WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.339 We're in the middle of a sermon series here on the Hallel Psalms, which is a group of 00:00:07.339 --> 00:00:15.179 psalms, kind of in the middle of the book of psalms, that focus on this great phrase, 00:00:15.720 --> 00:00:16.120 Hallelujah. 00:00:17.640 --> 00:00:22.740 It's a phrase that many of us know just by our culture, but it's hugely important in 00:00:22.740 --> 00:00:23.859 the history of God's people. 00:00:23.859 --> 00:00:29.080 It's a great phrase of simply saying, praise the Lord, Hallelujah. 00:00:29.879 --> 00:00:32.619 And this sermon today continues in that series. 00:00:33.039 --> 00:00:34.539 First of all, let me introduce myself. 00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:36.119 My name is Brian Wandel. 00:00:36.679 --> 00:00:42.359 I am a deacon of Church of the Advent, but I'm based at our Brooklyn location where we were 00:00:42.359 --> 00:00:43.719 this morning worshiping together. 00:00:43.799 --> 00:00:45.759 So it's great to be here with you today. 00:00:46.859 --> 00:00:48.340 Let me ask you a question. 00:00:49.399 --> 00:00:53.399 What do you do when you have distress? 00:00:53.399 --> 00:00:56.879 What's your go-to reaction? 00:00:56.960 --> 00:01:02.379 Your go-to response without even thinking about it when you've got pain and distress in your 00:01:02.379 --> 00:01:02.780 life? 00:01:04.159 --> 00:01:05.039 Here's what I do. 00:01:05.539 --> 00:01:12.840 I clench my fists and I clench my teeth and I burrow through it as hard as I can. 00:01:12.840 --> 00:01:15.480 And it doesn't matter where I'm going to. 00:01:16.140 --> 00:01:20.439 It doesn't matter what, it doesn't matter how it affects the other people in my life. 00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:23.300 It doesn't even matter if I think I'm going to succeed. 00:01:23.920 --> 00:01:24.900 That's just what I do. 00:01:25.240 --> 00:01:27.820 And somehow I'll get to the other side. 00:01:28.460 --> 00:01:30.960 Or at the very least, something is going to change. 00:01:31.379 --> 00:01:32.240 That's the best I do. 00:01:32.480 --> 00:01:33.280 Why do I do that? 00:01:34.219 --> 00:01:36.740 Not because I get good results from it. 00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:40.080 Not because I learned it from someone who studied it. 00:01:40.079 --> 00:01:45.219 But it's probably just because it's what my father does. 00:01:46.060 --> 00:01:49.340 My father is a serial marathoner. 00:01:49.500 --> 00:01:54.659 He has run some 80 or so marathons in the last 30, 35 years. 00:01:55.219 --> 00:02:02.700 The only marathon he's never finished is the one in which he was hit by a car in the 25th 00:02:02.700 --> 00:02:04.620 mile of a 26-mile race. 00:02:04.620 --> 00:02:12.420 When the going gets tough for my dad, he works harder than he has to. 00:02:13.340 --> 00:02:19.420 When he's at his physical limits, he pushes beyond those limits, regardless of what's going 00:02:19.420 --> 00:02:19.819 to happen. 00:02:21.280 --> 00:02:22.920 Why would he do something like that? 00:02:23.460 --> 00:02:25.420 Probably because he got it from his father. 00:02:26.280 --> 00:02:28.860 My grandfather was a World War II veteran. 00:02:28.860 --> 00:02:32.600 He didn't see action in the war. 00:02:32.900 --> 00:02:35.820 But when he got back to the States, he got married. 00:02:36.540 --> 00:02:37.580 He had a family. 00:02:38.380 --> 00:02:39.920 He got a job as a chemist. 00:02:40.480 --> 00:02:46.080 And then his wife died, leaving him with four school-aged children at home to educate, 00:02:46.820 --> 00:02:49.460 to raise, to house. 00:02:50.600 --> 00:02:52.380 And he did the only thing he knew how. 00:02:52.880 --> 00:02:53.880 He worked harder. 00:02:54.240 --> 00:02:56.680 He pushed harder to get to the end. 00:02:56.680 --> 00:03:05.680 And I've got to admit, these strategies have not typically borne the best results of the 00:03:05.680 --> 00:03:06.420 men in my family. 00:03:07.260 --> 00:03:09.000 It has not always worked out well. 00:03:09.460 --> 00:03:12.920 This approach to distress is not necessarily the best one. 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:18.840 So we're going to think about this today in the context of this psalm, which is about someone 00:03:18.840 --> 00:03:24.159 who has had a very distressing situation and is on the other side. 00:03:24.159 --> 00:03:31.979 How can we go through something that is like that in a way that works and is in accord with 00:03:31.979 --> 00:03:33.939 who we are and is glorifying to God? 00:03:34.460 --> 00:03:35.120 So let's pray. 00:03:36.560 --> 00:03:43.000 Heavenly Father, we pray that through this psalm, you will teach us to walk according to your 00:03:43.000 --> 00:03:43.319 ways. 00:03:43.400 --> 00:03:48.479 We pray that you will teach us to live and to act, even in the most distressing moments, 00:03:48.479 --> 00:03:53.759 according to your plans, according to the nature that you have put into us, according to the 00:03:53.759 --> 00:03:56.899 measure of grace that you are giving to us. 00:03:57.599 --> 00:03:57.939 Amen. 00:03:59.399 --> 00:04:00.159 So distress. 