We are going through a series examining different aspects of Jesus’ invitation to each person He calls to come and be His disciple. We can see through the New Testament that Jesus gave one clear and pointed invitation to any who would trust Him: Follow Me. Jesus continues to extend this invitation to people today.

The part of this invitation we want to look at today is following Jesus through genuine communion. When it comes to following Jesus, it is much more than just saying a prayer. This invitation from Jesus is a call to come and have a genuine relationship with the God of the universe. This relationship operates much like any other relationship that we have in our lives. It takes time to get to know one another and trust each other more and more.

The Bible is filled with stories of people to whom the Lord extended this invitation. Their stories show how each would come to know and trust the Lord more. One person’s life that is mentioned throughout the Scriptures is a man we know as David. David was the overlooked shepherd boy whom the Lord raised up to be king over Israel. In the Bible, we do not just have others recording what happened in David’s life, but we also have David himself sharing his heart at various times.

In Psalm 27, we see David’s song and prayer. It has been said that the book of Psalms is the songbook of the Bible. In this psalm, David shares how he had come to know and trust the Lord in a deeper way.

With our time today, I’d like to look at this psalm and let the Holy Spirit use it to show us how we can follow Jesus well through genuine communion.

‌Our Confidence

In Psalm 27:1-3, David begins this psalm sharing about our confidence. When we talk about confidence, we talk about something or someone with whom we have put great trust. This is something or someone who has proven to be worthy of our trust. We put our confidence in various things and people at times. We have confidence that our car will start in the morning (most of the time). Athletes put their confidence in their coaches and teammates if they want to succeed. We put our confidence in the mirror each morning to show us what we look like before going out into the world.

While we may place varying degrees of confidence in different things or people, there is only One in whom we can fully trust to care for us unconditionally and always be there. His name is Jesus Christ.

In these verses, David reveals that every follower of Jesus’ confidence should be in the Lord. Why?

‌He is our light

At different times, the Lord is described as light. This description points to His holiness and ability to provide guidance for this journey called life. When we find ourselves in darkness, what do we do? We usually find a light to reveal what is around us and what way we should go. For every follower of Jesus, He is their light.

‌He is our salvation

When we hear the word “salvation,” especially in church, many of us immediately go to the ultimate salvation from sin, death, and judgment. That is one aspect of this word. What is interesting about this word in verse 1 is that, in Hebrew, this term means “deliverance.” Many scholars believe David wrote this psalm at a time when he was facing a battle. More than likely, eternal salvation was not the immediate thought of this verse. This verse pointed to a more immediate deliverance — maybe from hardships or enemies he was facing.

Salvation means the same thing for us. It does speak to our ultimate deliverance from sin and judgment when we place our faith in Jesus Christ, but it also speaks about the deliverance we need in everyday situations. What is interesting is that through the cross of Jesus, He provides deliverance both for the present situations but also for eternity.

‌He is our stronghold

The word “stronghold” refers to a place of protection. David said the Lord is the stronghold of his life. Where do you run to when life gets hard? What is that safe place where you know you will find comfort and protection from anything that wishes to do you harm? For the follower of Jesus, that stronghold is the Lord.

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are protected.

​Proverbs 18:10 CSB

“The Lord is my light, to guide me; my salvation to deliver me; and the stronghold of my life, in whom I take refuge.”

John Stott

For us to follow Jesus properly, we have to come to know that He is worthy of our confidence in every part of our lives. Have you come to find the Lord to be your light, salvation, and stronghold?

‌Our Desire

David continues in Psalm 27 by sharing his deepest desire. We all have different desires in life. That’s not a bad thing. The question that we should all address is:

‌What is our deepest desire?

What is the one thing that we cannot truly live without? For David (and followers of Jesus), this deepest desire was to be near the Lord.

⁴ I have asked one thing from the Lord; it is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, gazing on the beauty of the Lord and seeking him in his temple. ⁵ For he will conceal me in his shelter in the day of adversity; he will hide me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock. ⁶ Then my head will be high above my enemies around me; I will offer sacrifices in his tent with shouts of joy. I will sing and make music to the Lord.

​Psalm 27:4–6 CSB

If you could ask for only one thing from the Lord, what would it be? Wealth? Good Health? Someone to spend the rest of your life with? The perfect job?

The deepest desire for a follower of Jesus is to be in His presence. The reason for this is because you will come to find out that in His presence is found everything you need.

David wanted, above everything else, to be in the presence of the Lord. In the Lord’s presence, there is peace, love, joy, comfort, and more. David mentioned gazing upon the beauty of the Lord. When was the last time you were in awe because of the beauty of the Lord? Sadly, we can get so busy that we blow right past it and don’t take the time to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.

Note where David stated was a prime place to seek the Lord — His temple. This is talking about the house of worship where other followers of Jesus gather in unity of heart to worship Him. There is something special about the gathering together with other people in worship. Yes, you can meet with the Lord by yourself, but there are some things you will not experience outside the gathering of His people.

