1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,000 Amen. 2 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:32,000 Amen. 3 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:02,000 Amen. 4 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:59,980 Father in Heaven, we are so thankful to be able to be here this week. 5 00:02:59,980 --> 00:03:29,960 We just ask that you would bless our time of worship, that you would direct our hearts to your goodness and to your grace. Be with us as we sing, as we gather around the table, as we open your word. May your spirit be at work to strengthen us and help us and encourage us. We just thank you for your goodness. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 6 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:59,940 In your bulletin. So what we are going to do is we're going to start by singing, "This is our God." We're singing the same stuff, just in a little bit of a different order. Followed by, we'll sit down, we'll sing, "Oh, praise the name." We'll do communion, and then the kids can be dismissed to their children's classes. So we're going to start by reading from the 40th Psalm. And one of the things that we're going to be looking at at the end of Isaiah 40 is this passage that for some of us is pretty familiar. 7 00:03:59,940 --> 00:04:14,420 We have read it. We have heard it. Maybe we have it on a coffee cup. But it is intended to be a deep, abiding encouragement to God's people. And in the heart of that, it is a call to wait upon the Lord. 8 00:04:14,420 --> 00:04:29,920 Waiting upon us really means just sitting and doing nothing, but it means actively putting our trust and our hope in Him. So we're going to start by reading from the 40th Psalm, verses 1 through 3. 9 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:59,900 And we will read this together. 10 00:04:59,900 --> 00:05:29,880 This is God's Word. We're going to start by singing, "This is our God." 11 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:38,880 He couldn't escape, but he came, and he died, and he rose. Those walls are rubble now. 12 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:59,860 Remember those giants we call death and grave? They were like mountains that stood in our way. But he came, and he died, and he rose. 13 00:05:59,860 --> 00:06:02,860 Those giants are dead now. 14 00:06:02,860 --> 00:06:29,840 This is our God. This is who he is. He loves us. This is our God. This is what he does. He saves us. He bore the cross, beat the grave. Let heaven and earth proclaim. This is our God, King Jesus. 15 00:06:29,840 --> 00:06:59,820 The Father took our breath away. Faith so weak that we could barely pray. But he heard every word, every whisper. Now those altars in the wilderness tell the story of his faithfulness. 16 00:06:59,820 --> 00:07:29,800 He never will. This is our God. This is who He is. He loves us. This is our God. This is what He does. He saves us. He bore the cross, feed the grave. Let heaven and earth proclaim. This is our God, King Jesus. 17 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:59,780 This is who He is. He loves us. This is our God. This is what He does. He saves us. He bore the cross, feed the grave. Let heaven and earth proclaim. This is our God, King Jesus. He bore the cross, feed the grave. Let heaven and earth proclaim. This is our God, King Jesus. 18 00:07:59,780 --> 00:08:29,760 He bore the cross, feed the grave. Let heaven and earth proclaim. This is our God, King Jesus. 19 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:59,740 To Calvary, where Jesus bled and died for me. I see His wounds, His hands, His feet. My Savior on that cursed tree. 20 00:08:59,740 --> 00:09:29,720 They laid Him down in Joseph's tomb. The entrance sealed by heavy stone. Messiah still and all alone. 21 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:59,700 Oh, praise His name forevermore. For endless days we will sing Your praise. Oh, Lord. Oh, Lord our God. 22 00:09:59,700 --> 00:10:29,680 Let's pray again. Oh, trampled in. Where is your sting? The angels roar for Christ the King. Oh, praise the name of the Lord our God. Oh, praise His name. 23 00:10:29,680 --> 00:10:59,660 Forevermore, for endless days, we will sing Your praise. Oh, Lord. Oh, Lord our God. 24 00:10:59,660 --> 00:11:14,660 And I will rise among the saints. My gaze transfixed on Jesus' face. 25 00:11:14,660 --> 00:11:29,640 Oh, praise the name of the Lord our God. Oh, praise His name forevermore. 26 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:59,620 For endless days we will sing Your praise. Oh, Lord. Oh, Lord our God. Oh, praise the name of the Lord our God. Oh, praise His name forevermore. For endless days we will sing Your praise. 27 00:11:59,620 --> 00:12:29,600 O Lord, O Lord our God. O Lord, O Lord our God. 28 00:12:29,600 --> 00:12:47,600 We want to turn our eyes to the good news of the gospel, and I want to do that this morning by reading the beginning of Ephesians chapter 2 as Paul lays out for us where we came from, what God has done, and his purposes for us. 29 00:12:59,580 --> 00:13:13,580 We are sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. 30 00:13:13,580 --> 00:13:29,560 But God, being rich in mercy, and because of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved and raised us up with him. 31 00:13:29,560 --> 00:13:41,560 And seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness toward us in Jesus. 