I didn't come tonight really with the intentions of preaching on this, but I want you to turn over to Psalms chapter 56, and then I'll be in the book of 1 Peter chapter 5. I believe Psalms 56 is where I need to be. Tonight I just asked the Lord if He wanted me to do this. I've got Galatians prepared. But He's kind of just dealing with me about 1 Peter 5 and about this verse here in Psalms chapter 56. And I really didn't know when I was, I've had these two verses on my mind together, and I really didn't know when I was gonna preach them, but I think tonight will be the time. Lord knows, we don't have no outline, only got a thought tonight, what the Lord's give us here, and so we're just gonna preach what God gives us, hopefully it'll be a hit, and we'll go home tonight. I want you to look at Psalms 56, God's been our helper tonight, as you begin to read. Be merciful unto me, O God, for man would swallow me up. He fighting daily oppresseth me. Mine enemies would daily swallow me up, for they be many that fight against me, O thou Most High. I love this verse right here. What time I am afraid. You know, if you look through the Scriptures, you'll find that David always encourages us not to be afraid. If you look, I mean all the time David says, I'll not be afraid, I'll trust in the Lord. I'll not be afraid, I'll look to Him. But right here in verse 3 he says, what time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee. I was reminded coming to church tonight, I thought about what the Apostle Paul said. He said, for when we were come to Macedonia, he said, there was fighting without and fears within. And so the psalmist said, what time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. In God I will praise His Word. In God I have put my trust. I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. Every day they rest my words. All their thoughts are against me for evil. They gather themselves together. They hide themselves. They mark my steps when they wait for my soul. Now take your Bible and go over the book of 1 Peter chapter 5. I'm gonna preach a little while tonight. 1 Peter chapter 5, after he tells us to submit ourselves unto the Lord, after he tells us to humble ourselves unto the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time. And 1 Peter 5 and 7 says, Casting all ye care, now did you catch that? Casting all ye care upon him, for he careth for you. Look in the very next verse. Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil has a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour, whom resist, steadfast in the fight. There it is. knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we come to you tonight. We certainly need your help now. Lord, we can't preach without you. And Lord, I just want this. message just to be a help to your people tonight, be a help to me. You certainly know that I need it. If nobody else sitting in this house needs it tonight, I'm gonna need it. And so Lord, I pray you'd come by tonight and help. Lord, as Miss Tricia sung that song tonight, as I talked about needing a touch, from you, we certainly just need a touch from you tonight. Would you help us? And Lord, we're gonna give the glory for it all. There may be somebody in here tonight that just needs a touch from you. Just needs you to come by and smile on them. and let them know that you're real in their life tonight. Again, we sure do love you and we thank you for all that you've done. Help us now for these things in Jesus' name. We do ask and pray, amen, and amen. As we go back in that to the book of Psalms, chapter 56, as David was saying right here, if we look in the first two verses, he's having to deal with his enemy. If you notice, he says, be merciful unto me. Oh God, he said, for man would swallow me up. He said, the fighting, he's fighting daily, oppresseth me. Let me tell you tonight, friend, it may not be men, physical men that we're fighting tonight, but I guarantee you that if you're going to serve God, And if you are going to live for Christ, that friend, there is a battle that rages. As we looked in 1 Peter 5 and 8, he said, Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary The devil. Verse 2, he said, My enemies would daily swallow me up. Do you notice that this Thomas, he done this on a daily basis. He fighteth daily, oppresseth me. My enemies would daily swallow me up. Friend, listen, you may not be in that position tonight. but I'll guarantee you there's coming a day when your enemy is gonna come by, he's gonna be on your shoulder, he's gonna berate you, he's gonna beat on you, he ain't gonna leave you alone, and you know what you're gonna have to do? You're gonna have to look in verse three and you're gonna have to say, I'm afraid, but I'm gonna trust in God. Hey, listen, he said, All you care upon Him, for He cared for you. There's not many things that I'm afraid of in this world tonight, but my adversary, I'm afraid of him. I know that he can get me, but I know there's one greater than he is tonight. He's the one that lives in me, that I serve, and he's gonna keep me tonight, amen. Thank God for that. He said, what time? I am afraid. Fear comes. I don't think the Lord wants us to be afraid. I really don't tonight. I don't think that the Lord ever desires for His children to be afraid. But I do know this tonight, that friend, that we get that way. We look at situations and we become afraid of them. We look at problems and we become afraid of them. The devil will whittle into your mind and he'll begin to mess up your mind if you'll let him tonight. And I get afraid of him, I'll be honest with you tonight, because I know what he is. Listen, the Bible even said over there in the book of Jude When Michael the