WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.960 Well, we're continuing on this evening in our Summer Psalm series, and this evening 00:00:04.960 --> 00:00:07.919 we'll be looking at Psalm 27. 00:00:07.919 --> 00:00:12.919 And as I was thinking about this Psalm for this evening, I couldn't help thinking of 00:00:12.919 --> 00:00:20.400 this beautiful and kind of haunting scene in the first of the Harry Potter books, or 00:00:20.400 --> 00:00:22.160 the first of the Harry Potter movies. 00:00:22.160 --> 00:00:26.359 And some of you are more excited than you've ever been in church right now. 00:00:26.359 --> 00:00:31.320 And maybe you probably remember this scene for those of you who have seen it, but Harry's 00:00:31.320 --> 00:00:38.359 walking around the castle late at night by himself, and he stumbles upon this mirror. 00:00:38.359 --> 00:00:41.439 And he sees himself in this mirror, as you would expect it, he would see himself. 00:00:41.439 --> 00:00:45.239 But as he looks closer, he sees this group of people standing behind him. 00:00:45.239 --> 00:00:50.719 And Harry, for those of you who haven't read the books or seen the movies, Harry is was, 00:00:50.719 --> 00:00:53.200 or in this world, is an orphan. 00:00:53.200 --> 00:00:58.280 And he lost his parents to an accident when he was just young. 00:00:58.280 --> 00:01:02.719 And as he stared into the mirror, he realized that he began to see himself, see his features, 00:01:02.719 --> 00:01:08.040 see his eyes and resemblance in this group of people that stood behind him. 00:01:08.040 --> 00:01:15.320 And he realizes it was his mom, it was his dad, and they're smiling approvingly at him. 00:01:15.320 --> 00:01:19.879 And his mom's even crying, she's so excited to see him. 00:01:19.879 --> 00:01:25.560 And he'd never seen them before, and they're waving at him and smiling at him. 00:01:25.560 --> 00:01:29.599 And as you can imagine, Harry gets as close to the mirror as he possibly can. 00:01:29.599 --> 00:01:36.840 He's pushing his nose up against it, and Rowling says he stares hungrily at them. 00:01:36.840 --> 00:01:42.159 And after hours of just staring at his parents, he decides he better return to bed because 00:01:42.159 --> 00:01:45.000 he's sneaking around before he gets caught. 00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:49.759 And he whispers, I'll come back to his family, and he sneaks off back to bed. 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:54.800 And of course, the next day he tells his friend Ron, eager to bring him along to introduce 00:01:54.800 --> 00:01:59.560 Ron to his family and to meet Ron's family, because apparently this is just a family 00:01:59.560 --> 00:02:02.640 mirror where you meet people's families. 00:02:02.640 --> 00:02:05.920 And all day long, you can imagine how long this day is for Harry. 00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:08.680 He just longs for the night to come. 00:02:08.680 --> 00:02:12.960 He longs for everyone to go to bed so that he can see his family again. 00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:15.719 He doesn't eat, he doesn't do his schoolwork. 00:02:15.719 --> 00:02:20.159 Everything that was important to him now is irrelevant to him. 00:02:20.159 --> 00:02:22.120 And finally, everyone goes to bed. 00:02:22.120 --> 00:02:26.240 And the two sneak off to see the mirror, and Harry steps in front of it, and there's his 00:02:26.240 --> 00:02:30.759 mom and his dad staring back at him, waving at him, smiling at him. 00:02:30.759 --> 00:02:35.159 And he pulls his friend Ron over, there's my parents, do you see them? 00:02:35.159 --> 00:02:36.840 And Ron can't see them. 00:02:36.840 --> 00:02:41.360 And so Ron gets in front of the mirror to get a better look at them, and his mouth drops 00:02:41.360 --> 00:02:42.960 open. 00:02:42.960 --> 00:02:45.240 He doesn't see Harry's family. 00:02:45.240 --> 00:02:46.800 He doesn't even see his own family. 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:48.840 Turns out this isn't just the family mirror. 00:02:48.840 --> 00:02:52.360 He sees himself, except he's older. 00:02:52.360 --> 00:02:53.879 He's the head boy of the school. 00:02:53.879 --> 00:02:54.879 He has a badges. 00:02:54.879 --> 00:02:56.680 He has awards on him. 00:02:56.680 --> 00:02:58.680 He's the captain of the Quidditch team. 00:02:58.680 --> 00:03:05.280 You see, this mirror showed them, wasn't their families, it wasn't their futures, and it 00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:10.680 didn't even show them what they wanted, as Dumbledore would explain to Harry. 00:03:10.680 --> 00:03:16.719 It shows, as he says, nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of 00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:19.080 our hearts. 00:03:19.080 --> 00:03:22.439 Whether you've read Harry Potter or not, whether you like Harry Potter or not, this 00:03:22.439 --> 00:03:24.719 psalm is in some way a mirror. 00:03:24.719 --> 00:03:29.640 In some ways it's asking you not just what you want, but what is the deepest, what is 00:03:29.640 --> 00:03:33.640 the most desperate desire of your heart? 00:03:33.640 --> 00:03:38.360 Or as Jesus asked so pointedly in the Gospels, what are you seeking? 00:03:38.360 --> 00:03:43.800 And were that mirror to be over here in this back this evening, and you were to go look 00:03:43.800 --> 00:03:47.360 in it afterward, what would you see? 00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:50.360 What would show up in the mirror? 00:03:50.360 --> 00:03:52.920 Would you see a beautiful church with wedding bells? 00:03:52.920 --> 00:03:55.940 Would you see a little healthy baby? 00:03:55.940 --> 00:03:58.640 Would you see your grown children walking with the Lord? 00:03:58.640 --> 00:04:02.000 Would you see grandchildren walking with the Lord? 