Psalm 126 | A Dream Come True

MEFC has a dream: Investing in people to experience God’s transforming power together.

As a community of believers we want to experience God’s transforming power together. We want to see Christians and non-Christians being transformed by the power of the gospel.

How do we go from a dream to a reality?

Psalm 126 speaks of God’s transforming power (“restore” v.1 & 4)

Psalm 126 “A Song of Ascents. 1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. 2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” 3 The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad. 4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negeb! 5 Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! 6 He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.”

Pray!

I dare you to dream: God bringing life and transformation in our church and our families in his time and for his glory.

This psalm is divided in two sections:

(1)A praise & (2)A prayer

A praise for what God has done in the past

Psalm 126:1 “1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.”

V.1 is the inspiration for sermon title: “A dream come true.”

God did something amazing: he restored the fortunes of Zion.

This restoration is more likely the return of God’s people from captivity to their land.

The people of Israel were exiled to Babylon in 586 BC. The Bible says that the nation of Israel went into exile because of their sin and rebellion against God.

For the next 70 years they are going to taste the bitterness of pain and defeat.

Psalm 137:1-2 “1 By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. 2 On the willows there we hung up our lyres.”

“Dad, tell us about our homeland!” “When will the Lord restore our fortunes and return to our homeland?”

To be restored - return, to be brought back to a place/state through divine intervention (only God).

Being Restored in v.1 - same word used in Job 42:10 “10 And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.”

The people of Israel had tasted the bitterness of pain and defeat for 70 years and then in a moment, God moved in their favor and they were back in their homeland.

“We were like those who dream” It’s a dream come true: something you have wanted very much for a long time that has now happened. It’s so great you can’t believe it.

V.2 “We were filled with laughter and joyful singing.”

The restoration was evident that it brought international attention. “Then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things.”

The greatest act of restoration takes place at conversion. When the Lord takes you from captivity in sin and brings you home = joy & thanksgiving.

Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (1996 for me)

What shall be our response to this? V.3 “The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad.” Pause & remember the great things that the Lord has done for you in the past? Think restoration & deliverance. Let your heart be filled with joy, gladness & thanksgiving. Sing with joy when you come to worship as you remember what the Lord has done in your life.

I experienced a great time of restoration & personal revival. I praise God for what he has done in the past: personal & as a church.

I dare you to dream : God bringing life and transformation in our church and our families in his time and for his glory.

A prayer for God to do it again

A memory turned into prayer.

“Restore our fortunes again” “do it again Lord!

There is a sense of crisis. Something is not right.

Was it famine, disease, lack of joy, lack of empathy? Was it sin and immorality taking over their nation?

Whatever it is, it is a cry to see a revival in their midst. To see God bring restoration to their situation.

Joel 2:25-26 “25 I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. 26 “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame.”

Two word pictures:

Streams In the Negeb

Negeb, lit. “dry” or “parched.” No life.

The Negev is in the southern part of Israel, where the land is very dry & lifeless. But when the rains come, the streams overflow, plants grow and the land becomes green again (African Bible Commentary)

What is your Negev? Do you long to see streams of water flowing through your Negev and see restoration & life again?

Restore our fortunes:

National level: racial tension, abortion

Church level: disunity: bitting and devouring one another (Gal 5:15)

Personal level: marriage, prodigal child, chronic health, unbearable grief, depression, anxiety, weariness

God did it on Resurrection Sunday. He restored our fortunes.

Second word picture: Farming . Farming is an act of faith. So many things out of your control. Too much rain not enough rain. Rain at the right time, rain at the wrong time. Storms that ruin the crops. Not enough heat for the crops to grow well.

All you can do is prepare the land, sow and wait.

We use a different word for sowing at MEFC: investing.

Investing in people to experience God’s transforming power together.

We do our part while we wait for God to do his part. We need to invest & sow in people faithfully as we wait for God’s transforming power.

I dare you to dream God bringing life and transformation in our church and our families in his time and for his glory.

What’s our part?

Expectant Prayer

● Believing that God hears and answers our prayers.

● Confident that God is always working on our behalf for his glory.

Authentic brokenness

Psalm 126:5-6 “5 Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! 6 He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.”

Tears and weeping are a synonym of hurt & brokenness in the Psalms.

A person who cares is a person who weeps. Jesus wept over Jerusalem.

He is the man of Sorrows (Isaiah)

Pursuing Purity

In a few minutes we will sing, “The king is among us”

Pre-chorus, “[God] You said consecrate yourselves to me & You will see amazing things.”

Joshua 3:5 “5 Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.””

Consecration. Cleansing someone or something from sin and ritual impurity, and then to dedicating the person or thing for a specific purpose. (Witthoff, ed., The Lexham Cultural Ontology Glossary)

Consecration is the pursuit of purity and the rejection of sin. Consecration is running to Jesus while giving your back to sin.

In order to receive amazing things from the Lord you must let go of sin. You can’t hold on to sin and open your hands to receive amazing things from the Lord. “You can’t have your cake and eat it.”

What does consecration look like? Repentance

James 4:8 “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

Psalms 76–150 (IV. Life Application)

Revival always requires a time of sin-confessing, sin-rejecting repentance. It can be argued that a concentrated time of repentance is produced by the revival itself. Or it may be that the repentance precedes the revival. Either way, repentance is an indispensable part of any awakening. A season of self-humiliation on the part of God’s people must come. Only in lowering themselves before God can there be an exaltation of the saints by God.

I dare you to dream God bringing life and transformation in our church and our families in his time and for his glory.

Psalms 76–150 V. Prayer

God, how we need a mighty restoration of your work in these days. Release us from the entangled captivity of our sins. Cause our hearts to rejoice in hope again. Return the full blessing of your hand upon us. Bring the harvest. Replenish the celebration of our souls in the glory of your name. Work as you have in days of old. In Jesus’ name. Amen.