SERMON GMT14-011
SETTING: North Kelso Baptist Church
SERVICE: Sunday AM
SUBTITLE: Are You Thirsty? (Part 2)
SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 63
SUBJ: Confident expectation
SUMMARY: The love of God compels
genuine believers to develop confidence in God through a passionate thirst for
God.
SCHEME: That genuine believers resolve to quench their
thirst in God
2A God
is David’s Delight (Vss. 5-8)
1B The Provision of God (5)
1C Is spiritual (5a)
2C Is succulent (5a)
3C Is substantial (5a)
2B The Pondering of God (6)
1C The Statement (6a)
2C The Subject (6b)
3C The Season (6c)
3B The Protection of God (7)
1C Is well founded (7a)
2C Is well furnished (7b)
3C Is well favored (7b)
4B The
Preservation by God (8)
1C Secured (8a)
2C Supported (8b)
Are you
Thirsty? (Part 2)
Psalm 63:5-8
INTRODUCTION
A.
Charles Spurgeon wrote in regards to delighting in Christ…
"It is joy to all nations that Christ is born,
the Prince of Peace, the King who rules in righteousness...Beloved, the
greatest joy is to those who know Christ as a Savior...
The further you submit yourself to Christ the Lord,
the more completely you know Him, the fuller will your happiness become.
Surface joy is to those who live where the Savior is preached; but the great
deeps, the great fathomless deeps of solemn joy which glisten and sparkle with
delight, are for such as know the Savior, obey the Anointed One, and have
communion with the Lord Himself...you will never know the fullness of the joy
which Jesus brings to the soul, unless under the power of the Holy Spirit you
take the Lord your Master to be your All in all, and make Him the fountain of
your intense delight."
B.
Delight is an extremely sought after yet elusive internal experience.
Delight is a strong feeling of happiness, it a sensation of great pleasure or
satisfaction. Delight is something that makes you very happy and or content.
C.
This world is filled with people who are searching for this experience.
People spend the best part and the better part of their lives pursuing the
feeling of delight in a number of ways and means. Many people sadly come to the
end of their life without ever finding something or someone that they have
truly delighted in.
THEME: Genuine believers delight in God
This
is a good reminder for us all that we as believers are to pursue intimate
fellowship with God which in turn will provide as a by-product the experience
of complete satisfaction, or delight.
PROPOSTION: Therefore I propose to you this morning that as
you pursue God with an intense thirst you will obtain the delight that your
soul was created to experience.
Interrogative Sentence: So, we have to ask ourselves,
how does David thirst for God translate into the absolute delight of his soul?
Transitional Sentence: This passage describes four
(4) details of how David’s Desire for God enabled David to Delight in God.
·
The Provision of
God
·
The Pondering on
God
·
The Protection on
God
·
The Preservation
by God
REVIEW
But
before we thrust our shovels into the rich soil of verses 5-8, let’s take a
moment and review. Last week we saw that there were three (3) elements that
depicted David’s intense thirst for God. As we looked at the first element
depicted we saw that…
1A God is David’s Intense Desire (Vss. 1-4)
[As we look at
this intense desire of David we were confronted with at least four (4)
considerations.]
[The first
thing we considered was…]
1B The Object of David’s Intense Desire (1a-c)
The object was God. Not worldly pleasure,
prosperity, or possessions. David desired communion and fellowship with his
God. David desired God!
[The second thing we considered was…]
2B The Occasion of David’s Desire (1d)
David had fled to the wilderness to escape an armed
conflict or battle with his son Absalom who was trying to take the kingdom away
from David.
[The third thing we
considered was…]
3B The Origin of David’s desire (2-3)
This intense desire of David had originated in the
worship experiences David had when he worshipped God in the Temple. He had met
God in the Temple and had intimate communion and fellowship with him. David had
looked lovingly on God and had become familiar with the character and nature of
God.
[Finally, we considered…]
4B The Outcome of David’s Desire (VSS. 3-4)
David’s intense desire produced a reaction. David
praised God. David expected and promised to praise God for the rest of his
life. He praised God in his terrible exile in the wilderness. David
acknowledged that God is a greater treasure than everything and anything that
life can offer.
