Sit Down and Stay | Pastor Luke Dibenedetto

please turn to Psalms 22 and verse one. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me? So far from my cries of anguish. My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer by night, but I find no rest. This is a text written by David. And many of you, if you've been in church for any amount of time, may be familiar with David and the story of David and Goliath and David being a shepherd boy and David going on to be a great king of the nation of Israel and all these great accomplishments and being a mighty warrior. In fact, David would have songs written about the tens of thousands of enemies that he would defeat on the battlefield. We hear these stories and we see this picture of David as a heroic mighty warrior, man after God's own heart. And yet we read this passage and I don't see those words describe that kind of a man. In fact, I hear these words and I would say that these are words that I can relate to. I would say that these are words that many of us can relate to, feeling like God, I'm crying out and I'm asking for answers and for direction in my life but I feel so distant from you. God, in fact, I feel like you've maybe forgotten about me. I find myself crying out by day and no answer and by night and I can't even get rest at night. I find it even interesting that Jesus himself

as he's hanging on the cross would quote this passage would point us back to Psalms 22, one of the first statements he makes, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" It's an important text in scripture. Theologians and scholars don't know exactly when Psalms 22 was written but we can infer by looking at it and by reading the words and seeing the anguish in David's heart as he writes, we can infer that he would have written this text in one of the most challenging seasons of his life. We know about David fighting Goliath and being a shepherd boy and writing songs and writing poetry but if you really study the life of David you would see a life marked by tragedy, be a life marked with difficulty, different situations that he would have to navigate great heartbreak, great pain and would have to overcome, he'd have to navigate even his own failure. We hear these words, we can see a glimpse into his life and maybe these are feelings that you can relate to. Maybe you can relate to the feeling of feeling rejected, abandoned or maybe even forgotten by God. Maybe you can relate to feeling surrounded everywhere you turn, it's another problem, it's another wall, it's another obstacle. Maybe you can relate to feelings of physical agony, maybe in your body with your health or maybe even emotional agony in your mind. Maybe you can relate to hurt or confusion

or betrayal, accusations regarding you, being mocked or let down rejected by others. If you'd say, Luke, I can relate to any one of those feelings then my hope and prayer for you today is that you will leave here with a newfound hope and strength in Jesus Christ. David would have grown up the youngest sibling and it's just very different than today's day and age. How many of you all would be the youngest sibling in your family? Just look at this spoiled bunch right here, just you're entitled hand raising, look at you. Where's all my rejected middle children at? That's what I wanna know, yes, yes, Miss Anita, we've been fighting for everything since day one. We're on my rule following oldest siblings, yeah. Moms didn't say that, I know. And I'm married to an oldest sibling too, and I'm like, a lot of rules. But it's not like how it is today. No, no, no, David wouldn't have been the spoiled one. He was the youngest, but being the youngest in his culture would have meant being overlooked. Underestimated his entire life and it started in his family. His own dad didn't even consider him worthy of the same treatment of his brothers. In fact, the prophet Samuel tells Jesse David's father that one of your sons is going to be anointed the next king of Israel.

And Jesse lines up all of his sons except for David. He doesn't even think David's worth considering all this to say that his own father was never proud of him. His own father never really showed affection or love for him. We know certainly his brothers didn't. We know his brothers despised him, thought very little of him, looked down on him, berated him. He would have navigated the rejection of his own family. He would have battled loneliness and feelings of isolation while he was out in the field tending his father's sheep while everybody else was out doing what they wanted to do with their lives. David was here stuck feeling lonely and isolated. He would have navigated harsh and abusive authority figures in his life. He would have had to look up to a mentor. Maybe it wasn't his dad, but maybe he could finally find a good mentor, a good authority figure. No, he would have had to navigate that abuse not only did King Saul despise David, but he ultimately tries to kill him. He would have navigated dealing with temptation and losing the battle with lust and committing adultery. He would have even gone a step further and tried to cover up that sin by orchestrating the murder of that woman's husband. He would have navigated the pain, the guilt, the shame, and all of the consequences that came with that sin in his life. Even as a parent, David would have navigated one of the most horrendous heartbreaks of all, that of losing a child. I think you could look at all of these moments in David's life and infer he would have written Psalms 22 during any one of these seasons. And as we read Scripture, I have to constantly remind myself, "These are real people." There's human elements to the stories that we read, and David is a man. He has real human emotions. And I imagine that as I look at David's life, what he may have been feeling is I feel like he would have spent so much of his life trying, so much of his life striving, so much of his life trying to do better, so much of his life trying to plan out what his future was going to look like, so much of his life trying to live right, trying to find peace. And as he's living his life, as I study his life, I think you can imagine what could have been going on in his mind. That is, he's navigating childhood and what it's like growing up in this home. I imagine he could think maybe, just maybe, if I take care of my father's sheep well enough, like my dad has asked me to do this project and to care for these sheep, and maybe, just maybe, if I do well enough, and if I care for them, and I fight off the attacks from this line and fight off the attacks from this bear, then my father will finally see how good of a job I've done, and he'll look at me and he'll say, "Son, I'm proud of you. I see how hard you're working. I'm proud of you." If I

