Wholly His, Part 3: Live Out What it Means to be Wholehearted Followers of Christ
Wait upon you.
It's hard to wait on you. Because we can be an impatient people.
It's hard to walk in faith, not living according to site or I'm sorry, not not, not living according to the confidence of what, we don't see in your promise, in the present physical visual Realm. We often respond to the circumstances of our life, rather than waiting on you to work in situations or circumstances, depending on the confidence of your word and your character, and your faithful works. Over thousands of years past.
It's a little, we express your beauty.
Our desire to declare your praise. The wonderful character, not just that you have, but who you are. And ultimately that is what drives us to. Wait. That is what enables us to be patient because we know who you are. We've seen how you work. In your people's lives.
And we need your help. So help us Lord to seek YouTube to be patient.
We love you. And we need you. Very desperately. We need you. We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Will please take your seat. Good morning, church family. It's a really good to see everyone this morning. My name is Matt wanted pastors here. And if you haven't received an invitation. We're having a luncheon after church Explorer, Oak, Grove. If you're new, or to the church, I would love to have you join us for lunch? There. If your church member and your leg, hey, I'd love to have a free lunch today. Coming and stay for lunch. And I know we'd love to have you at 40 Grove is an opportunity for us to sort of. I kind of call it an organizational handshake. You know, it's an opportunity for us to tell you a little bit about Oak, Grove Church in and serve our distinctives. And also in as importantly have an opportunity to get to know you a little bit and let you meet some other newer folks in the church as well. So it typically goes from at 11:40 or 45 until the right around 1 or 1 give or take an hour or so, but we love to have you join us after church. If it if you'd like to do that so that we're in a series called. Holy his and we're talkin about what it means for us to two. Rest in the beauty of the Lord, which is really what we saying this morning in that second song was so thankful for that. And the fact that God has called us to set our sights on him to take pleasure in who he is and be satisfied. Allow the beauty that the Magnum I'm going to just say, magnanimous character who got is two enthrall us so much that it affects how we live. If it doesn't, we're not seeing God for who he is and then we followed talking about our vision last week and this week is to, to be a people who reach and teach and live out, what it means to be a wholehearted followers of Christ last week. We focused on reaching in teaching and this morning we're going to look at what it means to be a wholehearted followers of Christ that I can be an intimidating phrasing and because you might think it instantly about all the things that you should be doing that are Godly that you're not doing.
And there's a place for that. There's a time to look at how we need to be living that we're not ways that we're not living how we know that we ought to before the Lord. But before we get to that, we need to examine our heart. And what motivates us to live. How do we begin to live as wholehearted followers of Christ? And I really, honestly, I wrestled with whether or not to do it kind of a survey on that as of the Bible on that concept and I just landed at. So, you know, we're going to look at one song that I think helps us have the right posture because living is a wholehearted follower of Christ is really more of a posture of our awareness of God's greatness. Our need and our commitment to trust him. Living is wholehearted. Follower of Christ, is a posture of your awareness of God's greatness your need. You are desperate need for God, our desperate need for God. And our commitment to trust in him. If you have a Bible with me with you or Anna, Bible app on your phone to an open that up to Psalm 86. This should be a black Bible near you. It is on page 460 to there. So it's good to see the context of what we're reading in. If we're going to look at this and three sections, this morning. We'll look at the kind of the first and then the middle section and then do that than the end. This is organized, which is really a few think of the Chevron sign or a greater than sign Point Parts. One and three really line up. But but they find their the Crux, their main point in that middle section of the song. So we'll look here together. So I'm 86 1 through 7. David is writing here. And he says incline your ear O Lord and answer me for I am poor and needy. Preserve my life where I am Godly. Save your servant. Who trusts in you, you are my God. Be gracious to me. Oh lord. For to you. Do? I cry all the day? Blood in the stool of your servant for to you. Oh, Lord. I do. Do I lift up my soul for you. Oh, Lord are good and forgiving abounding and steadfast love to all who call upon you. Give hero Lord to my prayer. Listen to my plea, for Grace. In the day of trouble and the day of my trouble, I call upon you for you answer me. What David is is saying here at the outset of the psalmist that we are to cry out to our Sovereign God from your place of desperate. Need, you see if we don't recognize that. We have a desperate need for God. We will cry out to him will live life. According to our own standard will love life according to our own resources and the resources of those around us. But only when we see our desperate need number 14, savior. Only when we see our desperate need for learning how to live, according to God's ways to live in a way that pleases the Lord, will we cry out to him?