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:06.160 Would you see a big corner office with a big salary? 00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:12.000 Would you see a graduation day finally come with a diploma that says with honors on it? 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:17.040 Would you see a life filled with leisure, life filled with friends? 00:04:17.040 --> 00:04:20.399 And I want the majority of those things for myself. 00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:23.079 It's not bad to want those things. 00:04:23.079 --> 00:04:27.279 But the question is, are those the deepest, the most desperate desire of your heart this 00:04:27.279 --> 00:04:29.399 evening? 00:04:29.399 --> 00:04:35.159 Because as Dumbledore warned Harry, men have wasted away before that mirror. 00:04:35.160 --> 00:04:37.960 They've stared into it for so long, wanting those things. 00:04:37.960 --> 00:04:43.880 They've wasted away, entranced by what they've seen or driven mad by what they just can't 00:04:43.880 --> 00:04:47.000 seem to get their hands around. 00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:51.400 And I think we all know here this evening that's what good desires can so easily become 00:04:51.400 --> 00:04:52.920 for us. 00:04:52.920 --> 00:04:57.640 We can be driven mad by them because we just have to have them, our fists clench around 00:04:57.640 --> 00:05:00.000 them. 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:03.080 So I think if David were here this evening, he would ask you, what do you really, what 00:05:03.079 --> 00:05:06.039 do you really, really, really, really want? 00:05:06.039 --> 00:05:09.120 What do you truly want? 00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:14.519 And if David were to look into that mirror, he would see not just rescue from his enemies, 00:05:14.519 --> 00:05:19.079 he wouldn't just see his foes tripping as they pursued him. 00:05:19.079 --> 00:05:22.519 He wouldn't just see security to his kingdom. 00:05:22.519 --> 00:05:27.879 He would see, according to Psalm 27, the very face of God in that mirror. 00:05:27.879 --> 00:05:31.000 And in verse four, if you look at it, he says, I just want one thing. 00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:32.479 I just want one thing. 00:05:32.480 --> 00:05:34.319 I have one prayer. 00:05:34.319 --> 00:05:38.360 And I seek after that with everything, everything that I have. 00:05:38.360 --> 00:05:39.879 And it's you, Lord. 00:05:39.879 --> 00:05:40.879 It's your face. 00:05:40.879 --> 00:05:43.480 That's what I'm seeking after. 00:05:43.480 --> 00:05:46.879 And if you look in verse eight, he says, you know, it's not just my mouth that says this. 00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:49.840 I don't just say this in church so that people will think that I'm holy. 00:05:49.840 --> 00:05:50.840 What did he say? 00:05:50.840 --> 00:05:52.480 He says, my heart. 00:05:52.480 --> 00:05:54.200 My heart says this reality. 00:05:54.200 --> 00:05:58.439 My heart says to you, God, please show me your face, Lord. 00:05:58.439 --> 00:06:00.080 Can I just see your face? 00:06:00.079 --> 00:06:04.159 You see, this isn't a show for David. 00:06:04.159 --> 00:06:05.599 This is a prayer. 00:06:05.599 --> 00:06:08.479 This is a desperation that he has. 00:06:08.479 --> 00:06:10.519 Something he tells the Lord in the quiet of his room. 00:06:10.519 --> 00:06:13.839 This isn't a public performance. 00:06:13.839 --> 00:06:19.039 This is the posture of his heart before the Lord when he's alone and no one else is watching. 00:06:19.039 --> 00:06:24.519 In other words, as Dumbledore might put it, this is the deepest, most desperate desire 00:06:24.519 --> 00:06:27.680 of David's heart is to see the face of the Lord. 00:06:27.680 --> 00:06:34.120 And I think that all of us this evening, I think we all want that to be the deepest desire 00:06:34.120 --> 00:06:36.000 of our hearts. 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:39.800 But if we're honest, it's just not always. 00:06:39.800 --> 00:06:44.480 And I think one of the reasons it's not is because our hearts are so often paralyzed by 00:06:44.480 --> 00:06:45.800 other things. 00:06:45.800 --> 00:06:52.639 Our hearts get crowded out with voices, other voices that just crowd out that desire. 00:06:52.639 --> 00:06:55.319 And that's what tonight I want to talk about. 00:06:55.319 --> 00:07:00.800 What does it mean for the Lord to be our deepest hunger, our deepest, deepest, deepest desire, 00:07:00.800 --> 00:07:04.319 even in the midst of all those voices that are shouting, that are whispering, that are 00:07:04.319 --> 00:07:07.079 crowding out our hearts? 00:07:07.079 --> 00:07:09.159 Three voices that try to paralyze your heart. 00:07:09.159 --> 00:07:10.279 That's what this sermon will be about. 00:07:10.279 --> 00:07:12.839 Three different voices. 00:07:12.839 --> 00:07:17.439 And the first voice, if you look at Psalm 27, is fear. 00:07:17.439 --> 00:07:22.079 If you look at verse one, David says, whom shall I fear? 00:07:22.079 --> 00:07:23.079 Whom shall I fear? 00:07:23.079 --> 00:07:26.039 He asked a question twice. 00:07:26.039 --> 00:07:28.240 And the answer actually seems pretty obvious. 00:07:28.240 --> 00:07:30.439 I think I could answer that question for him pretty easily. 00:07:30.439 --> 00:07:34.359 He has plenty of people and things to be afraid of. 00:07:34.359 --> 00:07:37.759 There are the evil doers who are chasing him down. 00:07:37.759 --> 00:07:38.959 He has adversaries. 