WEBVTT 00:00:00.300 --> 00:00:12.759 Well, good morning. Would you turn with me in a Bible to Psalm 66? It's found on page 480, if you're looking in one of the few Bibles. 00:00:16.760 --> 00:00:19.280 Psalm 66. 00:00:19.280 --> 00:00:49.260 Psalm 66. 00:00:49.280 --> 00:01:19.260 Psalm 67. 00:01:19.280 --> 00:01:21.280 Psalm 67. 00:01:21.280 --> 00:01:23.280 Psalm 67. 00:01:23.280 --> 00:01:53.280 00:01:53.280 --> 00:01:55.280 Psalm 67. 00:01:55.280 --> 00:02:25.280 00:02:25.280 --> 00:02:27.280 Psalm 67. 00:02:27.280 --> 00:02:29.280 Psalm 67. 00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:59.280 00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:01.280 Psalm 67. 00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:31.280 00:03:31.280 --> 00:03:33.280 Psalm 67. 00:03:33.280 --> 00:03:35.280 Psalm 67. 00:03:35.280 --> 00:03:37.280 Psalm 67. 00:03:37.280 --> 00:03:39.280 Psalm 67. 00:03:39.280 --> 00:03:41.280 Psalm 67. 00:03:41.280 --> 00:03:42.280 Psalm 67. 00:03:42.280 --> 00:03:50.280 leaving your house. Either way, the blizzard stopped us in our tracks and disrupted our normal 00:03:50.280 --> 00:03:56.740 routines. Second example, if you walk through the middle of the Yale campus, 00:03:57.520 --> 00:04:03.939 you might notice next to the Beinecke Library a large prominent memorial. It reads this. It has 00:04:03.939 --> 00:04:10.319 golden letters. It says, in memory of the men of Yale who, true to her traditions, gave their lives 00:04:10.319 --> 00:04:17.519 that freedom might not perish from the earth. It was built to commemorate the Yale students and 00:04:17.519 --> 00:04:23.360 graduates who had served in World War I. Now, when I was a student, I'd walk by this memorial almost 00:04:23.360 --> 00:04:29.759 every day between class and lunch, and I would hardly ever give it a second thought. But there 00:04:29.759 --> 00:04:35.159 was one day, I think it was Veterans Day, when there was a group of people having some kind of an outdoor 00:04:35.159 --> 00:04:40.219 remembrance service in front of it. They had speeches and music and a moment of silence, 00:04:40.319 --> 00:04:47.040 and I stopped to listen for about 15 minutes, and I started to think. I thought, if these men 00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:53.279 and a bunch of others hadn't fought in that war, the world that I live in today might look a whole 00:04:53.279 --> 00:05:00.120 lot different. This country might not be here in the same way. This university might not be here 00:05:00.120 --> 00:05:07.980 in the same way I might not be here, at least not in the way I am now. And on that day, I was challenged 00:05:07.980 --> 00:05:13.900 to live differently in light of a historical reality that I had overlooked and ignored. 00:05:15.819 --> 00:05:24.240 Third example. Seven years ago, on a Sunday night in July, I made a phone call to a recent college 00:05:24.240 --> 00:05:30.180 graduate to wish her a happy birthday. At the end of the phone call, I said, I have one more thing that 00:05:30.180 --> 00:05:38.060 I want to say. I really admire you and I want to date you. After a slight pause, she answered, 00:05:38.740 --> 00:05:47.139 me too. In that moment, both of us were in awe, shock, and delight. She asked me, so what's next? 00:05:47.899 --> 00:05:55.280 I said, I have no idea. I haven't thought past this moment. Maybe you can look back to the first time 00:05:55.279 --> 00:06:03.079 that you met someone, whether it's a spouse, or a child, or a trusted mentor, or a loyal friend. 00:06:03.719 --> 00:06:10.419 Someone who has come into your life and changed it for the better. Now, what do these three examples 00:06:10.419 --> 00:06:18.879 all have in common? One's a natural weather event, one's a historical connection, and one's a personal 00:06:18.879 --> 00:06:27.360 relationship. But all of them jolt us out of our normal routines and call us into a new way of living. 00:06:28.719 --> 00:06:37.100 All of them evoke a certain kind of awe or praise, whether we grudgingly admit that the blizzard is 00:06:37.100 --> 00:06:44.219 bigger than we are, or whether we thankfully look back to the sacrifice of people who have come before us, 00:06:44.220 --> 00:06:51.540 or whether we joyfully embrace a person who has come into our lives. Well, this psalm that we're 00:06:51.540 --> 00:06:59.520 looking at this morning speaks about a God who jolts us out of our normal routines and calls us into a 00:06:59.520 --> 00:07:06.700 new way of living. A God who sometimes even throws our life into chaos and then puts the pieces together 00:07:06.700 --> 00:07:12.960 in a way that we could never have imagined. And the word that the psalmist uses to describe this God 00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:23.399 is awesome in verse 3 and verse 5. In other words, God inspires fear and wonder and amazement and delight. 00:07:24.439 --> 00:07:32.359 He is riveting such that when we truly see this God for who He is, we are lifted out of our naturally 00:07:32.359 --> 00:07:42.699 self-centered way of life and called into a life of praising God. So that's what this psalm invites us to do. 00:07:42.959 --> 00:07:49.239 If you look through this psalm, the beginning of almost each paragraph is an invitation. Shout for joy 00:07:49.239 --> 00:07:56.560 to God, all the earth. Come and see what God has done. Come and hear what God has done for me. Bless our 00:07:56.560 --> 00:08:05.439 God. Now this psalm progresses, like our three opening examples, from the natural to the historical to the 00:08:05.439 --> 00:08:11.980 personal. And so we'll look at these three sections. God's awesome deeds in the natural world, God's 00:08:11.980 --> 00:08:17.300 awesome deeds for His people in history, and finally, God's awesome deeds for individual people 00:08:17.300 --> 00:08:23.980 like you and me. So first, verses 1 through 4 speak about God's awesome deeds in all the earth, 00:08:24.040 --> 00:08:29.420 in the natural world. Shout for joy to God, all the earth. Sing the glory of His name. 00:08:29.420 --> 00:08:38.300 Give to Him glorious praise. Now that word glory can refer to several things, both in English and 00:08:38.300 --> 00:08:46.420 in Hebrew. It can refer to fame. It can refer to beauty. It can refer to brightness. It can refer to 00:08:46.420 --> 00:08:55.560 weight or authority. One writer defines the glory of God as the beauty of His manifold perfections. 