TRUTH FOR
TODAY
So,
we now move from the first element that depicted David’s intense thirst for God
to the second element depicted. This element is depicted as…
2A GOD IS DAVID’S DELIGHT (5-8)
David moves from his thirst or his intense desire to
his finding ultimate and absolute satisfaction in God. As David finds and
experiences satisfaction in God he is compelled to demonstrate his delight in
God.
[When we look close at this section it is easy to
see that David found delight in God by three (3) means. The first means that
David found satisfaction or delight in God was by…
1B The Provision of God
Look at what David says…
“My soul will be satisfied as with fat
and rich food…”
When you read various passages in the bible,
especially in the Old Testament you will often see that the provisions of God
for the spiritual needs of men are portrayed as a delicious feast.
There is one thing I know about and that is the
deliciousness of fat and rich food.
David is looking forward with great anticipation and
confidence to being spiritually satisfied and delighted. David anticipates that
his soul will be filled to the full with a great banquet or feast.
[I want you to notice three (3) characteristics
about this divine provision. Look at the first characteristic.]
The provision of God…
1C …is Spiritual
“My
soul…”
Remember, David is in a hot, dry, and barren desert.
His stomach is probably growling and empty. He might even be thinking about the
last time he ate.
But as he endures this experience we find that he is
concerned about his soul. David knows that the spiritual needs and hunger of
the soul is of greater importance than physical hunger or thirst.
Don’t forget, David knew what it meant to be
“satisfied” or be full. He lived in a palace. He had access to all the food he
needed or wanted. He had the best cooks and bakers in the land serving and
cooking meals for him and his household. I don’t think it is a stretch to say
that probably on more than one occasion David had his fill in excess of the
best wine, meat, cheese, fruits, vegetables, and goodies.
You and I know what it is like to go to a dinner, or
a banquet, a picnic, or a party and eat until we are “stuffed.” We know what it
is to be satisfied with the best steak and potatoes or lobster and shrimp or
chicken.
David knows that God will provide for his soul. He
anticipates God satisfying him spiritually to the “full.”
[So, God is David’s delight because God satisfies
him spiritually. God meets his spiritual needs.]
The Provision of God…
2C …is Succulent
“…as
with fat and rich food…”
David says that the spiritual provisions of God for
his soul are like a “feast of fat and rich” foods.
We
Americans more than anywhere else probably eat more fatty and rich foods.
Why do we
crave fatty foods? First of all…
Fats Make Your
Food Taste Better
Many people crave fatty foods because they taste
good and have a pleasing texture and aroma. Your body is hardwired to prefer fatty, high calorie foods, because they'll give you more
energy for a longer period of time. Butter, oil, lard and margarine are
frequently used to add flavor to a variety of foods, like popcorn and salads.
Secondly…
Fatty Foods May Soothe Your
Nerves
Your body takes longer to burn the calories found in
fatty foods, which can stabilize blood sugar levels to soothe feelings of
anxiety and moodiness. Many fatty foods also contain tryptophan, an essential
amino acid. Your brain uses tryptophan to produce serotonin, the
neurotransmitter responsible for feelings of happiness and well-being.
Serotonin also helps to reduce feelings of anxiety.
Thirdly…
Cravings for Fatty Foods May Have Psychological
Roots
Many people choose fatty foods as comfort foods when
bored, stressed or upset. Comfort eaters may reach for familiar fatty foods or
foods that remind them of better times. Eating fatty foods may become a
distraction from your problems.
Fatty food cravings may be largely a matter of
habit. People often experience food cravings because they're accustomed to
eating certain types of food in certain situations or in response to certain
emotional cues. If you have the habit of eating fatty foods, then when you get
hungry you'll start to crave fatty foods out of habit.
So, we love foods that are laced, drenched, covered,
and cooked in or with fat. But we also like rich foods.
Why do we crave rich foods?
Usually, when a food is described as being rich, it
contains butter, cream and other items that give the food a rich or
"heavy" consistency.
Usually, this means it is also "rich" in
flavor, so much that a little bit (or bite!) goes a long way. In other words,
you can get full after eating just a small portion.
Picture David setting at a table. Picture huge
platters of meat that have been set in front of him. David would eat the meat
right off the bone. More than likely David would have broken the bone and
sucked out the fat or the marrow inside the bone.
David would have access to a number of foods that
contained high fat content and were rich in flavor. David as a wealthy King would
have enjoyed numerous banquets and meals that were succulent above imagination.
