WEBVTT 00:00:09.449 --> 00:00:14.289 Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is 00:00:14.289 --> 00:00:16.589 an international church in Bangkok, Thailand, 00:00:16.769 --> 00:00:19.809 with dozens of nationalities worshiping together. 00:00:20.109 --> 00:00:22.989 We invite you to connect with us from wherever 00:00:22.989 --> 00:00:27.190 you are through our website, ecb .asia, or our 00:00:27.190 --> 00:00:31.070 mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed 00:00:31.070 --> 00:00:35.549 by this week's sermon. Well, today we are beginning 00:00:35.549 --> 00:00:39.990 a new series from the book of Psalms. And the 00:00:39.990 --> 00:00:43.250 title of this series is Songs for the Journey. 00:00:43.850 --> 00:00:47.429 Songs for the Journey. Some of you will remember 00:00:47.429 --> 00:00:52.219 the perfect Sony Walkman. what you would do is 00:00:52.219 --> 00:00:55.079 you would get that double tape recorder. Sorry, 00:00:55.179 --> 00:00:56.840 this will make sense a little bit later to those 00:00:56.840 --> 00:00:59.320 in the front row, but double tape recorder and 00:00:59.320 --> 00:01:01.619 you would sit there on the radio and you would 00:01:01.619 --> 00:01:04.459 wait for your song to come on or you would record 00:01:04.459 --> 00:01:06.060 off the other tape and you'd press it really 00:01:06.060 --> 00:01:09.060 quick to capture the song. And then you'd take 00:01:09.060 --> 00:01:11.900 this mixed track. It was a lot harder in our 00:01:11.900 --> 00:01:14.560 days, just to let you know. You'd take this mixed 00:01:14.560 --> 00:01:16.719 track and you would gift it to somebody else 00:01:16.719 --> 00:01:20.540 as... like a soundtrack for them to listen to. 00:01:21.680 --> 00:01:24.900 Now, today we have Spotify and a lot of other 00:01:24.900 --> 00:01:27.159 platforms that help us do this, tools that help 00:01:27.159 --> 00:01:30.939 us do this. Sometimes when we go on a road trip 00:01:30.939 --> 00:01:33.640 as a family, we'll put together a playlist. And 00:01:33.640 --> 00:01:37.200 that playlist has songs that are thematic for 00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:40.840 the journey we're on. And that's the intention 00:01:40.840 --> 00:01:43.879 of this new series that we are starting this 00:01:43.879 --> 00:01:46.769 morning. We're going to be unpacking the richness 00:01:46.769 --> 00:01:52.129 of a psalm for three Sundays. And in that psalm, 00:01:52.129 --> 00:01:54.849 it's going to be a song that is offered to you 00:01:54.849 --> 00:01:58.510 as a sacred companion for your journey through 00:01:58.510 --> 00:02:02.549 life. Psalms is a collection of books. It's actually 00:02:02.549 --> 00:02:04.870 five books all put together. And there's lots 00:02:04.870 --> 00:02:07.709 and lots of songs in there, poems in there. They're 00:02:07.709 --> 00:02:09.810 spirit inspired. And what that means is the Holy 00:02:09.810 --> 00:02:12.509 Spirit encountered a human being journeying along 00:02:12.509 --> 00:02:17.280 in faith. and then inspired this writing. And 00:02:17.280 --> 00:02:21.300 they are a gift from those people to you, to 00:02:21.300 --> 00:02:26.219 myself, to the church. These songs, as that gift, 00:02:26.319 --> 00:02:29.860 are something we want to gift to you and then 00:02:29.860 --> 00:02:33.419 have you add to a much larger playlist for your 00:02:33.419 --> 00:02:37.819 own journey in life. So before we continue on, 00:02:37.900 --> 00:02:48.389 I want to invite you to pray with me. God, you 00:02:48.389 --> 00:02:54.069 are God. And yes, we state that, but that changes 00:02:54.069 --> 00:02:59.750 everything. Not only are you the one who has 00:02:59.750 --> 00:03:03.430 created all things, but you sustain all things. 00:03:03.569 --> 00:03:06.169 And not only do you sustain all things, but you 00:03:06.169 --> 00:03:09.229 are king, you are sovereign over everything, 00:03:09.509 --> 00:03:13.590 including our time right now. So we recognize, 00:03:13.770 --> 00:03:17.159 remember that you are here. We submit to your 00:03:17.159 --> 00:03:22.360 authority, your movement, and Holy Spirit, you 00:03:22.360 --> 00:03:25.699 are so welcome to be moving in and through us, 00:03:25.699 --> 00:03:29.879 opening our eyes, to see you more clearly, drawing 00:03:29.879 --> 00:03:33.840 our hearts to love you more dearly, and our whole 00:03:33.840 --> 00:03:37.620 being to follow you more nearly. We pray this 00:03:37.620 --> 00:03:40.659 all in the wonderful and matchless name of Jesus. 00:03:41.280 --> 00:03:46.990 Amen. What is our first song for the journey? 00:03:47.729 --> 00:03:50.150 The first song for the journey is from Psalm 00:03:50.150 --> 00:03:56.349 93. And it's a psalm that declares God's undisputed 00:03:56.349 --> 00:04:01.770 kingship. It's a song that cries out, God's got 00:04:01.770 --> 00:04:05.729 you. Now, before I was born, before you were 00:04:05.729 --> 00:04:08.770 born, there was a different song that was shaping 00:04:08.770 --> 00:04:11.919 us. And it's a song that carries us along in 00:04:11.919 --> 00:04:15.000 life. And what is this song? It's a song of wondering, 00:04:15.180 --> 00:04:21.579 am I safe? Am I secure? Who's got me? And from 00:04:21.579 --> 00:04:25.600 that day on, you and I have been trying to answer 00:04:25.600 --> 00:04:28.319 the root of that question. And we've been doing 00:04:28.319 --> 00:04:30.959 this by reaching out and grasping towards different 00:04:30.959 --> 00:04:36.060 things. It starts in a very planned way where 00:04:36.060 --> 00:04:38.100 you do it with your parents and siblings and 00:04:38.100 --> 00:04:40.480 things like that. But then eventually, you begin 00:04:40.480 --> 00:04:44.279 to reach out and grasp a hold of life with your 00:04:44.279 --> 00:04:46.379 own two hands. And there's this control, this 00:04:46.379 --> 00:04:48.860 desire to control. But at the urge of it is, 00:04:48.939 --> 00:04:51.959 I want to make sure things are going to be okay. 00:04:53.339 --> 00:04:56.899 Now, there are times in life when we believe 00:04:56.899 --> 00:05:01.199 that we are indeed in control, right? But then 00:05:01.199 --> 00:05:04.439 there's times in life where we are well aware 00:05:04.439 --> 00:05:09.100 that we are not in control. And Psalm 93 is a 00:05:09.100 --> 00:05:12.439 different song. It's a song to play through your 00:05:12.439 --> 00:05:14.860 journey. It's a song that declares the truth 00:05:14.860 --> 00:05:18.819 of who is ultimately in control. So I want you 00:05:18.819 --> 00:05:22.279 to have a listen first to this song, Psalm 93, 00:05:22.379 --> 00:05:29.660 just five verses long. The Lord reigns. He's 00:05:29.660 --> 00:05:34.139 robed in majesty. The Lord is robed in majesty. 00:05:36.100 --> 00:05:41.060 He's armed with strength. Indeed, the world is 00:05:41.060 --> 00:05:47.139 established, firm, and secure. Your throne was 00:05:47.139 --> 00:05:51.240 established long ago. You are from all eternity. 00:05:52.519 --> 00:05:55.220 The seas have lifted up, Lord. The seas have 00:05:55.220 --> 00:05:58.939 lifted up their voice. The seas have lifted up 00:05:58.939 --> 00:06:03.639 their pounding waves. Mightier than the thunder 00:06:03.639 --> 00:06:06.899 of the great waters. Mightier than the breakers 00:06:06.899 --> 00:06:13.160 of the sea. The Lord on high is mighty. Your 00:06:13.160 --> 00:06:18.199 statutes, Lord, stand firm. Holiness adorns your 00:06:18.199 --> 00:06:25.470 house for endless days. The song has a shape 00:06:25.470 --> 00:06:27.689 to it and it's a shape that we're going to go 00:06:27.689 --> 00:06:30.970 through in three different parts. It begins with 00:06:30.970 --> 00:06:35.170 eternity past, yesterday, establishing God's 00:06:35.170 --> 00:06:38.689 legitimate kingship. Then it's going to acknowledge 00:06:38.689 --> 00:06:41.290 the messy middle of where we are today, the present 00:06:41.290 --> 00:06:45.389 reality, inviting you to turn to God in that. 00:06:46.350 --> 00:06:48.889 And finally, it's going to call us to reach ahead 00:06:48.889 --> 00:06:51.839 to the certain future of tomorrow. where the 00:06:51.839 --> 00:06:54.560 reign of God as sovereign king will ultimately 00:06:54.560 --> 00:06:58.899 and indefinitely and forever restore order, beauty, 00:06:59.139 --> 00:07:03.079 and life. So to anchor us in the past, the psalmist 00:07:03.079 --> 00:07:05.319 begins with a declaration. He says the following. 00:07:05.420 --> 00:07:09.399 He says, the Lord reigns. Now, this is actually 00:07:09.399 --> 00:07:12.339 talking about in the past tense, but it's also 00:07:12.339 --> 00:07:14.860 helping us to know this isn't about convincing 00:07:14.860 --> 00:07:18.500 you. It's about simply declaring or stating what 00:07:18.500 --> 00:07:22.160 is. It's to move our heart to say, okay, the 00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:27.160 Lord reigns. And as you read God's word, whenever 00:07:27.160 --> 00:07:31.259 you see Lord all capitalized, it should signal 00:07:31.259 --> 00:07:33.819 you to recognize that that's his personal name. 00:07:34.480 --> 00:07:38.399 That's the name Yahweh. And so this isn't leaving 00:07:38.399 --> 00:07:41.959 any room or openness to say, well, I think a 00:07:41.959 --> 00:07:46.129 God reigns. Or maybe your God reigns. It is to 00:07:46.129 --> 00:07:49.410 say the God that has met us and giving us his 00:07:49.410 --> 00:07:54.389 name, Yahweh, reigns. It's as though saying it's 00:07:54.389 --> 00:07:57.810 clear without a doubt. And then the psalmist 00:07:57.810 --> 00:08:02.790 continues on and he says, he, God, is robed in 00:08:02.790 --> 00:08:06.769 majesty. Yahweh's kingship is identified with 00:08:06.769 --> 00:08:13.660 this royal robe that he's wearing. time when 00:08:13.660 --> 00:08:17.220 the psalmist was writing, the robe was like signifying, 00:08:17.339 --> 00:08:20.040 hey, that guy has the legitimate authority. If 00:08:20.040 --> 00:08:22.600 I see whoever has this throne, that's the one 00:08:22.600 --> 00:08:25.860 with authority. Now, as many of you knew, I grew 00:08:25.860 --> 00:08:28.600 up in the wonderful country of Kenya, and there 00:08:28.600 --> 00:08:31.120 was a symbol there culturally called a rungu. 00:08:31.470 --> 00:08:36.230 It was like a staff or a club that was held in 00:08:36.230 --> 00:08:39.330 your hand. And this was actually from the Maasai 00:08:39.330 --> 00:08:41.889 tribe, I believe, that was passed along. And 00:08:41.889 --> 00:08:46.490 so whoever held the rungu in their hands had 00:08:46.490 --> 00:08:49.970 the authority. So again, as siblings, you know 00:08:49.970 --> 00:08:54.169 we were all trying to get a hold of that rungu 00:08:54.169 --> 00:08:57.230 in our hands. So there's a monument in Nairobi 00:08:57.230 --> 00:08:59.389 that shows this, a picture of somebody's hand 00:08:59.389 --> 00:09:03.750 holding this symbol of legitimate authority. 