Ps. 11 "Why Should I Flee?"

Intro:

Review from last week:

The presumptuous path of the wicked

Was there anything you saw or heard this last week that made you want to flee like a bird to the mountains?

Outline:

A Plea to Flee: “Flee Like a Bird (vs. 1-3)

A Plea to See: “The LORD is...” (vs. 4-7)

Summary: Why should my soul flee the foundation Jesus laid for me?!

Illustration:

Prayer:

A Plea to Flee: “Flee Like a Bird” (vs. 1-3)- The horizontal fearts

Pre-Script

To the Choirmaster

of David- no other reference to style, rythm, or anything. Just that it is of David.

Behold the wicked (vs. 1-2)

In the LORD

I take refuge- perfect, a safe location. now what did that mean? Is he talking about being in the tabernacle, by the ark, in the temple (not built yet), in the city of Jerusalem (Zion), at Hebron? Look back at the sentence…In the LORD! Where can David do that? Anywhere!

How can you say to my soul-What comes next is all one train of thought, David is responding to the what is coming next.

“Flee like a bird-

to your mountain- it doesn’t take much to scare a bird.

Mountain- PIC (Canadian Rockies vs. Mt. of Olives) if you look at the “mountains” in Israel, you will largely see big hills

for behold the wicked

bend the bow

They have fitted their arrow to the string- is he talking about physical bows and arrows? He may be, but it is more than likely they denote slanderou words that are ment to destroy.

to shoot in the dark- there is an idea of secrecy here, like in the 10:8-9 where the wicked wait in ambush. From the shadows they shoot.

at the upright in heart”

There are many times in David’s life where he is told to flee or has to flee

1 Samuel 23:14 “And David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country of the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hand.”

1 Samuel 23:19 “Then the Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of Jeshimon?”

1 Samuel 24:2 “Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Wildgoats’ Rocks.”

1 Sam 26:19, 1 Samuel 26:20 “Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of the Lord, for the king of Israel has come out to seek a single flea like one who hunts a partridge in the mountains.””

Destroyed foundations (v. 3)

“If the foundations are destroyed- the Law of God and his order of society based on His rule, theocracy

what can the righteous do?”- “for the foundations will be destroyed; what has the righteous done?”

Application/Implications:

Renew the Mind (the Scriptures):

What caught your attention in this section?

Which verses or words would you like to study a little more this week?

Engage the Heart (humility vs. pride):

“Shoot in the dark” the significance of camoflaug and night vision in order to attack and unsuspecting target

If the foundations are destroyed…Our world, government, even our own desires are seeking to destroy the foundations that have been laid over time.

1 million person march in Sept

Racism: Jewish, indigenous, those with different coloured skin,

sexuality and gender

Prise the LORD for those that are serving in our children’s and youth ministries. They are growing! Continue to pray for them on Sunday mornings, Wed evenings, throughout the week for CBA, for the potential of a daycare ministry! Because it is about setting a foundation that is built on the Word of God, who he is, what he has said, His character.

Not everyone is in favour of a daycare- there are other areas of need in our church family. You are right, there will always be needs, is it possible to work at both at the same time?

When deciding this we looked at three areas: the passion of leadership, the giftedness of our people, and the need of our community.

This is why we are seeking to move forward with this ministry and ask you to as well until the God shows us something different.

“Not everyone that starts with a good foundation continues”- so why bother. This is the painful reality of some in our church family about kids, relatives, spouses, etc. They started with a good foundation, why have they fled from it? Listen to God’s Words through Paul in

1 Corinthians 3:10–15 “According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”

Enlist the Body (Words, actions, emotions):

“I praise You, my Jehovah, especailly in a world that is…name what is causing fear and doubt in the world around you...”

“I confess that I am often troubled by the foundations being destroyed as I observe...”

Transitional phrase: In these verses, David is confronted with a plea to flee that is very focused on what is happening earthly in front of him. He is going to take the conversation vertical and focus on the one who is higher than everyone and everything.

A Plea to See: “The LORD is...” (vs. 4-7)- The Vertical truth

The LORD sees (v. 4)

The LORD is in

His holy temple- What does David mean by this, because the temple is not built until after His time?

The LORD’s throne

is in heaven- the real source of secure government

His eyes see- say that with me...

His eyelids test the children of man- squinting to get a better picture

Proverbs 17:3 “The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts.”

Jeremiah 17:9–10 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.””

The LORD tests (vs. 5-6)

The LORD tests the righteous

but his soul hates

the wicked

and the one who loves violence- violence downgrades human dignity, there is not care for life. Shedding blood carelessly or outside of the realm of war is not tolerated by David.

Let Him rain coals (“snares”) on the wicked

fire

and sulful- God’s judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah Genesis 19:24 “Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven.”

and scorching wind- this sounds like Hell.

shall be the portion of their cup- wait a minute, didn’t David just say that the LORD hates violence? Well, good question, is that what he said? “the wicked and the one who loves violence”. But let’s not stop here, what comes next...

The LORD’S face (v. 7)

For the Lord is righteous- God is the only one that is completely righteous, knowing who desreves what…He has laid the foundation for what is right and wrong.

He loves righteous deeds- He is not a God who is only “against” certain things, but is also “for” certain things!

The upright shall behold his face

Application/Implications:

Renew the Mind (the Scriptures):

What caught your attention in this section?

Which verses or words would you like to study a little more this week?

Engage the Heart (humility vs. pride):

What expression do you see when you think about the face of God the Father or Jesus? Last week, the kansas city chiefs played the Philadelphia Eagles. It was a re-match of last years superbowl match up. The kelce brothers! The older had never beated the younger. Taylor Swift was not there! Travis Kelcy was not doing well, fumbling the ball, making bad decisions, getting calls against him and he was going after the refs. The camera panned to the coach who was yelling his name and when they locked eyes, the coach just went…the power of one look from the coach got him to calm down and start making plays!

The power of one look

Adam and Eve

Lot’s wife

Achin and all the spoils

David at Bethsheba

At the serpent on the stick in the wilderness

Moses in the cleft of the rock

One look from Jesus brought Peter to Repentance.

“Lord, remind me that You see my heart, especially this next week as I ...”

Enlist the Body (Words, actions, emotions):

What would it look like to start looking at what is going on around us through God’s eyes and not just our own?

“I praise You that when I behold Your face, I see...”

“ Help me to keep my eyes on Your high and holy throne”

Summary: Why should my soul flee the foundation Jesus laid for me?!

Discussion Starters:

What has my soul tempted to flee the foundation Jesus has laid for me?

What truth encourages you more, that God sees or that He tests?

What expression do I see when I think about the face of God teh Father or Jesus?

Song: You never let Go

Will the face of Jesus cast out fear, through the calm and storm, in every high and low, He never lets go!

Benediction/Looking ahead: INVITE PEOPLE TO THE CAFE