[0:00] We will turn to Psalm chapter 126. That's our Psalm tonight. We'll get to it here in a little bit. It was nice to get to hear that. Grace and Taylor singing together with Charlotte. Taylor heads back to Bolivia next week with her family.
[0:13] And so it's been nice to get to spend some time with them. Before we get to Psalm 126, next Thursday night, Iwana ends the night. Sunday night we're going to have an Iwana award ceremony.
[0:25] And that will be great to hear some of the verses that the kids have been learning. And then about 35, 45 Iwana workers that have been working all year long will come in and join us for our Thursday nights in the summer.
[0:39] And next week we're going to have a pastor from the south side of Atlanta, a friend of mine named John Anderson. He will be preaching. And we'll have a singing group from a college out in California come through.
[0:50] And it's going to be a special night. I want to kick off our summers with make sure that you make the investment of being here, that every time that we meet that it's worth the time to travel here, right?
[1:02] And so this is not only the fellowship before and after church, but we want to make the most of the hour that we have together. And I think you'll enjoy getting to hear from him as he preaches and encourages us. That's next Thursday.
[1:14] I'm looking forward to it. And then the kids are going to have a program. Luke Coffey and Zach Rye are going to run a kids program in the summer called Summer with the Savior, Walking Through the Life of Christ.
[1:24] Greg's been working on it, got to prepare them. And so the kids will have a good time in God's Word as we meet together. And then in a few weeks when we get back from camp, we're going to meet with the teenagers in another room for a couple Thursday nights.
[1:37] And then after that, I'm inviting all the parents to join me for three weeks as we get ready in July as we'll get back into the school year. We'll spend some time praying for our kids. It's a parent refresher.
[1:48] Let's talk about the wonder, how good it is to be a parent, try to encourage you in that and some biblical principles. And in here, Brother John is going to be teaching on the Trinity and he'll be doing that for those three nights.
[2:02] And both will be good environments for learning God's Word. And I hope you'll join us for that. How many of you were involved in the seed line last time? Will you raise your hand?
[2:13] It starts tomorrow, 6 to 9, Saturday from 9 to 6. And we've been 150 Thursday nights. We've been in the book of Psalms. And the ministry that we're working with is called Seed Line, the ministry of bearing precious seed.
[2:29] Do you know what chapter of the Bible, that term bearing precious seed comes from? Psalm 126, the one that we're in the night, which is pretty cool. And I was looking at the booklet that we put together some months ago.
[2:41] And it says, published by Concerned Independent Baptist Churches. I guess that's what we are. We are Concerned Independent Baptist Churches. And see where the comment is. We are concerned for other people.
[2:52] And we put these together and they will go to Poland, I guess. That's what me and Greg have come to. They're going to be in Polish. And put together, they'll be our record. It ain't going to be, we did about 30,000 last time.
[3:04] We're going to do slightly more this time. And this is the end product. It's like this. It doesn't come in like this. It comes in. There's a big cutting machine some people will run. There'll be staplers. Kids will be running from one side of the room to the other, running material.
[3:18] There's something for all ages. It's a lot of fun. Danny Sykes got a paper cut. But other than that, nobody else has ever been seriously hurt. And it's just, I would encourage you to stop by at any point.
[3:30] Coming by, you probably want to spend a couple hours, if you're going to get here and get settled in and get really moving. But if you only have 30 minutes or 15 minutes to swing by, to pray over the scriptures, to see what's going on, let your kids see it, you ought to see it, and be encouraged by it.
[3:45] And then when they, this is the last, they're filling up a big container. And this project is the end. That's how we came up with the number of 32,000. And it finishes off that trailer.
[3:57] And we'll get to see it sent out in the next couple weeks. And that'll be pretty exciting. They'll send us pictures of it. And then also, two other things. A couple weeks from now, Chase and Ashley are leaving.
[4:08] In the back, we have the box that we write letters in. And I'm going to encourage you to do that. Don't wait until the last minute. Write your card. Write your note. That box will be on their mantle at their house.
[4:19] And they'll open it up and encourage it. Mantle, table. I don't know what he'll have in South Africa. But he'll have someplace to put that box. And so make sure you do that. It's hard to believe. How old were you, Chase, when you first came to the vision?
[4:30] Nine. Nine years. All right. And how old are you now? 23. So it's been a long time in the coming. All right. And I'm excited for him and Ashley.
[4:41] And it's just a couple weeks. So last Sunday night of the month, it'll be a special time. And then after church, we're having a camp meeting. I probably should say we're having a meeting about camp. All right.