Archangel, and that contended about Moses' body, and that with Satan, Michael the Archangel, he said, I'm not going to rebuke you. But he said, the Lord rebuke thee. So if Michael the Archangel was smart enough not to even take on Satan tonight, what's that tell us about me and you? If Michael the archangel, I can't take him on, I'm no match for him tonight. But you see, tonight I'm not dealing with him in my flesh. What time I am afraid. You ever been afraid? You ever been afraid? Well, I've been afraid. I've been afraid. There was a time in life when I was afraid of the dark. I still don't like the dark, if you want to know the truth. I don't like the dark. I don't care for it at all. I like daylight, amen? I hate this time. If you want to know the truth, I hate this time. As soon as it's still be daylight at 9.30 tonight, amen? I love daylight. But you know what? There's still some things that this preacher gets Worried about something from time to time. It ain't that God won't take care of me. That ain't it. That ain't what I'm worried about. But you know what will happen? Sometimes God will get quiet and God will disappear from our sight sometimes. And you know what happens? We get to believing what the devil is saying about us and telling us and putting us through. And you know what? We get afraid if we're not careful. Psalmist David said in Psalms 34, He said, I sought the Lord, and he heard me. Now if that is all that verse said, we ought to shout. Because there's a God in heaven that hears us. I mean, there's a God in heaven that wants to hear from you. But you know, until you just trust him, he can't deliver you from your fears tonight. Until you just lay them down there, until you do what 1 Peter 5 and 7 says, Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you. My friend, if you're going to hold on to it, if I'm going to hold on to it, He cannot help us tonight. But he said, I sought the Lord, and He heard me. Do you know what the next part of that verse says? And delivered me. from all my fears. They looked unto him, and were lightened, and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him. Why ain't we poor tonight? I'm rich in him, but boy, I tell you, you just think about that. Notice he sought the Lord in verse 4, verse 6. He cried unto the Lord, and the Bible said, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. And boy, ain't this a wonderful verse next if you know where I'm headed. The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him and delivereth them. He said, I sought the Lord, and He delivered me from all my fears. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of his troubles. And then He said, the Lord has an angel, the Lord's angel, and keepeth round about them that fear Him, and then this, and delivereth them tonight. I sure do believe in God's angels tonight. You may not believe in them, but I believe in them tonight. I certainly believe they're real. I believe the Lord Jesus Christ cares for us so much that he wants to take your fear tonight. He wants to take your fear. He wants to take your trouble. He wants to take your care. He wants to take everything you got, and he wants to bear it tonight. Listen, if you're not saved tonight, I want you to know there's somebody that loves you and died for you, and he wants to take that fear too. He'll take that fear away. You don't ever have to worry about dying lost once you get saved. Amen? Listen, he'll take that fear, but let me tell you tonight, dear child of God, I don't know, I don't know what you're dealing with tonight, but I know this, that the Lord can handle it. It says, Then he comes to the next verse and says in verse 8 of Psalms 34, Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man, watch this right here, that trusteth in him. When we fear, when we are afraid, And the Bible tells us over there, is it in the book of Little John? I believe it is, I'd have to go back and look. But it tells us the problem with fear is, is that it has torment. And so fear, being afraid, has torment. And that's just when torment just wracks your brain and wracks your heart. I mean, torment is a lack of peace and a lack of joy. But it's also just an excruciating turning, that tormenting, yes. I'm glad I'll never spend one minute, not one second, of a tormenting hell tonight. Boy, I don't have to worry about that. I may worry about a lot of things, but I don't have to worry about that. Thank God for that. But you know tonight, we worry about a lot of things. We fear a lot of things. So it says, what time, what time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. I have found that for me, may not work for you, but I have found for me that the best thing that works for my fear is this book. I will pray, I will seek God, I will sing songs, but I have found out that scripture helps me more than anything. I'll sit down and I'll read. Hey, the other night, it took me about four to five chapters to really just get engrossed into the Word of God before it ever helped. Not that I had fear, but I just needed some help from God. And heaven just kept whispering in my ear, read the next chapter. And I was thinking to myself, well this chapter didn't help me, why am I gonna read the next chapter? That's the way we think sometimes, ain't it? I got a message I preach sometimes that we're a dollar short sometimes, ain't we? We give up a day early and we're a dollar short. And so I just kept reading, and I kept reading, and I kept reading, and you know where I got to? Psalms 56. We sang that old song that we hadn't sung in a while, and God just kind of put a stamp of approval on this, where he whispers sweet peace to my soul. The world will not do that. You cannot