Our scripture today is taken from Psalm 30, a psalm of David, a psalm at the dedication of the temple. I will exalt you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up, and have not let my foes rejoice over me. O Lord, my God, I cry to you for help, and you have healed me. O Lord, you have brought up my soul from she old. You restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit. Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name, for his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping, made Terry for the night, but joy comes in the morning. As for me, I said in my prosperity, I shall never be moved by your favor, O Lord. You made my mountain stand strong. You hid your face and I was dismayed. To you, O Lord, I cry and to the Lord I plead for mercy. What prophet is there in my death if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness? Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me. O Lord, be my helper. You have turned for me my morning into dancing. You have loosed my sack cloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord, my God, I will give thanks to you forever, made the Lord add a blessing to the reading and the hearing of his word. Life is a battle, and if the present days, if we have learned anything in these recent months, it is that our lives, our hearts and our minds, our battlefields, and even, even as our streets, in recent days, have become fields of battle over justice and peace and the American way. As Christians, we know that the battle did not begin with COVID-19, nor did the battle begin with the death of George Floyd.
But every week, every week when we gather, when every week when we come together, we understand that we gather as warriors. We gather as those who have been in the battle, some of us wounded, some of us weary, and the others of us are emboldened, strengthen and ready to fight.
And we know that the battle was not new. The battle has been raging since the days, the early days of creation. It has been raging just the days of the serpent in the garden of Eden. It has been a battle for you and me since the days that God, the Father called you and got the Holy Spirit enlisted you into the service of the Lord Jesus Christ by faith. Ever since then, it has been a battle. And in our clear moments, we recognize that. In our clear moments, we recognize that we're in the fight. Now, admittedly, all of us, all of us have lapses. All of us get duped and forget the fight that all of us at one time or another are taken in by the enemy. But in those moments of spiritual clarity, in those moments of spiritual sanity, we remember that life, that the life of faith is the life of war. And the church has her war songs. We sang one this morning, right? I am on the battlefield for my Lord. I am on the battlefield for my Lord. We sing, I'm a soldier, I'm a soldier in the army of the Lord. I'm a soldier in the army. And you read the Psalms. It is good to remember that the David, David was a warrior. David understood what it meant to be in battle. David knew the war songs. He was no stranger to the fight. He battled our unrighteousness all of his days, beloved. He battled unrighteousness on every side. He battled unrighteousness from outside his nation with the Philistines and Goliath. He battled unrighteousness within his nation, in the life of Saul and Nabal. He battled unrighteousness within his own family, with the likes of Absalom and M. Non. But most discouragingly, he battled unrighteousness from within his own heart. Pride, anger, lust, lies.
Most of us can. And I think we should acknowledge similar battles. Do we not? We suffer from unrighteousness from outside of us, racial, economic, relational, religious persecution and abuse. The most of all, we battle unrighteousness from within our own hearts. Pride and greed, lust and anger, lust. And I hope that we can be honest this morning. I think we can be honest. And if we are honest, we will admit that that battle is constant, beloved. That battle is in pits. And the Psalm is this morning. Did you read Psalm 30? A Psalm of David. The dedication of the temple. David, this morning, enters into the temple. He comes into the sacred place of worship. And he comes realizing and understanding that he has just come having been through the battles. He comes having been through the fight. And he comes reflecting upon the wars. He comes and he looks and he can feel the battle scars. And he has the fight on his mind, but he also has faith on his lips. And he reminds us, in this brief, wonderful Psalm, he reminds us that God is faithful in the fight. And he reminds us that God has fixed the fight. And he reminds us, therefore, we can finish the fight. Now, for those of you who are taking notes, it's just your own home. Most of you, nobody holds your accountable for that. But if you are taking notes, Bob, God is faithful in the fight. God has fixed the fight. And therefore, we can finish the fight. God is faithful in the fight, beloved. You see this in verses one through three. A thing about the war that we battles. A thing about the battles in which we find ourselves. You understand that the enemies change. The war sometimes the battlefields change. The tactics of the enemy change. But the one thing that never changes is the goodness and the faithfulness of God. And this is why the psalmist could go into worship. This