Osceola Sermon / June 26 th, 2011 Living Your Life by the Psalms Psalms 42 As The Deer Panteth for the Water Osceola Sermon / Pastor Bob Vale

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1 Osceola Sermon / June 26 th, 2011 Living Your Life by the Psalms Psalms 42 s The eer Panteth for the Water Osceola Sermon / Pastor Bob Vale Biblical Focus: Psalm 42:1 s the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O od. Scripture Lesson: Psalm 42:1-11 s the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O od. PS 42:2 My soul thirsts for od, for the living od. When can I go and meet with od? PS 42:3 My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, "Where is your od?" PS 42:4 These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of od, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng. PS 42:5 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in od, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and 6 my od. My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon--from Mount Mizar. PS 42:7 eep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. PS 42:8 By day the LOR directs his love, at night his song is with me-- a prayer to the od of my life. PS 42:9 I say to od my Rock, "Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?" PS 42:10 My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all PS day long, "Where is your od?" 42:11 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in od, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my od. Songs: s the eer Panteth For The Water Why So owncast Oh my soul. ll Who re Thirsty I ve ot a River of Life flowing out of me. Mighty Fortress is Our od: Hymn Song for the morning. Precious Lord Take my hand Introduction: Song to be sung during offertory: Sing the Song: s The eer; then go into the sermon: (Help from praise Team) So many songs have been written out of the book of Psalms. Today we are going to take a musical walk through the 42 Psalm. 1. Psalms 42 was written by: One of the Sons of Korah 2. Type of Psalm: It is a Psalm of Lament: (Spiritual epression) The author is one of the "sons of Korah" who is a Levitical Priest, who composed poems and songs to teach the people of Israel how to relate to od. His spiritual vocation requires him to be in Jerusalem, but he finds himself in the far northern region in Mt. Hermon. He is probably in exile with avid during the attempted coup of bsalom; avid s son (2 Sam ). You can see especially from 42:5,11 that the author is spiritually depressed. His soul is "downcast," and has become "disturbed" within him. In avid s time this song was probably written in a minor key. (Em) It is funny that you can never sing happy songs in minor keys! The fact that he writes a poem like this, which so graphically expresses spiritual depression, should provide some relief for us as Christians who are not always joyful and happy. (I am always intrigued by Christians who are always joyful. Perhaps it is me, but I have never been able to maintain a 100% joyful attitude.) In fact, those who have been effective in leading others to faith often wrestle with spiritual depression (Martin Luther). Even Jesus experienced spiritual depression. On the night of his arrest he

2 echoed the very words of this psalm to describe his own experience (see Jn. 12:27; "Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? `Father, save me from this hour'? Mk. 14:34). ll serious Christians experience spiritual depression to a greater or lesser degree, for reasons we'll examine in a few minutes. Let s dive into the Psalm and seek out its meaning: I. re you Thirsty? II. Where is Your od? III. Will You Put Your Hope in od? PS 1. Psalm 42:1-3 s the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O od. 42:2 PS 42:3 My soul thirsts for od, for the living od. When can I go and meet with od? My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, "Where is your od?". Have you ever been thirsty? I mean really thirsty? 1. I have been to that part of the desert world and I can tell you that there are miles of distance between one water source to another. Shepherds have to walk a long way to get good water to their sheep and goats. 2. Lament: Because this is a Lament psalm the author begins using an example of thirst. Remembering how the wild deer pants in the hot sun longing for some water. a. When the deer gets to the water it may be so thirsty that it let s down its guard of danger to lap up the water. b. re we that thirsty for od that we are not concerned about what others think of our spiritual hunger? i. re we willing to run after od with reckless abandonment? 100% There are several great scripture songs that come out of this passage. Sing this song to or with the congregation: Sing the Song: ll Who are Thirsty: ll who are thirsty F#m ll who are weak Come to the fountain Em ip your heart in the streams of life 2 Let the pain and the sorrow F#m Be washed away 2 In the waves of his mercy Em s deep cries out to deep (and we sing) ll Who are Thirsty

