-Transcript-
00:41 Amen. Glory to God. Welcome to the cafe.
00:45 Welcome to the program. So great to have you here today. Hopefully you have just some time here to get into God’s Word and if you don’t have time maybe you’ve decided to make time and I commend you for that.
00:57 I know the Lord will bless you for it. As we get into God’s Word we look at the truths in God’s Word. The truths are there.
01:04 They’re popping out at you when you study the Word. If you spend time to go back through it because there’s so much in it. Amen.
01:13 And we’re looking here at Psalm 54 today. A short one. Seven verses.
01:19 Seven. God’s perfect number. Amen.
01:23 A number of completion. Amen. Seven is a great number and Psalm 54 is a great psalm and it deals with a principle that I want you to think about and I believe this.
01:35 I know that this brings glory and honor to God and should help you understand what it means to have a godly relationship with Him. And that is this idea that when you love the Lord, when you serve the Lord, you know your troubles are His troubles and your enemies are His enemies. And that’s what we’re gonna get to today.
01:56 And I just love that because the world wants to make God out to be this like benign, just far-off deity that loves everybody and wants everyone to just do whatever they want. Right?
02:05 And then the Bible really shows us, especially in the Psalms as David talks about God’s character, that God is a jealous God. Amen.
02:15 That God is a loving God. That God has a preference for the righteous man. That God will protect and deliver the righteous man.
02:23 And there’s just so much to that. And who better to share this with us than David who had enemies that literally wanted his life. Now imagine either being king or being kind of suggested as the next king.
02:39 Automatically you’re gonna have people that want to take you out. Amen. Because they don’t want you to become king.
02:47 Either because they want to be the king or they want to stay in power that the king’s given them. So automatically it’s a stressful situation. And on top of that you have Saul hunting him down.
02:53 Later on he goes Absalom, his son, wanting to kill him. And it’s just he went through great vexation, great troubles. But through those troubles he wrote these gorgeous Psalms.
03:04 These beautiful Psalms that were written from the heart to God. And Psalm 54 verse 1 starts with, Save me O God by thy name and judge me by thy strength. Hear my prayer O God.
03:17 Give ear to the words of my mouth. For strangers are risen up against me. And oppressors seek after my soul.
03:26 They have not set God before them. Say la. Behold God is mine helper.
03:31 The Lord is with them that uphold my soul. He shall reward evil unto mine enemies. Cut them off in thy truth.
03:40 I will freely sacrifice unto thee. I will praise thy name O Lord for it is good. For he hath delivered me out of all trouble.
03:49 And mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies. Amen.That is beautiful especially that last verse Psalm 54:7. For he hath delivered me out of all trouble.
04:02 And mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies. My eye hasseen his desire upon my enemies. You know God is a loving God and God is a faithful God.
04:14 And God is, as far as I understand it, teaching us that when we live for him and when we do what he calls us to do and live by the precepts that he gives us that many will hate us for it.
04:34 Not because they hate us but because they hate him. And if they hate him and they then hate us they automatically become our enemy and by virtue of that truly they are his enemy.
04:49 And so we see here in Psalm 54 this beautiful idea that God is intimately involved with those that seek him, those that love him. You know David here is crying out for salvation from the enemies. Verse 1 of Psalm 54.
05:05 Save me O God by thy name and judge me by thy strength. Because David is giving God the glory saying you have the strength. It is your name.
05:14 Amen. It’s gonna get the glory. David constantly through the Psalms is reminding God not that he needs a reminder but just restating the fact that that when God shows up that David will give him the glory.
05:26 And many people when God shows up want to take the glory for themselves. Amen. And don’t want to give God the glory and that’s an abomination to God.
05:34 And then the second verse here. Hear my prayer O God give ear to the words of my mouth. Well we know the Bible tells us that God hears the prayers of the righteous.
05:44 That God is near the brokenhearted. Amen. Just a few Psalms earlier David’s writing about that God’s not looking for big opulent sacrifices on the altar as much as he’s looking for a broken and contrite heart.
05:56 And he’s near those that are of that broken spirit brokenhearted. And I think it’s the Beatitudes in Matthew Jesus mentions the blessed are the broken in spirit.
06:09 And the idea is not that God wants us broken so he can laugh and say haha you’re broken.
06:15 He wants us broken to realize for us to realize that we need him and for us to realize that divine relationship of depending and trusting in him.
06:24 And that can’t happen until we’ve basically exhausted anything in and of ourselves that we think we can do on our own. And that is the idea of being brokenhearted.
06:35 Amen. Of being to the point where we realize that we can’t do it on our own. And that is someplace that sadly some never get to.
06:45 They think for their whole lives they can do it on their own. And if they’re successful in this world all the more it’s very difficult for them to reconcile this idea that they have a need for God.
06:56 And that they don’t wake up and say okay the Lord is providing every breath that I breathe.
07:03 Every heartbeat that I have. Everything that I’ve been given is from God. They don’t they don’t understand that.
07:07 It’s difficult. But what happens when we’re in duress? We start to understand our need. Amen.
07:11 Verse 3. For strangers are risen up against me and oppressors seek after my soul. They have not set God before them. Selah.
07:18 And so we see here in verse 3 David’s explaining here that that strangers as in those that are not part of God’s family whether they be Israelites or not they’re not gods. Amen. They’re risen up against him and they seek his soul.
07:32 They want to kill him. They want to devour him. They have not set God before them.
07:38 And so David is pointing out that they are not seeking the Lord. And I think it’s important for us to understand if we have an enemy that we think is an enemy right and they are godly by all accounts and they’re seeking the Lord we need to look at them and confront them directly and forgive. Amen.
