God Leads to God (Through the Psalms) Psalm 43

Welcome to through the song a weekend ministry of the truthful overtime will study all 150 songs with pastor Don Greene from Cruz Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio were glad you're with us was over, the Psalms that as we join our teacher in the truthful, you know, we all know something about the feeling of morning. The feeling of going through difficult times. The feeling of struggle and wondering where God is in the midst of that and Psalm 43 kinda gives us a path to follow to go through that and to be able to come out well. On the other side.

As we mentioned last time, as we studied Psalm 42. Many commentators take Psalm 42 and 43 together. In fact, some are in fact many actually will say that these two were originally one song they see that because there are there common themes in 42 and 43. If you look at verse five. For examples, we just kind of introduce things here.

Psalm 42 verse five says why are you in despair all my soul and why have you become disturbed within me. Hope in God. For I shall again praise him for the help of his presence. Verse 11 a Psalm 42. Why are you in despair all my soul.

Why have you become disturbed within me. Hope in God.

For I shall yet praise in the health of my countenance, and my God.

Then in verse five. Why are you in despair all my soul and why are you disturbed within me. Hope in God. For I shall again praise him the help of my countenance, and my God.

So you have a repeated refrain in these two songs that are now separate in our English text and so commentators look at that.

They look at the fact that Psalm 42 has a heading and Psalm 43 does not may say we think that this was originally one song that should be read and studied together. There are some early manuscripts that put them together so that's not an unreasonable view and it's held by so many good man that I wouldn't say anything critical about it, but there is something at stake here and it's worth noting that that opinion is not unanimous that these two were originally one song Charles Spurgeon said this and he says something about the nature of Scripture that I think is important for you to hear the goes beyond simply Psalm 42 in verse 43. Listen to what Charles Spurgeon said because this goes to a critical matter of the way that we consider the biblical text and the deference that we give to the Bible as we have received it. Charles Spurgeon said on account of the similarity of the structure of this song to data. Psalm 42.

It is been supposed to be a fragment wrongly separated from the preceding song. So what he saying is commentators say that it was originally one they never should've been separated. Listen to what he says let this inform your high view of Scripture. Spurgeon said and I continue to quote, but it is always dangerous to allow these theories of error in holy Scripture. In this instance it would be very difficult to show why the song should have been broken. It similarity would've secured its unity had ever been part and parcel of Psalm 42. In other words, if these were originally together. Why would they have ever been broken apart from one another is his point and he says, is it not far more likely that some in their fancy wisdom united them wrongly in the few manuscripts in which they are found as one. Spurgeon says we believe the fact is that the style of the poetry was pleasant to the writer and therefore in later life he wrote this supplemental him after the same manner." In other words, what he saying is let's not suppose that something went wrong in the composition of the Bible. Let's not suppose that error took place and that explains why we have two songs that sound alike instead of one. Let's not do that. Let's just assume that there's another explanation, and frankly it's an explanation that you can relate to and I want you to as a pastoral reason that we would make a point like this and dwell on it a little bit. Isn't it true in your own life that there are certain scriptures that you go back to again and again because they give you comfort in different seasons of life administers to you at one point in life you live on for a while and then something else comes back and you go back to that same passage of Scripture because it gives you comfort. It gives you strength. It gives you wisdom and insight you know something about that.

Don't shoot. There are certain taxa you go back to that administered to you personally again and again will you know something about the fact that you go back to the same fountain that you drank from the quench your thirst before.

Well, isn't it reasonable to think that the psalmist would have a similar experience in his own life. Psalm 42 was written composed in the theme and in the manner of argument is Psalm 42 was effective and so he comes back to it at another point in time and makes the same argument to his soul.

Once again, that's not unreasonable. The writer draws upon spiritual principles that helped him earlier in life and has them now to help him again. Well, whatever the history of the composition of Psalm 42 and 43 are night going to turn to its exposition were going to treat Psalm 43 is a standalone Psalm and I think by the end of the night will be glad that we did and what were going to see here is very very sweet and precious and ultimately somewhat Psalm 43 does is this song 43 written probably close to 20 503,000 years ago.