32 00:13:41,560 --> 00:13:59,540 For by grace you have been saved by faith, and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God. Not a result of works, so that no one may boast, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. 33 00:13:59,540 --> 00:14:29,520 As we come to this table, may you remind us of the place that you have brought us from, that you would remind us of the pit that we have been lifted out of, the sin that has been taken and has been forgiven, not through our goodness, efforts, or our restitution, but through the blood of your Son, given for us as he suffers on the cross. 34 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:51,520 Help us to see hope in this moment and in this meal. As we remember the weight of sin that has been lifted, as we see death that has been conquered, may you remove our fears and our worries. May we look forward in anticipation until your Son returns to bring us home. 35 00:14:51,520 --> 00:15:01,520 We ask that you bless this bread and this cup, and that we as a church would proclaim your Son until he comes again. It is in his name we pray. Amen. 36 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:11,520 If you would, take the bread with me. And as we eat, let's remember Jesus together. 37 00:15:21,520 --> 00:15:35,520 If you would, let's take the cup and remember Jesus' blood which is given for our forgiveness. 38 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:41,520 Father in heaven, I thank you for Jesus. I thank you for grace. 39 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:52,520 I thank you for how you transform us, how you convict us of sin, how you strengthen us for righteousness. 40 00:15:52,520 --> 00:16:02,520 May we walk following you, strengthened by your word and by your word and your people and by your power. 41 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:07,520 May we proclaim you to the world in which we live. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 42 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:25,520 At this point, the kiddos can be dismissed to their children's class. 43 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:28,520 Alright, as we get ready to go to our time of... 44 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:38,520 Let's pray. 45 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:10,520 Let's pray. 46 00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:39,520 Let's pray. 47 00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:03,520 Just a moment. We'll finish out the 40th chapter of Isaiah. 48 00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:14,520 Before we do that, we're going to sing a little bit of the love of God. 49 00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:39,520 It's so good, I almost can't believe it. Far beyond what hearts could ever dream. 50 00:28:39,520 --> 00:29:04,520 The God who set the galaxies in motion would descend to give His life for me. For what could make perfection bleed for sinners? What leads a king to pay so great a cost? 51 00:29:04,520 --> 00:29:19,520 All my life, my heart will sing the answer. Only the love of God. Singing, "Oh, how great is the love of God." He paid our debt on that rugged cross. For all our sins, He paid our debt on that rugged cross. 52 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:33,520 Singing, "Oh, how great is the love of God." He paid our debt on that rugged cross. For all our sins, He paid our debt on that rugged cross. 53 00:29:33,520 --> 00:29:45,520 All our days, we will sing our Savior's praise. How great is the love of God. 54 00:29:45,520 --> 00:30:02,520 It's so kind, it leads us to repentance. It's so bright, the darkness has to flee. Hallelujah. 55 00:30:02,520 --> 00:30:31,520 It cleared my guilty sentence. For I was bound, but now I stand redeemed. For what could break the chains of any prison? What force could rob the power from the grave? What would trade my rags for heaven's wrath? 56 00:30:31,520 --> 00:31:00,520 What would trade my sins, riches? Only the love of God. Sing it all, how great is the love of God. He paid our debt on that bucket of cards. For all our days, we will sing our Savior's praise. How great. 57 00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:05,520 How great is the love of God. 58 00:31:05,520 --> 00:31:29,520 Though I try, my mind can't comprehend it. It's so high, too marvelous for words. I could sing a million songs about it and barely scratch. 59 00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:58,520 The surface of your word. This all my life, the banner I'll be waving. My anthem cry, no matter what may come. And when I rise to walk the streets of heaven, I'll still be singing this song. 60 00:31:58,520 --> 00:32:27,520 For everything that you've done. How great the love of God. Singing, oh, how great is the love of God. He paid our debt on that boat. 61 00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:56,520 On that rugged cross. For all our days, we will sing our Savior's praise. How great is the love of God. How great is the love of God. 62 00:32:56,520 --> 00:33:25,520 We are finishing up Isaiah chapter 40 this morning. We will see, we said last week that beginning in verse 27, one of the things that we find are the people in the midst of their discouragement, not