Longing in the Wilderness

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Psalm 63

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Well, good morning. I trust that all is well with your soul today
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I'm sure for you. It's been a challenging week as it has been for Most of us many of us.
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I'm sure have Faced some challenges in this past week. We haven't had to deal with in a long long time.
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Maybe never in our lives But I do trust all as well with your soul. I want to Express appreciation to Melissa her daughter for playing that Prelude for us this morning, and she's going to Actually play a couple of hymns as I read them later on in the service
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Appreciate her help today. Just a couple of announcements to kind of know what's going on I Don't know if you've been following it, but each day at noon on Facebook I'm doing a little devotional not very long thing five to seven minutes
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As a maximum for length on that so you can pop into Facebook at noon
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Monday through Friday, and I'll share those devotionals and they do keep them on Record them and keep them on line for maybe 24 hours or something like that But encourage you to pop in for that and that's just on Facebook then on Wednesday nights
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Wednesday evening at 7 o 'clock. We'll have a Like a prayer time. I have a little devotional and Her Bible study time at 7 o 'clock.
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That's going to be just on the faith Baptist Church website home page
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Facebook is a little broader has a broader audience Automatically reaches a whole bunch of people the home page
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The church family is more likely to just zero in on that. So the Wednesday evening time is just on the home page
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I will send daily reminders just to keep you Informed of these different events coming up.
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Let me also encourage you During this time of shelter in place and you're not supposed to get out any more than absolutely necessary To please send your prayer requests
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Any updates on your life your family what's going on any needs that you have?
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of any kind please Pass those on or just a note to tell us how you're doing.
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You can send those things by email. You can text me You could do if you're on Facebook, you can send a
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Facebook message any number of ways But just keep the communication lines open.
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We want to stay in contact with you Throughout this time of you know, keeping our distance social distance
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So we have this shelter in place Apparently through April 4th, and at least that's what it is now and What's what it's going to mean after that?
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Nobody knows at this point Whether or not we'll be able to meet together Afterwards how long after is before we can gather together?
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but As it stands right now on Thursday April was a 10th 9th.
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We have Monday Thursday service scheduled If we can't have that service we can't gather together for that service
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I'll do something online just in keeping with that theme And of course then the following Sunday is
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Easter Sunday, and we don't know yet whether we'll be able to meet on Easter Sunday But if we do if we are able to meet on Easter Sunday We had a brunch scheduled for that morning.
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We will not do that brunch We won't plan a sunrise service we'll just plan for Easter Sunday morning service and If we can gather together that day, we'll have the
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Lord's Supper together to start the service off I talked to the Deacons last Monday about a way to serve communion the
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Lord's Supper that would minimize any potential passing along of Unpleasant germs so we could do that But again, all of that is contingent upon whether or not we can actually meet and we'll know more about that in the days ahead
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So as we begin this morning, let me just share with you Psalm 62 first couple of verses Calling us to worship
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Psalmist says truly my soul waits upon God from him comes my salvation
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He only is my rock and my salvation he is my defense
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I shall not be greatly moved I'd like to I promised you
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I wouldn't sing in these Solo worship services, but I do want to share with you the text of a hymn
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It's the hymn sing praise to God and if you want to sing it in your homes, that's fine
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But I'll share with you just the text sing praise to God sing praise to God who reigns above the
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God of all creation the God of power the God of love the
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God of our salvation With healing balm my soul he fills and every faithless murmur stills to God all praise and glory
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What God's almighty power has made his gracious mercy keepeth
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By morning glow or evening shade his watchful. I never sleepeth
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Within the kingdom of his might lo all is just and all is right to God all praise and glory
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The Lord is never far away.
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But though all grief distressing And ever -present help and stay our peace and joy and blessing as With a mother's tender hand.
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He leads his own his chosen band to God all praise and glory
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Thus all my toilsome way along I sing aloud his praises
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That all may hear the grateful song my voice unwearied raises
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Be joyful in the Lord my heart both soul and body bear your part to God all praise and glory
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Let's look to the Lord in prayer shall we So our Father and our God we are
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Grateful that we can give you praise and glory through even the difficult times of life we're thankful that in these times when
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The world is in chaos and There's so much uncertainty that lies even before us.