What are your favorite foods? What do you turn to
when you “crave” a midnight snack, especially when everyone is asleep and not watching?
What sweet, juicy, rich, and fatty foods are your favorites?
David likened the provision of God of spiritual
nourishment to fat and rich food. Is your relationship with God like that or
similar? Even in the hot, arid, dry, barren desert of trials are you
[So,
God is David’s delight because God satisfies him spiritually. God meets his
spiritual needs. God is David’s delight because God satisfies him succulently.
God’s blessings are fat and rich.]
Thirdly
we see that God’s Provision…
3C …is substantial
David says – “My soul will be satisfied…”
David had no doubts that God would meet every need
that he had. David knew that God did not do the job half way.
Whatever God gives, He gives abundantly! Whether it
is a pardon, redemption, grace, or provisions – God is not stingy!
The key here is that whatever God chose to give
David would be satisfactory to David. There is nothing worse than giving
something such as a gift or a helping hand to someone and hear them say, “Is
that it?” or “Is that all?
Most of us have met someone at some time who could
not be satisfied no matter what you did.
I have a saying for people like that, it goes like
this – “If you gave them a million
dollars, they would complain because it was green and wrinkled.”
The Hebrew word for satisfied means to be “sated
with food.” Sated means to be filled to the full, beyond capacity, to be so
full you are actually “weary” or tired of food.
David knew that if he could get back into the
presence of God and renew his communion, his fellowship with God that he would
be filled to the full and spilling over with complete satisfaction.
Matthew Henry said this, “The joy of the Lord…put our
mouth out of taste for those pleasures with which the tempter baits his hook.”
I think we can safely substitute the word joy and
say that satisfaction with God will put our mouth out of taste for those
pleasures with which the tempter baits his hook, don’t you? I think David did.
Well,
David earnestly sought God because David knew that God would without doubt and
without fail satisfy his inner soul.
God’s
provision is spiritual, succulent, and substantial.
THEME: Genuine believers delight in God
This
is a good reminder for us all that we as believers are to pursue intimate
fellowship with God which in turn will provide as a by-product the experience
of complete satisfaction, or delight.
The
second element that depicts David’s delight in God, and that is…
2B The Pondering of God
It seems David maybe in camp for the night in this
part of his Psalm. He might have set up camp, cooked a meal, threw some wood on
the fire, and is now laying down on the bed that he made for himself.
What we do know for sure is David begins to think or
to ponder about God.
When we examine this section we see that the
thoughts or the ponderings of David included…
1C …an affectionate statement
“…when
I remember you…”
David remembers his relationship and experience with
God. He recalls his relationship and he reminds himself of all the wonderful
times, blessings, and friendship with God.
David fixes his thought on God. He fixers his
thought on God’s character. And a part of God’s character that David remembers
is the fact that God is a provider – he provides what His children needs.
This is a continuous thought. It is not a fleeting
moment of “Hey God help me, or what is going on here.” It is a fond and
affectionate reminiscing about God and his glorious character.
I think the reason we don’t think often and long on
God is we really don’t know God. We don’t know his attributes or his character.
We just want God to do for us.
David
affectionately stated that he remembered God.
Secondly,
the thoughts or the ponderings of David also included…
2C …an affluent subject
“…meditate
on you…”
First David remembered God.
David also meditated on God.
Meditation actually humbles us. It makes us realize
just how grand really is and how truly insignificant we really are in
comparison.
It is only by God’s choice and grace that he has
even given us any thought or “looked upon us with favor.”
Meditation was a blessing to David. It took his mind
out of that hot, arid, dry, and barren desert and refocused his mind on God and
his blessings.
This is what is wrong with many believes today,
rather than thinking or meditating on God and His glorious character their
minds are on the trials and tribulations of this life.
The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “And
we all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being
transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this
comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18, ESV)
What does that mean?
First – we know that God’s plan in redeeming us is
to transform us into the image of His Dear Son.
Second – we know that this transforming work is a
work in progress and is done a little at a time
Third – we know that this work of transformation
will be completed one day. Of course that day is when we are fully and finally
transformed into the image of Christ at death or the rapture.
Fourth – it take place now and on this earth. How?
When we look upon the glorious nature and character of God we are transformed.
One look at a time –that is what “from one degree of glory to another” – means.
