paul’s stoning was a BLESSING!!
And therefore - PRAISEWORTHY!!
Praiseworthy??
WHAT are you talking about MIKE?
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
Rejoice in trials!
WHY? - Blessing comes!
**Question for you...
As followers of Jesus - In a fallen world - would you rather not THINK ABOUT the trials coming...
OR
Would you rather be PREPARED for the trials coming?
Here’s another way to ask it:
SLIDE:
Would you rather be surprised when the trials come, or be prepared for the trials when they come?
See - God will walk you through a valley/trial - to better PREPARE you for the next valley / trial!
If Peter would have been out on his boat the week AFTER he walked on water - and FELL IN…due to a lack of faith..
Do you think that 2nd time he got out on the waves would have went differently??
I would think so!
WHY? Because that 1st TRIAL on those waves - would have PREPARED him for the 2nd trial of WAVES!!
WHICH MEANS - that 1st trial - would have been a BLESSING!
Anything - EVEN painful things - anything that brings us CLOSER to Jesus...
Anything that makes us more like Him - is a blessing!!
And BLESSING - resides on the other side of obedience!!
And so as we said last week - SEEK God’s Word - always!
And in light of time - we will close out today by reading verses 30-50....
David revisits the Lord’s deliverance AND how praiseworthy God is...
As we read thru this text - THINK back to how God has delivered you...
How He STEPPED down into YOUR circumstance and brought LIGHT to a DARK situation!
Contemplate these things...
30 For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.
31 This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
32 “For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God?
33 This God is my strong refuge and has made my way blameless.
34 He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights.
35 He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36 You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your gentleness made me great.
37 You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip;
38 I pursued my enemies and destroyed them, and did not turn back until they were consumed.
39 I consumed them; I thrust them through, so that they did not rise; they fell under my feet.
40 For you equipped me with strength for the battle; you made those who rise against me sink under me.
41 You made my enemies turn their backs to me, those who hated me, and I destroyed them.
42 They looked, but there was none to save; they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
43 I beat them fine as the dust of the earth; I crushed them and stamped them down like the mire of the streets.
44 “You delivered me from strife with my people; you kept me as the head of the nations; people whom I had not known served me.
45 Foreigners came cringing to me; as soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me.
46 Foreigners lost heart and came trembling out of their fortresses.
47 “The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation,
48 the God who gave me vengeance and brought down peoples under me,
49 who brought me out from my enemies; you exalted me above those who rose against me; you delivered me from men of violence.
50 “For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing praises to your name.
God is on our side!
SUMMARY
The God On Our Side:
He is Praiseworthy
He Delivers Us
Obedience Leads to Blessing
God loves you...
He SEES you under your fig tree!
and He WILL deliver you....either from the trial itself - or from Despair in the trial!
Let’s pray - and then we’ll close with a song!