WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.540 Well, do turn in your Bibles to Psalm 27, which we read a moment ago. 00:00:10.919 --> 00:00:16.420 And it's really nice to see some familiar faces, and it's nice to see some new faces. 00:00:16.420 --> 00:00:18.900 ! As we're here, it's great. 00:00:20.039 --> 00:00:23.280 Well, let's pray together and ask God for His help. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:33.820 And just a simple prayer from the psalmist. 00:00:35.200 --> 00:00:46.159 Open our eyes, Heavenly Father, that we might see wonderful things in your Word, for we ask it in Jesus' name and for His sake. Amen. 00:00:48.039 --> 00:00:58.560 Well, if any of you come and visit us in Dundee, there's a very good chance that you will get roped into a game of hide-and-seek. 00:00:58.560 --> 00:01:04.480 And there are only two places to hide in our garden. 00:01:04.620 --> 00:01:09.280 Behind the shed, or behind the person who is counting. 00:01:10.420 --> 00:01:13.400 And the second is Jonathan's favorite place. 00:01:13.600 --> 00:01:17.320 He'll tiptoe behind you, and he'll try very hard not to laugh. 00:01:17.840 --> 00:01:23.719 And then he'll find it absolutely hilarious when you finally turn around and spot him. 00:01:23.719 --> 00:01:30.439 And Psalm 27 is what we might call a hide-and-seek sort of psalm. 00:01:31.359 --> 00:01:40.200 Because in this psalm, David is a man who has found something, and David is a man who is seeking. 00:01:41.519 --> 00:01:43.719 And I want to do something maybe a bit different tonight. 00:01:43.819 --> 00:01:47.719 Rather than work through this psalm from beginning to end, 00:01:47.719 --> 00:01:51.280 I want to move from the outside in. 00:01:52.200 --> 00:01:56.620 And to move from the edges of the psalm towards the center. 00:01:56.739 --> 00:01:58.700 And if that sounds a little bit radical, don't worry. 00:01:58.780 --> 00:02:00.079 We've still got two headings. 00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:02.680 And the first is this. 00:02:02.780 --> 00:02:05.159 What David found. 00:02:05.359 --> 00:02:06.759 What David found. 00:02:06.760 --> 00:02:13.280 And what David found in this psalm, in a nutshell, was courage, 00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:19.180 despite being surrounded by things that were very frightening. 00:02:19.439 --> 00:02:25.400 Courage, despite being surrounded by things that were very frightening. 00:02:25.560 --> 00:02:30.340 FDR is the longest-serving president in American history. 00:02:31.460 --> 00:02:34.819 He was in the White House from 1933 to 1945. 00:02:34.819 --> 00:02:39.759 And for all his achievements, he's known just for one famous phrase. 00:02:39.859 --> 00:02:44.699 In his first inaugural address, in the midst of the Depression, he said this. 00:02:44.759 --> 00:02:46.639 Let me assert my firm belief. 00:02:47.759 --> 00:02:48.840 Maybe you know this sentence. 00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:53.439 That the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. 00:02:54.199 --> 00:02:58.759 And that sentence, it captured the imagination of so many Americans. 00:02:58.759 --> 00:03:03.500 Because they had a leader who was unafraid. 00:03:04.819 --> 00:03:07.439 And David is very similar in this psalm. 00:03:07.519 --> 00:03:09.419 There is a poise about him. 00:03:09.500 --> 00:03:12.000 There is a sense of calm. 00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:14.159 A sense of confidence. 00:03:15.539 --> 00:03:17.759 And we see this in the way the psalm begins. 00:03:18.159 --> 00:03:21.519 The Lord is my light and my salvation. 00:03:21.680 --> 00:03:22.500 Whom shall I fear? 00:03:22.539 --> 00:03:24.459 We see the same in the final verses. 00:03:24.659 --> 00:03:25.439 I believe. 00:03:25.759 --> 00:03:27.319 I shall look. 00:03:27.439 --> 00:03:28.939 Let your heart take courage. 00:03:29.139 --> 00:03:30.859 Wait for the Lord. 00:03:30.860 --> 00:03:37.060 And yet David had every reason to be afraid. 