A Hope from Despair

Good morning, everyone.

My name is James, and my middle name is Stuart,

and I'm more than happy for you to make up nicknames based on that.

I love doing that, so please, be creative as you like.

And I'm also very excited to be ordained in a couple of weeks here,

and I'd love to see you all here if you can.

I recently learned a phrase in Korean.

Now, I'm very sorry, my Korean accent is, like, really terrible,

but here we go.

The phrase is,

Does anybody know any Korean?

No? Okay, so it wasn't that helpful.

The phrase means,

when you walk past a mountain,

there is another mountain to walk past.

I think it's a slightly better version of

out of the frying pan into the fire.

And the last part of the phrase,

Taishan, is actually talking about a mountain

in Shandong province in China.

It's this mountain called Taishan.

And it has this imagery of,

once you walk up part of this mountain,

there's just another part of the mountain to climb up.

But I think it captures a certain feeling,

a mixture of joy and pain really well.

That feeling of getting past one struggle

and being joyful that you're on the other side of it,

but then the clouds part

and there is just another struggle,

another challenge ahead.

I know it's been exam period for many people here,

and it's like that short-term feeling of joy

when you finish one exam,

only to remember you have four more coming up.

How foolish is it if we pretend

that after the first struggle,

after the first exam,

that there's no more,

and it's just easy roads ahead.

But I think, I wonder actually,

I wonder if we can do the same thing with God.

Is it possible that we depend on God

in one difficult season,

like a COVID lockdown,

one struggle,

and then we quickly forget how much we need Him,

and we go back to trying to do life on our own.

We've climbed one mountain with God's help,

and then we don't even see the next one,

and we don't realize how dependent we are

on God in every season.

Today is our last in our series,

Hope in Despair.

We've spent the last eight weeks

in the Psalms and the Book of Lamentations,

and I'm really thankful for this series.

I texted in to that number

about how thankful I am

because I have been reminded

of how amazing God's grace is to us.

That we do things which make God grieve,

and He continues to love us.

I'm thankful for Psalm 13 last week,

which gave us a way to use our lament.

The Book of Lamentations

was a very difficult book to read through

as we saw the city of Jerusalem destroyed,

but it has been wonderful for me personally

to see and to be reminded

that we have a God who stands by His people.

Even when He pours out His anger on them,

He continues to love them,

and He does that as well,

ultimately in Jesus.

But the challenge for me

and the challenge for us today

is that as we come out of a season of despair,

as we come back into what seems to be

more like normal life,

that we cannot trust in God.

We can think that we've got it,

and we can forget the mountains ahead.

So the challenge will be for us

to continue to trust in God

and not forget our need in Him

because our God is our only hope.

And so today, we're in Psalm 40,

and King David is going to encourage us

to be lifelong lamenters

who know how to cry out,

how to pray to God,

how to rejoice in Him,

how to do what Aidan did

and prepare a lament

so we can use that later

so that we can lament our sin,

so we can grieve in a difficult season.

When there's a loss of a loved one

or a difficult season,

we can depend on God's grace

in every season.

So let me pray

as we have a look at Psalm 40.

Dear Heavenly Father,

I thank You for Your goodness to us,

that You walk with us

and You continue to walk with us

when we think we don't need You.

Heavenly Father,

as we are reminded of Your love

and Your grace in Psalm 40,

remind us of our continual need

in You today, Lord.

Amen.

So please,

have your Bibles open.

Psalm chapter 40.

Psalms 40 · chapter mention

We're going to spend our time

in Psalm 40 today.

As we see that God saves

and He continues to save.

Psalm 40 verse 1.

Psalms 40:1

I waited patiently for the Lord.

He turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit,

out of the mud and mire.

This is almost the flip side

of the season we've been in.

We've been looking at a number of laments

and people grieving.

And this is David.

And he's saying,

I have been grieving,

but you have answered me.

David had been in a time of despair.

He cried out to God

and then he waited patiently.

Now, we don't know how long he had to wait

or what he was crying out to God for,

but he waited patiently.

Now, even that word there,

that's a challenge.

I don't like waiting for anything,

especially when I'm in despair.

God, come and fix it now.

But David waited patiently.

