WEBVTT 00:00:01.740 --> 00:00:05.719 Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, we are 00:00:05.719 --> 00:00:08.080 thankful for your help thus far in the meeting. 00:00:08.740 --> 00:00:11.380 We're thankful for all the encouragement that 00:00:11.380 --> 00:00:15.179 was had, for the opportunity to worship and praise 00:00:15.179 --> 00:00:20.280 you for who you are and what you have done. We're 00:00:20.280 --> 00:00:22.219 thankful for this time that you've given us now 00:00:22.219 --> 00:00:24.960 to study your word, to receive from you that 00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:28.769 which you desire to teach us. We pray that the 00:00:28.769 --> 00:00:30.850 word would go forth in the power of the Holy 00:00:30.850 --> 00:00:34.210 Spirit, that it would be received in that same 00:00:34.210 --> 00:00:37.270 power, and that it would accomplish all of the 00:00:37.270 --> 00:00:41.229 perfect will in the hearts of your people. We 00:00:41.229 --> 00:00:46.310 pray that indeed we would be submitted to receiving 00:00:46.310 --> 00:00:49.429 it, submitting ourselves to the work of the Holy 00:00:49.429 --> 00:00:54.140 Spirit. that you would increase our desire to 00:00:54.140 --> 00:00:56.740 love and to serve you and to be conformed to 00:00:56.740 --> 00:01:01.200 the image of our Lord Jesus Christ. We ask again 00:01:01.200 --> 00:01:03.939 for the lost, not only here, but gathered in 00:01:03.939 --> 00:01:06.560 amongst your people everywhere where the word 00:01:06.560 --> 00:01:09.680 is faithfully preached, that this might be the 00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:12.099 day of salvation of some who are yet in their 00:01:12.099 --> 00:01:17.459 sin. So glorify yourself in this time to follow, 00:01:17.640 --> 00:01:20.640 Father. Help me as I proclaim your word. Let 00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:24.459 me be true to it and proclaim only your word. 00:01:25.299 --> 00:01:30.819 And we ask it in Christ's name. Amen. Okay, we're 00:01:30.819 --> 00:01:36.879 going to look at Psalm 27 this morning. So, as 00:01:36.879 --> 00:01:41.060 I was considering and asking the Lord what would 00:01:41.060 --> 00:01:47.700 be a suitable passage to preach on. I came to 00:01:47.700 --> 00:01:52.079 Psalm 27 because I was preparing the reading 00:01:52.079 --> 00:01:56.500 for the prayer meeting. And lo and behold, this 00:01:56.500 --> 00:02:01.000 was impressed upon me to preach from today. So 00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:05.519 as I was preparing, I obviously came to realize 00:02:05.519 --> 00:02:08.099 that I'm not going to cover this psalm in its 00:02:08.099 --> 00:02:11.300 entirety today. So we're going to be looking 00:02:11.300 --> 00:02:16.360 at this Psalm 27 in weeks to come. Two, perhaps 00:02:16.360 --> 00:02:20.460 three more weeks will be in Psalm 27 on Sunday 00:02:20.460 --> 00:02:22.580 morning. So if you want to read and study ahead, 00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:27.000 please do. So today we're going to look at the 00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:32.620 first three verses of Psalm 27. Now, I should 00:02:32.620 --> 00:02:35.120 say this is a psalm that was composed by David 00:02:35.120 --> 00:02:38.840 when he was king. He'd gone through all of his 00:02:38.840 --> 00:02:41.699 trials and tribulations in the wilderness, and 00:02:41.699 --> 00:02:46.530 now he's king. So he's written this psalm in 00:02:46.530 --> 00:02:51.610 that perspective. So we'll read then. The Lord 00:02:51.610 --> 00:02:54.949 is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? 