Well, in your Bibles, if you want to turn with me to one of my favorite Psalms, Psalms 63, Psalm 63, this Psalm's been weighing on my heart and I just need to unload it to you. So Psalm 63, when you find your place, if you would honor the book of all books, we're going to read Psalm 63, verse 1 through 11.
Here is a Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah, the Bible says. And he writes, O 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, to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live. 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. When I remember thee upon my bed and meditate on thee and the night watches, because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
My soul followeth heart after thee, thy right hand upholdeth me. But those that seek my soul to destroy it shall go into the lower parts of the earth. They shall fall by the sword.
They shall be a portion for foxes. But the king shall rejoice in God. Everyone that sweareth by him shall glory, but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped. Father, your word is our joy.
It is our delight. And unto it do we come to find shade and comfort in a world that is just in so many ways falling apart. And we pray, God, tonight that you would draw our hearts to grasp the depth and the riches of what you have for us here. Let us gaze upon the glory of God and the face of Jesus Christ and the pages of Holy Scripture. And if anyone doesn't know you as their Lord and Savior, that tonight their eyes would be opened, that they may understand that you are the true God, you are the Savior, and that they would come to you for that.
We pray you bless the teens, the kids' ministries, and also those that are unable to physically join us but are watching online. We ask it all in Jesus' name, and God's people said, man, you may be seated this evening. Psalm 63 is really one of my favorite Psalms, and it's borne out of the soul that is truly in love with God and has found that whatever the world can offer it, God cannot be usurped. He is more satisfying than anything the world has to offer. That satisfaction is not found in the things that God created, but it's found in the one who created them.
The true contentment isn't the result of what the world offers but what God offers in himself. This is the soul that has torn open the veil and beheld the glory of God and walked away saying there's nothing else I desire but Thee. David's soul had tasted and seen that the Lord is good. This is the soul that found that in God's presence is fullness of joy and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore.
This is the soul that unlocks the key to the mystery of the human heart found only in God as its creator, the sustainer and supplier of all good things, that every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of lights from whom is no variableness neither shadow of turning. And I love this Psalm because it transcends the shallow pleasures of the world and goes into the eternal realms of the glory of God. And I believe Psalm 63 would be the Psalm that all of us would write if we had a glimpse of God's glory. Isaiah saw God in Isaiah 6-1 and says in the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up and His train filled the temple and He goes and begins to proclaim the magnificence of that.
Eyes that have seen the Lord in His glory are never the same. It's fascinating that even demons that beheld Jesus knew who He was. They could see past the frailty of His flesh into the consuming glory of His Spirit and they always responded the same way. Demon possessed people always fell down and worshipped Christ. They were overwhelmed with Him because they knew who He was and they would beg Him, do not torment us before the time. If the Lord's presence provoked such a response in His enemies, what would be provoked in the hearts of those who do love Him? Most Christians have such a half-hearted passion and desire for God because their eyes have been glossed over by the world.
It's haze is upon them and this is a result of setting their affections on things below and not things above. Paul saw the glory of God in 2 Corinthians chapter number 12. He writes about it and he says in verse 3, I knew of such a man whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell God knoweth. When he ascended into heaven, Paul said, I don't even know if I was in my body, I don't know if I was out of my body. It was such a transcendent reality.
It was beyond anything he could understand. He said he was caught up to paradise and heard unspeakable words which are not lawful for a man to utter. After he saw the glories of heaven, he longed to be there and he would write things like Psalms or Philippians 1 21, he said for me to live is Christ but to die is gain. And he said and to depart and to be with Christ is so much better nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you, he goes on to say in verse 23.
David is a man who like Paul had found that there was nothing more satisfying than God, that the soul right with God is a soul that is truly fulfilled. And I fear that we miss that. I fear that we get so caught up in the world we don't get caught up with God. We give the Lord the least and we give the world the most. We meditate on the things that are temporary and fleeting and we forget the things that are really important. I talked about Sunday, there's two lenses that we can look through, a carnal lens but also a spiritual lens but as far as time goes we can look at the temporal lens and forget about the eternal lens and we have to view things with the end in mind. That's why everybody who gets older says things like this, if I knew then what I know now I would have done things differently.