Psalm 43 is going to be like a rocket launch pad that launches us clear into eternity with its perspective on God and with these five brief verses were going to break into three parts here tonight. First of all, were going to see the morning of the psalmist as we open in the first two verses the morning MO you are in ING.

His sadness is his grief, his sorrow, his difficulty and that's what opens that's what opens the song. This is one really cool song.

I can't believe that were finally able to ask positive here together tonight and very happy about that is Psalm 43 opens the psalmist is under attack is being criticized and undermined by men who were misrepresenting him and causing problems, and so he appeals to God, who knows all things. He appeals to God and asked for God's help in the midst of his sorrow and difficulty.

Look at verse one says vindicate me. Oh God, and plead my case and against an ungodly nation over deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.

The word can also be translated from an ungodly people, and he saying vindicate me or plead my case he makes both requests and these are like legal terms. He's asking God to act like a righteous judge, and to declare a verdict in his favor to show him to be innocent of the attacks are being made against him to God, help me like that be a judge and declare my case to be innocent plead my case.

He says kind of from another side of the courtroom analogy thing God be my defense attorney defend me against the deceptive charges that are being made against me.

He says this is this is unjust. This is not right. This is premised on falsehood. The attacks are being made against me, and so he says God I ask you from your position of omniscience attribute of holiness, your faithfulness to your people. God I ask you to step into the situation and help me and vindicate me from what's going on around me. Deliver me. He says look at verse one again. Deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man. He says rescue me from the insinuations that are being made that are grounded in deceit and misrepresentation. God, I am in a position where I cannot defend myself. God I ask you to defend me to help me and to manifest the justness of my because he says and so whatever the historical background was this godly psalmist finds himself in a position where some kind of unfair personal battle not of his own making is being waged against him and is calling upon God to help him. Now watch what happens as you go on in the text. Here in verse one is appealing to God to help him up appealing to the power to the loyal love of God to come to his aid. Now, on what basis on what ground as he approached God in that way, what is his right to step into the presence of God and to ask God to come to his assistant will look at verse two, he says, for I making this request of God because you are the God of my strength. You are over me. I belong to you and you belong to me and so I come to you in your capacity of my God of power my God of protection and I ask you to exercise the obligations of our relationship to one another. I ask you to exercise those on my head. You're the God of my strength God bring your power to bear to answer my prayer. Now that's a little bit of a hinge point in the in the text and watch this. The fact that God is his God and God is God of strength is both a help to him at this time and it is also a perplexity to him at this time as his help becomes the ground of the request that he makes in verse one, saying God I need help. You are the God of my strength. Therefore, on that basis, I ask you to intervene on my behalf to help these got a God like that to call upon, but it is also perplexing to him. Those of you that have been through some chronic long-term difficulties and it seems like the ear of God is his brass to your prayers and they just kinda rings off his ear and nothing seems to happen is you call out to him you can understand the sense of perplexity that is here. It is perplexity. For this reason, the psalmist cannot understand why God has not already delivered him when the sorrow has been so great and so deep in the ways of just come again and again to crush him time and time again so you look at verse two again with me says you're the God of my strength. Notice how he pivots the fact that God is strong, leaves him with an unanswered question, why have you rejected me, why haven't you done anything to intervene and change the course of the circumstances. Look at verse two. Again, why do I go morning because of the oppression of the enemy God, if you're the God of my strength. Why is it that my soul is continually crushed before you, and there's no sense of comfort that comes God. Why do you allow these things to go on so that it seems as though you have rejected me. God, I cannot understand this prolonged deep crisis at the hands of a deceitful and unjust man. I can understand why this is developing and continuing when you're got strength, the strength of God would seem to be at odds with the difficulty that the psalmist is going through will. Can't you relate something somehow to that kind of pain you felt this kind of pain before, haven't you, the pain of just repeated sorrows coming down upon you and it seems as though nothing changes perhaps your discouraged and your isolation discouraged in your physical weakness discouraged by abandonment, and seems like you've got nowhere to turn for comfort. There's no one with the strength or power to help you. No one with the ability to comfort your isolated and sorrowing art.you know something about that I have in times gone by, and so I can I can look at the Solomon I can see you know my own sorrows in the past being played out before my own eyes.

