Well, more than a way to start
out, I always come to the pulpit feeling inadequate and intimidated. And when the pastor says, well,
we've had a good service so far, I hope he's able to say that
when I finish. Your pastor read from Psalm 86,
and that's where I want us to take our text from tonight. Psalm 86, verse 7. In the day of my trouble, I will
call upon thee, for thou wilt answer me. The question that I have for
you and for myself tonight is the title of this message. Are
you in trouble? Do you have a need that you can't
meet? Do you have a problem that you
can't solve? The truth is that the only time
we find ourselves in prayer is when we're in trouble. In true
prayer. Sometimes we hear people say,
well, there's nothing left to do but pray. The truth is, the
only time we really pray is when there's nothing left to do. It's
the only time we pray. The rest of it's just religious
motion. We pray when we're in trouble.
When we have an affliction that we can't heal. A relationship
that we can't restore. a shame that we can't bear. When we find ourselves in a trouble
that we can't fix, that's when we cry upon the Lord. And only
then do we find Him to help us in our time of need. As we approach
His grace, His throne of grace, we find His help to deliver us
in our time of need. Job put it like this. He said,
man that is born of woman is a few days and of many troubles,
many troubles. The truth is that we are in trouble.
I know that's true about you and about me. Whether or not
we recognize it is another story, but we're always in trouble.
I was talking with your pastor about this this afternoon, and
he told me about something that Scott Richardson said. He said,
every believer is either going in trouble, or he is in trouble,
or he's coming out of trouble. And that's so true. If we're
not in trouble now, it'll only be a period of time that we'll
be in trouble again. I've heard people say, well,
God will never put more on you than you can bear. That's a lie. That's a lie. If the Lord never
puts anything on us beyond what we can bear, then we have no
need of Him. People get that from 1 Corinthians 10, 13 that
says, there hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common
to man. But God is faithful, who will
not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able,
but will with the temptation provide a way of escape that
you might be able to bear it. You see, the truth is that God
does afflict his children with troubles that they can't bear
in order to cause them to cry out. to depend upon him and to
find him to be their ever-present need in times of trouble. Are
you in trouble? This message is only for those
who are in trouble. David said in verse 1 of Psalm
86, he's pleading with the Lord to condescend to where he is. For God Almighty to bow down
his ear and to hear his cry. For he says, I am poor and needy. Now, we know that David wasn't
financially poor. He was the king of Israel. He
said in Psalm 51, he said, Lord, if sacrifice is what you require,
I would give them. But the sacrifices of God are
a broken spirit and a contrite heart. David was capable of providing
all the material sacrifices that any man could possibly offer,
and yet he says he's poor and needy. He has a need he can't
meet, and he has something that he needs that he can't afford
to buy. The Lord Jesus put it like this.
the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, he says, blessed of
God are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God. Now what he's saying there is
that if we are poor in spirit, it's because we've been blessed
of God. The Lord has to make us that way, doesn't he? Otherwise,
we'll be like those Laodiceans who thought they were rich and
increased in goods and in need of nothing, and that's where
most men are. I can handle it. I can do it. I'll get through
it. Only when the Lord strips us
of our ability, only when He makes us unable to solve our
own problems, particularly put away our own sin, then and only
then do we find ourselves crying in faith for Him to deliver us
out of our troubles. The Lord said it's easier for
a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for rich men
to enter the kingdom of heaven. He wasn't talking necessarily
about material wealth. He was talking about that which
Paul referred to when he said, that which I thought was gain. My righteousness. My abilities. The fact that concerning the
law, I was above reproach. No one could find blame with
my life. tribe of Benjamin and Israelite,
circumcised the eighth day, he thought that his accomplishments
and his righteousness was sufficient. And then, as the Lord knocked
him down off his high horse, put him in the dirt, gave him
a trouble that he couldn't solve, confronted him with his own sin,
he came to realize that that which he thought was gain to
him, that which he thought was earning him favor with God, that
which he thought was meriting him his salvation, that which
he thought was setting him up above other men, was in fact
the very thing that was keeping him from the Lord. See, God has to bring us to the
place to where we don't know anything. Scripture says knowledge
puffs up. Oh, knowledge is such a detriment. It's such a barrier. It's something
that men use to impress other men with, but in fact it keeps
men from acknowledging the lack of knowledge that they have and
their dependence upon God. Only when we come before the
Lord knowing nothing, unable to do anything, having nothing
to offer God. Only when we come, as David says,
poor and needy. In Psalm 40, David says, I'm
poor and needy, yet the Lord thinketh upon me. And He helps me. For He is my
Deliverer. Blind Bartimaeus knew that he
was poor and needy, didn't he? He heard the Lord was coming
his way and he cried out, Son of David, have mercy upon me.
