All right, if you take your Bibles
now and turn with me to Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12. We'll begin at chapter 12 and
verse 12, but I also want you to go ahead and you can take
your Bibles and turn with me to Lamentations chapter 3. I'm
going to hold these two places. We're going to spend most of
our time in Lamentations, so I'll just go ahead and give that
to you now so you can turn there in your Bibles. The title of
my message tonight is Patience and Prayer. prayer. Now in this 12th chapter
of the book of Romans, the Apostle begins what we would term his
practical doctrine. He says at the beginning of this
chapter, because of the mercies of God, I beg you, believers,
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable
unto the Lord, which is what? Our reasonable service. And then
he begins to describe what this is, what this is, to present
our body. He said that we should be humble.
We should humble ourselves and not think of ourselves too highly.
He says that we ought to understand that we're all of one body. And
though we have differing gifts, we all have these of God. And in verse 9, he said, Let
us love there without dissimulation, without hypocrisy, abhor that
which is evil, cleave to that which is good. He said, Be kindly
affectionate one to another in brotherly love, honoring, preferring
one another. not slothful in business, the
business of worship, the business of serving God, but fervent in
spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope." And see, he says they're
rejoicing in hope. We have a lot to rejoice in.
You who are a believer in Christ, don't you know that you have
a lot to rejoice in? Consider this, that we have a
hope, that is sure and steadfast, rejoicing in hope. Christ is
our hope, isn't He? He has provided a ransom. He
is our Redeemer. He is our deliverer. He is our
surety. And the love of God is now shed
abroad in our hearts, and one day all that He's provided for
us will be manifest to us. We have a sure hope A confident
hope. Rejoice in that hope. What an
exhortation that is. Rejoice in hope. But now, this is the part that
I want us to focus on tonight. Patient in tribulation. Patient in tribulation. Continuing instant in prayer. Now, in our Bibles, if you were
to search the Scriptures, We have, in the Word of God, the
apostles, the prophets, kings, and priests, all without exception,
suffered tribulation in this life. Have you known that? When
you're going through the Scriptures, have you noticed that? That God
shows us their great suffering. They had hope. They rejoiced
in hope. But I also know this, that they
were not exempt from suffering, from tribulation. Now, what did
the Lord do that for? He did that as a pattern for
us, a pattern to show us that though we are chosen, we are
redeemed, we are called by the Spirit to salvation, that does
not exempt us from any trouble in this world. It does not exempt
us from trouble. You remember what our Lord said
in John 16. He said, In the world you shall
have tribulation. Christ promised that we would
have tribulation in this world. But we as believers understand
where this comes from. It does not come from the world.
The world is not the original source of our tribulation. We
know this, God is the source of our tribulation. He is the
author of our tribulation. He is the first cause of all
things. You remember in Amos chapter
3 and verse 6, it says, Is there evil in the city, and hath not
the Lord done it? God himself says, I create light
and darkness. I create Good and evil. And what he meant by evil is
not sin, he meant calamities. Calamities, tribulations. You
remember when Job was suffering his tribulation, his wife said,
curse God and die. And what did he say? Shall we
not receive good at the hand of the Lord and not evil? You
see, in our greatest times of darkness, we often forget We
often forget that God is in charge of all things. We forget. We're forgetful people. And so
in God's Word, we read of many of God's children that have experienced
much tribulation and pain, yet I want you to know that their
trials are for our gain. Their tribulation was no accident. It was on purpose so that it
should be a pattern for us. I'll show you this, so I'm not
just trying to tell you this by my authority. Go to Hebrews
6. Look over Hebrews 6 and see what the Apostle says about this
in verse 11. The Apostle Paul here says, We
desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to
the full assurance of hope unto the end. that you be not slothful,
but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the
promises." Followers of them who through faith and patience
inherit the promises. Now, it's my intent tonight to
encourage you, to strengthen you, to exhort you. Because we
are going to experience tribulation in this world, I would that we
be not slothful, but followers of them that God has set before
us through the power of the Spirit, using their examples, that through
faith and patience we too should inherit the promises. They lived
their life, they suffered their tribulations, and through faith
and patience, they inherited the promises. Even so, Paul encourages
us that we should be faithful, that we should be patient in
tribulation. We, as believers in Christ, must
persevere. We must persevere. All manner
of tribulations and afflictions Therefore, Paul says in our text,
be patient in tribulation. Now, there are many examples.
