Let's ask our Lord's blessing
this evening. Our Father, we call upon you
in the name of the Lord Jesus, and we're so thankful, oh, that
we can pray. Lord, what a blessing to call
upon you and to know that you're here. I pray tonight for our
brothers and sisters that are ailing. Pray that you'd have
mercy. Lord, you order these things.
You work all these things according to your good pleasure. Pray for
the services tonight. Forgive us where we failed you,
for Christ's sake. Amen. Let's take our Bibles and
turn with me to Psalms 141. Psalms 141. I'd like to look
at verses 1 and 2. 141 verse 1 and 2. Lord, I cry unto thee, make haste
unto me, give ear unto my voice when I cry unto thee. Let my
prayer be set forth before thee as incense, and the lifting up
of my hands as the evening sacrifice. The Spirit of God revealed in
Job chapter 14 verses 1 and 2, Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower
and is cut down. He fleeth also as a shadow and
continueth not." You know the only man, woman that's going
to believe that is one that has been made new in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Man by nature doesn't think of
the end. He'll outwardly say Oh, I know
that we're all going to die. But he doesn't think of the consequences. He doesn't think of that day
in which he's going to stand before God. The books are going
to be opened. And the book is going to be opened.
But you let a man see something of his own frailty. and realize
something of His true need. And the one in whom He can trust
is the Lord. And He knows that. That's the
Lord that a sinner, one that's truly been made to see what He
is by nature. That's the one the sinner flees
to. David said in Psalm 27 5, in
the time of trouble, he shall hide me in his pavilion in the
secret of his tabernacle. He shall hide me. He shall set
me up upon a rock. Now I want us to consider, I've
entitled this message, The Cry of Need. And in these two verses, first
two verses, Psalm 141, I want us to consider the expression. You know the scripture says,
out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. So I want
us to consider how the Spirit of God moved upon David. Now David really wrote these
words, but it was as the Spirit of God inspired him. All of the Scripture is inspired
of God. These are God's words. And David
began to write, and again, he meant this. This was what was
in his heart, but God put it in his heart. And he says in
verse 1, he said, You notice all caps. Jehovah,
you who are the triune God, He's going to call upon the electing,
redeeming, regenerated God. Three persons, one God. Lord, you who are my first and
my last, help. The only one to whom I can call
with assurance of being heard, one who really cares. How often are we made to realize
and the reason we know that other people do to us what we do to
them is that when someone tells you something and they're pouring
their heart out to you and you really don't hear. If you're
trying to listen, you still don't get it all. People will try to
bare their heart to you and if they really knew how little you're
really comprehending or care, that's the sad part. I said,
I really care. Do we? But Lord, You who sees
in secret and rewards Your people openly. You who absolutely cares. The Scripture says, 1 Peter 5,
6 and 7, Humble yourselves therefore unto the mighty hand of God,
that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon
Him, for He careth. He always cares for you. He cares. Casting all your care,
and I've said this last week. I remember saying this because
there was something on my mind, and I'll say it again. Nothing is too insignificant. Nothing is too insignificant
for you to talk to the Lord about. If it is a burden to you, whatever
it is, casting all your care upon Him, He careth for you."
So David, speaking out of his heart, he said, Lord, I cry unto
Thee. I am reduced to the only expression
of need that an infant has. Every need that a baby, an infant
has, is expressed one way, crying. If that baby is hungry, he cries. If he's wet, he cries. If he's scared, he cries. If he just needs to be held,
needs some comfort, needs to be touched, He cries. That's the only way that that
baby knows how to express itself. And David expresses, Lord, I
cry unto Thee. Under the Lord, a sinner does
the same thing. He has no confidence in himself.
I can't trust myself. I don't even know what to do.
I don't know what to think. I don't know the right way. I
don't know what tomorrow is going to bring. And no other sinner
can afford any help. Others may trust in their works
or their supposed strength and try to find some comfort in what
someone has told them to do. If you'll do this, that, and
the other, then you're right with God. David moved by the
Spirit of God to cry unto the Lord. Others can trust in their
works, but a believer, a child of God, doesn't want any part
of that. You that know Him. Do you want to look to yourself?
Do you want to rest in something that you've done? I shared this
with you time and time before. Growing up, false religion. Somebody gives you a little ABC
to do and then you just do it. I can't tell you how many times
in my mind I would think back on something I've done. See,
that's the way false religion always is. You always have to
look back to what you've done in the past. Remember this. Today is the day of salvation.
What I did yesterday or 25 years ago Is the Lord my salvation today?
But I can remember thinking so many times after having done
my little, you know, exercise of salvation, I'd think to myself,
I wonder if I was sincere. I wonder how sincere I really
was. And you know I never found any
comfort in it. I always would think to myself, I know I couldn't
have been as sincere as I should have been. I think I'll redo
it. I'll have a rededication or whatever I could call it.
