Welcome to the Kerwin Baptist Church broadcast today. Our desire is for the Word of God to be spread throughout the world so that all may know Christ. Join us now for a portion of one of our services here at Kerwin Baptist Church, located in Kernersville, North Carolina. Title of our series is Heaven Help Us. And our key verse, our verse says, I guess I should say, is Psalm 121, and I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh from the Lord. Which made heaven and earth. Remember, why is it that I should depend on my help coming from Him?
Well, let's recall. what he made.
Well, he made heaven and earth, which means he made you. He made everything you see, everything you're standing on. And if he could do that, he can do anything. And so, we over the next few weeks today, our subject is. Help, I'm overwhelmed.
And we're going to talk about God's guidance through life's chaos a little bit, and I think. God had laid this on my heart before some recent events had happened, and it just must be kind of of him. But we're going to talk specifically really strong on application to your life over these next few weeks. I don't know if you have ever been overwhelmed. I appreciate Brother Frank reading our passage.
And here in this passage, David says, When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
Now, Psalm 61 is interesting.
Now, if you're a person that enjoys Bible study, I'm going to give you an alternate outline because I think it would be just as profitable to be preached, although that's not what we're going to be preaching this morning. But it kind of helps you see the whole psalm. This whole psalm is about being overwhelmed. I notice, and if you want to write these down, you can go back later and look at it. I'll be glad to send it to you.
That's fine. But if you'll notice, verse 1 is the prayer of the overwhelmed. Verse 2 is the place of the overwhelmed. Verse 3 is the petition of the overwhelmed. Verse 4, I mean, verse 2, excuse me, then verse 3, the protection of the overwhelmed.
Verse 4 is the presence of the overwhelmed. Verse 5 is the portion of the overwhelmed. Verse 6 and 7 is the preservation of the overwhelmed. Yeah. And then in verse 8 is the praise.
of the overwhelmed.
Now, let me talk to you just for a second of what it means to be overwhelmed. Uh we often use times, I don't know who has played with this. Probably Nick or somebody like that, I guess. Uh but anyway, I don't know what this is gonna do. Pretty soon the mic's gonna be up in my eyeball, but we'll we'll see how this goes.
Um we use terms and words. flippantly a little bit, we can exaggerate Like um Uh, you know, there's some flowers sitting in your foyer or something like that. Boy, I love those flowers. I mean, do you really love them? I mean, would you willingly give your life for those flowers?
You know, but we say words sometimes, and so we sometimes will say, I'm overwhelmed, and it might not technically be the actual meaning of that. But I want us to understand what David means here when he says that his heart is overwhelmed. This Hebrew word literally means to shroud. to clothe from the ideal of darkness. to languish.
to cover over, to fail, to faint. It literally means to hide yourself. to be overwhelmed.
So let me explain. What David is talking about here is to be covered or surrounded. By darkness. It means you've come to a point in your life that you really can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. It's just dark.
No matter what you try to do, no matter where you try to go, and you can try to get away and do your vacation thing and your recharge thing or whatever it might be. but it's not changing it. Coffee's not lifting the dart. Sweets isn't lifting the dark, although it normally does for me. And Going and buying a new outfit doesn't lift the darkness.
It just seems that You find yourself in a situation where whatever is going on, that situation is looming over you, it's shrouding you in darkness, and you can't necessarily see, number one, how to get out of it. But number two, you can't even see anything else around you. David said, I'm overwhelmed. And notice this other part of the definition. It means to hide yourself.
It means literally when you are overwhelmed like this, you and I tend to withdraw ourselves. You know why? Because I can't see where I'm at. I can't see where I'm going.
So I'm going to withdraw. I'm going to get into my own cocoon. It's kind of a self-protection mechanism. And Satan loves it when we do that. Because Satan has allowed us And he's pushed our buttons to where we are shrouded in darkness because of a situation.
But not only that, he knows that now we're going to withdraw from the very sources. that we need help from. This is when we quit reading our Bible. This is usually very quickly when we get out of church and we quit coming to church.
Now we use all kinds of excuses. I am to the point, I'm going to just use a handheld. This is absolutely ridiculous. I don't know what's going on here. I'm not going to do this the whole time.
