"The Divine However", Min. Gil Barney

0:00 Hello, Alfred Street. My name is Gilbert Lawrence Barney. I'm one of your 2021 interns. And on behalf of the whole intern family, I want to tell you that you have treated us so well. I mean, there are church internships, and then there are Alfred Street Baptist church internships. And I don't say that to make any other church feel inadequate. with. I just know that there's a special sprinkle of favor that God has placed upon this church, and you found it not robbery to share those blessings with us. And on behalf of the interns, I want to thank you and affirm how amazing you are and your church is. I want to also give honor to Dr. Howard John Wesley. I want to give honor to Reverend Marcia, who is the supervisor of us interns and Dr. Judy who always has a smile on her face and is always laughing because I tend to debate a lot. So I just want to give honor to them. I also want to give honor back to my home church, Change Church in New Jersey, under the leadership of Dr. Darius Daniels.

1:12 Also, I want to give a special shout out to the AV team. You guys are amazing and we honor what you all are doing. And I want to say hello to the seasoned saints who we had a great Bible study earlier this internship. And we love you. We honor you. You all are awesome as well.

1:33 So if you could turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 86, verses 12 through 17. And while you're looking for the psalm, please pray with me. Dear Lord, we thank you for all that you do for us. Now take hold of this word. Take hold of this service. Let every word that you have given me be edifying to those that hear. Dear Lord, let's get to work. In Jesus' name I pray, amen and amen. Psalm 86, verses 12 through 17. And it reads thus wise.

2:26 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. For great is your steadfast love toward me. You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol. O God, insolent men have risen up against me. A band of ruthless men seeks my life, and they do not set you before them. But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abiding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Turn to me and be gracious to me.

3:22 Give your strength to your servant and save the son of your maidservant. Show me a sign of your favor That those who hate me may see And be put to shame because of you Lord, you have helped me and comforted me Family, I want to speak from the subject title,

3:53 The Divine, However. The Divine, However. Family, allow me to remind some and inform others of this theological fact, if there is such a thing. And this theological fact is this. Our Bible is the word of God and the word of God is holy. Scripture is holy. Our scriptures are a powerful life-giving tool that gives us instructions on how best to navigate this journey we call life. If you don't believe me, let's listen to what the scripture say about itself. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God shall stand forever.

4:56 Now, this is a Baptist house, so I would imagine that many of you would agree with me when I say that scripture is holy. But for those who need a little bit more evidence, let's turn to 2 Timothy 3.16. And it states this, all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and training in righteousness. Scripture teaches us and gives us rules, traditions, procedures, principles, instructions, advice, warnings, and precautions, so on and so on. No matter how you slice it, God's word is holy. You see, there is death in the world, but there is life in this book. and there is life in the God that inspired the spirit behind the words that dwell inside and outside of this book. I believe it, Reverend Mark. I affirm it. I proclaim it. I'll debate it.

6:09 And those that have had the privilege of getting to know me here at Alpha Street and during this internships can attest to that very fact. I don't play about the scriptures. To me, all scripture is profitable for our life. Now, I'm not Pastor Wesley, but can I push it? Not only do I believe that scripture is holy, I'll even go so far as to suggest that even the sentence structure and organization in verses for a passage are holy. Even the sentence structure of a passage can teach us greatly. And that is what I believe we find in our fundamental text. In Psalm 86, I believe there is a hidden principle that is essential for our lives. It is essential because it showcases and speaks to how we should handle certain guaranteed circumstances that we will have in our lifetime.

7:15 You see, in our human experience, we are guaranteed to encounter moments of trials and tribulations and seasons of struggle and hardship. No matter how successful you are, no matter how much you've achieved, No matter if you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth and laid in a crib that was made of gold, it is still a guarantee that you will have moments or seasons of hardship. Some of us have had relational hardships where a man or a woman has done us wrong, took advantage of our feelings and our loyalties, and left us holding nothing but a broken heart and a depressed mind. Others have had trials and tribulations with finances. The rent is past due.

8:10 The eviction notice is on the door. The bank account is already overdrawn. Ask me how I know about that one. Some of us have struggles with family. Your father has run out on you. Your mother has neglected you or your children are running the streets and getting in all sorts of trouble. And it is doing nothing but adding to the stress that you have encountered.

