Who or What Defines You?

Introduction

Nick Saban’s success would cause most of us to listen to what he has to say.

Ill. He shared a speech about finding happiness.

He shared if you want to find happiness for 30 minutes eat a steak. If you want to find happiness for a day play golf. If you want to find happiness for a week take a cruise. If you want to be happy for a month buy a new car. But if you want to be happy over a life time, if in your career you do not show up one day will you be missed? Would the contributions you make go unnoticed? Very motivational, but is that the ultimate answer?

What then? Numerous here have retired. If that defines our worth, what will our self concept be following retirement? How or in whom do you find your worth once that period of your life is over? Interesting thought.

And, if we are not careful, we can allow the world to swing to and fro in our self worth based on the world’s take on us at any given time. Oh dear brother and sister this morning, I hope and pray you feel worth in the eyes of your children, your spouse, your grandkids, your friends, neighbors, and yes, us your church family. But dearly beloved, there will be days we all will disappoint someone else and we will fail and we fall short. It’s in those times we must be sure we understand where and from whom it is most important to know who defines us, in whom we find our worth and that is Jesus Christ.

Let me ask you an important question this morning. Who or what do you find your worth in? Are you guilty of allowing the world and life in general determine who you are? This morning our aim is to find our worth in Jesus Christ. We are His child and we are special in His eyes. Amen.

Turn in your Bibles this morning to Psalm 4.

Psalms 4:1-8

Psalm 4:1–8 NKJV

1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer. 2 How long, O you sons of men, Will you turn my glory to shame? How long will you love worthlessness And seek falsehood? Selah 3 But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly; The Lord will hear when I call to Him. 4 Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah 5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, And put your trust in the Lord. 6 There are many who say, “Who will show us any good?” Lord, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us. 7 You have put gladness in my heart, More than in the season that their grain and wine increased. 8 I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Prayer

Message

If you live life long enough, the pendulum swings. There are times that you feel as if you are on top of the world and then there are other times.

This psalm is a Davidic psalm. Some theologians believe this was written around the betrayal of Absalom.

We know of that childhood hero named David. The youthful David that killed Goliath the Philistine. We know that as King Saul and David would come into town from battle the people would sing:

1 Samuel 18:7 “7 So the women sang as they danced, and said: “Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.””

As scripture states, “a man after God’s own heart”, David took the high road against King Saul even though Saul had built up a hatred against David and attempted to kill him. And the Lord rewarded David the Kingship.

But dearly beloved no one is perfect. There was only one perfect person and His name is Jesus.

David commited adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband, Uriah the Hittite murdered. And his world began to fall apart. He lost the first child by Bathsheba and then they had Solomon. His son Ammon was killed by Absalom out of revenge for Ammon committing incest with his sister Tamar. Tamar was referred to after that as “desolate in the home of her brother Absalom.” And finally, Absalom had betrayed his father, King David and attempted to take the kingship from him and bring about battle against David. Dearly beloved, war has casualties and his son Absalom dies in the process.

During that journey, for a season, political influence had fell toward Absalom to lead the people.

Can you imagine all of the feelings of inadequacy, failure, guilt and anguish King David felt? One minute the people are singing his praises and later the people are siding with the leadership of his son and his kingship is in jeopardy beside the fact he has lost so much family related to the judgment of his sin act with Bathsheba and Uriah.

David was a real person that had encountered real life issues and we read of his duress pouring off the pages of the bible.

We live in a world that spares no prisoners. Life and this world is about “what have you done for me today.” The world’s take on us can be merciless at times.

Let’s take a little test and measure how we let this world affect our being.

Answer these questions in your mind:

1. I feel overwhelmed and confused. Never, Sometimes, Often, Always 2. I have difficulty sleeping. 3. I find myself feeling worn out before the day begins. 4. I have increased digestive problems such as heartburn, constipation and diarrhea. 5. I feel self-conscious or inadequate. 6. I have difficulty concentrating, making decisions or remembering things. 7. I feel depressed or I cry uncontrollably. 8. When things don’t go my way, I get angry and aggressive. 9. I experience shakiness, trembling or nervous laughter. 10. I eat more food or drink more alcohol to make myself feel better or more at ease. 11. I experience eye strain and/or have dark circles under my eyes. 12. I feel all wound up, tense or nervous. 13. I experience tension or tightness in the muscles of my neck, back or jaw. Do any of these things sound like you? If so, what can we do to bring relief?

