It is always something to conclude a sermon series,
and Summer of Psalms has always really been different
to me to kind of conclude it. Sometimes I'm not
the one to conclude it, whether we're on vacation
or whatever it is. Someone kind of concludes
it for me, but Summer of Psalms is a sermon series
that we've been doing every summer, because if
you do it that way, it gives you, you know...
hundreds of psalms that you get to work on. Psalm
119 will probably be a summer in of itself, but
it's kind of riding the emotional roller coaster
that is the psalmist. Mostly King David, but
we have psalms that were written by other people.
And concluding this sermon series in Psalm 57,
I think, was God's plan all along, because we
had a missionary last week that didn't preach
in it, and it's totally fine, that to actually
land it and end it on 57 is very different than
if we were going to land it on 58. And I think
God does that intentionally as I look at a sermon
series about intentionality, because I think
we can see all of these psalms we've been working
on have been very intentional. David's been very
intentional about bearing his soul. about laying
it all out in his fears, his highs, his lows,
his nightmares, his dreams about God and his
relationship and what's going on in his life
that we've seen echoed throughout these Psalms.
They call to trust God in all circumstances.
That's an easy sermon. It's easy to say, trust
God in all your circumstances, but we know tangibly
that's very hard because there are times our
circumstances may be dire. But what Psalm 57
provides is a vivid picture. Of what it looks
like to trust God in the wilderness. Now the
wilderness gets used in many different ways.
You see the wilderness as far as the Israelites
kind of wandering through the wilderness. You
see Jesus going out to the wilderness to be tempted
and tested by Satan himself. That the wilderness
is used in this kind of desolate place. That's,
if you remember, I think my year, first or second
year, we did a sermon series called The Desolate
Place. Because friends, we can find ourselves
in a desolate place daily. You might be one of
those people that you wake up and everything
is great until you hear one bad thing and then
it just falls and you find yourself in a desolate
place. Maybe you are literally finding yourself
in a desolate place today. But David's writing
this as he's fleeing King Saul, both in dire
circumstances that he's facing, but an unwavering
faith of worship. That's really what a lot of
these Psalms have been in, has been about worshiping
God in the certain circumstances of life. And
I think about our Han family, right? As they're
praying, and we're now praying for Chandler as
he's going through his struggles. Friend, that's
a different kind of desolate place. How do I
know? My wife was a NICU nurse for almost 20
years. That can be a very desolate place for
families. Or maybe you're in your family and
there's just a dry desert desolate place going
on right now. Or maybe it's your job, your relationship
with your kids, something else. Maybe you just
look at the state of the world today and go,
we're all just in a desolate place. And you're
right. We are. We can be. But it's perspective
that changes in and out of the desolate place.
David's situation was not one of comfort, but
hardship, fear, and one of our biggest fears
of all, spiders. Nope. Fear of the uncertainty
of life. I see you if you're scared of spiders.
That is a fear too. But David's not talking about
that. He's talking about the uncertainty, the
unknown. How many of you, being honest, because
you don't want to lie in church, have a fear
of the unknown? Right? About 90 % of you, the
other 10%, you just lied. And understand that,
you know, the fear of the unknown is all about
perspective, right? How many people think that
I was a little bit of a drama king growing up?
That hurts. But it's true, okay? It is. It is
true. A lot of times when things happen to me
in life, and still tends to at times, and God
has blessed me with a wonderful bride to bring
me back down or just not say anything, because
she knows he'll come back down on his own, right,
like a hot air balloon, is that when things go
wrong, it can be just... the worst right that
i can go one two one hundred and just get to
that place i'm working on it the lord is is really
working on my my heart in that and you know i
try to do good in it i try to grow but there
are times when things happen it's just like no
let's just get it get rid of it right like let's
just not do it like this is terrible And when
you go on a hiking trip with your family in the
beginning of the summer, you're met with that
almost hourly when it comes to certain things.
And we were just outside of Bryce Canyon, and
we were going on a magnificent hike. It was the
lower something, something of something. And
all I know is that it was three and a half miles
to go to this beautiful 80 -foot waterfall. right?