00:03:37.180 --> 00:03:44.100 If you move your eye from the edges of the psalm, closer slowly to the middle, you'll see some of the threats. 00:03:44.200 --> 00:03:46.980 He's surrounded by evildoers. 00:03:48.340 --> 00:03:51.840 And he has adversaries, verse 2 and verse 12. 00:03:51.920 --> 00:03:53.860 He's not just threatened physically. 00:03:53.860 --> 00:03:59.400 No, his whole reputation is being maligned, verse 12. 00:03:59.560 --> 00:04:03.780 False witnesses have risen up against him. 00:04:03.860 --> 00:04:07.500 And so David's enemies, they are cannibalistic, verse 2. 00:04:07.580 --> 00:04:10.520 They are militaristic, verse 3. 00:04:12.160 --> 00:04:14.960 And yet he doesn't give in to fear. 00:04:14.960 --> 00:04:26.280 And even if an army stood against him, verse 3, he says, even if the whole world declared war on David, 00:04:27.620 --> 00:04:30.960 well, he says he'll still be confident. 00:04:32.720 --> 00:04:34.980 He reminds me of Tank Man. 00:04:35.620 --> 00:04:36.420 And do you remember him? 00:04:36.420 --> 00:04:47.020 This was the nickname given to an unknown protester who, on June 5th, 1989, stood in front of a column of tanks leaving Tiananmen Square. 00:04:48.439 --> 00:04:52.980 And the day before, the Chinese government had launched a crackdown on protesters. 00:04:54.400 --> 00:05:00.800 And this man, holding two shopping bags, he stood bravely in front of all of these tanks. 00:05:00.800 --> 00:05:06.900 And the standoff continued until he was dragged away. 00:05:07.040 --> 00:05:08.100 And David is like that. 00:05:08.180 --> 00:05:09.300 He is bold. 00:05:09.420 --> 00:05:11.079 He is defiant. 00:05:11.319 --> 00:05:14.340 All hell is breaking loose around him. 00:05:15.520 --> 00:05:16.680 And yet he's confident. 00:05:19.340 --> 00:05:23.480 I think that you and I, we live in a very fearful world, don't we? 00:05:23.500 --> 00:05:27.340 There are lots of different things that we get afraid of, frightened by. 00:05:27.339 --> 00:05:31.979 And over the last few years, people have been very afraid for their health, haven't they? 00:05:33.579 --> 00:05:35.619 Or maybe we fear for our families. 00:05:35.739 --> 00:05:42.299 We're often fearful of the kind of society that children or grandchildren are growing up in. 00:05:42.339 --> 00:05:48.219 And often what we fear the most are things that are outside of our control. 00:05:49.879 --> 00:05:53.679 And so maybe tonight you think, well, it's fine for David to say all this. 00:05:53.739 --> 00:05:54.839 He was a king. 00:05:55.979 --> 00:05:56.979 David had an army. 00:05:58.299 --> 00:06:00.079 I can't really say these words. 00:06:00.179 --> 00:06:02.519 Is David just some kind of robot? 00:06:04.219 --> 00:06:07.759 Is David made of different stuff from people like you and me? 00:06:09.279 --> 00:06:10.000 Well, no. 00:06:10.079 --> 00:06:11.699 Look at verse 12. 00:06:13.019 --> 00:06:16.919 I think there's a little chink in his armor here. 00:06:17.000 --> 00:06:19.120 There's a little bit of honesty creeping in. 00:06:19.120 --> 00:06:23.660 But what does that lead David to do? 00:06:23.740 --> 00:06:24.879 It leads him to pray. 00:06:24.980 --> 00:06:27.139 It's not that David is so sure of himself. 00:06:27.240 --> 00:06:28.319 He doesn't feel afraid. 00:06:30.160 --> 00:06:33.500 But when he does, he prays. 00:06:33.800 --> 00:06:35.079 Do you see that in verse 12? 00:06:35.639 --> 00:06:40.139 Give me not up to the will of my adversaries. 00:06:40.139 --> 00:06:44.099 David has learned to tell God his fears. 00:06:45.599 --> 00:06:47.199 I wonder, do we do that? 00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:53.139 I think it can be very easy to do all sorts of other things. 00:06:54.259 --> 00:06:57.879 And we can think about the things that frighten us. 00:06:57.879 --> 00:06:59.199 We can talk about them. 00:06:59.839 --> 00:07:01.540 And we can worry about them. 00:07:03.060 --> 00:07:06.860 But David prays about his fears. 00:07:06.860 --> 00:07:16.040 And second, he's learned to allow truths about God to shape, to mold those prayers. 