Raise your hand if you've ever said that right, we say that because it's a wise thing to say. Well we need to look ahead right and say let me live now for how I would have lived now knowing what I know what's coming. How do I know what's coming? Just look into the Scriptures. The Lord knows what's coming.
He tells us exactly what's coming. The things that are unfolding in the world are exactly as the Bible said it would unfold. And so tonight I want to look at seven different truths that emerge from this chapter in a message I've entitled Satisfied in God. In the postscript there you see it states a psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah. Now David didn't live in the wilderness of Judah typically right? You don't go out in the wilderness of Judah and say hey this would be a nice place just to like run around and live. The reason he was out in the wilderness of Judah was for two reasons. Either he was running from Saul or he was running for his life from Absalom. So the question is was he running from Saul at this time or was he running from Absalom? Absalom was his son who sought to usurp the throne and David fled from Jerusalem because Absalom took about four years and kept stealing the hearts of the people and when he would go out and sit in the city gates he'd say oh if I was the king how much I would deal with this and he began to capture the hearts of the people and he came against his own father and David left the kingdom for a time he fled away and we know it's talking about the time he's dealing with Absalom because in verse 11 he refers to himself as the king.
He says but the king shall rejoice in God. At that time Saul was the king when he was fleeing from Saul not David so we know this is a season where he's at a very low point. You're at a low point if your son's trying to kill you right?
When you get to the point when you love your son so much that you would rather die for him David had that kind of love for his son and his son wants to kill him to take his throne. I mean what kind of what kind of what comes out of your heart when you're that low? You ever been that low before where you were just like I don't know that I get any lower than this? You ever said like I have hit rock bottom but there's the bottom then fell out right? I mean it was raining outside and then it began to really pour and then I got struck by lightning right? Then on the way the ambulance got hit by a semi truck and then you know it just kept getting worse. I mean this is like David at the bottom of the barrel like it doesn't get lower than this and you remember when he was leaving and the neighbor there is yelling at him oh you know good for you David hope you die and he's mocking David and David's like let him mock you know he just he just he's just so beat down I mean but I if you really want to know what's inside of a person's heart just squeeze them because the pressure reveals fire reveals right?
You turn up the heat and it's going to show what rises to the top you want to know what's in the cup you pour it out and it'll reveal it. So here we find what is in the heart of David when his life gets squeezed when he is pressed and it's so incredible that David writes a Psalm of how much he is satisfied in God alone. I don't know about you but I want to get next to David and be influenced by a guy who can go through that kind of a season and say there is nothing in my life that satisfies me more than God. I'm away from home I'm away from my palace I'm away from my friends my own son's trying to kill me and God satisfies me like I am totally content with God like this is somebody who when you tear away everything from his life you see an authentic genuine God loving man and the first thing we see is David's relationship with God he cries out here oh God thou art my God the first thing that we find as we step into the Psalm is David's personal relationship with God David doesn't see God as the agnostic God he's not the creator who creates everything and then just kind of lets it go he said no God you are my God this is a relationship he lays claim upon God you are the one who created you are the sustainer you are my God and where did this relationship with God begin it begins his all true relationships with God begin it began with God God initiates all relationships no one found himself running after God only to find that these legs were given by God and God had put that desire in them to pursue him in the first place no one seeks after God who has not already been sought by God it's the Holy Spirit that draws us to God you know why that's so comforting so that when you come to God he's not like what are you seeking me for right you don't interrupt him you don't bother him it's cost God a whole lot more to pursue us than it has us to pursue him the Bible says in Psalm 14 verse 2 and 3 the Lord or Yahweh looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any that did understand and seek God they are all gone aside they are all together becoming filthy there is none that doeth good no not one Romans 3 11 there is none that understandeth there is none that seeketh after God no one does that Jesus said no one can come to me except the father draw him so the pursuit didn't start with David it started with God God always precedes our pursuit our pursuit of God reflects God's pursuit of us just as our life was produced I should say this just as our life was preceded by our parents lives so our spiritual life is preceded by our heavenly father David's relationship with God must have started as a young boy growing up on those hillsides in Jerusalem he was watching or in the hillsides of Bethlehem he was watching sheep he was not even realizing that the Good Shepherd was watching his sheep and David was one of