Desert Breeze Community Church

Everyday we manage our image in an attempt to gain what we all want- authentic relationships and unconditional love. What would you give for a relationship where all pretense is stripped away and you are fully known and fully loved? Is that even possible? What would you do if you found it? It’s the idea behind this sermon series and the book of Psalms, your soul can be kept in the hands of a loving God or be kept out of them.

Everyone is made to worship. It is what we do and who we are. The world is NOT divided into people who worship and people who don’t worship. It is divided into people who worship created things and those who worship the Creator (Rom 1:25). You were created by God, for God, to give glory to God. “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him!” – John Piper

What are your greatest fears? In a fallen world it’s easy to be overwhelmed by fear, worry and anxiety. Mass shootings are becoming more frequent, drug overdoses are epidemic, add to that the bereavement of family and friends dying, the battling of serious illness, relational betrayal and financial reversal and you’ve got the making of a nervous breakdown.

Our inconsolable human longing is evidence that we were made to see, savor and show the riches of God’s Glory.

The world is full of false kingdoms or fortresses (sandcastle kingdoms) that crumble at the slightest bit of struggle or opposition. Your job, house, money, car, kids, sports, shopping, social media, friends, etc. are sandcastle kingdoms that will inevitably fall. If you find your refuge in these worldly things, then when the storm hits you will find yourself exposed, helpless, and desperate for a stronghold to sustain you. Psalm 46 shows us that the world and its kingdoms are unstable and unreliable, but the Lord is a strong and stable refuge that will be exalted in all the Earth!

The Gospel is not only intellectually sound but also experientially satisfying. Christ not only appeals to our minds (rational) but also fills our hearts (relational). The 18th Century Puritan Jonathan Edwards likened it to this…It is one thing to know intellectually that honey is sweet but it’s altogether another to experience the sweetness of honey on your tongue.

Have you ever felt abandoned by God? Feeling abandoned by God is more common than most people want to admit. The reason we’re not quick to admit it is because we’re afraid most of our friends would shake their heads and wonder if we’re a Christian. David is a giant in Scripture, a person “after God’s own heart” (1 Sam13:14), yet we find David talking about feeling abandoned by God. Faith is not the absence of questions, doubts and fear but bringing your questions, doubts and fears to God. Struggling with God over the issues of life doesn’t show a lack of faith – that is faith.

Our culture imposes on us an identity formation process that if we are not vigilant as Christians, we will be more conformed to this world than transformed by God’s Word (Rom12:2). The consequences are DIRE (Psalm 1)! Christianity gives us an identity that is the most unshakable, inclusive, freeing and satisfying identity you could ever have.

Psalm 11 was penned by King David to give direction and build trust in God by answering this question. When unbelief and faith wrestle within, this is a song of direction and trust for God’s people to sing from the heart.

“I know of no part of the Holy Scriptures where the nature and evidences of true and sincere godliness are so fully and largely insisted on and delineated as in the 119th Psalm.” -Johnathan Edwards Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Psalms and the longest chapter in the Bible. It is a song of praise for the Scriptures. There are 176 verses spread out over 22 stanzas with 8 verses in each stanza beginning with the same Hebrew letter in alphabetical order.

It is the health of your soul that makes you or breaks you in life. The Book of Psalms is a medicine chest for soul healing and keeping. The Psalms will lay bare our lives and point us to God, His Word, and His promises for the flourishing of our souls. It’s been said, “The longest journey a man will ever make is the journey from his head to his heart.” How do we make that journey? The Bible’s answer is Life Transforming Prayer.

Human beings are unavoidably hope based creatures. How we live in the present is inevitably shaped by what we believe about our future. Therefore, the more heavenly minded we are the more earthly good we will be (Col3:1-4; 1John3:1-3). Christians should live as if they had died, gone to heaven and come back.

Life is full of changes. No matter what season a child of God is going through, Psalm 23 is a psalm of faith that breathes confidence into every part of life. It is filled with powerful and caring mercies that are all tied to the essence and actions of the great shepherd. That shepherd is the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

Everyone has experienced brokenness to one degree or another. Our brokenness is the result of sins we have committed and the sins that have been committed against us. There are only two choices in dealing with our brokenness: It’s either the bondage of bitterness or the freedom of forgiveness.

If there is nothing more life liberating and soul satisfying than knowing Christ, then why would we ever look anywhere else? And yet we do more often than we would like to admit! Evidence of this would be our bitterness, complaining and worry.

“Our emotions tell us our values and evaluations. Our emotions tell us what we really believe. Therefore, not even fear, worry, and anxiety can be attributed to something that happens to us. The Bible leaves us no room for debate. The source of fear, worry, and anxiety is unbelief. When we fail to believe that God is for us, will take care of us, has our future in His hands, and is with us right now, we cave in to fear, worry, or anxiety.” –Brian S. Borgman (Feelings and Faith)

A life without lack is a life completely satisfied and sustained, no matter what happens. It is not a matter of gritting your teeth and hanging on for dear life. It’s a matter of real provisions directly for those who allow God to be their shepherd.

Our soul cannot run on empty. But the soul doesn’t come with a gauge. One of the challenges of soul-weariness is that it doesn’t have the same obvious signs as physical weariness. The indicators of soul-weariness are more subtle. The neglected soul doesn’t naturally get better; it gets worse. Signs of soul-weariness…

Imagine the possibility of a life…without fear or fluster, anxiety or angst, a life without irritation, agitation or intimidation. A life that exudes peace, patience and poise. A life that is carefree, but not without care for others. A life that many have sacrificed time, money and relationships trying to possess. A life without lack.

It’s not how you start the race but how you finish it that matters most! 2Tim4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.