MOVE AGAIN
Psalm 6: 1-10
- O Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
- Have mercy upon me, O Lord; for I am weak: O Lord, heal me; for my bones are vexed.
- My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O Lord, how long?
- Return, O Lord, deliver my soul: oh save me for thy mercies’ sake.
- For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?
- I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.
- Mine eye is consumed because of grief; it waxeth old because of all mine enemies.
- Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping.
- The Lord hath heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer.
- Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed: let them return and be ashamed suddenly.
Introduction:
The first seven verses of this psalm are one great cry of anguish. Three times (vv. 2, 3, 10) he used the word “vexed.” It’s literally in the Hebrew a word which means “troubled, terrified, faint, and weak.”
16 times “How long?” Is the cry of a man who has hung on, and held out, but he’s growing tired.
Worn out means extremely tired; exhausted, damaged or shabby to the point of being no longer usable.
Title: “MOVE AGAIN”
I. The Stocks of Reduced Strength
II. The Signs of Receding Strength
III. The Source of Renewed Strength
IV. The Spirit of Revived Strength
Story of Napoleon.
Mark 6: 31-32, Jesus said to His disciples, “Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.”
Vance Havner: [This] “is a must for every Christian. If you don’t come apart, you will come apart!”
I. THE STOCKS OF REDUCED STRENGTH (VS. 3)
“My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O Lord, how long?”
What was bothering David?
He was run down mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. He was worn out.
Psalm 22: 15, “My strength is dried up like a potsherd…” – That is like a piece of pottery that’s been fired, and have been in the furnace for so long.
What causes this problem of reduced strength?
A. The Demands of Service
“A Psalm of David.” David was a hymn writer. David was a king of God’s people. When you serve the Lord it will take strength of you.
In Exodus 17, the Israelites faced a fierce enemy; the Amalekites.
God’s Word tells us in Exodus 17: 11-12, “And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.”
Some days, even the best of leaders, of warriors, of faith-filled believers, can grow weary and exhausted.
You can get tired no matter who you are.
B. The Disability of Sickness (vs. 2)
The word “weak” literally is “sick.”
Psalm 102: 4, “My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my bread.”
You don’t feel spiritual. Your strength has gone of you. Sickness has taken that strength from you.
C. The Damage of Sin (vs. 4)
Psalm 31: 10, “For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed.”
Unresolved guilt will sap strength out of your life. There is nothing that will cause you to sleep better than to know there’s nothing between your soul and the Savior.
Ephesians 4: 26, “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.”
“Keep short accounts with God.”
Whenever we sin, we ought to be quick to confess our sins and to get right with God, because, if we don’t, the devil finds a crack in our breastplate of righteousness, and then little sins have a way of becoming bigger and worse sins.
D. The Devastation of Sorrow (vs. 6)
He was tearful at the many loses in his life.
1 Samuel 30: 4, “Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.”
E. The Devices of Satan (vs. 7)
Deuteronomy 25: 17-18, Amalek was a wicked, Canaanite king and here is what God said to Moses, “Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt; how he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou was faint and weary; and he feared not God.”
When you are physically and emotionally worn out, then Satan sees the advantage over you.
Satan is no respecter of moments. He may move in during low tide spiritually, or he may move in after a great spiritual victory.
II. THE SIGNS OF RECEDING STRENGTH (VS. 5)
“For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?”
David has gone from despair in his circumstances to despairing for his life. He is not only losing sleep, but he’s losing interest in life. Satan’s method is to use small, daily irritations of people, pressures, and problems to tap against our soul like Chinese water torture until we give in or give up.
During the Last Supper, Jesus told Peter: Luke 22: 31, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.”
Peter’s responses in this sifting reveal a similar pattern in our lives.
What are the warning signs of a life being worn out?
A. Our Silenced Praying.
Jesus was in Gethsemane praying with His most intimate disciples; Peter, James, and John. As Jesus paused from praying, He came to them and “he found them sleeping for sorrow.” The storm of worry and fear had done its job.