them when that lion and bear came to kill the sheep David's flock they was watching the flock there and and he rose up against that lion and bear and killed those great animals David was victorious because God gave him the victory when David went after Goliath that ten-foot giant came down God enabled David he watched over him when Saul pursued David along with the Philistines and many others who tried to kill David God was always with him he kept him David had a real relationship with God a relationship works both ways you both communicate and you receive information David is found throughout the Psalms praying to God calling out to God seeking God but also listening to God receiving guidance wisdom and direction from the Lord let me ask you do you realize God wants to talk with you he wants to communicate his truth into your soul to lead your life the problem is is we usually don't listen enough to him I'm not talking about God verbally talking to you if you come up to me and said God verbally told me this I'll probably look at you strange but God will speak to you through his word God will speak to you through the preaching of the word through prayer God will impress upon your heart things in your heart he'll impress upon your heart things through other believers speaking into your life so often Christians can talk to God but I wonder how good our listening is I confess a sin I had the other day of just probably pride I was our kitchen faucet was needed to be replaced I'll just say that you can only clean the thing off so many times though your wife's like this water pressure is not where it needs to be this thing is you know it's just it had aged itself out so so I put a new faucet on and and I turned the water pressure you know turn everything on and now it just I thought these these lines they're old lines houses like 175 years old the lines are 175 years old but they're they're old but but I thought I might have to replace some of these water lines there must be some corrosion build up in the in the lines you know we turn it on and off and stuff like that and I can do some little bit of plumbing work like that but I messed with this thing for long enough and it just I couldn't get any more water pressure out of it so so I go get you know pecs works good doesn't it anybody thankful for pecs it's in that field knows what I'm talking about like praise the Lord for those things you know so so we went and I got that and I so I had this you know my day off I had this my day lined up I had multiple projects I was gonna do and and you know God really humbled me because I'm like I went into this thing and I didn't pray about it like God give me just bless this little project that I'm doing I have found myself not praying about those things enough like I'll just do something and then I'll have some problems then I'll pray about it and then it just it's incredible how it works out after you pray and the Bible says pray about all things so but because I'm so prideful I don't even think about praying sometimes and I'll just jump right into it so so I did that but the next day I said God you know I'm it's like he stopped me in my tracks before I got into the project because I think I was gonna have to crawl under this crawl space I mean this crawl space is like this you may not I got your preacher back so just cover up the hole he ain't coming back out you know my wife be walking through the kitchen yeah he's right underneath here so but I mean I like all this stuff I'm like yeah it's just it's just one of those jobs where it's just like it's not gonna be enjoyable so I'm like I better pray about this thing you know I need all the help I can get so I pray about that and and and and right when I was getting ready to get into it Kenneth said did you already do something with the faucet I was like no I said I you know I was getting ready to and she said it's it's like blasting water out of it I was like what are you talking about I went over there I'm like how is this happening that bad but I I have not had to do anything it's stayed perfect and I'm like I don't know how that worked itself out I had another project saying not that not plumbing but another issue gonna have to fix this thing I had prayed about it it has been working ever since and I'm like are you kidding me I remember years ago I was a teenager and I had lost my one of my contacts and it was like the last time you lose your contact you know your life may be on the line right I was so I look for this thing for a couple hours I finally got the point I said dear God my life is on the line right now and I need you to help me to find this contact I am in a straight betwixt to as the King James would say so I am in a tight place help me find this thing and I remember I was so agony I I went like this on the faucets there on the on the bathroom countertop and when I pulled my hand up that contact was stuck to my finger I had looked for two hours for this thing I was like well you mean I waited to pray for two I could have been right there I have had crazy stuff like that happen my entire life my wife just had it happen last week she's looking for a driver's license she's looking all over she said remember me talking about that so she stopped and prayed within just a couple seconds it came to her mind it's in that side of my bag went over and got it within just a few seconds God wants to speak into our lives he's not a God of far off like hey let me see I can make your life miserable let me see if I can ruin your falsity and I think God sometimes wants to work in our life in the little things just to show us that we can trust him for the bigger things and you know a lion and a bear are some pretty big issues but I believe that David was probably saying a little