00:04:00.399 --> 00:04:01.599 That's what this psalm is about. 00:04:01.780 --> 00:04:07.719 The psalmist, the singer who wrote this down, who composed this tune, was someone who had 00:04:07.719 --> 00:04:10.459 had a really distressing situation. 00:04:10.460 --> 00:04:15.360 And in the context of this sermon, we're going to talk about a specific kind of distress, 00:04:16.259 --> 00:04:17.860 which is physical pain. 00:04:18.780 --> 00:04:19.420 Physical pain. 00:04:19.540 --> 00:04:25.240 Something that all of you are either feeling right now or have felt sometime recently. 00:04:26.180 --> 00:04:30.300 I probably don't need to tell you what pain is like. 00:04:31.519 --> 00:04:36.420 But this psalm has a couple of words that we might recognize because we've all been in 00:04:36.420 --> 00:04:37.120 the same place. 00:04:37.120 --> 00:04:41.040 So here are some things that the psalmist says about his pain. 00:04:41.079 --> 00:04:44.420 If you look in your Bibles, these are the parts that appear in quotes where the psalmist 00:04:44.420 --> 00:04:45.459 is reflecting back. 00:04:45.720 --> 00:04:48.300 This is what it was like for me back when I had this experience. 00:04:48.399 --> 00:04:52.379 He said things like, I am greatly afflicted. 00:04:53.579 --> 00:04:54.819 You've probably said that. 00:04:55.379 --> 00:04:57.860 You might have posted that on Facebook recently. 00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:00.220 Here's another good one. 00:05:00.300 --> 00:05:01.240 This is a gem. 00:05:02.180 --> 00:05:05.120 He says, all mankind are liars. 00:05:05.120 --> 00:05:05.840 Liars. 00:05:06.939 --> 00:05:08.519 Have you said that one? 00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:09.860 Have you thought that one? 00:05:10.939 --> 00:05:15.280 I think I etched it into my desk last week while I was on hold for half an hour. 00:05:15.800 --> 00:05:19.300 This is like, why does no one get this? 00:05:19.379 --> 00:05:22.060 Why is no one on my side? 00:05:23.259 --> 00:05:25.560 How can everyone else be faking it? 00:05:26.259 --> 00:05:30.639 And I'm feeling like what I have is real, but everyone else is just faking it. 00:05:31.040 --> 00:05:31.939 Have you had that feeling? 00:05:31.939 --> 00:05:32.019 Right. 00:05:33.620 --> 00:05:39.379 So these are some feelings that this person had in distress, and you probably recognize 00:05:39.379 --> 00:05:40.519 in some way or another. 00:05:41.800 --> 00:05:49.519 But when we read the psalms, what's so great about them is that they walk us through things 00:05:49.519 --> 00:05:55.459 that we feel and we go through in life in a way that is in accord with how God has made 00:05:55.459 --> 00:05:56.099 our spirits. 00:05:56.240 --> 00:06:01.099 And so when we read through this, we shouldn't just be listening for things that we're like, 00:06:01.199 --> 00:06:02.419 yeah, I've got that. 00:06:03.439 --> 00:06:08.399 We should be listening for things that show us how we can do it better, how we can do 00:06:08.399 --> 00:06:11.859 this in accord with how God has made us to live. 00:06:11.860 --> 00:06:15.540 And so here's the last part in quotes in this psalm. 00:06:16.259 --> 00:06:17.680 The psalmist said in that time, 00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:22.639 Oh Lord, I pray, deliver my soul. 00:06:23.580 --> 00:06:25.600 Oh Lord, I pray, deliver my soul. 00:06:25.660 --> 00:06:30.860 It's easy to read over that, like it's some kind of just exclamation of like, oh my God, 00:06:30.900 --> 00:06:31.879 this really hurts. 00:06:33.699 --> 00:06:34.460 But it's not. 00:06:34.459 --> 00:06:38.339 This is a very specific prayer that's at the core of this psalm. 00:06:38.419 --> 00:06:42.779 Oh Lord, I pray, deliver my soul. 00:06:43.399 --> 00:06:44.359 What does that mean? 00:06:45.379 --> 00:06:46.859 What does that mean for us? 00:06:47.979 --> 00:06:54.339 When I hear the word soul, I think body and soul. 00:06:55.519 --> 00:06:56.839 Oh Lord, I pray, deliver my soul. 00:06:56.859 --> 00:06:57.519 That's what it feels like. 00:06:57.579 --> 00:07:02.060 And so I hear that and I hear something like a resigned religious feeling. 00:07:02.060 --> 00:07:04.879 Like, well, this is going to hurt. 00:07:06.019 --> 00:07:12.220 But now God can get on with the more important work of saving my spirit, the invisible part 00:07:12.220 --> 00:07:13.600 of me, or something like that. 00:07:14.139 --> 00:07:15.100 And you know what? 00:07:15.540 --> 00:07:17.920 That actually, that really makes me feel like a champion. 00:07:19.040 --> 00:07:23.240 It's like, I'll leave my body behind and my spirit will conquer. 00:07:24.699 --> 00:07:25.840 That's what I want to do. 00:07:26.019 --> 00:07:31.120 You know, it sounds really courageous, like something that's going to get you on the cover 00:07:31.120 --> 00:07:32.500 of a Wheaties box. 00:07:32.840 --> 00:07:36.100 But it has nothing to do with the book of Psalms. 