Psalm 27. Firm in the Face of Fear.

Firm in the Face of Fear 2021 2020 Fear and Uncertainty Fear and Uncertainty Vs 1 - fear...afraid Vs 2 - evildoers assail me...my adversaries and foes Vs 3 - an army encamp against me...my heart shall not fear Vs 5 - the day of trouble Vs 6 - my enemies Vs 10 - my father and mother have forsaken me Vs 11 - my enemies Vs 12 - adversaries...false witnesses...breathe out violence “Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Wait for the Lord!” - - - - Deut 31:6 - “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them (enemies), for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Deut 31:7-8 - “Be strong and courageous...Do not fear or be dismayed” Josh 1:6, 7, 9 (3x’s) - “Be strong and courageous” Vs 9 “Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed…” 1 Chron 28:20 -“Be strong and courageous...Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed” “Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Wait for the Lord!” Proclaiming Truth Brings Perspective Lam 3:17-24 “17 my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; 18 so I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the Lord.” 19 Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! 20 My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. 21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: 22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 “The Lord is my Proclaiming Truth Brings Perspective “Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them but they are talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. Who is talking to you? Your self is talking to you. Now this man’s treatment [in Psalm 42] was this: instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. “Why art thou cast down, O my soul?” he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says, “Self, listen for moment, I will speak to you.” D. Martin LloydJones Proclaiming Truth Brings Perspective “This is the only time in history when I get to fight for God. This is the only part of my eternal story when I am actually in the battle. Once I die, I’ll be in celebration mode in a glorified body in a whole different set of circumstances. But this is my limited window of opportunity, I’m going to fight the good fight for all I’m worth.” Joni Eareckson Tada Proclaiming Truth Brings Perspective 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Prioritize Worship Prioritize Worship Job 1:20 “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped” Prioritize Worship 2 Samuel 12:20 “Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped...” Prioritize Worship “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” Matt 26:39 Pour out your heart and Pray Pour out your heart and Pray LACK of prayer may show… “God doesn’t really care…” Self-reliance... Entitlement... Pour out your heart and Pray “I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God. It changes me.” C.S. Lewis “Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Wait for the Lord!”