Transcript: "(00:00) Good morning. >> You guys got quiet quick today. I also feel like uh this must be this must be uh vacation Sunday. Um but I am glad that those of you who are here are here. And those of you joining us online, thank you for joining us today. I'm going to ask you to do one thing for me. Uh give us a give a uh comment of some sort so we know and tell us who you are, where you're at, and that way we can respond to you. (00:28) And so, thank you for joining us. We appreciate that. All right. This morning we are in and continuing our study in the book of Psalms. And uh we will be in Psalm 57. So if you have your Bible, you can turn there and we'll jump into that in just a minute. Um before we do that, I want to pray. Father, it's so good to be with you in your house and to remember that you have given us, called us, encouraged us everything to be centered around you in life. (01:05) You give us the opportunity and sometimes we just stumble through and we're ignorant and we are foolish and sometimes we're just sinful and we walk away. And so today we've chosen to be here and that's a wise choice. And may so in that Lord please move in us allow your spirit to be here and have the effect in our lives that is necessary. We thank you for your word that it gives us such great insight into so many aspects of existence uh that you are here the creator. (01:39) You are the one who is the redeemer. You are the one who is interested in who we are and what we are becoming. You have given life for us to fully enjoy you. And so I would just ask today that you be glorified and honored. Move me out of the way. Speak what needs to be said to our hearts. And I thank you for each person who is here today. (01:57) Uh you love them. And so uh in that mindset, we want to bring them before you. Thank you, Father. Jesus name. Amen. Okay. We have I'm going to start with Psalm 1. I'm going to go back. We've been in a series in Psalms. And if you've been here at all with us, if you haven't, I'm going to try to fill you in just a little bit of what we're gaining out of the book of Psalms. (02:22) It is often referred to Psalms is looked at as a book of poetry. And I sometimes believe because it's it is poetry. It is overlooked for its impact. We will look we will approach Psalms from a personal inspiration standpoint. Um I I want to hear something great about God and and I want to be able to rejoice about God. (02:43) And that's good. Those are good reasons to approach the Psalms. I personally, the more I have studied the book of Psalms, I believe it is actually wisdom literature. Um I believe it was written from a perspective of gaining wisdom in life but different than like Proverbs or Ecclesiastes or the book of Job which are traditionally seen as the wisdom passages uh wisdom books in in the Bible. (03:10) What has been done and God has done for us in the book of Psalms is that he has allowed for multiple authors to write uh about uh situations that they're going through and in that process to give the reader insight into how to approach God in the in the very gritty aspects of existence. Uh it's it's extremely uh graphic. (03:38) It is uh very clear and poignant. Uh we deal with life when we walk with the authors. It's multiple different authors and so we get different perspectives. But it is and here's why I I believe uh that it is intended to be wisdom literature and it starts with the intentional placement of Psalm one. One comes first. That's our numbering system. (04:01) the what we call Psalm one to be first because it's the instruction on how to handle the rest of the book. And sometimes we we like that as it stands alone. But Psalm 1 is intended to inform the reader. This is what you will gain if you approach the rest of what is compiled. You will gain insight into how to seek sink roots deep into a relationship with God and how you will uh bear fruit in season and how your leaves will be green and you will uh be blessed in life and you will learn how to avoid walking with the sinner and the unrighteous and you will learn who (04:39) to listen to and not listen to. So pay close attention is what they we are told at the introduction so that as you enter into life you will discover who God is and how he wants to walk with you and how you can have a relationship with him. We in western Christianity and current day will talk about oh uh to follow Jesus is to have a relationship with God. 100% true. (05:07) However, we often misinterpret and apply misunderstanding to relationship. We want to shape a relationship in our image for our good, for our purposes rather than to understand it's God who is calling us into his presence to know who he is, how he responds, and how he wants to enter into what he has put pl where he has placed us and how he recognizes the effect of of sin on our lives. (05:36) how he is honest about who we are. How he wants to redeem in the process of situation and circumstance. How he wants to come to be glorified when you turn to him when all else fails. And in fact, he wants to get you to the point where you turn to him before all else fails. So that when everything else fails, you don't care. You're walking with God. (05:57) You see, it is a rich, rich book. So I said we'd start with Psalm 1. I just want to read the verses 1-3. Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked or stand around with sinners are joined in with mockers, but they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. (06:17) They are like trees planted along the river banks, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. Okay, I'm going to just draw one thing out. We went through Psalm one before, so I'm not going to fully repeat everything, but I want it to be a a catalyst for what we're where we're going to go this morning. (06:34) It says in there that they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. Maybe in your mind when you hear that, you think that requires me to to be in uh the pages of scripture and the wise will be in the pages of scripture. But when the the author's intent in that and what the words that are used there, he doesn't talk about the law. (06:56) He talks about the law of the Lord on a broader perspective. And it's it's scripture, but it is also, as we talked about several weeks ago, it is in all of creation that expresses the existence of who God is and what he has done. That he wants to relate to us in his creation. So that we when we walk by, and I talked about several weeks ago, when I can see a leaf move, a leaf moved by a wind on a tree, I am reminded about the existence of God. (07:24) That's why I meditate on the law of God. There are multiple laws of God in existence. It is very layered. His existence is demonstrated in all that is held together and held in his hand and his thoughts have formed them. And he wants everything that he created for our good to point us back to him. So we meditate on it day and night. (07:45) It may be that I'm medit I'm reading through a passage of scripture and I'm seeing what God is, you know, the sun rising in the morning and I'm reminded that every day is new in him. And I'm reminded that he has a purpose in every day that that I he brings me forth. Where is that purpose? So that meditation and dwelling on the law of the Lord is drawing me back to a life and a daily that says God it's yours. (08:10) God, where are you? And God, how do you want to transform me? So we have that process. That's where we started in Psalm 1. And so it's with that backdrop I again want to bring us to uh Psalm 57 today and in it I want to see if we can learn a new perspective on prayer or maybe be challenged in how we approach prayer. I talked last week from Psalm 13 and in Psalm 13 it's the how long O Lord passage in in two verses four times. (08:43) How long oh Lord must these things happen. How long? How long? How long? And it's an honest expression of David in the midst of a really bad circumstance. God, how long do I have to go through this? How? And and it's let me ask you this. You ever ask God how long? I have. And it's a it's an okay it's okay to bring your howongs before God. (09:07) I was recently reading through and I really enjoyed it. But I have to say this time I was reading through I've read through Job twice this year and the second time through this this year it was like I got a whole new perspective on it. It just God opened up new things to me and I really gained an appreciation for who Job is. (09:28) He is he was a righteous man. And even in the midst of all the things that took place he even says later on God forgive me. I opened my mouth when I was a fool. And yet in the midst of that, what is he asking God? How long? He's asking He just is He's got these friends that you kind of want to I I you wish you could write, "You guys, you need to shut your mouths now. (09:53) " But God kind of shuts them for them later at the end, doesn't he? But in the midst of that, where I'm going with that is that that Job recognizes there are and part of the wisdom in Job's writing there is to learn that God wants us to seek him in the how-ong moments. And the how long moments aren't out of his control. (10:15) And sometimes that's what we wonder is God, where are you? And David asked that, didn't he in Psalm 13. Where are you? Have you turned your back on me? And so moving from that perspective, we gained insight into that. It's that when we can learn to praise God in the midst or seek God in the midst of our how-ong moments, it opens a door to actually praise him without the how long being taken away or the timeline being given. (10:41) And it's learning, it opens a door to praise. David discovers that he doesn't get an answer to his how long. He gets a a a renewed and refreshed perspective of the fact that God is still in that moment with him. And I'm going to trust you for your purpose. I'm going to give you praise. It's not easy, but I'm going to give you praise. (10:59) And it begins to just it keeps his heart soft toward God. So, as we go into Psalm 57, coming off of that, we're in another situation with David that requires us to listen carefully to how he responds to God. And so, I've asked if Renee would come and and read Psalm 57 for us. And as I'm trying to we have a habit of doing when we open a specific passage of God's word, let's give it the respective due. (11:31) Would you stand with me? So listen, listen for two things. Listen for David's perspective on what he's experiencing and then his perspective on God in the midst. He says, "Have mercy on me, oh God. Have mercy. I look to you for protection. I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings until the danger passes. I cry out to God most high to God who will fulfill his purposes for me. (11:58) He will send help from heaven to rescue me, disgracing those who hound me. My God will send forth his unfailing love and faithfulness. I'm surrounded by fierce lions who greedy greedily devour human prey, whose teeth pierce like spears and arrows, whose