try hard enough, maybe he'll finally say that, but there's no account in Scripture where Jesse ever looks at his son and says those words, "Son, I'm proud of you." I imagine David growing up with his brothers, never thinking much of him. I imagine maybe, just maybe, when he showed up to the battlefield to face Goliath that day. All the other Israelites are cowering back, but maybe, if I try hard enough, if I'm in battle and I show up, and I know I'm on the Lord's side, and I stand up for what's right, and I try to do this good thing, and I take out Goliath, maybe, just maybe, my brothers will finally see I'm not who they think I am. I am somebody that's strong and a good warrior, and they'll see my bravery, but there's no account of his brothers ever giving David that recognition. I imagine maybe David thought, "Man, if I just try hard enough, and if I serve the king well, and if I do a good enough job in the palace, and I play the harp well, and I serve, maybe, just maybe, my authority will finally look at me with affirmation, and finally see how good of a job I'm doing, and be proud of the work I've done, and no, in fact, King Saul tries to kill David, and no recognition is ever given. Maybe, just maybe, if I try hard enough and be successful enough and do a good enough job of being king, accumulate enough wealth, enough power, maybe, just maybe I'll finally feel successful, I'll finally feel like I've made it in life, and I don't need people around me to tell me, because I know I'll be good then, no, instead, even when he's king, he has to navigate betrayal, he has to navigate a rebellion, and has to flee for his life. Maybe, just maybe, if I try hard enough, and finally find a good wife, maybe I'll finally feel like a man, I'll finally feel like I've made it, I'll finally and I'll finally feel good. No, in fact, the wife that he does end up having mocks him and ultimately hates him. Maybe if I try hard enough and if I do a good enough job raising my kids, I can get my kids just the right way and I can raise them in a particular manner and they'll always do right and they'll live a good life and I can say that I did a good job with raising my kids. No, in fact, one of his kids ends up trying to kill David and that son ends up losing his life.

All of this trying, all of this effort I see in David's life and yet still all of this coming up short. I believe Psalms 22 could have been written during any one of these seasons that we look at. During any one of these difficult times in his life and I believe these words in this chapter show David trying. God, I'm trying to live right. I'm trying to do the right things. Why does it feel like you're so far from me? Why does it feel like I'm crying out by day and I still don't know which way to go and which decision to make? Why does it feel like I can't even get rest at night? Why does it feel like maybe you've forgotten about me? I don't know about you, but I can relate to these words. I'm sure many of us can relate to these words. All of this trying, all of this effort and coming up short can look at many seasons in my own life trying to be further along. Maybe you can relate trying to be a better person, trying to live better, trying to be a better husband, trying to be a better wife, trying to be a better father, trying to be a better mother, trying to be better at work, trying to live right, trying to make the right decisions, trying to make sure your kids are going in the right direction and doing good, trying to make sure everything's planned out just the way it should be, but feeling like you're coming up short every time.

