In his sermon titled 'In Times of Distress,' Tate Pierce explores the theme of fear and how believers can find solace and strength by trusting in God, as illustrated in Psalm 56. Pierce reflects on the experiences of David, who faced oppression and fear but turned to God for mercy and protection. The sermon emphasizes the importance of prayer and trusting in God's power rather than succumbing to fear and anxiety. Through personal anecdotes, Pierce shares how he has navigated fear and distress by leaning on his faith. The sermon encourages believers to seek peace and confidence in God's promises and to rely on the strength that comes from a close relationship with Him.

This way, we got that one. Thank you, brother. Be ready to give it any every man answer. We've been driving left the house about 2 15 and we were racing and racing, trying to get here by seven o'clock and so got here and I'm glad I did I'm very thankful I did text you I got brother Nathaniel Hilli's filling in for me while I'm gone and brother Andy Wilson's gonna be preaching Sunday for us while I'm out. First time I've been out of been away to get away from over three years.

So it feels weird at this point, I guess you could say. Well, I tell you, Brother Green just asked me to preach and I'm sort of tossing and turning here between two passages, two that I've been, has been on my heart quite a bit here lately. Think about Psalm 56 or in Ephesians chapter five, but I think I'm going to go with Psalm 56 here. I really feel that it's still something I'm dealing with in my heart, and dealing with, and I think God is dealing with me through the passage. So I wanna start in that tonight.

We'll read that text of Psalm 56 it's only 13 verses I won't preach all 13 verses but it's something for all of us at any time it's a good reminder for us because there's times we can get really down and out and we feel like things are against us or things the flow the the tide seems to be pushing against us and then we can get down because of our flesh we can become very weak and we'll see some things here as we make our way through here but in Psalm 56 and verse 1 it says be merciful unto me oh God for man would swallow me up he fighteth daily oppreseth me mine enemies would daily swallow me up for they be many that fight against me oh thou most high what time I am afraid I will trust in thee In God I will praise his word. In God I have put my trust. I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. Every day they rest my words. All their thoughts are against me for evil.

They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps when they wait for my soul. Shall they escape by iniquity? In thine anger cast down the people, O God. Thou tellest my wanderings, put thou my tears into thy bottle. Are they not in thy book?

When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back. This I know, for God is for me. In God I will praise his word, in the Lord will I praise his word. In God have I put my trust, I will not be afraid what man can do unto me. Thy vows are upon me, O God.

I will render praises unto thee, for thou has delivered my soul from death. Will not thou deliver my feet from falling that I may walk before God in the light of the living? Let's pray our heavenly father Lord. We thank you for this opportunity to be here tonight father I Thank you for the safety and travels you've given us to be here with sovereign grace, Baptist church and these dear folks and father. I do praise you for all that thou has done as we think of David here, a man after thine own heart, but a man Being a man after thine own heart finding himself in the clutches of fear and worry and fretting Father may we take a lesson from David may we take a lesson from David, may we take a lesson from thy holy word that when these fears and these things come upon us that we need to turn to thee, that we need to trust in thee even more and be rescued from doubt from all these things, anxiety, the fretting, everything that would slow us down for the calls that you've called us to.

Father, we love you, we praise you and ask for thy blessings upon this night and I pray that you guard my lips and my tongue as I do my best to preach thy word in Jesus name. Amen. All right. Well, I've entitled this in times of distress. In times of distress, you can look at verses one and two, the complaint of conscience, number three and four, the certainty of confidence, five and six, the continual complaint, seven through nine, the constant cry, 10 through 13, the created to the creator.

And if you go and study other commentators They're gonna be right along those same lines. You can check Spurgeon. You can check those commentators are right there But we have here David he's in that he's in he's in a bad position And we understand that this is when they were, the times when they had taken him at Gath. And this, just to back play it for you a little bit, this is when he had decided, when he had been delivered over, and he decided to play the part of a madman and he had let the spittle run down his beard and clawing on the doors and and acting as a madman and he's brought before the king and he says why why have you bought this madman what can he do for me and and all those things that was going on with David when he was in that time, it was because of fear. And fear will make you do things that you would not normally do.

