WEBVTT 00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:07.040 Welcome to Preaching from Bryanston Bible Church, located in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg, South Africa. 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:13.679 It is our prayer that this teaching would bless you, deepen your love for God's word, and encourage you as you follow Jesus. 00:00:13.839 --> 00:00:19.679 And if you are not a Christian, we pray that this message would encourage you as you explore the Christian faith. 00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:40.799 Send greetings and love from TNC in the north of Joburg, that north not here. 00:00:40.960 --> 00:00:49.280 And uh yeah, just thank God for your continued generosity toward us that allows us to do ministry well in that part of the city. 00:00:49.520 --> 00:00:52.880 Today is the 5th of July and uh it's the middle of the year. 00:00:53.200 --> 00:00:55.840 Six months are gone, and there's six months to go. 00:00:56.159 --> 00:01:00.799 If you're anything like me, January feels like it belongs to a different person. 00:01:01.119 --> 00:01:05.680 In January, I looked at this year and said, Thought, this is my year. 00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:11.760 And all I'm trying to do now, with all the gray in my head, you can see, I'm just trying to make it to December. 00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:19.040 Some of you laugh, but I know that there are people in this room today who are just trying to make it to Friday. 00:01:19.439 --> 00:01:24.400 And if I was to go out in the room and ask you, how is your year going? 00:01:24.799 --> 00:01:29.599 I'm sure we'd land in one of three broad places that those of you who say, My year's gone great. 00:01:29.840 --> 00:01:33.920 Everything that I planned, my vision board, it's coming to fruition. 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:38.480 So I'm energized, I'm excited about being here this morning. 00:01:38.799 --> 00:01:40.640 That those of you who live like me. 00:01:40.879 --> 00:02:01.840 I don't understand that is she doesn't understand that those who live like me, uh, it's not a good thing, by the way, but we live on the edge. 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:04.560 We are the kind of people when you ask us, How are you doing? 00:02:04.799 --> 00:02:07.120 Okay, it's a five out of ten. 00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:08.400 Everything's a five out of ten. 00:02:08.719 --> 00:02:11.919 Never good, never bad, so I'm never up for disappointment. 00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:13.439 Some of you are just like that. 00:02:13.599 --> 00:02:14.560 How's your ear going? 00:02:14.639 --> 00:02:16.159 Okay, how's your health? 00:02:16.319 --> 00:02:16.879 Fine. 00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:28.080 But then there are some of you who whose ear is going horribly, you believe God has abandoned you. 00:02:28.719 --> 00:02:34.080 Even this morning, you don't want to wake up and come to church, but somehow you find yourself here. 00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:43.680 So we have three broad categories of people, but how many of you also know that not all of us fit neatly into those categories? 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:52.639 For some of us, our marriage is doing well, our finances are they're a bit mare, but another area of our lives is not going well. 00:02:53.759 --> 00:02:57.840 And so this morning we will be in Psalm 145. 00:02:58.240 --> 00:03:04.560 It's a psalm of David, and Psalm 145 meets us wherever we are. 00:03:04.719 --> 00:03:17.680 It's not a psalm just for those who are having a great year, it's not a psalm for those who are having a bad year, it's a psalm for all of us to look at and hear what God is saying to us. 00:03:18.800 --> 00:03:23.280 Now, the thing about Psalm 145 is that it's written at the end of David's life. 00:03:23.360 --> 00:03:27.680 He's now an old man, and so he's now writing this last psalm. 00:03:27.759 --> 00:03:31.199 It's the psalm that has his name lost. 00:03:31.360 --> 00:03:37.599 It's a testimony of a man who's lived long enough to know that life does not always go according to plan. 00:03:37.840 --> 00:03:38.879 How do we know this? 00:03:39.199 --> 00:03:46.800 David knew what it was like to be celebrated by the crowds, and people would sing songs about him, how he's defeated tens and thousands of people. 00:03:47.759 --> 00:03:52.960 But he's also the man who knew how it was to be hunted by enemies. 