WEBVTT 00:00:00.479 --> 00:00:02.080 Well, good morning everyone. 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:06.480 My name is Jonathan, and I am a priest in the Anglican Network in Canada. 00:00:06.559 --> 00:00:09.279 I'm also a church planter in Quebec, and I work with St. 00:00:09.439 --> 00:00:16.480 Timothy's Anglican Bible Church to plant a church in the Saint-Lazare area, which is about 40 minutes west of Montreal. 00:00:16.640 --> 00:00:22.960 And it's a pleasure for me to be here with you this morning to open God's Word and to share the vision for our church plant. 00:00:23.199 --> 00:00:29.199 And as we open our time, I ask you to bow your hearts with me and to pray for God's blessing upon our time. 00:00:29.760 --> 00:00:37.759 Lord God, I thank you that you are the Lord of the universe, that you are creator, redeemer, and sanctifier. 00:00:37.840 --> 00:00:51.280 And Lord, I pray that you would so reveal your great power and might and uh your presence among us this morning as we open God's word, as we open your word, and would you speak to us? 00:00:51.359 --> 00:01:01.200 And I pray that you would also give us grace to receive your word in a way that is uh fitting and right, uh, considering who you are as the sovereign Lord. 00:01:01.280 --> 00:01:03.600 And I pray that in Jesus' name, Amen. 00:01:05.599 --> 00:01:15.040 So we are hoping to plant a church uh in Quebec, and uh we believe that this is what God's Word, uh, the Bible calls us to do. 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:22.879 He calls us to uh plant churches, to grow them, and then to multiply, and then to continue that process uh over and again. 00:01:23.040 --> 00:01:31.120 So uh we believe that this is a call from God's word, and for some of you it might be difficult to understand why plant a church now? 00:01:31.760 --> 00:01:34.239 Uh why plant a church during COVID? 00:01:34.560 --> 00:01:40.480 Um, you know, you might be wondering, like, well, shouldn't we just wait until the restrictions are lifted? 00:01:40.640 --> 00:01:47.920 Or maybe you're thinking along the lines as an entrepreneur and you're thinking, well, you know, the church is not seen as an essential service. 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:49.040 So what is it? 00:01:49.200 --> 00:01:53.439 How are we gonna, you know, get into the culture? 00:01:53.519 --> 00:02:01.760 How are we gonna have a foot in the culture uh so that we can draw people and um and and all those things that are involved with that? 00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:14.400 And uh, well, it's uh it's it's it's interesting how COVID has I don't know if it has uh revealed, but has sort of propelled uh our depression. 00:02:14.560 --> 00:02:21.919 Uh Canadians are and people around the world are experiencing depression in ways that they might not have before. 00:02:22.639 --> 00:02:36.240 And uh this is very important for us to consider, and we're gonna consider that this morning as we open God's Word, uh, because I believe this is one of the ways that the church uh can, at least ought to, speak into the culture. 00:02:36.800 --> 00:02:49.360 Uh a 2011 Barna study tells us that uh one out of every five youth leave the church because their faith, quote, does not help with depression or other emotional problems. 00:02:49.599 --> 00:02:51.759 Now that was in 2011. 00:02:52.319 --> 00:03:03.199 And um, well, I I think things have really progressed since then, and things have gone, you know, the the idea of depression, the reality of depression has gone even worse than since then. 00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:19.840 And so people have been turning to clinical psychology, medication, and you know, uh going to the gym, doing physical exercises, or you know, entering into relationships, or you know, doing things like yoga and Pilates and other things maybe related to new age spirituality. 00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:31.520 And uh their hope is to climb out of depression and uh and really to enter into happiness, to find the happiness that uh that we all long for. 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:50.879 And so, in a world where depression is a real threat to us and to our neighbors, and where the church is seen as non-essential, and where people leave the church because they don't see how the church can help them in their felt needs, especially related to depression. 