The Cry of a Desperate Man

 

COLERAINE EVANGELICAL CHURCH

SERMON NOTES FROM SUNDAY 13 APRIL 2025 pm - MR JOHN WEIR

PSALM 130

Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord.
2 Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
3 If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.
5 I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.
6 My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.
7 Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.
8 And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquitie

 

I am sure many of you have heard of the Stauros Foundation. A ministry founded by Arthur Williams in 1980. Arthur started to drink alcohol at 14 years of age and became an alcoholic at 28. In 1978 he was converted and he had a desire to reach others with the gospel, especially those under addiction. Victor Maxwell wrote a book on Arthur's life entitled "Out of the Depths." Many of the men and women involved in Stauros at one time hit rock bottom. They were in despair and they cried out to the Lord and the Lord transformed them in remarkable ways. In Portadown there is a little fellowship of believers meeting together called Bethesda Fellowship. They are made up of converted alcoholics, drug addicts that live for the Saviour. They have challenged me in my walk with the Lord. This is what the Lord can do. I thank God in my ministry I have seen many bound in addiction. As the Lord spoke to them they got on their knees and cried for mercy and when they got up off their knees for the first time in their life they feel clean. The Spirit answers to the blood and tells me I am born of God. 

The plight of the Psalmist. I want to paint the picture of what is going on - look at verse 1 "Out of the depths have I cried unto thee O Lord." A man who was in terrible distress, he cannot go much lower. Have you ever felt like that? This was Martin Luther's favourite psalm. Scholars believe David wrote this psalm after he had sinned with Bathsheba. He hit rock bottom. He was in the miry clay. Like the man drowning at sea. Throughout our province there are people in the depths of sin. Maybe it is you. Because of alcohol, because of drugs, because of immoral living, maybe lying. Sin always takes us further than we want. Do you ever see the ripples in a lake - that is what sin is like. It can start of so small, seems so attractive but after a while we are bound and fettered. "The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ." Many have died in their sin without Christ as Saviour. It would be an awful thing to die in our sins. Sin overwhelms people. Sin makes us feel unclean. Christians can also be in the depth of despair. The moment you leave the Lord you can be in the depth of despair. Maybe it is through sorrow, through the loss of a loved one. Maybe you are going back to an empty house because your wife or husband had died. The depths of loneliness. The depths of depression. C H Spurgeon suffered from depression, yet he preached to 5 or 6000 people every week and saw revival in his ministry. Maybe it is anxiety, difficulty in a marriage. John Wesley had a difficult marriage. It is said he thought more of his horse than his wife at times. Maybe it is sickness, a wayward child, temptation. Some times God allows us to go into the depths. Some times we can learn great lessons in the depths of despair. Psalm 40 says "He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings." When we look to God he takes us through those times of despair. No doctor or nurse or family can help. Some times it takes us to be in the depths of despair to realise God is our only hope. God can still deliver people where they are at. 

In loving-kindness Jesus came
My soul in mercy to reclaim,
And from the depths of sin and shame
Through grace He lifted me.
From Sinking sand He lifted me
With tender hand He lifted me
From shades of night to plains of light,
Oh praise His name, He lifted me!

If you are a Christian tonight you can leave this meeting rejoicing how the Lord has lifted you. Remember Jonah. He was in the depths of despair because of disobedience. He was told to go to Nineveh and instead he ended up in Tarshish. He was thrown in the see and ended up in the belly of a great fish. He said in chapter 2 "I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord and he heard me, out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas and the floods compassed me about, all the billows and thy waves passed over me." Maybe you are in despair because of your disobedience. You are in agony because of your backsliding. Maybe it is because of your rebellion. Jonah was given a second chance. Praise God there is a second and yes even a third and fourth chance. In Luke 15 we read of the Prodigal Son. He was in the depths of despair because of disobedience. It took him to the far country. He thought the grass was greener on the other side. Verse 17 says "and when he came to himself he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare and I perish with hunger?"  If it hadn't been for the famine the Prodigal Son would have stayed in the far country. It took the famine to bring him to his senses. Maybe one time you were bright for the Lord, you took your stand for him but now you are far away. You don't have go to into the far country to be backslidden, you can be backslidden in your heart. We can put on our best suit, a shirt and tie or a dress and hat and pretend to be right with the Saviour but are in fact many miles from him. You are just going through the motions of dead, cold, formal religion. Remember Peter when he was in distress as he walked on the water to Jesus. He cried out "Lord save me". He thought he was going to drown. R A Torrey was one of the most famous preachers in the nineteenth century. He was born into a Christian home but sadly turned away from the things of God to live a life of rebellion and immorality. He got to the stage where he mocked anything Christian. You can meet people like that all the time. R A Torrey told his mother "I am tired of it all." His old godly mother followed him out the door praying and pleading with him. She told him "Son, when you come to the darkest hour of all, and everything seems lost and gone, if you will honestly call on your mother's God, you will get help." Some time later R A Torrey was going to end it all. When he was in a small room, in the depths of despair he remembered his mother's word and he cried out to the Lord to save his soul. He experienced the presence of the living God. He was a brand plucked from the burning. He went back to his mother and she was able to tell him why he was coming back - he had found the Lord and the Lord had told his mother first. The power of a mother's prayer. R A Torrey went on to become the greatest nineteenth century preacher, all because of that old godly mother who kept on praying for him. Maybe you have a godly mother or father praying for you. You see them as a nuisance. The rich man in hell was in the depths of hell. Can you picture the people there tonight? Lost, no way out, no escape. Do you believe in hell? Jesus said much about this place. A place of utter darkness. The rich man said "tell my five brothers not to come to this awful place of torment." I am glad I trusted in the Lord, that I will never be in the torment of hell.