00:03:53.360 --> 00:04:04.240 David knew what it was like to sit on the throne, but he also knew what it was like to run for his life, that that throne that he sat on could easily be snatched away from him. 00:04:05.840 --> 00:04:08.719 David knew family pain. 00:04:09.759 --> 00:04:11.759 David knew personal sin. 00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:15.120 We we would know those stories of him. 00:04:15.759 --> 00:04:17.600 He knew disappointment. 00:04:18.160 --> 00:04:23.439 But in the midst of all of that, David knew the mercy of God. 00:04:24.079 --> 00:04:30.959 So, what does a man like that who's lived a full life at the end of his life, what does he write? 00:04:31.839 --> 00:04:38.000 I'm gonna give away the sermon because David writes a psalm of praise. 00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:44.879 He doesn't write an ode to how great he is, he writes a psalm of praise to God. 00:04:45.680 --> 00:04:54.000 In fact, throughout the book of Psalms, this psalm, Psalm 145, is the only one that is entitled Praise. 00:04:54.720 --> 00:04:59.439 I know that's odd because for many of us we know the Psalms to be songs of praise, right? 00:04:59.680 --> 00:05:04.079 But this is the only one with a title that says simply praise. 00:05:04.879 --> 00:05:14.000 You see, other psalms are about praising, but they're not as purposeful or intended to speak of one thing, and that is praise. 00:05:14.639 --> 00:05:22.079 Psalm 145 is also the introduction, the entryway to the last five psalms of this book. 00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:26.000 And all of them are about hallelujah, all of them are about praise. 00:05:26.319 --> 00:05:29.040 So if you don't get anything out of the sermon, get this. 00:05:29.199 --> 00:05:35.439 For the next six months of your life, you've got Psalm 145 to 150 to praise God from. 00:05:36.720 --> 00:05:49.120 So it's clear from David's intention with this psalm, it's this I want to get you on your feet, I want you to be on your knees in praise and exaltation to God. 00:05:50.800 --> 00:06:02.879 David, being human, knows that in a crowd such as this, there are a number of us who would say, Actually, I hear you, preacher, man, but I've got nothing to praise God for. 00:06:04.480 --> 00:06:10.399 As far as I can see, I don't have a song worthy of God. 00:06:12.319 --> 00:06:17.839 David is not giving God praise because his life panned out the way that he planned. 00:06:18.079 --> 00:06:19.360 It didn't. 00:06:25.759 --> 00:06:32.000 That whatever is happening in my life, whether good or bad, God is dependable. 00:06:33.680 --> 00:06:43.360 Here's what one author says about this psalm, and he says, David's last words in the Psalter are not about his victories or his failures, they are about God. 00:06:44.720 --> 00:06:53.040 So this psalm is really going to lift up our eyes, our vision to who God is and who he should be in our lives. 00:06:53.680 --> 00:07:00.160 Psalm 145 is a special kind of psalm in its literary genre because it's written as an acrostic. 00:07:00.319 --> 00:07:02.160 Those of you who are language teachers would know what that is, right? 00:07:02.240 --> 00:07:03.600 The rest of us are like, huh? 00:07:03.920 --> 00:07:07.600 Psalm 119 is probably the most famous acrostic psalm. 00:07:07.839 --> 00:07:16.319 But what that is literally is that every line in Psalm 145 begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet, for example, A, B, C, all the way. 00:07:16.399 --> 00:07:20.160 So from A to Z, that is what David is doing. 00:07:20.319 --> 00:07:22.079 But why is this so special? 00:07:22.399 --> 00:07:28.560 It's because David is not trying to say one great thing about God, he's trying to say everything great about God. 00:07:29.360 --> 00:07:32.480 He is saying, God, I don't want to leave any part of my life. 00:07:32.560 --> 00:07:39.439 Yes, even the parts that were bad, all of them, you deserve glory. 00:07:40.639 --> 00:07:46.160 So as we traverse the psalm this morning, I'll be speaking to five different kinds of people. 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:49.040 I want to see if you recognize yourself. 00:07:49.439 --> 00:07:55.040 And you will notice that just like our lives, some of these verses will overlap with one another. 00:07:55.360 --> 00:08:00.319 So the first person we're going to look at is the person who's overwhelmed, the overwhelmed person. 00:08:00.639 --> 00:08:06.399 This is the individual who says, I feel like my problems are bigger than God. 00:08:07.279 --> 00:08:16.480 David says in Psalm 145, verse 1, I exalt you, my God the King, and I will bless your name forever and ever. 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:21.360 I will bless you every day, I will praise your name forever and ever. 00:08:21.680 --> 00:08:24.480 The Lord is great and is highly praised. 00:08:24.720 --> 00:08:28.800 His greatness is unsearchable. 