Turn with me back to Psalm 40. Psalm 40. Light of this scripture, I don't
know that there's anything that gets our attention quite like
the cry of a little one. especially when they're young.
It's the only way they have to communicate. A cry, it conveys need. It can convey sorrow, grief. David wrote in Psalm 6, he said,
mine eye is consumed in grief. We cry in pain. We cry in distress. David said that in another one
of the Psalms. He said, in my distress, I cried and the Lord
heard me. And David says here in Psalm
41, I waited patiently for the Lord. And he inclined his ear unto
me, and he heard my cry." I was thinking about this just
again, this thing of crying. You know, when we find ourselves
in tears, it's difficult for anybody to even understand what
we're saying. We get so choked up. But you know, our cry, our prayer,
really shouldn't be for the benefit of others to hear. It's not for other men to hear.
We pray unto the Lord. You see that? He cried to the
Lord. that the Lord might hear him,
that he might hear his cry. That prayer was not intended
for men. It was not intended for anyone else around to hear
it. His cry was to God. And the result, David said, he heard. He heard. In James 5 verse 16, God's word
declares, the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth
much. The effectual fervent prayer. That's prayer that goes up in
power. That's prayer that comes from
the heart. Not just the mouth. but truly from the heart. It's put forth with great effort,
with importunity, without hesitation, not holding anything back. That prayer is for a man that
is justified in the sight of God, clothed in the very righteousness
of his son. And scripture says that prayer
avails much. Not formal prayer, not profane
and false professors just standing up and repeating things, reciting
things, but a true prayer. A true cry from the heart avails
much. A prayer out of true need. Peter, listen to his cry, listen
to his prayer. You know when he found himself
in trouble, he didn't recite something he'd learned out of
a book. He didn't run in the closet or pull out the dresser
drawer and grab some beads and throw around his neck and recite
the rosary. No. He cried out. That's what scripture says. He
cried out. Turn with me to Matthew chapter 14. Matthew 14, look at verse 30. Peter, when he saw the wind boisterous,
he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he, what'd he do? Cried. He cried, Lord, Save me. I ask you, did the Lord incline
his ear? Did he hear him? Did he hear
Peter's prayer? Peter's cry? Look at verse 31. And immediately, immediately
Jesus stretched out his hand and he caught him. And he said
to him, oh ye of little faith, why do you doubt? I just have to believe those
words were said in love and tenderness. He caught him. That word means
he laid hold of him. He took possession of him. He rescued him from peril. Lord, save me. Turn with me to another prayer,
another cry. Turn to Mark chapter 10. Mark chapter 10. Verse 46, here we read of another
man, another man who cried. Blind Bartimaeus. We read, they
came to Jericho, and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples,
speaking of the Lord, and a great number of people, Blind Bartimaeus,
the son of Timaeus, sent by the highway side begging, And when
he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry. What'd he say? Jesus, thou son
of David, have mercy on me. And many charged him that he
would hold his peace. But he cried out the more a great
deal. Thou son of David, have mercy
on me. And Jesus stood still. At the cry of one of his sheep,
he stood still. And he commanded him to be called. And they called the blind man,
saying unto him, be of good comfort. Rise, he calleth thee. And he, casting away his garment,
rose and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said unto
him, what wilt thou that I should do unto thee? That's more than just asking,
what do you need, Bartimaeus. That's more than just a request. What's your request? Listen to
this question closely. What wilt thou that I should
do unto thee? Whatever the request, he is all
powerful to perform it. He has all authority to meet
that request. And the Lord's not asking because
he doesn't know. He never asks an idle question,
a foolish question. He knows the answer. He knows
the answer before you even ask it. He knows Bartimaeus' need. Here we see in this crowd that
great multitude that were gathered there, but the focus, the eye
is on two people. Bartimaeus and the Master. Two men, the sinner and the Savior. Sinner, what is your need? What's your need? Is there any
need that he cannot supply? Is there any disease which he
cannot heal? Spurgeon wrote this, he said,
thou standest in the presence of the Almighty Savior, God over
all. And even though he died upon
the cross, in weakness he bled, in glory he reigns, and he is
mighty to save. Oh, do we understand this great
truth? If there's any limit, it's in
my prayer. not his power. There's no limit
to his power. And he puts forth this question,
what wilt thou? What wilt thou that I would do
unto thee? What is your real need? And Bartimaeus says, Lord, that
I might receive my sight. I ask you, Did the Lord incline
his ear? Did he hear Bartimaeus' cry? Look at the next verse here.
