The Benefit of Faith
Luke 8:40-56
August 12, 2018

This morning we again embark upon a familiar set of stories.
• We see Jesus healing the hemorrhaging woman
• And we see Jesus raising Jairus’ daughter from the dead.

And there are a lot of angles that this story can be told from.
I think you can even get different angles from the 3 gospel writers.

• MATTHEW was definitely the most brief seemingly just pointing out that Jesus has definite power over death.

• MARK really strikes a compassionate chord. When you read his account you can feel the pity he has for both the woman and for the synagogue official.

• And then we have LUKE’S account. And while we certainly witness the both the power and compassion of Jesus, Luke’s account seems to focus most on the way Jesus responded to faith.

As you know, we are in the portion of Jesus’ ministry
Where He is really pouring into the disciples. He is revealing who He is.

We’ve just witnessed the field trip where Jesus carried the disciples through a storm to a Satanic stronghold and used an army of demons to solidify exactly who He was.

It should be clear to the disciples by this point
That Jesus is in fact the Son of the Most High God.
(And the disciples will soon confess that in Luke 9)

But there is more to the lesson here than just the person of Jesus.
There is also THE EXPECTATION OF JESUS.

These men are being recruited as servants of Christ
And in the very next chapter
Are about to be commissioned out to preach in His name.

It is important that they understand exactly what He wants from people.

And how important this remains today.

Despite the clear teaching of Scripture,
This issue is continually being muddled and distorted
By the enemy and by false doctrine.

SCRIPTURE HAS MADE NO BONES ABOUT WHAT GOD REQUIRES.

Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

That certainly seems to spell it out clearly.

The writer of Hebrews also reminded us:
Hebrews 11:1-2 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval.”

And this would include men like Abraham:
Genesis 15:6 “Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”

This would include men like David:
Romans 4:6-8 “just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: “BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED. “BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.”

And of course this includes every other person listed there in the faith hall of fame of Hebrews 11.

And then there is that foundational verse that rattled the very core of Martin Luther and sparked the Reformation.
Romans 1:17 “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”

The requirement of God has always been
Clearly spelled out for humanity.
GOD REQUIRES FAITH

And certainly we have no problem clarifying there that
God requires genuine saving faith as opposed to simple ascent.
• True faith obeys
• True faith endures
• True faith humbles itself before God

Certainly if a person lacks humility or obedience or endurance
We understand that their faith may not be what they profess it to be.

But the root requirement to it all is FAITH

Certainly if these disciples are going to go out and preach the kingdom,
Which is what occurs in chapter 9,
They will need to have a firm grasp on exactly what Jesus is looking for.

And that point is clearly made and even pointed out by Jesus
Here in the context of these 2 miracles.

Let’s work through this story and see, not only the divine power of Jesus,
But also the faith that He seems to acknowledge.

3 points
#1 A HUMBLE REQUEST
Luke 8:40-42a

Well you remember the events leading up to this day.
• Jesus has just sailed for the Gerasenes,
• Upon cleansing the demoniac,
• Was asked to leave their country, and now has returned.

I think it’s interesting also to point out the context
That Matthew’s gospel includes for this story.

Matthew 9:10-18 “Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?” But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. “But go and learn what this means: ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Then the disciples of John came to Him, asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. “But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results. “Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.” While He was saying these things to them, a synagogue official came and bowed down before Him, and said, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live.”

Perhaps that helps you a little with the timeline of events here.
• Closely coinciding with this trip across the sea is also the event in which
Matthew threw a banquet for Jesus and riled up all of the religious leaders.
• Perhaps Matthew threw that banquet when he returned after being convinced
of the Divine power of Jesus.

But I bring that setting up to you because
It really only elevates even more what is about to happen.

Luke says that when Jesus returned “the people welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him.”

Certainly we know why.
• These people wanted His miracles.
• These people wanted His healings.

We already know that they weren’t listening to His message,
• Which is why He has begun to pull away from them a little,
• But that doesn’t mean they aren’t still enamored with His power.

We see the same dilemma today quite often.
There are a great many people today
Who are interested in the healing power of Jesus,
Who have absolutely no interest in hearing what He has to say.

Well, this crowd is here.
And apparently, (according to Matthew) Jesus was also
In the middle of a debate regarding legalism and mercy for sinners.

AND DURING ALL OF THIS
(41-42a) “there came a man named Jairus, and he was an official of the synagogue; and he fell at Jesus’ feet, and began to implore Him to come to his house; for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying.”

Many times when miracles are worked we are not intimately introduced to the recipient.
• We don’t know the name of the widow from Nain,
• Or the paralytic who was lowered through the roof,
• Or even the woman Jesus is about to heal.

But the gospel writers do introduce us to this man.
His name is “Jairus” and he “was an official of the synagogue”

In verse 49 the word “official” is
ARCHISYNAGOGOS (ar-kay-soon-a-go-gos)

And that means that he is not just any old official,
But in fact he is the head official of the synagogue.

John MacArthur notes:
“[He] was the chief official, or elder, of the synagogue…the highest ranking religious official in Capernaum, responsible for the total administration and operation of the synagogue. He supervised the worship services and oversaw the work of the elders, which included teaching, adjudicating disputes, and other such leadership duties.”
(MacArthur, John [The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Matthew 8-15; Moody Press, Chicago, IL; 1987] pg. 76)

And I think that is why the gospel writers include this man’s information.

It is NOT that this man somehow validated Jesus
By coming from such a high position.

But rather that a man of his position would humble himself before Jesus
Speaks to the sincerity of his faith.

As Matthew noted,
• Jesus was presently in a debate with a bunch of legalists about fasting.
• We already know what the chief priests and the scribes thought of Jesus.

What humility it must have taken for this man to cut through this crowd and bow down before Jesus and “implore Him to come to his house”

What we see being put on display here
Is both the humility and desperation of faith.

This man had a 12 year old daughter who “was dying”
Mark’s gospel says “at the point of death”
There was nothing anyone could do for her.

But don’t you suppose this synagogue official had heard a story or two about this Jesus?
• Do you suppose he knew about all the healings He had performed?
• Do you suppose he knew about the leper that had been cleansed?
• He may have even been in the synagogue that day when Jesus cast the
demon out of that man.

He had heard plenty about Jesus.

But until today he had never been desperate enough
To put his reputation on the line to go and approach Him.

BUT ON THIS DAY JAIRUS WAS AT THE END OF HIMSELF.

And let me tell you something about genuine saving faith,
It does not occur until you come to the end of yourself.

If you are still holding on to something good in yourself
As valuable and of merit before God
You do not yet possess the necessary humble faith that Jesus requires.

This is what makes legalism so very dangerous.
This is why Paul wrote so vehemently against it to the Galatians.

To have even a shred of confidence in anything you have done
As beneficial in your quest for salvation
Only indicates that you do not fully trust Christ.

Humility is a necessary aspect of saving faith.

In fact, when Jesus revealed that point He used stronger language than that.
Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

• The idea there is of absolute spiritual bankruptcy.
• And even more interesting than that is that the Greek phrase that Jesus spoke
there is in the emphatic.
• Which means “theirs alone” is the kingdom of heaven.

• If you aren’t spiritually bankrupt…
• If you have not come to the end of your works…
• If you have not come to the end of your merit…
• If you are not ready to fully deny yourself and all your accomplishments…
You are not yet ready to demonstrate the type of faith Jesus requires.

Jairus was
“he fell at Jesus’ feet, and began to implore Him to come to his house;”

There were no other options.
Jesus alone could help
Jesus alone could save
And Jesus is moved by his faith to follow Him.

But this is when the story takes an unexpected turn

A Humble Request
#2 A DESPERATE ATTEMPT
Luke 8:42b-48

Again we take into account the scene.
• Jesus has been welcomed back by all the people.
• And I promise you those people had expectations of their own regarding healing and deliverance.

BUT this synagogue official sort of ruined all their plans
And sought to steal Jesus away from the crowd.
AND JESUS IS LEAVING WITH HIM!!!

Which is why we read:
(42b) “But as He went, the crowds were pressing against Him.”

You know why.
• It’s because people are selfish.
• There were other people in that crowd who wanted healing and they want it before Jesus runs off to help this little girl.

Jesus is about to leave and the mob bombards Him
And “were pressing against Him”

And then we read of a remarkable story.

AND I WANT TO POINT OUT TO YOU from the beginning that
No one would know this story if Jesus hadn’t stopped
And specifically pointed out that it happened.

(43-44) “And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped.”

Here we have another tragic scene.
• On one hand we have a girl fighting for life at 12 years of age
• On the other hand we have a woman who for the last 12 years has had anything but life

You must understand the culture of her day
To know how miserable she must have been.

This woman was bleeding
• Certainly that brings with it inconvenience
• Certainly that brings with it weakness
But for a Jewish woman it brought even more than that

Leviticus 15:25-27 “Now if a woman has a discharge of her blood many days, not at the period of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond that period, all the days of her impure discharge she shall continue as though in her menstrual impurity; she is unclean. ‘Any bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her like her bed at menstruation; and every thing on which she sits shall be unclean, like her uncleanness at that time. ‘Likewise, whoever touches them shall be unclean and shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening.”

A woman in her condition was unclean
And she defiled everything she touched

She was for all intents and purposes a leper among her own people.
The only difference of course was that she was not contagious
And so she did not have to be quarantined outside the city.
She bore her shame every day

And she also had come to the end of herself.
Luke records that she “could not be healed by anyone”

I remind you that Luke was also a physician
And so he knew something of which he spoke.

Mark, telling the story through compassionate eyes, records:
Mark 5:26 “and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse”

And so it wasn’t just that doctors couldn’t help her.
• They had actually greatly harmed her in their treatments
• Taken all the money she had as payment
• And left her in a worse condition than when she started

This woman is out of options.

But having heard about Jesus (Mark 5:27) she decided to come to Him.

And she “came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped.”

Now let’s stop and make a few observations here.
1) If this woman touches any other person they become unclean, but when she touches Jesus, she becomes cleansed.
Let that sink in

2) She is not the only person touching Jesus by a long-shot, but she is the only person being healed.

And this helps us understand why Jesus stopped.

(45-46) “And Jesus said, “Who is the one who touched Me?” And while they were all denying it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on You.” But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me.”

All of a sudden, while following Jairus and fighting through the crowd
Jesus stops dead in His tracks.

SOMETHING HAPPENED.
Something occurred that Jesus wanted to make sure that everyone knew.

WHAT IS IT THAT JESUS WANTED EVERYONE TO KNOW?
If you say He wanted them to know
He had the power to heal you are WRONG.

That is NOT what He is trying to publicize.

That is easy to prove.
Look down to the end of the story after He raises the girl from the dead and notice what He says (56) “but He instructed them to tell no one what had happened.”

Jesus DIDN’T stop because He wanted the crowd to know
That He had just healed someone.

JESUS STOPPED FOR A DIFFERENT REASON.
And it began by Him asking “Who is the one who touched Me?”

And He must have asked it with a little bit of fire
Because “they were all denying it”

No one wanted to own up, when we already know that
Many people were pressing against Him.

And it’s at this point that Peter takes the bait (as he always does) and says, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on You.”

In other words, “Jesus, what are You talking about, ‘Who touched You?’ everyone touched You.”

