Turn back to Psalm 27. Psalm
27. It seems like that I preached
from this not too long ago. But I got to looking at it and
it's been 15 years ago. I couldn't believe it's been
that long. It's amazing how Time flies. Fifteen years ago, I preached
from this old place. That's amazing. I titled this
message, Learning to Lean. We all need someone to lean on,
don't we? Everyone, no matter who it is
or how important a person is, we all need someone to lean on.
And the sooner we learn to lean on the Lord Jesus Christ, the
quieter it will be right in here, right in the heart, right in
the soul, the quieter it will be. It says in verse 1, the Lord,
the Lord Jehovah, is my light and my salvation. Whom shall
I fear? The Lord is the strength of my
life. Of whom shall I be afraid? Not many people can truly say
that the Lord is my light and my salvation, for not everyone
knows the Lord. Paul said, all men have not faith. In reality, and you know this,
not many, not many know the Lord Jesus Christ. Not many. Many sit in gross darkness and
have no light. Although religious, religion
itself, in and of itself, is no light at all. Our Lord said,
if the light that is in you be darkness, then how great is that
darkness. Many sit in gross darkness and
have no light. But those who are born of God
They receive light. They receive true light. They
receive true understanding and they receive true salvation.
They are truly saved of God. They receive the light of His
Word. They receive the light of His Spirit which shines in
their hearts and gives the knowledge of the glory of God in the face,
in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. They have true light. But before a man receives such
light, he has no real knowledge of God. No real knowledge of
God. He believes that there is a God.
He believes something about God. But he doesn't know God. He does
not know God, as he is revealed in the pages of this book. He does not know God. And until
he receives this light, he's going to sit in darkness. And
if God does not give him this light, he's going to die and
perish in darkness. But the man who is given this
light that he's speaking of here, he sees God in a new light, a
true light, spiritual light. For the first time, he sees God
as he is. For the first time, he sees God
as holy. Holy takes on a whole new meaning
than what he used to think about it. He realizes that God is too
holy to look upon sin, and sin is just what he realizes that
he is. He realizes he is because of
this light. God's given him light, and when
he gets this light, he realizes what he is, sin. And sin had never appeared to
be sin until this light entered. till God commanded this light
to enter. Before, it was just a blemish
in his character. But sin is not a blemish in my
character. Sin is a rotten nature I was
born with. But until this light is given,
men do not see sin as sin. They don't see themselves as
sin. They just see sin as things they should not or ought not
to do. But sin is what I am. That's
what we see when we have this light that God gives. And for
the first time, we cry from the heart, woe is me. I am undone,
as Isaiah said. I am a man of unclean lips, and
I dwell among a people of unclean lips. He said all the whole bunch
of us are sinners. All of us are sinful. There is
something else here this light reveals. It reveals who the true
light is. It reveals who the true light
is. You notice it says here, the Lord. The Lord is my light. Now He gives me light, but now
He is that light. The Lord is my light. If I have Him, I have light. Look over in John, chapter 8.
In the Gospel of John, chapter 8, look in verse Then spake Jesus again unto them,
saying, I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall
not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. He that
follows me shall have the light of life. Why? Because I am the
light. I am the light. And then it says,
He is my salvation. It does not say He'll give me
salvation, although He does. What it says here, and He says
it just right, He is my salvation. God is my salvation. He Himself is my salvation. Look over in Luke chapter 2. in verse 30. Let me read, let me start in
25. Let me read 25 down to 32. And behold, there was a man in
Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and the same man was just and
devout, waiting for the consolation, the Messiah of Israel. And the
Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him
by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen
the Lord's Christ. And he came by the Spirit into
the temple. And when the parents brought in the child Jesus to
do for him after the custom of the law, then took he him up
in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now let us, thou
thy servant, depart in peace according to thy word. You know,
I preached the message one time, it's a good day to die. When
is it a good day to die? Well, it's answered right there
in verse 29. Now let thou thy servant depart in peace according
to thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. That's a
good day to die. When you have seen God's salvation,
it's a good day. I wrote that out by that verse.
That's a good day to die. which thou hast prepared before
the face of all people, a light to lighten the Gentiles, and
the glory of thy people Israel." God is my life and my salvation. Christ himself is said to be
our wisdom, our righteousness, our sanctification, and our redemption. Christ is all this to us and
much more. I cannot stand up here in a lifetime
If I was a priest for the next 50 years, I could not even begin
to scratch the surface of the unsearchable riches of the Lord
Jesus Christ. It wouldn't be possible. Now,
this being so, if the Lord is my light and he's my salvation,
whom, just tell me, whom shall I fear? I tell you, we have a lot of
fears, don't we? We have a lot of fears in this life, in this
body, we have a lot of fears. But he says here, the Lord is
being my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? If God be
for me, it says in Romans 8, if God be for me, who could be
against me? He said, no weapon that is formed
against you shall prosper. None. The scriptures tell us
that for the house to be overtaken, that the strong man of the house
must first be bound. Our Lord would have to be bound. He would have to be dethroned
and tied up before we could be touched. The strong man of the
house would have to first be bound. Our enemies would have
to bind the Lord before they could even touch any of his children.
