came expecting to hear somebody else. Sorry about that.
But I hope you'll block out the same voice sounds and be able to hear God's word because
that's ultimately what's most important, not the person at the front.
And if you do miss any of the Sunday morning talks, so through the summer, Connor started
off in 1 John and then Martin spoke last week from Luke's Gospel on the Cross. Any of those
talks, they're all available online. There's a new sermon app or a new sermon program on
the website which Christopher has been updating. So they're all there. You can listen away
and it's a very easy format to click and follow up. So thanks, Chris, again for doing that.
It's a great resource for us to have. So we're going to pray and then look at God's word.
Father, thank you. Thank you for your gift to us. Thank you for life itself today, for
for sustaining us, for sustaining us, giving us energy and strength to be here with one
another. Father, we come and we gather because we are needy people. We cannot live life without
you. We need your instruction. We need your word. We need your truth.
For in that is life itself. So be gracious to us as you are. Speak to us afresh this morning.
Build us up and help us. And it's in his name we pray. Amen.
Well, Psalm 27, as I say, we'll read that in just a minute. But just by way of introduction,
what do you fear? Right now as you sit there, what do you fear? What's going through your
minds? This week I found myself overwhelmed with fear. Our son, Ethan, who you know, has
been living with us for the last 23 years and went off to Canada to work. And driving back
from the airport, my mind was racing. What if he doesn't find work? What if something goes
wrong? What if he gets involved with the wrong kind of people? What if we don't hear from him?
What if fear grips us, doesn't it? And paralyzes us. We fear perhaps losing our job or fearing
new situations. We fear exams. We fear getting sick. We fear for our children. We fear about
our parents. We fear about climate change. We fear about everything. And on our more reflective
moments, we fear death itself. So as we begin, what is your fear? What are you worried about?
What are you concerned about? Well, fears are natural and normal emotions. But it's what we
do with those fears is what counts. Generally, there are three ways we respond to fears. The first
is to fight, isn't it? We dig deep within and we say, I can beat this. We look to inner resources.
But what happens when we don't have any fights left? What happens when our fears weaken us?
Then what do we do? Well, the second is flight. When we fear, we run as fast as we can in the
other direction. But what happens when we run in the other direction? We're actually running
into another fear. Sooner or later, wherever we turn, we'll just be running into a new kind
of fear. What do we do then? Or the third response is faith, which is what brings us to Psalm 27.
King David, the author of the psalm, responds with confident faith. In the face of fear, there is
confident faith. So let's read Psalm 27 together.
The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life.
of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes
who will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear. Though war break out against me,
even then I will be confident. One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the
Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble,
he will keep me safe in his dwelling. He will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.
Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me. At his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy.
I will sing and make music to the Lord.
Hear my voice, Lord, when I call. Be merciful to me and answer me.
My heart says of you, seek his face.
Your face, Lord, I will seek.
Do not hide your face from me.
Do not turn your servant away in anger.
You have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Saviour.
Though my father and mother forsake me,
the Lord will receive me.
Teach me your way, Lord.
Lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.
Do not hand me over to the desires of my foes.
For false witnesses rise up against me,
spouting malicious accusations.
I remain confident of this.
I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord.
Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
So as we look together through this psalm,
we're going to see three big ideas.
Unwavering confidence,
experiencing confidence,
and keeping that confidence.
So first,
David's unwavering, confident faith.
David's confidence is evident, isn't it?
Straight from the beginning, verse 1.
The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life.
Of whom?
Is there anyone
who I shall fear?
No fear.
And it's not that David is immune from trouble.
He lived in a world just like us
that brings many kinds of fears.
His life is under threat.
So look at verse 2.
He talks about the wicked
advancing against him to devour him.
Verse 5.
His days are full of trouble.
Verse 6.
Enemies surround him.
Physical armies.
Verse 12.
False witnesses rise up against me,
spouting malicious accusations.
What David is facing is real fear.
And it's enough to make anybody run in fear.
But yet he has this remarkable,
unwavering confidence.
Look at verse 2.
When the wicked advance against me to devour me,
well, it's my enemies and my foes
who will stumble and fall.
Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear.
Even though war break out against me,
even then,
I will be confident.
It seems nothing and no one will defeat him or destroy him.
It's almost he sounds indestructible
that not even death can overcome him.
In fact, he's so certain,
verse 5,
that when the day of trouble comes,
he will keep me safe in his dwelling.
He will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
and set me high upon a rock.