David has waited on God

in a season of despair.

And God has answered him.

He has saved him

from whatever the issue was.

And that description of the problem,

it's just so vivid.

It's pictured as a slimy pit

out of the mud and mire

or the miry bog

from older translations.

Now, it makes me think

of my worst nightmare

as a child.

Quicksand.

It seemed to be

in every TV show

that I grew up in.

It was the threat

of stumbling upon to quicksand

and then you,

no matter how much you tried,

you couldn't claw your way out of it.

Now, I've never been in one.

Has anybody been in quicksand?

No, it turns out

it's not actually

that much of a threat.

But it's this picture

of danger,

of slippery walls.

You're unable to save yourself.

David says he was stuck

in a hole,

unable to get himself out there.

He can't even get

a foothold or purchase

to try and fix the situation.

It sounds a lot like

a COVID lockdown.

For a while there,

it didn't seem to matter

what restrictions were in place.

Nothing was getting better.

There seemed to be

no way out.

It was this season

of depression and despair,

attack from outside

and attack from in.

But God has saved David

from what seemed to him

to be an impossible situation.

God has saved him.

He's pulled him out.

And there's a contrast

in the rest of verse 2.

Pulled him out of the miry pit.

Verse 2,

the second part of verse 2.

He set my feet on a rock

and gave me a firm place to stand.

Safety.

Security in God.

Now I don't know

the feeling of coming out

of a slimy pit

onto firm ground,

but I do know

a similar feeling.

The feeling of

being swept into the ocean

and not being in control.

I remember one morning

on holiday

a couple of years ago.

I'd gone for a run

on the beach

early in the morning

and then I jumped in the ocean

and I swam a little bit.

And I didn't realise

how tired my legs were

until I tried

to swim back into shore.

It wasn't then

until then I realised

I was actually being pulled out.

And I had that moment

where I had my life flash before me.

Is this going to be

the place that I die?

Are my two little kids

going to be without a father

at this point?

And I remember that feeling

when my foot

finally hit sand.

Joy.

Inexpressible joy, relief.

Praise to God.

God,

my children are going to see

their dad for another day.

God has taken David

out of the pits

of pain and despair,

a struggle he couldn't

climb out of,

and placed him safe

on a rock

and David responds

by praising God.

Because of God saving him,

David trusts in God more

and he wants to give his life

and not just a couple of offerings.

Have a look at verse 3.

He put a new song

in my mouth,

a hymn of praise

to our God.

Many will see

and fear the Lord

and put their trust in him.

He is praising God.

He is rejoicing

and his trust

and dependence

has grown.

He cried out to God.

He waited on him.

God answered

and saved him.

And importantly,

David doesn't just move on

to the next thing

he's got to do

in his life.

He sits in this moment

and praises God.

He trusts in him

and he offers

his whole life to him.

Verse 6,

sacrifice and offering

you did not desire,

but my ears

you have opened.

Burn offerings

and sin offerings

you did not require.

Then I said,

here I am,

I have come.

It is written about me

in the scroll.

I desire to do your will,

my God.

Your law

is within my heart.

Now it's hard not

to read this part

and immediately

think of Jesus.

But David is the

fulfillment of expectation.

He is the king.

But where David

desires to do

God's will,

Jesus is the one

who does it.

He is the one

who the scrolls

point to,

the Old Testament

points to.

And whilst God

has been faithful

and answered

David's call,

how much more

for Jesus?

Crying out

on the cross,

God,

why have you

forsaken me?

And yet God

lifted Jesus

out of a pit.

Not just a pit

of despair

and pain,

but the pit

of death.

And because God

has lifted him up,

he lifts us

up to new life too.

Placing us

on the firm

foundation

of Jesus.

In our moment

of salvation,

we don't even

realize how high

the walls

of the pit

are around us

until we get

taken out of them.

We were stuck

in a pit,

but not just

a difficult pit,

an impossible pit.

Ephesians 2

tells us

that we

were dead,

totally unable

to climb out

of our graves.

But God

has pulled us

out of this pit

in Jesus

and he puts

us on him

a firm

foundation.

And so now

we can do

what David

does and see

God's goodness

on the other

side of this pit.

