and praise Him I heard!!!

I had children's ministry this morning during the sermion, but when I got out two seperate friends told me I HAD to listen to the cd. It was titled "suffering" and since BOTH ladies said they couldnt stop thinking of me while he was preaching I figured "Why not? Maybe God will give me a bone...." Guys... God gave me a 10 course feast..I have NEVER EVER taken this many notes in my entire LIFE! *lol* I am going to post the link as soon as it goes up on my church website, but I wanted to post my notes while it's still fresh on my heart. :) Beware though...like I said there is a lot. and, my notes are missing sooooo much. Like I want to listen to this sermon again tomorrow just to hear what I missed...and the day after, and next week....you can't get any more "DIDI HEAR ME!" than this right now for me...wow...

Jeff Purswell spoke on Psalm 13 (one of my favorite psalms)...it's funny because I remember thinking I was glad I had CM 'cause Jeff's a boring speaker... I must have been thinking of someone else 'cause WOWZERS I couldn't focus on anything BUT the sermon.

Psalm 13
How Long, O LORD?
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
1 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
3 Consider and answer me, O LORD my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
4 lest my enemy say, "I have prevailed over him,"
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the LORD,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.


There is a progression of three things we see David doing in this psalm - Questioning, Requesting, and Declaring...

1. Questions - "How long oh LORD?" David asks HOW LONG 4 times in the first two verses of this Psalm. His suffering seems endless; and he asks because he wants to know if there will ever be an end. But, David isn't VENTING in this psalm. He is bringing his anguished heart to his LORD. He is turning to his God who has PROMISED to be faithful to him. He is expressing his his feelings and emotions and anguish - and he is TOTALLY right in this. God WANTS to hear our pleas. He WANTS us to tell him of our pain and sorrow and anguish.

David cries out "How long must I torment myself with worry and have sorrow in my heart ALL DAY? How long will my enemy triumph over me?" And, his suffering - MY suffering - isn't uncommon. It's not strange. And even more important GOD knows how I feel. God WANTS to stand with me in this. But, while it is ALWAYS appropriate to express my suffering to God it is NEVER appropriate to express ANGER towards God. (Sidenote: I had never heard this before I had always heard if we were mad at God we were SUPPOSED to tell him because He can handle it, but this is EXACTLY the mindset that Jeff was admonishing AGAINST) He is the creator of the universe, He is all knowing, all powerful, He has forgiven me ALL my sins and it is the epitamy of arrogance to think *I* have the right to be angry at HIM. The correct response if I find myself angry with God is repentance.

No relief has EVER come from replaying, rehearsing, rehashing the failures, the ways we messed it up, the ways we will never get it right... or even the pain, the suffering, the trails to replay it over and over and over in our minds and our hearts can ACTUALLY be pride... my repalying my sins over and over in my head is me trying to deliver myself. *I NEED GOD* I neeeeeed to cry out to Him to deliver me. I CANT DO IT!! James 5:13a Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. LET HIM PRAY!! Crawl to your altar and pray - HE PROMISES grace!!!! (I loved that picture of crawling 'cause somedays that's how it is....just enough strength to crawl to Him for help)

2. Requests - David makes 3 requests
A:Consider me
B: Look Upon Me (desiring God's presence)
C: Light up my eyes - could be physical healing, but is also a cry for spiritual illumination

He desires to be near to God. He wants close fellowship with Him. Needy people need God - *I* NEED GOD! What is my greatest need? When I think of my suffering...what do I consider at the TOP of my list for greatest need? What I really need.... I NEED the one who binds the brokenhearted. I need the one who overcame HELL...I NEED GOD!

3. Declarations - David transferred his focus from his pain to remembering who God is.

A: God's unfailing love - This is God's freely given, merciful, condescending, loyal COVENANT love. This is God's commitment to GRAB YOU by the ankles AND NOT LET YOU GO love. If you are His He is GRABBING you by the ankle and NOT LETTING GO!!! I have this love... YOU have this love.... Gpd doesn't retire from His love for me. He doesn't save me and then go sit in an office somewhere and wait until there is REAL suffering or until He thinks I have "suffered enough". He has set His affections upon me and PLEDGED Himself to me. How do you RESPOND to a God like that?? You trust Him. You rest in Him. REST IN HIM! You lay aside the doubts, and the worry, and the accusations - and you trust Him. Your circumstances might not change, the pain might not go away, the grief might not subside, BUT when you cling fast to God you are clinging to the one who will sustain you through the suffering, be with you IN the suffering, and will use EVERY SECOND for your good and His glory. There will not be a regret unredeemed or a sin unforgiven - HE'S WITH YOU AND HE'S USING IT!!

B: Salvation - God delivers and rescues. David's circumstance ddin't change. His trial didn't go away. And to an outsider looking in there would be no reason to believe ANYTHING had changed, but David's SOUL - EVERYTHING had changed.

We tend to think in the midst of suffering that this is the most serious condition that has ever existed. the TRUTH is - my sin greatly exceeds the seriousness of my suffering. Standing GUILTY before the perfectly holy and righteous God who deserves only my undtying allegiance and who MUST punish all sin HUGELY transcends ANY suffering I am facing. And THAT has been FULLLLLY remedied in The Cross. Whether I am facing serious suffering or minor suffering I need to let the Gospel put my suffering into perspective.

When David says at the end "He has dealt bountifully with me" this isn't a "He probably will someday" or even a "Yeah sure He will...." it's a CERTAIN HE HAS!! And it's an expression of certainty not an act of denial. David isn't saying the pain is gone all's well, he is saying - that no matter HOW MUCH suffering we face in our lives God HAS dealt bountifully with us. WE WILL STAND on that day when we are Heaven and we look back on our lives and NO ONE will say " God could have done a better job." "God could have been more faithful to me or better to me or more kind..." We will say GOD HAS DEALT BOUNTIFULLY.

This psalm doesnt just express David's heart, but Jesus' as well. Jesus knew suffering - only His suffering wasn't because He was born a sinful man it's because HE TOOK MY SIN. God turned His face away from Jesus because *I* turned MY face away from God....BUT.... because God turned His face away from Jesus He turns His face TOWARDS US!!!

We who are saved can say in the midst of our suffering "God has dealt bountifully with me."

Wow....