00:07:17.600 --> 00:07:19.759 See this in the very first verses. 00:07:19.879 --> 00:07:22.400 The psalm, you see, it doesn't start with a bang. 00:07:22.480 --> 00:07:25.580 It doesn't start with, come and have a go if you think you're hard enough. 00:07:26.879 --> 00:07:30.080 It doesn't start with, whom shall I fear? 00:07:31.699 --> 00:07:35.740 No, like all true prayer, it starts with God. 00:07:35.740 --> 00:07:38.079 The Lord, Yahweh, the covenant God. 00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:42.360 He is my light in a dark world. 00:07:42.540 --> 00:07:45.600 He is my salvation in a sinful world. 00:07:45.699 --> 00:07:51.000 He is my stronghold in an unstable world. 00:07:53.040 --> 00:08:04.540 And David says that this security he has, it is more certain than the closest human relationships. 00:08:04.540 --> 00:08:06.060 Do you see that in verse 10? 00:08:09.200 --> 00:08:13.879 There's no evidence in Scripture that what David describes in verse 10 happened to him. 00:08:14.640 --> 00:08:18.640 As some of the commentators suggest, it's probably best to think of it hypothetically. 00:08:18.639 --> 00:08:32.340 But David says, even if, even if my father and mother forsake me, I have a God who will take me in. 00:08:33.639 --> 00:08:36.360 Is that how we think of God tonight? 00:08:36.360 --> 00:08:41.100 I absolutely love the film The Fugitive. 00:08:41.879 --> 00:08:44.060 It is Harrison Ford at his absolute finest. 00:08:44.440 --> 00:08:46.440 Forget Indiana Jones, forget Han Solo. 00:08:46.620 --> 00:08:52.779 When he plays Dr. Richard Kimball, it is an absolute master class of acting. 00:08:53.220 --> 00:08:55.060 And in that film, he is on the run. 00:08:57.000 --> 00:09:00.220 And David's early life was just like that. 00:09:00.220 --> 00:09:02.759 He was hunted by Saul. 00:09:04.180 --> 00:09:07.620 And even after he became a king, he had all kinds of enemies. 00:09:07.800 --> 00:09:10.320 And Jesus was exactly the same. 00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:16.440 And one of the really important things that we have to remember when we read the Psalms of David 00:09:16.440 --> 00:09:19.160 is that they are songs of a king. 00:09:19.159 --> 00:09:25.759 And that means that they are songs of Jesus, God's ultimate king. 00:09:27.439 --> 00:09:34.699 And so much in David's life, well, it's echoed in the life of the Lord Jesus. 00:09:36.399 --> 00:09:39.139 Jesus was steeped in these words. 00:09:39.219 --> 00:09:42.219 He would have known this psalm like the back of his hand. 00:09:42.220 --> 00:09:53.840 And one of the very best ways to understand his emotional life is to think of him reading a psalm like this. 00:09:53.980 --> 00:09:57.320 Think of him praying these words. 00:09:59.759 --> 00:10:03.800 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was a man who knew all about facing fearful situations, 00:10:03.960 --> 00:10:05.180 was someone who grasped this. 00:10:05.180 --> 00:10:07.300 And he said this when we read the Psalms. 00:10:07.299 --> 00:10:12.419 So we need to remember that it is the incarnate Son of God 00:10:12.419 --> 00:10:16.219 who has borne every human weakness in his flesh, 00:10:16.299 --> 00:10:22.339 who here pours out the heart of all humanity before God. 00:10:23.479 --> 00:10:25.659 He stands in our place and prays for us. 00:10:25.740 --> 00:10:29.740 It is the prayer of the human nature assumed by him 00:10:29.740 --> 00:10:32.439 which comes here before God. 00:10:32.440 --> 00:10:33.860 And he writes this, 00:10:33.960 --> 00:10:36.560 it can only become our prayer 00:10:36.560 --> 00:10:40.200 because it was his prayer. 00:10:42.580 --> 00:10:43.340 See, Jesus, 00:10:44.020 --> 00:10:47.360 he faced all sorts of threats during his life, didn't he? 00:10:48.720 --> 00:10:51.340 Jesus had so many enemies. 00:10:53.020 --> 00:10:54.620 And Herod tried to kill him as a baby. 00:10:54.720 --> 00:10:57.940 The devil tried to stop him as his ministry began. 00:10:57.940 --> 00:11:02.760 His family questioned his decisions. 