Response to Doubters
Notes
Transcript
Handout
I. God’s Doubters
I. God’s Doubters
1 In the Lord put I my trust: How say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?
Doubters come in times of trials
When bad things come about, the nay sayers, I-told-you-soers, doubters, and enemies come out of the wood work
Just like in the case of Job and his friends
The situation in David’s life (although we do not know what the exact situation was) was rather bleak. There was little to no hope that David would make it out of the trial he was facing
The doubters came to David, and told him to be like a bird and fly away. Their voices were saying, Run Run away (just like Scare in Simba)
They said to him there is no hope for you here, you will not make it out of this trial. All hope is lost, God does not care and cannot help you.
Although these voices are coming to David saying these things, David’s response is How dare you say this (how say ye to my soul)
It would almost seem as was offended that these enemies would dare doubt the great God he served
David will end the Psalm with the reasons why he was irritated they questioned God, but what he does immediately is not allow the doubters to rein in his life
He begins by stating the fact, in God, in the Lord I am going to put my trust. This is not a conditional resolution, but an unconditional commitment.
No matter if David is dwelling in the showers of blessings, or David is walking through the valley of the shadow of death, David decided that He is going to trust in God no matter what
We to must make this unconditional commitment to trust God regardless of circumstances
We must be careful to not listen to doubters, not allow them to continue to speak them.
If any voice is telling you that God can’t, if any voice is saying there is no hope. Then turn away.
The Chatterbox
Everyone of us deal with the voice of the doubters. They speak to us when trials come, when things get rough
Often times is seems the the doubters we hear do not come from the outside, but rather from inside. They come from ourselves
When obstacles come our way we begin speaking to ourselves, saying things that no one else will hear
We think to ourselves, Where is God, How can God allow me to go through this, Does God even hear me when I cry
We often times, just like in this text, think that there is no hope for us in the trial, we would be better off to just run away
We must be careful to not allow thoughts of doubt to rein in our minds that come from others, and that come from ourselves
When thoughts of doubt come, we must get rid of them, smash them, throw them away
Doubters say there is no hope
2 For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, They make ready their arrow upon the string, That they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.
3 If the foundations be destroyed, What can the righteous do?
What are the doubters saying? Look! Your enemy has their bow ready, they are about to strike you down for good
The poetic illustration uses a hunter, getting his sights secure, weapon ready
When a hunter is going out for the hunt, they do not take a shot when they first see the animal. They wait, with their sights secured. The animal is walking be-living that all is normal, but in truth it is dead and does not yet know it
That is what the doubters are saying about David here, he is a dead man walking
Utter defeat is at your doorstep, you have no hope
These voices of doubt exclude the power of God, the exclude the promises of God, and the exclude the protection of God
Do not listen to any voice, either from the outside or from inside that wants to doubt God’s power in a trial. Our God is able, our God has hope for us, our God will keep and guard us.
Just like in Psalm 11:1 we must decide we are going to put our trust in God, and God alone.
II. God’s Action
II. God’s Action
God’s Location
4 The Lord is in his holy temple, The Lord’s throne is in heaven: His eyes behold, His eyelids try, the children of men.
Doubters come into our lives when trials come, when things go wrong, when times get hard. They say, Where is your God, Do you have any hope, etc
Trials can arrive that call us to begin doubting ourselves, is God real in my life, does He not notice my suffering, etc.
David’s trust in God does not wavier, the response to the doubters confirms that he is putting his trust in God
The reason why David is trusting God in the dark night, surrounded by bleak circumstances, in the difficult trial is because God, our Lord, in still on His throne
God’s position has not changed. Our circumstances do not change God’s position, our trials have not occured because God is on vacation. Our God is on his throne.
The trials we go through do not catch God off guard. He is well aware, he is still in control
God was the sovereign Lord of the universe when things were going good, and when things get rough in our life His position did not change
God is in His holy temple, God is on His throne, and God’s action in heaven is watching the children of men
The verse says His eyelids try, that means they are watching and examining, the actions of men
God is there, He knows what is happening, He see’s what is going on
When thoughts of doubt begin to rise in our mind, when people outside begin to blaspheme our God by saying He is not there and does not care, realize that our God is still sitting victoriously on His throne, and He has promised to take care of us. There is hope for us in any trials, because our God’s position does not change.