He knew he didn't have anything. He knew he couldn't see. He knew
he couldn't support himself. He knew he had a need that only
the Lord could meet. And he cried in desperation.
for the Lord to meet his need. What did they say? Be of good
cheer, Barnabas. The Master calleth thee. And
he found the Lord Jesus Christ to be the one, the only one that
was able to solve his problem. I mentioned last night from Isaiah
chapter 40, where the Lord told the prophet to comfort Jerusalem
and to speak comfortably to them, to tell them that their warfare
has been accomplished and that their sin has been put away.
And after the Lord tells Isaiah how to begin, Isaiah said, well,
what do I tell them? Where do I start? And the Lord said, start by telling
them that they're grass. That's where you need to start.
You see, the truth is, the only way that we're going to be comforted
is if God first convinces us that we have nothing, that we
are grass, that we are sinners. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation. It's worthy to be accepted of
all men, but all men won't accept it. Christ Jesus came to save
sinners. And that's all he saves. He doesn't
save anybody but a sinner. But he saves every one of them.
Every single one of them. He makes them sinners, and then
he saves them. We have to be made a sinner before
we see our need for a Savior, don't we? We have to be made
lost before we can be saved. A lot of folks have been saved
way too long. They've never really seen their
need. They've never been made poor
and needy. David says, Lord, what I need
I can't afford. I don't have any way to buy it. I'm needy. And the Lord says,
Come ye to the waters, ye that have no money. Come ye. Buy and eat. Yea, buy wine and
milk. without money and without price. What's the significance of that
distinction without money and without price? Is it just for
emphasis? No, in fact, in fact, the word price there means to
barter. Now, I do a little construction
work on the side and occasionally I'll have an opportunity to barter
with somebody for something that I need and I'll do something
for them and they'll pay me in return for something they've
got. And that's how a lot of people approach the Lord. They
make promises they can't keep. They say, Lord, I'll do this
if you'll do that. You'll deliver me from this trouble
that I'm in. Lord, I promise I'll never do that again. Bargaining
with God. No, we have to come without price,
without any righteousness, without anything to offer, and without
money, without anything to barter with. We don't have anything. David said, Lord, bow down thine
ear, for I am poor and needy. And the truth is that the Lord
always, always, always hears the cry of the poor and the needy. He never has anyone poor. I mean poverty stricken. Abject
poverty. Nothing to have. Nothing whatsoever. You know, where I live, we have
street peoples in the city and they're begging. I've never seen
the righteous forsaken or their seed begging for bread. Believers
wouldn't do that. They wouldn't go down on the
street and panhandle for money. We've just got more integrity
and respect. and dependence upon the Lord
than to be reduced to such a place. But whatever pride we have that
keeps us from doing that cannot keep us from doing that in our
relationship with the Lord. In other words, that's exactly
how we come. Just putting aside all of those
things that would that would keep us from becoming physical
beggars, and that very thing makes us to be spiritual beggars. Look at verse 2. Preserve my
soul, for I am holy. The only reason that we'll be
preserved is because we are holy. Now, what does it mean to be
made holy? That word holy means to be set
apart. It's also seen in the scripture as the word saint.