And if you can, then this song should become precious to you as we go along. Here's what I want you to see beloved two things really is it that Scripture understands your sorrow. The Bible understands your weakness.

The Bible even allows for these kinds of questions to be articulated. You know the songs are given to us as is a pattern that would help us express the sorrows of the deep movements of our heart. In times of great affliction, you should draw a sense of strength and comfort from that that that somehow somehow you hold in your hands have on your iPad a book that understand you a book that can read you a book that that identifies with you and and expresses the deepest thoughts of your heart in a way that nothing else does a book from God, and God says I get it. I understand this is a common experience of the people of God once again were left with looking at this book and send.

This is so precious you distraught close to your heart to realize we have something like this from God because it's wise that so precious. It's precious because it is is another assurance that God sympathizes with you in your weakness that God understands it, and that God has compassion and that God cares. That's why a song like this would be in the Psalter in the first place is not there for God's benefit. God is perfect and unchanging God is immutable. God is not affected by things that happen it's here for us here for you to look and say this is my entranceway into an understanding God but there's something that the Psalm also teaches us is that understands our morning as it is, it expresses the morning of the psalmist. This is something that in my earlier years, and in it particularly intense times of morning I missed I didn't get this, and I I stayed in a stunted place of growth for far too long for more than I needed to, that's for sure. See, and now I'm I here I am in my mid-50s preaching as it were, to the young Don in his late 20s is what you need to understand love and those of you that that that struggle in the church. You know when you're in the midst of depression.

Take comfort from the fact that Scripture understands this Scripture makes allowance for God understands God's not threatened by your your questions, our Lord Jesus Christ. It says in Hebrews chapter 4 sympathizes with our weaknesses.

We have a high priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses, because in his humanity. He also suffered with the exception of sin.

So you asked the questions. But here's the thing that I missed for far too long.

There is a way forward beyond the questions and it is your responsibility and your opportunity and your prerogative to move beyond the questions and maybe I was. Maybe I was just particularly bad and weird and all of that in the remote chance that perhaps some of you are now like I was back then. I kind of, I kind of you. Looking back on it I I I willingly stayed in the questioning stage II law that II engage the questions longer than I needed to prolonged my agony and prolonged the difficulty this talking about things for many many years ago. Here's the thing, beloved God understands the questions, but you have a responsibility and God has laid forth very clearly here in Psalm 43 the way to move beyond those questions and it is your spiritual duty to do so. Do not simply collapse under the weight of your questions and to stay there as if there was a provision that would help you to move beyond them. This is so crucial for you to see there is a way forward out of your questions that you must appropriate, it is your responsibility to do so. If you are a Christian. So were going to move from the morning to point number two. The meditation the meditation and one of the reasons that Psalm 43 should be treated separately in standalone, if for no other reasons and for teaching purposes to pull out a $0.25 word for pedagogical purposes it's it's remarkable in the commentaries that you look at how quickly they sweep through Psalm 43 because they joined together with Psalm 42. While it's our blessed privilege to slow down a little bit here this evening and to look at this meditation as you move into Psalm 43 verse three. The psalmist feels lost, he doesn't know where to turn these under the weight of internal morning and he has external affliction from people who are opposed to in he feels no more eight sorrow feels the discouragement and indeed sat in why am I morning like this.

God, why have you rejected me. He is tested here beyond his strength and he feels lost in the circumstances. Notice the cry of his heart in that situation. Verse three. This is so sweet. The simple desperation of this prayer and yet the profound trust with which it goes out on its weak wings to the throne room of God is a strong trust they carried forth by a week expression. A man in weakness expressing it.

