WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.640 Hello, you are listening to Second City Sermons, 00:00:02.759 --> 00:00:05.700 a ministry of Second City Church in Midtown Harrisburg. 00:00:06.339 --> 00:00:08.240 It's our hope that these sermons will draw you 00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:10.660 more into the life of following God, Father, 00:00:10.820 --> 00:00:13.640 Son and Holy Spirit. Please consider coming and 00:00:13.640 --> 00:00:15.779 joining with us each Sunday morning at 10 a .m. 00:00:15.859 --> 00:00:18.280 in the heart of Midtown Harrisburg. You can find 00:00:18.280 --> 00:00:21.820 us online at secondcitychurch .org and on Facebook, 00:00:22.100 --> 00:00:24.519 Instagram and YouTube. We hope you enjoy this 00:00:24.519 --> 00:00:29.679 sermon. God bless. Let's pray again. Lord, we 00:00:29.679 --> 00:00:32.060 do again thank you for your word. We pray as 00:00:32.060 --> 00:00:35.920 we turn to it that we would be drawn to worship 00:00:35.920 --> 00:00:38.920 you more and more because of who you are, Father, 00:00:39.079 --> 00:00:41.200 Son, and Holy Spirit, because of what you have 00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:45.920 done in our salvation and our preservation, Lord. 00:00:46.380 --> 00:00:48.719 Draw us into greater praise and worship of you, 00:00:48.899 --> 00:00:52.799 we pray. Amen. All right, good morning again. 00:00:53.340 --> 00:00:59.829 We are back in the Psalms. Once again, and you 00:00:59.829 --> 00:01:02.570 may be wondering when did we let off from the 00:01:02.570 --> 00:01:05.030 Psalms? It was two summers ago because I wasn't 00:01:05.030 --> 00:01:07.930 here with you last summer. But other than last 00:01:07.930 --> 00:01:10.230 summer, we have been in the Psalms every summer 00:01:10.230 --> 00:01:16.230 now for 10 years. I started this job actually 00:01:16.230 --> 00:01:21.090 10 years ago this month. And we began with Psalm 00:01:21.090 --> 00:01:26.500 1. And we are now to Psalm 66. And at this rate, 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:30.260 we will be done in about 12 years. Praise the 00:01:30.260 --> 00:01:36.000 Lord. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. I thought 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:38.680 because just occasionally I want to do this, 00:01:38.920 --> 00:01:41.400 I thought I'd explain to you some of my approach 00:01:41.400 --> 00:01:44.060 with preaching. So in the fall, typically what 00:01:44.060 --> 00:01:48.299 we have done is we have alternated between non 00:01:48.299 --> 00:01:53.239 -gospel New Testament texts and various Old Testament 00:01:53.239 --> 00:01:56.349 passages. Then in Advent and Christmastide, we've 00:01:56.349 --> 00:01:58.469 typically looked at various series that kind 00:01:58.469 --> 00:02:01.390 of prepare us to celebrate the coming of Jesus 00:02:01.390 --> 00:02:03.609 and then help us to celebrate the gift of Christ 00:02:03.609 --> 00:02:06.329 and his incarnation. Then often in Epiphany, 00:02:06.409 --> 00:02:09.129 which is the beginning of January, through to 00:02:09.129 --> 00:02:12.150 Easter. Often Epiphany and Lent, though we've 00:02:12.150 --> 00:02:13.969 done a couple of series just in Lent, like considering 00:02:13.969 --> 00:02:16.110 the work of the cross and why Jesus had to die 00:02:16.110 --> 00:02:18.189 and things like that. Typically during that time 00:02:18.189 --> 00:02:20.770 we have been in the Gospels. So this year we 00:02:20.770 --> 00:02:22.870 were in Mark, but for years we were in Luke during 00:02:22.870 --> 00:02:26.039 that time. And then during Easter season, we've 00:02:26.039 --> 00:02:27.740 typically taken a series. We've looked at the 00:02:27.740 --> 00:02:29.819 fruit of the Spirit and our mission statement 00:02:29.819 --> 00:02:31.939 as a church. This year we consider what does 00:02:31.939 --> 00:02:34.680 it mean to be a body in light of the resurrection 00:02:34.680 --> 00:02:36.400 of Christ? What does it mean to be the church 00:02:36.400 --> 00:02:38.860 in light of these resurrected passages, how Jesus 00:02:38.860 --> 00:02:42.479 engages with his disciples? But part of what 00:02:42.479 --> 00:02:45.080 I wanna do with that is I wanna give you a diet 00:02:45.080 --> 00:02:48.419 of the Bible. My hope is that if you're here 00:02:48.419 --> 00:02:50.280 for a little while, you are engaging with a lot 00:02:50.280 --> 00:02:54.740 of different passages from scripture. And we're 00:02:54.740 --> 00:02:56.699 told that all of scripture is breathed out by 00:02:56.699 --> 00:02:59.300 God and it's useful for correction and teaching 00:02:59.300 --> 00:03:01.000 and training and righteousness and all of the 