A Little Discouraged?

Are you a little discouraged?

Discouragement to comes to all of us. I'm not talking about a clinical depression. I'm just talking about the idea of a general lowering of spirit as this passage talks about I'm also seeking to describe the fact that some sometimes discouragement just makes us a little less energetic. We're not as enthused about life as we should be. Sometimes it shows up as Loneliness a sense of helplessness discouragement can be seasonal here in Canada. We notice it in the month of February in the midst of that long cold winter people just get discouraged this is also a. Of time when normal discouragement comes it's the end of summer Now The Fall season is nice, but the end of summer. We're not going to be able to enjoy a lot of the things that we normally would enjoy even parents who steal a Christmas song and use it because their kids are going back to school. It's the most wonderful time of the year, but the problem is that this year. Even that has been dulled because there's some anxiety some question about going back to school. And what does that mean? If you notice this morning in that Psalm 77, there's a title at the top of that song. The titles are not inspired but those who have edited the songs and put them together in the various books have us ought to help us to understand sometimes the context of that song but also who wrote it and you'll notice that this time it is a Psalm of Asaph. Asaph phone wrote a number of the Psalms. I'm primarily David is the psalmist but a stop right some of them and it looks like he's writing a song. To another choirmaster. That's what Asaph was. He was a minister in the church in the temple and there were others and especially this fella by the name of Jehovah who is mentioned here in Psalm 77 and he's mentioned in 1st Chronicles David acts like he may very well have

he may very well have written a number of songs by himself and he was a choir leader in the book of 1st Chronicles David refers to a whole group of choirs under his name. So as many as twenty so rich And the Asaph maybe sent this poem to him and said to some music but it would have to be a music of because that's how it starts out. It's a Psalm of discouragement to music ministers are talking about discouragement. Maybe it's a common plate. And I'm telling you it is a common plate. You talk to people that you have contact with and you'll feel you'll find out many of them are discouraged. I have contacted the number of pastors and even among the pastors. There's a general sense of discouragement at the present time. Psalm 77 helps us to deal with discouragement. It kind of gives us a little indication of the science of discouragement. First one. I cry aloud to God allowed to God and he will hear me in the day of my trouble. I seek the Lord in the night. My hand is stretched out without worrying my foal refuses to be comforted here. He says that I cry out. Nothing wrong with crying out loud to God Jesus did that in the guard and I he was wrestling with the will of God and said ultimately not my will but yours be done but here crying out to God just a little bit different. What's Asaph and saying I cried out to God and he didn't hear me, so I cried a little bit louder. I'm in trouble, you know. And I refuse to be comforted. That's an interesting thing about discouragement. There's something of an act of the will that blocks the comfort that God wants to give or there is something emotionally about discouragement that prevents or blocks the encouragement. That should come from God.

discouragement lumos answer discouragement The answer is prayer. and meditation The difficulty is that son there is a good meditation. And there's defective meditation. And the first run that Asaph has inverse of 326. Would be at the defective type of meditation. Look at that the passage of scripture verses 3 through 6. We won't get them all in the screen. But as I read through them just look at the number of times that Asaph says I