Gorgeous waterfall, just a beauty, just looking,
go, okay, God exists and his beauty is right
there. But if my math is correct, right, Larry,
if you walk out three and a half miles, you got
to come back. Are you paying attention? Yeah.
Three and a half miles, right? Right. And so
we're, but maybe a half mile in and it's beautiful.
85 degrees, gorgeous. You're in this beautiful
canyon and it was, I felt like Noah. The rains
just opened up, right? In my dramatic mind, golf
ball size hails, but they're really, thank you,
Joe, you didn't have to say no that fast, right?
But it did hail, dropped 30 degrees. That's true,
right? 30 degrees. You know, so we're shivering,
we're poor, we're drenched, soaked to the bone.
And my family's all looking at me. And I'm just
like, I can't go to a dramatic place on this.
That's not going to help anybody. I could have
easily been like, we're all going to die here,
right? That's probably not what you want to do,
right? And so I'm looking at my face. I mean,
we are in a desolate place in this season. I
can't go run ahead and bring the truck back.
That's not going to work. And so we kind of prayed,
right? We just said, Lord's going to get us through
this. And I saw in my boys a tenacity to just
go, okay, game on. Let's go. We got to make it
through. And my middle son, Teddy, right, who
Teddy can be more, sometimes more of our negative
guy, right? He gets that from me. But he, you
know, we're wet. It's going to happen. It rained,
of course. We just got to go. And then Joey and
Jack, they led Kara and I through that. It was
unbelievable. And pretty much by the time we
were there, we were almost dry. But one of the
cool things was, because we're in this canyon,
to go see one waterfall, how many did we see
because of the flash flooding that was going
on up at the surface? 80? Yeah, I mean, seriously.
Well, maybe a little dramatic, but he also gets
that from Carrie. But understand that we got
to see all of these other waterfalls. Like, perspective.
We could have been like, this is where my journey
ends. Just lay it down. Or we could trudge ahead,
we could take it step by step, but notice what
was around us. Because in the wilderness, what
is around you is important. And one of the coolest
things was seeing people along the way, whether
we were passing them or they were passing us,
just people we'll never see again in life. Like,
hey, keep it going. The amount of, hey, your
boys are doing great. Those little things in
life, they're still a part of me that's like,
no, we're going to die. But we didn't. We made
it back. Now, there was also a part of me looking
at the flash flood and goes, I parked on a hill.
Like, we might not have a Jeep when we get back.
Like, that's, again, and just pray for me. Those
are the crazy things that go on through my head.
Jeep was fine. We're good. But it was the perspective
of walking through the wilderness. and noticing
what God had for us in that, that really made
it something. Well, we look back now fondly and
go, we made it through. I was singing, we made
it through the rain. How many of you know that
song? It's an actual song. Look it up. My boys
made fun of me for two days, right, for just
singing that song. But it was an understanding
that, hey, we stuck together, we got through
it. That's exactly what David's trying to give
us today. God is, or what David's reminding us
in that every season of life, we are called to
find perspective and we're called to find intentionality
to help the world around us become more intentional
about one thing. And that's the cross of Christ,
that salvation. And how do we as a community,
because one of the things I've been putting in
this sermon series is being intentional with
the people here. If we're going to go and try
to reach people out there, we have to be intentional
about meeting with each other here or else it's
not going to work. If you're off, if we start
in this potential new vision and mission in the
coming months, if we're off like this, five years
from now, we're going to be here. We got to be
in lockstep together. And we're called to worship,
first and foremost, God in every season of life.
How we worship strengthens our community, strengthens
us as members of Munster Church, and calls us
to create an intentional space where each person
can be seen, can come in worship, find support,
and to grow together. Whether they're going to
grow in study ministries, support ministries,
or small group ministries, there's a little taste
of what's to come. We want them to be able to
find it here at Munster Church. Not necessarily
always in our building, but maybe in our homes.
Partnering with other counseling centers or support
areas, intermission, anew. All of these ministries
is about people coming to find the Lord. So how
does that work when we're in the wilderness?
