Psalms | Psalm 116

It's good to see everyone out this morning.

Good to see you here, Echo. Steve this morning.

Thank you for being here, especially any guests.

We have with us this morning. Thank you for choosing to

worship with us. We realize that we're not the

only church in town. So we're we feel privileged to

have any visitors with us this morning.

We thank you for being here. Obviously, I'm not Kyle Jones,

lead pastor, but my name is James, James Jones, and both

Kyle and Jasper out today. It was there things that they

had planned for this weekend. So I'm before you this morning

and I get the privilege of starting off New sermon series

today, starting today. Over the next ten weeks.

We're going to be once again, in the Book of Psalms.

We've been doing this over the past few Summers, where we will

spend the summer in the Book of Psalms.

And we'll each week will be in a new Psalm this morning.

We're going to be in Psalm 116 start off the season.

Series. But the whole series is about

aligning ourselves with God's heart.

That's that's what we want out of this series.

It's not just to feel Tha more to feel the summer Tom.

It's it's, it's meant to help us align ourselves with God's

heart. Pat Puritan, Pastor Richards,

see ABS when describing the book of Psalm says this.

They are the anatomy of a holy man which lay the inside of him

outward for all to see. If the scriptures be compared to

a body, the Psalms would be the heart.

They are so full of sweet, affections and passions for in

other portions of scripture, God speaks to us.

But the, but in the Psalms holy me in speak to God and their own

hearts, and that last phrase, holy men, speak to God and their

own Hearts is all about alignment.

You always face a decision about who, Who or what you are.

Aligning yourself up with, for Christians.

The answer should be clear. But you have to pay attention to

those butts. You know, where in scripture any

time the word but is used in relation to humans.

It's almost every time in a negative context.

However, anytime you see the word but and it's related to God

is always 100% of the time, always in a in a positive

connotation. So that's that should be you

know, kind of waking us. So, that's all the Christian.

Should she answer should be clear that we share a lot

ourselves up with God, but the desires of our flesh, our

rebellious to God's word. So, there's a decision about

alignment that we have to make every day.

And that's what this series is all about.

The Psalms are a gift from God concerning our alignment

struggle in them. We see mankind dealing openly

and honestly, with God on a variety of issues, every one of

them points us to God's heart, showing us the way to align

ourselves with God's heart. It was not by happenstance that

Psalm 1 is the first Psalm in the Book of Psalms.

I don't believe it says, blessed is the man who walks not in the

counsel of the wicked nor stands in the way of Sinners, nor sits

in the seat of scoffers. But his Delight.

Is in the law of the Lord. And on his law, he meditates day

and night Says that he is like a tree planted by the streams of

water that yields its fruit in its season and it's Leaf does

not Wither in all that he does. He prospers the wicked are not

so but they are like chaff that the wind drives away, therefore

the wicked will not stand in the Judgment nor sinners in the

congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of

the righteous. But the Way of the Wicked Will

perish. Blessed is the man who what

takes counsel his Delight is in the law of the Lord.

He aligns himself up with God and his word.

And that's what this series is all about.

Amen, as we align ourselves up with God's heart, we will be

able to fulfill our Church's mission statement.

That we will that we will glorify God by making disciples

who grow in their faith, in in Jesus and their love for one

another. So as we dive into Psalm 116

this morning, that's what our goal of this series is aligning

ourselves up with God's heart, a man.

Let's pray. Father, I praise you.

I magnify you. father, I thank you for this opportunity that we

have to gather to our symbol ourselves for the sole purpose

of worshipping and magnifying you Father today, I ask that you

will speak to us through your word.

Father is out of clear. Your word is your true.

Father, may they not hear me, but they may, they hear you

father. Holy Spirit.

I ask that you would just open our eyes and their ears.

Enlighten us, as Jesus declared that you would open the scripts.

Open the truth of scripture up to us this morning.

And I give you honor and glory and praise.

Amen. Here in Psalm 116, we will begin

on verse 1. And if you are able, if you will

stand this morning, Word of God declares here in

Psalm 116 verse 1. I love the Lord because he has

Psalms 116:1

heard my voice and my pleas for Mercy because he inclined his

ear to me, therefore, I will call on him as long as I live.

The snares of death and compassed me the Pains of shio

laid, hold on me, I suffered distress and anguish.

Then I called on the name of the Lord.

Oh Lord, I pray deliver my soul. Gracious is the Lord and

righteous. Our God is merciful.