00:09:05.450 --> 00:09:08.029 That's the picture that is given with this robe 00:09:08.029 --> 00:09:13.269 in Psalms. It's the sign that God is the one 00:09:13.269 --> 00:09:17.490 who reigns. And the psalmist then adds the following. 00:09:17.570 --> 00:09:21.450 He says, the Lord is robed in majesty and armed 00:09:21.450 --> 00:09:25.500 with strength. Not only is goodness and beauty 00:09:25.500 --> 00:09:28.799 the testament to God's reign, but he's also armed 00:09:28.799 --> 00:09:32.399 with strength. So when we read through the Psalms, 00:09:32.399 --> 00:09:34.879 there's this important technique that is used. 00:09:35.100 --> 00:09:38.620 A lot of poetry uses rhyming, right? The Hebrew 00:09:38.620 --> 00:09:42.019 people, when they were using poetry, they would 00:09:42.019 --> 00:09:45.629 use that as well, but they also rhymed. concepts 00:09:45.629 --> 00:09:48.730 or ideas. So you would put together two different 00:09:48.730 --> 00:09:50.789 phrases, and this is important if you go through 00:09:50.789 --> 00:09:53.350 this book of Psalms to recognize it, two different 00:09:53.350 --> 00:09:56.850 phrases that say the same thing in a different 00:09:56.850 --> 00:09:59.909 way so that you get a bigger understanding and 00:09:59.909 --> 00:10:03.649 maybe it hits you at different parts. And that's 00:10:03.649 --> 00:10:06.370 what is happening here when the psalmist continues 00:10:06.370 --> 00:10:09.309 and says, the Lord is robed in majesty and armed 00:10:09.309 --> 00:10:13.379 with strength. But he adds another Peace to this. 00:10:13.440 --> 00:10:17.580 Another dimension. And he says, indeed, indeed, 00:10:17.779 --> 00:10:24.340 the world is established, firm, and secure. Indeed. 00:10:25.580 --> 00:10:29.379 Indeed, creation itself reveals the robe of majesty. 00:10:29.580 --> 00:10:31.799 It's as though you have been invited to head 00:10:31.799 --> 00:10:34.820 out to Khao Yai or up to Chiang Mai and get into 00:10:34.820 --> 00:10:37.639 the mountains where there's no lights. And you 00:10:37.639 --> 00:10:40.559 look up at the sky and you see the stars up there. 00:10:40.679 --> 00:10:44.789 And it's like that. is the robe that adorns God 00:10:44.789 --> 00:10:50.470 and declares his kingship. So the word indeed 00:10:50.470 --> 00:10:56.110 there. This morning, as we are sitting here together, 00:10:56.169 --> 00:10:59.429 something incredible is happening. You and I 00:10:59.429 --> 00:11:04.309 are going to travel a million kilometers. Now 00:11:04.309 --> 00:11:06.409 that has nothing to do with the length of my 00:11:06.409 --> 00:11:10.940 sermon being extra long. But this is just the 00:11:10.940 --> 00:11:14.320 reality of where we are on this planet that we 00:11:14.320 --> 00:11:18.080 call home. So right now, as you sit here on Earth, 00:11:18.279 --> 00:11:22.320 beneath you, the Earth is rotating at 1 ,600 00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:26.799 kilometers per hour. That's faster than any airplane 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:32.379 that flies today. 1 ,600 kilometers per hour. 00:11:32.779 --> 00:11:35.600 And it's a speed so smooth, you don't even feel 00:11:35.600 --> 00:11:37.799 it. Otherwise, you'd have... be grabbing onto 00:11:37.799 --> 00:11:42.059 your chair. And our planet is not only rotating 00:11:42.059 --> 00:11:44.759 like that, it's also orbiting around the sun 00:11:44.759 --> 00:11:50.120 at 107 ,000 kilometers an hour. We are zipping 00:11:50.120 --> 00:11:53.200 around the sun and it still takes a year to get 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:57.500 all the way around it. That's not all. We are 00:11:57.500 --> 00:12:00.639 racing through the Milky Way galaxy at roughly 00:12:00.639 --> 00:12:07.100 828 ,000 kilometers per hour. So think about 00:12:07.100 --> 00:12:12.159 this. At this very moment, you're traveling at 00:12:12.159 --> 00:12:16.460 unimaginable speeds. Speeds that create this 00:12:16.460 --> 00:12:19.679 dance of movement of nearly a million kilometers 00:12:19.679 --> 00:12:23.379 per hour that's got a perfect precision to it, 00:12:23.460 --> 00:12:28.559 held in this gravitational choreography. And 00:12:28.559 --> 00:12:32.480 it allows just the right tilt of the earth, 23 00:12:32.480 --> 00:12:37.200 .5 degrees. Why? So that we have this stable 00:12:37.200 --> 00:12:41.440 climate. We have seasons. We have something that 00:12:41.440 --> 00:12:46.159 can sustain the rhythms we need in life. The 00:12:46.159 --> 00:12:48.840 distance from the sun, the angle of the tilt, 00:12:49.000 --> 00:12:53.460 the velocity, and its atmosphere all align with 00:12:53.460 --> 00:12:57.100 this impossible precision to support your life. 00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:02.759 We read at the very beginning, in the beginning, 00:13:02.799 --> 00:13:07.120 God created the heavens and the earth. Now the 00:13:07.120 --> 00:13:11.059 earth was formless and empty. Darkness covered 00:13:11.059 --> 00:13:13.000 the surface of the watery depths and the spirit 00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:17.720 of God was hovering over the waters. Fast forward 00:13:17.720 --> 00:13:20.080 to the apostle Paul and he writes in Colossians, 00:13:20.080 --> 00:13:25.580 he says, for everything, everything was created 00:13:25.580 --> 00:13:28.860 by him in heaven on earth. Things we see, things 00:13:28.860 --> 00:13:31.419 we don't see, whether thrones