Well, David's gonna start worshiping God in the
wilderness. The first three verses, again, we're
in Psalm 57, not 58. We use the ESV version,
but you use whatever's on your Bible app or that
you brought. David writes, be merciful to me,
O God. Be merciful to me. For in you, my soul
takes refuge. In the shadows of your wings, I
take refuge till the storms of destruction pass
by. I cry out to God most high, to God who fulfills
his purpose for me. He will send from heaven
and save me. He will put to shame him who tramples
on me. Selah, God will send out his steadfast
love and his faithfulness. David begins by calling
out to God for mercy, seeking refuge under his
wing until the storms of the oppression that
he's feeling passes. Much like we tried to get
under some coverage, you know, from the storm.
It didn't really work, right? We were drenched,
but we were seeking it. David's saying, seek
God in the midst of your hardship, in the midst
of the dry seasons of life, in the wildernesses
of life. You need to seek. But too many times
we go, I'm in the wilderness. I'm going to stand
right here, and God, you need to come deliver
me. Okay? Well, what happens when Jesus met the
guy that was lame, right? Not lame as in uncool,
but lame as in he can't walk. Does anyone know
what he says to him right after he heals him?
Anyone want to take a guess? What was that? Get
up. Right? He just healed him. This is a guy
that wasn't able to get up from birth. Get up,
take your mat, and walk. So what does he do?
He heals them and then gives them three missions
right off the bat. Day one, get up, take your
mat and walk. Jesus knew he could do it because
Jesus' healing was complete and he had to walk
in the deliverance from his wilderness. But so
many times we just sit and we just go, nope,
I'm just going to wait. I'm going to wait until
God does it the way I want him to do it. And
if not, I'm just going to wait. Well, then you
might be waiting for a long time. You might be
waiting to the point where you miss it. And that's
not a good place to be. David's first response
in the wilderness was not to spare or to retreat
into isolation. It was a call to be active, to
worship in the darkest moments of his life. David
chooses to focus on God's faithfulness, trusting
God will do what God needs to do to deliver him,
to deliver us from our situation. Worship in
the wilderness is not only expressing pain to
God, but also acknowledging his sovereignty,
his faithfulness in the midst of it. Just as
David found refuge under the shadow of the wings
of God, we are called to find comfort and security
in God's presence. Here it is. No matter the
circumstance. There is no circumstance that you
could be going through in your life that you
can't find shelter under the wings of God's sovereignty,
his mercy, and his grace. So what would that
look like if we could build an intentional community
here? Create spaces where we can worship. We
do that. But worship even in the wilderness.
Our community here is meant to be one where we
can come alongside one another in difficult times,
offering prayer, tangible help, encouragement,
and hope, knowing that we're all seeking the
same person. We're all looking for God's refuge
in our lives. Lord's Day 21 of the Heidelberg
Catechism speaks of the communion of saints.
In times of trouble, we are not alone. The church
is a community where believers are called to
support one another. sharing in both joys and
the struggles of life. Just as David found refuge
in God, we find refuge in one another as we walk
towards God in the wilderness. Where we get that
messed up is when we look for the refuge of one
another in and of themselves. We can't do that.
We got to do it with our eyes focused on the
cross or Satan could take that and manipulate
that something fierce, right? He could defile
that really quickly. But if we all are kind of
cross -eyed, if you will, looking at the cross,
together we can find that refuge. The Heidelberg
Catechism teaches that the communion of saints
is a means of grace. We are to experience God's
faithfulness through the presence and support
of the church as a community where I call to
be a place where each member can seek refuge
in God's faithfulness and draw strength from
each other. So I guess my first question is,
Are you someone that helps others get strong
in the Lord? Or do you actually take from people?
We do that by gossip, right? Or we do that by
not just being nice to one another, not being
inviting, not being intentional or being fake.
Because all that does is tear down the body.
We are called to draw strength from each other
to build the body of Christ. Because if we do
that, then when we stand in front of enemies,
The enemies of the church, enemies of God, right?
We will come together in that and we'll actually
praise God for those moments. Verses four through
six. My soul is in the midst of lions. I lie
down amidst fiery beasts, the children of man,
whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues
are sharp swords. Be exalted, O God, above the
heavens. Let your glory be all over the earth.
