Greet LIVE, Re:new, Chapel, and Web viewers

1 Sermon Series: Psalms of Celebration Sermon Title: Celebrating God s Power to Rescue and Restore Sermon Text: Psalm 18 Big Idea: God s overwhelming power rescues and restores all who rely on him. Greet LIVE, Re:new, Chapel, and Web viewers Opening Question: When was the last time you stopped, and took time to reflect on the movements and activity of God in your life? Time when you think back and rehearse your past and take stock of the ways God showed up, helped you avoid or got you out of trouble, or led you to recovery. My wife and I do this from time to time and it s sobering and inspiring. Even people who do not yet profess to be Christians have a sense in certain instances that God was looking out for them. [Illustration] -I remember one time I was at a ministry workshop and I was led through an exercise with a timeline of my life and a pad of sticky notes that I used to mark on the timeline all the significant or memorable events of my life. And what emerged as I walked through that exercise was the clear theme of God s hand leading, guiding, protecting, opening doors, and sovereignly moving throughout my life. It was an inspiring and praise generating experience. Today we come to a Psalm where David is in the later years of his life and he s looking back over all the ups and downs of his life and he s celebrating the actions and interventions of God. The words of this Psalm are repeated in 2 Samuel 22 and chronologically there, David is nearing the end of his life and term as King of Israel. He thinks back about his battles with threats to his heard as a shepherd. He reflects on his first big battle as a young boy against Goliath. He thinks about those eight years where he was on the run from Saul. He thinks back about his years as King and his military campaigns against the Philistines and finally about the threats to his crown from his own Son Absalom. As he rehearses his life he s inspired and filled with praise for his God who got him through it all. And I hope David s reflections and poetic record of his thoughts can inspire our worship and praise. [Transition] But, first we need to visit our anchor Psalm which we are memorizing together. I ve added a few more blanks to this to test our

2 memorization efforts. Anchor Verse: for joy to the Lord, all the earth. the Lord with ; come before him with. Know that the Lord is. It is he who made us, and ; we are his people, the of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. (Psalm 100:1-5 NIV 2011) [Transition] Now let s take a look at David s Psalm of reflection and praise to God as he looks back over his life. He starts his Psalm by declaring that a connection with God is the safest, most secure place you can imagine. Look at verses 1-3 1. Connection with God is the safest, most secure place you can imagine (1-3). Headline news: Tough Guy verbalizes tender Love for God! This is very tender wording, I love you Lord. This is actually a rare word for love. It indicates a kind of free-spirited, emotional, compassionate love. It s used to communicate David s deep intimacy with God that is evident throughout this Psalm. Notice the very personal way he lists the metaphors for God. MY strength, MY rock, MY fortress, MY deliverer, MY shield, horn of MY salvation, MY stronghold. As if he s scrambling to describe something that is beyond description, David layers up the metaphors in an effort to describe the connection and relationship he has with God. He s praising God because he the safest, most secure place he can imagine. Images of shield, fortress, and stronghold come from his military background. Images of rock, deliverer and horn/strength of my salvation come from his fugitive days when running from Saul. God as ROCK is the dominant image. Rock is an image of protection and shade. You could hide from your enemies and hide from the scorching sun. From the height s of some of the rocks in the desert area where David fled, he could look down on and watch the movements of his enemies who were trying to find him. Rock also points to the sure foundation or footing David found in God verses the sand or mire. David is declaring that when God is your rock he provides you with all sorts of protections from all sorts of