prayer God help me take this bear down you know way out there so just understand this was a relationship that David had with God and when you when you read about Adam and Eve God was the one talking with them in the garden God satisfies the soul that makes God their God how wonderful tonight to come to God and say God you're my God you are my father you are the one who loves me and and he wants to dwell with you think about Revelation 21 it says and I heard a great voice out of heaven saying behold the tabernacle of God was with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people and God himself shall be with them and be their God and when he when he dwells with us what's he going to do to us right well verse four says and he will wipe away all tears from their eyes how comforting do you think the divine hand will be to the bottom of your eye as he wipes the tears away how much peace do you think he can instill in our hearts and he says there'll be no more death nor sorrow nor crying either shall there be any more pain for the form of things are passed away so so David was satisfied in God because God was his God the true God the everlasting God he's not a God of idols and imaginations of men's minds he is a real God secondly David's desire for God he said early will I seek thee he said my soul thirsted for thee my flesh longed for these in a dry and thirsty little land where no water is a man was stranded in the open sea he was afloat on a small draft raft dying without any water his body began to cramp up he was about to collapse his lips were parched his eyes were seeing spots his stomach was in knots there was only one thing that that man at sea desired he wanted water he had no interest in watching television any desire for amusements and entertainment he was not daydreaming about his many possessions back home nor was he fantasizing about the stock market or his favorite sports team he had only one thing on his mind and it was water he had to have water until he received it nothing in life mattered to him and and that's where David is he's both physically and spiritually seeking God physically he was thirsty he would have been in a barren wilderness in Judea without water undoubtedly his body was aching for water but what David longed for more than water was the living water and what's fascinating is when you come to Jesus he's at a well and he says give me some water to drink and has a conversation with a woman and says there is water that I'm offering you that's better than anything the world has to offer and she gets a drink of the living water and had to run and tell the rest of the city how good that drink was and when the disciples said Jesus have you eaten anything and Jesus says I have a meal that's more satisfying than anything you guys have had and they're like what did he have to eat and his food was not physical it was the will of the father that satisfied him there is a satisfaction that we can have in God that's greater than anything the world has to offer but we so lightly dine there the appetite for God grows after the dining the the problem is is our physical appetites grow before we eat if you go eat at a buffet I haven't eaten at a buffet for a lot of years used to go to the golden crown who remembers old country buffet do they even have those anymore look at you guys you about went Pentecostal on me everybody's like yes yes yes right look at that brownie stuff man like that yeah you go through there and like get unsanctified real quick in the gluttony compartment I remember our football team in high school we'd be like let's go eat old country buffet after two day man go there and eat for the week the the the the food that you eat at a buffet though you when I'm done eating a buffet like I don't want to talk about food you don't go grocery shopping after that you're like I don't even see food man I am so full right now I get when I would eat at a buffet the problem is I would get my money's worth for like a week right I always felt like you know I don't want to just get full you know because when you when you're you just frugal I'm not tired I'm just frugal I just I know I could get one where these chicken wings down man you know give all my money out of this so but the thing is with the spiritual diet is is the appetite actually comes after you do it I will test you with this get up in the morning 10 15 30 minutes early get up 30 minutes early spend time praying for 10 more minutes 20 minutes in the word and I can tell you your appetite for that will have increased in the day you you the the appetite grows with the doing of it I was talking to my dad today and he said you know bad habits die hard but good habits die easy I said that is that is so wise I don't know if I've ever in my life heard somebody say that exactly like that but maybe you have I just have never heard that I've heard people say bad habits die hard but you know what is true good habits die easy isn't that something you ever notice that it's hard to get rid of the bad habits but the good habits are like man I don't even have to work at getting rid of that bad habits are like weeds good habits are like the grass you actually want to grow we have to spray our gravel like 50,000 times a summer I used to have to do it now we got young bucks around here to do it so hey man put that backpack on I've done my time boot camp young man so you spray that it just it's incredible they're like we sprayed it last month I'm like yeah I know let's spray it again it just comes back you don't have to do anything it's like sin isn't it and so David said this notice when David sought the Lord he had an appetite for God and he says early will I seek thee the pursuit of God by David was preceded by God's pursuit of David but by