Then he says, The Lord is the strength of my life. Who is the
strength of your life? I asked myself that question
today when I looked at this. Who is the strength of my life?
We like to think we're strong when we're young. But boy, it
doesn't take long before those years come along and you realize
you're not nearly as strong as you thought. The Lord is the
strength of my life. He's the strength of my physical
life. You know, the health that I have is God-given. It's God-given. And He's the
strength of my spiritual life. He's the one who nourishes me.
He's the one who feeds me. He's the one who keeps me coming
to Him. He's the strength of my spiritual life. One person
said this, I believe it was Spurgeon. We are immortal. We worry about
this happening, this happening to our children, this happening
to us. We are immortal until He makes us mortal to take us
home. Nothing can touch you. Nothing
can take your life. I think of Cecil Roach. He was
telling me about the first time he flew his first bombing mission
over Germany. I think he flew the first mission
over Germany. Came back and that plane was
full. He said it was riddled full of bullets. And not a one
of them was hurt. Except one guy dropped, I think,
some ammunition on his foot. That was the only person that
was hurt. Can't touch you. The Lord is the strength of my
life. Nothing can touch the life of
a believer. Well, the scripture says, our
life is hid with Christ in God. You can't touch that. Of whom
shall I be afraid? He says, when the wicked, even
my enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat me up, that was
their intention. Their intention was to eat up
my flesh. He said, they stumbled and fell.
God made them stumble and fall. We have our enemies. The Lord
said, in this world you shall have tribulations. He said, if
the world hated me, it will hate you too. It will hate you also. But God has said in the Scriptures
in Psalm 72, that God has put their feet in slippery places. God has put their feet. They
lay a snare for you, and they fall into their own snare. He says, although my enemies
should be like a host encamped against me. Even though that's
so, we have a greater host encamped with us, don't we? There's more
in this room than just us. Don't let me spook you. But there's
more in this room than what we can see. That's the truth. We are not the only ones here.
And I'm not trying to be goofy here, but it's so. It's so. He said, Though a host encamp
against me, my heart shall not fear. Though war should rise
against me. War. Oh, that's a terrible thing. War. And though it rise against
me, don't we have a warfare going
on every day? Right in here. There is a warfare, there is
a battle that goes on every day right in my heart, right in me. The war should rise against me. In this will I be confident.
You know that's what faith is? You know what trust and faith
is? It's nothing more than total confidence in God. It's trusting
God to do as He said He would do. It's trusting God that He
has the power to do as He said He would. He said, this will
I be confident. David's confidence was born from
experience. You want confidence? We want
confidence, don't we? But we don't want trials that
brings it. The only thing that really brings
that abiding confidence, that gives you comfort, that gives
you some peace when you lay down at night and everything else
is going wrong. The only thing that brings that is these trials
that come along as we grow older. As we go through life, as we
head through this journey home, these trials bring these confidence
because God always delivers. And you can look back and you
can say, well, He brought me out of that one. And that's what
David's confidence grew out of experience. One writer said this, where there
is no confidence in God, there will be no continuance with God. Sooner or later, Demas will forsake
me. Sooner or later. One thing have I desired of the
Lord. That will I seek after. That
will I give my heart to. I know I have to go to work.
We all do. We all have to go and make a
living. But the one thing that a believer gives his heart to
is this, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the
days of my life to behold His beauty and to inquire in His
temple. to be able to speak to Him, to
be able to commune with Him. David said, this is my one great
abiding, burning desire is that I may dwell in His house, not
mine on Guthers Strait, but God's house. For God is. I wouldn't want to live over
on Guthers Strait for a hundred years, or fifty years. Our one desire Chief desire and
abiding desire is to truly be with the Lord Jesus Christ. And
that grows from being a baby in Christ as you grow older and
you mature in Christ. I heard that message, Henry preached.
That's a seasoned... You know what that is? That's
ready for the harvest. And one day we'll be like that.