00:03:51.120 --> 00:03:54.319 Why would we plant a church and how would we go about it? 00:03:54.719 --> 00:03:57.039 Well, that's the question that we're going to look at this morning. 00:03:57.120 --> 00:04:05.840 So I invite you to look with me, to turn into your Bibles to Psalm 32, which uh it's close to the middle of your Bible. 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:10.639 So, Psalm 32, and I'm going to read verses 1 and 2 to start. 00:04:10.879 --> 00:04:14.400 So it goes like this a maskil of David. 00:04:14.479 --> 00:04:19.839 So this is a a song of David, uh, which who was the king of Israel. 00:04:20.160 --> 00:04:32.800 So blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered, blessed is the man or woman against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there's no deceit. 00:04:33.040 --> 00:04:35.199 So we're gonna pause here for a second. 00:04:35.360 --> 00:04:53.920 Um what David is saying here in the word blessed, which maybe doesn't capture it in our day and age today, but uh what is what he's trying to say here is happy, like very happy, like extremely happy, capital letters happy, shouting in the streets happy. 00:04:54.319 --> 00:05:05.439 Now, if we had an objector right next to me, uh he or she might say something like, Jonathan, Christians are are happy or tend to be happy only because they're naive. 00:05:05.680 --> 00:05:08.560 Like, did you not hear what this said? 00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:20.000 It talks about forgiveness and iniquity and covered and and like these are all religious words, it's all religious jargon and uh that disconnects you from reality. 00:05:20.879 --> 00:05:28.959 Don't you know, Jonathan, that it's so hard to find happiness because life, well, there's a lot of you know depression and anxiety in life. 00:05:29.120 --> 00:05:31.279 Life is difficult and it's harsh. 00:05:32.079 --> 00:05:34.240 Well, you know, that's a very good point. 00:05:34.480 --> 00:05:35.759 That's a very good point. 00:05:35.920 --> 00:05:48.720 And um, you know, if this wasn't a hypo conversation, a hypothetical conversation, I would actually be able to respond, well, yes, uh, I do know that people are depressed and that happiness is uh very hard to get. 00:05:49.040 --> 00:05:50.800 Happiness is elusive. 00:05:51.279 --> 00:06:06.800 I had the uh pleasure to share my testimony at a men's breakfast recently over Zoom, and uh part of my testimony, part of my story is that, well, before I became a Christian, I experienced the darkness of depression like I never have uh in my life. 00:06:07.279 --> 00:06:12.160 And um, you know, even after being a Christian, I've experienced depression. 00:06:12.319 --> 00:06:26.240 So, yes, uh, I would be able to tell our dear objector that yes, I I do understand that happiness is is difficult to capture, to find, and that depression and anxiety are just seem to be always crouching at the door. 00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:28.000 And it's not just me. 00:06:28.079 --> 00:06:40.800 Uh the government of Quebec projects that around 20% of Quebecers experience depression, and let's be honest here, that's a very under-projected number, underestimated number. 00:06:40.959 --> 00:06:54.240 Um, people just don't know how to identify their depression, and most don't even know how or uh how to identify the depression, and others, well, let's just be honest, maybe we're too proud to identify it. 00:06:54.560 --> 00:07:04.560 So uh climbing out of depression and into happiness is a very common experience among Canadians, among Quebecers, where I'm planting a church. 00:07:05.519 --> 00:07:13.680 Now, a couple of years ago, there was a song uh in uh that was playing on the radio that really climbed at the top of the charts uh in Quebec. 00:07:13.839 --> 00:07:20.319 It was a French song, and uh it uh the song was called Il est ou le Banard, so I'll translate that for you. 00:07:20.560 --> 00:07:21.920 Where is happiness? 00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:25.839 And uh it had over 40 million views in the first year. 00:07:26.079 --> 00:07:34.240 And in this song, the uh singer, the songwriter, is seen as a sage who's experienced pretty much everything under the sun. 00:07:34.959 --> 00:07:43.360 He's experienced pretty much everything, and he knows that happiness, desirable as it is, can never really be attained or harnessed. 