00:02:55.189 --> 00:02:59.069 The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom 00:02:59.069 --> 00:03:03.009 shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine 00:03:03.009 --> 00:03:06.189 enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my 00:03:06.189 --> 00:03:11.469 flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host... 00:03:11.870 --> 00:03:15.610 Should encamp against me. My heart shall not 00:03:15.610 --> 00:03:21.830 fear. The war should rise against me. In this 00:03:21.830 --> 00:03:28.750 will I be confident. So we can summarize this 00:03:28.750 --> 00:03:32.210 portion of the psalm. As David's declaration 00:03:32.210 --> 00:03:37.210 of his total confidence in his God. That's what 00:03:37.210 --> 00:03:40.949 he's declaring. He has no confidence in himself. 00:03:42.060 --> 00:03:44.800 He realizes all that he is, all that he has, 00:03:44.919 --> 00:03:48.460 all that's happened to him is of God. And he's 00:03:48.460 --> 00:03:52.060 confident in his God that he's going to continue 00:03:52.060 --> 00:03:56.860 that care over us. So if we don't learn anything 00:03:56.860 --> 00:03:59.860 else from this psalm, this is what God would 00:03:59.860 --> 00:04:03.199 have us to learn at least. That we should have 00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:07.319 great confidence in God. We have nothing to fear. 00:04:08.520 --> 00:04:14.430 We should serve him. and be faithful to him as 00:04:14.430 --> 00:04:19.370 a result of his faithfulness to us. So do you 00:04:19.370 --> 00:04:22.689 know you're a Christian? Hopefully you answer 00:04:22.689 --> 00:04:25.709 all in the affirmative. Without the assurance 00:04:25.709 --> 00:04:29.189 of our salvation in Christ, it's almost impossible 00:04:29.189 --> 00:04:33.750 to have any confidence in the Lord. That's the 00:04:33.750 --> 00:04:36.350 first question, really, that we have to ask, 00:04:36.490 --> 00:04:39.370 and we have to deal with it, the reality of it. 00:04:40.539 --> 00:04:44.160 Assurance gives confidence. Without assurance, 00:04:44.500 --> 00:04:49.079 no confidence. So know, know for a certainty 00:04:49.079 --> 00:04:52.240 that you are God's. Know for a certainty that 00:04:52.240 --> 00:04:57.259 God knows you. That he is for you. That he is 00:04:57.259 --> 00:05:02.220 no longer against us. But he's taking all care 00:05:02.220 --> 00:05:08.560 of us. He has made that pledge to us. If he does 00:05:08.560 --> 00:05:12.019 not care for us, he's violated his own word. 00:05:14.259 --> 00:05:17.399 Confidence. We can have utter, total confidence 00:05:17.399 --> 00:05:22.360 in God. So in the particular then, look at a 00:05:22.360 --> 00:05:28.060 few things. He says, the Lord is my light. Now 00:05:28.060 --> 00:05:31.160 in all three of these, we should note that it's 00:05:31.160 --> 00:05:35.699 not saying that the Lord gives light. It says 00:05:35.699 --> 00:05:41.199 the Lord is light. So that is David's declaration. 00:05:42.199 --> 00:05:44.939 In other words, there's no light anywhere else. 00:05:46.399 --> 00:05:48.779 If you don't know the Lord, you don't have any 00:05:48.779 --> 00:05:53.699 light. You're in the shadow lands. That's what 00:05:53.699 --> 00:05:57.300 the world lives in. That's what they travel through. 00:05:58.279 --> 00:06:00.819 That's what we all traveled through before we 00:06:00.819 --> 00:06:04.800 were converted. The shadow lands. No certainty. 00:06:05.399 --> 00:06:14.079 No confidence. All is just a murky puzzle. Make 00:06:14.079 --> 00:06:17.480 sure that you take the right step. So on and 00:06:17.480 --> 00:06:20.800 so forth. We don't need to go into that. But 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:24.899 with the Lord there is light. There is nothing 00:06:24.899 --> 00:06:30.220 but light. Light does not exist with darkness. 