00:07:38.959 --> 00:07:40.719 He has foes coming after him. 00:07:40.719 --> 00:07:44.439 There are armies and wars waiting for him. 00:07:44.439 --> 00:07:50.159 Yet, in the midst of all that noise, in the midst of all that, he says in verse three, 00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:53.520 to his own heart, my heart shall not fear. 00:07:53.520 --> 00:08:00.120 I will somehow be confident in the midst of all of this. 00:08:00.120 --> 00:08:05.600 And my guess is if you were to open this up tomorrow morning, that would feel pretty unrelatable 00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:07.840 to you. 00:08:07.840 --> 00:08:13.360 As I hope you don't have armies camped outside of your front door or enemies stalking around 00:08:13.360 --> 00:08:14.879 in your garden coming for you. 00:08:14.879 --> 00:08:17.600 And if you do, you should talk to someone here at church. 00:08:17.600 --> 00:08:20.640 We can help you with that, maybe. 00:08:20.640 --> 00:08:22.760 But the reality is David did. 00:08:22.760 --> 00:08:25.840 David did have armies camped against him. 00:08:25.840 --> 00:08:29.000 He really did have wars coming for him. 00:08:29.000 --> 00:08:32.840 And again, like we talked about last week, what situation in particular this is, we don't 00:08:32.840 --> 00:08:35.200 really know. 00:08:35.200 --> 00:08:38.360 But we can at least say two things for sure about what David was going through. 00:08:38.360 --> 00:08:40.279 We can say two things for sure. 00:08:40.279 --> 00:08:44.680 Number one, he says, the Lord is my light. 00:08:44.680 --> 00:08:45.879 That's what he says in the first verse. 00:08:45.879 --> 00:08:51.480 So we can say pretty confidently whatever his situation was, it felt dark to him. 00:08:51.480 --> 00:08:53.679 It was a dark situation. 00:08:53.679 --> 00:08:58.519 And the second thing we can say is David says my heart shall not fear. 00:08:58.519 --> 00:09:04.519 So whatever situation this was, it was dark and David was scared. 00:09:04.519 --> 00:09:09.559 To say to your heart, do not be afraid that many times means you're struggling with fear. 00:09:09.559 --> 00:09:16.279 In other words, David's reality and David's theology were coming into conflict with each 00:09:16.279 --> 00:09:17.839 other. 00:09:17.839 --> 00:09:23.839 He looked outside of his tent or whatever he was staying in and saw a plane filled with 00:09:23.839 --> 00:09:25.959 armies and enemies coming for him. 00:09:25.959 --> 00:09:31.079 He saw enemies chasing him down, coming after him, wanting his life. 00:09:31.079 --> 00:09:35.399 And then he looked into the law of God at a God that said, I want to be your God and 00:09:35.399 --> 00:09:39.720 I want you to be my people and I will care for you. 00:09:39.720 --> 00:09:44.679 And so he's trying to reconcile what he sees with his eyes and what he reads in the word 00:09:44.679 --> 00:09:45.679 of God. 00:09:45.679 --> 00:09:47.840 And he's trying to teach himself. 00:09:47.840 --> 00:09:49.000 He's trying to teach his eyes. 00:09:49.000 --> 00:09:54.600 He's trying to teach his heart, his emotions to see the world through the letters of the 00:09:54.600 --> 00:09:58.360 Bible, to see the world theologically. 00:09:58.360 --> 00:10:00.679 And how does he do that? 00:10:00.679 --> 00:10:06.000 If you look at verse one, he says, the Lord is my light. 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:08.519 The Lord is my salvation. 00:10:08.519 --> 00:10:13.279 The Lord is the stronghold of my life. 00:10:13.279 --> 00:10:16.759 In other words, the Lord is mine. 00:10:16.759 --> 00:10:23.120 It's almost as if he puts handles on the character and attributes of God and he claims him as 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:24.120 his own. 00:10:24.120 --> 00:10:28.519 He pulls God and all of his character into his own situation. 00:10:28.519 --> 00:10:30.159 And he says, the Lord is mine. 00:10:30.159 --> 00:10:31.199 He's mine today. 00:10:31.199 --> 00:10:32.919 He's mine in this tent. 00:10:32.919 --> 00:10:36.480 And in the midst of these enemies and these wars, he's mine. 00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:39.360 When it's dark, the Lord is my light. 00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:43.959 When I'm running from my enemy and the thing I need the most is a place to hide. 00:10:43.959 --> 00:10:46.779 He's my stronghold and my refuge. 00:10:46.779 --> 00:10:51.319 When evil doers are chasing me, he'll push them over for me. 00:10:51.319 --> 00:10:56.079 In other words, David's prayer is, God, be who you are to me. 00:10:56.080 --> 00:11:01.200 All of who you are and your attributes and might and power be who you are to me right 00:11:01.200 --> 00:11:02.560 now in the midst of this. 00:11:02.560 --> 00:11:03.800 I need you. 00:11:03.800 --> 00:11:04.800 Be mine. 00:11:04.800 --> 00:11:07.639 And what does that mean? 00:11:07.639 --> 00:11:08.639 What does that mean for us? 00:11:08.639 --> 00:11:14.600 It means that in the dark, you need theology and even more literally. 00:11:14.600 --> 00:11:18.360 And of course, you're going to hear this from a guy who likes theology, but it means that 00:11:18.360 --> 00:11:23.480 you need a systematic theology book by your bed. 00:11:23.480 --> 00:11:29.000 Not just to help you fall asleep, because when you are afraid, you need more than a 00:11:29.000 --> 00:11:30.920 song to pick you up. 00:11:30.920 --> 00:11:34.159 You need more than a TV show to distract you. 00:11:34.159 --> 00:11:37.200 You actually need content to begin to fill your mind. 00:11:37.200 --> 00:11:39.879 You need content to fight your fears. 00:11:39.879 --> 00:11:45.320 You need content to fill your mind and your heart and your affections. 00:11:45.320 --> 00:11:50.360 You need to understand who God actually is and who he is for you. 00:11:50.360 --> 00:11:56.000 You need to read who he is and put handles on that and say, be who you are to me, God, 00:11:56.000 --> 00:12:01.320 and pull God into your fears. 