Cry If You Have To, But Know He’s Got You!

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Reference

Psalm 30:5, 9 - 12 KJV

Sermon Notes

03.31.24_Cry If You Have To, But Know He's Got You!.pdf

Scripture Text: Psalm 30:5, 9 - 12 (KJV)

Psalm 30:5, 9 - 12 (KJV)

5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

9 What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?

10 Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper.
11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth,

and girded me with gladness;

12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

The Title of Today’s Message is: Cry If You Have To, But Know He’s Got You!

Introduction

First Lady and I have always agreed that Paul would not be able to partake in holy communion until he understood the reason why he was doing it. And so month after month in his short time on this Earth, Kristen would walk him around to the elements, but instead of allowing him to have the body and blood of Jesus, she would take a moment to explain to him why the moment was so important in a way that he could understand. She would say to him “Paul, this is a very holy moment. This is something to take seriously. This is the main reason why we worship God. Because He sent His only son to die for our sins.”

Next month on the first Sunday in April, I believe Paul will be ready to take Holy Communion. I celebrate this morning and am so thankful for a wife that takes the time to teach a son that what the bible says is so true. Proverbs 4:7 in the King James Version of the Bible says “in all thy getting, get understanding.” And this morning, I have the privilege of accepting the task of ministering a Word to the people of God that is perhaps very familiar to you. Year after year we devote this time to speak of the love of a Savior that thought we were worth saving and sacrificed His own life for

us. But if we are not careful, we will become so familiar with the story that we fail to remember the transformative power God displayed to take us from what should have been perpetual mourning and weeping to everlasting joy and comfort.

Over the last few weeks, Paul has come to me and has recounted his understanding of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. He starts just like a good disciple should. He comes to me in normal conversation, and he says “Daddy, did you know that Jesus died for our sins?” Everytime he says this, I smile, because it makes me happy to know that from the mouth of a child comes the revelation Jesus paid it all. The old song says “Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe, sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow!” Yes, Paul, I always respond. Jesus did die for our sins. Paul continues his understanding of the ultimate sacrifice by saying “Yes, daddy, Jesus was born and He lived, and then He died for our sins. And I think that it is so sad that Jesus had to die, but I am happy that He did it for my sins.”

Connection to the Introduction

And within that innocent encounter with a four-year old birthed within me today’s message on this resurrection Sunday. In his own way, Paul illuminated a concept for me that though this is the 9th time I have preached on a Resurrection Sunday I have never fully explored. The thought is this... there are some moments in our lives, some things we go through, and some trials that we face that will make us wonder if God has forsaken us. There are some prayers that we pray and some desires within our heart that we seek God for that God seems to answer with the opposite of what we wanted. But I come to share with you this morning that though you feel like you have to cry sometimes just to make it through, that there is good news in the gospel that reminds us that God is a very present help in the time of trouble. And just like Paul came to the conclusion that it was sad that Jesus had to die, the good news is I’m so glad He did, because though your weeping may endure for a night, joy is coming in the morning!

Can you get the attention of your neighbor for a moment and just say “neighbor– cry if you have to, but know He’s got you!” I am trying not to hurry to the conclusion of the message because you know preachers all over this country this morning are ready to rev their heads back and sqwal in the microphone “but eaarrrrrrrrrllllllllyyyyyyy Sunday morning!!!!!” but if you would allow me to go there just for a second and proclaim to you something I know to be true! This joy that I have, the world didn’t give it, and the world can’t take it away! And I know this to be true because Satan gave it his best shot when Jesus died on the cross. Satan thought he was rivals with Christ and had gotten rid of Him once and for all. Where Satan messed up is that he didn’t read the definition of rival in the Bible. In the Oxford

English dictionary, a rival is defined as “someone or something that can be or seem to be equal or comparable to.” UNC vs. Duke can be a rival. The Celtics and the Lakers can be a rival. Back in the day the UCONN women and the Lady Volunteers of Tennessee could be considered a rival, but check in with your neighbor one more time on this Resurrection Sunday and say “neighbor... Jesus doesn’t have a rival!”

Exodus 15:11 says it like this– Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?

Jude 1:24-25 says it like this– Now unto him that is able to keep you failing, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen!

Revelation 5:13 says it like this– and every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying “blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever

Where Satan messed up was in thinking that he could kill Jesus. Where Satan messed up was in thinking that if he could silence the son of God that he would then be the supreme one. But where I take great joy this morning is that Jesus proved to us through His death that He does not waste pain! So cry if you have to sometimes. And I’m talking an ugly cry! You know the type of cry I’m talking about... that cry that no matter how badly you want to scream, sometimes it has you so good that all you can do is try to catch your breath. That kind of cry that starts silent before it is able to alert anyone that something is wrong. I know the world will try to silence your cry and tell you that you have nothing to cry about, but Jesus knows all about that type of cry.

Hebrews 12:2 says it like this– looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

He endured the cross and didn’t allow for one time for himself to escape the pain and agony that he would have to go through. But it is because He understood that weeping may endure for the night... but joy that was set before him was coming in the morning!

I want to thank Judy Saunders-Jones for posting this on facebook yesterday as it was so helpful to give context to what Jesus did for us.

● Jesus was condemned to the worst death. Only the worst criminals were selected to be crucified
● Each nail that went through the hands and feet of Jesus was 6 to 8 inches long.
● The nails were driven into His wrist because there is a tendon that extends

from the wrist to the shoulder that the Roman guards knew would break if the

nails were driven into it.
● Jesus was forced to use the muscles in his back to arch himself just so He could

breathe
● Jesus endured the agony of the cross for over three hours, and just a few

minutes before He died, He stopped bleeding and the only thing that could pour out of His wounds was water. This means every ounce of blood in Jesus’ body was shed for you and for me.
● The crowd spat in His face and threw stones at Jesus while He carried His own cross
● And in the midst of all of this, Jesus didn’t say a mumbling word. This means He didn’t complain, but instead said “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do!”

You’ve got people all the time that will use the phrase “I’ve got you!” But this morning I want to remind you that you can cry if you have to, for truly God understands, but just know that while you are crying, He’s got you. After you are done crying, He’s got you. And when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift a standard against Him because, He’s got you!

Psalm 34:17 says “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.” He’s got you!

Psalm 126:5 says “Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.” He’s got you!

Matthew 5:4 says “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” He’s got you!

Isaiah 61:2 says “He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” He’s got you!

Galatians 6:9 says “Be not weary in well doing, for in due season you shall reap if you faint not!” He’s got you!

And that’s because the story does not end with Jesus dying on a cross, but with a proclamation found in Matthew 28:5-6. The angel answered and said unto the women who had come to see about Jesus “fear ye not, for I know that ye seek Jesus who was crucified! He is not here, for he is risen as he said. Come, see the place

where the Lord lay.” When they got there, they saw an empty tomb with a folded napkin, and their tears turned to joy knowing that sometimes it is okay to cry if you have to, but an empty grave is there to prove that He got up and that He’s got you!

Contextual Evidence