The NXR Podcast - November 06, 2022


SUNDAY SERMON - Finding God’s Presence In The Midst Of Pain ｜ Psalm 42

Topics
presence of God
Hosted by
Joel Webbon Harrison Smith Antonio Griffith Dale Partridge Wewsley Todd Calvin Robinson
Mentioned
Notice David Paul King David King Saul Absalom Korah Doubting Castle John Bunyan Timothy Adam Jesus Christ Jamie White Joseph Boot Joel Webin Gary DeMar Solomon Isaiah
QUESTIONS - Should Christians Judge Outsiders？ DAILY TRUTH - Fight The Good Fight

Episode Stats


Length

54 minutes

Words per minute

157.47

Word count

8,611

Sentence count

491

Harmful content

Toxicity

17

sentences flagged

Hate speech

28

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

In this episode, we continue our series on the psalm "Where is Your God?" by King David, who was on the run from his own son, Saul, when he wrote it. And yet, God is everywhere.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
Topics generated with Qwen2.5-3B-Instruct.
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00 Hey guys, real quick, before we get started, I have a small request.
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00:00:17 Thanks.
00:00:18 All right, we're continuing our series through the Psalter.
00:00:21 This morning, this Lord's Day, our psalm is Psalm 42.
00:00:25 If you were with us last Lord's Day,
00:00:27 I spent the entirety of that sermon giving an introduction to this psalm, speaking through, well, exegeting Numbers chapter 16, the sons of Korah, who they were, and setting the stage for this psalm.
00:00:42 I believe that the author of the psalm was King David and that it's attributed to the sons of Korah because the sons of Korah, a worship band, a worship team, for lack of a better description, they were a worship team in Israel under the old covenant.
00:01:00 And the sons of Korah so often sang this particular psalm that it was likened to them.
00:01:07 But I do believe that King David was the original author.
00:01:11 And I believe that the setting in which he wrote this particular psalm is when he was on the run.
00:01:17 He was banished effectively from Israel.
00:01:20 And therefore the tabernacle, the temple was not yet built.
00:01:23 It would later be built by his son Solomon.
00:01:26 But the tabernacle, it dwelt in Israel.
00:01:29 David was on the run either from King Saul before David came into the kingship or he was banished effectively from Israel on the run from Absalom, his traitor son who betrayed him.
00:01:46 And the scripture says he slowly but surely won all the hearts of Israel away from his father.
00:01:53 He would stand outside of the palace when people would come to David with some kind of conflict, some kind of problem, needing a solution and wisdom from their king.
00:02:04 Absalom would meet them on the way so that they never made it to David.
00:02:09 And he would resolve their problem, not with justice, not with righteousness, but rather he would resolve their problem, seemingly resolve it by telling them what they wanted to hear.
00:02:21 And the Bible says, by doing so, the son of David, Absalom, someone that David had raised up and trained his very own and loved and cared for, he secretly, without the king knowing, he secretly won over all the hearts of the people by telling them what they wanted to hear.
00:02:41 And once he had accrued enough power, enough influence, enough people were on his side, he then turned on his father, King David, and threatened his life.
00:02:52 And David ran from his own son.
00:02:55 I can't imagine how painful that must have been.
00:02:58 And as David is now fleeing and hiding, most likely among the Philistines, he's surrounded by his enemies.
00:03:06 His enemies are taunting him day and night.
00:03:09 They're mocking him, saying, where is your God?
00:03:12 And what we see in Psalm 42 is David again and again saying, I long to appear before the Lord.
00:03:19 I miss the presence of the Lord.
00:03:23 And this is the same David I said last week, I'll say it again.
00:03:27 This is the same David who wrote in the Psalms, where can I go from your presence?
00:03:33 Where can I go that you would not be?
00:03:36 Where could I or how could I hide from you?
00:03:39 Right? 0.92
00:03:40 Even if I'm in the depths of Sheol, that is the belly of the earth, the grave, you're there.
00:03:46 If I find myself in the sea, you're there. 1.00
00:03:50 On the mountaintops or the valleys, wherever I might be, there is nowhere that I can go that I might hide from you.
00:03:56 So the same David who thoroughly understood the theological principle of the omnipresence of God, that his presence is everywhere, this same David cries out with anguish and torment saying, I long to be in the presence of God, which seems like a contradiction.
00:04:17 the same David who says there's nowhere I could go that your presence would not be
00:04:22 and yet this same David who understands that God is with him still is lamenting this perceived
00:04:32 absence of the presence of God why well because although it is true that God's presence is
00:04:38 everywhere because he is omnipresent there is a particular presence of God that dwells among his
00:04:45 people and inhabits his praises. And so by David being cut off from Israel on the run for his life
00:04:53 what was most significant is that he was cut off not merely from the nation or the cities
00:04:58 but what was there in the nation and the cities namely the tabernacle. David was cut off from the
00:05:05 tabernacle of the Lord and he was cut off even further from the people of the Lord who at the 0.85
00:05:13 tabernacle would praise the Lord so by virtue of being cut off from God's people who would sing
00:05:19 God's praises David was effectively cut off from God's presence absence of the people of God and
00:05:28 the praises of God that is the corporate praises of God sung collectively corporately by the people
00:05:34 of God David recognizes if I don't have the people of God singing together the praises of God then I
00:05:41 don't have in a very real sense the presence of God although he is omnipresent there is nowhere I
00:05:47 can go to hide from his presence there is a special presence of the Lord a particular presence
00:05:53 of the Lord that inhabits the praises of his people and by virtue of being cut off from that
00:05:59 there is a sweetness of the presence of God that I no longer have that I'm missing and that I long
00:06:06 for. And that's the setting for our psalm. Let's go ahead and dive in. Verses 1 and 2 says this,
00:06:13 As the deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God,