00:07:44.160 --> 00:07:52.000 And uh so he goes throughout the song just explaining, I've experienced this, I've experienced that, and I am still not, I can't still can't find happiness. 00:07:52.079 --> 00:08:08.800 I've experienced this and that, can't find it, on and on and on until at the very end, where people, commentators have sort of found a punchline where he says, and I'm translating here, happiness, happiness is stupid because it's usually only after the fact that we realize it was there. 00:08:09.920 --> 00:08:14.959 Happiness is stupid because it's only after the fact that we realize it was there. 00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:32.559 Now, if this is true, if what this uh singer-songwriter is saying is true, does the Bible lead people into disillusionment and naivete by telling them that they can actually be happy in life, just like David said in verses one and two, while also dismissing the reality of depression? 00:08:32.799 --> 00:08:38.080 Like, is King David here just being a little bit too idealistic or optimistic in life? 00:08:38.320 --> 00:08:39.279 Well, that's a good question. 00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:50.480 Let's look at verses three and four, because I think here as David unpacks the psalm, he's going to give us uh a bit of an idea of his experience and where he found happiness. 00:08:50.639 --> 00:08:53.279 So, verses three and four, here it is. 00:08:53.440 --> 00:08:59.519 Uh for when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 00:08:59.759 --> 00:09:06.159 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me, my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. 00:09:06.879 --> 00:09:12.879 Now here David opens up his life, and what we're seeing here is a depressed man. 00:09:13.679 --> 00:09:16.000 We are seeing the symptoms of a depressed man. 00:09:16.080 --> 00:09:17.840 Let's go over that list again. 00:09:18.159 --> 00:09:20.399 As David describes his experience. 00:09:21.519 --> 00:09:26.480 Verse 3 he says, I kept silent, and here it's implied that he's kept he kept silence from God. 00:09:26.639 --> 00:09:28.000 He kept silent from God. 00:09:28.559 --> 00:09:33.519 So he was closed in, and there was a bit of withdrawal and maybe fear here. 00:09:34.159 --> 00:09:40.559 And then he goes on to say, My bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 00:09:40.799 --> 00:09:48.159 And so here he has the sensation of rotting inside, the emotional numbness that comes from being depressed. 00:09:48.399 --> 00:10:03.279 And then day and night, you know, this language of day and night in verse uh in verse 4, he's uh he experienced sleeplessness and the continual sense of weight over him, and then lastly, his strength is dried up. 00:10:03.440 --> 00:10:11.679 So even physical numbness and fatigue from the chemicals released in his body in reaction to fear and withdrawal. 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:24.720 So while the Bible uh opens the topic of happiness, as we saw in verses 1 and 2, it situates the potential for happiness in a world where depression truly exists. 00:10:25.200 --> 00:10:28.720 Now, this is very important for us to capture, to really understand. 00:10:28.960 --> 00:10:43.440 And any Christian who says that Christians aren't supposed to experience depression or anxiety in life, or you know, a true Christian is too spiritual for that, um, this text refutes that idea, along with a lot of New Testament texts as well. 00:10:44.080 --> 00:11:05.519 And so now, um, I mean I'm not a clinical psychologist or a clinical expert by any means, but I do ex- I do speak from experience and from some you know research that I've done, and from what I gather, depression can be experienced or caused by a range of hurts, such as physical, uh, emotional, psychological, and even social. 00:11:06.720 --> 00:11:19.679 And in all of that, in all of these spheres where depression can be caused, there is an underlying sphere that we need to consider here from which all depression ultimately stems. 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:20.960 Let's look at that again. 00:11:21.039 --> 00:11:25.120 Let's look in verses 3 and 4 again, for us to really grasp that. 00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:31.679 So in verse 3, David says, For when I kept silent, and as I mentioned before, this is really keeping silent from God. 00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:36.480 And then verse 4 he says, My strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. 