We don't come to God as an additive for a life. We cast off everything within us and we say I cannot do this without you. God will, how does this happen? But he speaks of his helplessness. As I just mentioned. He's poor. He's he's needy, he's he's downtrodden.
He's a pain to others. David is writing. Many of the songs. David Wright says, he's fleeing from Absalom. He's fleeing for his life.
So he's he's poor and he's needed, but not only for physical safety, but he speaking here of his spiritual State, the fact that he's needy for God's grace. He says, they're right at the beginning of verse 1 incline, your ear, O Lord and we see the word. Oh Lord, this is The Sovereign, The Sovereign term for God Yahweh. Oh, Lord. I was speaking with. I think that's where Brian, I was thinking about it a couple weeks ago at a college professor that would talk about how sometimes when we pray. And if you do this, don't get all paranoid about it, but sometimes we use the lord's name almost like a, you know, or a semicolon in our prayers. It's sort of the the... While. I'm thinking about what else to say. That? Doesn't mean if you do that frequently, that that's always what it is and reading into your mind. How do you say right here? That David might might take issue his hat. Very intentionally. David uses this name of the Lord. He calls out to the Lord, many times using God's name incline, your ear, Lord, and answer me for. I am poor and needy.
He says, I'm your servant. I, I trust in you. You are my God. I there's a visit. There's a two-way love that we see here. He say I am dearly devoted to you. I'm loved by you and I'm loving you back and I stretch drive to live my life and he's committed to trusting the Lord. He says, I am Godly. He's not saying I am perfect and I'm righteous and I've never sinned. He's saying I'm a man who's been loved by you as a result of that. I strive to be Goblin strive to be God's, man. I strive to follow you.
He's trusting the Lord.
And then he asked the Lord with an expectation that God will answer him favorably. He says, in verse 3. Be gracious to me. Oh god. Oh Lord. For to you do I cry all the day. He is committed to going to the Lord's. He's not asking God once and then moving on to something else or someone else. He's not asking the Lord wanted and seeing what other options are available out there. That might help him out. He's saying Lord, you are my God and Iron Man and I am coming to you for help be please be gracious. Me. The word Grace has occurred this idea of undeserved kindness. Lord show your kindness to me. I don't deserve your kindness. How do we know that because I'm poor and needy. Do you see yourself this morning is for a needy.
Do you see yourself as one? Who, who needs God's spirit to work within you in order to be able to live as a wholehearted follower of Christ?
Glad in the soul of your servant for To You. O, Lord. Do I lift up my soul?
Blessed are those who? Hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Blessed are the meek. They will inherit the earth. Matthew Chapter 5 is Jesus. Speak the Beatitudes.
Gladden, the soul of your servant.
For you. Oh, Lord, are good CDs reasons. He's listening. I want to encourage you in your prayer and it didn't originate with me, but I would encourage you don't hear that as you have to but I need help in my prayer to know about. You. I need help. My words are shallow and self-centered. So I need the Bible. Have to help me continue to point me back to Jesus to continue to point me back to the Lord help remind me of the fact that God has always been good to his people. See you in the midst, even of allowing his people to go through difficult circumstances. God's goodness is still found in that because God's purpose is for his people are always good and which means right chest. It's always the right decision. When you go through, what seems to you to be the Valley of the shadow of death. It is for God's glory and it is for your ultimate good. So, God is good in Trials. God is good in the midst of financial hardship. God is good in the midst of relational struggle. God is good. When life seems to be spinning all around. You don't know what's happening. It's massively confusing. God is good. Not based on what he gives to us, but I'm on the basis of who he is. It's his character. It's his nature. He's good and he's forgiving. He's a bounding, in steadfast love to all who call upon. You know, we need to pause here for a moment. Read parts of scripture. We want to encourage people with scripture. You know, you might even let you take different passage of scripture that speak about who God is and how God works to the good of his people.