But Jesus wasn’t talking about someone
Stepping on His toe or bumping His shoulder.
Jesus knew that someone in that crowd had touched Him differently.

(46) “But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me.”

Now, let me go ahead and kill at least some of the suspense.
• Jesus knew exactly who touched Him.
• Jesus knew why she touched Him.
• Jesus made the decision to heal her when she touched Him.
• And He even knew exactly where she was standing.

What He is doing here is purposely making a spectacle.
He has everyone in the crowd’s attention.

(I would like to know what Jairus was doing at this very moment.
I’m sure antsy doesn’t come close to describing him right now)

Jesus is making a point, not about His power, but about something else.

(47-48) “When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed. And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”

And there you see it yet again.
Humility, desperation, a willingness to suffer harm or humiliation all just to get to Jesus.

Jesus stops on His way to Jairus’ house
Because here He finds another example of the great faith
That He expects from everyone.

He already commended the faith of Jairus
• By being willing to leave the crowd and follow him.

Now He commends the faith of this woman
• By calling her out in front of the entire crowd and pointing out the effect of her faith is that she has been “made…well”

Only, the word is stronger than that.
It is the word SOZO in the Greek.
It is the word we translated “saved”

Jesus stopped and called attention to this woman
Not because He wanted to demonstrate His power to heal
(although certainly He did) but rather because
He wanted to publicly recognize the faith this woman had.

And if you’re doing a little inventory in your brain right now,
You realize that
• While Jesus frequently tells people not to mention the miracle He worked,
• He never misses an opportunity to put great faith on display.

Remember the leper?
Luke 5:12 “While He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

That was great faith.
After cleansing Him, Jesus didn’t tell him to keep it private.
Luke 5:14 “And He ordered him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

Remember the paralytic being lowered down through the roof?
What was it that caused Jesus to make such a public spectacle about the forgiveness and healing of this man?
Luke 5:20 “Seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”

Do you remember when he stood on the plateau and all the people were wanting to be healed? Do you remember what He did and said?
Luke 6:19-20 “And all the people were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all. And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.”

And of course that followed with the rest of the beatitudes.

Do you see how He is continually accentuating faith?
He told that entire crowd that was hungry for healing
That humble faith was what was really important.

Do you remember when the Centurion wanted his servant healed and believed that Jesus could heal him from a distance?
Luke 7:9 “Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, “I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.”

Do you remember when Jesus ate at the Pharisees house and He pointed out the woman who was there worshiping Him?
Luke 7:44-48 “Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. “You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. “You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.”

And when the disciples panicked in the boat, what did He ask them?
Luke 8:25 “And He said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?”

Are you catching the point?

Jesus is very pointed about what He is broadcasting.
Yes He has power and Yes He puts it on display.

But the thing He never fails to put on display is the necessity of faith
And any time He sees the type of faith He is looking for
HE POINTS IT OUT.

You don’t find Him pointing out and bragging about people’s works.
That’s what infuriated the religious leaders so much.
• They had everyone beat with works and Jesus didn’t care at all about that.
• He just went around everyone bragging about faith.

Even here:
He was on a rush errand to save a girl from dying
And still took the time to stop and point out great faith.

Are you beginning to understand how important faith is to Jesus?
– very important

Are you beginning to understand what true faith looks like?
– humble, desperate, willing to suffer shame

JESUS POINTS THIS WOMAN OUT BECAUSE
He wants everyone around to know
How important it is that they have faith in Him.

A Humble Request, A Desperate Attempt
#3 A REMARKABLE DELIVERANCE
Luke 8:49-56

So Jesus is in the middle of making sure everyone knows about this woman’s faith when messengers arrive.

(49) “While He was still speaking, someone came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; do not trouble the Teacher anymore.”

Now this certainly pointS out to us the difficulty of the death problem.
The reason people hate death so much is because of its FINALITY.

When you die…that’s it.

Many people thought that this was too much for even Jesus to handle.
Remember the Lazarus story?
John 11:21 “Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

John 11:32 “Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

John 11:37 “But some of them said, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?”

They all knew with the sick there was at least a chance,
But once death steps in, forget it, it’s over.

And of course death is the ultimate consequence of the fall.
God told Adam that he would surely die and he surely did.

Go back and read Genesis 5 again if you must.
• It is the descendants of Adam and that list is there to serve one purpose.
• It is there to show that death has arrived.
• “and he died” – “and he died” – “and he died” – “and he died”

This is Jairus’ worst fear.
Before she was near death, now she is dead.

It should not surprise you, however,
The encouragement that he immediately receives from Jesus.

(50) “But when Jesus heard this, He answered him, “Do not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she will be made well.”

You’re seeing what this story is about aren’t you?
It’s all about how important faith is to Jesus.

And that is only further illustrated in what you see next.
(51) “When He came to the house, He did not allow anyone to enter with Him, except Peter and John and James, and the girl’s father and mother.”

Remember this crowd represents
Those who see but don’t see.
Those who hear but don’t understand.

He warned them back in:
Luke 8:18 “So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.”

They don’t get more until they listen to what they’ve got.

What did He give to the crowd?
• He just gave them a full blown sermon illustration about the importance of faith.
• When He healed that woman He gave the crowd that message.

But here He is about to once again put His deity on display,
And those without faith don’t get to see that.

In fact He only takes 3 of His disciples.
(52-53) “Now they were all weeping and lamenting for her; but He said, “Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep.” And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died.”

• Matthew’s gospel says there were “flute players and noisy disorder”
• They were already mourning and starting the funeral when Jesus walked in.

HIS OBJECTIVE is to respond to the faith of Jairus
Without giving this unbelieving crowd any more miracles.

So He says, “Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep.”

(53) “And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died.”

Both Matthew and Mark reveal that
At this point the crowd got removed from the room.
(I wonder if it was something similar to when He cleared the temple).

They aren’t going to get to witness the miracle.
That is only for those who believe Him.

And when they leave
(54-56) “He, however, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Child, arise!” And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He gave orders for something to be given her to eat. Her parents were amazed; but He instructed them to tell no one what had happened.”

You just can’t stress enough the divinity of Jesus here.
He handled death like it wasn’t even a problem.
• He didn’t even have to lay down on top of the girl like Elijah did.
• He didn’t have to wave His arms and dance about.
• He just reached into death, grabbed the girl’s hand, and pulled her out no differently than you or I would help our child out of a swimming pool.

No doubt who He is.
He conquers death.

Hebrews 2:14-15 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”

But even more THE POINT OF THE STORY
Is who was privileged enough to witness it.
And very simply, it was only those with faith.

That is what Jesus is displaying here.
• He is proclaiming to the world that He requires faith.
• He is demonstrating to the disciples that faith is what He expects.

And the type of faith He demands is equally obvious.
• It is the type of faith that arises from genuine humility when a person has come to the end of their self.
• It is the type of faith that evidences itself in total desperation knowing that if Jesus can’t, there is no plan-B.

And friend I just have to ask you about your faith this morning.
1. Are you still holding on to something you’ve done as that which will appease God someday?

2. If Jesus turns out to be a fraud are you ok because you’ve got your eggs in multiple baskets?

3. Are you pretty sure that Jesus is the only way of salvation but you’re still not desperate enough for it that you would risk humiliation and loss to obtain it?

Because if any of those statements apply to you
Then you still have not given the faith that Jesus requires.

He absolutely demands total humility, total desperation, total trust.
A person must come to the end of their SELF and all their EFFORTS
And all their ACHIEVEMENTS
And lay it all on Jesus as their only hope.

And when a person does that, Jesus rises to save!

Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

Deity On Display, Demons On The Run
Luke 8:26-39
August 5, 2018

This morning we return to our study of Luke’s gospel
After being away for a week at camp.

And that does present a small dilemma for me this week
• Because the text we approach this morning in Luke’s story is in regard to the man commonly referred to as “The Gadarene Demoniac”.
• The dilemma for me is that one of the preachers at camp REGEN preached on this very story on Friday night (from Mark’s gospel)
• So all those who attended should be well loaded to carefully scrutinize everything I say this morning.
• (My one consolation is that I’m not sure Chris and Amy listen all that well anyway)

None the less we approach this tremendous story
Here this morning in Luke’s gospel.

Always important to our understanding of Scripture
IS THAT WE KEEP STORIES LIKE THIS IN THEIR CONTEXT
So that we not only understand what happened, but so that we also understand the purpose the author had in including this story.

A couple of weeks ago I told you that
We were entering a new section in Luke’s gospel.

It is the portion of Jesus’ ministry
Where the focus has now shifted to the education of the disciples.

As Jesus ended His sermon on the importance of listening we heard Him say these words:
Luke 8:18 “So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.”

No doubt the disciples were that good soil
Who were interested in the truth of God
And therefore they were about to receive the benefit of going deeper.

And their education is simple.
Jesus is educating them as to who He is.

And all of this current education is meant to lead up to the day
When the exam will be given.

The exam will consist of 2 questions, and really only 1 is important.
Luke 9:18-20 “And it happened that while He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, “Who do the people say that I am?” They answered and said, “John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen again.” And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”
Jesus is driving to that point.
He is now taking His disciples deeper
To reveal to them that He is in fact “The Christ of God”

Once He reaches that point He will then take them even deeper
By revealing the necessity of His death and atonement,
BUT FOR NOW we are simply learning who He is.

And hopefully you will remember that Jesus began this course with a
CLASS WIDE FIELD TRIP.

It was a trip “to the other side of the lake”

Luke 8:22 “Now on one of those days Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they launched out.”

And part of the education was to begin
Before the disciples ever reached their destination.
He arranged the storm of their lifetime while He took a nap in the boat.

And of course you are familiar with the story.
• You remember the size of the storm, literally about to sink the boat
• You remember that the Lord was asleep, seemingly unconcerned
• You remember that the disciples were in a panic, waking the Lord to inform
Him of their impending doom

• And you remember that the Lord first rebuked them for their lack of faith
• And then in one of the most awesome displays of power ever seen Jesus
commanded the waves to be still and they obeyed.

And Lesson 1 was in the books.
Jesus has authority over fallen creation.
Jesus has the ability to reverse the curse.

We know that only God has the ability to command creation so who must this Jesus be?

And that was the question.
Luke 8:25 “[The disciples] were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?”

This of course indicated that
Up until now they had yet to understand exactly who He was,
But in light of situations like this, they were beginning to figure it out.

WELL, THE FIELD TRIP STILL ISN’T OVER
(that occurred on the ride over)

This morning they actually reach their destination
And it is none other than a visit to a Satanic Stronghold.

There’s a thought for you!
Jesus wants to take you on a trip
And He takes you on a trip to a Satanic Stronghold
And He gets you there by the most terrifying road imaginable.

WHY?
SO THAT HE CAN REVEAL WHO HE IS.

He is about to once again put His deity on full display,
For Jesus knows exactly what waits for Him on the other side of this lake.

Let’s look at it together.
#1 A DEMONIC NIGHTMARE
Luke 8:26-27

After the storm was calmed Luke records “Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee.”

• Matthew calls it “the Gadarenes” (Gadara was the largest city of the region, maybe even the capital)
• Mark and Luke call it “the Gerasenes” (Gerasa was the smaller town or suburb, most likely where this man was from)

This is not an accident, Jesus sailed right for this place.

(27) “And when He came out onto the land, He was met by a man from the city who was possessed with demons; and who had not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs.”

