Psalm 131
Notes
Transcript
Big Idea:
Big Idea:
Dependence on the Lord brings life.
Intro:
Intro:
A few years ago, I was sitting in church on a Saturday night. My team had finished leading worship. And we were now watching the sermon from the lobby. That weekend, my good friend Rich was the guest speaker.
Rich was powerfully declaring the goodness of God! He had just been supernaturally healed from cancer. The cancer that the doctor’s had recently declared an immediate death sentence was now supernaturally gone! And as I listened to him speak, something unexpected happened...
He said, “It’s like Jesus said, ‘Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime.’” All of a sudden that broken record sound popped in my head. I looked at my team and said, “I’m pretty sure Jesus didn’t say that.” We all busted up laughing.
Now, let me clarify, we weren’t laughing because we don’t care about accurately quoting Jesus. And Rich isn’t a heretic. He made an off-the-cuff reference and an honest mistake. Btw, it’s a Chinese proverb for those who are wondering...
After service, I let Rich know and he was mortified. We laughed together; and to be sure, he didn’t repeat that statement for the 3 remaining services on Sunday.
...Rich is now in heaven with Jesus - maybe fishing with him!
You know, another statement that often gets quoted as Scripture is, “God helps those who help themselves.” To be sure, there are true things within this statement:
God doesn’t want us to be lazy or inactive in our faith or life.
God does reward hard work.
God does honor those who pursue a life of holiness.
… but this statement is not “truth” of Scripture. It doesn’t have the power to give LIFE like the words of the Bible. In fact, it promotes something unbiblical. You see, it promotes the idea of independent, self-sufficient strength. Said another way, “God rewards those who earn it in their own strength.” That’s not a godly mindset, that’s an American mindset. That’s not faith, it’s pride. And pride brings death, not life.
Pride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall.
And today in our “Finding Life in the Psalms” series, PRIDE is something we’re going to talk about, because our world - and especially culture - promotes it. Our society teaches that they way to find life is to look out for “number 1.” But is that true? A quick glance at social media (despite the polished pictures everyone posts) reveals that many are more miserable than ever. It appears pride isn’t working. Therefore, let’s see what God has to say about finding life.
If you have your Bible/app and you’d like to follow along, open to Psalm 131. We’ll also have the verses on the screen for you as well.
Exegesis:
Exegesis:
O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
Let me back up a moment and mention the Scriptural title given to this psalm, because it’ll help us properly interpreting the text. It says, “A Song of Ascents. Of David.”
A Song of Ascents is a certain group of psalms that were used by the Jews as they traveled to Jerusalem. They were songs of ASCENT because Jerusalem (the city of God) is set on a hill. When you went to there, you traveled UP!
Furthermore, these songs were designed to LIFT our eyes and hearts to the Lord. Psalm 121 (another song of ascent) says...
I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
And though these songs may have been used in general travel to Jerusalem, they were especially used for the gathering of God’s people to celebrate the Feast of Booths - a feast that remembered God’s faithfulness to Israel as they wandered in the wilderness - but yet lacked nothing.
Now, the reference to David helps us understand the heart of the psalm. This is a royal psalm. It describes the attitude of God’s royal children. It also encourages us to read this psalm with a heart of worship - a heart like David’s.
For example, verse 1 starts with, “O LORD.” This is not a cold formal greeting. This is an intimate, personal call to God that’s sourced from a heart that knows and loves Him (or at least desires to love God). This is the beginning of a personal conversation between a child and Father. As you read this, imagine a small child looking up to a loving father and saying, “Dad?”
And immediately, just in the first two words, we receive instruction and a challenge from God’s life-changing Word:
Do we know God as a Heavenly Father?
What is does our communication with God look like?
Is it rigid, robotic, and religious?
When David spoke to God, it was relational. God wants our present day conversations with Him to be this way too!
The psalm continues, “my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised to high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.”
When it says, “my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised to high...” this is not a confession of spiritual apathy. He is not saying, “God, my heart is not yours. And I’m unwilling to set my eyes upon You.” No, this is declaration of war against PRIDE. The NLT translates it...
“LORD, my heart is NOT proud; my eyes are NOT haughty.”
We arrive at our first step towards finding life through this psalm. While the world tells us PRIDE is good, God says PRIDE has no place in His family. But what do we mean by PRIDE?
Is it bad when I have a sense of pride for a job well done?
Is it wrong when I’m proud of my child?
Well, look at what it says next: I don’t concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp.