necessarily their pride, because that has happened earlier in the chapter, but in the midst of their discouragement, they're 63 00:33:25,520 --> 00:33:54,520 coming to God with this objection. One is that God cannot see me, that God is not great enough to see me where I'm at and what I am doing. And their second objection is that it seems that God does not care. And so the objections are added, are addressed in order first with the description of God's greatness, followed by this description of God's goodness. So I'm going to read this text, we'll pray, 64 00:33:54,520 --> 00:34:10,520 and then we'll dive into it this morning. So we're going to be in Isaiah chapter 40, and I'm going to pick it up in verse 28. This is the beginning of the answer to the objection that God can't, and then we'll see the answer to the objection that God doesn't care. 65 00:34:10,520 --> 00:34:23,520 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 66 00:34:23,520 --> 00:34:34,520 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might, he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted. 67 00:34:34,520 --> 00:34:48,520 But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. This is God's word. 68 00:34:48,520 --> 00:35:01,520 Father in heaven, we thank you for the encouragement that's found in these verses, a verse and a section that has been so precious to so many. 69 00:35:01,520 --> 00:35:10,520 We just ask that as we look at the hope that is found in this text, that you would remind us of your nearness and of your goodness. 70 00:35:10,520 --> 00:35:18,520 And that in the midst of those times where we would seek to wait for you in the way that you would have us to. 71 00:35:18,520 --> 00:35:25,520 So be with us this morning. Encourage our hearts. Give us the strength to run and to walk and to serve you. 72 00:35:25,520 --> 00:35:32,520 Help us when we're in the midst of exhaustion to see your strength. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 73 00:35:32,520 --> 00:35:41,520 Now, our text this morning is probably a familiar one, especially about those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. 74 00:35:41,520 --> 00:35:47,520 We mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary, walk and not faint. 75 00:35:47,520 --> 00:35:52,520 This is a familiar passage for those who have spent very much time in church. 76 00:35:52,520 --> 00:35:59,520 And what happens, because it becomes familiar, sometimes we begin to treat it a little differently than maybe how we should. 77 00:35:59,520 --> 00:36:14,520 I remember I was in like middle school, like fifth, sixth grade, and we were doing those physical fitness tests that you do where you get like the Presidential Fitness Award, the Vice Presidential Physical Fitness Award. 78 00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:21,520 I think I got like the Secretary of Agriculture Fitness Award. And I remember we were out doing like whatever the run was. 79 00:36:21,520 --> 00:36:28,520 And I'm in there going, "Man, I wish I had that ability to run and not be weary, to walk and not faint." 80 00:36:28,520 --> 00:36:35,520 And in that moment, we had sung the song at church the Sunday before based on this text. And in my mind, it was kind of a good luck charm. 81 00:36:35,520 --> 00:36:43,520 Maybe God will make me be able to run faster in the midst of this dumb PE class that I don't want to be in. 82 00:36:43,520 --> 00:36:50,520 But then other times, even though this verse is wonderfully deep and wonderfully comforting, 83 00:36:50,520 --> 00:36:59,520 sometimes we just sort of treat it almost as a good luck charm or a decoration for our lives. 84 00:36:59,520 --> 00:37:08,520 The reality, I think, however, is much, much more wonderful. Because here's the thing: God's people get tired. 85 00:37:08,520 --> 00:37:13,520 And there's a lot of different ways we can find ourselves tired. There's even good ways to be tired. 86 00:37:13,520 --> 00:37:18,520 Maybe you've said that. Somebody asks what you're doing. You say, "Well, I'm tired, but in a good way." 87 00:37:18,520 --> 00:37:25,520 When we say we're tired in a good way, what we generally mean is that we have done a lot of work, got a lot accomplished. 88 00:37:25,520 --> 00:37:30,520 We're worn out, but we're worn out because we accomplished what we set out to do. 89 00:37:30,520 --> 00:37:35,520 And so most of the time, we generally don't complain about being tired in a good way. 90 00:37:35,520 --> 00:37:42,520 However, there are a lot of other ways in which we find ourselves tired and exhausted. 91 00:37:42,520 --> 00:37:48,520 We can be tired physically. We can be tired mentally, emotionally. 92 00:37:48,520 --> 00:37:54,520 And sometimes we find ourselves tired in the very depth of our soul. 93 00:37:54,520 --> 00:37:59,520 Maybe we're tired as we look ahead to the future and what comes next. 94 00:37:59,520 --> 00:38:05,520 And we say, "I see what's coming down the road for me, and I don't know if I can handle it." 95 00:38:05,520 --> 00:38:15,520 You see, there's a tiredness that comes from pain, whether that's physical pain or pain in the depths of our heart as we have been wronged, 96 00:38:15,520 --> 00:38:19,520 or maybe we are running from the wrongs we have done to others. 