Preached at Cornerstone Church in Cascade, IA on December 6, 2015

Today marks the 2nd Sunday of Advent. For those of you who are familiar with Advent, it is a tradition of the Church. By this I mean that it is not a Biblical ordinance, such as Baptism or the Lord’s Supper. Advent is a mere construction of man, so whether you celebrate Advent or not is not a sin issue.

• Romans 14:5 – “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.”
  

Personally, I did not grow up in a Church that focused on Advent, and I do not believe my parents or Church were wrong in this approach. Having said those things, I do believe Advent like thinking is good for you, and good for our Church.

I say this because Advent is the intentional focus of the Incarnation of Christ. Beginning on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, Advent encourages Christians to dwell upon the unsearchable riches of God’s Grace in the giving of his Son to the World for our eternal joy. Thinking about that reality is a good thing. Granted, this good news of great joy should not be limited to one month a year, it should be dwelt upon every day for all eternity, but let us be honest, we have a tendency to forget, and this is why I think Advent has its advantages. It helps us to remember.

Therefore, this advent, I want to encourage each of you to be intentional in dwelling upon the coming of Christ. I want you to lay aside things that interfere with your ability to see that Glory of God in the face of Jesus. Be intentional and read all four Gospels this month. Commit yourself to extended times of fasting and praying. Read an Advent devotional such as John Pipers, “The Dawning of Indestructible Joy.” Men, this is a great time to launch family devotionals every night before your children go to bed. Let us not allow for another December pass by without standing in awe of Emmanuel.

With this in mind, for the next three Sundays and then concluding on Christmas Eve, my goal is to help set your minds and your hearts on Christ. I want to spend the next four weeks pointing you to the Universe shifting realty that God became a man. I want us to dwell upon the fullness of Christ, and the unfathomable love that was displayed in his humbling himself to become a man.

The Problem with Christmas

The title of this sermon series is the Incarnation of Christ. The word incarnation means to become flesh, to become human. Therefore the Incarnation of Christ is the act of Jesus becoming a man. One of the familiar verses that summarizes this reality is found in John 1:14.

• John 1:14 – “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
  

This incarnation of the Word, which is the Son of God, aka, Jesus, is the essence of Christmas. This is what we are to be celebrating during the Christmas season, the Son of God becoming a man.
With this said, one of the biggest problems during the Christmas season is that we spend too much time focusing only on the Christ’s humanity. Our eyes go straight to the manger and we fixate on baby Jesus. We sing songs like Away in the Manger, which are great song, but can have the potential, if we are not careful, to cause us to focus only on the flesh of Christ.

Now some of you are now saying, wait a minute, didn’t you just tell us that the essence of Christmas is the incarnation, the becoming of the flesh, Jesus becoming a man. Yes, I did, but we must not forget that this was not any old baby. This was the Word becoming a baby.

When we celebrate Christmas with only a manger mentality, we undermine the awe of Christmas. We reduce the magnitude of what we are truly celebrating. In fact, when we do this, we easily can set aside Jesus, or replace Him. If Jesus is just a man, then Santa Clause can compete. If Jesus is just a man, then his birth is not any more special than Aristotle’s, Shakespeare’s, Abraham Lincoln’s, or Albert Einstein’s. If Jesus is just a man, then like so many people commonly say today, he is a good teacher and nothing more. So today, we are going to shine the light on who this Jesus was and is before he stepped into the world 2000 years ago.

“My Lord and My God”

As we begin, let me just say this, no legitimate scholar denies that Jesus from Nazareth existed. The historical “experts” who spend their lives studying this stuff, overwhelming agree that there really was a Jesus. This is not just the Christian historians, it is nearly all historians. So the question is never, if Jesus is real. He is real, no doubt, the whole world turns on this reality. The question is, is Jesus God.

We have already looked at John 1:14, let us step back and look at John 1:1.

• John 1:1 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God.”
  

There may not be a clearer declaration of the divinity of Jesus then John 1:1. The logic of the statement is rock solid. As we have stated the Word as used in John 1 is Jesus. So we can easily replace the Word with Jesus, “In the beginning was [Jesus], and [Jesus] was with God, and [Jesus] was God. 2[Jesus] was in the beginning with God.”

What is interesting about this statement is who is making it. The writer of the Gospel of John is the disciple John. John was one of the original twelve that walked with Jesus during his Earthly ministry. In fact, listen to what the Apostle John says in another letter he wrote, 1 John 1:1-4.