‌Our Prayer

When we come to verse 7, we can see a shift in this psalm. You can note David moving from talking about the Lord to talking to the Lord. Verses 7-12 serve as a prayer that David offers to the Lord.

⁷ Lord, hear my voice when I call; be gracious to me and answer me. ⁸ My heart says this about you: “Seek his face.” Lord, I will seek your face. ⁹ Do not hide your face from me; do not turn your servant away in anger. You have been my helper; do not leave me or abandon me, God of my salvation. ¹⁰ Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord cares for me. ¹¹ Because of my adversaries, show me your way, Lord, and lead me on a level path. ¹² Do not give me over to the will of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing violence.

​Psalm 27:7–12 CSB

He also shows us how followers of Jesus are to relate to Him — as a parent. I’ve noticed four things David mentions in these verses that we seek from the Lord.

‌To be heard

In verse 7, David says, “Lord, hear my voice when I call; be gracious to me and answer me.” There are fewer things more frustrating than not being heard. When someone doesn’t take the time to listen to us, it comes across as they do not care about us. There are times when we don’t necessarily need advice but just to be heard.

The wonderful thing about the Lord is He is never too busy to listen when we speak to Him.

‌Acceptance

In verses 9-10, David shows how the Lord accepts us in rather than abandoning us. We experience rejection from so many people in this world — parents, children, spouses, bosses, friends, and others.

David knows that while many others may reject him, the Lord has always been faithful to welcome him into His presence.

‌Guidance

In verse 11, David asks the Lord to show him the Lord’s way. We don’t always know what to do in certain situations. Have you ever stood at a fork in the road and not sure about which direction to take? That can be a very frustrating situation. David reminds us the Lord is One who is all-knowing and cares for us deeply. He knows the path that will bring us the most good. It may not always be the easiest path. When we come to those points where we need guidance, the Lord is there, ready and willing to guide us in the correct way.

‌Protection

In verse 12, David tells the reader about the adversaries surrounding him. There were those looking to do harm and see his downfall. Sadly, we face many adversaries in our lives as well. Like a good parent, the Lord desires to protect His children. He will stand and fight for them if necessary.

As with any relationship that we have in life, we come to understand more about how the Lord cares for us by hearing, accepting, guiding, and even protecting us by the time spent with Him. Experience is a great teacher. We want to know that we can trust the Lord fully, but that trust is often built over time.

‌Our Trust

David concludes this psalm with a declaration of trust.

¹³ I am certain that I will see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living. ¹⁴ Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart be courageous. Wait for the Lord.

​Psalm 27:13–14 CSB

David speaks about seeing the Lord’s goodness as if it’s already happened. He also mentions that it will be noticed in “the land of the living.” He is not talking about heaven here; He is talking about the present. The wonderful eternal life God gives to each person who puts their faith in Jesus starts at that moment of trust and goes through eternity.

Verse 14 might be one the greatest demonstrations of trust ever seen. David encourages those who would read and sing this psalm to “wait for the Lord.” The truth is many times we will not get everything that we are asking for all at once. The Lord knows what we need, but He also knows what we can handle in the moment. This is why Agur said in Proverbs…

⁸ Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor wealth; feed me with the food I need. ⁹ Otherwise, I might have too much and deny you, saying, “Who is the Lord?” or I might have nothing and steal, profaning the name of my God.

​Proverbs 30:8–9 CSB

We can trust the Lord in all things, even in His timing. When we wait upon the Lord’s timing, we come to find out it is as perfect as He is.

‌Conclusion

What David gives to us in Psalm 27 is a song/prayer on how to know the Lord in a deeper way. This is the genuine communion one must have to truly follow Jesus. There will be times when we do not get it completely right — just ask David, who wrote Psalm 27, but that doesn’t mean that we just give it up. We come to know the Lord in deeper ways by spending time with Him and allowing Him to build trust in our hearts for Him.

What would you say your relationship with Jesus is like? Some of you might say it is really good, and you feel much like David in this psalm. I would encourage you to stay the course. Others of you might say that your relationship with the Lord is there but hanging by a thread. It hasn’t gotten much deeper than the surface. Some of these things we’ve talked about seem out of reach. I want you to know they are not out of reach, but just like any other relationship, it won’t “just happen.” You will have to open your heart to trust, but as you do, you will find that Jesus is everything He claimed.

There may even be some of you who would say there is no real relationship between you and Jesus. There’s good news for you today: you can start that relationship today by putting your faith in Jesus. You do that by coming to Jesus, realizing that your sin has separated you from Him, believing that He died on the cross to pay for your sins, and asking Him to come into your life to forgive you of your sin and make you a new person. We would love the opportunity to show you how this can happen during our time of response.

Jesus is still calling out to people, saying, “Follow Me!” The path to following Jesus involves a genuine communion with Him.

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