97 00:38:19,520 --> 00:38:24,520 Maybe it's because of deep and abiding hurt that has been done to us. 98 00:38:24,520 --> 00:38:30,520 And we find ourselves in this place where it's not just like, "I'm tired because I've worked hard all day," 99 00:38:30,520 --> 00:38:39,520 or "I'm tired because I've studied hard all day," but I'm tired in the very depths of my soul, and I don't know what to do about it. 100 00:38:39,520 --> 00:38:46,520 And we find ourselves in this place weary and worn out. That's where God's people were. 101 00:38:46,520 --> 00:38:53,520 When they say this, "My way is hidden from the Lord," and essentially what they're saying there is, "God can't see me." 102 00:38:53,520 --> 00:38:59,520 And then when they say, "My right is disregarded by the Lord," they're saying, "Even if He could see me, I don't feel like He cares." 103 00:38:59,520 --> 00:39:10,520 These are symptoms of people who are tired in the very depths of their soul. They're worn out. They're discouraged. 104 00:39:10,520 --> 00:39:23,520 They've come so far from home, being taken as captives into Babylon. And the answer to their tiredness is to look to the goodness of God. 105 00:39:23,520 --> 00:39:31,520 You see, there is in this text good news for those who are weary in the depths of their soul. And before we get to that good news, 106 00:39:31,520 --> 00:39:43,520 there's always that one person who says, "I'm not tired." And sometimes we don't know when we're tired. 107 00:39:43,520 --> 00:39:50,520 I've noticed this, especially with really young kids, and especially with our kids when they're very, very young. 108 00:39:50,520 --> 00:39:55,520 And you say, "Well, it's time to go to bed." And immediately it's like, "I'm not tired." 109 00:39:55,520 --> 00:39:59,520 And sometimes maybe it's not the claim that I'm not tired, but they're literally bouncing off the walls. 110 00:39:59,520 --> 00:40:07,520 And it's not because they're full of energy. It's that they're sort of subconsciously trying to keep themselves awake. 111 00:40:07,520 --> 00:40:16,520 And we see it very frequently in very young kids that they are so tired they can't really see it anymore. 112 00:40:16,520 --> 00:40:22,520 Right? That doesn't just happen with toddlers. It happens with us as grown-ups. 113 00:40:22,520 --> 00:40:35,520 We're overwhelmed. It feels like we've been running from one thing to another, one struggle to another, one heartbreak to another. 114 00:40:35,520 --> 00:40:41,520 And all we want to do is just sort of sit down and maybe give up. 115 00:40:41,520 --> 00:40:45,520 Sometimes we don't know that we're tired. See, the prophet Elijah was like that. 116 00:40:45,520 --> 00:40:48,520 He had been working for God for years. 117 00:40:48,520 --> 00:40:54,520 He had been standing up against wrong and preaching for what was right and calling Israel to account. 118 00:40:54,520 --> 00:41:04,520 And eventually, in sort of this glorious moment, he shows the people of Israel gathered on top of a mountain that God is truly God. 119 00:41:04,520 --> 00:41:10,520 God sends rains and Elijah runs to the wilderness. 120 00:41:10,520 --> 00:41:17,520 And in that moment, it hits him so deeply, and he just is discouraged, the depths of his soul. 121 00:41:17,520 --> 00:41:23,520 In fact, so discouraged, he says to God, "Why don't you just kill me? I'm not any better than my father's." 122 00:41:23,520 --> 00:41:29,520 And you know what God says to Elijah, and I love this. He says, "Go eat some food and take a nap." 123 00:41:29,520 --> 00:41:32,520 And sometimes we need to hear those words, right? 124 00:41:32,520 --> 00:41:37,520 We are so tired that we don't even necessarily know. We're in survival mode. 125 00:41:37,520 --> 00:41:43,520 One foot in front of another. Keep going. Keep going up the hill. I can't stop, because if I stop, it all falls apart. 126 00:41:43,520 --> 00:41:49,520 And we might object and say, "I'm not tired." And God says, "Well, you are." 127 00:41:49,520 --> 00:41:52,520 Sometimes it just hasn't hit us yet. 128 00:41:52,520 --> 00:41:56,520 There's a lag between sometimes expending energy and feeling it. 129 00:41:56,520 --> 00:42:00,520 Sometimes in our pride, we're in denial. I can handle it. 130 00:42:00,520 --> 00:42:03,520 I'll sleep when I'm dead. 131 00:42:03,520 --> 00:42:08,520 Sometimes we think that we are strong enough. Look at the reminder in this text. 132 00:42:08,520 --> 00:42:14,520 The objection might be that I'm not tired. Maybe we can't see it in our life. Others can. 133 00:42:14,520 --> 00:42:18,520 Maybe it's that in our pride, we think we can do it ourselves. But look what God says. 134 00:42:18,520 --> 00:42:26,520 "Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted." 135 00:42:26,520 --> 00:42:32,520 And the picture here is even those who you look at and say they are so strong, they can run forever. 136 00:42:32,520 --> 00:42:39,520 They will get tired. See, the objection is answered with this. Everyone is tired. 137 00:42:39,520 --> 00:42:44,520 Everyone gets tired. Even if you're not tired in the depths of your soul right now, 138 00:42:44,520 --> 00:42:51,520 there is a day coming where those hurts begin to pile up, and you need the good news that comes next. 139 00:42:51,520 --> 00:43:01,520 And the reality of this text is that it is good news for the weary. I am not a very good long-distance driver, 140 00:43:01,520 --> 00:43:11,520 not because I don't like to drive or I don't like to take long trips. The problem is that after a while, I get so tired. 