00:12:01.320 --> 00:12:02.399 You need Genesis one. 00:12:02.399 --> 00:12:08.080 As you read Genesis one, you need it ringing in your head that said, when God said, let 00:12:08.080 --> 00:12:14.800 there be light, and you need to have a view of God that says, God, say that into my darkness. 00:12:14.800 --> 00:12:16.039 Be who you are to me. 00:12:16.039 --> 00:12:21.039 Let there be light in this dark situation. 00:12:21.039 --> 00:12:25.519 When David does that, if you look at verse one again, when he does that, his questions 00:12:25.519 --> 00:12:28.240 that are in verse one become answers in verse three. 00:12:28.240 --> 00:12:32.639 You see the question marks go away as you move from verse one to verse three. 00:12:32.639 --> 00:12:36.199 Question marks become periods. 00:12:36.199 --> 00:12:42.519 We find that this is the true secret to confidence. 00:12:42.519 --> 00:12:47.879 The more your brain internalizes who God is and what he is for you, a quiet confidence 00:12:47.879 --> 00:12:49.879 will begin to settle into your life. 00:12:49.879 --> 00:12:57.000 There is no other way to get that confidence because you will realize how much bigger and 00:12:57.000 --> 00:13:03.399 deeper and stronger God is than the evil doers chasing after you or the worries of your day. 00:13:03.399 --> 00:13:08.079 When you rest all of who you are and the promises of God personalized into your own soul and 00:13:08.080 --> 00:13:14.680 situation and fears, then you can say in an anxious situation, God is not just peace, 00:13:14.680 --> 00:13:16.360 God is my peace. 00:13:16.360 --> 00:13:20.920 You can say the Lord is mine and all of who he is. 00:13:20.920 --> 00:13:27.720 What that means is that your week, this week, your day tomorrow, the primary things it needs 00:13:27.720 --> 00:13:31.160 is not more of you but more of God. 00:13:31.160 --> 00:13:35.879 It needs God himself and that reality will change the way you live and the way you think 00:13:35.879 --> 00:13:40.360 and the way you pray because that means you need to know who God is so that you know who 00:13:40.360 --> 00:13:42.480 you're asking for in your day. 00:13:42.480 --> 00:13:45.840 You know what attributes to pull over and to rest upon. 00:13:45.840 --> 00:13:49.559 Your whole life rests upon those things. 00:13:49.559 --> 00:13:55.840 If the first voice is fear, the second voice that will try to distract you from that one 00:13:55.840 --> 00:13:57.840 prayer is guilt. 00:13:57.840 --> 00:13:59.519 It's guilt. 00:13:59.519 --> 00:14:00.519 Look in verse nine. 00:14:00.519 --> 00:14:05.860 David cries out, Lord, don't hide your face from me. 00:14:05.860 --> 00:14:07.159 Look at the next line. 00:14:07.159 --> 00:14:10.680 Don't send me away in anger. 00:14:10.680 --> 00:14:12.159 Please. 00:14:12.159 --> 00:14:13.159 Look at the next line. 00:14:13.159 --> 00:14:14.840 Cast me not off. 00:14:14.840 --> 00:14:17.399 Forsake me not. 00:14:17.399 --> 00:14:22.680 And the reality should set in that the one thing David wants, the one prayer that he 00:14:22.680 --> 00:14:29.800 has more than any other prayer to behold the very face of God is the thing that he's most 00:14:29.800 --> 00:14:32.560 disqualified to do. 00:14:32.560 --> 00:14:34.720 He has too much blood on his hands. 00:14:34.720 --> 00:14:39.279 He has too much lust in his eyes and he has too much guilt in his heart to be able to 00:14:39.279 --> 00:14:43.440 behold the very face of God. 00:14:43.440 --> 00:14:46.800 And as he prays, Lord, let me see your face. 00:14:46.800 --> 00:14:50.600 God, I just want to see the beauty of your face. 00:14:50.600 --> 00:14:52.879 His heart shouts back at it. 00:14:52.879 --> 00:14:57.879 It whispers at sometimes and shouts and rings him and it says, what makes you think God 00:14:57.879 --> 00:15:00.300 would ever look your way? 00:15:00.299 --> 00:15:05.719 What makes you think that the Lord would ever turn his face towards you? 00:15:05.719 --> 00:15:12.079 And you can hear David wrestling with the fear that God might never turn toward him, 00:15:12.079 --> 00:15:18.559 that if he were to turn, there might be anger on his face, that God might turn and walk 00:15:18.559 --> 00:15:23.359 away from him because of what he's done, and that if David were to just catch a glimpse 00:15:23.359 --> 00:15:26.000 of God's face, it might be one of disappointment. 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:29.559 It might be one of anger. 00:15:29.559 --> 00:15:36.119 And so in verse 7, David asks for more than I think he knows that he's asking for. 00:15:36.119 --> 00:15:37.119 What does he ask for? 00:15:37.119 --> 00:15:41.000 He says, Lord, would you just be gracious? 00:15:41.000 --> 00:15:45.279 Would you, in all of who you are, is there grace in you? 00:15:45.279 --> 00:15:50.359 You who are my light and my stronghold and my fortress and my protector and who never 00:15:50.359 --> 00:15:51.879 change. 