1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,340 Father, we thank you for this camp, we thank you for this church, we thank you for the 2 00:00:05,340 --> 00:00:11,000 incredible thing that you are doing in this world. Father, we do not think highly enough 3 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:17,100 of the body of Jesus Christ. This is an incredible miracle. You have brought together people 4 00:00:17,100 --> 00:00:23,740 from all walks of life and you're doing something incredible through us and all over the world 5 00:00:23,740 --> 00:00:29,340 this is taking place and I just pray that as we look at the psalm that you would impress 6 00:00:29,340 --> 00:00:37,560 upon us just how awesome you are and how mysterious and inscrutable and brilliant your ways are. 7 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:45,160 Amen. So you might be wondering, you know, what possible relevance do these strange three 8 00:00:45,160 --> 00:00:51,420 verses in Psalm 133 have for us this morning and what are we to make of the oil that runs 9 00:00:51,420 --> 00:00:57,160 down Aaron's beard and the dew of hermen that falls on the mountains of Zion? If these things 10 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:02,200 sound strange to you then I'd suggest you're probably in good company and we have about 11 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:08,880 20 minutes to think about why God gave us such a strange psalm. So the first thing I 12 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:16,400 want us to notice here is how this psalm begins and ends because it begins with a statement, 13 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:27,520 Behold how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity and it ends with life forevermore. 14 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:35,680 These two things are related and I believe that we can say from the way that the psalm 15 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:47,240 begins and ends it's a psalm that tells us about community and life. Two things, community 16 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:53,760 and life. And I want us to think about each of these things in turn. Why should we care 17 00:01:53,760 --> 00:02:03,760 about community? Well, more specifically, upon what basis can we find the unity that 18 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:11,360 makes community possible? Because if we think about the world we find ourselves in, what 19 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:19,280 do we notice? What do we see? We see that at every level human beings are against each 20 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:26,600 other. You think that if we were going to be united anywhere it would be in our families. 21 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:34,080 And yet how sad to see that so many of our families are not united. According to the 22 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:43,320 Australian Bureau of Statistics 30% of marriages on this continent end in divorce. And I doubt 23 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:48,440 that there's anyone here in this room who has remained untouched by divorce in some 24 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:57,120 way. We have all been to some extent in families that have either been through a divorce or 25 00:02:57,120 --> 00:03:02,480 have friends who've had to face it. And even though we live in a country that has so much 26 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:09,400 going for it, here we are in Australia, arguably the best country to be in in the world. We're 27 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:16,680 in this beautiful land. We have everything going for us. And yet, according to the Australian 28 00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:25,120 Institute of Health and Welfare from 2021 to 2022, in one year, four million Australian 29 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:31,240 adults reported experiencing physical or sexual, family and domestic violence from the age 30 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:40,400 of 15. Four million. There's something desperately rotten with us that we would resort to such 31 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:47,360 hatred against members of our own families whilst living in a country where there's hardly 32 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:55,600 any poverty, there's no famine, no pestilence, no civil wars being fought. You think that 33 00:03:55,600 --> 00:04:02,400 families that share the same parents, the same home, the same common DNA, that this 34 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:09,040 would be a place where we'd find love, peace. And of course, often this isn't the case. 35 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:14,000 And if families are divided against each other on a continent like Australia, where we have 36 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:21,240 so much going for us, how much more so the rest of the world? So do we live in a united 37 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:29,720 world? We do not. What state is the world in right now? Well, we picked that great country, 38 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:36,120 the United States. Surely the United States is united. Are they in a state of unity? No, 39 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:42,360 they're not. And arguably the most powerful person on the planet at the helm of the most 40 00:04:42,360 --> 00:04:53,880 powerful nation is in a state of severe cognitive decline. And whilst the US continues to self-destruct, 41 00:04:53,880 --> 00:05:00,520 tensions between China and Taiwan silently escalate. Japan has been beefing up its military 42 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:06,440 arsenal in the surrounding islands. Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine are still at each other's 43 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:11,400 throats, threatening to reopen more European countries. And the Middle East, as you know, 44 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:16,000 tensions between Israel and Iran continue to escalate as Lebanon and Israel get stuck 45 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:21,160 into each other, which is now a conflict that involves Israel, the Palestinians, Egypt, 46 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:26,000 Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Lebanon. And then there's the rest of 47 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:32,360 the world. The war in Myanmar continues. Just this year, almost 10,000 people have been 48 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:39,120 killed there. In Africa, the Islamist insurgency in the Sahel region has brought conflict to 49 00:05:39,120 --> 00:05:47,760 Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Benin, Togo, Algeria, Tunisia, Chad, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Ghana, 50 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:53,560 Nigeria, Cameroon, Morocco, and Libya. In Sudan, the Sudanese civil war, which broke 51 00:05:53,560 --> 00:06:03,120 out last year, has already taken out 150,000 people. In South America, Colombia and Venezuela 52 00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:10,160 have been at each other since 1964. And there are ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, 53 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:18,480 Somalia, Kenya, Nigeria, the DRC, Mexico, Brazil, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Jamaica, Turkey, 54 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:24,040 India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Mozambique. I mean, this list goes on and on and on. And 55 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:32,040 I want to belabor the point to make the case that what we have here in Australia is actually 56 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:39,600 rather unusual. Our world is in a bad place. And we haven't even considered countries like 57 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:46,720 North Korea that has the fifth largest standing army in the world just bristling for a fight 58 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:53,960 as Rocket Man Kim seeks world domination. This is our world today, 6,000 years of human 59 00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:59,680 history and we're still killing each other. So we call it for what it is. Brothers dwelling 60 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:08,280 in unity is not something that we see often in our world. And we consider, for example, 61 00:07:08,280 --> 00:07:18,560 the first brothers. Who were the first brothers that this world ever knew? Kane and Abel. 62 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:25,360 And how did these first brothers treat each other? Kane killed Abel. You think of Jacob 63 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:31,280 and Esau. Jacob deceived Esau and Esau tried to kill Jacob. Joseph, he had 11 brothers 64 00:07:31,280 --> 00:07:36,760 and what did they do to him? They sold him into slavery. Abimelek, he's not the kind 65 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:41,640 of brother you'd want to have in your family. Abimelek had 70 brothers and he killed a whole 66 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:49,880 lot of them. Slaughtered them. Absalom killed his brother Amnon. Solomon killed Adonija. 67 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:59,160 This is the story of humanity. Brothers seldom dwell in unity. Upon what basis therefore 68 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:06,760 can we build a loving community? And sure, they're fleeting glimpses of community at 69 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:14,160 sporting events, festivals, pubs, clubs, but this kind of community is weak and it doesn't 70 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:21,920 last. Perhaps you think of footy or rugby players who wear the same jersey or uni students 71 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:26,960 who are united by their common interest to get education in a specific field of expertise 72 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:30,880 or work colleagues who are united in their efforts to make and do things that earn them 73 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:37,040 money but when the basis of that community ends, well that's the end. For several years 74 00:08:37,040 --> 00:08:42,320 I shared a classroom with girls and guys and I'm not in touch with them anymore. That unity 75 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:53,720 we had is over. You see, community depends upon common unity. It's kind of a Kamala Harris 76 00:08:53,720 --> 00:09:00,880 way of putting things. Community, which means to have real lasting unity that isn't just 77 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:05,920 superficial or skin deep, we need to have something far more potent. We need something 78 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:12,200 that binds and unites us from within, from our hearts. We need a unifying force that 79 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:19,280 just isn't just here today and then gone tomorrow. And that's why our Psalm ends in the way that 80 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:27,920 it does. What is the Lord's blessing? What is He commanded from Zion? Life. And not just 81 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:38,440 life, life forevermore. To be united in any sustainable way we need eternal life. Why? 82 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:44,120 Because even in cases where there is a community of people founded on love and truth, there's 83 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:50,080 a big problem. People die. Brothers may be dwelling in unity today but there comes a 84 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:55,480 time for brothers to die. Sons will bury their fathers. Brothers will bury their sisters. 