00:07:36.340 --> 00:07:38.399 It has nothing to do with the book of Psalms. 00:07:39.519 --> 00:07:48.259 In the Bible, when pain comes into someone's body, their soul cries out to God. 00:07:48.780 --> 00:07:52.819 Pain comes into someone's body and their soul cries out to God. 00:07:52.899 --> 00:07:54.899 It's one process, the whole thing. 00:07:54.899 --> 00:07:59.519 So how do we understand this when the Bible talks about a soul? 00:07:59.620 --> 00:08:03.459 Then if it's not what we think of, it's just like the immaterial part of ourselves. 00:08:04.779 --> 00:08:09.519 One person who struggled with this, what does the Bible mean by the word soul then, is Wendell 00:08:09.519 --> 00:08:09.779 Berry. 00:08:10.659 --> 00:08:13.019 Here's how Wendell Berry came through it. 00:08:13.419 --> 00:08:13.779 He said, 00:08:13.779 --> 00:08:21.799 The crucial test is probably Genesis 2-7, back at the beginning of the scriptures, which 00:08:21.799 --> 00:08:25.719 gives the process by which Adam, the first man, was created, where it says, 00:08:26.039 --> 00:08:32.899 The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath 00:08:32.899 --> 00:08:37.539 of life, and man became a living soul. 00:08:38.819 --> 00:08:39.899 Wendell Berry continues here. 00:08:39.899 --> 00:08:46.559 The formula given in Genesis is not man equals body plus soul. 00:08:47.819 --> 00:08:52.399 The formula there is soul equals dust plus breath. 00:08:53.259 --> 00:08:57.860 According to this verse, God did not make a body and put a soul into it, like a letter 00:08:57.860 --> 00:08:58.720 into an envelope. 00:08:59.699 --> 00:09:04.000 He formed man of the dust by breathing his breath into it. 00:09:04.539 --> 00:09:06.100 He made the dust live. 00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:09.259 Insofar as it lived, it was a soul. 00:09:09.899 --> 00:09:14.360 The dust, formed as man and made to live, did not embody a soul. 00:09:14.500 --> 00:09:15.399 It became a soul. 00:09:15.799 --> 00:09:19.279 Soul here refers to the whole creature. 00:09:20.500 --> 00:09:27.259 Humanity is thus presented to us in Adam, not as a creature of two discrete parts temporarily 00:09:27.259 --> 00:09:31.399 glued together, but as a single mystery. 00:09:31.399 --> 00:09:36.879 That's the reflection of Wendell Berry on what this meant. 00:09:36.959 --> 00:09:39.620 And I think that's a biblical way of thinking about these things. 00:09:40.159 --> 00:09:45.419 So when we are distraught in our bodies, our souls suffer. 00:09:45.639 --> 00:09:46.319 It's all connected. 00:09:46.459 --> 00:09:47.579 It's all part of one thing. 00:09:49.500 --> 00:09:54.939 So then, when we think about that, when the Bible puts out for us a common thing the Bible 00:09:54.940 --> 00:10:00.300 says, something to the effect of, humans are far from God and that's a problem. 00:10:00.820 --> 00:10:03.080 That's something that the Bible says a lot. 00:10:03.400 --> 00:10:06.060 Humans are far from God and that is a problem. 00:10:07.100 --> 00:10:12.380 So when we hear that, the Bible is not just saying, you know, it is saying that our hearts 00:10:12.380 --> 00:10:13.380 are in a bad place. 00:10:13.379 --> 00:10:18.059 But it's also saying that our bodies shouldn't be this messed up. 00:10:19.000 --> 00:10:20.120 It shouldn't be like that. 00:10:20.179 --> 00:10:23.399 And that's what's being said here when we say that humans are far from God. 00:10:24.840 --> 00:10:30.500 So that's what finally brings us to the book of Leviticus, our first reading here. 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:36.139 Some of you have been regular attenders here at Church of the Advent and maybe you brought 00:10:36.139 --> 00:10:42.259 a friend or your mother or a neighbor and you heard this first reading and you put your 00:10:42.259 --> 00:10:43.200 head in your hands. 00:10:43.819 --> 00:10:44.919 This is not happening. 00:10:45.580 --> 00:10:53.639 Why are we talking about spots on skin, things that smell and look weird and should be between 00:10:53.639 --> 00:10:54.939 a person and their doctor? 00:10:56.419 --> 00:10:57.700 Why are we reading that? 00:10:58.279 --> 00:11:00.200 There's something actually amazing about this book. 00:11:00.200 --> 00:11:07.840 The book of Leviticus is at the very center of a big story of God saving his people. 00:11:07.840 --> 00:11:13.820 God saving his people, the descendants of Abraham the Hebrew, taking them out of slavery in Egypt, 00:11:14.220 --> 00:11:15.480 putting them in a new land. 00:11:15.580 --> 00:11:22.920 And at the very center of this big story is the book of Leviticus asking a very deep question. 00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:26.920 In the midst of that great saving activity, here's the question. 00:11:27.360 --> 00:11:32.320 What is it like to come back into the presence of God? 00:11:32.320 --> 00:11:37.280 What is it like to come back into the presence of God? 00:11:38.440 --> 00:11:40.860 So the problem is that we are far from God, right? 