8:37 Whatever the case may be, there is good news. You see, there is a hidden principle found in Psalm 86 that I believe will help us navigate our ways through these harsh circumstances. We find ourselves in from time to time. And this principle is one I have dubbed the principle of the divine, however. The principle simply suggests this, that whatever trial you are in, whatever hardship you are going through, can never withstand overpower or overshadow the love, mercy, and grace of our God. The headwind that may be coming up against you, it may be strong, but our God is much stronger. You see, the principle acknowledges the reality of the circumstances one may find himself or herself in.

9:35 But it also acknowledges the reality of the one who is able to see us through it. So enough of me hinting at this principle. Let's dissect the principle that we find in the text. This principle contains five major components. And if you're a note taker, I want you to take down these components right now. The praise, the predicament, the pivot, the proclamation, and the petition. The first of these is the praise. We find this in verses 12 through 13. We see the praise in this statement. I give thanks to you, O Lord, my God, with my whole heart. And I will glorify your name forever, for great is your steadfast love toward me.

10:37 You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol. We see that before the psalmist David even thinks about the trouble that he is in and the trouble that he is encountering, he gives thanks to God for God is worthy of such praise. Now, I must acknowledge that this type of discipline comes from the more seasoned members of the faith. It takes a disciplined believer to start at this point. because most of us are quick to bypass the praise to instead start at the predicament. But the more optimal starting point is to give God the praise which is owed to him because quite frankly, family, the fact that you are still living and breathing in order to go through a predicament is in itself a blessing.

11:39 Then from the praise, we move to the second component of the principle, which is the predicament. In the text, we find that in verse 14, where it states, Oh God, insolent men have risen up against me. A band of ruthless men seeks my life, and they do not set you before them. In this moment, David is speaking to the reality of the circumstance he finds himself in. these men want him dead that is the reality of the situation and there is no annoying ignoring it and just like David doesn't ignore the reality of his circumstance neither should we ignore the reality of whatever storm struggle hardship or heartache that we are going through You have permission to love God and acknowledge that you are in pain, hurting, or in danger.

12:41 If you are in pain, acknowledge it. If you are dealing with heartache, acknowledge it. Don't run from it. Don't cower from it. Don't hide it from God. We must give God access to our truth because God will not fix a lie. He must be worshipped in spirit and in truth. So give God what God desires, your truth. Now here's where it gets good. Here's where it gets good. Or as Pastor Wesley would say, here is where it gets gooder. I love that, gooder. Component number three, the pivot. The pivot is component number three. This is where the perspective changes. This is where the shift takes place. This is the fulcrum, if you will, of the principle.

13:38 We see this in the beginning of verse 15, where it states, But you, O Lord, are God. See, now hold on, that's where it is. That's where we stop, right there. Because that's where the pivot happens. You see, the psalmist goes from speaking about men that want him dead, evil men that are rising up against him, that want his life, to speaking to the one that can help him. Because the psalmist understands that worldly power in no way can compare to the divine power of our God. The perspective is now changing from men who have power to do little to a God that has the power to do all things for our good. And the psalmist continues the verse by moving to the fourth component.

14:39 And the fourth component is the proclamation. The proclamation is found in the second half of verse 15. When referring to God, it states that God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Why is this an important feature of the principle of the divine, however? because whenever you do this, you are letting God know that you know exactly who God is. You see, this is letting God know that although the circumstances may be grave, you are not allowing these circumstances to confuse, mislead, weaken, or distort exactly who God is to you and what power God has to change the circumstances because it's easy to glorify God when things are going great.

15:49 My word. It is easy to worship God when everything is peachy, as my grandmother would say. It's easy to praise and proclaim the goodness of God when you are experiencing the abundant life. but it takes a special type of dedication and relationship for you to glorify God in the middle of all hell breaking loose in your life. See, that is when you know you have a Job 13 relationship with God because you can honestly say, though he slay me, yet will I trust him. See, I need y'all going crazy in the chat right now. I need y'all to go crazy in the chat and repeat that with me. Though he slay me, yet will I trust him. That's why the proclamation is so important.

16:43 It is the moment where God turns his ear closer to us. When God hears sincere worship, when God smells the aroma of praise, God has a desire to lean in closer to hear what's being said. And with God having his ear towards us, this is the moment that lends itself to the fifth and final component, which is the petition. The petition in the text is found in the final two verses. Verses 16 and 17 when it states, Turn to me and be gracious to me and save the son of your manservant. Show me a sign of your favor that those who hate me may see and be put to shame because of you. Lord, how you have helped me and comforted me.

