Transcript: Finding Comfort in God's Presence: He Hears Our Cries

Music Music The title of this message today is called, I cried out to you, O Lord, and you heard me. How many of us have gone through trials and tribulations, whether they be caused by health issues we are facing, or whether they are related to marriage issues, divorce, death of a loved one, or whether they have to do with the signs of the times which involve great troubles, which evidence themselves all around the world, and especially in our own country today. One thing, dear believer in Jesus Christ, you can have confidence and know that God Almighty does not have a hardened heart or is indifferent to those that he dearly loves in times of trouble and great distress. We see in Psalms 18, verse 6, where David exampled this truth for us. Verse 6, In my distress, when seemingly closed in, I called upon the Lord. I cried to my God. He heard my voice out of his temple, heavenly dwelling place, and my cry came before him unto his very ears. In this whole chapter, we glean the love of God and his tender care for his beloved children. But first we see where it was important for David to cry out to God in order to engage his involvement. It is so very true that our loving God sees our tears, shares our grief, he understands our sorrows, and he hears our cries of anguish and suffering. We also see in this chapter where our God does not turn a deaf ear to those who keep his commands and love him with all of their hearts. God is not deaf. He does not look away. He does not turn his back on those who cry out to him seeking comfort and relief. believe that and have faith in God your Savior who suffered for you on the cross of Calvary over 2,000 years ago in order to save your soul from the perils of death and Hades Jesus Christ is your Savior your Redeemer your port in the midst of a storm the captain of your salvation your rock, your fortress your deliverer, and your high tower of strength. Jesus Christ, precious ones, is your all in all and provided everything you need for your spiritual and physical needs. He is concerned about you totally in body, soul, and spirit. In Psalms chapter 18, which is our main text in which we glean the importance of seeing the attentiveness of our great, loving, creator God, and also in involving oneself in seeking his help in our times of trouble and distress. You see, to cry out is to speak loudly, and oftentimes it is time of great stress and agony. Dear ones, may I tell you that God is glorified when we worship him, even in our greatest moments of misery, torment, pain, and suffering. In the opening of the psalm, you might want to keep a marker in that chapter as we will refer to it from time to time. So in the opening of the psalm, David begins by worshiping the Lord as God in the midst of his great anguish. But I must tell you first that this psalm is one of praise and victory. It was written and sung after the Lord made David king of all of Israel and gave him victory and delivered him from his enemies and the nations that opposed his rule, including Saul, who was hunting him down like a wild animal. You will see that the word deliverer is one of the key words in this psalm. It is found in the title as well as five other verses throughout this psalm. This psalm opens in verses 1 through 3 and closes in verses 46 through 50 with a hymn. David, who was a servant of God and also whom God called his beloved, addressed the Lord as he told the people what God had done for him. And this song intermingles worship and validates his eyewitness account of the majesty of God and all of his surpassing love for his precious people who love him with their whole being. The focus of the psalm is on the Lord and what he has graciously done for his servant, but it also tells us what he can do for us today if we will trust and obey him as well. As I mentioned, David begins his conversation with God by worshiping him. Look with me, please, in Psalms chapter 18, beginning in verse 1. He begins by saying, I love you fervently and devotedly, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, My God, my keen and firm strength, in whom I will take trust and take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my high tower. Verse 3. And I will call upon the Lord, who is to be praised, so I shall be saved from my enemies. Verse 4. The cords of bands of death surrounded me, and the streams of ungodliness and the torrents of ruin terrified me. The cords of Sheol, the place of the dead, surrounded me. The snares of death confronted and came upon me. In my distress, when seemingly closed in, I called upon the Lord and I cried to my God. And he heard my voice out of his temple, heavenly dwelling place, and my cry came before him unto his very ears. Did you see in verses 1 through 3 where David began testifying about God's character? Don't forget, David began his praise in this song by telling of his love for God and for being so gracious and good to him. He proceeded to describe how much the Lord meant to him by using many figures of speech to tell of his mighty creator. God was the source of David's strength. He was his stability and safety and salvation. God was the one in whom David sought refuge. God was his defense, his almighty power, his mighty protection. Because God had proved to be such a reliable Savior, David regarded him worthy of all of his praise. because, dear one, can we know that this is why the creator of the universe called David his beloved? This is how God wants all