00:11:36.639 --> 00:11:37.039 Why? 00:11:37.279 --> 00:11:44.960 Well, at the beginning here he says, For day and night your hand, God's hand, was heavy upon him. 00:11:46.080 --> 00:12:04.320 So we see David was keeping silent from God, and God was laying his hand on him, uh, a very heavy hand, a hand that really dried up his strength, that almost caused his depression in some ways, or maybe furthered the symptoms of depression. 00:12:04.960 --> 00:12:19.120 So, what we see here is that David sees his depression as ultimately stemming from his separation from God, from being in a broken relationship with God, from having a broken relationship with his creator, his maker. 00:12:20.080 --> 00:12:30.159 Now, in case that some of you think this is a very narrow and maybe even fundamentalist way of understanding and interpreting depression, I want to share this quote by J. 00:12:30.240 --> 00:12:30.320 R. 00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:30.559 R. 00:12:30.720 --> 00:12:45.440 Tolkien, a very beloved author among Canadians, which will hopefully broaden our categories for understanding how depression does actually stem ultimately from a separation from God, a broken relationship from God. 00:12:45.519 --> 00:12:47.919 And so I quote from one of Tolkien's letters. 00:12:48.080 --> 00:12:53.600 He says, We all long for Eden, and we are constantly glimpsing it. 00:12:53.840 --> 00:13:02.240 Our whole nature, at its best and least corrupted, its gentlest and most humane, is still soaked in the sense of exile. 00:13:04.399 --> 00:13:10.320 So here Tolkien is talking about we long for Eden and yet we have a sense of exile. 00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:23.200 And it's important to show the whole package when we talk about depression, and especially when we talk about God and our depression, it's not just God and me in a vacuum, you know, me and God holding hands in space. 00:13:23.519 --> 00:13:31.120 Um Tolkien helpfully situates the uh our context in Genesis 1 to 3. 00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:47.039 And according to our creation account in the Bible, we see that God made everything so that there will be a happy harmony between human beings, God, and the created world, the physical world. 00:13:47.519 --> 00:14:02.399 And uh and this type of relationship, this harmony, reflects God's own harmony, his own eternal relationship, his each is his eternal and happy harmony between the God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. 00:14:02.720 --> 00:14:20.799 And in Genesis 3, so that's Genesis 1 and 2, in Genesis 3 we find that uh that sin, when sin came into the world by human disobedience to God's word, human beings seeking their autonomy and independence from God, from their Maker, that's when sin entered the world. 00:14:21.039 --> 00:14:29.519 And that's when all these relationships were broken, and God placed a curse on the created order. 00:14:29.840 --> 00:14:50.480 And so here we are living in light of Genesis chapter 3, just like Tolkien explained it, that we all long for Eden, that in our hardwiring, we are made for Eden, a place where we live in the beautiful garden of God, with God and with other human beings in perfect harmony. 00:14:50.639 --> 00:14:54.639 That that is, we are hardwired for that, and yet that is broken in our lives. 00:14:54.799 --> 00:15:02.960 That we are we are expelled from the garden, we are exiled from the garden, from that place where we dwell with God and with others in perfect harmony. 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:07.600 And um and this is the beginning of depression in human history. 00:15:07.759 --> 00:15:15.919 And to my knowledge, that that's actually the best way to account for depression because of this very important claim that depressed people usually make. 00:15:16.480 --> 00:15:23.600 Depressed people usually at least think in their intuition that, well, life should not be this way. 00:15:23.919 --> 00:15:25.519 Life ought not to be this way. 00:15:25.679 --> 00:15:27.919 Things are not as they should be. 00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:47.840 And uh we need to really understand this question that how can a world where blind chance and pitiless indifference, to quote Richard Dawkins and his atheistic world, how can that type of world account for this idea that things should be a certain way or ought to be a certain way, as our intuitions insist. 