Sermon (07-Jan): “Recognizing God’s Greatness in the New Year” Psalm 29 (NIV)

Bible Passage:

1 Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his[a] holiness.

3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters.

4 The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic.

5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.

6 He makes Lebanon leap like a calf, Sirion like a young wild ox.

7 The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning.

8 The voice of the Lord shakes the desert; the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.

9 The voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”

10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever.

11 The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.

Objective: (SLIDE)

The objective of this message is to recognize and reset the foundation of God’s power in our lives for this new year

Introduction: “The Immensity of God” (SLIDE)

- H.A. Ironside, widely known as pastor of Moody Church in Chicago, once said,

“[Psalm 29] is a wonderful picture of the soul that has gone through its exercises, its stress, its trouble, but has learned that God is over all, that He is strong to save. And so the heart rests in Him and is at peace.”

- It’s only appropriate that we find the author to be King David…a man of many emotions

- But whatever we think about David; we know that He was after the heart of God and pleasing Him

- Despite his faults and failings, we see throughout Scripture that he finds himself inevitably coming back to God

- Where others may have felt snubbed by God in the light of their sins, David knew the right thing to do was to run back to God

- David, the man after God’s own heart, gives us a blueprint of how to connect and reconnect with God—

- Whether we’re in the best of times or the lowest of times

- This king knows something about God that you and I would do well to learn—that God is over all

- There are times when we may know that but then we face LIFE and forget that God is with us…

- He is with us in not just the good times but also in the most difficult times

- Any of us can feel comforted in the high times if needed;

- But what I remember most is God’s wisdom, strength, glory, and greatness when the odds were against me

TRANSITION: That’s when I was just beginning to understand—the vastness and immensity—of God…His greatness

God’s Greatness…

- Is Known in Heaven

- Is Seen in the Earth

- Is For You and Me

1) God’s Greatness is known in Heaven (SLIDE)

1 Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his[a] holiness. 3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters.

- If it’s one population that I think does not need to be reminded about the awesomeness of God, it would be the angels—the mighty

- Yet, it’s David who says to the angels to “give God His glory”

- Now, it may seem something afar off to us

- But, the NIV uses a better term, Ascribe

- Ascribe here means “see/understand/acknowledge the glory that God already has” – Ascribe to the Lord – Appleton Gospel Church

- The angels aren’t discovering God’s glory

- They’ve already known it

- I believe that David wants us to know it

- Heaven has fully witnessed the glory of God

- I believe it’s on full display all the time

- David is calling attention to the angels presence in heaven while at the same time recognizing God’s omnipotence

- God wouldn’t be God if He weren’t omnipotent—all powerful

- I believe that’s what confuses us sometimes

- We think of all that is going on in the world and in our lives…

- And we begin to question just how great is God?

- - It’s the debate of the problem of evil

- The age-old argument is if God is omnipotent, omniscient and supremely good

- Then why does evil exist?

- Certainly, it’s not something that we can answer fully here

- However, I do know that there are questions that we cannot answer and things way beyond our understanding

- In our quest to have all of our questions answered, we miss out on Who He is

- The world’s not perfect, we are not perfect, but God is perfect

- Humanity’s fall wasn’t God’s fault

- Still, we still find a way to fault Him

- David magnifies and honors God for Who He is

- He doesn’t question His might, power, or glory

- David knows and the angels know that His greatness is known in Heaven

Transition: But, it doesn’t rest there…

2) God’s Greatness is Seen in the Earth (SLIDE)

4 The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic.

- When I think of God’s voice, I immediately imagine His greatness

- To be as great as He is but still be willing to humble Himself to speak to us

- If His voice is powerful enough to break cedars and, figuratively, make mountains skip or fall,

- Who are we that God would show us His greatness on the earth

- David alludes to His greatness and glory yet considering humankind when He says in Psalm 8,

4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?

- David, writing Psalm 29 most likely as he observes the majesty of God in a storm, lays God’s greatness out for display

- Whether it’s the monstrous thundering or dazzling displays of lightning…which calls to mind

- I remember my mother-in-law in the midst of the rain and thunderstorm having the television and electronics off as “God does His work”

- For me, it was the respect and honor that she had for God’s majesty

- It’s not too many times today and I’m guilty of this as well…that you hear of being silent before the Lord

- Maybe it takes the power being out as a result of a storm power outage or if you’re living in Ft Mac

- It’s so easy for us to take it for granted

- We move from hour to hour, day to day—going about our own business

- Often times, we’re unaware of His greatness

- I’m one to believe that He’s showing His power in so many ways daily

- David says it this way in another Psalm (Ps 62:11, NASB),

11 God has spoken plainly, and I have heard it many times: Power, O God, belongs to you…

- Regardless of who sits in the White House or is deemed a world leader, ultimate power belongs to God

- It’s when we acknowledge this where deeper change begins to happen in our lives

- A God that can impact nature on a higher level and the heart of humankind on a lower level

- That’s the kind of God that I want to serve and it’s also the kind of God I want loving me

- With good reason, David finds himself in awe of the majesty of God

- Age to age, God has not changed…He was great in generations past and present

- He will continue to be great

Transition: He will continue to be great…for you and me

3) God’s Greatness is for You and Me (SLIDE)

11 The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.

- As much as we know that God is great in heaven and here on earth in His creation

- Personally, I need to know that He’s great in my life

- That greatness can show up in different ways

- It can show up in my family; it can show up on my job

- When it seems that I’m pressured on all fronts, I need God’s greatness

- In over 25 years believing, like David, I still find myself in awe of His greatness

- Medically, seeing my children and wife delivered from sickness

- Financially, seeing God lift me from living below the poverty line to where I am today

- Spiritually, knowing that He brought me up from the muck and the mire of my sin

- It was only the goodness and greatness of God that could have done that

- That’s going beyond what He’s saying here

- David can say even more than I can

- The last born son of Jesse overlooked by his father

- He ascended from the tending sheep in his father’s pasture to tending the kingdoms of Israel and Jerusalem

- Different level of shepherding but—God gives strength to His people

- David must’ve initially felt ill-equipped for the task but the thing about God is—

- You may not have all the information in the beginning of what He’s going to do step by step to the end

- But, God specializes in the end results and often leads us from “faith to faith and glory to glory”

- David’s story hadn’t been completely written yet

- And neither has yours

- Regardless of what page of your story that you may be on

- The Lord gives strength and blesses His people with peace

- The Message translation of Psalm 119:165 reads this way,

Psalm 119:165 For those who love what you reveal, everything fits - no stumbling around in the dark for them.

- Or, Amplified Version states,

Those who love Your law have great peace; nothing makes them stumble.

- I’m reminded that just as a book can have many chapters—our lives can as well

- We always want to keep in mind that God has the final say

- God has designed strength and peace for us if we’re His people

- Matthew Henry’s Commentary states,

“Peace is a blessing of inestimable value, which God designs for His people.”

CLOSING: As I begin to close, what have you come to know of God’s greatness?

- King David in the midst of a storm recognizes God’s greatness

- He lets heaven, earth and us know that God’s greatness is so expansive

- We cannot even begin to imagine it in and of ourselves

- What God has shared with us through His Word is only a portion of how truly great He is

- I believe that His greatness will be on complete display when Christ finally reigns

- Still, until that happens, His greatness today matters in our lives

- His greatness matters in this New Year (2024) for us

- We have the opportunity to set the tone and reset our perspective on His greatness

- Will you pray with me?