I mean, we get prepared for a meeting. Y'all got a meeting coming up here in June and we're praising the Lord, hallelujah. And boy, we're prepared. But it's those dark times in between, when the times get lonely and the times get dark, and things start happening. It's amazing, and I know Brother Green knows, and I know, and any preacher knows, and every Christian knows, sometimes the mind will wander, and when it does, that's when Satan likes to get in there and weave what he can and get in there and say you're not a good leader you're not a good leader you're not doing it right you're not doing this you're not doing that And all he's doing is getting you to doubt yourself.

It goes all the way back to the garden. That's what he did with Eve. He is the master of doubt. And here we are, the children of surety, the children of a sovereign God. So look at this first verse, it says, be merciful unto me, O God, for man would swallow me up.

He fighteth daily, oppresseth me. Remember David being pursued by King Saul and his men and and here he is a man that has been called of God to be king. I think of 1st Samuel 16, that's one of my favorites there and David's out there tending to the sheep and Samuel standing before and looking at all the men coming before him and no doubt they must have been some good-looking muscular men because Samuel's thinking surely this is the man. And God gets on the Samuel and says you look on the outward. I look on the inward paraphrasing of course, but God's looking at the heart Even being chosen in that capacity David's just a man I Would tell you tonight that everyone in here at some point in time has went through this and will go through it again and I want you to remember Psalm 56.

What do we do when we need help? What do we do? We turn to the God that can help. He prays to him, be merciful unto me. So let's look at this complaint of conscience.

Number one, it's the intent of man. What's going on around him? For man would swallow me up. Why would man want to swallow David up? Why would he, why would they be fighting him and oppressing him?

And it all goes back to Saul. It was Saul's personal gain. It was Saul wanting to pursue him. You got the Philistines wanting to stop everything that's happening. And it was for the personal gain of men and I will tell you here tonight my friend my beloved my brother that's what the world wants to do they want to stop you they want to stop you in your tracks they They won't necessarily go with the black and white method of it.

They want to blend in there and make you seem that you're over critical. And you see it on the news all the time. You can say anything you want in public, but when you bring up the name Jesus, the TVs go to glitching and falling apart and they're having the technical difficulties and that's what it is. It's the name Jesus which we've been told in the Bible. David's looking for mercy.

I'm going to turn back to 1st Samuel for just a moment because it's interesting how this weaves together. First Samuel 21, I believe. I don't have all my notes. I got pieces and patches of it here. But First Samuel 21.

Yes, First Samuel 21. And verse 10, it says, And David arose and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish to the king of Gath. And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing one to another of him, and dances, saying Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands? And David laid up these words in his heart and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath and he charged his behavior before them and feigned himself mad in their hands and scabbled on the doors of the gate, and his spittle fall down upon his beard.

Then said Achish unto his servant, Slow, see, the man is mad. Wherefore then have you brought him to me? I have need, have I need of madmen that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?" That's fear, my friend. And how many times, maybe you haven't scrabbled on doors or let this fiddle run down, but how many times maybe you have turned and acted a different way?

Or maybe you've decided you're going to do something else and it gets you out of the way, it gets you where you should not be. Because I want to tell you something, God has a path for your life. And when you're over here playing the madman and you're doing this and you're doing that, you're not in the path. You say, well, yeah, David should have done that. Well, that's easy for us to say.

But we've all taken our part in that. We've all decided that fear takes us over and we're going to fix it. So we do something else. And full circle comes around and God still has this way done. But we have to get back to where he had us to start with.

It never fails. We do it all the time. I've had some things going on in my personal life. I'm going to turn to Psalm 37 now. I want to show you another Psalm.

Fear will do things to you. Sometimes fear developed by anguish, by maybe you feel like you failed in some point. Another Psalm of David. I was speaking with someone the other day and they said, boy, it's so encouraging when you get in the Psalms because what I'm seeing is it looks like that David's really down and then he gets to the root of the problem. By the end of it, he's praising God.

I said, yes, you'll find that a lot in the Psalms. And I was knowing that, and we failed to turn to it. Psalm 37, it says in verse 1, fret not thyself because of evildoers. Neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity, for they shall soon be cut down like the grass and wither as the green herb." Look at the next few words, trust in the Lord and do good. So shalt thou dwell in the land and verily thou shalt be fed.