00:08:29.040 --> 00:08:39.039 So as the person is overwhelmed, maybe you are the parent who leaves home before the kids wake up, and by the time you come back, they're really in bed. 00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:41.919 You're the business owner whose clients have not paid you. 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:47.759 They've promised you've sent emails, you've sent notices, but they still haven't paid. 00:08:48.960 --> 00:08:55.360 Perhaps you've been job hunting since before Christmas with no positive result. 00:08:56.399 --> 00:09:00.480 The overwhelmed person is a person who's living on the edge. 00:09:00.639 --> 00:09:04.799 Everything in their lives is urgent, every problem is right in their face. 00:09:06.080 --> 00:09:10.480 And when David pins this psalm, he doesn't say to you, your problems are not real. 00:09:10.639 --> 00:09:14.639 He recognizes that they are, but he says, God is greater. 00:09:16.639 --> 00:09:18.399 Notice how he begins this psalm. 00:09:18.480 --> 00:09:23.279 He says, I will exalt you, my God and King. 00:09:23.519 --> 00:09:30.559 When you're overwhelmed, you need to be able to look up and see who is really on the throne. 00:09:31.200 --> 00:09:35.279 Because when we're overwhelmed, everything starts sitting on the throne. 00:09:40.080 --> 00:09:47.840 Not my stress and king, not my fear and king, not my circumstances and king, but my God and king. 00:09:49.279 --> 00:09:57.440 Because when you realize who sits on the throne, you are able to say the following: I will bless you every day. 00:09:57.679 --> 00:10:02.240 I will praise your name forever and ever. 00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:04.799 Why is David saying this? 00:10:05.679 --> 00:10:13.279 Praise, child of God, is a reminder that God sits on the throne. 00:10:13.919 --> 00:10:19.840 So in verse 3 he says, His greatness is unsearchable, his greatness is unsearchable. 00:10:20.080 --> 00:10:24.240 That's a Hebrew word meaning something that cannot be measured or comprehended. 00:10:24.399 --> 00:10:26.879 In other words, you can never get to the bottom of God. 00:10:27.039 --> 00:10:34.240 Even as you begin, you could do that for a lifetime and still you would be just where you started because God is that great. 00:10:34.480 --> 00:10:36.080 He is unsearchable. 00:10:38.320 --> 00:10:42.559 Contrast the God who's unsearchable with the problems that you have. 00:10:43.759 --> 00:10:52.960 Your debt has a number to it, your problems have boundaries, your illness has a name, your deadline has a date to it. 00:10:53.120 --> 00:11:04.399 Every problem, yes, even the ones that you think are unfathomable, can be measured because you can name them, you can define them, but God's greatness has no limits. 00:11:05.039 --> 00:11:21.200 And David wants to get your eyes looking up at him who has no limits, and so he says, Bless the Lord, because there's no adequate amount of praise that we can give to one whose greatness cannot be fully measured. 00:11:23.120 --> 00:11:35.039 David says, When our eyes are not focused on the one who's on the throne, we begin to serve small gods, small gods of our bank balances, small gods of our kids' achievements. 00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:37.919 And here's the problem about worshiping small gods. 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:46.799 They look back at you and pass the problems back to you because they can't handle heavy burdens. 00:11:49.360 --> 00:11:57.120 David says to us, only a God whose greatness is unsearchable can carry the burdens that feel unsearchable. 00:11:57.440 --> 00:11:59.200 So David says, Exalt him. 00:12:00.159 --> 00:12:01.840 That's our response. 00:12:02.879 --> 00:12:08.080 In the midst of things that are overwhelming, exalt God. 00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:14.639 Not because your problems are gone, but because God is bigger. 00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:23.679 So the question for you this morning is have your problems grown bigger or has grown or has God grown bigger this year? 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:30.960 And if it's in the negative, how can you change that for the remainder of this year? 00:12:32.720 --> 00:12:35.679 The second person is the forgetful person. 00:12:36.559 --> 00:12:39.039 And we find them in verse 4. 00:12:40.159 --> 00:12:46.559 One generation will declare your works to the next and will proclaim your mighty acts. 00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:51.679 I will speak of your splendor and glorious majesty and of your wondrous works. 00:12:56.720 --> 00:13:02.799 They will give a testimony of your great goodness and will joyfully sing of your righteousness. 