Psalm 34: The Most Beautiful Place
Well, the sociological data is beginning to come in from Coronavirus. And it ain't good. A sociologist and psychiatrist have compared the data from March to June 2019 and they compare that with the date of March to June 2020 and they see some distinct differences.
What are the differences is this year in the United States has seen a 34% increase in the number of divorces that have been initiated.
Why would that be? What do you mean? Why would that be cold Med? People are under stress? People are unemployed. People are feeling the financial strain. By the way, if you're feeling Financial strength or was very practical things that you can do. I wanted to let you know that Tom Copeland is running a zoom version of his finances God's way. They meet at 7 Mondays at 7:30 to 9:30. If you want more details go to his site Copeland Financial Ministries all one word Copeland Financial Ministries. Org. But people are feeling stress unemployment Financial strain some of the experience the death of a loved one. They're not used to the kids always being at home kids are a blessing but you know, they can be difficult to answer the fracturing. They're just breaking up sometimes literally.
You don't we feel all these pressures to but we know that that's not the way of the Lord. We know that we tip fracture because we're supposed to have peace that passes understanding and we're supposed to have all the security and so forth so we know we can't fracture. So we do the Evangelical Christian way and the Evangelical Christian way is not the fracture. It's the fake it How are you doing? Great, never better and we put the big smile on the problem with Faking It is it always leads to fracture. You know, I said divorce up 34% you know where it's the biggest increases are. Read along the Bible Belt.
This morning. We're going to see someone in the covid-19.
And he doesn't fracture he radiates Beauty. And the best thing is when we meet this man today, he's not only going to describe how he feels but he's going to teach us to get to the same place he is. The man is David and the psalm is Psalm 34. Let's move to that if we if we can go to the first slide. That's right. I've David when he changed his behavior before abimelech so that he drove him out and he rent away.
Let me just give you a little bit of the historical background hear of this song David. I mean God had chosen Saul to be king of Israel. So showed himself to be a Unfaithful narcissistic unwise leader. And so God anointed a new king to replace all that new King was David saw because he was selfish and narcissistic and unwise refuse to accept that decision from the Lord and as the Lord took away the Kingdom from Ham Soul grabbed onto an Ever more tightly. Cristal David was not the next anointed king to Saul David was the next big problem. And if you could only eliminate that problem I can have my kingdom back. So sore persecuted David. He chased him around the whole country tried to kill him on multiple occasions one time. David said man, this is getting pretty hot. This is Kevin pretty dangerous. I need to leave town. He actually left his or he went to a foreign country for Refuge. What about toys David was a very accomplished Warrior he the David and Goliath thing and it already happened many battles and already happened answer. The foreign Nation said we're not so comfortable with you being here. Maybe you're here for Refuge or maybe you're here to kill us. And so they began to put David and danger and David said this bad plan. This is not a good idea to go to this foreign nation. And the King seized in the foreign King sees them a Davis at all, or do I going to do now David had an idea? David actually pretended to be insane. He started talking nonsense. He started letting the spittle run down his beard. He started crawling scratching things like an animal and the King says what I don't have enough crazy people in my own kingdom out and so he survived. That right after he got out of that situation is when David wrote Psalm 34 Verse 1 please Graham.
I Will Bless The Lord at all times
his praise shall continually be in my mouth. Notice David has just come through a harrowing experience. And he could say look I'm the anointed king of Israel. And what do I get for my brother? I did not ask to be anointed. Okay. This was God's idea. And what do I get for my troubles nothing but downside nothing but pain and yet God. David doesn't ask. free divorce petition David doesn't said I had it with you. I can't believe you're doing this to me. Not only doesn't David asked for a divorce from the Lord. He says I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
In this context I Will Bless The Lord just means I will speak well of him. I'm going to brag on the Lord. He is so gracious. He is so kind he is so wise he is so proud to brag on the Lord. That's why his praise will be continually in my mouth and noticed not only when the times are good, but at all times When we accept the Lord is our savior. This is very much like as a marriage and you said those vows if you're married just like I did for Better or For Worse for richer or for poorer. This is why we read in 1st Thessalonians, 5:18, please Graham. This is the will give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus. He knows everyone says I want to find God's will God's will. To give thanks in all circumstances the ones that are working out the ones that aren't working out the ones that make sense to you the dawn the ones that don't make sense to you. brewstew My soul shall make its boast in the Lord. Let the humble here and be glad to notice. He says my soul this in Hebrew. This is the real me. This is my innermost self my in this is not just talk. This is not fake news. I'm really in my soul boasting in the Lord. I am speaking well of the Lord.