I should say verse three he says old send out your light and your truth.

Let them lead to me. What's he saying there except God. I'm lost here. I don't know where to turn.

And so God I ask you to guide me out of this morning that I am feeling out this affliction out of this discouragement. God I lay hold of your faithfulness. I lay hold of the fact that you are my God I lay hold of the fact that you are strong, and I ask you in the words of the old spiritual take my hand and lead me home.

That's what is praying he is appealing to God's faithfulness and put it in today's language he saying, oh God, please don't leave me in this condition, lead me to a better place is such a simple prayer you know what, that's a prayer that you can pray right here right now the midst of your sorrow. You know sometimes. Sometimes I think we try to outthink ourselves. I think we try to be too spiritual. We try to be too smart.

We try to be to incisive in our thinking of things and will get wound up and you just start to introspect and what about this and what about that in this consequence might happen and that consequence may come in and I feel this way and you just get all tangled up inside yourself in one great big not what if we just humbled ourselves to the simple childlike status that simply says God lead me out of here in the simplicity of a heart cry that says God this is painful. God I need your help.

God, I don't know what to do. God lead me what's wrong with that but sounds pretty good doesn't it. To appeal to God like that. Look what he says there look back at verse three with me.

He says old send out your light and your truth. Let them lead me. He personifies the light of God.

He personifies the truth of God and says let them be those things, each one taking one of my hands and leaving me out of this. But I find myself in somewhat similar in terms of personifying attributes of God. Psalm 23 where it says, surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. There's this sense of of the active presence of God doing things as if it were a person standing alongside sympathetic helpers alongside us to help us goodness and mercy. In Psalm 23, winding our way here in Psalm 43 the light and truth of God leading us. What's he saying when he asked for that same God informed my understanding illuminate my mind so that I would understand things better order my circumstances through your providence so that watch this so that I would end up in a good place to replace this bad place that I find myself in lead me, help me. Oh God, now watch this watch this. How many times have I read Psalm 43 and completely missed the point. Well far too many want to point something out to one of the one of the delights of biblical exposition and going. Verse by verse is that you can take time to slow down and just let Scripture say what Scripture has to say. I want to point out a simple two letter word to you in these two verses versus three and four. That just is like going to be turning on floodlights of understanding what's going on here.

Notice the little two letter word to TO to see he's not simply asking God to lead him he's asking God to lead him somewhere.

What does he want God's light and truth to do now were going to sweep through it.

So you see the structure and then will go back and identify things a little more particularly, he says in verse three.

Let them lead me see that there let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling places, then I will go to the altar of God. God my exceeding joy that wasn't so important well what this is really really cool.

There is an exhilarating progression that is going on in this prayer and he's going from outside, closer, closer, closer in.

He says they are in verse three. Let them bring me to your holy hill reference to Jerusalem, and to your dwelling places what's in Jerusalem.

The dwelling places of God in David's day. This would've been a reference to the tabernacle where the presence of God was in Solomon's day, a reference to the temple where the presence of God was manifest in our stay with me on this. So he says lead me to Jerusalem where the place of worship is verse four. Then I will go to the altar of God. In other words, once I get to the place of worship will go more particularly to the altar.

The altar where sacrifice was made in the course of public worship were God's appointed means of meeting with him in the Old Testament of economy was established take me to Jerusalem where I can find the temple and go to the altar, step-by-step, closer and closer and closer and beloved watch this.