It's seen in the scripture as the word sanctified. And when
the Lord Jesus Christ sets us apart for his glory and imputes
to us his righteousness, then we are preserved. We are kept
and presented faultless before the throne of God. It's the only
hope that we have. The truth is that he preserves
everyone that he sets apart. He never set apart anyone and
left them there and then forsook them. No one has ever been forsaken. Never seen the righteous forsaken.
For I am holy thou art my God. Save thy servant that trusteth
in thee. When the Lord gives us the faith
to trust Christ, to rely upon Him, to say with Paul, I'm persuaded. I am persuaded that he is able
to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day. You
know, that word committed oftentimes is used to reference something
that we do, a commitment that we make. But in fact, the word
in the scripture means to entrust. It's the same word used here.
It means to make a deposit is what it means to do. You know,
if you've got any financial wealth, you don't. You don't trust all
of your investments to one thing, do
you? If people that have any financial
sense about them are going to diversify their investments,
aren't they? If this one over here fails,
then this one over here will pay for that one. And in the
end, hopefully we'll be better off. That's how people trust
the Lord. They diversify their investments.
Well, they say, well, they're trusting in Jesus, but in fact,
they're trusting in a lot of other things as well. Trusting
in their will, trusting in their works, trusting in their wisdom,
trusting in their knowledge. When Paul said, I am persuaded
that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him
against that day, what he was saying was, I put all my eggs
in one basket. I put all my trust in Christ.
He's my only hope. I don't have any other hope of
anybody else delivering me out of my troubles. Look at verse 4. Rejoice the
soul of thy servant, for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my
soul. Scripture says that we're to
rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I say, rejoice. Let
your moderation be known unto all men. Why? Because the Lord
is at hand. And be careful for nothing, but in all things by
prayer and supplication, let your requests be known unto God.
And the peace of God that passes understanding will keep your
heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. That's what David's saying here.
Lord, enable me to do that. Here's the truth of the scriptures. The truth of the gospel is that
what God requires, God must provide. The Lord over and over commands
us to come. But what He's saying is, come,
but you can't. Over and over He commands us
to believe. Believe, but you can't. Rejoice, but you can't. Trust, but you can't. You see,
that's an important part of it. It's an important part of it.
Because only when we realize that what God requires, God must
provide, do we come before Him really poor and needy. Depending
upon Him for the very basic things that He demands of us. Lord,
I'm in trouble. Or, I can't come. I can't believe. I can't trust. I can't persevere.
Lord, you're going to have to do for me that which you require
of me. Look at verse 5. For thou, Lord,
art good. and ready to forgive, and plenteous
in mercy, until all them that call upon thee." The Lord asked that rich young
ruler who called him good master, he said, why callest thou me
good? For there is none good but God. Was the Lord denying
the fact that he was good? No. He was confronting the rich
young ruler with who he was. He, in fact, is the only one
that's good. He is the only one that's good.
He told Moses, he said, I'll cause my goodness to pass before
you. In another place, the Lord said,
if you, being evil, that's what we are. That's what God says.
If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your
children, how much more will the one who is not evil, the
one who is good, The Lord of Glory, your Father in Heaven,
give unto you good gifts, those things that you require, and
particularly the Holy Spirit to them who ask Him. He's the
good one. Look what he says. For thou,
Lord, art good and ready to forgive. He's so much more willing to
forgive than we are to cry for mercy. He's so much more willing
to give mercy than we are to ask for it. He is. If we don't
have mercy, it's because we're not asked. You have not because
you ask not. If we have mercy, it's all of
God. It's all of God. He's the one
that's worked in our hearts and caused us to cry out. He's the
one that works in us and works through us, and He's the one
who gives us the faith to believe. But if we don't ask, it's all
our fault. You see, the truth is that if
we're saved, it's God's fault, and if we're not, it's ours. That's just Scripture. People
say, well, that doesn't make sense to me. Well, it won't until
the Lord saves you. And then it will. And then you'll
know. that you were wholly responsible
for all of your unbelief and unable to believe unless he did
a work of grace in you. Oh, he delights in showing mercy. Look what the scripture says.