00:15:49.279 --> 00:15:56.000 We long for Eden, yet we're all soaked with a sense of exile, as Tolkien said, and things are not how they ought to be. 00:15:56.159 --> 00:16:08.720 And so we experience depression because of our own actions and inactions, as is David's case here in Psalm 32, and also because of other people's actions and uh inactions. 00:16:08.879 --> 00:16:13.919 So we might be the perpetrators, we might be the very own cause of our own depression. 00:16:14.159 --> 00:16:22.159 We might also be victims which leads to depression, and we're probably both, uh probably most certainly both. 00:16:22.399 --> 00:16:45.600 And so, you know, people who are victims of evils such as violence and sexual abuse, and uh controlling or manipulative boss or spouse or parent or child or friend or sibling, or unfair pay, or racism, or harassment, and all these things, all such evils, people who are victims of such evils will experience depression. 00:16:45.840 --> 00:16:47.679 Things ought not to be this way. 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:53.039 But the question is always set before you and me, even as victims. 00:16:53.279 --> 00:16:57.840 Will we turn to God for our comfort and for counsel? 00:16:58.240 --> 00:17:02.799 As to how we should move forward, uh, as to how we should now live. 00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:07.599 Um, should we are we gonna go to God for a comfort and for our counsel? 00:17:07.839 --> 00:17:10.640 And even as victims, you are called to draw near to God. 00:17:10.799 --> 00:17:16.079 You are called to return to the God who hardwired you for Eden in his presence. 00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:21.039 Now, there's still a big question that might loom over our heads here. 00:17:21.279 --> 00:17:22.000 Where is God? 00:17:22.160 --> 00:17:24.400 I mean, the God of the Bible in our depression. 00:17:24.559 --> 00:17:25.839 Like, where is he? 00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:35.200 Is he like Allah, who, you know, the God of Islam, who is so distant and transcendent that um it would be appalling for him to relate to human beings? 00:17:35.599 --> 00:17:52.079 Um is he like the Hindu supreme god, uh Brahman, who is uh hidden behind the illusory veil of the universe and you know, our experiences uh that they they are um they are illusory and that's what we need to climb over? 00:17:53.279 --> 00:18:03.920 Um is it like the Buddhist god who uh in or the Buddhist gods who are in the various uh heavens and require that we detach ourselves from our desires? 00:18:04.480 --> 00:18:05.359 How does it work? 00:18:05.440 --> 00:18:06.319 Well, that's a great question. 00:18:06.400 --> 00:18:08.160 Let's read in verse 4 again. 00:18:08.400 --> 00:18:11.839 Uh how, like, where is where is God in our depression? 00:18:12.400 --> 00:18:16.960 So he says here in verse 4, for day and night your hand was heavy upon me. 00:18:17.200 --> 00:18:19.039 So here's the theme of God's hand. 00:18:19.359 --> 00:18:26.400 You might have, if you've read the Bible and you're familiar, you've read things about God's hand, like the str our strength, our comfort, the one who wins the battle. 00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:30.079 And here, it's not the same thing. 00:18:30.400 --> 00:18:34.880 David is experiencing God's hand as something that's drying up his strength. 00:18:35.119 --> 00:18:36.880 Um, so how does that work? 00:18:37.119 --> 00:18:55.519 Well, the best illustration I that I have is that uh, you know, when when my two-year-old son, when he you know he does something really good like making a puzzle or something, and he's very, very proud, uh, I'll put my hand on his shoulder and and and just really to congratulate him and show him that I'm really proud of him. 00:18:55.599 --> 00:19:01.519 And he'll turn to me and he'll talk about how he did this puzzle and how amazing it is and all those things, right? 00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:14.240 Uh on the other hand, when he does something wrong, and I put my hand on his shoulder, he tries to run away and he's he squirms and he tries to hide because he knows that he did something wrong. 00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:23.039 And so, this idea, you know, my my hand upon him is the same hand, but different depending on the circumstance. 