• 1 John 1:1-4 – “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life-- 2the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us-- 3that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.”
  

John was one of the few people who were able to be with Jesus while he walked on this planet in the flesh. He watched him sleep. He heard him chew. He smelled him. And after three years he concluded, He was God. John was not the only one. Listen to what Peter said in Matthew 16:15-16.

• Matthew 16:15-16 – “He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
  

Despite all of the rumors and conversation about Jesus being a prophet, a mere mortal, Peter, just like John concludes that Jesus is different. He is not just a prophet, he is not just a man. He is the Son of God.
Likewise, how can we forget the disciple Thomas. He is best known for his lack of faith after the resurrection. This is where he picked up the discouraging nickname of Doubting Thomas. He had been told that Jesus had been raised from the dead, but Thomas stated in John 20:25, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” Eight days after saying these words Jesus appears and he has Thomas touch his hands and his side and Thomas responds with the echoing words of “My Lord and my God.”

In addition to this, time would not allow us to go into all the miracles that displayed the divinity of Christ.
Make no mistake, those who knew ministered along side Jesus believed him to be God. In fact, these eye witnesses were so convinced that Jesus was God that they laid down their life defending this singular truth. Every single one of the first 12 disciples, except John, was killed because of their belief that Jesus was God.

But it does not end there. Let’s take a second and look at James and Jude. These two men were believed to be the half brothers of Jesus. After Mary gave birth to Jesus, she and Joseph had other Children. Matthew 13:55, “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?” James and Judas are counted as being the author of the book of James and the book of Jude, listen to what they say:

• James 2:1 – “My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.”
  
• Jude 1:20-21 – “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.”
  

I would think it would be fair to say that these two men spent more time with the man Jesus Christ than any other men on the planet. Only Mary would have spent more time with Jesus then they would have, and what is their evaluation of him? He is the Lord of Glory, he is the Christ that leads to eternal life.

Once again, Church tradition teaches that both of these men, half brothers of Jesus were killed because of their belief that Jesus was more than a man. James, it is believed, was thrown from the pinnacle of the temple and then beaten and Jude was crucified in Persia.


Then of course there is Paul. Paul whose original name was Saul hated the name of Jesus. He spent he days trying to figure out how to arrest so that the Christians could be fed to the lions, but everything changed on the road to Damascus, when he had a personal encounter with Christ. After that moment, he no longer saw Jesus just a man. Colossians 2:9 summarizes Paul's new found understanding of Jesus.

• Colossians 2:9 - “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, “
  

Like the others, Paul died standing on this truth. His head was cut off in Rome because he believed Jesus was more than a man. So was Jesus God? For those who knew him best, the evidence seemed to be overwhelming.

Before Abraham, I Am

But there is more. It wasn't just that the followers of Christ believed that Jesus was God. Jesus himself believed he was God. This is what is so inconsistent about the common misunderstanding of who Jesus is. Jesus leaves no wiggle room when it comes to who he is. As CS Lewis stated, you either have to believe he is the Lord, he is a liar, or he is a lunatic. Here is a sampling of a few of Jesus' comments about his identity.

• John 8:58 - “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”d 58Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 
  
• John 10:30 - “I and the Father are one.”
  
• John 14:8-9 - “Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”
  

For those who say Jesus was just a good teacher, or just a prophet, those people just don't get it. When I hear people compare Jesus to Ghandi or Muhammed, I want to shake them and ask, “Have you not read the Bible.” That statement is so inconsistent with who Jesus said he was. One of the main reasons they killed him was because he claimed to be God.

Jesus made it abundantly clear that he was not just a man. He told people to drink from him, eat him, that he was the truth and the life, that he had a first row seat when Satan fall from heaven. The claims of Jesus were outrageous. When you read the Gospels, there is not a more self-centered person than Jesus. Why? Because he had to be. Everything was created through Him and for Him. If Jesus wasn't self centered, then he would be sinning, for He is God, and the chief end of man is to glorify God.

Moses and the Prophets Testify

But we are not done. There is more. Not only did the disciples believe he was God, not only did his family believe he was God, not only did Paul believe he was God, not only did Jesus claim to be God, but the Old Testament testified he was God.

