[0:00] it's good to be with you again here at the 10 o'clock service let's pray and then we'll look at Psalm 62 Heavenly Father we thank you so much for your love and your mercy that you've poured out on us we thank you for your word that you're a God who speaks to us we pray this morning that you'd give us humble hearts as we look at your word and we pray that we'd be built up by it Lord that we'd leave here trusting fully in you knowing that you're the God who cares for us and you're the God who gives us everything we need for life and to love you in Jesus name we pray, Amen what are some of the things that can cause you to stress or worry about?
[0:49] if you're anything like me then you've probably noticed yourself getting stressed and agitated over lots of different things whether it's stress over money or lack thereof maybe it's pressures at work that can be causing you to stress maybe it's time pressures always feeling like you're busy and that you've never got any time to relax or maybe there's a person who makes it a bit of a habit of trying to rub you up the wrong way and perhaps they even do that because you're a Christian maybe you're struggling in your spiritual life perhaps you've been a Christian for a long time now and somewhere, somehow along the way the passion has burnt out and it can cause you to stress well the reality is you're probably not alone you see, stress seems to be the order of the day and in my short time in Christian ministry I've come to realise that stress and worry can be one of the biggest cripplers to Christians in our Christian lives but this is not a new problem brought on by the fast pace of our modern world you see, Jesus being well aware of what it's like to be human and knowing us so well constantly taught his followers not to worry and we saw that in our second reading this morning and it's interesting to see how the world attempts to deal with stress you see, stress is so common in our world and culture that we don't even seek to eliminate it anymore rather we manage it and stress management has become big business the TV and the internet is filled with techniques and formulas not on how to eliminate stress but how to manage it now I'm not knocking those things in and of themselves there's probably some really great ways to manage stress if that's what you want to do manage stress and I don't want to seem to be coming off as insensitive
[2:47] I'm not saying I don't get stressed I think we all do it from time to time and I'm not here talking about clinical depression or anything like that I'm talking about the stress that comes from the worries of everyday life well hopefully our passage this morning will go a long way in helping us and encouraging us not in how to manage our stress but rather how we can eliminate it you see in Psalm 62 we see David under pressure and in a situation that could easily cause stress and anxiety and if you're familiar with David in the Psalms then you'll know that David is no stranger to these types of situations that could be a cause of stress but let's see how he reacts to it how he doesn't just try and manage it rather he goes the whole hog and eliminates stress in this Psalm and this morning we're going to see how one little word can change everything and that's the word trust so our first point this morning is that
[3:49] David trusts in God in the face of trouble and opposition and so should we now look with me at verses 1 and 2 it says my soul finds rest in God alone my salvation comes from him he alone is my rock and my salvation he is my fortress I will never be shaken see here right off the bat in verse 1 David states where his confidence is and that's in God alone are not in techniques or the latest books on positive thinking not from his bank balance or his popularity those things can give him no confidence or security David looks to God alone for rest he knows that nothing less is going to cut it when trouble comes David looks to God alone for his salvation not in man or chariots or experts or anything else God is David's safe place his rock and fortress and therefore when trouble comes
[4:52] David can say he will never be shaken now when I read this I saw the word shaken I thought straight away of the Christchurch earthquakes you see Christchurch itself is built in part on an old riverbed and parts of the city that's built on the softer land those houses were destroyed or damaged but on the places that were on the more firmer ground the solid rock they were largely unscathed see here David calls God his rock and therefore his foot won't slip when troubles comes he's on solid ground he won't sink disaster won't happen see God is David's fortress and he will never be shaken did you hear that he says he will never be shaken talk about stress elimination this is the ultimate here David is trusting in God and he won't be shaken but what's happening in David's life that's causing him to say these things look with me at verses 3 and 4 he says how long will you assault a man would all of you throw him down this leaning wall this tottering fence they fully intend to topple him from his lofty place they take the light and lies with their mouths they bless but in their hearts they curse now if ever there was a situation for David to stress then this was it you see