Jesus purposely sailed for this location
Because He was well aware of what was occurring here.

The small town of Gerasa had a big problem.
There was “a man from the city who was possessed with demons”

• Matthew records that there were actually two men, obviously Mark and Luke
focused on the worst of the 2.

The point being that we have here a man who is under demonic influence.

“possessed” is a bit of a misleading term.
People often think of it only then as someone
Having a demon “inside” of them.
But we are dealing with evil spirits who are not limited by physical barriers.

The point is not that this man had a demon in him,
But rather that a demon controlled him.

In fact, we will learn later that
This man had NUMEROUS DEMONS controlling him.
(30) “And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him.”

That is an interesting description.
• A “Legion” was a military squad.

Matthew 26:53 “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?”

• A Roman legion could be up to around 6,000 soldiers.
• We don’t know how many are controlling this man, but we do know in a minute when they leave that they in turn cause 2,000 pigs to rush to their death.

In short, this is NOT Jesus VS a demon.
This is Jesus VS an entire army of demons.
Jesus and His disciples are sorely outnumbered here.

To further emphasize the size of the threat they are up against,
All you have to do is LOOK AT THE EFFECTS these demons have had
On this man and the people of the region.

Luke says that this man “had not put on any clothing for a long time”
• It was humiliation, it was debase, it was defiling, it was awkward, it was
obscene, it was immoral, and it was public

Not only that, but it had occurred for “a long time”
• Imagine the menace to society this must have been.
• Imagine as a parent always being concerned about the naked man who might
run through and ruin your celebration…
• Your children learn of this first hand…
• Your wife ran the risk of being approached by this man…

And this society had dealt with this for quite some time.

Beyond that he “was not living in a house, but in the tombs”
• He was a nomad
• He literally lived among the dead
• These people could never bury their loved ones in peace
• These people had no certainty as to where this man might be

To quote Austin Duncan from camp REGEN this man was a MONSTER.

Our society is obsessed with zombies and post-apocalyptic beings
• Horror movies are loved and embraced with all manner of evil creatures
• Society even loves super hero movies regarding heroes and villains with
supernatural power and ability

Well this guy is not fictional, he is not made up
He is your worst nightmare

Luke even gives a little MORE DETAIL in his description down in verse 29
(29b) “For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break his bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.”

Are you getting the scene?
On more than one occasion the towns-people had had enough and determined to put a stop to the terror this man was causing.

• You can see them gathering up a group of men with ropes and shackles and chains…
• You can see them rushing this naked man and it taking a multitude of them to hold him down while others frantically tied him up…
• And then you see him (like Samson) breaking the ropes…
• And so they try again, only this time with chains; and he breaks them…
• And they try again with shackles, and he breaks them…

We have to assume that the only reason they haven’t tried to just kill him instead of binding him is because no doubt the people knew him and pitied what had happened to him.

And so this is the saddest and most horrific of situations
• This man is beyond their control.
• He is the terror of the region.
• This entire region of cities is literally held hostage by this demonic army which dwells within this one man.

It is a Stronghold of Satan and everyone is suffering.

And it is good to remind you of the most obvious point here.

The battle is against Satan and his demonic forces,
And this is a battle against which humans are powerless.

Consider this other account of a battle against demonic forces.
Mark 9:17-29 “And one of the crowd answered Him, “Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute; and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and stiffens out. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it.” And He answered them and said, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!” They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. “It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” And Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again.” After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, “He is dead!” But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up. When He came into the house, His disciples began questioning Him privately, “Why could we not drive it out?” And He said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.”

It is obvious that no human effort was even the slightest bit successful.
• Not even these disciples who had at times been accustomed to driving out demons could have any success here in their own strength.
• When the disciples asked why, Jesus simply responded, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.”

In other words – ONLY GOD

Or consider the incident in Acts when some false prophets tried to use every trick they could conjure to cast out a demon:
Acts 19:13-16 “But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, “I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. And the evil spirit answered and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.”

DO YOU SEE THE DILEMMA HERE?

We are dealing with a foe to powerful for man to defeat.
• And here everyone is outnumbered.
• It is a demonic army at least 2,000 strong and despite the efforts of everyone, this army is a terror.

That’s why we call this a demonic nightmare.
This is a problem that no man can solve.

And that is what makes the next reality so amazing

A Demonic Nightmare
#2 A DEMON’S NIGHTMARE
Luke 8:28-33

So Jesus has just gotten out of the boat,
And “He was met” by this demon possessed man.

And verse 28 is remarkable:
(28) “Seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.”

Luke goes on to record that the reason this man had said this is because:
(29) “For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man”

In other words,
• Jesus sailed right to this place where He knew this man to be,
• His first order of business was to stop the bully of the region.
• Jesus got out of the boat and commanded this demon to leave
• The demon possessed man responded by running up to Jesus, falling before Him, and begging for mercy.

“What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.”

A couple of things I want you to recognize here.

The most obvious is that the TABLES HAVE SURELY TURNED.
• This army of demons doesn’t even put up a fight, they know they are outmatched.

Luke 14:31-32 “Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? “Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.”

These demons are not stupid.
They know they cannot win.
The question is: WHY?

We haven’t seen this kind of respect given to Jesus by anyone yet.
• Not the disciples…
• Not John the Baptist…
• Not the religious leaders…

No one has given Jesus this kind of respect.
Why would this demon be so humbled before Him?

And the answer is:
BECAUSE THEY KNEW HIM

Now let this sink in.
• They didn’t just know Him for the last 30 years since He was born.
• They knew Him from all eternity.

Who are demons?
Revelation explains their origin:
Revelation 12:3-4 “Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.”

• Demons are fallen angels.
• They represent 1/3 of the created angelic host
• They were deceived and defiled by the devil
• And they consequently fell from heaven

Are they fallen? Yes
Are they evil? Yes
But that doesn’t mean they are ignorant

They knew Jesus from BEFORE the fall.
They knew Jesus from BEFORE the incarnation
THEY KNOW WHO HE IS
And they know what He will do

And as such they are quick to announce HIS TITLE.
“Son of the Most High God”

Want me to show you another time He is called that?
Luke 1:32 “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;”

Do you know who said that?
That was the angel Gabriel speaking to Mary

The angels, even the fallen ones, know who He is.

Remember the first time Luke recorded Him casting out a demon?
Luke 4:34 “Let us alone! What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are — the Holy One of God!”

Mark 1:34 “And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.”

DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT JESUS IS DOING HERE?
• He is on a field trip in order that He might reveal to His disciples exactly who He is.
• He previously has not allowed demons to testify because these truths have been preserved for those who want the truth, as we learned from the parable of the soils
• But now, accompanied by those who want the truth, Jesus loads His disciples up and takes them on a field trip to encounter someone who can bear testimony to who He is.

And this army of demons universally declare Him as
“The Son of the Most High God”

And not only that, Jesus also encountered this man
So that He might demonstrate HIS COMPLETE AUTHORITY OVER THEM.

And this demon knows this as well.
“I beg You, do not torment me”

What did he mean?
(31) “They were imploring Him not to command them to go away into the abyss.”

• What you should know is that the devil swept 1/3 of the angelic host out of heaven with him.
• You should also know that not all of that 1/3 are on the loose today. Many of them are in prison.

Some are already in an eternal prison.
Jude 6 “And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day,”

• We learn of the demons on the days of Noah who tried to cohabitate with
human women and were thus sentenced to eternal prison.
• They will never be released and they await final judgment.

Others are temporarily in prison and in torment
• Waiting until the time of the great tribulation when they will be loosed for a
season to torment the earth.

Revelation 9:1-3 “Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him. He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit. Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.”

That picture gives explanation to what the conditions are like in that pit.
The demons incarcerated there are in absolute torment in fire.

These demons are begging for Jesus not to send them there.

And again you must recognize THE ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY Jesus has.
On one hand you could say this is a testimony to His power,
But it is also a testimony to His authority.
• He is not wrestling these demons
• He is not in a cosmic physical battle
• Jesus doesn’t put on His “Iron Man” suit and wrestle this guy into submission

His authority is in His spoken word and the demon knows it.
He is begging for mercy

James 2:19 “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.”

This demon knows Jesus and he knows he is no match for Jesus, His only request is that Jesus will simply let them run away.
(this man who no one has been able even to bind with a chain)

And Jesus seemingly grants his request, at least temporarily
(32-33) “Now there was a herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain; and the demons implored Him to permit them to enter the swine. And He gave them permission. And the demons came out of the man and entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.”

No, I don’t know why these demons wanted to enter the pigs.
(At the very least it was a picture of total desperation to a Jewish audience)
How scared must these demons have been if they were willing to enter pigs?

WHAT I DO KNOW HOWEVER IS WHY JESUS ALLOWED IT.

Some would argue,
• Why not just put them in prison?
• Why not just send them to the abyss?

Because by sending them into the pigs,
It was a physical demonstration of exactly what He just did.

WE KNOW this man was demon possessed,
BUT there is no guarantee that the people of the region did.
It’s not like you can take a blood sample and find out if demons are present.

For all they know, this guy is just a lunatic.
And if the demons had been consigned straight to the abyss,
Who is to say that Jesus actually conquered demons here?

However, IN ONE INSTANT you have a crazy man enter his right mind,
And at the exact same time an entire herd of pigs goes crazy and commits mass suicide.

The situation is clear even to the most average of spectator.
Whatever was disturbing that man clearly left that man started disturbing those pigs.
• This was not a sickness
• This was not an illness
• This was not a mental incapacity
• This was a demonic army that was begging and pleading before Jesus that
consequently left this man.

Do you see the obvious demonstration?
Is the purpose of the field trip now clear?

Jesus just approached a Satanic stronghold
And obliterated them without so much as raising a finger.

Only God could have done something like that.
And that’s interesting since that’s exactly what the demons called Him.

And WE ARE REMINDED YET AGAIN that
This Jesus is in fact the Christ, the Son of the Most High God.

• He is the One who can undo the effects of fallen creation
• He is the One who can undo the strongholds of the god of this world

Acts 10:38 “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”

This was Jesus. His power is obvious.

His power was so obvious in fact that it would later cause the Pharisees to accuse Him of being the Lord of the demons.

Luke 11:15 “But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.”

They had no other way to explain His obvious control over demonic forces.

Jesus would respond to that accusation by saying:
Luke 11:21-22 “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are undisturbed. “But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away from him all his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder.”

In other words, I’m not “Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons”,
I’m just far more powerful than they are.

JESUS IS GOD.
And this is all to reveal His nature to His disciples
Who will soon be asked to confess who He is.

And that should be obvious to everyone who is willing to listen.
Jesus is God, and submission to Him is not optional.

But it is at this point that the story takes an interesting turn.

A Demonic Nightmare, A Demon’s Nightmare
#3 A SINNER’S NIGHTMARE
Luke 8:34-39

This has to be one of the strangest occurrences in the Bible.
• Naturally the herdsmen go and tell everyone about the event.
• The people all come out to see it.
• They see the man they could not control “clothed and in his right mind”
• They are “frightened”
• Then the eye witnesses tell the story again

“And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to leave them, for they were gripped with great fear; and He got into a boat and returned.”

I think there is one obvious question here:
WHY?

Jesus just delivered them all from this terrible threat…
Jesus just diffused the situation…
Why in the world would they want Jesus to leave?