[4:52] Camp meeting means something else. We'll have a meeting about camp. And if you'll be praying for us, we take teenagers. We have about 75. We'll take the camp this summer. And it's in Athens, Tennessee.
[5:04] And just real excited about it, the time that we get to spend with them. It's something special about once kids are disconnected from technology and just a couple days of slowing down, you have more meaningful conversations on a Wednesday morning of camp that you don't just get to have throughout the school year and other times.
[5:20] It's an important time for us. So I ask that you pray for that. You should be at Psalms 126. I give you plenty of time to find it by now. And before I read it, let me just share something about me wrestling with this passage.
[5:35] I send out my outlines in advance so that they have them in the back. And this is for accountability. And some people like to follow along with the verses. And I was just brutally honest in the fact that sometimes in Bible study, I just kind of want to get in and get out.
[5:50] I just kind of want to. I'm in. Got a sermon. It's Thursday night. I can move on to something more pressing. I know what the passage says. After I saw Josh Holtz outline this afternoon, I thought I'll just preach what he's preaching.
[6:02] That was a good outline, right? Real simple. What does the Bible say? We respond to it. Then we go share it with our friends and ask them to respond to it. Just a pretty simple plan. But I came to the passage.
[6:12] Saw that it talked about joy. I like to preach on the topic of joy. It doesn't seem like there's enough of that in life. I like to be positive. I like to encourage my friends to make the journey of coming here on a Thursday night.
[6:23] But I was meeting with a friend on Wednesday morning for breakfast. And we're talking about having an understanding of the Bible and how there's a basic understanding that anybody could have of the Bible.
[6:34] There's a way that an unbelieving person could understand the Bible. They could tell you what king was who and what time. And there's an understanding. They could understand some of the grammar of it. They could understand the context, the past, the historical context.
[6:47] They could tell you so much about it. And that's an important part of our understanding that we'd read and we'd understand it. But there's more to it. And to fully understand a passage, you have to come to a place of surrender where you say, God, whatever this passage has for me, I'm willing to respond to.
[7:06] And until you're willing just to wrestle with the passage and let it win, you're not really going to have the understanding that's available for you. So after that breakfast, I thought, I'm going to go back to the passage because I feel like I have not wrestled with it.
[7:19] I've just kind of got in and got out. And I really want to be moved by it. And God has worked in my life in it. When it comes to a place of surrender and brokenness, we must come to a place of surrender and brokenness to receive the blessings from the Lord.
[7:35] And the same, we have to come to a place of surrender and brokenness to receive the blessings of even God's Word. And so we have to come to it humbly, recognizing He is God.
[7:46] And that we are not. So before I read it, I'll give you the theme. It's celebrate what God has already done, but long for what God will yet do. Celebrate what God has already done, but long for what God will yet do.
[8:00] That's something personal in my life. That's what I shared on video with you from Colossians chapter number 4, verse 2, when I was in New York, continuing prayer and watching the same with Thanksgiving, with all praying also for us that God would open unto us a door of utterance to speak.
[8:15] The mystery of Christ for which I'm also in bonds. That first part about that continuing prayer, prayer has to do about asking of the Lord. Prayer has to do with longing for more of what God has for you.
[8:27] But do the same with Thanksgiving. And that's a place that's just often hard to live at. It's a place where you're just, you're content and grateful for what God has done for you, but you just long for more.
[8:39] That's what we find in this passage. We find the people that are celebrating and joyful, but they say, God, we want more. That's where I'm at in life, and I believe that's where he would have me to be, and that's where we should be as a church.
[8:53] That's where we should be as a family. We should be grateful. Josh over here, Barton, would you raise your hand? Josh and his wife just recently found out they're going to have twins. All right? Pharaohs, raise your hand over there.
[9:05] If you have any questions, they're out in the middle of it right now. All right? So they get to have a boy and a girl. You know, that's kind of nice. Typically, you've got to decide, am I going to have a boy and am I going to have a girl? And the doctor said, you're going to have one of both.
[9:17] All right? And you're grateful. And as parents, you're always longing for that next stage in life. You're like, I just can't wait. I just can't wait until I can talk to Thatcher.
[9:28] All right? I can't talk to him. If I could just talk to this kid, then I could reason with him. And now he's a teenager, and we argue and debate all day long, right? Back and forth about it. But there's something special about the season that you're in, and you're thankful for it, but you're always dreaming about the next one.
[9:46] And in the same regards, we're told that we should be thankful for what God's done in our lives, but he invites us to ask him for more. Say, I want more, Lord.