[6:19] David was under assault we see that these people whoever they were were trying to bring him down he feels vulnerable as he almost sees himself like a leaning wall or a tottering fence it's almost like just a little bit of pressure and he'll topple over these people in verse 4 intend to topple David from his lofty place as king and what makes things worse is the fact that to David's face these people come across like they're his friends with their mouths they bless but in their hearts they curse two faced people with an evil agenda and is there anything worse than someone who you think is your friend who says all the right things to your face but secretly in their hearts they wish nothing but to bring you down and in the effort to bring you down they may even delight in telling lies and spreading false things about you well David was no stranger to trouble of this sort we see before David even sat on the throne his life was under attack when Saul wanted him dead even his own son Absalom plotted against him and tried to have him killed and perhaps that's the back story to the psalm this morning and we see in Psalm 2 that David was fully aware of the opposition that was out there because he was the Lord's anointed when he says in Psalm 2
[7:38] I'll just read it out to you Psalm 2 verses 1 and 2 why do the nations conspire in the people's plot in vain the kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather against the Lord and against his anointed one as Christians we too can have opposition for the same reason you see Jesus is our anointed king who himself was persecuted and who said if they persecute me then they'll persecute you now as Andrew pointed out this morning our lives may not be so much in danger here in Australia we can gather here freely but yet put yourself out there for our king Jesus and you can expect to have opposition of some kind I saw this first hand in our congregation back in New Zealand we had a number of our congregation who attended a jazz school in Christchurch and they'd decided to run a lunchtime Bible study group in one of the classrooms now they'd got permission from the school and the people who ran the school and so they'd opened it up to anyone who wanted to come and they started getting a few people coming along actually it was really encouraging now it had only been going for a couple of weeks and then there was a petition taken up to try and have them to stop this meeting the other students were incensed that Christians were seemingly trying to convert everyone and so they put up opposition and it got really nasty at times
[9:04] I saw this first hand as I went to a couple of the meetings it got really nasty as some of these Christians were actively hassled you may have opposition at work for being a Christian you may have opposition from family members even those whom you care most about I once knew of a young lady in my hometown whose parents made her sleep in a bed without blankets in an effort to try and pressure her to give up her faith it's a true story now people will oppose you when you put yourself out there for Jesus and they may even try and bring you down and in the effort to oppose you they may even delight in telling lies about you just like they did to David just like they did to Jesus but we need never be shaken don't let it stop you from sleeping peacefully at night and don't stress about it and never let it hold you back from serving our king and spreading the good news of the kingdom our salvation comes from God we're in his hands and this is our reason for not fearing or being shaken we can rest in God when the pressure's on don't let fear cripple you as a Christian and don't make excuses for not stepping out there for Christ and say things like well it just wasn't the right time or I wasn't feeling up to it all because we fear their responses do it because you love Christ and because you fear for that person who doesn't know Christ trust in God and don't let fear hold you back because God is our fortress too and we will have opposition as Christians but like David we'll trust in God and we won't be shaken and if we won't be shaken in the face of opposition then these other things that give us a cause to stress in our lives will fade away as we fully rest in God he doesn't want us to worry but to trust secondly we're to trust in God and pour out our hearts to him so David comes back to familiar ground in verses 5 and 7 it's almost like he's preaching to himself he says in verse 5 find rest oh my soul in God alone you see we can eliminate worries and stresses that can nag us at one moment but then in the very next moment we can fall back into those doubts can't we so we need to continuously remind ourselves to trust in God to find rest in him alone and that's what
[11:38] David's doing here he's in it for the long haul as it were just like a marathon runner who needs to remind themselves constantly to keep going David commands himself to find rest in God when the going gets tough now these verses are very similar to verses 1 and 2 however he does add to what he's already said when he says in verse 7 my salvation and my honour depend on God he is my mighty rock and my refuge you see David's honour doesn't rest on man or those who are trying to bring him down in dishonour these people can manufacture all kinds of lies and stories and attempt to bring David down but even then David's not fazed why?
