WEBVTT 00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:24.400 You have a Bible, go ahead and grab it. 00:00:24.560 --> 00:00:26.400 Turn to Psalm 29. 00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:32.799 As I said last week, we are going to start our series uh looking at the book of Psalms. 00:00:33.200 --> 00:00:42.000 Um, and uh we're make our way through, and this morning we are going to kick off that series looking at Psalm 29. 00:00:42.799 --> 00:00:50.079 If uh you're new to church or the Bible, uh open up the Bible halfway through, and you should find yourself in the book of Psalms or close to it. 00:00:50.240 --> 00:01:05.519 Um, but it is uh 150 uh books within uh or 150 um chapters within the book of Psalms, um, all uh hymns of of praise, different kinds of hymns to be sung unto the Lord. 00:01:05.599 --> 00:01:08.799 And so uh Psalm 29 is where we're gonna start. 00:01:08.879 --> 00:01:13.599 Uh, if you're able and willing, would you stand with me in honor of reading God's word? 00:01:14.239 --> 00:01:21.120 We are gonna read Psalm 29 together, and then we will walk through it. 00:01:21.519 --> 00:01:25.439 Psalm 29, starting in verse 1, this is the word of the Lord. 00:01:25.760 --> 00:01:35.039 Ascribe to the Lord, oh heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory in strength, ascribe to the Lord glory, the glory to his name. 00:01:35.280 --> 00:01:38.399 Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. 00:01:38.560 --> 00:01:55.519 The voice of the Lord is over the waters, the God of glory thunders the Lord over many waters, the voice of the Lord is powerful, the voice of the Lord is full of majesty, the voice of the Lord breaks the cedars, the voice or the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon. 00:01:55.759 --> 00:02:00.959 He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf in Syrian like a young wild ox. 00:02:01.119 --> 00:02:19.520 The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire, the voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness, the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh, the voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, glory. 00:02:20.640 --> 00:02:27.039 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood, the Lord sits enthroned as king forever. 00:02:27.280 --> 00:02:33.280 May the Lord give strength to his people, may the Lord bless his people with peace. 00:02:33.600 --> 00:02:35.280 This is the word of the Lord. 00:02:35.439 --> 00:02:36.480 Let's pray. 00:02:37.760 --> 00:02:53.920 Father, we come before you this morning, and God, we pray as we start a new series looking at these songs, God, that you would speak to our hearts through them as we see their practical app practical application and their theological implications. 00:02:54.080 --> 00:03:15.040 God, may we just marvel at who you are and may who you are comfort us in moments that cause fear, cause anxiety, moments where we're confused, moments where we're convicted, moments where we can only simply confess sin and ask for forgiveness. 00:03:15.200 --> 00:03:20.480 Father, may we be comforted by your word, may we be comforted by the psalms. 00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:25.200 And Father, may we learn more about who you are as we journey through them. 00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:29.600 Father, I pray that you would speak to us this morning, for we desperately need to hear from you. 00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:37.360 And I pray, God, that you would give me the words to say, that it would be your words and not mine, that you would keep me from going against your word. 00:03:37.600 --> 00:03:46.960 And Father, as we just sang, as we will read in this psalm, God, may you receive all honor and glory that is due to your name. 00:03:47.840 --> 00:03:50.000 We pray this all in Jesus' name. 00:03:50.320 --> 00:03:50.880 Amen. 00:03:51.520 --> 00:03:52.640 You can be seated. 00:03:55.360 --> 00:04:00.400 The word psalms is praise in the Hebrew text. 00:04:00.640 --> 00:04:09.439 The Hebrew text actually would call this the uh songs of praise or the uh the songs of praise. 00:04:09.680 --> 00:04:19.600 Uh, it is in the Greek translation of that word where we get the word psalm, which a psalm is simply a hymn. 00:04:20.639 --> 00:04:30.240 So the psalms are a collection of hymns that were sung among the people, uh, and there were different occasions where they would be sung. 00:04:30.399 --> 00:04:42.079 There are some psalms, and we'll look at one of them, that would be sung as the people would be ascending their way to Jerusalem to take Passover and to go there for the Passover. 00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:45.360 We would call those Psalms the Psalms of Ascent. 00:04:45.680 --> 00:05:01.840 Um, but there are many other different types of psalms, and they're they cover a broad array of theology or the study of God or who God is that is fleshed out with practical day-to-day realities. 00:05:03.520 --> 00:05:18.960 As one commentator would put it, all cycles of human troubles and triumphs provide occasions for expressing human complaints, confidence, prayers, or praise to the sovereign God of the universe. 00:05:19.280 --> 00:05:21.840 And with this, there are many different types of psalms. 