00:11:42.020 --> 00:11:44.320 So what would it be like to turn around? 00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:48.160 And I think that's actually a really fundamental question. 00:11:48.240 --> 00:11:52.879 Even if you're just someone who entertains the idea of God, it's captivating, isn't it? 00:11:53.200 --> 00:12:00.020 What would it be like to turn around and be back totally in the presence of God? 00:12:00.019 --> 00:12:01.480 What would that be like? 00:12:03.000 --> 00:12:09.179 And since this is a Christian Bible answering that question like we are talking about, 00:12:10.079 --> 00:12:12.579 therefore it has something to say about bodies. 00:12:12.799 --> 00:12:17.220 Remember, soul equals dust plus God's breath. 00:12:18.819 --> 00:12:22.559 So that's why, you know, we read these verses which seem odd at first reading. 00:12:22.559 --> 00:12:31.919 And if the leprous disease breaks out in the skin so that the leprous disease covers all the skin of the diseased person from head to foot as far as the priest can see. 00:12:32.000 --> 00:12:38.719 And we're reading this and, you know, why are we reading ancient Near Eastern pre-modern medicine? 00:12:39.799 --> 00:12:41.319 What's the point of that? 00:12:42.159 --> 00:12:48.059 In the book of Leviticus, there's a recognition that bad hearts are a part of being far from God. 00:12:48.059 --> 00:12:58.039 But there's also a clear admission that the decline of our bodies is also a part of being far from God. 00:12:58.879 --> 00:13:04.399 Having death in my body, as is symbolized sometimes by a skin disease that looks like death, 00:13:05.079 --> 00:13:09.699 having death in my body is a part of having death in my soul. 00:13:11.019 --> 00:13:13.259 Now, we can be totally clear here. 00:13:13.259 --> 00:13:20.179 It's not like people with physical problems are less moral or less important. 00:13:21.039 --> 00:13:21.860 Not in any way. 00:13:25.080 --> 00:13:32.000 In fact, what this is really about is that each of us individually bears this burden, 00:13:32.419 --> 00:13:40.759 that the decline of our physical bodies is an indication of how our bodies have been pushed away from God. 00:13:40.759 --> 00:13:44.559 Let me draw your attention to the role of the priest in this situation. 00:13:45.100 --> 00:13:45.879 Why is a priest here? 00:13:45.980 --> 00:13:52.659 Is the priest here some kind of shaman to, you know, whip up some kind of a spell or potion to get rid of someone's problems? 00:13:52.740 --> 00:13:54.259 Not at all in this text. 00:13:55.059 --> 00:13:59.639 The priest is there so that when a person does get better, when a person experiences healing, 00:14:00.019 --> 00:14:05.580 whether it is a miracle or it is simply the passage of time or some medicinal usage, 00:14:05.580 --> 00:14:13.680 the priest is there to say one thing, to say clean, to say life, 00:14:14.820 --> 00:14:20.600 to declare that God has brought a new bit of life to a person's soul, 00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:24.400 by giving a new bit of life to a person's body. 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:31.820 They're there to rejoice that some death has been made into some life, if in a small bit. 00:14:31.820 --> 00:14:36.320 And it's a small part of the answer to a big question. 00:14:36.879 --> 00:14:41.100 What is it like to come back into the presence of God? 00:14:43.580 --> 00:14:52.620 This particular passage is unfortunately hit a little bit too close to home for me recently. 00:14:52.620 --> 00:14:58.519 I took my family, my wife Casey and my two small kids, 00:14:59.000 --> 00:15:04.019 out to a wilderness area that had sunflower fields. 00:15:04.279 --> 00:15:10.360 And we went there, and we got great pictures of little kids running through sunflower fields. 00:15:10.740 --> 00:15:15.460 And we got a great time just running around in a wide open space. 00:15:15.460 --> 00:15:20.420 And I also got a poison ivy rash on both of my legs. 00:15:21.639 --> 00:15:26.180 And that developed two further skin complications, and it was horrible. 00:15:26.580 --> 00:15:31.100 And I'm not going to go into the details, but it would have compared to our reading here. 00:15:32.600 --> 00:15:37.000 And I wanted to tear my skin off for a few weeks. 00:15:37.700 --> 00:15:42.019 Night and day, wherever I was, I just wanted to tear my skin off. 00:15:42.019 --> 00:15:47.240 And the problem wasn't just like, I have this pain down around my calves. 00:15:47.419 --> 00:15:50.179 The problem wasn't just, I have this problem here. 00:15:51.360 --> 00:15:53.939 But that, I couldn't concentrate. 00:15:54.699 --> 00:15:57.539 When I got up in the morning to pray, I couldn't pray. 00:15:58.379 --> 00:16:03.220 When my kids are asking me for things, I could hardly respond. 00:16:04.740 --> 00:16:07.720 When I see my wife at the end of the day, I just, I have no patience. 