00:06:20 for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? Whether on the run from King Saul or
00:06:28 his son Absalom, David has been effectively cut off from the land of Israel, and most significantly
00:06:33 the tabernacle therefore the psalmist is deprived of the presence of God the people of God I'm sorry
00:06:40 the praise of God the people of God and the presence of God he is consumed by a desperate
00:06:45 and even violent thirst like a deer that's about to die that's that's if you were holding it back
00:06:51 with with ropes or chains and put water before it it would tear at its own limbs in order to get to
00:06:58 the water because it's so desperate, a desperate and even violent thirst for the pleasure and
00:07:03 privilege of the presence of God, which is uniquely found in a particular and special sense
00:07:10 in the public worship of God with the people of God. David is longing for this. Psalm chapter 84
00:07:18 verse 7 says, they go from strength to strength. Each one appears before God in Zion, not just
00:07:27 anywhere. This is a psalm speaking of the people of God appearing before God in a particular place
00:07:35 in Zion on the holy mountain where the presence of God dwells. We all stand before God. God is
00:07:44 always watching. Every thought and inclination of our heart will one day be laid bare because God is
00:07:50 witness God is seen God is here he is near he's with us and yet there is a special presence of
00:07:58 the Lord at Zion there's a special presence of the Lord in the tabernacle in the temple in Israel
00:08:05 in Jerusalem the holy city where the people of God gather together and make melody in their hearts
00:08:11 singing his praises and honoring him so too even under the new covenant even for new testament
00:08:19 Christians, there is a special presence of the Lord that uniquely and exclusively belongs
00:08:26 to the corporate assembly. How do we know this? Because this principle is reaffirmed by Christ
00:08:33 himself. In Matthew chapter 18, Jesus expressly says, wherever two or three are gathered in my
00:08:41 name there I am among them well Jesus is always there the spirit right he is seated at the right
00:08:52 hand of his father but the spiritual presence of the risen Christ is always with all believers
00:08:58 by virtue through the ministry of the indwelling Holy Spirit if you're in Christ you've received
00:09:05 the Holy Spirit you're no longer your own you were bought with a price your body is now a temple of
00:09:11 Holy Spirit. So if you're in Christ Jesus, your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. You have
00:09:18 the Holy Spirit. You have received him. That's what 1 Corinthians 6 says. If you have the Holy
00:09:23 Spirit, you have the Spirit of the risen Christ. So if you're a Christian, if you're in Christ,
00:09:29 you have the Spirit. By virtue of having the Spirit, you have the Spirit of the risen Christ.
00:09:33 Meaning all Christians, all ways, all Christians in all places at all times have the presence of
00:09:41 Jesus. So why does Jesus say in Matthew 18, wherever two or three are gathered in my name,
00:09:49 there I am among them. If one Christian is isolated, all alone, Jesus is there. The spirit
00:09:57 of the risen Christ is there by virtue of the indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit. So what
00:10:02 does Jesus mean? It's the same principle. It's the same concept. It means that when two or three are
00:10:07 gathered in his name, Christ is present spiritually in a special way, in a unique way. And one of the
00:10:15 things that he's present with is not just a sweetness and an intimacy, but he is uniquely
00:10:21 present with authority. Matthew 18, where he says where two or three are gathered in my name, there
00:10:28 I am in their midst. This is the same text, the same context that Jesus speaks about the keys of
00:10:34 the kingdom and the authority of the church for binding on earth and it will be bound in heaven
00:10:40 and loosing on earth and it will be loosed in heaven. He says, I give you the keys. I give you
00:10:45 this binding and loosing power, but this power is not severed from the king. The king is the one who
00:10:53 in him is endowed all authority. And so the power can only, the authority can only be exercised
00:11:00 when the king, the one who truly wields the authority,
00:11:04 the church is wielding it, but the king possesses it.
00:11:07 So this authority can only be wielded
00:11:10 and exercised by the church 0.94
00:11:11 when the one who actually possesses the authority
00:11:14 is present, who is Christ.
00:11:16 And Jesus expressly says, when the church assembles,
00:11:21 that word church in the New Testament,
00:11:22 it's ecclesia, is a Greek word.
00:11:25 It literally means assembling.
00:11:27 It means gathering.
00:11:29 It means to congregate, to come together.
00:11:32 You may have heard people say, the church is not a building.
00:11:36 The church is the people. 0.99
00:11:38 And that's true.
00:11:40 I don't know how to do it, but the little children thing where they're like,
00:11:43 here's the church and the steeple and open it up and here are the people, something like that.
00:11:47 But that's true.
00:11:49 The church is the people of God.
00:11:50 It's not a building.
00:11:51 But there's also a sense in which the church is the people of God when the people of God do something particular.
00:11:58 when they gather see the church is the people of God Monday through Saturday we scatter and we are
00:12:04 still the church insofar as we are still the bride of Christ or the body of Christ so we can be as
00:12:12 the people ourselves as the people we are the church on on the Lord's day and the rest of the
00:12:19 week even when we're no longer gathered together we are the people of God we are the church but
00:12:25 there is another sense in which the word church is used and it's the primary sense actually it's
00:12:30 not secondary the primary sense ecclesia is gathering and so the church is not the building
00:12:36 the church is the people but we can biblically say that the church is not a building but it is
00:12:44 in fact an assembly it is a gathering of the people so it's not just the people of god in
00:12:50 isolation, all watching YouTube videos and following Jesus personally and privately. No,
00:12:57 the church is the people themselves, not the building, not the place, but the people when
00:13:02 they come together. And Jesus says, when the church assembles, Avengers assemble, right? When
00:13:09 the church assembles and the people of God come together, he who is always present with all
00:13:14 believers at all times by virtue of the indwelling ministry of the spirit of god the holy spirit