3 - 2 sus- Come Lord Jesus come (repeat 3 times) - 2 sus- Holy Spirit come (repeat 3 times) Em s deep cries out to deep (repeat 2 times) 1998 Vineyard Songs (UK/Eire) Words and Music by Brenton Brown and lenn Robertson PS Psalms 42:4-6 42:4 These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of od, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng. PS 42:5 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in od, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and 6 my od. My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon--from Mount Mizar. PS 42:7 eep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. 30 to 40 years ago, the terms clinical depression, bi-polar, affective mood disorders, and high mania are words we may not have heard too much. In today s culture we have learned so much more about how the brain and body work, that these terms have significant meaning for us today. Have you ever been depressed? It certainly appears this writer is depressed. The author begins to make comparisons from his past: 1. t one time he led the procession to the house of od with shouts of joy and thanksgiving. ( Leader of the Church) 2. To the Mountain top experiences of Mt. Hermon and Mt. Mizar. We are talking about Church leaders in the Psalm: o you know what kind of stress the pastor at the Local church experiences? ccording to the Clergy Renewal Fund and Mark Elliots book, Confessions of a insignificant Pastor: 1. Fifteen hundred pastors leave the ministry each month! 2. 80% of ministers feel unqualified and discouraged in their role as pastors % of new pastors will leave the ministry within their first five years! 4. 80% of pastors' spouses wish their spouse would choose another profession and feel their ministry spouse is overworked % of pastors constantly battle with depression! 50% of ministers would leave the ministry if they had another way of earning an income! 85-90%of pastors said their greatest problem is dealing with problem people and disgruntled people. Please pray for your pastors at this Church. ccording to statistics; the long term odds are against them. It s not enough that satan wants pastors to fail; there are some people within the life of the church, who want their pastor to fail. Oh the Leperous Church.

4 What kind of personal pain would cause a 42-year-old pastor to abandon his family, his calling and even life itself? Members of a Baptist church in South Carolina are asking that question after their pastor committed suicide in his parked car in September; and three others over the past year. Those who counsel pastors say Christian culture, especially Southern evangelicalism, creates the perfect environment for depression. Pastors suffer in silence, unwilling or unable to seek help or even talk about it. Sometimes they leave the ministry. Being a pastor a high-profile, high-stress job with nearly impossible expectations for success can send one down the road to depression, according to pastoral counselors. "We set the bar so high that most pastors can't achieve that," said H.B. London, vice president for pastoral ministries at Focus on the Family, based in Colorado Springs, Colo. "nd because most pastors are people-pleasers, they get frustrated and feel they can't live up to that." When pastors fail to live up to demands imposed by themselves or others they often "turn their frustration back on themselves," leading to self-doubt and to feelings of failure and hopelessness, said Fred Smoot, executive director of Emory Clergy Care in uluth, eorgia. The uthor of this Psalm begins to talk about how sad his life is. He is downcast and his head is down all the time. He asks the question: Why so downcast; why don t you put your hope in od? I guess that is a good question for us today for Christians. a. o you find yourself in the same situation as the author of this psalm? b. Was there a time in your life when you were very close to od? time when you experienced much joy, but now you seem to be in the down and outs all the time or a lot of the time? c. on t feel bad it happens to all of us: Remember when Kind avid, who wrote most of the book of Psalms asked od to give him back the joy of his salvation? I suppose we all find ourselves hurting at times in our lives. Times when the Lord s holds our hand as we walk through life. Here is another wonderful song that has a close attachment to our scripture today: Led by r. John raham. PRECIOUS LOR Words: Thomas orsey, 1938 Tune: Precious Lord, Thomas orsey, Precious Lord, take my hand C C/ Lead me on, help me stand Em 7 I am tired, I am weak, I am worn 7 Through the storm, through the night C C/ Lead me on to the light / C / 7 Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home 7 When my way grows drear, C C/ Precious Lord, linger near

5 Em 7 When my life is al-most gone, 7 Hear my cry, hear my call, C C/ Hold my hand lest I fall / C / 7 Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home The challenge at the end of this lament psalm is to Put your hope in od. Can you do that? Can you stop looking at your own situation long enough to look up to od? 1. Can you put your finances in the hope of od? 2. Can you put your Marriage in the hope of od? 3. Can you put the raising of your children in the hope of od? 4. Can you put your career in the hope of od? 5. Can you put your fears and anxieties within the Hope of od? 6. Can you put your everything within the Hope of od? Remember this: reater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. (I John 4:4) There is no problem that you and od cannot handle together!!!! Sing the Song: Why So owncast? WHY SO OWNCST Why so downcast oh my soul Put your hope in od, Put your hope in od, Put your hope in od Why so downcast oh my soul Put your hope in od Em 7 -C-C Pause nd bless the Lord Oh my soul REFRIN: Bless the Lord, He s the lifter of my countenance Bless the Lord, He s the lifter of my head Bless the Lord, He s the lifter of my countenance

6 7 I will never be ashamed 1. Can you put your finances in the hope of od? 2. Can you put your Marriage in the hope of od? 3. Can you put the raising of your children in the hope of od? 4. Can you put your career in the hope of od? 5. Can you put your fears and anxieties within the Hope of od? 6. Can you put your everything within the Hope of od? Remember this: reater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. (I John 4:4) s your pastor I want you to know that I have seen people gain victory over sad times in their lives. Spiritual and Mental depression are very real. Our Medical community has wonderful counselors and medications that work wonders to bring joy back into a person s life. Working together with counselors and medical doctors the Christian can also count on od to love you and be with you in all stages of your life. Simply put your hope in od. Benediction: Pastor Bob Vale