85 00:09:55,480 --> 00:10:00,760 Mothers will bury their sons. Children die. Friends die. Lovers die. Husbands and wives 86 00:10:00,760 --> 00:10:08,800 die. What's the point of love and truth with no life to sustain it? But this Psalm speaks 87 00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:15,840 of an incredible blessing. Life forevermore. And to understand this life we need to look 88 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:22,280 at the nuts and bolts in the middle. So here it is again from verse 1. Behold, how good 89 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:28,400 and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity. It is like the precious oil on the 90 00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:34,880 head running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron running down on the collar of his 91 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:43,160 robes. Brothers dwelling in unity is like the precious oil on Aaron's head. That's a 92 00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:48,800 very interesting comparison. And we won't be able to make any sense of it unless we 93 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:58,560 can see why Aaron gets singled out and what this oil represents. Because by itself an 94 00:10:58,560 --> 00:11:05,160 oily beard is hardly an inspiration for brothers to dwell in unity. And if you're thinking 95 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:12,520 of cooking oil or crude oil or palm oil, this Psalm is going to remain mystifying. And if 96 00:11:12,520 --> 00:11:18,240 you conjure up in your minds a picture of Ross with his stately beard and oil dripping 97 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:22,060 down to the floor, I'm not going to lie, you're probably going to find this a very tricky 98 00:11:22,060 --> 00:11:28,360 Psalm to understand. So the key here really is who it is with the beard. And the man of 99 00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:37,040 course is Aaron. Why? Because Aaron is set apart from everyone else in that he is the 100 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:45,840 first high priest appointed by God. And the oil which pours down his head and his beard 101 00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:52,720 onto the collar of his robes is no ordinary oil. It is the oil of his anointing, the oil 102 00:11:52,720 --> 00:12:00,440 that consecrates him as the high priest. Here are the relevant details from Exodus 29 verse 103 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:07,720 four where we read, You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of 104 00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:12,440 meeting and wash them with water. Then you shall take the garments and put on Aaron the 105 00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:17,760 coat and the robe of the ephod and the ephod and the breast piece and gird him with the 106 00:12:17,760 --> 00:12:22,960 skillfully woven band of the ephod. And you shall set the turban on his head and put the 107 00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:29,440 holy crown on the turban. You shall take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and 108 00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:37,000 anoint him. And so we ask, well, what kind of oil was this anointing oil? And Exodus 109 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:44,040 30 verse 22 tells us, here's the recipe. The Lord said to Moses, take the finest spices 110 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:51,440 of liquid myrrh, 500 shekels and of sweet smelling cinnamon, half as much, that is 250 111 00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:57,200 and 250 of aromatic cane and 500 of cassia according to the shekel of the sanctuary and 112 00:12:57,200 --> 00:13:03,320 a hen of olive oil. And you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by 113 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:10,400 the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil. You shall anoint Aaron and his sons and 114 00:13:10,400 --> 00:13:14,880 consecrate them that they may serve me as priests. And you shall say to the people of 115 00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:21,360 Israel, this shall be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations. It shall not 116 00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:28,240 be poured on the body of an ordinary person. And you shall make no other like it in composition. 117 00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:36,280 It is holy and it shall be holy to you. Whoever compounds any like it or whoever puts any 118 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:44,760 of it on an outsider shall be cut off from his people. So who is this special anointing 119 00:13:44,760 --> 00:13:55,120 oil for? Who's the only one allowed to receive this oil made according to this recipe? Aaron 120 00:13:55,120 --> 00:14:03,360 and his sons, only Aaron. And of course, only Aaron has the oil poured directly onto his 121 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:11,160 head to run down his beard and onto his robe. Because there is only one man who can enter 122 00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:19,520 the holy of holies. Only one man who can atone for the sins of the people, the anointed priest. 