1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:29,980 Let's pray. 2 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:59,980 Let's pray. 3 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:27,000 Let's pray. 4 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:45,000 Oh, careful. It's a camera. For putting the service online. 5 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:56,000 Good morning. We are glad to be here to worship this morning on this Labor Day weekend. 6 00:01:56,000 --> 00:02:06,000 So I'm going to begin with a word of prayer, and then we will read from the 40th Psalm together. Let's pray. 7 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:16,000 Father in heaven, I thank you that we can gather together. I thank you for the joy that you bring us, for the hope that you instill in us. 8 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:25,000 I thank you for all the ways in which you have helped us and walked with us through this week, and I ask that you would encourage us and teach us this morning. 9 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:30,000 Be with us as we worship this morning. It is in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 10 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:35,000 We're going to be standing, and we're going to read from the 40th Psalm. 11 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:44,000 We're going to spend some time in the 40th Psalm here during our message, and then we will end our service with the 40th Psalm. 12 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:56,000 David here, in circumstances that we don't know, is writing about how bad they are, but also how great the salvation of God is. 13 00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:00,000 Let's read this together. 14 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:08,000 I waited patiently for the Lord. He inclined to me and heard my cry. 15 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:19,000 He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. 16 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:30,000 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. 17 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:33,000 This is the word of the Lord. 18 00:03:38,000 --> 00:04:07,960 In the name of the Father, in the name of the Son, in the name of the Spirit, Lord, we come. We are gathered together to lift up your name, to call on our Savior, to fall on your grace. Hear the joyful sound of our offering. 19 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:37,600 As your saints bow down, as your people sing, we will rise with you, lifted on your wings. And the world will see that our God saves. Our God saves. There is hope. 20 00:04:37,600 --> 00:05:07,200 In your name, morning tunes to songs of praise. Our God saves. Our God saves. In the name of the Father. In the name of the Son. 21 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:36,800 In the name of the Spirit. Lord, we come. We are gathered together. To lift up your name. To call on our Savior. To fall on your grace. Hear the joyful sound of our offering. As your saints bow down. As your people sing. We will rise with you. Lifted on your wings. 22 00:05:36,800 --> 00:06:06,400 And the world will see that. Our God saves. Our God saves. There is hope. In your name. Morning turns to songs of love. 23 00:06:06,400 --> 00:06:36,000 Morning turns to songs of praise. Our God saves. Our God saves. Hear the joyful sound of our offering. As your saints bow down. As your people sing. We will rise with you. Lifted on your way. 24 00:06:36,000 --> 00:07:05,600 The world will see that. Our God saves. Our God saves. There is hope in your name. Morning turns to songs of praise. 25 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:15,200 Our God saves. Our God saves. 26 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:19,200 Our God saves. 27 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:51,600 Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul. Worship His holy name. 28 00:07:51,600 --> 00:08:04,800 Sin like never before, O my soul, I'll worship Your holy name. 29 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:34,400 The sun comes up, it's a new day dawn. It's time to sing your song again. Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me. Let me be singing where the evening comes. 30 00:08:34,400 --> 00:09:04,000 Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul. Worship His holy name. Sing like never before, O my soul, I'll worship Your holy name. 31 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:33,600 You're rich in love, and You're slow to end up. Your name is great, and Your heart is kind. For all Your goodness I will keep on singing. Ten thousand reasons for my heart 32 00:09:33,600 --> 00:10:03,200 to walk. Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul. Worship His holy name. Sin like never before, O my soul, I'll worship Your holy name. 33 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:32,800 And on that day, when my strength is faint, the end draws me, and my time has come. Still my soul, sing Your praise unending. Ten thousand years in death forever. 34 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:35,600 Evermore. 35 00:10:35,600 --> 00:11:02,400 Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul. Worship His holy name. Sing like never before, O my soul. I'll worship Your holy name. 36 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:32,000 Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul. Worship His holy name. Sing like never before, O my soul. I'll worship Your holy name. Yes, I will worship Your holy name. 37 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:40,240 Lord, I worship Your holy name. Lord, I worship Your holy name. 38 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:04,000 Amen. 39 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:34,000 Amen. 40 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:04,000 Amen. 41 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:52,600 When this life of trials test my faith, I set my hope on Jesus. When the questions come and doubts remain, I set my hope on Jesus. 