Look at the next one, verse 4, Delight thyself also in the Lord and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Here we go, verse 5, commit thy way unto the Lord, Trust also in him and he shall bring it to pass and he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light and thy judgment as the noonday. And in verse 7, rest in the Lord. Wait patiently for him. Fret not thyself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

You see the same thing taking place and really it hits me there, rest in the Lord and wait. That's the tough part, wait. The man part wants to get out there and let the spittle run down the beard and scrabble on the door and fear what they might do to us. But God says wait and when you wait it shows trust in him. It shows I know who has full control.

I don't know what's gonna come of this situation. I don't like this situation but God's in control. I'm gonna tell you something friends, a lot of times when we're in that situation, you're looking this way. Yeah. What's he doing to me?

What does he show me? Sometimes you're in that situation because he's building someone else. Sometimes he's working where you don't know. Deuteronomy 29 29 tells us God has secrets. Well that's the difference between you and I.

When God says he has secrets that means no one will know them. Not like us. Hey, don't say anything. It's between you and me. That's the difference between man and God.

God is God. What you're going to find with these people back in our psalm, in the psalm we started our text, Psalm 56, what you're gonna find at the root of all the problems is man. He's depraved, his heart's desperately wicked, and who can know it? But I'm gonna tell you the intent of man is usually for personal gain. Look at the next verse there, verse two it says, mine enemies would daily swallow me up, for they be many that fight against me, oh thou most high.

Why would they swallow him? It all goes back to personal gain. That word swallow means this, to inhale, eagerly to cover, be angry, devour, snuff up, swallow up. Why would people want to do that? For their own good.

I think about this, your thoughts only come from two places and two different fathers, one with a lowercase f and the father with and the father with the capital F. Why would they swallow him up? Jealousy. Envious. We're in times in 2023 when it seems like every bit of good we weave it gets undone by bad.

The time is drawing nigh. We need to be focused. We need to get where David got to. We need to have that trust in him. So we see the complaint in conscience.

The next thing it causes that personal gain is superiority. Everyone wants superiority. Everyone wants to be a chief. Everyone wants to be a boss. Everyone wants to be a CEO.

I worked construction and I had my own business and it's amazing the young men that come out there and they think you hire them so that they can teach you how to build something. They get on the job and they're gonna show you within three hours a better way to do something you've been doing for 20 years. Superiority. Why is that? Because mommy and daddy told them that they're very bright and they're worth millions of dollars.

But they don't realize you've got to start off by just picking up the trash of the job site. Everyone wants superiority. And then last, everyone wants the power. Everyone wants the power. What is it that Satan was doing?

What is it the serpent was there speaking about? Twisting God's Word. Power. What was it he tempted her with? Being as gods.

We got to be careful with these things. So you say, well, Brother Pierce, how's this tying to you with having distress? Because times have been very stressful. Man sometimes can become the opponent, not by your behalf of wanting to go out and start trouble or have trouble, but by the fact because you're a child of God, Satan wants you to be swallowed up. We got to understand there's enemies and they are hostile.

So what do we do? Do we turn around and attack them? Do we pick up weapons? No. We know what our weapons are.

We know they're spiritual. We do as David did. I think about this. I think about here he goes from being a madman and I think about, and I'm not saying that everything's in order, but think about the fact that King Saul, as he pursued him for nothing but jealousy and just a covetous over him, over the fact that the ladies were singing about David and saying that he had slain more than Saul and all these things, and the fact that David could have slew him, but he did not out of respect for who he was. We have to have the attitude of David.

We should not do things because we can. We have to have the respect that David did and realize that God's the one in control. I look at the certainty of confidence starting in verse 3. It says, what time I am afraid I will trust in thee. Have you found yourself there lately?

I have. That's what took me to Psalm 37. I've had some things going on and I don't know if you've gotten to that point recently but if you haven't you need to. I got to the point I would read the Bible I'm studying because you got to preach four times a week and all these things going on but I had to have some time alone with the Lord. And I, there's where I live it's building up so fast there's hardly any quiet place to go but I went there And I started praying and I started begging the Lord Speak to me.

I want to hear from thee. Give me a text. Give me something Lord. I need confidence I need strength and as I was praying I just kept hearing read Psalm 37 read Psalm 37 My voice not not no thunderous clouds coming but I just kept hearing read Psalm 37 And by the time I hit that fifth verse, I broke down. Because It became very apparent to me what the Lord was telling me.

You need to get your eyes back on me. Quit looking at how you can solve problems. Get your eyes back on me. David here had that confidence. He had that certainty of confidence.

