Read Psalm 130

1 Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD;

2 Lord, hear my voice!

Let Your ears be attentive

To the voice of my supplications.

3 If You, LORD, should mark iniquities,

O Lord, who could stand?

4 But there is forgiveness with You,

That You may be feared.

5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,

And in His word I do hope.

6 My soul waits for the Lord

More than those who watch for the morning—

Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.

7 O Israel, hope in the LORD;

For with the LORD there is mercy,

And with Him is abundant redemption.

8 And He shall redeem Israel

From all his iniquities.

Introduction.

Wants vs. needs.

We do it with God, we do it with people, and we do it with our lives.

I am so focused on what I want, that I don’t realize how good it is that my needs have been met.

I need a relationship with God. I want Him to give me my desires.

I need food. I want cajun.

I need water. I want Mt. Dew

I need shelter. I want my dream home.

I need meaningful relationships. I want them to be on my terms.

Our relationship with God must begin at the point of need.

I often wonder why it is that I strain to see God’s hand in my everyday life.

I am beginning to realize that when my focus is on God providing for my desires, I will fail to see the abundant ways that he has supplied my needs.

Psalm 130 is written from a man who needs God.

verse 1 says “ 1 Out of the depths I have cried to you, Lord”

A reminder of Jonah, in the belly of the whale. In the depths crying out to God.

These are men who need God. They aren’t coming to him to have their wants met. They are desperate for God. Are we desperate for God? When was the last time you cried out to God. Take a moment, and examine yourself and ask “Am I desperate for God?”

Let’s dive in.

4 points

read verse 1 and 2

Lord hear me

1 Out of the depths I have cried to you, Yahweh.

2 Lord, hear my voice.

Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my petitions.

I want God to talk to me.

I need Him to hear my voice.

I like to describe myself as a frustrated pentecostal. I believe that all the spirit filled supernatural gifts are for today, and yet I don’t see them manifest in the world around me. I want desperately to see God’s work.

But David here, instead of being frustrated that God isn’t speaking, prays to God that He would listen

What a transforming prayer.

Have you ever had a conversation with someone and said in desperation “You aren’t listening!”

David is praying to God: “Listen to me!” “Lord hear my voice.”

When I am focused on my wants, I will desire to see God act to meet my wants.

But when I am focused on my need for God, I will simply cry out to Him “Lord hear my voice,” and be satisfied that He heard me.

Read verses 3 and 4

If God kept a record of sins

3 If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,

Lord, who could stand?

4 But there is forgiveness with you,

Therefore you are feared.

What a revelation this is

What if God kept a record of sins.

Romans 1:18 says 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

If God were to keep a record of our sins, His wrath would be visited upon us. His wrath



But instead David writes in verse 4

4 But there is forgiveness with you,

Therefore you are feared.

Then later in Psalm 103:11, 12

11 For as the heavens are high above the earth,

So great is his loving kindness toward those who fear him.

12 As far as the east is from the west,

So far has he removed our transgressions from us.

This should change our whole perspective of life.

Humility that God has forgiven us.

But also desperation that sinners would come to follow Jesus as Lord so that He can save them from His wrath.

Thank God He does not keep a record of our sins.

I wait for the Lord

5 I wait for Yahweh.

My soul waits.

I hope in his word.

6 My soul longs for the Lord more than watchmen long for the morning;

More than watchmen for the morning.

“more than the morning watchers, that watch for or until the morning” {h}; than watchmen of cities, or the keepers of the wails, as Aben Ezra; those who are upon the last morning watch, and are looking out for the morning light; that they may go off from duty, and lie down and sleep: or than those that sit up with sick persons; who, being solitary and melancholy, as well as want sleep, long for the morning, that they may have some refreshment: or rather than the priests and Levites that watched in the temple, that waited for the morning, that they might be relieved by others;

When we learn to focus first on asking God to hear us, our next step is to wait on Him. I believe that He will answer. But He does so in His time, and so we must learn to patiently wait.

verse 6 says that we wait for Him like watchmen long for the morning.

I remember when I was teaching music that sometimes we would have to get up at what to me is mega early… 5am to get on a bus at 6am. While sleeping, I would be so afraid that I would oversleep my alarm clock that I would wake up every little bit and look at the time. I was a watchman waiting for the morning.

Another group of watchmen were those who would sit on the walls and watch for enemies. This was a round the clock job, and so some would work the graveyard shift and be up all not. These people were watchmen waiting for the morning.

In both cases, they were anxious for morning. waiting expectantly for the sun to rise.

In the same way, we need to be expectant for God, waiting patiently for Him to act or to speak, attentive so that when He does, we will recognize His voice or His actions.

A couple points:

First, as we wait, verse 5 says “i hope in His word.” Where we can expect to hear Him speak is in His Word. I hear God’s voice most often when I hear the word of God spoken and suddenly, gold letters are around a certain phrase.

Second, as we wait, we are waiting for the things of the Lord, not for the things that we want. God has his own agenda. Sometimes it lines up with ours, but often it doesn’t. When we wait on Him we need to learn to discern His voice from ours.

Finally, verse 7 and 8 speak hope for the people of God.

7 Israel, hope in Yahweh,

For with Yahweh there is loving kindness.

With him is abundant redemption.

8 He will redeem Israel from all their sins.

Out of our need for God comes hope for the church.

Repeat

The church needs to be filled with needy people. Needy for the things of God. Desperate for God. Dissatisfied with the amount of God we have. Desiring to be filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit.

When this is the condition of the people of God, then in verse 7 David says “Israel, hope in Yahweh. With Him is loving kindness. With Him is abundant redeption.”

He will redeem His church from all her sins.

Prayer

Lord, you are our Lord.

Teach us to put aside our wants, and to need you. Desperately.

We wait for you.

Redeem your people from all her sins.

Let our lives so shine by our desperation for you that people would be drawn to make you Lord of their lives.

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Technorati Tags: Anabaptist, bible, bruderhof, eberhardarnold, sermononthemount