00:13:20 he becomes uniquely present particularly with authority when the church comes together and the
00:13:27 idea of two or three gathered in my name that doesn't just mean two or three christian college
00:13:33 students in their dorm room with a djembe and an ovation acoustic guitar singing kumbaya
00:13:38 no it means two or three gathered in my name and all jesus means by that is not just two or three
00:13:44 believers coming together in a informal, unorganized way. No, what Jesus is saying there is it's when
00:13:50 the church gathers and here's the good news, you can have a small church. All it technically takes
00:13:57 to constitute a church in biblical terms, because the Bible actually does give us criteria for what
00:14:03 the church is, and technically all it takes for it to be a biblical, legitimate, bona fide church
00:14:10 is two or three people
00:14:12 who are gathered together
00:14:14 in the name of Jesus,
00:14:16 committed to making disciples
00:14:18 and baptizing the nations
00:14:21 and teaching them to obey
00:14:23 all of Christ's commands
00:14:24 as they seek diligently
00:14:26 to follow those commands themselves.
00:14:28 So two or three gathered
00:14:30 is not Jesus saying,
00:14:31 oh, it's not the church.
00:14:32 No, that's just Jesus saying,
00:14:33 it's okay if it's a small church,
00:14:35 which I am incredibly encouraged by
00:14:37 given our current status.
00:14:40 So all that being said,
00:14:43 that's what David's longing for.
00:14:44 He is longing for the unique presence of God
00:14:48 that is bound to the people and praise of God.
00:14:53 And that's not just an Old Testament reality
00:14:56 due to the tabernacle and the temple,
00:14:59 but that is a New Testament principle as well
00:15:02 that is reaffirmed by Christ in Matthew 18.
00:15:07 Psalm 42 verse 3 says my tears are my food day and night while they say to me all day where is
00:15:15 your God see David is so overwhelmed by grief that he cannot even eat he has lost his appetite
00:15:22 David does not merely grieve deeply for a moment or for an instance but he is grieving deeply day
00:15:29 and night is what he says my tears are my food not just for a couple hours but day and night
00:15:36 Continually, perpetually, meaning that the psalmist does not find himself in a moment of grief or a moment of sadness, but a prolonged season of sadness.
00:15:48 One of the reasons David's grief is so perpetual is because he is unable to recover what he is grieving about, what he is specifically lost, namely the praise and people and presence of God.
00:16:03 He has been cut off from these precious things with no visible hope.
00:16:10 In the natural, in terms of his circumstances, there's no visible hope of these things being restored.
00:16:18 And yet another reason David's grief is perpetual and continual is due to the constant reminders that he receives from those who are mocking him.
00:16:28 See, one method of dealing with our grief, although not a real solution, is distraction.
00:16:37 In seasons of sadness, there's a profound desire for us to try to forget our sorrow.
00:16:45 It's trying to forget, trying to distract ourselves from the hurt, from the pain.
00:16:51 unfortunately David's contemporaries presumably the Philistines who he is hiding among are taunting 0.75
00:16:59 him relentlessly they continually insist that his God has abandoned him just as the miserable
00:17:05 counselors of Job insisted that God must be punishing him so too the only counsel David
00:17:13 receives is the constant constant assurance that he has somehow failed the God he loves
00:17:19 and that his God is angry with him.
00:17:23 Matthew chapter 27, verse 46 says this,
00:17:26 And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying,
00:17:30 Eli, Eli, lemma sabachthani.
00:17:33 That is, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
00:17:39 Why have you forsaken me?
00:17:41 Christ experienced the same thing that David did.
00:17:45 There are many ways in which in the Old Testament,
00:17:47 David, King David, is a type of Christ. The difference is David felt forsaken. Christ was.
00:17:56 Christ was forsaken. The Father turned his face away. This does not constitute an objective break
00:18:04 in the Trinity. I'm not saying that. This does not constitute a moment where the humanity of
00:18:10 Christ engulfed his divinity so that he was no longer divine, so that we no longer have a Trinity
00:18:15 for a moment but we actually just have the father and the spirit that's not what i'm saying but there
00:18:21 is a very real sense where christ in his human nature which has been imputed with sin he who
00:18:30 knew no sin became sin christ in his human nature at the cross now imputed with sin is forsaken by
00:18:38 the father jesus christ the eternal second member of the trinity who has only ever known perfect
00:18:45 communion and fellowship with his father has now for the very first time and the only time
00:18:51 in human history been cut off. David felt forsaken. Christ was forsaken. And Christ was
00:19:02 forsaken so that all those who trust in Christ would never be forsaken. The reason why David
00:19:10 isn't objectively, in a real sense, forsaken by God in our text, the reason why he merely feels
00:19:18 forsaken in a subjective sense, but is not actually forsaken by God, is because hundreds of years
00:19:24 later, Christ, David's offspring, would actually be forsaken so that David never would. David was
00:19:32 not forsaken and you also likewise are not in a literal objective sense forsaken by God we may
00:19:40 feel abandoned we may feel at times in moments as though God is angry with us and there may be a real
00:19:48 moment of the fatherly displeasure of God the Puritans would speak of that but it's still God
00:19:55 as father so whether we're under his his rod his discipline like hebrews 12 speaks of whether we're
00:20:03 in the season of his fatherly displeasure because of our willful sin he never ceases to be the father
00:20:10 of those who've been born again by grace through faith in christ he is near he is with you he loves
00:20:18 you he may be displeased for a moment he may be just disciplining you for a season but he always
00:20:23 loves you and he is always your adoptive father. You and I are not forsaken in the same way that
00:20:30 David was not forsaken because Christ was forsaken in our place. Psalm 42 verse 4 says this,
00:20:39 these things I remember as I pour out my soul. David is speaking now of prayer. He's speaking of
00:20:47 fervent prayer, diligent prayer, passionate, zealous prayer, that in prayer before God, he is
