Reflection on Life's Hills
Notes
Transcript
03/21/21
Dominant Thought: The goal for followers of Christ begins and ends with praise.
Objectives:
I want my listeners to understand that the mission of followers of Christ is praising God.
I want my listeners to look around this week to find reminders to praise God.
I want my listeners to find encouragement to praise God even when we don’t feel like it.
Psalm 117 begins that same way Psalm 116 closed, “Praise the Lord.” The faithful follower, Augustine, desired to be a walking Hallelujah also said, “a Christian should be an Alleluia from head to foot.”
Psalm 117 is in the middle of the English Bible. There are 594 chapters before and after Psalm 117.
Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples!
For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!
In this two verses, we find the answers to four questions people ask in their relationship with God.
1. What if I don’t feel like praising God? Answer: Look around. Psalm 117 commands all nations and all peoples to praise God. If you don’t feel like praising God, then the short answer is, “Well, God commands it. And he commands all people to praise Him.” However, that is not overly motivating. Psalm 117.2 provides a couple of motivations to praising God: his love and faithfulness.
But, let’s dive into this command, that God wants all nations and all peoples to praise God.
If you want some examples, I encourage you to walk out to the lobby and look at the missions wall for a very small sample of the missions we support. You’ll see people and things from other cultures where people worship God.
I’m thankful for cultural worship experiences that I have had in the Caribbean and in Asia. Our Jamaican friends have shown me how to worship God completely. Jamaican worship is a workout complete with dancing, singing, and praying. I love the worship gatherings in Jamaica.
In the Philippines, their worship gatherings are loud. They shout to the Lord and make joyful noises to Him which are so beautiful. But, let me remind you that worship is not only for public gatherings. It is a way of life.
The words, “Praise the Lord” and “Extol” are worship words. Praise the Lord is the a translation of Hallelujah. The word, “extol” can mean “commend” or speak praise. Both words in this context are commands. These words are not suggestions, but commands to all nations and all peoples to praise and worship the Lord.
The Apostle Paul picks up on the theme of all peoples praising God, even those are who are different from one another.
Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs,
and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.”
And again it is said, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”
And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.”
And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.”
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Trust me, my friend, if you feel alone in your worship to God, look around. We are members of God’s global mosaic of praise.
2. What if I don’t feel loved? Answer: Look up.
I think one of the base questions that every person asks is, “Am I loved?” “Does anyone even love me?” It’s as true for the wife whose marriage is on the rocks to the teenager trying to impress their classmates.
Psalm 117.2 gives us the answer, Look up to the strong love of God. Psalm 117 encourages us to look up to God to see his steadfast love toward His people. In a similar way that Psalm 116 began with, “I love the Lord because He has heard my voice.” Now in Psalm 117, we remember the steadfast love of the Lord toward His people.
In this short Psalm, the writer describes the steadfast love of the Lord as “great.” But the word, “great” is not so much a description as an action. Listen to how The Message describes Psalm 117.2.
His love has taken over our lives; God’s faithful ways are eternal. Hallelujah!
“His love has taken over our lives.” The word great could be used as strong enough to win or prevail. It shows up in the flood story with Noah describing the “waters prevailed” on the earth and over the mountains.
Think about the strong arms of love from a parent or grandparent.
Michael Hinnen, our associate minister has done a fine job in reminding our young people that you are known, valued, and loved. Let’s continue to pursue those truths no matter what age you are.
The steadfast love of the Lord was best displayed in the earthly ministry of Jesus. God loves His people so much that He put on skin to walk with His people and die on a cross.
The Book of Psalms & The Book of Proverbs Commentary
They will worship because they will have been loved with an unfailing love (117:2), not just because they have been created by God.
I was at a funeral recently and a friend came up to me. I visited with him a couple of years ago and we talked about the Bible. I encouraged him to read Romans. That conversation on the sidewalk of County Market sent him on a journey in God’s Word. In fact, he’s worn his bible out and asked if I had one that had thicker pages. Now, two years later, he told me that he reads Romans 8 every day. So, last Friday five minutes before I stepped up to preach a funeral, I asked him, “What’s resonating with you in Romans 8?” What’s capturing your attention from that chapter. He paused for a moment then looked me in the eye and said, “Nothing can separate us from God’s love” (Romans 8.39).
3. What if I want to quit? Answer: Look back. Psalm 117.2 reminds us of the second reason to praise God, “the faithfulness of the Lord endures.” The word endure in our English Bibles is an interpretation of the context. The verse reads, “the faithfulness of the Lord forever.” God’s faithfulness has overcome generations of challenges: Adam and Eve eating the fruit, Cain killing His brother, genocides, the Holocaust, and plagues. Still God proves faithful.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
Angela Duckworth, wrote a book called, Grit, The Power of Passion and Perseverance. In it she tells the story of Steve Young, Hall of Fame quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers (p. 202-205). Early in his college career, he was the 8th string quarterback. After a few weeks of frustration and thinking that he was just a big tacking dummy. He called home to talk to his dad, “This is not what I expected…and I’d like to come home.”
Steve’s dad is nicknamed Grit. He once competed with a guy to do 1,000 sit ups in a row. After he won that competition, he competed with himself until he could do 10,000 sit ups in a row. This is Steve Young’s dad. He said, “You can quit…But you can’t come home because I’m not going to live with a quitter.” Steve stayed committed to getting better and became a hall of fame quarterback.
Lest you think Grit Young was too hard on his son, Grit was committed to be present for their children’s activities growing up. On one business trip, his flight from Montana was canceled. So he rented a car to drive to Spokane, took three plans across the country and rented another car to get back to Connecticut to see his kids.
If that is the type of love and faithfulness that an earthly father has for his children, how much more our perfectly heavenly father’s faithfulness to His own children.
Could you pause and give thanks to God’s faithfulness in your life? Maybe you’ve witnessed it in your parents’ lives. Maybe it’s been answered prayer. I hope you’ve witnessed it in the if of this church family.
4. What if I’m not sure about tomorrow? Look ahead. Psalm 117.2 reminds us, “the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.”
John Piper once wrote, “Missions is not the ultimate goal of the Church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides for ever (Let the Nations Be Glad by John Piper).
We serve an eternal God. We serve a God who will send His son a second time to redeem and remake this world into a new heaven and a new earth.”
After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.
Psalm 117 begins and ends with God, Hallelujah or Praise God. The goal for followers of Christ begins and ends with praise.
Praise is commanded…twice. God’s love and faithfulness are His reminders. All of these go on forever.
What do we say in response to God’s love that has taken over our lives? What do we say about God’s faithful ways that last forever. Psalm 117 has one word for us. “Hallelujah.”
5 Day Devotional Guide
Dominant Thought: The goal for followers of Christ begins and ends with praise.
You may want to refer to the sermon notes for further discussion. Take a moment to read the assigned Scripture and then reflect or discuss the questions. Customize this outline to your situation. Here are some questions to ask from the Discovery Bible Method:
What are you thankful for today or this week?
What challenges are you facing?
Have 2 or 3 people read the scripture out loud.
Can you summarize this passage in your own words?
What did you discover about God from this passage?
What have you learned about people from this passage?
How are you going to obey this passage? (What is your “I will” statement?)
With whom are you going to share what you have learned?
Based on this passage, what can we pray about?
Day 1: Psalm 117.1-2
Day 2: Romans 15.7-13
Day 3: John 1.17
Day 4: Hebrews 12.1-3
Day 5: Revelation 19.1-6