Psalms Week 6 Sermon - Learning to Talk with God in times of need

9:04

Ephesians 4:11–13 (ESV)

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

Intro/Welcome

good to be back

thanks to John and Tanner

got to visit some ministries and churches

Series

We’ve been in a series called: Learning to Talk With God

We said the first week that:

God is speaking to us today

primarily and most often through he Word, though not exclusively through the word and never in contradiction to it

Most often God has spoken to me in his Word

Have you ever had one of those moments where a particular verse or section of Scripture just lept off the page at you?

That something about it resonated so deeply with you?

Perhaps it spoke directly into your situation?

There is something powerful and self-authenticating about God’s voice

10 years ago this is what happened to me with Psalm 143.

Story

I was very new as a Christian and very new to Ministry

After about 2 years in ministry — getting my feet wet in a very fast growing urban church

I went through some difficulty in ministry and decided that I was going to step out of vocational ministry.

It was December 2011 and I decided to seek the Lord for the next steps in my life

It was the time I did a prolonged fast (modified) for the entire month and just sought the Lord in his Word and in Prayer

It was during the first few days of this that Psalm 143 hit me like a ton of bricks.

It spoke to me powerfully and gave me words to pray and seek the Lord.

I look back now over the past ten years and see all the ways that God has providentially led me

but much of it began during December 2011 in Psalm 143.

Today

I think Psalm 143 gives us great insight on how to seek the Lord in times of need

maybe your here and you have needs

Great and small

Needs:

Parenting:

Where are you going to get the patience?

The supernatural power to parent your children in a Godly way?

Not from yourself!

Where are you going to get the wisdom in in particular season as to how to parent? What advice to give?

God’s people God’s Word God’s Holy Spirit in the moment!

Story: Connect before you Correct

Young Professionals:

Career Decisions / Figuring out this season of life

Relationships

Where are you going to go when crisis comes?

When you need to make a career decision?

When you are faced with a moral dillemma?

Wouldn’t it be good to hear from God?

To have God’s Wisdom?

Students

Choosing your career?

Navigating relationships?

Choosing a major/the right classes

Determining God’s call on your life?

Ministry People

God’s call on your life

Navigating ministry troubles

Career decisions

Wisdom in interactions

AT&T

What will find in Psalm 143 is a simple process for talking with God in times of need

AT&T — the true communication network

Ask

Tell the Truth

about who we are

about who Go is

Trust & Pray to God’s glory.

Bible

Go ahead and go there in your Bibles

My name is Justin

Welcome all and online

Let me pray for our time.

Pray

Luke 4:18–21 (ESV)

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Intro - Summary / Initial Plea

Psalm 143:1 (ESV)

1 Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!

Ask

The first step to talking with God is you have to talk to Him

you have to ask.

here the psalmist is PLEADING // it’s almost desperate

“hear my prayer”

“Give ear”

Application

What do you need to ask God about? perhaps plead with God about?

that you haven’t brought to him yet?

Take a moment: Think on it

write it down

This is very important.

Often times, we don’t even bring our requests to God.

James 4:2 (ESV)

2 ...You do not have, because you do not ask.

Luke 11:9 (ESV)

9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Step 1: We have to Ask

Perhaps you are bringing things to God, but not believing he will answer!

Perhaps you have fallen into another trap: Thinking it has something to do with you!

Notice what he calls upon:

Not his own righteousness or faithfulness

That is not his own character

But God’s righteousness and faithfulness

God’s character

This is very important

If we believe that God would only answer us and hear us b/c of our righteousness and faithfulness — then we are in trouble.

No one is hearing from God

In fact, this is exactly what the psalmists says next

by way of confession:

Tell the Truth

About who we are

about who God is

Psalm 143:2 (ESV)

2 Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.

He says, please don’t judge my life, my sins, my failure

Confession:

for no one living is righteous before you.

Freedom!

Do you guys realize how freeing that is?

Talking with God isn’t about God’s judgment on your life

though he could do that

It is not according to our righteousness — our right living — our moral character

It is according to His!

this simple confession frees us to hear from God.

The Reason: The Gospel

How can you be sure? How do you know?

Paul tells us clearly in Rom 3:21-26 — the very text that saved my life 15 years ago.

Romans 3:21–26 (ESV)

21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—

22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.

For there is no distinction:

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.

This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Romans 3:27–28 (ESV)

27 Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith.