00:20:55 pouring out his very soul. I think of the apostle Paul who says to Timothy in his second letter,
00:21:02 he says, even now I'm being poured out like a drink offering. Meaning that the apostle Paul
00:21:07 was suffering and being persecuted and he knew that his end was nigh, right? That he would soon
00:21:13 be martyred. He would soon be put to death. He says, even now I'm being poured out like a drink 0.99
00:21:18 offering. And he's saying this to his true son in the faith, Timothy. But he also, as he's being
00:21:23 poured out like a drink offering, he is also bearing his soul to the Lord. So when David says,
00:21:30 I remember these things as I pour out my soul, what he's saying is this. He's saying, in those
00:21:37 times of deep and fervent and desperate prayer to God, I am mindful, I recall these particular
00:21:47 things. What things? How I would lead the throng in procession to the house of God with glad shouts
00:21:55 and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival. See, in response to his agitators,
00:22:02 those who were surrounding David
00:22:05 likely the Philistines 0.98
00:22:06 as he was hiding among them
00:22:08 on the run from either Saul
00:22:10 or his son Absalom 1.00
00:22:11 these Philistines are mocking David 1.00
00:22:14 they're taunting him 1.00
00:22:16 where is your God?
00:22:19 it's not a real question
00:22:20 it's a statement
00:22:22 they're saying we know where your God is
00:22:24 either he doesn't exist
00:22:26 or what's more likely
00:22:28 the Philistines
00:22:29 they were fined with a plurality of gods
00:22:32 They have their pantheons with multiple idols.
00:22:35 So they probably weren't saying, your God doesn't exist, David.
00:22:39 Your God's not real.
00:22:41 It's less likely that they're saying that and more likely that they're saying, your God exists and he's just a bad God.
00:22:48 He's a mean God.
00:22:50 Or they might even be saying, your God exists and he's just and fair. 0.99
00:22:54 You're just a really lousy person, David.
00:22:56 and so he has done the right thing by abandoning you by forsaking you because you must be in sin 0.99
00:23:04 right that's the very same counsel that job receives when job's suffering when he's suffering
00:23:11 from satan directly right but satan only doing this because god and his sovereignty has permitted
00:23:17 it when job is enduring this suffering his three friends come and their whole concept their whole
00:23:24 principle is there's no way this would be allowed by God to happen unless you did something wrong
00:23:30 you must be in sin Job you must have done something wrong there must be some way in
00:23:36 which you have failed God otherwise God wouldn't let this happen it's very likely that this is the
00:23:41 same counsel that David is receiving from the Philistines sure your God exists right we've
00:23:49 seen his work before. We know that the God of Israel exists. We even know that he's a mighty
00:23:55 God. So we're not saying that where is your God, meaning he doesn't exist. We're saying where is
00:24:02 your God, meaning he's forsaken you because you have failed. David probably longed to distract
00:24:09 himself from his grief, from his pain, but he couldn't because his contemporaries, these Philistines 1.00
00:24:17 who surrounded him who he's hiding among would prod and prick him all day long mocking him 0.94
00:24:22 reminding him of his pain and assuring him that somehow he had done something wrong
00:24:28 that God truly had forsaken him and that this was God's just response to David's sin and failure
00:24:36 so in response to his agitators David pours out his soul he devotes himself to prayer
00:24:47 Meaning this, David doesn't believe the negative report that he receives.
00:24:53 He doesn't listen to the bad counsel he keeps getting. 0.89
00:24:57 He's surrounded by miserable counselors. 0.89
00:25:02 Telling them, your God has abandoned you because you have failed him. 0.98
00:25:06 If David listened, he wouldn't press in.
00:25:09 To receive that counsel, to follow that counsel, would say, God's angry with you, so why don't you give God some space?
00:25:17 God's angry with you, so why don't you back off?
00:25:21 Why don't you just stay away?
00:25:23 And why don't you try to clean up your act?
00:25:26 Why don't you try to atone for your own sin?
00:25:29 Why don't you try to make it up to God
00:25:31 before you go back and approach him?
00:25:34 But David doesn't listen, right?
00:25:37 And we know he doesn't listen
00:25:38 because even though he continually is mocked
00:25:40 and taunted by the Philistines saying,
00:25:42 where is your God?
00:25:43 He's angry with you.
00:25:45 He's mad at you.
00:25:47 He has abandoned you as a just response for your failure.
00:25:50 David responds by pressing in even further,
00:25:54 by pressing into the presence of God in prayer even deeper.
00:25:58 He pours out his soul.
00:26:01 He devotes himself wholly in prayer to the Lord.
00:26:05 His enemies seek to remind David of his failures
00:26:08 and God's apparent absence.
00:26:11 But David, while in prayer,
00:26:13 he combats this constant assault by reminding himself of the sweetest moments of God's presence.
00:26:22 Notice David's fondest memories, and get this church, David's fondest memories, this is such
00:26:28 a stark contrast to many people that we would talk to today who would profess Christ, and many 0.90
00:26:33 of them are actually Christians, but I think there's a level of spiritual immaturity. See, 0.98
00:26:39 David, when he recalls his fondest memories of the presence of God, it's when he's surrounded by the people of God.
00:26:46 So when David thinks of the sweetest moments of God's presence, and he recalls these moments to memory,
00:26:54 unlike many people in the church today, for David, these are not moments in his car listening to worship music by himself on a road trip.
00:27:03 Or they're not moments, you know, in his room with the lights turned out, you know, quietly just praying.
00:27:09 No, when David recalls the sweetest moments that he can remember of the presence of God,
00:27:16 every single one of those moments involves other people.
00:27:22 They're not private moments.
00:27:24 David's fondest memories of God's presence are not private memories.
00:27:30 They're public memories where he's surrounded by the people of God,
00:27:34 a multitude making festival.
00:27:37 when David is leading a throng of people.
00:27:41 I don't know exactly what a throng is,
00:27:42 but it sounds like a lot of people, right?
00:27:45 And if we weren't sure,
00:27:46 we could just kind of interpret scripture by scripture