or dominions, rulers, 00:13:31.659 --> 00:13:34.759 authorities, everything has been created through 00:13:34.759 --> 00:13:38.419 him and for him. He is before all things and 00:13:38.419 --> 00:13:43.580 in him, all things hold together. This is declaring 00:13:43.580 --> 00:13:47.019 God's undisputed right to reign. And the question 00:13:47.019 --> 00:13:51.639 is not, is Yahweh the king? The question is actually, 00:13:51.940 --> 00:13:56.690 do you accept that truth? Are you intentionally 00:13:56.690 --> 00:14:00.230 allowing his kingship to shape and form you every 00:14:00.230 --> 00:14:04.070 moment of every day? The psalmist is going to 00:14:04.070 --> 00:14:05.870 continue and he rounds it off. He says, your 00:14:05.870 --> 00:14:10.669 throne was established long ago. You, God, are 00:14:10.669 --> 00:14:15.070 from all eternity. Once again, two ideas put 00:14:15.070 --> 00:14:17.509 together to complement each other, helping to 00:14:17.509 --> 00:14:19.710 call us to a bigger understanding of what he's 00:14:19.710 --> 00:14:23.700 doing. From the beginning, God was and is and 00:14:23.700 --> 00:14:26.419 will always be. Even though we are traveling 00:14:26.419 --> 00:14:30.000 at speeds that should vaporize us, there's this 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:33.500 beautiful fragility that requires us to acknowledge 00:14:33.500 --> 00:14:39.289 that God is king. What does the first part of 00:14:39.289 --> 00:14:41.970 this psalm call us to do? Well, it calls us to 00:14:41.970 --> 00:14:44.629 anchor ourselves, like setting down an anchor 00:14:44.629 --> 00:14:47.269 that holds a boat steady in its place. It calls 00:14:47.269 --> 00:14:50.690 us to anchor ourselves in the past, in the certain 00:14:50.690 --> 00:14:55.289 reality that God is king. Here's a very practical 00:14:55.289 --> 00:14:58.850 invitation for you. Start your morning off before 00:14:58.850 --> 00:15:01.190 you do anything else, especially before you touch 00:15:01.190 --> 00:15:03.990 your cell phone. Start your morning off by getting 00:15:03.990 --> 00:15:07.850 down on your knees. Maybe even lie flat on the 00:15:07.850 --> 00:15:10.850 ground. And what you're doing is you're having 00:15:10.850 --> 00:15:15.230 your body represent the reality that you are 00:15:15.230 --> 00:15:23.049 held by God as king. And this is a slow shaping 00:15:23.049 --> 00:15:25.250 and forming. It's something that will begin to 00:15:25.250 --> 00:15:28.590 shape the way you go through your day. So that's 00:15:28.590 --> 00:15:31.590 an invitation to try that for the next 30 days. 00:15:32.029 --> 00:15:35.000 Begin to do that every single morning. and have 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:40.779 that shape inform you. Now, you may say, well, 00:15:40.940 --> 00:15:45.200 I've done that, and life still has all kinds 00:15:45.200 --> 00:15:49.080 of chaos and problems that hit us. Well, remember, 00:15:49.200 --> 00:15:51.919 this is a Holy Spirit -inspired psalm, and so 00:15:51.919 --> 00:15:56.240 God knows that not only is the fact that he is 00:15:56.240 --> 00:15:59.059 king a reality that we grapple with, but the 00:15:59.059 --> 00:16:01.960 present messy middle that we experience, the 00:16:01.960 --> 00:16:05.950 today of life. is also something that the psalmist 00:16:05.950 --> 00:16:09.350 acknowledges and calls us to. So we move from 00:16:09.350 --> 00:16:12.250 yesterday to today, our present experience. And 00:16:12.250 --> 00:16:14.730 here's what the psalmist says. He says, the seas 00:16:14.730 --> 00:16:18.450 have lifted up, Lord. The seas have lifted up 00:16:18.450 --> 00:16:21.429 their voice. The seas have lifted up their pounding 00:16:21.429 --> 00:16:26.909 waves. Directly behind me, kind of up in that 00:16:26.909 --> 00:16:30.330 direction, is a prayer room. And there are some 00:16:30.330 --> 00:16:33.990 people praying for you. for us as we are gathered 00:16:33.990 --> 00:16:37.330 here this morning. It's an incredible gift. But 00:16:37.330 --> 00:16:40.389 on the back wall of that prayer room is a painting 00:16:40.389 --> 00:16:43.590 that whenever I'm in there and I'm praying with 00:16:43.590 --> 00:16:47.309 others or praying by myself, the painting always 00:16:47.309 --> 00:16:51.350 seems to just draw me to look at it. Now, what 00:16:51.350 --> 00:16:53.230 is this painting? I'm not going to show it to 00:16:53.230 --> 00:16:55.690 you. Why? Because I want you to know where the 00:16:55.690 --> 00:16:59.250 prayer room is. So go find it and look at the 00:16:59.250 --> 00:17:02.909 painting. But I'll describe it for you. It's 00:17:02.909 --> 00:17:07.109 a chaotic ocean scene with a massive wave that 00:17:07.109 --> 00:17:11.150 is crashing down on this tiny little boat. And 00:17:11.150 --> 00:17:14.410 there's light coming in from the side. But it's 00:17:14.410 --> 00:17:18.589 such a chaotic scene that it draws you to recognize 00:17:18.589 --> 00:17:22.569 something that is true of what we experience 00:17:22.569 --> 00:17:26.130 on a day -to -day basis. I want us to return 00:17:26.130 --> 00:17:29.990 to Genesis 1, something we may have passed over 00:17:29.990 --> 00:17:35.460 when we first read that. So God says that the 00:17:35.460 --> 00:17:40.599 deep void darkness was there and the Holy Spirit 00:17:40.599 --> 00:17:44.720 was hovering over it. This is a chaotic sea. 00:17:44.880 --> 00:17:47.819 It's an image of a chaotic sea. And God