141 00:43:11,520 --> 00:43:16,520 And I remember the last time that I had drove from Missouri where I was in college back home, 142 00:43:16,520 --> 00:43:22,520 and I said, "I'm going to do it all in one 24-hour drive that distance." 143 00:43:22,520 --> 00:43:30,520 And there came a point in the drive where like the caffeine stopped working, like rolling down the windows in January, 144 00:43:30,520 --> 00:43:40,520 stopped working, like the radio only goes so loud, and like I'm still at this point where I'm falling asleep as I'm driving down the road, 145 00:43:40,520 --> 00:43:47,520 and I'm like, "I just got to get a little bit further." I'm not very good at driving for a long way. 146 00:43:47,520 --> 00:43:59,520 And so these promises, and my thought in that trip home that's still etched in my mind, my thought was if I can just get a little farther, another hour, 147 00:43:59,520 --> 00:44:07,520 and I can be home, and I can rest. And all I wanted in the midst of that tiredness was get to the place where I could rest. 148 00:44:07,520 --> 00:44:15,520 I want you to understand that the promises coming up in these verses, they are not a destination for you to reach. 149 00:44:15,520 --> 00:44:24,520 Right? If I get there, I can rest. The promises in these verses are a present reality for God's people. 150 00:44:24,520 --> 00:44:35,520 Listen to what he says in verse 29 to the weary. He says this: "He gives power to the faint, and him who has no might, he increases strength." 151 00:44:35,520 --> 00:44:41,520 So notice, first of all in this, that it says he gives power to the faint. 152 00:44:41,520 --> 00:44:53,520 This is not something that you have to purchase, something that you have to acquire, but this power and this strength to the weary and to the hurting is one that is a gift of God. 153 00:44:53,520 --> 00:45:03,520 And notice this as well. It's in the present tense that he gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might, he increases strength. 154 00:45:03,520 --> 00:45:12,520 Now in this verse, it's not pointing us backward to all the amazing things that God has done and saying, "Remember what God has done and take strength from that." 155 00:45:12,520 --> 00:45:17,520 Now that's absolutely true, and we should do that, but that's not what this verse is saying. 156 00:45:17,520 --> 00:45:25,520 Neither is this verse saying, "Look forward to the future and the promises of God, and take strength in the hope that you have." 157 00:45:25,520 --> 00:45:33,520 Now that's certainly true biblically, but this verse is saying right here, right now, God gives power to the faint. 158 00:45:33,520 --> 00:45:44,520 And to him who has no might, he increases strength to the weary, to the heartbroken, to the absolutely exhausted, to the person who is tired in the depths of their soul. 159 00:45:44,520 --> 00:45:52,520 And maybe they're not saying it out loud, but their heart is crying out, "I don't think God sees me, and even if he does, I don't know that he cares for me." 160 00:45:52,520 --> 00:46:02,520 The answer about God's goodness is this: is that this power is a gift from God to those who are faint and to those who have no might. 161 00:46:02,520 --> 00:46:09,520 And it's for right now that God gives power to the faint. 162 00:46:09,520 --> 00:46:20,520 And so if you are tired and you are weary, the purpose of these verses is to direct you to God. 163 00:46:20,520 --> 00:46:30,520 And you might say, "Well, that's great. How do I do that? I thought this was already a destination." 164 00:46:30,520 --> 00:46:37,520 Look at what he says in the very last verse. We'll take a look at it in a moment. 165 00:46:37,520 --> 00:46:44,520 Our question is, "How can I rest?" How can I rest in this promise that right here, right now, without me having to travel, 166 00:46:44,520 --> 00:46:49,520 without me having to earn, it's a gift from God, how can I find this? 167 00:46:49,520 --> 00:46:55,520 Do you know one of the interesting things about our modern society is that we, in many ways, have forgotten how to rest. 168 00:46:55,520 --> 00:47:05,520 And so we sometimes medicate ourselves, right? We'll take some melatonin to help us relax and go to sleep, or in some extreme cases, right? 169 00:47:05,520 --> 00:47:12,520 We need something stronger to help us be able to sleep. Sometimes we need that because of pain or because of struggles. 170 00:47:12,520 --> 00:47:20,520 Sometimes we seek to improve our sleep through different protocols. No phones or screens an hour and a half before bed. 171 00:47:20,520 --> 00:47:30,520 Make sure your room's really dark. Make sure it's cold. Maybe we look at a newborn baby sound asleep and go, "Man, I wish I could sleep like that." 172 00:47:30,520 --> 00:47:45,520 It takes us time to shift from one thing to another. And we don't shift from the busyness and the worries and the heartbreak of life to resting in God very easily. 173 00:47:45,520 --> 00:47:56,520 There's so much to do. There's so many problems. There are so many uncertainties. All of us almost are available 24/7 without really a way to switch off. 174 00:47:56,520 --> 00:48:12,520 It's the first time really in history where a couple of things have happened. One is that we can hear and experience the hurt of the entire world almost instantly as it happens. 