• Isaiah 9:6 - “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
  Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
  

This is the most popular Christmas verse in all the Bible, and rightfully so, for it summarizes what we are celebrating. Isaiah wrote these Words 700 years before the actual historic event of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Isaiah predicted that everything would change when this child stepped onto the scene. And who was this child you ask? Isaiah tells us point blank, this child is none other than God himself.

The Creator of all things, becomes a creature. The author of the play writes himself into the story. The Potter covers himself with His clay. God takes on flesh, incarnate. He will be Emmanuel, God with us.

What kind of God does this? What kind of all powerful, all knowing, all sufficient being humbles himself to the point of a 8 lb baby whose life is handed over to a teen Mom and a blue collar worker? I will tell you. A God who is sovereign. A God who is both the just and the justifier. A God who uses the foolish things to shame the wise. A God who loves you enough to become you, so as to die for you, in order to save you.
This Christmas, let us not stop our gaze at the manger, but cast our eyes beyond and see the glory that Christ, Emmanuel, had prior to his arrival. Let us join the chorus of Angels and sing about his coming as glory in the highest.

Preached at Cornerstone Church in Cascade, IA on August 9, 2015

Open your Bibles to Psalm 5. Today we are continuing our journey through the Book of Psalms. Before we begin unpacking our text, let me say something that I have said before, but it is good to remind ourselves of these things. The Bible is God's Word. It was written by God through the instrument of the hands of man. Because the Bible is God's Word, and God does not lie, the Bible is inerrant and infallible, or to say it another way, the Bible is true, and incapable of being untrue.

Many Christians would say Amen to the statement that the Bible is inerrant and infallible, at least until they read certain passages; for there are many text that may run afoul of humanities pre-formed, and wrong ideas of who God is and what are His purposes.

With this in mind we must recognize what the Bible is. It is the infallible and inerrant Word of God that has been given to us, so that we understand who God is what His purpose are. The reason God has given us this book of is to reveal truth about Him and His purposes. So when we read passages in the Bible that we don't like, the problem is not with the Bible, it is with our sinful hearts. We are the ones who must submit to what the Bible says, and not make God submit to us. This is the reason for infallible scripture, to correct our fallible minds.

With this in mind, let us read God's Word with the foundation that it is true, and then ask God to humble our hearts to receive his revelation, and then, and only then will we be able to benefit from the sanctifying Word of our Father.

• Psalm 5 - “To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.1Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning. 2Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray. 3O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch. 4For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. 5The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. 6You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. 7But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you. 8Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me. 9For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue. 10Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you. 11But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. 12For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favor as with a shield.”
  
  

A Prayerful Heart

As we can see, Psalm 5 is another Psalm written by King David. Up to this point we have focused on David being God's anointed King of Israel and we have also discussed the sinfulness of David, and its consequences. One thing we haven't talked about is the one thing that is commonly mentioned about David and it is found in 1 Samuel 13:14 and Acts 13:22.

• Acts 13:22 – “And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’”
  
  

David was a wretched sinner, but he was also a man after God’s heart. How can those two things be simultaneously true? I think some of the answers to this question are found in the book of Psalms, for it is through these Psalms that we have a glimpse into the heart of David as he lays it bear on the table. So what do we see? One thing we see is that David was a man of prayer. We have seen this over the last three Psalms.

• Psalm 3:4 – “I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill.”
  
  
• Psalm 4:1 – “Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!”
  
  

In today’s passage we see David praying in the morning. Verse 3 says, “O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.” This sacrifice of David is a sacrifice of prayer. In fact, the Hebrew root word behind “I prepare a sacrifice for you” is the word “arak” which is most commonly used to describe laying out wood for a sacrifice. In fact this same root word is used in Genesis 22:9 when Abraham was called to sacrifice Isaac, “When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order (arak) and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.”

So in the case of David, we see a ritual of morning worship, whereby David lays out His prayers before the Lord in anticipation of communion with him. This picture of morning communion with the Lord through prayer is not one exclusive to David. I love this quote by Martin Luther, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” And it doesn’t stop with Luther, listen to how Jesus began his day, one that was filled with more stress that we could ever imagine.

• Mark 1:35 – “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.”
  
  

So if you are stressed, if you are busy, if you are overwhelmed, do not start your day making a “to-do” list. Instead lay out, “arak”, your life before the Lord in prayer. Direct your petitions to Him, and find rest for your weary soul in the Sovereign god.