00:13:03.360 --> 00:13:09.519 Here's the funny thing about human beings is that we are excellent at remembering our pain. 00:13:10.480 --> 00:13:16.879 If I was to say to you 20 years ago, so and so stood on your toe, many of you would say, Yes, I know who it is. 00:13:18.720 --> 00:13:25.279 We are excellent at remembering our pain, but we're not so good at remembering God's goodness toward us. 00:13:26.399 --> 00:13:32.000 So David says to a forgetful people, we need to speak about God's works. 00:13:32.240 --> 00:13:36.240 Watch this, he says, specific works, not just oh, God did something. 00:13:36.399 --> 00:13:39.360 No, no, what did God actually do? 00:13:40.720 --> 00:13:46.480 In fact, the verb in Hebrew to that speaks about remembering is often connected with speech. 00:13:46.799 --> 00:13:54.320 As you remember God's goodness, you are actually speaking it out, telling other people what God has actually done in your life. 00:13:55.360 --> 00:14:00.320 The Bible has always known what psychology is only confirming now, and that is what? 00:14:00.559 --> 00:14:06.000 What we don't speak, we forget, what we don't pass on, we abandon. 00:14:07.840 --> 00:14:20.720 Oftentimes, the best way to witness to our children is by speaking of God's goodness, intentionally mentioning what God has done. 00:14:21.039 --> 00:14:30.639 If you are a parent or you have access to people who are younger than you, they need to hear you say, God has done one, two, three. 00:14:30.960 --> 00:14:35.519 We did not know how this was gonna turn out, but God helped us. 00:14:35.840 --> 00:14:46.559 You see, oftentimes in our homes, our kids hear us complain about the economy, about how things are not going well, how things are hard. 00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:52.879 With the war and everything that's been happening in the world, the price of diesel has gone through the roof. 00:14:53.279 --> 00:14:54.480 You know that. 00:14:55.120 --> 00:15:05.519 Our son is 11, and every time now we pass a petrol station, he'll sit down and ask his older sister, what's the price of petrol today? 00:15:05.840 --> 00:15:07.279 Diesel specifically. 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:11.440 So to fill our car, we're 2300, 2500, 3,000. 00:15:11.919 --> 00:15:15.279 Oh, the world's coming to an end, and he's bothered by this. 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:38.080 But somehow, in his little mind, he's fixated on a certain model, as some boys would, and he knows the size of the tank, and he knows the more the diesel price goes up, it affects him though he doesn't own it. 00:15:39.919 --> 00:15:42.960 We laugh, but that's what we do in our homes every day. 00:15:43.279 --> 00:15:52.000 So stress and anxiety becomes part of our little people's psyche, and they begin to worry. 00:15:52.320 --> 00:16:03.120 And in a city like ours, where hustle is the game, they begin to think, oh, in order for me to do well in life, I need to hustle, hustle, hustle, perhaps even till I die. 00:16:05.360 --> 00:16:12.000 And so they assume that if you lose your job or the economy collapses, there won't be food on the table. 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:14.320 We will be destitute. 00:16:15.360 --> 00:16:33.120 However, when we tell them of God's goodness, when we tell them of God's faithfulness, they stop looking at us as their providers and looking to a Father God in heaven who loves us, who's able to abundantly provide, who cares deeply for us. 00:16:34.159 --> 00:16:37.840 That is why the Bible is full of warnings about forgetting. 00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:50.159 In Deuteronomy chapter number eight, before the children of Israel walked into a land that was flowing with milk and honey, God says, When you get there, don't forget the Lord your God. 00:16:50.799 --> 00:16:58.399 The book of Judges tells a tale of a people who forgot God because their parents didn't bother telling them of the goodness of God. 00:16:58.639 --> 00:17:05.359 God reads Judges horrible, horrible story after horrible story because people simply forgot God. 00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:09.759 This past week we took our kids to Botswana. 00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:16.319 As a Botswana, it was important for me to do that so that they could understand a part of their heritage, their lineage. 00:17:16.559 --> 00:17:26.079 And as I looked at that, I thought, if I can do this for my kids about our heritage, our culture, what more about the excellencies of God? 00:17:26.640 --> 00:17:34.720 That is more important because this will serve them into eternity if I continually tell them about how good God is. 00:17:35.119 --> 00:17:37.519 You are the link in people's lives. 00:17:38.559 --> 00:17:44.319 Because if we don't do it, the next generation will not know the mighty acts of God. 00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:55.119 But this is not just for our families, it also extends to those who are around us, especially around this place here that so many South Africans spend their times. 