They set a net for my steps. My soul was bowed
down. They dug a pit in my way, but they have
fallen into themselves. Selah. Pause. David expresses
his deep sorrow as he faces enemies, like lions,
teeth sharp like spears. Yet despite the overwhelming
threats, what does David do? He declares that
his heart is steadfast in praise. Think about
that. Not that he's praising that he has enemies,
but he's praising God that in the midst of being
attacked, He knows he has an advocate. He knows
he has a Lord and Savior that will bring him
through it in this life or the next. David's
praise is not a denial of his circumstances.
And friends, I'm not saying that. If you're going
through a wilderness in life, I'm not saying
just paint a face on and be fake. No, that's
the opposite of what I'm saying. Enter in, and
guess what? God will probably bring you to people
that have dealt with the same thing, the struggle
that is going on in your life. I love you. You're
not the first person to go through it. You're
not going to be the last. But if we don't know
that about each other, if we're not honest with
one another about where our struggles are, then
how can we come together? How can we show that
intentionality and see it for the praises of
God, for the betterment of God's people? Because
in the wilderness, we're called to praise, not
just for what he has done, but for who he is.
You see, praise is an act of faith. If you didn't
have faith, you wouldn't praise God. It wouldn't
make any sense. And when we gather as a community
to worship, we're declaring together that no
matter the opposition or the trials we face,
we trust in God's deliverance. But again, it
cannot be deliverance according to you. It's
got to be deliverance according to the deliverer,
right? All I knew is we walked three and a half
miles on that path. It's going to be the same
exact number of miles to get back to the car.
How do I know? Because I had it on my Apple Watch.
Because I'm not good at math. But they had markers,
and we used that as encouragement. Hey, every
half a mile, I was able to say, guys, we just
went another half a mile. This to go, this to
go, this to go. In normal circumstances, my kids
would have told me to stop. Let's be honest.
They'd have been like, enough, Dad, we don't
care. But in the midst of the desperation that
we found ourselves, the wilderness we were in,
those words were encouragement. Hey, we made
it another half mile. Hey, we made it another
mile. Hey, there are other people. Hey, we're
still alive. All of those things in that moment
were seen as encouragement. As we build intentional
relationships within the church, we must create
an environment where praise is the response,
oh, this is hard, to every circumstance. Our
worship, whether in joy or struggle, should be
the testimony of the strength we find in ourselves.
No. The strength we find in God. The strength
we find in the one who is our strength. We are
not just called to worship alone, but to worship
together. Strengthening from one another's faith
as we declare God's goodness and faithfulness.
Going back to Lord's Day 21, reminds us that
we're not isolated in our faith. I don't know
about you, but that's good news, right? Even
for you introverts, that's good news. Right?
That we are not in this faith alone. As a community
of believers, we are called to praise together.
The catechism affirms that the church is a community
where we are strengthened by the worship of others.
Whether we're dancing over here. Right? Whether
we're putting our hands in the air or whether
we're just in a deep meditative state or sleeping,
right? We are called to worship together, to
draw from one another. We encounter God's presence
and are encouraged in the journey. Because finally,
when the deliverance comes, what do we get to
do? We could say, I made it. No, one of the things
we said was, thank God we're back. Thank God
the Jeep's there. Right? Thank God that we, God,
you brought us, you delivered us through this.
So we get to declare God's glory to the nations.
Verses 7 through 11. My heart is steadfast, O
God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing and make
melody. Awake, my glory, awake, O harp and lyre.
I will awake the dawn. I will give thanks to
you, O Lord, among the peoples. I will sing praises
to you amongst the nations. For your steadfast
love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness
to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.
Let your glory be all over the earth. Whose glory?
God's glory, not our glory. If we start to try
to take God's glory, friend, we're doing the
opposite. We are called to declare God's glory
to the world. What David does is he prays that
God's glory be exalted above the heavens and
that his glory be all over the earth. David is
not content with simply receiving God's deliverance.
He longs for the world to see and recognize God's
greatness. Is that not? Our story? If you're
saved, praise the Lord. But your job's not done,
right? You didn't do works to get to faith. Faith
came, regenerated in your soul. You recognize
Jesus as Lord and Savior. And now we get to work.
Now we get to declare God's glory to the heavens.