00:06:30.459 --> 00:06:38.790 Right? You can't have both. So again as Some 00:06:38.790 --> 00:06:41.529 Christians, perhaps, and surely the world, likes 00:06:41.529 --> 00:06:46.810 to have this gray area. Everything's gray. No 00:06:46.810 --> 00:06:49.689 certainty, no confidence. We just can't know 00:06:49.689 --> 00:06:52.389 for sure. We hope this is that way and so on 00:06:52.389 --> 00:06:54.610 and so forth. We don't know for sure about the 00:06:54.610 --> 00:06:57.850 Genesis account. It's probably just a big poetic 00:06:57.850 --> 00:07:02.509 description. We don't know. It's not important. 00:07:04.689 --> 00:07:09.889 That's a secondary issue. There's all kinds of 00:07:09.889 --> 00:07:11.949 secondary issues to those people that are in 00:07:11.949 --> 00:07:16.829 the gray. Everything is. They have no certainty. 00:07:18.029 --> 00:07:21.930 We're in the light. God is light. He would have 00:07:21.930 --> 00:07:26.350 us to walk in his light. According to his way. 00:07:26.410 --> 00:07:30.610 His light. Surely you can remember before you 00:07:30.610 --> 00:07:35.189 were converted. What a difference has come over 00:07:35.189 --> 00:07:40.449 you since you've been converted. You love the 00:07:40.449 --> 00:07:45.509 light. It's just like flipping a switch when 00:07:45.509 --> 00:07:48.990 you go into a dark room. Boom, it's light. Darkness 00:07:48.990 --> 00:07:53.709 vanishes away. It's gone. And we bask in the 00:07:53.709 --> 00:07:57.750 light. If you're up early enough to see the sunrise, 00:07:58.029 --> 00:08:03.569 it's the same thing. It's pitch black out there. 00:08:03.589 --> 00:08:08.920 You can't see anything. The sun begins to rise 00:08:08.920 --> 00:08:11.579 and the darkness begins to fade. Soon it's just 00:08:11.579 --> 00:08:16.779 a glorious light of the glorious sun. That's 00:08:16.779 --> 00:08:23.560 all of God. God is light. The primary thing that 00:08:23.560 --> 00:08:26.000 I think is describing here is the light of the 00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:30.339 Holy Spirit in regeneration. That's the light 00:08:30.339 --> 00:08:34.539 of God. That's the very beginning of God's work 00:08:34.539 --> 00:08:38.879 in us. The regenerating light of the Holy Spirit. 00:08:40.019 --> 00:08:44.019 Maybe we did read the Word before we were converted. 00:08:44.059 --> 00:08:47.480 Most of my kids read the Word before they were 00:08:47.480 --> 00:08:50.679 converted. I remember my mother, she used to 00:08:50.679 --> 00:08:57.899 read the Word. And my mother testified, I finally 00:08:57.899 --> 00:09:03.539 understand what I've read. I finally could read 00:09:03.539 --> 00:09:07.899 the Bible with understanding, with light. That 00:09:07.899 --> 00:09:11.360 came from God. It wasn't her own understanding. 00:09:12.519 --> 00:09:15.159 She didn't all of a sudden gain brain power. 00:09:16.240 --> 00:09:19.220 She gained light power from the gift of the Holy 00:09:19.220 --> 00:09:25.940 Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives light. And things 00:09:25.940 --> 00:09:28.659 begin to brighten up. Things begin to change. 00:09:29.519 --> 00:09:32.419 We see God in all the places where we never even 00:09:32.419 --> 00:09:37.559 knew he existed. We now know that he created 00:09:37.559 --> 00:09:39.759 all that there is, and not only did he create 00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:44.159 it, but he sustained it all. We know of a certainty 00:09:44.159 --> 00:09:49.899 that Adam was a historical man. Just as historical 00:09:49.899 --> 00:09:54.299 as Christ was. And if Adam wasn't historical, 00:09:54.580 --> 00:09:59.460 then neither was Jesus. Get that from the New 00:09:59.460 --> 00:10:03.340 Testament. But we start to learn. We start to 00:10:03.340 --> 00:10:08.820 grow. We start to appreciate. And then, all of 00:10:08.820 --> 00:10:11.519 a sudden, somebody shares the gospel with us. 00:10:12.860 --> 00:10:17.600 Or maybe we read it in our Bibles. And now, boom! 00:10:18.500 --> 00:10:22.940 We've got glorious light. We've got so much light 00:10:22.940 --> 00:10:27.840 that we can hardly stand it. He goes on, the 00:10:27.840 --> 00:10:35.159 Lord is my salvation. Notice, it's my salvation. 