00:17:55.839 --> 00:17:58.079 We know the conversations that take place here. 00:17:59.119 --> 00:18:00.799 Oh, this is collapsing. 00:18:01.119 --> 00:18:05.680 There's no water in the taps, electricity is gone, and we go on and on and on and on and on. 00:18:05.839 --> 00:18:09.599 Child of God, we don't need to hear one more complaint about the country. 00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:11.440 We can all see it, we're living in it. 00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:23.920 What people need to hear is this yes, times are hard, yes, things are not fair, but let me tell you what God did, let me tell you what God is doing. 00:18:26.160 --> 00:18:42.720 Because us speaking about the faithfulness of God is evangelistic, our praise is evangelistic because we are declaring that in the midst of whatever is happening, we are remembering the one who's actually creator and above all. 00:18:43.680 --> 00:18:47.839 You see, sometimes we just want to praise God because I was healed or because I got a job. 00:18:47.920 --> 00:18:56.400 No, God says, Praise me all the time so that even the person who's sitting next to you doesn't know me, would get to know the kind of God I am. 00:18:57.440 --> 00:19:00.079 So God says, Don't forget me. 00:19:00.480 --> 00:19:07.039 So the question to you would be so, what has God done this year that you have already forgotten? 00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:09.920 What has God done this year that you've already forgotten? 00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:16.799 And what can keep you in place to and what can you keep in place to keep that memory alive? 00:19:18.319 --> 00:19:22.400 The third person is the one who is discouraged. 00:19:23.119 --> 00:19:27.920 As we said, January was full of plans, July is full of reality. 00:19:28.559 --> 00:19:39.279 That promotion that you expected, the one you've been telling people about, oh you know, when I start earning that salary, that promotion has not come. 00:19:41.519 --> 00:19:49.200 That relationship where you thought, finally I get married, I can decide the color of my dress and put all my bridesmaids and ugly things. 00:19:51.519 --> 00:19:56.240 That relationship did not work out. 00:19:58.880 --> 00:20:03.920 The house that you put on the market at the beginning of the year is still there. 00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:16.720 So as you sit by yourself in your corner, a whisper comes and says, God hasn't forgotten you, God doesn't care. 00:20:19.200 --> 00:20:27.599 David would say to you, The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and great in faithful love. 00:20:28.400 --> 00:20:35.440 The Lord is good to everyone, his compassion rests on all that he has made. 00:20:35.759 --> 00:20:38.160 These words are from Exodus 34. 00:20:38.960 --> 00:20:48.160 When God reveals his character and his name to Moses, Moses goes up to the mountain to get God's law, and while he's gone, the children of Israel sin. 00:20:48.480 --> 00:20:50.319 They worship a golden calf. 00:20:51.039 --> 00:20:56.960 So he has to go back to God and say, God, um, your people messed up. 00:20:57.680 --> 00:21:19.519 And as he intercedes for them, God reveals who he really is to Moses, and he says the following The Lord is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin. 00:21:21.039 --> 00:21:26.480 Theologians say that this passage in Exodus is the graciousness formula. 00:21:26.720 --> 00:21:34.160 It's the most quoted text in the Old Testament because it gives us a foundational understanding of who God is. 00:21:34.319 --> 00:21:38.799 It defines God in his own words. 00:21:40.079 --> 00:21:43.920 You see, disappointment has its own theology. 00:21:44.480 --> 00:21:51.200 It says to you, God is distant, God is harsh, God does not care. 00:21:52.480 --> 00:21:56.079 He's disinterested in whatever you're going through. 00:21:57.039 --> 00:21:59.759 And if you and I are not careful, we begin to believe that. 00:22:01.599 --> 00:22:03.039 But here's the truth. 00:22:03.359 --> 00:22:08.000 Our circumstances, no matter how bad they are, do not define God. 00:22:08.400 --> 00:22:09.039 Why is that? 00:22:09.200 --> 00:22:11.279 Because God has already defined Himself. 00:22:11.440 --> 00:22:17.599 And He says He's gracious, He's merciful, slow to anger, abounding in faithful love and truth. 00:22:18.400 --> 00:22:21.200 In other words, when you are doing well, God is gracious. 00:22:21.359 --> 00:22:22.960 When you're struggling, God is gracious. 00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:25.359 When you've failed, God is merciful. 