Pleasant Run Baptist Church
When God opens a door, He sometimes must make preparations before He allows us to enter into the door. One of the reasons why God needs to prepare us is because we would make the mistake of going ahead of God. That would be a bad decision--- to go before God. Have you ever made that mistake? Has God ever wanted you to slow down but you said, “No, God, I’m gonna’ keep on trucking by myself and you catch up with me!” It is a 100% mistake to go ahead of God! That is why David said, “I wait patiently upon the Lord.” The waiting is when God is preparing us to receive what He has in store for us. He teaches us patience; He teaches us humility; and He will put an attitude of praise in our hearts when we wait on Him. God wants to bless His people. He does not want us in a cloud of gloom with the “God doesn't love me attitude.”
How many of you remember the cartoon, “Peanuts?” There was a little kid in the cartoon named Pig Pen. Remember him? Pig Pen had a cloud of dirt following him everywhere he went. It seems to be that way with some people. They feel they are in a cloud of gloom.
That brings me to another program I used to watch…..Heehaw! The characters used to lay around singing, “Gloom, despair and agony on me. Deep, dark depression, excessive Misery. Whoa! If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all. Gloom, despair, and agony on me. Whoa!”
That is not what God wants for us. He wants us to sing a new song of praise. All it takes is for you to say, “Okay, God, I will do it your way. I won’t get ahead of you.” God says, “I will bless you."
David said, “He has given me a new song.” Not only will He bring you out of despair, He will plant your feet on a firm foundation. How can you not have a new song in your heart when God has done a work on your heart? Before we were saved, we were on our way to a Devil’s Hell. God stepped in and saved us. We don’t know how close we were to being there.
When He sets you on a firm foundation, you don’t sing gloom and despair any longer. You are singing, “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound.” You are not singing about the former things; old things have passed away and you have become a new creature in Christ.
Scripture says, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. That includes you; it includes me; and it includes the birds of the air. The animals sometimes do a better job of praising God than we human do. The little birds sing a happy song everyday. Do you think they are singing just to make noise? I think they are praising God. When spring comes, they give Him praise. One of the things that God expects of us is that we praise Him and we should never fail to praise Him.
He has put a new song in my mouth. What is this new song? I love Him. Call me what you want---I love Him. I spent the first thirty-one years of my life not serving Him. The last seventeen years I have done everything in my power to praise Him. No matter what, I will never fail to continue praising Him. He is all that I need. He put a new song in my heart. Sickness and pain may come, but God will see me through.
He gives grace to the needy. He hears your cry and He knows what you need and when you need it. We can try to do things on our own but we will make a mess out of it. Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust.
Bro. Earnest Fields Jr. Evening service on January 21, 2007
Sermon edited by Mary King
God Bless