Verses 1 and 2 are written in such a way so that people going through hard times will say I wish I could be like that.
I'm going through tough times. The first one I Will Bless The Lord at all times. No. No, that's not me. It isn't my soul. Shall make his boast in the Lord if that's a dream. That's an aspirational statement. That is not my experience. Wish I could do this. But then we see in verse 3. Oh magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together noticed versus one and two are about David feelings. But now he is appealing directly to us. I Will Bless The Lord my soul, but you can join me you can be where I am. Magnify the Lord with me come let us exalt his name together.
And here's where we realize this song 34 isn't just an expression of David's hurt but an offer to teach our heart to get to the same place.
How do I get to that same place? I want to be at that same place. Let me give you the answer for today's sermon you learn to where we would learn to Worship the Lord.
We learn to Worship the Lord.
Hello, Don, that seems kind of anticlimactic. I was hoping for like 5 Steps for success. I was hoping for so maybe some psychological tricks. So they don't feel this way worship is like what are you saying? Exactly? Like I should sing more what whatever you say. friends We were built to worship God we were constructed to worship gods and when we don't do it all sorts of perverted terrible things happen in our minds and hearts. Let me give you a Bible quiz. What's K known for? First murderer, what was this big mistake? You just said it. He murdered his brother Abel. That's kind of a mistake. No, no, no, no, no. No, that's the result of the mistake than the state came before. What what came before he murdered a ball. Oh, I get it. Yes, but you're right the Lord went to him and gave him advice and said the spin is crouching at the door and it desires to control you but you must control and then he didn't take the advice of the Lord that was his mistake. You didn't listen to the Lord. No, no, no, no. No that was the result of the mistake what happened before that?
He refused to worship. He refused to worship and when human beings do not Worship the Lord Abel worship Cain wouldn't worship and when were human beings refused to Worship the Lord all sorts of terrible things begin to happen inside of us this morning. We're going to see three specific acts of worship that Empower us to get through hard times and even when were in hard times bless the name of the Lord at all times verse 4 I sought the Lord. And he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Just stay on this slide Graham old front door for the next one. But the first act of worship is I sought the Lord. The first act of worship is to call in the Lord noticed David takes the initiative. He could have retreated into the victim mindset. Oh, woe is me. God called me God's not protecting me here. I am in this foreign land. I'm forever going from Cave the Cave. I'm always in danger or what was me. I just Retreat into his own little pity corner and just embrace the victim mentality, but no, he takes the initiative he turns to God. and may I just say a lot of people think they turn to God when they get to a crisis you're invited prices like David did not turn to the Lord to when I say respectfully. Many people who turn to God in a crisis or not turning to God at all.
Their feelings. I heat of some external situations as they want out of and they know don't turn to God they turn to a genie. They are looking for a lamp to rub not a lord to love.