00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:41.360 He's declaring himself a saved man. Again, it's 00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:45.379 always, we always have to emphasize this. Almost 00:10:45.379 --> 00:10:47.940 everybody, or maybe not almost anybody anymore, 00:10:48.039 --> 00:10:50.179 but used to be everybody would say Christ is 00:10:50.179 --> 00:10:54.639 a savior. A lot of you have given it a thought. 00:10:55.659 --> 00:10:58.740 You think that they were saved? Of course not. 00:10:58.820 --> 00:11:01.100 They were just repeating a phrase that they'd 00:11:01.100 --> 00:11:06.600 heard or learned. We declare that he is my Savior. 00:11:07.879 --> 00:11:13.340 Again, confidence. Confidence in the Lord. The 00:11:13.340 --> 00:11:16.639 gift of the Holy Spirit has given us light. Now, 00:11:16.639 --> 00:11:21.720 we exercise the gift of faith in embracing Christ 00:11:21.720 --> 00:11:27.149 Jesus as our Lord. The Lord is my salvation. 00:11:29.529 --> 00:11:33.230 Again, it's all of the Lord. There's nothing 00:11:33.230 --> 00:11:39.149 in it but the Lord. You don't merit a thing. 00:11:39.490 --> 00:11:44.250 What you do merit is damnation. What? That's 00:11:44.250 --> 00:11:47.049 what we merit. That's the only thing we could 00:11:47.049 --> 00:11:50.909 ever merit. All these merit preachers, forget 00:11:50.909 --> 00:11:56.159 it. It's nothing but grace. It's all of grace. 00:11:57.659 --> 00:12:00.840 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ has saved 00:12:00.840 --> 00:12:05.019 us. I always find it remarkable when I read the 00:12:05.019 --> 00:12:08.360 Psalms or that, that David's living on promises. 00:12:10.299 --> 00:12:13.419 He's living on promises. He's making these declarations 00:12:13.419 --> 00:12:18.200 based on promise. And he's just as sure as if 00:12:18.200 --> 00:12:23.169 it has already happened. We don't live on promises 00:12:23.169 --> 00:12:25.570 anymore. We live in the reality, the fulfillment 00:12:25.570 --> 00:12:29.330 of the promises. How much more confidence should 00:12:29.330 --> 00:12:34.429 we have than the Old Testament saints? We live 00:12:34.429 --> 00:12:37.350 in the reality of the new era of the Spirit. 00:12:38.129 --> 00:12:41.350 Christ has accomplished His work. He's finished 00:12:41.350 --> 00:12:46.990 it. We know all about Him. He's given us a beautiful 00:12:46.990 --> 00:12:52.919 revelation. Jake made some comment this morning 00:12:52.919 --> 00:12:55.659 when we were talking about somebody would like 00:12:55.659 --> 00:13:02.419 to hear from God. Somebody told him that. And 00:13:02.419 --> 00:13:04.799 of course, immediately he said, well, you have. 00:13:05.340 --> 00:13:10.559 It's right here. You've heard from him. And you 00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:14.659 continue to hear from him. It is a letter to 00:13:14.659 --> 00:13:19.570 you and me. The New Testament epistles. They're 00:13:19.570 --> 00:13:24.889 personal. They're direct. They're the word of 00:13:24.889 --> 00:13:29.070 God to his children, his believers. The Lord 00:13:29.070 --> 00:13:33.870 is our salvation. It's a glorious declaration. 00:13:35.529 --> 00:13:39.730 One that we should never get tired of repeating, 00:13:40.009 --> 00:13:44.330 telling about, bearing witness. We're all going 00:13:44.330 --> 00:13:46.450 to have opportunity coming up here next month. 00:13:47.149 --> 00:13:49.830 To tell people about what all God has done in 00:13:49.830 --> 00:13:54.049 our lives. Most of them won't want to hear it, 00:13:54.070 --> 00:13:57.409 but it doesn't matter. They should hear it. They 00:13:57.409 --> 00:14:02.649 need to hear it. We should go out in confidence. 00:14:04.429 --> 00:14:06.909 Believing the Lord has prepared somebody to hear 00:14:06.909 --> 00:14:11.970 it. Again, where is our confidence in evangelization? 