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At Sandals Church, our vision is to be real with ourselves, God and others. This channel features sermons and teaching from Pastor Matt Brown and other members of the Sandals Church preaching team. You can find sermon notes, videos and more content at http://sandalschurch.com/watch
Today, we turn to Psalm 86 as we continue praying the Psalms. David writes, bend down, oh Lord, and hear my prayer. Answer me for I need your help. Protect me for I am devoted to you. Save me for I serve you and trust you.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:You are my God. Be merciful to me, oh Lord, for I am calling on you constantly. Give me happiness, oh Lord, for I give myself to you. Oh Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help. Listen closely to my prayer, oh Lord.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Hear my urgent cry. I will call to you whenever I am in trouble, and you will answer me. No pagan god is like you, oh Lord. None can do what you do. All the nations you made will come and bow before you, Lord.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:They will praise your holy name for you are great and perform wonderful deeds. You alone are God. Teach me your ways, oh, Lord, that I may live according to your truth. Grant me purity of hearts that I may honor you. With all my heart, I will praise you.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:I will give glory to your name forever, for your love for me is great. You have rescued me from the depths of death. Verse 14, here comes his request. Oh God, insolent people rise up against me. A violent gang is trying to kill me, and you mean nothing to them.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:But you, oh Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy, slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. Look down and have mercy on me. Give your strength to your servant. Save me the son of your servant. Send me a sign of your favor.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Then those who hate me will be put to shame for you, oh Lord, help and comfort me. By way of reflection, you can hear David's, urgency in this prayer, reminding God that he is devoted to him, that he serves God, that he knows that God listens, and he is constantly calling out to him. And there in verse 14, by way of reflection, I want to draw our attention to the reality that David is praying because people are criticizing him. And maybe you find yourself or have found yourself in a point where you have been maybe even wrongly criticized by individuals. And I love that as David faces this unfair criticism, his response or his request to God is not so much God take them out, which we have heard David say in the past.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:But he says, Lord, you are slow to anger. You're filled with unfailing love. And then he says in verse 16, look down and have mercy on me. So in the face of unfair criticism, David is saying rather than take them out, God, he's saying have mercy on me. Meaning he is willing to look at his own shortcomings and ask God for mercy.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Reminding us that as we begin our day today, maybe there are criticisms that you are dealing with that you're trying to process. And perhaps within those criticisms, as unfair as they are, there was some truth in them about your character, about my character. And there is an invitation for us in prayer to ask God for mercy regarding those areas. You know, as a pastor, it's not uncommon to be criticized. As a human being, it's not uncommon to be criticized, honestly.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:And there is a bit of truth in it. And just maybe in prayer, there's a kind of safety and intimacy with God where we can bring our emotions about those criticisms, as unfair as they are, and say, God, still show me the truth in them. And as you show me the truth in them, have mercy on me. Jesus, we hear your invitation now to respond in prayer. Maybe as we face the things in our lives today that feel unfair, that feel as though they should not be happening to us, we look to you now and say, God, have mercy on us for you slow to anger and you are abounding in, unfailing love.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:And so would we have your mercy to look at those areas that we need to grow in? And would we be humble enough to receive the 20% of truth that might come in unfair criticism. And as we do so, experience in a fresh way your mercy on us today. God, fill us with your spirit and allow us to live today with the hope that despite what comes our way, there is mercy from you for us. We pray these things in Jesus name.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Amen.