was at 00:17:47.819 --> 00:17:51.240 the very beginning hovering over this. And then 00:17:51.240 --> 00:17:55.299 what does he do? He creates beauty, life, and 00:17:55.299 --> 00:17:59.059 order out of that. And he separates the land 00:17:59.059 --> 00:18:01.059 and the ocean, gives us a space for there to 00:18:01.059 --> 00:18:03.619 be something we can stand on, something that 00:18:03.619 --> 00:18:07.079 is secure. Now, why do I mention this? Because 00:18:07.079 --> 00:18:09.000 for the Hebrew people, when they're writing in 00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:11.240 the Psalms, they're wanting you to have a picture 00:18:11.240 --> 00:18:15.920 of what culturally was their framework. And for 00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:19.680 them, the sea was a place of chaos, absolute 00:18:19.680 --> 00:18:21.920 chaos and destruction. And in fact, there was 00:18:21.920 --> 00:18:24.680 believed that there was a Leviathan or a sea 00:18:24.680 --> 00:18:26.660 monster. We read about this in the book of Job. 00:18:27.079 --> 00:18:30.660 that is stirring up chaos in that area. These 00:18:30.660 --> 00:18:33.519 weren't sea -bearing people. These were people 00:18:33.519 --> 00:18:37.680 who stuck to the land for the most part. So that's 00:18:37.680 --> 00:18:42.900 kind of the worldview that is shaping them. During 00:18:42.900 --> 00:18:46.200 the COVID pandemic, as the world was altered 00:18:46.200 --> 00:18:50.240 forever, in certain ways, there was lockdowns, 00:18:50.240 --> 00:18:52.500 there was a loss of jobs, there was death of 00:18:52.500 --> 00:18:55.599 loved ones. There's changes to our patterns and 00:18:55.599 --> 00:18:58.579 rhythms of life. There was a mathematician from 00:18:58.579 --> 00:19:02.539 the UK named Kit Yates did some calculations 00:19:02.539 --> 00:19:07.000 that struck me during this time. Using the number 00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:12.059 of estimated cases of COVID and the size of the 00:19:12.059 --> 00:19:15.759 particles of the SARS -CoV -2 virus, Yates went 00:19:15.759 --> 00:19:19.900 on to estimate that there were about two quintillion 00:19:20.349 --> 00:19:23.309 That's 2 times 10 to the 18th power. I was going 00:19:23.309 --> 00:19:24.809 to write it, but it would have taken me a few 00:19:24.809 --> 00:19:28.430 more weeks to represent that. Seems like a lot, 00:19:28.529 --> 00:19:31.410 right? Two quintillion. Of course, the world 00:19:31.410 --> 00:19:35.730 was altered with that. Two quintillion particles. 00:19:36.630 --> 00:19:41.990 However, the size of the diameter of these particles 00:19:41.990 --> 00:19:46.039 is 100 nanometers. It's so small that if you 00:19:46.039 --> 00:19:48.759 collected the virus across the entire world for 00:19:48.759 --> 00:19:51.119 the full length of COVID and you put it into 00:19:51.119 --> 00:19:54.220 one tiny container, it would not even fill up 00:19:54.220 --> 00:19:58.559 a single Coke can. That's what threw our world 00:19:58.559 --> 00:20:02.559 off course. There's a fragility we have to be 00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:07.859 aware of in the life that we live. So the question 00:20:07.859 --> 00:20:14.279 is, do you have things under control? Particles 00:20:14.279 --> 00:20:16.359 that could be contained in a single soda can 00:20:16.359 --> 00:20:21.559 change everything. So the question, have you 00:20:21.559 --> 00:20:26.680 got this? Do you really? And so the psalmist 00:20:26.680 --> 00:20:29.559 uses these pounding waves as a symbol to say, 00:20:29.680 --> 00:20:31.880 hey, this is a reality of our life in the middle. 00:20:31.900 --> 00:20:34.740 It can feel like a chaotic ocean that we are 00:20:34.740 --> 00:20:38.380 engaged in. So we try to grasp or control, or 00:20:38.380 --> 00:20:42.400 we may despair and say, it's too big. I can't 00:20:42.400 --> 00:20:48.140 handle it. So I want to, with those words, bring 00:20:48.140 --> 00:20:51.519 us to a very familiar story. It's a well -known 00:20:51.519 --> 00:20:54.519 story that's recounted in three of the four Gospels. 00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:58.579 And it's a story of Jesus and his disciples crossing 00:20:58.579 --> 00:21:02.700 the lake in a boat, something that was very normal 00:21:02.700 --> 00:21:05.859 for them. And I want you to think through both 00:21:05.859 --> 00:21:09.400 the psalm that is calling us to recognize the 00:21:09.400 --> 00:21:12.440 waves crashing in upon us and the story that 00:21:12.440 --> 00:21:16.390 we know well. This isn't some simple miracle. 00:21:17.250 --> 00:21:21.670 This is God demonstrating his control of all 00:21:21.670 --> 00:21:25.150 things, his might over it. And so the psalmist, 00:21:25.289 --> 00:21:28.490 rather than calling us to just grasp harder, 00:21:28.630 --> 00:21:31.930 frantically run around, you saw a switch that 00:21:31.930 --> 00:21:33.750 happened in one of the disciples. I think it's 00:21:33.750 --> 00:21:37.390 Peter there who says, we're going to die. But 00:21:37.390 --> 00:21:42.569 he points his yelling out towards Jesus. Who's 00:21:42.569 --> 00:21:48.329 sleeping. Let's look, though, at the psalm. Actually, 00:21:48.390 --> 00:21:53.529 go back. Mightier than the thunder of the great 00:21:53.529 --> 00:21:56.730 waters. Mightier than the breakers of the sea. 00:21:56.829 --> 00:21:59.609 The Lord on high is mighty. Okay, so we've had 