00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:06.199 rest. And parts of scripture speak of God's authority 00:03:06.199 --> 00:03:08.860 and his creative power and some of it speaks 00:03:08.860 --> 00:03:11.300 specifically about his salvific works, his works 00:03:11.300 --> 00:03:13.439 of salvation on behalf of his people. Others 00:03:13.439 --> 00:03:15.719 speak about how he's guiding us on all of the 00:03:15.719 --> 00:03:20.879 rest. But we know God best by considering all 00:03:20.879 --> 00:03:24.180 of his words to us. And so my hope is that over 00:03:24.180 --> 00:03:26.860 time we kind of seep into it if you're here for 00:03:26.860 --> 00:03:31.360 a little while. And today we are in Psalm 66. 00:03:32.180 --> 00:03:34.780 Psalm 66 is, there's a lot of different categories 00:03:34.780 --> 00:03:38.699 for Psalms. Psalm 66 is a psalm of praise and 00:03:38.699 --> 00:03:40.979 thanksgiving. So it's calling us to praise and 00:03:40.979 --> 00:03:44.900 it's praising God for what he's done. So you've 00:03:44.900 --> 00:03:47.219 probably turned the Bible a few times as Sylvia 00:03:47.219 --> 00:03:49.979 told you different passages. to look up, but 00:03:49.979 --> 00:03:52.659 I want to invite you to look at Psalm 66 this 00:03:52.659 --> 00:03:55.360 morning. So you can turn there. If you brought 00:03:55.360 --> 00:03:57.419 a Bible with you, you can open up that Bible. 00:03:57.840 --> 00:04:00.400 If you don't, maybe grab the Bible in front of 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:02.780 you. If you don't have a Bible, please take that 00:04:02.780 --> 00:04:04.719 Bible that's in front of you with you. We'd love 00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:07.319 for you to have it, love for you to read it, 00:04:07.319 --> 00:04:10.740 check it out, maybe ask questions of other people 00:04:10.740 --> 00:04:17.319 and learn about the Lord from His Word. As you 00:04:17.319 --> 00:04:21.379 open up, Psalm 66. What you immediately notice 00:04:21.379 --> 00:04:23.459 though is this is this call to praise, right? 00:04:23.459 --> 00:04:27.819 It says, shout for joy to God all the earth, 00:04:28.120 --> 00:04:30.300 sing the glory of his name, give to him glorious 00:04:30.300 --> 00:04:34.879 praise. If you actually jump down to verse eight, 00:04:34.899 --> 00:04:39.319 it says, bless our God, O peoples, let the sound 00:04:39.319 --> 00:04:41.720 of his praise be heard. And actually, if you 00:04:41.720 --> 00:04:43.720 go down to the very end there, the last verse, 00:04:43.720 --> 00:04:49.180 verse 20, again, it says, bless be God. It's 00:04:49.180 --> 00:04:53.079 kind of clearly this Psalm of praise, this calling 00:04:53.079 --> 00:04:57.740 others to praise Him, to worship Him, to adore 00:04:57.740 --> 00:05:00.800 Him. And I want us to walk through this Psalm 00:05:00.800 --> 00:05:03.459 together. And part of what I want you to see 00:05:03.459 --> 00:05:07.139 is how it kind of takes this wide, expansive 00:05:07.139 --> 00:05:11.459 call, and then it narrows it down. But also, 00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:13.410 given that this is a the Sunday of the year where 00:05:13.410 --> 00:05:15.290 we particularly reflect on the Trinity, I want 00:05:15.290 --> 00:05:18.550 you to see how these movements actually call 00:05:18.550 --> 00:05:21.790 us into praising God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 00:05:21.810 --> 00:05:25.930 It's large, it's expansive, and yet it's also 00:05:25.930 --> 00:05:31.709 intimate and it's personal, okay? So I want to 00:05:31.709 --> 00:05:33.509 sort of illustrate this a little bit with this. 00:05:33.790 --> 00:05:36.009 One of the most dramatic symphonies, or actually 00:05:36.009 --> 00:05:39.329 I would say sort of performative symphonies in 00:05:39.329 --> 00:05:45.129 a way, is Haydn's Symphony 45 in F sharp minor. 00:05:45.290 --> 00:05:46.850 I'm sure as I mentioned that you're like, oh, 00:05:46.850 --> 00:05:49.870 the F sharp minor one. Maybe you aren't, but 00:05:49.870 --> 00:05:51.990 maybe as I mentioned actually its other title, 00:05:52.470 --> 00:05:54.629 you might recognize it. It's known as the Farewell 00:05:54.629 --> 00:05:58.350 Symphony. And what's so remarkable about this 00:05:58.350 --> 00:06:01.410 symphony is that it begins with all of the different 00:06:01.410 --> 00:06:04.550 orchestral instruments, and the players are upfront 00:06:04.550 --> 00:06:07.509 and they're playing along. And as it goes and 00:06:07.509 --> 00:06:10.170 as it nears the end, you have different players. 