Sermon:
INTRODUCTION:
Lieutenant General Lewis B. Puller, also known as “Chesty” Puller, is the most decorated Marine in United States history. He is the only Marine ever to be awarded five Navy crosses. The Navy cross is the highest award you can get in the Marines, and the second highest medal awarded for bravery in combat.
They called him “Chesty” because he was absolutely fearlessness and devoted to fulfilling his duty, come what may. Puller is quoted as once commenting,
“We’ve been looking for the enemy for some time now. We’ve finally found him. We’re surrounded. That simplifies our problem of getting to these people and killing them.” –Chesty PullerOur Scripture reading for today is a Psalm that was written by King David. David was a man who, like Puller, was very familiar with war and death. And like Puller, David was also fearless, devoted and confident. I’m not sure where Puller’s confidence came from, but I know that David’s confidence came from his trust in the LORD.
Our theme for today is...
“We Await the LORD’s Help”Psalm 27 (NIV)
1. With No Fear
2. With Joyful Praise
3. For He is Absolutely Trustworthy
4. In This Life and Beyond
OF DAVID.
1 The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evil men advance against me
to devour my flesh,
when my enemies and my foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.
3 Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then will I be confident.
4 One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.
6 Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the LORD.
7 Hear my voice when I call, O LORD;
be merciful to me and answer me.
8 My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”
Your face, LORD, I will seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
O God my Savior.
10 Though my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will receive me.
11 Teach me your way, O LORD;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors.
12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
breathing out violence.
13 I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.
▬
It wasn’t scary as I fished the Big Carp river in the daylight. But as the night descended on me, fear descended on me too. I was a teenager, fishing off on my own while my family was back at the cabins.
As always, it was one more cast, one more cast. And before long I was scrambling up the steep bank in the gloom of twilight. Out far too late for comfort. When I got up to the top of the ridge and found the trail that led back to the cabin, things only got worse.
The river was in the open, where some light still fell from the setting sun. But the ridge above the stream, there the trees suffocated all remaining light. Of course I didn’t have a lantern. Or a flashlight. The trail was clear enough, but I would have to walk it in the darkness.
As I did, my mind filled the darkness just beyond the distant trees with all sorts of unknown terrors. It’s silly to think of it in the daylight, here with all of you, now an adult. But then and there I was terrified.
Maybe you’ve had a similar experience in the darkness. Where the unknown seems to wait and watch. Maybe your fears aren’t of the dark, but of the unknown that is the future.
What about that foolish thing you said? What about this disease you have? What about these bills? What about that thing you done? What’s gonna happen?
One follower of God to another, David says to us, The LORD is your light and your salvation – what are you afraid of?
The God of the Bible, whom we worship, knows what lies in the darkness. He knows what lies in our future. He knows the troubles we face today and what we will face tomorrow. When we look to Him for guidance, the light of the Bible blazes to illuminate the way.
In the darkness of troubles we need to remember that we have a lantern. When we’re sinking down, we need to look up like Peter did in the sea of Galilee and call out for help saying, “Lord, save me!” (Matthew 14:30 NIV).
David says, “The LORD is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1b NIV). And in another Psalm it says,
“The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them” (Psalm 34:7 NIV).To be confident in the middle of the worst of times, we must learn to visualize what is the truth – that the LORD is our stronghold. He is the Castle that surrounds us at all times. If we can see this in our minds, believe it, then we can learn to face our fears, with no fear. We can learn to face our fears with the confidence of a young David, running swiftly to meet Goliath, with his sling in his hand and his trust in the LORD.
▬
As David waited for the LORD to help him, he did so with joy and while praising the LORD. Verse 4...
“4 One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.
6 Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the LORD” (Psalm 27:4-6 NIV).
▬
If you had one wish from a genie in a bottle, what would you wish for?
David would wish to remain in God’s house for the rest of his life. Throughout his life, David had known the LORD and had trusted in Him. And the LORD had blessed David.
David was just a shepherd boy, the youngest of eight brothers. But God chose him to be king of all Israel.
When David faced Goliath, God gave him a miraculous victory.
When Saul, the present king of Israel tried to hunt David down to kill him, God continually helped David escape his grasp.
And David didn’t just know the LORD’s protection, he also knew the LORD’s great compassion and forgiveness.
When David took another man’s wife and deceitfully had her husband murdered, God was not pleased. But he sent the prophet Nathan to turn David away from his own destructive lust.
When Nathan pointed out David’s sins, David was utterly convicted in his heart and said,
“I have sinned against the LORD” (2 Samuel 12:13a NIV).And Nathan assured him,
“The LORD has taken away your sin” (2 Samuel 12:13b NIV).David wanted to remain in the house of the LORD because there he would be safe from all enemies, including his own sinful self. In the house of the LORD David was safe from God’s wrath under the shelter of His forgiveness. In the house of the LORD David was secure on the high rock of God’s future Messiah.
We stand on that same Rock. Though sinners every day, we are forgiven because Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, suffered and died for our sins too. And each time we confess our sins to God, He meets us with the same reassurance, I have taken away your sin. I have laid them all on my Son. You stand forgiven.
This is why we happily praise the LORD. This is why we sing and make music to God, in our hearts, with our lives, and here in church with our instruments and voices.
▬
In verse 7 David turns from speaking to us, and speaks to the LORD in prayer. He says...
“7 Hear my voice when I call, O LORD;
be merciful to me and answer me.
8 My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”
Your face, LORD, I will seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
O God my Savior.
10 Though my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will receive me.
11 Teach me your way, O LORD;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors.
12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
breathing out violence” (Psalm 27:7-12 NIV).
▬
David was confident that, come what may, he would be received by the LORD. Even if his closest friends and loved ones deserted him, the LORD would not.
We can have the same confidence. We can be sure that the LORD will not abandon us. He will lead us to repent of our sins and will bring us back into His forgiveness and bless us, because of what happened to God’s Son.
On the cross Jesus cried out,
“...My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34b).He was rejected by God. God’s own Son was forsaken and left alone on the cross to suffer the cosmic punishment for all mankind’s sins – so that God could smile on all who turn to Him. We’re forgiven, because He was forsaken.
David closes this Psalm by inviting us to share His confidence in the LORD. In verse 13-14 David says...
“13 I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD” (Psalm 27:13-14 NIV).
OUTRO
When surrounded by hostile enemies, the Marine Chesty Puller was not afraid. Instead, he saw the closeness of his enemies as his own advantage.
When surrounded by our own set of troubles, we can have the same the confidence because of Christ. We can say to ourselves, “I’m surrounded by troubles and can’t see a way through them. This aught to give me a front row seat to view my LORD’s saving hand in action.”
So, let’s wait for the LORD. With no fear. While praising Him with great joy. Because He is more faithful than anyone else who loves us, and will bless us throughout this life, and beyond.
Be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.
Amen.
And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
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