00:16:07.720 --> 00:16:17.420 It was terrible, because pain was coming into my body, and I was crying out through my soul. 00:16:17.779 --> 00:16:22.160 My whole soul was affected by what was going on in my body. 00:16:24.100 --> 00:16:28.139 And, you know, this is a young group of people we have right here. 00:16:28.220 --> 00:16:32.820 Probably the average age is 30-something, whatever it is. 00:16:32.820 --> 00:16:37.740 Which should be physically a relatively good point in your life. 00:16:38.260 --> 00:16:43.020 And yet, for each of us here, there is something I know. 00:16:43.140 --> 00:16:45.060 There is something that is difficult. 00:16:45.220 --> 00:16:47.740 Something you only share with your doctor. 00:16:48.400 --> 00:16:52.260 Some problem that you have, or have had sometime in the last year. 00:16:52.259 --> 00:16:58.939 And if you are lucky, it hides beneath your clothes. 00:16:59.679 --> 00:17:04.119 And if you are unlucky, it hides beneath your skin. 00:17:05.500 --> 00:17:07.799 And we have this pain in our bodies. 00:17:08.940 --> 00:17:10.500 And so we have this distress. 00:17:11.079 --> 00:17:12.220 So what do we do with that? 00:17:12.720 --> 00:17:15.539 What are we going to do with that pain and that distress? 00:17:15.539 --> 00:17:19.940 The answer of this psalm, Psalm 116. 00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:26.720 The answer is to live a life of crying out to the Lord. 00:17:27.659 --> 00:17:31.559 To live a life of crying out to the Lord. 00:17:32.759 --> 00:17:33.700 What does that mean? 00:17:34.519 --> 00:17:35.440 What is that like? 00:17:35.500 --> 00:17:37.220 To live a life of crying out to the Lord. 00:17:37.460 --> 00:17:39.759 Well, there are three things we can point out from this psalm. 00:17:40.139 --> 00:17:41.240 Three things that that's like. 00:17:41.319 --> 00:17:44.259 First, we must persist. 00:17:44.259 --> 00:17:48.379 Persist in prayer and persist in crying out to the Lord. 00:17:48.460 --> 00:17:50.259 Here's verse 2 in the psalm. 00:17:51.839 --> 00:17:55.619 Because God inclined his ear to me. 00:17:55.700 --> 00:17:58.839 Literally, because he extended his ear to me. 00:17:59.279 --> 00:18:03.000 Therefore, I will call on him as long as I live. 00:18:03.059 --> 00:18:06.259 I will call on him as long as I live. 00:18:07.579 --> 00:18:11.879 I think many of you here have cried out to God. 00:18:11.880 --> 00:18:15.060 And have received some answers to prayer in your lives. 00:18:15.300 --> 00:18:17.680 Even if you can't think of something right now, though. 00:18:18.720 --> 00:18:22.500 Even if you're like, I have never received an answer to prayer. 00:18:23.640 --> 00:18:25.820 We came together this morning. 00:18:26.100 --> 00:18:28.160 And we asked God for some simple things. 00:18:28.780 --> 00:18:31.920 We asked God that he would purify our hearts in this worship. 00:18:32.100 --> 00:18:35.100 We confessed our sins to God and asked for forgiveness. 00:18:35.300 --> 00:18:35.800 And you know what? 00:18:35.840 --> 00:18:37.560 He has forgiven us. 00:18:37.559 --> 00:18:40.940 In Jesus Christ, our sins have been forgiven. 00:18:41.099 --> 00:18:44.500 For those who would repent and seek forgiveness from Jesus. 00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:45.859 God has answered us. 00:18:45.980 --> 00:18:47.619 God has met us. 00:18:48.179 --> 00:18:51.759 God has extended his ear to us. 00:18:52.539 --> 00:18:53.419 So I encourage you. 00:18:54.799 --> 00:18:57.159 Call on him as long as you live. 00:18:58.200 --> 00:18:59.579 That prayer that you've had. 00:19:00.139 --> 00:19:00.819 Pray it again. 00:19:00.899 --> 00:19:01.679 I encourage you. 00:19:01.680 --> 00:19:06.200 This is a God who has power to act. 00:19:06.779 --> 00:19:08.660 This is a God who answers prayers. 00:19:08.980 --> 00:19:12.779 How could you not but bring that to the Lord again? 00:19:12.880 --> 00:19:15.180 Who extends his ear to you. 00:19:16.480 --> 00:19:20.420 Now, I know this is a heavy burden to bear. 00:19:21.299 --> 00:19:24.100 Maybe you have prayed that prayer many times. 00:19:24.460 --> 00:19:29.299 To take away this physical burden that has been clutching your soul. 00:19:29.299 --> 00:19:33.220 Maybe you have prayed it many times and you feel that you cannot pray it again. 00:19:34.240 --> 00:19:39.419 Let me say that there are many here who can share that burden with you. 00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:43.200 In a few moments, we're going to partake of communion. 00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:47.720 And we'll come down here and we'll receive bread and wine. 00:19:47.799 --> 00:19:55.799 And as a part of communion, we have some people who stand off to the side, ready to receive people in prayer. 00:19:56.599 --> 00:19:57.539 They are there. 00:19:57.539 --> 00:20:04.019 This isn't just like a side thing, like an extra, just to kind of fill up some space, to have another activity for us to do. 00:20:04.220 --> 00:20:07.599 This is actually an important part of how we do communion. 