00:06:10.540 --> 00:06:14.240 stop playing their instrument and walk off the 00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:17.879 stage. I would encourage you later on, not right 00:06:17.879 --> 00:06:23.139 now, to look up this farewell symphony on YouTube. 00:06:23.519 --> 00:06:25.360 There are some great performances. Some of them 00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:29.100 are actually funny where one, I think cellist, 00:06:29.379 --> 00:06:32.459 takes out a handkerchief and as though he's throwing 00:06:32.459 --> 00:06:34.399 in the towel, throws it on the ground before 00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:37.680 he walks out. Then this other lady, she's like 00:06:37.680 --> 00:06:40.670 one of the last ones to walk out. She takes her 00:06:40.670 --> 00:06:42.810 bow and she puts like a white towel at the end 00:06:42.810 --> 00:06:45.529 and starts waving it as though it's a surrender 00:06:45.529 --> 00:06:50.209 flag. It's kind of humorous, but the very first 00:06:50.209 --> 00:06:55.589 time this was performed, the lanterns that illuminated 00:06:55.589 --> 00:06:58.829 the music sheets of the musicians, they would 00:06:58.829 --> 00:07:02.079 snuff them out. as they walked off the stage 00:07:02.079 --> 00:07:05.500 and you can just imagine the drama as this whole 00:07:05.500 --> 00:07:07.759 body is playing this beautiful piece of music 00:07:07.759 --> 00:07:10.459 and then it narrows down and at the end there's 00:07:10.459 --> 00:07:14.040 just two violinists there on stage as it ends. 00:07:14.839 --> 00:07:17.439 But of course what's remarkable about this is 00:07:17.439 --> 00:07:20.300 that the music is lovely in its grandeur at the 00:07:20.300 --> 00:07:22.699 beginning. I mean it's a beautiful piece of music 00:07:22.699 --> 00:07:25.420 and all the parts are playing together and it's 00:07:25.420 --> 00:07:29.250 so lovely. And yet that beauty does not diminish 00:07:29.250 --> 00:07:33.449 as it kind of narrows down to the end. It still 00:07:33.449 --> 00:07:36.250 grabs your attention. It still sort of delights 00:07:36.250 --> 00:07:41.189 the ears. The beauty and the importance of the 00:07:41.189 --> 00:07:44.009 collective together and of the individual part, 00:07:44.350 --> 00:07:48.110 okay? That's part of what's happening in this 00:07:48.110 --> 00:07:50.029 psalm. And I want to suggest to you that's part 00:07:50.029 --> 00:07:51.769 of what's happening in the psalm in terms of 00:07:51.769 --> 00:07:54.230 the great call to all of us to praise the Lord 00:07:54.230 --> 00:07:57.149 and the call of each individual to praise the 00:07:57.149 --> 00:07:59.449 Lord. And it's also true in the psalm of who 00:07:59.449 --> 00:08:05.050 God is in all of His plurality and majesty and 00:08:05.050 --> 00:08:07.410 in the singular ways in which He works, okay? 00:08:08.470 --> 00:08:11.889 So look with me again at the beginning of psalm 00:08:11.889 --> 00:08:15.589 66. I'm gonna read these first four verses for 00:08:15.589 --> 00:08:19.160 you. again. Shout for joy to God all the earth. 00:08:19.740 --> 00:08:23.160 Sing the glory of his name. Give to him glorious 00:08:23.160 --> 00:08:26.879 praise. Say to God, how awesome are your deeds. 00:08:27.920 --> 00:08:31.360 So great is your power. Your enemies come cringing 00:08:31.360 --> 00:08:35.100 to you. All the earth worships you and sing praises 00:08:35.100 --> 00:08:39.019 to you. They sing praises to your name. It's 00:08:39.019 --> 00:08:42.379 just expansive, right? Twice it says all the 00:08:42.379 --> 00:08:47.830 earth, all of it. All of it is to worship. And 00:08:47.830 --> 00:08:49.889 of course, part of that that's mentioned here 00:08:49.889 --> 00:08:53.309 is because his deeds are awesome. They're awe 00:08:53.309 --> 00:08:57.730 -inspiring. He speaks and the world comes into 00:08:57.730 --> 00:09:01.570 being. His authority is over all things. His 00:09:01.570 --> 00:09:04.330 power is so great that those who oppose him, 00:09:04.330 --> 00:09:08.289 they come to nothing. All the earth, because 00:09:08.289 --> 00:09:12.769 of how great he is simply by his being, his awesomeness, 00:09:13.429 --> 00:09:17.169 is to worship the Lord. Then you have this word, 00:09:17.610 --> 00:09:21.190 Salah, there. And quite honestly, the truth is 00:09:21.190 --> 00:09:24.950 we don't really know what that means. I kind 00:09:24.950 --> 00:09:27.230 of love that. I kind of love it like I love when 00:09:27.230 --> 00:09:30.470 the New Testament author says, somewhere it's 00:09:30.470 --> 00:09:32.750 written. And it quotes the Old Testament like, 00:09:32.809 --> 00:09:36.009 I do that sometimes. It was written somewhere 00:09:36.009 --> 00:09:39.250 this. And I can't remember the reference, but 00:09:39.250 --> 00:09:42.769 it's there. Because it keeps us humble, right? 