And it would actually be harmful to take any passage of scripture that speaks of that and apply to every person that, you know. And that might seem confusing but it's important to recognize what David says here. He says you are good for giving and you are abounding in steadfast love at the Covenant persisting, never stopping never stop pursuing kind of love to all who call upon you.
How do you called upon the Lord? And laid yourself out before God and said, God, I need you. I will not work my way to heaven. I get it. I have so much than in me. It consumes me. I need you to change me. I need you to make me new. God promises are for those who trust him. For salvation, and for how to live. If you're not trusting the Lord, you won't know God's goodness to you personally at that moment.
If you do trust the Lord, as your savior, you may look back on your life and say, Okay, evan, when I wasn't Walking with God, I can see how the Lord was working in my life. Ultimate Lee to bring me to him. What a gracious. God. What a steadfast God pursuing me before I ever loved him.
Give your lord to my prayer. Listen to my plea, for Grace. There it is again. Listen to My Cry for undeserved favor, undeserved, kindness, but I know I can ask you Lord, because that is who you are. You're a God that blesses people with your presence and the Peace of your presence. He's good. He's kind in the day of my trouble. I will call if I call upon you for you answer me.
Thinking about that line. As we were singing. I will wait for you. I will wait for you on your word. I will rely. I will wait for you, and I was just thinking I will wait on you God for you will answer me. An immediate thought that came to my mind is I'm terrible at waiting on God.
I'm terrible at waiting on God. I worry.
I get anxious or tied up in knots. I make decisions according to how I understand the situation often without considering what the Lord would have me to do. And sometimes when I do consider, When I Look What the Lord would have me, do according to his word? I think. No, but surely the way that I'm thinking about this has got to be better. And even in the midst of it. I know that it's not, right? And then sometimes I still actin it like what a fool. What a fool I am.
We need to cry out to the Lord.
Often times we will consider what we need to be doing. We will consider what what God says that we need to be doing, will be considering how we are living in a consistent, or I mean in a, in a current situation.
And what are we doing that? We typically try to kind of balance, the scales. Will God says to do this and I'll give this sort of this amount of weight. And what would I think I'll be doing this sometimes, like, the balance the scales in the way that makes sense to me, not always according to God's word and I started try not to weigh it out like that way. I would seem to be the right approach. Want to listen to Thomas Thomas Chalmers. He preached a sermon called out the explosive power of a new affection. The pulled the explosive power, think of the idea of a spelling something the explosive power of a new affection. He said the best way to overcome the world is not with morality or or self discipline. Christian's overcome the world by seeing the Beauty and the Excellence of Christ overcome the world by seeing something more attractive than the world. Jesus.
Only when you see Jesus, is more magnificent than your own way of doing things. Only when you see Jesus, as more grandiose more wonderful, more beautiful than the human desires of the Harvard for power Prestige, or positions or for well for for influence. That is. I love the Lord because he is perfect in everything that he does, and he has heard my cries for mercy. I'm losing to the second section of this song Hair verses eight through 13 and he says, there is none like you. Oh, Lord. Among the gods. There are Nor are there any works like yours? All the nations shall come before You O Lord, and she'll glorify your name. Noticed. He's starting very broadly with the Nations and it is going to move to a more personal more intimate. Explanation in declaration for you. Are great and you do wondrous things you alone are God. All the nations of the world day. They worshipped various Idols. They worship various Kings. But the Nations that are your people will come to you. They will worship you. Oh Lord, because you are great and you do wondrous things. And then you ask another question. Is that a supplication here? A specific request to the Lord that he asked, teach me your way O Lord. That I may walk in your truth. Unite My Heart To Fear your name.
