What's Your Song?

Pastor Chuck Locke shares a message from Psalm 28 entitled, "What's Your Song?"

What is Ridgecrest Baptist Church - Sermons?

Ridgecrest Baptist Church is located in Dothan, AL and exists to Reach the lost, Build the believer, and Connect people of God to the mission and purpose of God.

morning. Thank you for being here. I shared with the deacons this morning and so many times I have a tendency to, as Junior Hill used to say, to maybe get up here and clear off a spot and pitch a fit and to really get going. But as I got here this morning before anybody was here and this place was totally empty, I thank God for every one of you for being here. No one made you be here. You came here in response to an invitation from God's Holy Spirit. You are here. You answered God's call to be here. Now you, this may be a habit, you come here every week and it's something we do especially here in Dothan or in the south, but I want to ask you to look through the lens of God's invitation at your presence here today and I want to say thank you. We've worshiped already. I know I have. And so now it's just a continuation of that. But I want to challenge us all. If you're here by responding to the invitation of God's Holy Spirit, then God has a word for you. And can I just say to everybody these, it is not from me. I want to pray and this is not a habit, I mean it with all my heart, that God would mute anything and everything, that has its origin within me. And He would amplify everything from His Holy Word that is perfect, that is everlasting, that is transforming, that is the power of the gospel. So thank you for answering God's invitation. Now let's pray right now. Holy Spirit, would you by your grace regather our scattered senses? Father, would you eliminate the things that may have the opportunity to distract us in these next few minutes, myself included? And God, I do pray that your voice, your word, your message is amplified above all else. Would you just simply use me as that speaker, mute anything and everything that has origin within my heart? And church, we'll talk about the heart in a few moments. But Father, may you have your way. May this be a time that we are encouraged, that we are transparent, that we enter in vulnerability. And God, that we depend on you with everything that we have. And we do as we've already sung. We speak the name of Jesus over our ears, our hearts, and our hands and feet. May we hear, may we receive, and may we apply what you have for us. And we pray that in Jesus' name, the church said, amen. Well, turn, if you would, with me to Psalm 28, the 28th Psalm. And while you're looking there, it shouldn't be too hard. You know, just go about to the middle. I need to go right or left a little bit, the 28th Psalm. And that's where our text is this morning. But let me say thank you to all of our team, especially Jessica and those volunteers that helped this past week. What we know now, at least nine professions of faith were made.

Okay, I just want to make sure you heard me. Nine souls profess Christ as king.