What is the ultimate goal of this increasing closeness this ever closer proximity. What is he zeroing in on what is the laser beam starting to focus on one single thing that I will go to the altar of God to God my exceeding joy. What is the ultimate goal of this ever closer proximity. He's obviously removed from the city of Jerusalem as he writes this is always asking God to bring them to the city bring them to the temple bring them to the altar. Why does he want that. Not for the physical structure he wants God himself. That is the whole goal he wants to be face-to-face with the presence of God is asking God watch this. He's asking God. Lord, let your light and truth lead me, lead me out of this dark place that I find myself in lead me out of the discouragement and the pressing circumstances that I am in and lead me step-by-step. Let your word, let your providence order things so that I end up face-to-face with you again. That's really important. Says enlighten my mind in order. My circumstances so that ultimately I end up face-to-face with you and he says what what will happen. This is this is the deep desire of his heart.

What will happen.

Author Psalm 43 what will happen when you see God face-to-face. He says, and upon the liar I shall praise you oh God my God, he says, God, my desire is to be face-to-face with you and when I am face-to-face with you. My heart will burst forth in musical praise and I will worship you for the deliverance and for the leading that you give to me out of this situation. These are the most profound of righteous, holy affections being expressed in the midst of very profound discouragement. He saying, oh God lead me so that the circuit present circumstances of sorrow and mourning will yield will give way to undistracted praise which will restore the joy of my heart God your my exceeding joy. God, I have no good. Besides, you God.

You are the desire of my heart. Take your word. Take the power of your providence and bring me to the point where I am once again face-to-face with you so that I can give you the joyful worship that I long to give.

While that's one great prayer and see. Notice that in this meditation, as he is expressing the longings of his heart.

Notice what's presupposed in all of this, God is the God of his strengths. This is his God, that he's talking to and so he asks this confident that the faithfulness of God will grant him what he's asking for the loyal love of God, watch this memorial love of God guarantees that he will bring his people ultimately into his presence. God himself Christian is your joy. God himself is the subject of your song. Nothing else can take that place. The psalmist says God lead me so that I'm face-to-face with you and that I can respond in joy and in song and in praise the meditation of his heart.

It's, it's quite the thoughtful prayer under the weight of provocation God step-by-step bring me into ever closer proximity until I'm with you face-to-face when I am I will worship you when I am everything else will fail. By comparison to the captivation of my heart, to the glory of God and to the love that I want to express to you undistracted by wicked men, and contrary circumstances. That's his meditation. That's the desire of his heart want to notice something really cool about this. I need to come up with a better word than cool something really profound about this something that something that gives you insight into what God does and who God is and why he does it and what the best thing for you is Becca.

I think it's probably fair to say that when many many times when we find ourselves in difficult circumstances.

We ask God to guide us and it's good that we ask God to guide us and place ourselves under his his guidance and his leading. But far too often. I think that we probably are just saying God help me to know how to navigate through the circumstances, I can find myself in a different circuit, a better circumstance. A less painful circumstance.

Fair enough. But that's not what the psalmist is asking for here and here in Psalm 43 we get informed as to what God would have us seek as we ask guidance from him.

The point of God's guidance is not some kind of earthly result earthly circumstance change that's not the point at all. What would be the best thing that God could do for you in his guidance.

The best thing that God could do for you is to guide you write to himself for you to know God more deeply to worship him more fully to trust him exclusively to find the final satisfaction of your heart in him regardless of shifting circumstances that yet.

What this song is showing us what the psalmist is asking for in his meditation he saying God lead me right to yourself, because that will provoke the joy of my heart.

We spend so much of our time.

Don't we asking for the wrong thing.

We set our sights too low. We set it on earthly matters.

Change this bring that send out a way. When all the while in the midst of it. There should be a preeminent affection in your heart that says God just bring me to yourself. Bring me to know you better bring me to that undistracted understanding of who you are. Psalmist is expecting him to do that as he prays brings us to point number three. The motivation the motivation and the something really really hot about verse five.

Not cool but hot. This is cool to what I'm trying to say. Notice in verse two. Let me remind you psalmist is asking why, why have you rejected me. Why do I go morning is asking why why all God, why now in verse five. He's asking why again, but it's a completely different question and its address to someone else. Psalm 43 verse five.