[9:56] I want to see you move. I want to see you work. I want to see you do stuff. I want to see you in the passage that said in Colossians about a door of utterance, meaning I want you to do things that I know that I couldn't have done.
[10:07] I want you to work inside of me, in my life, and in my family. And that's what we hear in this psalm tonight. Let me read it to you, pray, and then we'll jump into it. When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.
[10:21] Love that. We were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then said they among the heathen, the Lord hath done great things for them. The Lord has done great things for us.
[10:34] Whereof we are glad. We are glad. Turn again, O captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south. This is where the more part comes in. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
[10:47] He that goeth forth weepeth, bearing precious seeds, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. The promise that we're given is summed up in that one word, which is doubtless.
[11:00] More than being where we're at in psalms, I believe that this chapter is where we should be at in our families and in our lives as people that are thankful, but we're asking God for more.
[11:13] Heavenly Father, thank you for an opportunity to gather around your word with people that want to respond to it. People that believe, Lord, that this is your word, that this was not man's creation.
[11:25] This is not a book of just good thoughts and suggestions, but this is the holy, inspired, inherent word of God that is eternally true. And Father, we need it.
[11:37] We need it in our lives. We need direction. We make decisions all throughout the day, Lord. And often we get tired, Lord, of this constant decision-making. But we want our decisions to be those that would honor and glorify you.
[11:51] Father, we want you to lead and guide our lives. There's things that we're so asking for. Father, I've seen family members come to know you. But Lord, I also have family members and friends who don't know you.
[12:03] Father, I've seen you work in ways that I never could even imagine. But Father, there's just some things in this world that aren't as they should be or could be. And I'm asking you to do something. So, Father, I come tonight, my brothers and sisters, and I first say thank you.
[12:19] We are thankful, Lord, for what you've done. We'll never forget the great escape. We'll never forget what you did in saving us. We never forget the cross. But, Lord, there's still more work to be done in this world.
[12:32] So, Father, we live between the now and the not yet. And our hearts long for more. And so we come to unite humbly, Lord, asking for these things. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. So, verse 1 talks about that fulfilled longing to be renewed.
[12:47] And the Lord turned again to the captivity of Zion. They came out of captivity. This pilgrim psalm speaks about the time that they're going to go to Jerusalem. They're leaving this place where their aliens and strangers are going to go back to Jerusalem.
[12:58] Also speaks of the time. It could be Ezra and Nehemiah where they had been in captivity. Or it could have been a time where David was going to be returning. There's many different times in the Bible that it can make mention of.
[13:11] And I tell you that I believe that the Bible is intentionally, doesn't often, will tell us exactly what the psalm is doing. Because there's application to where you're at right now. It applies to so many different stories in the Old Testament about a longing to be back.
[13:25] And so now they've returned from the captivity. God had done something in their lives. And they said it like this. We were like them that dreamed. Isn't that awesome? We were like, it's like this is a dream come true.
[13:38] It was an overstatement. On Sunday night I surprised my mom and I went to church with her. And hadn't been with her for 20 years on Mother's Day. And about 15 of us went to church with us. And she kept saying, am I dreaming?
[13:50] Is this real? Like, mom, that's a little much, all right? But say it again, all right? I felt pretty good after driving six hours to be there. And she's like, is this for real? She's like, I didn't even imagine that everybody was going to come to church with me tonight.
[14:02] And just that it seems to be so good that it seems to be a dream. That's how it's expressed there. We were like a dream. It's just unbelievable, this place that we were at. I've mentioned it already, but we live in a place that brings a theological tension.
[14:16] We live in a place that some would say is between the already and the not yet. Every one of God's children have been called to wait because every one of God's children live between the already and the not yet.
[14:29] We live in a world that is broken by sin and it hasn't yet been made new. There's a substance of things that are hoped for. And so there's spiritual blessings that we've already received.
[14:40] We're in Ephesians. We're already seated among heavenly places. But one day we will get to be with Him in the full enjoyment of those blessings that are there. We have been saved from the eternal consequences of our sin.
[14:52] But we still live in a world of sin where I'm dealing with the temporal consequences of my sin. I live in a world where I've been made complete in Him, but I live in a world that's still very much broken. I've been adopted in Christ, but I'm yet to be adopted.
[15:05] I'm redeemed in Christ, but I'm yet to be redeemed. I'm sanctified, but I'm not yet sanctified. Saved in Christ, but not yet fully saved from this world. And already raised in Christ, but not yet raised.