3 threats. [Illustration] What s the safest, most secure and most powerful thing you can think of? What images or metaphors come to your mind? M1 Tank? {show pic} MH-53 heavily armored assault helicopter? {show pic} The SNAFU VBC-90, the most powerful police vehicle on the planet? {show pic} Stryker Armored Personnel Carrier? {Show Pic} Air Force squadron? Navy Fleet? Or natural images like a Mountain {show pic}. Waterfall? What screams strength, power, capability to you? What irrefutably assures your safety and security? [Transition] - David declares that his God whom he loves with deep conviction and emotion is stronger, more powerful, more secure, and safer than anything you can imagine. He, and he alone is worthy of our praise. Not only that, he goes on in the next section to declare that God s overwhelming power can rescue you from the most desperate circumstances you can imagine and he gives some real specific examples. Look at verses 4-19 2. God s overwhelming power is available to rescue you from the most desperate circumstances you can imagine (4-19). There are three things that stand out to me here: The first is the desperate circumstances we can get into as humans. The longer humanity exists on this planet, and the more our knowledge and technology increases, it seems the more inventive we become at selfdestructing. And the longer time goes and God s plan for humankind unfolds, the greater Satan s pressure and attack becomes. To me, David s description of the power of evil that had overwhelmed him and threatened his life accurately describes the downward spiral and pulling down effect of the habits, hurts and hang ups in our lives. Those who were once completely entangled in self-destructing habits, or completely obsessed with revenge or getting rich or grabbing power when they come out of that they use imagery very much like David uses here. They speak about being in the grip of bitterness; they speak about being in a downward spiral toward death in their addiction. They speak about their anger consuming them. In other words, what David describes are the real, live effects of the sin we commit or the sin committed against us. It s real and we ve all experienced it.

4 [Transition] - Now, hold that thought. The second thing that stands out to me in verses 4-19 is the magnitude and overwhelming power of God. Let your eyes fall down over verses 7-19 again. Talk about shock and awe! When God comes to the rescue he comes in an absolutely overwhelming, more than capable way. The entire universe and power of creation is at his disposal and command. Nothing can possibly stand up against him. He possesses superior firepower, superior intelligence, unmatched strategy, and limitless courage. [Show Pic] In other words, our trouble is in the red trunks and God is in the black trunks. {Show Pic} Or here s a picture of the Battle of Helms Deep in the Lord of the Rings. The attacking force here is superior in every way. [Transition] Now, with our extreme vulnerability clearly in view and God s overwhelming power in view, the third thing that stands out to me is God s willingness to use his overwhelming power to come to our rescue and free us from the desperate situations we find ourselves in. In verse 6 David says, I cried to my God for help and he heard my voice. He listened. Then he responds in a more than capable way. In fact, the magnitude of God s response here speaks to his value and love for us. And it indicates the size of our debt of gratitude for rescuing us in our utter and complete helplessness. When you cry out to God, when you call on him and depend upon him he personally rises from his heavenly throne and parting the clouds he descends to fight your battles accompanied by earthquakes, thunder, storms, and lightening. Remember David is reflecting back about actual situations he was facing. In some cases God literally intervened in these natural ways on behalf of David and his people, at other times he intervened figuratively with power and overwhelming force. But, the reality about God for David and it s still true today for me and for you is that God power is not only overwhelming, it s available for you and for me. When you cry out to God he hears, and he listens and he comes to our rescue. [Quote] Charles Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers in the 1800 s said, Even if the enemy s foot be on you neck, expect to rise and overthrow him. Cast the burden of the present, along with the sin of the past, and the fear of

5 the future upon the Lord, who forsaketh not his saints. (Minister s Prayer Book, Doberstein, ed. 1986). [Transition] So, in our weakness and vulnerability, how do we access or avail ourselves of God s overwhelming power in our lives? How do we make sure that we have God s power on our side and in our favor? David tells us in verses 20-27 3. Humble dependence on God brings renewal and empowerment, while prideful independence brings humiliation and defeat (20-45). At first blush it sounds like David is trying to say that God has rescued and restored him because he lived a perfect, blameless life. But, to understand properly what David is suggesting here we have to look closely at what he is saying. As I mentioned last week, we know from other pieces of Scripture that David was not a perfect person. What s more, the Bible is clear that no one is perfect, no one is blameless in front of God. All are sinners. What David is really saying here is that while he definitely is a sinner, he has never turned away from depending on God for his grace, mercy, and forgiveness. He has never abandoned God s provision or way to righteousness. AS I said last week, David trusted God exclusively and looked forward to the Messiah in faith, but we look back in faith. Those who place their faith in Jesus are also considered the righteous ones not because we are righteous in and of ourselves but because when we rest our faith in Jesus he gifts us his righteousness, which makes us right with God. When the Bible speaks of a person being blameless before God it doesn t mean they are sinless and perfect. It means they have appropriated by faith God s provision and covering for their sin. They have not turned away or forsaken God s provision for salvation and forgiveness. In verse 27 David essentially says, God, you save those who humbly depend on you. But, those who remain pride-fully independent, you bring them low. This is a principle and warning we see stated numerous times in the Scriptures. God exalts the humble, gives grace to the humble, saves the humble but if you don t humble yourself, God will do it for you. Pride fundamentally says, I am like God, I am self-sufficient, I am the most