00:11:02.880 --> 00:11:05.680 The Pharisees tried to kill him. 00:11:05.720 --> 00:11:07.600 But as he prayed these words, 00:11:07.760 --> 00:11:11.320 Jesus would have reminded himself of his security. 00:11:13.320 --> 00:11:14.820 Despite all the threats, 00:11:14.900 --> 00:11:18.560 he would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. 00:11:21.160 --> 00:11:22.860 The author of Hebrews says that 00:11:22.860 --> 00:11:25.860 Jesus shared in our humanity 00:11:25.860 --> 00:11:28.580 so that by his death 00:11:28.580 --> 00:11:31.259 he might break the power of him 00:11:31.259 --> 00:11:33.759 who holds the power of death. 00:11:33.800 --> 00:11:34.539 That is the devil. 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:35.500 And then he adds this, 00:11:35.860 --> 00:11:38.720 and free those who all their lives 00:11:38.720 --> 00:11:41.700 were held in slavery 00:11:41.700 --> 00:11:44.560 by their fear of death. 00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:48.220 That's a really good text, isn't it, 00:11:48.220 --> 00:11:49.340 for Easter Sunday night. 00:11:49.800 --> 00:11:51.139 Slaves to the fear of death. 00:11:51.180 --> 00:11:52.680 That is our culture. 00:11:52.860 --> 00:11:57.899 That is the people that we rub shoulders with each day. 00:11:58.000 --> 00:11:59.740 Under all our fears 00:11:59.740 --> 00:12:02.460 is the fear of death. 00:12:03.899 --> 00:12:07.259 But Jesus has conquered it. 00:12:08.960 --> 00:12:12.220 We have tonight a fearless king. 00:12:13.460 --> 00:12:16.240 And that means that we can have confidence. 00:12:18.120 --> 00:12:21.000 That's what David found. 00:12:21.000 --> 00:12:23.779 Secondly, though, in this passage, 00:12:23.860 --> 00:12:26.500 we also see what David seeks. 00:12:27.299 --> 00:12:29.379 What David seeks. 00:12:31.580 --> 00:12:32.539 Jennifer Roberts. 00:12:32.740 --> 00:12:35.500 She teaches art history at Harvard University. 00:12:36.639 --> 00:12:38.279 And just like every good teacher, 00:12:38.360 --> 00:12:39.259 she's always looking for a way 00:12:39.259 --> 00:12:41.139 to communicate her subject to them. 00:12:41.159 --> 00:12:43.580 And every year she sets her students 00:12:43.580 --> 00:12:45.379 a really unusual essay assignment. 00:12:45.379 --> 00:12:48.259 They have to go to one of the galleries in Boston. 00:12:48.519 --> 00:12:50.320 They've got to write an essay 00:12:50.320 --> 00:12:52.379 on one of the paintings that they see there. 00:12:53.279 --> 00:12:55.200 But before they start typing, 00:12:55.279 --> 00:12:56.120 there's one condition. 00:12:56.220 --> 00:12:57.320 They have to stand, 00:12:58.000 --> 00:13:01.340 sit in front of that painting for three hours. 00:13:02.500 --> 00:13:03.639 And they're not allowed their phones. 00:13:03.639 --> 00:13:06.919 It's just full immersion in the image. 00:13:08.360 --> 00:13:09.779 And when they're told that, 00:13:09.840 --> 00:13:11.059 many of them protest. 00:13:11.279 --> 00:13:14.600 How can I possibly sit in front of a painting 00:13:14.600 --> 00:13:15.539 for three hours? 00:13:17.100 --> 00:13:18.659 Seems like wasted time. 00:13:20.740 --> 00:13:21.439 But by the end, 00:13:21.480 --> 00:13:22.139 they always enjoy it. 00:13:22.179 --> 00:13:23.879 They notice details they've never seen before. 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:26.199 And having the time to soak in that image, 00:13:26.240 --> 00:13:26.919 it's very meaningful. 00:13:27.100 --> 00:13:30.919 And their essays are a lot more interesting as well. 00:13:30.919 --> 00:13:34.039 And David has that kind of perspective 00:13:34.039 --> 00:13:36.339 in the middle of the psalm. 00:13:36.419 --> 00:13:37.159 Look at verse four. 00:13:37.360 --> 00:13:40.579 One thing have I asked of the Lord, 00:13:40.719 --> 00:13:41.919 that will I seek after, 00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:44.799 that I may dwell in the house of the Lord 00:13:44.799 --> 00:13:46.579 all the days of my life, 00:13:48.059 --> 00:13:50.379 to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord 00:13:50.379 --> 00:13:54.259 and to inquire in his temple. 