I can go through the Old Testament, and you can find any one of the
Old Testament prophets or kings, and you can pick them, and they
all went through their troubles. But I think the most succinct
one that we're going to look at tonight is Jeremiah. Jeremiah. So take your Bibles and go over
to Lamentations chapter 3. Lamentations chapter 3. We're
going to see this one. who through patience and faith
inherited the promise." Jeremiah in Lamentations chapter 3. You look at this. Now, this prophet Jeremiah, he preached
to the nation of Judah. And his message was simple. Repent
and believe, or God would take the nation into captivity. That
was a simple message. And yet we know this, he had
a great zeal for the people of Judah. Had a great zeal for them. The scripture says that the word
of God burned within him. He had a zeal for the people. And yet, as far as we know, he
had no converts. Can you imagine that? Preaching
all those years and suffering all those afflictions, and yet
he had no visible sign that his preaching was doing anything. When I thought of that, I thought
of Jonah, that reluctant prophet. He preached once, and the whole
nation turned. Jeremiah preached for years,
and no one turned. You don't suppose this man suffered?
You don't suppose his heart was broken? To pour out his whole self, his
whole life toward the gospel and see nothing. It was a pain. It was a great pain. One time
he even tried to stop. In Jeremiah 29, he tried to stop. He said, I'm just not going to
do it anymore. And the Word of God, the Scripture says, burned
within him. And he could not forbear. Now,
in this book of Lamentations, I believe we get a clear picture
of the suffering of this man, Jeremiah. We get a clear picture.
Look at this in verse 1. And I want you to see if you
can identify. I want you to see if you can't
see this in your own tribulation. Remember, those that were set
before us were intended to be an example for us, and Jeremiah's
no different. Let's read what he says. He says,
"...I am a man that has seen affliction by the rod of his
wrath." He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, and not into
the light. Surely against me hath he turned
his hand against me all the day." Now, Jeremiah says, look, I am
the man that's seen affliction. That means I'm the only one.
That's how he felt. He felt as though he was the
only man that has seen affliction. He said, I don't know about anybody
else, but I have seen the affliction of the Lord. Many times we as
believers, when we're overtaken by tribulation and affliction,
we think we're the only one. We feel as though we're the only
ones. We say, surely there's none that
has seen of my affliction. Surely I must be the only one
that has suffered such grief and pain. But notice this, he
admits the sovereignty of God in this. He said it was by the
rod of his wrath by the rod of his wrath. He owns, then, his
guilt. He owns, then, his sin in this
affliction. And he knows this, that whatever
he's getting, it's not what he really deserves. Now, I know when affliction and
troubles come on the children of God, the first thing you think
of is what? What did I do? My sin. We think of our sin. What have we done to deserve
this trial? What sin have we committed to cause God to be
angry? We feel as though God has led or drove us in darkness,
and His hand that was once kind has now turned against us. We
in our tribulation are forced into some kind of sickness or
grief or sorrow or afflictions, so much that it even may affect
our appearance. Look what it says in verse 4.
It says, "...my flesh and my skin hath he made old, he hath
broken my bones." We feel as though we are cast from his presence,
and God builds up a wall to shut us in. We feel like we're in
some kind of tomb, some kind of grave. Now listen, it may
only be a day, or it may be a week, or it may be a month, or a year,
but I tell you, whatever time, it feels like decades, it feels
like centuries. when we are in these dark places. He says this in verse 5, He hath
built it against me, encompassed me with gall and travail. He
hath set me in dark places as they that be dead of old. We say in our tribulation that
God has built us in like a prison. In the New Testament, when Paul
uses that word distress in Romans chapter 8, He said neither distress
or persecution or famine that word distress means narrowness
That's the idea of what the the prophet is writing. He feels
as though he is in a cell in a prison and he can't get out,
he cannot move, he cannot go forward or backward, he cannot
turn to the right or the left. God has pinned him down like
the nation of Israel when they were running from Pharaoh. The
sea was in front of them, Pharaoh was behind them, the mountains
to the left, the deserts to the right, they could not move. Now
listen, is that not an accurate picture of us in our trouble?