I hope so. I believe so. I believe so. That's
being ready for the harvest. Paul said, I have a desire to
depart and be with the Lord. But it's more needful, he said,
right now for me to stay here and be with you. But he said,
my desire is to depart and be with the Lord. Christ was real
to him. Christ is real to the believer. This is not someone
who lives. This is someone who lives. He's real. Like Mary. Mary chose that one
thing needful. Martha, she's all busy. And I'm
not going to beat up on Martha because I like a clean house. She's in there taking care of
things. She's putting things in order. She's in there busy, busy,
busy. But Christ was in the house. And that was time to stop and
listen and learn. Christ is in the house. Let those
things go for a while. You can think about them after
a while. I tell myself when I'm sitting here and I'm listening
to someone preach, I say, you can think about that foolishness
later. Listen. Of course, I have to rest my
attention about 50 times before it's over with. But Christ is
in the house. Mary chose that one thing needful. David's desire was not to live
long on earth, David's desire was not to live long on this
earth, but to live in the immediate presence of God. I want to dwell, he said, not
visit. I don't want to visit that house.
I want to dwell in that house. I want to stay there and not
come back. That's what he said. I want to
behold him who loved me and gave himself for me. This one thing,
he said, well, I seek after. I'll do other things to make
a living. This one thing I'll seek after. This is not one of the things
I'll seek after. This is the one thing I'll seek
after. You know, God forbids division
of aim. He said, seek ye first the kingdom
of God and His righteousness, and these things will be added
to you. He said, you cannot serve God and mammon. You can't serve
God in the world or God and mammon. That's what he's saying. You
can't serve both. God forbids division of aim. This one thing
will I seek after. And he says in verse five, for
in the time of trouble, he shall hide me in his pavilion. In the
secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me. He shall set me upon
a rock. We knew who that is. Every believer
shall have his time of trouble. Will have. But God will always
deliver him out of his trouble. He'll do it. He'll do it. And
he'll do it in his time and when it's best for you. He will not
only deliver me, but listen, he will hide me, he says, in
his pavilion. A pavilion was erected in the
middle of the army, and it was surrounded by guards 24-7. It
was the most protected place there in the army, that pavilion.
And in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me. No one, now
listen to this, no one was allowed in the tabernacle who was not
appointed to be there. No one was allowed there. So
David knew this. He knew that he was safe there
in the tabernacle, for if anyone was there or came into that place,
they had to be a friend and not a foe, because God would not
allow men. And then also, it was the place
where the sacrifice and the blood was, which means that God is
satisfied and reconciled to anyone in the tabernacle. He shall hide
me, he said. He shall hide me in the secret
of his tabernacle. And you know what? You and I
are hidden in that tabernacle. That tabernacle is the Lord Jesus
Christ. He's the one God has hid us in.
He's put us in the cleft of the rock. We're going to sing that
rock of ages. That's where He's put us. In Christ, God is satisfied
and reconciled to His people, and none of our enemies can touch
us. None. He shall set me upon a
rock. Oh, we are set upon the Lord
Jesus Christ. Nothing more solid than Him.
And now, he says, shall my head be lifted up above mine enemies
round about me. Christ, our head, has been lifted
up. He has been lifted up. He is
seated right now. Our head is seated at the right
hand of God. Our head is truly seated there.
The more David meditated upon God, the more he meditated upon
the Lord, upon Jehovah, his Savior, the more his faith grew. Oh,
I tell you, faith and peace, confidence comes by knowing more
of Him. It comes that way. Paul says,
we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Christ, our
Head, rules over all. There are none equal to Him. And because of this, he says,
I will offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy. We do not
offer sacrifices of bulls and goats. The one sacrifice for
sin has already been, we've heard that over the last two Sundays
in chapter 9 and 10 of Hebrews. That one sacrifice for sin has
already been offered. But we do offer the sacrifice
of joy and praise and thanksgiving. We do that. By His grace we do
that. Now David turns from praise to
prayer in verse 7. He says, Hear, O Lord, when I
cry with my voice. Have mercy upon me and answer
me. It is an act of mercy for God
to hear and answer our prayers. I count it as an act of mercy
for God to hear someone like me. That's an act of mercy. Who am I, David said, is what
is my house? Can we not say that right now? Can we not say sitting
here, who am I and what is my house? That God would bless us
so. And the Scripture tells us, cast
all your cares on Him for He cares for you. Now if you want
to carry Him back home with you, that's your fault. That's my
fault. But He says cast them up on Him.
Cast them up on Him. He said, When thou saidest, Seek
ye my face, my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I
seek. God is willing to discover Himself to those who seek Him.
That's why He said, Seek ye my face. He's willing to make Himself
known to His people. Do you want to know Him? You
can. You can. He said, Seek ye my face. I want you to notice who acted
first here. David says, when thou saidest,
thou saidest, God first acted in mercy, and then we respond
in faith and repentance. But God is the one who acts first.