[12:24] well because his honour doesn't depend on them it depends on God when people are dishonouring you God is the one who will speak well of you because you trust in him that's something we need to remember also isn't it you know I think we all want to be popular don't we we all want to feel respected and loved but believe me if you follow the Lord Jesus as king then you'll more than likely be dishonoured by the people of this world than honoured I just watch Q&A sometime and you'll see this to be true as the Christians that always go on there get vehemently attacked put yourself out there for our Lord and you'll see there will be opposition see David was God's king the greatest king in Israel's history and yet people and nations conspired against him to bring him down Jesus was dishonoured among the people and strung up on a cross so don't be fooled into wanting man's praise and honour it's God who defend our honour and so our attitude should be the same as that of Jesus we should bless those who persecute us and pray for them don't stress about what people will say about you for following Jesus your honour doesn't depend on them and it's with this that David reaches out to us the reader or the singer of this psalm with a message you see when you know the awesome bliss of trusting in God and the blessing that this is in the face of trouble or stress you want others to share in this bliss also you don't want to keep it to yourself
[14:01] David says in verse 8 trust in him at all times oh people pour out your hearts to him for God is our refuge now this is an invitation for us too to trust in God the same way that David does and to pour out our hearts to him now this is the greatest of all ways to eliminate stress and anxiety to pour out your hearts to God now read the psalms and you'll hear David pouring out his heart to God in one breath pleading with God to hear his prayers because he is poor and needy and needs saving and in the very next he's thanking God for delivering them all in the same psalm see such was David's confidence in God why are you in trouble then pour out your heart to God are you stressed and burdened then pour out your heart to God we may be troubled in all kinds of ways but we can pour out our heart to God and rest easily because God is our refuge he's our safe place and who can take us out of his hands nothing in all creation as Paul says not life nor death not life nor death nothing can take us out of his hands and if you're in his hands then why do you fear as though you weren't in his hands why do you stress now God is all too happy to lend an ear and hear of our troubles he knows our troubles and yet we need not fear because nothing can harm us when we're in his hands now perhaps you've known of this joy in your own life the joy of pouring out your heart to God in the midst of a trial and perhaps you've even experienced that peace that follows well remember this when you're tempted to stress and pour out your heart to God thirdly we're to trust in
[16:05] God not man or riches you see trusting in God is the key to eliminating David's stress but at the end of the day he's only human just like you and just like me and he was well aware of those things that can threaten that trust in God and in verses 9 and 10 David identifies two things that can threaten our trust in the Lord and what are those two things they're a temptation to trust in man or riches they're temptations that have plagued God's people throughout the centuries the first generation of Israelites died out in the wilderness because they feared man instead of trusting in God Israel in the face of their enemies broke faith with God because they feared man and sought to make treaties with the nations that were around them instead of trusting in God for their protection Achan got taken out because the lure of treasure was so great that he disobeyed the Lord and hid treasure under his tent and Judas trusted in wealth and betrayed our Lord
[17:10] Jesus but in verses 9 and 10 David smashes down these strongholds he says in verse 9 lowborn men are but a breath and highborn men are but a lie if weighed on a balance they are nothing together they are only a breath here David shows how foolish it is to trust in man or to fear man from the lowest of men to the highest they are nothing before the Lord they are but a breath and what does a breath weigh nothing he says lowborn men are but a breath highborn men are but a lie in other words lowborn men are nothing before the Lord and highborn men with all their pomp and power are but a lie they may look powerful they may even act powerful but it's all just a lie as before the Lord their power and riches are nothing therefore we don't need to fear man let alone trust in him instead of God how foolish is that and yet we can can't we how often do we fear man and feel ashamed of Christ how often do we trust in others or ourselves before we trust in
[18:20] God after the first earthquake in Christchurch the September one who got the praise for there being no casualties in Christchurch sure there were some people who thanked God obviously but I think the overriding sentiment at the time was wow look at this this is a testimony to how great our buildings are I mean they had the same size earthquake in Haiti and that place was flattened and heaps of people got killed just goes to show how far we've come our buildings saved the day trusting in man well five months later when the big one struck I was one of the first to get to a major building that had collapsed during the earthquake and I can tell you that seeing that building flattened like a house of cards and the chaos that ensued that showed me how helpless we really are but how often do we look to ourselves and trust in ourselves before we even seek to bend the knee and trust in
