Sermon for Oakdale June 14, 2020

Good morning everyone,,, watching by video.

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Before I begin with my sermon,,, I wanted to begin this morning with an opening prayer and lead into the Lord's prayer like we usually begin our worship service. That way if you like,,, you can join me in saying the Lord's prayer.

Invocation and Lord's prayer

Dear Lord, I thank you for your continued presence among us today and every day. I thank you for those that are listening and watching by video. I ask for continued guidance for them and others. So we ask for healing for all of those that are sick this morning,,, we ask for safety and guidance for our healthcare workers and all others that must work during this time. Lord,,, I pray for all of those that are still working on clearing storm damage and helping others. We ask for comfort and rest for each of them. We also ask for comfort and healing for all that are struggling with the coronavirus pandemic feelings of isolation and for all of us effected by the death of George Floyd. We ask for healing from all these events for our great nation,,, and

We ask these things in Jesus's name who taught us to pray, by saying:

Our Father, which art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name;

thy kingdom come;

thy will be done;

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation;

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power and the glory,

for ever.

Amen.

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This morning I'll be reading Psalm chapter 116 verses 1 and 2,,, then verses 12 through 19.

I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.

Psalm 116:1–2, 12-19

The author of the Psalm is unknown,,, but my Study Bible gives the theme of this psalm as a praise for being saved from certain death,,, and I can relate to this psalm in so many ways!

Psalm 116:1–2, 12-19

1 I love the LORD because He has heard my appeal for mercy. 2 Because He has turned His ear to me, I will call out to Him as long as I live.

12 How can I repay the LORD for all the good He has done for me? 13 I will take the cup of salvation and call on the name of Yahweh. 14 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all His people. 15 The death of His faithful ones is valuable in the LORD’s sight. 16 LORD, I am indeed Your servant; I am Your servant, the son of Your female servant. You have loosened my bonds. 17 I will offer You a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of Yahweh. 18 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all His people, 19 in the courts of the LORD’s house— within you, Jerusalem. Hallelujah!

God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning.

Let us pray:

Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen

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This has been an eye opening experience for me this week because of the scripture choices for today.

It wasn't until Tuesday that I really felt comfortable saying that Psalm 116 was the scripture for today.

I guess because I knew that it was going to be really personal and I wasn't sure if this message was just for me or one that I needed to share.

As we see,,, it was one that I needed to share.

So,,, lets begin with the verses we read this morning and see how they can help us in our walk with God this week.

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Verse 1 says: 1 I love the LORD because He has heard my appeal for mercy.

The beginning of this psalm,,, is a unique expression of love,,, for the LORD,,, an expression of love that came because God heard his cry and delivered him from danger.

It's during times of trouble,,, when there is no hope,,, no way out,,, no other choice,,, no other way to turn,,, but to the Lord!

And God is merciful to hear our cry during these times,,, sometimes,,, over and over again.

And it's because of the answer that we receive during these times that they leave us in "awe" of His presence and ability to deliver us,,, snatching us sometimes from the jaws of death,,, just seconds from sure destruction!

You might not be able to relate to this example like I can,,, but if you think about the time when you became a Christian,,, when you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior because God made you aware that you couldn't make it on your own and saved you from death,,, something that you couldn't get out of,,, because of your sins,,, then maybe you can relate.

The writer of this psalm was trying to make us aware of his love for God that was expressed in amazement over what God had done for him,,, just as we should be amazed over the things that God does for us!

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Verse 2 says: 2 Because He has turned His ear to me, I will call out to Him as long as I live.

Because God heard his voice and delivered him from the danger that he was in,,, he promised to,,, call out to Him as long as he shall live

When you get to the point in your life that you realize that no-one can save you but God,,, and you realize that He has heard your cry,,, it humbles you and makes you so thankful that you do these things in gratitude,,, knowing that you aren't worthy of the things that God does for you,,, but you want to acknowledge your thankfulness in the only way that you can!

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Verse 12 says: 12 How can I repay the LORD for all the good He has done for me?

The short answer is,,, you can't!

In a sermon that I read from John Piper he says: The very use of the language “repaying the Lord for all the good He has done for me” makes me nervous.

Payback can so easily imply that grace is like a mortgage.

It’s really generous,,, but you have to pay it back.

Paul said in Acts 17:25, God is not “served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”

In other words, you can’t give anything to God or do anything for God that he hasn’t first given to you and done for you.

You see this again in 1 Corinthians 15:10, “By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”

So none of our work can ever be a payment to God, because the very work is another gift from God.

With every deed we do for God we go deeper into debt to grace.

So in Psalm 116 what keeps the paying of vows free from the dangers of being treated like a debt payment is that the “payment” is, in reality, not an ordinary payment, but another act of receiving which magnifies the ongoing grace of God.

It does not magnify our resourcefulness,,, it magnifies Gods.

The answer is found in the next verse where he answers his own question.

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Verse 13 says: 13 I will take the cup of salvation and call on the name of Yahweh.

