First Baptist Church of Highland Park

Rev. Dr. Henry P. Davis III: Hi, I'm Henry Davis, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Highland Park in Landover, Maryland, a Bible-believing, Christ-centered, and spirit-led congregation. I want to welcome you to our radio broadcast and remember, there's power at the park.

Psalm 124 is where we put our spotlight on in this service. I'm going to read it in its entirety, beginning at verse one. New Living Translation: "What if the Lord had not been on our side? What if? What if? What if? Let all of Israel repeat: What if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us? They would have swallowed us alive in their burning anger. The waters would have engulfed us. A torrent would have overwhelmed us. Yes, the raging waters of their fury would have overwhelmed our very lives. Praise the Lord, who did not let their teeth tear us apart. We escaped like a bird from a hunter's trap. The trap is broken, and we are free. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." You may go to your seats around the building.

Verse eight, Psalm 124: "Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." Throughout this weekend, I've been preaching from the theme, "Unshakable when it matters most." Unshakable when it matters most. In this service, I'm still standing. I'm still standing. Let me start like this. There are some people in this room right now who don't even realize how close you came to not being here.

Drunk drivers, stray guns, drowsy drivers, and even reckless drivers. A guy the other day, I was going and he almost pulled out my old self. Almost. I said, "No." He tried to swerve intentionally, and I was like, "Man," but I said, "No, no, I'm not going to do it." I thought about a few different things to do, but I said, "I'm not going to do it, not going to do it."

It might not end up well because you don't know folks today. You can't do that. Old days, I might have trailed him home. Trailed him home. He would have been looking and I would have been at a distance, but close enough that he knew I was there. I said, "No, that's nothing but the devil." I said, "The devil is a lie." You need to say that sometimes.

If one thing had gone differently, if one decision had gone left instead of right. How about if God hadn't stepped in at the right time? You wouldn't be sitting where you're sitting. And if we're honest this morning, some of us are not just here because we're strong. You're not here because you just got it together.

We're here because God stepped in. And not only did God step in, but God shifted something we couldn't fix ourselves. We couldn't fix it. And you know we sing that song, that Jesus can fix it. He can fix it. This generation says things like, "I'm built different. I understood the assignment. I'm still here for a reason." But the truth is, you're not still here because you're built different. You're still here because God was better than what you were facing.

Somebody ought to shout it louder than that. If you know you made it through something you weren't supposed to survive, you can look at them and say, "I'm still standing. I'm here. Oh yeah." Psalm 124 is, in essence, a testimony. That's what it is. It's a testimony of David. It is not theory. It is reflection after survival.

David looks back and says, "If the Lord had not been on our side." This is not about what almost happened. This is about what should have happened but didn't. Here's the relevant question. How do you recognize and respond to the God who kept you when you didn't realize you needed keeping? You thought you had it together. But what you didn't realize is that we serve a God who could see us where we are. And as I preached last night, he not only sees you where you are, but he sees you in your not-yet. I'm not yet there, but I'm trusting God.

If you're going to be unshakable when it matters most, you've got to understand three things about your survival. One, you survived what should have taken you out. Should have taken you out. And matter of fact, somebody said several times. Should have taken you out. The other reality is as we kind of go, God broke what tried to hold you. We sing that song, "Break Every Chain." There have been chains on our mind, on our spirit, but God is able to break chains, set us free.

But thirdly, your help came from somewhere higher. He sits high, but he looks low. And he can find us wherever we are. You could say it this way: He's an on-time God, yes he is. So we look at this reality. I'm still standing. Not because I've dotted every I or crossed every T, but I'm standing by the grace of God. Grace woke me up this morning. Grace started me on my way. God's riches at Christ's expense.

You survived what should have taken you out. David said they would have swallowed us alive. That means it wasn't small. It wasn't light. It wasn't minor. It was serious enough that it should have ended you. Malcolm, some of what you went through should have broken your mind. Somebody ought to be lulu in here today. But my mind is right. My foundation is secure.

It should have destroyed your future. I preached last week that when you realize you have a future, you keep pressing on. When you have something to look forward to. Now, some of you remember in this crowd, you remember how you would start on Monday getting ready for the party on Friday or Saturday. You wait all week long. I mean, one day is your outfit day. You're planning. You're planning the whole week. You're going to work and you're getting through it, getting through it. And every day you leave work, you're one day closer to the party.