He's plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon him.
In the day of My trouble. A time to be expected. A time to be expected. Turn with me to 1 Peter chapter
4 verse 12. Brethren, brethren, think it
not strange concerning the fiery trials which try you as though
some strange thing has happened unto you. This is not a strange
thing. This is something the Lord told
us was going to happen. But rejoice. Verse 13. in so much as you are partakers
of Christ's suffering, that when His glory shall be revealed,
you may be glad also with exceeding joy. If you be reproached for
the name of Christ, happy are you, for the Spirit of glory
and of God resteth upon you. On their part He is evil spoken
of, but on your part He is glorified." Think it not strange As if some
strange thing has happened to you, this this time of suffering
is ordained of God. It really is. It really is. Now, we we quote Romans 8, 28
often. And when when God speaks that
truth of that verse to our hearts, it's it's great comfort, isn't
it? But, you know, I've heard that verse. I've quoted it myself
by saying all things work together for good. You know, that's not
what that verse says. That's not how it begins. It
begins with, you know. You know. You do know, don't you? You know
in your heart of hearts that God is the first cause of
all things. And you know that whatever He's
done in your life in providence, He's doing for your good and
for His glory. You know that these troubles
that you have to suffer in this life cannot be compared to the
glory which shall be revealed in you. And you know that it
is the hand of God. Amos said it like this, has evil
come into the city and the Lord has not caused it? You know that
all things work together for good for them that love God and
those who are the called according to His purpose. David said, in
the time of my trouble. It is a time that we ought to
expect, a time that we ought not to be surprised by. Paul
in 2 Corinthians chapter 12 said, therefore, I take pleasure in
my infirmities, in my reproaches, and in necessities. He calls
his troubles necessities. These things are necessary for
you. And Solomon, a man of wisdom, Said it like this in Ecclesiastes
chapter three, he said, for everything, there is a season and a time
for every purpose under heaven, a time to be born, a time to
die, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to plant, a time
to pluck up. a time to love, and a time to
hate, for He hath made everything beautiful in His time." You know
that, don't you? That's our comfort. That's our
comfort. Now, people say, well, God wouldn't
do that. He wouldn't cause that. Let me
ask you a question. Would you rather have a God who
could have changed your circumstances and did not, or a God who was
unable to change your circumstances? Which would you rather have?
See, God's people are greatly comforted in knowing, Lord, if
you will, you can. The Lord, your will is always
good. And whatever you do is right. Whatever you do is good. However difficult, and I know,
brethren, that troubles some, and sometimes they're overwhelming. They are. But God is faithful. He always provides a way of escape. That way of escape is the Lord
Jesus Christ himself. He said, I am the way, the truth,
and the life. He is the first cause of all
things. Isaiah put it like this, the
Lord killeth and the Lord maketh alive. He bringeth down to the
grave and he bringeth up. Some sufferings are great tragedies
and very difficult. But our comfort is knowing that
our God is sovereign in them and that he has a purpose through
them. And ultimately, his purpose is the salvation of his people
and the glory of himself. And that's sufficient, that's
sufficient to get us through in our time of trouble. Now, the greatest trouble, as
I mentioned last night, is not our providential circumstances,
the greatest trouble is our own sin. What are we going to do
with our sin? What are we going to offer God? Men say, well, I'm going to let
God forgive me. It doesn't work that way. I don't hit you in
the nose and then while you're laying on the ground say to you,
I'm going to let you forgive me. That's just not the way it
works. The one who's offended is the
one who has the right to decide when to forgive and who to forgive. Our sin is an offense to God.