42 00:25:52,600 --> 00:26:13,200 For the deepest wounds the time won't heal. There's a joy that runs still deeper. There's a truth that's more than all I feel. I set my hope on Jesus. 43 00:26:13,200 --> 00:26:32,500 I set my hope on Jesus. My rock, my only trust. Who set his heart upon me first? I set my hope on Jesus. 44 00:26:40,500 --> 00:27:00,500 Though I falter in this war with sin, I set my hope on Jesus. When I feel the fight and sink within, I set my hope on Jesus. 45 00:27:00,500 --> 00:27:07,800 Though the shame would drown me in its sea, and I drain the wave of justice, 46 00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:35,100 I will cast my life on Calvary. I set my hope on Jesus. I set my hope on Jesus. My God, my only trust. You set His heart upon me first. I set my hope on Jesus. 47 00:27:35,100 --> 00:27:40,900 I set my hope on Jesus. 48 00:27:40,900 --> 00:28:02,400 Though the world call me to leave my Lord, I set my hope on Jesus. 49 00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:06,400 I set my hope on Jesus. 50 00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:11,400 Though it offer all its vain rewards. 51 00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:16,400 I set my hope on Jesus. 52 00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:21,400 Though this heart of mine is prone to strain. 53 00:28:21,400 --> 00:28:26,400 Give me grace enough to finish. 54 00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:31,400 Till I worship on that final day. 55 00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:36,400 I set my hope on Jesus. 56 00:28:36,400 --> 00:28:41,400 I set my hope on Jesus. 57 00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:46,400 My life, my only trust. 58 00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:51,400 You set His heart upon me first. 59 00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:56,400 I set my hope on Jesus. 60 00:28:56,400 --> 00:29:00,400 I set my hope on Jesus. 61 00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:05,400 My life, my only trust. 62 00:29:05,400 --> 00:29:10,400 You set His heart upon me first. 63 00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:15,400 I set my hope on Jesus. 64 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:20,400 I set my hope on Jesus. 65 00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:48,400 Probably most of us have had moments where we felt like maybe we didn't belong, or maybe we didn't fit in, or maybe it just wasn't the place for us. 66 00:29:48,400 --> 00:30:06,400 And I think about Jesus as he comes to eat with his disciples. Here is the Christ, the son of the living God, the one who creates and upholds, who's about to die for their sins, and surrounding this table with him. 67 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:17,400 You've got some fishermen, you've got a tax collector, you've got a Roman rebel. Even in the moments preceding this meal, they are arguing about who's the most important. 68 00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:33,400 Who's the greatest? And we look at this sort of ragtag, rowdy group that surrounds Jesus and raise our eyebrows and say, "Are these really the people that you want?" 69 00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:46,400 And it's not just a question about the disciples, but it's really a question that gets to the heart of who we are. With all of my brokenness, with all of my mistakes, with all of my sin, 70 00:30:46,400 --> 00:30:59,400 why would Jesus want to be near me? And there's one of the things that stands out in Luke's account of the Last Supper, in the moment after dinner, when he institutes communion, 71 00:30:59,400 --> 00:31:15,400 but as the meal begins, he simply says this, "The hour came, he reclined at the table, the apostles with him, and then he said to them, I have earnestly desired to eat this 72 00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:30,400 over with you before I suffer." All of their struggles, their arguments, they wouldn't wash each other's feet, they argued about who was first, and Jesus knowing that he 73 00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:44,400 is about to suffer in their place says, "Man, I can't wait to sit and eat with you." And that reassurance for their hearts, and for those of us who are Christians, 74 00:31:44,400 --> 00:31:59,400 and maybe we come tired and weary, as we just sang, struggling, fighting with sin, understand that Jesus, for God's people, this is a meal 75 00:31:59,400 --> 00:32:13,400 that reminds us that he loves us, and that he has saved us, and that he is our hope, and this meal for us is a time to set our hope on Jesus. 76 00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:28,400 Let's pray. Father in heaven, I thank you that we come tired and maybe struggling, maybe joyful, maybe fighting sin, maybe victorious in our struggle over it. 77 00:32:28,400 --> 00:32:42,400 We just ask that whether it's in our pride or in our discouragement that we come, that you would remind us that you love us. And not just that you love us, but that you have 78 00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:52,400 received us through the life of your son and there is hope in the resurrection. And so I just ask that you would help our 79 00:32:52,400 --> 00:33:01,400 hearts this morning as we partake of this meal. May we see that as Christians, we're not an uninvited guest or somebody who has been 80 00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:11,400 invited out of obligation, but rather that you desire this meal for us and to be with us. And we thank you so much for the 81 00:33:11,400 --> 00:33:17,400 hope that we have in Jesus. I ask that you bless this bread and this cup, that you would strengthen us, that you would 82 00:33:17,400 --> 00:33:27,400 nourish us, that you would reassure us, that you would encourage and strengthen us in our war with sin. It's in Jesus' name 83 