THE PSALM 27 FACTOR: What To Do In The Last Days and Difficult Times

 Greetings and Salutations Dwellers in the Last Days and Difficult times. 

In a world that loves to publicly crucify the ilk of preachers like Joel Osteen (who I happen to love)...in these last days... we have every opportunity to DREAD the world we live in...and lambaste those who would DARE to take a POLLYANNA stance about current events...by being POSITIVE.  Some go to the extreme of declaring how if we are not being MARTYRED, that we are some how not Christians or followers of Christ.  After all...Jesus died and suffered...and so should we. 

There is a large difference between us being a martyr and suffering in this world because our relationship with Jesus and suffering for the sake of Christ according to His will (I Peter 4:7-19)...versus being martyred because we are arrogant jerks.
We are called as believers in the D.B.R. (Death, Burial, Resurrection) to..."know Him and the power of His resurrection and the FELLOWSHIP OF HIS SUFFERINGS being conformed to His DEATH; in ordered that I may attain the resurrection from the dead." (Philippians 3:10-11) 

NOTE:  We identify with HIS DEATH...in our place...by DYING (suffering) to ourselves and living unto what HE DID ON THE SUFFERING CROSS.  The cause and effect of being a follower of Jesus is again...they hated Him...they will hate us...BUT that does not mean that we go out of our way to...once again...BE JERKS FOR THE LORD. 

King David...a man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22; I Samuel 13:14)...knew how to deal with the NEGATIVE world surrounding him.  Let us look at PSALM 27 and see how he dealt with the NEGATIVE with POSITIVE FAITH.

THE PSALM 27 FACTOR (What To Do In Last Days and Difficult Times)

 QUESTION: Who or what do you FEAR? Who or what do you DREAD?

In this imploding world that we live in...just a cursory viewing of Facebook or listening to people talk or flip from the multiple channels of news or talk radio...reveals that there is a whole lot of fearing and dreading going on. Economics, health care, political civil wars in America, religions of love not being so loving, morals, rising gas and food prices, Biblical principles, sexual immorality (from heterosexuals to homosexuals), Christians living in the flesh and walking in sin, Christians so legalistic that they can't live up to what they expect others to do, and II Timothy 3:1-9 running rampant around the world is becoming the norm.  QUESTION: W.W.D.D= What Would David Do?

 David had the opportunity for fear and dread in the face of evildoers, devourers of the flesh, days of trouble, adversaries, enemies, a host encampment, wars arising, false witnesses, violence. David chose to hope, believe, and do certain things in the face of all the NEGATIVE things in his world...coming against him. In today's world...David would be thrown to the lions for his POSITIVE stance in the face of the NEGATIVE realities.

 W.W.D.D.? What DID David DO?

1. He declared that the Lord is my light and my salvation.

2. He declared the Lord is the defense of my life.

3. He did not deny the NEGATIVE but chose to believe and declare the POSITIVE.

 4. He declared MY HEART WILL NOT FEAR.

 5. He declared IN SPITE OF THIS (all the negative realities)...I SHALL BE CONFIDENT.

 6. He prayed and sought to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life.

 7. He will go into the secret place.

NOTE: With all of the bad stuff swirling around Him...He stated that He WOULD HAVE DESPAIRED...UNLESS SOMETHING TOOK PLACE.

NOTE TO THE NOTE; In 2013...in this world of DESPAIR...something MUST TAKE PLACE IN OUR LIVES. Instead of constantly stating the PROBLEMS and NEGATIVITY...we must:

1. Believe that we would see the goodness of the Lord IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING. Not in the sweet by and by...but in the bitter now and now.

2. Wait (hope) in the Lord.

3. Be Strong.

4. Let/allow (cause if you don't let it and allow it to happen...it won't) your heart take courage.

5. Yes...WAIT FOR THE LORD.

OR...

continue on fearing and dreading, complaining, whining, condemning, speak words of doubt, fear, unbelief, and calling things that ARE as if they will NEVER change. He is either Lord or He is not. You can either stick your head in the sand like an ostrich and deny what is shaking around you...OR you can take your head out of the sand...and DO WHAT DAVID DID...and NOT DESPAIR...but BELIEVED that He would see (hope and faith) that HE WOULD SEE...NOT...the badness of what was reality...BUT THE GOODNESS OF GOD IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING.

The Temptations said it best in their song...Ball of Confusion..."that's what the world is today".  That was back in the 60's/70's...and it has not got any better.  In a world of the latest medical advancements and self awareness...we are getting sicker and more self absorbed.  It is the LAST DAYS and DIFFICULT TIMES.  The hallmark of these days and times are the people and their attitudes.  In II Timothy we have a listing of these people.

"But realize this, that IN THE LAST DAYS...DIFFICULT TIMES will come.  For men (man, wo-man, & hu-mans) will be:

1.  Lovers of self
2.  Lovers of money
3.  Boastful
4.  Arrogant
5.  Revilers
6.  Disobedient to parents
7.  Ungrateful
8.  Unholy
9.  Unloving
10. Irreconcilable
11. Malicious gossips
12. Without self-control
13. Brutal
14. Haters of good
15. Treacherous
16. Reckless
17. Conceited
18. Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God
19. Holding to a form of godliness but denying the power thereof
20. Always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

These were the types of men surrounding David...evildoers...and as we have seen David chose to BELIEVE IN THE GOODNESS OF GOD IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING (where evildoers dwelled).  He found safety in the house of God...the temple...in HIS PRESENCE...as in THE NAME OF THE LORD...a STRONG TOWER. (Pro-Verbs 18:10) This BELIEF  is what we are called to...in the FACE OF STORMS.  How we survive will be determined on our FOUNDATION that we have built our house (our lives) upon.

Jesus taught a parable (a story relating spiritual truth to earthly events)...found in Matthew 7:24-29.  It is a story of rains, winds, storms crashing into houses.  One house built on sand and one house built on rock.  Foundations made the difference in what happened as storms attacked the houses.  The house on the sand...great was its fall...the house on the rock...it did not fall...because it was FOUNDED ON THE ROCK.

In these LAST DAYS and DIFFICULT TIMES...the only way you can be like David and BELIEVE THAT HE WOULD SEE THE GOODNESS OF GOD (the positive) IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING (the negative)...is to HOPE (confident expectation)...to WAIT (don't get excited and fearful)...to BE STRONG...to LET (allow it to happen) YOUR HEART TAKE COURAGE and again...WAIT FOR THE LORD. (Psalm 27:13-14)

FINAL THOUGHTS...FINALLY

Believe in the Lord...trust in, cling to, and rely on the Lord in these LAST DAYS and DIFFICULT TIMES.

Love and Trusting Kisses
Rodney "Factoring in Psalm 27" Boyd