of his people to feel about himself. He wants us all to rely totally upon him in every way. One of the greatest tragedies of a human being is to be a prisoner of ingratitude. you see, ingratitude shuts up the human spirit in a world that is lighted only by themselves which in reality is no light at all Jesus Christ is the light of the world and he becomes the light within the human vessel of clay to those who sincerely know and serve him purely because they love him with their whole being and want to please him above all else I believe we need to make note of the fact that when David expressed his love for the Lord he used a special word that means to love deeply, to have compassion and he said I love you fervently and devotedly O Lord my strength and it's related to the Hebrew word for womb and it describes the kind of love that a mother has for her baby or that a father has for his children and most of all, most of all, the love that the Lord has for his chosen people. Isaiah chapter 49, verse 15 declares, And the Lord answered, Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, they may forget, Yet I will not forget you, says the Lord. What love! What love! This is genuine, deep, and fervent love of God. This is the kind of love that we should all have for our God. And did you notice how David uses seven features of speech to call on God He uses the word rock in this type of description for the Lord which speaks of strength when he said the Lord is my rock It speaks of stability in a place of refuge. Next, David used the word fortress. When we think of a fortress in this way, this figurative analogy pictures God as a stronghold, like the city of Jerusalem which sits on the top of Mount Zion. And a shield, he declared, the Lord is a shield. It speaks of God, but yet it is a symbol of the king. And the term horn, David used to figuratively describe God, refers to strength and power of the Almighty. But how comforting to know, truly to know, that you know in your heart that the Lord you serve and know holds all power and strength and authority over your life personally. Now, after expressing his devotion to God in these ways, David goes on to describe his distress in verses 4 through 6. he pictures himself as a man who had been hemmed in on every side caught in a trap bound with cords and thrown into the water Psalms chapter 18 verses 4 and 5 he says the cords or bands of death surrounded me and the streams of ungodliness and the torrents of ruin terrified me verse 5 the cords of Sheol the place of the dead surrounded me and the snares of death confronted and came upon me. Dear listener, have you ever felt this way before in the midst of your troubles or trials? I must admit, I have. But look, just look at what happens when David begins to call upon the Lord. God begins to act on David's behalf. Remember, in the opening of David's song, he called God his deliverer. Now let's read how David's great deliverance was described as a fierce storm in verses 7 through 19 when he cried out to God. And God came in like a mighty deliverer. I say, what love of our God. He never changes. He is always the same. Let's pick that verse up, please. In verse 6, David says, In my distress, when seemingly closed in, I called upon the Lord. I cried to my God. He heard my voice out of the temple, his heavenly dwelling place. And my cry came before him into his very ears. Here we go. Verse 7. Then the earth quaked and rocked. The foundations of the mountains trembled. They moved and were shaken because he was indignant and angry. There went up smoke from his nostrils and lightning out of his mouth devoured. Coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also and came down and thick darkness was under his feet. Verse 10. And he rode upon a cherub a storm and flew swiftly. Yes, he sped on the wings of the wind. He made darkness his secret hiding place, as his pavilion, his canopy, round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of skies. Out of the brightness before him there broke forth through his thick clouds hailstones and coals of fire. Verse 13. The Lord also thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered his voice amid the hailstones and coals of fire. and he sent out his arrows and scattered them and he flashed forth lightning and put them throughout. Verse 15 Then the beds of the sea appeared and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of your breath of your nostrils. He reached from on high and he took me and he drew me out of the mighty waters. He delivered me from my strong enemies and those who hated and abhorred me. for they were too strong for me. Verse 18, They comforted and came upon me in the day of calamity, but the Lord was my stay and support. He brought me forth into a large place. He was delivering me because he was pleased and delighted in me. Hallelujah. Praise God. What a depiction of the awesome power and majesty of our great God, dear ones. What love he has for his own beloved people who love him with their whole hearts. You see, the Lord God had been long suffering with King Saul, who was a real enemy to David. But now, in the Lord's righteous anger and jealousy over his beloved David, he began to shake things like an earthquake and an erupting volcano as we read in these verses. God came down like a storm like a warrior in a chariot he was carried along swiftly by a chair of our scripture shows our mighty all powerful the Lord was accompanied by darkness rain and wind and hail and thunder and lightning verse 14 