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It can be well with our soul We thank you for this opportunity this morning to gather together even electronically virtually
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And I pray that you would bless this time together. I pray our hearts would be encouraged and challenged by your word
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Give give us comfort give us hope as we reflect upon who you are our
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God This we pray in Jesus name. Amen I'd like to read a passage of scripture that serves
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I believe as a background for the main text for our message this morning.
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It's 2nd Samuel chapter 15 verses 13 through 17 and then verses 24 through 30
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If you want to follow along in your copy of scripture 2nd
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Samuel 15 and I'll read verses 13 through 17 and then skip a few sections and come back to verse 24 2nd
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Samuel 15 13 says and a messenger came to David saying The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom Then David said to all his servants who are with him at Jerusalem Arise and let us flee or else.
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There will be no escape for us from Absalom Go quickly lest he overtake us quickly and bring down ruin on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword
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And the king's servants said to the king behold your servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king decides
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So the king went out and all his household after him and the king left ten concubines to keep the house
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And the king went up and the people after him and they halted at the last house dropped down to verse 24 and Abiathar came up and behold
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Zadok came also with all the Levites bearing the Ark of the Covenant of God They set down the
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Ark of God until the people had passed had all passed out of the city Then the king said to Zadok Carry the
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Ark of God back to the city if I find favor in the eyes of the Lord He will bring me back and let me see both it and his dwelling place
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But if he says I have no pleasure in you Behold here. I am let him do to me.
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What seems good to him The king also said to Zadok the priest. Are you not a seer?
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Go back to the city in peace with your two sons Your son and Jonathan the son of Abiathar See, I will wait at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me
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So Zadok and Abiathar carried the Ark of God back to Jerusalem and they remained there
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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
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The Lord at his blessing to the reading of his word I trust together today
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Another hymn I'd like to or I guess this is one of the spiritual songs we talked about last
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Lord's Day is the hymn speak Lord in the stillness and that should be our prayer this morning as we
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Gather together that the Lord in the stillness of wherever you are right now that he would speak to us speak
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Lord in the stillness Speak Lord in the stillness
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Speak dear Lord to me Hush my heart to listen Keep my thoughts on thee
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How I need thy presence How I need thy care Speak Lord in the stillness as I kneel in prayer
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Calm the storms within me Drive away the fears Quiet every murmur
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Wash away my tears How I need thy wisdom
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How I need thy power Teach me Lord to listen in the quiet hour
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Help me trust thy goodness Let me know thy will Fill me with thy spirit
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Keep me calm and still May I trust thee fully
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Make my faith increase Keep my heart forever in thy perfect.
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Peace Once we pray together as a church family several requests.
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I want to share with you our Missionary of the week this week is Jim Stroop works with law and grace ministries as a
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Regional director of chaplains in our Jails county jails in all over the region of the
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Midwest Upper Midwest and want to pray for him this week particularly because because of the virus crisis
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They're not able to visit the jails right now So they haven't been able to get into this to the jails for Bible studies and services all last week and now for the foreseeable future
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So I'm gonna pray for him as he prays for those he's been working with in the jail
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Pray for the believers in that in those jails who meet regularly with Jim and the others other chaplains and just pray that the
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Lord will Sustain them and that they themselves will individually get into the word and study the word
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Then I also want us to pray for those in our congregation who would be more vulnerable
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At this particular time with the with the kovat 19 virus So I think for example of Rebecca funder were
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Thunderburg Rebecca is a nurse in the hospital and so Consequently is coming across sick people all the time and the potential for Contracting that virus is greater for those individuals
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So pray for her and for in that regard all of those who are in such positions
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That God would graciously protect them There you've heard about the shortages and masks and things of that nature
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I'm not quite sure how severe it is right now in our community I do know there's been requests for the various kinds of masks if you have those in construction trades and so forth to donate them, but but do pray for them and then also