Whatever trouble comes his way,
no matter how big or how great,
who it is or what it is,
he has an unwavering confidence
that he can say,
verse 13,
I remain confident of this,
absolutely sure, no doubt,
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Isn't that the kind of confidence we want in life?
That whatever fear we may face,
be it loneliness,
illness,
or some future thing that may come,
or even death itself,
that we could say with absolute certainty,
my heart will not fear.
I will be confident.
When the day of trouble comes,
that we will be able to say,
I will be safe.
So how can I,
how can we together,
have unwavering confident faith
in the face of our fears?
Well, that brings us to our second big idea,
experiencing confident faith.
David's confidence is not in himself.
This is not bravado.
It is in a person, isn't it?
Verse 1.
The Lord is my light and salvation.
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life.
Of whom shall I be afraid?
David's faith is rooted and grounded
in a person,
in the Lord,
the one who is steadfast and loyal,
faithful and unfailing.
But not only that,
David's confidence
is not just something present,
it is also something future.
Look at verse 3.
He says,
Though war break out against me,
I will be confident.
In the day of trouble,
verse 5,
he will keep me safe.
Now for David,
that was partially true,
wasn't it?
We know of many accounts
of where he defeated many enemies
and won many battles.
But yet when he fought
the greatest enemy,
when he faced the greatest battle,
when he was confronted with death,
he lost.
David died.
Because none of us can beat
or defeat death.
You see,
David's confidence
confidence was not in himself.
He looked in faith
to one who would defeat death
for him.
One who would overcome
his greatest fear.
He looked to the one
who would provide
eternal security
and safety.
You see,
David's faith,
his confidence,
was in the Lord.
And our confidence
is in the same Lord,
in Jesus Christ.
Look with me, please,
to Mark's Gospel,
chapter 10.
You can keep a finger
in Psalm 27,
but go to the New Testament,
to the Gospel of Mark,
chapter 10.
Here Jesus is talking
with his disciples
and he predicts
his own death.
He's talking about himself.
And he says in verse 33,
we are going up
to Jerusalem.
Jerusalem would be
the place of his execution.
And the Son of Man,
speaking of himself,
will be delivered
over to the chief priests
and the teachers
of the law.
They will condemn him
to death
and will hand him
over to the Gentiles
who will mock him
and spit on him,
flog him
and kill him.
You see,
it's remarkable
that the experience
of Jesus here
that he describes
was just like
King David.
The wicked
came to devour
Jesus.
The enemies
plotted to kill
Jesus.
False witnesses
slandered
Jesus.
The day of trouble
came to Jesus
and he died.
He was executed
by his enemies.
But Jesus
adds something else,
doesn't he?
Look at the end
of verse 34.
With great hope,
three days later,
the Son of Man
will rise.
And Christ
was raised
to life.
He faced
into death.
He fought
the greatest enemy.
he faced
the greatest
battle of all
and he won.
Though the armies
of death
and evil
came against him,
his enemies
stumbled
and fell.
Though Satan
made a war
against him,
he was exalted
above
his enemies.
What David
said was true
but only true
through his
faith in Christ.
that's why
we look
in faith
to Christ.
Our confidence
is in one
who has
secured
our salvation,
who's defeated
our greatest
enemy,
who has
crushed
death itself.
Christ
is our
stronghold
over our
life.
Which means
we can face
into any
fear
with confident
faith.
No matter
what life
may throw
at us,
we can
have confidence.
So how
can we
experience
this
confident
faith
that David
has?
Well let's
go back
to Psalm
27.
Two things
that will
help us
to experience
this
confident
faith
as we
look in
faith
to Christ.
first,
let us
make
Christ
the
focus
of our
gaze.
Make
Christ
the
focus
of your
gaze.
Look at
verse 4.
One thing
I ask
from the
Lord,
this only
do I
seek,
that I
may dwell
in the
house of
the Lord
all the
days of
my life,
to gaze
on the
beauty
of the
Lord
and to
seek
him in
his
temple.
To gaze
on the
beauty
of the
Lord.
What does
that mean
for you
and I?
Well,
let me
try and
explain.
I love,
as you
know,
to go
walking in
the mountains
and to
reach the
top
is
breathtaking.
To stand
there all
alone and
see those
panoramic
views
are
captivating.
Just for
a moment
to stand
and gaze
at the
beauty
all around
makes
everything
else fade
into
insignificance.
The beauty
can be so
captivating
that you're
no longer
fearing the
swirling
winds
or fearing
the drop
that is
the other
side of
you.
The beauty
captures
your heart.
Or think
of it
like this.