I'm going crazy up here. I'm overwhelmed with this microphone. thing. I don't know what's going on here. But uh You're gonna give it about.
30 more seconds. And then somebody's getting fired. No, I'm just joking. And uh I am guys. This is absolutely, it's not staying on.
I don't care what I do. Am I on now?
Okay, yeah, it's Pat Weimer's fault, and apparently he's in Iceland. Let's blame him. Although Wednesday night he preached in Meyer's auditorium. Anyway, we'll blame somebody for that. This is the point where we withdraw.
Some of you are there.
Now you'll say everybody else has withdrawn from you. You'll say that, well, nobody really cares. Nobody's asked about me. And you know how many times we deal in church, people withdraw from church, but then all what you hear is the church withdrew from them. What you always hear is, well, they didn't reach out to me.
They didn't call me. They didn't, whatever. Yet, we're not the ones that withdrew. A person withdraws, they have darkness in their life, and the way they react is to withdraw from everything and then. What do they do?
They can't blame themselves.
So, what it is, is here I'm going through a hard time, and everybody withdrew from me. And this is what happens.
Now, listen, Kerwin, I'm not saying it's the most exciting thing in the world, but if I'm right about what I'm saying, say amen.
Now we don't like to admit that we do it. I do it you do it But this is how this stuff gets started. Satan's behind it all, and he loves every minute of it.
So in Psalm 61 We find here that David walks us through. What to do when we're overwhelmed.
Now Um there's a lot of things that have happened in our country that might overwhelm you, it might discourage you, it I think when I see the word overwhelm, can I tell you what I think of? I think of COVID. And we mentioned it so much. That now we don't mention it at all because we've got tired of hearing about COVID, but. I'm going to tell you, I watched.
People And things get overwhelmed. It was just a constant darkness that they couldn't get past. Satan knows our buttons.
So, I want you to notice, number one, as we begin in verse one and over this series, these next few Sunday mornings, I want to help you. I really, really do. Life can bring chaos. And ourself can bring chaos. My flesh.
has caused me more issues than any person ever has. And here's the whole point. If we can see what's going on, maybe we can kind of see what's happening in our life. Maybe we can become a little bit self-aware that I'm not handling this right, that I am literally walking right down the path that Satan has just laid out for me. And I've gotten bit out of shape with everybody and everything.
So let's look at it, okay? Are you all with me? Say amen. Let's look at it. Look at verse 1.
I want you to notice first a cry for attention. And let me just say, a lot of times when you're overwhelmed, really, that's what you need. You need attention. And oftentimes, Satan's going to make sure that's what you don't get from people. And the problem is, you're going to think people are the source.
of your help. And what is the whole point of my help coming from the Lord in this series? And what happens is, is we need attention. And we don't get it from people. Satan's going to make sure it's not that they don't love you or they don't care, but man, they got their own lives too.
But we forget that we're in our own cocoon, we're in our own darkness, we're being overwhelmed, and now we're going to, you know, now we're looking at everybody else should be helping me right now, and they're not. And here's the whole point. If you constantly expect attention from people. You are looking at a lifelong battle. With discouragement, anger, frustration, because that is not where your help should come from.
Now thank God for people in your life. But when you begin to depend on people, Satan knows that.
So, what did David say here? Hear my cry, O God, not my friends. Hear my cry, fellow church members. Hear my cry, family. Hear my cry, sister, brother.
Hear my cry, wife, husband. No, no, no, no. He says, Hear my cry, O God, attend unto my prayer. This is what we would call the prayer. of the overwhelmed.
Notice first it's personal. Listen to what David says. Here Thank you. One person. Here My cry.
Now, listen, you and I serve a God that listens to every person that calls to Him. But I'm gonna tell you.
Sometimes I need him to hear mine. Aren't you glad you and I serve a personal God? Oh, yeah, he's helping millions upon millions of people right now. But at any moment I can say, God. Would you listen to me?
And he hears. It's it's it's It's personal. Hear my cry. Note a second, it's passionate. We're using the word cry here.
This word literally means a loud plea. It is showing desperation.
So David said, the first thing I do when I'm overwhelmed, I quit looking to people. I quit waiting for my circumstance to change. I quit waiting for everybody to come on my side. My first step is to ask God, it's personal. God, my cry, it's passionate.
