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[ Silence ] ♪ Alleluia, Lord of Lords ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus ♪ ♪ Precious Jesus ♪

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♪ No more grace to trust in God ♪ ♪ No more sweet to trust in Jesus ♪ ♪ Just to trust in God ♪ ♪ Just His wincing power ♪

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♪ Just His simple faith to achieve ♪ ♪ Heal, oh heal, in dancing with the wind ♪ ♪ Through immense in pride ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus ♪

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♪ How I trust Him ♪ ♪ How I prove Him ♪ ♪ Lord and Lord ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus ♪

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♪ Precious Jesus ♪ ♪ All the grace ♪ ♪ The love, the grace ♪ ♪ Of all grace to trust Him, Lord. ♪

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Amen. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him,

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with the health of my countenance and my God." Psalm 43 and 5. The subject of the message, deliverance from depression. Deliverance from depression.

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Psalm 42 and 43, according to some Bible scholars, may be regarded as one psalm. Careful reading of those two passages will indicate a certain similarity and unity. We have in the message previously delivered, considered the first section, the 42nd Psalm, using as the subject "A Thirst for God."

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We come today to the second section, considering the topic, deliverance from depression. All of us at some time or another experience some kind of depression. We all have our ups and downs. So in this message we are going to deal with the downs.

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Some say that life is made up of zigs and zags. Sometimes the zags seem to outnumber the zigs. We want to deal with those times when we may be down in the dumps. So to suffer from depression is to despair, to be without hope, to be in a situation in

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which there appears to be, as John Paul Sartre puts it, no exit. Depression is a form of grief. It is a grieving process. To be depressed is to have a feeling of gloom, to be possessed with sadness.

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and often tempts us to give up. To ask the question, is life really worth living? It tempts us to give up on ourselves. It tempts us to give up on other people.

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It tempts us to give up on God. God. Listen to the words of a pilgrim caught by the clutches of depression. "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? Why art thou disquieted within me?" What caused the Psalmist to utter these words?

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Some say that these are the words of an Israelite who is being auctioned as a slave in the city of Gaza. Far from home, the prisoner of the enemy and condemned to an existence of misery, a prisoner of depression.

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"Why art thou cast down, O my soul? Why art thou disquieted within me?" Some say these are the words of an Israelite in exile in Babylon, one who is a victim of enemy forces, one who is facing the contradictions of life

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without hope. So to suffer from depression, we experience it in many ways. Let's consider at least three ways. First of all, we suffer from depression physically.

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When we are depressed, our countenance changes. You just look different when you are depressed. Often there is a loss of sleep, loss of appetite, and it has a way of contributing to high blood pressure,

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and ulcers, and many other disorders in the body. When we are depressed, we suffer in these ways. Depression affects us emotionally. When we are depressed, we are at a low mood.

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There is a loss of interest. People who are depressed often cry for the slightest reason. They tend to blame themselves for what has happened and engage in self-pity. And often depressed people contemplate suicide.

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And then depressed people not only react certain ways physically and emotionally, but they reacted certain ways spiritually. They often neglect Bible reading. They've been reading the Bible,

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but when they become depressed, they put it aside. They've been praying, but when they become depressed, they often neglect to pray. They've been interested in the church and very active,

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but when they become depressed, They often lose interest in religious activities. And then sometimes they react just the opposite manner. They become overly religious

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and spend a lot of time in prayer. They go to the other extreme. But so often it is the case that depressed people have a tendency to pull away from God and to cry out,

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why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Now I've considered briefly what depression is, how it manifests itself.

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But let's for a moment now consider what we can do about it. Well, we may react to it in several ways. We may indulge it.

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We may wallow in helplessness and self-pity. Or we may grit our spiritual and emotional teeth and resist it. Why art thou cast down, O my soul,

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and why art thou disquieted within me? You see, being a Christian does not mean that we will not have periods of depression, but our faith should help us cope

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with the times when we are down in the dumps, spiritually. You know, as a preacher, we often find preachers talking about blue Mondays. You've had the high day on Sunday,

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and then that next day, Monday, you find yourself down, down, low. And often when you have a high spiritual experience, many times on the very heels of it,

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you find yourself going from the mountain to the valley. See, depression comes often through a deep sense of loneliness. We feel left alone, deserted in the struggle.

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We're depressed because we expect help to come that does not come. Those we expect to help us just aren't there in the time of need. Those we expect to comfort us in our distress are not found. And so we're down in the dumps.

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We feel abandoned by God. Our best friend has let us down, depressed. Elijah, strong prophet of God. We see him on Mount Carmel, that great mountain.