28 For we hold that one is justified (made righteous) by faith(trust, belief) apart from works of the law.

Christ is our righteousness

say it with me “Christ is our righteousness”

Now, we can come to the throne of grace boldly and confidently

Hebrews 4:15–16 (ESV)

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

We have access to the King!

Summary:

So God speaks to us not based on our character, but on His character.

All we need is faith/trust/belief

So we are telling the truth about who we are and who Go dis

So why is it so hard to hear from him at times?

Enemies

Because we have enemies to our relationship with God.

Circumstance and People

The World, the Flesh and the Devil.

Look at Psalm 143:3 — David had real enemies

some very dire circumstances

Perhaps like some of you right now

Psalm 143:3 (ESV)

3 For the enemy has pursued my soul;

he has crushed my life to the ground;

he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.

Who is David talking about?

There are numerous times he was on the run for his life

being hunted by King Saul and his men

When his Son Absalom, tried to take over the Kingdom

he again was under attack

He knows the sting of betrayal

Some of you may have some real struggles right now

You feel ‘crushed to the ground’

you sit in ‘darkness’

Perhaps you are depressed and anxious

We have enemies to our relationships with God // our peace with God

1. The World

The World’s systems and philosophies // the so-called experts

they direct you to anything but the God of the Bible

2. The Flesh

our own sinful nature — sins we commit

the need for confession

that desires quick comfort and relief

learning to wait with God

our own insecurities and doubts about who we are

and perhaps about God’s relationship to us

3. The Devil

We have an active personal evil being against us.

Paul in eph 6

Ephesians 6:12 (ESV)

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

This is not a popular teaching in the West

but i’ve said it a lot

If you don’t believe you have a spiritual enemy, then you are susceptible to his attack.

One of his ‘schemes’ is to accuse the children of God night and day (Rev 12:9-10

Revelation 12:9–10 (ESV)

9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.

He is constantly calling into question your relationship with God

His forgiveness of your sins through the blood of Christ

His nearness to you through the Spirit of Christ

Above all, His love for you through the person of Christ

But as we’ve seen our relationship to God is not about our righteousness or purity, but about Christ’s righteousness for us

this frees us to be near to God and to believe his gospel.

Colossians 2:13–15 (ESV)

13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,

14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

So how do we respond in Faith/Trust/Belief?

Response of Faith

Psalm 143:4–6 (ESV)

4 Therefore my spirit faints within me;

my heart within me is appalled.

5 I remember the days of old;

I meditate on all that you have done;

I ponder the work of your hands.

6 I stretch out my hands to you;

my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah

1. Confession: I am at the end of my ability

My spirit fails / faints

When the “spirit” or “soul” is said to “faint,”

the person is at the end of his strength and ability to strive:

My heart is appalled = desolate, empty — drained

This is Hebrew parallelism — to describe the state of total inability

The Psalmist is saying “I have nothing left”

“I am at the end of my rope”

Have you confessed this yet?

Are you still striving on your own ability? you own understanding?

MY SALVATION

This is how I came to faith. I had to come to the end of myself

The end of my abilities, the end of my understanding

The end of my ability to only trust myself

15 years ago I confessed this and gave myself to the Lord Jesus Christ.

2. Responding through Remembering

Psalm 143:5(ESV)

5 I remember the days of old;

I meditate on all that you have done;

I ponder the work of your hands.

I “remember”, “meditate”, “ponder”

on what I have accomplished? NO!

On what you have done over the span of my life.

Sometimes we need to simply pause and reflect and remember:

all the ways that God has been faithful to us over the years.

MY JOURNEY OVER 10 YEARS

As I look back over the last 10 years since God first spoke to me through this psalm

I marvel at all that he has done

How he led us all along the way

How he has provided for us

This gives me hope and confidence that he will again answer in times of need!

This is what that psalmist is doing

Remembering Who God is and that he has not been silent.

Because of your past faithfulness I can trust in your future faithfulness

Application:

Take a moment an write down one thing God has done to prove his faithfulness to you

3. Reaching out to God

Psalm 143:5–6 (ESV)

6 I stretch out my hands to you;

my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah

“I stretch out my hands”

“I am praising you!”

“I am ready to receive from you!”

Your past actions give me faith for your future actions.

This is an act of faith/trust

4. Confession of True Need

“my soul thirsts for you like a parched land”

He realizes that his deepest need isn’t

an answered prayer

isn’t provision in a time of need

It is God himself

Our deepest need is to enjoy a relationship with the God of the universe.