And when you do pray, do not make it only about the routine, so that it is robotic, whereby you go through the motions. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:7, “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.” Your prayers must come from your heart. They must be authentic, just like David’s. He described his prayer life as one of groanings and cryings.

For me, I find it helpful to picture my children when they come to me with problems. My little Ezra is so precious. She has a heart just like her mother, which I cherish. She will come to me in the midst of her pain and she will be an absolute mess. She buries her face into my chest and just sobs, and I can’t understand a word she says, but my heart breaks for her. Why? Because she is really in pain. And her authentic crying has the capacity to move me into action to care and nurture her, and to give her the love she longs for.

And we likewise, must approach our God in prayer with this type of child like faith. Authentic. Raw. Humble. Dependent. And then when we do, we must likewise by like David and watch for the hand of our Father to move across the tumultuous waves of our lives.

Who are You Praying To?

However, the question rises, do we see God in the same way David sees God? When we pray, do we have the same vision of God as David? My guess is that we do not. My guess is that many of us have created in our mind, not the true understanding of God, but instead a comfortable understanding of God. We have in effect turned the Potter into the clay and molded him to our likings, to our sinful hearts. When we pray we are in effect praying to an idol, not the God who is.

Why would we do this? The simple answer is that we are fallen creatures. Sin has blinded us to the ultimate reality of the Universe, that being, who is God. We cannot see him for who he truly is. However, because we are created in his image, we have a knowledge that he is there, but we suppress the ultimate truth of His glory. It is as if we are in a dark room and we can sense a presence, we know that Someone is there, but we just can't make out who it is.

So if this is true, and it is, how are we to have a true understanding of this God, who we know is there, but cannot see? The answer to this question is revelation. The only way by which we know who we cannot see is by Him revealing himself to us. Once again, imagine yourself in a dark room, and you sense that presence of Someone, so you call out, “Who is there?”. Then out of the darkness you here a response,”I AM, here.” You then say, “Who are you?” The Person then begins to reveal to you, who he is. The only reason you are able to know the person who has been with you in that dark room the entire time is because that Person has chosen to reveal himself to us.

So how does God do this for us? Simple. The revelation of God is the Word of God. This is why the Bible exists. The Word of God is light shining out into the darkness of your life revealing to us who God is. The more you spend in God's Word, the more you will see of God.

John Calvin in his famous work, The institutes of Christian Religion said this about the Word of God, “For as the aged, or those whose sight is defective, when any book, however fair, is set before them, though they perceive that there is something written, are scarcely able to make out two consecutive words, but, when aided by glasses, begin to read distinctly, so Scripture, gathering together the impressions of Deity, which, till then, lay confused in our minds, dissipates the darkness, and shows us the true God clearly.”

So to get back to our original question, how is it possible that we would have a wrong understanding of who God is, the answer is simple, we fail to put on our glasses so that we can see Him who stands before us.

The God in whom David cried out to is described in verse 4-6, “or you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. 5The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. 6You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.”

Is this the God you love? Is this the God you worship? Is this the God you pray to? A God who hates all evildoers? A God abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man? When you approach the Sovereign God of the Universe do you recognize that he does not delight in your wickedness, and cannot dwell with and form of evil? I fear for most of us this God never crosses our mind. Instead when we pray to God, we see God as a funny old grandpa that sees the sin of this earth of silly, funny, inconsequential, or no biggy. Let us be clear, this is not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible is zealous for righteousness.

The God of the Bible pays out the wage of death for sin, no matter how small that sin is. The God of the Bible is one who killed thousands if not millions of people during the flood for one reason, “

The God of the Bibles is the one who designed and created a little place that we know of as Hell. This place is described as eternal torment, utter darkness, a place that there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And this place exists for one reason only, to be the final destination for angles and people who have sinned against God and stand condemned before him. Let us be clear, Hell was not created to hold sin. It is a place created to hold sinners.