00:05:22.079 --> 00:05:36.240 There are psalms of praise and thanksgiving, there are psalms of penitence or repentance or confession, there are imprecatory psalms, psalms where uh the writer feels like his enemy is out to get them, asking for justice for the Lord. 00:05:36.400 --> 00:05:44.639 There are psalms of lament and mourning, and there are psalms of wisdom and psalms of trust. 00:05:45.040 --> 00:05:48.160 And this morning we're gonna look at Psalm 29. 00:05:48.240 --> 00:05:57.280 And while some might call this a nature psalm, at the heart of this psalm, Psalm 29 is a psalm of praise. 00:05:59.360 --> 00:06:08.960 David uses a violent storm to describe the majesty, strength, splendor, holiness, and glory of God. 00:06:09.120 --> 00:06:24.000 And in this psalm, as Robert Murphy McShay would say, the strength of Jehovah is celebrated, and the exemplification of it is evidently taken from a thunderstorm in Lebanon. 00:06:24.160 --> 00:06:30.480 Uh I went to Liberty University in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Lynchburg, Virginia. 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:53.280 And one of my favorite things to do back home whenever I was in school in Asheville, and one of my favorite things to do when I went to school in Lynchburg was when a thunderstorm was meant to be coming through, I would go and sit at the top of Liberty Mountain whenever I was at school, and you could look out and see uh at least 50 miles west. 00:06:53.520 --> 00:07:03.120 I could see from the south 50 miles as it went over the horizon all the way to the north, and I could watch a thunderstorm. 00:07:03.199 --> 00:07:08.800 And the typical trajectory of those thunderstorms is they would move south to north. 00:07:08.960 --> 00:07:25.520 And so I would watch that storm start in um Alta Vista, Virginia, and make its way up to Timberlake, Virginia, and then I would watch it go over Liberty and either downtown Lynchburg or Liberty University, and then I could just watch it go north. 00:07:25.600 --> 00:07:34.960 And it was one of my favorite things to do, especially if you're someone that likes thunderstorms, you like seeing the lightning, you like hearing the thunder, you like watching the rain clouds go. 00:07:35.120 --> 00:07:38.319 It's it was it's one of my favorite things to do. 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:50.000 As David is looking out over the Mediterranean, he begins to see a thunderstorm develop. 00:07:50.879 --> 00:08:10.560 And from that thunderstorm, he takes that and he writes this psalm to describe the Lord and his majesty in splendor, both before that storm gets there, while that storm is happening, and then shortly after that storm leaves. 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:25.360 And all throughout the Psalms, you will see the theme of amazement and splendor that David has as he watches this powerful storm and he ascribes both of those things to the Lord. 00:08:25.600 --> 00:08:34.319 The Lord in his splendor, his strength, his might, and his holiness is evident in this storm as it is passing through. 00:08:34.879 --> 00:08:42.639 You'll also see within the psalm repeated themes, which in Hebrew literature repetition is how you emphasize a point. 00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:47.199 Let me give you a couple of repetitions during this. 00:08:47.759 --> 00:08:57.359 You see the word the Lord, which in our translation is just the the Lord, capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D. 00:08:57.759 --> 00:09:07.199 But that is not simply a word for Lord, that is the word for the Lord being Yahweh, uh the one who uh always is. 00:09:07.599 --> 00:09:17.359 The same word that that or the same name that God gave Moses in the wilderness is used here 18 times in 11 verses. 00:09:19.599 --> 00:09:24.719 This psalm is about the Lord, and everything in it is about the Lord. 00:09:25.039 --> 00:09:33.439 Seven times in seven verses from verses three through nine, you will see the phrase, the voice of the Lord. 00:09:34.479 --> 00:09:39.120 Three times in the first two verses, you will see the word ascribe. 00:09:40.319 --> 00:09:45.839 And then you will see the glory of God mentioned three times throughout this psalm. 00:09:46.159 --> 00:09:53.039 And the point is that these very various poetic devices all come together to make a simple but profound point. 00:09:53.679 --> 00:10:07.519 God speaks in the storm, and as one pastor would say, if we could take it a little bit deeper, but the God who speaks through storms can meet your needs. 00:10:10.639 --> 00:10:22.719 Let's look at the psalm verse by verse as we go, and we'll look at the first two verses, focusing on this theme, and it's point number one, and that is God is worthy of our praise in every season. 00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:27.120 Uh David has not described the storm yet, but the storm is on its way. 00:10:27.199 --> 00:10:49.679 But before the storm even gets there, David wants to go ahead and say that already, without even seeing the storm, he knows that the Lord is robed in majesty and splendor, that his strength is powerful, and that he is to be praised according to what he is due. 00:10:49.839 --> 00:10:52.799 So let's look very quickly, verses one and two again. 00:10:53.120 --> 00:10:54.319 Ascribe to the Lord. 00:10:54.479 --> 00:10:59.039 There's that one word used three times in the next two verses, O heavenly beings. 