175 00:48:12,520 --> 00:48:21,520 Let me tell you, there is only one person who can carry the weight and the hurt and the bad news of the entire world, and it's not us. 176 00:48:21,520 --> 00:48:42,520 But also, we are constantly available 24/7, not really an off switch. And so for many of us, in the deadness of our tiredness, we gather strength, and yes, it's in God, but how am I able to rest? 177 00:48:42,520 --> 00:48:45,520 Listen to what we find in Isaiah. 178 00:48:45,520 --> 00:48:56,520 "Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint." 179 00:48:56,520 --> 00:49:03,520 And there have been some people who said, well, this verse is kind of out of order, right? Shouldn't it be you walk, you run, and then you fly? 180 00:49:03,520 --> 00:49:14,520 The purpose of this is that in every situation in which you encounter need, God is the one who renews your strength for the situation that you are in. 181 00:49:14,520 --> 00:49:23,520 And in some cases, it's like wings of eagles. Some cases, it's running and not being weary and walking and not being tired. 182 00:49:23,520 --> 00:49:35,520 The point of this is that God is the one who gives us what we need in these moments. And so how do we rest? Look what he says. 183 00:49:35,520 --> 00:49:43,520 "They who wait for the Lord." Does that mean we just sort of sit and wait and hope for the best? 184 00:49:43,520 --> 00:49:50,520 A couple months ago, I had a tire that kept going soft, and, you know, I was looking at it, trying to see where it was, 185 00:49:50,520 --> 00:49:58,520 and finally I saw there was a screw that was really, really far in, and the rubber had almost closed over it that you couldn't really see. 186 00:49:58,520 --> 00:50:06,520 So I took it, and it was like a Saturday, and I needed to go get it fixed, and so I drove around. I finally found a place that was open in the afternoon, 187 00:50:06,520 --> 00:50:12,520 and they had no other cars there. And I said, "Hey, can you guys pull this out and throw a patch in there and fix this?" 188 00:50:12,520 --> 00:50:17,520 Fix this tire so we can get on the road, and they're like, "Yeah, we can do that." And I'm thinking, right, this is like a 10-minute job, right? 189 00:50:17,520 --> 00:50:22,520 You put the car in the lift, pull the tire off, get the screw out, seal it up, put it back on, and we're good to go. 190 00:50:22,520 --> 00:50:28,520 Unfortunately, they're all working on their personal car, so here I am in the waiting room for like two and a half hours, 191 00:50:28,520 --> 00:50:35,520 like phone battery, quickly dying, and I'm going like, "What am I supposed to do?" Just sit here, and the answer is yes. 192 00:50:35,520 --> 00:50:41,520 Like, what else can I do, right? Can't go anywhere. I got to wait for this car. I got to be able to pay for the car. 193 00:50:41,520 --> 00:50:47,520 When we hear "wait," that's what we think about a lot, is that when we talk about waiting on the Lord, 194 00:50:47,520 --> 00:50:53,520 "Well, I'm just going to plop myself down right here, and then we'll just see when He takes care of me." 195 00:50:53,520 --> 00:51:01,520 That's not the picture of waiting on the Lord that we find in Scripture. The picture of waiting on the Lord, 196 00:51:01,520 --> 00:51:10,520 it's not a passive sitting there and doing nothing, but rather it is an active and intentional placing of our hope in God, 197 00:51:10,520 --> 00:51:21,520 even in the midst of the darkest circumstances in life. Psalm 27:14 ends like this, "Wait for the Lord, be strong, 198 00:51:21,520 --> 00:51:28,520 let your heart take courage, wait for the Lord." Now I want us to see, because I think this psalm does a very good job 199 00:51:28,520 --> 00:51:33,520 of helping us to see, even though it ends with waiting on the Lord, the psalm does a good job of helping us 200 00:51:33,520 --> 00:51:43,520 to see how we can wait on the Lord. You see, Psalm 27 was written at a time in David's life where life was hard. 201 00:51:43,520 --> 00:51:51,520 There are, I think, two circumstances in which it may have been written. The first, it may have been written 202 00:51:51,520 --> 00:52:00,520 when he was on the run from Saul. David has been nothing but a faithful servant to Saul, and Saul 203 00:52:00,520 --> 00:52:06,520 jealously sought to take his life. It was personal injustice. It was feeling abandoned. 204 00:52:06,520 --> 00:52:12,520 David had been promised to be king, and now the king is trying to kill him, and it's heartbreaking. 205 00:52:12,520 --> 00:52:17,520 There's another time in David's life where this psalm might fit into. Some people will say, and some 206 00:52:17,520 --> 00:52:23,520 commentators say, it was written when David was fleeing from his son Absalom. And his son Absalom was 207 00:52:23,520 --> 00:52:29,520 seeking to take the throne. And in a monarchy, when you take the king's throne, it's not just that you're 208 00:52:29,520 --> 00:52:34,520 sitting in his throne and goes, "Oh, I'm now the king," but you have to kill the previous king. And so 209 00:52:34,520 --> 00:52:48,520 here is David on the run from his son. And in either case, David is running. David is tired. David is just 210 00:52:48,520 --> 00:52:56,520 absolutely weary to the depths of his soul. And the way that he ends this psalm, or this psalm, is by saying, "Wait 211 00:52:56,520 --> 00:53:05,520 for the Lord. Be strong. Let your heart take courage. Wait for the Lord." And in the psalm, we see three ways in 212 00:53:05,520 --> 00:53:10,520 which you and I can wait for the Lord. The first is this, that we must, first of all, be unwavering in 213 00:53:10,520 --> 00:53:18,520 the truth. We must live and dwell in the truth. Look at what David says. "The Lord is my light and my 214 00:53:18,520 --> 00:53:24,520 salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is my stronghold of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?" 