When God is causing our distress, we feel as though He has encompassed
us in a tomb. In verse 7, He hath hedged me about,
that I cannot get out. He hath made my chain heavy. When God does this and He shows
us that there is no power of flesh or man, no determination
of will that could ever get us out. He said, I cry and shout, but
what does He do? He shuts out my prayer. He hath
enclosed my ways like a hewn stone. He hath made my paths
crooked. At times, these tribulations
feel as though God chained us up and shut the door of heaven. Though we cry and pray, we find
that the windows of heaven are shut and our prayers seem to
go no further than our lips. And instead of delivering us,
He's intent to increase our sorrows. Verse 10, He says, He was as
unto me as a bear lying in wait in a line in secret places. He
had turned aside my ways to pull me in pieces. In times of tribulation,
we feel as though God is lying in wait for us, as though He
is against us and ready to pounce on us at any moment. I think
of Pilgrim as he was going through the way. You remember those lions
were in front of the way. He didn't know they were chained.
And there was great fear. And a lot of times when we are
in trouble, we feel as though God is ready to pounce on us,
to destroy us. In verse 12, he says, he had
bent his bow and set his mark For the arrow, he hath caused
the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins. I was in derision
to all my people and their song all the day." It seems as though
God has bent a thousand arrows and shot them all and hit the
mark. There's one thing about God is
He knows exactly the nerve to hit. He knows exactly the pressure
point that is needed for His children to feel the pain and
sorrow that is necessary for them. And I'll tell you this, when
we proclaim the name of God and His mercies, what ends up happening
is we begin to be ridiculed. That's what He says in verse
12. He was ridiculed. I'm sorry, it was verse 14. He
said, I was in derision, a derision to all my people, and their song
all the day. They mock at us. The world mocks
it at God's people in the midst of our troubles. Don't that seem
to aggravate the woe and the sorrow? These afflictions of Jeremiah,
now, are they not our afflictions? If you've ever been in trouble,
does this not sound familiar? Verse 15, he says, and this is
the result. He said, He hath filled me with
bitterness. He hath made me drunken with wormwood. He hath broken
my teeth with gravel stones. He hath covered me with ashes.
He hath removed my soul far from peace. I forgot prosperity. And I said, My strength and my
hope is perished from the Lord. Remembering mine affliction and
my misery, the wormwood and the gall, my soul hath them still
in remembrance, and is humbled in me. Many times our afflictions
and troubles bring us to make us bitter. They cause us to bow down to
the ground, and our peace seems lost. Our hope seems lost. Jeremiah said, My strength and
my hope is perished from the Lord. How many times have we been in
this situation and we've tried to forget our trouble? That's
the idea of modern philosophy, just think positive, I know that
God doesn't allow this to work for the believer. We may think
positive, and what does he do? He sends more trials, more difficulties,
so that we forget prosperity. Have you ever been there? Believer,
have you been there? Perhaps you're there now. Maybe
you're in great tribulation. Maybe you feel as though the
hand of God is set against you. Maybe you're in such a trial
that you've been brought low, like Asaph. You remember Asaph
in Psalm 73, he said this, I know God's good to Israel, but as
for me, as for me, my feet are almost gone. Isn't that exactly
what Jeremiah is saying? He said, my strength and my hope
is perished from the Lord. I know God is good to Israel,
but as for me, verse 18, My strength and my hope is perished
from the Lord. Remembering my affliction, my
misery, the wormwood, and the gall." Now listen, if you've
not ever felt this way, believer, listen. Just wait. Just wait. Tribulations will come. We are
not exempt from any of them. But believer, in the midst of
your troubles and trials, in the midst of these tribulations,
listen, you are exhorted to do one thing. Wait. Be patient. Trusting the Lord. Trusting God. It is tribulation
that God has chosen to be the proving grounds of your faith. Tribulation has a purpose, friends. It has a reason. God does not
bring us into these very pits in order to destroy us, but rather
to prove us. To prove us. They're proving
grounds. It is the manner in which God
has chosen to do away with all self-righteousness and self-confidence. To show us that we have no strength
or ability to keep ourselves. And to reveal that His work of
grace by the Holy Spirit is our only means of keeping us in the
faith. Go over to 1 Peter. Go to 1 Peter
and look at 1 Peter chapter 1. 1 Peter chapter 1 and look at
verse 6. He says, wherein you greatly
rejoice. What is he talking about? Paul said rejoicing in hope.