When I remember God, I moan when I meditate my spirit faints, you hold my eyelids open. I am so subtle that I cannot speak. I can through the days of old the years long ago. I said, let me remember my song in the night. Let me meditate in my heart. Then my spirit made diligent search back Versa three fact that a good exercise for you to do what I've done in my Bible. Circle all the time in those few verses that the word I or me appears. See that's the problem with Asaph's Meditation It's All About Me. Nobody Knows the Trouble I've seen nobody seems to care. PM talks about here in the verse for blaming God. You hold my eyes open. I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I can't sleep. Worry and anxiety have sole income push me. I'm calling on you for some help here and you're not giving it to me. and the Psalms of lament are helpful for us because it shows are characteristic of blaming God when things don't go our way and when we don't get what we want or we feel that we should have. We blame God. I heard a a pastor and number years ago. Who is talking about the challenges that he had just recovering from the death of his wife? And he said I was up all through the night just reflecting upon that needs it and I was just kind of wallowing in self-pity and end in grief and I he said then I remember that verse that says God never Slumbers nor sleeps and see what he says. There's none of us were asleep. I just go to sleep. And since God is going to be up all night. That's him. Look after it. That's pretty good. Approach here. He's blaming God. I can't sleep. Because of all of the problems the difficulty the worries that I have if your a doing that sermon notes, I might just get you to skip down a little bit because down I think it's a sermon note numbers question number 7 it says what is the focus or what is that the father of a verses for a 3 through 6 compared to verses 10 through 12 and the thought of verses 3 through 6 is this primarily about me? Whereas when you get straightened out in his meditation will find out that his meditation is primarily about God Real review that in a moment or are too when we come to it. But here he says in verse that V. I consider the days of old the years-long a goal is not a characteristic of a discouragement Nostalgia. Nothing wrong with Nostalgia. I focusing upon the good old days, but the truth of the matter is that sent some of the good old days weren't. I saw my grandpa to my granddaughter's last night and I was talking with them about the home in which I grew up. And I said, you know that home I grew up in never had a bathtub. But you had a shower. Nope. On Saturday night 3 kids would line up. You like to be first because we just had a square wash tub in front of the stove and the wood stove. So that would be warm and it's me kids had their Saturday night bath there. No bathtub, no shower. nostalgia sometimes the good old days weren't now I really like having a Central Plumbing Central Heating and this summer. I really enjoyed air conditioning. No, I had a very happy youth. I look back upon. My childhood was very fond memories. But not everything about it was good. See the problem with Nostalgia is that you reflect back upon the good things and we make comparison and we say I want to go back there because everything was good because we remember the good things. Not necessarily some of the challenges of the old days. He Ram, that's what he said for doing. He's reflecting upon the good old days. When I had what I wanted when I had it, I need it. Now things are blocked. I'm not getting what I want. Nazareth salt the benefit that should come from. meditation and prayer it's lost. The difficulty with some bad meditation defective meditation. Is it at leads to bad theology? as well at least to dote things that physically or nevermind because I revealed all of a sudden. We begin to doubt them. North what's that he says here in the verse 7 will God will the Lord's burn forever and never gain be favorable will the Lord spoon? Will God not be with us? Well, the scripture is very clear. Not affecting the Old Testament the book of Deuteronomy. And again in the New Testament in the book of Hebrews. It says God will never leave us or forsake us. See when were discouraged and we are self-centered self-absorbed in our meditation wanting to get away from the problem getting the problem out of our lives. Sometimes we forget the promises of God. He will never leave us. He will never forsake us has his steadfast love forever ceased all his promises at an end for all time is his steadfast Love Gone. If you look at that sentence you we should be able to figure out what wait a minute. There's a little bit of a contradiction here. Steadfast love being gone that can't happen. The word steadfast is the Hebrew word Hesed. It's the word that is used for Covenant Love. And we know about the Covenant of God where God keeps his promises as a matter of fact, he enters into a covenant relationship with us that we will celebrate in a few moments. He enters into a covenant relationship where he keeps both sides of the Covenant. He does the promising of looking after us and even though we fail to obey him and do what he wants us to do. He has provided salvation for us in the person of Jesus Christ who came and lived a perfect life died upon the cross to pay the penalty of our sin. Can we lose the steadfast love of God no way but the very nature of the word and the promise of God. What was Thomas's be in for all time, no can't God's promises are secure God's promises will be there. He will not forget because fight of nature his eternal he is eternal. He's the same yesterday today and forever. is eternal he doesn't forget his promises. He's at Mission Springs Eternal in the sense that he is able also to remember the promises that he made. I'm getting a little older sometimes. I just forget I forget promises that I made the people. I remember yours have a practice every Monday morning. I would come in after church on Sunday. And my first job would be to write down all the conversations that I had in the church for a on Sunday to try and remember what I said the people what they said to me and when I promise to do because my memory is not the best. In addition to forgetting I'm getting older and so I'm not able to do what I used to do. I can't do a lot of the things that I used to be able to do in the days of my youth. Not a problem for God never forgets not getting older. Is eternal important part for Austin to find out what God has promised? We sometimes had this idea that God has some kind of candy Giver in heaven who makes life easy for us all of the time. That's not the real world. The real world in which we live has problems. What God has promised is to be with us in north in those problems and to carry us through know God won't forget his promises they are with us because he is eternal verse 9 has God forgotten to be gracious. How to say in Anger shut up shut up his compassion. What is a soffit saying this? I guess you forgot about some 45 verse 8 where it says that God is full of compassion. He's gracious and his unfailing love will never end. what's the pharmacy of Psalm 145 probably one of the songs at the psalm of David and Asaph is the Music director at the temple probably had some of that song. He probably directed the choir to sing that song. But somehow or another in is discouragement and is self-centeredness. He forgets. The promise of God that's who got is. He's a compassionate God. He is a god of Grace. That is sufficient for every situation of life. first 10 is kind of a tween verse of the song we have talked before about the Psalms quite often the Thomas gets disoriented and then he gets reorient it according to what's right and there's 10 is the reorganization reorientation verse of the song knows what it says here. Then I said I will appeal to this to the years of the right hand of the most high. Let's read the verses 10 to 12 and just see if there's a difference between versus 3 to 6. Then I said I will appeal to this to the years of the right hand of the most high. I will remember the Deeds of the Lord. Yes. I remember your wonders of old. I will ponder at your work and meditate on your Mighty Deeds.