00:08:55.559 --> 00:09:04.739 In other words, the combination of God's love and His justice, His power and His mercy, 00:09:05.500 --> 00:09:15.000 His majesty and His kindness. God's glory is displayed in all the earth. And we can see it. 00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:21.719 We can glimpse it. Whether we look into the depths of the natural world, if you look through a microscope 00:09:21.720 --> 00:09:31.440 and atoms and subatomic particles, we see a world of intricacy and order and complexity and paradox, 00:09:32.399 --> 00:09:38.340 it's something bigger than we can fully understand. And yet it has a beauty to it. 00:09:39.060 --> 00:09:46.240 Or when we look outward to the farthest reaches of the universe, we see a universe that reflects God's 00:09:46.240 --> 00:09:53.960 immensity and greatness. Do you know just last year, the Hubble Space Telescope observed a star exploding 00:09:53.960 --> 00:10:02.379 80 million light years away. That would mean that the light from that star exploding would take 80 00:10:02.379 --> 00:10:11.019 million years, and light travels fast, travel much faster than any of us, would take 80 million years 00:10:11.019 --> 00:10:19.199 for the light to reach all the way to us. It's just a glimpse of how vast the universe that we live in is, 00:10:19.199 --> 00:10:25.879 much bigger than the world that most of us think about and walk in every day. 00:10:27.759 --> 00:10:32.620 Or when we look backwards in time, even back to the beginning of the universe, 00:10:33.299 --> 00:10:40.299 we get a glimpse of God's awesome work of creation out of an infinitely small singularity, 00:10:40.299 --> 00:10:46.839 or in other words, out of nothing came everything that is. And it's a great mystery. 00:10:47.919 --> 00:10:56.199 Everyone acknowledges that. How could it happen? It's a great mystery how God brought the world into 00:10:56.199 --> 00:11:04.319 being, but it's a reality. So whether we look inward, outward, or backwards, all the earth displays 00:11:04.320 --> 00:11:12.960 the glory of God who made it and preserves it. Now, just like with the blizzard of this past winter, 00:11:13.100 --> 00:11:20.200 there are two possible responses to the glory of God, God's awesome deeds in nature. Now, the first 00:11:20.200 --> 00:11:28.360 response is in verse 3, is a grudging acknowledgement. Verse 3 says, 00:11:28.360 --> 00:11:34.440 So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you. In other words, even the people 00:11:34.440 --> 00:11:42.139 who don't like you are compelled to respect you. Now, isn't that a sign of someone's greatness? 00:11:43.720 --> 00:11:50.960 You know, you might be a Red Sox fan, like I am, but if it's the bottom of the eighth inning, 00:11:50.960 --> 00:11:57.240 and the Yankees are up by one, and we're staging a comeback, we've got two runners on base and nobody 00:11:57.240 --> 00:12:08.879 out, and Joe Girardi calls in Mariano Rivera. You say, oh no, not him. And you don't give up hope 00:12:08.879 --> 00:12:13.580 because you're not on his team, and you're never going to root for him, but you know that he's one 00:12:13.580 --> 00:12:18.800 of the best closers in baseball history. Even if you don't like him, you have to respect him. 00:12:20.960 --> 00:12:28.920 And the same is true with the God of the Bible. Even people who don't like God and don't want to 00:12:28.920 --> 00:12:36.980 follow God still acknowledge God at some level, even unconsciously. Let me give an example of that. 00:12:37.040 --> 00:12:42.340 For several years, I was a campus minister at Wesleyan University in Middletown. And if you know 00:12:42.340 --> 00:12:47.340 anything about Wesleyan, the college abandoned their Methodist Christian roots about a hundred years ago. 00:12:47.340 --> 00:12:53.920 So like many other New England colleges, it's a very secular institution. Most students don't hold 00:12:53.920 --> 00:12:59.700 to any religious faith. When I started working there, actually, we had 30 or 40 students in the 00:12:59.700 --> 00:13:05.480 Christian fellowship. None of them had been raised in American Christian families. They were all either 00:13:05.480 --> 00:13:10.220 international students or people who had come to faith in high school or college apart from the 00:13:10.220 --> 00:13:16.940 influence of their parents. It was a fascinating group of people to work with. But Wesleyan is a very 00:13:16.940 --> 00:13:22.920 secular university, but it was also a place where students are passionate about justice. Justice for 00:13:22.920 --> 00:13:28.660 women. Justice for minorities. Justice for the poor. Justice for people who've been traditionally 00:13:28.660 --> 00:13:35.300 oppressed and marginalized by mainstream society. And so students were always organizing some kind of 00:13:35.300 --> 00:13:42.760 protest or campaign or collection. And when we did a spring break service project every year, 00:13:42.759 --> 00:13:48.120 sponsored by the Christian fellowship. And many years, we had more than half of the people coming 00:13:48.120 --> 00:13:53.539 were not Christian believers. But they were motivated to spend a week of their spring break, 00:13:53.899 --> 00:13:59.460 instead of just partying and going crazy, building houses in New Orleans or somewhere else that had 00:13:59.460 --> 00:14:06.539 experienced a disaster. And so very secular students were very committed, passionately and sacrificially 00:14:06.539 --> 00:14:12.599 committed to seeking justice. Now, of course, the assumption underlying that pursuit of justice 00:14:12.599 --> 00:14:22.319 is that every human being has dignity and worth. And that it's not right for the strong to trample on 00:14:22.319 --> 00:14:30.480 the weak. It's not right for the majority to just eat up the minority because they can and push them to the 00:14:30.480 --> 00:14:37.620 side. Now, if you ask most students, do you believe what the Bible says? That there's a divine lawgiver 00:14:37.620 --> 00:14:43.960 who stands outside the universe and who will judge the thoughts and actions of every creature? 00:14:44.860 --> 00:14:49.480 They would say no. They would say that idea is part of the system of oppression that we're trying to 00:14:49.480 --> 00:14:56.019 resist. But then if you ask, how did we get here if God was not involved? Well, they would say through 00:14:56.019 --> 00:15:02.740 a process of evolution by natural selection. Well, what is natural selection? The strong eating the weak. 00:15:03.939 --> 00:15:10.079 The majority getting rid of the minority. But don't you have a contradiction there? 