And then finally, it's party day. I mean, and then you had the warm-up before the party. You've got the music in the house. Then think about it, after all of that anticipation, it's over like that. I spent all week getting ready for this and it's over. That's why you're standing out in the parking lot because you can't believe it. I waited all week for this. Then they started blinking the lights and talking about last call and all that kind of stuff. And I'm just standing in the parking lot, "Where are we going for breakfast? Where are we going to eat?"

Because it happened so fast. When you look at this idea of how God meets us where we are, no matter what we're going through. The great thing about a relationship with Jesus, and Nate, we sing about it, it's a party that has no end. It's not over. Now, church ends, and we're going to end the church experience. But with a relationship with God, I leave church and I'm still floating. I feel light on my feet. And I got just what the Lord needed for me to get. Because he knew what I was going through.

I came in there, struggled in there, I had all kind of opposition. I couldn't find my keys. I left my house this morning, I drove and then I patted my pocket. I said, "I left my wallet at home." I had to circle back. But I left early today, so I had more time. But the point of the matter is, there can be demonic things that can get in the way of your spiritual progress.

I'm still standing, still believing, still trusting. Something should have ended your story, but here you are. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 said, "I've been pressed, but I'm not crushed." Isaiah 43:2 says waters and fire didn't overtake you. It's like being down in the fourth quarter. The game is almost over. The clock is running out. And somehow, some way, you're still in the game.

Duke University, a couple of weeks ago, had wrapped up a trip to the next round. All they had to do was get the ball inbounds. That's all they had to do. You don't have to do anything. You don't have to pass it. All you do is catch it. Catch the ball, hold it, and the clock is going to tick out and you're on to the next round. That's not what happened. He caught the ball, he passed the ball. Why would you? The ball gets intercepted. The other team, UConn, gets it. A man who hadn't done anything all game. We're going back to Indiana.

You have to realize that as God is moving in your life, sometimes, and I said it in the earlier service, sometimes you just simply have to hold your ground. Winds are going to blow. Storms are going to come. But I've got to hold. If that Duke player had held it, he'd have been all right, but he let it go. What I'm saying to you as a man or woman of faith, you've got to hold on to that which is holding you. I'm being held in his arms. Just like a mother throwing her arms out for her child. You just feel better in mama's arms. You can feel better simply by being in the arms of God.

Still standing. You didn't just make it. You survived something that was designed to finish you. Somebody got a diagnosis, it was designed to finish you. Clarence, you've been in the hospital. Things can come our way, but God can bring us out. I've got joy, I have peace, I have something the world did not give me, and I'm not going to let the world take it away.

Second thing, you've got to realize God broke what tried to hold you. Go back to verse seven, Psalm 124: "We escaped like a bird from a hunter's trap. The trap is broken, and we are free." That means you weren't just in trouble, you were trapped. It wasn't just pressure, it was a setup. But God didn't just help you cope. He broke what was holding you. Some of you aren't where you used to be because God broke some stuff.

He broke a cycle. He broke an addiction. He broke toxic connections. God had to break, in some cases, generational patterns. I don't care who else in my family went left, you can be the one who's going to go right. I'm not going to allow my family history to poison where I am. You can be the one who can step back into that family with a history of generational issues, and you can be the one to show that God is a miracle worker. Oh yeah, God can take me right where I am. I don't know who this is for. You go to your family gatherings and everybody's going left, but that doesn't have to be your story. You can be the one who's going to graduate. You can be the one who's going to be clean. Clean as a whistle.

I was at an event and one brother's trying to live for Jesus. The other brother gets up and cusses and talks about where they came from. He said, "We smoked weed together, we used to get high together, we used to get drunk together." And that was the one brother's story. The other brother had to get up. He said, "Man, I really didn't want that story told, but since you told it, I'm going to go ahead and tell my story. And my story is that for 38 years I've been clean." The old brother didn't, he wasn't saying that. He might not have been clean then. But the other brother said, "I've been clean. I turned it over to the Lord. I know that we both were in one place at one time, but God moved."