Jesus then said, “Rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.” No man will ever rise any higher than his prayer life. The lives that have made the most memorable impacts for God are those who know how to storm heaven with their prayers.
Prayer is not a ritual to them, but rather a desperate hunger of the soul for God. It is out of this preoccupation with God that strongholds are pulled down, captives are set free, miracles are wrought, and victories are won.
Samuel Chadwick wrote: “Prayer turns ordinary mortals into men of power. It brings power. It brings fire. It brings rain. It brings life. It brings God.”
B. Our Spirit-less Performance.
We are told in John 18: 10, “Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest’s servant…”
We can expect nothing but frustration and failure when we undertake God’s work without God’s power.
The world is waiting for a demonstration of Christianity that cannot be explained apart from God, but a skeptical world will never be convinced that our faith is real when it lacks supernatural power.
Hudson Taylor: “Many Christians estimate difficulty in the light of their own resources, and thus they attempt very little and they always fail. All giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on His power and presence to be with them.”
C. Our Secretive Profession.
“Woman, I know Him not.” With the fear of persecution ever-present, Peter’s inner worry had shut down his outward profession.
Courageous faithfulness is a quality that all of us admire. Not only does God admire it, but God requires it.
1 Corinthians 4: 2, “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful”
It doesn’t matter how much ability you have, how much personality or intelligence you have, or how hard you work. But are you someone who can be counted on when the bell rings?
III. THE SOURCE OF RENEWED STRENGTH (VS. 8-9)
“Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord hath heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer.”
One moment David was overwhelmed with trouble, the next he was marching forward in triumph. He had come to a place of rest.
One of the great truths and promises in the Word of God is found inIsaiah 40: 31, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
A. The Promise of Rest
Matthew 11: 28, “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
You probably don’t need to see a psychiatrist, doctor, or a minister. You probably just need to rest. One philosopher said, “I have so much to do today, I simply must go to bed.”
There is nothing wrong with resting. Genesis 2: 2, “And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.”
B. The Provision of Rest (vs. 9)
Hebrews 4: 9, 11, “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God…Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”
God knows that there’s a time to work. But, God also knows that you need rest. Eg. Elijah and Jesus.
Psalm 23: 2, “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.”
C. The Peace of Rest (vs. 10)
Jeremiah 31: 25-26, “For I have satiated [satisfied] the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul. Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.”
Psalm 127: 2, “It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.”
It is vain to not to get your rest. And, one of the sure tests of our having been renewed with rest is the peace of mind which follows. Peace does not mean a retreat from the world, but rather a serenity which comes and remains, though the outside world may be in turmoil.
Psalm 4: 8, “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for Thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.”
IV THE SPIRIT OF REVIVED STRENGTH
Even if David was known to be a man after God’s heart, even if he was the apple of God’s eyes, he became worn out. He was vexed physically and was spiritually dampened, but when he cried to God, he was confident that God heard him.
We need rest when we are weary. But rest is oftentimes elusive because of the demands of service, disability of sickness, damage of sin, devastation of sorrows and the device of the enemy which leads to receding of our strength and dulling of our spirit.
We need REST in order to have the spirit to MOVE again.
Where can we find rest?
The simplicity of rest is found in the promise, provision and peace that Jesus gives.
Matthew 11: 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Isaiah 53: 4-5 “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
He was scourged, crowned with thorns and forced to carry the cross. REST was taken away from Him. Why? So that the restless can have rest. Finally, He was nailed and fastened on the cross. He did not come down even though He could for our sake, but that was not the end.
CONCLUSION:
Illustration: Check Mate
The devil thought he made Jesus immobile on the cross and in the grave, but the King got one more move, HIS RESURRECTION. He rose from the dead to show to the enemy that He is not impotent and to show to all who believe and would believe that because of Him, we all have one more move. When we rest in Christ we can move again.
The devil declared check mate on Jesus but the King had one more move. The devil may declare checkmate on you but in Jesus our King we have one more move. And He gave us his Spirit. He gives the Spirit without measure. He sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge. And the Spirit doesn’t make us weak and fearful.