tongues cut like swords. Be exalted, oh God, above the highest heavens. Glory shine over all the earth. (12:24) My enemies have set a trap for me. I am weary from distress. They have dug a deep pit on my path, but they themselves have fallen into it. My heart is confident in you, oh God. My heart is confident. No wonder I can sing your praises. Wake up my heart. Wake up, oh liar and harp. I will wake the dawn with my song. (12:47) I will sing thank you Lord among all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations. For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, oh God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth. >> Amen. You may be seated. Going to give you a little context to what's taking place uh for David. (13:14) And to find that context, we go back to uh 1st Samuel chapter 22. Maybe you're familiar with this. And in this passage, this is early on in David's life. And he has been anointed to be the next king of Israel. uh God has chosen him. God has abandoned Saul uh and really Saul abandoned God and tried to take into his own hands uh his own future. (13:41) And so we have this turmoil for Saul and Saul is threatened and jealous of David and he is pursuing him and desires to kill him. And so we read in 2 Samuel 1, it says, "So David left Gath and escaped to the Adulum. Soon his brothers and all his other relatives joined him there. Then others began coming, men who were in trouble or in debt or who were just discontented until David was the captain of about 400 men. (14:10) Okay, David had to escape to a cave. Um, so maybe we can think about this today. How to pray in a cave. And um, I will say this right now and I'll say it at the end. God does his best work in a cave. You can go and read the Old Testament. You will discover New Testament as well. God does his best work in a cave. (14:33) And so if God has sent you to a cave today and that's where you find yourself, you feel like you're trying to escape something and you're trying to find shelter where you can find it. I want us to go through and see how David prayed in that in those circumstances. Now I also want you to think about this. I I love the description there. (14:50) Uh others began to come men who were in trouble. Great. Okay. in debt or who just were discontent. Well, what a fun group to hang out with, right? I mean, that's like, okay, great. Um, and so let me ask you this. If you have people gathering around you, you're already in a hard time. You find yourself in a cave trying to escape and everybody join you joining you has the same mentality. (15:12) They're trying to get away from something. Where can does the tendency tend to go up or down? What's the mood in the cave? My guess is it wasn't a real cheery place. I'm going to guess. And so what does David do? He begins to pray. In fact, we know that that he wrote this psalm in that cave with those people who are all discontent. (15:38) And so that's where it brings us to Psalm 57. So let's start with verse one of Psalm 57. Have mercy on me, oh God. Have mercy. I look to you for protection. I'll hide beneath the shadow of your wings until the danger passes. I cry out to God most high, to God who will fulfill his purpose for me. He will send help from heaven and rescue me, disgracing those who hound me. (16:02) My God will send forth his unfailing love and faithfulness. Now, it can be easy to in the writings of the psalms, sometimes we like the flow of the poetry, the style of the poetry, and miss what uh is being said by the author. And I want us to make sure we're catching what's being said in that statement. (16:23) And what we just read in those first two verses, David is is clearly stating his problems. He's talking about those who are what they're pursuing. Um, and but he starts out with, let me go back to the beginning. He he uh requests for God's mercy. He knows where his help's going to come from. He starts with God, asks for his mercy, and he says, "I look for you for protection. (16:47) I'm going to hide in the shadow of your wing. I am going to find my security in you, God. Now, here's the problem. I cry out to you, God, today. Here's here's what's going on, just in case you weren't aware. Wanted to make you aware of it. Um, I want you to what? fulfill your purposes for me. I love that he put that in there because all the circumstances that are going on around him, the things that have forced him into the cave, he is remembering not only who God is and where his strength and mercy and protection will come from, but he also (17:18) is reminding and remembering God, you said you had a purpose for me. I'm going to give you a little reminder here. If if you were born and you're sitting in this room, some of you aren't sure about that, but if you were born and sitting in this room, God has a purpose for you. Have you asked him about it? Do you seek him for it? Do you request that he fulfill it in you? If you get nothing else out of this today, I encourage you this week to go and ask God, "Fulfill your purposes in me. (17:51) " If you need help knowing what those purposes are, I'll help you. And I know I I will tell you this. Some will want to tell you God's purpose is for you to have wealth and fame and a lot of other things. Don't has one purpose for every one of us and that's to know him and to glorify him. If you will discover those things, let's go back to Psalm one. (18:17) What's the result? You will sink roots deep with him. Your leaves will never wither. Your fruit will