That's at least that. And that's just from our Richcrest family. There's more to be talked with and decisions. We may even see those come forth. Or today, we just don't know. But it is an absolute opportunity to continue to intercede on their behalf. So over 500 people total, volunteers, children came here. No maladies from what I understand. Maybe some nicks and bruises and fatigue. But God was certainly good. Psalm 28. Some years ago, a pastor and professor named Ben Patterson found himself lying on the floor. In pain from two ruptured discs. Brother Aaron, you know about some pain in the back. Brother Ray knows about some pain in the back. But this pastor and professor found himself laying flat on the floor. His doctor prescribed, no, nothing. You have to go six weeks of total rest. You don't even hardly move. Well, that bored and frustrated this professor and pastor. To the point where he finally said, you know what? I'm just going to pray. I'm going to pray for every member of my church. That's what I'm going to do just to pass the time. Well, he did that. And it took about two hours every time. And every time that he did it, each and every time, it got sweeter and sweeter. And those six weeks went by too fast. He found himself just contemplating that and meditating upon it. And in his quiet time, he said, Lord, I just wish there was time in my regular schedule to do that every day. I'm going to miss it. Well, in a moment of rebuke, he heard from the Lord. And this is what he wrote. He said, the trouble with you, Ben, this is Ben Patterson saying what God told his heart. The trouble with you, Ben, is when you're well, you think you're in charge. When you're sick, you know you're not. I've given you 24 hours every day. What you do with it is certainly your choice. And he was rebuked. Now, listen, not that I want that to happen. It's not going to happen to anyone in here this morning, especially myself, okay? But think about it. Does it take being flat on our backs to realize that we're not in charge? What might it take for everyone in here this morning, and everyone watching on television, live stream, or listening on the radio, what will it take for us to genuinely believe that prayer is the essential work that when we prioritize it, listen, church, that when we prioritize it, we're drawn into God's perspectives and presence. Now, the pace of life muddles perspective. The pace of life really eliminates God's presence at times. Yet, ironically, it is prayer that enables us to cope with life, to set the pace according to God's plan. Jesus Christ himself shared this by Matthew, writing it down in his gospel. Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you. You will find rest for your souls. Pastor Ben concluded by saying this, prayer, listen to me, prayer is a discipline before it is a joy, and it remains a discipline after it becomes a joy. What a friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and griefs to bear. What? What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer. Stand with me, if you're physically able, and let's read these nine verses from the 28th Psalm. Hopefully, your version of the Bible will read something like mine. If not, look to the screens, and you'll see exactly, well, hopefully, what I'm reading. Lord, I call to you. David is pleading. My rock. My rock, do not be deaf to me. David is praying. If you remain silent to me, I'll be like those going down to the pit. Listen to the sound of my pleading when I cry to you for help, when I lift my hands toward your holy sanctuary. Do not drag me away with the wicked, with the evildoers, who speak in friendly ways with their neighbors, while malice is in their hearts. Repay them according to what? They have done according to the evil of their deeds. Repay them according to the work of their hands. Give them back what they deserve. Because they do not consider what the Lord has done or the work of his hands. He will tear them down and not rebuild them. And here's where it turns. May the Lord be praised. For he has heard the sound of my pleading. The Lord is my strength. And my shield. My heart trusts in him and I have helped. Therefore, my heart rejoices and I praise him with my song. The Lord is a strength of his people. He is a stronghold of salvation for his anointed. Save your people. Bless your possession. Shepherd them and carry them forever. Forever. Forever. Now with every head bowed and every eye closed as best as you can do that into the obedience of God, I want you to repeat this prayer after me. Are you ready? Lord, thank you for the privilege of prayer.

I bring to you now all that troubles me. And I leave my burdens in your hands. Show me, Lord, how to make prayer. And your grace, the driving forces of my life.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You may be seated. Thank you. Now one more thought before we get into our text this morning. You know, our pastor loves to read biographies. And I do not read them like he does. But I do enjoy good biographies where it would be George Mueller,