I give thanks to You O. Lord, my God with my whole heart and I will glorify your name for great. Is your steadfast love toward me. You have delivered, my soul from the depths of sheol.
He starts broadly and then he he moved to a more personal request for the Lord and a commitment to walk in the ways that the Lord has called him to walk in. This is one of the hinge point of the storm right here, the centrepiece of the song. Verses 11 through 13. After, after extolling, the name of God again. He says, teach me your ways O Lord. That I may walk in your truth. Knowledge of God's word is never for the purpose of a attest. Here, we're not cramming for an exam that's coming up. It's not for Bible trivia. It's not so that you can talk about the Bible and look smart to people who may not know the Bible as much as you do. Pulse is knowledge puffs up knowledge without application. It's useless. In fact, it's worse than useless. It will condemn us. We know the way to live. And we persistently, avoid putting it into practice. Why would we do that? Because we're not poor and needy cuz we're not calling on God for help. And so forget to live is whole-hearted followers of Christ. We come to the Lord from a place of neediness based on who he is, knowing that he doesn't look the same us and then we come to him. We say teach me more about who you are. Lord. Teach me your ways. So Lord that I may walk in your truth. I love this prayer to unite, My Heart To Fear your name.
If you were to take a sheet of paper out right now and you were too. Draw a picture of your hearts.
If you were to draw a little mini icons of all of the things that take up your time, that you spend your money on your relationships, that you have, the things that you pursuing your casual timing. By the way. None of these things are negative in and of themselves.
What are the things that that control your thinking when you're not trying to think about something specifically?
When you have time to just enjoy something and go do something. What are the things that you you lean to? What are the things that you find yourself going to over and over again? And where does the Lord and learning God's word, their fit into that picture if you drew a picture of your heart, how would it be divided or subdivided? How are there rooms in your heart? Think about it like that. If your heart was at home, if your heart was a house and you had a music room and you had a relationship room and you had a, a study room and the kids went for the study room. And are you out yet? Let's make that a playroom.
What would be the things that would describe you our hearts desire? What you would give yourself towards where you would put your time, your energy, your money. Now, I know right now just get start to sound a lot. Like you need to be a wholehearted follower of Christ. You need to what you need to do this, and you need to do that. And we would love a whole bunch of rules wheel of a whole bunch of descriptions. Tell me what I got to do.
The end of the day we're coming to the Lord was saying. I need you unite me. Because you know what? When I begin to go after a situation, my heart gets fragmented very quickly. I find out that I've got duplicate desires raging for attention in my heart. I want to follow the lord in obedience and yet I want to be in a relationship that that that seems to satisfy me at least for the time being. So am I willing to sacrifice the relationship? Sacrifice the relationships for the best relationship with the Lord or am I willing to say this relationship needs to be a healthy relationship. According to how God has laid out in his word, that is best for me.
We see competing desires James talks about it. When he says if any of you lacks Wisdom, ask of God, I'm paraphrasing here who gives graciously to all who ask ask him for it. But we need to do it with the right motive. We need to do it with the right desire to glorify the Lord. Lord. I'm asking you for these things in my life not so I can just be happy on this Earth because this Earth is not my home. This Earth is not my home. My home is in Eternal home. Be willing to sacrifice here in increasing levels. That which will set me up. Best fraternity number one.
Taking that Throne. I'm sorry. Well, okay. I can say this, a few different ways. So I get it. If you picture of crown on your heart or thrown on your heart, you might ask who's sitting on that throne?
Is it me?
When I have competing desires to, I run to what I understand to be best. But we all need to do is flick ourselves off of a throne of our hearts. Enter humility and Trust. Say God. I need you on the throne of my heart. Be on that more than just becoming a wholehearted follower of prize to be a Christian.
I need to learn your ways.