00:15:11.079 --> 00:15:18.319 If there's nothing outside the physical universe and the universe has produced us by a mindless, 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:27.200 violent process, what basis do we have for this passionate and sacrificial commitment to helping 00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:36.000 people who are on the margins? What basis do we have to think that that idea of including outsiders 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:43.560 and helping the weak is more than simply our personal, individual, arbitrary, ultimately meaningless 00:15:43.559 --> 00:15:52.519 preference? You see, there's a contradiction between a secular ideology and the passion that many secular 00:15:52.519 --> 00:15:59.879 people have for justice and human rights. Because human rights only makes sense if you believe something 00:15:59.879 --> 00:16:07.019 like what the Bible says, that human beings bear the image of God and therefore have dignity and worth 00:16:07.019 --> 00:16:16.000 everyone. And compassion for the weak is rooted in the biblical picture of God as a father to the fatherless 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:24.039 and a defender of people who are vulnerable and the judge of all who are proud. And it's especially 00:16:24.039 --> 00:16:29.480 rooted in the Christian belief that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, took on our human nature and became the 00:16:29.480 --> 00:16:35.100 ultimate outcast so that we might be included as members of God's family. 00:16:35.100 --> 00:16:42.279 So if you're here today, if you're a secular person, let me challenge you. If you're a secular person 00:16:42.279 --> 00:16:48.420 here committed to human rights and social justice, what I think you're doing is you're importing deeply 00:16:48.420 --> 00:16:56.740 Christian values into a worldview that has no independent foundation for such things. It's like you are 00:16:56.740 --> 00:17:03.779 building a house according to a floor plan that doesn't include any joists. The joists are the big beams 00:17:03.779 --> 00:17:10.519 that hold up the floors. And so you have to borrow the joists from somewhere else. Otherwise, the house 00:17:10.519 --> 00:17:16.200 will collapse. And if you're doing that, you're admitting that your framework, your worldview is 00:17:16.200 --> 00:17:23.160 insufficient and that you really need something and you really want something that comes from the 00:17:23.160 --> 00:17:30.639 Christian God and the Christian faith. And in that sense, you're acknowledging God even if you don't 00:17:30.640 --> 00:17:39.940 want to. But you know, this psalm doesn't call us to simply grudgingly acknowledge God. But he calls us 00:17:39.940 --> 00:17:49.820 to another response, a response of joyful praise. Sing the glory of his name. Give to him glorious praise. 00:17:49.819 --> 00:17:57.379 God's grace. You know, if we look and see God's majesty and God's mercy, God's justice and God's love, 00:17:58.200 --> 00:18:04.960 God's fierceness and God's kindness displayed in all the earth, we're drawn out of ourselves. 00:18:06.200 --> 00:18:11.559 We're drawn out of our preoccupation with our present circumstances. We're drawn into the song 00:18:11.559 --> 00:18:17.619 which all creation was made to sing. And so everywhere we look, whether you look inward or 00:18:17.619 --> 00:18:24.359 outward or backward, we see reflections of the beauty and wisdom and goodness and greatness of God. 00:18:25.559 --> 00:18:31.159 And so we don't just admire the mysteries of the natural world, the wave-particle duality or the 00:18:31.159 --> 00:18:37.379 singularity at the beginning of the universe or whatever you're studying for your PhD in science, 00:18:37.380 --> 00:18:44.520 right? But we praise the one who created and upholds them all. It's sort of like the difference 00:18:44.520 --> 00:18:52.540 between admiring an anonymous painting in an art museum and knowing the heart and soul of the artist 00:18:52.540 --> 00:19:00.340 who made it. If you know a great artist who is also a person of great character, 00:19:00.339 --> 00:19:07.480 their artwork becomes even more gripping, even more powerful, even more intriguing. 00:19:09.339 --> 00:19:13.199 Because you know the person who's behind it. 00:19:16.199 --> 00:19:22.139 And that's what it means to sing God's glorious praise and to recognize His glory in all the world 00:19:22.139 --> 00:19:29.599 and to see that He stands behind all that we see. But also when we look at the brokenness of this world, 00:19:29.599 --> 00:19:37.619 the evil in this world, the injustice of this world, we not only have a commitment to seeking 00:19:37.619 --> 00:19:44.159 justice, but we have a reason for that and a motivation for that. Because there is a God of mercy 00:19:44.159 --> 00:19:52.179 who befriends and defends the weak. And there is a God who will one day come and judge the earth 00:19:52.179 --> 00:19:59.019 according to His righteousness. So God's awesome deeds in nature call us to praise. 00:19:59.019 --> 00:20:06.319 That's the first section. The second section, verses 5 through 12, focuses on God's awesome deeds for His 00:20:06.319 --> 00:20:13.799 people in history. Now just as every earthly nation and every ethnic group has a history, 00:20:14.559 --> 00:20:23.019 God's people also have a history. And just as you and I live here in this nation and in this city 00:20:23.019 --> 00:20:32.099 partly because of the sacrifices of people who lived long before we ever did, you and I are also here in this church. 00:20:33.099 --> 00:20:38.740 And if you're a Christian, you're part of the body of Christ because of what God did for His people 00:20:38.740 --> 00:20:42.119 long before you and I existed or joined in. 00:20:42.119 --> 00:20:50.619 Now I would venture to say though that most of us rarely if ever think about our connection to God's people 00:20:50.619 --> 00:20:55.359 throughout history. Some of us never think about history at all. 00:20:56.559 --> 00:21:02.899 Right? We're just focused on the present because that's what's practical and that's what we need to deal with today. 00:21:02.900 --> 00:21:05.900 Or maybe our plans for the future. 00:21:07.100 --> 00:21:09.120 Or maybe if we do study history, 00:21:09.740 --> 00:21:11.840 we usually focus on 00:21:11.840 --> 00:21:13.680 and define ourselves 00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:16.040 by or in reaction to 00:21:16.040 --> 00:21:17.600 the history of our nation. 00:21:18.360 --> 00:21:19.440 Or maybe the history 00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:20.880 of your ethnic group. 00:21:21.360 --> 00:21:22.700 Or the history of your family. 00:21:23.340 --> 00:21:24.140 Your genealogy. 00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:27.440 More than we define ourselves by 00:21:27.440 --> 00:21:29.920 and look into the history of the church. 00:21:29.920 --> 00:21:33.259 Or the history of the nation of Israel 00:21:33.259 --> 00:21:34.039 in the Old Testament. 00:21:35.539 --> 00:21:37.340 But what this section is saying is that 00:21:37.340 --> 00:21:39.680 if we are part of the body of Christ, 00:21:40.759 --> 00:21:42.680 we're not only connected to one another, 00:21:42.920 --> 00:21:45.519 like we talked about when Malcolm became a member today, 00:21:46.380 --> 00:21:48.300 but we're connected to God's people 00:21:48.300 --> 00:21:49.920 throughout history. 00:21:50.920 --> 00:21:52.360 That our identity 00:21:52.360 --> 00:21:54.019 and our destiny 00:21:54.019 --> 00:21:56.180 are bound up with theirs. 