When God Delays - Part 2

Christian when you focus on your problems is hard to see God's provision for going to probably two little girls were in trouble for resolving Jeremiah with some fascism adjusting your focus' truly is from when your world falls apart is the conclusion when going to like people have told me that I more built for speed them for comfort. I think that's probably a pretty good description of my life. I'm I'm not somebody likes to sit around and meditate for long periods of time. I should get better at that not do work that some but I'm always trying to get things done to make things better and to move forward in and I start project.

Sometimes I feel God's is in his hands upon him, and then sometimes they seem to go into a period of work God pushes the pause button and watch you have to learn patience because I'm like David, I say Lord, how long were you going to fix this one is going to happen when we get this done. I remember when we were building our first church building here in San Diego it took us eight years to get a permit to build a worship center and conscious agents run my life out during that time. As I waited and waited and kept asking what we have to do Lord but I look back now and I realize that some of the most important lessons I learned in my life. I learned when I was being sheltered when God had me on pause and he just wanted me to learn some things before I went forward is got us all there now does any were all on pause were all sheltering and so what a great time for us to go back and read and study some of the sheltering Psalms that we have in the Bible.

That's actually the title of the Psalms were David talks about refuge and hope and in helping God. Let's open your Bibles to the 13th Psalm and complete our discussion when God delays the problem of the Christian life is so daily and every day you have to get up and face the challenges and if you got some particular problem in your life every day when you get up the first moments when your mind turns on those thoughts begin to present upon you, and they don't go away. You can't sleep and you can't eat and you can't settle to do anything and every time you almost get your mind on something else comes the thought of that problem to take over again. Have you ever experienced that you know what to do.

You been taught what you know you should read your Bible you know you should pray, you know, used to fellowship with God's people. But the problem is taken over is got you in such an emotional mind that no matter what you do. You can't do the thing you know you should do was frustrated.

Emotions were raw edge maybe was frustrated because it is enemy. Notice he says how long shall my enemy be exalted over me. I need to tell you something that you may have forgotten. David was the king and waiting. David was anointed three times to be king of Israel. You know how long there was between when he was anointed the first time and when he actually became king 15 years when Jesse came down and brought David up to Samuel and Samuel poured beyond David's head as a young man said this is the king.

From that moment on, David went back take care the sheep that he went to Saul's court when he got involved in this whole thing with Goliath and then Goliath was killed and Davis chased all over Palestine for 8 to 9 years and he knows he's the king, God's anointed him his anointed again and again the third time, but he's not king he's just kidding and waiting. How would you like to be being chased all over the place knowing that you're the king got. I thought I was going to be playing with yes but not till I chase you around for about nine years.

You know he was frustrated. He said how long Lord is my enemy to be exalted overly when David began to evaluate his own resources. It is just a fugitive and he began to think about the resources of Saul. You know that I want occasion when Saul tried to get him just one little David he sent 30,000 men to get one little David and David begins to think about how the sides are what the opportunities are for him to succeed and he realizes that Saul has all the resources and he doesn't have 600 measly man. They were the off scouring of Israel. Everybody was and that everybody was depressed everybody who had difficulty those were David's men and he said, Lord, how long I can deal with this is guys after me.

He's got all the resources I have anything how my going to be kept from destruction in this depressed mood. Here's what I think David was saying is where you come I think you finally decided that God had undertaken something more than he can handle and that God was able to do anything for many more. But the reason God wasn't answering him was a God and have an answer and so it was really stupid for him to keep going. I mean I can't compete with Saul. I don't have any armament I don't have any organization. I don't have any troops on the goddess God. He's not talking to me. Most of us will probably not have human enemies like David, although you may have some I don't know but we do have an enemy.

Don't wait, my friend. We have an enemy who is worse than any of the enemies.

David would ever have or anyone else would we have an enemy is called the devil, the Bible tells us in first Peter chapter 5 in verse eight there were to be sober and vigilant because our adversary the devil go about seeking whom he may what class of our he chases us down and sometimes I don't know if you've ever been chased down by the enemy, but he's relentless and you wonder Lord, I am going to get victory over the sin.