00:21:59.609 --> 00:22:02.049 one verse that declares the power of the waves, 00:22:02.109 --> 00:22:04.630 and the second one declares God being stronger, 00:22:04.849 --> 00:22:08.140 more powerful, mightier. So turning to God in 00:22:08.140 --> 00:22:11.140 the messy middle of today is in fact what the 00:22:11.140 --> 00:22:13.839 majority of the book of the Psalms is, in these 00:22:13.839 --> 00:22:16.599 things that we call laments. These are crying 00:22:16.599 --> 00:22:19.140 out in the existence of the life we live today, 00:22:19.240 --> 00:22:22.480 and it's turning all of that into an expression 00:22:22.480 --> 00:22:25.720 towards the God that we serve. And so what I'm 00:22:25.720 --> 00:22:28.220 going to do is invite us to listen to a lament 00:22:28.220 --> 00:22:32.400 together. It's a lament of asking Jesus to wake 00:22:32.400 --> 00:22:35.589 up when he's sleeping in the boat. Because that's 00:22:35.589 --> 00:22:37.430 the question that would be ringing in our own 00:22:37.430 --> 00:22:39.849 hearts and minds at that point. Why are you sleeping? 00:22:39.950 --> 00:22:41.970 We're going to die, right? Just like the disciple 00:22:41.970 --> 00:22:45.049 declared. But I want you to think through what 00:22:45.049 --> 00:22:48.849 storm, what waves are crashing upon you right 00:22:48.849 --> 00:22:52.829 now. Perhaps it's hit you completely out of nowhere. 00:22:53.809 --> 00:22:56.529 Perhaps you had a part in it and you've kind 00:22:56.529 --> 00:23:00.410 of helped to cause some chaos in the life that 00:23:00.410 --> 00:23:04.480 you live around you. And so listen to this song 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:08.160 of lament and turn your attention to God in and 00:23:08.160 --> 00:23:47.950 through it. Jesus, when you're gonna wake up, 00:23:47.950 --> 00:23:53.730 when you're gonna wake up, how can you sleep 00:23:53.730 --> 00:24:02.440 when we're in need? Just one word. from the maker 00:24:02.440 --> 00:24:10.180 and all the ways be sealed just one touch from 00:24:10.180 --> 00:24:20.099 the healer and all will be made well so Jesus 00:24:20.099 --> 00:24:41.730 when this raging sea Jesus when you gonna wake 00:24:41.730 --> 00:24:48.809 up when you gonna wake up how can you sleep when 00:24:48.809 --> 00:24:58.130 we're in need just one word from the maker and 00:24:58.130 --> 00:25:03.589 all the waves will be made still just one touch 00:25:03.589 --> 00:25:10.829 from the healer and all will be made well just 00:25:10.829 --> 00:25:17.190 one word from the maker and all the ways will 00:25:17.190 --> 00:25:23.589 be made still just one touch from the healer 00:25:31.180 --> 00:25:33.119 When are you going to wake up, Jesus? Why are 00:25:33.119 --> 00:25:36.359 you sleeping? See, Jesus sleeping is not a picture 00:25:36.359 --> 00:25:40.259 of God for a moment off of his throne or asleep 00:25:40.259 --> 00:25:44.220 on the job. His sleeping is actually evidence 00:25:44.220 --> 00:25:48.000 of the upside down reality that Jesus was living 00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:50.880 in. Actually, better said, the right side up 00:25:50.880 --> 00:25:54.140 reality. Jesus could sleep in the middle of the 00:25:54.140 --> 00:25:57.660 storm because he was so firmly rooted in his 00:25:57.660 --> 00:26:00.740 father's kingship. that he could fall asleep 00:26:00.740 --> 00:26:06.559 in that space. The one who you anchor yourself 00:26:06.559 --> 00:26:11.880 to, the Lord who reigns, is the one who's here 00:26:11.880 --> 00:26:15.140 in the middle and he's present with you. The 00:26:15.140 --> 00:26:18.099 question is, when things hit, what do we do? 00:26:18.200 --> 00:26:21.059 Do we turn towards him or do we grasp for more 00:26:21.059 --> 00:26:25.259 control? And it is now that we are going to turn 00:26:25.259 --> 00:26:29.180 our attention to the last. piece of this psalm. 00:26:30.279 --> 00:26:33.000 We turn our attention to the future and we begin 00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:36.519 to experience that now. So is tomorrow secure 00:26:36.519 --> 00:26:40.740 is the question that we ask in this place. So 00:26:40.740 --> 00:26:43.099 the first part of the song, Psalm 93, it established 00:26:43.099 --> 00:26:46.900 that God had a legitimate reign, a credible reign. 00:26:47.039 --> 00:26:51.670 He had a position to be reigning. But it didn't 00:26:51.670 --> 00:26:54.309 just leave it at that. We might be tempted. Oh, 00:26:54.369 --> 00:26:57.210 it also gave that he had the capacity. He has 00:26:57.210 --> 00:27:00.309 the ability to cause and move and he has the 00:27:00.309 --> 00:27:03.529 strength to do so. So we may say he's credible. 00:27:03.690 --> 00:27:07.170 He's got the capacity. Let's follow that. But 00:27:07.170 --> 00:27:10.569 that is not a complete form of leadership or 00:27:10.569 --> 00:27:13.369 reigning. There's something deeply important 00:27:13.369 --> 00:27:16.150 missing there. In fact, if you just put those 00:27:16.150 --> 00:27:18.970 two together, it represents God's enemy, Satan. 00:27:20.140 --> 00:27:24.839 He had credible reason to reign when we rebelled 00:27:24.839 --> 00:27:28.700 and gave him our own allegiance. And he has a 00:27:28.700 --> 00:27:33.319 capacity to reign as well. So there's something 00:27:33.319 --> 00:27:38.200 missing. And here the psalmist is going to draw 00:27:38.200 --> 00:27:42.799 that out. He says, your statutes, Lord, stand 00:27:42.799 --> 00:27:48.720 firm. Holiness adorns your house for endless 00:27:48.720 --> 00:27:54.940 days. days. Psalm 93 ends with a picture of being 00:27:54.940 --> 00:27:57.940 under the rule and reign of God in a personal 00:27:57.940 --> 00:28:01.220 way that doesn't just have his capacity and his 00:28:01.220 --> 00:28:04.140 credibility, but it also speaks to his character. 