This type of talk makes us feel uncomfortable. We don't like to see God this way, but this is the way David saw God in the morning as he laid his troubles before Him. As he approached God in the morning, the focus of David was on the Holiness of God. It was as if David when walking into the presence of God was like Moses walking up Mount Sinai with its lightning, thunder, clouds, smoke and trumpet calls. It was as if David when approaching God was like Isaiah, in Isaiah 6 when he saw God high and lifted up with Seraphim worshiping him so powerfully that it shook the foundations of the Temple. Who when being in the presence of this awesome God cried out, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5). It was as if David was like Peter in Luke 5:8 that upon seeing the Glory of Christ, “ fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” It was as if David was like Paul who in Romans 7:24 who cries out, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”




In my opinion, we, myself included, have a small and distorted view of God and his passion for his Holiness. God is totally serious about his glory. He will not be mocked. If you continue to chose to rebel against the righteous God he does not just hate the sin and love the sinner. He hates the evildoer, and He will not hesitate to send any of us to Hell.




Jonathan Edwards, a man who I will never hold a candle to, but I grow to love more and more as I read his works wrote a famous sermon that is credited to sparking the Great awakening. It is entitled Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. In that sermon he says this: “The bow of God’s wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready to string and justice bends the arrow at your heart, and strains the bow, and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, and that of an angry God, without any promise or obligation at all, that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood.”

This is the God in whom David prayed to. But thankfully for David, and for us, that is only one side of the coin of who God is. For if it was, David, and I, and all of you would have a very painful eternity.

God of Steadfast Love

For God is not just a God who hates evildoers, he is also a God who has steadfast love.

• Psalm 5:7-8 - “But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you. 8Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me.”
  
  

Despite David's adulterous and murderous heart, he was able to enter into the residence of God. He was able to dwell with him, and does so in this very moment as we speak. How is that possible? How can a wretched sinner, and evil doer, a bloodthirsty man ever stand in the presence of a Holy God? The abundance of God's steadfast love.

• John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world,i that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
  
  
• Romans 5:8 - “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
  
  
• Ephesians 2:4 - “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved”
  
  
• 1 John 4:9 - “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.”
  
  

The steadfast love of God is summed up in one name, the name of Jesus Christ. He is the way by which we can enter into the house of our Holy and Awesome Father. It is Christ who is our refuge. He is the one who takes upon himself the wrath that we deserve, it is his blood that drips off the arrow of God's wrath. He is the one in whom we receive the righteousness we need to enter into he Holy of Holies. As Paul says in Romans 7:24-25 - “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

This is how David starts his morning in prayer, dwelling upon the Holiness of God and the abundance of his steadfast love. To say it another way, David begins each morning praying the Gospel to the God of the Gospel. With this understanding, you can start to see how David was a man after God's own heart, not that he was perfect, but that understood that the only means by which he had any chance with a Holy God was to seek refuge behind the shield of God's love.

So what was the effect of this type of mourning prayer? Verse 11, “But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy,” How many times have we seen this? Over and over and over again, God continues to reveal to us that joy springs from the fountain of Jesus Christ. As we stated last week, we spend our days seeking joy in empty things, let us instead have hearts like David and start our morning in prayer dwelling upon the steadfast love of our Lord in the face of Jesus Christ.

This week I heard a quote form John Piper who said some thing to the effect of understanding our depravity is crucial for our joy because every day that we don't wake up in Hell is a good day. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Preached at Cornerstone Church in Cascade, IA on July 26, 2015

Open your Bibles to Psalm 3. This is our third Sunday walking through the book of Psalms. For those who are visiting, we are currently in a series entitled “A Summer of Psalms.” Up to this point we have covered Psalm 1 and 2, and today we are going to unpack Psalm 3. With that said, let us read our text, pray, and then examine the Word of God together.

• Psalm 3 – “A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son. 1O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; 2many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God. Selah 3But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. 4I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah 5I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me. 6I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. 7Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked. 8Salvation belongs to the Lord; your blessing be on your people! Selah”
  
  

As we can see, Psalm 3 is credited to be written by David, the second King of Israel. As I stated several weeks ago, this is not unusual. King David is believed to be the author of nearly half of the 150 Psalms. This particular Psalm is written by David regarding a significantly dark time in his life. In fact, it is a darkness that very few of us can even imagine, for it is a time when David's son, Absalom is trying to kill him. In order to better feel the weight of this worship song, I want to provide the context behind David fleeing his Son. I think some of you, will be able to relate to this Father/Son tension.

Background of David and Absalom

The circumstances of surrounding David and Absalom are found in 2 Samuel. Perhaps the first place we should begin is by recognizing that King David was a great King, but he was also a great sinner. It appears that the main struggle for David was sexual immorality. Many of us are most likely familiar with his adultery with Bathsheba, but unfortunately this was just the tip of the iceberg. It is not entirely clear how many wives and concubines David had. In 2 Samuel 5:13 it merely says, “And David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron, and more sons and daughters were born to David.”