Hear my cry. And notice third, it's pleading. Attend unto my prayer. He is saying, God, please listen carefully. Like a father, you know, stooping down to hear what his child has to say.
God, I need your ear. I need your attention. And here's what's great when you need attention from people. Half the time you're not going to get it. But when you need attention from God, you're going to get it 100% of the time.
And a mature Christian, the difference in a mature Christian and an immature Christian is that a mature Christian has trusted God enough to know that I'm going to get my attention from Him. And if you and I get a hold of that fact, it's going to change. Your personality. It's gonna change your temperament. Because you're going to look at everything through a different perspective It's a pleading listen.
Here's what I love about this. David does not start out with Thou, most gracious and heavenly Father up above in the throne of glory, I today submit my request. No, no, no, no, no. He says, hear my cry. Here's what I love.
When life feels heavy, prayer isn't polished, it's raw. And David here is a model of something. It is a model that God invites our cries, not our performance. God doesn't hear me because of what I do. God hears me because of who He is.
And listen, God's not waiting for us to say something a certain way, God just wants you to be honest. Be open, honest, and raw, if we could use it. Let me put it this way: God would rather you be raw than religious. Bring your heart as it is. God listens.
When your words fail. You know what? David didn't list out anything. He just says, Hear my cry. What's his cry?
He can't even explain it. He is saying, listen, God. Hear everything I want to say, but I don't even know how to say it.
So hear my cry. What's your cry? What are you saying? We don't know. David doesn't lay it all out, doesn't outline it, doesn't alliterate it.
David just says, God, you know everything I'm wanting to say, and I don't even know how to say it.
So I'm asking you right now, God, it's my cry, and it's passionate. And I'm asking you, would you listen close? I don't even know how to describe it. I don't even know how to say it, but I'm asking you to hear it. And do you know that God can hear what you can't say?
I want you to notice, secondly, not just a cry for attention, but a cry for guidance.
Now, this is where it all starts taking shape. Look at verse 2. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Notice first the place of the overwhelmed. David describes it here: when you feel overwhelmed, guess where you feel like you are?
At the end of the earth. David was not at the end of the earth here when he cried to God. But David was saying, this is where I feel like I'm at.
Now, what does it mean the end of the earth?
Well, first, it means you're isolated. Nobody else is at the end of the earth. Second, it means you're lonely. Because nobody third it means you're distant Because the end of the earth is a is a long way from the center of the earth. David here says, God, this is where I feel my place is right now.
I'm at the end of the earth. I'm feeling far from help. I'm feeling isolated. I'm feeling distant. I feel, God, like I don't know what to do.
I'm so far away and I feel so withdrawn from everything. And this cloud of darkness is so heavy upon me. God, I don't even know where I'm at. I'm at the end of the earth somewhere. And guess what?
You might be in Kernersville and you can still feel like you're at the end of the earth. Can I apply this real simply? I was talking to somebody this week. I would never tell you who. And they have a child that goes to a school.
And they were just mentioning this, and I thought it's interesting, and I and I hope that the person saying would never. Because most of you wouldn't even know who's involved. At all. But this person in our church said that I have, my child was in a class, and they They're having a birthday party and everybody got invited. Everybody brought invitations to everybody except my child.
And you know how that feels when you're in a class, and everybody in the class gets an invitation to a party except one? And it's you?
Now I'm 53. You know what I say? Who cares? Who wants to go to a dumb party? Who wants that stress?
You know, what are we gonna have? Pizza?
So we all have it parties, right? That's what we do, it's the cheapest way to feed kids, right? Man, I'd rather sit at home have a filet Salad, anybody else? Do I have a third veggies dessert? Yes, here we go.
But guess what? to that child. That is overwhelming. That means you're sitting in a class. And you feel isolated?
You so alone. No, we say, I know, bless their heart. Yeah, but you and I feel that same way too. on our levels and our situations. You get done church, it seems like that group goes out to eat, you're not asked.
Guess what? Old Satan's going to use that. It's not that they don't like you or love you or care about you. It's just, hey, they would. But guess what?
Satan's going to make us feel. This Here's what David says: God, this is the place where I feel like I am at the end of the earth. Notice, secondly, the pressure. Of the overwhelmed. He says, When my heart is overwhelmed.