00:22:25.519 --> 00:22:30.480 When you've drifted away, God is slow to anger. 00:22:31.519 --> 00:22:39.839 Even when you feel nothing at all toward God, God says, I'm abounding instead of love toward you. 00:22:41.359 --> 00:22:45.359 David writes this to remind us that God's character doesn't change. 00:22:45.680 --> 00:22:48.880 He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. 00:22:49.119 --> 00:22:53.119 So David says, Because God, you are constant, I can praise you. 00:22:53.279 --> 00:22:56.000 My circumstances don't shift you, they don't change you. 00:22:56.160 --> 00:22:57.200 You remain the same. 00:22:57.359 --> 00:22:59.920 Therefore, I am going to praise. 00:23:02.160 --> 00:23:07.119 David is also telling us that God's compassion is not just for those who have their lives together. 00:23:07.359 --> 00:23:12.480 His compassion is not just for those who are faithful, but it's for every single one of us. 00:23:13.440 --> 00:23:14.240 How do we know that? 00:23:14.400 --> 00:23:23.519 Because at the cross, we see this so clearly that the darkest day in history became the place where God was doing his deepest work. 00:23:23.839 --> 00:23:27.119 Showing compassion to a people who had no care. 00:23:29.200 --> 00:23:31.839 But because God is true to himself. 00:23:32.799 --> 00:23:34.400 He shows compassion. 00:23:35.440 --> 00:23:42.079 This is why David can double down in verse 9 and say, The Lord is good to everyone. 00:23:42.319 --> 00:23:46.160 His compassion rests on all that he has made. 00:23:47.359 --> 00:23:52.160 Saying that the Lord is good does not mean every event in your year is good. 00:23:52.720 --> 00:23:54.000 Loss is not good. 00:23:54.319 --> 00:23:55.200 Sin is not good. 00:23:55.359 --> 00:23:57.039 Betrayal is not good. 00:23:57.279 --> 00:24:06.240 The Bible never asks us to call what is evil good, but what it does ask us to believe is that evil does not get the final word over God's people. 00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:10.720 Evil does not get the final word over God's people. 00:24:12.240 --> 00:24:17.759 What is good means God is working everything for your good. 00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:22.000 It means that God is not indifferent to your suffering. 00:24:22.400 --> 00:24:30.640 Child of God, you need to understand that even now, yes, you might be low, yes, things might be bad, but God is working for your good. 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:38.720 I should encourage you that God is always working for my good and for his glory. 00:24:43.119 --> 00:24:47.440 In which ways have you allowed disappointment to have the last word in your life? 00:24:48.480 --> 00:24:51.359 In which ways have you allowed disappointment to have the last word? 00:24:53.279 --> 00:24:58.240 The fourth kind of person is the ambitious person. 00:24:59.519 --> 00:25:03.440 This one is for the classic Joe Hustlebergs. 00:25:06.640 --> 00:25:10.799 We know this city is a city of hustlers. 00:25:11.519 --> 00:25:22.960 I like the words of one rapper, empty, and he says about Joe Burgers and about Joe Burg, big city lights so bright, people here hustle day and night. 00:25:23.119 --> 00:25:25.279 We don't live nor lie, we all grind. 00:25:39.359 --> 00:25:40.559 Ambition is not a sin. 00:25:40.640 --> 00:25:42.400 Generally, ambition starts with a dream. 00:25:42.559 --> 00:25:46.880 I want to provide for my family, I want to make a difference in the world. 00:25:47.200 --> 00:25:54.720 But somewhere along the way, ambition tends to be all about me. 00:25:56.079 --> 00:26:00.960 It becomes about my name and my legacy, about my comfort and security. 00:26:01.440 --> 00:26:05.279 And here's the thing in the city, we will applaud you and say, Well done, well done. 00:26:05.359 --> 00:26:07.279 You know, you are focused, you are getting on. 00:26:07.759 --> 00:26:08.880 Come on, girl. 00:26:09.119 --> 00:26:10.720 That's what we say in the city. 00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:19.279 But here's the kicker: you can be applauded by the city and still be absent from the purposes of God. 00:26:20.240 --> 00:26:28.240 Because yes, you can get the house, the qualifications, but discover that you built a life too small to carry your soul. 00:26:30.079 --> 00:26:32.240 See, that's the problem with the kingdom of self. 00:26:32.480 --> 00:26:34.640 It's the smallest kingdom in the world. 00:26:34.880 --> 00:26:39.519 It is only one citizen, therefore, it only focuses on one. 00:26:42.480 --> 00:26:54.640 So David, writing as a king, writing as a hustler, says, All you have made will thank you, Lord. 00:26:54.880 --> 00:27:07.359 The faithful will bless you, they will speak of the glory of your kingdom and will declare your might, informing all people of your mighty acts and of the glorious splendor of your kingdom. 