Note: Message inspired by Devotional from CTA about Father's Day.
Title: Strong in the Lord
Theme: To show that the Lord is our strength, we need to trust Him not ourselves.
Text: Psalms 27:1-4
Introduction
What were you doing on 9/11?
Tragedy has a way of freezing time. When tragedy strikes, be it an earthquake or a terrorist attack, people suddenly become aware of their surroundings. They know in an instant what they are doing, and they remember that moment for years to come.
Sometimes these memories contain a revelation. It could be a revelation of how little what we are doing really matters. After 9/11, one businessman remembers how turning in a report on company profits seemed less important that day. It could be a revelation of the deeper significance of things we ordinarily take for granted. Many parents recall how, after 9/11, simply watching their children sleep or praying with them before they went to bed suddenly became one of the most important things they did that day.
Tragedy has that power. It freezes time, and it helps us see what is truly significant in life.
Getting to the Heart
Why all this talk about tragedy? It leads us to Psalm 27, where David remembers a time of tragedy in his life.
David speaks of evildoers assailing him, devouring his flesh. He remembers adversaries and foes, climbing after him in an attack and yet stumbling and falling to the ground (v. 2). The more David remembers, the more tragic the vision becomes. He raises his eyes from these attacking foes only to see an entire army encamped on a battlefield before him. As he looks over that field, David watches in horror as the army rises and begins to wage war against him (v. 3). Yet, for all of these horrifying scenes displayed before David, this tragedy has frozen one moment in his mind—not a moment of despair, but instead, a moment of eternal worth.
So important is that moment that David chooses to begin his psalm with it. David begins his psalm from a place of spiritual strength. He writes:
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
the Lord is the strength of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalm 27:1
What a way to look at tragedy or turmoil.
It is different than what we are use to. It gives us an idea about that are circumstances are not the issue it is how we look at them.
As he looks at the armies encamped around about him David says two things:
1) The Lord is my light and salvation; whom shall I fear
Light – guide “His Word is a light unto my feet and a light unto my path"
Salvation “my hope, my deliverer”
2) The Lord is the strength of my life of whom shall I be afraid?
Strength – strong, security,
Proverbs 18:10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.
Psalms 16:1 Keep me safe, O God,
for I have come to you for refuge.
Isaiah 12:2 Surely, God has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. The LORD GOD is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation."
2Th 3:3-5 But the Lord is faithful; he will make you strong and guard you from the evil one. (4) And we are confident in the Lord that you are practicing the things we commanded you, and that you always will. (5) May the Lord bring you into an ever deeper understanding of the love of God and the endurance that comes from Christ.
It is God who gives us our strength.
Zechariah 4:6 So he answered and said to me: "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the LORD of hosts.
Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Sometimes we just need a change of perspective
Elijah and the Syrian King
2 Kings 6:15 And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?" 16 So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." 17 And Elisha prayed, and said, "LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
1 John 4:4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
Psalms 127 Put out trust in the Lord
Psalms 127:1 Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain. 2 It is vain for you to rise up early, To sit up late, To eat the bread of sorrows; For so He gives His beloved sleep. 3 Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. 4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth. 5 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; They shall not be ashamed, But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.
Why? Because the Lord is David’s strength. The Lord is David’s cleft in the mountain, the stronghold that holds strong. This Lord saves David from any and every attack. Placing his confidence in the Lord, David is able to live in faith and face the world without fear.
Writing to the church in Ephesus, the apostle Paul reveals that our enemies are not of flesh and blood. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,” he says, “but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). Our enemy is Satan himself, locked in battle against God Almighty and seeking to claim us as his own.
How do we fight against cosmic powers, against spiritual forces, against an enemy we cannot see? The same way that David fought—by relying on the strength of the Lord.
While our enemy is not of flesh and blood and cannot be seen, our strength is different. It can be seen. It is flesh and blood. Our strength lies in Jesus. Unlike David, we have seen our Lord Jesus. He is our light and our salvation, the stronghold of our life. He has come into this world and taken upon himself our flesh and blood. He lived a perfect life before his Father so that we can stand secure in his righteousness. He fought an awesome fight to the death to defend us from the devil and all other evil forces that would claim us as their own.
After Jesus died on the mountain of Calvary, he was taken and placed in the cleft of a rock. Three days later, from that tomb, our Savior burst forth in glorious victory. He defeated all cosmic powers, and he rose from death to claim us for life. We are his own, his children, his family, his flesh and blood, and he will return to receive us to himself and to bring about a new creation.
Taking It Home
Until that time, the apostle Paul encourages us to “be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might” (Ephesians 6:10). We join David in saying, “the Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1).
As Christians, we do not need a tragedy to help us discover what is important. In fact, we can live in the strength of the Lord every day. God’s strength is there for you in Jesus, whether you are watching the world fall apart or simply getting up to go to work.
We don’t need a tragedy to awaken us to God’s love. His love is there for you now, in this moment, and it can be that one place, that stronghold, that rock of refuge, that you return to day after day. The gifts you receive today (name/describe them) can help you awaken to discover the power of God’s love for you each day. Awakened to his strength, you will see each day what is most important in your life—God’s strength to save you and your strength to serve him as you pursue his callings on your life to serve—at home, on the job, in your community.