00:13:56.339 --> 00:13:58.939 I absolutely love this verse. 00:13:58.940 --> 00:14:01.200 I love David's focus. 00:14:01.340 --> 00:14:02.500 He's like Mary, isn't he? 00:14:02.500 --> 00:14:03.800 Sitting at Jesus' feet. 00:14:03.900 --> 00:14:06.480 He's discovered the one thing 00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:08.160 that really matters. 00:14:08.260 --> 00:14:10.200 He wants to be with God's people, 00:14:10.300 --> 00:14:11.120 with God. 00:14:12.720 --> 00:14:16.560 And I love how David describes the Lord. 00:14:16.660 --> 00:14:18.400 He says he wants to see 00:14:18.400 --> 00:14:20.420 the beauty of the Lord. 00:14:22.160 --> 00:14:24.980 I wonder, is that how we think of God? 00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:26.660 We often think of God as powerful, 00:14:26.840 --> 00:14:27.120 don't we? 00:14:27.120 --> 00:14:30.139 We often think of God as mighty or strong. 00:14:30.299 --> 00:14:34.100 Do we think of God as beautiful? 00:14:36.960 --> 00:14:38.419 In C.S. Lewis' book, 00:14:38.799 --> 00:14:39.899 Till We Have Faces, 00:14:41.100 --> 00:14:43.159 one of the characters writes this, 00:14:43.220 --> 00:14:46.320 the sweetest thing in all my life 00:14:46.320 --> 00:14:49.340 has been the longing to reach the mountain, 00:14:49.460 --> 00:14:50.580 to find the place 00:14:50.580 --> 00:14:54.200 where all the beauty came from, 00:14:54.759 --> 00:14:56.240 to find the place 00:14:56.240 --> 00:14:59.360 where all the beauty came from. 00:14:59.460 --> 00:15:02.980 And David knows the source of that beauty. 00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:05.120 He knows the source is God. 00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:07.360 He wants to be where God is. 00:15:07.420 --> 00:15:10.540 He wants to meet with God in the temple. 00:15:10.539 --> 00:15:15.139 What do you and I want? 00:15:16.519 --> 00:15:18.399 What is our longing? 00:15:20.099 --> 00:15:23.839 What would you and I ask God to give us 00:15:23.839 --> 00:15:27.759 if we knew He would say yes? 00:15:29.839 --> 00:15:31.459 Well, David gives his answer. 00:15:31.620 --> 00:15:34.240 David wants God Himself. 00:15:34.559 --> 00:15:34.980 Verse 8, 00:15:34.980 --> 00:15:47.779 How do you and I seek God? 00:15:47.820 --> 00:15:49.340 We seek God in prayer, don't we? 00:15:49.379 --> 00:15:52.120 We seek God when we read our Bibles for ourselves. 00:15:52.440 --> 00:15:53.000 Primarily, 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:55.560 you and I seek God 00:15:55.560 --> 00:15:58.620 when we gather together like this. 00:15:58.620 --> 00:16:00.519 I'm preaching to the converted, 00:16:00.679 --> 00:16:01.299 I think, tonight. 00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:05.340 But this is why Sundays are so important, aren't they? 00:16:05.460 --> 00:16:07.679 David wants increasing intimacy 00:16:07.679 --> 00:16:10.500 and closeness to God. 00:16:10.659 --> 00:16:13.019 David wants to be in the house of God. 00:16:13.080 --> 00:16:15.379 He wants to see the beauty of God. 00:16:16.039 --> 00:16:19.720 And David wants to see the face of God. 00:16:21.080 --> 00:16:23.480 And this is what human beings were made for. 00:16:23.560 --> 00:16:25.440 This was life in the garden. 00:16:25.539 --> 00:16:27.720 This is what we hear in the Aaronic Blessing. 00:16:27.720 --> 00:16:31.360 The Lord turn His face toward you 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:33.720 and give you peace. 00:16:36.220 --> 00:16:38.660 And I think one of the things that COVID has done, 00:16:38.779 --> 00:16:39.080 hasn't it, 00:16:39.100 --> 00:16:40.399 has made us realize 00:16:40.399 --> 00:16:43.240 just how important our faces are. 00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:47.560 And just how important our bodies are. 00:16:49.700 --> 00:16:51.180 And Mark Zuckerberg, 00:16:51.240 --> 00:16:54.540 he has apparently got a metaverse coming for us. 00:16:55.340 --> 00:16:57.320 And he claims it's going to revolutionize 00:16:57.320 --> 00:16:58.900 the way that we connect with each other. 