And this is a picture of conversion. David said, my heart said, when
thou saidest, seek ye my face, my heart said unto thee, thy
face, Lord, will I seek. Another scripture says, turn
us and we shall be turned. That's conversion. It's God turning
us and us being turned. Turn us and we shall be turned. And this work of conversion is
a heart work. He said this, David said, my
heart said, not my lips, not my mouth, my heart said, thy
face will I see. If our heart is not turned, then
we've not been converted. Then he says this in verse 9,
hide not thy face far from me. Don't make it hard or difficult
for me to find thee. Lord, he says, don't turn your
face from me. Put not thy servant away in anger. You know, we,
let me say I. I give God many reasons to turn
his face from me every day. I know that. I know that. But
he's saying here, and I say with David, and I know you say with
David, don't put me away in anger. Don't deal with me in that manner.
Have mercy on me. He says in Psalm 51, according
to your loving kindness and tender mercy. Deal with me in that way,
Lord. Because you can do it. I know
you can do it in Christ. And he says, when my father and
my mother, when my parents forsake me, When those who dearly love
me are gone, when they're gone, the Lord will take me up. See
what David draws? See how he keeps drawing his
comfort? The Lord will take me up. He will not forsake me. He will never grow old and leave
me. The Lord will take me up. I told those people in Iowa last
week, or last Sunday, I said all of our earthly relationships,
husbands, wives, sons, daughters, all of these earthly relationships
are going to be dissolved one day, all of them. But our relationship
with God in Christ will never be dissolved, never. There will be a time when Jason
won't be my son, but he'll always be my brother, and They won't
be my sons anymore, but they'll be my brothers. And that's a better relationship
that we have in Christ than we have in His flesh. Because these
fleshly relationships can be and will be, sooner or later,
dissolved. But the ones we have in Christ,
this will only get better. This will only get better. He will not forsake us. He will
carry us until He finally lifts us up to glory. He'll do that. But until then, in verse 11,
teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path because
of my enemies. Teach me thy way so that I will
not walk in my way. The last thing you and I want
is our way. Let me have my way. He was a teenager. Let me have
my way. No, you don't want your way. I don't want my way. David said, teach me thy way.
Teach me thy way. The way of the Lord is righteousness
and peace forevermore, the Scripture says. And lead me in a plain
path. Lead me in a clear gospel path. And I thought, As I stand here
and preach, when Frank stands here and teaches, it's our responsibility
to keep it simple and plain as we can. Keep it simple, not clouded
up. And he calls it a path because
of the narrowness of it. I've been thinking about this
verse for the last two or three weeks. Straight is the gate and
narrow is the way. that leads to life, and few there
be that find it. Few there be that find it. Lord, you lead me in this plain
path. You lead me. If He leads us, we won't miss
it. We will not miss it. Deliver me, He says, from mine
enemy. And then He says here in verse 13, I had fainted unless
I have believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the
living." It's so easy to become faith-hearted, isn't it? It doesn't
take much to make us faint, grow weary. Some little trials, some
little problems, things not going the way we like. I'm telling
you, we faint too easy. We faint way too easy. But faith
is to lay hold and rest on what it sees in God. His goodness and His mercy, His
faithfulness, His power to save us in Christ. I had fainted, unless I had what? Believed to see. He didn't say,
unless I had first seen and then I believed. It doesn't come that
way, does it? Faith first, sight second. I had believed to see, I believed
God, and then he showed it to me. In his time, he revealed
it. And then he says in verse 14,
and this is the scripture that Henry gave me probably a couple
of times back in 1979 when I was a real pest. And I was writing
him about doing this. And he wrote me this verse. Wait
on the Lord, be of good courage. And He shall strengthen thine
heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. It's tough for a young man to
wait. Older people learn to wait. Those
who have really matured in Christ. I say, wait on Him. Wait on Him
in prayer. Wait on Him in humility. Think
who's coming to listen. Think who's coming to you. Give
thought to who you're waiting on. That ought to cause you to
be humble. Wait on Him in service? Wait
on Him. Unless we wait on the Lord in
everything we do, everything we do, unless we wait
on Him, we will fail. I promise you we will fail if
we don't wait on Him. The believer's position is to
wait on Him. The Scripture tells us to watch
and wait. Always remember who it is that
you're waiting on. Always remember who it is you're
waiting on. And He will give you strength. He has promised
strength to those who wait on Him. Wait. Isn't this good instructions?
Wait on the Lord. He shall strengthen thy heart.
Wait, he says, I say. Wait on the Lord.