[15:17] We find this in the Bible as we look back and forth. There's been a tremendous work that's happened, but it's that we're still not done yet. And it says in 1 John 3, 2, Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be.
[15:35] That's that longing that we have of a time like the pilgrims when they get to the place and they would come into Jerusalem. And they'd say, we've been in bondage. We've been in 40 years of captivity, and we finally have been released.
[15:47] We finally get to go back and to build our walls and to build our temple. We finally get to get away from all the pressures of this life and all the brokenness. And now we see him.
[15:57] It doth not yet appear what shall be. And I fear that I only fear this weight of a passage like this when the things in this world are so bad that we long for the world to come.
[16:09] Some of us in here at different life stages, different things going on, you have a real longing for the next world to come because you feel all the brokenness here. But there's never a time that I should enjoy this world more than I would desire to be with him.
[16:23] And so no matter what the current life stage, you should dream or long for this renewing work that only God can do in this world. That we're praying and longing for it. We're asking God with thanksgiving for more.
[16:35] Then verse 2, I love how it describes better days. I love how it described what happens when what you dreamed for came. Psalm 126 verse 2 says, Then was our mouth filled with laughter and our tongue with singing.
[16:49] Then said they among the heathen, the Lord has done great things for them. When they got released out of captivity and they go back, their mouth was filled with laughter. Their tongue was with singing.
[17:01] And it says that their enemies and the other nations looked at them and says, The Lord has done something for those people. What a wonderful testimony where people recognize that person's life has been changed.
[17:14] Right? And that's what I saw in New York. I saw that God had changed when I was there. God had changed some people's lives and some other people were just showing up because they're like, This is a place where my friend's life had been changed and I want to see it.
[17:26] And there was singing and there was laughter that should be among us. But God's not just asking us to live off of great memories of the past, days of the past of having an effective witness.
[17:38] But there's something today for us. Psalm 126 verse 3 says, They responded, The nation says, The Lord has done great things. And they said, You better believe he has. The Lord has done great things for us.
[17:50] Whereof we are glad. It's simple, but it's just perfect. We are glad. We are glad. Three words that every one of us can hear them because of what Jesus Christ has done for us ought to be able to say.
[18:03] I like to ask people, How about it? Right? Nobody knows how to respond. How about it? All right? Here's a good response to how about it. You can just say, We are glad. I mean, It's simple, But it's deep.
[18:15] Three words with me. Say it with me. We are glad. Because of Jesus, We can answer in that way and it be true. God did that for them. He did something special.
[18:25] There's a longing in their heart. And he delivered. He gave them what was in their heart that they had dreamed for. And now it's there. And then there's a description. Though we are taken from this place, There's still more that we long for.
[18:38] Verse 4, It says, Turn again, O captivity, O Lord, As the streams in the south. So, As you delivered us out of captivity, We saw in verse number 1, Lord, There's still more work to be done.
[18:51] We're still longing for more. We're asking for more deliverance here, As the streams in the south. And looking to see what this understands. We're moving into some agricultural talk here in a few verses.
[19:03] But at this, The southern part, It would be very dry. It would be a dry and barren fields, Until the water would rain in the mountains, And it would come down, And it would fill.
[19:14] And so, It was either dry, Or it would have been coming, Water would have been coming in, Through these streams. And so, The psalmist prayed that the Lord would do a complete restoration.
[19:26] In the south, As I said, Is a dry season, With little, The no water, Where the rainy season did not overflow the banks. And they were just waiting for those streams, Those aqueducts, That they would, That would bring the water in, And they're waiting for those.