declares and he sent out his arrows and scattered them he flashed forth lightnings and put them to rout and this is all because David called on the Lord in his distress in his need and his anguish we saw at just the right time God reached down and delivered David do you think that he would not do this for you too maybe if you think about it if you would recall the times God scooped you up and delivered you from incidences which were about to overwhelm and overpower you. At just the right moment, God scooped you into his loving arms and delivered you from the trial, the trouble and tribulation that you were going through in that time. You felt the wide space of peace and comfort and joy. As you recall the intervention of God in your life at those times, you knew God showed his great love for you and most of all you experienced the faithfulness of God because because because you were faithful to him may I tell you that God is not a respecter of persons just as the enemy fell in defeat in David's account which we were reading of today David rose up and stood firm, supported by the Lord his God. We have read many times, and many of you have recalled and even committed to memory, Psalms chapter 23, verse 4, which declares, Though I walk through the deep sunless valley of the shadow of death, I will fear or dread no evil. You are with me, your rod to protect and your staff to guide me. they comfort me. And this tells us that David was very confident in the depths of his heart and his soul that God would never fail him even when times looked dark and hopeless. God had him covered from every angle. God came down like a fierce storm to deliver David and he was now king of Israel. Ten years of exile were ended. His life had been spared, and his ministry now awaited him. Can I tell you also, precious one in Jesus Christ, that you too have a ministry and an obligation to the Lord your God? Apostle Paul outlines the importance of every member of the body of Christ by using the analogy of our physical bodies as an example to show and make his point in that every single person has a responsibility and ministry to their Savior, Jesus Christ. I reiterate, every true member of Jesus Christ is important as a member in his body. Your part is very important and necessary. Go with me, please, to 1 Corinthians chapter 12, beginning in verse 11. form only one body, so it is with Christ the Messiah, the Anointed One. Verse 13. For by means of the personal agency of one Holy Spirit, we were all, whether Jews or Greek, slaves or free, baptized and by baptism united together into one body and all made to drink of one Holy Spirit for the body does not consist of one limb or organ but of many Verse 15 If the foot should say because I not a hand I do not belong to the body would it be therefore not a part of the body? Verse 16. If the ear should say, because I am not the eye, I do not belong to the body, would it therefore not be a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? Verse 18. But as it is, God has placed and arranged the limbs and organs in each body, each particular one of them, just as he wished and saw fit with the best adaptation. But if the whole were all a single organ, where would the body be? And now, there are certainly many limbs and organs, but a single body. and the eye is not able to say to the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Verse 22, but instead there is absolute necessity for the parts of the body that are considered the more the weak. Verse 23, and those parts of the body which we consider rather ignoble are the very parts of the body which we invest with additional honor and our unseemly parts and those unsuitable for exposure are treated with seamless modesty and decorum. Verse 24, which of our more presentable parts do not require, but God has so adjusted, mingled, and harmonized, and subtly proportioned the parts of, the whole body giving the great honor and richer endowment to the inferior parts, which lack apparent importance, so that there should be no division or discord or lack of adaptation to the parts of the body to each other. But the members all alike should have a mutual interest in and care for one another. Verse 26, here we go. And if one member suffers, all the parts share the suffering. If one member is honored, all the members share in the enjoyment of it. Now, if you collectively are Christ's body and individually you are members of it, each part severely indistincts each other with its own place and function. You see, you and I have obligation to God as a member of his body, just as Apostle Paul has outlined for us. There are no meaningless words of God in the book of life. All members have a ministry, a part and responsibility to God Almighty and his son Jesus Christ. The first and most important obligation we have is stated by Jesus himself in John verses 26-29 when he declares. Jesus answered them, continually unto life eternal. And the Son of Man will give and furnish you that. For God the Father has authorized and certified him and put his seal of endorsement upon him. They then said, Well, what are we to do that we may habitually be working the works of God? What are we to do to carry out what God requires? Verse 29. And Jesus replied, the work of God, the service that God asks of you, that you believe in the one in whom he has sent, that you cleave to, trust, rely, and have faith in his messenger. And we know that messenger was standing before them, speaking right before their very eyes. You see, this account