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Zach Weissman and Jason Hemmer Work as first responders and so they could very easily come into contact with people
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Who could pass along this virus so pray for them that the Lord would protect them
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Earlier this week, I think it was Friday. My wife sent out a prayer request to ask prayer for my sister -in -law
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Who we suspect has come down with this kovat 19 virus
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We won't know until tomorrow for sure But pray for her and now my brother her husband
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Has exactly the same symptoms. They are symptoms consistent with kovat 19 and so pray for God to graciously heal them of this and that they are by the way quarantined in their home and Not able to get out and contact anybody at all, but they'll get a diagnosis
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I think or at least have the test for the definitive test for this tomorrow. So pray for them and then we also want to pray for our older folks in our congregation those who are considered most vulnerable to this virus and its most dangerous impact and specifically, let's pray for our shut -ins those in the nursing homes and Those unable to get out in at all
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So think for example of Sue Cherry Jeanne Ludwig Jerry sailors and then
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Bob Klein is not in a nursing home but is pretty much confined to his home and has been for quite some time
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Dean Kinnaman as well and then the other folks in our congregation who are
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Past the age of 80 who are considered to be most vulnerable. We want to pray for them
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Also had received a prayer request to pray for a couple that are suffering from some severe diabetic issues and we want the
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Lord to undertake in their behalf and then finally, let's pray for our governmental leaders at this time state and federal as they have all kinds of information to process and need to make decisions that affect all of us in some way or another and We want to pray for God to give them wisdom and to make right decisions
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So let's look to the Lord in prayer. Shall we? So our Father in our
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God we are Grateful that we can come to you today and we can count on you to speak to us through your word in the stillness
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But we also thank you that we can speak to you and we can bear our burdens to you and ask for you to Intercede in behalf of those we love and care about And in behalf of our nation our community even our world
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So we do pray this morning for these in our congregation who? Could very easily come into contact with this virus.
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We think of Zach and Jason and Rebecca and we pray that you would protect them and shelter them from any harm or danger any
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Contamination or impact from this virus in its in its effects we pray also for our
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Older folks those who are shut in especially and pray that you would encourage them and protect them think of the isolation and the
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Discouragement the loneliness that can come at a time like this when those who are used to having folks visit and having connections and and now those
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Connections are cut off. I pray that you would particularly draw near and give comfort of heart
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To those who are feeling so isolated and lonely We pray for Sue and Jeannie for Jerry for Bob for Dean We also pray for those older ones in our congregation
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The most vulnerable to this disease protect them we pray We pray for Doug and his wife
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Linda just pray that you would give them healing from this sickness pray that as a diagnosis is clearly given that there would also be an opportunity for treatment and And healing coming out of this we pray and for this couple suffering from diabetic issues.
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I pray right now that you would Strengthen their bodies and help them get through this protect them in their vulnerable position as well
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Father we pray for our government leaders We pray for the president as he has a tremendous weight of responsibility on his shoulders right now
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All kinds of decisions that he has to make from many different fronts give him wisdom give him good
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Advisors who will be able to counsel him in the right direction Pray for Vice President Pence as he heads up this this pandemic response team that Has so much responsibility on their shoulders so much information coming of them from many different directions
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Give them wisdom and insight and how to process it all and to make good decisions
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We think also of the decisions in our own state and our governor and his advisors and how their
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Decisions are so greatly affecting us and father We trust that these are wise decisions and father.
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We pray that you would continue to guide them along the way And then father we do pray for Jim and the work of law and grace ministries pray that you would
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Pray that you would encourage Jim and the other chaplains at this time when they can't visit those who may normally serve and Care for I pray that The inmates who are believers and are used to the
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Bible study times. I pray that you would give them Insight into your word as they themselves personally would study it and read it together
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So meet these needs we pray Father we ask as we open your word this morning that you would speak to us and challenge us from it
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Encourage us from Psalm 63 this we pray in Jesus name. Amen So if you would turn to Psalm 63
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I'm gonna read the Psalm together and then share a message from this
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Psalm today Psalm 63 is Psalm of David we see right at the in the inscription right after the title of the
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Psalm It's a Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah He writes.