Notice When my heart is overwhelmed. Here's what I want you to understand. When you are overwhelmed. To this point, it means it's not just, hey, I got some difficulty in life right now. An hour later, I'll be okay.
No, no, no, this is a different kind of overwhelmed. When your heart is overwhelmed, what does it mean? It means wherever I go, I'm overwhelmed. Because I'm not, listen, it's not that my mind is overwhelmed. It's not that my circumstances are overwhelmed.
It has gotten out to the heart. David is literally saying, when it's in your heart, wherever you go, it's with you. If I'm overwhelmed by circumstances, I get out from those circumstances, or those circumstances get fixed.
Now I'm okay. But when you're overwhelmed in your heart, wherever you go, It's there. It's this constant pressure. Once you notice, thirdly, the petition. of the overwhelmed.
Here's what David says: lead me. to the rock. That is higher. Than I now let me just stop right there. Aren't you glad that there's someone or something that's higher than you.
I don't think that was quite enough of you. I know it's Sunday morning, but let me say this again. Aren't you glad that there is somewhere or something that is higher than you? Because if you are as high as it can go, when you're low, you got nowhere to go. If there's nobody higher than me, and if there's nowhere higher than me, then wherever I'm at, I'm stuck.
This is as good as it gets. But David said there is somewhere, and it's in someone. He says, Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
Now, first, rock means strength, stability, permanence. Higher than I means it's beyond me, it's beyond human ability. And this is what David says: God, lead me. What do you mean? He's talking to the rock.
Why, if he's talking to the rock, why does he have to say, God, lead me? You already know where it's at, David. Let me tell you why. When you're overwhelmed and you're in darkness, you can't even see God. David is saying here, God, I know you're the rock and I know you're higher, but I can't see you right now.
I can't feel you right now. I can't get there right now. This is bigger than me. And God, I know you're above me and I don't like being where I'm at. And I want to be where you're at, but you're going to have to help me right now.
You're going to have to lead me. You're going to have to guide me. You're going to have to show me the way through this darkness. David knew he couldn't climb out of this situation on his own. He needed God to lead him.
He needed God to once again point out that rock. It's not like David hadn't been there before, but... Here's something I wrote down for whatever it's worth. When you're overwhelmed, don't seek escape. Seek elevation.
David doesn't say, God, take this away. God makes this stop. He doesn't say that. He says, God, lead me. to the rock that's higher.
So, David's saying, God, I know you might not be able to change this, and circumstances might not change right now. And David's not looking for escape, he's looking for elevation. It means that you and I serve a God, that the circumstances might not change, but God can take us higher than our circumstances. God can lift you above that family member, God can lift you above that husband or wife, God can lift you above that group that doesn't include you. God is bigger, God is greater, God is higher.
And David is saying, This, God, you don't even have to take me out of this. If you can just get me to you, I can go through this. Notice number three, we see a cry for protection. A cry for attention. A cry for guidance.
Look at verse 3. For thou hast been A shelter for me. and a strong tower. From the enemy. Let's break this down.
Two things. He says, first, God, you've been a shelter from the storm. But second, you have been a strong tower. From the enemy. And here's what's interesting.
A shelters for storms. A tower is for people. Let me tell you something. You don't have soldiers up in a tall place on a tower. Right outside of a walled city.
You don't have them there so that they can holler down: hey, clouds are getting dark, might be rain today. That's not why they're posted there. They're posted for enemies. David said, God, You are a shelter from my circumstances. But you're a strong tower.
From my enemies. David remembers God's past protection. and God's past protection. becomes fuel. for David's present faith.
The same God who sheltered you before. Can shelter you again. The same God that was a strong tower, even when the enemies were attacking you. is the same God that can be that strong tower. Again.
Listen, I you know, I'm I'm very blessed. I've not been through. A thimble full of what half people have been through. But I know what it's like to be threatened. And I know what it's like to have nuts after you.
And I know what it's like to What, two Sundays ago, I had a death threat. A couple of people in our church had a death threat. And um Somebody was offering money to burn me at the stake. And um Some of you are desperate enough. I thought If my wife would do that, she would get not just the insurance money, but that money.