[19:42] And so, Then we pause for a moment, And we recognize, I think we all know what verse number 2 feels like, Right? You know, When you're just like, You're just filled with laughter, You're just filled with singing, God has done something in your life, And you recognize it, That he's done that, You're just so happy in that, But we also know what barren fields feel like, We know like, Where we're standing in it, And saying, I can't do anything about this, Unless God does something, Unless water comes in from the outside, I'm asking for streams, I want it to be like it once was, I long for it to be like it once was, But I'm not there, I'm dry, And I am thirsty, So there's three responses to those times, You know what those are like in our lives, They may, They look different, But they all feel the same, They may look different in our lives, But they all feel the same, Where we just long for it, Where we just, Where life doesn't seem to have, We don't have a taste for things, The pressures and frustrations of lives, That seem to be never ending, And then we get to a place, Where our relationship with the Lord,
[20:43] Is not like it is, When somebody asks you, How's it going, Or how about it, You don't say we are glad, You say something else, Because you're not, You're not glad, So when you get to those places, There's only three responses, That you can have, You can ignore it, That's a very common response, You can ignore it, Two, You can imitate the solution, Which means that you can just kind of, Know what it used to look like, When you're happy, And try to imitate that, And try to recreate that, Or the third one is, You can be obedient to God's word, And do what he tells us to do, When we are people that are longing, For him to do something, We can be obedient to God's word, And I know all three, I know all three responses, I know what it's like to plow ahead, And to say, It doesn't really matter, I can do, I can still show up, And do what I'm supposed to do, My attitude and my heart, Doesn't really matter, I can still do what I'm supposed to do, We joke and say with three kids, In middle school, We just come home and sit in our car, And wait for somebody to tell us, To go somewhere, Because we just always seem to, You know, Like, Does it really matter,
[21:44] Does it really matter if I'm glad, I'm still getting them, To their appointment on time, Does it really matter if I'm doing it, I can still just do the job, And move through, I can ignore it, Or I can imitate the solution, I can try to push through, Pretend like there's a happiness, And a gladness, Or, Or, I can ask God to work in my heart, There's one example, That would be more of a personal, Example of how when you feel like, There's this dryness, But there's also things in our lives, That we're praying for, It's not just personal, It's just saying, God, I really don't want to be, Eternally separated, From a loved one, That's, That's what we believe, Isn't it?
[22:20] Isn't that a hard thing to carry? Like, We believe, That you must, A person has to come to a saving knowledge, Of Jesus Christ, And if they don't, They will be eternally separated, From him, That's a hard thing to carry in life, We can either ignore that, Or we can try to, Do something on our own, Or we could, Come to God and ask him, And do it in the example he gives, So when we look here, In verse number five, We're going to talk about, Cultivating the ground, While in Kentucky, I went, And saw, Some family members, And, And my aunt, I always stop by, And I think she always thinks, I want to raid her, Her deep freeze, I came back with a bunch of fish, This time, Okay, They know that I stick around, Until they give me some food, And then I always bring it back here, But there is, I saw a real, Clear example, I don't spend a lot of time in farms, So when I go to one, I get a given as an example, Because I don't have any chances to do it, But my brother-in-law, He wanted to have a garden, But he hadn't tilled the ground, And it had been raining,
[23:20] And he wasn't going to be able, To get out into his garden, Because it kept raining, And raining, But my uncle, Had already tilled up his garden, And so he was happy, About the fact, That it was raining, Because his ground, Was already in a position, To receive, See that, There's a cultivating, That has to take place, In our lives, Before anything is going to grow, There has to be a brokenness, And a contriteness, About our heart, Before any of those fruits, Of any of those blessings, Are going to be seen, Verse number five, It says, They that sow in tears, Shall reap, Enjoy, So verses five and six, Speak of agriculture, After the land had been neglected, For so long, It was almost impossible, To work it, The planning, Would be difficult, But persistence, Would doubtless, Bring a harvest, There's a necessity, To being broken, Luke 14, 11 says, For whosoever, Exalteth himself, Shall be abased, And he that humbleth himself, Shall be exalted, And so, God gives us, The tears that we need,
[24:21] Psalm 80, Verse five, It says, Thou feedest them, With the bread of tears, And give us them tears, To drink, In great measure, Typically when somebody, Is crying, We ask them, What is wrong, But that is not always the case, There are tears that we are given, That come from God, Sometimes there are tears that come, Because something isn't wrong, But because it's right, We're at a right place, Of humility and brokenness, We're at a right place, Of understanding, That we are just in a barren area, Of life, And we need him to work, Junior Hill, An old evangelist, That's been traveling the country, He tells a story, That when he was in Florida, At a revival, He went to a home, A dinner, With his family, And the lady that was serving them, Was blind, And he noticed that, About him, And she said, Brother Hill, Do you know why I'm blind, He said, No ma'am, I don't, She replied, Preacher, A number of years ago, The tear ducts in my eyes, Dried up, And no matter how broken, My heart was, Or how crushed my spirit had been, I simply could not cry,
[25:22] As a result of those, Dry eyes, I eventually lost my sight, Brother Hill, I'm blind, Because I cannot shed tears, And this is what he went on, To say about this, In relation to churches, It applies to us, As families, And that make up churches, After listening, To the sad woman, Tell of the tragedy of their eyes, He could not see, He thought, Oh Lord, What a remarkable comparison, That is to many, Of our churches today, Blind congregations, Who are spiritually barren, Because they have lost, Their ability to weep, Over those who are dying, Around them, We've lost the ability, To weep, That we want the blessings, Of life, Without the required brokenness, That must come, With it, Psalm 51, 17, The sacrifices of God, Are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart, Oh God, Thou wilt not despise, That's what he asked of us, To come with a broken, And a contrite spirit, I used to say,
[26:24] If a man cannot cry, He isn't good for much, But if he can't stop crying, He's good for nothing, Right? If a man can't cry, He's not good for much, But if he can't stop crying, He's good for nothing, I don't think that we run in the danger, Of that second one very often, I don't mind, I don't find many people, That are so broken, And hard, That they have a continual, Sorrow that is there, But we're not just speaking, Of tears, In this, When it speaks of tears, It's speaking of the position, Of the heart, Tears obviously, Are the result, Of that brokenness, But I'm not calling upon you, Just to cry more, There's ways that I could do that, A lot quicker, If I just needed tears, Right?