00:21:56.180 --> 00:21:59.140 And if God hadn't revealed Himself 00:21:59.140 --> 00:22:00.259 to them, 00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:03.560 if God hadn't rescued them, 00:22:04.060 --> 00:22:05.539 if He hadn't refined 00:22:05.539 --> 00:22:07.000 and purified them, 00:22:07.279 --> 00:22:09.360 we might not be here today. 00:22:11.259 --> 00:22:12.920 And we would not have hope 00:22:12.920 --> 00:22:13.900 for the future. 00:22:15.220 --> 00:22:16.420 Now we see this especially 00:22:16.420 --> 00:22:17.299 in verse 6. 00:22:18.240 --> 00:22:18.980 Verse 6 00:22:18.980 --> 00:22:21.000 is a reference to the Exodus. 00:22:21.640 --> 00:22:23.100 And the Exodus was the event 00:22:23.099 --> 00:22:24.099 that defined 00:22:24.099 --> 00:22:25.500 the people of Israel 00:22:25.500 --> 00:22:26.299 in the Old Testament 00:22:26.299 --> 00:22:27.399 more than anything else. 00:22:28.259 --> 00:22:29.539 When God rescued them 00:22:29.539 --> 00:22:30.500 from slavery in Egypt 00:22:30.500 --> 00:22:31.399 and brought them out 00:22:31.399 --> 00:22:32.459 and brought them to the, 00:22:32.959 --> 00:22:34.819 through the Red Sea. 00:22:35.699 --> 00:22:36.519 They departed 00:22:36.519 --> 00:22:38.240 and they walked through on foot. 00:22:39.500 --> 00:22:40.500 And that's what the psalmist 00:22:40.500 --> 00:22:41.179 is talking about. 00:22:41.219 --> 00:22:41.599 And he says, 00:22:42.159 --> 00:22:43.939 God turned the sea into dry land, 00:22:44.240 --> 00:22:45.779 they passed through the river on foot. 00:22:46.019 --> 00:22:46.559 But then, 00:22:46.659 --> 00:22:47.899 in the next sentence he says, 00:22:48.059 --> 00:22:51.159 there we rejoiced in Him. 00:22:51.160 --> 00:22:53.440 Did you notice that? 00:22:55.400 --> 00:22:56.040 He says, 00:22:56.100 --> 00:22:57.400 they passed through the Red Sea 00:22:57.400 --> 00:22:59.960 and there we rejoiced. 00:23:01.300 --> 00:23:02.100 Now you might say, 00:23:02.160 --> 00:23:02.720 well wait a minute, 00:23:03.620 --> 00:23:04.580 this psalm was written 00:23:04.580 --> 00:23:07.000 centuries after the Exodus happened. 00:23:08.580 --> 00:23:09.759 The psalm writer didn't walk 00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:11.680 through the Red Sea himself, 00:23:12.140 --> 00:23:14.480 but he identifies himself 00:23:14.480 --> 00:23:15.720 with the people who did 00:23:15.720 --> 00:23:17.279 so long ago. 00:23:18.160 --> 00:23:18.779 He says, 00:23:18.779 --> 00:23:20.299 when God delivered them, 00:23:21.420 --> 00:23:23.279 I was delivered with them. 00:23:24.420 --> 00:23:26.460 Because if God hadn't delivered them, 00:23:27.680 --> 00:23:28.899 then all of us today 00:23:28.899 --> 00:23:30.420 would be particles 00:23:30.420 --> 00:23:31.279 flowing downstream 00:23:31.279 --> 00:23:32.740 in the Red Sea. 00:23:35.220 --> 00:23:36.539 Do you see how important 00:23:36.539 --> 00:23:38.940 the history of God's people is? 00:23:40.700 --> 00:23:42.420 Do you see how much reason 00:23:42.420 --> 00:23:43.940 that we have to praise God, 00:23:44.019 --> 00:23:44.980 not just for what He's done 00:23:44.980 --> 00:23:46.299 for us individually, 00:23:46.299 --> 00:23:48.319 not even only for what He's done 00:23:48.319 --> 00:23:49.779 for us as a church right now, 00:23:49.980 --> 00:23:51.019 but for what He's done 00:23:51.019 --> 00:23:51.759 throughout history, 00:23:52.279 --> 00:23:53.619 for all of His people. 00:23:55.039 --> 00:23:55.980 That's what the psalmist 00:23:55.980 --> 00:23:56.779 invites us to do. 00:23:56.859 --> 00:23:57.639 Come and see 00:23:57.639 --> 00:23:59.500 what God has done. 00:24:00.759 --> 00:24:01.839 Don't limit yourself 00:24:01.839 --> 00:24:04.039 to your own personal experience 00:24:04.039 --> 00:24:04.579 of God 00:24:04.579 --> 00:24:06.899 in your own individual life history. 00:24:06.900 --> 00:24:09.120 You know, 00:24:09.160 --> 00:24:10.100 especially if you're going 00:24:10.100 --> 00:24:11.220 through a time of doubt 00:24:11.220 --> 00:24:12.580 or depression 00:24:12.580 --> 00:24:14.360 or severe trial 00:24:14.360 --> 00:24:16.240 and you're only focused 00:24:16.240 --> 00:24:17.540 on your own individual 00:24:17.540 --> 00:24:18.620 experience of God, 00:24:18.700 --> 00:24:19.960 what you can currently feel 00:24:19.960 --> 00:24:20.540 and see 00:24:20.540 --> 00:24:21.360 and perceive, 00:24:22.700 --> 00:24:23.820 that can be incredibly 00:24:23.820 --> 00:24:24.500 constricting 00:24:24.500 --> 00:24:26.300 and incredibly myopic. 00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:30.780 It becomes a vicious cycle, 00:24:31.140 --> 00:24:31.420 right? 00:24:31.640 --> 00:24:32.340 You're struggling 00:24:32.340 --> 00:24:34.000 and so you start wondering 00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:35.400 whether God really exists, 00:24:35.400 --> 00:24:36.580 so you look deep 00:24:36.580 --> 00:24:37.340 inside your heart, 00:24:37.480 --> 00:24:38.500 see if you can find Him 00:24:38.500 --> 00:24:40.040 and it looks pretty dark 00:24:40.040 --> 00:24:41.560 and then you become 00:24:41.560 --> 00:24:42.300 even more doubtful 00:24:42.300 --> 00:24:43.100 that God exists 00:24:43.100 --> 00:24:44.700 and then you look deeper 00:24:44.700 --> 00:24:45.360 inside yourself 00:24:45.360 --> 00:24:45.759 and it's, 00:24:46.280 --> 00:24:47.080 there's no end. 00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:48.800 But the psalmist says, 00:24:49.000 --> 00:24:50.080 look outside yourself. 00:24:51.420 --> 00:24:52.140 Come and see 00:24:52.140 --> 00:24:53.040 what God has done. 00:24:54.440 --> 00:24:55.560 Even if you can't see 00:24:55.560 --> 00:24:56.220 what He's doing 00:24:56.220 --> 00:24:56.800 in your life, 00:24:56.880 --> 00:24:57.759 look and see what He's done 00:24:57.759 --> 00:24:58.519 for other people. 00:24:59.640 --> 00:25:00.840 Look and see what He's done 00:25:00.840 --> 00:25:02.519 for His church as a whole, 00:25:02.600 --> 00:25:03.280 for His community. 00:25:03.279 --> 00:25:06.299 Reality is not defined 00:25:06.299 --> 00:25:07.420 by the limits 00:25:07.420 --> 00:25:09.160 of your individual 00:25:09.160 --> 00:25:10.460 present experience. 00:25:12.660 --> 00:25:12.819 You know, 00:25:12.879 --> 00:25:13.019 when, 00:25:13.379 --> 00:25:14.160 and ultimately, 00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:17.119 look at what God has done 00:25:17.119 --> 00:25:19.460 in the historical event 00:25:19.460 --> 00:25:20.920 that defines Christianity 00:25:20.920 --> 00:25:22.480 more than anything else. 00:25:23.500 --> 00:25:24.379 The death 00:25:24.379 --> 00:25:25.399 and resurrection 00:25:25.399 --> 00:25:26.619 of Jesus Christ. 00:25:27.680 --> 00:25:28.240 Right? 00:25:28.279 --> 00:25:29.079 When Jesus' disciples 00:25:29.079 --> 00:25:30.539 saw Him dying on the cross, 00:25:30.539 --> 00:25:32.379 they thought, 00:25:32.720 --> 00:25:34.240 it's a total failure. 