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Oh God thou art my God Early will I seek thee? My soul thirsteth for thee my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land where no water is
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To see thy power and thy glory So as I have seen thee in the sanctuary
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Because thy loving -kindness is better than life. My lips shall praise thee Thus I will bless thee while I live.
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I will lift up my hands in thy name My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips
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When I remember thee upon my bed and meditate on thee in the night watches Because thou has been my help
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Therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice My soul followeth hard after thee thy right hand upholdeth me
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But those that seek my soul to destroy it shall go into the lower parts of the earth
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They shall fall by the sword They shall be a portion for foxes
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But the king shall rejoice in God Everyone that sweareth by him shall glory
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But the mouth of them that speak lies Shall be stopped again.
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May the Lord add his blessing to the reading together of his word It occurred to me the other day that you know when we're going through some difficult times like these are
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Challenging times. It's good to stop and get a little bit of perspective. I was reminded in a quip that somebody posted the other day that The class of 2020 the graduating high school graduates of this year came into this world in the middle of the crisis of 9 -11 and They're graduating from high school in the crisis of kovat 19.
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Many of them may not even get to graduate and go through all those typical
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Activities that are associated with a senior year in the final months of the senior year Those are difficult things and challenging things to deal with but it's helpful in these times
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To be able to look elsewhere and get a little bit of perspective so for example one of the a couple of the things
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I would like to do in these times of being sheltered in place is to watch a couple of Videos that are in my collection.
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I haven't looked at them in a long long time. One of them is the movie Gettysburg and the
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One of the reasons I want to watch that movie is for this very reason to get a little bit of perspective
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You realize that in the Battle of Gettysburg in that one battle in one day?
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over 7 ,000 soldiers died and That's far more than have already died worldwide in this kovat 19 crisis and then
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The other movie that I'd like to watch is the movie life is beautiful. It's a
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It's a drama comedy horror movie because it takes us to the prison camps of of the concentration camps in Nazi Germany and the the trials and the afflictions that people went through in those in those concentration camps and I looked up to find out how many people actually died in Auschwitz, and there's no way to Calculate the exact number, but most think it was more than a million people died in those concentration camps
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And then I'm reading a book right now. It just came out a few weeks ago entitled the splendid and the vile
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It's a book about the first little bit of Winston Churchill's Ascendancy as prime minister in England just before Germany declared war on Britain and reading of the the preparation and the anticipation the
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Expectation that at any day at any time Germany was going to attack a
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Great Britain. They expected that German Air Force would send bombers to bomb downtown to the main city of London and they expected that Nazi forces would land on the the coast and and talking about all of the the processes and the end can can you imagine the difficulty and challenge of living through something like that where you
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Know that at any moment Air raid signs Signals could go off and you'd have to find a place to shelter at any moment
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And you had to turn off all your lights every night. You had to close your blinds and things of that nature.
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That's constant fear They endured that for years So it's helpful to get a bit of perspective, but it's also helpful to get that perspective by going to the scriptures
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So here we come to Psalm 63 and this opening Inscription in Psalm 63 tells us that David wrote it
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When he was in the wilderness of Judah and that could be one of two times one of the times it could have been was when
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David was fleeing from Saul in Saul's constant efforts and to threaten his life and to kill him and so specifically the time that this could be referring to is when
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David had gone to the town of Keilah and he delivered that town from the
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Philistines and so he protected them drove the Philistines away and David and his men were lodging there in this community of Keilah and then word came to David that Saul was heading to Keilah and David prayed to the
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Lord and said Lord is here Saul's coming is Is he indeed coming? Yes, he's coming.
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Will the people of Keilah deliver me over to Saul and The Lord responded.
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Yes, they will deliver you over to Saul and so David took off and fled to the wilderness and 1st
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Samuel 23 verses 14 and 15 tells us that David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness in the hill country of the wilderness of Zipf and Saul sought him every day
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But God did not give her him into his hand and David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life
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David was in the wilderness of Zipf at Horesh That's one of the possibilities
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The other occasion that could have prompted this psalm, and I think it actually did We is this is the passage that we read earlier in 2nd
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Samuel where David's son Absalom had usurped the throne and In really fear for his life
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David and those who would remain loyal to him fled in exile And they went out to the wilderness of Judah So I chose that passage earlier because I believe that's the situation
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It's this that prompted this particular song and the thing that settles it to me is in verse 11
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Where David writes the king shall rejoice in God?