And he holds in his hand the sovereign right to put away our
sin or to charge us guilty and condemn us to a devil's hell
for all eternity for them. We've got a problem. We've got
a trouble. We've got a God with whom we
must do, and we've got sin that must be put away. You know, this
is a time of trouble that ought to be expected, though, isn't
it? Have you ever said after thinking something or saying
something or doing something, I can't believe I did that? What do you mean you can't believe
it? Do you think you were better than that? Grieve over your sin. Confess
your sin. Ask the Lord to deliver you from
it, but be surprised by it. The surprise ought to be that
we don't do worse than we do. We ought not to be surprised. In my time of trouble, the greatest The hour of trouble
that you and I have yet to face is that moment of death. The Scripture says it is appointed
unto man once to die and then to judgment. We're going to leave
this world and we're going to stand before a holy God. And
if we don't have a substitute, if we don't have a sin bearer,
if we don't have an advocate, If we don't have one who has
completely in and of himself satisfied all the demands of
God's law and justice for us, then we're going to have a trouble.
We're going to have a trouble that we cannot bear. You know, there's a passage in
Scripture that's always been an encouragement to me. Let me
get you to turn with me to it. It's in Jeremiah chapter 12. When I find myself having difficulties
bearing the circumstances of this fleshly life, I'm reminded
of this verse of Scripture. Verse 5 of Jeremiah chapter 12,
If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied How canst thou contend with horses? And if in the land of peace,
that's where we live. God's calling this life the land
of peace. If in the land of peace wherein
thou trustest, they weary thee, then how wilt thou do in the
swelling of the Jordan? Now the word Jordan means death. And you know when the children
of Israel were brought by God through that Jordan, by Joshua,
into the promised land, it is a picture of God bringing His
people through the shadow of the valley of death into glory,
into heaven. Here the Lord is saying, if you've
run with a footman and they've weared you, how are you going
to contend with horses? And if you can't get by in this land
of peace, what are you going to do when real trouble comes?
What are you going to do in the swelling of the Jordan? You see,
there's our trouble that we cannot avoid and that we are unable
to face. But here's what God says in 1
Corinthians 15, O death, O death, where is thy sting? O grave,
where is thy victory? For the sting of death is sin,
and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, thanks
be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ, the firstborn among many brethren. The Lord said, I could
not allow my holy one to see corruption. The resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ is our hope. He was offered up for our
offenses and raised again. And you know, in the Bible, it
says for our justifications, that word for is often translated
in the Bible because because of it can be translated either
way. And in that verse, it really it really stands better as because
of than for. He was offered up for our offenses
and raised because we were justified. He was raised again for our justification,
for the Father looked upon the Son whom He had bruised, and
He was satisfied. And He raised Him from the dead,
knowing that God, through the sacrifice of His Son, was able
to remain just in His law and justify sinners. The Lord Jesus
Christ was raised because of our justification. It was God's
sign of approval. As a matter of fact, it's the
only real sign that we have. Look with me at verse 17 in our
text of Psalm 86. Look at verse 17. David says,
Lord, Show me a token for good, that
they which hate me may see it. Lord, the accuser is always accusing
me. My own conscience is accusing
me. My flesh is accusing me. My sin is accusing me. My troubles,
Lord, are accusing me. Lord, I've got accusations being
made against me. I need a token for good. I need
to know, Lord, that you've been faithful to your promise. Now,
what is that token? What is that token? The Lord
said a wicked and perverse generation seeketh after a sign. Are we
to be always asking God for some proof, for some sign? Is that
the token that David's asking for? No? What's the rest of that verse
say? But the Lord will give no sign to this wicked and perverse
generation except for the sign of Jonah, who spent three days
and three nights in the belly of the whale. You see, the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ is our token for good. It is the positive
proof that God is satisfied with everything the Lord Jesus Christ
has done on behalf of his people, that the work is finished. Finished. I mean, completely
finished. We didn't have any part of it.