[27:01] I could sing for you, You know, We could chop an onion, I could kick you in the shin, We could do something like that, But tears aren't what we're talking about, We're talking about, An inner, Something inside of us here, A brokenness, That the Bible calls for, In us, This is the part of Psalm 126, That I didn't want to wrestle with, I wanted to just, To get to the part about, God does things, That exceed our dreams, Let's rejoice, But if you really want to understand, The context of the passage, Like many of the Psalms, It's found in the latter portion, Of it, How do we get to that place in life, Where that blessing, Is seen, There's promises, That are made to us, With a broken heart, Psalms 84, One of my favorite Psalms, It is full of promises, For the broken hearted, It says in Psalm 84, Verse 5 and 6, Blessed is the man, Whose strength is in thee, And whose heart, Are the waves of them, Who passing through the valley, Of Baca, Make it a well, Passing through the valley, Of tears, Make it a well, That the rain also filleth the pools,
[28:03] It's speaking about the blessing, Whose strength is in God, Whose heart is after him, Who passes through life, Through this broken and contract heart, That shows itself in tears, It's a good place to be, Ecclesiastes, The preacher in Ecclesiastes, Tells us, That it's better to go to the house of mourning, Than it is to go to a house of feasting, I really like to go to the house of feasting, I love food, I love going to different places, I love thinking of food, I love thinking of new places to go and eat, And there's no shortage in Alpharetta, I'm reminded when I go back to Kentucky, That we thought the Chinese restaurant was the best, Because there was only one, But now that I know, Now I could probably not live in a city, That only has one Chinese restaurant, I'm going to have to have at least two, All right, And so I would plan to go places, That I know that I was going to have a good meal, But I'm not very intentional to be at places, That would cause my heart, The focus on the heavy things, And it tells us that when we're forced to be at those places, When we're forced to go to the funeral of the loved one,
[29:03] When we're forced to stop and slow down, That's a good thing, Because sorrow is better than laughter, For the sadness of the countenance of the heart is made better, And the heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, But the heart of fools is in the house of myrrh, And so people who just never slow down, To take in the serious things of life, To be broken and contrite, We miss out on so much, Henry Noren in the book, The Return of the Prodigal Son says this, There are so few mourners left in the world, But grief is the discipline of the heart, That sees the sin of the world, And knows itself to be sorrowful price of freedom, Without which love cannot bloom, I am beginning to see that much of praying is grieving, There's very few mourners left in this world, We learn of Christ in the gospel records, But in Hebrews, That in his days of flesh and his life, Jesus offered supplications and prayers to his father, With loud crying and tears, The example that is there, And if Satan can blind us to anything,
[30:05] If God's people to any one thing, He would want to blind us, To that place of that intimate place, That's only found with true humility, James says it like this, In James 4, 6, But he giveth more grace, Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, I don't want to be something that God would resist, But give us grace unto the humble, That's what I'm asking, I'm wanting more from the Lord, I'm wanting grace unto the humble, Submit yourself therefore to God, Resist the devil, And he will flee from you, Draw nigh to God, And he will draw nigh to you, Cleanse your hands you sinners, And purify your hearts, You double minded, Be afflicted and mourn, And weep, Let your laughter be turned to mourning, And your joy to heaviness, Humble yourselves at the sight of the Lord, And he shall lift you up, Too often we are people, Of dried eyed confessions of sin, Just a mere decision of the will, Instead of a genuine, Godly sorrow, Oswald Chambers says about the Bible,
[31:05] It says, The Bible was written in tears, And to tears it yields its treasures, And that humble confession, You know there's something out of Psalm 126, That was there, But not until we get to a place, Of just brokenness, Reading scripture through tears, Reading scriptures with a broken, And contract heart, Is where there's a place, Of just wonderful blessings, Living our lives with that brokenness, And that humility, Precious seed, So that's the cultivating, That's the area in which our hearts should be in, It's the difference between my brother-in-law, Who says the rains come, But it's just making the ground harder, Where he's at, And the fact that my uncle, Had cultivated the ground, And now the rain has come, And there's going to be, A harvest that is there, If our hearts are not broken, And contrite, We shouldn't expect to see, The blessings, That are available for us, In the last few minutes, I want to go, It speaks about, The precious seed, Verse 6, He that goeth forth,
[32:06] Weepeth, Bearing precious seed, Shall doubtless come again, With rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves, With him, It speaks of the precious seed, My mom asked me a question, And about, Why do I not think, That more of us want to share, The gospel, Why is it that, It's such a hard thing for us, And on a Thursday night, In a moment like this, I wonder, Why is it so hard, Like why did, You know, Why would it be hard for me, To just want to share the gospel, Right now it sounds like a great idea, I'll be glad to share it with you, If you want to hear it, You know, In this moment, It just seems quite easy, Everything seems quite clear to me, But the answer that I thought was this, In my own life, Is because we have just simply forgotten, That it's good news, That we're sharing with people, Because of my pride, I become more focused, On my own life, And my own self, But when I have a broken, And contrite heart, And I see God for who he is, And I am for him, Then I realize, That the greatest thing,