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But 450 prophets of Baal there, Elijah stands alone against 450 prophets of Baal. He stands for God. And he defeats the 450 prophets of Baal.

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They are slain. He has a great victory. The people all recognize that Elijah is the great prophet of God, the living God.

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But Jezebel says to Elijah right after his great victory, will see to it that you are put to death. Queen says this, and Elijah is fearful.

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And on the heels of that great victory, he goes down into the dumps, spiritually. He becomes afraid, he runs, runs from Mount Carmel,

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several days journey, and we find him at Mount Horeb. And there he is, hiding in the mountain in a cave. And God comes to him in a still, small voice.

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Elijah, Elijah, what are you doing here? And Elijah said, oh Lord, Lord, you just don't really understand. Do you know what's happened to me?

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"Well, I've been prophesying for you, I've been courageous, "I've stood up against 450 prophets of Baal, "but they are now seeking my life." And listen to the self-pity as he says,

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"You know, Lord, you don't have anybody but me. "You're in a terrible shape." "Well, I'm left alone, I'm all you got." And even now they're seeking my life.

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Self pity. And Lord said, "No, no, Elijah." No, Elijah, you're not alone. I have 7,000 prophets that have not bowed their knees to bear

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you're not alone. First thing to recognize when we feel so all alone in the world is you're not alone. You're never left alone.

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You're not alone, there's always, there's always God who stands with us and for us wherever we are. You're not alone. - Yes, yes.

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- Oh, I make my bed in heaven. - Yes. - Even there he finds us. - Yes.

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- We're not alone. You're not alone. So what really one needs to learn how to do in dealing with depression is how to be alone with God.

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You know, sometimes we think that when people desert us and all of that, that we can't make it. And sometimes, you see, the Lord permits, in other words, every life has certain experiences.

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There are just certain experiences that you're gonna have to go through by yourself. No matter how many close friends you have, there are certain experiences that you've gotta go through

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with God and yourself, nobody else can do that for you. >> Yes, yes. >> And if you're gonna deal with depression, you have to learn that.

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Fine thing to have a wonderful family, wonderful parents, and to be reared in the Christian tradition, that's all wonderful. But there are times when you can't rely on mother.

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Oh, I love my mother. She always, even though we were very poor, she always was concerned about me. And I always felt that I was special with her.

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No matter what happened, I could always go to her and tell her. But when I was away from home, and they couldn't come, when I had to have medical attention. I tried to put it off.

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I needed an operation. I was trying to make it through seminary without having the operation. And one time I just passed out.

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And when I woke up, I was in the hospital. And I had to go through that by myself. Nobody else, no relative, no one. It happened during the time,

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that was the spring break. So even the children, the students were gone. And I discovered that there are certain times, there are certain places in life that many times when you go into the hospital, when you go into that room, there's nobody else.

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Even the close family can't go in there. No matter how close they are, they have to stay out, and you're right there. there's some experiences where there's nobody else on whom you can rely but God and you have to learn how to be alone with God. That's where your faith really comes in, learning

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how to be alone with God. Sister, brother, father, mother, the closest of human resources are not there to support you and you have to learn how to be in solitude. And you see the person who really learns how to be in solitude with God is the person who knows how to live in society.

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If you don't really understand how to develop some solitude in your life, then you don't know how to deal with society. Because if you can be developing a spiritual relationship with God in solitude, then no matter what happens out here in society, then you are able to cope with it.

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Some experiences you've got to have alone. The song says, "There are times I like to be all alone with Christ my Lord when I can just tell him all of my troubles all alone." All alone.

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how to deal with depression, to learn how to face solitude. The story is told of an 84-year-old woman who leaped to her death. And just before she leaped, this is what she said, "I feel so all alone. I feel that nobody really cares about me.

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My children don't care. My grandchildren don't care. Nobody really cares." And so she leaps to her death, unable to deal with that aloneness.

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Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me?" Then comes the word, "Hope in God." Hope.

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Hope in God. You see, the answer to despair is hope. in despair you feel that there is no hope. But he says even in the midst of his depression he says hope in God. So even though there are clouds all around me, even

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though I can't see the sun, even though I see no moon, and I'm somehow swallowed up by darkness, yet will I hope in God. And brothers and sisters, that's what the Christian faith is. The Christian faith is building a citadel of hope on the threshold of despair. That's what it is. Building a citadel of hope on the threshold of despair. Doesn't matter what's

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happening now? I still have hope. Because as I walk through the dark valley of the shadow of death, there is one beside me who is the living hope. He is the living hope. He has, he's that hope that cannot be crushed by the vicissitudes of life. He is that hope that cannot be defeated by despair, oh it may be crushed, that hope may be put on a cross and crucified between

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thieves and that hope may be ridiculed by the enemy, but in spite of it all yet will I hope that hope may be put in the tomb buried left there. They may say this is the end, but the hope gets up. The hope gets up and walks about the streets again.