123 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:26,100 And we know that there was only one day in the year when this took place, on the day 124 00:14:26,100 --> 00:14:36,440 of atonement. So why does David conjure up this picture of Aaron being anointed? He does 125 00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:49,560 it to remind us of a profound relationship, a relationship between God and man. Why does 126 00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:56,440 Aaron and Aaron alone go into the holy of holies? Why all this fiasco with a special 127 00:14:56,440 --> 00:15:04,880 oil, robes? What would happen if anyone else decided I'm going into that holy of holies 128 00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:10,360 to meet with God? I want to speak with God. Well, we know in other cases, like in the 129 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:18,400 case of Nadab and Abihu, like in the case of Uzzah, those who treated the ark casually, 130 00:15:18,400 --> 00:15:26,440 those who decided to offer their own version of incense, they were struck down dead. It's 131 00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:37,280 an incredible privilege to be able to know God, to speak to Him, to enter into that place. 132 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:44,000 And so God sets up for us this incredible picture that we should know the cost. Only 133 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:49,640 Aaron gets to go in there and only once a year. He is the only one who receives this 134 00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:58,600 anointing oil on his head. And so our relationship between God and man is what comes to mind 135 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:07,520 when we read Psalm 133. David wants us to have this picture in front of us. And it's 136 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:14,720 fascinating to see that come right after we brothers dwell in unity. Why? Well, I believe 137 00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:21,840 it's because he wants us to see where this unity truly lies. How is it possible in our 138 00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:28,360 world, a world filled with sinners, filled with people who will be at each other's throats, 139 00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:32,760 even though there's no reason to be at each other's throats, that we're the kinds of people 140 00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:39,360 who can take paradise and burn it to the ground, that we've been doing this for the last 6,000 141 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:46,160 years and will continue to do this. We can take beautiful things and ruin them. That 142 00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:52,400 that destruction just pumps through our veins every day, that we are the blights in this 143 00:16:52,400 --> 00:17:01,160 universe. How are we to find unity unless God does something profound and incredible 144 00:17:01,160 --> 00:17:07,140 for us? Which is why right after announcing this, it is good and pleasant when brothers 145 00:17:07,140 --> 00:17:15,440 dwell in unity, we get to see what makes that possible. Our unity is dependent upon something 146 00:17:15,440 --> 00:17:21,640 far more profound. And that is our relationship with our Creator. That has to be put right 147 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:29,280 first, that vertical relationship. So what is it that really unites us? Ephesians 4 verse 148 00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:40,000 3 tells us this, it is the unity of the Spirit. And that oil that runs down upon Aaron depicts 149 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:47,440 something incredible. It's a picture of the Holy Spirit being poured out on man. There's 150 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:55,080 nothing fancy about that oil. It's not as if the oil itself makes Aaron holy. We read 151 00:17:55,080 --> 00:18:01,840 in the New Testament that there's no amount of bulls and goats and sheep that you can 152 00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:06,820 slaughter. You could spill their blood in the streets and that blood would not take 153 00:18:06,820 --> 00:18:16,680 away sin. There is only one whose blood can take away sin. There's only one who can bind 154 00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:28,720 us together and bring unity to this world. And it's from Him that we receive His Spirit 155 00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:37,960 that can transform our hearts to make us the kind of people who love, thereby setting us 156 00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:45,560 apart from every other community that this world knows. Friends, the church is a miracle. 