Do you know what the difference is between someone looking for a genie and someone worshiping seeking the Lord the genie wants a solution to the problem? I have a money problem and I need money. I want that girl to date me and I want you to make her date me. I know I need a new car. I need this on a genie Seeker is looking for the solution to the felt problem a worshipper is looking for God a genie wants the solution a worshipper ones God bring a solution. Don't bring a solution, but give me yourself and he seeks the Lord David seeks the Lord verse for at what happens to people when they seek the Lord. Field trip me. And delivered me from all my fears. Yes. He answers God is not a hide and seek God he has no interest in evading our searching. You know if some of you adults when you have children and they play hide and seek and then when they're young, they're not too good at it. So you hide in the most obvious places. I remember hiding behind the door and Bethany Little Anthony still couldn't find me. So I started to knock on the door. I didn't want her to not find me. I wanted her to find me. This is why Matthew 7:7 says seek and you will find David salt and guess what he found. Do you know that we found the Lord he found Deliverance? Noticed he was delivered from all those fears. He did have the fears, but he was delivered from them. There's a difference. There's a difference. We are not protected from no fear. We are delivered from them.
The word delivered that's a key word in the song. Also one of the key words in the book of Exodus. You read the book of Exodus. One of the key words is deliver deliver deliver night just asked you right now to Think Through the experience of the Israelites in Deliverance. Did they have struggles? Yes. Did they experience pain? Yes, did it sometimes look like they were losing AKA shores of the Red Sea. Yes, but even in struggle even in pain, even when it looks like the world is sliding sideways on you. They were delivered and those who seek the Lord are delivered and that brings us to our first point of worship slide, please we need to call on the Lord. We need to call on the Lord. This is the necessary First Step. You cannot proceed without this calling on the Lord transforms us is a matter of fact, this is how we were save. This is how we were initially transformed by realizing our sin problem. And there's no way out of it and then God can fix all this and we called on the Lord. That's how we accepted him in the first place and not transformed us the Holy Spirit came to live with in his and he began to transform our hearts. It is true in Christian Life to when we call upon the Lord because of some external difficulty. He begins to transform us into a deeper image of his own son verse 5, how is wheat her. We transformed by calling on the Lord. Pull up hurt your transform look at verse 5, and and those who look to him are radiant. And their faces shall never be ashamed radiant things friends. Let me just give you a physics lesson things radiate from the inside out. Things never radiates from the outside in when we call upon the Lord. We radiate we eliminate in Exodus 34 Moses spend some quality time with the Lord and unbeknownst to him his face begins to shine. He was not aware of it so he came down and people said hey, there's something different about you. I know your face is shining. Why is that? Well Moses ask for that. Noah Moses really worked at it and it's the natural consequence of being with the Lord. We radiate when we call upon the Lord when we get to the place of humility when we say we don't have the answer you do I call upon you not as a genie, but as my Lord, we begin to be rewired on the inside call on the Lord and have your heart transformed next slide, please. Call on the Lord transforms our heart but not only transforms our heart verse 6 this poor man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him out of his troubles. Keep it on this light for a little bit. I'll call for it calling on the Lord not only transforms our heart but it transforms our vision notice how David describes himself high and mighty king in Exile. You didn't take very good care of none of this whole victim thing. He sees himself for who he is a poor man. There's something a beautiful about being brought to the end of yourself and realizing that this poor man is me. and you there's a sense of humility when we cry out to the Lord we see ourselves for who we really are and we see him for who he really is. Did you notice and Isaiah 6 what Isaiah sees the Lord the first thing you notice is the hole in Holiness of the Lord. Wow. He is really I don't like about you. Just look it up in the second thing you notice is His own sin. Go for me, Isaiah. I can't I'm a man of unclean lips and I come from a people of unclean lips. Usually you think I'm bad. You should see my neighbors God when Isaiah Sees God for who he really is. He sees himself for who he really is and God transforms him into a productive servant.