Why are you in despair all my soul and why are you disturbed within me. Hope in God. For I shall again praise him the help of my countenance, and my God. What's he saying here is just ask God to lead him to himself. For ease. Ask God to lead the psalmist to God bring me into your presence once more.

He knows that that's a prayer that God is going to answer that. That is a prayer that that that God would obviously grant to his people is the whole reason that he makes a people's own so that that we would be his people, and he would be our God.

That's the whole point of spiritual existence in the kingdom of God and so he knows that God is going to answer that prayer. He knows that it is it is a given. It is a certainty. Notice what he's doing now. The total transformation that is taken place in five short versus inverse to theirs. Almost. I don't want to say too much.

There is almost a tone of of accusation against God, why have you rejected me, why am I morning like this. By the time he remembers the destination of his soul and is entrusted himself to the guiding hand of God inhibits and as it were. He turns on himself, and he cross-examined his own soul.

On what basis he says to himself, on what basis do you find yourself in this condition of despair and discouragement by how can you possibly justify that. He asks himself as he preaches to himself. How can you justify that. Why are you like that preaching to himself. So instead, in his circumstances haven't changed here instead of asking God why God is indifferent to his condition. Beloved. This is what you must do in your own questioning spirit. He asks his own soul. Why are you hesitating to trust God. Why would you not implicitly trust this God who is the God of power God of my the God of his people, the God of their exceeding joy who will most certainly lead us to his presence on what basis do you go around downcast. He says to his soul. Beloved market. What he saying to himself is he says there is he saying to his soul. There is no justification for your discouragement. There is no way for you to be there is no justification for you to be way down when God is God of your joy, and he will certainly bring you into his presence. Remember this. Remember the final outcome.

Remember that you are headed toward the presence of God and find satisfaction there.

The way that you deal with your struggling soul is want to make sure that you are in Christ and if you are in Christ, to remember the outcome in the future when you're face-to-face with God and as it were, pull that future certainty into the present so that it flavors every aspect of your response to verse five.

There again, why are you in despair of my soul. Why are you disturbed within me. Hope in God have fixture certain expectation in God. For I shall again praise him. He says the help of my countenance, and my God the help of my countenance countenance being a reference to the appearance of the face and how is God the help of his countenance the help of his face was that mean kind of sounds kind of odd Martin Lloyd Jones expresses it this way and see if you can't find yourself in what he says, I quote the man who is unhappy and depressed always shows it in his face.

He looks troubled and he looks worried, you take one glance at him and you see his condition. Yes, says the psalmist, but when I really look at God as I get better. My face gets better. Also I lose that haggard, troubled, perplexed and introspective appearance, and I begin to look composed and calm, balanced and bright. This is not putting on a mask, but something that is inevitable."

When the psalmist hope is fixed on the true and living God that his ultimate destination is to be in his presence and to worship him with exceeding joy and his confidence is rested there. You can only help to to bring satisfaction and comfort to his heart. Which inevitably shines forth on his face and that way God is the help of his countenance, like Moses, having been up and seeing the glory of God is reflected in his face in the same way for us when our heart is at rest in Christ. It shows interface now let's bring this plane in for a landing psalmist here knew God in the Old Testament manner of speaking in the Old Testament economy and so he speaks of the altar written alludes to the temple. You and I here in the New Testament we find something greater in the progress of revelation. I've already said this to go little bit further beloved. What does God do.

How does God lead us. We have got to get away from our desire and our our satisfaction was just paltry human circumstances know what God does is that God watch this. This is not complicated. God leads us to God the Holy Spirit. When he convicted you of sin and brought you to faith in Christ. What was he doing he was leading you to God, what was the whole purpose of the coming of Christ. No man comes to the father but through me came in order to bring us to God. God is your highest good, God is your highest joy all beloved stop asking for things from an earthly perspective and ask God to bring you to a greater sanctified knowledge of him that would satisfy your heart. That would give you transcendent joy. That's what you need, not a change in your circumstances are Lord Jesus brought us to God when we were dead in sin, the spirit of God sanctifies us in the knowledge of God and what is the alternate outcome of your salvation. What is the final destination. When the train stops and you get off of the salvation train so to speak, at what station will you be in what platform will you get off at.