In answer to the question in verse 12,,, the writer will call on God to fill the cup.

To pay back the Lord means to go on receiving from the Lord so that the Lord’s inexhaustible goodness will be magnified.

Lifting up the cup of salvation signifies taking the Lord’s satisfying salvation in hand and drinking it and expecting more. We know this because of the next phrase:

“I will . . . call on the name of Yahweh.” I will call for more help.

What shall I render to God for graciously answering my call?

Answer: I shall call again.

I will render to God the praise and the tribute that he is never in need of from me,,, but is always overflowing with benefits when I need him,,, (which I always do).

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Verse 14 says: 14 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all His people.

They will be fulfilled by holding up the cup of salvation and by calling on the Lord.

That is, they will be paid by faith in the promise that more grace — all-sufficient grace — is always on the way.

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Verse 15 says: 15 The death of His faithful ones is valuable in the LORD’s sight.

While entering the temple court, or while preparing to present his offering, the poet seems to have reflected upon his brush with death.

He decided that,,, as one of God's faithful ones,,, who is valuable in the Lord's sight,,, death was not something to be afraid of.

God was watching over him and protecting him.

He was precious to Him, and when death did occur it was not anything that he needed to be worried about.

God was still beside him.

God would take care of him.

My Study Bible says that God stays close to us even in death.

When a believer we love is nearing death,,, we may be filled with sorrow,,, but we can find comfort in remembering that believer's,,, (the Lord's faithful servants,,, His loved ones),,, are precious to God,,, and that He carefully chooses the time when they will be called into His presence.

We can use this as comfort when we've lost a loved one.

God sees,,, and each life is valuable to Him!

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Verse 16 says: 16 LORD, I am indeed Your servant; I am Your servant, the son of Your female servant. You have loosened my bonds.

The writer of this Psalm says that since God is watching over him,,, even if it comes to death,,, then because of that,,, he will be God's servant forever.

Adam Clark said in his Commentary that: "In those days,,, if a servant was set free during the year of jubilee but wanted to stay on as a free servant,,, he would have his ear pierced to the door frame as a sign that he would serve there forever" and that's what this writer was trying to portray.

He was saying that this writer was so happy that he would serve God forever,,, even if he was set free!

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Verse 17 says: 17 I will offer You a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of Yahweh.

Because he is so thankful,,, he is going to offer God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,,, and,,, because he is so thankful,,, he is going to call on the name of Yahweh,,, and this is something that we always seem to do so little of!

When everything is going great,,, we don't praise God like we should or give Him thanks like we should,,, but this one was going to do what he needed to do,,, to show his appreciation for all that God had done for him.

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Verses 18 & 19 say: 18 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all His people, 19 in the courts of the LORD’s house— within you, Jerusalem. Hallelujah!

In these last two verses he is continuing to praise God,,, and he is going to do it everywhere!

Again,,, as Christians,,, this is something that we should be doing all of the time but we don't do it like we should.

We need to use this as an example to follow and guide us in our daily walk.

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So after reading and looking at this psalm this morning,,, how is the best way to try to repay God,,, even if we will never really be able to do that?

The first thing that we can do,,, is to truly accept our salvation.

Once you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior it almost seems too easy to be true.

Sometimes I struggled with this in the past because I always wanted to try to do something to earn it,,, but we can't!

It's only when you finally realize that there is nothing that you can ever do to be good enough on your own that you can accept this free gift that means so much to us!

Without Jesus Christ we would all be left to deal with our sins by ourselves.

But since Jesus was born,,, lived and died on the cross for our sins,,, was resurrected on the third day and lives forever at the right hand of God to intercede for us today,,, our sins have been wiped clean by the blood of Jesus to be remembered no more!

So don't doubt anymore,,, accept it as it was intended to be given!

And if you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior,,, now is the perfect opportunity for you to do so.

God is always patiently waiting for you to accept His invitation,,, but He won't wait forever,,, and we aren't promised tomorrow,,, so please make that choice today,,, don't miss this opportunity,,, accept His invitation if you feel God's call,,, that way you can join us in trying to repay God for everything that He has done for us.

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Which leads me to the second thing that we can do,,, and that's to give Him praise!

And I don't just mean praise Him while we are here at church.

I mean to praise God all throughout the day,,, each and every day,,, whenever something good happens we need to be sure that we remember to give God the thanks that He deserves!

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The last thing that we can do,,, is obey His commands!

John 14:21 says: 21 The one who has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me. And the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father. I also will love him and will reveal Myself to him.”

We are human and will fall short sometimes but we need to do everything that we can to obey the words of God all the time.

If we listen to the Holy Spirit as He guides us in our daily walk,,, He will keep us on the correct path and our walk will be pleasing to God because of that.

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All of these things can help us in our daily walk with God.

And hopefully we will remember them as we go through our week and they will help us to remember to give God the praise and glory that He deserves for everything that He does for us,,, each and every day!

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