00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:36,400 we pray. Amen. If you would take the bread as Jesus took the bread and says, "When he had given thanks, he broke it and gave 84 00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:49,400 it to them saying, this is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." And likewise, after 85 00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:57,400 they had eaten, he took the cup saying, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood." Let's 86 00:33:57,400 --> 00:34:11,400 remember Jesus together. We remember our salvation, but we also proclaim it with this meal, not just a 87 00:34:11,400 --> 00:34:20,400 remembrance, but also a proclamation. We're going to be in the 40th Psalm, just the first few verses here in 88 00:34:20,400 --> 00:34:31,400 just a second. We finished up the first seven chapters of 1 Samuel. We're going to spend this Sunday in the 89 00:34:31,400 --> 00:34:41,400 Psalms, and then on the 15th, we're going to begin a new series entitled, "Called to Follow," and then we've 90 00:34:41,400 --> 00:34:48,400 subtitled it, "A Savior for the Skeptical, the Hopeful, the Unwanted, the Unseen, the Reluctant, and the Exhausted." 91 00:34:48,400 --> 00:34:54,400 Basically, we're going to start in John 1 with that question, "What good can come out of Nazareth?" 92 00:34:54,400 --> 00:35:00,400 And by the time we finish it up a few weeks later, we'll take a look where Jesus says, "Come to me, all you who are 93 00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:08,400 weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." And we'll see Jesus' call, both to those who are excited 94 00:35:08,400 --> 00:35:16,400 and who are looking for a Savior, but those who are unsure, those who have served sort of quietly and unseen and faithfully, 95 00:35:16,400 --> 00:35:24,400 and those who are reluctant to follow. And so we're going to take a look at that beginning on the 15th, 96 00:35:24,400 --> 00:35:31,400 which is also our visitor Sunday, so we'll be having a meal as well. There are some cards in the back. 97 00:35:31,400 --> 00:35:36,400 If you have a friend you want to invite, we've got a little map, some information. So if you would like to do that, 98 00:35:36,400 --> 00:35:44,400 those are on the table with the bulletin. So I'm going to pray, and then we're going to dive into these, 99 00:35:44,400 --> 00:35:53,400 just these first three verses of the 40th Psalm. Father, be with us this morning. May you encourage us. 100 00:35:53,400 --> 00:35:59,400 May we see your goodness, and may we not only be reminded of your power and strength 101 00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:06,400 in those dark areas of our life, but may we sing about it as a testimony to your goodness and your grace. 102 00:36:06,400 --> 00:36:12,400 Thank you for Jesus. Be with us this morning. It's in his name we pray. Amen. 103 00:36:12,400 --> 00:36:19,400 So August, in addition to being Rachel and I's anniversary, sort of kicks off our three kids' birthdays. 104 00:36:19,400 --> 00:36:25,400 We've got a birthday in August, we've got a birthday in September, and then again in October. 105 00:36:25,400 --> 00:36:40,400 And I was thinking back through some of those memories since we started with our first child's birth in September back in, I guess it would have been 2013. 106 00:36:40,400 --> 00:36:47,400 And so, thinking back to that, and those moments where we were painting the nursery, getting everything ready, 107 00:36:47,400 --> 00:36:52,400 and then we had the baby showers, and you get all the stuff you need for a new baby. 108 00:36:52,400 --> 00:36:56,400 And it was remarkable, because you go in there and you put all the stuff together. 109 00:36:56,400 --> 00:37:01,400 You're putting together a little bouncer and a jumper, making sure the crib is all set. 110 00:37:01,400 --> 00:37:07,400 But then, there was this pack-and-play. And I'd used a pack-and-play before with nephews, and so we got the pack-and-play, 111 00:37:07,400 --> 00:37:12,400 and we're getting it set up, and finally I was like, "I'm going to have to see the instructions for this." 112 00:37:12,400 --> 00:37:18,400 Because it wasn't just a pack-and-play. It was like a raised part of the pack-and-play, 113 00:37:18,400 --> 00:37:24,400 and then there was like a bassinet, and it was like a Swiss army knife for a baby. 114 00:37:24,400 --> 00:37:28,400 And so, not only did you open the pack-and-play, you had to make this metal frame, 115 00:37:28,400 --> 00:37:33,400 and then there's another metal frame that sits on top of that metal frame, and fabric that slides through. 116 00:37:33,400 --> 00:37:42,400 And I remember thinking, "Man, I am a pretty handy guy, but I could really use some help with this situation." 117 00:37:42,400 --> 00:37:47,400 And I think as we move through life, that's a pretty relatable situation for most of us. 118 00:37:47,400 --> 00:37:52,400 There's a lot of things we can handle, right, that we think we've got figured out. 119 00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:58,400 But there will always come moments where we realize that our strength isn't strong enough, 120 00:37:58,400 --> 00:38:02,400 that our goodness isn't good enough, that our bigness isn't big enough. 121 00:38:02,400 --> 00:38:10,400 And we go, "Man, where am I going to turn when it seems like I don't know where to go and what to do?" 122 00:38:10,400 --> 00:38:20,400 And Psalm 40, especially these first three verses, I think help us with those hard parts of life. 123 00:38:20,400 --> 00:38:24,400 When we encounter times where things don't happen the way we'd like, 124 00:38:24,400 --> 00:38:28,400 this is a place to go when those things happen. 125 00:38:28,400 --> 00:38:32,400 Listen to what David says in these first verses. 126 00:38:32,400 --> 00:38:38,400 I waited patiently for the Lord. He inclined to me and he heard my cry. 127 00:38:38,400 --> 00:38:47,400 He drew me up from the pit of destruction out of the miry bog, and he set my feet on the rock, making my steps secure. 