Call on the Lord next slide, please and have your vision transformed. We see ourselves as helpless. And see God as powerful for 7. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and delivers him. I'll call for the slide gram. But let's look at first seven the angel of the lord. We don't know who the angel of the Lord is and I don't want to get into all the theology. He's he's a mysterious but he does seem to be God. He accepts Worship in my view. The angel of the Lord is probably the pre incarnate Christ the son before he got a body in Mary's room. Very Angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear is him and delivers him. Mira Romaine mind you brothers and sisters. We are in a scene realm. Do you like the chairs comfortable? How's the air conditioning? Can you guys see me lights projectors working scene realm physical syndrome. We are also in an unseen Realm. We are receiving angelic. Closet with the Angelic protection without even knowing it. 2nd Kings 6 and 17 Elijah says to God, please remove the scales from my servants eyes. And what is the servant see? chariots and angels
the Chariton Angels didn't show up when the scales fell. His ability to see them is what changed. Next slide when we call in the Lord it transforms our heart transforms our vision and transforms our security.
When they say why does God allow this in the first place? I mean if he's going to deliver us why bring us through these troubles at all friends, that's the title of the sermon when we go through difficulties. It takes us to the most beautiful place on Earth. Where is the most beautiful place on Earth, Florida, Hawaii?
The most beautiful place on Earth is the end of ourselves.
When we finally figured out.
That we are nothing and he is everything. and when we see that it seems reasonable to us to call upon the Lord. notice of ticky mark But it's an act of deep worship friend. If you are in difficult times, I invite you to call upon the Lord. And have your heart vision and security transformed? verse 8 Oh taste and see that the Lord is good blessed is the man who takes refuge in him between versus seven and eight. There is a distinct change of audience to the to the song vs127 is mostly internal. I will bless the Lord and this is what's happening to me verse 8 is the beginning of an extended invitation. This isn't happening to me because my first name is David. This isn't happening to me because I have to live in this. In history. This happens to everyone who calls on the Lord come taste and see that the Lord is good friends. This this is the most powerful evangelism strategy known to man. To live in such a way that people just want to taste and see and they will not taste and see by learning our Doctrine Doctrine is important truth is important, but you don't enjoy your chocolate cake by reading the list of ingredients flour to eggs. It is not that the ingredients are unimportant is not that you can just throw any ingredients in there. But the enjoyment is in the eating and our lives should radiate verse 5 so that people want to taste and see what's going on with that guy.
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him next slide. Please don't know if you can see this is a picture of a big storm water crashing down and I was hoping I would have control of the situation so I could Circle it and for all of you watching on the live feed. I'm sorry. I'm about to disappear but for those of you in the building
That is a bird in the cleft of the rock the storms are happening, but the bird is in a peaceful place. The bird is in a peaceful place because the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him next slide, please there we go. Thank you very much the next slide, please. That's why we sing this. Why do we sing this by the way, David only knows 3 songs this happens because it's true when darkness hard it when darkness veils his lovely face it we do rest on his unchanging Grace. Why is that because in every high and stormy Gale our anchor holds within the veil when I sing that cuz we like the tune please sing. It's cuz it's true. And when we live in such a way people will say I want a piece of that. I don't know what's going on, but I want to know.
Calling on the Lord rewrites our heart. Rewrites our vision rewrites our security, but it does more than that verse 9. It teaches us to fear him when we call out to him. We see ourselves as we really are. We see God as he really is. We begin to fear Him verse nine o fear the lord you his Saints for those who fear Him have no lock. What is the fear of the Lord? It is a reverent respect. It is an awareness of God's presence. Of his power of His Holiness. The fear of the Lord is a constant awareness that God is evaluating every thought every word every action that I take.
