Pastor John Greene
from Mount Pleasant, Texas
will encourage us toward prayer.
Good morning.
It's great to be here.
It's great to meet new brethren,
new friends,
people we will live forever with in eternity.
This is our family.
It's great to meet new family all the time.
I want to, just very quickly,
remind you of an experience
of a man who was anointed king
and yet he had not yet taken the throne.
The sweet psalmist of Israel -
a man after God's own heart;
a man with like passions
just like you and me.
You know, for a time, he was pursued
by King Saul,
and he fled in fear.
The particular instance I'm referring to
is when he fled to Achish, King of Gath,
to the land of the Philistines out of fear.
He fled in fear.
And then, here is penned in Psalm 34 -
here's the words of this man who fled
to a pagan king out of fear.
He says, "I will bless the Lord at all times.
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul shall make its boast in the Lord.
The humble shall hear thereof and be glad.
Oh magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt His name together."
Now isn't that puzzling?
How did he get from full of fear to there?
I'll bless the Lord at all times.
Magnify the Lord with me.
Let us exalt His name together.
How in the world do you get from there to there?
Well, here's the key:
Verse 4 of Psalm 34,
"I sought the Lord and He heard me,
and delivered me from all my fears."
How often, beloved, do we not seek the Lord?
The Lord is saying, "Seek Me."
"Seek Me. I will hear you."
He said, "I sought the Lord and He heard me."
This was the God of Heaven who's saying,
"I'll hear you."
"I will hear you."
So that's my admonition this morning.
The Lord delivered David from all his fears
because he sought the Lord.
The Lord delivered David from these fears
because the Lord delivered His Son to death
for a man of like passions - David.
Someone just like you and I.
I love the Psalms.
We see the highest highs
that a person seeking the Lord can attain to.
We see the lowest lows too
and everything in between.
This is our brother David -
a man of like, precious faith;
a man of like passions.
He sought the Lord, and the Lord heard him.
We're going to seek the Lord today,
and as our brother last night
so aptly and eloquently encouraged us,
we have a loving Heavenly Father.
We have a Father who bids us to come.
Seek Him in prayer.
He will hear you.
He loves us.
Don't be anxious about anything, but what?
In everything, by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving,
let your requests be made known unto God.
And the God of peace -
He will give you peace beyond all understanding.
In everything, give thanks, we're told.
For this is the will of God concerning you in Christ Jesus.
Blessed be the name of the Lord,
from this time forth and forevermore.
What? From the rising of the sun
until the going down of the same,
the Lord's name is to be praised.
So, again, I just want to focus your attention real quickly.
How did David get from there -
full of fear, running for his life -
do you remember what he did?
He acted like a madman.
He's drooling and acting like a madman out of fear;
completely acting out of character.
And we don't know the exact circumstance,
but at some point, He began to seek
the Lord in prayer.
And the Lord heard him,
and then flowing out of his heart,
he says I will bless the Lord
at all times - even at this time.
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul shall make her boast in the Lord.
The humble - people like you -
shall hear that and they will be glad.
So, brethren, magnify the Lord with me.
Let us exalt His name together.
Let's seek the Lord and He will hear us
and deliver us from every fear we have.
Would you pray with me?
Almighty God - our Heavenly Father,
we come before You boldly
because of the merits, the life,
the Person, and the work
of our dear Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
We approach You with confidence
by a new and living way.
That veil has been rent in two
through the body of His flesh.
We have a Great High Priest
over the house of God -
Jesus Christ the Righteous;
an Advocate with the Father.
Oh Lord, we come to You through Him.
We pray that You would hear us
because of Your Son.
You are the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity.
Your name is holy,
but You are pleased to dwell with those
of a broken and contrite spirit;
even those who tremble at Your law.
So, Lord, we come that way.
We come boldly to Your throne of grace
knowing we can receive mercy and grace
to help us in time of need.
So would You be pleased today
to magnify Your name?
Exalt Your name, Your Son,
that He may be lifted up in our hearts
in these meetings,
in our conversations.
Oh, Lord, let us consider one another,
how we can provoke one another
to love You more,
and to love one another more,
and to do good works.
Lord, we desire that all would come
to the knowledge of the Savior.
And we desire that we would love You more today.
Thank You, dear Lord, for hearing our prayers.
We ask in Christ's name,
Amen.