Dwight Eisenhower, Billy Graham. Just you can name any amount of those men we read about, women we read about, Corrie ten Boom. You read about these great people of the past. But no really biography compares to that of Moses. Think about it. There are few biographies in Scripture even that are more amazing than that of Moses. His life was one of constant divine intervention. He was born again. He was born a Hebrew when there was time that all the Hebrew children were being killed. He was hidden in a basket by his mom and put in a river and Pharaoh's daughter found him. Instead of being killed like the rest of the Hebrew boys, he was raised in Pharaoh's home. Because he loved his own people, he was later exiled and left homeless in a foreign land. When he needed a home, God provided a home for him and a wife. When he needed direction, God called him to lead his people and then led them by a cloud. He was a child by day and a pillar of fire by night. When he needed deliverance, God parted the waters and he walked through on dry land. When he needed food, God gave him bread from heaven and water from a rock. He met every need. When all these things were going on, Moses knew his entire life was going to be a reminder that God loves to help his people. Now if you answered the invitation to be here this morning as a professing believer in Christ, if you have a faith, if you have asked him to be your master, not just a church member, but if you call Christ Lord, he is king this morning, if you answered the call to be here in that context, then listen, please understand this, God wants to help you. He is there for you, for your good and his glory. That is the heart of Psalm 28. It is a cry for help. If you've ever found yourself in a moment of despair, can I get a witness? If you've ever had a moment, a week, a month, a year, a decade, any time of season, if you've ever found yourself in despair, then this psalm is your song. This psalm is your song. This is your song. What is your song? So on your outline, you'll see three little blanks before we get to the meat of it. It'll probably take us a little bit more time just to get those three little blanks than actually the meat. It's going to be good and hopefully a little quick when we get there. So just kind of hang with me. So setting up the latter verses of 6 through 9, we first have to go through this lamenting. of one through five look back at our text lord i call to you my rock don't be deaf to me if you remain silent to me i'll be like those going down to the pit david is here making a plea write that down that first blank you plea to god it's not just going to him and oh lord god and just i'm not saying that anyone ever does this but if i've been guilty of it we i don't have full sobriety when i enter the throne room of god almighty it is a plea knowing exactly who you are and who you would be without christ he says if you don't hear me i'll be like the one going to the pit he is making a plea here he's pleading to the lord and that grows into making a petition that's a second blank a plea and a petition he is desperate he is desperate for the lord to hear him and to pay attention to his cries he pleads with the lord not to be deaf or remain silent he knows if the lord does not help him his fate will be just like the fate of the wicked so he cries to the lord and he lifts up his hands he does know that when we cry to the lord it's not one of two it's not two ways and these are silly analogies but they make sense to me who's ever heard of jerry clower in here i know certainly many of us jerry clower i don't know if it was udell odell marcel or one of his cousins close to yazoo city mississippi who was driving a pupwood truck and lost his control of it and the truck was out brakes he just had the bell out of the truck truck went down this deeper vein who was udell odell marcel whoever it was they were starting to slide sliding down that red bank and they grabbed a hold of a pine tree just sticking out the bank and he grabbed a hold of just held there and he stayed there and stayed there then he finally started pleading with somebody would somebody help me nothing he held on the turpentine was holding on to it and he was holding on to it and he was holding on to it and he was holding on to him he was holding on to that tree so is somebody up there nothing is somebody up there then all of a sudden he heard this voice have faith turn a loose is anybody else up there that's the way we sometimes when we make a plea the answer that we get what's plan b kind of thing and that's a funny analogy and a little story but yesterday friday my mother-in-law called and one of her neighbors they're married and his wife who is is suffering from dementia had gotten out of the house and and he didn't know where she was and so my mother-in-law called us can you go she was out of town can you go down there and help because he he doesn't know what to do and he's desperate so we went down there and by the time we got there there was already two police cruisers there and we went down there and we saw a woman Turned out to be six police cars in the neighborhood they were at. And I just went to speak to him, and here's what he said. And, y'all, he was a mess, as anybody would be. He said, I just don't know what to do. That was his plea. So I know the simple, humorous thing from Jerry Clower, looking for plan B, or the absolute soul distraught of a husband who does not know where his wife is. And she was found near a pond in the neighborhood. Praise the Lord. But don't we find ourselves sometimes looking for plan B, or just maybe we're in such a chaotic, emotional state, we just don't know what to do? This psalm is for you. It's for me. David, in his plea, just knew that I, like we sang earlier, went to his knees and raised his arms. He knew who to call. Who to call upon. So many times we say, okay, A plus B equals C, and I need to do this and do that, and we start to figure things out, trying our best to figure things out on our own, and we forget to keep the main thing. The main thing is that we just go to the Lord. The Lord even told Monica and I that when we were driving through another neighborhood trying to find and see if we could see this lady, we just came to her cul-de-sac and said, you know what? We just need to pray. God, would you? You know we're at this. You know exactly where this woman is. You know exactly where she is. She's not unseen by you. Would you cause that revelation to come upon either us or a policeman? We got a call about 30 seconds later. They found her. And it wasn't a prayer we had. We just said, that's what we need to know. So David says, I cry to you for help. It's the same word that Jonah used in the belly of the whale. By the way, that's a real story. It really happened. It's not some cute literary thing that, oh, that's a great illustration. No. He was inside. The Bible says he was inside. And I believe he was inside. Matter of fact, it's true whether I believe it or not. So he's calling out. He's crying out. He is desperate. He's not worried about being embarrassed. He's not saying, well, what will they think? Have I read this? What will they think if I raise my voice? What will they think if I cry on the front row praying for Monica, Toler, Trace, and Turner? What will somebody think? I don't care. That's what desperation produces. It is a genuine humility toward your creator. No one is in your circle of worship except you and God's Holy Spirit. That's what David is experiencing. He's experiencing. He's desperate. Psalm 121, verses 1 and 2 says, I lift my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. This is what David is doing. He is lifting his eyes, and he hands to the only one who can help him. One thing that drives David to seek the help of the Lord is that he is in the midst of the world. One thing that drives David to seek the help of the Lord is that he is aware, listen to me, of the fate of those who fail to look for the Lord for help. Do you understand that? The help is there, but for those who fail to accept the help, David knows the fate of those. Look at Scripture again. Listen to the sound of my pleading when I cry to you for help, when I lift my hands toward your sanctuary. Do not drag me away. With the wicked, with those who have rejected you, with those who said, no thanks, I've got it on my own. No thanks, I don't need the salvation. No thanks, I'll wait for a better day. No thanks, I'll wait till I get my line in line. Those are the evildoers. And David says, don't let me follow in their footsteps. Don't let me be drugged down. Those who do not look to the Lord for help, are dragged away to face his judgment. David knows if the Lord does not help him, are you listening? David knows if the Lord does not help him, his fate will be the same as the wicked. But David knows he does not belong to the wicked.