00:27:49 and just later in the same verse,
00:27:51 it says multitude, a multitude giving festival.
00:27:54 That's what David remembers.
00:27:56 And David is using moments of the past,
00:27:59 remembering the presence of God in the past
00:28:01 to combat the subjective feeling
00:28:04 of the absence of God's present in the present.
00:28:08 So when David feels like God isn't there in the present,
00:28:12 David remembers all the times when God was there.
00:28:16 And that lifts his soul.
00:28:18 That gives him hope.
00:28:19 It gives him confidence.
00:28:21 It encourages him.
00:28:22 It strengthens him.
00:28:23 Why?
00:28:24 Why?
00:28:25 Why would remembering God's presence
00:28:28 and faithfulness in the past
00:28:30 give us confidence and encouragement
00:28:32 when we feel like he's not present
00:28:33 in the moment because he who began a good work in you is faithful to bring it to fruition
00:28:40 meaning if I can recall a single moment of God's faithfulness and kindness and presence
00:28:45 with me in the past I know that I'm going to make it not because I'm good at following Jesus
00:28:52 but because Jesus keeps his own the shepherd doesn't lose his sheep it's not that I'm clinging
00:29:00 fast to Jesus is that Jesus is clinging fast to me. I know that he is both the author and the
00:29:08 finisher of my faith. And so if I can point to objective moments of the past where I can say,
00:29:14 he started something. He began a good work in me. He authored faith. He did something. He started
00:29:22 something, then I know from his promises in his word that he'll finish it. Jesus never starts a
00:29:30 project that he doesn't intend on finishing. So if I can remember moments of the sweetness of the
00:29:38 presence of God, his faithfulness and kindness in my life at all in the past, it gives me hope
00:29:44 in the present because I know he'll finish the work in the future.
00:29:50 Revelation chapter 7 verse 9 through 12 says this, after this I looked and behold a great
00:29:57 multitude that no one could number, not a private honeymoon suite with you and Jesus.
00:30:05 That's weird.
00:30:07 Don't do that.
00:30:09 That's just weird.
00:30:10 There's just so much of this lovey-dovey intimacy,
00:30:12 like dudes in the church,
00:30:16 like writing love songs to Jesus
00:30:19 as though he was their boyfriend.
00:30:22 It's weird. 1.00
00:30:24 It's queer.
00:30:26 And I mean that in both senses of the term.
00:30:28 So no, that's not what the Bible is talking about.
00:30:32 That's not what David remembers.
00:30:33 That's not what we need to remember.
00:30:34 And that's not what Revelation chapter seven says.
00:30:37 After this, I looked and behold,
00:30:38 I saw me and Jesus in heaven alone? No. I saw a great multitude that no one could number from
00:30:46 every tribe and nation and people and language standing before the throne and before the lamb
00:30:53 clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands and crying out with a loud voice
00:30:59 salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the lamb and all the angels were
00:31:05 standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. And they fell on
00:31:10 their faces before the throne and worshiped God saying, amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and
00:31:16 thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen. This is the moment
00:31:24 that we're waiting for. This is what we long to see. There will be streets of gold, but that's
00:31:33 not the point. The heaven that we long for, what makes it so wonderful, is not heaven itself,
00:31:41 but the king of heaven. It's being in the presence of Jesus. But this is not this private, intimate,
00:31:50 lonely moment, just you and him. Part of what makes it so sweet is not just that we'll be with
00:31:56 Jesus, but we'll be with each other. We will be with Jesus corporately. And the closest we ever
00:32:05 come to heaven ever in this life is right now. It's the Lord's day. It's the gathering of the
00:32:14 saints. It's our corporate worship. It's the ordinary means of grace being administered on
00:32:21 the lord's day to the gathered church it's the public not private but the public preaching of
00:32:26 god's word the public praying of god's word the public singing of god's word and the public
00:32:32 scene of god's word as it were in the sacrament of the lord's supper and baptism john bunyan
00:32:40 the best baptist there's ever been john bunyan he wrote pilgrim's progress and he said that that in
00:32:46 Pilgrim's Progress, there was a place in this journey of Christian, the main protagonist,
00:32:51 and he had two companions, faithful and then hopeful, but on their journey, there was a place
00:32:56 where they had still not yet made it to the final destination, to heaven, the celestial city.
00:33:03 But there was a place where they could just barely make off in the distance a glimpse of the
00:33:09 celestial city. It was the Delectable Mountains. And on the Delectable Mountains, there were
00:33:15 shepherds who would tend to the wounds and the needs of weary pilgrims, weary sheep who were
00:33:22 making their way, their progress to the celestial city. And there were all these trials. There was
00:33:29 the valley of the shadow of death. There were all these great enemies that they had to battle.
00:33:35 There was a doubting castle, a giant despair, all these different challenges. But along the way,
00:33:42 from time to time, there were places of refuge,
00:33:46 the house of the interpreter,
00:33:48 but there was also the delectable mountains.
00:33:51 And this was perhaps the sweetest place
00:33:53 in Christian's journey, that side of heaven,
00:33:57 that side of the celestial city.
00:34:01 And what made it so sweet is that the shepherds
00:34:03 who represented pastors, elders,
00:34:06 they would tend to Christian's wounds,
00:34:08 They would instruct him and teach him glorious truths and wisdoms about God.
00:34:14 And it was a safe place, a place of refuge and security.
00:34:19 And from the delectable mountains, they could see off in the distance the final destination, the city of God, the celestial city.
00:34:30 To remember, it's real.
00:34:32 It's real.
00:34:34 There are moments in life where you just, you can't see.
00:34:36 you just can't see it for a moment and that doesn't mean that you've lost your faith that
00:34:42 doesn't mean that God's abandoned you that doesn't mean you lost your salvation but there are moments
00:34:46 in this life where where our own sin from within is so great or the sin of others pressing down
00:34:53 on us and attacking us is so great that we can't see God we can't see heaven and we begin to doubt