Please don't view this as simply academic. Please don't think if you're not a reader, you're not called to learn God's word. Please don't think if you're not a great student. Learning God's word, doesn't apply to God. Gave everybody a Bible.
So that we can learn his truth and then notice the point of how he says, it's next phrase, unite my heart. He doesn't say, teach me your truth and I'll take care of my heart.
Teach me your ways and through your ways, unite My Heart To Fear your name.
Unite my heart to to honor you to reverence you. It's a really fear that when I live according to my own ways. I will be stacking up judgment for myself. I will be stacking up consequences for myself because even though God loves his people, he does not. Most of the times, he does not remove natural consequences from our sinful choices.
I could take you through my life. We wouldn't have enough time. And I'm not kind of saying that playful you're in a false falsely humble way. I could take you through my life and I could talk you through decisions. I've made that that we're not with the with the Lord wanted for man with a consequence consequences were.
In fact, one of my sisters on a, on a thread that we have going between us two, siblings made a comment recently.
And I had nothing to do. It has nothing to do with any current, her current situation, and I responded. In a way that threw them off. They didn't even know what I was talking about it first, you know, why? Because I still regret certain decisions. I made years back.
That still affect my perception of certain relationships, I have.
Which explained herself. I said, I answered out of guilt. Of my childhood patterns, you know, the Lord has freed me from that. But there is sometimes consequences thought process that still remain as natural consequences of our sinful choices. So we're saying Lord. I'm not going to try to take care of things on my own. I need you. Lord to unite my heart around your word and write as a tired of live for the glory of the Lord unite My Heart To Fear your name. But I believe that when you say certain things will happen in scripture. If you live this way. I know that to be true.
And I honor you, I Revere you but I do fear the consequences of not living according to your ways. I don't want those consequences in my life verse 12. I will give, thanks to You O Lord, my God, with my whole heart. I will glorify your name forever. You see what he's saying? Two times. He says it here, teach me your ways. Oh, Lord, that I may walk in your truth unite, My Heart To Fear your name, and he says, I will give thanks to You O. Lord, my God, with my whole heart. I will glorify your name for ever for great. Is your steadfast. Love toward me. Notice his commitment to glorifying God with his whole life, with his whole heart.
We say our heart desires to reach a teach-in live out, what needs to be wholehearted followers of Christ were saying with everything in me. The way that I think the things that I love, remember the explosive power of a new affection when I love God, because of who he is, and because of what he's done. I want what the Lesser things.
I want the fellowship. That I have with my father. The comes through prayer and through growing in his word and living in biblical Community. This is always been God's plan for helping us to grow in Christ likeness. That's the reason. Great is your steadfast love toward me. A wretch toward me. One of those poor when he was needy.
For you have delivered, my soul from the depths of show.
14. He says, oh God. Insulet man. Have a risen up against me or risen up against me band of Ruthless ruthless men. Seeks my life. And they do not set you before them, but you oh Lord Our God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
So here's word David personalizes, this to his specific situation of the first part of the song is acknowledging who he is. Personally and speaking about God's goodness, which he knows from situations in his past and he also knows from how God has worked in, in his people's ways in times past. This is one of the reasons God has given us his narrative in the Bible. We see that when God's people have rebelled against him, there have been consequences when God's people turn to him and worship him. There is joy in there is blessing but nothing whether people followed him immediately, whether people turn to their own waste time and again, nothing will for God's ultimate thread in all of scripture. Nothing with work, the promises that God has made to his people in all of scripture. And so here, or I'm sorry, in the beginning of the song, we see these things generally speaking, God your abounding in love and and faithfulness. You are good Lord to your people. You are forgiving to all who call. Call upon you. So now listen to my plea for Grace. That's for 6. So now here in verse. 16, we see him getting more personal with the Lord here. But in 14 says, explains the situation. God insolent. Men have risen up against me in a band of Ruthless ruthless men fix my life, where they want to kill me. I'm just trying to stay alive and follow you here. They want to take me down. What is your situation?