We can see

and be reminded

that God

is good.

He listens

to us.

He answers

our cries.

We can say,

God,

I can depend

upon you

when I'm in a pit

because no matter

what pit I'm in,

it's not going

to be as bad

as the pit

I was in

when I was dead.

but God,

you have pulled

me out of that

and I can stand

on Jesus

regardless

of the season

around me

because no pit

can swallow me

because I am firm

in him.

If those

10 verses

were all we had

of Psalm 40,

it would be lovely

and it would be amazing.

It's this picture

of David

responding to God

saving him,

David crying out

and David

knowing that

God saves him.

But that's not

the full story

because that's not

our lived experience.

That illustration

from before

about that Korean

phrase,

our life

is much more

we climb a mountain,

we go through

a season of despair

and then there's

another mountain

to climb.

The truth is

that we lurch

from disaster

to disaster,

from the frying pan

to the fire.

Just because

someone has

survived cancer

doesn't mean

that they won't

lose a loved one.

Just because

someone has

struggled to

find a job

doesn't mean

their house

won't be threatened

by a bushfire.

The harsh

realistic truth

is that we live

in a damned world

cursed by sin.

God is the only hope

until he sends Jesus

and this world

is remade.

It is easy

to move on

from one mountain

of dependence

on God

and forget him

in the next moment.

Throughout lockdown

I was very aware

of the mountain

that we were climbing.

I was very aware

how much I needed

God's help

just to do

daily things

like have

patience

with my kids.

God was really good

to me in that season.

I really appreciated

reading the book

of Jeremiah

and being reminded

about God's

continued patience

for his kids

Israel.

And that encouraged

me to be a good dad.

And then we got

back to normal life.

We came out

of lockdown

and I didn't realise it

but I'd actually

put that dependence

on God

particularly for

patience to one side.

And I went back

to thinking

normal life

I can do this

I can do this

on my own.

Even though

it's just a different

mountain to climb.

And so

you know

I'm not sure

if you found this

came out of lockdown

my kids hadn't seen

anybody for four months

they went back

to school

we thought

yes

school's back

and then they all

got sick

because they were

back with people.

And I love you all

thank you for wearing masks.

And even then

I thought

okay

we're back

to this

we've just

gotten our freedom

I thought

I had life

and now

we're back

in a different

sort of lockdown

and that challenge

of having patience

was back

but I hadn't realised

how much

I needed

God in that.

Instead of

coming to him

and grieving

the fact that

we live in a cursed world

where you still have to

deal with sickness

depending on him

as the great healer

I just thought

I can do it.

But there is

a wonderful hope

and encouragement

here for us

in Psalm 40.

The first half

of the Psalm

is David

being thankful

to God

that he has

saved him.

The second half

of Psalm 40

David says

oh God

I've stuffed up

and I need you

to save me

I'm in another pit

I need you

to get me

out of this.

Verse 11

David's own sin

has caused

his trouble

and his request

his request

is based

on God

and on

who God

is.