[33:06] I have in the world, Is this message, So why would I not want to share that, With people, We've forgotten how good, And how precious, This message is, How the bearing of a precious seed, 2 Corinthians 4, Speaks of it like this, It says, We have this treasure, In an earthen vessel, That the excellency, Of the power, May be of God, And not of us, When I am proud, And I lack, I'm not glad, And I'm just pushing through life, In those barren fields, And I get to a place, I just don't see, The excellency, Of the power of God, I don't see how precious, The things of God are, What makes this book so wonderful, Is that it was given to us, By God right, That's what makes it so precious to it, And so our value of it, It's a very great indicator, It's the reason we speak so much, About the Bible, Is because, In knowing our relationship, With God's word, It speaks about God's role, In our lives, Nobody says, I really, Just really want to come to God, And see God work, But I have no time, To hear from him,
[34:06] That would never make, Any sense, And so, One day a preacher, Went to make a visit, Knocks on the door, And the husband said, Thought it was his wife, And he says, Is that you, Angel? And the preacher said, No, I'm not an angel, But I'm from the same department, All right, I'm from the same department, And you and I are not angels, All right, We are earthen vessels, And if we are, Since we are earthen vessels, Then we need to be broken vessels, Broken vessels, That would just allow God, To work in and through us, Salvation Army, Which was around for many years, A worker in the ministry, A worker in the ministry, Sent word to William Booth, The founder of the organization, Saying that his work, Was getting so hard, That he could make no progress, Booth sent back, The following two word message, And he said this, Try tears, Try tears, We will have no tears, Unless we get close to the Lord, And feel his burden,
[35:06] For those who are unsaved, That's what the salvation worker, Was told, To try tears, Think about the things in your life, That you just know, Aren't going to happen, Unless God does something, It ought to bring us, To a place of brokenness, We have them, If you don't have them, Spend some time with some real people, Because in the real world, There's things that we want, And need, And that we just long for, And we pray for, You know, That there's the prayer list, That you have, And if somebody doesn't remind you, You may forget, But then you have certain things, That you just know immediately, That you're just asking God for, The family member, Or the friend, Or the situation, We just come to a place of brokenness, So here's the first time of response, We know that we are people, That have been delivered, We laugh and rejoice, The Lord has done great things for us, Whereof we are glad, That's where we need to get to personally, As for me, I'm glad, As for me, I've been rescued, As for me, Jesus,
[36:07] There's nothing more, You could ever do for me, You died on the cross for me, I'm set, I'm golden, All right, I'm good, I am glad, That's the starting point, But then say, God, There's some things that I want, For other people, There's some things that I want, Lord, I want to see more people, Come to know Christ, Than our church, Father, I want to see family members, Come to know Christ, God, I want to see you work, I want to see my kids, Really love Jesus, I want those things, And I want them, Lord, And so I can come to him, And I come to him, With a broken heart, And I say, God, Thank you so much, But I want him more, I want more of these things, That you offer to me, But until he returns, We live in a broken world, And we want to see him, Do more with our lives, Turn again, No captivity, No captivity, Oh Lord, As the streams, In the south, Father, Would you just turn it on, Would you just turn on, The floodgates, Would you just pour it out on us, Because we don't want to pretend, Like everything's okay, And we don't want to just imitate, And act like everything's okay,
[37:07] We want real blessings, From above, We want it in such a way, That this community, And our family would say, God has delivered those people, That what they have, Isn't something, That can get picked up at the store, They have something, From the God of heaven, And then lastly here, We have been given the promise, Of a joyful return, He that goeth forth, Weeping, Though we go forth, With a broken and contrite heart, Trusting in the Lord, Bearing precious seed, Taking what he has provided for us here, And God's word, Shall doubtless, Come again with rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves, With him, What a promise, Doubtless, That if we would, If we come to God, With a broken heart, Tell him our longings, That he would work in, And throw us, And I would think, That several, That many people in here, I'll pray, Tonight it's already 8 o'clock, We won't end, With singing,
[38:08] Unless you want to sing, Do you want to sing a song? Alright, We won't sing a song, It's 8 o'clock, But I'm going to pray, This prayer for us, How many would say that, How many of you in here, Would just be with me tonight, And just say, I know that he saved me, And he has just made me glad, And I, I just recognize that tonight, Would you just say that with me?