00:35:02 and wonder if it's really true.
00:35:04 Is it real?
00:35:06 I mean, Christian also has this experience
00:35:07 in Pilgrim's Progress at the very end.
00:35:10 After he's made the whole journey,
00:35:12 the last thing is the river.
00:35:13 On the other side of the river is the celestial city.
00:35:16 The river represents death. 0.99
00:35:18 He has to die. 0.99
00:35:20 He has to cross over the river. 1.00
00:35:21 And there are some pilgrims
00:35:23 who they cross through the river
00:35:24 and the water only goes up to their ankles
00:35:26 or maybe their knees.
00:35:28 That's what we would call dying in virtuous hope.
00:35:31 They never doubt.
00:35:33 Even on their deathbed, Christ is Savior.
00:35:37 He is promised, he is faithful, and I will die in virtuous hope.
00:35:41 And you read those stories.
00:35:43 You read about certain men of old, great theologians and pastors.
00:35:47 You know, the tale is that the legend has it that their final words on their deathbed were some profound, wonderful, you know, truth about God and their great confidence in Christ.
00:35:59 But there are many other Christians,
00:36:01 like Christian, the main protagonist in Pilgrim's Progress,
00:36:04 where he goes to the river and the water comes up to his neck
00:36:07 and begins to have billows and waves
00:36:09 and it begins to roll over his head.
00:36:11 And he's crying out to his friend, Hopeful,
00:36:14 who's walking with him.
00:36:15 Meaning Hopeful is holding his hand 0.94
00:36:18 as a true brother in the faith as Christian dies.
00:36:22 He's with them to help him die well.
00:36:25 And Christian, there are moments where the water's over his head
00:36:27 and he can't see the city.
00:36:29 He can't see it.
00:36:30 He's doubting that it even exists.
00:36:32 And all he can do, he can't see the celestial city,
00:36:35 but he can hear the voice of his friend
00:36:37 reminding him, you've come all this way.
00:36:41 The Savior won't let you go.
00:36:42 We're almost there.
00:36:43 It's okay.
00:36:44 It's right ahead.
00:36:45 You can't see it, but I can.
00:36:46 I can see it.
00:36:47 I see the city.
00:36:48 I see him.
00:36:49 I see the Savior.
00:36:50 You'll make it.
00:36:51 You'll make it.
00:36:52 And he keeps going and he goes,
00:36:54 even though he can't see.
00:36:56 He walks not by sight, but by faith.
00:36:59 And faith comes not by what we see, but by what we hear.
00:37:02 And how will we hear unless someone preaches?
00:37:04 And sometimes we need a friend.
00:37:07 Preaching to us the truths of Christ.
00:37:09 Preaching to us the glorious redemption that we have.
00:37:13 Preaching to us that Christ is the author and the finisher
00:37:16 and that he never lets us go.
00:37:17 That he is faithful, faithful, faithful.
00:37:22 And so there are times when we cannot see.
00:37:24 But there are times when we can't.
00:37:26 And the closest we ever get to heaven in this life,
00:37:29 it's the Lord's Day.
00:37:31 It's the delectable mountains.
00:37:33 It's the nourishing of the shepherds.
00:37:36 It's the fellowship of the sheep.
00:37:38 And it's the glimpse from these mountains
00:37:40 as we're caught up into heavenly places
00:37:42 in our worship on the Lord's Day.
00:37:44 It's that view that we get, if only for a couple hours,
00:37:48 if only for a moment, the far-off distant view of heaven
00:37:52 and of the king of heaven, that he's real.
00:37:57 And that all of this that we're doing,
00:37:59 our whole lives orienting them around God and his word,
00:38:03 that it's not in vain.
00:38:05 It's what the apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15,
00:38:08 where he says, if Christ wasn't really raised from the dead,
00:38:10 it's all been in vain.
00:38:12 I remember I had a friend in college
00:38:13 and he thought that he had had a profound revelation,
00:38:18 but apparently he had not yet read 1 Corinthians chapter 15.
00:38:23 But it was so meaningful to him, and he was so frustrated with me
00:38:26 because I probably could have done it more gently,
00:38:29 but this was like emotionally really meaningful and profound for him,
00:38:33 and I just immediately burst the bubble.
00:38:35 But he said, you know, I just had this moment in chapel this morning
00:38:39 at the college as we were worshiping where I just,
00:38:42 I realized even if Jesus doesn't exist, I don't regret it.
00:38:46 This is all, this is, you know, the Christian faith
00:38:50 and the friends that I have and worshiping him
00:38:52 and all these things,
00:38:53 it's been such a positive, sweet experience in my life.
00:38:57 Even if he doesn't exist, I don't regret it.
00:38:59 And I said, I do.
00:39:02 And then I opened 1 Corinthians 15 and read it to him 0.96
00:39:05 and he felt foolish and embarrassed and frustrated with me.
00:39:09 And so, but the point is, Paul doesn't say, 0.91
00:39:12 hey, even if Christ hasn't been raised from the dead,
00:39:15 there's still a lot of good morals
00:39:17 that come from the Christian Judea worldview.
00:39:21 That's not the Apostle Paul's view.
00:39:24 That's not his opinion.
00:39:26 I mean, there are, sure, there are.
00:39:29 I mean, following the word of God
00:39:30 is just a better way to live.
00:39:32 There is truth in that.
00:39:33 But Paul says, it's all a loss.
00:39:36 It's all a waste.
00:39:37 He says, we, if Christ hasn't raised from the dead,
00:39:40 we, that is Christians,
00:39:41 are of all people most to be pitied. 1.00
00:39:45 We're foolish. 0.99
00:39:46 It's embarrassing. 1.00
00:39:48 People should feel sorry for us.
00:39:51 And we should feel sorry for ourselves.
00:39:54 But Christ has been raised.
00:39:57 And we too will be raised.
00:40:00 He's real.
00:40:01 It's all real.
00:40:03 It's true.
00:40:05 And there are moments where we can't sense that reality.
00:40:09 But there are moments when we can.
00:40:11 And the Lord's Day in the gathering of the saints is one of those moments.
00:40:15 skipping forward verse 5 of our text it says this why are you cast down oh my soul and why are you
00:40:23 in turmoil within me hope in god for i shall again praise him my salvation see david while
00:40:31 overwhelmed by grief does not give his grief the reins it's okay to grieve it's not okay to put
00:40:39 your grief in charge. That's what's not okay. The mark of a Christian is not someone who has a
00:40:46 complete absence of sadness. The true mark of a spiritually mature believer is not someone who
00:40:53 never grieves. Jesus was a man of many sorrows, Isaiah says. So to be a mature believer is not