00:19:23.279 --> 00:19:48.319 And as with David, so do we, you know, Christians and non-Christians, experience God's hand, God's hand on our on our like on our life, and which might cause depression if we are not in a right relationship with him, if we don't follow his ways, if we are are following our own way, and God is graciously calling us back to himself, and even sometimes through depression. 00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:55.440 Now, this, you know, that that's just to give a bit of an anecdote, that's what led me to Christ. 00:19:55.519 --> 00:20:00.000 Uh, the Lord put his hand on my life to draw me to saving faith in himself. 00:20:00.319 --> 00:20:01.920 I mentioned that a little bit earlier. 00:20:02.160 --> 00:20:17.200 Um, that's what really had me stop in life to to start asking questions about reality, about the universe, not just my own little idea of life, but about the big questions of life that I had not contemplated before. 00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:23.359 And this begins to answer the question as to why we would plant a church now, in COVID. 00:20:23.680 --> 00:20:41.039 Because in a time when people are suffering from depression, surely God is sovereignly stretching out his hand and laying his hand upon Quebecers and upon Portparians to call them to himself, leading them to a place where they would need to decide to follow him. 00:20:41.839 --> 00:20:43.440 Like surely that must be the case. 00:20:43.599 --> 00:21:04.640 And our great hope is not that you know we we have depression in common with other people, and you know, which can bring some level of comfort to know that we're not the only ones suffering from depression, um, or that we have you know the steps, the three steps uh to you know finding the solution, uh, or just the fact that God stretches out his hand uh that to lead people back to himself. 00:21:05.039 --> 00:21:06.799 That that's not necessarily our great hope. 00:21:06.880 --> 00:21:14.480 It's really at the heart of the Christian faith is the gospel, the good news, and which is that Jesus shared in our humanity. 00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:27.359 You see, Jesus uh is God from all eternity, got the Son, and he willingly stepped down from heaven, condescended into our human race, into humanity. 00:21:27.599 --> 00:21:30.960 He took on our frailty, he even took on our depression. 00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:35.200 If you remember the Garden of Gethsemane, like Jesus was a depressed man. 00:21:35.279 --> 00:21:40.880 He even asked the Lord, would you allow me to not go through what's going to happen? 00:21:41.440 --> 00:21:48.640 And then his will, he, with his will, he overrode his desire and said, Not my will but yours. 00:21:49.759 --> 00:21:53.680 And uh and Jesus on the cross was even separated from God. 00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:59.440 Not that he did anything wrong, not that he deserved separation from God, not that he did anything sinful. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:10.559 But he willingly entered our human condition so that he could go on the cross after having lived a perfect life to be a substitute for us. 00:22:10.880 --> 00:22:13.119 So that he could be a substitute for you and me. 00:22:13.200 --> 00:22:22.160 And God raised him from the dead to vindicate him, to vindicate Jesus, as the perfectly innocent dying for the guilty and vile, such as you and me. 00:22:22.400 --> 00:22:28.240 Such as the ones who transgress against our Creator and our Maker. 00:22:28.799 --> 00:22:43.119 And he reconciles, Jesus reconciles and reunites us to God our Maker, when we put our trust in Jesus as the only one who can forgive us our sins for all that we have done and contributed to our separation from God. 00:22:43.759 --> 00:22:45.759 This is fantastic news. 00:22:46.319 --> 00:22:47.759 This is amazing news. 00:22:47.839 --> 00:22:54.400 And all that we have to do to receive the benefits of what Jesus has done is presented here in verse 5. 00:22:54.480 --> 00:22:56.240 So let's look at that in verse 5. 00:22:56.480 --> 00:23:01.920 David says here, I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity. 00:23:02.079 --> 00:23:08.319 I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:11.279 Here David is confessing his sins to God. 00:23:11.519 --> 00:23:16.640 He is he's not trying to climb up to God, he's not trying to perform to please God. 00:23:16.799 --> 00:23:21.759 He is simply saying to God, God, I was wrong. 