00:09:43.600 --> 00:09:47.600 And there's words that the Bible uses that actually 00:09:47.600 --> 00:09:49.159 we're not entirely sure what it means. That's 00:09:49.159 --> 00:09:51.399 why we use the Hebrew there. But most people, 00:09:52.440 --> 00:09:55.299 and with good reason, believe that Salah means 00:09:55.299 --> 00:10:03.539 something like pause, wait, rest. Almost certainly 00:10:03.539 --> 00:10:06.879 it's a musical term because it's a change in 00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:08.440 the movement. There's some shift that's happening 00:10:08.440 --> 00:10:12.509 and there's some way of saying, wait a sec. In 00:10:12.509 --> 00:10:15.690 my mind, it was most likely because somebody 00:10:15.690 --> 00:10:17.429 needed to grab the electric guitar and start 00:10:17.429 --> 00:10:22.929 doing a solo. Or rather, David was grabbing the 00:10:22.929 --> 00:10:25.210 lute or the lyre, which was more like one of 00:10:25.210 --> 00:10:27.070 these U -shaped things with strings and going 00:10:27.070 --> 00:10:32.610 like this. But the point is that the solo in 00:10:32.610 --> 00:10:34.309 some ways is a little bit of a shift, it's a 00:10:34.309 --> 00:10:38.769 little bit of a pause. And so there actually 00:10:38.769 --> 00:10:41.330 is a little shift here. The collective, all of 00:10:41.330 --> 00:10:44.370 the earth, the expansive collective, all of the 00:10:44.370 --> 00:10:50.409 earth, begins to narrow down. And it begins to 00:10:50.409 --> 00:10:53.009 narrow down from simply the God who is awe -inspiring 00:10:53.009 --> 00:10:56.570 because he's over all things, to the God who 00:10:56.570 --> 00:10:59.549 invites and actually our praise is demanded because 00:10:59.549 --> 00:11:02.570 he has acted for the salvation of his people. 00:11:02.669 --> 00:11:06.710 So we pick up in verse five. Come and see what 00:11:06.710 --> 00:11:10.090 God has done. He is awesome in his deeds toward 00:11:10.090 --> 00:11:13.149 the children of man. He turned the sea into dry 00:11:13.149 --> 00:11:16.710 land. They passed through the river on foot. 00:11:17.830 --> 00:11:20.929 There did we rejoice in him who rules by his 00:11:20.929 --> 00:11:24.830 might forever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations. 00:11:25.309 --> 00:11:29.590 Let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Salah. 00:11:29.970 --> 00:11:34.419 Let's say he turned the sea into dry land. So 00:11:34.419 --> 00:11:39.120 the psalmist has moved right from this all -expansive 00:11:39.120 --> 00:11:44.200 idea to this collective people of God, right? 00:11:44.200 --> 00:11:49.820 He says, come and see what God has done. And 00:11:49.820 --> 00:11:52.639 he turned the sea into dry land. It's like, oh, 00:11:52.779 --> 00:11:55.259 think specifically of what he's done for you. 00:11:56.220 --> 00:11:58.620 Think together, he's saying, about what God has 00:11:58.620 --> 00:12:01.700 done for you, how he has saved you, how he worked 00:12:01.700 --> 00:12:04.240 for you. Think about how he brought you out of 00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:08.299 Egypt when you were slaves. Think of how he knew 00:12:08.299 --> 00:12:12.279 how the Egyptians were coming and your fear, 00:12:12.299 --> 00:12:14.240 looking at the waves and thinking, there's no 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:16.840 way that I'm going to be saved here. And yet, 00:12:16.919 --> 00:12:19.019 even in the midst of that fear, he not only causes 00:12:19.019 --> 00:12:21.519 you to come to safety, but he does so dry land. 00:12:22.980 --> 00:12:25.539 Think about the amazing act of God's salvation 00:12:25.539 --> 00:12:31.320 for you. And then it says, praise. And this praise 00:12:31.320 --> 00:12:33.440 here, what I'm saying is that it moves from this 00:12:33.440 --> 00:12:36.360 all expanse of everything to this collective 00:12:36.360 --> 00:12:39.580 still. It's still a body that has been saved 00:12:39.580 --> 00:12:43.299 together. So the praise in verse eight is this, 00:12:44.059 --> 00:12:49.960 bless our God, O peoples. Let the sound of his 00:12:49.960 --> 00:12:54.220 praise be heard. It's this everything, all creation, 00:12:54.360 --> 00:12:58.879 all the earth, but he is our God. He has acted 00:12:58.879 --> 00:13:02.990 for us. Now the next section has to do with being 00:13:02.990 --> 00:13:07.929 tried and tested, but also being led, being guided, 00:13:08.049 --> 00:13:14.710 being brought to safety. And here he's again 00:13:14.710 --> 00:13:19.870 narrowing it down. It says repeatedly us, right? 