SCRIPTURE DOES GIVE SOME INSIGHT AS TO WHY

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

John 3:18-20 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.”

It is a peculiar thing why mankind who is oppressed by sin
Would so adamantly oppose the One who can save them.

The answer that the Bible gives to this mystery is this:
That man is blinded by the devil to love their sin so much that they would reject (even fear) the One who can deliver them from it.

And with that explanation this makes perfect sense.
These people wanted Jesus to leave
So He wouldn’t do the same thing to them that He did to this man.

• They didn’t want to be humbled…
• They didn’t want to be in submission…
• Their sin didn’t seem as bad to them as the sin of this demoniac and so they wanted to keep theirs…
• And since Jesus is clearly a threat to sin…
• HE HAD TO GO

That’s the only explanation I can find.
And so it becomes clear that this demoniac
Was not the only one that Satan was working on.

The only difference is that the demoniac left delivered
And the rest of this region remained in their sin.

In fact, look now at the contrast.
(38-39) “But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might accompany Him; but He sent him away, saying, “Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.”

• This man was delivered
• He was overcome with gratitude and all He desired was to be with Jesus.

There is so much that could be said here about people who claim to be saved and yet show no gratitude and no desire to fellowship with Christ.
But that is probably for another sermon.

Here though Jesus declined this man’s request.
Jesus’ reasons are His own, and He didn’t feel the need to tell us why.

But He did leave one command for this man,
And it is the same command He gave to everyone He delivered.

“Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.”

Jesus commanded this man to become a witness.
• Go and “describe” it to your family.
• Go and “describe” it to your friends.
• Go and “describe” it to your city.

Those who have been delivered by Jesus owe Jesus that testimony.

What I also find interesting is the wording that is used.
• Jesus said, “describe what great things GOD has done for you.”
• And Luke records that the man went and proclaimed “what great things
JESUS had done for him.”

You tell me, did that man believe Jesus to be God?
Yes he did.

AND SO THE POINT THIS MORNING IS A SIMPLE ONE.
• There is no doubt who Jesus is. He is God.
• Only God can command creation, only God can command a demonic army
• He is God

And as such He is the only One who can deliver you
From your sin and your condemnation.

Hebrews 2:14-15 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”

1 John 3:8 “the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.”

Jesus can deliver you.
He has that kind of power and authority

The means to deliverance is to humble yourself before Him,
Repent of your sin, and seek Him for that deliverance.

And if you are among the delivered, then testifying is not optional.
• You owe it to Him to share.
• He is God
• He came to save
He deserves your reverence
He deserves your submission
He deserves your testimony

James 2:19 “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.”

A Psalm for Battle
Psalms 5
July 22, 2018

Before we dive into this 5th Psalm tonight, I first want you to
TURN TO: Ephesians 6:10

You recognize the passage as that which speaks of
Spiritual warfare and the armor of God.

In verses 10-12 Paul reminds of something that should be continually in the minds of all believers and that is that we are in a constant battle.

Each and every day we fight a battle “against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

• This is real.
• There is an enemy that seeks “only to steal and to kill and to destroy.” (Jn. 10:10)
• There is an enemy who “prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.” (1 Pet. 5:8)
• There is an enemy blinds “the minds of the unbelieving so that they may not see the light of the glory of the gospel of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:4)
• There is an enemy who snares those who are opposed to the truth and holds them captive “to do his will.” (2 Tim. 2:26)
• There is an enemy who “deceives the whole world” (Rev. 12:9)
• There is an enemy who bombards with temptation to sin. (Mat. 4) (1 Cor. 7:5)
• There is an enemy who demands permission to sift believers. (Lk. 22:31)
• There is an enemy who seeks to hinder our ministry (1 Thess. 2:18)

It is a real battle.
We fight him in our daily lives
Both in our personal walk and in our ministry.

And because of this
• Paul called for believers to “be strong”
• And not just in themselves but to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might”
• And that we would “put on the full armor of God” in this battle.

And you are aware of the armor.
It is easily divided into two groups.

1) The Customary Armor (that which the soldier wore at all times)
• It is identified with the adverb “having”.
• It is armory you should have already put on.

• “having girded your loins with truth”
• “having put on the breastplate of righteousness”
• “having shod your feed with the preparation of the gospel of peace”

And then there is the
2) Combat Armor (that which you put on when you know there’s a fight)
• Identified as that which we should “take” up when the battle draws near.

• “taking up the shield of faith”
• “take the helmet of salvation”
• “and [take] the sword of the Spirit”

But the final aspect of the spiritual battle,
And the final concept of being “strong in the Lord” comes in verse 18.
“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit”

The admonition is to remember that in your battle
You have a great ally on whom you must depend.

We are talking about the battle technique of prayer.

I’m especially mindful of the fact that Paul says to pray “in the Spirit”

Now, as you well know, I’m not a mystical person.
• So when I read that we should pray “in the Spirit” I am not talking about some
sort of mystical experience whereby the Christian yields control of their
consciousness to utter incoherent babble that they might just hope they are
saying something accurate.

When we talk about praying “in the Spirit”
We are talking about praying according to
The mind and the will of the Holy Spirit.

We already know that His prayers are perfect.
Paul taught us:
Romans 8:26-27 “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

Praying in the Spirit is to pray consistent with His nature and will.
It is synonymous with praying in Jesus’ name.

So, in our spiritual battle
• We must also understand the importance of prayer in that battle.
• And that our prayer in that battle cannot be according to our will, but rather according to the will of the Spirit of God.

And might I add one more thing,
Which is that the Spirit of God makes His will known
Through the revelation of Scripture.

Do you want to know the will of the Spirit of God?
Then look at the prayers He inspired.

I tell you that as you turn back to Psalms 5.
Psalms 5 is a tremendous example
Of David in an instance of spiritual battle.

And because the Holy Spirit inspired this Psalm
We then are afforded a tremendous example
Of what our prayer life looks like as we fight this same battle today.

Again, for this Psalm we do not know the specific circumstance.
• The fact that David is in a conflict with the wicked is obvious,
• But we do not know to which conflict he refers.

But we are absolutely fine with our limited information there
For this allows us to easily and readily apply this prayer
To the spiritual battles we are facing.

Let’s walk through this 5th Psalm together.

4 divisions
#1 HIS STRATEGY
Psalms 5:1-3

In this battle which David faces we see that he has a very clear strategy.
PRAYER

“Give ear to my words, O LORD, Consider my groaning. Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God, For to You I pray.”

• That is to say that I’m not going to pray to anyone else about this.
• I’m bringing it to You and to You alone.

David could be easily seen here as following the admonition of Paul
To cloth his battle in constant prayer.

But the verse I really like is verse 3.
“In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.”

Now at first this verse gave me some difficulty.
Let me show you why.

First of all
We recognize that the words “my prayer” and “eagerly” are italicized
Which means they are not in the text, but rather added by the translators
As what they believe David to be referring to.

Take those out and you read: “You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order to You and watch.”

And perhaps now you see my dilemma
Since that sounds an awful lot like a verse
That the Word-Faith people might claim.

It comes across very bold as though David would have the audacity to sort of tell God what to do and then just stand there with his arms crossed until God did it.

I don’t mind telling you that this picture bothered me.
So I decided to dig a little more.

What I found were military terms that shed a whole new light on the verse.

“order” there is Hebrew word ARAK
And it means “to arrange or to put in order”

Many times when you see the word in Scripture
It is translated “Array” or “Arrayed”

Genesis 14:8 “And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah and the king of Admah and the king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) came out; and they arrayed for battle against them in the valley of Siddim,”

It speaks of troops arraying or getting in order for battle.

And then when David says that he will “watch”

That is also a military term.
Which means to “keep watch” or “spy”

So if you want to simplify David’s strategy it is clear.
• God, I’m going to get up in the morning and present myself before You.
• I’m going to array myself as in battle before You.
• I’m going to present my cry before You.
• And then I’m going to faithfully watch to see what You do.

And what we glean from that is that it’s not just prayer,
But rather is it is prayer and faith.

David’s prayer here is NOT some token, “Shouldn’t we pray before we go and do everything we’ve already planned?”

David’s prayer IS, “I’m going to pray and I’m not planning anything until I get Your answer.”

Or one could say,
“I’m not doing anything until You move.”

I am praying and then I am watching.

Thomas Brooks said, “He is either a fool or a madman, he is either very weak or very wicked, that prays and prays, but never looks after his prayers; that shoots many an arrow towards heaven, but never minds where his arrows light.”
(Spurgeon, C.H. [The Treasury of David; volume 1; Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA] pg. 51)

Charles Spurgeon said, “How can we expect the Lord to open the windows of his grace, and pour us out a blessing, if we will not open the windows of expectation and look up for promised favour? Let holy preparation link hands with patient expectation, and we shall have far larger answers to our prayers.”
(ibid; pg. 46)

• We are talking about praying with faith.
• We are talking about praying with the expectation that God will answer and God will move.

James said:
James 1:6 “But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.”

Or listen to the warnings of Jesus regarding our prayer.
Luke 11:1-13 “It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.” And He said to them, ” When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. ‘Give us each day our daily bread. ‘And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.'” Then He said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ “I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs. “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. “Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? “Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

Luke 18:1-8 “Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. “There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ “For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.'” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

And that final question is so fitting.
Is there any faith?

Well the prayer of faith is David’s ultimate strategy.
• He isn’t running into battle with a sword trusting in his own might,
• He is running before God presenting his request
• And He is watching and waiting for God to move

That’s the strategy for spiritual warfare.

So there’s the strategy.
Let me show you the next very important concept.

#2 HIS CONFIDENCE
Psalms 5:4-7

Now we begin to learn WHY David could have such faith in his prayer
That God would answer him and go to battle for him.

It is because David knew God.
David knew the character of God.

And please understand this:
• Knowing God’s character not only taught David TO pray,
• But it was God’s character that taught David WHAT TO pray.

He knew what to pray because He knew God.
And because David knew God,
He was confident that God would respond favorably to his request.

Listen to:
1 John 5:14 “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

It is what Jesus taught us:
John 14:13-14 “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”

It’s when we know God, and know His will,
Then we know how to pray and what to pray for.

And when we pray according to God’s nature and God’s will,
We pray with confidence.

And allow me to show you what David knew about God.
(4) “You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; No evil dwells with You.”

David knew that God had absolutely no enjoyment in wickedness
And absolutely no willingness to entertain it.

In David’s prayer here, he knew how to pray
Because he knew how God felt about the matter.

Didn’t we say that was one of the keys?
• Praying “in the Spirit” or according to the will of the Spirit?

I love the story about Abraham Lincoln being asked if he thought God was on his side in the Civil War conflict.
“Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.”
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/abraham_lincoln_388944

This is the key in spiritual warfare as well.

Do you remember the stories of Joshua and the conquest?
• Remember as they prepared to face Jericho?
• And angel of the Lord appeared to Joshua.
• I love what he said.

Joshua 5:13-14 “Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” He said, “No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the LORD.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?”

Joshua wanted to know if the angel was on his side.
The angel said, “I am on the Lord’s side”
Implying it would be wise for you to be on His side as well.

Then of course after the battle of Jericho Joshua’s army was soundly defeated by Ai.

