DELIGHT IN THE LORD THROUGH TROUBLING TIMES
Psalms 37:1-4
We are
bombarded every day with bad news. It's on the radio. The TV, the
Internet. Mass
shootings, drive-by shootings, the war in Ukraine, inflation, rising
Gas prices,
rising food prices, and empty shelves in the grocery stores are
Few of the
things that fuel conversation. You
wonder when will things get
Back to
normal?
We can get
so involved in the world situations, that we easily forget
That God is
in the midst of all of this. While it looks like the world is spinning
Out of
control, we should not forget that God is in control.
King David
was a man that live in the midst of wars and family problems.
He
recommends that We delight ourselves in the Lord.
Psalms 37:1-4
V:1 Do not
fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; 2 for like the
grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.
Don’t worry
about evil folk. They won’t be here too long. We are going to have crazy
presidents, crazy dictators, mass murders, and powerful people who push their
special selfish interests at your expense.
The good
news is they won’t be here too long. God
says SOON they will die. God knows their end.
WE have must
endure to the end of the SOON time
Jesus has
promised us that He got this. Folk that troubles you won't be
Here too
long. The promise is SOON they will be gone.
In the meantime,
don’t worry.
WHAT TO
DO WHILE GOD IS WORKING IT OUT?
V:3. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the
land and enjoy safe pasture. 4 Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give
you the desires of your heart.
A. TRUST IN THE LORD
DO GOOD
THE PROMISE: DWELL IN THE LAND
ENJOY SAFETY AND GOD’S PROVISIONS
B. MENTAL ATTITUDE
DELIGHT YOURSELF IN THE LORD
THE PROMISE: HE WILL GIVE YOU THE DESIRES OF
YOUR HEART
Psalms 37
gives you confidence in God if you are one of his.
ARE YOU ONE
OF GOD’S PEOPLE?
Jesus gave
us the definition of God’s people
Mark 3:34-35
"Here
are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God's will is my brother and
sister and mother."
YOU WERE CHOSEN TO GO THROUGH
ALL OF THIS
John 14:21
Whoever
has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me
will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to
him."
GOD LOVES YOU IN THE MIDDLE OF TROUBLING SITUATIONS
GOD WANTS YOU TO BE DELIGHTED IN THE TROUBLING SITUATIONS
I want to focus on the word
delight
There are two words in the Hebrew language
that the describe delight
Hepes to bend toward
Rasa to take pleasure in
1 Samuel 15:22
"Does
the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much
as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
To obey
is better than sacrifice,
and to
heed is better than the fat of rams.
God delights in YOUR obedience
Proverbs
12:22-23
The Lord detests lying lips,
but he
delights in men who are truthful.
God
delights in us when we are truthful
Jesus
said I am the way the truth and the life
Proverbs
15:8
The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked,
but the
prayer of the upright pleases him.
GOD DELIGHTS
IN OUR PRAYERS
We are
encouraged to delight in what delights the Lord
Psalms
1:2
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on
his law, he meditates day and night.
For in
my inner being I delight in God's law.
WHAT
DOES DELIGHT IN GOD LOOK LIKE?
Delighting in God consists of the following things:
(a)
Loving
God
Matthew 22:37
Jesus
replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your mind.'
I love my wife. I say it to her several times
a day.
I need to develop the habit of saying the same
to the Father.
I LOVE YOU FATHER
(b)Esteeming Christ
Jesus said if I be lifted up, I will draw all
men to myself.
Life is not about us.
When we make life about ourselves, we are
blind to everything
Around us..
When we make life about Jesus, we see the
world all its
Possibilities.
(c)
Thinking
about God
We are bombarded all day with what’s going on
in the world.
The world’s activities are on the radio, the
tv, and the internet.
If our conversations are about what’s going on
around us,
We can easily forget God is involved.
When we put God in the conversation about the
world, we
Begin to see that God has a purpose for what's
going on.
Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for
the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose
(d)Desiring Fellowship
We can only have fellowship in the Lord when
we have right standing with Him. Our
soul desire should be to have fellowship with Him because it is through fellowship
that we know His love.
1 John 1:7
But if
we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship
with
one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all
sin.
(f) Striving to Please God
It should be our soul desire to please the
Lord
Colossians 1:10
And
we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and
may please him in every way: bearing
fruit in every good work, growing
in the knowledge of God.
When we please
God, He makes available to us the desires of our hearts.
DELIGHTING IN GOD DOES FOUR THINGS
(a) It unites us with
Christ
(b) It lifts us above
ourselves
(c) It brings us to
adore Christ
(d) It helps
the soul towards more spiritual and holy life.
DELIGHTING IN GOD AFFECTS OUR PRAYERS
(a) Increased Boldness
in Prayer
He that has his
delight fixed on God has the boldness to speak to
Him (Job 22:26).
(b) Increased Prayer
Delight in God
will help a Christian to multiply his prayers (Job 22:27).
(c) Increased Fervency
in Prayer
Delight in God
will help with great fervency in prayer. The word rendered prayer may also
be rendered as “many strong prayers.”
(d) Increased Freedom
in Prayer
Delighting
in God will help a Christian to tell all his mind to Him (Job 22:27).
THE GREATNESS OF DELIGHTING IN GOD
1. DELIGHTING IN GOD IS
INCOMPARABLE
Psalms 111:2-3
Great are the works of the Lord;
they are pondered by all who delight in
them.
2. DELIGHTING IN GOD
MAKES DUTY PLEASANT
Psalms 112:1
Praise the Lord.
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
who finds great delight in his commands.
3. DELIGHTING IN GOD HELPS US BEAR AFFLICTION
Psalms 119:92
if your law had not
been my delight,
I would have perished
in my affliction.
4. DELIGHTING IN GOD has
great benEfits
Isaiah 61:10
I delight greatly in the Lord;
my soul rejoices in
my God.
For he has clothed me
with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a
robe of righteousness,
NIV
5. DELIGHTING IN GOD
GIVES US THE DESIRES OF OUR HEARTS
Psalms 37:4
Delight yourself in the Lord
and he will give you
the desires of your heart.
My brothers and
sisters
Live delighting
yourself in the lord
CLASS EXERCISE
hOW MANY TIMES SHOULD
YOU dELIGHT IN THE LORD?
ONCE A DAY,
oNCE A wEEK , ONCE A YEAR
hOW DO YOU DELIGHT
YOURSELF IN THE LORD?
dOES dELIGHTING
yOURSELF IN THE lORD MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
WHAT IS THE MINIMUM
nUMBER OF TIMES TO SAY I LOVE YOU LORD?
WHAT IS THE MAXIMUM
NUMBER OF TIMES TO SAY I LOVE YOU?
IS DELIGHTING
YOURSELF SELFISH?
rEV. m. mITCHELL
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