Trying to find peace, but no matter what, your mind is still so clouded by anxiety and worry for your future. Trying to find a way to finally feel successful, but no matter what, you still look in the mirror and feel like a failure. Trying to live better, but finding yourself going back to old mindsets and old habits. All this striving, all of this trying, feeling like no matter how much work I do, I just can't quite seem to move forward. I feel stuck. David writes these words of Psalms 22 in one of the lowest seasons of his life. And yet just one chapter later, you read one of the most beautiful passages of scripture, Psalms 23. Verse one, "The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. "He makes me lie down in green pastures. "He leads me beside quiet waters. "He refreshes my soul. "He guides me along the right paths for his namesake. "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, "I will fear no evil for you are with me. "You rod and your staff, they comfort me. "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. "You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. "Surely your goodness and love will follow me "all the days of my life, "and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

(audience applauds) These are the same, these are the words from the same David that wrote Psalms 22. As I read it, it almost feels like there's two different authors. How do you go from Psalms 22 to Psalms 23? How do you go from my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? To the Lord is my shepherd, I have need of nothing. How did David do it? Well, I believe in looking at this text that comes down to this simple yet profound realization that trying is ineffective in the kingdom of God. Striving our own works, our own effort, it's ineffective. 'Cause I meet people that are in their fifties and sixties that still carry around the wound from childhood because a parent never looked them in the eyes and said, "I'm proud of you, son." Or your beautiful daughter. And I see people well into adulthood carrying that wound and still trying to live that recognition is never given by that person? Will you still allow your life to be held back by a word that was spoken over you or lacked thereof? You can keep trying to earn enough money to feel financially secure. But if I've learned anything, there's never a dollar amount or there's never a number that you could assign to your bank account that will finally make you feel successful enough or good enough. There's never a title or a promotion you could ever earn in your career that will ever make you feel satisfied or enough. There's never a relationship, and that's the lie is that if you keep trying, if you keep

trying to earn, then maybe just maybe that will make you feel differently, and that's why we see marriages end because we fall into the lie that we think the answer is in the next relationship. Maybe just maybe if I try to find the right person, maybe just maybe if I try to control every little detail in my life, then maybe just maybe it'll all be okay. But if you try to control one area, there's another area that seems to be out of control. If I try to get the kids under control, the marriage is out of control, if I try to get the marriage under control, it feels like work is out of control. If I feel like work is out of control, I feel like my mind is out of control. And I've learned something in life that the more I try to control in life, the less control I actually have. The more I try to get everything just how I see it, because I've found that finding the answers from God and what you should do with your life, finding joy, peace, hope, freedom, security, confidence, it's not found in title, it's not found in a paycheck, it's not found in anything in your own ability. No, in fact, Scripture tells us it's something quite different. Zechariah 4 and verse 6 says it's not by power, it's not by my, but it's by my spirit, says the Lord Almighty. See if you look up the Hebrew word or that phrase, I lack nothing or I shall not want. It's actually defined as this, that everything you have need of, you already have. So the actual idea for trying or striving is ineffective because you're trying to obtain something that you can never achieve because it's already been promised to you. I've learned a valuable lesson. I can try and control things in life, but the more I control, the less control I have, the more control of my life I release to God, the more confident I become. I face this battle many times in my life, and I'm sure many of us can relate to that. Feeling inadequate, feeling like I should be much further in my life than I am, feeling like I just need to try harder, like if I just need to try to be a better dad, I just need to try to be a better husband. I just need to try to be better at serving people and loving people, and I just need

to try, but so much trying, so much effort, so much striving, can I tell you, it makes you tired. So the Bible tells us in Galatians 6 and verse 9 to not grow weary in doing good, because many times it's the good things that make us tired. Not bad things, not evil things. But if I'm looking at David's life, and I'm thinking about how it relates to you and I today, and as I read Psalms 23, I can see now how David was able to overcome every feeling of rejection, abandonment, abuse, insecurity, heartbreak, fear, and worry, and I'd love to show you this realization that he discovered that you and I can walk in as well. Psalms 22 is my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And yet Psalms 23 begins, "The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing." I love how David starts this chapter by saying I'm not living life based on my own leadership, but I'm actually starting this next season of my life by acknowledging I need the leadership of the Lord. The Lord is my shepherd, so what's he saying, I'm the sheep, he's the shepherd. I'm not going to allow anything else in this world to be my compass, I'm not going to let culture, I'm not going to let my past experience, I'm not going to let my opinion or some person I hear on social media determine how I live and base my life, I am submitted to the authority "word of God, this is my shepherd, I shall not want, why?" (audience applauding) Because I am submitted to the leadership of God. See, a lot of people want what's in God's hand but aren't really concerned about what's in God's heart. And I've learned we have got to be more concerned with the giver of the gift than the gift itself. And David said, "Look, I've learned the key to provision. "It's in submission to authority. "And as I follow the Lord, as He is my shepherd, "prevision follows. "So the Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