00:14:13.250 --> 00:14:17.500 It's our confidence in the Lord. We can't do 00:14:17.500 --> 00:14:21.379 anything but proclaim the word. God has to work. 00:14:21.879 --> 00:14:24.639 He has to make it effectual in people's lives. 00:14:24.840 --> 00:14:26.740 And we should have that confidence that he will. 00:14:27.559 --> 00:14:32.720 Whether there's any kind of instant response 00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:36.659 or whether it takes two, three weeks, two, three 00:14:36.659 --> 00:14:39.779 years later, God uses that word that was given 00:14:39.779 --> 00:14:44.720 to that person to bring him to himself. Confidence. 00:14:45.309 --> 00:14:48.570 There's no such thing as a vain or empty work. 00:14:48.710 --> 00:14:52.710 Remember, we saw that. All the work that is done 00:14:52.710 --> 00:14:56.629 for Christ is glorious to Him. It's not a waste 00:14:56.629 --> 00:15:01.149 of time. It's not a waste of effort. It's glorious. 00:15:02.169 --> 00:15:05.470 He loves to see His people responding to His 00:15:05.470 --> 00:15:08.649 love. With love for each other and love for the 00:15:08.649 --> 00:15:14.100 world. Of course, love to Him. So David declares, 00:15:14.179 --> 00:15:17.019 the Lord is my light. The Lord is my salvation. 00:15:18.600 --> 00:15:24.019 And he says, whom shall I fear? There is no other 00:15:24.019 --> 00:15:28.220 power on earth or in the heavens that can nullify 00:15:28.220 --> 00:15:33.580 God's work in his people. It's finished. It's 00:15:33.580 --> 00:15:37.299 done in us. There's no losing our salvation, 00:15:37.379 --> 00:15:40.950 in other words. When God saves us, It's just 00:15:40.950 --> 00:15:45.330 as if we were already in glory. Again, that's 00:15:45.330 --> 00:15:48.870 our confidence. That's our surety. That's what 00:15:48.870 --> 00:15:51.789 God has promised. Who should we be afraid of? 00:15:53.389 --> 00:15:58.169 There's nothing anyone can do to us. You say, 00:15:58.210 --> 00:16:01.090 well, they could kill me. Yeah, they just punched 00:16:01.090 --> 00:16:03.210 your ticket to heaven a little sooner than you 00:16:03.210 --> 00:16:10.100 expected. That's all. There's no reason for fear. 00:16:10.279 --> 00:16:13.600 Love casts out fear. Isn't that what it says? 00:16:14.740 --> 00:16:17.700 That's exactly what it says. Do you love the 00:16:17.700 --> 00:16:22.620 Lord? Who are you afraid of? Are you really afraid 00:16:22.620 --> 00:16:25.320 to share the gospel? I hear that sometimes. Are 00:16:25.320 --> 00:16:29.879 you really afraid to do that? How is that possible? 00:16:32.080 --> 00:16:35.539 It's impossible for a Christian to be afraid 00:16:35.539 --> 00:16:39.830 of sharing the gospel. Well, it happens anyway, 00:16:39.909 --> 00:16:45.230 doesn't it? Even though it is impossible. Do 00:16:45.230 --> 00:16:49.610 you see that? Do you see the utter fallacy in 00:16:49.610 --> 00:16:57.110 that? I'm admitting that when I first went out 00:16:57.110 --> 00:17:01.049 to share the gospel, I was afraid. Why was I 00:17:01.049 --> 00:17:07.089 afraid? I had nothing to fear. What could that 00:17:07.089 --> 00:17:13.880 man do? Nothing. There's been plenty of times 00:17:13.880 --> 00:17:15.960 when we were sharing the gospel and preaching 00:17:15.960 --> 00:17:18.480 in public where I got a little afraid still. 00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:21.319 Somebody gets right up in your face and you think 00:17:21.319 --> 00:17:26.319 you're about to get decked. But that doesn't 00:17:26.319 --> 00:17:30.660 deter. That doesn't deter us from what we have 00:17:30.660 --> 00:17:36.819 decided and dedicated ourselves to do. Who shall 00:17:36.819 --> 00:17:42.039 I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. 00:17:42.859 --> 00:17:46.240 Again, the Lord doesn't give the strength. He 00:17:46.240 --> 00:17:49.700 is the strength. These are God's attributes. 