David God's pursuit of David but once David was found and brought into full David's pursuit was intense toward God you know what we seek early is really what we value in life the early pursuits of our life are what usually we value the most what we want early is on the forefront I would ask this what do the early pursuits of your day show about the priorities of your life I believe David went to bed thinking of God perhaps singing a psalm to the Lord the first thing on David's mind reflected also the last thing on his mind David said in Psalm 5 3 my boys shalt thou hear in the morning oh Lord in the morning will I direct my prayer Proverbs 8 17 I love them that love me and they that seek me early shall find me Jesus got up and rose early it says a great while before day do you do you get up early and seek the Lord the reason it's important I've had people through the years say you know I'm just not a morning person well just be a God early morning person right like I don't you don't have to be a morning person just love God and get up and seek him for you got to get up at some point what's early to you may not be early to me vice versa but whatever you get up for get up for him I mean what else would I want to get up for are you like I can't wait to go to work today I'm just so rabid about it I just just want to drive there now can I get there early I mean you know some of you may love your job like that I love if I would do this if I had all the money in the world I would want to just keep doing what I'm doing I ministry but but it's it's what do you seek early Matthew Henry said early will I seek thee the true Christian devotes to God the morning hour he opens the eyes of his understanding with those of his body and awakes each morning to righteousness he rises with a thirst after those comforts which the world cannot give and has immediate recourse by prayer to the fountain of the water of life the true believer is convinced that nothing in this sinful world can satisfy the wants and desires of his immortal soul he expects his happiness from God as his portion when faith and hope are most in his an exercise the world appears a weary desert and the believer longs for the joys of heaven I'm telling you when you fall in love with Christ and his word and truth and salvation of the lost your burden for God increases and and and your excitement for God and it just you love the things of God and you want to be early with him when somebody says you know it's been a few days since I've read or I haven't been read my Bible much it's like it just seems so off like what is off is it possible to get away from the Word of God in prayer and not commit idolatry is it how could God be number one but my pursuit of him is not right I mean whatever I whatever I would have first in my life I would pursue with my life what does your early pursuit of God reveal about his priority in your life what does it say or not say about what you value the word seek here is the Hebrew word shahar shahar which speaks of the time before sunrise the morning dawn or the breaking of the dawn the idea conveyed is it the psalmist pursued God before he pursued anything else he was first in the day because he was first in the heart I just know if it was good enough for Christ it should be good enough for us you know Jesus said in Matthew 6 33 seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness I always think it's good and needful to pursue God first in your life in the morning because what if at 10 o'clock that day one of a massive struggle or trial or difficulty was about to hit your life but because you were not a morning person and you waited till the evening to spend some time with God now you're gonna have to deal with it I don't know about you but my flesh needs to seek I need to get my flesh in tune with God early and I only have to drive like a little distance anybody here let me ask honest question who here feels like traffic challenges your sanctification right yeah some of y'all are like what's that mean it's challenging your sanctification it's like I thought I was spiritual until that guy pulled in front of me right there you know you had to do that didn't you yes I need Jesus in the morning because there's drivers in front of me right it's you know you have a boss you have co-workers you have and if you're not a morning person is all the more reason you need Jesus in the morning because you always have that loud obnoxious person you work around he's like telling jokes and laughing out loud and you're like would you just be quiet you annoying person ever anybody ever been around that person you know the Bible even says do not be loud basically and obnoxious I'm putting in the Josh version but it but it words it along those lines in the book of Proverbs like like it is a it is a it is chafing chafing the mind of a person when you're when you're like that in the morning so but being a good mood be positive but don't be annoying so that's good wisdom yeah or you or you wake up in the morning and thankfully I don't have any kids that do this to me now I get up before them probably is why but if you're in the same room with someone eating banana in the morning you know what a banana sounds like when somebody's slapping their lips early in the hours yeah I'm telling you it just doesn't take a whole lot to become unspiritual in the mornings y'all with me this is practical stuff like our flesh can get a hold of us like we could be in there loving Jesus and all of a sudden like they're slapping their lips and we're going to knock their mouth off you know now now David he likens his desire to God like the the desire of a of a person who is dying of thirst my thirst for you God is so intense I can't live without it it was it was so strong