00:16:58.960 --> 00:17:00.220 We're going to walk around 00:17:00.220 --> 00:17:01.580 with glasses 00:17:01.580 --> 00:17:04.600 and with avatars in virtual reality. 00:17:05.960 --> 00:17:07.440 And the problem with that is 00:17:07.440 --> 00:17:09.900 it's just so dehumanizing, isn't it? 00:17:11.559 --> 00:17:13.039 And it cuts against the way 00:17:13.039 --> 00:17:15.440 God made us as embodied creatures. 00:17:15.519 --> 00:17:17.059 It cuts against the incarnation. 00:17:17.059 --> 00:17:22.079 And it cuts against the physical future 00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:24.659 God has in store for us 00:17:24.659 --> 00:17:27.659 to see God face to face. 00:17:29.740 --> 00:17:31.480 You see, what do we see at the end of the Bible? 00:17:33.419 --> 00:17:36.759 We see a God who wipes away 00:17:36.759 --> 00:17:39.119 every tear from our eyes. 00:17:39.119 --> 00:17:44.619 And I've never forgotten hearing someone ask 00:17:44.619 --> 00:17:46.739 this question about that promise. 00:17:46.879 --> 00:17:49.879 When was the last time 00:17:49.879 --> 00:17:54.679 you wiped away someone's tears? 00:17:54.680 --> 00:17:59.920 You cannot do that at a distance, can you? 00:17:59.920 --> 00:18:02.920 You have to be able to get very, very close 00:18:02.920 --> 00:18:03.940 to someone to do that. 00:18:04.019 --> 00:18:05.880 There are probably only a handful of people 00:18:05.880 --> 00:18:07.660 in your life, in my life, 00:18:07.720 --> 00:18:09.860 that you or I could do that too. 00:18:10.100 --> 00:18:12.160 And that is what is on offer 00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:13.060 in the Christian life. 00:18:13.160 --> 00:18:17.480 That level of intimacy with God. 00:18:17.480 --> 00:18:19.140 That is how personal 00:18:19.140 --> 00:18:23.180 God wants to be with you, with me. 00:18:25.860 --> 00:18:27.340 I think it's very easy for us, 00:18:27.380 --> 00:18:28.320 maybe if we've been Christians 00:18:28.320 --> 00:18:29.480 for a little while, 00:18:29.560 --> 00:18:31.000 to think God is content 00:18:31.000 --> 00:18:33.520 to just keep us at arm's length, 00:18:33.640 --> 00:18:35.100 keep us at a distance. 00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:36.820 Maybe in our human relationships 00:18:36.820 --> 00:18:38.120 we often do that, don't we? 00:18:38.120 --> 00:18:39.500 We play safe with people. 00:18:39.800 --> 00:18:41.920 We don't want to get too close to people. 00:18:45.580 --> 00:18:47.200 But that is not the future 00:18:47.200 --> 00:18:49.580 that God has for us 00:18:49.580 --> 00:18:51.259 if we're Christians. 00:18:54.140 --> 00:18:55.380 Like David, Jesus 00:18:55.380 --> 00:18:57.880 sought his father's face. 00:18:57.940 --> 00:18:58.660 All through his life, 00:18:58.700 --> 00:19:00.940 he poured out his heart to him. 00:19:00.980 --> 00:19:03.000 He wants us to be with him too. 00:19:04.920 --> 00:19:07.580 And God's great goal for us, 00:19:09.059 --> 00:19:10.360 God's great aim for us 00:19:10.360 --> 00:19:15.039 is to be face to face with him. 00:19:15.200 --> 00:19:16.240 Theologians, they call this 00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:18.160 the beatific vision. 00:19:19.079 --> 00:19:19.980 The beatific vision. 00:19:20.079 --> 00:19:20.900 That is our great, 00:19:21.000 --> 00:19:23.640 our certain destiny as God's people. 00:19:25.819 --> 00:19:27.380 That now we see God 00:19:27.380 --> 00:19:29.640 with the eyes of faith. 00:19:31.380 --> 00:19:33.640 And we see with our ears. 00:19:34.339 --> 00:19:36.700 We see God as we hear his word. 00:19:37.880 --> 00:19:39.720 But one day we will see him 00:19:39.720 --> 00:19:41.579 face to face. 00:19:41.579 --> 00:19:44.980 And what is even more amazing 00:19:44.980 --> 00:19:46.000 is that when, 00:19:46.519 --> 00:19:47.539 it's what John says 00:19:47.539 --> 00:19:48.699 will happen on that day. 00:19:48.799 --> 00:19:50.019 1 John 3 verse 2. 