Ask this question just for a moment to yourself. Who do I belong to?

Who do you belong to? Live stream, audience, television next week, who do you belong to? Are you listening on the radio? Who do you belong to? So David's plea and David's petition move into this most wonderful transition of this short psalm. It is that of praise. So a plea, a petition, and praise. So after these five verses of deep desperation, David begins to say, David begins to praise the Lord. And to the same degree, I hope that you felt some of that desperation in those first five verses, we now can begin to feel the praise. In a moment, his entire disposition changes. It changes, listen to me, it changes as the Lord is reminding David what is true. Now what didn't change? His circumstances may not have changed.

To us today, our diagnosis may not change.

Our emotional state may not change.

That weird uncle at the family reunion may not change. There's things in life that may not change. But what is changing here is the reminder that what is of God is true. Have you ever, y'all probably said it before preaching, I know Pastor Ray has, have you ever, just don't speak to yourself, preach to yourself, don't listen to yourself, preach the gospel to yourself. The gospel is, praise God, that brings lostness into salvation for the power of the gospel is that to save. I love it. But listen, church member, believer, who accepted the invitation to be here today in corporate worship, the gospel is for you every moment of every day. The gospel is for you. gospel is for me every breath i take listen church if we fail to preach the gospel to ourselves it is not a matter of if but when we will be in despair we will be depressed we will be down we will be in the pit and we will be need to be reminded of what the truth is and who the truth is so david is in this praise so as the lord begins to minister to his desperate soul david is crying out to god he is honest with his feeling of despair and god reminds him of what is true so with that i think there's three things we can glean at least there's i'm no more but just for me this is what the god taught me in the past few weeks of verses six through 9, the Lord hears his people. And since he does, we need to call on him. So the Lord hears. One of the most encouraging lines in Psalm 28 is simply this, he has heard the sound of my pleading. Given that David has just spent these five verses, and I don't know what time lapse is, I would think it'd be more than just a moment. He's poured out his soul. He's cried for help. It is good to know, listen, that it is not in vain. He asked the Lord not to ignore him. The Lord answered that prayer. The Lord listens to his people. Listen to what Psalm 34, 15, write that down, Psalm 34, 15. Psalm 3, 4, dash, colon, 1, 5. Okay, or colon, 1, 5. That's it. Psalm 34, 15. The eyes of the Lord are on whom? The righteous. And his ears are open to their cry for help. Isaiah 59, 1, the first verse of the chapter of Isaiah. Isaiah 59, 1. Indeed, the Lord's hand is not too short to save, and his ear is not too deaf to hear. We often take that truth for granted. I fail. Can I presume upon you? We fail to marvel that the God of the universe gives us his undivided attention. It's not a word I use every day, and more times than not in the past 25 years or so, when we think of marvel. We think of a comic strip or of a movie, of being entertained. But I like marvel.