128 00:38:47,400 --> 00:38:51,400 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. 129 00:38:51,400 --> 00:38:56,400 Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. 130 00:38:56,400 --> 00:39:01,400 So I want to start with this question as we begin looking at these three verses. 131 00:39:01,400 --> 00:39:05,400 First of all, where is David? 132 00:39:05,400 --> 00:39:11,400 And what we find is that David's life in this moment is not sunshine and flowers, right? 133 00:39:11,400 --> 00:39:15,400 It's dark and it's difficult and it's filled with struggle. 134 00:39:15,400 --> 00:39:19,400 And many of us, when we come to those times of struggle, 135 00:39:19,400 --> 00:39:22,400 we describe our struggles. 136 00:39:22,400 --> 00:39:24,400 This is what is happening to me. 137 00:39:24,400 --> 00:39:26,400 Here's my circumstances. 138 00:39:26,400 --> 00:39:28,400 Here's my big list of problems. 139 00:39:28,400 --> 00:39:30,400 Here's all my situations. 140 00:39:30,400 --> 00:39:34,400 Here's all of the things that have gone wrong with my life. 141 00:39:34,400 --> 00:39:39,400 Notice David doesn't even mention the things that are going wrong with his life. 142 00:39:39,400 --> 00:39:42,400 I think maybe in part, and so as we read this, 143 00:39:42,400 --> 00:39:47,400 and regardless of what struggle we find ourselves, we can identify with David. 144 00:39:47,400 --> 00:39:57,400 David's focus is not on the situation, but it's how he feels about his circumstances. 145 00:39:57,400 --> 00:39:59,400 He doesn't describe what's happening to him. 146 00:39:59,400 --> 00:40:02,400 He describes how he feels about it. 147 00:40:02,400 --> 00:40:07,400 And what we find is there is a pit, and it's not just any pit, right? 148 00:40:07,400 --> 00:40:09,400 It's a pit of destruction. 149 00:40:09,400 --> 00:40:13,400 And it's not just any bog that he finds himself stuck in. 150 00:40:13,400 --> 00:40:16,400 It is a miry bog. 151 00:40:16,400 --> 00:40:25,400 Now, we understand when we think about this pit, we understand the idea of a pit, of a deep hole. 152 00:40:25,400 --> 00:40:30,400 Depending on the context in the Old Testament, this can also be translated a well. 153 00:40:30,400 --> 00:40:38,400 We can also understand that we probably don't want to fall down a hole from which escape is impossible. 154 00:40:38,400 --> 00:40:41,400 And like, if you've ever seen the Lassie movies, right? 155 00:40:41,400 --> 00:40:46,400 What's that, Lassie? Timmy's in the well? You know, the little boy is stuck in the well, and he can't get out? 156 00:40:46,400 --> 00:40:52,400 And if you've ever been on an old property, and there's been a couple times where we've been somewhere, and it's an older place, 157 00:40:52,400 --> 00:40:59,400 a piece of plywood on the ground. Like, what's that? Oh, that's the old cistern. If you move that, you just fall into a hole, right? 158 00:40:59,400 --> 00:41:09,400 None of us want that. David doesn't simply say pit, though. He says pit of destruction. 159 00:41:09,400 --> 00:41:22,400 The word destruction here is a picturesque word that means the roar of waters. Picture stormy waves and crashing thunder. 160 00:41:22,400 --> 00:41:30,400 This isn't just a pit. It's inescapable destruction. Imagine being in a pit from which there is no escape. 161 00:41:30,400 --> 00:41:36,400 It's dark. You can't climb out. You can't go right or left. You're constrained on every side. 162 00:41:36,400 --> 00:41:47,400 And then a storm comes into the pit, and thunder crashes, and water pours in, and there begins to be waves, and you're struggling to keep your head above water, 163 00:41:47,400 --> 00:41:54,400 and you can't get away, and it's never gone, and it feels like you're drowning. 164 00:41:54,400 --> 00:42:02,400 I remember the first time that I remember, it probably happened before this, but the first time that I remember getting the air knocked out of my lungs. 165 00:42:02,400 --> 00:42:10,400 It was like fourth or fifth grade, and we were playing tackle football on some really hard ground with no protection whatsoever at recess, 166 00:42:10,400 --> 00:42:17,400 and I got nailed by a tackle, and I remember just hitting the ground, and you're trying to breathe, and all the air is whooshed out of your lungs. 167 00:42:17,400 --> 00:42:23,400 That's what David feels, but it's not just sitting there going, "Oh, the breath is going to return in a moment. 168 00:42:23,400 --> 00:42:30,400 He's in a pit, and it's dark, and there's no escape, and he's constrained on every side, and there's water rushing in, 169 00:42:30,400 --> 00:42:41,400 and he can't keep his head above water, and it's dark." And David isn't just in a pit. What does he say? 170 00:42:41,400 --> 00:42:48,400 He says he's in a miry bog, right? The second picture is that of being stuck in the mud. 171 00:42:48,400 --> 00:42:55,400 Now, there are some times when being stuck in the mud is kind of an adventure. I remember we were in college. 172 00:42:55,400 --> 00:43:02,400 I think it was my second year of college, and one of my buddies, his girlfriend was out of town, and so he was driving his car, 173 00:43:02,400 --> 00:43:07,400 because it's always more fun to drive somebody else's car than your car, and it was 11 o'clock at night. 174 00:43:07,400 --> 00:43:14,400 It had been pouring down rain. It was after curfew, and he comes into our dorm room, and he's obviously just come in from outside, 175 00:43:14,400 --> 00:43:21,400 and he goes, "Hey, I drove my girlfriend's car down to the soccer field, and I got it stuck in the mud, and when I got out of it, 176 00:43:21,400 --> 00:43:26,400 I left it in drive and shut the door, and now the doors are locked, and it's stuck in the mud." 177 00:43:26,400 --> 00:43:32,400 He's like, "Can you guys come help me?" And I was like, "Well, first of all, why do you think we can open your unlocked car 178 00:43:32,400 --> 00:43:39,400 at 11 o'clock after curfew?" I mean, we can, but why would you think of us? And so it was this adventure. 