God Forsaken Psalm 22 2-20-05

Sermon 2-20-05 God Forsaken psalm 22

godforsaken…a phrase that we use
many bad moments for Jesus…..worst moment of lent

separation from God
Jesus knew it..on the cross, quotes ps 22
mt 27:46 and about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Human condition
we all know it and we hate it
my wife asked me what the sermon was about.....
not that again, you are always dry
it is embarrassing for the pastor to be dry all the time

not spiritually dry all the time, but there is a place that we can find ourselves in where we feel spiritually alone, as if God has withdrawn
need to describe the desperate nature of the human struggle

You can be sick and cry out to God
You can be poor and cry out to god
Broken, convicted and cry out to god
But when you feel that he is not there, it is a wistful, deeply saddened cry.

Reasons for it
· we feel a grief…..sickness, death, sorrow

· when we are overwhelmed with the why why why of life

· sometimes because of human rejection….our situation seems magnified

· we find sep from God because we have chased the wrong things

· didn’t get what we needed growing up
if you were properly fed as a child why are you hungry today

· we have never spent the time to learn to enjoy & experience his presence

· also by the general cadence of life

what is really going on?
did God withdraw or are we just unable to sense his presence

we only think we are rejected but Jesus was actually left

god is always willing and ready to receive your praises, spend time with you
if you want to sense him there in times of trouble, you need to spend some time getting to know him when times are good

if you listen, it may strike you
the word of the lord may sneak right in

if that is what we want, then we can apply ourselves to finding it
Jeremiah 29:13 13And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Concl
Our relationship with God cannot be based on how we feel
It is based on truth……
we have to keep doing the right things
you still have to go home
take your kids to youth group
sometimes you have to plant your feet on the ground
I will not be moved…psalm 62:2 2 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
You may never feel his presence in your life
You may be in the midst of a struggle
You may wish circumstances in your life were different
You may have committed atrocious sins
None of this will drive him away
He is there
Keep following, keep believing
He is there, he delivered our fathers, he will deliver us
when you feel that you are alone, you are not


as the deer panteth for the water so my soul....


"An Irish friend of mine who, in the nature of his race, combines the priesthood, a great love of talk and a formidable doctorate in German philosophy, turned to me once over a pint of Guinness, looked me right in the eye and said, 'Do you know, that if we human beings really knew how alone we were, we would know a terror we had never even begun to experience before?' Coming from a man of the cloth, I was struck by his courage and the reluctance to reassure easily at the expense of deeper truths. Lowering my own glass slowly from my mouth, I stared at him, inspired by the moment, offered him more of the same. 'My God, yes, and if we knew how joined at the hip we were, we would be terrified too.' In the sobering silence that followed, the laughter and background talk of the pub took on an existential import as if hollow and full at the same time.


Psalm 42:1-
[b] As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
3 My tears have been my food
day and night,
while men say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go with the multitude,
leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng.
5 Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and 6 my God.


born sat am, mckenna gace
teagan joy