What is your situation before the Lord?
Where do you need God's help in your life?
I hope you have a few things coming to mine very quickly.
I hope you're not saying. I feel like if I admit this to God. He won't love me as much.
That's an unearthly kind of relationship. Not a relationship with our heavenly father.
Are you not identifying anything because you don't see your need for God to act marvelously in your life to do things that you know, you can't do on your own, to change your heart and ways that, you know, you can't conjure up here. You can't make it happen by your own self discipline. You can't make it happen by sheer determination.
This is my situation Lord, but I know I remember. Oh, Lord, you are merciful and you are gracious. We sometimes talk about mercy and grace, mercy is that? I don't receive from God, the punishment for my own sin that I should deserve. Or if maybe you don't receive a natural consequence that, you know, you should deserve that would be God's mercy to us. Grace gracious, is that he gives us more than we can calculate that we don't deserve. We're poor and needy were wretched were sinful. We're God haters, and he gives us salvation.
Even after our selfish and we still sit at times anybody hands. No, no hands.
Okay. Have logo tablet or hand raised.
We still don't get the punishment. We deserve. Why. Because Jesus took all of our sin upon himself at Calvary. And we get all of his righteousness.
You are merciful and you are gracious. Slow to anger. Oh so slow to anger. And you are a bounding and steadfast, love, and faithfulness. Turn to me. Be gracious to me.
How hard would it be? If we went to the doctor and
We sit in the doctor's chair after waiting, for a while we go to fill out that form and we check you don't have you experienced this or do you have this or your parents have this? Whatever you go through that whole list cuz I get the pillows things out like six times. I feel like the freeway but so it was thought that information and then at the end you don't like, how can we help you with this visit today? And it doesn't say it like that, but you get the idea right? We just say, I'm all good. I fixed it.
Movie be happy to take your money. But why are you here? We don't go to God as those who have figured it all out. We don't go to God. As those who don't need his grace, don't need his Mercy. We identify specific reasons. Why we need his Mercy. Why we need him to continue Lee care for us in his life and end and lead us through the difficulties that we face in this life. Turn to McPhee gracious. To make give your strength to your servant and save the son of your maidservant. Lord. I need your strength and your servants.
He says, earlier in the song for I am Godly again. Don't hear perfect. And don't think that you can tell the Lord or can't tell the Lord, your God lie, because you're not perfect in it because it's perfect tenant.
Turn to me. Lord in this specific situation. I have people that are chasing me down so you can to destroy my life, seeking to kill me, seeking to get my money, so you can to hurt me in a relationship seeking to to up me in a job, potential promotion, Lord, come and be gracious to me. If it be your will give me favor in the eyes of my employer so that I might get this promotion so that I can use increased influence so that I can use increased wealth for the glory of your name and the furthering of your kingdom, if that's your genuine prayer.
Oh, no, I didn't get it. Lord, Lord, help me not to not to to to, to hold on to the evil thoughts toward those who may be cheated, their way into my promotion or maybe just simply. I wasn't as hot as I thought I was in. His may be deserving of the promotion, as I thought I was. So give me humility. Help me to honor those who are over me. If I don't like them, especially if I don't like them. Give Me Love.
Give me the same favorite toward them that I have asked you for those who were over me. Help me to walk in the presence of of your strength. Empower me.
Show me a sign of your favor that those who hate me, Macy, and be put to shame because you Lord have helped me and you have comforted me. So we need, we need a nurse, is a really long point. We need to bring all of God's past faithfulness and eternal character to bear on your current situation. As you asked for God's help to live wholeheartedly devoted to him, that breaks all the rules of how to make a point when you're freezing and just telling you bring it on a
Rehearse his grace and mercy as well and love acknowledge who you are and you're sitting in your desperate need for God. And ask for God to give you, what you need, what she promises to do, through his word, to the body of Christ, and through his holy spirit's work, in you to live whole, hardly heartedly devoted to him.