6 valuable person in the world, and I don t need anything. The Bible is clear; God will bring low those who approach life that way. But, those who admit their need and cry out to God in humble dependence, the full force of God s overwhelming power will be dispatched on their behalf. Now, some might push back here and say, Wait, I depend on God but I know of times in my life where I was desperate and I cried out to God and nothing happened. Or, I know of people who cried out to God to rescue them and God didn t respond. Please realize, from David s writings we know that there were times where he felt that way too. In the moment, David sometimes longed for God to act now! He sometimes asked, How long Oh Lord, will you be quiet, or distant or still. In the moment, in real time God may not seem to listening, hearing, or responding. But, as David looks back over his life in hindsight he affirms that God was always his rock, his shield, and his deliverer. He affirms that God was always true to David as David was true to him. God was dependable as David depended on him. When we maintain a humble dependence upon God he rescues, renews and empowers our lives. In fact, in verses 28-45 David recounts the various ways that God renewed and empowered him throughout his life. He repeats many of the same acts of deliverance from earlier in the Psalm. And in repeating God s acts of deliverance David systematically describes God s empowerment of his feet, his hands and his ankles. God gives him inner strength and an outer shield. The victories God gives him are complete and total. Verse 42 says his enemies were beaten as fine as dust blowing in the wind and liquefied like mud in the streets. As God provided David with everything he needed mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually, so he will provide those things for you and I as well as we humbly rely on him. Again, this is not just an ancient Old Testament truth. In Philippians 4 Paul wrote, And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:9). [Transition] That God s power to rescue and restore is still available to you and to me when we surrender our live to him as David did is driven home in David s closing phrases. Look at verses 46-50 4. God still shows unfailing love to all who rely him (46-50). Isn t that last line a comforting truth? The same power and presence and

7 provision of God David celebrates in this Psalm today as being active throughout his life, is available throughout our lives as well. All that David has been celebrating about the presence and power of God is captured in that phrase unfailing kindness. That simple phrase translates a very powerful and complex word in the Hebrew language. It s a word that describes God s loyal, committed, unchanging love for his people. It refers to his faithfulness, goodness, graciousness, and his loving action on our behalf. This is a love that never gives up on you. This is the love of God that never grows weary. This is a love that remains faithful even when you are faithless. This is a love that remains strong and shows itself best in your weakness. This is the love of God for you that would move him to send his one and only son to pay your penalty for your sin on the cross. It is a love that you cannot find in any one or any thing else. This is the faithful committed love God showed Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and Joshua. This is the faithful committed love God showed David through out his life and it is the faithful committed love he showed to his anointed Son Jesus Christ during his ministry on earth. And God is eager and ready to show it to anyone here today who is ready to trust him and rely on him through all the ups and downs of life. [Illustration] Augustus M. Toplady (1740-1778) was traveling in a rural country area when a storm came upon him and he was forced to take shelter in the cleft of huge rock. While he was waiting for the storm to pass he reflected on the situation spiritually, and the words of a hymn began to form in his mind. Looking down at his feet, he discovered a playing card that someone who had been there earlier had dropped. So he picked it up and used it to record these words. The card is still in existence today. Rock of ages, cleft for me let me hide my self in thee; Let the water and the blood, from thy wounded side, which flowed, be of sin the double cure, save from wrath and make me pure. Rock of ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee. If you have never called on the great and powerful love God has for you, I would invite you to do so today. The challenges, obstacles, and opponents are real in our lives. Our enemy wants to pull us down and hold us under. Each of us needs to connect with God and his power in order to survive.

8 If you want to call on God to be your rescuer today you could pray something like this: Dear God, I rejoice with David over your unfailing kindness and overwhelming power available for our lives. Jesus, I humbly surrender to you today and ask you to be my leader and forgiver. I need you to be MY rock and MY deliverer! If that prayer reflects the desire of your heart, then I d encourage you to pray it with me right now PRAY THROUGH PRAYER. If you are calling on God through faith in Jesus for the first time today, I d invite you to let me know that by filling out the card in front of you. Pray