Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro

Hey well good evening friends.

My name is Ben Hein and I am the church planting pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian in Indianapolis.

My family is new to Indiana, we actually just moved here in June.

We previously lived in the DC Metro area, where I had worked as a software developer before I was a pastor.

My wife was an engineer for the federal government.

I wish she were here tonight because I’m sure many of you engineers would rather hear from her than from me.

We’ve long sensed the call to church planting, so when the Lord opened up this opportunity to come plant with Redeemer in Indy we fell in love with the city and the church and the thought of being a part of what God is doing here.

So together with our two young boys, Felix, who is 4, and Kaius, who is 2, we came out in June and it has been a real joy for our family to be here.

So a little background on me and my wife; neither of us were really raised Christian.

We both came to Christ as adults, my wife at the very end of her senior year in college, and I came to Christ when I was 23 a couple years after I graduated.

So if you’re here tonight and you’re wrestling through what it means to be a Christian and you’re not really sure what you believe, I just want to say I get it, I’m glad you’re here, and I’d love to meet you after the service.

This is actually the first time I’ve stepped foot in a college ministry since my junior year in college, so just to date myself, that means its been 13, almost 14 years.

I was invited to attend a college ministry service by a girl I liked, and, you know, I was willing to go just to spend time with her.

I still remember sitting in this large auditorium with all these other students, and I was fine with the music, but when the message started I just about lost it.

Everyone had their Bibles and a notebook out, and as the pastor was talking, I looked around and saw how everyone was drawn in, and they were taking notes on every word he said.

I remember thinking to myself,

“This is a cult!

Ya’ll are brainwashed.

First you’re treating this book like every word in it is true, and then you’re listening to this guy like everything he says is right, that’s crazy.

This must be a cult!”

Well, look at me now.

They say God has a sense of humor, right?

So anyways, if you could take out your Bible and something to write with, that’d be great.

This evening we’ll be looking at Psalm 88.

Now some of you might know that Psalm 88 is unique, because out of all 150 Psalms, this is the only one with no redemptive or hopeful language.

There are many lament psalms, nearly 60, of which Psalm 88 is one, and while the others go to some really low places, they all end with a note of hope.

Not Psalm 88.

And I think that makes this Psalm a really important one for us to understand.

Because sometimes our sufferings really are this difficult.

Sometimes it is really hard to see any redemptive light in our darkness.

And we need to know how to pray when life really is this hard, this sad.

Psalm 88 is a gift to us, because in it, we see that God not only wants to know our heart, but gives us permission to give all of our sadness, our anger, our fears, and frustration to him.

Read Psalm

You may have noticed in the reading of the text that the word “dark” or “darkness” is mentioned three times – in verses 6, 12 and 18.

In fact, “darkness” is the last word of the whole Psalm.

And throughout the Scriptures, this word is often used to describe the place where travelers lose their way and criminals wait to attack them violently.

I think if you could only describe this Psalm in one word, it would be “darkness.”

So in keeping with that idea, I want to look at three things this Psalm can tell us about darkness: First, that darkness is a reality of life.

Second, Darkness is a time for spiritual growth.

Third, Darkness is not the end.

Darkness is a Reality of Life

This is an inescapable conclusion in this Psalm.

Darkness, pain, and suffering are realities of life in our fallen world.

We can observe in this Psalm that sometimes darkness comes from something that is external and circumstantial.

It can also take the form of a deep inner turmoil, despair, or depression of the soul.

Look at what our Psalmist says.

We don’t know what the exact circumstances were of our Psalmist, although from verses 4-8 it appears that he is close to death and that all of his friends have abandoned him.

That’s his external darkness.

But he also speaks of his inner darkness.

In verse 3, “my soul is full of troubles”, verse 14, “Why do you hide your face from me?”, verse 16, “Your wrath has swept over me.”

Darkness is his reality.

And it can be ours too.

And it can last for a really, really long time.

Look at how persistent the Psalmist is: “I cry out night and day before you,” “Every day I call upon you,” “in the morning my prayer comes before you.”

Despite his persistence, God does not appear to answer.

The darkness does not lift.

You know, every major biblical character encounters some kind of significant darkness.

I can’t think of one who makes it through their life without significant suffering, opposition, or duress of some kind.

One of my favorite stories is of the prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 18 and 19.

If you can, make a note to go back and read these chapters this week.

In this story, Elijah has this amazing and miraculous success against the prophets of Baal on Mt.

Carmel.

But immediately following this success, he is threatened by Queen Jezebel, and he spins into what can only be described as a deep depression.

He becomes very irrational - he forgets that God has preserved a remnant of believers in Israel, and he now believes he’s the only faithful follower of God.

He forgets about how God has displayed his mighty power just a few days earlier against the prophets of Baal.

So what does he do?

He wanders off into the wilderness alone, and prays to God that he might die.

If deep darkness was a reality for great leaders like Elijah, then it can certainly be a reality for us as well.

Isn’t this the uniform teaching of Scripture?

All of the great figures of the Scriptures suffered, both from inner and outer darkness.

We see this foremost in Jesus who suffered immensely, didn’t he? Was he not “the man of sorrows”?

The Son of God, in the deeps of inward and outward trouble, when wave called unto wave, felt not those sweet influences of comfort from God which had always filled his soul formerly.

If Christ’s cry is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?", then surely we need not wonder when that is our cry, as if some strange thing is happening to us.

John Calvin, one of the great theologians of the Reformation, had strong words for Christians who deny the realities of darkness and sorrow in the Christian life.

Here’s what he said:

“Now, among Christians there are also new Stoics, who count it depraved not only to groan and weep but also to be sad and care ridden.

These [ideas] proceed, for the most part, from idle men who, exercising themselves more in speculation than in action, can do nothing but invent such [false ideas] for us.”

In other words, if you think that to be Christian means we won’t suffer under darkness, that sorrow, or depression, or anxiety won’t afflict us, then that’s a groundless thought.

It’s speculation emerging from fantasies, not from a real engagement with the Bible or with life.

I want to tell you a little bit about when I first learned about the reality of darkness in this life.

I had an older brother named Joe; he was several years older than me, but nevertheless he was an amazing older brother.

He took our relationship seriously, intentionally pursuing me to spend time together.

He would even take me on dates with him if he thought I would enjoy the activities he and his date were doing together.

He was amazing.

Joe was the most selfless and caring person I’ve ever known.

Everyone who knew him said the same thing.

Not only did he give of his time and possessions to homeless persons, but he even went overseas to volunteer as a voting aid during the crisis in Bosnia in the late 90’s.

He worked for a state senator on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C.

He spent what little extra time he had trying to create special reading programs for students in low-income communities.

He was fun, charismatic, and incredibly good looking.

He had a knack for making all of the ladies swoon.

In 2000, my brother tried to run for state representative in our home state of South Dakota.

When his campaign failed, he entered into a depression that crushed him.

6 months later he took his own life.

Joe’s loss continues to be a darkness that hangs over my life.

His loss has exposed me to all kinds of darkness: the darkness of losing a sibling, the darkness of deep despair, depression, and other mental health struggles, the darkness of grief and sadness in a fallen world.

I want to briefly draw out two quick reflections from my brother’s story as it relates to our text in front of us.

First, if you are currently experiencing darkness that leads to suicidal ideation or thoughts, please, I beg you, talk to someone.

As a brother who lost a brother far too soon, please.