179 00:43:39,400 --> 00:43:45,400 We went out the back door of the dorms. We got the lockpick thing that I just picked up. We got his doors open. 180 00:43:45,400 --> 00:43:50,400 We're pushing it out, and we're struggling to get it out of the mud, and then he gets out, and you know what he does? 181 00:43:50,400 --> 00:43:55,400 He closes the door again, right? It's like, "Dude, one more time, and you're on your own." 182 00:43:55,400 --> 00:43:59,400 So we unlock it. We get it out of the mud. We get him back to the parking lot. 183 00:43:59,400 --> 00:44:05,400 We all make it back inside without incident, and it was a grand adventure, right? It's a good memory. 184 00:44:05,400 --> 00:44:17,400 That is not what David is talking about when he says, "I am stuck in the miry bog or the miry clay." 185 00:44:17,400 --> 00:44:23,400 The picture is you can't move and you can't run. A few weeks ago, we were camping up at Trout Pond, 186 00:44:23,400 --> 00:44:31,400 and we had our friends Newfoundland. They were there with us, and they had like a six- or seven-month-old Newfoundland. 187 00:44:31,400 --> 00:44:38,400 He never really been to a body of water, and so we were down by the little body of water, and I walked down the boat ramp. 188 00:44:38,400 --> 00:44:45,400 He was like, "Ralph, come on, over here," and trying to get him to go in the water, and instead he jumps off the side into the reeds and the mud. 189 00:44:45,400 --> 00:44:50,400 And it was deeper than he was, and he didn't realize he could swim, and he kind of goes underwater, 190 00:44:50,400 --> 00:44:54,400 and he just doesn't come back up for a minute. And what had happened is as he jumped in, right, 191 00:44:54,400 --> 00:45:00,400 his feet got stuck in that mud, and he wiggled, and he fought, and they finally got free, and he popped back up. 192 00:45:00,400 --> 00:45:06,400 And it was probably only a couple seconds, but I imagine if you're underwater and your feet are stuck in the mud, 193 00:45:06,400 --> 00:45:13,400 it feels like an eternity. This is where David finds himself. 194 00:45:13,400 --> 00:45:20,400 These two pictures of suffering, of stuck in the pit, but not just stuck in the pit, but drowning in the pit, 195 00:45:20,400 --> 00:45:26,400 and your feet are stuck in the mud so you can't even tread water to try to keep your head above ground. 196 00:45:26,400 --> 00:45:30,400 It's like what happens to Jeremiah in Jeremiah 38. 197 00:45:30,400 --> 00:45:36,400 They took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah the king's son, 198 00:45:36,400 --> 00:45:39,400 which was in the court of the guard, and they let Jeremiah down by ropes, 199 00:45:39,400 --> 00:45:42,400 and there was no water in the cistern, only mud. 200 00:45:42,400 --> 00:45:51,400 And Jeremiah sank into the mud like this, but worse and spiritual and emotional. 201 00:45:51,400 --> 00:45:58,400 In the 69th Psalm, David writes, "Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck." 202 00:45:58,400 --> 00:46:03,400 Right? There's not much space left. I sink into the deep mire. There is no foothold. 203 00:46:03,400 --> 00:46:11,400 I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me, and I am weary with my crying, and my throat is parched, 204 00:46:11,400 --> 00:46:20,400 and my eyes grow dim, waiting for my God. There's not much time left. 205 00:46:20,400 --> 00:46:26,400 And so here's the feeling that we see in the 40th Psalm. 206 00:46:26,400 --> 00:46:34,400 We see what David's feeling. He's fallen into a well, and the deep sludge at the bottom has sucked his feet into it. 207 00:46:34,400 --> 00:46:40,400 And every time he tries to lift his feet, or every time we try to lift ourselves up, we go down just a little deeper 208 00:46:40,400 --> 00:46:47,400 and the flood waters wash in, and the waves break over our heads, and everything is terrifying. 209 00:46:47,400 --> 00:46:53,400 And at that moment, we give everything to be able to breathe and be able to be free. 210 00:46:53,400 --> 00:46:58,400 And David's not speaking physically, but spiritually and emotionally. 211 00:46:58,400 --> 00:47:07,400 Maybe for us as well, overwhelmed, maybe overworked, overtired, fearful, just trying to catch your breath in life. 212 00:47:07,400 --> 00:47:18,400 One commentator said this, "It's a good thing we don't know what David's experience was, because it makes us easier to see ourselves in this pit." 213 00:47:18,400 --> 00:47:29,400 Anything that causes a sense of helplessness and desperation, and threatens to ruin life or take it away, this is David's pit. 214 00:47:29,400 --> 00:47:33,400 So what does David do in this moment? 215 00:47:33,400 --> 00:47:38,400 First of all, he cries out to God. 216 00:47:38,400 --> 00:47:42,400 There's a lot of ways that we can cry out. 217 00:47:42,400 --> 00:47:50,400 Cry out when we step on a Lego in the middle of the night, maybe in surprise, maybe in anger. 218 00:47:50,400 --> 00:47:56,400 The purpose of this psalm is not to speak about how David cries out. 219 00:47:56,400 --> 00:47:58,400 What does that sound like? What does that look like? 220 00:47:58,400 --> 00:48:06,400 But rather, I think the purpose of this psalm is, "Who does David cry out to?" 221 00:48:06,400 --> 00:48:11,400 He'll say that the Lord hears his cry. 222 00:48:11,400 --> 00:48:19,400 Notice when David is drowning, he doesn't look for some good advice. 223 00:48:19,400 --> 00:48:23,400 He doesn't sit and vent to a friend. Not that those things are bad, right? 224 00:48:23,400 --> 00:48:25,400 Advice is not bad. Talking to friends is not bad. 225 00:48:25,400 --> 00:48:30,400 But ultimately, he goes to the only one who can solve the problem. 226 00:48:30,400 --> 00:48:32,400 He goes to the Lord. 227 00:48:32,400 --> 00:48:40,400 And so many times we find ourselves in that pit, we do everything we can to avoid going to the Lord. 228 00:48:40,400 --> 00:48:46,400 It would be like if our power went off, and instead of calling our electric company and saying, 229 00:48:46,400 --> 00:48:49,400 "Hey, the power's off. Do you have an estimated time of restoration?" 230 00:48:49,400 --> 00:48:53,400 Calling a friend in another state saying, "Hey, my power just went off. 231 00:48:53,400 --> 00:48:55,400 What do you think we should do about it?" 232 00:48:55,400 --> 00:48:59,400 And then here's David, and he's not seeking help elsewhere. 