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Past Ponderings

Sunday, June 24, 2018

PONDERING... How do you face fear? (Psalm 3)

How Do You Face Fear? (AM Sermon Notes)
GIST: Feed fear facts.
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 3
Like Psalms 1-2, today we’re coming to a pair of psalms which are often considered together. I didn’t realize that before I started studying them this week. However, Psalm 3 is sometimes referred to as the “morning psalm” and Psalm 4 as the “evening psalm”. Fittingly, we’re looking at Psalm 3 this morning and Psalm 4 this evening! Maybe that’s not as exciting to anyone else, but when things like that “just happen”, I love it! They are little reminders to me of God working through the teaching of His Word.
1 O Lord, how many are my foes!
   Many are rising against me;
2 many are saying of my soul,
   “There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah[a]
3 But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,
   my glory, and the lifter of my head.
4 I cried aloud to the Lord,
   and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah
5 I lay down and slept;
   I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
   who have set themselves against me all around.
7 Arise, O Lord!
   Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
   you break the teeth of the wicked.
8 Salvation belongs to the Lord;
   your blessing be on your people! Selah
As a whole, the psalm can be broken down like this:
1. David’s Situation: He’s terrified.
2. The Truth: He’s reminded of who God is.
3. The Result: He has both immediate and ultimate hope.
That being said, this morning I want to walk through those sections and see how they are developed. Then, we’ll consider a few quick takeaways, as well. The gist? This whole psalm centers on how to face fear. The answer it gives is: feed fear facts. (Probably the better way to word that would have been “feed fear the Truth”, but that would have lost our little alliteration thing ☺.)

I. THE SITUATION (1-2)
Selah? We won’t spend any time here really. Yet, as we will come across this word in many of the psalms we’ll address this summer, we need to at least touch on it. Long story short, there has been a lot of speculation about this term...because we don’t actually know definitively what it means. Common consensus is that it is a musical notation. We just don’t know exactly what it is noting. ☺
Great Fear. That being said, let’s look at the circumstances of this psalm. This was written when David was fleeing for his life...from his own son Absalom who had basically staged a coup to take the throne. He isn’t using hyperbole when he says many are against him. It was true. His life was at serious risk. So physically, he was afraid. Yet, the fear went deeper than that. Look at what he says in verse 2. “2 many are saying of my soul, “There is no salvation for him in God.” What set David apart from nearly all the other kings of Israel? He was a man after God’s own heart. He loved God and served Him. No, he wasn’t perfect. Yet, he is life was defined by service to his Lord. This coup occurred after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba and had Uriah killed. Now, his family is starting to fall apart. The whole situation is disdainful and has climax with David running from his own child. Because of this, people are questioning whether or not he is really God’s man after all. Will he, like Saul before him, be rejected by God for his disobedience? David knows this is being asked, and has probably been struggling with that himself. So, beyond physical, this fear is spiritual. The fear of being separated from God.
Now, if you’ve read the whole story, you know David has repented of his sins and turned back to following God. Yet, the situation he is in is largely self-inflicted. Not only had his sins given people reasons to doubt him, but his failure to properly discipline his children and manage his household has led to this immediate circumstance--and he knows it. Imagine the guilt that brings with it, as well. Do you see the depth of this despair he’s in?

II. THE TRUTH (3)
So, how does he face this fear? Honestly, the same way we should. He feeds it with facts. He is reminded of the truth! Look at verse 3: “3 But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.” Let’s break this down.
Shield. I love the imagery here. It reminds me of the “armor of God” because the shield here is pretty specific. I am no weapons expert, but from what I’ve read, you basically had two general types of shields. Some shields were smaller, more mobile, and just as much offensive as defensive in nature. Think Captain America’s shield.
From what I’ve read, the type of shield referred to here is of a different sort entirely. It was more of a full body shield, like what you have likely seen Roman soldiers using in movies when they locked their shields together and trudge into the heat of battle. Offensively, these would be pretty useless, but defensively they’re great! Man the implications are so awesome here. First, we need to take note that God’s not less sovereign because David is experiencing hardship. This is part of His plan! However, though God may lead us into hostile territory, He is also our protection there-- our only protection. See, if God was a small shield, the implication would be “He’s a weapon for our use.” Instead, He completely covers us, and we’re fully dependent on Him.
Glory. Remembering this, he says God is His glory. It is God alone who gives him worth. Us too. People are calling into question David’s relationship with God, but God’s faithfulness is not dependent on ours. All of our hope is in Him and Him alone!
Lifter Of My Head. And remembering this, gives him a reason to stand; it is encouragement to his soul. His confidence, and ours, is in God alone. Like Paul said in 2 Corinthians 10:17-18 17 “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.”