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now in all of David's fleeing from Saul and all that period of time from when
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Samuel anointed David to take Saul's place Until the time when
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David actually became the king of Israel Judah and then Israel He never referred to himself as the king
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It was only after he actually became the king that he called himself the king
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So I think it is this occasion when David has fled from his son
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Absalom and he is hiding out in the wilderness For to spare his own life that he writes this psalm so given this time of extreme anxiety in David's life and it's a very reasonable thing a very reasonable fear and uncertainty for him this song
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Psalm 63 came out of the midst of it and I find in this psalm some very timely
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Encouragement for the crisis that we find ourselves in at this time Now there are any number of things that we can be longing for that we can be pining for these days
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But here in this song we find what must be the ultimate heart longing for the child of God In verse 1
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David says my God you are my God My soul thirsts for you my flesh longs for you so above all else above all else long for God and Whatever comes our way in these days this
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Period of uncertainty whatever comes our way affirm that he is your
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God David says my god. Oh god. You are my God affirm that he is your
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God, you know there is a danger in times of crisis of losing faith
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Now think about what David had lost and what David had gone through in the betrayal of his own son
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Think of his wilderness hardships. He was persecuted. He was threatened. He was destitute
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He had was he was abandoned by many who had called For his him to be the king and now they had turned their backs on him and become disloyal to him and pledged
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Their loyalty to Absalom He was deprived of physical privileges that he was used to he was deprived of spiritual privileges and on top of all of that David was well aware of the fact that his plight
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Was largely due to his own sin. He had to deal with that Now I said that there is a danger of losing faith when you're going through a time of crisis
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Time a great challenge. I read of a of a woman who was very burdened about her mother who had come who had been diagnosed with cancer and This woman wasn't a particularly
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Religious person but she started praying and she said I prayed and I prayed and I prayed for God to heal my mother
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And he didn't She got sicker and sicker and then she died
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He wasn't there for me she said he's no God of mine
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Well, whatever comes affirm That he is your
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God and whatever comes earnestly seek him
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David says early will I seek thee early will I seek thee that word early could be could be translated
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Diligently or earnestly But it can be translated exactly as it is here Early like first thing in the morning and that that in itself gives a sense of the earnestness of the seeking of God I get up in the morning and I'm seeking you
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These days when you get up first thing in the morning, what do you seek? What do you look at? Where do you go? It's awfully tempted tempting, isn't it to flip on the
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TV and find out the news what happened overnight? or to open up your phone and scroll through stuff and It's easy to get glued to the
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TV news and to the social media news feeds and all of that kind of stuff It's also easy to want to Shut everything out and do so by some kind of escape distractions
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Entertainment and all of that kind of thing, but whatever comes earnestly seek him earnestly seek him and the end of verse one
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Encourages us that whatever comes deeply long for him long for him
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Long for him as if you are deprived of one of life's most basic necessities
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He says my soul thirsts for thee My flesh longs for thee in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water
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That is one of our most basic necessities, isn't it water?
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water and it is of great concern if we fear that will not have water and Because we know if we if I don't have water,
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I'm going to thirst and I could die of that thirst in my own My own
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Amateur experiences in backpacking. I I know that one of the things you have to be concerned about is water supply a
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Couple of years ago when I went up to the Ice Age Trail In the kettle Moraine South.
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I I'm looking at the map that is given in the Ice Age guide Trail guide and looking to see where the water supplies are and before I headed out
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I realized that I was going to get to that night's first shelter and from the place
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I started until that shelter there was nowhere along the way to get water and The next watering hole if you will was going to be a few miles after that shelter
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So I knew I I need to stock up on water before I ever head out Why because if I didn't
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I would be very thirsty by the end of the day and in the next morning And you you you can it saps you of your strength
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My soul thirsts for you. Oh God my flesh longs for you as if I am
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Dying of thirst in a land where there is no water long for him as if you are deprived of your greatest necessity without him and What is it that you're looking for your greatest necessity?