00:25:35.480 --> 00:25:35.859 Everything 00:25:35.859 --> 00:25:38.420 that we hope for 00:25:38.420 --> 00:25:39.799 is lost. 00:25:41.339 --> 00:25:42.019 And yet, 00:25:42.119 --> 00:25:42.980 in God's plan, 00:25:43.779 --> 00:25:44.339 Jesus' death 00:25:44.339 --> 00:25:44.839 on the cross 00:25:44.839 --> 00:25:45.559 became 00:25:45.559 --> 00:25:47.019 the very means 00:25:47.019 --> 00:25:48.839 of our salvation. 00:25:50.440 --> 00:25:51.379 The way that 00:25:51.379 --> 00:25:54.480 all who are lost 00:25:54.480 --> 00:25:56.539 can come and be found. 00:25:56.539 --> 00:26:00.759 You see, 00:26:00.819 --> 00:26:01.500 many times, 00:26:02.099 --> 00:26:02.819 God's purpose 00:26:02.819 --> 00:26:04.119 in the midst 00:26:04.119 --> 00:26:05.079 of severe trials 00:26:05.079 --> 00:26:07.059 only becomes clear 00:26:07.059 --> 00:26:08.700 long after the trial 00:26:08.700 --> 00:26:09.599 is over. 00:26:12.200 --> 00:26:13.059 Verses 8 through 12 00:26:13.059 --> 00:26:13.899 describe another 00:26:13.899 --> 00:26:15.299 severe trial 00:26:15.299 --> 00:26:16.500 in Israel's history. 00:26:16.599 --> 00:26:17.799 A trial which seemed like 00:26:17.799 --> 00:26:18.899 it would completely 00:26:18.899 --> 00:26:20.059 destroy them 00:26:20.059 --> 00:26:21.740 and wipe them out. 00:26:23.539 --> 00:26:24.399 Verse 11, 00:26:24.480 --> 00:26:24.700 he says, 00:26:24.700 --> 00:26:25.259 we were brought 00:26:25.259 --> 00:26:26.000 into the net 00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:27.500 like an animal 00:26:27.500 --> 00:26:28.500 trapped 00:26:28.500 --> 00:26:29.980 and being prepared 00:26:29.980 --> 00:26:31.039 for slaughter. 00:26:32.140 --> 00:26:32.420 He said, 00:26:32.480 --> 00:26:33.680 we had a crushing burden 00:26:33.680 --> 00:26:35.160 laid on our backs 00:26:35.160 --> 00:26:36.619 like a traveler 00:26:36.619 --> 00:26:37.619 weighed down 00:26:37.619 --> 00:26:38.559 so much 00:26:38.559 --> 00:26:39.319 that he collapses 00:26:39.319 --> 00:26:41.819 and can't continue 00:26:41.819 --> 00:26:42.279 anymore. 00:26:45.339 --> 00:26:46.339 Men riding 00:26:46.339 --> 00:26:47.220 over our heads 00:26:47.220 --> 00:26:48.259 going through 00:26:48.259 --> 00:26:49.160 fire and water. 00:26:50.180 --> 00:26:51.160 Whatever it was, 00:26:51.200 --> 00:26:52.079 it was intense. 00:26:52.799 --> 00:26:54.000 But in the end, 00:26:54.000 --> 00:26:56.140 it didn't destroy them. 00:26:57.680 --> 00:26:58.140 And instead, 00:26:58.259 --> 00:26:59.000 God rescued them 00:26:59.000 --> 00:26:59.519 and brought them 00:26:59.519 --> 00:27:00.059 into a place 00:27:00.059 --> 00:27:00.559 of abundance. 00:27:00.779 --> 00:27:01.539 That's what he says 00:27:01.539 --> 00:27:03.000 in verse 12. 00:27:04.839 --> 00:27:06.119 And from that vantage point, 00:27:06.160 --> 00:27:06.799 he could look back 00:27:06.799 --> 00:27:07.319 and say, 00:27:07.880 --> 00:27:09.680 God was refining us 00:27:09.680 --> 00:27:11.339 through that season. 00:27:11.920 --> 00:27:13.140 He was testing us 00:27:13.140 --> 00:27:14.980 and purifying us. 00:27:15.980 --> 00:27:17.460 Tried as silver is tried. 00:27:18.140 --> 00:27:19.119 Put through a blazing 00:27:19.119 --> 00:27:19.799 hot fire 00:27:19.799 --> 00:27:21.279 to cleanse us 00:27:21.279 --> 00:27:22.000 from our impurities. 00:27:23.160 --> 00:27:23.700 And so he says, 00:27:23.799 --> 00:27:24.500 praise God. 00:27:25.720 --> 00:27:26.759 Because God brought us 00:27:26.759 --> 00:27:27.319 through that. 00:27:28.619 --> 00:27:29.660 And not only did he 00:27:29.660 --> 00:27:30.359 bring us through, 00:27:30.700 --> 00:27:31.980 he turned all these evils 00:27:31.980 --> 00:27:32.680 for our good 00:27:32.680 --> 00:27:33.339 in the end. 00:27:34.500 --> 00:27:35.240 Now, of course, 00:27:35.299 --> 00:27:36.019 if you're in the middle 00:27:36.019 --> 00:27:37.279 of a severe, 00:27:37.639 --> 00:27:38.779 intense trial, 00:27:39.420 --> 00:27:41.180 the way out 00:27:41.180 --> 00:27:41.759 is not always 00:27:41.759 --> 00:27:42.279 so clear. 00:27:43.559 --> 00:27:44.500 And God's purpose 00:27:44.500 --> 00:27:45.759 within that trial 00:27:45.759 --> 00:27:46.799 is not always 00:27:46.799 --> 00:27:47.480 so clear either. 00:27:47.480 --> 00:27:50.460 You might feel 00:27:50.460 --> 00:27:51.720 strangled by the net, 00:27:52.700 --> 00:27:53.700 crushed by the burden, 00:27:54.579 --> 00:27:55.680 and it lasts 00:27:55.680 --> 00:27:56.480 far longer 00:27:56.480 --> 00:27:57.640 than you ever expected 00:27:57.640 --> 00:27:58.920 and far longer 00:27:58.920 --> 00:28:00.259 than you ever thought 00:28:00.259 --> 00:28:02.079 you could possibly endure. 00:28:04.460 --> 00:28:05.319 But that's why 00:28:05.319 --> 00:28:05.900 it's so important 00:28:05.900 --> 00:28:08.120 to look back 00:28:08.120 --> 00:28:11.839 at all the severe trials 00:28:11.839 --> 00:28:13.360 that God has brought 00:28:13.360 --> 00:28:14.000 his people through 00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:14.660 in the past. 00:28:14.660 --> 00:28:18.820 Let me just give 00:28:18.820 --> 00:28:19.360 one example 00:28:19.360 --> 00:28:20.440 from the history 00:28:20.440 --> 00:28:21.700 of this church. 00:28:22.800 --> 00:28:24.860 The mid to late 1990s 00:28:24.860 --> 00:28:26.960 was a prolonged period 00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:27.700 of trial 00:28:27.700 --> 00:28:29.680 for this church, 00:28:30.720 --> 00:28:31.460 for this body 00:28:31.460 --> 00:28:32.240 of believers. 00:28:33.140 --> 00:28:33.700 In the period 00:28:33.700 --> 00:28:34.480 of a year or two, 00:28:34.920 --> 00:28:35.700 around 1994, 00:28:36.320 --> 00:28:37.460 the church lost 00:28:37.460 --> 00:28:37.960 the building 00:28:37.960 --> 00:28:38.820 that they had owned, 00:28:39.480 --> 00:28:40.480 the pastor resigned 00:28:40.480 --> 00:28:40.860 abruptly, 00:28:41.460 --> 00:28:42.340 and the church split. 00:28:43.200 --> 00:28:44.080 Lots of people left. 00:28:45.560 --> 00:28:46.259 There were only 00:28:46.259 --> 00:28:47.240 about 25 people 00:28:47.240 --> 00:28:47.740 who stayed, 00:28:47.820 --> 00:28:48.680 25 members. 00:28:49.440 --> 00:28:50.140 They kept meeting 00:28:50.140 --> 00:28:50.880 without a pastor 00:28:50.880 --> 00:28:52.080 for the next five years. 00:28:53.740 --> 00:28:54.820 And by 1999, 00:28:55.200 --> 00:28:55.840 it got to the point 00:28:55.840 --> 00:28:56.660 where people were saying, 00:28:56.800 --> 00:28:57.680 is this even worth it 00:28:57.680 --> 00:28:58.120 at all? 00:28:59.640 --> 00:29:00.340 Who would want 00:29:00.340 --> 00:29:03.580 to come and be our pastor 00:29:03.580 --> 00:29:04.019 anyway? 00:29:05.920 --> 00:29:06.759 25 people 00:29:06.759 --> 00:29:07.340 who've gone through 00:29:07.340 --> 00:29:08.480 all that stuff. 