One of these wives was named Maakah. She was a daughter of Talmai, King of Geshur. From this marriage came David’s third son, Absalom. Also from this marriage came a daughter named Tamar. Now stay with me, David’s first son was Amnon. Amnon came from David’s marriage with Ahimoam of Jezreel. This is where the sexual immorality of David starts to have its generational effect. In 2 Samuel 13 we are told that Amnon, David's first son, lusted after his half-sister, Tamar. His lust was so great that he tricked her into believing that he was sick and when he had her all to himself he forced himself on her. 2 Samuel 13:14 says, “being stronger than she, he violated her and lay with her.” So like his father, David, he was not able to control his sinful urges. Immediately after Amnon lay with her, his lust turned to hate. Verse 15 says, “Then Amnon hated her with very great hatred, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her.”

A short time later, Tamar’s full brother, Absalom, found out what Amnon had done, and he hated him for it. His hate against Amnon burned in his heart for two years until, the sin that was crouching at his door overcame him, and eventually Absalom seized an opportunity and ordered his servants to kill Amnon. So as Cain killed Abel, we see Absaolom kill Amnon. The murder of his brother caused Absalom to flea to his Grandfather’s home, Talmai King of Geshur, and he remained there for three years.

Eventually Absalom returned to Jerusalem, not to seek forgiveness, but to instead seek the throne of his father, David. This may be a good time to talk about Absalom’s appearance. We are told in 2 Samuel 14 that Absalom was extremely handsome.

• 2 Samuel 14:25-26 – “Now in all Israel was no one as handsome as Absalom, so highly praised; from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no defect in him..”
  
  

I can’t help but see the connection of Absalom and our adversary, Satan. The Devil is described in Ezekiel 28 as the “signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.” Likewise it states, “Your heart was proud because of your beauty, you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.” Then in Isaiah 14:13 it says of Satan this,

• Isaiah 14:13 - “You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; 14I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’
  
  

While in Jerusalem Absalom used his good looks and his charm to steal the hearts of the men of Israel. We are told in 2 Samuel 15 that Absalom would set himself by the gates of Jerusalem and proclaim day after day how life would be better if he was King, basically he was campaigning. He did this for a period of four years, and it worked. Absalom was able to turn the hearts of almost all of Israel. Eventually, when Abasolom believed he had enough support he made his move to conducted a coup of his father, David.

Because the majority of Israel seem to have sided with Absalom, David was forced to flee Israel with the remnant of those who were faithful to him. This journey out of Jerusalem was of great sorrow.

• 2 Samuel 15:30 – “But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, barefoot and with his head covered. And all the people who were with him covered their heads, and they went up, weeping as they went.
  
  

After David’s departure from Jerusalem, Absalom took over Jerusalem and the first thing that Absalom did was sleep with all of his father’s concubines on the roof of his father’s house. Next, Absalom choose twelve thousand men with the sole mission to kill his Dad, the anointed King of Israel.

Foes and Faith

Out of this difficult circumstances the Holy Spirit inspired David to write Psalm 3, and hopefully this context gives more weight to the first two versus that we see in Psalm 3:

• Psalm 3:1-2 – “O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; 2many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God. Selah”
  
  

The struggle and brokenness of David is one that not even a Hollywood movie contains. A son raping a daughter, another son murdering your eldest son, an entire nation turning against you, forced from your home, and having 12,000 men committed to kill you. We can understand why David would be weeping as he left Jerusalem and thought about his trials.

Most likely we have not experienced the depth of David's circumstance, but I am guessing almost all of us have had trials that have allowed seeds of doubt to be planted. Perhaps it is a cheating spouse, perhaps cancer, perhaps financial struggles, perhaps a broken home. In the midst of our difficulties, we start to focus on the mountain that stands before us and it begins to block out our sight of God. Each day it feels like fiery arrows are being shot one after another at us, and we begin to wonder if God has forgotten about us, or even if there is a God. The battleground goes from being waged in our circumstances to being waged in our hearts, and the fight becomes ultimately a fight of faith. This is what was happening with David, as those around him spoke lies into his life.