The Lord preserves the simple when I was brought low, he saved

me return, O my soul to your rest for the Lord has dealt

bountifully with you for. You have delivered, my soul from

Death. My eyes from tears, my feet from

stumbling. I walk, I will walk before the

Lord in the land of the living. I believe, even when I spoke,

I'm greatly Afflicted. I said in my alarm all mankind

or Liars. What shall I render to the Lord

for all his benefits? To me, I will lift up the cup of

Salvation and call on the name of the Lord, I will pay my vows

to the Lord in the presence of all his people.

Precious is the sight of the Lord.

Precious in the sight of the Lord, is the death of his

Saints. Oh Lord.

I'm your servant. I am your servant.

The son of your maidservant, you have loosed.

My bonds. I were offered to you.

The sacrifice of Thanksgiving and call on the name of the

Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord

in the presence of all his people in the courts of the

house of the Lord. In your Mist over Jerusalem,

praise the Lord. You may be seated.

Seated. Hallelujah.

This morning, I want to just endeavor.

To talk to her a little bit about this matches message that

I've entitled because is why we have faith in Christ.

Because is why we have faith in Christ.

The psalmist here says I love the Lord because he has heard my

voice and my pleas for Mercy verse 2 because he inclined his

ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live. the

central theme of today's if you as Jasper would say the message

in a sentence of the sermon in a sentence would be we as

Believers can and should put our total faith in Christ for our

Safety and Security because Of Christ's faithfulness. we as

Believers can and should put our total faith in Christ for our

Safety and Security because of Christ's faithfulness And I'm

going to attempt to bring out three aspects of this central

theme this morning. The first one is our faith in

Christ is exponential, exponential.

We experience his faith. Our faith in Christ is

personalized in our faith. In Christ is relational.

In the first aspect of our central theme is our faith.

In God is experiential. We experience our faith in

Christ. He says, I love the Lord because

this word because comes with the picture of this of of the time

or something that has been proven.

He says I love the Lord. Why?

Because he has proven himself faithful.

Psalm 34 verses 2 through 8 says this my soul.

Psalms 34:2–8

This is speaking of the somnus mistake, picking up my mind, my

inner man. My thought life, my soul makes

his boast in the Lord, let the humble here and be glad o

magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together.

I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me

from all my fears. Not just some all my Ears, those

who look on him already, aunt and their faces shall never be

ashamed. This poor man cried in the Lord

heard him and saved him out of all his troubles, the angel of

the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and delivers them o

taste and see. That the Lord is good.

Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

Once again, Psalm 1. Blessed is the man who Delights

in the law of God. So he says, I love the Lord

because Because he's proven himself faithful.

That's why James could write in James.

James 1 · chapter mention

Chapter 1 verses two through four count.

It all joy. My brothers when you meet Trials

of various kinds for, you know, was look at that word.

No, right there. you know, what do they know and why do they

know because Because they've seen the Lord faithful.

For, you know, that the testing of your faith produces

steadfastness and let steadfastness have its full

effect that you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing.

So James do the same thing as the psalmist said in Psalm 116.

The faithfulness of Christ had been proven to them over and

over, and over. And we can have that same

assurance. We can have faith in Christ.

Why? Because because we've seen his

faithfulness, amen. He says he had heard my cry my

pleas for Mercy, I love I love Hebrew words.

Because their picture words, it doesn't, they don't just

describe something, they, they, they unfold a picture and this

word that heard where he heard my pleas.

For Mercy, means to hear and listen with with the intent to

listen and understand. So it's not just that he heard

me. How many times have we heard

someone? But not really heard what they

said. How many times have those with

kids? How many times have you said

something to you kid, and turned around?

They go. What was that?

Well, I heard this and this and this but I didn't hear all that.

We have the taint, same tendency.

Sometimes we could hear someone but not really here, then but

here, the psalmist says that he heard My Cry, he listened to me

with intent to understand my plea that's another reason,

because That we that Christ shows himself faithful.

Their word mercy is a plea for favor.

Which means gracious. Kindness shown toward one by his

Superior. So when he says I love the Lord

because he heard my voice and my pleas for mercy He knows, he's

he cried out to God in the past and seeing God answer.

So as you and I cry out to God, as we put our faith in Christ as

our Lord and savior, and we we go through trials, we go through

struggles, we go through tribulations, and we look to

Christ, we don't look to the world, we don't look to to

money. We don't look at our jobs, we

don't look at our friends or family.

Look to God and him alone and we see him bless us.