00:29:10.880 --> 00:29:11.779 Well, that fall, 00:29:12.600 --> 00:29:13.460 they had a prayer meeting. 00:29:14.660 --> 00:29:15.660 Where the remaining 00:29:15.660 --> 00:29:16.600 members confessed 00:29:16.600 --> 00:29:18.080 their past sin, 00:29:18.860 --> 00:29:19.500 their failures, 00:29:19.720 --> 00:29:20.120 and they sought 00:29:20.120 --> 00:29:20.980 to be reconciled 00:29:20.980 --> 00:29:21.519 to one another. 00:29:22.980 --> 00:29:23.820 And there was a lot 00:29:23.820 --> 00:29:24.200 of healing 00:29:24.200 --> 00:29:24.960 that took place, 00:29:25.040 --> 00:29:25.700 but most people 00:29:25.700 --> 00:29:26.580 still felt like 00:29:26.580 --> 00:29:28.720 we're too exhausted 00:29:28.720 --> 00:29:29.400 to go on. 00:29:30.400 --> 00:29:31.440 It's probably better 00:29:31.440 --> 00:29:32.259 if we just close 00:29:32.259 --> 00:29:32.820 our doors 00:29:32.820 --> 00:29:34.019 and go join 00:29:34.019 --> 00:29:34.580 other churches. 00:29:36.440 --> 00:29:37.019 And so, 00:29:37.100 --> 00:29:37.779 one month later, 00:29:38.320 --> 00:29:38.980 they were ready to, 00:29:39.140 --> 00:29:39.960 after that prayer meeting, 00:29:40.040 --> 00:29:40.400 they were ready 00:29:40.400 --> 00:29:41.460 to take a vote 00:29:41.460 --> 00:29:43.200 and formally decide 00:29:43.200 --> 00:29:44.519 to close the church. 00:29:45.460 --> 00:29:46.940 But on that very day 00:29:46.940 --> 00:29:48.160 that they were 00:29:48.160 --> 00:29:49.559 to make that vote, 00:29:50.299 --> 00:29:51.000 somebody's neighbor 00:29:51.000 --> 00:29:52.500 came over to their house. 00:29:53.460 --> 00:29:54.360 And the neighbor said, 00:29:54.440 --> 00:29:55.039 our church 00:29:55.039 --> 00:29:56.240 just interviewed 00:29:56.240 --> 00:29:57.840 a pastor candidate. 00:29:58.840 --> 00:29:59.680 And he wasn't 00:29:59.680 --> 00:30:00.819 the right fit for us, 00:30:00.860 --> 00:30:01.640 but he thinks 00:30:01.640 --> 00:30:02.480 that God's calling him 00:30:02.480 --> 00:30:02.960 to New Haven, 00:30:03.079 --> 00:30:04.200 and I think he's exactly 00:30:04.200 --> 00:30:05.000 what you guys need. 00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:07.619 Well, the church 00:30:07.619 --> 00:30:08.359 met that evening, 00:30:09.180 --> 00:30:09.819 and they said, 00:30:09.900 --> 00:30:10.559 we can either decide 00:30:10.559 --> 00:30:11.220 to close, 00:30:11.839 --> 00:30:12.640 or we can take 00:30:12.640 --> 00:30:13.180 this offer, 00:30:14.279 --> 00:30:15.819 or extend an offer, 00:30:17.119 --> 00:30:18.500 and offer all the savings 00:30:18.500 --> 00:30:19.259 we have in the bank, 00:30:19.299 --> 00:30:20.019 which isn't much, 00:30:21.740 --> 00:30:23.079 and maybe let him 00:30:23.079 --> 00:30:23.480 and his wife 00:30:23.480 --> 00:30:23.960 come and stay 00:30:23.960 --> 00:30:24.680 with a few of us 00:30:24.680 --> 00:30:26.400 for a little while, 00:30:27.440 --> 00:30:29.140 and ask him 00:30:29.140 --> 00:30:29.799 to be our pastor. 00:30:30.940 --> 00:30:31.839 And that's what they did. 00:30:33.359 --> 00:30:34.539 So, long story short, 00:30:35.460 --> 00:30:36.519 Trinity went from a church 00:30:36.519 --> 00:30:38.980 that was a day away 00:30:38.980 --> 00:30:40.019 from closing its doors, 00:30:41.160 --> 00:30:42.480 never to exist again, 00:30:43.700 --> 00:30:44.480 which means none of us 00:30:44.480 --> 00:30:45.079 would be here, 00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:47.279 to a church that's 00:30:47.279 --> 00:30:48.240 here today, 00:30:49.160 --> 00:30:49.980 and alive, 00:30:50.180 --> 00:30:50.599 and growing. 00:30:52.259 --> 00:30:52.859 We're even thinking 00:30:52.859 --> 00:30:54.319 of helping some people 00:30:54.319 --> 00:30:54.960 out in New London 00:30:54.960 --> 00:30:56.299 plant a church. 00:30:57.200 --> 00:30:58.259 Of all things, 00:31:00.420 --> 00:31:01.279 praise God 00:31:01.279 --> 00:31:03.019 for his provision. 00:31:03.019 --> 00:31:05.400 praise God 00:31:05.400 --> 00:31:06.759 for sustaining 00:31:06.759 --> 00:31:07.900 those people 00:31:07.900 --> 00:31:10.119 who stuck it out 00:31:10.119 --> 00:31:11.779 through those 00:31:11.779 --> 00:31:12.920 wilderness years. 00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:14.879 That's what they call them 00:31:14.879 --> 00:31:15.879 if you talk to them. 00:31:17.480 --> 00:31:18.000 Praise God 00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:19.240 for not giving up on us 00:31:19.240 --> 00:31:21.279 and refining us. 00:31:22.639 --> 00:31:23.799 So, God's awesome deeds 00:31:23.799 --> 00:31:25.539 for his people in history 00:31:25.539 --> 00:31:26.359 call us 00:31:26.359 --> 00:31:27.720 to praise him. 00:31:27.720 --> 00:31:29.700 And finally, 00:31:29.779 --> 00:31:30.700 God's awesome deeds 00:31:30.700 --> 00:31:32.220 for individual people 00:31:32.220 --> 00:31:33.779 like you and me. 00:31:34.039 --> 00:31:35.420 This is verses 13 through 20. 00:31:37.440 --> 00:31:38.140 The psalm begins 00:31:38.140 --> 00:31:39.600 with this global picture 00:31:39.600 --> 00:31:41.299 of God's awesome deeds 00:31:41.299 --> 00:31:42.200 in all the earth. 00:31:43.100 --> 00:31:43.940 And then he focuses 00:31:43.940 --> 00:31:45.160 throughout history 00:31:45.160 --> 00:31:46.120 on God rescuing 00:31:46.120 --> 00:31:47.279 and keeping his people. 00:31:48.120 --> 00:31:48.660 And finally, 00:31:48.720 --> 00:31:49.200 he concludes 00:31:49.200 --> 00:31:51.200 on a very personal note. 00:31:52.180 --> 00:31:53.059 If you notice, 00:31:53.180 --> 00:31:54.279 verses 13 through 20 00:31:54.279 --> 00:31:57.139 are all in the first person singular. 00:31:58.579 --> 00:31:59.139 Verse 16, 00:31:59.220 --> 00:31:59.460 he says, 00:31:59.519 --> 00:32:00.139 come in here 00:32:00.139 --> 00:32:01.559 and I will tell you 00:32:01.559 --> 00:32:03.619 what God has done 00:32:03.619 --> 00:32:05.119 for me, 00:32:05.680 --> 00:32:07.319 for my soul. 00:32:08.700 --> 00:32:09.759 God is not just 00:32:09.759 --> 00:32:10.819 the ruler 00:32:10.819 --> 00:32:11.779 of all the earth 00:32:11.779 --> 00:32:13.680 whose glory is displayed 00:32:13.680 --> 00:32:15.240 in all of his creation. 00:32:16.039 --> 00:32:17.279 He is also not just 00:32:17.279 --> 00:32:17.960 the God of one 00:32:17.960 --> 00:32:19.119 very large community 00:32:19.119 --> 00:32:20.180 that stretches 00:32:20.180 --> 00:32:20.960 throughout history. 00:32:20.960 --> 00:32:23.980 He is also a God 00:32:23.980 --> 00:32:24.700 who is intimately, 00:32:25.319 --> 00:32:26.600 personally involved 00:32:26.600 --> 00:32:28.299 in the lives 00:32:28.299 --> 00:32:29.299 of individual people 00:32:29.299 --> 00:32:30.319 like you 00:32:30.319 --> 00:32:31.480 and me. 00:32:33.200 --> 00:32:34.259 And in particular, 00:32:34.400 --> 00:32:34.840 he is a God 00:32:34.840 --> 00:32:35.559 who hears 00:32:35.559 --> 00:32:36.920 and answers 00:32:36.920 --> 00:32:38.019 our prayer. 