How or when does this occur? When we read and
meditate on Scripture. Each time we meditate on God through the accurate
reading and meditation we are being transformed. The reason many aren’t being
transformed is:
·
They aren’t really a believer at all. They are just a tare
·
They are not meditating on the nature of God through the bible
This is why Paul made it so clear in Romans 12:1-2
that we are not to be shaped or conformed or transformed into the image of this
world system. We are renewed by reading and meditating on the Scriptures.
So,
we have to stop for a minute and ask ourselves what we are being transformed into.
What are we meditating upon? What do we delight in?
[David’s
pondering was made known by a statement and it was focused on a great subject.
Now we will see that David’s pondering included…
3C …an appropriate season
“…in
the watches of the night…”
So David is probably laying down on some rolled up
animal skin on the desert sand. Maybe it is the saddle from his horse. He might
have rolled a rock up in an animal skin for a pillow.
David is in bed in his camp. He is remembering God
and meditating upon God. In other Psalms we see that the watches of the night
could be around midnight or could be very early in the morning before dawn.
It seems David might be awake at midnight and as he
lays on that sand and is looking up at the stars and moon in the night sky he
mediates on God.
There are at least three (3) advantages to meditate
at midnight or during a night watch:
·
It is dark. Darkness can “hide” material things from our eyes. We don’t
usually see well at night. When we aren’t looking at or concentrating on some
material thing, we are able to see spiritual things just a little bit more
clearly or vividly. We are so easily distracted when darkness covers or obscures
things.
David is laying on his makeshift bed in this desert
and he can’t see. At lease he can’t see clearly the rocks that he has to climb
over, or the sand that is everywhere, or even the brush that rips at his
clothes and skin. David can see or “ponder” God a little more clearly in the
dark.
·
It is quiet. Unless you are in downtown Vancouver or Portland.
The stillness and quiet of the night allows you
think with less interruption than with all the normal sounds of the day.
There are sounds in the desert, but not like David
had to contend with back at the palace.
·
It is humbling. As David lays there he can look up and see the stars,
the moon, maybe a planet, and some constellations. David is very small and God
is very big.
Maybe David tried to count the stars, or examine the
constellations, maybe he tried to track the orbits he could see with his naked
eye.
But all that could and would humble David. And it should.
So,
the night is a very appropriate season to meditate on God. The night watch is a
very good time.
Well,
David delighted in God because the provisions of God were spiritual, succulent,
and substantial. David delighted in God because his ponderings of God were such
a statement, included a glorious subject, and were in an appropriate season.
THEME: Genuine believers delight in God
This
is a good reminder for us all that we as believers are to pursue intimate
fellowship with God which in turn will provide as a by-product the experience
of complete satisfaction, or delight.
The
third element in David’s Delight in God is depicted in…
3B The Protection of God
David has cause for his great delight. He has a
basis for foundation for it. This protection of God is…
1C …well founded
“…for
you have been my help…”
First of all, the verb David uses is in the past
tense. David recalls God’s help from days gone by. Because David had
experienced God’s help in the past, he knew he could rely on God now. David
knew God would help him again.
Our confidence grows in God each time God allows us
to experience trying circumstances. Each time that we see God help us, work on
our behalf, answer our prayers, meet our needs our trust in God is deepened and
strengthened.
New trials or desert experiences should not really
challenge or frighten us because we have seen God help us in the past.
David’s confidence was well founded. It was founded
on past experiences. He could look back and see how God had helped him. These
are good things to mediate on in the middle of the night on your bed when you
are in some type or kind of desert.
Secondly,
David’s delight in the protection of God is…
2C …well furnished
“…in
the shadow of your wings…”
The help that David had already experienced and was
asking God for now was absolutely perfect. It was well suited for David because
it came from being in the presence of God himself.
Some of the most expressive
illustrations of the God’s love and care for us his children employed in the
Bible, are taken from the ways of birds. For example, this beautiful figure of
a bird sheltering her young under her wings, runs through all the Scriptures,
as a picture of God's sheltering love.
We find it often.
·
Boaz welcomed Ruth from her
heathen home to the land of Israel, "The Lord recompense your work, and a
full reward be given you of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you are
come to trust." In one of the Psalms we find the words, "My soul
takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster
has passed."
·
In another Psalm is the
prayer, "Hide me under the shadow of your wings, from the wicked that
oppress me."
·
In still another Psalm is
this word of confidence, "He shall cover you with his feathers, and under
his wings shall you trust."