be produced. You will enjoy life and life will flow through you to everyone that you know. Does that mean you're going to be problem free? Well, we come back to David, don't we? And we see it's not problem free. Fruit is best fertilized by problems. (18:37) Do you understand that? Because then it allows us to sink deep into God and it allows us to draw the richness that we need in life for him to produce what he desires by seeking him. David seeks God in prayer. How often do you pray? Um, I mentioned that I believe that the book of Psalms is a is wisdom literature. (19:05) But I'll tell you what it has been throughout the history of its writing. It's a prayer manual. It has been used for prayer. We know this throughout the Old Testament, the prophets and and and many of the kings. And you know who else used it as their prayer manual? Jesus. Jesus used it as a guide for prayer. Wait a minute. (19:30) How how's that work? Because he knew the truth and the words that were written and he knew he was with something different than what's already he's already stated. So he too prayed the psalms. So, we go to a psalm like this in Psalm 57 and we see somebody who's been forced into a cave because of circumstance and they pray, but they're very honest about what they're praying for. (19:53) They recognize the circumstance. People are after me, but they start with God. You are my security. You are my protection. And you have a purpose for me. I'm turning to you because otherwise there's a lot of voices in this cave and it just keeps echoing and everybody's discontent. I want to be content in you. I want to find my content in you. (20:20) And how often is it that we will allow circumstances to take away and create for us discontent? That's human nature. By the way, you're not alone in that. I can say I know it's happened to you because not only has it happened to me, I know it happens to all of us. Circumstances, sometimes it's small things, sometimes it's really major things, but it stirs up a discontent, a questioning. (20:45) God, are you even here? God, are you hear me? It pushes us toward the how long phase of existence. And sometimes, sadly, it pushes some to the point where they feel like there's no use. But I will tell you this and I said it's a prayer manual. If you have been praying to God in the good times and created the habit and sunk your roots first, then it won't be so hard to seek God in the hard times. (21:18) When you are having the halong moment or when you are feeling discontent, when the circumstances force you into a cave, you still know where to turn. So develop the habit now. And if like I said, take the Psalms, just pray back, follow the pattern. We have a pattern that's going to be set for us here today by David. (21:40) And he gives us a pattern of how to pray when you're feeling discontent. And he starts off with right there knowing where his protection and his deliverance will come from. remembering the purpose of the one who has has ordained his future, anointed him to be king. And you know what's weird to me? I always thought this. (22:04) If I were David and I had [clears throat] been anointed king, I'd want to be king today. Wouldn't you? You'd want Let's Let's get Let's just move Saul out of the way. Let's get this going. David had to go through a long stretch before he wore the crown. Why do you think God let that happen? You think God might have had a purpose for the years in between? You know what I've discovered about God? He loves to use waiting periods in our lives. (22:31) He loves to because he's a little bit smarter than we are. And he knows what we need and he knows how we need to be changed and molded to be able to handle what he has for us so that we will be those who will reflect him rather than ourselves as he moves us forward. Look at Moses. Moses had a little bit of waiting period, didn't he? Look, it's common. (22:57) You go back through the Old Testament and those whose lives have been put on display for us. Abraham, did he have to wait at all? Yeah, just a little bit. The wait is common. And and if we will learn to be those who seek God when things seem to be outside of the parameters what we think he has for us. You anointed me king. (23:21) Why am I in a cave? Something's wrong here. What's the disconnect? No, there's no disconnect. I'm still God and I still have a purpose and I'm still your protection and I will still provide for you. But let's make you into the one who can be king and handle what I have for you. Who will still recognize me and will have the history that shows that you know how to seek me so that when things are good and you think you've gotten somewhere, you remember I put you there. (23:51) It's a purposeful move on the part of God. So David seeks God and he states and he moves us into verses four and six. begins to state now specifically what the problems are. I know where my help is. Now he goes to the problems. I am surrounded by fierce lions who greedily devour human prey, whose teeth pierce like spears and arrows and whose tongues cut like swords. (24:12) Was he surrounded by lions? No. There may have been lions around there somewhere, but that wasn't really his problem. You see, this is poetry. He's using uh colorful words, metaphors to draw attention to remind himself this is what it's like. It's like being surrounded by lions and they got sharp teeth and big teeth and and they're hungry and I look good and they're licking their chops. Okay. (24:38) And so in the midst of