Sermon Notes - Psalms 3 - Confidence - Littleby Baptist Church - November 6, 2022

1.     Continuing our short break from the Gospel of John this morning.

2.     Psalms 1 taught us that there are two choices before each of us.

a.      We either follow God and the righteousness that comes with it.

b.     Or we continue the path of the wicked that heads to ruin.

3.     One of the reminders in Psalms 1 was for us to get into the Word of God.

a.      Don’t count on learning enough on Sunday mornings.

b.     Knowing a few Biblical stories and knowing about Jesus is not enough.

c.      We need to truly embrace the Word and let it change us.

d.     As it said in Psalms 1, we are to delight in the Word of God and to meditate on it day and night.

e.      Spending time in the Word is to be a priority.

4.     Today we are going to take a look at the 3^rd Psalms of Praise.

a.      This one is believed to be written by King David when he was fleeing from his son Absalom.

b.     Absalom hated his father for not doing anything when Amnon raped Tamar.

c.      Absalom and Tamar shared mother and father and Amnon was their half bother.

d.     Absalom takes revenge and kills Amnon, then flees.

e.      He is eventually restored to his place in David’s kingdom, but the hatred for his father festered.

f.      In time, Absalom turned the hearts of the people away from David and took over the kingdom for a period of time as David fled.

5.     Psalms 3:1

a.      David felt like he was alone.

b.     He had faithful people with him, but the number of them did not compare to the sheer number of people who were driving him out of the palace.

c.      He was being chased out of the kingdom.

d.     He was fleeing form his home in hope of finding a safe place.

e.      There are times in our lives that we feel like there is a line of people out to get us.

f.      People could be telling lies about what we have or have not done.

g.     Maybe it is feeling like we don’t have anyone we can to talk to.

h.     When events of this life are getting the better of us, we can easily feel like we are all alone.

i.       Most of us won’t be fleeing for our lives like David, but the feelings of isolation and uncertainty are just as real.

6.     Psalms 3:2

a.      Absalom and the others chasing David wanted him to feel alone.

b.     They wanted David to feel like God had abandoned him.

c.      David made a lot of mistakes; would it be enough for God to forsake him?

d.     David fell from his position of power, but would that cause God to leave him?

e.      We will feel alone.

f.      We may think our sin has corrupted us beyond help.

g.     We may wonder if there is any hope.

h.     We may question if God can save us.

i.       These are lies and doubts planted by the devil.

j.       The devil wants us to question our salvation and to truly wonder if there is any hope for us at all.

7.     Psalms 3:3

a.      David was facing severe persecution and likely death.

b.     Yet, he remembered that God is with him.

c.      God was a shield around him, meaning God was going to protect him.

d.     God is going to lift up David’s head, meaning that God will restore David to his rightful place.

e.      David was fully putting his faith in God.

f.      He was not letting the persecution knock him down.

g.     He was counting on God no matter what people said.

h.     When we feel like we are alone.

i.       When it feels like everyone is out to get us.

j.       Trust in God.

k.     Trust that He is with you always.

l.       Remember God loves you.

8.     Psalms 3:4

a.      David is saying that he knows that God is answering his prayers.

b.     We too are to have confidence that our God will answer our prayers.

c.      Not in our timing, maybe not in the way we would prefer, but He will answer our prayers.

9.     Psalms 3:5

a.      This may seem like something very simple, going to sleep and waking in the morning.

b.     But David is counting that as answer to prayer.

c.      God is giving him rest.

d.     He is sustaining him while Absalom and the others are seeking his death.

e.      God woke him in the morning safe and sound.

f.      In this Psalms David is stating that this is proof that God is hearing him and that God will restore him.

g.     Matthew 28:20 Jesus states, ‘I am with you always.’

h.     No matter what we are facing, our God is with us.

i.       We are never alone.

10.  Psalms 3:6

a.      David has put his confidence in his God.

b.     He is confident that it is God who is giving him rest and waking him in the monrning.

c.      With that confidence he knows that his God is more powerful than the thousands who are after him.

d.     David is choosing to trust in God over everything else.

e.      Romans 8:31 “What, then, are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”

f.      If our Lord is with us.

g.     If the Holy Spirit is in us.

h.     If we are seeking the Lord’s will… who can stand against us?

i.       Trust in God, Trust in His will over our will, and trust that He will be with you until the very end.

11.  Psalms 3:7

a.      David’s confidence that God will be triumphant in protecting him is reenforced in this verse.

b.     You strike, you break… David is stating that God has or is doing these things.

c.      In this situation, when things are looking bleak, David’s trust in God is strong.

d.     Joshua 1:9

e.      Was a promise given to Joshua that David would have remembered.

f.      Hebrews 13:5-6

g.     A promise re-enforced by the author of Hebrews to us.

h.     Our God will not leave us or abandon us.

i.       We may see some scary things playing out in our lives and the world around us.

j.       But our God will not leave us.

k.     We have no reason to be afraid.

l.       As a believer the worst that can happen to us, is that our address changes and we are instantly with our God.

m.   I am not in a hurry to go, but when the time comes, we will be with Jesus.

n.     There are a lot worse things that could happen to us.  

12.  Psalms 3:8

a.      Depending on your version you may be reading Salvation, Deliverance, or Victory belongs to, comes from, or He is these things.

b.     Our Lord is the creator and sustainer, ultimately life and death are in His hands.

c.      If He is going to save, deliver, or bring victory it is in His hands.

d.     David was trusting in his God.

e.      The Bible tells us that Jesus is the way, the truth, and life and that the only way to the Father is through Jesus.

f.      Salvation belongs to our Lord and Savior.

g.     As believers in Jesus, we need to remember that.

h.     We are saved from our sins by His death on that cross.

i.       We are delivered from our rightful punishment by His blood.

j.       We are victorious through His resurrection.

k.     Our salvation in this world, our future, our eternal Hope, is all in our Jesus.

l.       Our trust and our faith need to be in Him.

m.   Regardless of how steep the hill is before us, trust in your Lord Jesus.

13.  ‘May your blessings be on your people.’

a.      Even fleeing for his life, David was asking for God to bless others.

b.     As we are facing challenges and being beat down, remember to pray for others.

c.      Pray that God is with them, even if they are the cause of the pain you are dealing with.

d.     Pray for God to work in your circumstances but also pray that He works in the lives of others.

14.  How confident are you?

a.      Are we confident that God is at work in us?

b.     Are we confident that Jesus is with us always?

c.      Do we trust that His will, will be done?

d.     If you are like me, you can say yes to these but also no.

e.      At times our confidence is strong at other times, not so.  

15.  The trick is to draw closer to God.

16.  Spend more time talking to Him.

17.  Spend time studying His Word.

18.  As you do, it becomes easier to trust in Him.

19.  I don’t know if we will ever fully get there on this side of eternity.

20.  But remember God is our shield, He lifts us up, He answers our prayers, and He is our salvation.

Read Psalms 3