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He tells us in verse 2 is his power and glory He says
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I long for you to see your power and your glory as I have seen you in the sanctuary
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What is referring to here in these two words of power and glory are in the first place a?
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Longing for him to act again in behalf of his people. That's what he means by his
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Power, I want to see you act again in behalf of your people like you have in the past And I think what he may be referring to here is the thrill and the experience of When when
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David had brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, I don't remember all that whole story
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But listen to what he he said in 1st Chronicles 16 When the
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Ark was finally settled in Jerusalem, he said this Oh give thanks to the Lord call upon his name
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Make known his deeds among the people sing to him sing praises to him tell of all his wondrous works
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Glory in his holy name. Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice
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Seek the Lord in his strength Seek his presence Continually, then he says this remember the wondrous works that he has done his miracles and the judgments he uttered and He looked at that bringing of the
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Ark of the of the Covenant into Jerusalem in that place in the tent where he had set
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It up. He looked at that as being a display and evidence of God's Marvelous works his wonderful power in behalf of his people and here he is out here in the wilderness
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Longing for God to demonstrate that same kind of power that he and his people could once again be in the place of Worshiping God and that does bring up the second part of what he longs for His power and his glory and his glory
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This is an expression of longing To be able to worship
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God together Worship God again together with his people The the
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Perspective of the Jewish worshiper is we go to Jerusalem and there in the presence of God Where the glory of God resides on the the
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Ark of the Covenant there where the glory of God resides there There it is
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That we worship him together And so remember when David was fleeing
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Jerusalem The priests came out with the Ark of the Covenant and they were going to take it with David But David says no put it back in its place in Jerusalem where it belongs and if God favors me
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I will come back there. I'll be able to come back there and worship in Jerusalem again, this is what he's longing for God's power and his glory
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Do you sense that this morning? Do you have that kind of longing today? here I stand in the
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Auditorium of our church and I'm looking at a camera and there's one other person here and You're where you are this morning in your place in your home
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Whatever I'm assuming Do you have that longing for the power and the glory?
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Experiencing that again together in God's house as God's people gathered together and worship
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Well above all else during this time of isolation and separation
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I Trust your longing for God and through it all through all of this time
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I'm gonna encourage you from this song from the psalm to be committed to the praise of your
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God Be committed to the praise of your God this comes out in verses 3 and 4 So here
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David is he's out there in the middle of the wilderness and yet He's got this terrible longing he's suffered all these things from the hand of his own son and yet He expresses a commitment to praise the
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Lord. Do you see this in verse 3? Why is it that he is committed to praise the
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Lord? Look at what he says Because of your loving kind because your loving kindness is better than life
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Your loving kindness that Hebrew word has said your covenant loyalty
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What David is saying? Is that you and I along with him can praise the
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Lord even in these difficult times? because of his covenant loyalty
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God is never unfaithful to his word to his promises to his
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Covenant and look at how valuable it is. He says your loving kindness is better than life
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It's better than life One of the commentators I read put it this way
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He says it he said it's better not to exist than to exist without God's favor
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It's better to die Enjoying God's favor than to live without it
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You can praise him because of his loving kindness his Steadfast loyalty to his covenant.
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Are you one of his covenant people? Are you one who has by God's grace? through faith
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Come to Jesus Christ as your personal Savior You've turned from your sin.
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You've cried out to him to save you and he has done so he has done so If he is your
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Savior God is your God and he has made a covenant with you That he will never never forsake you can praise him because of his covenant loyalty and Do so commit yourself to doing so and look at how
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David expresses this commitment. He says I'm committing to praise you vocally verbally
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Continually and physically I am going to praise you with my lips. He says verbally.
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I'm not gonna hold it in I'm going to express it verbally and I will do so Continually, he says at the beginning of verse 4.
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I will bless you while I live And he said that Knowing that there was a possibility.
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He could very well die in the wilderness and he listen He could die at the hand of his own son and yet he said
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Until that point in time when my life is snuffed out. I will bless you
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Will bless you. I will praise you That's quite a context this
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Wilderness experience at the threat of his own life when he commits himself to praising
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God continually now look In the last couple of weeks.