that, he continues to be exalted, oh God, above the highest heavens. Have you caught the pattern yet? What he's doing? It's starting to develop here. Started with God. He knows God's purpose. He's he's stating that. So, he's reminding himself, the one in whom I trust, he states his problem. (24:57) Man, these my enemies want to devour me. In the midst of reminding the enemy, it this is how quick he moves in his mind. They want to they're like lions and they want to devour me. Oh, God, you are amazing. You see, he's going to keep God bigger than his enemy. And he's reminding himself, I don't care how many lions and how sharp the teeth are. (25:20) That may be true for me, but God, you are way above it. You are more powerful. You are stronger. You see, he's already reminding himself of God's purpose and where his strength comes from. Now, he's reminding himself when he sees clearly what the problem is and says it to God. He's reminded again, but God, you push the problem into perspective. (25:38) Oh God, above you are above the highest heavens. May your glory shine above all the earth. My enemies, now he's back to the enemies. My enemies have set a trap for me. I am weary from distress. They have dug a deep pit in my path, but they themselves have fallen into it. It's interesting here and I'll I'll get back to it in a minute, but he in this pattern of going back and forth, he also is does some remembering and we'll we're quick to miss this just written in English. (26:10) Um, but he's he is taking himself on a path with God. who God is, what he has done, his problems that he faced, who God is, and how God overrides his problems. And then he's he's back to his problems again. But he's remembering back now. And he remembers that God has been faithful and always delivers. Says there when he says, "Be exalted above the highest heavens. (26:33) May your glory shine on all the earth." He, you see, maybe like you and I, it's easy to look down and see only the problems or look around. David has is doing this. He's looking up. He's looking He's looking up and he wants to keep his head up, but he's wanting to remind himself and to bring before God, these things are happening. (26:55) I've got to be honest about them. God, if you noticed, I'm in a cave and we're all a little bit discontent in here. You made a promise to me. You chose me. You for me. Now in the midst of this, what about those that want to devour me? And he continues to remember that by reminding himself exactly who God is. (27:18) Now, why is that important? I'm going to deviate for just a second. I want to ask you to do something in your mind for just a second because I want to bring you back to God real quick here, too. Has there been a problem ever in your life that seemed so overwhelming and so concerning that it began to affect you emotionally? You felt it. (27:40) It it wouldn't leave your mind. It was constantly there. Now, people handle different things, situations differently. I get that. However, there is and read a fair amount in the area of psychology. There's a human tendency to do this. Some more than others. Maybe this is you. You face a problem. The future is unknown, but the problem seems to be going to to affect your future. (28:03) Makes sense. So, you begin to run down all the scenarios of where that problem can lead. You ever been there? And you're assure that this problem is going to take you here. And if that happens, then my life will be destroyed. Nobody will like me. I'll never have a job again. Okay, (28:23) man. Okay. Okay. Oh, well, if it goes down this path and then we run all these paths. See, what David is doing is he's eliminating the paths. That's human nature is to run the paths and wear ourselves out emotionally and we're down some rabbit hole of what could be and we've totally forgotten about God. Totally forgotten. That's why in the midst of this, he goes back. (28:47) He states one thing and he's right back. God, I don't want to get down a rabbit hole. I don't want to chase the wrong thing. I just want to state it for what it is and I got to come back and focus on you. I was reading an interesting study on this that uh was done I can't remember don't remember the specifics on it but what it focused on was that how people handle their problems and it was more people deal with their problems by trying to find the scenarios so they can find a solution but what happens in that process is they get lost in trying to in (29:21) the problem rather than find the solution it uh It makes me think of I think I've mentioned this before. Mark Twain is famous for the quote, "I've lived through some terrible things in my life. Some of which actually happened." That's what we tend to do and who we tend to be. Many of them happen up here. But I want to remind you of something David is reminding us. (29:47) If I'm solving problems up here, I should probably be on my knees looking up there. We've got to come back to God. Otherwise, we're trying to solve the problem and we lose emotional strength. We get overrun emotionally. It's where I was going with the study I was referring to is that people have a tendency when problems get heavy to become so emotionally overrun because they're trying to solve their own problem that it ends up causing them greater problems than the actual first problem. (30:21) Ever been there? We suffer emotionally which leads to physical exhaustion which leads to physical problems and it just compounds. Turn back to God. Oh God, you are above all