215 00:53:24,520 --> 00:53:32,520 "When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and my foes, it is they who stumble 216 00:53:32,520 --> 00:53:40,520 and fall. Although an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. Though war arise against me, yet I 217 00:53:40,520 --> 00:53:46,520 will be confident." Everything bad is happening to David. And you can get a glimpse of it, right? 218 00:53:46,520 --> 00:53:52,520 There's evildoers attacking me. He says, "They seek to eat up my flesh. There's an army that is coming just 219 00:53:52,520 --> 00:54:02,520 for me, that is surrounding me." And David is struggling, but notice what he says, right? He dwells in the truth. He 220 00:54:02,520 --> 00:54:12,520 says, "The Lord is my light and my salvation. The Lord is the stronghold of my life." David, what he does in this 221 00:54:12,520 --> 00:54:20,520 moment, reminds himself, he dwells in the truth. He preaches the good news to himself. And notice he doesn't just 222 00:54:20,520 --> 00:54:28,520 say, "The Lord is light and salvation. The Lord is the stronghold of life. Don't be afraid." Look at what he says. It's not just 223 00:54:28,520 --> 00:54:36,520 facts running through David's head that he's regalitating in the midst of this moment. He says this, "The Lord is my light. 224 00:54:36,520 --> 00:54:48,520 He is my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?" 225 00:54:48,520 --> 00:54:58,520 This is not just intellectual. Here are all the facts. David says, "I am living in the truth of who God is. 226 00:54:58,520 --> 00:55:03,520 As I'm surrounded on every side, as there are people who seek to do me harm, I'm waiting for the Lord." 227 00:55:03,520 --> 00:55:12,520 But one of the ways in which I wait is by dwelling firmly in the truth of who God is. 228 00:55:12,520 --> 00:55:24,520 And so one of the ways in which we wait for the Lord is by a constant reminder from ourselves to ourselves of who God is and what He has done for us. 229 00:55:24,520 --> 00:55:30,520 The second thing you see about David is that he is strengthened by worship. 230 00:55:30,520 --> 00:55:38,520 He worships not just in the cave or in the wilderness, but he looks forward to that day of worship with God's people. 231 00:55:38,520 --> 00:55:48,520 "One thing I have asked of the Lord, and that I will seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, 232 00:55:48,520 --> 00:55:58,520 to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple. For He will hide me in the shelter of the day of trouble. 233 00:55:58,520 --> 00:56:04,520 He will conceal me under the cover of His tent. He will lift me high upon a rock. 234 00:56:04,520 --> 00:56:10,520 And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer joy. 235 00:56:10,520 --> 00:56:17,520 I will offer in His tent sacrifices with loud shouts of joy. I will sing and make melody to the Lord." 236 00:56:17,520 --> 00:56:23,520 All right, so David here in the midst doesn't just remind himself of the truth of who God is, 237 00:56:23,520 --> 00:56:30,520 but that truth is taken down into his heart, and it comes out as worship, not just in this moment, 238 00:56:30,520 --> 00:56:35,520 but a look forward to the day where he gets to worship with all of God's people, 239 00:56:35,520 --> 00:56:40,520 to dwell in the house of the Lord, not just Caleb in his car by himself, 240 00:56:40,520 --> 00:56:44,520 but with God's people singing and encouraged and strengthened. 241 00:56:44,520 --> 00:56:49,520 And so one of the ways in which we wait for the Lord is to spend time in worship, 242 00:56:49,520 --> 00:56:54,520 celebrating those truths we have rooted and grounded our life in. 243 00:56:54,520 --> 00:57:00,520 And then notice what David does. He keeps praying. 244 00:57:00,520 --> 00:57:07,520 This is a longer passage, and you can see in this passage the hurt and the brokenness that comes out as David prays. 245 00:57:07,520 --> 00:57:14,520 "Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me. You have said, 'Seek my face!' 246 00:57:14,520 --> 00:57:19,520 And my heart says to you, 'Your face, Lord, do I seek.' 247 00:57:19,520 --> 00:57:23,520 Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger. 248 00:57:23,520 --> 00:57:29,520 O you who have been my help, cast me not off. Forsake me not, O God of my salvation. 249 00:57:29,520 --> 00:57:33,520 For my father and mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in. 250 00:57:33,520 --> 00:57:38,520 Teach me your way, O Lord. Lead me on a level path because of my enemies. 251 00:57:38,520 --> 00:57:44,520 Give me not up to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, 252 00:57:44,520 --> 00:57:48,520 and they breathe out violence. 253 00:57:48,520 --> 00:57:55,520 And so David, as he waits for the Lord, he establishes himself in the truth of who God is, 254 00:57:55,520 --> 00:57:59,520 not just in a general way, but what he has done for David. 