took place when Jesus fed the crowd, the 5,000 with the loaves and fishes. And they saw him the next day, and they followed after him, and they asked him what they needed to do to work the work of God in their lives. Jesus, in a nutshell, laid out the keys of salvation and eternal life for them when he spoke those words. And he said, you need to believe in the one whom God has sent and trust and rely and have faith in him. Dear listener, this is the most important responsibility that any true follower of Jesus Christ must have and do before they can be approved for valid ministry by God himself. This is a long life dedication to truly knowing the will of God and aligning your will with his will. And this is a lifelong path of obedience to the commands of God through his precious word. Without question, the greatest reason that we live for God is our unwavering belief in the resurrection of his son, Jesus Christ. And understand that it is through his resurrection from the grave that we have hope and the promise of eternal life to live with him forever. In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, Apostle Paul explains that because of these promises of a future resurrection and living eternally in the kingdom, believers have not only the motivation, but also eternal responsibilities for our lives here on earth. God's word teaches that our responsibility as believers is to work uncompromisingly as the Lord has gifted us and leads us in this life and we must fully understand until the Lord returns there are souls to reach and ministries of every sort to be carried out and I encourage you to do your part as you are led by the Holy Spirit We are all responsible for our money, our time, our energy, the talents and gifts, for our bodies. We should invest in nothing that does not in some way contribute to the work of God. We must understand that according to James, in James chapter 2, verse 26, he says, as the body without the spirit is dead so faith without deeds is dead so without the work of the Holy Spirit working mightily in each individual then the spirit would be dead to do any of the things that God requires so our work for the Lord if it is truly of him, for him done in his power cannot fail to accomplish what he wants to accomplish for each one of us Every good work believers do has eternal benefits that the Lord himself guarantees. Jesus tells us in Revelation chapter 21, verse 12, Behold, I am coming soon. My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. In a nutshell, our responsibility lies in working for the Lord, whether it is looking after orphans or widows in distress or giving to the hungry the naked visiting those in prison according to Matthew chapter 25 verses 35 and 36 Jesus said for when I was hungry you gave me food when I was thirsty you gave me something to drink when I was a stranger you brought me together with yourselves and welcomed and entertained and lodged me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me with help and ministering care. I was in prison and you came to see me for I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you brought me together with yourselves and welcomed and entertained and lodged me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and You visit me with help and ministering care. I was in prison and you came to see me. You can also be serving in your workplace as an example of Christian believer in whatever you do by your attitude, your joy, your character. According to Colossians chapter 3, verse 23, tells us, whatever may be your task, work at it heartily from the soul as something done for the Lord and not for men. As you go out and about your day grocery shopping or visiting with a stranger, you can share the good news about your Savior and share your testimony with them. Our motivation, precious one, is that we have God's very own promise that our work is not in vain in the Lord Jesus Christ. Please go with me to Colossians chapter 3, beginning in verse 24. Let's lay eyes on this awesome word of encouragement. Beginning in verse 24. Knowing with all certainty that it is from the Lord and not from men that you will receive the inheritance which is your real reward The one whom you are actually serving is the Lord Jesus Christ For he who deals wrongfully will reap the fruit of his folly and be punished for his wrongdoing. And with God, there is no partiality, no matter what a person's position may be, whether he be slave or master. remember and just reiterating in following the example of King David who was in his severe trial and great distress because King Saul was hotly pursuing him and aiming to kill him and David cried out to the Lord and the Lord heard him and came to his rescue by delivering him and drove the enemy away from him David then took his place as king of Israel because it is known that he truly loved God and was obedient to his commands. And this is why God called him the man after my own heart. This, dear listener, is why God heard David when he cried out for help. And may we all grow in the same godly love for our Savior and also members of the body of Christ by drawing nearer and nearer to the Lord our God. but you must know there is something more important than just being delivered from our trials and tribulations which we presently experience or that lies just ahead of us David went on to do something profound that God had created him for from the very foundation of time as we have briefly covered God has ministry for every member of the body of