If you have underlined or circled the eyes and the me's of the verses 3 through 6. Take time also to circle the words of the Lord of his ways. Have your way Lord in versus at 10 to 12?

In those early versus it Nobody Knows the Trouble I've seen nobody seems to care. Where is somehow or another he's picked up the spiritual the song Hold Nobody Knows the Trouble I've seen. Nobody but my Jesus begins to focus upon God and the promises of God the money works of God. I was a little discouraged this week contemplate. The very same words are used in this ladder meditation the good meditation that are used in the previous meditation words, like consider. I will remember I will reflect I will ponder those words appear early and the appear again, but the difference is what you're pondering about pondering about earlier. I'm going to ponder I'm going to think about all the problems that I've got. Now he says I'm going to ponder I'm going to think about the goodness of God the goodness of God in my life. and my family are the goodness of God to Western and I was just meditating upon that as I was driving to church this morning and we've got a book here that about the history of the Wesley add that we haven't let it get that and read it. Because it'll help you to meditate upon the mighty works of God things that could happen did. Things that we never thought would have been possible happened. the mighty works of God focusing upon him. See I'm the problem is in this self-centered. World of entitlement which we live. We think we should deserve better. We think we should have everything go our way. This is not Disney World. This is not the type of world war. Somebody throws out some magic powder and all of a sudden everything is screwed up. By the way, in case you haven't heard. There is no such world. Disney is a hoax. There's no magic powder to clear away the Fallen. How did God deal with the phones in this world? He entered the world. How did he do with the suffering he entered into the suffering in the gift of his son Our Savior Jesus Christ. To discourage you got problems. Think about the fact that God entered into this world. It was a world that would have been better had said not come but soon came and saw God answered it. And into that world God came providing salvation. That's. The way your way or God is Holy. I need to remember remember that Holy in the sense of pure but holy in the sense of just and right. I might not like it. I don't like this covid stuff. I don't like all of this doing I don't like the way it's changed everything for around here in our church in the lives of my friends. in my life but Lord your way is Holy it's right. It's just You are in control. My job is not the fight City Hall. It is to submit to God who is in control? hiiraan verses 14 you are The God Who works wonders you were made known your might among the people you with your arm. We deemed your people.