That's the same thing that Peter said, wherein you greatly rejoice
that God chose you, Christ redeemed you, the Spirit calls you and
keeps you. You greatly rejoice in that.
Though now for a season, if need be, you through heaviness, through
manifold temptations, that the trial of your faith The trial
of your faith. That's what these tribulations
are. They are the trial of your faith. And what are they, Peter? They are much more precious than
gold. And he said, I don't care if
it's tried by fire. It doesn't matter how painful
it is. It's more precious than gold,
though it be tried with fire. For what purpose that it might
be found under the praise and honor and glory at the appearing
of Jesus Christ." How precious is faith? Believer, how precious
is your faith? Remember, without faith in Christ,
it is impossible to please God. Faith is necessary, and true
faith always perseveres. Remember that. The difference
between self-generated faith and God-generated faith is one
thing. Perseverance. True faith always
perseveres through every tribulation. For what purpose? That all of
the praise and glory should belong to God. that all of the glory
should belong to God at His appearing. The trial of our faith should
be precious in our eyes. For when we're in these times,
God is refining us as gold is refined. When gold is refined,
it's put in the fire, it's not to destroy the gold, it's to
show the value of it. And that's what trials do. They
show us the value of Christ. They separate the impurities,
and we begin to see all of the evils of our nature, and we see
all of the glory of Christ's goodness. That's what trials
do, so that all the glory should belong. Now, back to the book
of Lamentations. Look at this. And starting in verse 21, we
see the prophet remembering not his afflictions, but calling
things to mind that would give him hope. Now, in the midst of
your afflictions, there are some things that would be helpful
for you so that you should be patient. And these things are
written here for our learning, for our learning in the midst
of our trials. What is it How is it that we
should be patient in tribulations? By looking and relying upon the
power and promises of God's Word. In the midst of your tribulations,
how is it that you can be patient? How is it that you can wait on
the Lord? By recalling what God has promised,
keeping this in your heart and mind. Look at verse 21. This
I recall to mind. Therefore I have what? I have
hope. Even though I'm suffering these
tribulations, this is what I call to mind that I should have hope.