00:15:51.879 --> 00:15:55.479 You who have been everything else to me. 00:15:55.480 --> 00:16:00.279 He's seen his justice upon enemies and he's seen his wrath and he says, is there a way 00:16:00.279 --> 00:16:08.120 that there would be grace, that there would be mercy in you toward me? 00:16:08.120 --> 00:16:15.200 The reality is, if I can speak on behalf of you all, which I never want to do, but it's 00:16:15.200 --> 00:16:20.600 that none of us in this room by default actually believe that God loves us. 00:16:20.600 --> 00:16:24.800 We don't by default believe that God actually loves us. 00:16:24.799 --> 00:16:27.959 John Owen in his book, Communion with God, put it this way. 00:16:27.959 --> 00:16:31.279 He said, men are afraid to have good thoughts of God. 00:16:31.279 --> 00:16:34.919 We're afraid to have good thoughts of God. 00:16:34.919 --> 00:16:36.679 And we have to ask the question, why? 00:16:36.679 --> 00:16:40.919 Why are we so afraid to have good thoughts of God? 00:16:40.919 --> 00:16:45.399 And if the answer, there's a ton of answers to that, but the most simple foundational 00:16:45.399 --> 00:16:49.539 answer is, because that's what Satan wants for you. 00:16:49.539 --> 00:16:55.919 He would love nothing more to convince all of you, and he's probably done it in seasons 00:16:55.919 --> 00:17:00.079 of your life that God doesn't actually love you. 00:17:00.079 --> 00:17:01.079 And he's done it. 00:17:01.079 --> 00:17:06.079 Remember the parable of Luke 19 of the 10 minas of the first two servants who were entrusted 00:17:06.079 --> 00:17:11.559 by their master with differing levels of money and they invested and they do different things 00:17:11.559 --> 00:17:12.559 with it. 00:17:12.559 --> 00:17:14.240 And he comes back and says, what have you done with my money? 00:17:14.240 --> 00:17:16.599 And he rewards them for investing it. 00:17:16.599 --> 00:17:19.839 In the third one, what does he say? 00:17:19.839 --> 00:17:22.839 He says, I didn't do anything with it. 00:17:22.839 --> 00:17:25.599 Why didn't he do anything with it? 00:17:25.599 --> 00:17:27.759 He says, I was afraid. 00:17:27.759 --> 00:17:30.119 I was afraid of you. 00:17:30.119 --> 00:17:31.119 Why was he afraid? 00:17:31.119 --> 00:17:38.439 He said, because your heart is harsh, because you're cruel, and that fear of you paralyzed 00:17:38.439 --> 00:17:39.439 me. 00:17:39.439 --> 00:17:44.119 I couldn't do anything because I was afraid that you would come back and be angry, terrified 00:17:44.119 --> 00:17:48.799 to do the wrong thing, to take the wrong step because you're harsh. 00:17:48.799 --> 00:17:54.319 And he realized that that heart breaks Jesus' heart more than anything else because he knows 00:17:54.319 --> 00:17:55.919 the Father. 00:17:55.919 --> 00:18:01.599 And for someone to think that about the person he knows breaks his heart. 00:18:01.599 --> 00:18:07.239 And the crazy thing about that is if there's one word that's always tied to the Father 00:18:07.239 --> 00:18:12.000 in the New Testament, John Olin points this out in communion with God, it's the word 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:14.000 love. 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:15.200 Just listen to a few verses. 00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:17.000 I'll just read them off for you. 00:18:17.000 --> 00:18:24.400 He, the Father, loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 00:18:24.400 --> 00:18:27.279 Next verse, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:18:27.279 --> 00:18:34.200 Grace is tied to the person of Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the 00:18:34.200 --> 00:18:35.200 Holy Ghost. 00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:39.880 In other words, grace is tied to Christ, love to the Father, and fellowship to the Holy 00:18:39.880 --> 00:18:40.880 Ghost. 00:18:40.880 --> 00:18:42.799 I'm not trying to split apart the Trinity here and doing something heretical. 00:18:42.799 --> 00:18:46.000 I'm just saying love is tied to the Father. 00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:51.440 And Jesus himself says, I say not unto you that I will pray to the Father for you. 00:18:51.440 --> 00:18:55.200 He says, I'm not actually going to pray to the Father for you. 00:18:55.200 --> 00:18:56.200 Why? 00:18:56.200 --> 00:18:58.200 Because the Father himself loves you. 00:18:58.200 --> 00:19:02.200 Jesus who knew the Father from all eternity said, I don't even have to pray to him for 00:19:02.200 --> 00:19:04.240 you because he already loves you. 00:19:04.240 --> 00:19:07.960 I know him better than anyone else and he loves you. 00:19:07.960 --> 00:19:14.319 And the most simple, God is love of all the things that are said about the members of 00:19:14.319 --> 00:19:15.920 the Trinity. 00:19:15.920 --> 00:19:19.720 Love is almost always given to the Father. 00:19:19.720 --> 00:19:23.799 And John Owen points that out beautifully in his book, Communion with God, if you want 00:19:23.799 --> 00:19:26.319 to read more. 00:19:26.319 --> 00:19:29.840 And I think we all know here this evening, one of the worst things that you could ever 00:19:29.840 --> 00:19:36.240 do to a friend or that could ever be done of you is to speak poorly. 00:19:36.240 --> 00:19:40.279 Is someone were to speak poorly about you to other people? 00:19:40.279 --> 00:19:44.559 It's to tarnish their characters, to speak in a way that doesn't represent them and 00:19:44.559 --> 00:19:49.319 misconstrues them so that people think poorly of you. 00:19:49.319 --> 00:19:54.640 And isn't that what Satan does every single moment of every single day? 00:19:54.640 --> 00:19:58.559 And it's to speak poorly to you about the Father. 00:19:58.559 --> 00:20:03.720 It's to get us to believe that God isn't the one thing that his word says over and over 00:20:03.720 --> 00:20:07.400 again that he is and that's love. 00:20:07.400 --> 00:20:10.559 And so our entire lives become a battle now. 00:20:10.559 --> 00:20:12.079 It's a battle. 00:20:12.079 --> 00:20:18.360 It's the battle to believe the word of God rather than our hearts. 00:20:18.360 --> 00:20:24.559 And that's my long explanation for why we need theology books by your bed. 00:20:24.559 --> 00:20:30.319 Because your own heart or emotions or imagination won't lead you to the truth, no matter how 00:20:30.319 --> 00:20:34.240 creative or in touch with your emotions you are. 00:20:34.240 --> 00:20:38.439 They'll actually lead you in the opposite direction. 