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Smedly’s Introduction of Rick Holland All right, you may be seated. Well, this has already been a little foretaste of heaven. That little two-minute meeting and greeting needed to go for another eternity, I suppose. It’s good to see so many friends from Gilbert Bible here this morning, too. We love you guys. Thankful for you. We miss you. I had the distinct privilege this morning of introducing Rick Holland. He’s a longtime friend to this ministry, no stranger to many of us, but perhaps a new face to some of you. He is the senior pastor at Immanuel Bible Church in Shawnee, Kansas. He is a pastor, a double doctor, a professor, a friend, a mentor. And Rick Holland is a Christian. He’s a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. He’s a sinner saved by grace. And he’s been faithful over decades to lead other sinners to the cross of Christ. The only place where grace is found. And if you’re a part of Grace Bible Church, whether you realize it or not, you have been impacted by Rick’s ministry. Many in this church have sat under his preaching, have been discipled and counseled under his pastoral oversight, have served with him in various ministries, or have been taught by him in a seminary classroom. And if you spend any time with Rick, sooner rather than later, you will be compelled to think more about Christ. You’ll be compelled to think better about Christ. It’s what we’ve already heard this morning in equipping hour. It’s what you’re going to hear again in the next few moments. And it is what we all need this morning to think more about Jesus. So thankful to have you here, Rick, this morning. I’m also thankful that you get to hear the Rick Hollandisms from the horse’s mouth. I didn’t mean to call him a horse. There are Rick Hollandisms all over the warp and woof of this church. Whether you realize it or not, you’ve probably been quoting Rick. We just haven’t been giving him any credit this morning. We get to know where they come from. So Rick, this is now the third time you’ve preached for an anniversary service at this church. We’re so glad that you’re here. Please welcome Rick Holland. Christ Builds His Church Such gracious words. Thank you, Jacob. The best introduction I think I’ve ever had was when you said Rick is a sinner saved by grace. And if we could just close in prayer, we’ll get to that barbecue really fast. So thankful to you, so thankful to this church. I was able to preach in this church the first year of its existence and several times since then. I am so encouraged to see you still walking with the Lord Jesus Christ. A few months before his execution, Jesus took his disciples away for a retreat about 30 miles north of the Sea of Galilee to the base of Mount Hermon. There was a city called Caesarea Philippi. And that was where Peter made his famous assertion of Christ, Jesus as the Christ, the son of the living God. When Jesus asked him, “Who do you think I am?” In response to Peter’s confession, the Lord Jesus made the timeless ultimatum of the centuries that would bring his church into existence and promised that the gates of hell itself could not stop or hinder his church. Every faithful church since that day is the fulfillment of Jesus promise. And today we celebrate Christ’s continued spiritual construction of his church here at Grace Bible Church in Tempe, Arizona. In April of 2001, Christ began a work of construction here in this local body. 25 years later, the construction continues. Not on buildings, but on you. You are his workmanship. You are his signature. You are what Paul says, you’re his poem that he’s writing in the cosmos. I’m honored to be a part of this celebration. Humbled. My wife Kim is here with me and we have been so encouraged. We just feel like this is home in some senses just because of so many friends that we have here in this local body and even in the churches associated with this local body. I was starting to do some math, and I stopped when I was over there thinking of faces that I’ve interacted with this weekend and even today. And if you start to add up not the years, the decades of impact that you’ve had on my life, you’re into the centuries, and those years added up are being accumulated with you as well. What a stewardship. What a gift of grace. So from my wife Kim and me, please accept our congratulations and thankfulness on this 25th anniversary of Grace Bible Church as you enter into the next season of life as well. Today is not so much a celebration of leaders or leadership or even servants and service. It’s a celebration of what Christ has done for a quarter century in this local body. I was speaking with some of your elders yesterday and we had a great meeting and just were reflecting on that interesting passage in 1 Samuel 7:12 where an ebenezer is raised. You’ve probably sung here I raise mine Ebenezer. You know what that means? It’s called a stone. It’s a rock of remembrance. In other words, God pointed to that moment and he did it in a rainbow and piles of stones and other monuments over history and said, “I want you to do something that reminds you of what I’ve done.” That’s what today is. Today is an Ebenezer that we’re raising to say, “God, look at what you’ve done.” And we are so grateful to be a part of it. Today is truly historic and I trust that you understand you are not participating in this history. You are this history. You are what God is doing here in the life of this local body. With that, may I ask you to meet me in second Corinthians chapter 11? 