A soft begins to meditate a little bit more upon the mighty works of God and he does what most Jewish people would do. He goes back to the greatest Deliverance that they have ever experienced. The one that we refer to last weekend is referred to here in the life of Jacob and Joseph. 40 sezon that was when you redeemed. your people redeem mean to buy off the slave market. That's the meaning of the word and the god bought off the slave market in Egypt the people of God and deliver them to the promised land. here is the hidden message also of the the song Dr. Carter's taking us to the Psalms in the talking about Christ in the Psalms. I don't know where he'll find Christ in Psalm 77 and we won't know for about four or five years by the time it gets the song 77, but in case it down say here's where I think is found in the song. It's in Redemption. And where he talks about the great Deliverance of the people of God out of Egypt. It's really just a forecast of the greatest Deliverance the Redemption of the people of God by Jesus Christ who entered into this world and provided salvation, its ups begins to focus upon that the farm at begin to focus upon the Exodus Norris what it says here in versus 16 when the water saw you or God when the water saw you they were afraid indeed the Deep Trimble.

Remember, this is a poem that turned into a song into a song but he's using some poetic license here. And he says wow as the people of Israel came to the Red Sea the sea with a friend. Even those deep Waters down there they tremble. Well you go up against the Sea and the Raging Waves. Normally you're the one that's afraid. Not they see that's afraid of the deep the trembles. What is using a symbolism here using political license just to reveal who actually is in charge God when you approach to see it was afraid. Why when you approach covid-19?

I'm a fear Corvette. I'm a fear the consequences. I only have some anxiety about it. guy when you approach Corvette Furious you have confidence in God who is able. The clouds over 17 Puerto water. The sky is Navy Under Your Arrow Flash and every side God's in control. He's shooting Arrows with lightning crash of Thunder was in the Whirlwind your Lightnings light up the world the Earth trembled and shook. Your way was through the sea your path through Great Waters get your Footprints or unseen. Yes. God is in control. Sometimes his way is Holy and just always holy and just and we like it because it's moving. but sometimes God's ways are there to the Sea? the unknown too deep water He's always present. Even though we can't always see his footprints. God is there. in the midst of the storm God is present. He is with us.

birthstones 20 You read your people like a flock. By the hand of Moses and Aaron sometimes God delivers us idle problems instantaneously we pray and the problem is gone because that's in the plan and purpose of God. Sometimes it's the 4 root.

using human instrumentality sometimes God delivers by the arm of the Lord. Sometimes he delivers to the hands of others. like Moses and Aaron God could have got the people of Israel out of Egypt a lot quicker. free shows to use Moses and Aaron You could have dropped him through the Wilderness in a matter of weeks instead of 40 years. but because of the sinfulness of people and because God was choosing to use human instrumentality.

He was often say one more lap around Mount Sinai Sinai. You're missing the point. You haven't quite caught on what I'm trying to sell it one more left. How long is a Corvette going to go on?

Maybe God is saying one more lap. You haven't learned where I want you to learn in the midst of this yet? God could take it away like that. You can buy the arm of the Lord. But in the midst of it he's using human instrumentality. And that's how I said I'm in touch with a lot of pastors and sometimes pastors get discouraged. So we need to pray for the leadership in our church. That as God is using them as the human instruments to guide and direct it that they will have wisdom and trusting that God chooses human instrumentality to accomplish some of his greatest works. Can do a lot better by himself a lot quicker. What are uses you and me? And you may be the answer to somebody else's prayer during these Corvette times. Deaf people are discouraged. Maybe I need a phone call from you. Maybe you need to do an act of kindness. Maybe you need to be a little bit more concerned about those that are around you. God could do it by the strong and mighty arm of the Lord. refuses to do it awesome the human instrumentality toasted a.m. Let's meditate. What's a good meditation that focuses upon God? and if Mighty works Let's remember him. especially let us remember Redemption and The God Who provided redemption in Christ alone. I worship team is coming to help us and sing for us. And as I said last week the Bible says that some we can gather together the same. Well, we can't sing but we can meditate in our heart on the goodness of God. Let's look at the words listen to them and Focus On Christ Alone.