00:20:38.439 --> 00:20:39.799 And isn't that what faith is? 00:20:39.799 --> 00:20:44.399 It's deciding that the word of God is your truth, even when your heart tells you otherwise, 00:20:44.399 --> 00:20:47.799 even when the enemy is outside of your tent to tell you otherwise, even when there's armies 00:20:47.799 --> 00:20:52.679 telling you otherwise, it's deciding God is who he says he is. 00:20:52.679 --> 00:20:57.119 And that is a really scary way to live. 00:20:57.119 --> 00:21:00.279 I think if David were here, he would say, you know what? 00:21:00.279 --> 00:21:01.759 I've faced the enemies. 00:21:01.759 --> 00:21:02.959 I've faced the armies. 00:21:02.959 --> 00:21:05.039 I've ran away from them. 00:21:05.039 --> 00:21:09.279 And you know what the hardest thing to do for my own heart is? 00:21:09.279 --> 00:21:14.039 The hardest thing to do, there's nothing to do with enemies, it's to believe that God 00:21:14.039 --> 00:21:19.279 is love toward me, that God would love me in the midst of my sinfulness. 00:21:19.279 --> 00:21:24.759 Even when my heart screams otherwise and whispers otherwise, it's to pray, God, would 00:21:24.759 --> 00:21:26.319 you be loved to me? 00:21:26.319 --> 00:21:30.200 Would you be gracious to me? 00:21:30.200 --> 00:21:34.079 And David does that in the midst of his guilt, in the midst of Satan trying to convince him 00:21:34.079 --> 00:21:37.679 of the anger and disappointment and abandonment of God. 00:21:37.679 --> 00:21:39.000 David, what does he do? 00:21:39.000 --> 00:21:45.000 He grabs his heart by the collar and he says, you listen to me, I'll do the talking now. 00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:46.399 You've preached to me for long enough. 00:21:46.399 --> 00:21:48.119 I'm the preacher now. 00:21:48.119 --> 00:21:52.519 Heart, God, verse eight, told you, seek his face. 00:21:52.519 --> 00:21:54.879 Heart, that's what God has told you to do. 00:21:54.879 --> 00:21:55.879 Now you do it. 00:21:55.880 --> 00:21:59.280 Heart, God is urging you, pleading with you. 00:21:59.280 --> 00:22:02.000 Ask to see my face. 00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:07.680 And Satan would do anything, anything to get none of us in this room to pray that prayer. 00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:10.520 God show me your face. 00:22:10.520 --> 00:22:14.840 So he convinces you that if you were to ask for that, you'd see a face that would be upset, 00:22:14.840 --> 00:22:20.240 angry, disappointed, and yet God still, his word has not moved. 00:22:20.240 --> 00:22:25.840 It still says to everyone here this evening, ask me. 00:22:25.839 --> 00:22:30.279 Ask to see my face because who I am is love. 00:22:30.279 --> 00:22:36.000 My word has told you this and I will be that towards you. 00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:42.399 And so David says confidently, Lord, be gracious to me. 00:22:42.399 --> 00:22:43.599 You've been everything else to me. 00:22:43.599 --> 00:22:46.119 Would you be gracious to me now? 00:22:46.119 --> 00:22:51.919 Because in essence, that's the same prayer as turn your face toward me, God. 00:22:51.920 --> 00:22:57.039 And look where this leads him, look at verse 10. 00:22:57.039 --> 00:23:06.720 It leads him to say that even when my father and my mother forsake me, you will take me 00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:08.720 in, Lord. 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:15.200 And I don't think the main point of that verse is that David is saying his father and his 00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:16.480 mother forsook him. 00:23:16.480 --> 00:23:20.519 They may have, but I don't think that's the main point of what he's getting at. 00:23:20.519 --> 00:23:22.160 The point is more obvious. 00:23:22.160 --> 00:23:30.160 Parents here, you know, most parents would never turn their children away. 00:23:30.160 --> 00:23:33.559 I know my parents, I live on the other side of the world from them now. 00:23:33.559 --> 00:23:37.639 If I were to show up at three in the morning, the doors open for me. 00:23:37.639 --> 00:23:40.759 A meal will be made for me. 00:23:40.759 --> 00:23:42.680 We know this. 00:23:42.680 --> 00:23:44.639 Parents will believe in their children. 00:23:44.639 --> 00:23:46.680 They'll answer when you call. 00:23:46.680 --> 00:23:47.680 Parents will believe in you. 00:23:47.680 --> 00:23:48.680 They'll root for you. 00:23:48.680 --> 00:23:52.279 They'll make you a hot dinner. 00:23:52.279 --> 00:23:57.279 And if I want to say that carefully, because there might be some in this room who their 00:23:57.279 --> 00:24:01.240 parents no longer do that for them. 00:24:01.240 --> 00:24:03.640 And that relationship might be fragmented. 00:24:03.640 --> 00:24:09.160 And this verse still applies to you, and actually it applies to you even more beautifully. 00:24:09.160 --> 00:24:13.840 Because I think David's point is that even past the point that your parents would give 00:24:13.839 --> 00:24:19.879 up on you and start closing the door, as long as it would take for that to happen, God would 00:24:19.879 --> 00:24:22.879 still open the door and say, you come in still child. 00:24:22.879 --> 00:24:25.079 I'll still take you. 00:24:25.079 --> 00:24:28.399 He'll still take me in. 00:24:28.399 --> 00:24:31.359 And isn't that a beautiful picture? 00:24:31.359 --> 00:24:35.720 And so you can see what this psalm is really doing is it's not only telling you, seek 00:24:35.720 --> 00:24:39.119 the face of God, but it's telling you this is what God's face will look like when he 00:24:39.119 --> 00:24:41.439 turns towards you. 00:24:41.440 --> 00:24:44.880 He's painting a picture of God's face for you. 00:24:44.880 --> 00:24:52.240 David's heart tells him one thing, that God's face is angry, disappointed, tired of him. 00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:54.320 And so he's preaching to his heart. 