When's the last time you marveled at who God was in context to him hearing every plea you make, every petition you voice, every praise you lift? If we take a moment, I think we... can enter into marveling at who god is and he knows everything and we i know that's that's ned in the first reader stuff but god knows every emotion he hears every plea he hears every petition he receives every praise church let us practice marveling that the god of the universe gives his undivided attention to us individually and corporately the lord hears our prayers because of that the father invites us to bring all request to him turn if you would the philippians four six you can probably if someone knows it by heart say it philippians four six are you there philippians four six don't worry about anything but in everything through prayer and petition and can i parenthetically say pleading with thanksgiving let your request be made known to god if the lord hears us and he does if the lord invites us and he does if he promises us to be with us when he calls why would we not live in constant unceasing prayer if you know he is listening take every single concern to him in prayer are we regularly pouring out our heart to god are we being honest with him in our moments of desperation in our moments as hugh d used to say in our moments of having to come apart are we going to him god is listening so talk to him secondly not only does the lord hear his people but the lord helps his people and because he does we should trust him look at verse 7 of psalm 28 back in our text the lord is my strength and my shield my heart trusts him and i am helped when we find ourselves in moments of desperation and despair one of the most important things we can do is to say this the lord is and you fill in the blank when we're at that moment of not knowing where our spouse may be if she's wandering around because where she is emotionally if we're in that moment hanging on to a pine branch coming out of a red clay bank and we just don't know what to do if we're in that moment and we have a child that is a prodigal if we in that moment that a parent is aging and we just don't know what to do we're taking care of if we in that moment when finances and you're thinking can we get bread or milk this week if we're in that moment if we're in that moment say god is the lord is and simply remind yourselves of the truth of the gospel of what is true david is doing this his heart is being encouraged by the awareness that the lord is my strength and my shield my heart trust in him and i am helped now we know what the strength is it's that that refuge type of stronghold but shield and we know this we we talk about this but another here's boy chuck where'd you grab that illustration from well i'm child of the 60s and 70s and so on saturday nights when mom would start to go to bed and dad would say okay let's just i'll let you step a little later you know what you watched on television after nine o'clock or ten o'clock star trek oh man beam me up scotty it's star trek the captain kirk be there and when the klingon started coming toward the enterprise what would he say bring up the shields give some protection and those shields against those photon torpedoes and all this thing it would eliminate all these things you i knew you watched it just like i did i could tell by the laughter you bunch of nerds nothing got to the enterprise why the shields they held now sometimes those shields failed and it rocked that you know mr sulu he might just start thinking something he was he was just worried to death and of course you know spock never had an emotion but he can't think about it God, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, immutable, all-knowing, never-changing, God is your shield. Nothing, nothing gets to you that doesn't first go through Him. If you feel hurt, it's not because, oh, that one slipped by. Sorry about that. That's not the case. It got there by His permission to either discipline us and grow us, but always to glorify His holy name. If, not when, but when, not if, when we start experiencing these things, we need to remind ourselves, God is my shield. What I'm experiencing, He is allowing. It's not a failure. The shields aren't down. Scotty, you got to do something to bring them back up. No, God is constant. His shield is always there for the redeemed, and let the redeemed say so. God is our shield. He helps His people. The Lord is standing in front of you, protecting you from anything that comes at you. Nothing gets to you without going through Him first. Now, let me just not take a detour, but let's talk about heart just for a moment. So that God hears His people. God helps His people. And Scripture here is telling us, it says, The Lord is my strength and my shield. My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. Therefore, my heart rejoices. So what's the deal about heart? Quickly, biblical authors talk about heart in many other ways that might seem strange to us today. That's because the Israelite writers of the Old Testament, as inspired by God's Holy Spirit, had no concept of the brain or how it worked. They imagined that all of humans' intellect, all the intellectual activity, took place in the heart. For example, you know with your heart, the Bible says. Your heart is where you understand and make connections. In the book of Proverbs, Winston dwells in the heart, Proverbs 14.33. Your heart is what you use to discern truth and error, like Solomon did in 1 Kings 10. The heart is where you understand and make connections. It's where you think and make sense of the world. It's where you do more. In the Bible, the heart is where you feel emotions. You feel pain in your heart. You have a broken heart, much like Hannah did in 1 Samuel 1.8, when she knew she couldn't bear children. We experience fear in our hearts. Our heart can melt. It can be distressed. Your heart can even be depressed. But then on the flip side, take heart. You can be of good heart. Judge yourself. You can have a heart of joy, Jeremiah chapter 15. So the heart is the generator of physical life. It's the center of intellect and emotions. But wait, there's more. In Biblical Hebrew, the heart is where you make choices motivated by your desires. Let me read that again, because that's a good line from Dr. Akin, not Chuck Locke. Here it is. The heart is where you make choices. The heart is where you make choices motivated by your desires. So David had it in his heart to build a temple for God, 2 Samuel. Your heart is where your affections are centered, Psalm 37.4. They're called the desires of your heart. And if you really want something to go after, you can be of good heart. What Nathan said to David, he said, whatever's in your heart, go for it. That's in 2 Samuel 7.13. Proverbs 4.23. Proverbs 4.23. Guard your heart, because from it flows your whole life. Now the prophet Jeremiah knew something about the heart. We know this. He was watching people sacrifice their children. And by Holy Spirit's inspiration, God had him to write these words. The heart of a human is deceitful above all. Irreversibly. Who can even understand it? So this is why the imagination of Hebrew prophets, the only hope for humanity is a total renewal of the human heart. Moses predicted that if Israel was ever going to love their God, their heart would need to be circumcised. David, after he committed adultery, pleads with God, adultery and murder, he pleaded with God. He pleaded with God. That's what's in the Bible. verses 12 to 1, verses