Here it is. It is of the Lord's mercies that
we are not consumed, because His compassion fails not. They are new every morning, great
is thy faithfulness." Three things he recalls. Listen, he recalls
the mercy of God, he recalls the compassion of God, and he
recalls the faithfulness of God. If you desire to be patient in
the midst of your tribulations, Let us call these things to mind. First of all, what? The mercies
of God. When we are found in great troubles or grief, we should
call to mind the mercies of God. First of all, that mercies belong
to God. Mercy belongs to God. And you
know what? God is full of mercy. You recall
that to mind in the midst of your tribulation. God is full
of mercy. And let us see this, that His
mercy is in Christ. His mercy is in Christ. Let us
see that our trial, that our trial, that our hurts, our sorrows, our griefs
fail in comparison to what Christ endured. Call that to mind. When you are
suffering, remember, he suffered more. He suffered more. In fact, we know that this whole
chapter is Christ speaking. We say, is there anyone that's
been afflicted like my affliction? How much more did Christ say
that? In fact, he alone really endured the wrath of God. None
of us have endured the wrath of God. None of us who are believers
in Christ will ever endure the wrath of God. He did. Surely
he is the man that's seen affliction and bore the wrath of God. Surely
he hath borne our afflictions by taking our sins upon himself. Consider that as you desire the
mercies of God, you must see that they are in Christ. And
we must see that Christ is the man that suffered. Go to Isaiah
chapter 53. Look over a few pages here back
in Isaiah chapter 53. Look at verse 4. He said, Surely he hath borne
our griefs, and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities, The chastisement of our peace
was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. We all, like sheep,
have gone astray, and have turned every one to his own way. And
what? And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Behold the sufferings of your
Savior. Surely our darkness was in no
way compared to his. He suffered the darkness of God's
full wrath. You know, someone said that darkness
is the absence of God's mercy. Darkness is the absence of God's
mercy. He is the only one who has suffered
that to its full measure. And surely when he cried, My
God, my God, have mercy on me, you can be sure of this, there
was no mercy. There was no mercy upon Christ. So then let us see and recall
that our troubles, that the mercy of God is in Christ, who truly
suffered for our sins, and because of His offering, listen, we are
not consumed. We may experience trouble, we
may experience trials, but we have this promise, we shall not
be consumed. Why? Because of His mercies.
Because Christ, in mercy, bore the wrath of God in our stead. My friend, we have great cause
then to rejoice in our troubles, because they are not as bad as
they should have been. They're not as bad as we deserve.
Imagine those outside of Christ. Imagine if you were outside of
Christ tonight. What should you expect from God?
The Apostle says that those should expect no mercy. No mercy if
you're outside of Christ. Only a fearful looking for judgment
and fiery indignation. But listen, what do you got to
expect? You who are believers in Christ, what should you expect
of God? You should expect troubles, but
I know this, I should never expect wrath. Why? Because Christ endured the wrath
of God in my stead. We are not consumed because He
was consumed. You know, that's what the picture
is of the burnt offerings, isn't it? Those burnt offerings, they
were consumed on the altar. That's what happened is that
our iniquity was consumed on the offering of Christ. And so
what do we have hope of? We have hope of eternal life. We have hope of eternal life
because Jesus has forever satisfied the justice of God. And that's
what it says in Isaiah 53 and verse 11, he shall see of the travail of
his soul and be satisfied. Why is God going to have mercy
on you? Because he's satisfied with Christ. Therefore, he has
mercy on all those who are in Christ. Now then, look at this.
Second thing is that the mercies of the Lord are new every morning. They're new every morning. Recall
this to mind. When you go to bed and your pillow
is full of tears and you wake up the next morning, guess what?
His mercies are new. His mercies are new every morning. This message of Jesus Christ,
isn't it new every morning? Because I wake up every morning,
I need mercy. And you know what I have every
morning? I have mercy. He has mercy for us every morning. True believers in Christ. Aren't
you constantly in need of this? We are constantly in need of
forgiveness. Remember what John says. He says,
if any man say, he hath no sin. That guy's a liar. He's made
God a liar. He said God is a liar. I know
that there are actually people who believe that. That once they're
saved, they don't sin anymore. Now you mark it down, those people
are liars. And I don't have any experience in that. Any believer
that is a true believer has. Jeremiah didn't. What he had
experienced was sin and guilt and sorrow and grief. And so
what does a sinner need? Forgiveness. And that's when
he said this, if we confess our sin. What? He is faithful and
just every morning to forgive us our sins. Every morning his
mercies are new. Every morning. Every morning. Recall this to mind, that His
mercies are new every morning. Well, how long is that going
to last? Well, He was sure this morning,
but is it going to be next morning, the next day? What's the duration
of God's mercy? How long will He have mercy?
Listen to what David said. The Lord is good, his mercy endureth
forever. How long will God have mercy?