You know, I know this is more American culture than Canadian culture, but it's a good example in many parts of the u.s. Gun ownership is normal is particularly in rural areas. And there's a certain passage of Right Where the father teaches the child how to handle a gun and the first thing the father teaches his respect the gun. It can do tremendous damage always store it properly never pointed at anybody respect the gun perhaps I'm more Canadian version would be our campfires campfires can be wonderful. They can be warm. You can make s'mores on them, which is what I'm going to do in just a day but campfires can get out of hand campfire fires can level of forest respect. The fire always have the bucket never leave hot coals friends. We need to respect the Lord and that comes from seeing us is who we really are and who God really is by the way, this is the primary problem with our society. There are many ancillary problems, but the primary problem in our society is that we no longer fear the lord next slide, please we are living in Romans chapter 3 has fear the lord and then the next slide, please. We are living in Rome's 318. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Our society lives as if there is no holy God. Our society thinks as if this holy God will not extract righteousness and Justice. He will our world pleads for justice. If they knew what Justice was they would never played for it. They would plead for mercy. Justice is our undoing now. I'm not saying the government shouldn't be Justin on the certain Earthly realm we do want justice. But Justice is our Arch Enemy because of God does Justice to us? We will live forever in hell. We don't want Justice. We want Mercy. Our society has lost their vision of God and therefore lost their vision of themselves. They do not see God greatly and therefore they cannot see themselves rightly. And therefore they have lost the fear of the Lord and therefore they do what they do. That's underlying all of it. They will not offer the second act of worship of fearing the Lord call on the Lord first act of worship second act of worship fear of the Lord. verse 11 Come on children. Listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord. This is encouraging. This can be taught. We can learn how to fear the lord and offer this act of worship. Not only call on the Lord next slide, please. Not only fear the lord but live like the Lord. This is our third act of worship. And by the way the second to depend on the first we cannot fear the lord until we call on him and we cannot live like the Lord until we call on him. It's the transforming work of the holy spirit that allows us to live like him first 13 keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Bruce 14 Turn Away From Evil and do good and seek peace and pursue it. An act of worship is living according to the character of God. And by the way, look at verse 1314. Did you notice that the Holiness God decides to point out are all things that the way we treat each other. Evil tongues lying lips doing evil seeking. Peace.
When we treat each other with the kindness and the love. Any humility, but Christ showed. This is an act of worship. We're living like the Lord and how do we live on the Lord? How do we live like the Lord when will power you got to try a little harder? I've been noticing some of you guys are not doing so good yet. Come on. Come on, this is no rehearsal. This is The Big Show. We got a truck friends. Don't try harder. Don't try harder that will lead you straight into the jaws of legalism. The whole key is to call on the Lord. That's why we sang net saltlicks light, please. Oh, the night has been one and I shall overcome hooray for you. You overcome. No, not yet not I but through Christ in me as we are transformed into beautiful radiating images of Christ. It's not because of us. It's just because we allowed him to do his work. Our work is saying yes, his work is doing everything else.
Friends this may sound trivial to some but not to God. These acts of worship calling on him fearing him Living Like Him changes his disposition towards us. Did you know that there's 50 the eyes of the Lord are towards the righteous and his ears toward their cry.
When we call on him. Even in Salvation if you're not if you're listening to me today and you've never accepted Jesus Christ as Savior, the first act of worship that you need to do is call on him and that changes everything that will change God's disposition towards you you will become a son or a daughter. I implore you accept the Lord Jesus call on him. Because the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry the end of you still followed the Duck Dynasty crew. What's the father's name Phil? Is it still? Okay to fill sowing his Wild Oats in earlier in his life before he came to know the Lord and recently in the past six months or so a woman has come up and said I'm feels daughter and not by his wife and wasn't raised as his daughter. She's an adult now, so they had DNA test and guess what? She's feels daughter. That changed everything. She went from being a someone. I don't know the name of to come visit us. You're part of the family. Would you like to join us for supper feels disposition towards this woman completely changed when our relationship was discovered. When we call on the Lord When We Fear him.
When we live like him though, it changes our disposition. It changes the way the Lord looks out us the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. Let me summarize and close by going to verse 18. The Lord is near to the Brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit in a one of the one of the dangers of singing preaching a sermon like this is it makes everything sound too easy? Okay. I got three steps and I'll get your panties out and boom boom boom and it's a magic wand and no friends it hurts. It hurts. The Lord is near to the Brokenhearted heart heart in Hebrew is like the innermost part of us the real us and the real us the most authentic to us is broken. The word crushed means literally to make dust. Do you feel like that? Do you feel truly broken hearted? Do you feel truly crushed you are not outside the Christian experience if you feel broken hearted if you feel crushed, but the what the word says is the is that the Lord is near to you. And you say again skip being near to me. Why doesn't he just take away the thing that's crushing me. That seems reasonable. Why doesn't he not break my heart.