It says, Then our heart should trust in him for his health. The one that believes in these truths will be helped. David already saw the Lord as a rock. Verse 1. Look at it. Psalm 28, verse 1. Lord, I call to you my rock. He knew that.

But now, after meditating on it, Are you catching that? He not only knew it, he let it go down here into his heart. He reflected on it. He meditated upon it. Once he did that, he knew in his mind, and now he knows with his heart, he is now assured that the Lord, his rock, his strength, and his shield is helping him. The reality turned his despair into rejoicing. Rejoicing, that is what should be our song. Knowing that we, broken, will have despair. But when we preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to ourselves, because of his grace, us getting something I don't deserve, and his mercy not getting something I do deserve, encapsulated by his love, it's at that moment I know without a doubt, that is my song. This is my story. This is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. That is the blessed assurance of the truth of the word of God. God helps his people. God hears his people. And then finally, God, the Lord, holds his people. These last two verses, These last two verses, are about a precious image. The Lord is a stronghold and a shepherd. This Hebrew word translated stronghold is related to the idea of strength. It means a strong place of safety. It means the Lord is a safe place, a shelter, a strong tower, Proverbs 18.10 says. David is saying that the Lord is not just a safe place. He is a safe place. He is a safe place. He is a safe place for him personally. Can you grasp that? Can you move back into marveling that for a minute? Not only can we say this morning corporately, The Lord is a safe place. And we always say, Amen. How about saying this? The Lord is a safe place for me. It hits a little different, doesn't it? It reminds me of the scripture. Listen. He protects his flock like a shepherd. He gathers his lambs. He gathers his lambs in his arms. He carries them in the fold of his garment. Can you picture that? Isaiah 40.11. He carries the shepherd, carries his sheep in the fold of his garment. Right here. Where is that close to? The heart of God. Listen. Not selfishly. Have you ever thought of yourself as being close to the heart of God? No. He carries us in the crook of his arms. Close to his heart. Our boys, mainly Trace, turned us on to a music we've grown to like and listen to. It's called from the Avett Brothers. Any Avett Brothers people? Any of y'all ever heard of the Avett Brothers? Am I the only cultured person in here? I see it up there. Avett Brothers. I see that hand. The Avett Brothers. They have a new song out. It's called Country Kid. I'm not going to sing it. So rest at ease. Don't leave yet. I'm not singing. All right. But here's just that. Because it reminded me of our boys at one time. This one line. I was a country kid through and through. I got my bare feet bit by a wrecking crew of fire ants on a mission for total domination of the front yard. Then this line. I was three years old on a ramshackle farm. Winnie the Pooh was in the crook of my arm. Brother and sister not meaning no harm picking on me. But we saw our son just carrying Winnie the Pooh around. There was nothing that could take Winnie the Pooh from him. He held on to Pooh.

God holds on to you. Even in the midst of the demons of hell looking for total domination in the front yard by those fire ants. Holding on. Close. Right against his heart. In the crook of his arm. A shepherd carrying a sheep. Man. I'm just trying my best not to cry on y'all. From despair to absolute euphoria. Euphoria of knowing the truth. He carries his people. And ensures that we will make it home safely. The Lord holds on to his people. So why not run to him? So this journey through Psalm 28.

David goes from absolute despair to exuberant praise.

Verse 7 again. My heart celebrates. I give thanks to him with joy. My song. From a prayer of desperation to a song of joy. The question is, church.