255 00:57:59,520 --> 00:58:04,520 And as he establishes that truth, it moves him to worship not just in that moment, 256 00:58:04,520 --> 00:58:09,520 because sometimes worship is tears running down our cheeks as we look to the goodness of God, 257 00:58:09,520 --> 00:58:14,520 and sometimes it's gathering together with God's people in glorious celebration. 258 00:58:14,520 --> 00:58:18,520 And David doesn't stop praying. 259 00:58:18,520 --> 00:58:24,520 In the midst of conflict, in the midst of what feels like abandonment, 260 00:58:24,520 --> 00:58:30,520 enemies surround you, adversaries are bringing lies and making threats. 261 00:58:30,520 --> 00:58:36,520 He says this, "Your face, O Lord, I seek. Hide not your face from me." 262 00:58:36,520 --> 00:58:41,520 He says, "I'm praying." He says, "Hold on to me." 263 00:58:41,520 --> 00:58:47,520 And what you find is that when you dwell in that truth, 264 00:58:47,520 --> 00:58:52,520 when you take that truth into your life and it becomes worship, 265 00:58:52,520 --> 00:58:58,520 and when you're in prayer, here's where David says this ends up. 266 00:58:58,520 --> 00:59:02,520 "I believe I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." 267 00:59:02,520 --> 00:59:06,520 It brings encouragement. And then he looks at everybody else. 268 00:59:06,520 --> 00:59:16,520 And he's just said, "I've reminded myself of the truth of who God is, not just in general, but in my life. 269 00:59:16,520 --> 00:59:20,520 I've sought worship. I've come in prayer." 270 00:59:20,520 --> 00:59:30,520 And he says, "Do the same. Wait for the Lord. Be strong. Let your heart take courage. Wait for the Lord." 271 00:59:30,520 --> 00:59:41,520 Let's pray. Father in heaven, I ask that you would take our weary hearts and first help us to see our need for you. 272 00:59:41,520 --> 00:59:48,520 It's easy for us to hide and disguise and to cover up our weariness. 273 00:59:48,520 --> 00:59:53,520 May we see that we are faint and that we are weak, and may we seek our strength in you. 274 00:59:53,520 --> 00:59:59,520 And as we wait for you, may we do so established in your truth, worshiping your goodness and greatness. 275 00:59:59,520 --> 01:00:07,520 And coming to you with the prayer and the depths of our being. 276 01:00:07,520 --> 01:00:16,520 So we ask that you would encourage us, that you would strengthen us, that you would give us peace, and that you would show us grace. 277 01:00:16,520 --> 01:00:20,520 It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 278 01:00:20,520 --> 01:00:28,520 We're going to stand, and we are going to sing the goodness of God. 279 01:00:28,520 --> 01:00:57,520 I love you, Lord. Oh, your mercy never fails me. All my days, I've been held in your hands. From the moment that I wake up, until the night I wake up. 280 01:00:57,520 --> 01:01:26,520 Until I lay my head, I will sing of the goodness of God. All my life you have been faithful. All my life you have been so, so good. 281 01:01:26,520 --> 01:01:55,520 With every breath that I am able, I will sing of the goodness of God. I love your voice. You have led me through the fire. In the darkest nights, you are close like no other. 282 01:01:55,520 --> 01:02:24,520 I've known you as a father. I've known you as a friend. I have lived in the goodness of God. All my life, you have been faithful. All my life, you have been so, so good. 283 01:02:24,520 --> 01:02:53,520 With every breath that I am able, I will sing of the goodness of God. All my life, you have been faithful. All my life, you have been so, so good. 284 01:02:53,520 --> 01:03:22,520 All my life, you have been so, so good. With every breath that I am able, I will sing of the goodness of God. I will sing of the goodness of God. 285 01:03:22,520 --> 01:03:51,520 We are having a Wednesday night cookout. As we are coming back, everybody is getting ready to go back to school. Actually, some people are already back working at school. I know locally for us, for kids changing, was it August 13th is the day they go back to school and then next day. So, Wednesday night cookout, 6 p.m. Come eat some food, spend some time together. 286 01:03:51,520 --> 01:04:20,520 Invite a neighbor if you want. You're welcome to bring a dish to share. We'd love to have you also coming up in September, which is not that far away. September 10th, we're beginning a new Wednesday night Bible study. We're going to discover both the, sort of take a look at the Word of God, both the truth and to see the treasure, the goodness of God's Word, and then the goodness that is found within His Word. And so those are a couple of the things that are coming up. 287 01:04:20,520 --> 01:04:33,520 We're going to sing the doxology, and then we will go ahead and pray and read a verse of Scripture. 288 01:04:50,520 --> 01:05:05,520 Praise Him, all creatures here below. Praise Him, above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 289 01:05:20,520 --> 01:05:35,520 Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 290 01:05:35,520 --> 01:05:40,520 Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 291 01:05:50,520 --> 01:06:01,520 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 292 01:06:20,520 --> 01:06:22,520 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 293 01:06:50,520 --> 01:07:20,500 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 294 01:08:50,520 --> 01:08:52,520 Father, Son, Holy Ghost. 295 01:09:20,520 --> 01:09:22,520 Father, Son, Holy Ghost.