·
Then, in the New Testament,
our Lord gives the picture yet added beauty and sweeter and more sacred
meaning, by His wonderful adaptation of it to Himself. Addressing those who had
resisted His love, He said, with a great pain at His heart," O Jerusalem,
Jerusalem . . . how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a
hen gathers her chicks under her wings!"
Thus the image is a favorite
one in the Bible. Here it is expressed in words of great beauty: "in the shadow
of your wings!” Both high and low among men find refuge under the shadow of
Your wings!"
While a picture of a bird
sheltering her young beneath her wings is before us, let us think of the wings
of God and what is beneath them.
David’s confidence in God’s help is well
founded and it is well furnished.
Thirdly, The protection of God is…
3C …well
favored
“…I will sing for joy.”
God’s protection and help
for David is joy-inspiring, so inspiring that it causes David to sing.
One website suggested that
there are at least 43 times in the bible that we are told to sing to God.
Regardless of whether it is 4 times, 43 times, or 430 times, God is worthy of
praise. Our songs praise God.
David is moved to praise God
by singing to God because of it is well founded, well-furnished and well
favored protection of God.
THEME: Genuine believers delight in God
This
is a good reminder for us all that we as believers are to pursue intimate
fellowship with God which in turn will provide as a by-product the experience
of complete satisfaction, or delight.
David delighted in God. David delights in God
because of the provision of God, because he pondered on God and because God
protected him.
There is one last and final reason that David
delighted in God. David delighted in…
4B The
Preservation by God (VS. 8)
There are two very important
truths found in verse 8. The first truth demonstrating the preservation of
David by God is seen…
1C …in the place (position) of
David
“My soul clings to you…”
Do you see where David is?
Do you see his place or his position? He is clinging to God.
A better rendering might be
“my soul cleaves to you.” The Hebrew word that is used in our Psalm is
translated 32 times as “cleave.”
The primary meaning or sense
of this word is “to glue together.” What we have is the idea of absolute
dependence and connection.
Where else do we see this
word cleave? It is used in a very prominent place in Genesis, isn’t it?
“Therefore shall a man leave
his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; they shall be one flesh.”
(Gen 2:24, KJV)
The idea of the Hebrew word
is “to glue” or to “solder.” It is to push two things, like bone, or flesh, or
people together. It means to join hard or fast together with the idea of not
tearing it apart.
David is clings to God or is
glued to God. He pursues him so hard it seems as if he is welded or soldered to
God. David and God have become one.
This is the case with our
baptism in Christ. We call this our union with Christ. We are so in Christ and
Christ is so in us that we can’t be pulled or taken apart.
David is preserved by God
because he is in the right place or position, he is clinging to God.
The second truth demonstrating the preservation
of David by God is seen…
2C …in the power of the Divine
“…your
right hand upholds me.”
In the bible, the right hand
is the symbol of skill and strength. So with infinite wisdom and divine power
God sustains David in this great trial of running for his life in the hot, barren,
dry, and treacherous wilderness.
Who or what is more powerful
than God?
God is David’s Desire and God is David’s
Delight. We have seen David’s Delight depicted in the provisions of God, in the
pondering of God, the protection of God and in the preservation by God.
THEME: Genuine believers delight in God
This
has been a good reminder for us all that we as believers are to pursue intimate
fellowship with God which in turn will provide as a by-product the experience
of complete satisfaction, or delight.
[What
do you say we wrap this up?]
CONCLUSION
God designed us to find pleasure in Him
and to delight in Him.
–“The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” (Westminster Catechism)
–“God is most glorified in us when we are
most satisfied in Him.” (~Piper)
–How strong is your desire for God?
My goal or my aim this morning has been to share with
you the great delight that David felt in God. David’s past experience with God
and his confidence in God’s future help caused great delight in the heart of
David.
Somehow David has found the
worship and knowledge of the character of God in his wilderness experience to
be more joyful and precious than even the pleasures and possessions of life. He
will never forget this nor let this experience die.
Do you delight and find great
satisfaction in God?
Exhortation: Reject
the deceptive promises of the satisfaction offered by this world. Refuse the
world and become so satisfied with God that you never want to leave the delight
that you find in communion and fellowship of with God.
David
once said in Psalm 84:10
“For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be
a doorkeeper in the house of
my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.”
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