Joshua wanted to know why.
God answered:
Joshua 7:6-13 “Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, both he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. 7 Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord GOD, why did You ever bring this people over the Jordan, only to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? If only we had been willing to dwell beyond the Jordan! “O Lord, what can I say since Israel has turned their back before their enemies? “For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and they will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will You do for Your great name?” So the LORD said to Joshua, “Rise up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face? “Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things under the ban and have both stolen and deceived. Moreover, they have also put them among their own things. “Therefore the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, for they have become accursed. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the things under the ban from your midst. “Rise up! Consecrate the people and say, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for thus the LORD, the God of Israel, has said, “There are things under the ban in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst.”

They lost because they failed to be on God’s side.

Knowing who God is and what God desires is a great piece of information
In our spiritual battles and in our prayer life.

That’s also how David knew how to pray.
He knew who God was and so he knew what to pray for
And how God would answer.

He went on
(5) “The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity.”

It is no secret that God sees those who would willingly engage in known sin are among the most arrogant of men,

And in fact David relates a seldom believed fact about God
“You hate all who do iniquity”

It reminds of me when R.C. Sproul was asked
About the popular saying “God hates the sin but loves the sinner”

Sproul responded by saying, “But God doesn’t send the sin to hell, He sends the sinner there.”

David here says that God hates those who do iniquity.

He goes on
(6) “You destroy those who speak falsehood; The LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.”

David knows that all those who sin against God, who lie, and shed innocent blood are an abhorrence to God.
• God hates them.
• God destroys them.

This is who God is.
And so it’s not hard for David to align before God in his battle
And present his request.

David knows who God is.

It also helps that David knows how he should act, as he prays.
(7) “But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house, At Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You.”

It is the reminder that God is opposed to the proud
But gives grace to the humble.

So David knows that if he humbles himself before God
Then he will be on God’s side.

David knows that he is on God’s side
And his enemy most certainly is not.
What a great confidence for the Christian to have.

So you see David’s strategy and David’s confidence
#3 HIS BATTLE
Psalms 5:8-9

Here is the part of the Psalm that the most shocking to people.

HERE WE GET TO WHAT DAVID PRAYED
And yet I remind you again that this is a Holy Spirit inspired prayer.

It begins with David’s total dependence upon God.
“O LORD, lead me in Your righteousness because of my foes; Make Your way straight before me.”

This is not just a prayer to be on God’s side,
But also an understanding that sin makes him vulnerable to the enemy.
David is dependent upon God to guide his steps and to mark his path.

Furthermore David is dependent upon God in the battle
Because he knows there is no ground to be gained in reasoning with the enemy.

(9) “There is nothing reliable in what they say; Their inward part is destruction itself. Their throat is an open grave; They flatter with their tongue.”

That is David’s way of saying, that negotiations are useless.
• You can’t reason with them.
• And even if you strike a deal you can’t trust them to keep it.
• They are liars, they are deceivers

And you know that this is the enemy we fight.
We don’t war against flesh and blood
But against the devil is the father of lies.

And because reasoning with them does no good,
David takes the request to God.

AND HERE IT IS:
(The first time we see an actual request in this Psalm)
(10) “Hold them guilty, O God; By their own devices let them fall! In the multitude of their transgressions thrust them out, For they are rebellious against You.”

Can you believe that prayer!?!
• Some would say, “That sounds unchristian!”
• I’ve heard plenty of scholars say that we cannot pray that way.

And yet, this is a prayer inspired by the Holy Spirit.
The same Spirit whose will we are to seek as we pray.

And I don’t mind sharing with you
• That at the time when I was studying this Psalm several months ago we had a church member here who had determined to obey God and as a result had left some sinful choices in the past.

• However, a person in their past was not willing to let go so easily.

And while the fact is certain that
The battle was not against that person, but was against the enemy,

The fact is also true that this person was a willing vessel
For the enemy to use.

I WAS STUMPED ABOUT HOW TO PRAY
Until I read this Psalm

I began to ask God to stop this person
Who would drag our beloved church member back into sin.

Now, don’t get me wrong.

• Without a doubt the way I would most want this person to be stopped would be for that person to repent and be saved. That would certainly be the top of the list.

However, if that person is unwilling to repent it’s not as though I’m willing to just throw up my hands and say, “Oh well, I guess they’ll just keep on attacking.”

In fact I was convicted to not just throw up my hands.

Let me ask you this, “When a wolf attacks a sheep are you ever concerned about the feelings of the wolf?”

So I began to pray for God to stop this person.
I asked for their repentance, but if they would not repent,
I asked for God to stop them in whatever way He saw fit.

Now before you bristle,
Let me read to you a Psalm I read 2 days later after beginning to pray this prayer.
Psalms 7:6-16 “Arise, O LORD, in Your anger; Lift up Yourself against the rage of my adversaries, And arouse Yourself for me; You have appointed judgment. Let the assembly of the peoples encompass You, And over them return on high. The LORD judges the peoples; Vindicate me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me. O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous; For the righteous God tries the hearts and minds. My shield is with God, Who saves the upright in heart. God is a righteous judge, And a God who has indignation every day. If a man does not repent, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and made it ready. He has also prepared for Himself deadly weapons; He makes His arrows fiery shafts. Behold, he travails with wickedness, And he conceives mischief and brings forth falsehood. He has dug a pit and hollowed it out, And has fallen into the hole which he made. His mischief will return upon his own head, And his violence will descend upon his own pate.”

And there this prayer is confirmed yet again.

I am convinced that this is a Holy Spirit inspired prayer
In regard to spiritual warfare.

• No, I don’t wish for the death of the wicked
• No, I do not feel at liberty to take matters into my own hands

And incidentally I’m not even talking about
Physical attacks of persecution.
I think Scripture is clear that we pray for our persecutors.

• What I’m talking about are people whom the enemy uses to deceive and tempt and lead our people into sin.

And I am most certainly compelled to pray against them
And that God would stop them.

FURTHERMORE
• I am confident, as David was, that God is against them.
• I am confident, as David was, that God does not align Himself with their wicked deeds.

And so as David prayed, I ask this:
“Hold them guilty, O God; In the multitude of their transgressions thrust them out, For they are rebellious against You.”

And for the sake of our church
For the sake of our children who daily live in a pagan influence
I think it calls for the church to go to battle in prayer as David did here.

His Strategy, His Confidence, His Battle
#4 HIS VICTORY
Psalms 5:11-12

And here the victory is spelled out by David.
He is very clear about what he desires form the Lord.

“Let all who take refuge in You be glad”

This is a conditional statement.
He is not asking for gladness for the world, but for those who are hiding in God.

It is that “all things work together for good them that love God”

“Let THEM sing for joy;
And may You shelter THEM,
That THOSE WHO LOVE YOUR NAME may exult in You.”

David is asking not only for God to stop the wicked,
But for God to satisfy and protect the righteous.

David is asking for total deliverance.
David is asking just as Jesus taught us:
“Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one”

And again we see David’s confidence to ask such a thing.
“For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O LORD, You surround him with favor as with a shield.”

Again, David can pray this because David knows God.
• David knows the heart of God.
• David knows the desires of God.

It’s not hard for David to know how to pray.

And I’m just convinced that it’s time for the church
To gain that boldness and confidence in her God.

• The battle rages
• The enemy attacks
• He seeks to devour and deceive and destroy and lead any and all of us into sin.

• AND WE DO NOT line up in battle formation against the wicked
• We do not attack them with the sword,
• We fight the battle on a different plain.
• “for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.”

• We line up in formation before our God
• We present our requests to Him
• We wait for Him to win the battle
• While we seek to walk in all that pleases Him.

And in that manner, you should know, we are promised the victory.

2 Corinthians 2:14 “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.”

Romans 8:37 “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.”

1 Corinthians 15:57 “but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Romans 16:20 “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.”

1 John 5:4 “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith.”

John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

A Lesson on Faith
Luke 8:22-25
July 22, 2018

This morning we are moving forward
Into a bit of a different theme in Luke’s gospel.

I think it is always important to seek to recognize the points that the writer is making
As he reveals to us the facts about the Lord.

What we have in the remainder of Luke chapter 8 are
4 very powerful miracles worked at the hands of Jesus.
1) Jesus will calm the storm
2) Jesus cleanses the Demoniac with a legion of demons
3) Jesus heals the hemorrhaging woman
4) Jesus raises Jairus’ daughter from the dead

Now, on one hand it would be easy,
And perhaps an over simplification, to simply say that
This section then must be about the power of Jesus.

It would be easy to say that Luke is using these stories to reveal to you just how powerful Jesus is and that He is in fact the Son of God.

And that is not necessarily wrong.

The only problem with taking that approach, is that if that is all that is occurring here, then Luke is being obviously redundant.

For Luke has already revealed that Jesus has this type of power
And he has done so many times over.

For example:
The first miracle here reveals Jesus’ power over nature,
• But Luke has already revealed that when we saw Him command all the fish in the sea of Galilee back in Luke 5.

The second miracle reveals Jesus power over demons,
• But we’ve seen that too; many times.
• He did it in the synagogue in Luke 4:31-37
• And then several times Luke mentions that many people were being healed of unclean spirits (4:41; 6:18-19; 8:2)

The third miracle reveals His power over sickness,
• But that too has been well documented.
• The first was in Luke 4:38 when Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law.
• Beyond that we’ve seen the paralytic healed, the leper cleansed, the Centurion’s servant delivered, the withered hand restored,
• Beyond that we still have those generic statements where everyone who had an ailment was being healed.

The final miracle of the chapter reveals Jesus power over death,
• But we’ve already seen that too with Jesus raising the widow’s son in (7:11-17)

My point to all of that is that Luke must be doing more here
Than just documenting the power of Jesus,
For he has already done that.

SO YOU LOOK FOR NEW THEMES.
We look for other consistencies among these 4 miracles
That will help us identify what it is that Luke is revealing
By lumping all of these miracles together.

ONE CLEAR THEME IS THAT each of these situations magnify the power of Jesus because they are all hopeless situations.

• (8:24) During the storm the disciples cry “Master, Master, we are perishing!”
• (8:29) Reveals human inability to control the demons in the man by saying “he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break his bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert”
• (8:43) Notes that the hemorrhaging woman “could not be healed by anyone”
• (8:49) Jairus gets word that “Your daughter has died.”

All of these miracles are pictured as hopeless situations,
Which certainly seems to magnify the power of Jesus.

But in reality all of the situations Jesus has dealt with
Have been hopeless ones.
Paralysis and leprosy and withered hands and a dead man in a casket
Are all pretty hopeless as well.

ANOTHER CLEAR THEME IS the response to these miracles

And the common response is fear.
• (8:25) When the disciples see Him calm the storm “They were fearful and amazed”
• (8:35) When the crowd saw the demoniac in his right mind, “they became frightened.”
• (8:37) That same crowd asked Jesus to leave “for they were gripped with great fear”
• (8:47) “When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him”
• (8:56) The parents of the dead girl “were amazed” when they saw their daughter raised.

And one then could say that Jesus deity was on full display here
And so Luke is driving home the point that
People are recognizing the divine power of Christ
And associating Him with Holy God.