is why he could rise up early in the morning and enter into the temple. The first thing that he would say is in verse one, I exalt you, O Lord. Having been through the fight. Having been through the battle. However, he came out. He answers into the temple. And he says, I exalt you, O Lord. Why? Why does he begin with words of worship? Why does he begin with an attitude of praise? Well, because as Psalm 33 and verse one tells us, sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous. It is 15. It is 15 for the upright to praise him. It is always fitting to give God praise. It is always appropriate to worship. It is, worship is never out of place. It is within the circumstances. No matter where you are, or how you've been, worship is always fitting. Because God is always, always, always, always faithful. And sometimes, sometimes we praise God for what he promises to do. Or, like David this morning, we praise God for what he has already done. And what has God done? What has God done? Well, he has been faithful in the midst of the battles. He has been faithful in the midst of the battles. What do God do? Ask you this question. What happens in battles? What happens when you get into a fight? Well, you get knocked down. And guess what David said? The Lord lifts you. What happens when you get into a fight? You get wounded. And what the David said? What the Lord healed me? When you get into a fight, what happens? You become broken. And what does David say? Well, the Lord restored me. That's what he does. In the midst of the battle, he lifts us in the midst of the fight. He is faithful to heal us in the midst of the fight. He is faithful to restore us. He lifts us. He lifts us. See that again in verse 1. I will extol you all. Lord, for you have drawn me up. You have lifted me up. You have not let my phones rejoice over me. In other words, David says here, Lord, I was down. I was not down. My enemy had me on the ropes. My enemy was coming in for the kill. My enemy was planning to rejoice over me. They had already brought the champagne into the locker room. They had already begun to carve their name upon the trophy. See, y'all know what I'm talking about. Some of y'all can't relate. They had a 25-point lead. The score was 28-3. And there was only 18 minutes left. Celebrate. Here's ready to declare victory. And God said not so fast. God beloved the likes and working for quarter combat. But the Lord does. He draws you up. He lifts you up. He snatches victory from the jaws of our defeats. Sickness and sorrow, problems and pain, sin and suffering. All of these seem at times all powerful and overwhelming. But I have good news for you this morning. Only God is sovereign. Sickness is not sovereign. God is. Sorrows is not sovereign. God is. Sin and suffering are not sovereign. God is. Someone has said that it ain't over to the fat lady things. No, beloved, no. It ain't over to God says this over. They thought it was over for those three Hebrew boys. But God lifted them out of the fire. They thought it was over for the Daniel. But the Bible tells us in Daniel chapter 6 and verse 22 that God showed up and shut the mouths of the lions. They thought it was over for Jesus until they came to minister to his dead body. And the angel said in Matthew 28 and 6, he is not here. He is risen. Come, come, come, come see where he lay. Why, why, why are you looking for the dead among the living? Jesus said in Mark chapter 12 and verse 27. He is not the God of the dead. He is the God of the living. And God has lifted you this morning like Jesus. You are alive. I know it's been hard. And I know the battles have been difficult. But look at your hands. Check your pulse like Jesus this morning. You are alive. And he is your God who lifts you. He is not just the God who lifts you. He is the God who heals us. See that in verse 2? Oh Lord, my God, I cry to you for help. And you have healed me. Sickness and these had attacked his body. And David cried out for help. And God healed it. Why, why? His simple beloved. That's who he is. That's what God does. That is his name in Exodus chapter 15 and verse 26. The God who heals you, don't miss this. Don't miss this. God is a healer. And in our modern times and in our modern advancements of medicine and science, it is easy to forget that it is the Lord who heals you, beloved. Medicine is not sovereign. God is. And whatever means he employs for your well-being. If you are well, if you are healed, Jehovah Rafa has healed you this morning. Psalm 103, verse 2 and 3. Bless the Lord, all my soul, all my soul, forget not his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases. I don't know if we really have grabs the joy of God and healing his people. I mean, you look at the life of Jesus. There is a reason why the Bible says in Acts chapter 10 and verse 38, that Jesus went about his life doing good and healing, although afflicted by the devil, he does relish these times. He relished the moments when he could heal. And if you read the gospels, he did it over and over and over again, because he came as Jehovah Rafa, who heals us. God is still in the healing business. There is nothing. There is nothing beyond his healing power. There is nothing beyond the healing grace of Jesus. And Micah 4 and 2, the Bible tells us that he is the son of righteousness with healing in his weeks, with healing in his wing. I don't