00:32:39.640 --> 00:32:41.000 And that is a reason 00:32:41.000 --> 00:32:42.960 to praise God 00:32:42.960 --> 00:32:45.259 for how he has answered 00:32:45.259 --> 00:32:46.720 our prayers. 00:32:48.019 --> 00:32:49.140 This is what the psalmist 00:32:49.140 --> 00:32:50.120 praises God for 00:32:50.119 --> 00:32:51.119 in this third section. 00:32:51.739 --> 00:32:51.899 Now, 00:32:51.939 --> 00:32:52.859 we don't know exactly 00:32:52.859 --> 00:32:55.219 what was the prayer 00:32:55.219 --> 00:32:55.879 that he prayed. 00:32:56.219 --> 00:32:57.019 We do know 00:32:57.019 --> 00:32:58.319 that he was in trouble, 00:32:58.919 --> 00:32:59.599 verse 14, 00:33:00.419 --> 00:33:01.699 he cried out to God, 00:33:02.139 --> 00:33:02.919 verse 17, 00:33:03.279 --> 00:33:04.159 and God listened 00:33:04.159 --> 00:33:04.779 and attended 00:33:04.779 --> 00:33:05.719 to his voice 00:33:05.719 --> 00:33:08.299 in a very specific way. 00:33:09.339 --> 00:33:10.159 Verse 19. 00:33:11.319 --> 00:33:11.799 Now, 00:33:11.859 --> 00:33:12.219 if you look down 00:33:12.219 --> 00:33:12.939 at verse 18, 00:33:14.199 --> 00:33:15.000 verse 18 can be 00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:15.639 a little confusing. 00:33:16.899 --> 00:33:17.719 Because verse 18 says, 00:33:17.859 --> 00:33:18.479 if I had cherished 00:33:18.480 --> 00:33:20.160 iniquity in my heart, 00:33:20.420 --> 00:33:21.279 the Lord would not 00:33:21.279 --> 00:33:21.680 have listened. 00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:24.420 Now, 00:33:24.440 --> 00:33:25.099 what does that verse mean? 00:33:25.140 --> 00:33:25.240 Well, 00:33:25.259 --> 00:33:26.099 the point of that verse 00:33:26.099 --> 00:33:27.180 is to warn us 00:33:27.180 --> 00:33:28.779 if we are cherishing 00:33:28.779 --> 00:33:29.400 iniquity. 00:33:29.500 --> 00:33:30.160 In other words, 00:33:30.200 --> 00:33:31.640 if we are desiring 00:33:31.640 --> 00:33:33.160 and cultivating 00:33:33.160 --> 00:33:35.200 what is vile 00:33:35.200 --> 00:33:36.460 and displeasing 00:33:36.460 --> 00:33:37.079 to God, 00:33:38.380 --> 00:33:39.720 that God may refuse 00:33:39.720 --> 00:33:41.400 to answer our request 00:33:41.400 --> 00:33:42.000 for help 00:33:42.000 --> 00:33:43.259 in other areas. 00:33:43.579 --> 00:33:44.640 Because he wants us 00:33:44.640 --> 00:33:45.120 to deal 00:33:45.120 --> 00:33:47.220 with first things first. 00:33:49.220 --> 00:33:50.600 To confess our sin 00:33:50.600 --> 00:33:53.220 and receive his forgiveness 00:33:53.220 --> 00:33:54.980 and pray 00:33:54.980 --> 00:33:56.980 for a renewed mind. 00:33:58.080 --> 00:33:58.800 But what this verse 00:33:58.800 --> 00:33:59.680 is not saying, 00:34:00.040 --> 00:34:01.020 he's not saying 00:34:01.020 --> 00:34:02.900 good people deserve 00:34:02.900 --> 00:34:04.480 to get their prayers answered. 00:34:07.440 --> 00:34:08.500 I'm free of sin 00:34:08.500 --> 00:34:09.180 in my life 00:34:09.180 --> 00:34:10.200 and therefore, 00:34:10.440 --> 00:34:11.760 God has to listen to me. 00:34:11.760 --> 00:34:13.900 He knows 00:34:13.900 --> 00:34:14.840 that before God 00:34:14.840 --> 00:34:15.600 we're all 00:34:15.600 --> 00:34:16.740 unworthy sinners. 00:34:17.740 --> 00:34:18.720 And it's only because 00:34:18.720 --> 00:34:19.220 of God's 00:34:19.220 --> 00:34:21.080 unfathomable generosity 00:34:21.080 --> 00:34:22.540 that he answers 00:34:22.540 --> 00:34:24.080 anyone's prayer. 00:34:25.360 --> 00:34:26.020 Verse 20, 00:34:26.720 --> 00:34:27.340 the conclusion 00:34:27.340 --> 00:34:28.100 of this psalm, 00:34:28.480 --> 00:34:28.800 he says, 00:34:29.080 --> 00:34:30.760 blessed be God 00:34:30.760 --> 00:34:31.600 because 00:34:31.600 --> 00:34:33.660 he hasn't 00:34:33.660 --> 00:34:35.060 rejected my prayer. 00:34:36.680 --> 00:34:38.000 And he hasn't 00:34:38.000 --> 00:34:39.220 removed his steadfast 00:34:39.220 --> 00:34:39.840 love from me. 00:34:39.840 --> 00:34:41.700 And God's the one 00:34:41.700 --> 00:34:42.300 who gets the credit 00:34:42.300 --> 00:34:42.860 for that. 00:34:43.980 --> 00:34:44.559 He says, 00:34:44.760 --> 00:34:45.760 God doesn't owe me 00:34:45.760 --> 00:34:46.200 anything. 00:34:47.760 --> 00:34:48.660 God would have been 00:34:48.660 --> 00:34:49.700 perfectly justified 00:34:49.700 --> 00:34:52.840 in ignoring my prayer 00:34:52.840 --> 00:34:54.300 or rejecting it. 00:34:54.640 --> 00:34:55.600 But in his mercy 00:34:55.600 --> 00:34:56.260 and love, 00:34:56.579 --> 00:34:57.500 he chose 00:34:57.500 --> 00:34:58.120 to listen 00:34:58.120 --> 00:34:59.600 and answer. 00:35:01.500 --> 00:35:02.260 And when God 00:35:02.260 --> 00:35:03.140 answers our prayers, 00:35:03.280 --> 00:35:04.559 not because he owes us, 00:35:05.059 --> 00:35:06.400 but simply because 00:35:06.400 --> 00:35:07.300 he loves us, 00:35:07.300 --> 00:35:08.960 that calls 00:35:08.960 --> 00:35:10.620 for extravagant 00:35:10.620 --> 00:35:11.500 praise. 00:35:12.600 --> 00:35:13.560 Verses 13 through 15 00:35:13.560 --> 00:35:14.280 talk about burnt 00:35:14.280 --> 00:35:14.700 offerings. 00:35:15.840 --> 00:35:16.600 In the Old Testament, 00:35:16.700 --> 00:35:17.240 there are all kinds 00:35:17.240 --> 00:35:18.039 of offerings that people 00:35:18.039 --> 00:35:19.220 brought to the temple. 00:35:19.360 --> 00:35:20.080 And most of the time, 00:35:20.120 --> 00:35:21.060 if you brought an animal 00:35:21.060 --> 00:35:22.220 as an offering, 00:35:22.920 --> 00:35:23.680 the priests 00:35:23.680 --> 00:35:25.160 who served 00:35:25.160 --> 00:35:25.760 in the temple 00:35:25.760 --> 00:35:27.039 would get to eat 00:35:27.039 --> 00:35:27.880 the cooked meat. 00:35:28.700 --> 00:35:29.600 And sometimes, 00:35:29.880 --> 00:35:30.820 you'd even get to 00:35:30.820 --> 00:35:31.519 share in it too. 00:35:32.519 --> 00:35:33.980 At the big festivals, 00:35:34.100 --> 00:35:34.380 they'd have 00:35:34.380 --> 00:35:35.680 fellowship offerings. 00:35:35.679 --> 00:35:36.839 It basically means 00:35:36.839 --> 00:35:37.819 you have a big, 00:35:38.839 --> 00:35:39.119 you know, 00:35:39.179 --> 00:35:39.899 you kill a cow 00:35:39.899 --> 00:35:41.539 or kill a lamb 00:35:41.539 --> 00:35:43.019 and share it all together. 00:35:43.739 --> 00:35:44.480 And that was the offering. 00:35:45.239 --> 00:35:46.319 You got to really enjoy it. 00:35:46.500 --> 00:35:47.259 But burnt offerings 00:35:47.259 --> 00:35:47.799 were different. 00:35:48.799 --> 00:35:50.299 Nobody got to eat 00:35:50.299 --> 00:35:51.139 any of it. 00:35:52.139 --> 00:35:52.819 A burnt offering 00:35:52.819 --> 00:35:54.059 is exactly what it says. 00:35:54.259 --> 00:35:55.239 The whole thing 00:35:55.239 --> 00:35:56.159 gets burnt 00:35:56.159 --> 00:35:57.659 to ashes. 