There are two phrases that are keys to answering our questions about pride: 1) Matters too great and 2) Matters too awesome. In the psalms, these phrases typically describe the acts of God. But here, the psalmist is using it to say, “My Father, I will not be prideful! I ain’t trying to be God! I ain’t trying to do the things only You can do!”
And what are the acts of God that are “matters too great and too awesome”? They are things like:
Trying to be in control when the truth is only God is the Sovereign King.
Trying to know everything when the truth is only God is omniscient.
Trying to be the center of attention when the truth is only God deserves the glory.
Trying to be a Savior (influencer?) when the truth is only God has the power to change lives.
What is pride? Pride is trying to act like and/or be God!
Now, we may verbally or mentally acknowledge these matters belong to God and we don’t want to live this way. But let’s be honest… we live with this kind of pride all the time...
Verse 1 says, “ I don’t concern myself.” The phrase “concern myself” means to “walk around.” Man… how often do...
We walk around trying to control everything in our lives. We pridefully declare, “This is what I want for my life and I won’t stop until it happens.”
We walk around trying to know everything, especially in this technological age. We google everything. We may even disregard God’s call on our lives because we don’t have all the answers. In pride, WE NEED TO KNOW before we OBEY.
We walk around trying to be the center of attention. Why else would we only post good things on social media?
And, we walk around trying to be the Savior. We give everyone our opinion on right and wrong. Why? Because we believe we have all the RIGHT answers. If people stopped being stubborn and listen, they’d see how our advice would save their lives!
Am I wrong? We live like we’re God. That’s pride. And it doesn’t bring life. And it’s not how God’s people live. Instead, God’s royal children do this… Verse 2...
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
The world tells us, “Go out there and make it happen for yourself!” But kings and queens are calm, content, and satisfied. That’s what David believed. And that’s exactly how King Jesus lived! The prophet Isaiah, speaking of Him said...
He was oppressed and treated harshly,
yet he never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
And before you get all worked up because you think it’s promoting pacifism (because I know how us Americans are!), let me assure you, this isn’t mandating passive silence, but describing spiritual maturity. It’s the maturity of God’s royal Son.
And maturity is the focus of verse 2. At face-value, “a weaned child” is a child who is no longer dependent on their mother for natural milk.
And let’s not force our modern Western thinking on the interpretation. A “weaned child” isn’t a call to independence, like - “I don’t need my mom anymore!” As one Bible commentator clarifies, “[A weaned child is one]
who no longer cries out in hunger for the mother’s [milk], but [still] seeks out the mother for her warm embrace and nurturing care.” A weaned child is a picture of a maturing child that’s at peace, fully satisfied, but still completely and radically dependent.
What does all this mean? It means FINDING LIFE requires we GROW UP!
SPIRITUALLY IMMATURE people:
Live independent from God’s control.
They believe they need to know everything, so they spend countless hours chasing every bit of information (and this can apply to conspiracies, politics, and even theology).
They all up in stuff that ain’t their business!
They are full of pride.
On the other hand, SPIRITUALLY MATURE live by faith.
They don’t kick down closed doors to try and make it happen. They wait on God’s timing - on His open door - because they trust Him and are relying on Him for everything. They are calm, content, and satisfied with what God has for them.
And, they don’t need to know all the details to obey God. They are completely dependent on Him and trust Him. They simply make space for God and let Him take care of the rest.
And doesn’t that describe the life of Abraham - the father of our faith? God told Abraham...
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
Abraham became the father of our faith, but he didn’t make it happen. God opened the door.
He simply had space in his life. Abraham’s life wasn’t so busy and distracted that he couldn’t hear God’s instructions.
And when he heard God, he NEED ANY of the details! God told him, “Go over there and I’ll show you more later.” And Abraham was like, “Okay! I trust You.”
Hebrews 11 says...
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.
He went. He waited. He was calm, content, and satisfied. He was spiritually mature. My friends, we should live this way too. Completely reliant on the Lord. That’s the essence of the final verse...
O Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore.
You know, TRC doesn’t exist today because we’re super-gifted church planters or because we were well-financed. In fact, on our first service, we had no money in the bank - and we didn’t have much before that or much coming afterwards. However, what we did have was HOPE IN GOD.
Before we moved to Connecticut, I was in an intentional season of seeking God (making space for Him). I knew I couldn’t start a church in a place I had never been in my own strength. And I knew no amount of researching and strategizing would be enough to make it happen. I needed God. If this was going to happen, God was our only HOPE.
It was during that time that someone came to me with a word. He said, “You need to be remain close to God. You need to be so familiar with His voice because He’s going to provide for you in the most unorthodox ways.” And then he quoted Isaiah 30...