Dearly beloved, relief is found in Jesus.

We are reminded that Absalom had revolted against his Dad. David was not just dealing with the pressures of losing his kingship, losing it to his very own son, but having his life taken. His world was crumbling around him. He had retreated to the Mount of Olives weeping and wearing sackcloth on his head and barefooted during the pursuit. He found himself in a place far from days before in the palace, being waited on hand and foot.

King David was already on the right track to finding his worth.

David was climbing the slope of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he ascended. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. Each of the people with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they ascended.

2 Sam 15:30(HCSB)

The Scripture reminds us that he was on the same journey that Jesus was on in John 8. He was ascending the Mount of Olives. Every time in God's Word we read about the Mount of Olives, spiritually speaking, it always means ascension. Anytime we are moving toward God and the things of God it is uplifting and encouraging to the person we are in Christ Jesus. David was ascending toward the Father.

Let's get into this psalm this morning and look for our antidote for for having our worth defined by Jesus.

1. Personal Prayer Vs. 1

Psalm 4:1 “1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.”

Psalms 4 is an evening prayer.

There were sleepless nights for David. I will remind you that stress over what others think about us can cause insomnia. David reveals for us in this Psalm that a good concept comes about by prayer communion with our Heavenly Father each evening.

“Hear me when I call”-When is a conjunction. The fact is the Lord will hear us if we call. The key word is calling out to Him.

Dearly beloved, Mt Zion Baptist has some amazing prayer warriors. I have learned so much about the power of prayer in the time I have been your pastor here. I appreciate every time you reach out to me and ask me to pray with you. I take it as a complement. But let me say something important here. I believe the Lord wants me as your pastor to pray for you. I believe it is music to his ears when the people of God pray for you. But nothing ranks with you calling out to Him in prayer. He wants to hear from you.

Also notice with me that we sense David was struggling with his righteousness among the people of Israel. Word has gotten out that David was not godlike, but was human and had failures.

In these periods, other can embellish facts and make up outright lies that turned the attitudes of the people.

Notice the words that David states to offer him reassurance.

“O God of my righteousness!”

Oh dearly beloved, what can get us beyond ourselves and our own shortcomings is the reality we need a Savior! Oh dearly beloved, if your worth is defined by your goodness and living right, you will never measure up.

Luke 18:19 “19 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.”

We will never find peace with ourselves in our own righteousness, but His righteousness in us. Amen.

Dearly beloved there will be times and I pray for you they are few and far between, but we will feel as if the world is against us. And we need a hug, a spiritual hug. There are times that only a spiritual hug will do.

“Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.”

Mercy means unmerited favor. God have pity on me. Dearly beloved, David in this prayer was admit-ant that he had failed. He didn’t fail many times, he failed big and he was admit-ant to God for his sin.

There are times we are dead in the wrong and the world will not show mercy, but God will. Amen.

You have never failed so great that you are not loved by God.

How many of you remember parenthood? Those early years in the child’s innocence your child would ask you every thing. We would call them curious and they asked questions every few seconds. It took tremendous patience. And then comes the teenage years. All of a sudden yo do not have enough sense to get out of the rain. You know how it made you feel when your children would rather drink battery acid than to take your advice in those teenage years.

When we do not confer with the Lord do you think he hurts like we did as parents as we walked through those different stages?

Have you ever stopped to think that God is like that with us? He wants to hear from us? He wants to hear from us much more than we call on Him. By the way, He wants to hear from us for more than handouts just like we want to hear from our children for more than handouts.

Consider for a moment David’s communion with the Lord.

Psalm 56

A Call for God’s Protection (when the Philistines captured David)

1 Be gracious to me, God, for man tramples me; he fights and oppresses me all day long.

Psalms 56:1(HCSB)

Psalm 57

Praise for God’s Protection

When he fled before Saul into the cave.

