Sources of Courage – Psalm 27

1. Read: Psalm 27

2. About the Text:

1) Many of the Psalms are about having courage in the face of opposition.

2) How can one consistently demonstrate courage?

3) Psalm 27:14 gives us the answer.

3. Ref. to S, T, P, O, and A.

1. Begins with the LORD.

1) The Lord is light – Psalm 119:105 – Thy way is a lamp…

2) The Lord is salvation- Exodus 14:13 – Stand still and see…

3) The Lord is strength – Philippians 4:17 – I can do all things…

2. Overcoming fear.

1) Fear of People – Matthew 10:28 – Do not fear him…

2) Fear of the Wicked

3) Fear of Loss

4) They will fall.

5) “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we may boldly say: ??“The LORD is my helper; ??I will not fear. ??What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6).

3. Facing Difficult Circumstances.

1) What are the worst things that we can imagine?

a. Armies encamped against us?

b. War rising against us?

c. Illness? Death?

2) Even in these circumstances, David was confident.

3) “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).

1. The “everything of God.”

1) God is constant – “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you” (Isaiah 43:2).

2) God is beautiful – “Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness” (Psalm 29:2, 96:9).

3) God gives answers – Matthew 7:7-8 – Ask, seek, knock

2. Relationship with God.

1) Times of trouble will come.

2) Where will we hide/rest?

3) David rested in worshipping God.

4) It was here that he was set high on a rock.

5) Do we see worship as a place of rest, a place to hide from trouble?

6) “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the LORD’” (Psalm 122:1).

3. Praise for God.

1) What triumphs do we have?

2) Do we attribute them to ourselves or God?

3) Do we offer “sacrifices of joy”?

4) Do we “sing praises to the Lord”?

5) “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name” (Hebrews 13:15).

4. We are always beholden to One greater than ourselves.

1. Prayer (7) – 1 Thessalonians 5:17

2. Effort (8) – “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (Galatians 6:9).

3. Companionship (9) – “Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me” (Psalm 51:11).

4. Loneliness (10) – Even when our parents are gone.

1. Listening (11) “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.” (Proverbs 9:9).

2. Despite Falsehoods (12) “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12).

3. Hope (13) – 1 Corinthians 13:7 – “hopes all things”

4. “But those who wait on the LORD ??Shall renew their strength; ??They shall mount up with wings like eagles, ??They shall run and not be weary, ??They shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).

1. “Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!”

2. David is sharing his sources of courage with us.

1) Confident Salvation

2) Constant Service

3) Consistent Seeking

4) Certainty of Success

3. Invitation