And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.
What was he telling me? I believe, by the move of the Holy Spirit, this guy (who I did not know nor have I seen since) told me:
Not to rely on my strength. To not be prideful.
To not worry about the details.
Rather, be completely dependent on God - like a weaned child is with its mother.
And let me tell you, the reason TRC is standing here 5 years later is because our HOPE is in God! No human MADE THIS HAPPEN. It’s only because we were completely dependent on God. And that’s the point of Psalm 131. That’s how we find life.
And so today, know this, wherever you’ve been, wherever you’re at, whatever you’ve done or are going to do… Remember...
You’re not God and you don’t need to be. There is already a perfect God in Heaven.
Life is not about, “Go make it happen,” but rather, “Go spend time with God.”
Therefore, turn from pride and turn toward the Lord. Put your hope in Him forever. Lift your eyes to Him. He is faithful!
Response:
Response:
How do we respond to the lessons from Psalm 131 today? How we do we live with simple humility, peaceful rand radical dependency, and faith-filled hope? I believe Jesus gives us an answer in John 15…
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
Do you want to find life? Abide in Jesus, which is another way of saying, “Be dependent on God for everything.” If you do this, you will find life.
As we close, let me share 4 ways to do this (4 challenges) based on our 3 verses:
Don’t be prideful. Here’s the challenge for you: Let go of one thing that’s requiring a lot of personal energy but doesn’t build your personal relationship with God.
Spend time with Jesus. Make space in your life. Be calm. Quiet your soul. You may be pushing back, “But I don’t have time! I need to get this done! I must know about this thing!” You know what… No you don’t. There is nothing so urgent in your life that you can’t make time for Jesus. Here’s the challenge: Look at your weekly calendar and reserve (to start) one hour a week to spend with Jesus. Maybe that’s reading. Maybe it’s listening to worship music. Maybe it’s taking a walk and talking to Him.
Grow up. Ouch. But for real. The Bible may not say, “God helps those who help themselves,” but it does say we need to spiritually grow up. If that’s you today, don’t be mad - be humble. Don’t be ashamed - you’re not alone. The reason it’s in the Bible is because it’s applicable to all of us! All of us need this weaning process. The writer of Hebrews told the early church, “You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food.” (Heb 5:12). They needed to grow up too. The point is, we can’t stay spiritual babies. We need to grow up. Here’s the challenge: Talk/Email/Text a leader in the church and ask them, “Can you help me grow?” And if you’re already in a D-Group, as your leader, “How can I level up? I’m ready to take the next step in my faith.”
Finally, put your hope in God. Whatever God says, believe it. Here’s the thing: The only way you know what God says is to know God’s word. Now, statistics say you MIGHT remember one thing from today’s sermon. If the only way you’re getting God’s word into your heart is spending 30 mins listening to a sermon where you’ll only remember one thing, you’re going to live with little to no hope.
What am I getting at? My friend Walter - in humility - admits he doesn’t remember much from the first time he hears the sermon. So, he’s been choosing to listen to the sermon at least two more times each week. And guess what’s happening. He’s remembering more of God’s word. And God’s transforming his life. And his hope is increasing!
Here’s my final challenge to you: Listen to the sermon two more times this week and see what God does. And my sermons aren’t long. They are available on FB, YouTube, and podcast. This one is about 30 mins. 3 times is 1.5 hrs. If you do the math, there’s 168 hours in a week… 1.5 hours is less than 1% of the week. What if you could have more hope - what if you could FIND LIFE - by making a simple 1% change?
Let’s pray...
Father, we love you. Thank you that You care for us. Thank you that we can personally know You. Forgive us for our pride. We know it’s destroying our lives. Forgive us for trying to be lord over our own lives. This is not our place. Our place is to be calm, quiet, and connected to You. We need to abide in You, Jesus, because that’s where life is found. That’s where hope is found. And that’s what we NEED.
And if you’re hearing this right now and NEED to put your faith in Jesus because you’ve never done that before. If so, pray with me, “Jesus. I’m sorry for my sins. I’ve tried to be my own god. I’ve even worshiped other gods. I’ve tried to make my life better in my own strength. Nothing’s worked. Today, I confess I will no longer live this way. Instead, I choose to completely depend on You. I depend on what You did on the Cross 2000 years ago. And I believe the good news that if I trust in You, Jesus, I too will receive LIFE. I will have the hope of eternal life! I will have HOPE. I choose that today!
In Jesus name, amen.
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