1 Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me, for I take refuge in You. I will seek refuge in the shadow of Your wings until danger passes. 2 I call to God Most High, to God who fulfills ⌊His purpose⌋for me.

Psalms 57:1-2(HCSB)

David was practiced in personal prayer and communion with His Father.

He realized that His freedom rested in the Lord. When I say freedom I mean the fact that the world becomes the rudder of His ship guiding his attitudes, thoughts, and self concept. David found relief in the Lord.

Jerry Clower-Knock em out John-”Shoot up in here amongst us, one of us has to have some relief.”

"God who relieves me in my distress."

Relieve/vindicate:

justify: show to be right by providing justification or proof; "vindicate a claim"

maintain, uphold, or defend; "vindicate the rights of the citizens"

clear of accusation, blame, suspicion, or doubt with supporting proof; "You must vindicate yourself and fight this libel"

Our dear Paul writes:

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

2 Cor 3:17(HCSB)

I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Phil 4:13(HCSB)

So, we understand that answers, affirmation, consolation, comfort will not come until we call out to Him, simply ask:

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Matt 7:7-8 (NKJV)

Few know the name Eppie Lederer, but she achieved fame through writing an advice column for hundreds of North American newspapers using the pen name Ann Landers. Millions of people sought her advice on every imaginable subject. She is quoted as saying, “If I were asked to give what I consider the single most useful bit of advice for all humanity it would be this: Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life.…”

Trouble never ceases in this earthly life. Troubles play with our psychic. And no person ever understood or expressed this fact more succinctly than Job: “Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble” (Jb. 14:1).

Many of you that have been members of Mt Zion knows that Mrs. Bobbie Gibson was a big hugger. There is something awesomely encouraging to get a big hug from Mrs. Bobbie. Jesus hugs better than Mrs. Bobbie! He wants to offer you the biggest hug and curl up within the depths of your heart-we simply must call on Jesus.

Some of you here right this morning may be encountering anguish to the max right this very second. "Brother Luke, you just don't know how much this message is on target in my life today. At this very moment in my life-I need a hug, I need someone to wrap their loving arms around me and lift me to the Mount of Olives to help me ascend out of this funk I'm in. Jesus wants to love on you right now. Do you know Jesus? Do you have a relationship with Him? You can come to a time during the invitation and experience His love. God desires our personal prayers and communion with Him.

2. Pointless Pursuits Vs. 2

Psalm 4:2 (NKJV) 2 How long, O you sons of men, Will you turn my glory to shame? How long will you love worthlessness And seek falsehood?

Secondly, we need to avoid pointless pursuits.

I have a friend that is very gifted at cooking like the late Mr. Sonny Hall. He was in the Millbrook store one day and one of my former coworkers inquired about the price of the Boston Butts that Mike prepared. My coworker asked Mike, "hey Mike, what would you charge me for your Boston Butts?" Mike said, "$25." That was a few years ago by the way. My coworker said, "I believe I will pass, I can buy 3 Boston Butts for $25." And I absolutely loved my buddie’s response, he said "that is great, you can get a lot of practice."

I've learned in life that to get the best, it comes with a price. Jesus is the very best we can get. When Jesus died on the cross for you and me, it cost Him everything. Jesus gave His very life for you and for me.

We can go through life somewhat like the story I shared with you. . We can be cheap and settle for things lesser-and they are all pointless pursuits-they will never measure up to Jesus.

The Bible says "how long, you sons of men".

David’s words are saying: You people that think you know it all and have all the answers for my life. You can pursue this and try that to satisfy the world’s desires for your life; you can experiment with this and that-and all of it is imitation, fake, cheap, and unsatisfying. What looks greener over on the other side is vain pursuits and will not bring satisfaction.

The Bible says:

1 Samuel 12:21 (NKJV) 21 And do not turn aside; for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing.

1 Corinthians 1:31 (HCSB)

in order that, as it is written: The one who boasts must boast in the Lord.

I love the other translation that says "those who glory, let him glory in the Lord."