Christ number one but first this ministry priority is to the Lord your God he looks for your sincere worship and adoration from the very depths of your heart most of all and above all things nothing that you or I could do for him could supersede this mandate from our creator he is a God of love and he looks for those who will reciprocate his love back to him. He wants to communicate with you. He wants to hear your voice and the words of love back to him. This love is not an earthy kind. It is divine and supernatural and comes straight from the heart of God. This love is from those who love God, like King David. It's genuine. It's a real godly love that endeavors to please God in all that they do and say above all things. And second, we must grow in the grace and knowledge and wisdom of our Lord Jesus Christ and know him intimately through his precious word. Every genuine believer in Christ becomes an absolute student of his word. And the third thing necessary is obedience. You see, perfect obedience to the commands of God must be the focus and object of our constant endeavor. The imperfect results of even our best effort should and must reveal the necessity of God's grace in Jesus Christ. Try as we might, we find that nothing less than entire surrender of self or complete obedience to God and reverent trust can make almighty God's precious grace openly available to us. Jesus said in John chapter 8 beginning in verse 31 the truth shall make you free in verse 31 Jesus said to the Jews who believed in him if you abide in my word you are my disciples indeed 32 and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free this truth dear listener are Jesus' words The truth of the Bible sets people free when they understand and grow in his teaching. Remember one of the names of our dear Savior is the Word of God. John chapter 1, verse 1 declares this truth by saying, In the beginning, before all times, was the Word Christ, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God himself. You see, spiritual truth liberates people spiritually from ignorance, sin, and spiritual death. Jesus also spoke in John chapter 8, verse 36, declaring, So if the Son liberates you, makes you free men, then you are really and unquestionably free. So bottom line here, obedience to the commands of God will open up this wonderful and magnificent supernatural truth and make it live and come alive in our hearts and souls. And this is the work of the precious Holy Spirit in yours and my life. And this is why he is called the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of Life, the Spirit of Adoption. His chief function is to illumine Jesus Christ's teaching and to glorify his person and to work personally in the life of every believer and the church. Dear ones, maybe you say, I do not know yet what my ministry is. But I say to you, as long as you are faithful, obedient, and growing in the knowledge and wisdom of God's truth found in the Bible, you are well on the way. Testify about Jesus to those around you. It's a good place to start. Not everyone's ministry is standing behind a pulpit teaching. not everyone's ministry is going abroad as a missionary and maybe some of you listening today have said what is my purpose in life? well I believe that if you are listening to this teaching today you will have seen that the very purpose and reason that you were created is to first love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul and mind and all that is within you and also to be obedient to what he teaches in the living book of life called the Bible. You know, God has given us the deep longing to know why we were created and to ask such questions, but also the deeper inner need to know the answer. And thankfully, our loving God has not left us in the dark. The answer we long for is in his word, the Bible. We have pointed out in this message today, using David's song in Psalms 18, to where he cried out to the Lord, and God heard his cry from the sanctuary of heaven, and sent help to David, and delivered him from his enemies. And we also know from this teaching, that David was obedient in his life, and loved his Lord dearly. And these very things were the cause of God delivering him when he cried out. You can be assured that God is neither callous nor indifferent to his people during the times of distress. He is not a respecter of persons. He sees our tears. He shares our griefs. He understands our sorrows. He hears our cries of anguish and suffering. our God is not deaf. He does not turn away from those who cry out to him seeking comfort and relief. We live in a day and time in this year of 2023 where there is much unrest, distress and grievous times in this world. To cry out to the Lord is to reveal our absolute dependence upon him. In our tearful pleas we acknowledge our human frailties, our weaknesses, our shortcomings, our inability to overcome the many problems mounting up before us. Our cries show our trust is in him to act on our behalf. Dear listener, let us always freely surrender our wills to his perfect sovereign will. and just like David, God intervened in his life and delivered him just like the promise given in Psalms chapter 56 beginning in verse 8 that gives great encouragement. You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. My enemies will retreat when I call to you for help. this I know God is on my side Hallelujah trust always that God is on your side and be encouraged that he will never leave you nor forsake you as long as you are obedient to him .