Or maybe you're here today and you don't have
that relationship with Jesus. Or maybe you don't
know that you do. Or maybe you're confused by
that. Maybe today's your day. Maybe the Lord
is calling you to the cross, wants you to confess
your sins, and he wants to bring you into that
family. Some of you may not like that. Some of
you go, well, that's really elitist. Well, stop
it. We're talking about God. God has a right
to call you to his family. And he wants you to.
He wants you to come and be a part of what he
is doing. Maybe not just here at Munster Church,
but in your own churches, your own communities,
your own lives. What David prays, it culminates
in this declaration, this worship. And that worship,
true worship, doesn't stay confined to our personal
or logical struggles. I can only worship what
I understand. Then, friend, you're never going
to worship because God's ways are higher than
our ways. He's the creator of all things. We're
not, though we like to think we are. It calls
us to declare God's greatness to the world in
order for God to be great. And I think I've said
this before. I'm getting nostalgia or deja vu
right now. I don't know why. But if we're going
to declare God is great, then we need to declare
ourselves not so much. Right? We can't be great
in the eyes of the world and stay humble. You
may be great in what you do. You may have great
giftings. But a believer gives thanks back to
God. They remember from whom they came. And that
was the Lord. Our worship, just like David, should
never be for us alone. It is meant to be a witness
to the world. As a community, our worship must
reflect the global mission of the church. We
are called to build relationships that not only
encourage each other, but also reach beyond 214
Ridge Road, drawing others into the worship and
glory of God. Building this intentional community
at the church is about strengthening relationships
internally. and equipping one another to go out
with that faith. We'll land one more time in
Lord's Day 21. Lord's Day 21 emphasizes that
the communion of saints is not just for personal
advocation, but the advancement of God's kingdom.
God's kingdom come, God's will be done on earth
as it is in heaven. As a church, we're called
to be a community that not only grows in faith,
but also reaches out with the gospel, declares
God's glory to the world. Our worship and relationship
are meant to reflect God's glory. So when you
reflect God's glory, you first have to accept
it, right? You have to take that irresistible
grace and go, this is the most amazing thing
ever. I want to reflect it. But friend, every
day you have a choice to not. You have a choice
to reflect yourself, your selfishness, even your
ambitions. It's about you. One of the biggest
steps for a believer to come to saving grace
in Jesus is to know it's not about you. It never
has been about you. It never will be about you.
And you need to be okay with it. And for some
of us, we struggle with that. We struggle when
our needs aren't met our way. But if it's one
thing we've seen throughout the Psalms this summer
is God's way is always better. I know that can
sound hallmarky and you go, okay, great. But
it's true. God's declaration, God's deliverance,
God's divine nature. is what we need every day
of our life. So let's land the plane here today.
Worship, trust, and community. How are you doing
this summer and intentionally living out the
gospel in people's lives? Psalm 57 teaches us
to worship God, especially in the wilderness.
Whether your wilderness is only three and a half
miles, whether your wilderness is issues in your
family, issues in your marriage, issues in your
job, issues in yourself. If you need some mental
health work, if you need to sit with someone
licensed, confidential, and just fall apart to
try to help put the pieces back together, we
have partnered with many organizations and individuals.
We'd love to get you that help that you need.
All you got to do is ask. You just got to take
that one step. But as we conclude this series,
we're reminded of something bigger. Our trust
in God should shape everything we do. Our worship,
our relationships, the mission of our church.
You're going to hear more about that tomorrow
night at the meeting. So my final challenge,
just hear these words. Building intentional relationships
within Munster Church is not just about creating
a comfortable, supportive environment for ourselves.
It's about creating a community where God is
glorified in our interactions, in our text messages,
in our conversations, in the way we do our nursery,
all the way through our adult Bible studies and
back again. Where we can walk with one another
through the joys and trials of life. And we're
all equipped to go out and declare God's glory
to the world. So friend, if you're willing to
commit to that, even in a small degree, then
start walking in that. As a church, we're going
to try to develop places and programs and people
to help do that for all of us. But as we move
forward, who can you support today? Who can you
encourage and love on today? Let's be a church
that worships in the wilderness, that trusts
God's faithfulness, and to live out our call
to declare his glory to the world. Let's pray.