00:41:00 to never grieve, but it's not to ever be led by your grief, not to be mastered by your grief.
00:41:08 So what David does is while experiencing grief, what he does is he speaks to his grief.
00:41:15 He doesn't let his grief have the final word in counseling him, but rather he can test with his own heart, his own emotions, his own grief.
00:41:24 He challenges his grief and says, hey grief, I'm in charge, not you.
00:41:29 I'm leading you.
00:41:31 And grief has been given to me in this moment, sovereignly by God to produce something in me, but it doesn't rule me.
00:41:38 It's here to serve me.
00:41:40 God allows suffering and sadness into our lives, but not as a leader, but as a servant.
00:41:47 Suffering comes into our lives at times under the sovereign banner of God for our service.
00:41:55 Suffering is your slave, not the other way around.
00:41:59 Bad circumstances serve you.
00:42:01 You don't serve them.
00:42:03 Sadness serves you.
00:42:04 You don't serve sadness.
00:42:06 All these things God allows in moments in our life, in his sovereignty, to serve us by producing something in us for God's glory and for our good.
00:42:20 So the goal is not to have a suffering free life.
00:42:24 It's not to have a grief free life.
00:42:26 but it is to be in all moments self-controlled, sober-minded, and master of those things which
00:42:34 God allows into our life, recognizing that they are sent by God to serve us and not the other way
00:42:42 around. David does not allow grief to get the final word. He doesn't allow grief to lead him
00:42:50 around like a leash by the neck. At times when his grief becomes so powerful that it begins to
00:42:56 overwhelm him, the psalmist corrects himself for giving too much credence to the sorrow of his
00:43:03 present circumstances. When the circumstances of the present are daunting, we must take our cue
00:43:09 from David. We must look to the past and remember the sweetness of the presence of God.
00:43:14 If there is any sweetness at all to be remembered in the past, then we must look forward with
00:43:19 confidence to the future, recognizing that for the Christian, the very best moments all lie before
00:43:26 us. In other words, the key to unlocking the dungeon of despair is the promise of hope.
00:43:35 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who has been
00:43:40 born of God protects him and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are from God and
00:43:47 the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the son of God has come
00:43:53 and has given us understanding
00:43:55 so that we may know him who is true.
00:43:57 And we are in him who is true,
00:44:00 in his son, Jesus Christ.
00:44:02 He is the true God and eternal life.
00:44:05 1 John 5, verse 18 through 20.
00:44:09 See, 1 John, this text that I've just read,
00:44:12 it says we know we are from God, that is Christians,
00:44:15 and that the whole world, that's the rest of the world, 0.99
00:44:17 unbelievers, lies in the power of the evil one. 1.00
00:44:20 Now throughout 1 John, 0.86
00:44:21 he draws a sharp line of distinction between Christians and non-Christians, the rest of the
00:44:27 world. There's no middle ground. A person is either of God or they are of the world. And if
00:44:34 they're of the world, they are lying in the power of the evil one. Some translations actually say
00:44:40 the world is lying in the arms of the evil one. The picture, the image is this, that the world,
00:44:49 that is unbelievers they're not they're not lying in the power of the evil one like like 0.72
00:44:54 prisoners taken captive who are frantically and desperately trying to break free no they're lying 0.94
00:45:01 in the arms of the evil one like like a small child an infant lies in the arms of its mother
00:45:08 those who are not in Christ the unbeliever they're not they're not just merely being held
00:45:14 captive by Satan, although there are texts in scripture that paint that image, but their
00:45:19 captivity is a willing captivity and even happy and joyful captivity. They enjoy and gain security
00:45:28 and pleasure by lying peacefully, restfully in the arms of their father, Satan. John chapter 8 says
00:45:38 that if you're not a child of God, you are a child of your true father, the devil. That's the image
00:45:45 that we see. The devil has blinded their minds. Satan is their father, and unbelievers have a
00:45:53 certain affection toward him because he's deceived them and blinded their minds, according to 2
00:46:00 Corinthians 4, verse 4. So therefore, here's my point. Satan's chief ministry with unbelievers
00:46:06 is a ministry of deception but his chief ministry with believers like David in our psalm is a 0.77
00:46:14 ministry of despair that's the difference for the unbeliever the chief ministry of Satan is a 0.75
00:46:21 ministry of deception he has blinded their eyes and he is holding them in his is in his arms again
00:46:29 the first John chapter 5 18 through 20 text what it says is it says that for us those who have been
00:46:35 born of God, if we've been born of God, God protects us. That's verse 18. He protects us and
00:46:42 the evil one does not touch us. And look at the contrast. The contrast is, the opposite is for
00:46:50 those who are not born of God, who are unbelievers, not only does Satan touch them, but Satan is 0.53
00:46:56 holding them and rocking them like a baby. So for the unbeliever, Satan is holding them and rocking 0.82
00:47:02 them as they lie peacefully and blindly, deceptively in his arms. But for the believer, for the 0.71
00:47:10 Christian, Satan can't even touch us if you've been born of God. So what John is getting at,
00:47:16 what John is getting at in 1 John chapter 5 is this. If you've been born of God, he who is in
00:47:21 you is greater than he who is in the world. The Spirit of God testifies to the truth. So when it
00:47:27 says that Satan can't touch you, it doesn't mean that you can't experience hardship like Job did.
00:47:32 Satan, it sure looks like Satan touched Job.
00:47:35 It really looks like Satan touched Job.
00:47:37 Well, he did, in a sense.
00:47:40 In a sense.
00:47:41 See, 1 John chapter 5, when it says that Satan can't touch those who have been born of God,
00:47:45 what it's saying is Satan cannot ultimately deceive those who have been born of God.
00:47:50 While Satan has a strong hold on those who are unbelievers.
00:47:57 And so, the point is this.
00:47:58 The distinction between the strategy of the enemy for those who are in Christ and those who are not, who are still in Adam, is this.
00:48:09 For those who are in Adam, for the unbeliever, Satan's strategy is to keep them deceived, to keep them blinded, to keep them in the dark.