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We've all lost a great deal Haven't you
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I'm sure you have But what do you have? What do you have
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What are some of the Silver lining blessings that have come your way in this chaotic time
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Bless the Lord At all times and then do so physically he says at the end of verse 4
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I will lift up my hands in thy name. I will lift up my hands in thy name
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This lifting up of the hands is not something that's quite so common in our Western culture
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It is in some churches and that's all fine. Well and good but in the Old Testament Culture and David's worshiping of the
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Lord. This was a posture of both prayer and praise so so the lifting up of the hands was in one sense an
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Expression of I'm offering my prayer and my praise. I'm offering it up to you
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Oh God here take it accept it and then it is also an expression of a readiness to receive what
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God gives to receive every good and Perfect gift that comes down from God in other words this physical expression of the lifting up of the hands is a way of expressing a dependent trust in God And that in itself is in God's eyes an act of praise
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Commit yourself to praise so above all Long for God through it all be committed to praise your
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God And then thirdly in verses 5 through 7 7 through it all
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Remember your history with God Remember your history with God He says in verse 6 when
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I remember thee upon my bed and meditate on thee in the night watches Take time in This wilderness experience if you will to reflect to reflect
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When you wake up in the middle of the night Anxiety has struck. You can't sleep.
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You're tossing and turning Thoughts concerns worries burdens come to your mind
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It's all understandable What do you do with it? reflect
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Reflect and in your reflection remember what God has done to help you thus far.
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I Remember you upon my bed I meditate on you in the night watches
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Because he says at the verse beginning of verse 7 you have been my help
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What has he done to help you thus far? Now we could talk about and you may think about some very physical tangible things like health and so on and material blessings, etc
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Etc, but but but go be deeper than that go beyond that because those things can come and go your health is gonna go someday
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All your material possessions you're gonna leave those behind someday and so forth But what has God really done to help you thus far?
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Meditate on Ephesians chapter 1 Doesn't have been a blessing to go through the book of Ephesians together in these last several months
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They go off into Ephesians chapter 1 and reflect on what God has done to help you thus far
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Blessed be the God praise be to God and The God and Father of our
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Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with all Spiritual blessings in heavenly places and what have those blessings been?
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He's chosen us in him before the foundation of the world God has been a help to you by choosing you before you ever existed
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Chose you before the foundation of the world. He predestinated you unto the adoption of sons
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He made you accepted in the beloved You have redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ the forgiveness of sins
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According to the riches of his grace he's made known unto you the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure and he has ensured your
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Glorification in in this glorious inheritance that awaits. This is what he has done for you
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This is how he has helped you in the past So remember what he's done for you thus far and then
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Remember where you are Again, look at verse 7. He says because you have been my help
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Therefore in the shadow of your wings, I will rejoice.
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Where are you? Where are you child of God? You are in the shadow of his wings
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Psalm 92 There's Psalm 91 verses 2 to 4 put it this way. He says I will say to the
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Lord my refuge My fortress my God in whom I trust
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For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence he will cover you with his pinions and Under his wings you will find refuge his
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Faithfulness is a shield and buckler Take time to reflect and remember what he's done to help you thus far
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Remember where you are in the shelter of his wings and in that listen in that find satisfaction in verse 5
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He says when I do this when I remember you in the night watches and I meditate upon you Because you've been my help he says my soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and Fatness and my mouth shall praise you with joyful lips.
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My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness What in the world is that talking about? like what that's talking about is something like Experience is similar similar to an experience.
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I had many years ago it was my wife and my family was serving in,
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Tennessee and One of the men in the church he owned an insurance agency and He said to me and my wife.
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He says my wife and I want to take you out to dinner. It's okay So we went to their home and then they took us out to dinner it was one of the nicest restaurants in Knoxville, Tennessee and Sitting at the table
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Got the menus and I'm looking at the menus and I'm looking at the I'm looking at the price tag for these different things
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I'm like, oh my what you know, what am I gonna get? I Do they have like a hamburger or something?