00:35:58.539 --> 00:35:59.359 The point 00:35:59.359 --> 00:36:00.339 is 00:36:00.339 --> 00:36:02.019 it was a symbol 00:36:02.019 --> 00:36:02.759 of total 00:36:02.759 --> 00:36:03.539 devotion 00:36:03.539 --> 00:36:05.320 and total 00:36:05.320 --> 00:36:06.300 consecration 00:36:06.300 --> 00:36:07.279 to God. 00:36:09.679 --> 00:36:10.179 Saying, 00:36:10.279 --> 00:36:10.400 God, 00:36:10.599 --> 00:36:11.539 everything I have 00:36:11.539 --> 00:36:12.840 is totally yours. 00:36:14.960 --> 00:36:16.440 In your steadfast love, 00:36:16.519 --> 00:36:17.659 you've answered my prayer. 00:36:18.179 --> 00:36:19.079 You've held on to me. 00:36:19.159 --> 00:36:19.800 You've loved me 00:36:19.800 --> 00:36:21.380 even when I didn't deserve it. 00:36:22.460 --> 00:36:23.920 You deserve everything I have 00:36:23.920 --> 00:36:24.779 so I won't hold 00:36:24.779 --> 00:36:25.980 anything back. 00:36:25.980 --> 00:36:30.360 And then in verse 16 00:36:30.360 --> 00:36:30.800 through 20, 00:36:31.599 --> 00:36:32.940 he gives public testimony 00:36:32.940 --> 00:36:33.940 to how God 00:36:33.940 --> 00:36:34.780 has answered his prayer. 00:36:35.380 --> 00:36:36.000 He doesn't just 00:36:36.000 --> 00:36:36.840 keep it to himself, 00:36:36.980 --> 00:36:37.860 but he tells other 00:36:37.860 --> 00:36:38.579 believers 00:36:38.579 --> 00:36:39.840 what God has done 00:36:39.840 --> 00:36:40.219 for him 00:36:40.219 --> 00:36:41.159 so they can join 00:36:41.159 --> 00:36:42.519 in praising God 00:36:42.519 --> 00:36:43.280 with him. 00:36:44.280 --> 00:36:45.599 So let me urge you 00:36:45.599 --> 00:36:46.920 to get together 00:36:46.920 --> 00:36:48.179 with another 00:36:48.179 --> 00:36:48.920 Christian believer 00:36:48.920 --> 00:36:50.059 sometime this week 00:36:50.059 --> 00:36:51.659 and ask them, 00:36:51.659 --> 00:36:53.359 what has the Lord 00:36:53.359 --> 00:36:54.599 done for you 00:36:54.599 --> 00:36:55.920 lately? 00:36:56.859 --> 00:36:57.739 Or you could ask, 00:36:57.879 --> 00:36:58.460 what have you been 00:36:58.460 --> 00:36:59.199 praying for? 00:37:00.359 --> 00:37:01.219 Have you seen 00:37:01.219 --> 00:37:01.960 God answer 00:37:01.960 --> 00:37:03.319 your prayers? 00:37:04.879 --> 00:37:05.139 You know, 00:37:05.179 --> 00:37:05.980 sometimes as Christians 00:37:05.980 --> 00:37:06.799 we can spend a lot 00:37:06.799 --> 00:37:07.739 of time with each other 00:37:07.739 --> 00:37:09.039 but never talk 00:37:09.039 --> 00:37:09.859 about those things. 00:37:10.879 --> 00:37:11.559 We can talk 00:37:11.559 --> 00:37:12.379 about everything else. 00:37:12.460 --> 00:37:12.799 We can talk 00:37:12.799 --> 00:37:14.019 about our kids 00:37:14.019 --> 00:37:15.199 or about work 00:37:15.199 --> 00:37:16.379 or about school 00:37:16.379 --> 00:37:17.500 or about the weather 00:37:17.500 --> 00:37:18.839 or about sports 00:37:18.839 --> 00:37:20.359 or even theological 00:37:20.359 --> 00:37:21.339 controversies 00:37:21.340 --> 00:37:22.940 and cultural trends 00:37:22.940 --> 00:37:24.280 and church activities 00:37:24.280 --> 00:37:25.940 and ministry strategies 00:37:25.940 --> 00:37:27.360 and all those things 00:37:27.360 --> 00:37:27.860 are fine. 00:37:29.000 --> 00:37:29.980 But what the psalmist 00:37:29.980 --> 00:37:30.519 says here 00:37:30.519 --> 00:37:32.440 is let's tell 00:37:32.440 --> 00:37:33.059 one another 00:37:33.059 --> 00:37:34.880 how God has answered 00:37:34.880 --> 00:37:35.860 our prayers 00:37:35.860 --> 00:37:37.600 and what he has done 00:37:37.600 --> 00:37:40.160 for our soul. 00:37:41.140 --> 00:37:42.440 What he's doing 00:37:42.440 --> 00:37:43.700 in our lives 00:37:43.700 --> 00:37:44.740 personally. 00:37:45.100 --> 00:37:46.280 Because when we see 00:37:46.280 --> 00:37:47.100 and tell 00:37:47.100 --> 00:37:48.240 how God has answered 00:37:48.240 --> 00:37:48.920 our prayers 00:37:48.920 --> 00:37:50.240 that's one more way 00:37:50.240 --> 00:37:50.860 that we're called 00:37:50.860 --> 00:37:51.640 out 00:37:51.640 --> 00:37:53.460 and lifted out 00:37:53.460 --> 00:37:55.760 of our normal 00:37:55.760 --> 00:37:57.480 self-centered focus 00:37:57.480 --> 00:37:58.860 and brought 00:37:58.860 --> 00:38:00.260 into a life 00:38:00.260 --> 00:38:01.500 of God 00:38:01.500 --> 00:38:03.120 exalting praise. 00:38:04.200 --> 00:38:05.320 Praise God 00:38:05.320 --> 00:38:07.220 for his awesome deeds 00:38:07.220 --> 00:38:07.720 in nature. 00:38:08.640 --> 00:38:09.260 Praise God 00:38:09.260 --> 00:38:10.300 for his awesome deeds 00:38:10.300 --> 00:38:10.740 in history 00:38:10.740 --> 00:38:11.760 and praise God 00:38:11.760 --> 00:38:14.120 for his awesome deeds 00:38:14.120 --> 00:38:16.539 and his personal love 00:38:16.539 --> 00:38:17.539 for you 00:38:17.539 --> 00:38:18.360 and me. 00:38:18.360 --> 00:38:20.140 may we be a people 00:38:20.140 --> 00:38:20.780 who give him 00:38:20.780 --> 00:38:22.280 glorious praise. 00:38:22.280 --> 00:38:22.980 Let's pray. 00:38:22.980 --> 00:38:23.019 Let's pray. 00:38:36.360 --> 00:38:36.980 Lord God 00:38:36.980 --> 00:38:37.519 we thank you 00:38:37.519 --> 00:38:39.460 that you have given us 00:38:39.460 --> 00:38:40.220 so many reasons 00:38:40.220 --> 00:38:41.820 to praise your name. 00:38:41.820 --> 00:38:45.880 we thank you 00:38:45.880 --> 00:38:47.700 not only 00:38:47.700 --> 00:38:48.400 for your 00:38:48.400 --> 00:38:51.019 deeds 00:38:51.019 --> 00:38:51.260 in 00:38:51.260 --> 00:38:52.400 nature 00:38:52.400 --> 00:38:54.420 your deeds 00:38:54.420 --> 00:38:54.940 in history 00:38:54.940 --> 00:38:56.660 but also 00:38:56.660 --> 00:38:57.140 your deeds 00:38:57.140 --> 00:38:58.400 for each one 00:38:58.400 --> 00:38:58.900 of us. 00:38:59.820 --> 00:39:00.640 Lord we pray 00:39:00.640 --> 00:39:01.539 that we would hold on 00:39:01.539 --> 00:39:02.980 to all those things. 00:39:04.920 --> 00:39:05.740 Lord sometimes 00:39:05.740 --> 00:39:06.160 we can 00:39:06.160 --> 00:39:07.680 only see 00:39:07.680 --> 00:39:08.620 one or two 00:39:08.619 --> 00:39:08.940 of them 00:39:08.940 --> 00:39:12.259 but we pray 00:39:12.259 --> 00:39:14.019 that we would see 00:39:14.019 --> 00:39:15.319 your awesome deeds 00:39:15.319 --> 00:39:16.539 in all those three areas 00:39:16.539 --> 00:39:19.839 in the natural world 00:39:19.839 --> 00:39:21.039 for your people 00:39:21.039 --> 00:39:21.539 in history 00:39:21.539 --> 00:39:22.480 and for us 00:39:22.480 --> 00:39:23.079 as individuals 00:39:23.079 --> 00:39:24.219 and Lord 00:39:24.219 --> 00:39:24.940 that we be drawn 00:39:24.940 --> 00:39:25.480 to give you 00:39:25.480 --> 00:39:26.400 glorious praise 00:39:26.400 --> 00:39:28.199 for your 00:39:28.199 --> 00:39:30.159 wonderful 00:39:30.159 --> 00:39:31.559 awesome deeds. 00:39:32.940 --> 00:39:33.880 In Jesus name 00:39:33.880 --> 00:39:34.219 Amen.