00:17:49.859 --> 00:17:57.880 Strength. Savior. Light. This is God. God of 00:17:57.880 --> 00:18:04.579 very God is in us. I mean, is that a ho -hum? 00:18:05.200 --> 00:18:10.279 Does that mean nothing to us? If you consider 00:18:10.279 --> 00:18:14.440 that, if you consider the truth that through 00:18:14.440 --> 00:18:18.660 the Holy Spirit, the Godhead is living and dwelling 00:18:18.660 --> 00:18:22.599 us, each of us as individuals, that's what the 00:18:22.599 --> 00:18:27.680 scriptures say. It says that same resurrection 00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:30.680 power that God raised Christ from the dead is 00:18:30.680 --> 00:18:37.599 in us. That's what it says. The Lord is our strength. 00:18:40.430 --> 00:18:42.589 We have no strength. As a matter of fact, if 00:18:42.589 --> 00:18:46.109 we don't know how weak we are, we have no strength. 00:18:46.829 --> 00:18:49.869 We don't act in our own strength. If we have 00:18:49.869 --> 00:18:53.190 self -confidence, then we forget it. You don't 00:18:53.190 --> 00:18:56.970 have any strength. Until you fall at the feet 00:18:56.970 --> 00:19:00.309 of the Lord Jesus Christ confessing your need 00:19:00.309 --> 00:19:04.349 in this situation, you don't have it. You don't 00:19:04.349 --> 00:19:09.180 have strength. But as soon as you do, you've 00:19:09.180 --> 00:19:13.619 got all the strength that you need. No one can 00:19:13.619 --> 00:19:19.180 stand in front of you. The Lord is our strength. 00:19:20.579 --> 00:19:26.039 The beautiful Father, the Father God, is our 00:19:26.039 --> 00:19:30.960 strength. The God of all the earth, all the heavens, 00:19:31.079 --> 00:19:37.480 all the universe, is ours. Think on these things, 00:19:37.579 --> 00:19:41.200 would you please? Would you meditate on these 00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:46.619 things? Would you allow them to have some effect 00:19:46.619 --> 00:19:51.660 upon your life? That's what I'm asking. That's 00:19:51.660 --> 00:19:53.700 what I'm exhorting. That's what I'm encouraging 00:19:53.700 --> 00:19:57.519 you to do. You want confidence? Think on these 00:19:57.519 --> 00:20:02.079 things. Try to look at your life thus far. And 00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:04.839 actually maybe pick out two, three, four, maybe 00:20:04.839 --> 00:20:07.500 a dozen times that the Lord has come to your 00:20:07.500 --> 00:20:13.599 aid. A couple times that the Lord showed you 00:20:13.599 --> 00:20:17.400 something. Shed light on a subject. And all of 00:20:17.400 --> 00:20:20.359 a sudden, all of the fogginess and doubt was 00:20:20.359 --> 00:20:23.859 just gone. And there he was in all of his beauty. 00:20:24.559 --> 00:20:27.720 And you could rejoice in what he taught you. 00:20:28.500 --> 00:20:32.359 Think on these things. If we're Christians, we 00:20:32.359 --> 00:20:36.720 have these experiences. We have experienced God. 00:20:38.119 --> 00:20:43.519 Everybody in his own way. And it may just be 00:20:43.519 --> 00:20:47.059 beginning. You may just be beginning to experience 00:20:47.059 --> 00:20:53.819 God. Have you ever been reading a word and all 00:20:53.819 --> 00:20:59.480 of a sudden it just opens up to you? Yeah, I 00:20:59.480 --> 00:21:04.819 see that. Well, hopefully you can answer some 00:21:04.819 --> 00:21:09.039 of these things in the affirmative. Because if 00:21:09.039 --> 00:21:11.720 you want confidence in God, that's what you need 00:21:11.720 --> 00:21:15.859 to do. You need to prove Him is the way God puts 00:21:15.859 --> 00:21:21.079 it. Prove me in these things. I'm willing for 00:21:21.079 --> 00:21:27.220 you to prove me. When you prove God, your faith 00:21:27.220 --> 00:21:30.299 will grow. You'll just... exponentially grow 00:21:30.299 --> 00:21:33.220 in your love, devotion, and faith to God because 00:21:33.220 --> 00:21:37.440 he will prove his word to you. To you as an individual. 