00:28:04.680 --> 00:28:08.220 And you put those three together and you've got 00:28:08.220 --> 00:28:13.279 a king worth following. It's a picture of a house, 00:28:13.339 --> 00:28:15.680 a new place that we live in, a new rule and a 00:28:15.680 --> 00:28:18.059 reign that we place ourselves underneath, and 00:28:18.059 --> 00:28:21.359 that guides our life going forward. Like the 00:28:21.359 --> 00:28:24.359 beginning of creation, God was hovering over 00:28:24.359 --> 00:28:27.579 the chaotic deep and spoke a word that brought 00:28:27.579 --> 00:28:32.579 life and beauty. Whose work was it? It was God's 00:28:32.579 --> 00:28:36.400 work out of his nature. And God's response to 00:28:36.400 --> 00:28:39.460 the disciples, it actually didn't depend on them 00:28:39.460 --> 00:28:42.559 doing everything correctly. In fact, it seems 00:28:42.559 --> 00:28:44.960 that they joined in on the chaos, as the clip 00:28:44.960 --> 00:28:49.640 showed very clearly, and the disorder. But once 00:28:49.640 --> 00:28:53.819 again, it wasn't their work. It was God's, out 00:28:53.819 --> 00:28:57.019 of his nature, that brought a calm to the storm, 00:28:57.079 --> 00:29:00.180 simply speaking words and bringing order in that 00:29:00.180 --> 00:29:04.190 space. These are his statutes. This is what holiness 00:29:04.190 --> 00:29:08.329 is. And the picture is that of a house for eternity 00:29:08.329 --> 00:29:12.430 to come, adorned and decorated with the essence 00:29:12.430 --> 00:29:15.690 of who God is. The Bible makes this very clear 00:29:15.690 --> 00:29:18.109 in the book of Revelation when it describes the 00:29:18.109 --> 00:29:20.490 home, our eternity, the space of what we will 00:29:20.490 --> 00:29:24.089 be in. And this is what he says. Then I saw a 00:29:24.089 --> 00:29:27.930 new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven 00:29:27.930 --> 00:29:31.230 and the first earth had passed away, and there 00:29:31.230 --> 00:29:37.789 was no longer any what? No longer any sea. Many 00:29:37.789 --> 00:29:39.589 of us know that passage. We may have read it 00:29:39.589 --> 00:29:42.309 so many times. We're like, okay, no sea. I don't 00:29:42.309 --> 00:29:44.410 really know what is meant there. You should be 00:29:44.410 --> 00:29:46.950 thinking Psalm 93. You should be thinking Genesis 00:29:46.950 --> 00:29:49.170 1. You should be thinking the Leviathan from 00:29:49.170 --> 00:29:51.970 Job, bringing this all together to be like, there 00:29:51.970 --> 00:29:58.170 is a future where there is no more. No more disorder. 00:29:58.470 --> 00:30:02.529 No more rebellion. No more death. And that is 00:30:02.529 --> 00:30:06.069 what is meant by that phrase there. The chaotic 00:30:06.069 --> 00:30:09.029 water and the disordered reality is no more. 00:30:12.269 --> 00:30:15.750 Here's the question. What song, brothers and 00:30:15.750 --> 00:30:19.529 sisters, is forming you in your journey in life? 00:30:21.549 --> 00:30:26.630 What do you do when you become aware that In 00:30:26.630 --> 00:30:31.730 fact, you're actually not in control. Well, I 00:30:31.730 --> 00:30:36.210 want to invite you to allow this song, Psalm 00:30:36.210 --> 00:30:39.849 93, to shape your life. Moment by moment, so 00:30:39.849 --> 00:30:44.609 you are formed into the likeness of Christ. How 00:30:44.609 --> 00:30:50.329 do we do this? Well, we anchor ourselves in the 00:30:50.329 --> 00:30:55.269 past, in the certain rule and reign of God. He's 00:30:55.269 --> 00:30:57.430 the one who's holding this world together even 00:30:57.430 --> 00:30:59.470 though we are spinning around at speeds we can't 00:30:59.470 --> 00:31:01.789 even conceptualize and that's just a piece of 00:31:01.789 --> 00:31:05.230 the reality we live in. So we hold on to that. 00:31:06.450 --> 00:31:09.049 And then in the present reality of life where 00:31:09.049 --> 00:31:12.109 we're standing in the middle, what do we do? 00:31:12.750 --> 00:31:16.890 We turn towards our God and we bring him the 00:31:16.890 --> 00:31:21.230 expression of where we are at. That's two parts, 00:31:21.250 --> 00:31:25.180 right? There's a third part. We hold on to the 00:31:25.180 --> 00:31:28.599 future and we hold on to the certain promise 00:31:28.599 --> 00:31:31.960 that is made evident in Jesus who stood over 00:31:31.960 --> 00:31:36.079 that storm and with a word calmed it. And we 00:31:36.079 --> 00:31:38.559 know, hey, if you can do that and you've promised 00:31:38.559 --> 00:31:40.420 that the new heavens and new earth will have 00:31:40.420 --> 00:31:43.240 no more chaos and disorder and rebellion and 00:31:43.240 --> 00:31:47.960 death, then it is as good as finished. Now, to 00:31:47.960 --> 00:31:50.119 help you remember, what shape am I forming right 00:31:50.119 --> 00:31:55.130 here? The cross. The cross, right? So just keep 00:31:55.130 --> 00:31:57.750 this in mind as you journey through life and 00:31:57.750 --> 00:32:01.329 allow the shape of the cross to be what shapes 00:32:01.329 --> 00:32:04.529 and forms your journey through the song of Psalm 00:32:04.529 --> 00:32:10.890 