And here you are. The other brother, he's just cussing and carry on. No, God, it doesn't make any difference. We can be blood, but God can still move in your life. You can be the one who can be that shining light in your family. Here it is. John 8:36: "Those whom the son sets free is free indeed." Micah 7:8 says, "When I fall, I shall rise." This is that moment when people say, "I had to cut that off." But what you didn't realize is you didn't just cut it off, God broke it off.

Some things had to be broken because once some things get broken, you can't use them anymore. I can't even consider it as an option. It's been broken. And for some of us, God's got to break stuff. Got to break it so that you will redirect your focus. No need for me looking at that, it's broken. I need to look at something that's fixed. And Jesus is one who can fix us. There are miracles in this room who can attest to that reality.

The reason it couldn't hold you is because God wouldn't let it keep you. God said, "I see where you are, but I know where I need for you to go." And since I know where you need to go, you have to also realize everybody can't travel with you. Some travel assignments are going to be solo. But after I get there, I get a certain confidence. I can reach back and help somebody else.

See, if there's a person in here today, when the invitation is extended to give your life to Christ, there are some people going to look at their friends and they're going to say, "We going to do it today?" That would be nice if we could do it today. But if we can't do it today, I can. I don't know who I'm talking to. It might be your time to help others to break out of where they are.

And I know you're a little nervous, but I want you to know that when you do it, every step you take, you start getting stronger. You get... I've heard folks tell this story. They say, "I was sitting out there, next thing I knew I was standing down here." I don't know how God will move, but I do know God is a mover.

Here's my last point. Your help came from somewhere higher. Somewhere higher. I'm surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses. Last night was very interesting because they had a gathering. And the goal of the widow of Eric Hood, she was going to gather people. She basically preached a sermon downstairs. She really preached a sermon. And she talked about her relationship with Jesus, the relationship her husband had with the Lord. And she said that if you all want to see him again, you need to accept Jesus today. She had this captive audience, and she was boldly talking about a relationship with the Lord.

I was standing in the back of the room behind a Muslim young lady. But this woman was speaking with strength, conviction, and you don't have to operate in fear when you have the power of God on your side. I mean, she went for broke last night and then came up to worship. My point is, we're here because of the power of God. Stuff God broke, things God brought together. Verse eight says, "Our help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth."

David closes by saying the reason I'm still standing is not because of what's around me. I'm still standing because of who is above me. I thought that was amazing. I was shouting over that when I wrote that one. Y'all didn't really get... let me say it again. The reason I'm still standing is not because of what's around me, but is because of who is above me. Now that's what I thought was going to be the response.

Your help didn't come from your connections. Your help didn't come from your resources. Your help didn't come from your own strength. Your help came from God. Psalm 121 says look to the hills from whence comes my help. James 1:17 says every good and perfect gift. Do I have a witness in here? This is the difference between being self-made and being God-kept. Do I have a witness? You didn't pull yourself up, God lifted you up.

I feel this one. You can look at somebody in the room today, tell them, "I'm still standing." Say it like you've been through something. "I'm still standing." Winds might have come, doors might have gotten shut in my face, but I'm still standing. I'm still praising. I'm still lifting up holy hands. I should have lost my mind, but I'm still standing. I should have given up, but I'm still standing. I should have walked away, but I'm still standing.

And if you know God kept you, shout yes! If you know you didn't do it by yourself, shout yes! If you know your help came from up above, shout yes! If you know that God is an on-time God, yes he is. The reason I'm still standing is because God stepped in. God made a way. God broke the trap. God lifted me up. Hallelujah! Everything I went through tried to shake me, but I'm still standing. By the help of the Lord, yes!

And if you've been trying to stand on your own, come stand on something higher. Because the same God who kept you is the God who will carry you. Yes! Yes! Ain't he alright? I will bless the Lord. I will bless the Lord. Fairest of 10,000, bright and morning star. Can't nobody do me like the Lord. Ain't he alright? Lift up your hands. Throw back your head. Yes! Won't he do it? He's able to bless us over and over and over and over. Yes! Yes, yes! Yes! I'm still standing because I'm leaning and I'm depending on Jesus.

You've been listening to the radio broadcast of the First Baptist Church of Highland Park in Landover, Maryland. If you want to receive a CD or DVD of what you have just heard, please call 301-773-6655 or visit us on the worldwide web, fbhp.org. And remember, there's power at the park.