It would be a double whammy.
So I was a little bit nervous around her there for a couple of days. But guess what? Can I tell you something? That stuff happens now, it just doesn't phase me. Like it did when it started four years ago.
And I'll tell you why. God was a strong tower. Through all that. Yeah, but He'll be a strong tower again. Y'all understand?
David, here, listen, when you're overwhelmed, you're going to have to walk yourself through a process. If you want attention, you're going to have to go to God, not people. And if you want guidance, you can't go to your own self, you can't even see where to go. David says, God, you're going to have to lead me to the rock that is higher. And when you're overwhelmed, listen, when you need protection, you need to understand.
You can't expect circumstances to protect you or people to protect you or any of that. God is the shelter, God is the strong tower. He's done it before. He'll do it again. Can I have an amen right there?
Notice number four, we see a cry for communion.
Now I love this. I've been here. Starts off, David just needs attention. Starts off, David just needs somebody that'll listen to him. Starts off, David's burdened and in darkness, and I need somebody to give me some attention.
Hear my cry, God. Notice, if you would, verse 4. David said, I will abide in thy tabernacle. Forever. What we see here first is a longing for God's presence.
It wasn't like David saying, if I can get inside that building, that building will protect me. If I can get in that tabernacle. No, no, no, no, no. I had nothing to do. With the building or the walls, just like can I tell you what?
This these buildings, this these walls are not the church. That's why we can meet over in Myers. We can meet here. We've changed. We've done all this stuff.
Guess what? We're still the same church. Because it's not the building, it's the people. And the temple is not this property, it's your heart. Uh okay.
So David is saying this, God. I need your presence. It started off, God. I need your attention. But where we always want it to finally get to.
is where we don't just want attention from God. We want communion. With God. Can I tell you why you and I end up overwhelmed? Because somewhere along the way, We lost communion.
with God. Notice, secondly, he's longing for God's permanence. He said, I will abide in thy tabernacle. Uh oh, here we go. Forever.
I'm where I'm at because I left. By the way, when your body leaves the church, that's the last thing to go. The heart leaves the church way before the body ever does. And what David here is saying, I think I'm where I'm at. I think I've gotten so overwhelmed by circumstances.
And what I need to do is Get back in communion with you. And stay there. Forever. Notice number five, we see a cry for covering. Verse 4 says, I will trust.
in the covert of thy wings. That is a King James Version word that is very accurate, by the way, it literally means covering. But if it just would have said covering, can I tell you something? I can be covered with a lot of things but not protected. Hey, listen, we could have a fire in this building, and I could just get a twin-size bed sheet covered over me.
I'll be okay. No, you won't. Or you can get a fire blanket and be a little bit more protected. Do you understand what covert means is not just the covering of his wings, but the safety of it.
So, notice first, we see him leaning on God's protection. The covert of Thy wings. See, David had made the mistake of trying to have People protect him. David had made the mistake of trying to feel he was protected, looking to them like they need to make me safe. They need to make me feel secure.
Can I tell you something? People can't. David says, I trust in the covert of thy wings. And notice he's lingering in God's provision.
Now, here's this last word, and he uses it in this chapter, but it's this word, silah. He said, I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Cela.
So he's not just longing for God's protection, he's lingering in God's provision. That word sila means stop, think about this, meditate on this. And David is literally saying, God, I'm going to trust in the covert of thy wings. Because as I stop and take this sin, as I stop everything else and I just reflect upon this, God, you have covered me over and over and over and over again. You've always been faithful.
Your wings never allow anything to break through that you don't allow. And so David here is not just asking God for his presence and asking God for protection. But he's lingering in his provision. 'Cause he'd forgotten. Maybe today you've forgotten.
Notice number six, we see a cry. Not for anything. But a cry of confidence.
Now things are really changing. God hast heard my vows. Thou Past heard. Thank you for listening today. We hope you received a blessing from our broadcast.
The Kirwood Baptist Church is located at 4520 Old Hollow Road in Kernersville, North Carolina. You may also contact us by phone at 336-993-5192. or via the web. at Kerwin Baptist Church.com. Enjoy our services live and all our media on our website and church app.
Thank you for listening to the Kerwin Broadcast today. God bless you.