00:24:54.320 --> 00:24:57.519 No, no, God told me to come. 00:24:57.519 --> 00:25:00.480 God told me to come home. 00:25:00.480 --> 00:25:04.160 God will always open the door for me, always. 00:25:04.160 --> 00:25:07.400 God will say, welcome home, my boy. 00:25:07.400 --> 00:25:09.920 Welcome home, my daughter. 00:25:09.920 --> 00:25:11.800 You'll make a meal. 00:25:11.800 --> 00:25:17.519 And if you think that's too emotional, imaginative language, that's basically the same language 00:25:17.519 --> 00:25:20.920 that Jesus used to describe the Father as well. 00:25:20.920 --> 00:25:25.080 And that's the way that David talks about it too. 00:25:25.080 --> 00:25:30.840 The third and final voice that tries to pull your heart away from this one prayer isn't 00:25:30.840 --> 00:25:33.360 as obvious, but it's even more central. 00:25:33.360 --> 00:25:37.960 And it's the idea of beauty. 00:25:37.960 --> 00:25:43.039 Look back at verse four. 00:25:43.039 --> 00:25:49.160 David's prayer that he's hanging onto through fear, through guilt, is that he would see 00:25:49.160 --> 00:25:51.880 God's face. 00:25:51.880 --> 00:25:53.120 But it's actually more than that. 00:25:53.120 --> 00:25:54.120 It's more specific. 00:25:54.120 --> 00:25:55.120 Look at the actual verse. 00:25:55.120 --> 00:26:02.279 It's that he would gaze upon the beauty, the beauty of the Lord. 00:26:02.279 --> 00:26:07.120 I think if David were here, this is the question that he would ask you. 00:26:07.119 --> 00:26:09.719 How do you see the Lord? 00:26:09.719 --> 00:26:13.039 How do you view him? 00:26:13.039 --> 00:26:16.479 Is he useful to you? 00:26:16.479 --> 00:26:21.919 In other words, is he useful to fixing your marriage or fixing that naggy struggle with 00:26:21.919 --> 00:26:25.359 sin that you have, that you've been trying to shake? 00:26:25.359 --> 00:26:29.399 Does he give you a new purpose and a new meaning and new objectives to go after? 00:26:29.399 --> 00:26:34.439 Is he your get out of hell free card? 00:26:34.439 --> 00:26:36.039 Is he genealogical? 00:26:36.039 --> 00:26:39.920 Is he someone that your family has always worshiped, your grandparents have worshiped? 00:26:39.920 --> 00:26:46.279 This is just what we do as a family, as we come to church. 00:26:46.279 --> 00:26:49.639 I think it was John Piper, I don't know for sure, who phrased it this way. 00:26:49.639 --> 00:26:56.399 He said, if you could have an eternity of recreation, of family, of food, of freedom 00:26:56.399 --> 00:27:01.759 from sin, of pleasure, of a beautiful earth to explore, of all the hobbies and all the 00:27:01.759 --> 00:27:10.359 resources you could ever want, big house, but if Jesus weren't there, would you still 00:27:10.359 --> 00:27:13.879 want that? 00:27:13.879 --> 00:27:20.519 Does your heart say along with David, take whatever you want from me, but verse 8, I 00:27:20.519 --> 00:27:25.519 need to see Jesus? 00:27:25.519 --> 00:27:31.359 There are new worship songs, at least in America, hopefully they don't find their way over, 00:27:31.359 --> 00:27:39.719 but they incorrectly, and I'm not recommending them, but they say that Jesus was needy for 00:27:39.719 --> 00:27:46.719 us, he didn't want heaven without us, he was lonely, he needed us in heaven, but would 00:27:46.719 --> 00:27:50.000 we want heaven without Jesus? 00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:57.959 Are we as a church more interested in cultural relevance and financial stability and mission, 00:27:57.959 --> 00:27:59.879 planting, growth? 00:27:59.880 --> 00:28:04.080 None of those things are bad, but are those the true desire of our hearts, even more than 00:28:04.080 --> 00:28:06.360 seeing the face of God? 00:28:06.360 --> 00:28:12.680 See, the Lord is urging us as a church, St. Columbus, seek my face. 00:28:12.680 --> 00:28:18.520 Do our hearts say, your face, oh Lord, do I seek? 00:28:18.520 --> 00:28:23.720 And the only way we'll do it is not if we find Jesus useful or motivational or practical 00:28:23.720 --> 00:28:27.920 or what our family does, but if we find him beautiful. 00:28:27.920 --> 00:28:29.720 And what is a beautiful thing? 00:28:29.720 --> 00:28:32.440 What does it mean to be beautiful? 00:28:32.440 --> 00:28:36.160 It's just something that we want to look at. 00:28:36.160 --> 00:28:42.559 Those flowers in your kitchen are not helping pay the bills, they have not fixed a leaky, 00:28:42.559 --> 00:28:45.079 I don't know, pipe. 00:28:45.079 --> 00:28:52.640 They're not motivation for anybody, they're just beautiful, you just like them there. 00:28:52.640 --> 00:28:56.079 And there's a helpful test for what you find beautiful, it's what you think about when 00:28:56.079 --> 00:29:00.639 you can think about anything at all, what does your mind go to? 00:29:00.639 --> 00:29:05.039 Maybe for those of you who were married when you first met your spouse, you just thought 00:29:05.039 --> 00:29:07.079 about them. 00:29:07.079 --> 00:29:10.599 Maybe for those who aren't married, it's when you first met a best friend or found a new 00:29:10.599 --> 00:29:16.599 hobby that just brightens your life, you just thought about it, you just liked it. 00:29:16.599 --> 00:29:21.199 And if someone were to ask you why you thought about that person or that thing, it would 00:29:21.199 --> 00:29:25.079 almost seem a silly question, you almost wouldn't even know how to answer it, you'd just say 00:29:25.079 --> 00:29:33.839 because, I just want to be with them, I just like them, okay, I just like doing that thing. 