00:10:59.199 --> 00:11:13.839 This this would be um translated multiple different ways throughout history, but the the consensus this would be um that David is calling the angels in heaven and all of heaven to ascribe to the Lord praise. 00:11:14.559 --> 00:11:27.519 He says, Ascribe, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength, ascribe to the Lord the glory, do his name, worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. 00:11:29.279 --> 00:11:31.839 Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings. 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:44.639 Again, uh this is David calling out for the host of heaven to uh praise the Lord, to to uh give credit where credit is due, is what a scribe can be broken down to. 00:11:44.799 --> 00:11:47.919 To to praise him for for what he deserves. 00:11:48.159 --> 00:11:54.639 And not only that, this is not simply a job for the angels, but much more, this is a calling for you and I as well. 00:11:54.879 --> 00:12:07.359 Psalm 96, verses 78 says, Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength, ascribe to the Lord the glory due to his name. 00:12:07.519 --> 00:12:14.879 Again, to ascribe is to acknowledge or to grant, to publicly acknowledge, to give credit where credit is due. 00:12:15.679 --> 00:12:16.079 As H. 00:12:16.240 --> 00:12:16.319 B. 00:12:16.479 --> 00:12:17.120 Charles Jr. 00:12:17.199 --> 00:12:24.799 would say, worship is not about what you get from the Lord, worship is about what you give to the Lord. 00:12:25.919 --> 00:12:29.120 Now, in a culture today, we get that backwards. 00:12:29.359 --> 00:12:35.359 We think worship is about what I give to the Lord, and I can't give worship to the Lord if the right song isn't sung. 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:38.959 I can't give worship to the Lord if the lights aren't all the way down. 00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:42.639 I can't give worship to the Lord unless the lights are all the way already up. 00:12:42.799 --> 00:12:54.799 I can't give worship to the Lord, and but worship and ascribing praise to the Lord is not about what you get from worship, worship is about what you give to the Lord. 00:12:54.959 --> 00:13:04.159 And when we ascribe praise to the Lord, we are acknowledging God for his nature and his character. 00:13:06.479 --> 00:13:08.639 Because he is worthy of it. 00:13:09.120 --> 00:13:12.079 Look at what he first says to ascribe to the Lord. 00:13:12.240 --> 00:13:15.919 Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 00:13:16.079 --> 00:13:24.479 Glory, the visible manifestation of the power of God and strength, his might within that manifestation. 00:13:24.719 --> 00:13:31.039 True worship is the proper response to God's self-revelation to us. 00:13:31.759 --> 00:13:48.959 God does not need to give you any more signs for you to worship him because he has already revealed himself enough to you in scripture for you to have a severe arsenal of different things that you can praise the Lord for. 00:13:53.599 --> 00:14:00.399 Strength and might and glory are all things that we read about in Scripture. 00:14:00.719 --> 00:14:10.879 This psalm would be early on, more than likely, in David's life, and a lot of it is uh that he'll talk about looks not only at this storm, but even looking back at past storms. 00:14:11.199 --> 00:14:13.919 And so David is looking back at what the Lord has done. 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:17.519 He's looking at what the Lord is doing now, and he's ascribing to him praise. 00:14:17.679 --> 00:14:19.199 You and I do the same thing. 00:14:19.359 --> 00:14:46.879 We can look back in scripture and read about what the Lord has done and seen his power and his might and his strength and his glory, but you can also think back onto times in your life, on things that you've seen, where you have seen the Lord work and his strength and his splendor and his glory and his might, and you would say, The Lord is worthy of praise, and you would ascribe praise to the Lord in that way because you have seen it and he is worthy of it. 00:14:47.439 --> 00:14:55.120 True worship is our proper response to what God has done, both within his word and within our lives. 00:14:55.279 --> 00:15:09.519 We worship God based on his revealing of himself to us in scripture, and we worship God based on his revealing of his might and strength through all of his works that we've gotten to see with our own eyes. 00:15:10.479 --> 00:15:19.279 So he says, ascribe to the Lord, oh you heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord strength, glory and strength. 00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:24.879 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to his name. 00:15:27.839 --> 00:15:33.519 God's character is enough to lead us to ascribe to him praise. 00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:37.759 God's nature is enough to lead us to ascribe him his praise. 00:15:37.919 --> 00:15:41.679 God, God's power is enough to lead us to ascribe him praise. 00:15:41.839 --> 00:15:47.199 God's authority, God's splendor, God's majesty all deserves praise. 00:15:47.439 --> 00:15:56.799 All deserves us acknowledging it, crediting it to him, and worshiping him because of it. 00:15:57.359 --> 00:16:11.039 Worshiping the Lord according to what he is due is to worship him with every fiber of our being, because that is what he is worthy of, and that is what he has ransomed by his blood for us. 