00:21:43.779 --> 00:21:45.960 So I don't know if David knew about it here, 00:21:46.019 --> 00:21:49.759 but he had the Trinity right here. The Spirit, 00:21:50.019 --> 00:21:55.380 the Savior, and God Almighty. All of them right 00:21:55.380 --> 00:21:59.240 there in that one verse. Hopefully you can see 00:21:59.240 --> 00:22:01.779 that. Hopefully you can see that everything that 00:22:01.779 --> 00:22:06.720 we are is because of God. Everything that has 00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:11.240 happened to us is because of God. And everything 00:22:11.240 --> 00:22:15.039 that has happened to us has been good because 00:22:15.039 --> 00:22:21.059 of God. Because He's on our side. That's what 00:22:21.059 --> 00:22:29.549 the Word says. So, He gives two examples here. 00:22:30.690 --> 00:22:35.849 In verse 2, as I guess we've already talked about, 00:22:36.029 --> 00:22:39.849 he says, When the wicked, even mine enemies and 00:22:39.849 --> 00:22:43.069 my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they 00:22:43.069 --> 00:22:46.369 stumbled and fell. So he's recounting history 00:22:46.369 --> 00:22:51.289 there. He has proved God. God has been true to 00:22:51.289 --> 00:22:56.390 his word. He had his confidence in God, and he 00:22:56.390 --> 00:22:59.269 was depending on God and God's strength, and 00:22:59.269 --> 00:23:03.210 all of his enemies failed. They couldn't prevent 00:23:03.210 --> 00:23:05.630 him from becoming king, what he's declaring. 00:23:07.650 --> 00:23:11.130 So, as I think we've said on several different 00:23:11.130 --> 00:23:15.509 occasions already, when we as New Testament Christians, 00:23:15.990 --> 00:23:20.190 the era of the Holy Spirit, when we see this 00:23:20.190 --> 00:23:23.240 word enemies in these Psalms, We should think 00:23:23.240 --> 00:23:30.740 of sin. Sin is our enemy. And of course the devil 00:23:30.740 --> 00:23:34.420 and his minions are also our enemy. Those are 00:23:34.420 --> 00:23:40.220 our enemies. We shouldn't think of people. When 00:23:40.220 --> 00:23:43.400 people can come against us, people can try to 00:23:43.400 --> 00:23:47.380 harm us. That's all true. But normally it's because 00:23:47.380 --> 00:23:50.839 of sin in them or they're under the influence 00:23:50.839 --> 00:23:54.970 of the devil. So when you see this word enemies 00:23:54.970 --> 00:23:58.210 in our context, that's how we should view it. 00:23:59.089 --> 00:24:04.490 So sin, I'm saying, has no power over us. Sin 00:24:04.490 --> 00:24:09.890 is helpless before us. Where does sin get its 00:24:09.890 --> 00:24:14.589 power from? We give it to him. We give in. We 00:24:14.589 --> 00:24:18.109 say, I can't resist or whatever. I'm tired of 00:24:18.109 --> 00:24:21.569 striving. Whatever the case may be, the sin cannot 00:24:21.569 --> 00:24:25.599 win. When we are conscious of our service, our 00:24:25.599 --> 00:24:30.480 position, our place in the Lord. We never have 00:24:30.480 --> 00:24:34.819 to sin. The Bible promises when sin comes our 00:24:34.819 --> 00:24:40.660 way that God will make a way to escape it. That's 00:24:40.660 --> 00:24:46.519 not a joke. That's just the truth. So you don't 00:24:46.519 --> 00:24:57.289 have to give in to your enemy. So, again, if 00:24:57.289 --> 00:25:00.869 we look at our lives, hopefully we can see some 00:25:00.869 --> 00:25:04.549 type of progress made over sin. Some kind of 00:25:04.549 --> 00:25:07.529 victories that we've achieved over sin, hopefully. 