This temptation this problem.

Perhaps this addiction. I'm doing everything I know how to do what he so powerful that's where David was. He was frustrated by his enemy look back at it and notice how honesty is as he describes what he's feeling in this time of being a fugitive from the most powerful man on earth well I'm glad the sun doesn't stop there. We get to the next section we see what our supplication should be when God delays. How should we pray, I'm not going to spend a lot of time here, but I just want to remind you of the truth that I've learned very recently that is this that we never pray like we ought to pray until we get desperate. Pray you can't teach somebody to pray out of the book can't teach you how to pray in the classroom can bring the church and sitting in pews and tell them to pray and then tell you when you pray God make sure that you will get to the school sometime you play when you get desperate. Can I get a witness. I mean, you say prayers before you get desperate.

But you pray when you get desperate when I don't know what to do. You got some disease you didn't expect you got some difficult you didn't expect all the thought you had about resolving this issue are already tried and proven false.

And now you're saying well I'm reduced now to the most powerful influence in the world on [look at the words in the song, there's a little word that's repeated three times in the next section is the word last Kelly ST it's a conditional word and it kinda gives you the idea of the foundation of David's prayer. He says lest I sleep the sleep of death. David was so worn out and drawn out emotionally by his running away from Saul that he thought he was ultimately going to die. He thought this was going to be using the thought of an approaching death was a motivation. Then he feared his own defeat, lest my enemy say I have prevailed against them. There's the word blessed again as we learned in the earlier part of Psalm David has allowed himself to be convinced that he's going to lose the battle with Saul that Salzman when he's been alluding to be captured even though we can put together that he's been a be the next king. He thinks also taking out and David feared his own disgrace, lest those who probably rejoice when I am moved. He realized that his struggle with Saul was on display for all of Israel to witness and he feared that in his defeat, he would be disgraced in the enemies of his God would rejoice in his demise and out of those three piercing praying.

Let's be honest and pray necessary because it was a godly man although he was in his heart he pray because he was desperate and I've noticed how God loves to steer us into that cul-de-sac of you get us into that corner where the only way out is the way up were the only resource is a resource and then we get serious about praying going through a time of trouble right now. Time of difficulty. If you fit into this Psalm is some of you surely do is perhaps all of us in some way. Do don't rail against God for what he's done to bring you to this place, but ask him how you can learn to be his child and be desperate in prayer and never cease to be desperate in your praying, oh Lord God, I can't get the one day without you can't make it through these next hours. Without you I can't face these challenges without you when we get desperate. We pray, oh Lord, help me in his prayers are threefold as well break free prayers first voice of the Lord. Consider me the word actually means. Look on me. He said Lord don't turn your back on the anymore turn around and look at me and see me.

He was convinced that God had turned his back on him and he saying God, please turn around and look at me again consider me look down at your Bible thesis and Lord, hear me, David is pleading with God to answer his questions were, please hear what I'm saying. Then there's a very interesting third request, he said, Lord, enlighten my eyes and when I first read that I thought that meant Lord, show me what you're doing but it doesn't mean that it all means. Lord put the light back in my eyes you know when you go through depression. The light goes out of your eyes. You know you go the doctor they take a little like they look in your eyes because you tell a lot about the health of the person by his eyes when a person is deeply depressed. The light was on Iraq's accountants becomes kind of a mask and sometimes almost despair David Sittler God. This is right him. I've been chased all over by this man. I don't have any hope of it being any different. Lord, please look on me. And Lord, hear me know God put the light back in my eyes, pray, and there's something that happens here that's almost nonsecular you read the Bible and yes questions you think you know. Does this belong somewhere else because we get out of the last two verses of the Psalm, and we've heard these cries from this tortured man we heard his prayers to God and his fears that all of a sudden these last two verses.

It's almost like somebody turned the switch and David becomes no longer morose and emotionally discouraged but he becomes a man of praise and triumph before God.