00:13:20.090 --> 00:13:23.690 He says, you brought us into the net. You brought 00:13:23.690 --> 00:13:27.860 us in. also to the place of abundance. So the 00:13:27.860 --> 00:13:30.600 trying is of God collectively. It's also bringing 00:13:30.600 --> 00:13:33.139 the people of God collectively to a place of 00:13:33.139 --> 00:13:37.059 abundance. Just like the reference to the Red 00:13:37.059 --> 00:13:40.039 Sea here, it's a trying of God's people, but 00:13:40.039 --> 00:13:45.000 it's the safety to which God leads them. And 00:13:45.000 --> 00:13:48.139 this kind of movement, again, moves from the 00:13:48.139 --> 00:13:50.700 our to the us, and then actually, eventually, 00:13:51.220 --> 00:13:54.240 to the I. It leads to the praise of the individual. 00:13:55.770 --> 00:13:59.269 There's a narrowing that's taking place. And 00:13:59.269 --> 00:14:02.889 so when you actually get towards the end, verse 00:14:02.889 --> 00:14:06.210 13, it says, I will come into your house with 00:14:06.210 --> 00:14:09.809 burnt offerings. I will perform my vows to you. 00:14:10.789 --> 00:14:14.529 I will offer you burnt offerings of fatted animals. 00:14:15.330 --> 00:14:18.690 I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Do 00:14:18.690 --> 00:14:21.809 you see how this is a narrowing down? And it's 00:14:21.809 --> 00:14:24.750 a narrowing in some ways. with the ways that 00:14:24.750 --> 00:14:26.809 God acts. First, He's over all things. Awesome 00:14:26.809 --> 00:14:28.870 are His deeds. Then there's this collective thing. 00:14:28.870 --> 00:14:32.590 He's brought us through the sea and on dry land. 00:14:32.649 --> 00:14:35.730 And then it's specifically, He's tried us. He's 00:14:35.730 --> 00:14:39.590 tested us. He's brought us to a place of abundance. 00:14:40.649 --> 00:14:43.970 All the earth leads to our people leads to I. 00:14:45.389 --> 00:14:50.250 I. Final statement of praise is, blessed be God 00:14:50.250 --> 00:14:54.000 because He's not rejected my prayer. Each of 00:14:54.000 --> 00:14:57.840 the calls to praise make this movement. All the 00:14:57.840 --> 00:15:01.220 earth, blessed be our God, he's heard my prayer. 00:15:02.519 --> 00:15:06.460 Steadfast love is for me. So, it's been mentioned 00:15:06.460 --> 00:15:09.080 that this is Trinity Sunday. Trinity Sunday is 00:15:09.080 --> 00:15:11.159 the day in the calendar of the church where we 00:15:11.159 --> 00:15:14.000 just reflect together on the revelation of God 00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:16.620 as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And that means 00:15:16.620 --> 00:15:18.700 that last Sunday was Pentecost. Some of you were 00:15:18.700 --> 00:15:21.360 here as we worshiped on Pentecost Sunday. And 00:15:21.360 --> 00:15:24.360 that Sunday is remembering both the first Pentecost, 00:15:24.379 --> 00:15:27.759 the 50 days after Passover when God met with 00:15:27.759 --> 00:15:30.220 His people there on Mount Sinai, but also 50 00:15:30.220 --> 00:15:32.019 days after the resurrection when the Spirit of 00:15:32.019 --> 00:15:35.539 God descended in Acts chapter two on the disciples 00:15:35.539 --> 00:15:39.720 and those there in Jerusalem. Anyway, today is 00:15:39.720 --> 00:15:41.960 a day that we remember specifically this reality 00:15:41.960 --> 00:15:45.960 that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, diversity 00:15:45.960 --> 00:15:51.299 and unity. We're going to say together the Athanasian 00:15:51.299 --> 00:15:53.340 Creed, and I'm telling you this right now because 00:15:53.340 --> 00:15:56.179 it's not what we normally say and it's long and 00:15:56.179 --> 00:15:58.179 maybe it's going to feel cumbersome for you, 00:15:58.179 --> 00:16:00.519 but it's one of the great statements, creedal 00:16:00.519 --> 00:16:04.960 statements of the Trinity. And maybe as I say 00:16:04.960 --> 00:16:08.720 that, you have heard this said, hey, the Trinity 00:16:08.720 --> 00:16:12.340 is not in the Bible. Maybe you've heard this. 00:16:12.379 --> 00:16:14.379 You know, one of the great things about Christian 00:16:14.379 --> 00:16:17.320 theology that's not even found in the Bible. 