Redeemed Community
Redeemed Community • Sermon • Submitted
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Psalm 107:1–3 (CSB)
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his faithful love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord proclaim
that he has redeemed them from the power of the foe
and has gathered them from the lands—
from the east and the west,
from the north and the south.
CIT: The people of God should express gratefulness to the Lord for how he redeemed his people out of his goodness.
CIS: As a church we should recognize and be thankful to God for his goodness and how he has redeemed us.
SO: That the people of our church would be grateful to God for how he has redeemed each of us and all of us.
Introduction:
Introduction
The whole because of the individual
Unit
I’ve been in the military for 17 years and I’ve had my share of good and bad leaders. I’ve had the privilege of seeing some great leaders too. The great ones, if there was a characteristic that I could point to and say, “that’s what made them great.” were the ones who led the multitude via the individual. What I mean by this is there are leaders who are able to harness the masses but when it comes to each person in that mass, they might be mean, bad communicator, impersonal, you could tell that they just didn’t care. The great leaders were often just as inspiring over a cup of coffee as they were on stage.
A Great leader of a multitude don’t lead just the multitude, they lead each individual in the multitude.
That’s what we see with God. He doesn’t just lead a people, He leads each and every one who belong to His people.
That’s how he leads, that’s how he saves. He didn’t just wave his hand and gather a mass of people. He made a mass of people by gathering individuals.
That’s what makes God so good. God is good to his people because he is good to each and every one of us.
And that is what we will see in this series is how God gathered and redeemed each and every one of us because of his goodness.
Going to work backwards:
Gathered
Starting in verse 3 Ps 107:3
and has gathered them from the lands—
from the east and the west,
from the north and the south.
Directions or …?
Directions
Some view verse 3 as simply directions. Meaning that the four cardinal directions were simply directions that the Lord had gathered his people and the four scenarios that follow are general circumstances.
This is supported by scripture like PS 106:47
Save us, Lord our God,
and gather us from the nations,
so that we may give thanks to your holy name
and rejoice in your praise.
and Is 11:12
He will lift up a banner for the nations and gather the dispersed of Israel; he will collect the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Is 11:12.
Circumstances
Some view these as specific circumstances that God gathered his people. This is evidenced by the fact that the hebrew word translated for south here is actually the word for sea. Meant to help them recall the sea event that happened in the south, the crossing of the red sea.
and has gathered them from the lands—
from the east and the west,
from the north and the south.
East
West
North
South/sea
Those are the two views commonly held.
You don’t have to argue over which one is more right or wrong. Read it, meditate on it, savor it because either way, God is good because he gathers.
Gathered
Sense of the Hebrew word is also found in Ex 16:4
Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. This way I will test them to see whether or not they will follow my instructions.
and Is 11:12
He will lift up a banner for the nations
and gather the dispersed of Israel;
he will collect the scattered of Judah
from the four corners of the earth.
and Ruth 2:3
So Ruth left and entered the field to gather grain behind the harvesters. She happened to be in the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from Elimelech’s family.
What I want to throw out to you and I hope you will catch is that this is not an accidental gathering. That this word Gather that is used here means To act, to get possession of, or to collect.
It’s an intentional act. He didn’t accidentally gather (hey, look what I found!), He set out with the intent to gather the whole by gathering the each and every one of us.
Meaning that if you are listening to this sermon, and you christian, that God set out to gather you.
C.S. Lewis wrote: “When He died in the Wounded World He died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man made, He would have done no less.”
God intentionally gathered you.
That is how God has gathers. With intention, not because you are great or good but because he is great and good.
After he gathers he redeems.
Because God doesn’t just save, He redeems.
God doesn’t just save, He redeems.
Let’s move up to verse 2
Redeemed
Let the redeemed of the Lord proclaim
that he has redeemed them from the power of the foe
So in verse 3 we see how God set out to gather individuals from either any part of the earth or from various circumstances. In verse 2 we see that God doesn’t just save us from or out of circumstances, but he redeems.
We don’t use the word redeemed like it was used back then. Today we use the word in reference to coupons or vouchers. Which really does not do this word justice. See in the time of the Israelites, when you were redeemed you restored to a place or given a new identity.
Is 62:12 And they will be called the Holy People, the LORD’s Redeemed; and you will be called Cared For, A City Not Deserted.
A Follow on to Regoup
Sharing our stories and what we’ve been encouraging people to notice about their stories is that there is a theme or thread that runs through their story. You could say that each story has a banner, that has written on it the theme or thread. Each story is different. Some stories are long some are short. Some are full of detail and some are vague. There were many tears and much laughter. And each story had a theme.
Just to give an idea, I shared my story of how I grew up feeling cast out or pushed away because I couldn’t do the things my brothers could do. I felt pushed away by my dad when I wasn’t able to perform the way he expected. My mother drew me in but that was because I provided a kind of emotional outlet for her. If you haven’t picked up on it, my banner would read, worthless. That I don’t have any intrinsic value and my value comes from what I can do. That is why I get anxiety when I feel like I don’t preach well or when I miss a deadline or if I feel like I am falling behind on my tasks at home or at work. That is just one of the threads through my life.
Banner of victory
Not just saved out of
Restored / given a new identity
Because God doesn’t just save, he redeems
Grateful
So, Let us be grateful
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his faithful love endures forever.
3. And that is why we want to do this series, A Redeemed community. So we might be a community that strives to remind ourselves and each other that we are no longer individuals who have banners of shame, from abuse, addiction, depression, murder and belong to the church… we are a people who God set out to save individually and has placed under his banner of redeemed.
Earlier, I told you there are two ways of looking at verse 3. Either it’s simply all four directions of the compass, or its four circumstances. And that’s what we like, black and white, either/or. Let me propose to you that it’s both.
That it doesn’t matter if you are in the furthest corner of the earth and lost in the wilderness.
Even if you are in the furthest corner of the and are earth imprisoned
Even if you are in the furthest corner of the earth suffering the consequences of your own sins
Even if you are in the furthest corner of the earth in a life full of chaos
It doesn’t matter where you are or what circumstances you find yourself in, God can save and God will redeem.
What can separate us from the love of Christ?
Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 8)
34 Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the one who died, but even more, has been raised; he also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. 35 Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:Because of you, we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.,37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We can’t even condemn ourselves because God is the one who condemns. So you can’t go there.
Christian Standard Bible Chapter 8
12 So then, brothers and sisters, we are not obligated to the flesh to live according to the flesh, 13 because if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. Instead, you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!” 16 The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, 17 and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
So let us be grateful to a God who doesn’t just save but redeems!
Communion:
maybe you’re holding on to your banner. The banner that describes well how you have wronged or how you have been wronged. The banner that resonates with your pain or your hurt. Before you come to the table, ask God for the wisdom for how you might be holding on to that old banner, and ask for the grace to surrender to his banner.
Still honors your pain, hurt, doesn’t ignore but offers help and healing in a community of those who also have a past of pain and hurt.
(Gluten free)
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.