2 Corinthians chapter 11. The Most Important Thing What’s the most important thing when it comes to ministry? What’s the most important thing when it comes to life? What’s the most important thing when it comes to living? And what’s the most important thing when it comes to dying? This passage is going to answer that for us. It is a watershed passage in the history of the church that Paul was a part of. It’s an angle-setting moment for ministry. Paul says this 2 Corinthians 11:3. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. John Knox is one of my heroes. About a year ago, my wife and I were able to spend a few days in Scotland and did a tour of John Knox’s surroundings and where he ministered. 400 years ago, he rocked Scotland and Great Britain with the power of the gospel by preaching the exclusivity of Christ under a Roman Catholic crown. One of the things for which he’s best remembered is his bravery. It was said of John Knox, “Nox fears no one. Absolutely no one.” End quote. When he was debating Mary, Queen of Scots about the impotency of the Catholic way of salvation, he was told that his language was discourteous to the Queen and disrespectful. And to this he responded, quote, “It is no more privilege of the rich and the powerful than of common people to offend God’s majesty.” She burst into tears, by the way. She ran out of the room and her corders came and charged Knox to stop upsetting the queen with the Protestant gospel. Knox answered, “I cannot let the tears of the honorable lady suppress the voice of my conscience or silence me to the hurt of my nation.” End quote. He could have had his head chopped off for such language. Mary was keenly aware of Knox, especially of his imprecatory prayers against her. And she said, “I fear the prayers of John Knox more than all the assembled armies of Europe.” At his funeral, Earl Morton pointed to John Knox’s grave and said, “There lies a man who never feared the face of any man.” Kim and I went to John Knox’s grave less than a year ago, and we stood there and thank the Lord for his legacy. It’s in parking space 21. It’s been paved over and it’s only marked by a yellow dot. as brave as Knox was just a slim distant echo of the Apostle Paul. Have you considered his audacious bravery? He proclaimed the gospel in hostile synagogues. In fact, God said, “Paul, I want to charge you and bring you to be a messenger to the Gentiles of the gospel.” Okay, God. And every single city he goes in the book of Acts, where does he go first? The synagogue. And it never goes well. And he does the same thing in the next city. And in the next city, he preached the gospel in open gentile markets. He debated on the Areopagus of Athens. He evangelized before the intimidating council of Jerusalem who had murdered Jesus. He had been beaten so badly at Lystra that they dragged him out and left him for dead in a ditch. He stood before Agrippa and Felix. Even to the Roman guards who were holding him at sword point, he proclaimed the gospel. In Acts 20, the Holy Spirit told Paul—we find this from his interaction with the Ephesian elders at Miletus. The Holy Spirit had promised Paul, “Everywhere you go, Paul, you’re going to have chains and imprisonment and eventually you’re going to be killed for what you’re saying.” How’s that for God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life? I love how Acts 17 describes Paul. They’re looking for him. They knock on Jason’s door and they said, “Where is he? Where are these men who have upset the world?” His fearlessness cost him. It cost him dearly. You can read, beginning in verse 23 and following of 2 Corinthians 11, all that he went through. When Paul began his ministry, the Roman Empire was fully entrenched in heathenism. And by the time his head was severed, the world had been shaken by the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ through this man. Paul was indescribably brave. What Made Paul Afraid? More than John Knox. He feared the face of no man. So when you open up 2 Corinthians 11 and you read this—”But I am afraid”—that has my attention. What made Paul afraid? What made him shudder? What shook him? This audacious, brave man—what made h