I have a friend who's actually Russian by birth, and he's about
fourth generation of master stone and tile workers. And he's, I
mean, this guy, he's an expert. He's a believer also. And he lives in Charlotte, North
Carolina. And he was visiting us last year in my home. And
I asked him, I said, Eugene, I said, I've got a little tile
job I need you to help me with. Well, Eugene looked around my
house and he saw the tile work that I had done in other places.
Which I thought looked pretty good. And Eugene said to me,
he said, brother, he said, I'll do that tile job for you, but
only under one condition. That I do it all by myself. All by myself. You know, I was a little offended
at Fred first and I thought, well, you know, I can help. No,
no, you can't help. You can't help. You can't lift
a finger. You can't do anything. I'm going
to do it all or I won't do it at all. I said, all right. I said, I've got tools back in
this thing. No, I'm not going to use your tools. He was at
my house in Orlando, Florida, got in his truck, drove to Charlotte,
North Carolina, eight hours away, got his tools, came back to my
house and spent the next four days tiling the shower in my
house. And I wish you could see the
job that he did. I mean, it's perfect. It's the most beautiful
talisman I've ever seen. He said, I'm going to do it all,
or I'm going to do it at all. That's the gospel. The Lord Jesus Christ said, I'll
do it all, or I will not do it at all. And the only token that
you're going to get, the only token that you're going to get
that I have done it all, And I have done it right and God
himself is satisfied is the resurrection, the resurrection. That's it.
That's it. The crucifixion and the resurrection,
that word token is found in two other places in the Old Testament.
Let me show you where they are. Exodus chapter 12. David asked for a token. What
is the token that God is going to deliver me when I cry out
to him in my time of trouble that he will deliver me? What
is the evidence that God's given to me that I can be sure that
he's faithful to his word? Look, look at Exodus chapter
12 and look with me at verse seven. And they shall take of
the blood and strike it on the two posts of the upper door and
the post of the houses wherein they shall eat it. Now, you know,
this is the Passover. They were to slay the Paschal
Lamb, that lamb that was without spot, without blemish, that lamb
which represented the Lamb of God, which came to take away
the sins of the world. They were to shed its blood,
put its blood on the doorpost and the lintel of the house.
And God said, when I see the blood, I'll pass by. Now, look
at verse 12 in that same chapter. For I will pass through the land
of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the
land of Egypt, both man and beast, and against all the gods of Egypt
I will execute judgment. I am the Lord, and the blood
shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are, and
when I see the blood, then I'll pass by you." David said, Lord,
show me a token. Here's the token. The blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, shall be a token to you.
The shed blood of Christ on Calvary's cross, satisfying the demands
of God's justice. Putting away our sin through
the sacrifice of himself once and for all. That's the token.
There is no other token. Now, let me show you, there's
one more. There is actually one more token. Let me show it to
you. Exodus chapter three. Exodus chapter three. Look at
verse 11. God had revealed himself to Moses
at the burning bush and called him to go into Egypt and deliver
his people who were in the bondage of slavery to the taskmasters. And you understand that's a picture
of where we are in sin. What were the taskmasters of
Egypt doing? They kept increasing the quota. You see, every time
the Israelites would get close to accomplishing what was required
of them, they would increase the quota. And they were never
able to satisfy the demands of the law. And they were in great
bondage, and they cried out, and the Lord heard their voice,
didn't he? And the Lord raised up Moses and was going to send
him to deliver them. And look what he says in verse
11. And Moses said to God, who am I that I should go into Pharaoh
and that I should bring forth the children of Israel of Egypt?
And he said, certainly I will be with thee. And this shall
be a token unto thee that I have sent thee. Lord, how do I know
that I'm going to be successful? Lord, how do I know that you
have really spoken to me and that you've sent me and this
is your purpose and that this is who you are? How do I know? This will be the token unto thee. When thou hast brought forth
the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God upon this mountain. The evidence that I'm going to
give you, and the only evidence that I'm going to give you that
I was with you, is going to be your success. It's going to be your success.