We see him Prosper us, we put our Delight in God's law and

because of that, everything we do prospers, we say that over

and over we and we experience God's faithfulness.

Then we learn what? Because means we love the Lord

because he met me in this situation.

I love the Lord because he answered this prayer.

Amen, verse 2. It says because he inclined his

ear to me, this word incline, means to stretch out to extend

to offer. Offer?

What Favor. That's why his plea were his

plea for Mercy was as plea for favor.

It also means to stretch out or to pitch a tent, its meaning to

stretch out with the intent, to plant yourself.

Which speaks of the longevity of favor, the longevity of God's

blessing, because the psalmist goes on and says, how long will

I cry out to the Lord? He says, all the days of my

life, He says, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.

Why? Because Because is why we have

faith in Christ. Amen.

We've experienced it it's not just something that we can read

about but we can experience God's faithfulness.

But I have to ask this question this morning, why does the Lord

hear our plea? We can that we can establish

that because God here is our plea that we love him.

But why, why would god look on the psalmist?

David writes, you know why? What's so significant about me?

What's so significant about us? First John, 4:19 tells us that

we love because he first loved us.

Amen, we love because he first loved us. because, Because God

first loved us. We in turn love him.

Because we love God. We want to serve and Obey him

because we serve and Obey him. He hears our pleas for favor,

because he hears our pleas for favor, He blesses us and helps

us in our time of need Because he helps us in our time of need.

We learned that we can put our faith and our trust in him.

It's all that. It's we experience his

faithfulness every day. We wake up is a new day to

experience God's faithfulness. Does that mean everything is

going to be a Bed of Roses know that mean we're not going to go

through trials and tribulations. Absolutely.

And I we just read that in the Book of James is everyday going

to be a good day. Probably not.

But God's going to be with us every day.

Amen. We're going to experience that

faithfulness. And because we experience that,

we can say, why, why do you love God?

Why do you serve God? Why do you believe in Jesus?

Because and then we can tell him, tell them all the reasons.

Why because we experienced that as we look on verses 3 through

6, speaks of God being gracious, righteous and merciful.

He speaks of the snares of death.

It's it puts the picture once again he the Hebrew words, it

paints a picture of of having a rope or being being bound by a

cord. It even mentions the word

travail as a woman travailing in childbirth, it's like on the

brink of dying. He was in, he was in distress

and anguish. Then we look at verse 4.

Says then I called on the name of the Lord.

Oh Lord. I pray deliver my soul.

Once again he says my soul is speaks of our mind, our in term

and our thought life. Why self-talk is so important?

If your pardon me speaker or been in home groups, you know, I

talk about this a lot, but guess what?

I'm going to talk about again, our thought life is so

important. Our self-talk, how we talk to

ourselves because every thought every every word that we speak

or every action, we do began as a thought I can have.

Feel like I'm hungry and walking to the kitchen and fix me a

sandwich. But before I waited went there,

I thought about what I was going to do.

Once I got there, the same thing.

Every word that we speak, every action that we do began as a

thought. That's why it says in 2nd

Corinthians 10 talking about think about what you're thinking

about capture those thoughts because to think that is bad

enough. But for that to come out in our

in our speech or our thought life to think that and to say

that especially about ourselves, we come into agreement with

that. And then we we then we begin to

believe that about ourselves, amen.

So he says, then I called on the name of the Lord.

Oh Lord. I pray deliver.

My soul verse 5. The Lord is gracious.

This is speaks of him here in the Cry of the Vets, he's

righteous Meats, which means he's just and Sovereign God, and

he's merciful. Which speaks of his deep love

and having compassion. And in verse 6, he says the Lord

preserves the simple. He keeps watch.

He guards, he protects, who are the simple and foolish.

Isn't it, isn't it Grand think that even when I'm foolish that

God still looks over me. Even when we make mistakes, Even

when we make a bad decision. In the Heat of the Moment and

something comes out of her mouth that shouldn't God still looks

over sin. Those times a man. when I was

brought low, when was he brought low in verse 48 because of his

distress and anguish, he saved me.

Even when I was brought low, he saved me.

He liberated, he delivered me. It's all.

Something that was experienced. So the first aspect is our faith

in Christ is exponential, is something that we experience.

The second aspect of our central theme today is our faith in

Christ is personalized. It's part of our aligning

ourselves up with God's heart. Because God first loved us and

because if you had noticed, you're going to hear the word

because a lot this morning because God first loved us and

because we learn through our trials and sufferings that

Christ is faithful. We have to remind our own minds

of this truth. When worry or doubt start to

creep into our thought life. I pray.