Look what he says there in verse 3, what time I'm afraid I will trust in thee. Because it's gonna happen folks. It's gonna happen over and over again. Think about brother Peter over there, been going through some trials of recent. We have each other, we have a group here, and we have preacher friends in all different states we can text, reach out to, and request prayer or talk with.

But I Think about when they had the blackouts there and he can't contact anybody. Who's he trusting? Brother Green? Brother Pierce? In the Lord.

In the Lord. We all know we can have this confidence and I think we all do in a sense always have this confidence. But David was developing a real confidence. I'll just tell you there will be a time. There's different ways that you can fall into fear, but the important, the most important thing I can tell you tonight for yourself is be honest with the Lord.

Tell Him you're scared. Tell Him you're in fear and ask him to work petition you notice the next thing there's a place to turn look in verse 4 it says in God I will praise his word in God have I have put my trust I will not fear what flesh can do unto me." How many times we're looking for an answer, calling people, texting people, walking around the yard, walking down the street, whatever it might be, trying to think of the answer. Where did David go? In God I will praise his word. David trusted in his word.

David praised his word. He gave God all the glory. And then he says, I have put my trust. Put my trust. Here we go.

He goes from verse one, being merciful unto me for man would swallow me up. He fighted, he fighted daily, oppressed with me. And then here we have in verse four, I have put my trust. I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. This is so important that you understand what's happening here.

He has went from acting like a madman, he's went from scrabbling on the doors and spittle running down his beard acting as he's out of his mind to now he has no fear. That's what God can do for us. That's what he will do for us. And I think I can say safely here tonight, that's what he has done for us in times past. Let us not forget the power of God.

I've been preaching at home about power, Excusia power, Dunamis power, and been working through the gospels then that and weaving it over to Paul there in the Ephesus, preaching to that Ephesian church, the epistle to the Ephesian church, and just the marvelous thing about God's power. Do you realize when Jesus Christ came and he did all those works, there's nowhere in the Gospels where you find that he stopped for a moment and was given excuse of power. He came with it, folks. He gave that power to the church. When that was organized, he gave that power to the church.

Early in the Gospels, he gave them some dunamis power, and they went out. And in Acts, they have excuse of power as they're sitting there waiting and what were they waiting on the Holy Spirit guess what that brought dunamis power miracle dynamite that's where we get our word dynamite miraculous power Do you know the church still has that today? We forget that. So we forget that and then we fall into fear. What if this?

What if that? We don't live in the what ifs. We live in the power of God. We don't live in the what is, we live in the because of. God is supreme.

And then lastly, because I'm not preaching very long on this because you can't you can't it takes a while and even I'm pushing through a little bit But an important thing to understand is look at verse 5 Every day they rest my words all their thoughts are against me for evil now was David writing that yes he's writing that typically as a man he I mean he we got evidence of it and first Samuel and I mean we read about David through the Old Testament and what Saul was doing to him and the things going on, the Philistines and everything happening there so he can rightfully say that yes. But take a look at what the word rest means. The primitive root to that word means to carve. Get in there and carve around. Think about what's happening here.

David is telling our eternal sovereign God that They carve around, they're rooting around in my words, they're twisting my words. Think about who he's telling that to. That happens to the Lord all the time. There's pulpits that rest his words. There's ministers that carve around like a pen knife in the Old Testament and cut that out.

I don't want to preach that. God knows every feeling you'll have. And David, he has taken everything to the Lord. Every day they rest my words. The verb tense of that is to grieve, to shape, to pain.

It's painful when that happens. It is grievous. And all their thoughts are against him for evil. It says against me for evil. Before I leave this text, I'm going to stop to, or before I'm done here, I want to go to Romans chapter 8 for just a moment.

Because you say, well, you're dealing with David and that's Old Testament. Well, we know Romans 15, 4, I'm not going to 15, I'm going to Romans 8. But the things written aforetime were written for our learning. Yes. The Old Testament is good.

Here's what David's saying, you know, we saw there, I will trust in thee. I have put my trust. I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. Verse 30 in chapter 8 says, Moreover, whom he did predestinate, then he also called, and whom he called, then he also justified, and whom he justified, then he also glorified. What shall we say then to these things?

If God befor us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall not he with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect. It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth?

It is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long, we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.