The plea of the Psalmist - verses 2 and 3 "Lord, hear my voice, let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?" He knows only the Lord can deliver him, get him out of this situation. He goes to the right person. Have you ever wondered about certain people whether they will ever be saved? They are a million miles from the Lord. God does the work, we just have to share the gospel and leave it with them. The psalmist goes to the right answer. "Call upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver thee."  "Peace I leave with you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you." Footballers, film stars, politicians - do they have peace? They are desperate for fame, fortune, position in life. The Rolling Stones sang "I can't get no satisfaction ... cause I try, I try, I try, I try." The devil is described as the thief and that is what he comes to do. To kill, steal and destroy. Jesus said "I am come that you might have life and life more abundantly." Don't we have such joy and peace every day? Do you need this in your life? Peace and contentment - it is here for you. Only the Lord can do it. The true Christian is dependent on the Lord. The Psalmist wanted the Lord to hear him personally crying, personally pleading. It was a personal determination. He wanted it himself. When you ask some people if they are a Christian they will tell you about the church they attend. No denomination can get you to heaven. It is not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost." "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." Only you know deep in your heart if you have received Christ as Saviour. You must receive it. It is a free gift. Only you can decide to accept it. "If thou Lord shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord who shall stand?" A revelation of man's sinfulness and man's holiness. The word "mark" means to observe, to note, to attend to. If God was to deal with us as we deserved none of us could stand, none of us are good enough. We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. I know my past and if all my sins were projected on a screen tonight I would be running to the door. The Lord knows our secret sins. We are all guilty, everyone of us. We all need a Saviour. "For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil." "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who can know it?" The Lord can take a deep xray in this heart of mine. That is why we need a new heart. We will want to love the Lord and serve the Lord. The Lord doesn't want you to sin any longer. If we do sin we know we are guilty and we know we need to plead with the Lord for a fresh cleansing. Maybe you know you need that fresh cleansing - the Lord can give it to you.

The pardon of the Psalmist - verse 4 "But there is forgiveness with thee; that thou mayest be feared." The preacher calls this a blessed verse because it begins with a "but". There are many "but" verses in scripture. "But God who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us." "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Jesus said "but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness." For the Psalmist the but is for forgiveness with God. You can experience this tonight, have your sins forgiven and leave this meeting with a new start in your life, your past blotted out. Knowing Christ as Saviour is the greatest feelin in the world. To know your sins forgiven, your past is covered by the blood. I am forgiven because of what Christ has done for me. When he hung there and died there he was thinking of you. What a Saviour. Are you in love with Jesus? Is it personal to you? Have you got the real thing in your heart? Think of the woman caught in the act of adultery in John 8. They all wanted to stone her. Jesus forgave her and told her "go and sin no more." He loved her and forgave her. The woman at the well was the same when Jesus changed her life. Zacchaeus was an outcast too. All were sinners but Jesus forgave them. Forgiveness is still available, despite our past. A sign has been erected that says "No Fishing". Some people might bring up your past, something you did years ago - remember what the bible says "there is therefore no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit." You can experience it. The plight of the Psalmist. The plea of the Psalmist. The pardon of the Psalmist. There is forgiveness with the Lord. The wonder of the gospel. Christ came into the world to save sinners and Paul added "of whom I am the chief". He took your place at the cross because of your sin. I pray you will love him and save him with all your heart. In Pilgrim's Progress Christian came to the cross with the burden of sin. It was lifted off him there. Your burden can be lifted too if you come to the cross. Maybe you will reject him again, you have done it for years. Will you say "Lord I have wasted many years, now I am coming home."