07:55 And hope and pray that they repent of whatever sin caused that conflict. Amen. But a conflict with an enemy that is saved amen is much different than a conflict with an enemy that’s not saved.
08:09 Yes, we’re called to turn the other cheek. Yes we’re called to show love and compassion. Yes we’re called to forgive everyone so that Christ could forgive us.
08:16 Amen. All these principles apply wholesale to everything but asking God to like wipe out your enemy that is a believer is like asking a dad to take out one brother but keep the other. Amen.
08:28 It’s not good. And so what David’s saying is these people aren’t seeking him. They’re they’re not believers.
08:34 Amen. And another thing the world will try to do is say we’re all God’s children. Well look we’re all God’s creation but we’re not all God’s children because we haven’t all been born again.
08:45 Verse 4 behold God is mine helper the Lord is with them that uphold my soul. Amen. And so we understand God’s preeminence and his role in helping David stay alive through this great trial.
09:00 I mean he was on the run when he wrote many of these Psalms. Amen. Verse 5 he shall show he shall reward evil unto my enemies and cut them off in thy truth.
09:08 A great biblical principle that you’ll see over and over again is God repays. You’re living in righteousness. You’re living fruitful.
09:14 You’re seeking him. He’ll repay you with peace and joy and and and a godly opportunities in the ministry and on and on. God repays.
09:22 You’re living wickedly. You’re living for yourself. You’re living for the world.
09:31 You’re living in sin. God will repay you that that that wage that wage that you’ve earned. God will give it to you.
09:36 And what do we know the wages of sin are? The wages of sin are death. Amen. Is death.
09:44 So we understand here that God is going to repay the enemies of David. Amen. Because they are no longer going to be able to go and turn to God when they’re in trouble because David says cut them off from that in in thy truth and cut them off in thy truth because God is righteous and David is appealing to God’s righteousness saying you know what’s right and wrong.
09:58 These people are living wicked. They’re my enemy but truly they’re your enemy because they’re living against who you are and what you desire of your people. Verse six.
10:08 I will freely sacrifice unto thee. I will praise thy name O Lord for it is good. And so again I just kind of take from this if you read a lot of David Psalms he talks about how he’s gonna give praise to God forever and ever.
10:20 He’s gonna be with God forever and ever and I think this eludes this idea that he’s not going to take the credit as God cuts off his enemies. He’s not gonna go and get wicked and turn to his self as say like Pharaoh did when Pharaoh was wealthy
10:34 and and he said oh I don’t need to let the Israelites go I have my wealth and my power and Egypt is so strong etc etc and wouldn’t turn to God and David said I’m not gonna do that.
10:43 And then here our text verse Psalm54:7 for he hath delivered me out of all trouble and my eye hath seen his desire upon my enemies.
10:53 And we understand here from verse 7 of Psalm 54 a very similar verse in Psalm 34:19 many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.
11:04 All as in A-L-L. God will deliver those that are seeking him out of all their afflictions.
11:10 If you’re going through an affliction praise God because he’s going to deliver you out of that affliction amen. Whatever it is and you will be better for it Romans 8 28 tells us.
11:21 And here is this beautiful aspect of the Psalm Psalm 54:7 and mine I have seen his desire upon my enemies.
11:29 Never forget that if you have an enemy those that are seeking to hurt you or seeking to hurt the ones that you love and and they they don’t have a relationship with God
11:38 then they also are an enemy to God and that you are precious to God if you’re serving God if you’re living for God you’re saved amen then you truly are one of God’s children
11:47 and they truly are not messing with you but messing with God and there’s biblical examples of that amen of men of God that people have desired to hurt or kill and what they’ve received from it amen.
12:00 You think of that that wicked king that came against Hezekiah think of that his name is like Sennacherib I know I’m butchering that he was the king of Assyria Sennacherib something like this he was going against Hezekiah a man of God and Hezekiah spreads that letter that he wrote mocking God and mocking King Hezekiah before the Lord he spreads it out for the Lord praise over it
12:23 and the Lord takes this king out in the most humiliating way he was killed by his own children while he was worshiping his pagan God amen and it was many years later
12:33 we see God’s vengeance doesn’t always happen right away but the key here is that King Hezekiah was seeking the Lord amen and presenting that evil before the Lord
12:45 and the Lord delivered Hezekiah from that literally delivered Hezekiah from that situation and took vengeance upon Hezekiah’s enemy because it truly was an enemy of the Lord as Hezekiah had presented there in the letter in the temple
13:02 so let’s understand that God is absolutely involved in all of our day especially when we face enemies in battles and that yes as Christians we show love
13:14 but let’s never forget that we serve a mighty God and that it’s okay like David to go to God in prayer and say these people are not serving you and they are your enemies cut them off in your truth deliver me from them
13:31 and because this is an affliction I am facing and I am doing my best to seek you and again it all starts with seeking God but if you’re seeking the Lord you’re in his word you’re praying you’re studying the Bible you’re you’re repentant before God trust that he is with you
13:38 and that you can see his desire upon your enemies today oh I love it we serve a mighty God amen we serve we serve a mighty God that is a jealous God that is a loving God that is all-encompassing
13:54 it’s an all-encompassing fire he’s an amazing God that’s who we serve here today never forget that the true God amen Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior is alive and well amen
14:05 and he is with the righteous he hears their prayers and he delivers them out of all their afflictions
14:10 I thank you so much for listening today tune in next time take care God bless amen