00:19:50.299 --> 00:19:50.819 Dear friends, 00:19:50.899 --> 00:19:52.159 now we are children of God 00:19:52.159 --> 00:19:53.379 and what we will be 00:19:53.379 --> 00:19:54.679 has not yet been made known. 00:19:54.759 --> 00:19:55.539 But we know that 00:19:55.539 --> 00:19:57.539 when Christ appears, 00:19:57.919 --> 00:19:59.199 we shall be like him. 00:20:00.659 --> 00:20:01.960 For we shall see him 00:20:01.960 --> 00:20:03.439 as he is. 00:20:05.399 --> 00:20:06.740 You know, maybe you need to dwell 00:20:06.740 --> 00:20:07.919 on a verse like that 00:20:07.919 --> 00:20:08.419 for a while. 00:20:08.480 --> 00:20:09.619 Maybe you need to write it out, 00:20:09.619 --> 00:20:11.219 put it on your bathroom mirror. 00:20:11.359 --> 00:20:12.259 It is a truth 00:20:12.259 --> 00:20:14.339 that can change your life. 00:20:14.419 --> 00:20:15.859 It's a certainty 00:20:15.859 --> 00:20:18.939 that will make you persevere. 00:20:20.879 --> 00:20:21.559 As John adds, 00:20:22.199 --> 00:20:23.699 all who have this hope in him 00:20:23.699 --> 00:20:24.959 purify themselves 00:20:24.959 --> 00:20:28.279 just as he is pure. 00:20:30.199 --> 00:20:32.339 So what is your one thing? 00:20:32.339 --> 00:20:35.139 What do you want tonight? 00:20:37.159 --> 00:20:39.039 What if you had it, 00:20:39.119 --> 00:20:39.859 do you think, 00:20:39.959 --> 00:20:41.139 would satisfy you? 00:20:41.179 --> 00:20:43.099 David gives us his answer. 00:20:43.299 --> 00:20:46.299 David wants God. 00:20:49.079 --> 00:20:50.579 We're not too far away 00:20:50.579 --> 00:20:51.519 from Wimbledon. 00:20:51.980 --> 00:20:52.679 And Boris Becker 00:20:52.679 --> 00:20:53.359 has been in the news 00:20:53.359 --> 00:20:54.019 a lot recently. 00:20:54.199 --> 00:20:55.199 But in 1994, 00:20:55.599 --> 00:20:57.240 he was very close to suicide. 00:20:57.899 --> 00:20:58.939 He'd won everything 00:20:58.939 --> 00:20:59.959 that a tennis player 00:20:59.959 --> 00:21:01.059 could dream of. 00:21:01.099 --> 00:21:02.179 He'd won Wimbledon twice. 00:21:02.339 --> 00:21:05.779 But he felt completely empty. 00:21:05.899 --> 00:21:06.539 He said this, 00:21:06.579 --> 00:21:08.859 I had no inner peace. 00:21:10.240 --> 00:21:11.359 I was a puppet 00:21:11.359 --> 00:21:13.019 on a string. 00:21:15.079 --> 00:21:16.839 But David knows 00:21:16.839 --> 00:21:17.699 the God 00:21:17.699 --> 00:21:19.480 who satisfies. 00:21:19.859 --> 00:21:21.559 David wants him. 00:21:22.759 --> 00:21:23.679 David doesn't want 00:21:23.679 --> 00:21:25.359 to lose his face. 00:21:25.439 --> 00:21:25.899 Do you see that 00:21:25.899 --> 00:21:26.559 in verse 9? 00:21:26.699 --> 00:21:27.980 Hide not your face 00:21:27.980 --> 00:21:28.500 from me. 00:21:29.899 --> 00:21:31.079 Turn not your servant 00:21:31.079 --> 00:21:31.679 away in anger. 00:21:31.960 --> 00:21:33.399 Don't cast me off. 00:21:35.099 --> 00:21:35.779 Hear me, 00:21:35.859 --> 00:21:36.319 O God. 00:21:36.779 --> 00:21:37.559 Answer me. 00:21:39.639 --> 00:21:40.720 I love the contrast 00:21:40.720 --> 00:21:42.000 in verses 5 and 6. 00:21:42.099 --> 00:21:42.500 David is, 00:21:42.659 --> 00:21:43.480 he's hiding, 00:21:43.599 --> 00:21:43.839 isn't he? 00:21:43.859 --> 00:21:45.439 And yet he's shouting. 00:21:45.619 --> 00:21:46.740 He's fearless. 00:21:46.960 --> 00:21:48.779 He's secure in God, 00:21:48.859 --> 00:21:49.960 but he's not silent. 00:21:50.099 --> 00:21:51.179 He's singing 00:21:51.179 --> 00:21:51.879 and praising 00:21:51.879 --> 00:21:52.919 and confident 00:21:52.919 --> 00:21:54.740 in God. 00:21:54.740 --> 00:21:59.220 Is that us tonight? 00:22:01.519 --> 00:22:03.180 Do we want God? 00:22:04.900 --> 00:22:06.120 Or are we running 00:22:06.120 --> 00:22:07.740 away from God? 00:22:10.299 --> 00:22:11.079 In The Hound of Heaven, 00:22:11.180 --> 00:22:12.220 it's a really powerful 00:22:12.220 --> 00:22:13.819 poem by Francis Thompson. 