If you
were to
cross
one of
those rope
bridges
over a
deep
cavern,
it's
important
what you
gaze
at.
Don't
look down.
Of course,
we all look
down,
don't we?
We look
around.
We fear.
We panic.
We stumble.
But if we
fix our gaze
on what's
before us,
on the
person who's
already walked
across that
bridge for
us,
our gaze
is fixed
and we
will walk
confidently.
You see,
we are to
gaze on
the beauty
of Christ.
To gaze
is to
linger,
to meditate,
to think
upon,
to be
captivated by
the greatness
and the
glory of
who Jesus
is,
because it
is only
the beauty
of Christ
in all
his magnificence,
that will
dispel
our fears.
Gaze.
Keep
looking at
what Christ
has done.
Open up
the word
of God
and see
Christ
in his
beauty
who comes
to deal
with our
sin
and deal
with our
greatest fear,
death itself,
who dies
our death
and rises
again from
the grave
and gives
us the gift
of his
spirit
and fills
us with
grace
and mercy
and love
and compassion.
The one
who secures
our eternal
life with
him forever
in his
eternal
kingdom
gaze
at the
beauty of
Jesus.
You see,
whatever we
are gazing
at
captures
our thoughts
and our
minds.
love
so focus
your gaze
on the
beauty
of Christ
and your
fears
will be
dispelled.
Not only
are we
to gaze,
we are
to make
Christ
the
desires
of our
hearts.
Look at
verse
seven.
hear my
voice
when I
call
Lord.
Be
merciful
to me
and answer
me.
My heart
says of
you,
seek
his face.
Your
face,
Lord,
I will
seek.
Do
not
hide
your
face
from
me.
Seek
his
face.
Well,
it's not
literally
to look
at the
face
of
Christ
or to
hang a
picture
up at
the wall
of some
pretend
image of
Christ
and gaze
at his
face
all day
long.
No,
to seek
his face
is to
desire
to be
in his
presence,
to be
with
Christ.
If I
said to
Kirsty,
she's
heading off
today to
go and
visit her
family,
and I
ring her
up in
the week
and say,
I long
to see
your
face.
Well,
I hope
I want to
see your
face,
but it's
not just
her face.
I want
her
presence.
You see,
to seek
Christ's
face is
to seek
his
presence,
to be
with
Christ
where he
is,
where there
are no
fears.
Look back
at verse
four.
One thing
he says,
I ask of
the Lord,
this only do
I seek,
that I may
dwell in
the house
of the
Lord all
the days
of my
life.
This is
our ultimate
goal and
desire,
to be
with
Christ,
in person,
to see
him,
to live
with him
forever,
in that
new and
eternal
kingdom
where there
are no
more
fears.
No more
fears.
you see,
whatever our
heart's
desire is,
there you
will follow.
Whatever it
is that
captivates
your heart,
there you
will give
your time
and your
priority.
So if
your desire
is,
I want
to get
married,
or if
your desire
is to
get rich,
or to
be healthy
and beautiful,
or to
be happy,
if that's
your
priority,
that's
where you
will be
driven
every day
of your
life.
And it's
not that
any of
those things
are bad
things,
the problem
is every
one of
those things
are temporary.
They
don't
last.
They're
like the
mist that
comes in
the morning
and is
burnt up
by the
morning sun.
As one
writer put
it,
death
will blow
up all
our hopes
and put
an end
to all
our
enjoyments.
Death
will take
us from
these
things,
or death
will take
these things
from us.
You see,
when we
lose something
precious to
us,
hope is
replaced by
fear.
We've
lost the
very things
that we
put our
hope
into.
Wherever
your heart's
desire is,
that's
where you
will be
driven
to.
But it's
all temporary.
It doesn't
last.
Death
takes our
security
and our
safety.
But if
Christ is
our heart's
desire,
then whatever
we lose,
we do not
need to
fear.
Look at
verse 10.
Though my
father and
mother forsake
me, the
Lord will
receive me.
Even if I
should lose
my parents,
my spouse,
my job,
my health,
even if I
were to lose
my own
life, I
can never
lose the
Lord.
because the
Lord will
never forsake
me.
The Lord
will always
receive me.
My confidence
remains.
The only
thing that
death will
ever do
is fulfill
my desire
because it
will bring
me into
the very
presence of
Christ
himself.
You see,
whatever our
heart's desire
is,
whatever we
follow,
there we
will go.
So make
Christ
the desire
of your
heart.
And as
he fills
your heart,
your fears
will be
banished.