00:16:18.340 --> 00:16:21.360 Well, the fact is, the word Trinity is not in 00:16:21.360 --> 00:16:24.620 the Bible, but the Trinity is all throughout 00:16:24.620 --> 00:16:30.000 scripture. You think with me just how Jesus says, 00:16:30.659 --> 00:16:33.240 go and baptize in the name of the Father, the 00:16:33.240 --> 00:16:36.200 Son, and the Holy Spirit, or our Romans passage 00:16:36.200 --> 00:16:38.840 talks about the Father, the Son, and the Spirit 00:16:38.840 --> 00:16:44.179 all working together for our salvation. One God, 00:16:44.519 --> 00:16:48.779 co -equal, co -eternal. And I want to suggest 00:16:48.779 --> 00:16:52.240 to you that in a way, we actually have the Trinity 00:16:52.240 --> 00:16:56.440 right here in Psalm 66, okay? I understand it 00:16:56.440 --> 00:16:58.759 doesn't say, here's the Trinity right here in 00:16:58.759 --> 00:17:03.159 Psalm 66, all right? But I think we have the 00:17:03.159 --> 00:17:05.480 work of the Father, the work of the Son, and 00:17:05.480 --> 00:17:08.220 the work of the Spirit here. And I think these 00:17:08.220 --> 00:17:10.539 various aspects of the Trinity, the work of the 00:17:10.539 --> 00:17:14.089 Trinity, actually reflects this sort of movement 00:17:14.089 --> 00:17:19.250 from the grand down to the particular in a way. 00:17:20.109 --> 00:17:25.309 So when we think of all the earth, shouting to 00:17:25.309 --> 00:17:28.609 God for joy, for his awesome deeds, I think it's 00:17:28.609 --> 00:17:30.809 right for us to think of the work of the Father. 00:17:31.869 --> 00:17:35.910 We're told in 1 Corinthians 8, 6, yet for us 00:17:35.910 --> 00:17:38.650 there's one God, the Father, from whom are all 00:17:38.650 --> 00:17:41.950 things and for whom we exist. And then actually 00:17:41.950 --> 00:17:44.450 in Revelation 4, 11, there's this worship of 00:17:44.450 --> 00:17:57.869 the Father taking place. It says this, What we 00:17:57.869 --> 00:18:00.710 have is this sense of all things should be worshiping 00:18:00.710 --> 00:18:04.250 the Father, because He is awesome. He is over 00:18:04.250 --> 00:18:10.160 all. We can say is that all the earth there is 00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:13.740 to praise the fatherly reality of God God as 00:18:13.740 --> 00:18:17.799 father But then what I said when it when it actually 00:18:17.799 --> 00:18:20.400 when this psalm turns to say hey the people of 00:18:20.400 --> 00:18:22.119 God the collective people of God Should also 00:18:22.119 --> 00:18:23.940 be praising him. This isn't a call just to all 00:18:23.940 --> 00:18:27.119 the earth but specifically to the church What 00:18:27.119 --> 00:18:30.279 we see when we do that when we when we made that 00:18:30.279 --> 00:18:33.799 turn is in psalm 66 What it's saying is you need 00:18:33.799 --> 00:18:37.339 to do it because of how God saved you Remember 00:18:37.339 --> 00:18:41.160 his acts in history to save you out of slavery 00:18:41.160 --> 00:18:45.220 and to bring you to himself. Well, as Christians 00:18:45.220 --> 00:18:48.480 we would say, that is the work of Jesus. The 00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:51.059 great act of bringing us from being slaves to 00:18:51.059 --> 00:18:54.319 bringing us to being sons is the historical work 00:18:54.319 --> 00:18:56.460 of Christ on the cross and in the resurrection. 00:18:57.579 --> 00:18:59.140 And so again, actually, we could look at the 00:18:59.140 --> 00:19:01.920 very same passage, 1 Corinthians 8, 6. It goes 00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:05.509 on to say, and one Lord Jesus Christ Through 00:19:05.509 --> 00:19:08.190 whom are all things and through whom we exist 00:19:08.190 --> 00:19:11.390 is what it says We exist as a body of the church 00:19:11.390 --> 00:19:13.750 because of the definitive historical acts of 00:19:13.750 --> 00:19:19.390 Christ for us. So we ought to praise him The 00:19:19.390 --> 00:19:21.250 collective people of God exists because of the 00:19:21.250 --> 00:19:24.650 work of the Sun and Actually, we could look at 00:19:24.650 --> 00:19:28.529 the very next the very next passage in the book 00:19:28.529 --> 00:19:31.869 of Revelation chapter 5 Not only is the Father 00:19:31.869 --> 00:19:34.529 to be praised in Revelation 4, but the Son is 00:19:34.529 --> 00:19:37.730 to be praised in Revelation 5, and he's to be 00:19:37.730 --> 00:19:40.769 praised because of his works of salvation in 00:19:40.769 --> 00:19:43.250 history. So this is what it says in that chapter. 00:19:43.349 --> 00:19:46.730 Worthy are you, referring to the lamb there, 00:19:47.170 --> 00:19:49.309 to take the scroll and to open its seals, for 00:19:49.309 --> 00:19:52.789 you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed. 00:19:53.019 --> 00:19:55.339 People for God from every tribe and language 00:19:55.339 --> 00:19:57.779 and people and nation and you've made them a 00:19:57.779 --> 00:19:59.779 kingdom and priests to our God and they shall 00:19:59.779 --> 00:20:04.039 reign on the earth So you see the collective 00:20:04.039 --> 00:20:08.779 people of God are to worship Jesus the son Because 00:20:08.779 --> 00:20:11.440 of his works of salvation for them as a collective 00:20:11.440 --> 00:20:16.039 people Okay, this big expansive thing is narrowing 00:20:16.039 --> 00:20:19.579 down But also here's what I want to suggest to 00:20:19.579 --> 00:20:21.599 you is that we see the work of the spirit here 00:20:21.599 --> 00:20:24.799 also This psalm I think is calling us to praise 00:20:24.799 --> 00:20:28.519 God as Holy Spirit also. And think with me about 00:20:28.519 --> 00:20:32.440 how Jesus was led into the desert to be tempted. 