Jesus said unto him, go thy way. Thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his
sight and he followed Jesus in the way. Turn with me to Matthew 15. Matthew 15. Here we read of another cry,
another plea, another request. Paul writing here in, not Paul,
but here in Matthew 15, The Lord had departed into the coast of
Tyre and Sidon. Look at verse 22. And behold,
a woman of Canaan came out of the same coast and she, what'd
she do? She cried. She cried unto him
saying, have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David. My daughter
is grievously vexed with the devil. This cry is a little different
than the previous two. She's not crying for herself.
She's crying for her child, for her daughter. I tell you, that should give us
great encouragement to pray for our children. Her need is beyond
the help of any man. Her cry is not to any man, though,
is it? Her cry is unto the Lord. And we read that he answered
her, not a word. And his disciples came and they
besought him, saying, send her away, for she crieth after us. Apparently, she continued to
cry. And he answered that woman and
he said, I'm not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of
Israel. That sounds a lot like election,
doesn't it? There's a reason. It is. He said, I came to save the lost
sheep of the house of Israel. Some men hear that, some women
hear that, and they say that's not fair, or that's not what
that says, when it's clearly what God's Word declares. How did she respond? Look at
verse 25. When she heard that, when he
said to her, I'm not come but to the lost sheep of the house
of Israel, What did she say? She answered and said, help me. She came and she worshipped
him. She worshipped him. She fell
at his feet. Lord, help me. And he answered and said, it's
not meat. It's not fit to take the children's bread and cast
it to dogs. You're a dog. You're a dog. You're a sinner. How do men respond to that? Well,
I'm a lot of things, right? I'm a lot of things, but I'm
not a sinner. He says, you're a dog. And she said, truth, Lord. What you're saying about me is
absolutely the truth, yet. I'm a dog, but I'm your dog. The dogs eat the crumbs which
fall from their master's table. I ask you again, did the Lord
incline his ear? Did he hear her cry? Look at
verse 28. Then Jesus answered and said
unto her, O woman, great is thy faith, be it unto thee even as
thou wilt, and her daughter was made whole from that very hour. Turn with me to another passage
of scripture. Turn to Luke chapter 23. Here we read of the thief. the
thief on the cross, Luke 23. There in the heat of the day
on each side of our Lord hung a thief on each side of him,
two thieves. Neither of them have much time
left on this earth. Death is swiftly coming to them. In a short amount of time, that
soldier is going to come through and he's going to break their
legs to hasten death. Look at verse 39. One of the
male factors, which were hanged, railed on him, saying, If thou
be the Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked
him, saying, Dost not thou fear God? seeing we're in the same
condemnation, and we, indeed, justly. For we receive the due
reward of our deeds, but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said, this thief, he said,
he uttered these words, likely, likely the last words he's ever
gonna utter this earth. And he said unto Jesus, Lord
remember me when thou comest in to thy kingdom. A simple prayer, a simple request. Paul writing to the Philippians,
he said be careful for nothing. But in everything, by prayer
and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known unto
God." What's this thief's request?
What's his cry? Lord, remember me. Remember me. I'll ask again. Did the Lord
incline his ear? Did he hear the cry of that thief? Look at verse 43. Jesus said
unto him, verily I say unto thee, today, today thou shalt be with
me in paradise. A cry. It's, you know a cry is evidence
of life. It's a reaction to pain. It's many things. It's a desire
for relief that is naturally expressed. Little baby has hunger
pains, it cries. If his diaper's wet, it cries.