God

is merciful

he is faithful

and he is loving

and so even though

David has

effectively

just gone

and jumped

back into

the pit

God has

pulled him

out of

David

cries out

to him

our God

is a much

better father

than me

if my kids

continually

come and ask

me the same

thing

I'll be okay

the first

three or four

or five times

on the sixth

it's just like

leave me alone

just figure it

out yourself

God is not

like that

we throw

ourself back

into that pit

of despair

repeatedly

we choose

to sin

and God

in his goodness

and patience

and love

for us

continues to

answer our

cries for help

verse 13

be pleased

to save me

Lord

come quickly

Lord

to help me

David has

learnt the

lesson of

grief and

lamentation

calling out

to God

when in need

depending on

him in

each and

every

circumstance

even the

problems that

he is now

making

God doesn't

ignore him

David sees

how faithful

God is

that he is a

God who

answers prayers

and so he

continues to

cry out

and he's aware

of his condition

verse 17

as for me

I am poor

and needy

may the Lord

think of me

you are my

help and my

deliverer

you are my

God do not

delay

now this is

King David

saying these

words

not sure if

he's in a

cave at this

point but

this is the

king and he

is saying he

is poor

and needy

he is aware

of who he

is before

God

that's what

happens when

we cry out

to God

we see God

answer us

when our

trust and

dependence grows

in him

we become more

aware of who

we are and

who he is

how awesome

he is and

how awful

we are and

how much we

need him

so that we

can say God

I am poor

and needy but

you are my

help and my

deliverer

when we learn

the lament of

Psalm 40 and

the and from

the book of

lamentations or

from Psalm 13

we learn David's

lesson here that

God is always

good he is

always helping and

answering prayers he

is always able to

be trusted but

also how good

God's grace for

us is that our

God would

willingly trade

our place with

Jesus at the

cross and so

that we can

continue to cry

out to him

preacher

theologian and

author Don

Carson told a

story about a

missionary who

came back to

Don Carson's

church while he

was doing his

PhD he brought

his wife and

young daughter

with him when

they were there

and he was

studying his

PhD his wife

got cancer she

was treated with

chemotherapy and

she recovered six

months later he

was diagnosed with

cancer liver

cancer no one

wanted to touch

him eventually

they found doctors

who would help

him they took a

large chunk of

his stomach with

radical treatment

but eventually he

recovered and was

able to continue

his PhD studies

six months after

that his wife died

of cancer he

finished his PhD

but before he went

back to the mission

field with his then

nine-year-old

daughter he went

and spoke at Don

Carson's church

and he thanked

everybody for their

support for their

prayers for him

over this time

and he thanked

God for all his

goodness

he thanked God

for the assurance

of life

for real hope

that he would see

his wife again

he thanked God

that he had left

him there to care

for his daughter

he spent his

whole time

in gratitude

and Don Carson

made the point

a very painful

point

that that is

simply normal

Christian living

hope in despair

is the usual

life of the

Christian

it is to be

the usual

life of the

Christian

our hope

isn't that

this season

of pain

will get

better

our hope

is not that

we will climb

a mountain

and then

it will just

be valleys

it will be

smooth sailing

it will just

be downhill

from here

because that

is not our

lived experience

that is not

life

it is we

climb a

mountain

and there's

another

mountain

our hope

is in

Jesus

who didn't

climb a

mountain

he went up

a hill

to Jerusalem

he went

on to a

cross

who God

raised from

the dead

who pulled

him out

of the pit

and so that

no matter what

happens with

our story

about the

mountains we

have to

climb

we can

grieve the

painful

difficult

seasons

we can

grieve the

challenges of

work

our families

getting sick

because Jesus

has climbed

the most

important

mountain

and he

has placed

us on his

back

and carries

us like a

little child

to stand

before God

the Christian

can endure

that the

story of

the missionary

still rejoicing

and being

thankful to

God

it can be

our story

because Jesus

is walking

with us

he says

this pain

you're going

through

I have

already

walked

through it

come

and follow

me

come and

place your

burdens

on me

because I

can carry

them

and so

as we

finish this

series

this season

of having

hope in

despair

and before

we head

into Christmas

and we get

distracted

with the

food and

the lights

and the

feasting

and the

festivals

and the

presents

remember

the value

of lament

lament

reminds us

of God's

goodness

it reminds

us of how

we still

depend on

God

on how

we should

be grieving

our sins

grieving

the things

that go

on around

us

but also

remembering

and celebrating

and rejoicing

God's goodness

to us

that he

would have

grace for

us

remember it

because there

is another

mountain around

the corner

to climb

but Jesus

is already

there

calling us

to walk

with him

don't

get bogged

down in

the mountain

because

God is

there with

us

cry out

to him

to help

because he

will answer

let's pray

heavenly

father

you were

so kind

to us

that Jesus

climbed

that mountain

to Jerusalem

that he

was on

a cross

that you

pulled him

out of

the pit

of death

and that

you have

raised us

to life

heavenly

father

thank you

that you

continue

to walk

with us

in the

good seasons

and in the

painful

difficult ones

lord

heavenly

father

for those

of us

who are

not in

a difficult

season

at the

moment

help us

not to

think that

we can

do it

on our

own

but lord

remind us

in season

and out

about how

much we

need you

bring us

closer to

you lord

and we

ask this

in your

son's name

and for

your glory

amen

amen

amen

me

amen

amen

amen