When we have that, everything else takes a back seat.

Selah

It’s meaning is a mystery;

It is probably a musical term to indicate a change in voice

It is a turning point in the psalm.

When you reach a selah, pause for a few moments and reflect silently on the previous stanza.

Charles Spurgeon said, “Selah. Precious pause! Timely silence!” Stillness and silence are welcomed interruptions in our frenzied, cacophony of a world.

Martin Luther instructs: “Selah is telling us to pause and reflect diligently on the words of the psalm; for they require a calm and tranquil soul who is able to grasp with understanding what the Holy Ghost is presenting to his thought.”

Selah invites us to rest and reflect, to receive and rejoice in the goodness, beauty, and truth of the God of the Psalms.

Summary:

Ask — we have to ask God

Tell the Truth - about who we are and who God is

Trust and Pray

Renewed Prayer of Faith

Trust and Pray

Look at the rest of the Psalm

David prays with Faith now!

Pray through these with

As we put ourselves in the psalm

and we put the psalm into ourselves

Psalm 143:7–10 (ESV)

7 Answer me quickly, O Lord!

My spirit fails!

Oh Lord, I am desperate for you to answer

Hide not your face from me,

lest I be like those who go down to the pit.

reveal yourself to me, do not hide

8 Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,

for in you I trust.

Hope in the morning — your hesed

I trust in you

Make me know the way I should go,

for to you I lift up my soul.

The way I should go (8b) gives slight prominence to the fact of individual destiny, i.e. that each of us is uniquely placed and called (cf. John 21:21f.).

9 Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord!

I have fled to you for refuge.

Refuge = place of safety

Destroy my enemies by your power — the blood of Christ

10 Teach me to do your will,

for you are my God!

Teach me to follow you

Teach me to do thy will (10a) settles the priorities, making the goal not self-fulfilment but pleasing God and finishing his work.

Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!

The words lead me (10b) speak with the humility of one who knows his need of shepherding, not merely of having the right way pointed out to him.

This is a prayer that we can and should pray

These words can be our words

Let’s pray these together.

There’s power in our words when we pray like this.

And God will answer!

MY STORY

I prayed these verse over and over again in December 2011

And God answered me

over the weeks, months and years

Walking with God over the span of our life

Just a year later, December of 2012

We moved to Orlando Florida to start Seminary

and embark on whatever journey God had for us

And he has been so faithful and so Good!

God’s Glory

Notice again how David ends this Psalm

A Proper acknowledgement of who God is and who we are.

Psalm 143:11–12 (ESV)

11 For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life!

In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!

12 And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies,

and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,

for I am your servant.

For your name’s sake

This was the Heart of David

The Heart of Jesus — for God’s glory

That is the greatness of a prayer

When we can honestly say that to God

just as jesus did in the garden

“Not my will, but thy will be done”

And then we wait on the Lord!

Summary

What have we seen in Psalm 143?

AT&T

Ask:

That we need to ask God — we need to come to Him

Tell the Truth

That we need to tell the truth about ourselves

I am not righteous

I am needy

I can’t do this

That we need to tell the truth about God

it is about his character

His goodness, glory and steadfast love

He has been faithful and he will be faithful

Trust & Pray

Let’s Pray in Faith — pray this Psalm

For God’s Glory — the sake of His name.

So where are you in need?

We all need/desire God’s power and presence in our life:

Made available to us by the sacrifice of Christ!

Parenting:

Where are you going to get the patience?

The supernatural power to parent your children in a Godly way?

Not from yourself!

Where are you going to get the wisdom in in particular season as to how to parent? What advice to give?

God’s people God’s Word God’s Holy Spirit in the moment!

Story: Connect before you Correct

Young Professionals:

Career Decisions / Figuring out this season of life

Relationships

Where are you going to go when crisis comes?

When you need to make a career decision?

When you are faced with a moral dillemma?

Wouldn’t it be good to hear from God?

To have God’s Wisdom?

Students

Choosing your career?

Navigating relationships?

Choosing a major/the right classes

Determining God’s call on your life?

Ministry People

God’s call on your life

Navigating ministry troubles

Career decisions

Wisdom in interactions

God desires to talk and walk with you!

Psalm 143 gives us a model of what that can look like.

Let’s come to Him

Let’s talk with Him

Let’s walk with Him

Closing Prayer