Here are my notes. This is the turning point.

Because of the truce in verses 1 through 6, we have to ask

ourselves, how am I going to live?

And in somnus answers that in verse 7, he says return old my

soul, my mind, my thought, life to your rest return, to your

rest, which is a place of quietness and safety.

When Jesus was with his disciples and they Were in the

storm on the boat. Jesus was asleep.

I don't think he was just asleep to be part of a story

illustrates how to be quiet and restful.

While we're going through the turbulent times in life.

Amen. We caught, we all have different

things that we've experienced. We all can can, hopefully can

say that we've seen God's faithfulness through each step

of the way. I talked about this a lot that

God is a connected, connect the dot God.

You have a, you know, a child's paper with a connector dot

picture and you don't know what the picture is because it's just

a bunch of dots. But once you begin to get a

pencil and you start connecting those dots, the more dots you

have connected, the more, the picture that's on that page

comes to life and that's how we are.

God knows all the dots. We don't.

But we have Do is have faith in him that he's going to get his

from 1.2, the next Dot. And when we connect those dots,

the picture that God is trying to teach us and lead us becomes

more clear, but we have to trust that by faith.

It says for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

I really love this part. This word bountifully, once

again these Hebrew words paint a picture.

It Paints the picture of of a child being weaned from milk to

meet. The picture of a child being

weaned from milk to meet and we think about what?

Okay, how does Christ do this? the simple answer, he allows us

to go through trials and sufferings You know, these are I

asked one time. How many knows that in

Christian? Christian dome in church.

We have dirty words. The world has dirty words.

The Christian and the Christian the church, we have dirty words,

their trials suffering. Those are dirty words in church.

People don't want to hear too much about going through trials

and sufferings. What are the fruits of the

spirit is long-suffering or long-suffering?

We don't we want to hear that Christ saves us and we're good

to go until we're with him forever.

That nothing bad is going to happen to us.

It's never going to rain on us. It's never, you know, we're

never going to have hard times. And you know people that teach

that. They?

I'm not going to say what I want to say.

What they need, the duct tape Ministry and in their mouth duct

tape. So they can't preach that crowd.

Amen. It's like the people on TV, you

know, you know, snake oil salesmen you see on the

Christian channels? Yeah, I like them, send me your

money and you're going to be blessed, you know, 100 fold.

Guaranteed event. Mmm, Yeah.

Okay let's just go on. He says, for you have delivered

my soul from Death. My eyes from tears, my feet from

stumbling. He's delivered, he can deliver

our mind from doubt and worry. Why?

what words coming next because In Christ, we have a solid

foundation. Verses 9 through 11 speaks of

assurance to one's self. Why?

Because because we have our faith in Christ is personalized,

is something that we personalize through experience.

Vers Nami. 90 says, I will Walk before the Lord.

In the land of the living verse 10.

Says, I believed even when I spoke, I'm greatly Afflicted.

His speaking of he's talking to his own self right here.

Verse 11. I said in my alarm, all mankind

of liars, but all through it all, what did he do?

He believed he's telling him, so he's encouraging himself.

I will walk before the Lord, I believe, even when it didn't

look like, I should believe I believed anyway.

He-Man One of my favorite. Stories in the Bible is second

Chronicles chapter. 20 King Jehoshaphat in the nation of

Judah, being invaded by the moabites, and ammonites amounts,

a year. And the nation of Judah, they

don't have any, they don't have the strength, or the manpower to

match that the enemy coming against them King Jehoshaphat

called, for a fee of called, for AAA, A prayer Tom and a fast.

And it says, as they were in this, that the spirit of the

Lord Came Upon, one individual and he spoke a word from God to

them. And, and the bulk of it is in

this one sentence stand still and see the salvation of the

Lord. And said the next morning they

sent the Army out to face this massive Invasion.

But in front of the, in front of the Warriors, they Sent the

singers and the praisers. They ascend the Warriors out

first, they sent those to praise and worship God.

And the Bible says, as they began to praise that God said

ambushment. So against the ammonites the

moabites and mounts a here. that Ammon and Moab joined forces and

killed all the military people from outside here and then Ammon

and Moab turned on each other and they all killed each other.

And it says, when the Army got to the mountain to the Clift of

Zia's, they looked out in the valley and all they saw was dead

bodies. And it took them days to go down

and get all the spoil and bring back to their Camp.