the cravings were so strong that David had to be with God when's the last time that you reflected that desire and you know trials can can produce that seeking of God Hosea 515 God said I will go and return to my place till they acknowledge their offense and seek my face in their affliction they will seek me early you know sometimes trials are what awakens us don't don't make it require trials to awaken your heart to to seek God thirdly David's desire from God verse 2 he says like well like what is he wanting from God is he like God could you just get me out of this predicament like Lord I'm gonna seek you today for my benefit only but but that's not the case in verse 2 he says I seek you because I want to see your power and your glory so as I've seen you in the sanctuary he is running for his life he is in a Judean wilderness and he just wants to see the power and glory of God this this this statement here would would seem that David had a vision of God that transcended David his temporal view of God that he somehow went past what he could understand just in the physical idea of God but that he saw maybe a vision of God some of the Hebrew words used there carry that idea and perhaps when he says I've seen thee in the sanctuary in your dwelling place he had he had some sense of having the power and glory of God revealed to him in such a way that he was so consumed with it I I do know that when we get to heaven one day we are going to be so attracted to the glory of God everything else would be so unattractive compared to it it would be like looking at a gray overcast sky to a blazing sky filled with the glories of a sunset you just you say it just doesn't get I just want to look at that you ever you ever see it there's a couple times in the year when you walk outside and you just you ever just stop just like whoa and you're just like the sky just unfolds and it's like this is just unbelievable and you try to take a picture you're like this doesn't even it doesn't even touch it and you want to just stare at it the whole time because you know it's going away and you're like I wish you could just stay this is just awesome and this is this is a glimpse of glory the heavens declare the glory of God Psalms 19 if that's what he can make with his fingertips what must he look like the radiance of that face the glory of God and friends we're going to be so overwhelmed with him our satisfaction will be drawn from and that's why Psalm 16 says in his presence is fullness of joy it doesn't get better than this God created in us the capacity to feel things like dopamine excitement joy right all of that was the creator made that ability what happens when that ability comes in contact with its creator at the max it peaks and it is never going to descend its fullness of joy and in his presence it's just happiness and joy forever everything the world offers is a plastic cheap fleeting nothing if the world really satisfied everybody in Hollywood wins right anybody want the Hollywood life see the people with all the money all the women all the men all whatever they want they can get are they happy they're absolutely miserable we were created for God and you will be discontent until you come to the one you were created for he wanted to see God's power boy that's what I want to see in life God's power God's power working in people's lives saving souls saving marriages transforming lives I was so enthralled last Wednesday with the Inmans getting up and sharing their testimonies that just ignited me when when Logan Sunday that young 20 year old who gave his life to Christ and he was just so excited for what God's doing his life at a probably a couple rows of people here to watch him it's just so good other testimony Sunday just 25 testimonies in just the last couple months of people's lives being changed that that's the power of God working isn't it man that's what I want to see that makes you put down the political stuff whatever you hear today in politics really doesn't matter because November will come and everybody will cast their vote so right so you don't have to get super stressed out every day over what's going on in politics do a do a week fast on that if it's just consuming you just get away I've had young men in the church get bothered not because they I mean their political views are actually the same as what the guys are talking but they're like that's the only thing some of these older guys want to talk about sometimes I'm like well they I'm thinking there's two things number one they probably know a little bit more about life than you do but and the consequences and repercussions they get some things but I do think is is older wiser people that we also have to temper that don't we the younger folks need to hear us say he's on the throne he's on the throne Christ wins he reigns they need to hear us exalt Christ and so so David's satisfaction is in God that brings me to a fourth point verse 3 says because your husband is the is the word your loving kindness is better than life loving kindness the word has said is used 248 times it's translated as mercy 149 times kindness 40 loving kindness it what the word means the chesed of God spelled c-h-e-s-e-d is God's zeal to do good toward us it's his it's his zealousness to show pity on the miserable like he's zealous to be merciful to the miserable it's it's used in Psalms 23 6 surely the goodness and chesed shall follow me all the days of my life and I will do like all the days of my life and the work has said is also has another Hebrew word that is closely related to that means to bow down and so chesed also has the idea of God stooping down like bowing down it would be like so the the idea would be the same as when the Good Samaritan comes along and the two guys passing by but