233 00:48:59,400 --> 00:49:02,400 He's not looking to himself or his skills. 234 00:49:02,400 --> 00:49:04,400 He's not getting great advice. 235 00:49:04,400 --> 00:49:08,400 He just simply says, "The only one who can help me is the Lord." 236 00:49:08,400 --> 00:49:10,400 And he cries out to God. 237 00:49:10,400 --> 00:49:16,400 And so many times we cry out, but not to the right place. 238 00:49:16,400 --> 00:49:21,400 The other thing David does, and this might be even harder, 239 00:49:21,400 --> 00:49:23,400 is he waits. 240 00:49:23,400 --> 00:49:25,400 And he waits patiently, right? 241 00:49:25,400 --> 00:49:29,400 There's a difference between waiting and waiting patiently. 242 00:49:29,400 --> 00:49:31,400 David is drowning. He's stuck. 243 00:49:31,400 --> 00:49:33,400 There's nowhere to run. 244 00:49:33,400 --> 00:49:36,400 And he waits on God in his suffering. 245 00:49:36,400 --> 00:49:41,400 It's a difficult thing for us to wait on God in the best of times. 246 00:49:41,400 --> 00:49:45,400 In fact, we struggle, like many before us and many in Scripture, 247 00:49:45,400 --> 00:49:51,400 to keep ourselves in sync because we would rather trust our strength than God's. 248 00:49:51,400 --> 00:49:54,400 A great example of this is the book of Jonah. 249 00:49:54,400 --> 00:50:02,400 In Jonah chapter 1, God calls Jonah, and Jonah runs away. He runs somewhere else. 250 00:50:02,400 --> 00:50:06,400 God kind of drags him back. I always picture my grandma grabbing our earlobe, right? 251 00:50:06,400 --> 00:50:10,400 He drags him back, and then Jonah, in repentance, runs back to God. 252 00:50:10,400 --> 00:50:18,400 And for one chapter, he walks with God, and the very next chapter, he runs ahead telling God what to do. 253 00:50:18,400 --> 00:50:21,400 He's saying, "God, come on. Do this. Do what I want to do." 254 00:50:21,400 --> 00:50:27,400 And it's only a very short portion of the book where Jonah is actually walking with God. 255 00:50:27,400 --> 00:50:33,400 And we struggle with this, right? It's a difficult thing when God says, "Wait," right? 256 00:50:33,400 --> 00:50:39,400 We may want to go over here. We may want to rush out ahead or come up with our own plans. 257 00:50:39,400 --> 00:50:45,400 But David in this moment waits. David isn't being drug along by his ear. 258 00:50:45,400 --> 00:50:50,400 He's not running ahead telling God what to do. He's simply waiting. 259 00:50:50,400 --> 00:50:55,400 And the picture here is that he is intently waiting. It's not easy. 260 00:50:55,400 --> 00:51:03,400 In fact, the picture in the original language is like a rope that's being pulled on and twisted, but it stays strong. 261 00:51:03,400 --> 00:51:08,400 This is what's happening to David. He's being twisted and pulled on like a rope. 262 00:51:08,400 --> 00:51:20,400 But he stays strong and focused on God. And what it means is that in the pit, it's not our plan or our strength or our direction. 263 00:51:20,400 --> 00:51:29,400 And it's the hardest thing in the world to wait for God. And that's not to say that God doesn't call you to do something or to follow him. 264 00:51:29,400 --> 00:51:37,400 But there are times where God simply says, "Wait. Wait on me." And the question is, 265 00:51:37,400 --> 00:51:46,400 "How will I know when God says wait? And how will I know when God is calling me to walk ahead?" 266 00:51:46,400 --> 00:51:53,400 And I think biblically, and in my experience, God makes it pretty clear when our focus is on him. 267 00:51:53,400 --> 00:52:03,400 My favorite example, I was using this last week. I was talking to somebody about, "How do I know when to wait? And how do I know when to move? And how do I know when to do this?" 268 00:52:03,400 --> 00:52:13,400 And one of my favorite pictures of this is in the book of Ruth. If you know the story of Ruth, she has lost her husband. 269 00:52:13,400 --> 00:52:20,400 She's left her homeland. She's come to Israel as an outsider, as a Moabite. 270 00:52:20,400 --> 00:52:28,400 And she comes to a field in Ruth 2, belonging to a guy by the name of Boaz. And Boaz meets her and says, "Get your food from my field." 271 00:52:28,400 --> 00:52:39,400 And then he prays over her, and he says this, "May the Lord repay you for what you've done, and a full reward be given to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge." 272 00:52:39,400 --> 00:52:49,400 And Boaz prays that God would put his wings or wrap his arms around Ruth in this picture of protection. 273 00:52:49,400 --> 00:52:55,400 And then time comes, and the harvest is over, and Ruth finally has a conversation with Boaz. 274 00:52:55,400 --> 00:53:00,400 And it's in the middle of the night, and it's threshing floors. He's guarding it from thieves, and all of a sudden, Ruth is there. 275 00:53:00,400 --> 00:53:10,400 And he wakes up, and he's like, "Who's there?" And she says this, "I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are the Redeemer." 276 00:53:10,400 --> 00:53:18,400 And so Boaz prays that God would wrap Ruth up in his protection, spread his wings over her. 277 00:53:18,400 --> 00:53:26,400 And in the very next chapter, Ruth says, "You're the answer to that prayer." 278 00:53:26,400 --> 00:53:40,400 So Boaz prays, and when the time comes for him to do what God has called him to do, God helps him to see that through this question that points back to his prayer for Ruth. 279 00:53:40,400 --> 00:53:54,400 And as we are praying in the pit, I believe that God providentially, there are times, right? The Israelites at the Red Sea stand fast and see the salvation of the Lord. 280 00:53:54,400 --> 00:54:04,400 Or Paul, as he's preaching the gospel and he can't go north and he can't go south and he can't go east, and he's stuck and he waits. 