God will have mercy from everlasting to everlasting. How much mercy
is that? Can you fathom how much mercy
is that? Listen, it's more than you need. Matter of fact, it's more than
all the church needs. It's more sufficient than all
our needs of mercy. It is an everlasting mercy. Therefore, the Apostle Peter
says we are kept by the power of God unto salvation, ready
to be revealed at the last time. Oh, this is our peace in the
midst of the storms of life is that we are kept by the power
of God. Why? His mercy never runs out. Never runs out. And listen to this third thing.
Recall this to mind. His compassion doesn't fail.
Jeremiah said, His passion faileth not. Because of this unfailing
compassion, you listen, none of the elect shall ever be lost. Consider that if we were to fall
under the weight of some trial, if our trials were so bad, if
our sins were so evil that somehow God would stop having compassion
on us. We think like that sometimes
too, don't we? We think we've taken something
too far. We said many times within our
own heart, we've gone too far. Surely God will not have compassion
now. But take heart, you child of
God, and in your tribulation be patient. Why? Because His
mercy and His compassion never fails. It never fails. And listen, if it did fail, He
would cease to be God. Why? Because His Word says His
compassion fails not. Any God whose compassion fails
is not God. He has compassion. Fourthly,
recall this, that the Lord is our portion. Look at verse 24.
The Lord is my portion, saith my soul. Therefore will I hope
in him. The Lord is good unto them that
wait for him. Isn't that patient? To the soul
that seeketh him. Dear believer, the troubles in
this life surely because we have lost something dear. Isn't that
right? Isn't this what causes us great pain, our loss? We've
lost something. It causes us great pain. It may
be a loved one. It may be a thing. It may be
your property. It may be your job. Something
has been lost. We may feel as though we even
lost God. But I want you to take courage
because of this. God is your portion. You can
never lose God. You know why? Because he is your
portion. He is your inheritance. This
is what he is purposed. Therefore, be patient and wait. It is good that a man should
both hope and quietly wait for the Lord, the salvation of the
Lord. Be patient and wait for it. Why? God is your portion. God is your
portion. Isn't that what he said to Abraham?
He said, I am thy shield. God is the shield and protector
of all of His elect. His mercy, His compassion never
fails. His mercy is new every morning. He is constantly our shield and
protector. But ultimately, He is also what? Our exceeding great reward. After
He has protected us during this whole existence, what are we
going to inherit? Him. we're going to have Him as a
reward. That's what He promised in the
covenant, wasn't it? He said, I will be your God and
you shall be my people. Now, the covenant doesn't read
like this. If you will, then I will be your God. If you just
do good enough, then I will be your portion. If you just merit
enough, then will you inherit me. No, that's not what it says. He says, I will and you shall.
That's the language of the covenant. Why? Because that's the purpose
of God, that you should inherit Him. What's your grounds for inheriting
God? What is your merit? Christ. Christ is your merit to inherit
this portion. Christ. And recall this. Recall
it is good to seek and to wait upon the Lord, verse 26. It's
good that a man should both hope, anticipate the salvation of God,
and then wait for it. Anticipate it and wait for it. That's what Paul's telling us
in that text, isn't it? Patient in tribulation. Recall
to your mind, friend, that you're to be... Now, in the midst of
patience and tribulation, how are we to wait? How are we to wait? Paul says
this in that text, instant in prayer. The only way to wait
and to hope is in prayer. I want you to call to mind that
the purpose of God's trials is always to bring you to prayer. I spent extensive time going
over Psalm 107 with you, the wayfaring man, the rebel, the
fool, and the mariner. In all of those four cases, when
they were in affliction, when they were in trials, when they
were in difficulties, what was always the end result The scripture
says, then they cried unto the Lord. That mariner, I just preached
this recently, that mariner, you remember that he went out
to do the business, a fervent business, he went out to the
sea and to do great business in deep waters, and God raised
the storm. Lifted his boat to the heavens
and dropped it to the earth. Lifted it to the heavens and
dropped it to the earth. Lifted it to the heavens, and
then what did he do? He had a little sailor running
around the boat, trying to right the ship. He's trying to tie
off the knots. He's trying to fix the sail.