One writer
put it
like this.
Follow
with me
on screen.
Man's
days on
the earth
are out
of the
shadow.
It was
never
designed
by God
that this
world
should be
our
home.
The
future
world,
heaven
itself,
the new
heavens and
the new
earth,
was designed
to be our
settled and
everlasting
home.
To go
to heaven
fully to
enjoy God
is infinitely
better than
the most
pleasant
accommodations
here.
Fathers
and mothers,
husbands,
wives,
children,
or the
company of
earthly
friends,
are but
shadows.
But the
enjoyment of
God is
the
substance.
Everything
we have,
everything we
hold is
temporary.
will be
banished.
So,
experiencing
confidence,
how do we
keep this
confidence?
repentance.
Well,
Psalm 27
is a
prayer,
isn't it?
They're all
prayers,
they're all
cries from
the heart
to the
Lord.
Verse 7,
hear my
voice when
I call
Lord.
Be
merciful to
me and
answer me.
You see,
none of us
knows what
we're going to
face this
week,
what's going
to be before
us next
month,
what's going
to happen
next year.
But we do
know that in
some shape or
form,
fears will
come upon
us,
and they
will grip
us,
and they
will paralyze
us.
But it's
not so much
that we have
fears,
but it's what
we do with
our fears.
And here's
what the
Psalm has
been teaching
us,
that when
fears come
upon us,
run in
faith to
Christ.
Christ,
our confidence,
Christ,
our only
hope in
life and
death.
Christ,
the one who
has gone
before us,
who has
gone through
life.
He has
faced our
greatest fears
for us.
He has
conquered them
all.
He is my
confidence.
So when
fears come
upon you
this week,
let your
fears be
your
friend.
Let your
fears bring
you back
to Christ.
Rather than
be overwhelmed
by fear,
refocus your
eyes,
reorientate
your heart,
make the
beauty of
Christ your
focus and
the gaze
upon him
will dispel
your fears.
Make the
glory of
Christ the
desire of
your heart
and your
fears will
be banished.
How do we
do it?
Well, it's
all through
prayer.
Patient
prayer.
Look at
verse 11.
This is
what we
need to
pray.
We come
to God
in prayer
and we
say,
teach me
your way,
Lord.
Lead me
in a
straight path
because of
my oppressors.
Do not
hand me
over to
the desire
of my
foes.
For
false
witnesses
rise up
against me
spouting
malicious
accusations.
Do you
see in
his
helplessness
and in
his
weakness,
he leans
on the
Lord and
trusts in
him.
Teach
me.
So,
let me
encourage us
all,
don't hide
your fear.
It's
normal and
natural to
fear.
But bring
all those
fears and
cry them
out to
God in
prayer and
he will
help you.
He will
make your
path
straight.
And as
we pray,
we pray
patiently,
verse 14,
wait for
the Lord,
be strong
and take
heart and
wait for
the Lord.
The Lord
knows you,
the Lord
sees you,
he hears
your cry
and he
will
answer.
He is
with you
now and
one day
we will
see him
forever
and we'll
be with
him.
So,
let me
ask us,
what is
your fear
today?
What is it
that is
gripping your
heart and
paralyzing
you?
Let's
come now
to the
Lord in
prayer and
ask for
his help,
that we
will gaze
on his
beauty and
that the
desires of
our hearts
will be
focused on
him.
Let's do
that right
now.
Tell your
fear to
the
Lord.
him
what
worries
you
and
what
concerns
you.
Tell him
your
anxious
thoughts.
Ask him
that he
will help
you to
gaze
on the
beauty
of
Christ
who
has
given
us
life
and has
conquered
death
who
reigns
over
all.
Ask
God
to change
your
heart
that
your
desires
will be
for
him.
For
all else
that we
have in
this world
is
temporary.
It
will not
last.
But
Christ
is
eternal.
thank you
Lord that
you hear
our
prayer.
That
you are
concerned
for us.
Wait
for the
Lord.
Be
strong,
take
heart
and wait
for the
Lord.
Amen.
We're
going to
sing in
response
a song
that puts
into words
what is
on our
hearts.
when I
fear
my
faith
will
fail
Christ
will
hold
me
fast.
When the
tempter
would prevail
he
will
hold
me
fast.
I
could
never
keep
my
hold
through
life's
fearful
path
for my
love is
often
cold.
He
weiter cono
朝
Sharp
word
log
mails
пом
inch
aloud
Mistress
serge
majesty
官
克 Eh
woe
sunday
Terry
проход
78
夏