But honestly, Luke has been very faithful about revealing that already too.
• (1:12) “Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him.”
• (1:30) Mary was told “Do not be afraid”
• (1:65) The crowd who hear Zacharias prophesy, it says: “Fear came on all those living around them”
• (2:9) Regarding the shepherds, “they were terribly frightened”
• (4:36) After cleansing the demoniac, “amazement came upon them all”
• (5:8) When Peter saw the catch of fish he said, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man”
• (5:26) After the paralytic was healed, “They were all struck with astonishment…and they were filled with fear’
• (7:16) After raising the dead man, “Fear gripped them all”

So obviously it’s not the first time Luke revealed that
This crowed recognized that they were in the presence of someone remarkable.

My point in all of this is
That while these are new stories with different miracles,
There is some question as to what Luke’s purpose is here.

The question we are asking is: WHAT’S YOUR ANGLE LUKE?
• Why are you now revisiting the power of Jesus?
• Why are you seemingly re-revealing what you’ve already adequately shown?
• What’s the point here?

What you need to realize is that
An important shift is occurring in the ministry of Jesus
And it is one that you’ve already saw being put into effect.

Let me contrast for you the way the Jesus started out preaching with the way He is preaching now.

The first sermon Luke recorded was in Nazareth:
Luke 4:16-21 “And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.” And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

And we know that He went about preaching like that
With conviction and clarity all over Judea.

But recently we’ve noticed a shift in His preaching style.
Do you remember how the most recent sermon started?

Luke 8:9-10 “His disciples began questioning Him as to what this parable meant. And He said, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that SEEING THEY MAY NOT SEE, AND HEARING THEY MAY NOT UNDERSTAND.”

And we noted that Jesus was no longer
Freely laying truth on the table for all to see.
Now He was only granting truth to those who had been willing to listen.

And in closing the sermon
Jesus made a very pertinent and revealing statement.

Luke 8:18 “So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.”

That was no idle statement.
Jesus was announcing a shift in His ministry.
He is now narrowing His scope and focusing in more directly.

He is now about to be begin
Giving more revelation to His disciples.

This is the difference we begin to notice occurring with the miracles in chapter 8.
• For these miracles all the disciples are present (they weren’t before).
• In some cases, only the disciples are present
• For these miracles the disciples are intimately affected.

• It is the disciples who will be delivered on the boat.
• Only the disciples and the herdsmen witnessed the miracle of the demoniac being cleansed
• When raising the dead girl He will purposely take Peter, James, and John in the room with Him.

When you get the chapter 9,
• Jesus will for the first time send the 12 disciples out on their own for ministry,
• And He will give them some of His power and authority as they go.

He will then work another miracle (feeding the 5,000) which was a miracle that benefited many, but the lesson was for the disciples.

Luke is driving to Luke 9:20 where Jesus will confront the disciples
By asking specifically, “Who do you say that I am?”

And when they bear witness that He is the Christ,
He will begin to reveal the plan of the crucifixion to them alone.

HERE’S THE POINT
What Jesus said at the end of that parable of the soils is actually happening.
• Those who have loved the truth are now getting more.
• Those who have not listened are gradually losing their access to it.

In fact in Mark’s gospel, the transition reads like this:
Mark 4:34 “and He did not speak to them without a parable; but He was explaining everything privately to His own disciples.”

What we have here is Jesus beginning to teach the disciples
On a more direct and intimate level about
Who He is, why He came, and what He wants from them.

And the message of the day for the disciples?
FAITH

This trip they are about to go on is no incidental trip.
• It is sovereignly planned by God
• To purposely grant the disciples the opportunity they need
• To see the power of Christ and have their faith in Him enlarged.

Look at the setting of this first miracle.
(22) “Now on one of those days Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they launched out.”

No reason is given.
• You could ask the age-old joke here, “Why did Jesus cross the lake?”
• Someone might say, “To get to the other side”
BUT THAT WOULD NOT BE TRUE.

Jesus has sovereign plans of testing and growing the disciple’s faith.
Do you not think He is well-aware of the storm that is coming?

This is an object lesson for the disciples about who He is,
The power He holds, and the faith they need to develop.

And this is a good lesson for us.
• We talk about it all the time; namely that our God is sovereign.
• He knows tomorrow as clearly as you know today.
• The storms of life are not a surprise to Him.
• In fact, much of the time, He ordains to put you in them.

It is part of His plan to show you who He is and to grow your faith.
There is no doubt that this is what Jesus is doing here with His disciples.

SO LET’S WORK THROUGH THIS FAMILIAR STORY THIS MORNING.

We’ve already seen the setting.
Jesus commanded the disciples to get into a boat with one simple expectation.
“Let us go over to the other side of the lake.”

#1 THE DILEMMA
Luke 8:23

First we recognize “But as they were sailing along He fell asleep;”

On one hand I certainly think this was a calculated plan by the Lord.
• This is part of the test.

On the other hand it is a tremendous indication of Jesus’ humanity.
• Before we see Him demonstrate His divine power to control nature,
• We first see a demonstration of His human nature to require rest.

In one story we have all the mysteries of the person of Jesus.
Fully man, fully human, with all the limitations one might expect.
And yet fully God, fully divine, with all the authority one might expect.
He is a marvelous mystery.

But after He falls asleep we read:
“and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger.”

In short we get a storm.
Mark adds in his gospel that the waves were “filling the boat”

Matthew (a tax collector, not a fisherman) wrote:
Matthew 8:24 “And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep.”

The word for “great storm” that Matthew used was SEISMOS
(where we get our word for seismograph).
Of the 14 times it is used in the New Testament,
13 times it is translated “earthquake”.

The tax collector described it as “an earthquake on the sea”

Mark and Luke speak of the tremendous wind which descended on the lake and made the waves so large that they were filling the boat.

THIS IS NO SMALL STORM.
THIS IS LIFE THREATENING.

And not only has Jesus intentionally placed them in it,
But He is now sleeping on the boat.

They are in danger. They are helpless.
They are NOT alone, but they feel alone.

I’m betting you’ve had storms in your life
That symbolically compare to what the disciples are going through here.

That’s the dilemma.
#2 THE DELIVERANCE
Luke 8:24

Of course we read that the disciples approach Jesus.

What I also like are the differences in the way they do it from the 3 synoptic gospel writers.

Of course Luke records:
“They came to Jesus and woke Him up saying, “Master, Master we are perishing!”

• You certainly pick up on the fear.
• You also pick up on the hopelessness of the situation.
• From Luke’s perspective it wasn’t even a request, they are just announcing to Jesus that He should wake up before He dies.

Matthew records it like this:
Matthew 8:25 “And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!”

• Matthew also points out the impending doom,
• But he includes the request for salvation.

And then we get Mark’s version (Peter’s take)
Mark 4:38 “Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

• That one is probably my favorite.
• Not only do we get the fear,
• But also the frustration seen in the fact that Jesus has thus far done nothing about the storm.

No doubt some have used the discrepancies in the story to cast doubt on the accuracy of at least some of these accounts, but there’s not a problem here.

You’ve got at least 13 people on this boat.
You’ve got several other boats also in the water with them.
They are all about to drown.
Do you suppose that just one person approached Jesus?
Do you suppose only one did the talking?

The various accounts simply represent
They mayhem and confusion of the moment.

You’ve got the Peter’s of the boat
• Who were experienced fishermen and who were trying to take control of the
boat and are now frustrated that Jesus has thus far been no help at all.

You’ve got the Thomas’s of the group (pessimists)
• Who are certain they are all going to drown just huddled in the corner saying
their final good-byes.

You’ve got the Matthew’s of the group
• Who know nothing about sailing and who only know to ask Jesus for help.

It actually reminds me of an incident that occurred on our first trip to Zimbabwe.
• We had been out well past dark showing the Jesus Film and preaching at the
local orphanage.
• And it so happened that on that night we had had a group of men at the
meeting who were probably drunk and who were very disruptive who had
already left and walked off into the darkness.
• We then loaded up in the back of small pickups to make the drive to our
campsite (about a 10 minute drive over very rough terrain)
• It just so happened that as we drove home we drove through that group of
disruptive men, who then started chasing the truck.
• And because it was a rough road they were catching us.
• The whole back of the vehicle broke into hysteria (and yes, I was one of them)
• Some were hollering at the driver to drive faster
• Some were hollering at the men to “get back”
• And someone broke into the song “Jesus Loves Me” which we all started
singing at the top of our lungs

To someone watching from a distance
I’m sure we looked like models of faith and courage.

I think that paints a pretty good picture of these disciples on this boat.
They were anything but resolute pillars of strength.

AND THEY CRY OUT TO THE LORD.

Now, first, I DON’T THINK the decision to cry out to the Lord is the problem.
• We are pretty adamantly commanded to call upon the name of the Lord.
• In just a few moments that hemorrhaging woman is going to figuratively cry out to Jesus to heal her by touching His garments and Jesus will praise her faith.

Several times the Psalms even allude to crying out to God who can in fact deliver even during times when nature is threatening.

Psalms 65:5-7 “By awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness, O God of our salvation, You who are the trust of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest sea; Who establishes the mountains by His strength, Being girded with might; Who stills the roaring of the seas, The roaring of their waves, And the tumult of the peoples.”

Psalms 89:9 “You rule the swelling of the sea; When its waves rise, You still them.”

Psalms 107:23-31 “Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters; They have seen the works of the LORD, And His wonders in the deep. For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind, Which lifted up the waves of the sea. They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths; Their soul melted away in their misery. They reeled and staggered like a drunken man, And were at their wits’ end. Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, And He brought them out of their distresses. He caused the storm to be still, So that the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad because they were quiet, So He guided them to their desired haven. Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men!”

That Psalm could be a prophetic announcement of this very miracle.

But the point is, that crying out to the Lord in your distress
Is a good thing.

Namely because He delivers.
“And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm.”

And we have to take a moment here and make sure you understand
THE ENORMITY OF WHAT JUST HAPPENED.

You must understand the problem of creation here.

When you read The Creation Account there are two primary truths that emerge as absolutely essential.
1) God created everything
2) God created everything perfect

You must see that first.
All creative power is His, and His creation is perfect
But not long into the narrative we are struck with the reality
That what God formed, sin deformed.

One of the consequences of the curse is the fall of creation.
• What once bore fruit now bears thorns
• What once was a friend of man now tries to kill him
• What once was subject to man now rebels against him

Nature is a dangerous place
Look at the fires and mudslides of our recent days
Just this past week we saw news of a boat sinking and several people drowning

NATURE IS NOW OUT OF THE CONTROL OF HUMANITY.
• We can fight a fire, but we can’t command it to stop
• We can prepare for a flood, but we can’t command the rain to stop
• Humanity has no authority over creation.

ONLY GOD CAN DO THAT.
And that is a very important point to grasp here.

And that makes what Jesus does here remarkable.
He commanded the wind and the waves to stop “and they stopped”

This is an unescapable picture of the deity of Jesus.
Jesus just did what only God can do.

It is also an unescapable picture of JESUS AS REDEEMER.
He just reversed the effects of the curse.

This falls in line with all the other miracles He has worked.
• Every healing of sickness
• Every deliverance from death
• Every calming of violent nature

It has all been a picture of the ability of Jesus
To redeem humanity from the effects of the curse.

Jesus just put His divine and redeeming power on full display.
He commanded the sea.

AND THAT IS WHY JESUS ORCHESTRATED THIS EVENT
Don’t forget that the One who commands the storms to stop
Is also the One who commands them to start.

Can I read again that passage from the Psalms about the great deliverance in the storm?
Psalms 107:23-25 “Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters; They have seen the works of the LORD, And His wonders in the deep. For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind, Which lifted up the waves of the sea.”