Notice the focus of this prayer is the key for if you go back and notice in the end of this little section we just read you will see that there's a little phrase and there were David gets his eyes off of his trouble and gets his eyes back on God, the focus of this prayer is all Lord my God, David nailed his emotions to this truth, he called upon God. He called upon the power of God, he began to realize that Jehovah Elohim was his God in the praying of his prayer to God and the bringing of his petitions to God, he began to look away from his problems that he began to see God high and lifted up. He called Jehovah Elohim, Jehovah is the power name for God Elohim is the promise name for God is an old God of power and promise I appealing to you, and I think his mind went back to the promise that was given him that he should ascend to the throne that he would be the next king of Israel, but we didn't understand all the circumstances to which he had been put. He knew that God had promised them something in the godhood promised was powerful enough to carry it through and got his eyes on the Lord.

I love Jeremiah 20 verse 11 when you're going through these difficult times.

It goes like this.

The Lord is with me as a mighty possible one. Therefore my persecutors will stumble and will not prevail. They will be greatly ashamed, for they will not prosper their everlasting confusion will never be forgotten.

Here's another promise from some 138 verses seven and eight, though I walk in the midst of trouble. Lord, you will revive me you will stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies in her right hand will save me. The Lord will perfect that which concerns me your mercy Lord endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands. David got his eyes off of his trouble and onto the Lord and I'll tell you something. That's not a simple process is you have to honestly get on your face before God and say Lord God, I'm all messed up right now, I'd let my emotions take over my life and I let these troubles come in on top of me and just overwhelming and I don't know what to do and I know that this is not the way it's supposed to be.

But Lord God in the midst of all of this. Help me to see my mighty awesome one Jehovah Elohim when you begin just to get a glimpse of him. Things start to turn there's a threefold progression in the Psalm starts with tears and ends with triumph, but in the middle is the truth and the truth is Jehovah Elohim Almighty God is in charge.

No wonder David breaks out into song so we come to these last verses and we see the song when God delays the journey from tears to triumph always goes through the house of truth when David finally gets his eyes off of Saul and on the Jehovah Elohim.

He is able to rejoice again.

What a powerful reminder to all of us today looking on our troubles will only make those troubles grow in our eyes was talking to a friend of mine this week who runs an establishment where people come every day to work out, sometimes people come there who have gone through stress and trouble. Oftentimes through a divorce, or the dissolution of the home. He told me that oftentimes they get together in the began to talk about the problems and problems get worse the more you talk about the difficulty the more you enhance it and how many of you know, when you're talking with a friend about a difficulty they tell you about their difficulty but you got to come back and remind them and help them understand that while they may be going through difficult your difficulty is more difficult than their different is a natural.

So before we know what our problems are bad enough that we start adding layers to it. We start adding verses to the song and the problems get worse and worse start talking to all the people that we know about all the problems that we have, we start making them worse. Instead of seeking to find God in the midst of them. There's an old proverb that says when you sing to the Lord, you pray twice David's going to say no to God.

Listen to his words of singing, but I have trusted in your mercy, my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord because he is dealt bountifully with me is song is a song of triumph how to get to triumph in the midst of all this tortured, he began to see God.

You see the one thing you want to avoid when I don't ever understand. I never will understand it when people start going through trouble and homework trouble at work or whatever when the first things they stop is going to church knows that once you go to church well ran trouble in our marriage. My goodness get up early and come to both services. No come tonight. Service will start an extra service. I mean one thing you don't want to do when trouble comes this put God on the side that's exactly what the enemy wants you to do now to drive you toward God, not away from David finds God and all the sudden in the midst of finding God, he begins to sing the song of triumph and he says I have trusted in your mercy in my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

How many of you know that salvation is not only salvation from sin and salvation from Satan. But it's also often salvation from situations. God cannot only save you from sin and from Satan he can save you from the situation. If you ask him to. I think they would tear talking about salvation from the situation more than anything else for God triumphing out now notice.

Has anything changed about David's life as Saul quit chasing him as David got in some new guns as another Army come to helping know nothings changed about the circumstances except that he's now come to understand that nothing is changed about God either. The goddess changeless and the God that he serves is able to deliver him so confident is he about his deliverance that he sings about it in the past tense. God delivered me are you deliver nobody in my heart and in my mind I see deliverance, and on claimant for God and I'm saying God has delivered me not only of song of triumph, but it's a song of thanksgiving. He says I will sing to the Lord because he is dealt bountifully with me.