Lord, I cry unto Thee. Lord, I need You. I need You. I need You who are the Rock.
I need You who never fails. I need the One who promises and
His Word can be relied on. I will lie to myself. And I need
Him now. Look what He says. Make haste
unto Me. Lord, I can't wait. I can't wait. When you cry unto the Lord, is
it something that you're willing to, you know, well it doesn't
really matter if He hears me right now. Whenever He gets around
to it, no sir. No sir. Buddy, when there's something
on my heart and I have a burden, a care, I want to talk to the
Lord about it and I want to talk to Him right now. And I want
Him to hear. Lord, make haste. David said
in Psalm 70 verse 5, I'll read this to you. He said, but I'm
poor and I'm needy. Make haste unto me, O God, Thou
art my help and my deliverer. O Lord, make no tarrying. This
is an urgent cry. And I'm in need. I'm in need. And Lord, You told me to cast
all of my care on You. Lord, You said that. And I'm
just taking You at Your Word. And Lord, I'm asking You. I'm
asking You to have mercy. And based upon the Lord's Word,
and the realized poverty. Again, by nature, man doesn't
realize he's poor in spirit. He's not. He thinks he's rich
and increased with good. Right, Fred? Yeah. That's what the Lord told the
church at Laodicea. He said, you think you're rich
and increased with good. You're poor, wretched, blind. You let a man or woman be brought
to realize their spiritual poverty. and their weakness. And actually,
that's the evidence of their richness, really. And their strength. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are those that know,
I have nothing to give. I have nothing to give to the
Lord. What am I going to give God? What am I going to do for
Him? A poor in spirit, blessed, happy
are the poor in spirit. Theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
They've been made to know something about themselves. They've seen
something of sin that has ruined them. And they realize, the only
hope I've got is if God has mercy on me. That spiritual poverty,
that's the evidence of their true wealth. God Almighty is
going to exalt a man, exalt a woman in Christ. He's going to bring
them down first. They're going to see something of themselves.
And their weakness, their inability to do anything, the reason for
their crying and their urgent need for an answer from the Lord
is because they know the only strength I've got is Him. He is my strength. Paul said,
therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in
necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake.
He said they will grieve us for the moment. But oh, the blessing,
the blessing of having to go through those. Does anybody really
enjoy, in your flesh, do you enjoy going through trouble?
I don't. I don't. Do you enjoy the persecutions
or the distresses? All but for Christ's sake. Paul
says, for when I'm weak, that's when I'm strong. Why? Because
I'm gonna cast myself on the Lord, and the Lord will hear
me. He'll hear the cry of a needy sinner. He hears that cry which
is by faith in the Savior of sinners. The Lord of glory who
being rich for the sake of His people became poor that we through
His poverty might be made rich. What did He do? He voluntarily answered the call of Jehovah, the servant of the Father. He took upon himself the form
of his people. He took upon the form of sinful
flesh, but he knew no sin. And he, being without sin and
being the representative of his people, the federal head of his
people, He suffered joyfully. He said, My meat, that which
I feast upon, is to do the will of Him that sent me and to finish
His work. And He answered before God's
law every demand for righteousness. The law must be obeyed. I'm telling
you, where the law is not obeyed. And if we offend in one point,
we've offended in all of them. So any man, any woman that's
trusting anything they've done, I'm telling you right now, you
have no hope. None like this. Oh, but the one that David cried
unto, I tell you who he was crying to. He was crying unto the one
who was established by His own work, His power, His will, His
faithfulness. He established the righteousness
of God, the man, Christ Jesus, the man, as a man. He said, well, He was God. He's
truly God, but let me tell you what He established righteousness
as. The man. Truly man. A man obeyed God. And God looked upon His work,
His will, His dealings before God and men, and God said, I'm
well pleased. That's who David calls to. That's
who we call upon. Well, knowing therefore the one
in whom he trusted, David besought the Lord in the latter part of
verse 1 of Psalm 141. He says, Give ear unto my voice
when I cry unto thee. Here's faith. Lord, I know you're
here. I know. Now, you want some comfort?
It's to know that the Lord hears. We're not just talking to the
air. We're not going through the motion.
We're not trying to impress. We're talking unto the Lord.