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And the guy says to me order anything you want It's okay Still I'm still looking at the price tags, you know, and he says let me recommend to you the filet mignon.
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I Never in my life had a filet mignon He says it's it's really good here.
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So okay. Well, I'll take Medium rare When that steak came again,
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I'd never had a filet mignon I didn't I didn't know what it was like and I stuck my fork in it and it was like the whole thing mushed, you know what
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I mean, and it didn't even need and I could have used a butter knife to cut that thing and I was like, well, you know, what kind of steak is this?
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I've never had a steak like this and I took that took that first bite my first bite of a filet mignon and the flavor burst in my mouth and the and The texture it was like it melted in my mouth.
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I had never Experienced a steak like that in my life and it was like, whoa
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What? Satisfaction from this marrow and fatness that's what he's talking about here well parallel to that in a spiritual sense
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Let that reflection be what really satisfies your soul
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Remembering what God in his grace has done for you thus far Remembering where by the grace of God you are right now
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So through it all remember your history with your God and then finally in verses 9 through 11 through it all
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Be confident of an ultimately victorious outcome from your
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God The Enemy verses 9 and 10 tell us the enemy shall be destroyed
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Now David is referring to a very physical tangible enemy one you could see
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One that was coming at him with swords and spears and he would have to encounter that enemy in a similar kind of way
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David says those that seek my soul to destroy it. They shall go into the lower parts of the earth They shall fall by the sword.
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They shall be a portion for the foxes or literally they're the jackals these wild animals that pray and scavenge for corpses
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They'll be defeated your enemy The one that we're facing right now likewise be defeated someday ultimately
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Isaiah 53 5 says to us that Messiah was pierced for our transgressions
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He was bruised for our iniquities upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace.
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And now listen, listen to what it says with his wounds We are healed with his wounds.
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We are healed We realize from a biblical
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Christian worldview That this virus is really just a part of the curse
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It's a part of the curse as is every other disease and every other pestilence of destruction and death
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But all of that which is part of the curse will ultimately be destroyed by Christ's atoning work
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He will destroy all our enemy all of the curse will be reversed
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In the glorious victory of Christ the enemy shall be destroyed even that enemy which is death
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Which is why we can come as we do in 1st Corinthians 15. Oh death. Where's your sting?
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Oh grave. Where's your victory? Christ has won for us the victory and we as God's people
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Can rejoice and shall rejoice in that victory as he says at the beginning of verse 11
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The king shall rejoice in God and everyone that sweareth by him shall glory those who are
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God's people Will ultimately rejoice in victory Now, let's be frank.
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Let's be honest We don't know what the immediate outcome of this crisis is going to be
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You watch the news you watch the different commentators who speculate and you you hear you hear on one side
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Some say, you know, we come out of this thing. We're gonna be stronger than ever We may be a country may be stronger than it's ever been maybe
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Economy is gonna rebound and stock market's gonna go back up it possibly could be but then on the other side you have some saying
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Oh, no, this is gonna this is gonna wipe. This is gonna be a depression like the Great Depression Look, I don't know and neither do you?
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What the immediate outcome of this crisis is going to be we don't know what the short -term impact is going to be
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We don't know what the long -term impact is going to be but but listen We do know that in the end
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God's chosen ones like the king God's chosen ones
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Shall rejoice in God and shall glory in him Through it all be confident of your ultimate victory in your
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God So as we look around us today, we look at our world
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We look at our nation we look even at our own community then
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Look back and remember who your God is Remember what he has already done for you
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Look ahead Look ahead and be confident of ultimate victory that is in Christ Jesus and then look up Longing for God's presence with his gathered people praising him for his
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Covenant faithfulness to you who are his Are you his are you
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Christ? Have you trusted Christ as your Savior? Oh listen trust him today
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Embrace him today call upon him to save you and what you'll find is that he will embrace you
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In closing let me read Psalm 27 verse 14 Says wait on the
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Lord Be of good courage and he shall strengthen your heart wait.
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I say on the Lord Let's pray and now may the
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Lord bless you and keep you May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you
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May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace God bless you and give you a fruitful
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Restful Trusting week as you look upon and rest upon your