93. You may have noticed some decorations up 00:32:10.890 --> 00:32:14.369 here, right? What are these from? Easter. It's 00:32:14.369 --> 00:32:16.490 not because somebody forgot the memo to take 00:32:16.490 --> 00:32:19.250 them down that Easter is gone and we're going 00:32:19.250 --> 00:32:22.759 forward. Rather, there's something called Easter 00:32:22.759 --> 00:32:28.480 Tide. Easter Tide is this space between Easter 00:32:28.480 --> 00:32:32.099 Sunday all the way up to Pentecost, 50 days of 00:32:32.099 --> 00:32:35.400 time. And what has the church done with that 00:32:35.400 --> 00:32:39.180 space? They have invited us to continue to live 00:32:39.180 --> 00:32:44.720 into the truth of Easter, of Holy Week. So this 00:32:44.720 --> 00:32:47.160 is what we're going to do with this passage today 00:32:47.160 --> 00:32:53.180 and close it out in this way. Palm Sunday was 00:32:53.180 --> 00:32:56.559 a day of declaring that the king had arrived, 00:32:56.740 --> 00:33:00.180 sitting on a robe of sorts on his donkey, coming 00:33:00.180 --> 00:33:05.319 into Jerusalem. What was the cry? Hosanna, blessed 00:33:05.319 --> 00:33:07.240 is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Jesus 00:33:07.240 --> 00:33:11.480 rides into your life and into my life, and he 00:33:11.480 --> 00:33:15.599 comes in as the declared king. Now, whether or 00:33:15.599 --> 00:33:19.980 not we see him as that is beside the point. We 00:33:19.980 --> 00:33:22.259 are called to anchor into the truth and allow 00:33:22.259 --> 00:33:26.140 him to be king. But Psalm 93 then calls our awareness 00:33:26.140 --> 00:33:29.319 to a time of storm, a time of tumultuous experiences, 00:33:29.480 --> 00:33:32.299 a time in the middle, the messy middle. So following 00:33:32.299 --> 00:33:35.059 the triumphal entry, we have the last supper 00:33:35.059 --> 00:33:37.400 and we move to the garden of Gethsemane, to the 00:33:37.400 --> 00:33:41.059 crowds taunting the king like the waves. Crucify 00:33:41.059 --> 00:33:43.900 him. The king is whipped. He's spit on. He's 00:33:43.900 --> 00:33:48.759 mocked. And then he's crucified. And like he 00:33:48.759 --> 00:33:52.099 is sleeping, he's nailed to the cross in his 00:33:52.099 --> 00:33:56.299 death and then buried in a tomb. And it's at 00:33:56.299 --> 00:33:59.579 this point that that time he's crying out that 00:33:59.579 --> 00:34:03.700 says, hey, it looks like that old enemy is actually 00:34:03.700 --> 00:34:09.780 stronger and he's defeated. We're trying to rob 00:34:09.780 --> 00:34:12.960 you of the truth of God's kingship. The chaotic 00:34:12.960 --> 00:34:15.679 seas of life that you're experiencing are well 00:34:15.679 --> 00:34:20.079 known to Jesus. and to his followers. So we turn 00:34:20.079 --> 00:34:22.980 to the king who's lifted on the cross and we 00:34:22.980 --> 00:34:26.079 look to him who actually cried out a lament on 00:34:26.079 --> 00:34:29.139 the cross. And he said, father, why have you 00:34:29.139 --> 00:34:31.420 forsaken me? Straight out of the book of Psalms, 00:34:31.420 --> 00:34:34.960 he cries out a lament to his father who he knows 00:34:34.960 --> 00:34:37.900 is in control. And though it looks as though 00:34:37.900 --> 00:34:40.880 all is lost, Christ on the cross is actually 00:34:40.880 --> 00:34:43.880 doing a work in that space that we could never 00:34:43.880 --> 00:34:48.400 do for ourselves. anchored into the firm foundation 00:34:48.400 --> 00:34:52.039 of that. And in the present moment, something 00:34:52.039 --> 00:34:56.139 is happening here. Psalm 93 then calls us to 00:34:56.139 --> 00:34:58.400 hold on to the unshakable guaranteed future. 00:34:59.119 --> 00:35:01.539 And folks, this is far from wishful thinking. 00:35:02.019 --> 00:35:05.360 This is based on the fact that Jesus calmed the 00:35:05.360 --> 00:35:08.639 storm. And it is based on the fact that yes, 00:35:08.900 --> 00:35:12.780 he was in the tomb. Yes, he willingly came into 00:35:12.780 --> 00:35:15.539 our lives, into the chaotic reality that is here. 00:35:16.360 --> 00:35:19.199 But as we wait from Friday until Sunday morning, 00:35:19.300 --> 00:35:23.659 and as Jesus lied dead in that tomb, not even 00:35:23.659 --> 00:35:27.960 death itself could contain our God and our King. 00:35:28.500 --> 00:35:33.079 Bursting forth, he rose to new life. All that 00:35:33.079 --> 00:35:36.460 is the essence of who God is, all of the control, 00:35:36.639 --> 00:35:39.119 the legitimate power, the trustworthiness, his 00:35:39.119 --> 00:35:42.119 statues, his holiness, they're all represented 00:35:42.119 --> 00:35:45.469 in this resurrection that comes forward. So brothers 00:35:45.469 --> 00:35:47.610 and sisters, this is reason to celebrate. This 00:35:47.610 --> 00:35:50.250 is a song worth turning on and having shape and 00:35:50.250 --> 00:35:52.969 form our life again and again and again. There's 00:35:52.969 --> 00:35:55.050 a very clear shape to it. And we want to invite 00:35:55.050 --> 00:35:58.670 that to match each moment of your day as you 00:35:58.670 --> 00:36:02.329 go through it. It is definitely a song that is 00:36:02.329 --> 00:36:05.710 worth listening that God says, I've got you. 00:36:28.730 --> 00:36:32.230 If God is calling you to support our ministries, 00:36:32.269 --> 00:36:34.949 you will find giving options on our website. 00:36:35.750 --> 00:36:39.190 And remember to join us next week. God bless 00:36:39.190 --> 00:36:39.429 you.