00:23:24.799 --> 00:23:30.000 And here in verse at the end of verse 5, he says, And you forgave the iniquity of my sin. 00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:35.039 God not only removed the offense of David's sin, but he also cleansed him. 00:23:35.200 --> 00:23:41.119 He touched his conscience in a way that he would not bear the weight of his sin no longer. 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:46.799 And this verse in verse five is actually a gift of God's grace for you and me. 00:23:47.039 --> 00:23:58.240 It maybe you've never given your life to Jesus, uh, and uh or maybe you've been walking with Jesus for a long time, and you're wondering, I'm depressed, and how can I go back to how can I re-establish my relationship with God? 00:23:58.400 --> 00:24:00.960 Well, verse five is God's template for you. 00:24:01.119 --> 00:24:03.759 You can use those words and pray them back to God. 00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:31.359 And uh it's this very message of hope that uh you know, of God's grace, that we all we have to do is confess and believe in Jesus and repent from the ways and turn from the ways that we we used to live to follow Jesus, uh, that this message of hope that sends my family, my friends, and and I to hope, to plant a church in Riga, in Saint Lazare, and uh we want to reach people to tell them of what Jesus has done for us and for them. 00:24:31.599 --> 00:24:38.319 And that He is the one who reconciles us to the eternally happy God who will make all things new again. 00:24:38.480 --> 00:24:46.480 God will make a new heaven, a new earth, a new Eden, so that we can dwell with Him and with other people in perfect harmony and in perfect peace. 00:24:46.720 --> 00:24:50.079 And that's that's a huge part of the Christian hope. 00:24:50.400 --> 00:24:56.319 Now, uh okay, I would be silly to say, you know, trust in Jesus and all your depression is going to leave. 00:24:56.480 --> 00:24:57.279 It's going to be gone. 00:24:57.359 --> 00:24:58.799 I mean, that's not my experience. 00:24:58.960 --> 00:25:03.359 Although, I mean, walking with Jesus has helped significantly. 00:25:03.519 --> 00:25:10.000 It's given me hope and a real hope, a lively hope, as the Apostle Peter says. 00:25:10.400 --> 00:25:14.319 But uh many Christians, including pastors, suffer from depression. 00:25:15.519 --> 00:25:23.839 So once we enter by Jesus, uh by believing in him and trusting him, we also need to learn to walk with Jesus. 00:25:24.079 --> 00:25:30.160 And uh that is what the next section of the Psalm, uh, verses 6 and on, is going to tell us about. 00:25:30.240 --> 00:25:46.720 And this is actually going to shape and color how you know how we ought to live as Christians, as a church, collectively and individually, uh, in this very moment where depression is a huge threat to most of our friends and our neighbors. 00:25:47.039 --> 00:25:54.240 It talks about the question of discipleship for someone who experienced depression but is also redeemed by God through Jesus. 00:25:54.400 --> 00:25:57.680 So let's read verses 6 to the end. 00:25:57.839 --> 00:26:25.920 And uh just before we jump in, uh David is going to give us four applications, four ways to safeguard our happiness, safeguard this the the benefits of uh on our end, how to safeguard the benefits of this relationship with God so that we can endure to the end and make it to the to the very end of the race, which is life, to make it to the end where God is going to restore all things and and and welcome us in. 00:26:26.160 --> 00:26:39.359 So verse 6 uh talks about well, there's gonna the first thing is prayer, the next thing talks about finding a refuge in God, after that it talks about growing in wisdom, and lastly, practicing the discipline of celebration. 00:26:39.599 --> 00:26:42.720 So those are the four things that David is going to talk about here. 00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:55.279 Uh and um one last thing before we jump in, notice how happiness is preserved right in the midst of depression or in depressing circumstances. 00:26:55.920 --> 00:27:10.400 It's not you know pulling us out of this world, out of the reality and into a virtual reality, but it's really helping us to enter into the happiness with God in this very moment where depression truly exists. 