One thing we can rest assured, you are not alone, for this is the life of a Christian. To be a follower of Christ does not mean that we are immune to diseases, free from financial burdens, or that everyone likes you. The preaching of Joel Osteen, and the health and wealth prosperity Gospel is a false teaching. When you read the Bible, this is abundantly clear. When you are God's chosen, like David was, life becomes harder. Prior to salvation the world loved you, for you were one of them. However, the minute you turned from the world and followed Christ, the current of this sinful world started to work against you. You started to swim upstream. On top of this, you know have enemies.

• Proverbs 29:10 - “Bloodthirsty men hate one who is blameless and seek the life of the upright.
  
  
• Matthew 10:22 - “you will be hated by all for my name’s sake.”
  
  
• 1 John 3:13 - “Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.”
  
  

As America continues to walk the road of Sodom and Gomorrah, the difference between Christians and non-Christians will become more and more apparent, and we will most likely see an increase of our foes. Slowly as their hearts turn, they will gain strength in numbers, becoming more bold to lash out out against us, and when the time is right attempt to destroy us. So what are we to do? Do we just sit back and wait? Hoping that we will make it to the end?

Cry Aloud to Yahweh

We are to do exactly what David did. Verse 4, “I cried aloud to the Lord.” The Hebrew word for the LORD when in all caps is the word Yahweh. This word comes from Moses's interaction with God at the burning bush when God declares himself to be the “I Am.” Yahweh who has no beginning and new end. Yahweh who is so great that he cannot be defined except by his own essence. Yahweh who created the heavens and the earth. Yahweh who flooded the world. Yahweh who struck down the Egyptians. Yahweh who we learned in Psalm 2 anointed David as King over Israel. In the midst of David's weeping on his walk to the Mount of Olives, he took his eyes off the circumstances and placed them on the Sovereign Lord.

I cannot help but see the similarity that exists between these events in Psalm 3 and Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night of his arrest. Just think about the parallels. Christ is the rightful heir to the throne, however Satan, a creature, created through Christ had rebelled, seeking the throne for himself. Eventually the opportunity arrived and Satan entered in Judas, who then betrayed Jesus. Judas then leaves to amass a small army of foes to arrest Jesus, and what does Jesus do?

• Luke 22:39 - “And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. 40And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” 43And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.44And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”
  
  

Isn't that fantastic? We see Jesus going to the exact same place as David, the Mount of Olives, and he did the exact same thing, cried out to Yahweh. Jerusalem who just one week prior to Jesus' arrest was saying “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matthew 21:9) was about ready to turn against the anointed Son of God and cry out “crucify him, crucify him” Once again, just like David.

In the midst of their circumstances, what did David and Jesus do? They prayed. In the difficulty of the moment they sought the strength that was from above, and Yahweh who lives in Heaven, on his holy Hill, heard their cry and answered. He had not forgotten about them. He had not turned his back. He answered their prayer, but how.

How did God answer? Did he reign down fire from Heaven? Did he reduce the number of foes? Did he allow the cup to pass? Did he change their circumstances? No. For David, God shielded him and sustained him.

• Psalm 3:3 - “But you oh Lord are a shield about me.”
  
  
• Psalm 3:5 - “I woke again for the Lord sustained me.”
  
  

How does this work? We already talked about it briefly, but for David it was simply an act of God lifting up his head so that he could see the greatness of His God. And next to the greatness of God, David clearly saw that it was ridiculous to doubt God, and it is ridiculous to fear man. Of all people, David should know that when we are unfaithful to him, he remains faithful to his children. And it is believing this truth that allows us to win the battle raging in our hearts.

• Ephesians 6:16 - “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
  
  

The answer for David was found in faith in the Sovereign God who had chosen him. And for us the answer is the same.

The Fight of Faith

We have an enemy that is crouching at our door. When trials and tribulations come, as they always do, the battle over our heart begins. And this the is real battle. Satan desires to sift you and cause you to shrivel underneath your circumstances and drop your head and doubt the power and strength of God. Satan wants to destroy your peace, cause sleepless nights, and steal your joy. And when he does, we are not called to just weep, but to fight. We must fight the fight of faith, and this fight takes place first and foremost on our knees. We must utilize that armor that God has provided and cry out to him for a larger shield of faith so as to protect us from Satan's fiery arrows. Do not be a victim of your circumstances, but instead be victorious through the Grace of God.

• Romans 8:37-39 - “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”