[38:27] And that's not an easy place to get to, It really isn't, Because sometimes, He's already done all the work, But sometimes we're just not glad, And during those times, We're definitely not people, Of a broken and contrite heart, We're definitely not people, That are longing for more godly things, We're just people running around, Trying to make up the deficit, In our lives, Because we forget, It's already been done for us, Right?
[38:47] And so from that point, There's just things that we want, You know, There's things that we must see, There's just people that we just, Don't want to die without Jesus, There's just things in this world, And so we need to come to him, And we need to weep, And it's just that picture, In a barren field, A weeping person, Those tears, Falling upon the ground, And then there's something beautiful, Growing up, As a people, As a generation, As whatever we are, We're just not a mourning people, We're not, We're not, Not mourning, Early mourning people, We're not mourning, We're not crying people, We're not lamenting people, It just hasn't been real to us, It hasn't been real to me, In the way that it should, It hasn't been real to me, In the way that it should, And I want to be a person, That responds, In the way that I should, Paul, Who lived the life, He said that he had, A continual sorrow, That he was a person, That went about his life, Doing what he did, But it was always on his heart, That he was caring, For people, Before you came to know Christ,
[39:48] Very likely somebody had your name, On a piece of paper, Very likely somebody was, Crying to God for you, It mattered to them, But who is, Are we going to care, For the other people, As well, Let's pray this psalm together, Psalm 126, Heavenly Father, I thank you, For this psalm tonight, Lord, And I thank you, For not allowing me, To move past it, Until that it wrestled me, To the ground, And I realized, That what is saying, Lord, Was not always, Was not, Lord, What it should be, In my heart, Sowing tears, And reaping, And joy, Father, There's so many things, That I want in this world, That are good, There are things, That you have placed in my heart, But Lord, I want them to happen, Without my heart being broken, I want them to happen, Without any perseverance, I want them to happen, Without me having to do, Lord, Anything, And so I'll come tonight, Lord, And I thank you, That I've been, Brought out of captivity,
[40:49] It's almost like a dream, Lord, It's just beyond, What we could imagine, What you've given us, Lord, It's just greater, Than we could even imagine, The blessings of salvation, Being delivered from captivity, Is far greater, Than we could ever, Ask or thank, Our mouths are filled with laughter, And we sing songs unto you, Lord, You have done great things for us, Lord, You have done great things, And we can say that we are glad, Father, I pray for my brothers, And sisters tonight, Lord, I pray that they can, From their hearts, Get to a place of gladness, Where that's what, That's so very important, There will not be people, That are praying with tears, For other people, If they're not people, That realize that you are fully sufficient, In their own lives, Return us from captivity, Lord, We ask for more, Turn our barren fields, And the streams, Lord, Where water would come, And that blessings, Would just flow from them, Father, We sow in tears, Knowing that there will, Doubtless return, Weeping and joy, That a life of obedience, Will bring the blessings,
[41:49] That we desire, So very much, Father, Forgive us, As we run around, Being so busy, And not taking you for real, Not taking this life, You have given us, Seriously, And Father, I pray right now, For the person, And the people, That are upon the hearts, Of my friends, And here, For the lost family members, Or for those, That have went astray, Or for the situations, Lord, That are just, Completely beyond us, Lord, We come to you, With a broken heart, Asking for you, To work, In Jesus name, I pray, Amen.