00:22:13.960 --> 00:22:14.519 It describes 00:22:14.519 --> 00:22:15.819 one man's experience 00:22:15.819 --> 00:22:16.680 of hiding 00:22:16.680 --> 00:22:17.880 away from God 00:22:17.880 --> 00:22:18.920 rather than seeking him. 00:22:18.980 --> 00:22:19.740 It goes like this, 00:22:19.740 --> 00:22:20.599 I fled him 00:22:20.599 --> 00:22:22.059 down the nights 00:22:22.059 --> 00:22:22.859 and down the days. 00:22:22.960 --> 00:22:23.700 I fled him 00:22:23.700 --> 00:22:25.240 down the arches 00:22:25.240 --> 00:22:25.779 of the years. 00:22:25.880 --> 00:22:26.819 I fled him 00:22:26.819 --> 00:22:28.960 down the labyrinthine 00:22:28.960 --> 00:22:30.700 ways of my own mind 00:22:30.700 --> 00:22:31.779 and in the midst 00:22:31.779 --> 00:22:32.380 of tears 00:22:32.380 --> 00:22:34.339 I hid from him. 00:22:36.779 --> 00:22:38.240 And in so many ways 00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:39.279 that captures 00:22:39.279 --> 00:22:40.700 the human condition. 00:22:40.839 --> 00:22:41.220 You and I, 00:22:41.279 --> 00:22:42.140 we have been running 00:22:42.140 --> 00:22:43.240 away from God, 00:22:43.299 --> 00:22:43.680 haven't we, 00:22:43.740 --> 00:22:45.000 since Eden. 00:22:46.759 --> 00:22:47.420 Deep down, 00:22:47.519 --> 00:22:48.500 we long for him. 00:22:48.500 --> 00:22:49.460 Even after we've come 00:22:49.460 --> 00:22:49.680 to him, 00:22:49.700 --> 00:22:51.660 we still try to satisfy 00:22:51.660 --> 00:22:52.500 that longing 00:22:52.500 --> 00:22:54.480 in all the wrong places. 00:22:56.500 --> 00:22:58.099 But only in him, 00:22:58.200 --> 00:22:59.559 only in the God 00:22:59.559 --> 00:23:01.000 who is full 00:23:01.000 --> 00:23:01.839 will you and I 00:23:01.839 --> 00:23:03.819 find what we're 00:23:03.819 --> 00:23:04.519 looking for. 00:23:07.099 --> 00:23:08.259 And David's 00:23:08.259 --> 00:23:08.859 greater son, 00:23:08.980 --> 00:23:09.220 Jesus, 00:23:09.380 --> 00:23:11.039 he came to seek 00:23:11.039 --> 00:23:12.960 and save the lost. 00:23:14.779 --> 00:23:15.440 And while we were 00:23:15.440 --> 00:23:16.180 a long way off, 00:23:16.220 --> 00:23:17.559 while we were far away, 00:23:17.559 --> 00:23:18.379 God the Father 00:23:18.379 --> 00:23:19.559 sent him 00:23:19.559 --> 00:23:20.240 to look for us 00:23:20.240 --> 00:23:21.240 on the cross, 00:23:21.399 --> 00:23:21.700 Jesus, 00:23:22.639 --> 00:23:23.399 our beautiful 00:23:23.399 --> 00:23:24.480 Savior died 00:23:24.480 --> 00:23:25.399 and then he rose. 00:23:27.859 --> 00:23:28.980 And so tonight, 00:23:29.119 --> 00:23:30.440 it is not 00:23:30.440 --> 00:23:33.279 that we have 00:23:33.279 --> 00:23:34.799 nothing to fear 00:23:34.799 --> 00:23:37.019 but fear itself. 00:23:39.220 --> 00:23:39.940 We have 00:23:39.940 --> 00:23:41.079 so much more 00:23:41.079 --> 00:23:41.460 than that, 00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:41.859 don't we? 00:23:41.859 --> 00:23:45.219 we have a 00:23:45.219 --> 00:23:46.039 fearless king. 00:23:47.959 --> 00:23:49.039 We have a king 00:23:49.039 --> 00:23:49.639 who has 00:23:49.639 --> 00:23:51.259 conquered death. 00:23:52.639 --> 00:23:53.819 And we have a king 00:23:53.819 --> 00:23:54.779 who says, 00:23:55.179 --> 00:23:56.299 fear not, 00:23:57.299 --> 00:23:58.699 I am the first 00:23:58.699 --> 00:23:59.599 and the last 00:23:59.599 --> 00:24:01.519 and the living one. 00:24:02.979 --> 00:24:04.119 I died 00:24:04.119 --> 00:24:06.379 and behold, 00:24:06.619 --> 00:24:08.319 I am 00:24:08.319 --> 00:24:10.000 alive 00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:11.459 forever 00:24:11.459 --> 00:24:12.459 more. 00:24:14.259 --> 00:24:15.519 Well, let's pray together. 00:24:15.519 --> 00:24:15.579 Amen. 00:24:15.579 --> 00:24:15.579 00:24:15.579 --> 00:24:15.579 00:24:15.579 --> 00:24:15.579 00:24:15.579 --> 00:24:15.579 00:24:15.579 --> 00:24:15.579 00:24:15.579 --> 00:24:15.579 00:24:15.579 --> 00:24:15.579 00:24:15.579 --> 00:24:17.579 Amen. 00:24:17.579 --> 00:24:17.579 00:24:17.579 --> 00:24:17.579 00:24:17.579 --> 00:24:18.579 Amen. 00:24:18.579 --> 00:24:19.579 Amen. 00:24:19.579 --> 00:24:19.579 00:24:19.579 --> 00:24:19.579 00:24:19.579 --> 00:24:19.579 00:24:19.579 --> 00:24:19.579 00:24:19.579 --> 00:24:19.579