157 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:55,440 It is an incredible thing. What we have this weekend is very special. If you are a Christian, 158 00:18:55,440 --> 00:19:01,920 if you believe in Jesus Christ, if the people in this room have the Spirit in them, these 159 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:08,600 are your brothers and sisters. These are people that you will be with forever and ever and 160 00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:18,320 ever. The family of God. What an incredible privilege. And so who are the anointed? In 161 00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:25,000 Psalm 133 we have Aaron being anointed. But if you're a child of God, if you've been born 162 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:33,820 again, if you are in Christ, then you have been anointed. Not by oil, but by something 163 00:19:33,820 --> 00:19:39,960 far more precious. The Holy One. And to prove that I'm not just making this up, here's 1 164 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:49,400 John chapter 2 verse 20. 1 John chapter 2 verse 20. But you have been anointed by the 165 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:58,100 Holy One and you all have knowledge. Which means fundamentally true community arises 166 00:19:58,100 --> 00:20:05,520 from an anointed relationship with God. And that's what sets the church apart from every 167 00:20:05,520 --> 00:20:15,120 other community. We are a community of anointed people. People filled with the Holy Spirit. 168 00:20:15,120 --> 00:20:19,080 We ask, well what difference would it make if God took His Holy Spirit away from us? 169 00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:26,140 Well we'd be like a bunch of empty pipes. The moment I've been commissioned by my good 170 00:20:26,140 --> 00:20:33,520 wife to lay out some reticulation on our property before the heat kills everything. And it's 171 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:38,560 all very well laying out the pipes. You can have this beautiful network of pipes. They're 172 00:20:38,560 --> 00:20:43,640 all interconnected. And you can stare at them all day. But if they're not plumbed into the 173 00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:51,880 mains, your God's going to die. They're good for nothing. The Holy Spirit has to be in 174 00:20:51,880 --> 00:21:00,040 us. If we're going to be united and bound together in love, you can't fake church. Can't 175 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:08,840 fake it. Which is why the church is a work of the Lord. It's His gift to us. Our treat 176 00:21:08,840 --> 00:21:14,240 to be part of this incredible thing. So there is no community without grace. There is no 177 00:21:14,240 --> 00:21:19,720 community without the Holy Spirit. There is no community without God. All communities 178 00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:28,360 not built on Jesus Christ are destined for extinction. But throughout the ages, the church 179 00:21:28,360 --> 00:21:37,040 remains. Jesus tells us that the gates of Hades will not prevail against the church. 180 00:21:37,040 --> 00:21:42,280 Friends, the church lives forever. And this is the difference that the Holy Spirit makes. 181 00:21:42,280 --> 00:21:49,000 Which brings us to the title of the song. Small detail we've looked over so far, overlooked. 182 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:56,720 Notice that Psalm 133 is a song of ascent. Do you see that? In fact, there are 15 of 183 00:21:56,720 --> 00:22:03,900 them. All the way from Psalm 120 through to Psalm 134. So we're coming right to the end 184 00:22:03,900 --> 00:22:12,680 of the songs of ascent. And what are these songs of ascent about? It's a bit of debate 185 00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:14,840 here, but it seems that these were the songs. 186 00:22:14,840 --> 00:22:23,000 Sung by the people of Israel as they gathered together in Zion. As they gathered together 187 00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:29,840 to worship. As they gathered together to celebrate the feast of tabernacles. As they gathered 188 00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:39,120 together as one people, as the family of God to worship Him. Just like the church gathers 189 00:22:39,120 --> 00:22:48,280 today, right here in worship. And that's why it gives David occasion to rejoice in what 190 00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:55,920 he sees. Brothers dwelling together in unity. As God's people gather, David sees something 191 00:22:55,920 --> 00:23:01,680 profound. He sees God's plan to unite all things in Him. And that's His big plan. We're 192 00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:07,680 told in Ephesians 1 verse 7, in Him we have redemption through His blood. The forgiveness 193 00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:11,720 of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us in 194 00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:17,240 all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of His will according to His purpose, 195 00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:26,240 which He set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in 196 00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:33,400 Him. Things in heaven and things on earth. That's why the oil of Aaron is so important 197 00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:39,920 to understand. But what about the Jew of Hermon? How's the Jew of Hermon falling on the mountains 198 00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:45,280 of Zion like brothers dwelling in unity? Well this is what we know about Mount Hermon. Mount 199 00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:51,040 Hermon is located in Lebanon on the northern border of Israel. In fact it's the highest 200 00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:55,960 mountain in Syria and Israel today. It's so tall that it remains snow capped for most 201 00:23:55,960 --> 00:24:01,360 of the year. In fact there's a ski resort there. Wouldn't recommend going skiing in 202 00:24:01,360 --> 00:24:08,560 Israel at the moment, but there it is. But besides offering rich biodiversity