BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

You may be thinking, “Well, that all sounds great. But I've been in Baca, brother...and it can be rough!" I know it. That's why I want us to look at the writings of the psalmist David. He was a man who knew what Baca was all about. He knew what it was like to be betrayed by people he thought loved him. He knew what it was to live as a fugitive under a threat of death and to be unjustly accused. Every aspect of misery that you and I go through, this man experienced in some way or another. In Psalm 3:1, he says, “Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God.” David found that when he was in Baca, there seemed to be a lot of people who thought their call in life was to talk him out of believing God. And when you're in Baca, you're going to find the same thing. You're going to find an abundance of people, most of them sincere Christian people, who are eager to convince you that there is no help for you in God. “All this faith stuff won't help," they'll say. “Why, we know Brother So-and-so, and when he was in Baca, he believed what you believe and he died. We know Brother Such-and-such, and he was believing God for finances when he came to Baca and he lost everything he had. Went totally bankrupt." David heard that kind of junk when he was going through rough times; I've heard that kind of junk when I've been going through rough times; and you're going to hear it too. The question is, How are you going to respond to it? Start Talking Faith! Are you going to hang your head and agree with it? Are you going to say, “Well, I guess you're right. I guess I'd just better learn to live with this misery. After all, it looks like it's here to stay." That's not what David said! He started talking faith. He said, “Many are they that say of my soul, there is no help for him in God. BUT THOU, O LORD, ART A SHIELD FOR ME; MY GLORY, AND THE LIFTER OF MY HEAD!" As you read through the Psalms, you'll find David always did that. There were many times when he was in such deep misery that he couldn't help talking about it. But his psalms never end with misery. No, before it's over, he always starts talking about his covenant with God. He always starts talking faith. You can see an example of that in Psalm 6:6. There David is talking about his pain. “My bed is swimming in tears," he says. But then, right in the middle of his anguish, he gets hold of himself. It dawns on him that talking his misery isn't helping him. Suddenly he says, “Depart from me!" He's talking to his own head and his own soul. He's talking to all the people that have told him faith's not going to work. “Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord hath heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer. Let all mine enemies be ashamed ....” Next time you're in Baca, remember what David did. Remember that if you keep talking your misery, you're going to be stuck there. But if you start talking your covenant with God and talking faith, you can keep moving on through! Now, let's look at David in one more situation. Let's look at how he handled a Baca that was designed by the enemy to destroy him. And let's see how God turned it around. The story of it is found in 1 Samuel 30. David and his men had been away from their homes on a military mission. When they got back, they found their whole town, all their homes, had been burned to the ground and every member of their families had been taken captive. There was no one left. When David and his men rode up and saw that devastating sight, the distress and discouragement that came on them was so overwhelming that the Bible says, “[They] lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more strength to weep." These were all grown men. Mighty men of valor. But they were so distraught, they cried until they couldn't cry anymore. Then, for David, the situation got even worse because while they were crying, his men decided he was to blame for it all. So there was David. Not only had his home been burned and his family been taken captive, but his men had decided they wanted to kill him. That's Baca folks, any way you look at it. Bad Baca! Verse 6 says, “David was greatly distressed; for the men spoke of stoning him, because the soul of them were all bitterly grieved, each man for his sons and daughters; but David encouraged himself." BUT DAVID ENCOURAGED HIMSELF! Notice that didn't say, “God encouraged David." It didn't say, “The pastor came by and encouraged David." It said, “David encouraged himself." One other translation says, "He strengthened himself." How did he do it? He started talking his covenant. He started remembering his covenant. David was a covenant-minded man. And when he sat there in all that pain, that agony, that misery, knowing that his men wanted to stone him, instead of just accepting defeat, he sat there and began to think about God. 16 : BVOV

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