things. That statement is his way of lifting up these lions that are about to devour me. Their teeth are sharp. They want to kill me. Oh, I've got you. (30:48) You're above everything. Suddenly he doesn't talk about them again because God solves the problem. He's reminding himself. Then he goes and I said he he thinks back in his statement in verse six, he says, "My enemies set up a trap for me. I am weary from distress." Okay, he's being honest about that. It's wearing me down, God. (31:09) That he says this, "They have dug a deep pit in my path, but they themselves have fallen into it." Read past that. Do you understand? He actually makes a a grammatical shift right there. He goes from present to past and in looking to the past he is stating look God this has actually happened before my enemies have tried to set up pits for me in the road that I am walking in life and they want to destroy me but I realize and I remember I remember now the pits they dug they fell into oh God you are so good you see he's (31:44) being reminded as he's talking with God about the circumstances of where he finds himself that God has never failed him. And every time one of those uh lions sets up a pit for him to fall into, they've fallen into it themselves. God has delivered. So now he's gone back in just a moment. (32:04) See how fast this is happening? It's happening really quick in his mind. He starts with where who God is, God's purpose, circumstance, those who want to destroy it. Got to be reminded of God. I look back to what you have done, God. Oh, you delivered for me. You have always delivered for me. You can feel his spirit starting to be lifted. (32:28) And he continues on starting with verse 7. And and I love this p this section right here 7-11. He he has come from reminding himself about God. And we've taken this path with him now. But he gets to to verse seven and it's changed. He he's a changed person. So listen what he says. My heart is confident in you, oh God. (32:49) My heart is confident. Okay, that in English sounds different than what David himself is writing. To be confident is one thing. It's not that he suddenly, you know, it's like, okay, I can handle this. What he is saying is, and what if we were to read that accurately is my mind is now clear, God. My mind is now clear. (33:10) And he's building this. He's getting excited about it. My mind has just been cleared of all the fog that was before me. you are with me. You see, he's being transformed in the midst of his prayer. And so, he's saying to God, this is amazing. And no wonder I can sing your praises. You see, he God he remembered back to God's deliverance. (33:30) He remembered who's God, how God is his protection. He remembers God's purpose. And he in the midst of remembering his problems, he keeps his eyes up. And suddenly, he now remembers, God, you've delivered before. Okay, this is good. Let's see what you're going to do now. You see the change in perspective? He's ready for the problem. He wants to take it on. (33:50) How do I know that? Cuz he says it right here. No wonder I can sing your praises. Wake up my heart. Wake up, O liar and harp. I will wake the dawn. If you want to go do a little study, circle that phrase. I will wake the dawn. I I love the expression. I love what he's saying. When you are feeling overwhelmed by a problem, do you find yourself full of energy or does it tend to drain you down? In fact, he just said it's wearing him down. (34:22) He had stated that I'm feeling weary. Do you see the contrast? It's purposely stated. I'm feeling weary, but now all of a sudden, you know, the the phrase I will wake the dawn is this. I'm not going to wait for the sun to rise. I'm going to ra uh meet the morning. I'm going to bring the sun up in praise for you. (34:42) The day will belong to me because of you, God. I will own it because what you have done, I am no longer discouraged. I'm no longer overwhelmed. I don't worry about my enemies. I have met you, God, on the road to of life. and you have reminded me of you have done all that you have for me and I'm going the morning and the day belongs to me because of you. (35:08) You want to overcome your cave circumstance? Turn to God. Tell him the truth. Remember what he has done and your heart will be revived. That phrase, I just love it. I will wake the dawn. Not the dawn will wake me. I will wake the dawn with my song. I will thank you, Lord, among all the people. Think of the circumstance. (35:36) Where is he? He's in a cave surrounded, what it said, by about 400 men, all of who were discontent. And his song, you think it might have an effect on those in the cave? I would almost be willing to bet if we could go back and sit in the cave, by the time David was done praying this prayer, he was literally singing in that cave. (35:58) And that song echoing through that cave probably got joined by others. And soon the hearts of all who were in there had a new perspective, were looking to God, realizing that God had not abandoned them in a cave, but had brought them to a cave for a purpose, and he was going to bring his deliverance. (36:24) And in that, they would sing praise to the God of the cave. I will sing your praise among the nations, for your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, oh God. Oh God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth. Do you like that perspective? He started where he knew God was through the process to come to actually be where God was. (36:56) It's beautiful. It's a beautiful