He's working as hard as he can. And you know what? He comes to
his wits end. He resigns both his life and
his craft. to the will and hands of God,
and then what? He cried unto the Lord. So what
is the purpose of tribulations? Well, it is to increase your
faith, but it is also to cause you to cry unto God, to be instant
in prayer. In the midst of your troubles,
waiting on the Lord, never give up, but continue to pray. Our
Lord gives that illustration of the unjust judge. You remember
that widow? She's coming out and crying to
him to avenge her. And he doesn't care about her.
He doesn't care what she... He said, I don't fear God and
don't fear man. But because this woman won't
shut up, I'm going to give her her request. And God... Jesus said this about the unjust
judge. He said, you better hear that
unjust judge. Shall not God avenge his elect,
which cry unto him day and night, though he bear long with them? I tell you, he will. He will
avenge them. Our Lord says, ask and keep on
asking. Seek and keep on seeking. Knock
and keep on knocking. And listen, Your God will hear
you. How do I know that? How do you
know God will hear you? In the midst of your tribulation,
it doesn't appear that he's hearing anything. But he is. How do I know that? Because it's not because of us. He's not hearing me because of
me. He will hear me because of Christ. Let me ask it this way. Does
Christ deserve to be heard? Then if I am in Christ, I too
will be heard. I too will be heard. I know this, that if we retain
sin in our hearts, he will not hear us." What does that mean,
if we retain sin in our hearts? That means if we retain anything
of self-salvation, of self-righteousness, he will not hear those who retain
self-righteousness. If you are saved by Jesus Christ
plus your work, God will not hear you. But if we, like the
publican, plead our case, Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner. The sinner. I know this. He will
hear us. He will hear us. David said, Hear my cry, O Lord,
attend unto my prayer. From the ends of the earth will
I cry unto Thee, when my heart is overwhelmed. And what is the
result? What is David's desire? What
is his prayer? Lead me to the rock. that is
higher than I." What is your prayer tonight? If you are in
the midst of tribulation, if you are the man afflicted, if
you are the one that God has put in distress, if you are the
one whose arrows the Lord has struck, then in patience and faith, wait
on the Lord. Be patient. Cry unto Him. Be instant in prayer. And He
will hear you. And what is our prayer? Show me Christ. Because if I'm in Christ, I have
everything. If I'm in Christ, I'm safe. No
matter what happens to this body, no matter what happens in this
life, if I am in Christ, I'm safe. Lead me to the Rock. Lead me to Christ. And let us recall, our God is
just in hearing us. He is just. Look back in Lamentations. Look at verse 27. It is good
that a man should bear the yoke in his youth. He sitteth alone
and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him. He
putteth his mouth in the dust, if so be there may hope. He giveth
his cheek to him that smiteth and is filled with reproach. For the Lord will not cast off
forever, but though he cause grief, yet
he will have compassion according to the multitudes of his mercy."
You know that's speaking about Christ. He bore the yoke in his
youth. He saith it alone in silence.
Why? He hath borne it upon him. bore our sins in his own body.
He put his mouth in the dust. Why? So that there might be hope
for us. And there is hope in Christ. My dear friend and believer
in Christ, tribulations will come. Sin may overwhelm your
hearts, but you listen, God is faithful to forgive us our sins
in Christ. His mercy is new every morning. His compassion doesn't fail.
Therefore, you should wait and cry unto God constantly. And you know what? He will deliver
you. When? Whenever He pleases. Let
patience have her perfect work. When will God let up? When it's
time. When it's time. What do you do
in the midst of these troubles? Wait. Wait. Trust God. Trust His mercies. Recall His mercies in Christ.
Recall His compassion in Christ. Recall that it's new every morning.
Recall what Christ has done for you. And then when you pray,
know that you will be heard because of Him. Peter said, cast all your care
upon Him. Now, why would you do that? He
cares. Listen, I know you care about
yourself. What person doesn't care about themselves? I know
this, he cares more for you than you do. Is that not amazing? He thinks
more of you than you think of yourself. I pray God will help us in the
midst of our tribulation to recall these things.