know what it is. Discouragement or disease. He is Jehovah Rafa, the God who heals you. I don't know what it is. Frustration or fever. He is Jehovah Rafa, the God who heals you. Come, come ye disconsolate. Wherever ye language come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel. Bring your wounded hearts. Hear, tell your angst. Earth has no sorrow. That heaven cannot heal. And as I cry to you for help, that's what happens in battle. You get knocked down. In the sovereign Lord, he lifts you up. He wounded the sovereign Lord. He was you. You become broken and he restored you. Verse 3. You brought me up from the grave, Lord. You kept me from falling into the pit of death. You restored me to life. Beloved, whether you realize it or not, those who go down to the grave, they don't come back. Those who go down into shield, they don't come back. I don't know about you, but I have been to many referrals. I have stood over and preached over many a casket, and not one of those persons has come back. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. We don't want you to go, but when you go on, stay that way. David's soul was cast down. David's soul was fading fast. David said, I had one foot in the grave. My enemy was about to push me over. But Lord, you kept me alive. Psalm 107, verse 20. He sent out his word and healed them. He rescued them from the grave. Make no mistake about it, Lord. Make no mistake about it. It is the Lord who keeps us from destruction. It is the Lord who keeps others from destroying us. But more importantly, it is the Lord who keeps us from destroying ourselves. Left to myself. I can't speak for anybody else. I can't speak for you, but I do know this. Left to myself, I would be down in the pit. My life would be wasted away. But the Psalm has said, and Psalm 66, and verse 9. It is the Lord who keeps your soul among the living. It is the Lord who has not let your foot slip. And so I can't speak for everybody. But I can say this with all the certainty that I was sinking deep inside. Far, far from the peaceful shore, deeply stained within and seeking to rise no more. But the master of the sea heard my despair and cry. And from the waters of death, he lifted me, and now safe and I. Hear what the Psalm is saying? You know what he's saying? He's saying that Jesus saves. Jesus saves. Jesus lives. Jesus saves beloved. Jesus heals. Jesus restores. Jesus saves. In the midst of the battle, God is faithful. And that's good to know, even while we also remind it, that the fight is fixed. It's fixed, but I don't know how else to say it. The fight is fixed. God has fixed the fight. Some of you, I used to be. I used to be a wrestling fan. It used to be a huge wrestling fan. When I was a little boy, I was a huge wrestling fan. We didn't have much TV when I was growing up. But that was one thing that we would have every Saturday night. We'd have the wrestling matches. And some of you like it. I know some of you like it too. Hawk Hogan. You like the character. Undertaker. Nature, boy, Rick Flan. I used to enjoy it too. You know, the drama, the storyline, the fights. I enjoyed it until I learned that the whole thing scripted. The fights are fixed. The fighters already know who is going to win. The fighters already know how they're going to win. Beloved. In a sense, this is what God has done. God has fixed our fights as well. Yes. Yes. Yes. The drama in our life is real. The struggles are real. Our lives contain real story lines. And they beat up and down, up and down, up and down. But I want to suggest to you this morning that you take courage in knowing that God has already picked the winner. You see this and how the summits, the positions, the story lines of our lives. And the story being told here. And he does it by juxtapositioning the elements of our lives. And do you see the juxtaposition there? Now when we say juxtapositioned, all we mean is placing two elements side by side so that you can compare and contrast them. Okay? And so you see, you play like big here, small here. Rich here, poor here. Happy here, sad here, good here, evil here. Place them side by side so that you can compare and contrast them. And this is the life of faith. The life of faith is often a juxtaposition of the elements of our battles. Sometimes you're up, sometimes we're down, sometimes we're good, sometimes not so much. This is the battle we find ourselves in every day. Which you have to remember. Which you have to remember. Okay? Is that like the pro wrestler? Like the pro wrestler? And God has fixed the fight. But like the pro wrestler, sometimes the winner gets knocked down. Sometimes the winner gets hurt. But you know what? The winner always wins. And you're going to win. You're going to win. And you see that in the contrast. Again in the verse five. So I'm 30, right? Anger for a moment, favor for a life part. And you see the contrast. You see the Jackson positions. They're anger, favor, moment, lifetime. You see it again. Weeping may endure for a night. Joy comes in the morning. Weeping, joy, night, morning. That is the point. That is the point. Sometimes you're going to experience anger. And it's going to be for a moment. But don't worry. You're going to have favor for a lifetime. There will be time and nights where their bill be weeping. But be not discouraged. Joy will be coming in the morning. Even when you're losing, what are you doing? Winning. And when you're losing, you're winning. Or as triply would say, even though we're winning, we still in it. We're winning. We're still in it. San Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 17. Our momentary afflictions don't compare to eternal glory. Do you see it? Do you see it? Momentary compare to eternal afflictions compare to glory. There is no comparison. Even when you're losing, what are you doing? Winning. Some, 126. Verse 5. Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy. Do you see it again? Do you see it there? Those who sow shall reap. They sow in tears. They will reap what joy. Why? Because even when you're losing, what are you doing? You're winning. That's why we all have a whole church here. So somebody could say, amen. So somebody could say, winning. Too many of us. Too many of us, beloved. Allow the events of the world to discourage us. And what the world says. And what the world does has more bearing on our lives than what God says. And what God does. We talk a good game. I hear it. We talk a good game about trust in Christ. And we talk a good game about believing God. But when the world goes crazy, we go crazy. When the world loses minds, we lose our minds. When the world gets in chaos, we get in chaos. But I want to remind you this morning of what Jesus said. In John chapter 16 and verse 33, Jesus said, I have set these things to you that you may have peace in me. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart. I have overcome the world. In other words, even when it seems like you're losing, what are you doing? Winning. Winning. And since that is the case, beloved. And since that is the case. And the Psalmist says, we can finish this fight. We can finish this fight. God is faithful. He's fixed it. I'm all in. I'm all in. God is faithful is already fixed. I'm all in. I'm into the finish. I am into the finish. I want to tell you that, beloved. Don't give up. Don't give up. Don't give in. We already know who's going to win. God saved you. And He saved you for purpose. God saved you. And He left you here. He saved you. And He left you here for a purpose. And in the midst of our struggles, in the midst of our up and down, in the midst of our battles, it helps to know that God saved you for purpose. And that purpose has not changed. And you see it. What David says. David says, in verse 9, What will you gain if I die? If I sink into the grave? Can my dust praise you? Can it tell of your faithfulness? You know a Psalm 6, 5 and 5 says? Among the dead, no one proclaims your name. Who praises you from the grave? Why did God save you? Why did He save you? And not just take you home. Why did He leave you here? If He wanted the dust to praise them, He didn't have to save you and me. Why did He heal you? Why did He deliver you? He delivered you. He healed me so that we would tell the world how merciful God is, so that we would shout to the world how faithful God is. He saved us, He healed us, He restored us, He lifted us up so that we would finish the fight so that we would do like David did in verse 11 of 30 of Psalm. So that we would shout, tell the world how Jesus turned your morning into dancing so that you would let the world know how He loosened you from your sadness and He clothed you with gladness. So that, as Psalm 34 and 1 says, so that you would bless the Lord at all times, so that His praise would continually and always be on your mouth, so you would tell it, so you would tell it, so you would tell the world, tell it. Tell them everywhere I go. Tell the world, tell them I'm a billboard, the world, tell them, protest it like a radio, tell the world they ought to know. I'm brand new because I'm winning. Tell them, tell them He says. In verse 12, He says, tell them that my glory may sing your praises and not be silent. Don't be silent. Don't be silent. There's people marching up and down the streets all over this country. You know what they tell us? Don't be silent about injustice. Okay, no problem. Don't be silent about injustice. Don't be silent about pro-least brutality. Don't be silent about political abuse. They tell us if we're silent we're complicit. All right, don't be silent about injustice. But believe it, don't you be silent about Jesus, either. If you're going to tell them about injustice, make sure you tell them about Jesus. If you're going to tell them about pro-least brutality, make sure you tell them about Jesus. If you're going to speak about the abuse of power, make sure also you tell them about Jesus. Tell them. Don't be silent. Tell them about the one who saved you. Tell them about the one who gave his life for you. Tell them about the one who has shed his blood for you. Tell them about the one who has raised you, who has healed you, who has restored you. Tell them about Jesus. Tell them everywhere you go. They ought to know what has made you. Brand new, feminist that fight. Finish the race. And there will be for all the crown of righteousness. You know what? You know what God is doing? You know what He's doing? That? He's already written the names on the trophy. It's already there. Is this fixed? All you got to do is finish. All you got to do is finish. The name is already on the trophy. The champagne is already out the boxes. We're winning. Tell the world. Tell the world they ought to know who saved you. His name is Jesus. Let's pray.