reminder of the process of the wise. Go back to Psalm 1 for just a second. The delight. They delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. (37:21) The heart of prayer is meditation on the truth of God. That's the truth of his written word, the truth of his creation, the beauty of where he has placed you, the truth of who he created you to be. And the work of his son on the cross allows us to be those that when we find ourselves in a cave, God can still do the work that he desires. (37:46) We see a cave as a negative, God sees it as a positive. Just for fun, why don't you go this week and do a study on what God has done in caves. I'll just give you a couple of examples. He did this with David. David spent a fair amount of his early years in caves running from Saul. In fact, shortly after this, Saul comes into the cave and yet Dave David allows uh Saul to live. (38:15) [snorts] God and and you know why he did that? Because he would not allow God uh harm to come to God's chosen one. He honored God even when he was at his lowest. That's what a person who prays is able to do because they keep perspective with God. What about Elijah? Did he ever find himself anywhere in a cave? Fact, God took him to one, didn't he? And then he said, "I'm going to pass by. (38:40) " And and [snorts] it changed his perspective, understood again how powerful God was. And I'm not making light of this, but I also think God did some amazing work with Jesus in a cave. So if you find yourself [clears throat] and life is often really challenging and hard, I want you to remember that God is not doesn't lose sight of you when you find yourself driven away in discontent, hiding in a cave. (39:16) Turn to him for your protection. Remember that he desires not only to protect you, to be with you, but he still has a purpose for you. If nothing else, that purpose is for you to know him and to live with him. State your problems clearly, but in the process of the stating the problems, keep it clearly on God, not on the problems. (39:39) And don't run it down the rabbit holes. Keep it on God. He is far greater than your circumstance. Be reminded of that. If you need to be reminded, then then read the Psalms because that's a process that is stated over and over and over and over again. God, I need to hear and I need to tell myself and I need to tell others, you are above all things. (40:01) And as we begin to do that, we will then have the ability in that process to tell God, look, they're wanting to devour me, but God, I'm going to keep my eyes on you. I'm going to keep it there. And in the midst of that, God will start to bring back to you in your prayer life, your communication with him. (40:18) Haven't I delivered before? Weren't the pits that were dug for you filled with your enemies? And again, I've told you this before, when it speaks of enemies, in many cases, it's metaphorical. It's not human always a human being. Sometimes it is. But an enemy can be a circumstance, a financial situation, a relationship that's broken, a a a physical ailment that we struggle with and we fight against, a mental uh depression or anxiety, the things of culture that that weigh upon us. (40:55) They're enemies of our dependence and relationship with him, things that want to come between. But in the midst of seeing them, don't chase the problem. chase God and you will f discover deliverance and then in the midst of that you will be able as David did to be reminded God you have done it so many times before I will be dependent on you I will say choose to praise you rather than to worry about my problems I'm going to praise you and in the midst of praising you I begin to be reminded I belong to you and you are with me let's take on the day bring them (41:30) on and victory is found. This is the prayer and the song of deliverance that comes to those who learn seek God even when they're in a cave. And as I said, don't always see see the situations you face as, oh, poor me. Maybe we can learn as we begin to have a habit of prayer to see this. Oh, God, what what are we going to do now? [snorts] My circumstances are minuscule compared to what David faced, but I was laughing this morning. (42:11) Um, as many of you know, we're in the midst of trying to trying to get our house remodeled. It'll get there someday. But in the process of that now, I've had several things just like about every other week, something goes wrong. First, it was my truck. I had to do a bunch of work on it. Then it [snorts] was Alex's car. Had to do a bunch of work on it. (42:29) And then yesterday, discovered the rear axle in my car broke. So now I'm back working on my car. I think God has a great sense of humor. And he I realized that cars are intended not for transportation but for irritation. And uh but in the process of that it's like okay you must have a reason you want to do that. I'll trust you. You've always delivered. Let's see. (42:50) And if I can and Rene and I were talking if we can learn to praise God when and I I'm saying this too that's not a big deal. Life's in comparison to so much not a big deal. But I want you to know that I too understand that life can put you in a spot where it's either easy to be discouraged and to focus on the discouragement rather than to focus on God. (43:14) I want to be one that learns to sing a new song in the morning to wake up the dawn because I know that God is with me. You know the reality is few years that car won't even be around but God will still be here. I want to know God.