17:40 You see, the petition is important because it is the moment where you can make your humble request of how you desire God to move in your life at this moment or in this season. It is a part of the formula where God is like, okay, you've got my attention. Now, tell me how I can show myself strong. Make your request made known to me. It is the culmination of all the effort you have put in your prayer and devotional life. It is where you muster up all of your faith and put it in the hands of God. You say, now, God, work this thing for my good. And family, sit back and watch your mighty God work.

18:37 Now, it may not happen instantaneously. The victory may not happen overnight. However, keep working that principle. throughout the heartache, throughout the pain, throughout the struggle, the hardship, the trial, and the tribulation, whatever the circumstance, keep working that principle. And I guarantee you, victory will meet you at the most opportune time. And here's why. Because God's timing is always perfect. If you believe that, put it in the chat. God's timing is always perfect. So family, there it is. The principle of the divine, however. Now that we've become familiar with the principle, let's try this shoe on for size and see if it fits, shall we?

19:36 Let's speak to some circumstances that some may be going through. Thank you, Lord, for you are a gracious God. At this moment, my life is in disarray. However, great is the Lord and most worthy to be praised. Your greatness no one can fathom. So, Lord, bring order to my life as only you can. Family, family, I think it's working.

20:13 Thank you, God. I praise your name. Anxiety is attacking my mind. However, Jesus, you are the Prince of Peace. Even the storms calm at your request. So Lord, calm the nerves in my mind and in my body as only you can. See, family, I think it's working. I think it's working. Let me try again. Let me try another one. Thank you, Lord. You are a promise keeper. My children are addicted to habits that do them nothing but harm, and it hurts me. However, because of your loving devotion, God, they are not consumed, for your mercies never fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. So God, continue to protect my children, even from themselves, as only you can. It's working, family. It's working. I feel it's working through the chat. I can feel it through the chat.

21:26 Let's try one more for good measure. Thank you, my great God, for you are my rock. Satan is on my heels, chasing me, trying to find me and devour all that is good within me. However, God, you and you alone are the good shepherd, and I shall not want. You maketh me to lie down in green pastures. You leadeth me beside still waters. You restore my soul. You lead me on the path of righteousness for your name's sake. Even though I shall walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You will prepare a table in the presence of mine enemies.

22:20 You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. So, Lord, back that weak enemy up, up off me, for Satan's power is limited. but your power is immeasurable in Jesus' name, in Jesus' mighty name. Family, it works. The principle works. In Jesus' name, it works. And speaking of Jesus, yes, speaking of the Son of God, you know I've introduced you to the principle of the divine, however. Now let me leave you by introducing you to the person. Because the divine, however, is not simply a principle.

23:18 The divine, however, is also a person. And that person's name is Jesus Christ. You see, Jesus embodies every component in this principle. He is the divine, however. And the divine, however, is him. You see, it may be hard to see it now, but let's find it. You see, the praise is in him. Because upon his birth, the angels gathered in a multitude and shouted glory to God in the highest. In other words, they said hallelujah. They were hallelujah-ing just like we are right now. The predicament is in him. because he humbled himself, put on the cloak of humanity, and even faced temptation from the devil. And while he walked this earth, faced persecution and rejection time and time again by humanity.

24:18 Even at the cross, he was rejected. And if that isn't a predicament, then I don't know what is. And see, the pivot is in him because although he humbled himself, took on the issues of humanity, faced temptation from Satan, and was rejected and persecuted over and over again, he never allowed his circumstance to divert him from the will of God. The proclamation is in him because he told us many, many times that the thief has come to kill, to steal, kill, and destroy, but he has come so that we have life and have it more abundantly. And lastly, the petition is in him. Because to this day, to this very day right now that you're listening and watching this, he is sitting on the right hand of the Father, interceding on our behalf, restoring us in right relationship with God.

25:20 So no matter how you slice this, he is the divine, however. And the divine, however, is he. You can trust in him. You can confide in him. You can ask him for his assistance and protection. You can call on his name in the time of need. And he will answer because he is Lord of all. And there is no name greater to call upon. So if you are ever in need, if you are ever in trouble, if you are ever in danger, just call upon the divine however. whose name is Jesus Christ. And watch the Savior work this thing.

26:05 He will come to your aid and he will comfort you. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Amen.