"He makes me lie down in green pastures. "He leads me beside quiet waters. "He refreshes my soul. "What's our soul? "Compose of our mind, our emotions, and our will. "Are you anxious? "Are you tired? "Are you worried? "Are you stressed out?" Jesus says we are to be washed by the water of the word. So if you want refreshment for your mind, you need to make sure we practice being in God's word. Being in the... That's why what you're doing right now is so important. Paul said, "Don't forsake the gathering of the saints." Don't forsake God's house. A lot of people want to talk down about God's house, but I love what Pastor said. She's beautiful for situation. With churches and four walls, yeah, I understand that. But there's power in unity, iron sharpens iron. We need to not forsake the gathering of the saints. We need to make God's word, God's house a priority. Because what are we doing right now? And we gather and we open up Scripture, and we hear from our pastor week in and week out, the Word washes us and refreshes us. I don't know about you, but any time I leave church, my problems don't seem as big when I'm leaving as when I was showing up.

It's because he refreshes our soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name's sake. When you're submitted to the leadership of God, you never have to worry about the direction you're going in your life. You may not know the next 10 steps, but you'll know those steps are gonna be in the right direction. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil for you are with me. All that we're just saying about our God, Amen, you are God with us. And I love that Scripture doesn't say he circumvents us around the difficulty in our life, but he's promised that he'll never leave us in the difficulty in our life. So he gives us direction, he gives us provision, he gives us refreshment for our minds. I love this, you're Rod and your staff, they comfort me. I think a lot of times people may read that scripture in Proverbs where you spare the Rod, you hate your child, you're a spoiler child. It's like, well, that's why I hit my kids. That's not what that means. Can I just help for just a moment? 'Cause that's not comforting. So a Rod or staff, they are shepherds tools meant to guide and protect the sheep. What does it represent? A set of instructions.

So what is Solomon saying in Proverbs, by the way? Don't spare instruction for your kids. Don't spare guidance, leadership, protection. We have to protect our kids. And if you wanna know a picture of that level of protection and covering and guidance, we first have to be submitted to the protection and guidance of our shepherd. And in the protection of God and the guidance of God, there's comfort. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. And I love how this text ends surely. Your goodness, your love, your mercy will follow me all the days of my life. And David ends it by saying, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. There's a key point in that chapter, though, where he talks about a table being prepared. I read so much of that text and it's, the imagery you see is of sheep and of a shepherd. And then you get to this portion where you're talking about a table being prepared. It almost seems a bit out of place, but this is great cultural significance. If I were to host a meal and have you over my house, or a host of a meal would have for that person. Many times it would take a great journey for you to get to my house and you'd have a great journey ahead of you

when you left my house. And while you were there under my roof, or you were sat at my table, it was the responsibility, it was the duty of the host of that dinner to provide protection and nourishment for that guest. Protection as long as you were under my roof and in my presence and at my table, it was my job to protect you. And it was my job to prepare you, to give you nourishment and refreshment from wherever you just came, and nourishment for the journey ahead of you. There were also other cultural significant points about a table being prepared. Kings many times after a great victory would prepare a banquet and a feast, it would be a cause of celebration. But one of the most important is that the table was the place of gathering. Think about that place in your home where people always find themselves hanging out for us, it's the kitchen. We have couches, but you sit on the kitchen counter or sometimes we'll sit on the couch just on the floor. So whatever that place is in your house, that's what the table represents. It's the place of relationship, of protection, of nourishment. And I love specifically that David writes,

"You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemy." Why is this so important? Because it's intentional preparation. How about doesn't say that God removes the enemy or removes the opposition, but in the presence of your enemy, in the presence of that which is opposing you, God will prepare a place to give you nourishment, refreshment, protection, and favor. Why so that your enemies have to watch God bless you? I love that God will give the devil a front row seat to his favor in your life. It's what it means to have a table prepared for you. This text came alive to me personally. A little bit ago, I was at a conference and the lead pastors of the street, they've been, they've been pastoring for over 40 years, just faithful. And they're on stage and they're talking and she, she, the lead pastor, she begins to tell this story, this vision that she had in her very early years of ministry. And you know when someone's talking, like in a service, and you kind of zone out on everything else around you, 'cause it's like they're talking right to you, this was a moment for me. And she shares this moment early on in their, in their career, it just started out. A couple years into this church, married, early in their merits, it got young kids, and they're facing battle after battle after battle.