00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:11.720 Because we come together and we receive bread and wine. 00:20:11.779 --> 00:20:19.920 And we are reminded that Jesus Christ has begun the process of turning our souls back to God. 00:20:19.920 --> 00:20:26.940 For those of us who would trust Jesus, our whole souls, the whole soul, is being turned back to God. 00:20:26.980 --> 00:20:29.920 And we receive that in these elements of bread and wine here. 00:20:30.920 --> 00:20:37.360 And yet, at the same time, you eat and you drink and you are still in pain. 00:20:37.359 --> 00:20:45.219 You are reminded of that suffering, in part, through taking the elements of bread and wine in the Eucharist. 00:20:45.539 --> 00:20:51.759 And with that reminder, please bring that burden to those who would like to pray. 00:20:52.459 --> 00:20:53.500 Persist in prayer. 00:20:53.619 --> 00:20:56.199 If you cannot pray, ask someone to pray with you. 00:20:56.200 --> 00:20:59.299 So that is the first part of crying out to the Lord. 00:20:59.620 --> 00:21:01.000 Persist in prayer. 00:21:02.580 --> 00:21:02.940 Second. 00:21:03.799 --> 00:21:07.420 Second part of crying out to the Lord is presence. 00:21:08.720 --> 00:21:10.640 The presence of God. 00:21:12.080 --> 00:21:13.940 Verse 9 of the Psalm says this. 00:21:13.940 --> 00:21:17.400 I will walk before the Lord. 00:21:17.740 --> 00:21:18.940 Or another way of saying that. 00:21:19.000 --> 00:21:20.080 Another way of translating that. 00:21:20.380 --> 00:21:23.340 I will walk in the presence of the Lord. 00:21:23.980 --> 00:21:25.680 In the land of the living. 00:21:26.019 --> 00:21:28.279 I will walk in the presence of the Lord. 00:21:28.539 --> 00:21:30.180 In the land of the living. 00:21:30.400 --> 00:21:35.779 Perhaps, perhaps you have been praying for the same thing again and again. 00:21:35.779 --> 00:21:43.100 And perhaps you feel that for a time or for whatever, you have to stop praying for a time. 00:21:43.099 --> 00:21:45.439 You need to accept, here's where I'm at. 00:21:47.119 --> 00:21:56.839 If that's where you're at, let me remind you that the presence of God is always available for those who cry out to the Lord in their pain and distress. 00:21:57.839 --> 00:21:59.939 The presence of God is available. 00:22:00.099 --> 00:22:00.879 But what is that like? 00:22:00.939 --> 00:22:03.500 You may be thinking, but I don't feel the presence of God. 00:22:05.539 --> 00:22:13.079 The verse here says something a little bit different than simply, you know, you feel pain in your body and that will be replaced by a different kind of feeling. 00:22:13.099 --> 00:22:17.459 It says, I will walk in the presence of the Lord. 00:22:17.599 --> 00:22:23.439 Walking in the Bible is a common metaphor that is used for how you live your life. 00:22:24.480 --> 00:22:28.679 And walking in the presence of the Lord, it includes a number of things. 00:22:29.259 --> 00:22:33.019 But it includes loving the Lord with all your heart. 00:22:33.379 --> 00:22:35.559 It includes loving one another. 00:22:35.679 --> 00:22:37.319 It includes worshiping God. 00:22:37.899 --> 00:22:38.959 Confessing our sins. 00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:45.019 Walking in these ways is walking in the presence of the Lord. 00:22:45.660 --> 00:22:50.180 And God promises his presence for those of us who will walk in his ways. 00:22:51.779 --> 00:22:55.440 This is part of our reading in 2 Corinthians. 00:22:55.440 --> 00:23:04.039 It said, since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, I believed and so I spoke. 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:06.279 And that's a quote from Psalm 116 here. 00:23:07.120 --> 00:23:09.340 We also believe and so we also speak. 00:23:09.700 --> 00:23:14.820 Knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus. 00:23:15.320 --> 00:23:19.440 And bring us with you into his presence. 00:23:19.440 --> 00:23:29.980 For it is all for your sake so that as grace extends to more and more people, it may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God. 00:23:30.220 --> 00:23:31.580 So we do not lose heart. 00:23:31.940 --> 00:23:36.940 Though our outer self, the outer man, the outer woman is wasting away. 00:23:37.120 --> 00:23:41.480 Our inner self is being renewed day by day. 00:23:41.480 --> 00:23:47.120 The presence of God is in those who will cry out to the Lord. 00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:53.660 Third part of living a life of crying out to the Lord in our pain and distress. 00:23:54.559 --> 00:23:56.279 The third part is praise. 00:23:57.799 --> 00:23:59.839 Verse 14 of the Psalm says this. 00:24:01.140 --> 00:24:05.480 I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. 00:24:06.299 --> 00:24:08.099 I will pay my vows to the Lord. 00:24:08.099 --> 00:24:12.759 That's another thing that's a little bit difficult for us to read because we don't know exactly what this means. 