If it's sleepy, it cries. Whatever it's need, it's expressed
in a cry. I was thinking about this. You
know, even when we can't manage to put two sentences together
or two or three words together to even make a sentence, we can
cry, can't we? It's a longing forced into a
sound. It's a plea. It's a prayer. It could be a complaint, a demand. It's a request that cannot be,
it can't wait. You know there's no delay in
a cry when it starts. And a cry is a request that it's
not put off till tomorrow, is it? When one of these little
ones, I say one of these little ones, ourselves, when we cry,
we're in need, aren't we? Right now. A cry says this, help me. Help me right now. I can't bear
this pain any longer. Come to my relief right now. David said he inclined his ear
and he heard my cry. Turn back to Psalm 40. I waited patiently. Psalm 40
verse one, I waited patiently for the Lord and he inclined
his ear unto me and he heard my cry. That word inclined, it
means to go down. Consider how our Lord inclined,
huh? His inclination, his condescension,
Almighty God took on human flesh. He was made a man. A holy, righteous
God inclined unto sinners. He came down, didn't he? He came
into this world. God robed in human flesh. He
came into this world to save sinners. You know the Pharisees,
they thought they were insulting him when they said this. They murmured saying, this man
receiveth sinners and he eats with them. They thought that was awful.
I think that's wonderful. He's the friend of publicans
and sinners. Scripture says he was numbered.
He was numbered with the transgressors. He was made sin for us, for his
people. He was made sin. He who knew
no sin was made sin that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him. He's exalted. That one to whom
every knee is going to bow and every tongue is going to confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. He inclined himself. Our great high priest, he's holy,
harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, higher than the
heavens. And yet he inclined his ear and
he heard my cry. The Lord Jesus Christ hears the
cry of his people. Can we see that? Let me see that,
give me eyes to see that. David, Peter, that importunate
widow, blind Bartimaeus, the thief on the cross, every single
sinner, he hears their cry. I've heard a lot of people over
the years that when they get in trouble, that's when they
cry. I'm not sure that's who we're
reading about here. Because there are those who cry, but they cry
unto a God that cannot save. There are those that refuse to
hear Him. They refuse to hear His prophets. They refuse to hear His messengers. In Proverbs 1, just listen to
these words. He said, because I have called
and you refused. I've stretched out my hand and
no man regarded. But you have said it not all
my counsel and would none of my reproof. I also will laugh at your calamity. I'll mock you when fear cometh. When your fear cometh as desolation
and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, when distress and
anguish cometh upon you, you're gonna call on me, but I will
not answer. They shall seek me early, but
they shall not find me. Those that refuse to hear the
gospel. those that will not receive the
love of the truth. When the Lord called and he said
this, he said, I'm the Lord, there's none else. You know what
they said? We don't believe that. He called and said, you're dead
in trespasses and sin. And they said, we don't believe
that. Christ is your only hope. Salvation
is in Christ alone, his blood, his righteousness. And men say,
I don't believe that. He called. He called and they
refused to hear. They said this, they said, we
will not have this man reign over us. Much like Felix, they trembled
a little bit, and they said, go thy way for this time. And
when I have a more convenient season, then I'll call for you. There are those that are going
to call on him when destruction comes. But the sad result is
this. He will not hear them. I won't leave you there. Because, praise God, every sinner
that calls on Him in faith and love, in a time of trouble, He
inclines His ear and He hears. Read on in Psalm 40. It says,
He heard my cry. He brought me up also out of
a horrible pit. out of the miry clay, and he
set my feet upon a rock, and he established my goings, and
he put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God, many
shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord. Blessed. Blessed. Blessed is that man
that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud,
nor such as turn aside to lies. He inclined his ear, and he heard
my cry. And let's part with just one
more scripture on this thing of crying. How often we cry. how often our tears are shed. And listen, there's hard times,
difficult times, times of trouble. And I'm thankful. Oh, I'm thankful
he hears my cry. But listen to these words. Turn
to Revelation 21. Revelation 21. Look beginning with verse one. I saw a new heaven and a new
earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away,
and there was no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city,
new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as
a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out
of heaven saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men. And he'll dwell with them. And
they shall be his people. And God himself shall be with
them and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes. And there shall be no more death,
neither sorrow, nor crying. Neither shall there be any more
pain, for the former things are passed away. No more death, no
more sorrow, no more crying, no more pain. All right, Isaac,
come lead us in a closing hymn.