fabricate that. But God can whisper it to you tonight. He can just come by in what time I am afraid, I'll trust in Him. What time that I've cast my cares upon Him because He cares for me. But then the Apostle Paul did tell us at that one point over there that for out were fightings and within were fears. But then in the very next verse, he said, but the Lord, he said, nevertheless, he said, for when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest. But we were troubled on every side, without were fightings, within were fears. Now watch what he said. Nevertheless, God that comforteth those that are cast down comforted us by the coming of Titus. God knows how to comfort folk tonight. That's what's amazing. You say, well, God ain't helped me. You just hang on and you keep trusting God will come by. It may not be tonight. It may be like rubbing salt in the wound tonight. I don't know. I've been on both sides of it. I've been on both sides of it. I've said it, and I've listened to men preach, and it helped me. I've said it, and I've listened to folks sing, and it helped me. Listened to folk testify, and it helped me. But then there's been days that I needed something from God, and it seemed like there wasn't no help. And you know what He does? Just wait till tomorrow. Help's liable to come. If it don't come tomorrow, it might come the next day. But what time I am afraid, I'll trust in thee. Years ago I remember, I'm going to close here in a minute. Years ago I remember being in camp meeting and this is where I fell in love with this verse. I don't even think I knew this verse was in the Bible until I heard this message that Brother Ted preached out of Psalms chapter 17 and verse 3. And the psalmist David said, Thou hast proved my heart, Thou hast visited me in the night. You may not understand what that verse means tonight. But friend, there's always just a little shining of him, even in the darkest time, you'll see him. And David said, thou hast visited me in the night. He may not have took care of the night, but he just come and visited with us in it. He may not have made the sun shine, but he come and shined on us where we could make it through the rest of the night. But then there comes a time where the Bible said that weeping may endure for the night. But ain't you glad that joy comes in the morning? You know what happens? Finally, one day, the sun breaks forth and it's no longer nighttime. But what time I am afraid, I'll trust in thee. We don't know what happens in the nighttime. I heard Brother Adrian Rogers tell this story right here, and I'm gonna close. He was talking about a little Indian boy when they get ready to make him a man. And they said they take him out there as it's getting dark, and they draw a circle in the dirt. And as it gets dark and the fire goes out, they give him a little old knife. to stand out there with. And everybody leaves. And all he's got's that little old knife. Now we're talking about a little boy here. And said he'll stand there and he stands there just as still as he can and he hears the coyotes and the wolves a howling and said he stands there till he just gets so exhausted that he falls down on the ground. And he finally cries himself to sleep. but said when he wakes up in the morning and he looks around, standing off over there in the darkness was his daddy. He could see. My boy's daddy could see. That's all that matters. Job said when he hath tried me, Job said in Job 23, he said, he knoweth the way that I take, and when he hath tried me, he shall bring me forth as gold. We may not understand what's going on. We may not understand the fear that is real, but I know this, he does. and I know he'll help us tonight. What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. 1 Peter 5 and 7, casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you. Let's bow our heads tonight, if we would, church. I give you my heart tonight, what God give me. Let's get a verse, men, if we would. Maybe you need to come pray. I don't know what you're dealing with. I don't know what you're going through. But I do know this, there's one that wants to help you tonight that can help you. He can do it. He can handle it. Tonight someone's already come to pray. How about it? Do you need to come pray? Listen, God wants to help you tonight. God wants to help you through your fear. God wants to strengthen you and help you. What time I am afraid. I'll trust you. You may not be able to see him tonight, but I want you to hear me. Now you listen to me. I'll guarantee he sees you, and he can help you tonight if you'll come to him. If you'll just bring it to him, he can help you. Heavenly Father, we come to you tonight. We love you, and we thank you tonight, Lord, for the care that you have for your children. Lord, you love us just like you do Jesus, and I thank you for that tonight. I'm so glad that we matter to you. And Lord, that you're looking down from heaven. And I'm so glad even in the dark times you come by and you visit with us. But Lord, I'm glad for that day when night time ceases and joy comes in the morning. Lord, that weeping time's over with. Lord, I ask tonight, there may be some just need to come talk to you. I don't know, Lord, I pray this message helps somebody. Surely it helps somebody. Help me! Lord, I pray folk just got help tonight. We sure do love you, Lord, because you love us. That's what your Bible tells us, that we love you because you first loved us. And God, I just thank you for helping us tonight. Thank you so much. Thank you for saving us. If somebody needs to come and get saved tonight, I pray they'll come. But help that one heart tonight or many that just needs your help for these things in Jesus' name. Amen.