He who rules in heaven and earth, the omnipresent, omniscient,
omnipotent God, He moves upon His people to call upon Him.
and he hears what they say. Psalm 34.15, the eyes of the
Lord are upon the righteous and his ears are open unto their
cry. Do you believe that? Do you believe
that Almighty God hears every one of His people when they call? How many people do you think
call upon the Lord at any given moment in this world? Of God's
people? How many do you think? Who knows? But you know what, according
to that scripture right there, he hears every one of them with
a personal audience. He hears them. We're dealing
with God. The righteous cry, and the Lord
heareth, says Psalm 34, 15, and delivereth them out of all their
troubles. He hears. Now that settles my
heart. Whenever I'm in trouble, if I
thought that the Lord didn't hear, what comfort is that, Neal? What do I got? I mean, to whom
am I speaking but myself? But for the Lord to hear, and
I believe Him, and when you cry unto Him, the Lord told His disciples,
when you pray, you say, Our Father, and a believer cries unto the
Lord, Our Father, and I believe He hears me. I believe he hears. Psalm 145, 19. He will fulfill the desire of
them that fear him. He also will hear their cry and
will save them. But David crying out to the Lord
in prayer, he didn't place any confidence in himself. He didn't place any confidence
in his prayer. We read that passage of Scripture
where the Spirit of God helpeth our infirmities, oh, how many
infirmities we have. He helpeth our infirmities. Why?
We don't even know what to ask for. What am I going to ask the
Lord? I don't know. I mean, things
come to our minds and we pray and then you think, it seems
like I'm just all over the page. I don't know how to ask. I don't
know when to ask. I know to whom I ask. I know
Him. I know I'm crying out. But then
when David offered up his petition unto Jehovah, we're going to
look in verse 2 and I'm going in. He petitioned the Lord that
he knew was hearing him. And he was trusting in Him who
speaks to God on His behalf. Look what he says in verse 2,
Psalm 141-2. Let my prayer be set forth. Let it be directed before thee
as incense and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. David prayed at his prayer. Now we have a great high priest. The Lord is our great high priest. The scripture says, he ever liveth to make intercession for his
people. Now when he's making intercession,
what's he doing? A priest is one that approaches
God on the behalf of people, sinners. That's what a priest
does. He approaches God on the behalf of. And no man, no man
comes to the Father but by Christ. Now we pray, we pray unto the
Father. He told us, He said, when you
pray, you pray this way. Our Father. But let me tell you
what happens. That prayer that is prayed, I'll
tell you what, turn over, you've read this before. Revelation
8. Revelation 8, verse 3 and 4. And this is the most comforting
thing whenever I don't know what to say. I don't know how to say
it. I don't know when to say it.
I forget stuff to say. Revelation 8 verse 3 and 4. And
another angel came and stood at the altar having a golden
censer. And there was given unto him
much incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints
upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke
of the incense which came with the prayers of the saints ascended
up before God out of the angel's hand. Now let me tell you what
he just said. I don't know what to say. I don't
know what to say. But I want to commune with the
Lord. I want to call upon the Father.
But I want my prayer to be heard. And the Scripture declares that
our great High Priest, the one who approaches God on the behalf
of His people, the one who's ever stood for Him, the one in
whom we are chosen, the one who loved us and gave Himself for
us, our husband, The One who betrothed us unto Himself. The One who said, I'm never going
to leave you. I'm never going to forsake you. I'm never going
to. What happens when His people pray? He takes the prayer of
His people that's being helped by the Spirit of God because
they don't know what to say. And He takes the prayers of His
people and presents the prayers of the saints And it's directed,
their prayers are directed unto the Father in the perfume and
the merit of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Father hears them for
His sake. He sets forth what we didn't
even know how to say. I don't know how to say it, but
He does. He does. He said, Father, do you ever
hear me? And then he said in that latter part of verse 2,
and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. The
lifting up of David's hands. David knew that the lifting up
of his hands could have no worthiness to it. The only hands, the holy hands. are the hands of the Lord Jesus
Christ that were lifted up unto the Father in the days of His
flesh, offering His own holy person unto the Father, presenting
and giving of Himself a sacrifice for sin in the salvation of His
people. Listen to this. It's a beautiful
passage and I'm done. Luke 24.50. He led them out. It's just before He ascended
into heaven. He led them out as far as to Bethany and lifted
up his hands and he blessed them. You know, I could lift up my
hands and I could try to bless you. You know what that means?
That means I can lift up my hand. That's all it means. That's all
it means. What am I going to bestow upon
you? Psalm 98, 1, Oh, sing unto the Lord a new song, for He hath
done marvelous things. His right hand, His holy arm
had gotten Him the victory. Isn't it a comfort to know that
there's a God in heaven that hears the prayers of His people
as they are presented in the incense of the merit of the Lord
Jesus Christ, the One who gave Himself for His people, laid
down His life, pleased the Father. May the Spirit of God teach us
something. We do call. We do call. We call on the Lord. Lord, make
haste. Lord, don't tarry. Lord, help me. Lord, help me. You want to know the effectiveness
of that prayer? It's the merit of Christ who
moved on His people by His Spirit to pray that. And may the Lord
teach us afresh that same thing, because we need to hear that
again and again and again, because the problems we got tonight,
I'm going to tell you, we'll have new problems tomorrow. May
the Lord keep us for Christ's sake. Amen.