Why? Because they believe God's word

and you and I can experience we can we can experience his

faithfulness by living and pried out to him and then we can

personalize it by taking it into ourselves.

And we are, we encourage ourselves because of our

experiences in him. And then the third aspect this

morning is our faith in Christ is relational.

Our faith in Christ is relational. because God first

loved us and because we love him, we love one another What

should we do? Because of our faith in Christ

verse 12 tells us, What shall I render to the Lord for all his

benefits to me? This word render means.

I shall turn back to God in Repentance.

And why should we turn back to God?

Because of God's sovereignty. Human protection over all

things. Verse 14 says, I will pay my

vows to the Lord and the presence.

Of all his people. So where should we pay our vows

in corporate worship? Relational living something.

We call home groups. Those are not just times that

people get together during the week, just to hang out.

What we're doing this morning is not just something that we do.

This is something. We are should be something that

we are. It's relational living.

We come together and we declare every week as we praise songs as

we hear a sermon as we're strengthened by seeing one,

another, that we're praising were given.

Praise to God and we're doing it together.

So our faith in Christ is relational.

We experience it. We personalize it on an

individual level level and then we get to come together in this

setting or in a home group setting or in a, in a coffee

shop with with other believers. And we're Relationship with one

another. That's why I said aligning

ourselves up with God's heart will accomplish our Church's

mission statement that we exist to glorify God and making

disciples and growing in our love one another.

It's not not a one-man show. A man is not just us, it's not

just me me, me me, our faith in Christ, then turns us outward

into each other. So our faith in Christ is

relational. In corporate worship.

Our acknowledge that God is Sovereign in all things, even

death, according to verse 15. In corporate worship, I will

acknowledge that I am a servant of God.

According to verse 16 in corporate worship, I will offer

the sacrifice of Thanksgiving and call on the name of the

Lord. Once again in verses 18 and 19

were told to pay our vows to the Lord where amongst all the

people. That's why we do this every

week. That's why it's so important.

The writer of Hebrews said not to forsake the assembling of

yourselves together as a matter of some have done it's not

something that we just do. It says something.

We experience every week when he commented you, we gather with

one another. It's part of our saying that we

have faith in Christ because we were in relation to one another.

And where do we do this? Once again, verse 19, it says in

the courts of the house of the Lord in your midst of Jerusalem.

So in the courts and the presence of all God's people as

weaker corporately, Worship the Lord, amen.

And he finishes with the phrase. Praise the Lord.

Why? Because we have faith in Christ,

amen. Amen.

The stand this morning. This morning. do you think once

again on the central theme we as Believers can and should put our

faith in Christ in Jesus for our Safety and Security because of

Christ's faithfulness As we live every day.

As we serve God everyday. We have the great privilege of

experiencing his faithfulness on a daily basis.

And as we grow as God, begins to deal with us bountifully, which

means he Wayne's us off milk into meat.

Every day, every month, every year, the more we walk with God,

closer, we get with God, the more we experience his

faithfulness. the more we experience his faithfulness, the

more we make it our own The more we make it our own, the

stronger. The desire for us to be right

here, every Sunday morning to worship with each other

corporately to strengthen. One another Our faith can lift

up someone else, or day that we're down.

Someone else's Faith Can Lift us up.

Someone else's story can lift us up.

So while we see her say, I'll call to worship every Sunday

morning. Something we believe in it's not

just words on the screen. we believe it and for this morning,

if you have not put your faith and trust in Christ, I encourage

you to do so. And you can you can learn and

discover what the word because means you can, you can learn

about Christ's faithfulness. You can learn about.

Your internal security in you, amen.

Let's pray. Father, I praise you.

I magnify you. Father, I thank you.

That you hear our cries. I think you that your incline

your ear to us. I thank you that when we are in

anguish and distress, father, you here, and you respond father

this morning, I asked, Let let your word.

Encourages this morning. Father, if there is one that is

going through a struggle, let this word encourage them.

As a psalmist declared, even though he was going through the

trouble, I will walk before the Lord.

So, Holy Spirit, I asked encourage this morning.

Encourage anyone that might be struggling this morning.

Ask that there is one hear that. Needs to put their faith in, you

help them to do that. Father, I just give you honor

and glory and praise. I thank you for your word.

I thank you for your truth. We just got give you honor and

glory and praise your name. We say, praise the Lord.

Amen. Father, I just give you honor

and glory and praise. I thank you for your word.

I thank you for your truth. We just got give you honor and

glory and praise your name. We say, praise the Lord.

Amen.