00:25:08.730 --> 00:25:13.049 If we're Christians, I'm sure that we can. Paul, 00:25:13.049 --> 00:25:15.970 just like Paul says, I'm not what I used to be. 00:25:16.609 --> 00:25:21.930 And I am what I am by the grace of God. That's 00:25:21.930 --> 00:25:25.710 what we should all be able to say. I'm not what 00:25:25.710 --> 00:25:29.250 I want to be, but I'm not what I was. Words to 00:25:29.250 --> 00:25:32.849 that effect. There's growth happening. There's 00:25:32.849 --> 00:25:36.069 progress being made. We're taking on the image 00:25:36.069 --> 00:25:40.210 of our Father, which is what the normal thing 00:25:40.210 --> 00:25:44.910 is for anybody, for physical children and for 00:25:44.910 --> 00:25:48.730 God's children. We should all be taking on our 00:25:48.730 --> 00:25:54.269 Father's image, the glory of Christ. And then 00:25:54.269 --> 00:26:00.490 lastly here, he's not only expressing his past 00:26:00.490 --> 00:26:03.430 experiences, but he's looking to the future. 00:26:03.910 --> 00:26:07.130 And he says, though a host should encamp us against 00:26:07.130 --> 00:26:11.470 me, my heart shall not fear. Though war should 00:26:11.470 --> 00:26:14.890 rise against me, in this will I be confident. 00:26:15.009 --> 00:26:18.029 In this, in the Lord, in all that he's done, 00:26:18.269 --> 00:26:21.809 in all that he's already done. This is my confidence. 00:26:22.730 --> 00:26:25.329 No matter what comes up against me, this is my 00:26:25.329 --> 00:26:29.369 confidence. Some of you have not experienced 00:26:29.369 --> 00:26:33.549 much conflict or anything else in your life yet. 00:26:34.269 --> 00:26:37.829 Perhaps you never will. I don't know. But hopefully 00:26:37.829 --> 00:26:40.769 you've made up your mind now that regardless 00:26:40.769 --> 00:26:43.430 of what happens to you, you are going to serve 00:26:43.430 --> 00:26:47.170 the Lord. You are not turning your back. You 00:26:47.170 --> 00:26:50.460 are not giving in to the world. You are not going 00:26:50.460 --> 00:26:52.900 to try to escape through sinful measures, whatever 00:26:52.900 --> 00:26:56.200 the problem is. That's what he's saying here. 00:26:56.740 --> 00:27:01.220 My confidence is unshakable. If the whole countries 00:27:01.220 --> 00:27:04.420 around me come to war, I'm going to serve the 00:27:04.420 --> 00:27:09.019 Lord. That's our attitude. That's our desire. 00:27:10.940 --> 00:27:14.380 We want to glorify God regardless of what happens 00:27:14.380 --> 00:27:19.430 to us. And we don't make plans. trying to figure 00:27:19.430 --> 00:27:23.170 out a way to be more pleasing in anybody's sight 00:27:23.170 --> 00:27:27.769 but who? The Lord. That's who we're seeking to 00:27:27.769 --> 00:27:32.410 make plans for so that we're enabled to please 00:27:32.410 --> 00:27:37.170 Him more and more and more. That's confidence. 00:27:38.029 --> 00:27:51.660 That's how we should live. i can't i don't know 00:27:51.660 --> 00:27:54.160 i quoted this i don't know if this is the same 00:27:54.160 --> 00:27:58.500 quote that i've used before or if this is a different 00:27:58.500 --> 00:28:03.819 quote it's almost it's very similar but spurgeon 00:28:03.819 --> 00:28:07.099 quotes this in relation to this sign and he's 00:28:07.099 --> 00:28:10.740 talking about warriors or fearful people not 00:28:10.740 --> 00:28:16.039 lawyers warriors fearful people and so he says 00:28:16.039 --> 00:28:21.460 the fearful or worrisome Feel 1 ,000 deaths in 00:28:21.460 --> 00:28:31.140 fearing one. Did you get it? All worry, anxiety, 00:28:31.460 --> 00:28:36.200 fearfulness does is adds stress and dread and 00:28:36.200 --> 00:28:41.839 death and nothing pleasant in our lives. Love 00:28:41.839 --> 00:28:46.680 casts out fear. So have confidence in the Lord. 00:28:47.240 --> 00:28:49.400 Being convinced of his love for you is really 00:28:49.400 --> 00:28:52.980 what we're saying. Do you really believe God 00:28:52.980 --> 00:28:56.240 loves you? That he's going to keep you from all 00:28:56.240 --> 00:29:01.279 harm? That his plan is the best plan? Do you 00:29:01.279 --> 00:29:04.859 believe that? Well, live accordingly then. And 00:29:04.859 --> 00:29:09.940 show that you believe it by how we live. Amen.