How has his heart been transformed in this way? The question matters most to believers this morning if you're in here. How can we relate to David's despair and wonder how to make the transition to the song of joy? Here it is. Remembering responding. That's the application. A plea. A petition. A prayer. God hears. God helps. God holds. How do we apply it all? We remember. And we respond. At the moment we begin to feel despair and desperation. We must remember what the truth is. We cannot believe our own heart. We cannot trust our own minds. They will have the proclivity to tell us there's no hope. Instead, like David, in this song, we must preach the gospel to ourselves. We must allow God's Holy Spirit to remind us what is true. We must remind ourselves that God hears us. God helps. God helps us. God holds us. And because of that, listen, call on Him. He hears you. Trust in Him. He helps you. Run to Him. He's holding you in the crook of His arm. Pray with me if you would.

Father, we know this to be true. That our faith in Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Savior, and only our faith in Jesus Christ gives us the assurance that these things are true. Lord, we know that God, You have not promised these things to all people in the universe. You have promised these things to those who have come to You by faith through Jesus Christ. Lord, we know our confidence is not based on anything other than who we are as the blood-bought children of You. So, Father, now, for everyone in this room that identifies as Your child, we take all our confidence. We take all our despair and these moments of desperation and we find in You, Lord, to be sufficient. And, God, for anyone and everyone that is in the sound of my voice in this room or outside that may not know You, that may not have had that profession of faith, God, at this moment, would You, by Your grace and Your mercy, maybe in their despair, in this moment, God, may they know the truth of the gospel that will move them from this despair into joy.

So, church, when I say, Amen, I'm going to ask you to stand. But before I do, what is your song? Is it one of just, it's stuck? I can't get to the joy verse. If your song is gloom and despair and never joy and hope, then let me invite you to sing it. I invite you, please, would you come talk to me or Chase or someone here and ask, how can I know Christ? Would you introduce me to Jesus? No greater joy would be that. So, if you do not know Christ as your King, if you've never called Him Lord, if He is not the master of your steps, if He's not the redeemer of your life, would you please allow us the opportunity? Would you introduce you to Him? That may be what you feel in your throat now. It's your heart. It's pounding. Don't let the enemy convince you otherwise. Now is the time for that salvation. Believer, church member, what is your song? If it seems like it's just on a loop, remind yourself of the truth of the gospel. These altars are open for that, for praise. God, thank you for always hearing me. God, thank you for always helping me. God, thank you for always holding me in the crook of your arm. It may be the Holy Spirit of God is wanting you to respond and just praise His name at the altar. If that's so, I would invite you to respond. So, Lord, whatever you're moving us to do, may we be obedient to what you're calling us to do. And as we stand, may we sing to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Well, I'm so glad that you have tuned in. You've tuned in to the broadcast today. I hope you've been encouraged by God's word. It sure has been a joy to share it with you. And even now, people at Ridgecrest are making decisions for Christ. Perhaps as you've watched this broadcast, you've recognized the need for your own decision for Christ, the prompting of the Spirit. It's caused you to recognize that you need Christ as your Savior. And the good news is you can receive Him right where you are. The Bible says, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Right where you are, you can call on Him. Say something like this from your heart to Him. Lord Jesus, thank you for loving me. I know I'm a sinner and I know that you came into this world and died on the cross for my sins. And right now, I invite you to come into my life. Forgive me and be my Savior. I can assure you if you'll call on Him, based on what God has already told us in the Bible, that He'll hear that prayer and He'll answer that. And He wants to begin this new journey in your life with you, transforming you into His image. We'd love to help you with that decision as well. You'll see a QR code on your screen. And if you would scan that or you'll see contact information, or if you'll contact us about your decision today, we'd love to help you take next steps. There are no strings attached, no fees involved. We'd just like to help you begin that journey with Christ. You may be watching this broadcast today and say, I need a church family to belong to. I already know Christ as my Savior and I'd like to be a part of the Ridgecrest family. Also, if you will, scan that QR code. That'll take you to a location and we'll be able to help you make those kinds of decisions like becoming a member here or if you've never been scripturally baptized, those kinds of things. So contact us through that QR code or through the contact information on the screen. Well, again, it's been a joy to have you with us today. And I hope you've been encouraged by God's Word. Whatever decision we can help you with, by all means, contact us.