00:20:33.059 --> 00:20:35.779 What it says actually in that text there in Matthew 00:20:35.779 --> 00:20:39.680 chapter four is it says the Spirit of God led 00:20:39.680 --> 00:20:44.460 him there. But as he was tempted, the Spirit 00:20:44.460 --> 00:20:48.000 of God led him through that and into a place 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:53.319 of abundance. Jesus tells us in John chapter 00:20:53.319 --> 00:20:57.859 14, that the Spirit is our counselor, in John 00:20:57.859 --> 00:21:00.420 chapter 16, that He's the one who will guide 00:21:00.420 --> 00:21:05.440 us into all truth. This is the exact language 00:21:05.440 --> 00:21:08.099 that is being used here in this psalm, here in 00:21:08.099 --> 00:21:12.029 Psalm 66. We have a call to praise God because 00:21:12.029 --> 00:21:14.910 He's awesome, because His works of salvation, 00:21:15.250 --> 00:21:18.150 but also because He guides His people. And sometimes 00:21:18.150 --> 00:21:21.509 He guides His people into trials. But through 00:21:21.509 --> 00:21:24.690 those trials, through those valleys of the shadow 00:21:24.690 --> 00:21:27.990 of death, He brings them into the place of living 00:21:27.990 --> 00:21:32.269 water and abundance. What I'm saying is this 00:21:32.269 --> 00:21:37.089 text here, it starts expansive. and it narrows 00:21:37.089 --> 00:21:40.130 down to the individual. And in so doing, it's 00:21:40.130 --> 00:21:43.190 actually calling us collectively and individually 00:21:43.190 --> 00:21:49.269 to worship the Trinity who is collective, plurality, 00:21:49.490 --> 00:21:54.009 and yet one unity. Part of the doctrine of the 00:21:54.009 --> 00:21:57.509 Trinity is that it teaches us that God loves 00:21:57.509 --> 00:22:02.170 us as Father, as the Almighty Father who's over 00:22:02.170 --> 00:22:05.660 it all. That He loves us as Son. who redeems 00:22:05.660 --> 00:22:08.880 us from our slavery to sin, historically, in 00:22:08.880 --> 00:22:12.740 time and in space, but also that He loves us 00:22:12.740 --> 00:22:17.799 intimately. Specifically. The doctrine of the 00:22:17.799 --> 00:22:20.740 Holy Spirit is that God is with you, particularly. 00:22:20.819 --> 00:22:24.740 He abides within you. He's made His dwelling 00:22:24.740 --> 00:22:31.579 in you, individually. The fact is that all these 00:22:31.579 --> 00:22:34.140 things together are all the more reason to praise. 00:22:34.809 --> 00:22:37.509 The reality of God as Trinity should lift all 00:22:37.509 --> 00:22:40.390 of our hearts all the more to offer Him our praise 00:22:40.390 --> 00:22:43.049 and our worship. We were made in the image of 00:22:43.049 --> 00:22:46.210 God. Genesis tells us that. It says, let us make 00:22:46.210 --> 00:22:50.990 man in our image, the Father that was there ordering, 00:22:52.990 --> 00:22:56.450 the Son there speaking, the Word is with God 00:22:56.450 --> 00:22:58.670 in the beginning, the Spirit there hovering, 00:22:59.910 --> 00:23:03.099 all creating. But also the Bible says that they 00:23:03.099 --> 00:23:07.420 are all in recreation, too. God's love is for 00:23:07.420 --> 00:23:11.140 you as Father, as Son, and as Holy Spirit. His 00:23:11.140 --> 00:23:14.259 redemptive work is for you as Father, as Son, 00:23:14.619 --> 00:23:19.579 and as Holy Spirit. All of it together is working 00:23:19.579 --> 00:23:23.920 together to help us sing his praises. Live as 00:23:23.920 --> 00:23:26.220 we are called to live. Worship as we are called 00:23:26.220 --> 00:23:33.319 to worship. Let me circle back to music as a 00:23:33.319 --> 00:23:37.220 way of kind of closing So you've probably heard 00:23:37.220 --> 00:23:40.299 and I wonder actually if you've experienced this 00:23:40.299 --> 00:23:44.720 That music actually is very good for your heart 00:23:44.720 --> 00:23:48.619 health and Actually, specifically the beats of 00:23:48.619 --> 00:23:50.480 music are good for your heart health and so you 00:23:50.480 --> 00:23:53.380 can listen to certain Music and it actually your 00:23:53.380 --> 00:23:57.839 heart will begin to beat to certain music. So 00:23:57.839 --> 00:24:00.259 it can have a calming presence. It can actually 00:24:00.259 --> 00:24:02.700 have a strengthening presence too, as it beats 00:24:02.700 --> 00:24:04.839 in a certain way. There's been these remarkable 00:24:04.839 --> 00:24:07.160 studies that have been done that music beats 00:24:07.160 --> 00:24:11.720 can affect heart health. But you've maybe, because 00:24:11.720 --> 00:24:13.700 I feel like maybe I mentioned this years ago 00:24:13.700 --> 00:24:16.480 here. Of course, some of you were not there at 00:24:16.480 --> 00:24:18.680 this time, but maybe you've also heard that there's 00:24:18.680 --> 00:24:21.299 been some studies that have been done about the 00:24:21.299 --> 00:24:26.500 effects of collectively singing. And specifically, 00:24:26.660 --> 00:24:28.539 quite a few of these studies have been done with 00:24:28.539 --> 00:24:32.799 regards to choirs singing hymns, actually, interestingly. 