Psalm 84:11 tells us that God withholds no good thing from those who walk uprightly. Psalm 85 12 tells us that Yahweh. Oh Lord is the phrase we see here, you all way. Oh Lord will give what is good and David says here Lord. Would you work a sign of favor on on my behalf?
So that those who hate me. Might see and be put to shame. In other words, he's saying, Lord. If this is your will for me to continue on her to move in this direction, would you work in such a way? That other people see your work in my life? Not for me, but they might be put to shame that they might realize, they're not hot stuff.
And because you have helped, and you have comforted. Which is why we say past help and comfort leads to the present plea. For God's goodness. Lord, you have done this in the past. Do it again.
So that in whatever I am facing in my life. I might live to the praise of the glory of your grace. Do it again. Do it again. Do it again.
What are the reasons we remember the Lord's death? And what the Lord Jesus Christ did in living in this life. He he came from Heaven to live on Earth with all of the trappings of an Earthly body. He set aside aspects of his divinity in order to live, right rightly and righteously in every way. So that he would be the only pure perfect spotless lamb. The only one who could ever give his life to save a world full of riches.
Beginning with me.
Can we come to the Lord's table? And if you're one, who is said, I am trusting in the Lord in perfectly, but God is my savior. You might say with David. I'm Godly. I'm imperfectly, Godly.
He is my God and in him. Do I trust? We say, Lord. I remember I need to remember again. And again, why you shed your blood and why your body was broken on Calvary for me? Because I'm poor and needy.
Jesus said, do this until I come again. If you are a professing follower of Jesus Christ, we want you, we invite you to take celebrate the Lord's Supper. Take communion with us. If you are not sure. Listen, there's there's there's nothing and eating this bread and drinking this juice. The even need to be concerned about what you need to be. Most concerned about is, is even maybe just staying in your cedar cup grabbing somebody around you and and talking to them about where you may be with the Lord or without the Lord.
And there's no shame in that. In fact, it be it be quite humble. Be quite like David, who said I'm poor and needy because everyone is poor and needy. So we invite you Christian to come and and and celebrate the Lord's supper with us. We have two stations. It'll be up front and two in the back. We have gluten-free communion up here. And so we invite you to come if you need that and and take take that. Here's a question. I want to ask you, is we close? What is the one area in your life? You wouldn't be doing well for yourself to try to think of, maybe all of the areas, unless you're categorically just saying you clearly, I need the Lord, but David moves from this broad language to very specifically saying that I need you here. I need you in this situation. My soul is downcast. My my countenance is is is down. I feel ashamed. I feel dirty. I feel discouraged. I feel whatever. Is it. Whatever it is that you're experiencing. You say Lord. I'm going to take that to you and I man asked you to show me a sign of your favor. I'm not going to demand with a sign is by the way. Just going to ask you to show me. That you're real and then you're actively working in the world and in my life.
And then say, Lord, teach me your ways that I may walk in your truth. And then we stay committed to it by God's grace asking him for help over and over and over and over and over. Listen Christian. There is no shame. In going to the Lord over and over and over to ask for help. It shows a broken and contrite spirit. Which is what God creates in us and requires of us.
Oh, Lord. We we need you. We need you in in more ways than we even know we do. After this morning, where would you would you take one way that we need you and help make this concrete to us. Would you help us to understand that we don't need to live according to our own devices? And that's we're actually just digging a deeper hole.
Would you recall to mind the many, many ways that you have worked in our lives, that you've worked in the lies of our of our Christian ancestors, in the past, where they're related to our immediate or extended family or or your church in general. Your people of old that we read about in the Old Testament. You are a God who has always been faithful and always been Faithfully Working For Your Glory and in the lives of your people. And all of this, we want to to culminate in the praise of your name and it will one way or another every knee shall bow, and every tongue will declare that Jesus Christ is Lord. Do we want to do that willingly? We want to do that. I'm going to do that publicly. We love you. Lord use this in our lives. We pray practically tangibly.