III. THE IMMEDIATE RESULT (4-6)
The rest of the psalm then describes the results of David feeding his fear with facts. Verses 4-6 address more the immediate results. And it’s interesting that they also have a switch in the point of view. Instead of talking to God, he switches to a first person point of view as if he’s telling this to others (hold that thought). So, what does he say here?
Remembers the Listener (4a). He cried out to the Lord, who heard Him. Though his reasons to fear were many, his hope was in One far greater!
Remembers He Answers (4b). So he cries out and is heard...and answered. Let’s not skip this either: he is answered by God from Heaven. God answers from His holiness. I know we’ve talked about this before, but, man, we need to remember this. When we pray, God does hear and God does answer. I had someone ask me about this this week actually. The individual was very upset about what he perceived as unanswered prayers. He asked me if I had ever had something traumatic happen to someone I loved, and I said, “yes”. He then asked me if I had prayed about it beforehand, and I said, “yes”. He then asked me if it worked, implying had it worked the trauma would not have occured. Sometimes this is how we all face prayer, like God is a genie just waiting to do our bidding. However, that is so far from the truth. Even when I don’t get what I’m hoping for, sincere prayers “work” because they get the answer God knows we need. No, we won’t always see this in our lifetimes, but if we understood everything God does...we’d be God. And ultimately, when we pray wanting God to do whatever we say or “we won’t believe anymore”...then we aren’t praying, we’re trying to be God. That won’t work.
Rests in His Providence (5). Yet, David cries out knowing who he’s talking to and is answered by that same God, so he rests. Now this might seem to be a minor detail, but this is huge. We’ll talk a bit more about this tonight, but we can’t forget the context here. He is running for his life! Yet, he sleeps peacefully. Why? Because God is still providing. God is still God. He can rest from his fear because he trusts in his God!
Fear Not (6). In fact, he says he’s no longer afraid because he has remembered who God is and has spoken with Him. Also, because he remembers what the future holds, the ultimate results of these truths→  

IV. THE ULTIMATE RESULT (7-8)
We’ll be brief here, but these last two verses point to God’s ultimate provision. Let’s look at this under two points.
Justice. We live in a fallen world steeped in sin. Yet, there is justice coming, and God will provide it! David has seen this in the past (“For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;” is actually in past tense) and expects this in the future (which is implied by the tense in “you break the teeth of the wicked”). Yes, these words seem incredibly harsh. The psalms don’t sugar coat. They deal with raw emotions and real experiences. And these words are true. God’s judgement on the wicked will not be nice. Hell is not lesser Heaven.
So, we see justice here, but we also see→
Salvation. This is the beauty of Grace. We have transgressed the law. We have sinned against the eternal God and deserve eternal punishment for it. Yet, that same God provides salvation! Verse 7 starts with a common cry “7 Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God!” marking anticipation of what will happen. Then the psalm ends with verse 8 “8 Salvation belongs to the Lord;” which reminds us where salvation comes from. God is the the source of salvation! He saves. We are saved by Him. Period. Then it ends by reminding us again of this amazing Grace “your blessing be on your people!”

TAKEAWAYS
  1. Fear is not sin, but letting fear consume you is.
We need to remember this. It’s not a sin to be afraid. It’s our natural reaction to things we cannot control. Yet, if you remain in your fear because you forget that you’re not in control...then you’re trembling in sin. Don’t let your fear turn into doubt.
  1. Feed fear facts. The truth!
This is true of all our emotions. Feed them a healthy diet of God’s word. Are you filled with anxiety and fear today? What have you eaten? How much time have you spent reading God’s word and being reminded of who He is? He’s the God of the universe who loves you! Let me give you a little challenge. Take a few moments to jot down all the emotions you can think of, good and bad. Then write off to the side how the the truth of the Gospel, Jesus taking our place to providing salvation, speaks to each of those situations. It should change your perspective. For example, when we are afraid, if we remember that Jesus loved us enough to die for us, and has called us according to His purpose, what do we have to fear?
  1. Remember the One who faced fear for you.
In fact, it has been noted that this whole psalm not only brings encouragement to us in our fear, but also pointed toward Jesus’ sacrifice. He was despised and rejected. People called into question His relationship with the Father. Yet, God was with Him. And He laid down to sleep the ultimate sleep, dying for us, and rose again bringing the salvation this psalm promises!
  1. And switch your point of view.
David when from talking to God to talking about God. Share the wealth.

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