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That hope is alive. It's alive, it's alive now. That is the hope, that living hope, hope bowing God. In the midst of all of the discouragement, in the midst of all of the things that may

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happen and all of the things that may constitute the contradictions in life, to be able to say my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name. On Christ, on Christ, on Christ the solid rock I stand. All of the ground is sinking sand. That's what it

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means to hope in God. I just keep on hoping because you see our hope is in God. He controls our life. He's the creator. He's the ruler. He controls the destiny of our lives. That's what it means to be able to cope with despair. Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden and they put out of the

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garden, they're driven out and there's a flaming soul would put there that they can never get back in. It's God who drives them out and it is only through God who comes outside the garden through Jesus Christ and opens the gate for us to come back in, for them to come back in again.

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So how, you see we are saved, sometimes we are depressed because we haven't done what we know we should have done for God and we're depressed. And who can lift that depression? Only God.

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Only God can somehow open the gate. Only God can forgive you for the sins that you have really committed. Sometimes you've done things, you look back over across the years, years and years ago, you know, you think, "I shouldn't have done that."

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But the people that you have done those things to, they're gone. But God is alive. And He can lift that burden of guilt. can somehow enable you to live courageously and triumphantly.

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Say, "Hope in God." I'll just keep on hoping in God. I don't see the sun. I don't see the moon.

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I don't see any stars. But I know that God is here. And I'm going to keep on hoping in Him that there's a better day.

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There's a better day. Come, ye disconsolate, where ye languish. Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel. Here, bring your wounded hearts.

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Here, tell your anguish. Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal. So you see, brothers and sisters, that the help comes from heaven.

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When you read the 42nd and 43rd Psalm, this verse, "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? "And why art thou disquieted within me? "Hope thou in God,

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"that I will still praise Him who is my help." It says in the 42nd chapter, that same verse says, "Who is the help of my confidence." In other words, God's gonna help me.

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In other words, no matter how we may be in the muck and mire, that I'll praise God because I know that he will lift me up from the muck and bar and place my feet on a solid rock,

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put a new song in my mouth and establish my going. I'm gonna praise him because he's my help. And then in this verse that is our text, it says, "I will praise him who is the health

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"of my confidence." So not only is he our help, he is our health. If we are depressed, if we feel wounded in the struggle, praise God because He's the one that can give healing.

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Healing comes from heaven. It comes from heaven. Healing. Healing.

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Look up to heaven because somehow we can praise God who lifts up the bowed down head. Praise God who turns our sadness into gladness. Praise God who gives to us beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning.

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Praise God who is our help. Praise God who is our help. That's the way the psalmist deals with depression. He hopes in God, he trusts God,

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he commits his way to the Lord. Somehow, when we find ourselves in the valley, when we hope in God, we'll be able to walk through that valley

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in peace, in comfort, in strength. We won't stop and die in the valley, we'll just walk through it. That's how to deal with depression.

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It'll come, but you can pass through that valley. The door is open. The invitation is extended to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.

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♪ We shall walk through the valley of tears ♪ ♪ We shall walk through the valley in peace ♪ ♪ If Jesus can touch the feet of Jesus ♪ ♪ We shall walk through the valley in peace ♪

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♪ We shall walk through the valley in peace ♪ ♪ We shall walk through the valley in peace ♪ ♪ If Jesus just as you'll be coming ♪ ♪ Oh, we shall love the world in peace ♪

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♪ There will be no sorrow then ♪ ♪ There will be no sorrow then ♪ ♪ If Jesus can such a be our hero ♪ ♪ We shall walk through the valley in peace ♪

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♪ We shall walk through the valley in peace ♪ ♪ We shall walk through the valley in peace ♪ ♪ If Jesus can such a be our hero ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord through the Holy Spirit ♪

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♪ There will be no dying there ♪ ♪ There will be no dying there ♪ ♪ In Jesus' name we are living ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord through the Holy Spirit ♪

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We shall walk through the valley of need. We shall walk through the valley of need. If Jesus is what you need, my people, we shall walk through the valley of need.

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♪ We shall walk through the valley of peace ♪ ♪ We shall walk through the valley of peace ♪ ♪ Where the days of sin shall be our healer ♪ ♪ We shall walk through the valley of peace ♪

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(upbeat music) (bells chiming) [ Silence ]