God’s Examination
5 The Lord trieth the righteous: But the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.
David says in verse four that God is watching all men, then he says in verse five that he is not just watching he is judging
God does not just sit on His throne and do nothing. He has not created the world to allow it to spin out of control with no input
God is waiting, God is watching, and our God will enact judgment in His time
He will reward those that are righteous, those that are His people, and He will reject (the word hate shows a sense of rejection) those that are wicked and love wicked things. Those that are not His people
When you are under attack, facing a trial, presented with a great obstacle, God is there. god is on His throne, and God is paying attention. You will never be outside of the watchful and loving eye of our Father, Lord and God.
He will take care of you, deal with those that do wrong to you, and there is hope for you in any situation
God’s Response
6 Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, And an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.
David says that God is still on His throne, and God is judging men, in verse six we see that God will carry out His punishment
The wicked will face their fate in due time.
Our cup is a divine inheritance, and God is our portion
5 The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: Thou maintainest my lot.
Unfortunately for the wicked, for those that wish to harm you, but also for all that have not been converted, their cup is fire and brimstone
In the end when we are enjoying the beauty of heaven, those that wish us harm and cause us problems, those that attack us in our stand for God will face a bitter ending
Combat Doubt with Truth
You see the voice of the doubter wants to tell you that God is not there, God does not care, God has no power to help you in your circumstances, there is no hope.
The truth is God is there, God is still on His throne, God sees exactly what is happening, will will enact judgment in due time. There is hope because you have hope in a divine future.
Do not allow the voice of the doubter to continue to rage, stop it with truth
Jesus in the wilderness was confronted with temptation from the devil, and every time he combated the lies and tricks of the devil with truth from God’s word
Say no to doubt, trust in the unmovable, all-power God
III. God’s Approval
III. God’s Approval
God is the righteous Lord
7 For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; His countenance doth behold the upright.
The first thing we see about our God is that He is a righteous Lord
There are many judges that sit on their seat of power judging others unrighteously. Briberies take place, judgments are cast with imperfection, but there is on judge who has never cast an incorrect judgement and is righteous in everything He has done
Our God is the righteous Lord, everything about Him can be seen in righteousness. he is the righteous God and the righteous judge
When the voice of the doubter comes to you and tells you that God is anything but righteous and perfect, don’t allow it to speak
My first full-time job after high-school was in a plastic factory north of Cincinnati, OH. There was a man I heard about that was not only a great worker, but a on fire testimony for God. I eventually was able to meet him and was excited to see his passion to serve God with his life. Eventually, things occured in his life and he adopted a theology that God is not good. How does someone, who is on fire for God, doubt the very righteousness of God? Our God is a good God, he is a righteous God.
God takes care of those that follow Him
Not only is God righteous, but He loves those that are also righteous, like He is
It is true what is said about us in Isaiah 64:6, “And all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags”
We, in ourselves, are nothing but wicked, unrighteous, and sinners. If everything we did good in ourselves were added up it would amount to less than nothing, it would cost us to sell.
In Romans 6:23 we see because of our sin we earn death, but God, through his grace, has given us a new life through and in Jesus Christ
When we are saved, we are places in Christ, we have been given a new life and been made a new creature.
Our new life is centered in who Christ is, righteous. God knows His people, and takes care of them. His countenance looks at us.
In the story of Esther, the king had to extend his sepulcher to allow her the privilege to speak in his throne room. The same idea is shown by his countenance beholds us. He shows favor on us just like a king would a loyal subject. God likes us, He cares for us
Put your faith in God, the righteous God
If you are one who likes to write in your Bible, I would encourage you to circle Psalm 11:1, in the Lord put I my trust.
The battle against the doubters starts way before the trials comes. We must make a decision to trust God unconditionally and to trust God always
Do not allow the doubters to speak into your life lies about yourself and lies about your righteous God
The decision to trust God is one that you must make every single day, through every single trial, and at every single obstacle