When the process is complete turn over first John chapter 3, first John chapter 3 the psalmist in Psalm 43.

It's a God lead me ultimately to God my exceeding joy.the God who saved you the God who is sanctifying you the God who will one day glorify you. What's his ultimate purpose in all of it is purposes that you would see him first John chapter 3 verse two in the middle of verse we know that when he appears, we will be like him, because we will see him just as he is. We will see him we will see Christ face-to-face. We will see him in his magnificent glory.

We will see him in the end, and resurrected power. We will see him unhindered by the flesh, unhindered by sin, unhindered by earthly limitations. We will be face-to-face with Christ our Savior. Matthew five verse eight says blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God and turn over to Revelation 22. As we get a glimpse into the eternal state. Revelation 22 verse three there will no longer be any curse in the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it in his bond servants will serve him, they will see his face and his name will be on therefore heads. There will no longer be any night and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them and they will reign forever and ever.

God will shine the light on them, they will see God face-to-face in the ultimate fulfillment of Psalm 43 will find its full fruition face-to-face with God face-to-face with Christ. Beloved understand this you as a Christian will see God. You will see Christ in beloved that is more sure to you.

That is more certain than your next breath because that we don't know what our next breath is we don't know what tomorrow holds. But we know that the eternal appointment of God for his people is that ultimately they will be with him face-to-face and his purpose can never fail, he has revealed in Scripture and beloved the Scripture cannot be broken. That's the outcome for you in Christ face-to-face in the presence of ineffable glory unspeakably wonderful blessing and bless the tongue cannot describe.

That's where you're going. That's the outcome for your soul bring that future certainty into your present uncertainty. Beloved settle that in your mind that God will lead you to God, he will lead you into his perfect presence forever and ever and ever.

And when that is fixed in your mind. Then, in the midst of your discouragement you preach to yourself and you say to yourself, remember the wonders of coming joy and then you hope in God's you tell your soul not to accept the discouragement but to hope in God and to fix your confidence on that and let the certainty of the future flavor. Your perception of a difficult presence is pray together. God, you are our God, you are the God of our exceeding joy and we long to be with you face-to-face with the uncertainties of this life, the hardships that it brings the difficulties the tears the unexpected setbacks. Father, we can look through all of them and see that they do not define ultimate reality for us.

The ultimate reality is that you are God the U of S to yourself through Christ and that we know him now that having begun the process, you will most certainly completed until that day of Christ Jesus. And then we will see him face-to-face and we will be like him, and there will be no more curse throne of God and the Lamb will be entered and we will see your face. Father may that be the strong assurance of every heart that is here tonight for those that are here. The do not know Christ. Oh father we pray that you would lead them to the cross. Help them to see the Christ was sent for centers just like them.

Just like use your listening to me. Pray Christ came for centers just like you gave us life for centers just like you rose from the dead, ascended on high, and now calls you and says come to me so that you might be saved so that you might have this assurance and confidence.

The that eternal life and forgiveness of sin might be completely God extends that off today through the Lord Jesus Christ. We invite you to receive Christ tonight to repent of your sin, to receive Christ for eternal life leave this world behind father take these words of grace and comfort seen tonight from your board by the according to the need of every prayer.

Jesus well friend thank you for joining us on through the Psalms. Did you know that we also offer a daily podcast. It's a shorter format that is a perfect companion for you as you start your day drive to work or maybe have your workout on your treadmill. You can find that daily podcast at the truth. Pulpit.com look for the link that says radio podcast again that's found on the truth pulpit.com. God bless you.

Thanks Don and Fred.

Be sure to join us each weekend as we continue through the sun with pastor Don Greene could buy church information Don's complete sermon library and other helpful materials at the truth. Pulpit.com this message is copyrighted by Don Greene. All rights reserved