Only when you brought the children of Israel out of Egypt and brought
them back to this mountain and worshiped me here, then you will
know that I was with you the whole time. What is the evidence? What is
the token that David asked for? What is the evidence that God
has been so gracious to give to his people? It is the resurrection of the
Lord Jesus Christ which proves his success. It proves his success. It's the sign that God's given
to us. And it is the shed blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ placed upon the doorpost of our houses and
our hearts that causes the Lord to pass by us. being satisfied. In the day of my trouble, I will
call upon the Lord. Oh, there's the cry of faith. Lord, help me. I'm poor and needy. Lord, deliver me. Lord, set me
free. Lord, finish a work for me I
can't do. Lord, forgive me of my sin. Lord,
save me. Lord, have mercy upon me. If any man lack wisdom, let him
ask it of God. Who gives liberally and upbraideth
it not? You know what that means? That
means that God never rolls his eyes. He never sighs in disgust. He never says, not you again.
You see, the truth is that if any man came to you as often
as you go to God, you'd be done with them. You wouldn't continue to show
mercy to a person who keeps doing the same thing over and over
again and keeps coming to you and asking for forgiveness. But
that's what that Scripture means. He gives it to us liberally and
He upbraideth it not. In other words, he delights in
showing mercy. He never sighs. He never rolls
his eyes. He never says, not you again.
He rejoices when his children come to him and beg for mercy.
He rejoices when he causes trouble in our lives which cause us to
cry out. And he delights in delivering
us. But let him ask in faith. Let
him ask in faith. Let him ask looking to the Lord
Jesus Christ without wavering. Don't be like the waves of the
sea tossed to and fro, for let that man not think that he shall
receive anything of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable
in all of his ways. You see, when we cry in our time
of trouble, we cry in faith, realizing that the Lord is the
only one that can deliver us. He's the only one that can deliver
us. And we also cry knowing that His weak and Unbelieving as our prayers are.
As weak and unbelieving as our prayers are, we have another
who has prayed for us. Whose prayers are perfect and
always effectual. The other verse in James chapter
5 says, somebody asked me recently, they said, would you pray for
me? And then they quoted that verse in James 5. They said,
you know, the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth
much. And I've always felt uncomfortable with that verse. And I wish they
hadn't have said that to me. I thought, well, you know, My
prayers aren't always very effectual. Sometimes I ask for things amiss
that I might consume upon my own lust, and sometimes I don't
ask in faith. I'm wavering like the waves of
the sea, and I'm so full of unbelief. And the Lord showed me that the
righteous man whose prayers are always effectual is the Lord
Jesus Christ, whoever liveth to make intercession for us.
He is standing before the throne of God and He takes my prayers
as feeble and weak and unbelieving as they are and He presents them
faithfully before the Father so that His purpose is always
effectually accomplished. Always. Lord, in my day of trouble, a
time to be expected, I cry unto Thee. A thing to be exercised. Prayer is an exercise. It is
an exercise. Bodily exercise profits a little.
It profits just for a little while. But godliness, prayer,
submission, oh, that's to eternal life. And I love that passage
in 1 Corinthians where Paul's closing out the letter and he
says, remember the household of Stephanas who were the first
believers in Achaia? And here's what he says about
them. He says, they have addicted themselves to the ministry of
the saints. What a thing to be addicted to. Addicted to prayer. Addicted to the ministry of the
saints. Addicted in faith. Oh, Lord, addict us. Lord, addict
us to that. Cause us to cry. What's the promise? What's the promise? Thou wilt
answer me. And I conclude with the question
that I opened with. Are you in trouble? Are you in
trouble? Do you have a problem you can't
solve? A need you can't meet? An affliction you can't heal? A relationship you can't restore?
A shame that you can't bear? A sin that you can't put away. The reality of death that must
be faced. Has God put you in trouble? If
He has, you'll cry and He will answer. Amen. I appreciate that so much. So
much.