281 00:54:04,400 --> 00:54:12,400 And then a man from Macedonia in a dream comes and says, "Come over and share the gospel with us." 282 00:54:12,400 --> 00:54:23,400 I don't know how long we'll wait. Sometimes it's quick, right? God's people leaving Egypt stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord and God splits the sea in half. 283 00:54:23,400 --> 00:54:33,400 But sometimes it's longer. Joseph for 17 years, thrown into a literal pit, sold into slavery, falsely accused and thrown into jail. 284 00:54:33,400 --> 00:54:41,400 Starting at the age of 17 until he is 30, 13 years of waiting. And he faithfully waited. 285 00:54:41,400 --> 00:54:47,400 And he did so by doing what God had placed in front of him to the best of his ability. 286 00:54:47,400 --> 00:54:59,400 And if you read through Genesis, specifically the chapter about that, one of the phrases you see over and over again is that God was with him in the midst of that waiting. 287 00:54:59,400 --> 00:55:13,400 Spurgeon will say this about the struggles and the troubles of life. He says, "I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the rock of ages." 288 00:55:13,400 --> 00:55:25,400 So David is in the pit. David cries out to God, and he patiently waits for his salvation. 289 00:55:25,400 --> 00:55:40,400 I waited patiently for the Lord, and he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction out of the miry bog, and he set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. 290 00:55:40,400 --> 00:55:49,400 He put a new song in my mouth and a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. 291 00:55:49,400 --> 00:55:57,400 David in an inescapable pit, rushing water, stuck. The waves are washing over. There is no escape, and what does God do? 292 00:55:57,400 --> 00:56:04,400 He lifts up, and he doesn't just pick him up and say, "All right, here's a fresh start. You're on your own." 293 00:56:04,400 --> 00:56:13,400 But it says, "He drew me up," and then he puts his feet upon the rock, and it's not just a one-time bailout. 294 00:56:13,400 --> 00:56:20,400 "I lifted you up. You're on your own." He gives him a firm foundation, and then notice this, "Making my steps secure." 295 00:56:20,400 --> 00:56:33,400 The picture is that God is still with him, that God doesn't just save, but God saves, establishes, and protects that God is watching over David. 296 00:56:33,400 --> 00:56:42,400 He doesn't just transform these circumstances. He transforms the picture and purpose of our life. 297 00:56:42,400 --> 00:56:52,400 And he lets us sing. "Put a new song of praise in my mouth." He put a new song in my mouth. 298 00:56:52,400 --> 00:56:59,400 This is both humbling and rejoicing. It's humbling because none of this is David. 299 00:56:59,400 --> 00:57:05,400 David doesn't draw himself out. David doesn't set his feet on the rock. David doesn't make his steps secure. 300 00:57:05,400 --> 00:57:11,400 In fact, David says, "I didn't even come up with this song." It's humbling to us, 301 00:57:11,400 --> 00:57:20,400 because our dependence must be upon God. But it's also so hopeful that in the darkest moments, 302 00:57:20,400 --> 00:57:26,400 God is the one who lifts out of the pit. There's a purpose in our difficulty. 303 00:57:26,400 --> 00:57:34,400 It doesn't make it easier. We may want it sooner. We may have our own ideas about how it should happen, 304 00:57:34,400 --> 00:57:40,400 but God comes and works at the right time. And even as we see in the life of Joseph, 305 00:57:40,400 --> 00:57:50,400 well, Joseph is in the pit. God is with him. And so David sings. He put a new song in my mouth, 306 00:57:50,400 --> 00:57:57,400 a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. 307 00:57:57,400 --> 00:58:02,400 This is a picture of joy over what God has done, right? He saved me. Now I'm rejoicing. 308 00:58:02,400 --> 00:58:09,400 And this is not some kind of commentary on worship music, right? We only sing new songs. 309 00:58:09,400 --> 00:58:14,400 What David is saying is God's done something wonderful in my life. 310 00:58:14,400 --> 00:58:20,400 He's transformed my life from the pit of destruction to the rock of ages, and now I stand. 311 00:58:20,400 --> 00:58:26,400 And because I said, I'm going to sing about it. So here's the question. What do you do when God helps you? 312 00:58:26,400 --> 00:58:33,400 What do you do when God saves you? Do you keep it quiet or do you sing about it? 313 00:58:33,400 --> 00:58:50,400 And this doesn't mean all of us become songwriters, but we are people who share how God has brought us out of the depths of our pit of sin and darkness and brought us into the light and put our feet upon the rock. 314 00:58:50,400 --> 00:58:58,400 This is a joyful singing over something that is wonderful. It's an intentional sharing of God's work in the life of his people. 315 00:58:58,400 --> 00:59:07,400 David says, "I'm going to sing." In fact, he says, "If I don't sing, how are they going to know about the goodness of God?" 316 00:59:07,400 --> 00:59:15,400 Listen to what he says just a few verses later. He says, "I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation. 317 00:59:15,400 --> 00:59:22,400 Behold, I have not restrained my lips as you know, O Lord. I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart. 318 00:59:22,400 --> 00:59:33,400 I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation. I have not concealed this steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation." 319 00:59:33,400 --> 00:59:42,400 Two purposes in sharing what God has done. It encourages God's people to hear that God is steadfast and faithful in the midst of our darkness, 320 00:59:42,400 --> 00:59:49,400 so that others in the pit can see that God is good. But also notice, this is evangelism. 321 00:59:49,400 --> 00:59:58,400 It brings others to put their trust in God. One of the things we struggle with is we might say, "How do I share the gospel?" 322 00:59:58,400 --> 01:00:09,400 "What has God done for you?" I think of the demon-possessed man in the Gospels who, legion, comes out of the caves. 323 01:00:09,400 --> 01:00:15,400 Probably quite surprising for Jesus' disciples. Not wearing any clothes. He'd been chained and broken. 324 01:00:15,400 --> 01:00:23,400 He'd cut himself with the rocks and was bleeding. Jesus transforms his life. And when the village comes, they find this man sitting in his right mind. 325 01:00:23,400 --> 01:00:34,400 And this guy goes, "Jesus, I want to follow you." And I think in part because he has a reputation of being the demon-possessed guy who lives in the tombs. 