00:27:07.519 --> 00:27:08.400 Verse 13. 00:27:20.559 --> 00:27:24.880 These verses, verses 11 to 13, are the centerpiece of the psalm. 00:27:25.440 --> 00:27:32.319 David, who was a king, says, The throne that matters is not mine. 00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:35.920 The kingdom that lasts is not mine. 00:27:36.799 --> 00:27:39.839 Your kingdom, Lord, that's the kingdom I'm building for. 00:27:42.480 --> 00:27:44.960 You see, we can build things. 00:27:45.599 --> 00:27:50.079 You can build a company, but at some point somebody else will run it. 00:27:51.039 --> 00:27:54.960 You can build a reputation, but someone will remember it or forget it. 00:27:55.119 --> 00:27:56.319 It actually doesn't matter. 00:27:56.480 --> 00:27:59.519 And we know in Job, you can lose your reputation in a single day. 00:28:01.279 --> 00:28:03.839 But there's one kingdom that survives. 00:28:06.400 --> 00:28:09.920 Not just your lifetime, but it survives eons. 00:28:10.319 --> 00:28:14.000 It survives for a lifetime, and that is the kingdom of God. 00:28:15.039 --> 00:28:29.680 David is so enamored with God's kingdom that he uses verses 11 to 12 to spell out the Hebrew word for king, showing us that my focus is on God, the king. 00:28:30.880 --> 00:28:36.160 The word kingdom appears four times in these three verses. 00:28:36.640 --> 00:28:37.279 King. 00:28:47.759 --> 00:28:51.200 Because David did not see his throne competing with God's throne. 00:28:52.079 --> 00:28:54.319 He saw his throne as serving God. 00:28:54.960 --> 00:28:58.559 He saw his throne as a pointer to God's throne. 00:28:58.640 --> 00:29:02.559 That God, whatever I do as a king, let it all point to you. 00:29:05.440 --> 00:29:09.359 So David makes it plain in this Psalm. 00:29:11.599 --> 00:29:14.799 David is showing us redeemed ambition. 00:29:15.920 --> 00:29:20.000 It's ambition that has been captured by the purposes of God. 00:29:22.880 --> 00:29:24.799 He doesn't say stop building. 00:29:25.119 --> 00:29:29.119 He just says start building for a different kingdom. 00:29:29.599 --> 00:29:31.279 He doesn't say stop working. 00:29:31.519 --> 00:29:34.640 He says you work for a different purpose. 00:29:38.160 --> 00:29:41.519 Here's a check to ambition. 00:29:42.960 --> 00:29:44.400 Are you thankful? 00:29:44.960 --> 00:29:47.039 Do you have a heart full of praise? 00:29:47.759 --> 00:29:55.039 Are you continually and deliberately making much of God even as you use the gifts that He's given you? 00:30:00.400 --> 00:30:01.680 Question for you. 00:30:03.200 --> 00:30:07.680 What would happen to your sense of identity if you lost everything you're building? 00:30:07.920 --> 00:30:12.720 Your job, your reputation, your connections. 00:30:14.960 --> 00:30:21.119 Finally, we have the weary and oppressed person. 00:30:21.920 --> 00:30:24.079 We read the following in verse 14. 00:30:32.559 --> 00:30:35.039 This is different from being overwhelmed. 00:30:35.599 --> 00:30:39.440 The overwhelmed person is in a state of crisis. 00:30:41.039 --> 00:30:45.200 A person who's oppressed and weary is just exhausted. 00:30:46.640 --> 00:30:53.119 You're the kind of person that the psychologist or the doctor would say you have endured low grade stress for a long time. 00:30:54.160 --> 00:31:00.720 You're burnt out and bent over from the weight of all that you've been carrying for a long time. 00:31:02.559 --> 00:31:06.079 This could be the single mother who's doing the work of two parents. 00:31:06.559 --> 00:31:11.039 The couple fighting about the same thing year after year. 00:31:12.880 --> 00:31:16.000 Some of you feel weary and oppressed spiritually. 00:31:33.920 --> 00:31:39.599 A large part of it is devoted to the erring and the unsuccessful. 00:32:04.559 --> 00:32:06.880 That's the gospel in a single verse there. 00:32:07.359 --> 00:32:10.559 Because God comes down for people who are bowed down. 00:32:10.720 --> 00:32:16.640 Jesus says, Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, I will give you rest. 00:32:19.119 --> 00:32:25.839 In verse 16 of our passage, it says, You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. 00:32:27.279 --> 00:32:36.480 Some of us view God as somebody who's aloof, whose arms are folded, he's disappointed, he's not impressed by you, he's waiting for you to get your act together. 00:32:36.799 --> 00:32:40.079 But Psalm 145 gives us a different picture. 00:32:40.160 --> 00:32:46.160 It says, God's hand is open toward needy people. 00:32:48.079 --> 00:32:55.039 You see, in the ancient world, when a king held out his hand, it was to show favor, it was to show kindness. 00:32:55.279 --> 00:33:10.880 So David says, God, who is the greatest king, always has his hand open toward us, showing us favor, embracing us, holding us up in our weakness. 