We go from fretting and fearful to just as David did, becoming a conqueror to the power of God. And I'm gonna finish up in Philippians, chapter four for just a moment. I think it's probably one of the things I'm asked the most. I got stuff all in here. One of the things I'm asked the most, and it's usually from people in fretting and fear, contemplating the what ifs.

I forget what the percentage is, but did you know that, I think they said it's almost 88 or 92, somewhere in that range, 88% to 92% of the things we worry about never come to fruition. Then they say the other four things, I can't remember, it comes down to this, about half a percent of what you worry about is worth worrying about. That's a lot of waste. Philippians chapter four, I think about this. I remember last year at the Bible camp, I worked on the mind all week with those young folks.

Verse six, it says, be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known unto God." That's what David was doing. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. You see that? Heart and mind in unison, kept in Christ. So what should we be thinking about?

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of what so ever things are true, what so ever things are honest, what so ever things are just, what so ever things are pure, what so ever things are lovely, what so ever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise think on these things those things which ye have both learned and received and heard and seen in me do and the God of peace shall be with you I have wrote down I don't know if I brought it with me up here. Yeah, there it is. I just want to read you a few things of what stress and fretting will do to you. This is by the Mayo Clinic. Thinking about David now.

David's there, he's in bad shape, and he's fretting, and he's distressed, and he's really problem with this situation. When you get to that state that you're fretting and you're distressed, Number one, Mayo Clinic has proven it will raise, it will cause you to have high blood pressure. Number two, it will cause you to have heart disease. Three, obesity, four, diabetes. What will it do to your body?

It will give you a headache. It will cause muscle tension or pain. It will cause chest pain. It will cause fatigue. It will cause an upset stomach.

It will cause sleep problems. What will it do to your mood? You'll be full of anxiety you're going to be restless never satisfied happy sad mad a bit back and forth you'll have lack of motivation you ever had those days you're so damn you just sit in a house and just can't seem to muster any energy to do anything. Feeling overwhelmed, sadness, depression kicks in, your behavior. Your behavior becomes affected by that.

You either overeat or you under eat. You have angry outbursts. Some people Turn to drugs or alcohol and abuse that. Social withdrawal. Exercising less often.

Now this is from Mayo Clinic. You think about David, Where he was. He had no one. He had no one. So what do we do with this tonight?

We take confidence in God. We take confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ. What is it that we would fear when we have someone like that, a real, true God that loves us, cares for us, and is there for us at any time? I've told our church often the problem what we have we have a real problem with it isn't the connection because you only come to the Father through Jesus Christ. A lot of times it's it's a personal problem.

We have a direct conduit to the throne of grace, but how often do we stop and go to the throne of grace? I'll tell you this and I'm done. You'll never, and I'll say that I'll say this now you may want to prove me wrong on it, I'll say this, I've never, I have never bowed on my knees and prayed, got along with the Lord and prayed and laid all my problems out in tears and weeping and just laying it out before him. I have never got off my knees and felt worse. You say, well, I don't believe you, brother.

Pierce will then believe David. Because you can read it right there. Psalm after Psalm. Woe is me. I don't know what to do.

Oh, you're the fix, God. I trust in you. They're wicked. You're pure. They're trying to oppress me.

I'm in your light. And by the end of it, he's praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. He is my God. That's who I will trust in.

That's who I look to. That's who I will follow. Yes. If you're feeling down, you're feeling weak, do as David. Humble yourself.

After all your schemes, madman, spittle, scrabbling on the door, humble yourself and turn to the Lord. He will strengthen you. You say, Brother Pierce, you sure seem wound about this. Well, years ago I had an actual well, I don't know. I can't say that.

I don't know what it was. I believe it was an anxiety attack could have been a heart attack, but I know I woke up at two in the morning with my chest pounding and hurting. And it was when I had my business going trying to trust in men have trues work and do these things and at that point I rolled out of bed and onto my knees and I gave it to the Lord and I've never had another situation like that. I've never had that kind of fret or fear anymore but as a pastor and as a preacher, as the minister, as one trying to tend to many and even personal family, Satan still wants to get in there and wants to shake you up. We need to be as David.

We need to be on our knees to the Lord. We need not act like madmen. We need not fix everyone else's problems. We just need to go to the Lord. He has it under control.

I pray this has been a help to you tonight. And Brother Green, if you'd take it now. And I pray the Lord blesses you with peace.