When You Are Feeling Surrounded.

Introduction

Good evening Bridge! How is everyone doing? I am so honored to be able to speak to y’all, and share what God has laid on my heart for tonight.

Little about myself if you don’t know, I am the student pastor here at West Campus, I am a married to my beautiful bride Alex, and we are going on our 4th year. I am a father to a 1 and a half year old precious baby girl Amelia Grace. She has her daddies good looks and her mommas sassy attitude. Thats all you need to know about me.

Tonight we are going to be diving into Psalm 3. When I was asked to preach tonight, this is a Psalm that really stuck out to me just on how relatable it really is.

Are you in a situation or season of life right now where you feel like your entire world seems to be crumbling down on top of you? Maybe you are crippled by anxiety or depression that makes it hard to even get up in the morning or find motivation to keep on going, because you feel like God has abandon you & everyone you thought loved you, has left you.

If you relate to any of that, psalm 3 can be your anthem.

This is the first Psalm to have a title and the title is:

A Psalm of David, When he fled from Absalom his son.

If you are not so much familiar with this story in history, let me give you a brief overview. It is recorded in 2 Samuel 15-16.

King David’s oldest son Amnon, raped Tamar his half sister. And Absalom, Tamars full-brother, filled with rage and killed Amnon.

After some time passed on, Absalom started conspiring against King David. Getting the entire kingdom to turn against David & to follow Absalom.

2 Sam. 15:13 “13 And a messenger came to David, saying, “The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom.”” So David fled Jerusalem & wrote this Psalm.

Psalm 3 ESV

A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son. 1 O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; 2 many are saying of my soul, “There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah 3 But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. 4 I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah 5 I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me. 6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. 7 Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked. 8 Salvation belongs to the Lord; your blessing be on your people! Selah

Pray for the night.

We look at the first 2 verses and see the words “Many.”

Psalm 3:1–2 (ESV)

1 O Lord, how many are my foes!

Many are rising against me;

2 many are saying of my soul,

“There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah

2 Sam 15:12 “12 And while Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city Giloh. And the conspiracy grew strong, and the people with Absalom kept increasing.”

There are times when life falls apart.

This is what David sees. Some of his counselors are now joining the rebellion. And the numbers are growing and growing.

Now, its refreshing to read about a bible “hero” like David, bringing his honesty to God, because God already knows how we are feeling. We can be real with God. We can give God our complaints, worries, and anxieties. And the beauty of this is that He can HANDLE IT.

God can handle it all.

You won’t hurt God’s feelings, He is not going to look at you and say, “That’s too much. You’re a hot mess, come back to me when you got your stuff together.” No He can handle your needs and what is bothering you. Just as David is doing here, telling God what he sees going on in his life.

A commentator wrote, “It is a test of someones nerve to be in the minority of a conflict. Especially when the minority is shrinking & the opponents are actively rising against you.”

James 1:3 tells us,“3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces faithfulness.”

Even when we are going through seasons of trails, this tests our faith and produces faithfulness. Because it is only by the power of God that we make it out.

Even hearing Davids enemies taunting him, “God won’t save you now, your sins are too bad for God to hear you.”

David didnt wollow in self pity, but instead leaned on the truth of who his God is!

What David Believes!

When life falls apart, you must know who God is and how to take hold of Him in Prayer.

Psalm 3:3–4 ESV

3 But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. 4 I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah

The LORD IS OUR SHIELD

The shield implicates God being our refuge. He protects us from every side. He is our defender from the enemy.

Note that David personlizes “shield about me”. Your faith in the Lord must be personal and not relying on someone elses.

THE LORD IS OUR GLORY

Even though David had great earthly success before all this mess, he is acknowledging that his identification with the Lord is his only claim to glory.

David Guzik says this, “Men find glory in all sorts of things – fame, power, prestige, or possessions. David found his glory in the LORD.”

May we find that same glory & satisfaction in our Lord, what the world finds in these.

THE LORD IS THE RESTORER OF OUR JOY.

In 2 Samuel 15:30 it tells us that David was “weeping as he went, barefoot and with his head covered."

And here he states that God’s the lifter of my head-he raises me from my poor spirit. Restores those who are cast down.

4. THE LORD IS OUR PRAYER-ANSWERING GOD. (v.4)

We see the faith of David here, bringing up past times he did this same exact thing, crying out to God for help, and God answering him.