00:29:33.839 --> 00:29:40.240 And for those who are married, maybe when you are planning your honeymoon, or if you think 00:29:40.240 --> 00:29:44.199 about planning your honeymoon, and someone said, you know what, you can have the perfect 00:29:44.199 --> 00:29:49.480 hotel on the perfect white sand beach with all you can eat and all the amenities and 00:29:49.480 --> 00:29:57.120 all the resources and whatever you want, the one catch is that your spouse can't come. 00:29:57.120 --> 00:30:02.279 I think we would all say, no thanks, I'll take the motel or the shabby place somewhere 00:30:02.279 --> 00:30:08.200 else because that person is the center of gravity for your life. 00:30:08.200 --> 00:30:11.799 And that's how we treat beautiful things. 00:30:11.799 --> 00:30:16.440 In other words, to see God as beautiful is to say, God, would you just be there? 00:30:16.440 --> 00:30:21.640 God, if you're there, you can take care of everything else around me, would you just 00:30:21.640 --> 00:30:26.960 show up and everything else will work itself out? 00:30:26.960 --> 00:30:30.840 And isn't that what Jesus said, he said, seek first the kingdom of God, and I'll take care 00:30:30.840 --> 00:30:33.960 of everything else. 00:30:33.960 --> 00:30:37.080 And isn't that what Jesus lived? 00:30:37.080 --> 00:30:40.920 Isn't that what he did for us? 00:30:40.920 --> 00:30:45.600 Didn't Jesus say the words of this psalm actually, if you think about his life, if you look at 00:30:45.599 --> 00:30:49.359 the psalm, remember the words that he's actually said of this. 00:30:49.359 --> 00:30:54.480 When he was just a boy and his parents lost him on their return trip from Jerusalem and 00:30:54.480 --> 00:30:58.279 they find him in the temple and ask where he's been, what does he say? 00:30:58.279 --> 00:31:01.759 He responds with the words of this psalm, didn't you know that I would be in my father's 00:31:01.759 --> 00:31:03.319 house? 00:31:03.319 --> 00:31:05.480 Didn't you know that I would be inquiring in his temple? 00:31:05.480 --> 00:31:08.599 I just want to be in my father's house. 00:31:08.599 --> 00:31:15.799 And as evil doers assailed him and chased him and foes, hung on every word to try to 00:31:15.799 --> 00:31:20.519 snare him and hook him, he just slipped away to be with the father at night. 00:31:20.519 --> 00:31:25.679 He just slipped away from the crowds to go be with the father. 00:31:25.679 --> 00:31:32.559 And as his head was lifted above his enemies upon a rock, as it says they wagged their mouths 00:31:32.559 --> 00:31:35.559 at him and mocked him, what did he do? 00:31:35.559 --> 00:31:39.879 He offered himself up as a sacrifice and sung a psalm. 00:31:39.879 --> 00:31:44.599 He sung quietly the words of Psalm 22 to the Lord. 00:31:44.599 --> 00:31:49.679 And a sin bored down on his very soul and conscience, he pleaded with the Lord not to 00:31:49.679 --> 00:31:50.799 forsake him. 00:31:50.799 --> 00:31:55.859 Don't leave me, don't turn your face away. 00:31:55.859 --> 00:32:00.159 And even as his own family, his mothers and brothers lost faith in him, he slipped away 00:32:00.159 --> 00:32:05.279 to hear the words of his father, you are my boy, you're my boy, you're my son, I'm proud 00:32:05.279 --> 00:32:08.160 of you. 00:32:08.160 --> 00:32:12.920 And as he was burdened with sorrows, he told his soul to wait for the father, to be strong 00:32:12.920 --> 00:32:13.920 and to wait. 00:32:13.920 --> 00:32:19.799 And in that moment when he's lifted upon the rock, he did see the wrath of God, the face 00:32:19.799 --> 00:32:27.519 turned, the face of God turned toward him in wrath so that when the face of God turns 00:32:27.519 --> 00:32:32.680 towards you, you'll see a smile, you'll see joy and delight because it doesn't have to 00:32:32.680 --> 00:32:37.519 turn in wrath again if you're in Christ. 00:32:37.519 --> 00:32:41.680 So in conclusion, what is it you truly, truly, truly, truly, truly want? 00:32:41.680 --> 00:32:45.640 If you were in front of that mirror, what would you see? 00:32:45.640 --> 00:32:48.920 Is it to see the face of God? 00:32:48.920 --> 00:32:52.400 Because he says to you this evening, seek my face. 00:32:52.400 --> 00:32:57.880 In Psalm 27, it's a second person plural, all of you, seek my face. 00:32:57.880 --> 00:33:00.799 And David says, I'll seek your face. 00:33:00.799 --> 00:33:04.079 So God says to all of you, seek my face. 00:33:04.079 --> 00:33:06.559 And it's the job of your heart to say, I'll seek his face. 00:33:06.559 --> 00:33:10.079 I want to see his face. 00:33:10.079 --> 00:33:11.180 How will you respond? 00:33:11.180 --> 00:33:13.240 What is it that you want? 00:33:13.240 --> 00:33:16.799 Let me pray for us. 00:33:16.799 --> 00:33:25.159 Father, we do want to see your face. 00:33:25.159 --> 00:33:28.000 Lord, we want to see the beauty of your face. 00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:36.440 And Lord, I pray that the power and the beauty of your word would overcome and silence the 00:33:36.440 --> 00:33:42.480 fears that crowd our hearts and the guilt that crowds our hearts. 00:33:42.480 --> 00:33:49.240 And the fight for beauty that we want to use you sometimes and more than we just want to 00:33:49.240 --> 00:33:51.359 behold your glory and your beauty. 00:33:51.359 --> 00:33:54.759 Lord, would you forgive us? 00:33:54.759 --> 00:33:57.680 Would you cleanse us from unrighteousness? 00:33:57.680 --> 00:34:02.600 Thank you that you sung this song ahead of us, that when the face of the Father turned 00:34:02.600 --> 00:34:08.760 toward you in wrath, it doesn't have to turn toward us in wrath because of that. 00:34:08.760 --> 00:34:14.840 I pray that your spirit would work, that it would apply this word, and that we would be 00:34:14.840 --> 00:34:19.680 known as a group of people more than anything else that we're known for who are known first 00:34:19.680 --> 00:34:23.480 and foremost as a group of people that said, we want to see the face of God. 00:34:23.480 --> 00:34:28.480 I pray this in Christ's name. 00:34:28.480 --> 00:34:55.480 Amen.