00:24:12.839 --> 00:24:21.039 Actually, for many centuries and millennia, one way that people prayed was to make vows to God. 00:24:22.179 --> 00:24:25.719 And they would do something like, God, hear my prayer. 00:24:26.500 --> 00:24:31.519 And if you do, I will worship you before your people in some particular way. 00:24:31.679 --> 00:24:35.139 And when they did this, this wasn't like some kind of a quid pro quo. 00:24:35.259 --> 00:24:37.199 Like, God, if you give me something, I'll give you something. 00:24:37.200 --> 00:24:42.920 And it wasn't like, I'm not going to worship God if he doesn't give me what I want. 00:24:43.819 --> 00:24:44.819 It wasn't like that. 00:24:45.340 --> 00:24:47.460 What it was, was a promise. 00:24:47.980 --> 00:24:50.000 God, I will remember you for your work. 00:24:50.539 --> 00:24:52.460 I will praise you for your work. 00:24:53.100 --> 00:24:55.279 Every work that you do for me, I will praise you. 00:24:55.319 --> 00:24:58.720 And this will be one of them if you will bless me in this way. 00:24:59.500 --> 00:25:03.200 So when people made vows, if God answered them in one way or another, 00:25:03.259 --> 00:25:06.200 what they did was they offered a thanksgiving offering. 00:25:06.200 --> 00:25:07.600 This is also mentioned in this psalmist. 00:25:07.840 --> 00:25:09.319 A sacrifice of thanksgiving. 00:25:09.440 --> 00:25:13.120 And it's easy to think of that as, like, a sacrifice of thanksgiving. 00:25:13.200 --> 00:25:17.140 That means, like, saying some particular prayer, like you say it at Thanksgiving. 00:25:17.580 --> 00:25:19.000 Or something like that. 00:25:19.080 --> 00:25:24.759 But a thanksgiving offering was a very particular thing these centuries ago when this was written. 00:25:25.019 --> 00:25:28.900 A thanksgiving offering was where you took a part of your property, 00:25:28.900 --> 00:25:33.220 a lamb or a goat or something, and you brought it to the place of worship, 00:25:33.420 --> 00:25:35.160 and they, you know, killed it. 00:25:35.620 --> 00:25:38.920 They pulled out part of the body and burned it on an altar. 00:25:38.920 --> 00:25:43.380 As you watched it there burning on an altar, 00:25:44.140 --> 00:25:46.000 you saw the smoke going up. 00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:51.940 And you were reminded that your prayers have gone up like that smoke to God. 00:25:52.200 --> 00:25:53.660 And he has heard you. 00:25:54.980 --> 00:25:57.559 And as that smoke went up, you praised God, 00:25:57.819 --> 00:26:01.119 singing psalms like, like this psalm here, Psalm 116. 00:26:02.359 --> 00:26:03.619 And then you took some of the meat, 00:26:03.700 --> 00:26:05.700 and you gave some to the priest, 00:26:05.759 --> 00:26:07.359 and then all of your friends and family were there, 00:26:07.380 --> 00:26:08.259 and you gave some to them, 00:26:08.359 --> 00:26:09.619 and you had a big feast. 00:26:09.980 --> 00:26:11.099 And you all ate together, 00:26:11.099 --> 00:26:14.059 and you worshipped God for this great thing that he had done. 00:26:16.139 --> 00:26:20.980 Now, some translations are necessary here 00:26:20.980 --> 00:26:26.779 because Jesus Christ has been the final sacrifice for us. 00:26:27.279 --> 00:26:30.839 Sacrifice is no longer necessary or needed. 00:26:32.279 --> 00:26:34.679 Jesus Christ has been the final sacrifice for our sins, 00:26:34.859 --> 00:26:37.839 but we can think about this in our own lives 00:26:37.839 --> 00:26:39.919 in a very particular way. 00:26:39.920 --> 00:26:42.220 Has God answered you in prayer? 00:26:43.960 --> 00:26:44.880 Go to the store, 00:26:45.180 --> 00:26:47.240 buy a big honking slab of meat, 00:26:47.420 --> 00:26:48.840 invite all your friends over, 00:26:49.300 --> 00:26:53.080 and praise God for his great work in your life. 00:26:54.340 --> 00:26:56.519 Praise God in the midst of his people. 00:26:57.259 --> 00:27:00.640 Feast with them for the great thing that God has done. 00:27:03.460 --> 00:27:06.460 What is it like to live a life of crying out to the Lord? 00:27:07.400 --> 00:27:07.880 Persisting. 00:27:08.759 --> 00:27:09.240 Presence. 00:27:10.360 --> 00:27:10.800 Praise. 00:27:12.340 --> 00:27:13.039 And I know, 00:27:13.259 --> 00:27:14.360 as I've gone through these things, 00:27:14.420 --> 00:27:15.640 you may think I've skipped something. 00:27:16.180 --> 00:27:17.580 We talked about crying out to God. 00:27:17.900 --> 00:27:19.960 We talked about something you might do 00:27:19.960 --> 00:27:22.180 when you're not receiving the answer to your prayer. 00:27:22.240 --> 00:27:23.519 We talked about what it's like 00:27:23.519 --> 00:27:25.400 when God has answered your prayer. 00:27:27.060 --> 00:27:27.420 So, 00:27:27.519 --> 00:27:29.100 how do we get God to answer our prayers? 