00:48:18 But for the believer, for those who are in Christ and have been born again of the spirit, Satan's ministry is not deception because it doesn't work.
00:48:28 Because the spirit preserves us.
00:48:31 The spirit protects us from being deceived
00:48:34 and testifies within us the truth of God's word.
00:48:38 So what Satan does with us is what he does with Job.
00:48:42 It's what he did with David.
00:48:43 It's what he did with Jesus in his earthly ministry.
00:48:47 It's not deceiving.
00:48:49 It's trying to get us to despair.
00:48:53 It's not a ministry of deception for those who are in Christ.
00:48:57 But it is a strategy of despair.
00:49:00 It's to get you to doubt.
00:49:01 It's to get you to despair.
00:49:03 It's to get you to grieve
00:49:05 and to hand over to your grief the reins.
00:49:10 And to be led by sorrow,
00:49:11 to be led by sadness,
00:49:13 to despair even unto death.
00:49:17 One final quote from Pilgrim's Progress.
00:49:20 Can't help it.
00:49:22 About midnight, they began to pray
00:49:24 and continued in prayer
00:49:26 till almost break of day now a little before it was day good christian as one half amazed broke 0.99
00:49:32 out in passionate speech what a fool i am thus to lie in this stinking dungeon that is the dungeon 0.66
00:49:38 and doubting castle ruled by giant despair when i may as well walk at liberty i have a key in my 0.97
00:49:47 bosom right next to his heart in his pocket called promise that will i am persuaded open any lock
00:49:55 in Doubting Castle. Then said Hopeful, that's good news. Brother, pluck it out of thy bosom and try.
00:50:02 Then Christian pulled it out of his bosom and began to try at the dungeon door, whose bolt,
00:50:07 as he turned the key, gave back and the door flew open with ease. And Christian and Hopeful both
00:50:14 came out. For the unbeliever, they are deceived. For the believer, Satan tempts us to despair. 0.92
00:50:24 But when you despair, remember you have a key.
00:50:29 The way out of despair is not like climbing a 300-foot cliff.
00:50:35 Now, here's the beauty.
00:50:36 There's a lot of things that are challenging in the Christian life.
00:50:38 There's a lot of things that require diligence and persistence.
00:50:42 It requires us to push through, to run the race.
00:50:45 But when it comes to despair, if you find yourself locked in Doubting Castle, in the dungeon, ruled by giant despair,
00:50:53 Here's the beauty.
00:50:54 There are so many other trials
00:50:56 that will require a lot of work.
00:50:58 But getting out of despair
00:51:00 is one of the easiest things
00:51:02 that the Christian can do.
00:51:04 The solution is not something far off.
00:51:07 It's not like some rare flower
00:51:08 that only grows on the top of Mount Everest
00:51:10 and you have to scale the cliffs
00:51:12 and find it and make some kind of secret potion.
00:51:15 No, no, no.
00:51:15 The solution to despair
00:51:17 is reaching into your jacket pocket
00:51:20 and pulling out a key called promise.
00:51:23 What is that promise?
00:51:25 It's the promise of God.
00:51:27 It's the promise of the Savior.
00:51:29 It's the promise of Christ.
00:51:30 See, what David does is this.
00:51:32 When he is tempted to despair, even unto death,
00:51:35 when his heart and his own soul are warring against him,
00:51:38 agreeing with his enemies and taunting him
00:51:40 that God has forsaken and abandoned him forever,
00:51:43 what David does is this.
00:51:45 He reaches into his jacket pocket.
00:51:47 He pulls out the key to unlock the dungeon of despair,
00:51:50 the key called promise.
00:51:51 And what is that promise?
00:51:54 What's the proof, I should say, the evidence of that promise?
00:51:57 It's the moments of the presence of God in the past.
00:52:01 David remembers the throng.
00:52:02 He remembers the multitude.
00:52:04 He remembers appearing before his God with great glad shouts of joy.
00:52:08 And David says this, if God did it once, he'll do it again.
00:52:12 And he pulls out the promise of God.
00:52:15 He breaks the bolt on the dungeon of despair.
00:52:18 And he walks out a free man.
00:52:21 And you, by God's grace, can do it too.
00:52:24 And you, by God's grace, can do it today.
00:52:28 Let's pray.
00:52:29 Father God, thank you for your word.
00:52:32 Thank you for the liberty we have in Christ Jesus.
00:52:35 Thank you for the redemption and the salvation we have.
00:52:38 And thank you, God, that you have protected those who have been born of the Spirit from deception.
00:52:44 and although Satan may tempt us to despair,
00:52:49 in the moment of despair, we are not deceived.
00:52:53 Meaning that we have, by your grace,
00:52:55 the strength to see clearly.
00:52:58 We have, by your grace, even in moments of despair
00:53:02 because you do not allow us to be deceived,
00:53:04 we have the ability to remember your truth,
00:53:07 to remember your promise,
00:53:10 and to wield promise like a key
00:53:12 and unlock any dungeon of depression,
00:53:16 of anxiety, of despair, of grief, of sadness,
00:53:20 that we do not have to be mastered by our grief,
00:53:23 but that we can master our grief
00:53:26 by trusting in your promises
00:53:28 and allow grief to work for us
00:53:31 and produce in us greater hope.
00:53:35 And we pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.
00:53:39 Oh, hi, I didn't see you there.
00:53:41 Thanks for sticking around.
00:53:42 I've got an important announcement to make.
00:53:44 That's the Theonomy and Post-Millennialism Conference.
00:53:47 2023, May 5th, 6th, and 7th,
00:53:51 the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday,
00:53:53 Theonomy and Post-Millennialism.
00:53:55 We've got the speakers that we've already had lined up.
00:53:57 That's Dr. James White, Dr. Joseph Boot,
00:54:00 Dr. Gary DeMar, non-doctor, Pastor Joel Webbin,
00:54:02 but we also have a bonus speaker,
00:54:05 and that is Dale Partridge from Real Christianity.
00:54:08 Perhaps you've heard of him.
00:54:09 If not, you should start listening to his podcast.
00:54:11 It's fantastic.
00:54:12 Dale Partridge is going to be joining our team.
00:54:15 We're going to have live panels on Friday night and Saturday night
00:54:19 where you'll be able to write in questions and get them answered.
00:54:21 We're also going to have a catered barbecue, Texas-style barbecue meal on Friday
00:54:26 that's a part of your registration fee.
00:54:28 All that is covered.
00:54:29 So you need to get that.
00:54:31 This is how you do it.
00:54:31 Go and register right now at rightresponseconference.com.
00:54:36 Again, that's rightresponseconference.com.
00:54:40 God bless.