00:27:10.559 --> 00:27:18.000 So, verse 6, therefore, let anyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found. 00:27:18.400 --> 00:27:22.559 So prayer, and then surely in the rush of great waters they shall not reach him. 00:27:22.799 --> 00:27:24.319 So here David is honest. 00:27:24.480 --> 00:27:34.240 There are rushes of great waters, floods in life, and here it's metaphorical, uh, it's an image of the different circumstances that can drown us. 00:27:34.480 --> 00:27:40.559 And David says, You can pray, you can pray, and that will keep you uh steady. 00:27:42.160 --> 00:27:49.839 And then the next thing in verse 7, he says, You are a hiding place for me, you preserve me from trouble, you surround me with shouts of deliverance. 00:27:50.160 --> 00:27:54.880 And uh and so here David is founding is finding his uh refuge in God. 00:27:54.960 --> 00:27:56.400 He God is his hiding place. 00:27:56.559 --> 00:28:04.880 There's trouble around him, and yet God is the one who will bring deliverance at the very end, at least at the very end, our ultimate deliverance. 00:28:05.039 --> 00:28:19.119 And then verse eight and nine, verses eight and nine talks about growing in wisdom, uh, where he says, I will instruct you, or uh that's the Lord speaking, I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go, I will counsel you with my eye upon you. 00:28:19.359 --> 00:28:27.279 Be not like a horse or a mule without understanding, which must be curbed with with bit and and bridle, or it will not stay near you. 00:28:27.519 --> 00:28:35.359 So here Davis being very honest, that oftentimes uh our foolish decisions can can cause our depression. 00:28:35.759 --> 00:28:37.839 That's important for us to consider as well. 00:28:38.160 --> 00:28:43.680 And so this one of the things that to preserve us is to walk with God and growing in wisdom. 00:28:43.759 --> 00:28:52.880 And then lastly, verses ten and eleven many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. 00:28:53.200 --> 00:28:59.440 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart. 00:28:59.920 --> 00:29:06.000 Remembering God's covenant, faithfulness, and commitment to you and me is a cause for celebration. 00:29:06.160 --> 00:29:17.039 And this is how David is able to say verses one and two, Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sin is covered. 00:29:17.359 --> 00:29:23.920 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. 00:29:24.240 --> 00:29:38.720 Are you capable of saying those words with David, expressing that happiness of being forgiven, of being in that right relationship with God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, by what Jesus has done on the cross for you and me. 00:29:39.519 --> 00:29:53.440 Um and uh just before I close here, uh, um we're gonna pray after this, uh, I didn't mention it, but um you know it's important for us to consider that uh if we if you're depressed, you know, you might want to seek help as well. 00:29:53.680 --> 00:29:56.160 I mean, I won't I want to encourage you to find help. 00:29:56.240 --> 00:30:01.279 Uh and um I don't think low of psychologists are are finding help in that way. 00:30:01.359 --> 00:30:02.319 That's an important thing. 00:30:02.559 --> 00:30:09.039 Doing physical exercise is one of the best things that you can do to combat depression and to find other things like that. 00:30:09.200 --> 00:30:14.240 But really at the bottom line is the question: are you in the right relationship with God? 00:30:14.400 --> 00:30:17.039 And are you uh tending to that relationship? 00:30:17.200 --> 00:30:21.839 Are you reciprocating that relationship, that commitment that God has for you? 00:30:21.920 --> 00:30:25.680 Are you returning it to God through these four applications? 00:30:26.160 --> 00:30:29.200 Uh so let's pray together as we close. 00:30:29.440 --> 00:30:52.160 Uh Father in heaven, I thank you that uh you're the God who made us, you know us best, and I pray, Lord, that you would uh so enable us to fix our eyes on you more deeply, more uh with more conviction, more confidence, knowing that you're the God who uh is not distant from our depression, but who really entered it so that you could redeem us. 00:30:52.400 --> 00:30:54.720 Lord, I thank you for Jesus and what he's done on the cross. 00:30:54.799 --> 00:31:02.960 And I pray, Lord, that you would open our eyes and our hearts to see the beauty and the the grandeur of what Jesus has done for us. 00:31:03.279 --> 00:31:06.400 And uh Lord, I pray that in Jesus' name, Amen.