the Good Samaritan bows down kneels down and and produces good upon the one that's suffering that that's what that's what God does for us and it and it and it follows me all the days of my life and David said your loving kindness that goodness that stoops to me is better than my life that you are favorable toward me is it a good thing to know that God is favorable toward you as his child if you're saved he is favorable toward you if you're not saved he is not favorable toward you but his wrath abides on you so you need to run to the throne of grace to find grace and help in a time of need don't you David said has said is better than life why is it better than life because where would you be without God's mercy how good is life if there is no mercy remove God's bestowal of mercy on your life and how good do you have it and so I ask you do you read when's the last time you recognize how good God's mercy has been in your life wake up in the morning and do a study on God's loving kindness to you do you cherish God's mercy on your soul more than anything the world has to offer it should cause us to celebrate God it should cause us to want to wake up early and seek him fifth David's worship of God verse number three through five he says my lips shall praise thee I will bless thee while I live I will lift up my hands in thy name after he reflects upon his relationship with God his desire and satisfaction that he found in God his heart can no longer be contained he just burst forth in song verse three because thy loving kindness better than life my lips shall praise thee verse four while he lives on earth he will bless thee you will worship the Lord I will lift up my hands in thy name verse five my soul shall be satisfied as with more and fatness he just his his voice just begins to proclaim the joy that God is can you say with David my soul is satisfied with you God think about what you're going through right now can you honestly say that you're satisfied with God is he enough that's that's that's Ephesians 5 20 isn't it be thankful for all things how can you be thankful for all things because God is enough and whatever he brings me his has said has not left me even if I walk through the valley of the shadow of death his has said is following hard after me he is a God who stoops to us he condescends to us he he bows his royal knee to aid the lowly sinner who's also his enemy that's why that's why Paul from a prison cell said I have learned to be content in any situation I mean why because I've rejoiced in the Lord always joy is joy is in satisfaction is not getting what you want it's just finding your contentment in God who is satisfaction and then number six David's meditation on God he said this when I remember thee upon my bed and meditate on thee and the night watches not only do his mornings reflect that God was on the throne but at night revealed that God was on the throne two words stand out he says I remember and I meditate those are both words of reflection you could write that word reflection remember and meditating when you remember something you're reflecting on it when you're meditating on something you're reflecting on it he is meditating he's musing on it you know nighttime things get more intense don't they often our minds allow worldly activities to govern us at night you ever try to sleep and what you were stressing about in the day comes out at night grief is heavier at night oftentimes instead of reflecting upon God we reflect upon a situation we're working on or working through one thing I would encourage you to do is read a chapter of the Bible before bed read a Psalm 63 read it before bed you say but I fall asleep when I'm reading sometimes and I feel really bad about falling asleep when I read the Bible I used to feel really bad as a teenager at night I'd be read my Bible and I'd fall asleep I just read then I'd end up falling asleep but I mean I'd read for quite a while and I felt really bad about that it's like I felt like God impressed on my heart what better way could you fall asleep than reading my word I fell asleep with the Word of God in my heart now I don't think you should the only time you should read is when like you're about to fall asleep right nor should you only come to church when you're ready to take a nap so but sometimes we put false guilt on ourself don't we do that I think we want to condemn ourself I honestly think you're reading the Bible and you fell asleep God would say that's okay just wake up and finish that chapter that'd be good for you to do right I think there are times we need to pray Jesus woke Peter up to pray but I think it's I think it's uh what I was going to say too was read a chapter before bed and instead of discussing don't don't discuss stressful things right before you go to sleep it's terrible don't sit there and talk to your wife talk to your husband about some stressful situation you try to go to sleep and guess what you go to sleep for like one hour and you're like you feel like you got eight hours in and it's been 45 minutes you know I'm talking about your legs are jittery you have to keep moving it's just so like oh come on and then and then by the time your alarm goes off in the morning you've been up like seemed like the whole night and the alarm goes off and you're like I just fell asleep I you know now I'm sleepy now you decide to go to bed and so don't do that don't watch stressful news clips those are all not wise things to do I believe those who think of God later those who think of God early let him be your first thought in the day and your last thought of the day your best thought of the day your most thought of the day God will give peace to those who rest upon him Isaiah 26 3 says that will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee what keeps you up at night number seven is and finally as we wrap up is David's helping God he says because thou has been my help he closes Psalms this psalm in verse 7 through 11 by speaking of his faith in God and and sees God as the one who alone helps him he doesn't say you know Joab's gonna help me my army all these guys this is this is my help is from you God he says in verse 8 my soul follow with heart after thee he says in verse 8 thy right hand upholdeth me he follows hard after God it's a it's like a picture of someone in a storm running to a shelter you ever pulled up somewhere and it's like downpouring you're like oh you gotta be kidding me free car wash but still you know and and and you're you're praying about whether you should take the spot you're not supposed to park in handicapped spots you know I've not done that but seriously I haven't done it but you pray you're thinking about it right you're like oh I mean they got like eight of these over here right now I got five seconds to run inside here but you don't when you and it keeps downpouring you don't just walk through the storm you run through that and what David is seeing is he is running through the storm hard after God and he says your right hand upholds me I think about Peter understood that Peter began to think it says Jesus reached forth his hand and caught Peter and lifted him up you know we can also say with Peter his right hand holds me that's what John 10 28 through 29 talk about David trusted God for the outcome in verse 9 he says those that seek my soul to destroy it they're going to go into the lower lower parts of the earth they shall fall by the sword they shall be portion of foxes but the king shall rejoice in God I'm not rejoicing now in this I haven't had full victory over the circumstance but it will come I shall rejoice this is future everyone that sweareth by him shall glory but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped what David does is exactly what I talked about on Sunday he went from talk looking through a lens of in his of his present-day circumstance to the future promises of God and he says I may be in this situation now and I'm going to be content totally in God because I shall rejoice in God and I will be delivered and those who are fighting after my soul they will be brought under God's judgment that is the key to the victory in the midst of trials is not to just focus on your present circumstance but on what God promises for you in the future and have a positive view of that don't be a or don't be all you know everything's falling around all the time in my life take you cannot read the Bible and end up with a negative outlook on life you would you would end up saying rejoice in the Lord and again I say rejoice be thankful for all things the Lord is coming back God is good and you would you would go through trials perhaps at tears at times and difficulties but you would know that praise God that there's going to be a satisfaction of this situation in the end and so I ask you are you satisfied in God can you say with David in Psalm 119 57 Lord thou art my portion David was facing one of the hardest seasons of his life out of a season where his own son was trying to kill him he cried out and said God you are my God and early will I seek you David was thirsty for God and he saw God as being the only one who could quench that I ask you tonight are you thirsty after God what does your pursuit of God say about you are you waiting on him to do something to awaken that desire is God so cheap that he is no pursuit from you to him God says you seek me you will find me if you search for me with all your heart Tozer said God waits to be wanted and oh how he waits I pray tonight that David rubs off on me and he may rub off on you and then we might get a little bit of a revived spirit tonight and say God you know what sometimes my passions get diverted you're greater than anything in my life make me thirsty for God and when people come around me let my thirst affect them you ever get around a thirsty Christian you ever get around somebody that's I was listening to old Leonard Ravenhill anybody know that name raise your hand you listen that old time preacher I was listening one of his sermons this week and boy you listen that and you feel like you need to get saved I mean just just a passion for God and read a biography go ready and bounds go read just just the life of some of these men who live for God read Psalm 63 just soak it up and ask yourself what's this is one of the ways you can you can increase your desire for God make a sacrifice for God that will cost you something like giving something up time with something doing something it could be food it could be just an event it could be social media could be whatever give that up and in place of it spend it with God and you come back to me a week later and tell me what he's done in your life tell me that your appetite did not increase with the feeding babies I remember my kids were little we'd be eating like a steak and there if they're eating like this looking pukey stuff it's like oh come on I'd feel so bad I'm like can we grind this meat up and like give it to them but the baby likes the baby food they're satisfied with that and I think I think there's like steak and incredible food and joy of God that we could have spiritually and so often we're nibbling on the the plastic things of the world and God says I have so much more for you let's give up the baby food for God's treasures amen he has so much more to offer us and tonight if if maybe you just need to come to God and say examine my heart is there something keeping me from you be willing to make some sacrifice to pursue him let's be satisfied in God amen let's all stand this evening.