[19:25] God come to him I don't trust in man or fear man he's but a breath so may we be those that rest in God by trusting in him alone and may we know the freedom that it is and trusting in God instead of man next David touches on riches in verse 10 and predominantly he's touching on setting our hearts on ill God and treasure through extortion or stolen goods now this may have been the motives of his enemies but whatever the case may be it still applies today you know if only we had this much money or a little bit more money then things would be okay well how might we get some more we need it quickly and remember what Paul said people who want to get rich quickly fall into a temptation and a trap that leads to ruin and destruction David says though your riches increase do not set your hearts on them now trust in money can be so subtle sometimes that we don't even realize how much it holds us back from trusting in
[20:28] God and seeing God work in awesome ways we sometimes say things well it's a great opportunity to serve God but financially it's just not viable well I'd love to be part of that but we're really just focused on trying to save it for our house and don't get me wrong all of these things are good things in and of themselves and by all means be wise with your money or should I say God's money he's given it to you to be faithful a faithful steward in the little which is money but don't let it hold you back from trusting in God and stepping out there in faith in seemingly difficult situations especially those opportunities to serve the Lord don't let it stop you from stepping out of your comfort zone and into a situation that's out of your hands where you have to fully trust God David's call to us in verse 8 is to trust in God at all times not just the good times or the times of smooth sailing but also in the hard times when we're asked to step out there in faith even when it seems like there's no safety nets trust in
[21:38] God not man or money you see we're not being asked to trust in a temperate God who runs hot or cold depending on the day we're not being asked to trust in some kind of far off God who doesn't know our situations that's kind of like the watchmaker God who winds up the clock and just lets it do its thing with no involvement that's not David's God that's not our God no we're being asked to trust in a God the one true God who is strong and powerful a God who is just and gives to everyone what they deserve we're not being asked to trust in a far away God who couldn't care less about us and that brings me to my final point we're being asked to trust in a God who is both strong and loving look with me at verse 11 and 12 one thing God has spoken two things I have heard that you oh God are strong and that you oh Lord are loving surely you will reward each person according to what he has done see it's not hard for David to trust in God and to rest easy in the presence of trouble or stress because his
[22:50] God is both strong and loving these men attacking him can do nothing they're but a vapor but God is strong he's not weak to save and he's not far from David but he's a loving God who listens to those who pour out their hearts to him David knows that God has a handle on the situation he knows that God is just and will reward his enemies according to what they have done and if you read some too you'll realize that David's enemies are actually God's enemies because David is the Lord's anointed and for us who believe in Jesus and who are in Christ it's the same for us if we're trusting in God then he's our refuge he's our strong fortress so be strong in the Lord and don't fear anything don't let fear or worry cripple you don't trust in things rather than God because that's sinking sand that will lead to many troubles as you sink in a sea of worries and distress it's easy to trust when you're trusting in yourself when you're always in your comfort zone never putting yourself out there for the sake of
[24:00] Christ or others never leaving home without the safety net of your money or having control of everything never putting yourself out there for the sake of Christ or for others because you fear their response get rid of those fears get rid of those safety nets that we build around ourselves that only lead to fear and anxiety because there's only one rock there's only one place where the ground is solid there's only one salvation and one true God who alone is worthy of all our trust and that's our God who's both strong and loving who knows you better than you know yourself he knows your struggles and fears so trust in him pour out your hearts to him and eliminate those fears so let's not let our hearts be troubled with stresses about opposition or money or man or worries of all kinds when we've got a loving God who loves us and cares for us and who's strong to save what do we really need to fear let's pray heavenly father we thank you for the invitation that this psalm gives us to pour out our hearts to you we thank you that you're not a far away
[25:20] God who doesn't care for us at all but who does care for us who cares for us so much that you sent your son to die for us to bring us close to you and Lord we know we're in your hands so please help us not to fear like we are out of your hands we know nothing can separate us from you and we know that there's nothing that can harm us not life nor death nor anything because we're in your hands and so Lord we pray that we would make use of this invitation that we pour out our hearts to you that you'd still our hearts Lord we know that we will always struggle with stress and worry as we're in this world but yet Lord we know that coming to you can eliminate those stresses as we pour out our hearts to you we thank you that you lend an ear to us Lord we thank you that you love us so much and we pray that we would remember that this week and going forward that you're our rock and that we would never be shaken in Jesus name we pray amen our rock and that together that we baixo or there's agenda i'm sorry for that and then I'll see h Makul 66 signs of suicide and email案ур 57
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