Have you noticed that almost every song we've studied so far somewhere in the Psalm. There's a little reminder that if you want to stay healthy.

As a Christian, you need to go back and remember what God is done for you. You need to polish the monuments of the great victories in your life once again. One of the reasons for keeping a journal.

It helps you to do that. David said I remember now how God has dealt bountifully with me.

I think David went back and began to think about that day out in the field when he stood for that giant with just a little slingshot in five smooth stones and God took out that 9 foot six giant with one shot and preserved Israel all the time when God preserved them against the animals when he was watching over the sheep or how God had miraculously preserved and when Saul could have killed them and got it taken out of his hand begin to look back over her shoulder, he thought, you know I don't have to worry too much about what God's going to do in the future because I know what God has done in the past. You know sometimes when we get into protracted trouble.

We get so caught up in the present and you can't see where you're going when you get caught up in the present or then we get into worry, which is occupation with the future you can't change the future because you're not there yet. The only thing that you have for sure in the midst of difficulty is the absolute certainty what God is done for you in the past. They met as he saved you absolutely as he brought you into a church were God's word is taught. Has he given you Christian friends as he helped you with health problems and you can go back and make your own list because everyone has one.

My friend, when you get into the worry over the future and the discouragement of the present. Take a good look at the past, which is forever written in granite cannot be changed. Song of thanksgiving this little paradigm is found often in the Psalms and let me just give you two other places where you will see it. Psalm 40 read what it says in Psalm 40, I waited patiently for the Lord and he inclined to me and heard my cry and he brought me up out of a horrible pit out of my replay and set my feet upon a rock and establish my steps to be put new song in my mouth. Praise to our God. Many will see it in fear and trust in the Lord.

Psalm 28 seven is like the Lord is my strength and my shield my heart trusted in him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart greatly rejoices and with my song I will praise him doesn't seem strange to you that in the Psalm so filled with the misery of this man of God, there is this final note of triumph and trust, praise to the Almighty one, don't look at it is strange look at it is the way it should be. We often think that praise and worship is only in moments of great victory in times of great success. Praise and worship belongs right where it is.

Everything around me comes unglued. If everything falls apart. I am going to rejoice in the God of my salvation. You say pastor doesn't feel right doesn't have anything to do with feelings. It's a choice we make in the midst of difficult news and difficult problems and long drawn out challenges we make the choice. We can either gripe and complain and get involved with everyone making it worse than it ever should be. Or we can lift up our eyes to the Lord is a God.

I don't know what's going on here and I don't truly understand it, but I have decided this. I will put my trust in you and I will praise you with all of my heart.

God who's been there for you in the past is the God who is going to be there for you in the future, and will bring to resolution in his own time. According to his own purposes. That thing in your life that you don't know what to do with something I've learned more recently in a new way. God isn't as much interested in our circumstances as we are. He's interested in our character were all caught up in the circumstances God's caught up in her character and he will allow the circumstances for the higher good of our character until he's finished, but he never waits too long. He's never late. He'll be there.

Just when you need. So don't give up and don't despair tomorrow friends were going to turn our attention to Psalm 138 minute talk about worship in times of trouble. One of the most amazing things as you study the Psalms is that no matter what's going on in David's life.

Worship is always a component is almost never absent.

And that's something we need to learn about will talk about that tomorrow here in Turning Point. We love you. Thank you for the privilege of ministering to you every day.

God bless you as message comes from shadow Mountain community. Jeremiah serves as senior pastor point is ministering to let us know Turning Point PO Box 38, San Diego, CA 92163 visit our website it David Jeremiah will/radio shows in God is sure to encourage you in this unprecedented son Joseph predicted in human you can also download the free Turning Point. My bow happy smart phone and tablet searching still for keywords Turning Point ministry to exit him programs and resources Jeremiah.04/radio Gary who join us tomorrow as we continue the series.

When you to point Jeremiah thanks for taking time to listen to a friend. He's increased in