Holy mountain also refers to where the ark of the covenant is, which is a symbol of Gods presence.

They were bringing this Ark to David but he told them to take it back

2 Sam 15:25-26 “25 Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me back and let me see both it and his dwelling place. 26 But if he says, ‘I have no pleasure in you,’ behold, here I am, let him do to me what seems good to him.””

Davids Heart was humbled before God. If he restores David to kingship, then Glory be to God, but even if he doesn’t, David will still bow down before His Holy just God.

But even now that David was separated physically from the symbol of Gods dwelling place, the separation played no part to his prayer.

We learn to Humble ourselves before God, realizing that our only plea is His grace.

This also pushes back at what the "many” were saying, in verse 2. David knew that God heard him before, and God will hear him again.

EVEN KNOWING HIS PAST MISTAKES.

Our LORD is rich in mercy. You are not too far gone to turn to Him. He never moves away from you in the time of need and the time when we need mercy for our sins. When we repent He is faithful to forgive.

When you go to the Lord in prayer, you will experience His peace.

Knowing that God is in control, he has the blessing of rest.

Psalm 3:5–6 ESV

5 I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me. 6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.

David had complete trust in God that He had heard him, that he was able to sleep. And then knowing that God woke him up the next morning, and is his sustainer. “He sustained me”.

May we be reminded of who our strength comes from. Who supports and keeps us going. Who gives us the breath in our lungs.

Philippians 4:6-7 “6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

It all circles around now, the many that David was talking about in the beginning, now he is saying, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID even when they surround me.

David could put a period, amen, close his tablet and go on about his day. But when you anxiety can still have its way of creeping in.

Believing prayer depends completely on God for deliverance.

Psalm 3:7–8 ESV

7 Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked. 8 Salvation belongs to the Lord; your blessing be on your people! Selah

Because our God surrounds us! He will protect us! He will fight the battle. He will claim TOTAL victory.

“Striking the enemies on the cheek; breaking the teeth of the wicked.”

In verse 1, many were rising up against David. Now, he uses the same verb to ask God to rise up against his enemies. In verse 2, David’s skeptics had said that God would not deliver him. David knew, that they do not have the power to know who God can save. Because Salvation does not belong to man, it belongs to GOD!

even before Paul wrote Romans 8:31 David knew that“ If God is for us, who can be against us?”

David then shows how salvation belongs to the Lord, and he was not depending on his troops or some counselors that stayed with him. Or any military strategy.

Rather he knows that any victory would come from God alone. When we cast ourselves on God for deliverance, He gets all the praise when He answers our prayers.

David writes that last request, “Blessing be on your people”, showing David was not praying selfishly. Coming from a guy whose entire kingdom turns against him, wants God to bless them.

He knows that this rebellion had negative impact on the entire nation. The ending of this Psalm goes beyond the I and me (“save me” “deliver me”) but selflessly bless your people.

Believing prayer always keeps this kingdom purpose focus.

I remember the Lords prayer, Matt 6:10 “10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

If your world has fallen apart do to sickness, family issues, relationship struggles, financial stresses, pray that God will act so that HE will be glorified and His people will be blessed and strengthened.

Looking back at Phil 4:6 “6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

Two words struck me. “With thanksgiving”. When was the last time we thanked God for the opportunity to trust Him.

Whether it’s a minor crisis or whether life is falling apart at the seams, if Jesus is your High Priest you have access through His blood to the same prayer-hearing God who rescued David. Even if the crisis is the result of your own sin, humble yourself before Him in repentant, believing prayer and He will exalt you at the proper time.

End in Prayer

How the story of Absalom’s rebellion is tragic. To David this was not an attack from some far off kingdom, or some little revolution, it was his son, whom he loved dearly. When he had heard that his son died, instead of cheering that the rebellion was crushed, HE was crushed. Weeping and mourning over the death of his son.

We too rebelled against our Father. We sinned against Him, thinking we can rule this kingdom better than God can. And sin has destroyed this world and we deserve what Absalom got, death. But God, sent Jesus down to take upon himself what deserved, and suffering the cross and conquering the grave, HE HAS TOTAL VICTORY OVER DEATH! And we are only free, if we call upon the name of Jesus. Put our full trust in him.