00:24:34.460 --> 00:24:37.559 But in their various parts, as they keep beat 00:24:37.559 --> 00:24:41.720 together, their hearts actually begin to beat 00:24:41.720 --> 00:24:45.619 in unison. One of the articles I read this week 00:24:45.619 --> 00:24:51.640 was from about 12 years ago. I don't know if 00:24:51.640 --> 00:24:53.259 I'm saying that right. At the University of Gothenburg 00:24:53.259 --> 00:24:56.359 in Sweden, they did a study a while back looking 00:24:56.359 --> 00:24:59.079 specifically at the heartbeats of choir. And 00:24:59.079 --> 00:25:02.119 so they would put this pulse monitor on each 00:25:02.119 --> 00:25:04.759 individual singer. And what they found is that 00:25:04.759 --> 00:25:07.759 at the beginning, they weren't beating together. 00:25:08.299 --> 00:25:11.200 And then after a while, actually, the music would 00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:15.960 cause their hearts to beat as one. Individually, 00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:18.619 they're still themselves, and yet collectively, 00:25:18.960 --> 00:25:24.240 they're working together. This is the call to 00:25:24.240 --> 00:25:27.400 praise. It's an expansive call that's calling 00:25:27.400 --> 00:25:29.880 each one of you in all of creation, and yet it's 00:25:29.880 --> 00:25:32.619 calling you as individuals, right, to praise 00:25:32.619 --> 00:25:35.059 this God. And as you think of this, I want you 00:25:35.059 --> 00:25:37.660 to think about, this is exactly what God is doing, 00:25:38.059 --> 00:25:43.119 because this is who He is. God, diversity and 00:25:43.119 --> 00:25:46.990 unity. beating individually, acting individually 00:25:46.990 --> 00:25:50.930 for us, and yet working collectively for us. 00:25:51.890 --> 00:25:54.329 And this is what God calls you to, to praise 00:25:54.329 --> 00:25:57.130 Him, to worship Him, and to let your hearts then 00:25:57.130 --> 00:26:02.269 beat individually as one, praising God, Father, 00:26:02.390 --> 00:26:06.789 Son, and Holy Spirit for who He is and for what 00:26:06.789 --> 00:26:12.539 He's done. Let me pray for us. Lord God, We think 00:26:12.539 --> 00:26:16.339 of this psalm that feels so big at the beginning, 00:26:16.880 --> 00:26:20.940 and then it gets so intimate that it is us, individually, 00:26:21.660 --> 00:26:25.240 one of us that matters, that our individual praise, 00:26:25.400 --> 00:26:29.500 our individual offerings matter, that you work 00:26:29.500 --> 00:26:33.740 as the Almighty God and as the one who is with 00:26:33.740 --> 00:26:36.140 us as a church, and then further as the one who 00:26:36.140 --> 00:26:40.259 is dwelling within each one of us as the Holy 00:26:40.259 --> 00:26:46.900 Spirit. the guide, the counselor, the leader. 00:26:49.359 --> 00:26:51.319 God, we bless you for this reality, that you 00:26:51.319 --> 00:26:55.099 are Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That you be 00:26:55.099 --> 00:27:00.319 perfectly in your diversity as one. God, I pray 00:27:00.319 --> 00:27:03.779 that as we lean into your praise, that we would 00:27:03.779 --> 00:27:05.859 reflect your reality, that we would be a church 00:27:05.859 --> 00:27:09.720 that loves our differences, delights in them. 00:27:10.089 --> 00:27:15.009 yet beats as one because we reflect this reality 00:27:15.009 --> 00:27:18.970 of those who have been saved by Almighty Father, 00:27:19.670 --> 00:27:23.769 redeeming Son, Holy Spirit, in whose name we 00:27:23.769 --> 00:27:29.269 pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to Second 00:27:29.269 --> 00:27:32.089 City Sermons podcast. We hope this sermon has 00:27:32.089 --> 00:27:34.089 encouraged you to worship God and to celebrate 00:27:34.089 --> 00:27:36.950 the gospel of Jesus. Please consider subscribing 00:27:36.950 --> 00:27:39.809 to this podcast and joining us in person each 00:27:39.809 --> 00:27:42.670 Sunday at 10 a .m. You can find us online at 00:27:42.670 --> 00:27:45.829 SecondCityChurch .org and on Instagram, Facebook 00:27:45.829 --> 00:27:48.589 and YouTube. Thanks again for listening. God 00:27:48.589 --> 00:27:48.970 bless.