across 203 00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:14,320 its verdant slopes, it also serves a critical role in supplying fresh water for the Jordan 204 00:24:14,320 --> 00:24:19,260 River. Because of its height, it captures all of this precipitation in an area which 205 00:24:19,260 --> 00:24:25,360 would otherwise be incredibly dry and arid, and it turns that little pocket of the world 206 00:24:25,360 --> 00:24:32,000 into this green lush landscape. By comparison, the mountains in Zion are a lot lower and 207 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:38,120 a lot drier. Jerusalem typically receives about 20 inches of rain per year, but Mount 208 00:24:38,120 --> 00:24:45,920 Hermon receives twice as much as that. Now Mount Hermon is about 190 kilometers north 209 00:24:45,920 --> 00:24:54,720 of Zion as the crow flies. So what does it mean for the Jew of Hermon to fall on the 210 00:24:54,720 --> 00:25:05,340 mountains of Zion? Well if this happens it means life for Zion. The Jew of Hermon brings 211 00:25:05,340 --> 00:25:15,400 life. What happens when it rains in desert? That desert's transformed. Flowers grow, everything 212 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:24,080 turns green. Water makes all the difference. And so what we have in this psalm is a picture 213 00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:30,480 of God bringing life to a dead world. And in fact there's a fascinating passage in 214 00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:39,640 Hosea 14 that also looks at this region around Mount Hermon, the region in Lebanon. And I 215 00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:48,880 want you to listen to what the Jew represents in this prophecy. So it's Hosea 14 verse 4. 216 00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:56,480 Here we read, I will heal their apostasy. I will love them freely for my anger has turned 217 00:25:56,480 --> 00:26:05,520 from them. And hear the words of the Lord here. I will be like the Jew to Israel. He 218 00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:10,880 shall blossom like the lily. He shall take roots like the trees of Lebanon. His roots 219 00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:15,600 shall spread out. His beauty shall be like the olive and his fragrance like Lebanon. 220 00:26:15,600 --> 00:26:19,520 They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow. They shall flourish like the grain. They shall 221 00:26:19,520 --> 00:26:25,040 blossom like the vine. Their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon. So what is this 222 00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:32,520 Jew that falls on Zion? It is an astonishing work of God, an incredible work of the Holy 223 00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:42,760 Spirit. It is how God brings life. What comes to Zion? Who is this Jew? And of course it's 224 00:26:42,760 --> 00:26:53,000 Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ and his spirit. A work that comes to Zion a thousand years 225 00:26:53,000 --> 00:27:00,960 after the psalm was written. David sees brothers dwelling together in unity and he knows that 226 00:27:00,960 --> 00:27:10,420 something profound will happen in Zion. The Lord has commanded his blessing. Life forever 227 00:27:10,420 --> 00:27:21,200 more. And so here we are. Three thousand years after the psalm. The Jew has fallen on Zion. 228 00:27:21,200 --> 00:27:31,440 Christ has come. He has sent his spirit. And his church grows exponentially across the 229 00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:39,640 world. A community that will outlive the grave. By the power of the Holy Spirit we will dwell 230 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:49,720 as brothers and sisters in unity forever. And that is an incredible thought. That the 231 00:27:49,720 --> 00:27:58,160 people sitting around us here today will be with us a hundred years from today. Two hundred 232 00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:04,980 years from today. Three hundred years from today. That we will look back on this camp. 233 00:28:04,980 --> 00:28:11,800 That we'll look back on friendships formed in the church. And that these people will 234 00:28:11,800 --> 00:28:18,080 be our brothers and sisters forever and ever and ever. Friends we cannot think too highly 235 00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:28,440 of the church. This is a family that outlasts and outlives the grave. Life forever more. 236 00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:40,720 So as we think about unity this weekend I want us to really ponder the concept of life 237 00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:53,680 forever more as the church. And how Christ changes everything for it. Let me pray. Father 238 00:28:53,680 --> 00:28:57,660 we thank you for the church. We thank you for this incredible miracle that we can be 239 00:28:57,660 --> 00:29:06,220 a part of. We thank you that in a world divided, a world at war, a world filled with so much 240 00:29:06,220 --> 00:29:13,740 misery that there can be hope. We thank you for Jesus Christ and his spirit that fills 241 00:29:13,740 --> 00:29:22,120 us and changes us and gives us life. That we can love and thrive. That we can build 242 00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:29,960 relationships at last. That we do not have to fear death. That we can look forward to 243 00:29:29,960 --> 00:29:37,840 a world to come. A new heavens and a new earth. Where this community will be part of that 244 00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:45,420 community forever and ever. Father help us to have some inkling this weekend of what 245 00:29:45,420 --> 00:29:52,420 that means for how we live today. Amen.