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Opening Prayer God, as many days as you give us in this life here on this earth, there will be challenges. There will be trials. There will be occasions for fear, occasions for worry and anxiety. And frankly, we are frail. We are weak. And if we were alone in them, or if it were up to us to work them out for good, we would be hopeless. But we’re not alone. We have you, the God who is near to his people in trials, a God who cares for his people, who dispenses grace and mercy and help. And so we ask, Lord, as we come to your Word, to Psalm 56 this evening, teach us to trust you. Teach us to trust you even when fear abounds and there are question marks, because you’re worthy of our trust. You are reliable. So help us. We praise you, and we pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen. The Setting: David in Fear and Flight Well, it’s good to be with you guys this evening. Go ahead and open your Bibles. We’re going to take a quick trip to 1 Samuel 21 before we get into our psalm. We’re dropping in at a difficult point in David’s life. This is a time when fears and enemies abound, a time when he’s being hunted by the king that he serves and loves. King Saul was a jealous man. Saul didn’t appreciate the attention that David was getting after killing Goliath and having many successful military operations on King Saul’s behalf. He couldn’t stand someone else getting the recognition, and so he orders the death of one of his most faithful servants, one who has been most beneficial for the nation. Jonathan, King Saul’s son, who loved David, went and told David immediately after King Saul gives this order to his top officials, and then went to bat for David. Jonathan reminded Saul that David had been a faithful servant to him, and Saul relented. He swore, “As Yahweh lives, David will not be put to death.” That was in chapter 19, and that commitment didn’t last long. He began trying to kill David again. First he tried to shish kabob him with a spear, and then he sent men to spy out David’s house in order to arrest him when he came out, and ultimately to kill him. David managed to escape through a window. Then we come through chapter 20, and David and Jonathan set up a ruse to try and determine if Saul is truly intent on killing David. After finding out that he is, David flees. He makes a run for it. This is heartbreaking for David. This is a man who loves his people because he loves their God. This is a man who loves his king, delights to serve him, and now he finds himself on the run because that king wants him dead without cause. Saul, whose responsibility should have been to lead David and to utilize his giftings for the greater advantage and good of the nation, was jealous of those giftings and trying to kill him. And it is certainly possible, maybe probable, at this point that Saul knew David had been anointed to become the next king. So he was merely protecting his monarchy in his own mind. But either way, David finds himself alone, on the outs, on the run. So he goes to Nob. It’s where the tabernacle was at this time, and he seeks bread and a sword. And then where does he go? Where could he go? Any help he seeks from an Israelite would immediately make that person an enemy of Saul. His heart is filled with trepidation. There are question marks everywhere, enemies looming large. Then he flees somewhere unexpected. Look down at verse 10 of 1 Samuel 21. We’re going to read the occasion about which Psalm 34 and Psalm 56, our passage tonight, were written. “Then David arose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. But the servants of Achish said to him, ‘Is this not David, the king of the land? Did they not sing of this one as they danced, saying, “Saul has struck his thousands, and David his ten thousands”?’ David took these words to heart and greatly feared Achish king of Gath. So he disguised his sanity in their sight and acted insanely in their hands and scribbled on the doors of the gate and let his saliva run down into his beard. Then Achish said to his servants, ‘Behold, you see the man behaving as a madman. Why do you bring him to me? Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this one to act the madman before me? Shall this one come into my house?’” “And then in verse 1 of 22, ‘So David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam.’” So David goes to Gath. Now why would he think it’s a good idea to go into enemy territory? Well, he must have hoped that if he went to Gath, Saul wouldn’t come to get him there. Saul doesn’t have free reign there. Maybe he thought that the Philistines wouldn’t recognize him. He could just blend in. Or maybe he hoped that the Philistines would be happy to receive Saul’s prize lieutenant who had defected from Saul. Enemy of my enemy is my friend, kind of thing. But they did recognize him. In verse 11, they say, “Is this not David, the king of the land?” And David isn’t the king of any land yet. I think the Philistines are emphasizing David’s authority and greatness rather than referring to an actual title. But then they knew the song: “Saul has struck his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” It’s a big problem for David. David is the great soldier of Israel who slayed their hero, and Gath is the hometown of Goliath. Those tens of thousands that he killed would have been mostly Philistines. How many widows were there in Gath because of David’s efforts? No, they know exactly who he is. That’s bad news. Verse 12: David took these words to heart, and he greatly feared. They seized David. They took him in hand. And David, in a moment of weakness and fear, pretends to be insane, scribbles on the gate, lets the spittle run down into his beard, and he’s released because Achish seems to already have enough madmen. It’s definitely not David’s finest moment. He’s got enemies on all sides, enemies at home and abroad. He’s desperate. He’s confused. And he appears to be controlled by his fears, without any of the convictional faith we might expect from him. And this is what the Psalms are made of. These are the kinds of times they are for—real people with real problems, the kinds of problems that don’t go away easily, that aren’t quickly resolved, and they’re terrifying. The Psalms have comforted God’s people through their greatest suffering and despair because in them we find great big comforts from a great big God for all your problems, even the big ones, the real ones. This is where David finds hope in his problem, finds hope from his big God and the promises that his God has made. So let’s flip over to Psalm 56. Psalm 56 Read Aloud “For the choir director. According to Jonath Elem Rehokim. A miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath. Be gracious to me, O God, for man has trampled upon me; all day long an attacker oppresses me. My foes have trampled upon me all day long, for many attack me proudly. When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me? All day long they distort my words; all their thoughts are against me for evil. They attack, they lurk, they watch my heels, as they have hoped to take my life. On account of their wickedness, will they have an escape? In anger bring down the peoples, O God. You have taken account of my wanderings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, in Yahweh, whose word I praise, in God I trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? Your vows are binding upon me, O God; I will fulfill thank offerings to you. For you have delivered my soul from death, indeed my feet from stumbling, so that I may walk before God in the light of the living.” Introduction to the Psalm First, looking at the title, you’ll notice that this song is for the choir director. I love that David memorialized this song about one of his more embarrassing moments. And it’s according to “Jonath Elem Rehokim,” which means “the silent dove in distant places.” This could be a title referring to David as a helpless dove who’s driven into another land, or it could be the name of a tune. Then we have “a miktam of David.” We don’t know for certain what miktam means. It’s probably something like an inscription or a memorial of a particular event, and then the occasion, which we read about: when the Philistines seized him in Gath. Now we’re going to turn to the body of the psalm, and what we’ll find here are three responses of trust in fearful trials. Three responses of trust in fearful trials. And the first response of trust in fearful trials is to plead for grace. 1. Plead for Grace Plead for grace. That’s right where verse 1 starts off. Let me read verses 1 and 2. “Be gracious to me, O God, for man has trampled upon me all day long. An attacker oppresses me. My foes have trampled upon me all day long, for many attack me proudly.” So David is being pursued by enemies, and he starts his prayer song off with grace. He needs grace. He needs help from God. And so he cries out to God. He certainly isn’t looking to man for grace, as man is the source of his problems. And we immediately see a contrast between these enemies and the one to whom David is crying out: “Be gracious to me, O God, for man has trampled upon me.” Throughout the psalm, David will use multiple words to describe man, and here he uses a general word that describes humankind as a class. Man is after him, but God is his help. David’s enemies are mortal and transient. The one to whom David is looking is eternal, almighty, and very gracious. It would be no benefit to ask for grace from a God who wouldn’t give it. But David knows that God is gracious, and so he can call out to him. Next the text s

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