Because if we let it the broken heart and the crushing will lead us to the most beautiful place in the most beautiful place is not Florida is not Hawaii. It's not the holy land. It's the end of our cells. We will never voluntarily arrive.
God uses pain and difficulty never more than he needs to. So that he can draw near to us and we can draw near to him. By the way. This is what September 13th is all about. This is what next Sunday is all about our Westney Heights Day of Prayer. We're spending the entire day. Next Sunday in prayer it we're going to have a normal service but you will find many people praying you will find the sermon about prayer and then we are inviting people to sign up to come in for as long as you want somewhere between 12 noon and 10 p.m. There will be people here at the church to host you bring your own lawn chair and you can pray with people you can pray alone. You can walk around the building and pray for our church and what we are doing and if you can't do that and there are many reasons why you can't there's a sign-up list to be getting an email shortly. If you haven't already got it for you to sign up to pray at home, but we are spending the entire day on the 13th to pray why What you mean? Why cuz we're A Cut Above. That's why all those stupid churches are not praying. We're holier than that. No, no. No, by the way, we've invited every other Church in the neighborhood and elsewhere. We have churches in Yellowknife. We got an email an email or a text or some sort of electronic communication from a pastor and Yellowknife saying I'll be praying with you.
Why are we doing that again?
Cuz we're at the end of our souls. We need to make some pretty important decisions. What church going to look like for the next year? Who's our new worship pastor? How are we going to be structured? I don't know how much I'm me. I'm just a pastor around here. I don't know. We need to seek the Lord churches or could you know that one in five churches are expected not to open. Maybe more than that pastors are leaving the ministry in droves. We are at the end of ourselves. That my friends is the most beautiful place as a church to not think we have the answers is a beautiful thing to call on the Lord to fear Him to live out. His character is a beautiful thing and 3ox of worship.
verse 19 many are the afflictions of the righteous. Friends, let me just remind you. They will come many are the afflictions of the righteous. They will come. But the Lord delivers him out of them all the afflictions come but they will go. B baseball many are the afflictions of the righteous. Yes, but the Lord delivers him out of them all and you know who the best example of God is first 20, he keeps his bones. Not one of them is broken who is described who is being described in verse 20 the New Testament quotes this worse as pointing to someone. Who is it? Jesus himself member of the Guard didn't break his bones. This is the fulfill. Jesus is the ultimate example of Psalm 34. The afflictions of the righteous are many many afflictions he had but the Lord delivers him out of them. All he is now proceeded with the right-hand. The on switch for salvation has been turned. It is a beautiful thing. None of which could be accomplished if he bailed.
When the going gets tough but a lot of here stupid God what you doing? I'm doing it. No, no, no just trust make your request known Lord. If there's any way this cup can be passed answer. No, there's no way. Your will not mine and look at what has happened. The Lord delivered him out of them all. First 21 Affliction will slay the wicked. Sin, always destroys the people that think they're winning or going to lose. And those who hate the righteous will be condemned those who think they're winning are going to lose because there was a holy God and he will demand righteousness. He will not be mocked. And he will not be silent forever. There's a day coming. We're all names will be returned to the rightful owners. All verdicts will be set straight and that won't be good news.
But it's good news for those who call my number because of verse 22 the Lord redeems the life of his servants. None of those who take refuge will be condemned. Will it work for me? None of those who take refuge in him will be condemned? Well, I'm in a real pickle. None of those who take refuge in him will be condemned Friends trouble is the most beautiful place on Earth because it is the end of self and the end of self brings us to an opportunity to Worship in three deeper ways than we've ever worked before by calling out to him.
by fearing him by living like him and therefore experiencing the Lord redeems the life of his servants. The Lord is always faithful to his servants. None of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.