They've had people walk out on them that they thought they were gonna be forever friends. The church is on the brink of closing. They don't even know if they're gonna make it as a church. Their marriage is struggling 'cause they spend all their time working. So the time they had together was just fighting and they're like, man, we're probably not even gonna make it through this. They're looking at their kids and they don't know how they're gonna build a life for them. They feel like they're failing as parents, failing at work, failing in life, failing in their marriage, failing in their friendships alone. They're working 60, 70, sometimes 80 hours a week, non-stop, just trying to get everything right. And in this season, she shares this vision that she had. And it was in a night and she has this vision where she's walking down this street. And on this street, their house is on either side. And she's walking down this street. It's a very long walk. At the end of the street, she notices this little house at the end. As she gets closer and closer, she can't quite make out what's happening, but she sees this figure in the window of the house drawing open the curtain and closing the curtain,

drawing open the curtain, looking, closing the curtain. So she gets closer and closer to this house. Same thing, just drawing open the curtain, looking out, closing it. She can't quite see who it is or what's going on. So she goes up to the door and she reaches for the door handle. And before she can even open the door, she says that the door is open and she finds herself in the entryway, the living room of this house. And she says she has no other way to describe what she's experiencing other than the fact that she's in the presence of the Holy Spirit. She said the Lord in this vision leads her through the house and leads her to the table and sits her down. She says she's overwhelmed. She said, "The Lord begins to tell her, 'Every day I get up, and I look out, and I see you working.' I see you working on your marriage. I see you working trying to provide a good life for your kids. I see you working trying to do a good job for the church. I see you working trying to do a good job for the people around you. I see the effort. I see everything that you're doing, and they're not wrong things. But every day I get up, and first thing in the morning, I open the window, and I look out, and I'm looking for one thing.

Are you going to come spend time with me today? And every day I get up, and I look out. I see you focused on all these other things. I'm not mad, but I miss you." She said she's overwhelmed. She doesn't feel shame, or like she's a bad person, but she says, "She has this deep longing, this ache of heartbreak, for missing God." Because she can't remember the last time she sat in prayer, sat in her devotional time long enough for God to speak to her, sat in a time of worship, where her attention was anything other than the problems and things she's got to figure out, instead of just on Jesus. She says that she's sitting there, the Lord walks over and puts a plate of bread and a cup of water right in front of her, and tells her, "Every day I get out, and I look, and I see all the things that you're working on, all the answers you're trying to find, and all the joy you're looking for, and I'm just here to tell you that, while you've been out there looking for it, all you've ever needed is right here. All you've ever needed is the bread of life and the well that never runs dry, and if you're weary and if you're tired, it's not found in trying. It's found in sitting here the presence of God at the table that he's prepared for you, and what got me is, she says she looks up and she sees a shelf, all filled with plates, loaves of bread and cups of water from all the days that she's not spent time with the Lord. And she said the Lord told her, "Every day I get up and I prepare a plate for you, and I fill a cup for you, and I look out, and I've got it ready for you. And every day you don't show up, I just take it and I put it on the shelf." But he told her, I said, "I need you to know I'm not a wasteful God. I don't just throw it away. I save it because the moment that you decide to come back and sit at the table I have prepared for you, all that was available to you then is available to you now because God's Word is good yesterday, today, and forever. And God's not wasteful in your life. And I felt that there's a lot of people you love God and you're doing good things. You're not out living in sin and a sinful lifestyle. You're doing good things, but you're missing the main thing. You're missing the most important thing, and it's sitting at the table that God prepared for you. It's not by might. It's not by power. It's by his spirit. And I think the key to living a Psalms 23 life is just that knowing that God doesn't want to just

give you enough to get through the day. The Bible says he fills your cup to overflow. He anoints your head with oil, which is the power of the Holy Spirit. Head to toe, he wants to anoint your life with favor and blessing. He wants to fill your cup to overflow. He's come to give you life and life more abundantly. He's the God of more than you could ever ask, think, or imagine. And if you'll sit in the presence of God, if you'll prioritize the main thing, if you prioritize prayer and prioritize worship and prioritize the house of God, can I tell you the promise? Surely, without doubt, most assuredly, in the house of God forever. You've got to prioritize the main thing. [MUSIC PLAYING]