00:33:12.319 --> 00:33:22.799 David is intentional in saying this because he wants you and I to understand that God's provision, how God provides for us isn't stingy, it's not measured. 00:33:24.720 --> 00:33:30.720 God doesn't just give us enough to survive, he wants us satisfied. 00:33:32.400 --> 00:33:39.119 So whatever you're short of in this season, God sees that and he wants to meet you at the point of your need. 00:33:40.720 --> 00:33:43.680 Maybe you're here this morning, you're like, Well, I don't know God. 00:33:43.839 --> 00:33:47.200 I I just happened to be here because somebody invited me. 00:33:48.079 --> 00:33:51.200 Well, even to you, God extends his hand. 00:33:52.000 --> 00:34:00.880 He has an open invitation to you because God sees that you've been going to and fro trying to find something that would quench your thirst, trying to be filled. 00:34:03.119 --> 00:34:05.680 And yeah, sometimes it works. 00:34:07.519 --> 00:34:12.639 But after a while, you are still thirsty, you are still hungry. 00:34:12.880 --> 00:34:15.840 God says, I want to satisfy. 00:34:18.159 --> 00:34:23.440 Today, I want to satisfy your soul. 00:34:28.480 --> 00:34:41.360 In conclusion, perhaps you came in here as one of the five kinds of people we've spoken about, but as we've walked through the psalm, you kind of realize that ah, I'm actually all five. 00:34:42.000 --> 00:34:56.880 You know, I'm overwhelmed in one area, forgetful in another, discouraged about something, have distorted ambition, I'm weary and I'm up and I'm impressed underneath it all. 00:34:59.280 --> 00:35:02.639 David says to us here, bring it all to God. 00:35:03.840 --> 00:35:05.280 Bring it all to God. 00:35:05.679 --> 00:35:14.480 You see, at the end of his life, as David writes this psalm, he doesn't say, Hey guys, everything was easy peasy, everything worked out the way I wanted it to work out. 00:35:14.639 --> 00:35:25.599 No, he says, No, what I've discovered about God is that in whatever season or cycle of life I find myself in, I can praise God. 00:35:26.480 --> 00:35:28.800 I can praise God from A to Z. 00:35:29.440 --> 00:35:32.320 I praise Him because He is worthy. 00:35:36.159 --> 00:35:44.400 So I say to you, as you go into the rest of your year, we don't know what it holds, we don't know what will come your way. 00:35:46.480 --> 00:35:55.199 Based on these words, you can say, God, by your Holy Spirit, would you bring up a song of praise in me? 00:35:55.519 --> 00:36:02.639 Despite my circumstances, I'm not gonna allow them to dictate my life, but I want to be a person who is full of praise. 00:36:02.880 --> 00:36:04.719 I just want to praise you, God. 00:36:11.360 --> 00:36:15.360 Because at the end of it all, David says, My mouth will declare the Lord's praise. 00:36:15.679 --> 00:36:22.559 Let every living thing bless his holy name forever and ever. 00:36:23.119 --> 00:36:27.440 Let's pray, Lord. 00:36:27.519 --> 00:36:33.760 You are worthy of praise, you are worthy of honor, you're worthy of adoration. 00:36:37.280 --> 00:36:57.840 So this morning, we take you at your word that you are God whose hand is open toward us, that you are God who is gracious, who's compassionate, slow to anger, rich in steadfast love and truth. 00:37:00.719 --> 00:37:12.400 So, based on how God you've defined yourself, even this morning, we pray, Lord God, for each other, we pray for ourselves that would you meet us at the point of our need. 00:37:16.079 --> 00:37:27.119 Whether it's discouragement, worryness, ambition, that God, you would show us your grace this morning. 00:37:33.360 --> 00:37:49.119 My prayer, Lord God, is that we would not just be a people who hear your word and hope it happens, but we'll be a people who hear your word, receive it by faith and expect, Lord God, to see your open hand in our lives. 00:37:51.199 --> 00:37:59.760 So, God, as your children bring themselves before you this morning, would you lift us up? 00:38:01.599 --> 00:38:04.239 Would you encourage the discouraged? 00:38:08.480 --> 00:38:13.360 Would you be the one who satisfies us? 00:38:16.639 --> 00:38:28.880 Such that though the world may shake, though we might hear rumors, we will be steadfast. 00:38:29.519 --> 00:38:36.639 We'll be strong because our faith is secure in the King of Kings, in the Lord of all. 00:38:41.519 --> 00:38:48.400 We give you praise and glory for all that you've done and for all that you're doing. 00:38:48.960 --> 00:38:50.800 In the name of Jesus. 00:38:51.119 --> 00:38:51.760 Amen. 00:38:55.039 --> 00:38:57.840 Thanks for listening to this sermon from BBC. 00:38:58.079 --> 00:39:04.159 If you have questions about what you've heard or would like to find out more about the Christian faith, we'd love to hear from you. 00:39:04.320 --> 00:39:08.320 You can visit our website or reach out using the contact details below. 00:39:08.480 --> 00:39:09.760 God bless you.