God caused it and then He delivered from it.

This storm was all the plan of the Lord as well.
He is investing in the lives of His disciples
And He is taking opportunity to show them who He is.

He is the One who has authority over creation.
He is the One who delivers in hopeless situations.

That’s a pretty important lesson for them to learn.

The Dilemma, The Deliverance
#3 THE DISCOVERY
Luke 8:25

Now before we actually see the discovery of exactly who Jesus is,
It’s important that you see the discovery about who the disciples are.

“And He said to them, “Where is your faith?”

Mark records it like this:
Mark 4:40 “And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

And Matthew like this:
Matthew 8:26 “He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?”

Again, each passenger picked up on the rebuke a little differently,
But one thing they all grasped was that their FAITH WAS TOO WEAK.

The disciples just learned that they had a faith problem.
Their faith was still not what it needed to be.

And this was the teaching lesson that Jesus was orchestrating.
Their faith was not complete.

If you need a measuring stick.
Take the panic stricken response of the disciples in this storm and contrast it to the response of Paul in a similar situation later.

TURN TO: Acts 27:21-38

The disciple’s faith needed to grow.
The specific problem (as both Matthew and Mark point out)
Is the presence of fear

Fear is the opposite of faith.
• Whereas our flesh teaches us to fear the possible and worry about what might happen,
• Faith teaches us to trust God, to reject anxiety and worry, and to trust in God’s deliverance.

The disciples (like me so many years ago in the back of that pickup)
Had far more fear than they had faith.

And the Lord just exposed that.
They still had a ways to go.

But the beauty of the Lord is that He didn’t just expose it.
HE ALSO GREW IT.

• Jesus didn’t just rebuke them for their little faith in the middle of the storm.
• He also demonstrated His total control in the midst of the situation by
calming that storm.

THIS WAS TO GROW THEIR FAITH.
The storm was great, but Jesus was greater.
Despite the threat, they could trust Jesus.

Perhaps you can identify.
• Ever wonder why the storms of life can hit so violently and without warning?
• Ever wonder where they come from?
• Ever wonder why God seems to be so distant in the middle of them?

• Ever consider that perhaps He is both exposing and establishing your faith?

These storms and these hardships are orchestrated by the Lord.
• It is important that we come to the end of ourselves and our own sufficiency.
• It is important that we learn who is really in control.
• It is important that we learn to trust Him in those storms.

What Jesus did with these disciples was not cruel.
It was in fact a blessing.
• He was already finished revealing Himself to those crowds.
• He was already speaking to them in parables.

But the disciples were getting to go to graduate school.
He was taking them to the next level and that is a phenomenal thing.
They were getting the “MORE” Jesus talked about

And while we are certain that
The disciples caught a glimpse of the weakness of their faith,
Luke actually records THEIR MAIN DISCOVERY.

“They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, “When then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?”

This fear is common anytime anyone recognized the presence of God.
• See Moses in fear before the burning bush
• See the children of Israel in fear at Sinai telling Moses to go on their behalf
• See Isaiah crying “Woe is me!” at the presence of God.
• See Ezekiel falling on his face as a dead man

The disciples just caught a glimpse of deity
They realized that this was no mere man in their boat.

Doesn’t it seem to you like they should have already known that?
I guess all the other miracles weren’t able to get their attention like this one did.
Maybe we are also slow to learn

Here they are amazed by two things.

1) HIS AUDACITY
“Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water..?”
I mean really, what man thinks He can just tell the storm to stop?

Here is what that means.
When they woke Him up in the boat, they certainly wanted His help,
But never in a million years did they expect that He’d just stop the storm.

They were shocked at His audacity.

2) HIS AUTHORITY
“and they obey Him”

• Who even knew that the wind had ears?
• Who even knows the language to communicate with the sea?
None but the One who created it.

Psalms 104:5-9 “He established the earth upon its foundations, So that it will not totter forever and ever. You covered it with the deep as with a garment; The waters were standing above the mountains. At Your rebuke they fled, At the sound of Your thunder they hurried away. The mountains rose; the valleys sank down To the place which You established for them. You set a boundary that they may not pass over, So that they will not return to cover the earth.”

Job 38:8-11 “Or who enclosed the sea with doors When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb; When I made a cloud its garment And thick darkness its swaddling band, And I placed boundaries on it And set a bolt and doors, And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther; And here shall your proud waves stop’?”

Jesus is this God.
And the disciples are starting to see it.

Had they heard it before? Yes
It just hadn’t fully registered.

The Lord walked them into this storm
That He might reveal it and grow their faith.

Perhaps that helps you understand your storms as well.

The God Who Satisfies
Psalms 4
July 15, 2018

Tonight we come to the 4th Psalm, and I don’t mind telling you that
It is one that proved a little difficult for me.

Namely because of an apparent interruption or break in continuity.

• It is a Psalm which begins in verse 1 with David crying out to God asking God to hear his prayer.

• But without ever even naming the request that he would make to God, David, without warning, stops addressing God and begins addressing the “sons of men” or the world.

• And then again in verse 6 he returns back to addressing God.

The flow is what puzzled me.

• Was David in the middle of worship and bothered by the perceived apathy
around him? Did he just stop mid-prayer to address carnal worshipers and
to tell them to get their act straight?

• Was David prepping for an evangelistic crusade (about to go on visitation)
and simply asking God to go with him?

Without knowing the absolute setting
It’s a little difficult to know exactly what is going on.

Here’s what we do know.
The heading says: “For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of David”

• Ultimately this was a song to be sung by the choir.
• Ultimately this is a message for the church.

So the intention here is that the church be edified
By the message that is contained in this song.

It is also possible that it is a song meant to awaken false believers
Who sit in the midst of the congregation.

So the question is: WHAT IS THE MESSAGE THAT DAVID SEEKS TO GET ACROSS TO THE CONGREGATION?

And that is an easy answer.
Namely that God is All-Satisfying

This, by the way, is a CONSTANT THEME OF SCRIPTURE.

• Even in preparing for VBS this coming week and working on the text and Bible studies and songs that will be sung, the satisfaction of God is a central theme.

• The whole theme of VBS is Philippians 3 where Paul acknowledges that following Christ has literally caused him to “suffer the loss of all things”

• But in the very next breath Paul rejoices in that because in losing all things he gained Christ, and having been found in Christ, he gained all that he needed for true and total satisfaction.

• In fact, Paul’s satisfaction in Christ is proven in the fact that after losing all things and gaining Christ, Paul determined to never go back. Instead he continued to pursue Christ.

Philippians 3:12 “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.”

Like Abraham, as the writer of Hebrews put it.
Hebrews 11:15-16 “And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.”

This was certainly Paul.
Even ending the letter with a statement of his great contentment in life,
Despite the fact that he had lost everything.

Philippians 4:11-13 “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

The theme there is satisfaction in Christ.

It is the same satisfaction that Asaph came to realize in the famed 73rd Psalm.
Psalms 73:25-28 “Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.”

That is the same satisfaction that David is also declaring
Here in this 4th Psalm.

And in reading the Psalm,
The reason for the interruption, or break, or lack of continuity
Is because David’s satisfaction in God
Actually seemed to sneak up on him.

• The Psalm came on a day when David started out in prayer,
• But as he recounted the goodness of God in his own life,
• David couldn’t even keep going without testifying to just how satisfying God is.

Let me show you.
#1 DAVID’S SUPPLICATION
Psalms 4:1

It begins with David in prayer.
• Obviously David has a request on his heart.
• He has something he is about to bring before the Lord.

Now, we don’t have any idea what that is,
Because David never gets around to it.

Instead, his prayer begins with the worship and adoration
That we are also instructed to begin our prayers with.

We remember our Lord’s instruction:
Matthew 6:9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.”

• Prayer is to begin with a hallowing of God’s name.
• Prayer is to begin with the exaltation of who God is, and worship of His
greatness.

On one hand
• It would be the common courtesy that you would extend to any important
person who took the time to listen to you.

On the other hand,
• It is the absolute deserved response of God because of who He is.

Prayer begins with a contemplation and exaltation
Of exactly who it is you are addressing.

And that is how David begins his prayer.

Verse 1 is bookended with a simple request.
“Answer me” and then “hear my prayer”

And in between we find the exaltation of David.

We know he is praying.
We know he has a request he wants to present.
But before he gets there he is taking a moment
To acknowledge the God he is presenting this request to.

And David actually begins to acknowledge
How great God has been in his life.

In fact he gives 3 great benefits of God.
1) JUSTIFICATION
“O God of my righteousness”

This is an all-encompassing term,
But certainly one that we understand.

Spurgeon said it like this:
“It means Thou art the author, the witness, the maintainer, the judge, and the rewarder of my righteousness.”
(Spurgeon, C.H. [The Treasury of David; volume 1; Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA] pg. 34)

Certainly David would have understood the concept and doctrine of justification.
• After all, it is spelled out clearly in the life of Abraham.
• Genesis 15:6 “Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”

Certainly David understood the concept of our righteousness being witnessed upon by God.
• This too occurred in the life of Abraham.
• Genesis 22:12 “He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

David understood that God was the maintainer of his righteousness.
• It was David who famously wrote:
• Psalms 23:1-3 “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.”

He also understood God as the judge and rewarder of his righteousness.
• Psalms 51:1-4 “Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge.”

The point is that David fully understood that
Not only was righteousness the prerogative of God,
And not only did God demand righteousness from His people;
But David also knew that the righteousness God demanded
Was also a justifying gift from God.

In short, David knew that all God required, God also provided.
• He wasn’t just a righteous God.
• He wasn’t just a God who demanded righteousness.
• He is a God who supplies it.
• He is a God who cultivates it.
• He is a God who sustains it.

David was coming to the God who had justified him
And declared him righteous.

We certainly understand that beautiful concept
As we are also declared righteous
Through the saving work of Jesus Christ.

That is the first acknowledgement David makes.

2) DELIVERANCE
“You have relieved me in my distress”

We actually saw this just last week
As David was on the run from Absalom and despite the threat against him DAVID WAS ENABLED BY GOD TO LAY DOWN AND SLEEP.

GOD DELIVERED HIM.

The word “relieved” there literally means “enlarged”.
That is to say God pulled him out of his claustrophobic predicament
And gave him peace.

Psalms 118:5-9 “From my distress I called upon the LORD; The LORD answered me and set me in a large place. The LORD is for me; I will not fear; What can man do to me? The LORD is for me among those who help me; Therefore I will look with satisfaction on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in princes.”

As we said last week, this is what God does for His people.
He delivers them…ALWAYS
• Sometimes it is a deliverance from danger
• Sometimes it is a deliverance out of danger
• Sometimes it is a deliverance inside the danger

And as David begins to acknowledge God in this opening of his prayer
He first acknowledges God’s justification and God’s deliverance;
(Both of which David enjoyed.)

3) FELLOWSHIP
“Be gracious to me and hear my prayer”

David is asking for God to hear him
And David understands that he has no leverage in the request.
• There is nothing in David that can force God to answer.
• There is nothing even in David that deserves for God to answer.

David understands that if God does answer
It will be for one reason and one reason only, and that is GRACE.

Every answered prayer we receive from God
Is a 100% demonstration of His grace,
For He certainly owes us nothing.

AND THIS IS WHY THE PSALM MAKES AN ABRUPT SHIFT.