00:27:31.060 --> 00:27:31.740 I've got to admit, 00:27:31.820 --> 00:27:33.539 I don't have a bullet point for that one. 00:27:33.539 --> 00:27:36.980 I don't have a bullet point, 00:27:36.980 --> 00:27:41.200 because I don't know when God will act in the way that I want him to. 00:27:42.639 --> 00:27:43.799 But I do know, 00:27:43.799 --> 00:27:46.059 I do know, 00:27:46.059 --> 00:27:46.119 I do know, 00:27:46.680 --> 00:27:48.139 that in all things, 00:27:48.139 --> 00:27:49.599 God has called us 00:27:49.599 --> 00:27:51.639 to cry out to the Lord. 00:27:51.720 --> 00:27:53.539 And so that was my encouragement for you. 00:27:54.460 --> 00:27:56.599 Cry out in all things to the Lord. 00:27:56.599 --> 00:27:58.939 We talked about persisting in prayer, 00:27:59.179 --> 00:27:59.399 like, 00:27:59.459 --> 00:28:00.819 doing it across time, 00:28:00.919 --> 00:28:01.039 like, 00:28:01.099 --> 00:28:02.599 keep on persisting in prayer. 00:28:03.259 --> 00:28:04.599 But there was also persisting, 00:28:04.719 --> 00:28:04.799 like, 00:28:05.159 --> 00:28:07.019 filling our whole lives with prayer. 00:28:07.099 --> 00:28:09.179 Every time you go for a run, 00:28:09.259 --> 00:28:12.419 every time you have a difficult deadline at work, 00:28:12.419 --> 00:28:13.859 when the kids are screaming, 00:28:15.019 --> 00:28:16.059 persist in prayer, 00:28:16.119 --> 00:28:16.959 in all things, 00:28:17.000 --> 00:28:18.839 and cry out to the Lord. 00:28:18.839 --> 00:28:22.099 And in all good things that you receive, 00:28:22.220 --> 00:28:23.319 whatever it is, 00:28:23.939 --> 00:28:27.319 offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving. 00:28:29.019 --> 00:28:30.839 Because every little healing, 00:28:31.720 --> 00:28:32.980 whether it's a miracle, 00:28:32.980 --> 00:28:37.339 or just the natural end of a poison ivy rash, 00:28:37.919 --> 00:28:42.879 every little healing is a small spoonful of life. 00:28:43.079 --> 00:28:47.740 It is a small spoonful of the final resurrection of the body, 00:28:47.740 --> 00:28:51.799 which Jesus Christ has promised to those who have faith in him, 00:28:52.240 --> 00:28:54.339 and who will walk according to his ways. 00:28:55.259 --> 00:28:58.420 It is a small spoonful of what God will give us. 00:29:00.120 --> 00:29:01.960 Verse 7 in this psalm says this, 00:29:02.640 --> 00:29:05.680 Return, O my soul, to your rest, 00:29:06.279 --> 00:29:09.039 for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. 00:29:09.279 --> 00:29:10.720 Every little good thing, 00:29:10.819 --> 00:29:13.059 every little healing that God gives us, 00:29:13.599 --> 00:29:14.500 in that, 00:29:15.240 --> 00:29:15.940 we should pray, 00:29:15.940 --> 00:29:18.400 return, O my soul, to your rest, 00:29:18.500 --> 00:29:20.500 for the little bit of life 00:29:20.500 --> 00:29:22.519 that God has given to us, 00:29:22.620 --> 00:29:23.380 in anticipation 00:29:23.380 --> 00:29:25.880 of the great resurrection 00:29:25.880 --> 00:29:27.559 of our bodies, 00:29:28.360 --> 00:29:30.080 when we will 00:29:30.080 --> 00:29:32.039 live in the presence of the Lord. 00:29:32.120 --> 00:29:32.940 And we can say, 00:29:33.160 --> 00:29:34.259 with all our hearts, 00:29:34.559 --> 00:29:35.820 louder than ever, 00:29:36.259 --> 00:29:37.740 return, O my soul, 00:29:37.840 --> 00:29:38.600 to your rest, 00:29:38.779 --> 00:29:41.240 for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. 00:29:42.600 --> 00:29:43.460 Let's pray together. 00:29:43.460 --> 00:29:51.440 God, you have blessed us so greatly 00:29:51.440 --> 00:29:55.120 by giving us the opportunity for life, 00:29:55.299 --> 00:29:58.340 for choosing life in Jesus Christ. 00:29:59.299 --> 00:30:02.000 And yet, we still feel pain in our bodies. 00:30:03.299 --> 00:30:05.019 God, we cry out to you, 00:30:05.079 --> 00:30:07.360 take away the pain. 00:30:07.359 --> 00:30:11.819 God, we know that your presence 00:30:11.819 --> 00:30:14.619 is with those who would walk in this way. 00:30:14.699 --> 00:30:15.959 And we praise you, God, 00:30:16.559 --> 00:30:17.579 for every way 00:30:17.579 --> 00:30:19.419 that you have brought healing 00:30:19.419 --> 00:30:20.399 this week, 00:30:20.839 --> 00:30:21.419 this day, 00:30:21.740 --> 00:30:22.579 this year. 00:30:22.679 --> 00:30:23.619 We praise you, 00:30:23.819 --> 00:30:24.819 all of us together. 00:30:26.759 --> 00:30:28.259 And we await the day 00:30:28.259 --> 00:30:29.019 when we can say, 00:30:29.159 --> 00:30:30.399 return, O my soul, 00:30:30.539 --> 00:30:31.299 to your rest. 00:30:32.639 --> 00:30:32.939 Amen. 00:30:32.939 --> 00:30:33.059 Amen. 00:30:33.059 --> 00:30:33.679 Amen. 00:30:34.039 --> 00:30:34.579 Amen. 00:30:34.579 --> 00:30:34.899 Amen. 00:30:34.899 --> 00:30:35.480 Amen. 00:30:35.480 --> 00:30:36.039 Amen. 00:30:36.179 --> 00:30:37.159 Amen. 00:30:37.159 --> 00:30:37.339 Amen. 00:30:37.339 --> 00:30:37.759 Amen. 00:30:37.879 --> 00:30:37.960 Amen. 00:30:38.019 --> 00:30:40.399 Amen. 00:30:40.480 --> 00:30:40.940 Amen. 00:30:44.940 --> 00:30:45.480 Amen. 00:30:45.859 --> 00:30:46.099 Amen. 00:30:47.079 --> 00:30:47.299 Amen. 00:30:47.299 --> 00:30:49.119 Amen. 00:30:49.879 --> 00:30:51.079 policy spider, 00:30:51.720 --> 00:30:52.639 walk out of 00:30:52.980 --> 00:31:03.039 practices and