3. Practical Pointers Vs. 4-5

Be angry and do not sin; on your bed, reflect in your heart and be still. Selah 5 Offer sacrifices in righteousness and trust in the Lord.

Psalms 4:4-5(HCSB)

David gives us some practical pointers in life in dealing with times of anguish and poor self concepts and frustration with how others see us. Do not allow your conditions to control you. Do not lose your composure. Do not blow up. Do not blow your temper. Do not say something you will regret.

The Bible says:

James 3:2–8 “2 For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. 3 Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. 4 Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. 5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. 8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.”

Do not lose your cool or however else you want the point made. Stay composed. Then the question for us is how? He answers that in the next verse-on your bed, reflect in your heart and be still.

Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and don’t give the Devil an opportunity

Eph 4:26-27(HCSB)

David shares with us in this Psalm and let’s assume at this point he has not met Absalom. We have a situation where contact will come later. This potentially is one of those situations where he could stew on it. In fact, scriptures reflect that he waited a long time to encounter Absalom post his brother’s murder. Potentially, things could have turned out differently had David pursued Absalom sooner to bring reconciliation.

Sometimes, when we have not met the person to correct a wrong being done against us-the whole situation can build in our minds and get out of hand. It can get all blown out of proportion. We can do what is referred to as "stewing" over it and that can be bad. When we see that a confrontation is inevitable and we need to get prepared for the encounter-God's Word offers sound counsel-be still and meditate on the circumstances. Reflect, ponder, and commune with the Lord for Him to offer guidance.

Don’t consider yourself to be wise; fear the Lord and turn away from evil.

Prov 3:7 (HCSB)

One of the greatest checks and balances to dealing with internal turmoil due to external responses about us is to ask yourself the question-how would Jesus respond to this? Very carefully. He went to Gethsemane’s Garden to be strengthened for what was ahead at the crucifixion.

In closing

4. Perfect Path Vs. 3,7-8

Psalm 4:3 “3 But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly; The Lord will hear when I call to Him.”

Psalm 4:7–8 “7 You have put gladness in my heart, More than in the season that their grain and wine increased. 8 I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

Well, we will discover as we try to seek our worth, to find value in our Lord that if we will be engaged in personal prayer, and avoid pointless pursuits, follow God practical policies for living that He will carry us down a perfect path.

It’s fun to live life when we have a leg up.

Ill. -story of Trey stating that Mary Kirk Shaw was His girlfriend.

Do you enjoy times when you have preferential treatment?

Ill. At Disney World, they have something called a fast pass that you get at select times through the day that allows you to go to the front of the line. God's Word shares with us here in the verses that the cards are stacked in our favor and we have a fast pass on life. You see church, we as Christians win-we know the outcome.

In verse 3, "The Lord has set the faithful apart for Himself. The Lord will hear when I call Him." That verse reminds me as a child of the King that I have a pass. I get placed at the front of the line.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

1 Peter 2:9(HCSB)

We go on to discover the peace, pleasure and the protection that Jesus brings into our lives when we allow Him to reside with us. The Lord is our everything. I remind you that the best comes with a cost. He died for you and me and I have the very best. Oh, no, I don’t mean the best by the worlds standards. But having the best by the world’s standards is fleeting. I have life, abundant and free.

Listen dear brother and sister. I have the best because he resides in Me. He is My Lord and God and a friend that sticks closer than a brother. He loves me, He has always loved me and nothing I can do to keep Him from loving me. Can you say that of the world?

I have joy in knowing that my Lord loves me, He watches over me and I am free from the guilt of sin. I will not go to hell because Jesus has forgiven me of my sins.

The keynote to His blessing is "calling on Him" in verse 3.

Ill. Speaking of cost-I have a $. 20.00 bill to show you. How many of you want it? Step on it wad it up-grind it in the carpet-how many want it now? Interesting observation. The $20 didn't change it's worth did it? Just because you are dealing with being wadded up and crumbled, you are still a dear creation of God. He loves you and He want to help you this morning with the problems you are encountering-simply call out to Him this morning.

Let’s pray.