David is merely listing the great benefits of God in his life.
• He lists that God has justified him
• He lists that God has delivered him
• David acknowledges that if God answers him, it will be nothing short of grace

And it’s like at this very moment
DAVID BECOMES OVERWHELMED with the truth he just stated.

WHY?
Because God has many times answered him.
(God answers him all the time)

And this will be the central boast
That David will make to the world here in just a moment.

Peak down to verse 3, “But know that the LORD has set apart the godly man for Himself; The LORD hears when I call to Him.”

While acknowledging God’s goodness to him
• David doesn’t even get around to making this new request.
• Instead he gets lost in amazement over all that God has done for him.
• And instead of continuing on with the request,
• David arises to give testimony of God’s goodness.
• David determines to testify of his great God to a world that doesn’t understand satisfaction like David has.

Why is David going to address the world?
BECAUSE DAVID IS OBSERVANT.

He will actually share his observation of the world in verse 6, “Many are saying, “Who will show us any good?”

That is to say that David recognizes that the world
Is clothed in an extreme lack of fulfillment and in dissatisfaction.

We see that as well.
It was in 1965 when Mick Jagger wrote that time honored classic,
“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”

That is our world.
Saturated with discontentment, always scurrying and running to the next thing that will give them fulfillment.
• My goodness we all watched on the news this past Thursday where people
lined up for hours to get a good deal on a “Build-a-Bear”. It was an insane
picture.

• And it will be duplicated the next time a “Black Friday” sale is announced or
the next time Apple releases a new iPhone.

• People will scurry and wait and push and claw for the next new gadget that will
finally give their life meaning.

Well David saw the same rat-race occurring around him.
And as he was in the middle of prayer, recounting the greatness of God in his life, THE LIGHTBULB CAME ON.

David already has exactly what the world needs.
And that is why he arises from prayer and enters the pulpit.

David’s Supplication
#2 DAVID’S SERMON
Psalms 4:2-5

Here David is addressing the “sons of men”,
That is to say, David is addressing humans.

And there is good reason to assume that David is addressing the godless pagan who has no interest in God.

After all, look at how David defines them in verse 2
“how long will my honor become a reproach? How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception? Selah”

David defines this new audience
As those who are on a tireless search for satisfaction
And as those who are searching in the absolute wrong place.

They aren’t interested in David’s “honor”

I think we can safely say that he is referring to God.
Psalms 3:3 “But You, O LORD, are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head.”

God is David’s honor; David’s glory.

But the people aren’t interested in God.
Instead they “love what is worthless and aim at deception”

They are constantly on the prowl
For what will gratify their sinful passions and natures.

Like we’ve so often read in the book of Ecclesiastes,
They look for gardens and parks and riches and women and drink and drugs and fame and enlightenment, etc.
And of course it is all “meaningless”.

As Isaiah announced:
Isaiah 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”

Or
Isaiah 22:12-13 “Therefore in that day the Lord GOD of hosts called you to weeping, to wailing, To shaving the head and to wearing sackcloth. Instead, there is gaiety and gladness, Killing of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, Eating of meat and drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die.”

They are just the people of the world.

And not much has changed there.
In many ways our culture shares the same desires as those of a stray dog.
Constantly looking for something to eat; something to drink; and something to mate. (and not even that picky about what it is)

It is actually a search for satisfaction and fulfillment.

And David sees these people as lacking
The only thing that ever brought him fulfillment, which is God.

And that is why after addressing their futile search,
David addresses their ignorance of the truth.

Namely that until they learn the futility of their ways
And learn to seek the things of God they will never have it.

David says:
(3) “But know that the LORD has set apart the godly man for Himself; The LORD hears when I call to Him.”

This is the central, mind-blowing truth to David’s sermon.
• David started in prayer asking for God to hear and recognizing that if God would choose to listen it would only be by grace.

• And then David realizes that God has been gracious many times over for God always hears.

• And it was this satisfaction that led him to address these people who are unfulfilled.

• He is telling them to quit seeking the things of the world and to start seeking godliness.
• He is telling them to quit running for the deeds of immorality and to start running for the things of God.

For in those things we gain access to God which is truly satisfying.
He is calling the world to come have satisfaction in the presence of God.

And he even tells them specifically how to obtain it.
(4-5) “Tremble, and do not sin; Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, And trust in the LORD.”

You can see three steps there.
1) RECOGNIZE THE DANGERS OF SIN

David says, “Tremble, and do not sin”
As Spurgeon put it, our world gets this backward, for most of them “Sin and do not tremble” (ibid. pg. 35)

It is the call of David for the world to stop
And take account of the damning effects of sin in the world.

We’ve already seen Psalms 1
Psalms 1:4-6 “The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.”

Next week we’ll see:
Psalms 5:4-7 “For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; No evil dwells with You. The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity. You destroy those who speak falsehood; The LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit. But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house, At Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You.”

We learn very quickly that sin is no laughing matter.
God destroys sinners.
God crushes sinners.

And that reality should cause trembling in everyone.
And David simply calls the world to take a moment and recognize that.

But then after grasping that doctrinal truth, David then calls for some introspection.
2) RECOGNIZE YOUR OWN SIN

David says, “Meditate in your heart upon your bead, and be still. Selah”

They are lost arts in our world today
But I promise you things like “stillness” and “meditation” and “silence” and “contemplation” are very valuable things.

They are especially valuable to the man
Who has taken a moment to contemplate the truth.

For here after asking this congregation
To contemplate how much God hates sin,
He then asks them to go to their bed
And lay there in quiet and ponder that.

Inevitably their own sin will emerge.
It’s called the conscience and God has so equipped it as to bring our wickedness to the surface of our thoughts.

Romans 2:14-15 “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them,”

This is what David is asking the world to address.

• Just stop the rat-race for a few moments,
• Put down the distractions,
• Contemplate how dangerous sin is
• And take an evening to meditate upon it.

David knows what will occur.
Man will come face to face with his sin and the horrors of judgment.

And of course then David points them to the Savior from sin and judgment.
3) RECOGNIZE THE SAVIOR

“Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and trust in the LORD.”

• EARLIER we recognized that David was addressing the wicked of the world.
• HERE we must face the possibility that these wicked are seated in church.

For here David does not rebuke them for failing to offer sacrifices
But for failing to offer “the sacrifices of righteousness” to God.

It rings in our ear all the phony offerings that were so often presented to God by the children of Israel.

How often have read God’s disdain for this:
Isaiah 1:13 “Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies — I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.”

Or we hear the cry of Malachi:
Malachi 1:8-10 “But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you kindly?” says the LORD of hosts. “But now will you not entreat God’s favor, that He may be gracious to us? With such an offering on your part, will He receive any of you kindly?” says the LORD of hosts. “Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD of hosts, “nor will I accept an offering from you.”

It was the prophets addressing a religious people who were lost in the ceremony, but had no concern for bringing anything that God desired.

All God wanted were righteous offerings
From hearts that desired righteousness.

We understand that as the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ,
And how we hunger for righteousness so much
That we forsake ourselves and follow Him.

This is what David has in mind.
• Stop seeking the “worthless” things of the world
• Start seeking the righteousness of God
• And start trusting God for it

After all, did David not already announce that God was the provider of righteousness?

Asaph said it like this:
Psalms 50:12-15 “If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains. “Shall I eat the flesh of bulls Or drink the blood of male goats? “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving And pay your vows to the Most High; Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.”

This is what David wants as well.
IN YOUR SEARCH FOR SATISFACTION, START SEEKING GOD,
SEEK HIM WITH THE GODLINESS THAT HE SUPPLIES AND REQUIRES.

That is David’s message here to the world.

And then it moves to David’s testimony.

David’s Supplication, David’s Sermon
#3 DAVID’S SATISFACTION
Psalms 4:6-8

David is very simply here going to relay that
All the satisfaction the world seeks
Is the satisfaction that he has found in God.

And here comes David’s request.
(6) “Many are saying, “Who will show us any good?” Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O LORD!”

Listen, I want you to mark that verse in your Bible.
This is a foundational and fundamental to the purpose and function of the church.

• The church is so confused today in their strategy for how to reach sinners.
• The church is on a satisfaction and fulfillment mission, but even in that they are
backward.
• The church’s goal has been to find out what the world seeks and then to try to
convince them that this is what we offer.

And what you get is really a bad knock off job.

• Now look, I certainly don’t mind, and even enjoy things like “clean comedy” or
“clean rock music” or “family friendly” events.

But if you think for a moment that the world does, you are way off.
The church just can’t compete in that industry.

But we have something that the world doesn’t have.
WE HAVE GOD

And this is David’s prayer before God.
“God, we live in a world that is dissatisfied and can’t seem to find anything good and fulfilling. God would You please show them Your face”

I love David’s prayer there!
• He didn’t set out to show the world that the harp music of the church was as good as the harp music of the pub.
• He didn’t set out to show the world that the fellowship of the church was as fun as the fellowship of the pub.

David knew that all of those things were superficial.
He wanted God to show His face.

Upon reading this Psalm several months ago,
THIS IS HOW I PRAY FOR OUR WORSHIP SERVICES.
This is how I pray for our church.

“Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O LORD!”

God, let the world see You
And let the world see how satisfied we are in You.

Isn’t that the way the body of Christ should function?
(Can’t we sing “Take this world, my God’s enough”?)

WELL HOW SATISFIED ARE WE IN CHRIST?

Look at what David says:
(7) “You have put gladness in my heart, More than when their grain and new wine abound.”

Do you know what David references?
He references the party that occurs at the end of the harvest.
• On the day when the work is over and the grain is in the barn and the wine is in the cellar, and the celebration begins.

I don’t have to explain to you what a party like that looks like.
Many of you know, many of you may have even been before.

And David says, the “gladness in my heart”
Is better than any momentary joy I ever got from celebrations like that.

David had a joy that circumstances couldn’t give
And more importantly that circumstances couldn’t take away.

No one has ever denied that worldly parties are fun.
But they don’t last, and often times come with consequences that render the fun not worth the cost.

David had a greater joy.
David had a true fulfillment.

Beyond that:
(8) “In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You alone, O LORD, make me to dwell in safety.”

It wasn’t just joy that David got from God it was also peace.

When is the last time you got that from the world?
The world is pretty good on the “fun” department,
But the world stinks at the “peace” department.

David didn’t just get joy from God, he got rest from Him as well.

In short, he found what the world needed.
And not only did he offer it to them,
But he also stopped to thank God for it.

That is really what the last 3 verses are about.
• David quit speaking to the world in verse 5.
• In these last 3 verses he is thanking God for satisfying Him in a way that the world never could.

And there is the 4th Psalm.
GOD SATISFIES

• You have David who came to God with some request that we will never know.
• And in acknowledging how good God had been to him
• David decided to forego the request to instead proclaim God’s goodness to the
world
• And to thank God for it.

And this is the song that David commanded the choir director
To sing before the great congregation.

It is the song of our tremendous satisfaction in God.

And the implication and expectation of this song are clear.
• You should also acknowledge how good God has been to you.
• You should also proclaim to the world how satisfaction is found only in God.
• You should also stop and thank God for giving the joy and peace that the world never could.

I think we can agree that it would do the church a world of good
If we sang this song more often.

God, You’re enough!
And I thank You for the joy and peace You have supplied to my life.