326 01:00:34,400 --> 01:00:44,400 Jesus says, "You can follow me, but not in the boat." He says something remarkable. He says, "Go home and tell everyone what the Lord has done for you." 327 01:00:44,400 --> 01:01:01,400 Sing the new song, "I pulled you out of the pits of death and hell living in a graveyard, and I've made you new." Go share that. Sing that song to your family and your friends and your town. 328 01:01:01,400 --> 01:01:13,400 So I want to encourage you this morning. First of all, that God is good and faithful and can save. And to put your trust in him and to cry out to him. 329 01:01:13,400 --> 01:01:42,400 But also, don't hide it. Don't restrain your lips. Don't conceal the steadfast love of God. In our lives so many times something exciting comes and we want to share our excitement about our hobbies or jobs or accomplishments. But how often have we spoken of the faithfulness and salvation of our God to those who 330 01:01:42,400 --> 01:02:11,400 desperately need to hear it? What are some of the things that God has done in your life? What is the good that God has done for you? When we begin to consider these, it encourages our heart and it strengthens us, reminding us that we know God's at work because we've seen him do it. But it also helps us to share that with those who are in desperate need of some good news. 331 01:02:11,400 --> 01:02:40,400 So let's not hide our struggles. David doesn't. He says, "I'm in the pit and I'm crying out to God," but let's also not hide those moments when God saves us. Let's declare the good news to those who were once in the same place we were. Father in heaven, help us to be people who declare the good news, who see how you have lifted us up and saved us, who brought us out of the pit and put our feet 332 01:02:40,400 --> 01:03:03,400 upon the rock. Help us to sing this new song. Help us to be lights in the darkness. You would direct us to those people who need to hear this, to be changed by, that you would humble us, and that you would strengthen us. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We're going to stand and sing "Great Are You, Lord." 333 01:03:10,400 --> 01:03:30,900 You give life, you are love, you bring light to the darkness. 334 01:03:30,900 --> 01:03:54,400 You give hope, you restore every heart that is broken. Great are you, Lord. It's your breath in our lungs. 335 01:03:54,400 --> 01:04:08,500 So we pour out our praise. We pour out our praise. It's your breath in our lungs. So we pour out our praise to you only. 336 01:04:08,500 --> 01:04:23,900 You give love, you are loved. You bring light to the darkness. You give hope, you restore every heart. 337 01:04:23,900 --> 01:04:53,400 The heart that is broken. Great are you, Lord. It's your breath in our lungs. So we pour out our praise. It's your breath in our lungs. So we pour out our praise to you only. 338 01:04:53,400 --> 01:05:22,900 All the earth will shout your praise. Our hearts will cry. These bones will sing. Great are you, Lord? All the earth will shout your praise. Our hearts will cry. These bones will sing. 339 01:05:22,900 --> 01:05:52,400 Great are you, Lord. It's your breath in our lungs. So we pour out our praise. We pour out our praise. It's your breath in our lungs. So we pour out our praise to you only. It's your breath. 340 01:05:52,400 --> 01:06:10,900 It's your breath in our lungs. So we pour out our praise. We pour out our praise. It's your breath in our lungs. So we pour out our praise to you only. 341 01:06:21,900 --> 01:06:51,400 Our Wednesday night Bible study. We are going through the book of Colossians. That's Wednesday night at 6 p.m. Also coming up next Sunday is our monthly children's church. I've been going through the Sermon on the Mount. So if you're a kiddo and have been working on the memorization of the memory verses, this is a good reminder to work on the Bible. 342 01:06:51,400 --> 01:07:20,900 Thank you for joining us on that for next Sunday. Coming up on the 15th is our kind of invite a friend Sunday, September 15th. We're going to begin our new series about following Jesus. There's a little card in the back if you have a friend you'd like to pass along the info to or just simply invite them to join us. We'll be having a meal following our service that Sunday. So that's coming up on the 15th. 343 01:07:20,900 --> 01:07:50,400 Also, our men's breakfast is happening Saturday, September 21st at 9:00 a.m. So we invite the men to come join us for some Bible, some bacon, and some fellowship with our brothers in Christ, and invite a friend as well. We're going to pray. We're going to read a verse from the end of the 40th Psalm, and then we will sing the doxology. So let's pray. 344 01:07:50,400 --> 01:08:13,400 Father in heaven, I thank you for your grace and your goodness in our lives. Help us not just to seek your salvation, but to declare it when we see its goodness in our lives. Help us both to run to you and to proclaim you to this world. It is in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 345 01:08:13,400 --> 01:08:34,400 David ends this psalm like this, "But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. May those who love your salvation say continually, great is the Lord. As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought of me. You are my help and my deliverer. Do not delay, O God." 346 01:08:34,400 --> 01:08:44,400 Praise God, from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below. Praise Him, above the heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 347 01:08:44,400 --> 01:09:03,400 Praise God, from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below. Praise Him, above the heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 348 01:09:03,400 --> 01:09:08,400 Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 349 01:09:33,400 --> 01:10:03,380 Jesus said, "Follow me." Let's pray. 350 01:10:03,400 --> 01:10:33,380 Let's pray. 351 01:10:33,400 --> 01:11:03,380 Let's pray. 352 01:11:03,400 --> 01:11:33,380 Let's pray.