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:28.639 The glory to his name is not only based on his character and his nature and his splendor, but also what he has done within his people and his children and his salvific work. 00:16:28.799 --> 00:16:37.679 All of those things, again, are ample enough reasons to worship the Lord. 00:16:38.559 --> 00:16:40.799 All that we are is his. 00:16:41.599 --> 00:16:44.319 The reason that you and I are here is because of him. 00:16:44.479 --> 00:16:52.639 The oxygen we are breathing is his, and he is deserving of every credit and praise that you and I can give him. 00:16:55.439 --> 00:17:07.440 To worship the Lord and to ascribe him the glory that he is due is then seen in worshiping the Lord and the splendor of his holiness. 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:12.000 Ascribe and worship are synonymous. 00:17:12.160 --> 00:17:18.880 A scribe is how we proclaim the glory of God, but worship is how we submit to the glory of God. 00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:22.559 Worship involves the mind, the heart, and the will. 00:17:23.200 --> 00:17:25.359 And the will is the key factor. 00:17:25.519 --> 00:17:30.000 The Hebrew word here for worship would mean to bow low. 00:17:30.480 --> 00:17:45.119 That is the posture of worship, that he would be seen as high and lifted up as we would make ourselves bow low in reverence and response to his character, nature, and splendor. 00:17:45.279 --> 00:17:49.839 Worship involves all that we are, and it speaks to our posture. 00:17:49.919 --> 00:17:59.200 It is submitting our heart and mind and will to the God who created us, sustains us, and has redeemed us. 00:18:01.119 --> 00:18:08.879 It is the holiness of God that caused Isaiah to feel like he was coming apart at the seams as he stood before the Lord in his vision. 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:14.240 It is the holiness of God that sets him apart from everything else. 00:18:14.399 --> 00:18:20.559 And it is because of his holiness and his splendor that you and I are to worship the Lord. 00:18:20.720 --> 00:18:27.440 Now, here's the thing: our worshiping the Lord does not make the Lord any more worthy of worship. 00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:31.359 The Lord is worthy of worship whether you worship him or not. 00:18:32.159 --> 00:18:42.079 But what the psalmist is saying is that he is worthy of worship and your life should be lived to praise him because he is worthy of that worship. 00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:45.039 We are to praise God because he is worthy of it. 00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:52.000 But David will go on to depict a nasty storm that would show his strength in splendor. 00:18:52.159 --> 00:18:59.519 So the second thing that I want us to see this morning that we see within this psalm is that the Lord speaks in storms. 00:19:00.159 --> 00:19:02.639 You and I have seen our fair share of storms. 00:19:02.799 --> 00:19:18.319 Two years ago, around this time, maybe a month from now, um, you would be marking two years of watching Hurricane Kaleen Helene come through here and all of her uh uh all of the wind that came with that storm and and uh the rain that came with it and other places. 00:19:18.480 --> 00:19:39.759 But what the psalmist is saying here is he sees a storm like this on the Mediterranean as it's coming towards him, and he says, It is a depiction of the majesty and glory and strength of God, and how this storm moves, and how much destruction comes with it. 00:19:40.720 --> 00:19:46.319 Again, verses three through nine will have seven times of the use, the voice of the Lord. 00:19:46.399 --> 00:19:51.440 And some interpreters have broken these seven verses into three parts, and that's what I want to do really quick. 00:19:51.759 --> 00:19:54.960 And the first is the the buildup of the storm. 00:19:55.200 --> 00:19:57.440 Visualize for me with me for a moment. 00:19:57.519 --> 00:20:18.720 If you love the beach, you're standing out on the beach, and um you're you're having a great day, and all of a sudden you can see the thunderheads start to build on the horizon, and and you just are get to watch that storm come in, and and you see the lightning, and you can hear the low rumbles of thunder reverberating off the water already making its way onto shore. 00:20:18.879 --> 00:20:24.240 This is exactly what David is describing here, this buildup of this massive supercell. 00:20:24.399 --> 00:20:29.599 And he says in verse 3 the voice of the Lord is over the waters. 00:20:29.759 --> 00:20:34.319 The glory of God thunders the Lord over many waters. 00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:46.720 So the the storm is is forming, it is over the water, and the voice of the Lord speaking through thunder is causing so much reverberation that it's making its way onto the shore. 00:20:46.879 --> 00:20:52.319 The voice of the Lord is powerful, the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. 00:20:52.799 --> 00:21:05.519 Those low rumblings of thunder that shake the whole house, where mom's fine china kind of get tested if it's gonna last, because you can hear it shaking within the glass display cabinet that it sits in, except for Christmas. 00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:10.559 Um, but but you you can hear it reverberating all throughout your your house. 00:21:10.720 --> 00:21:20.240 You know that that that thunderstorm that comes through, where it feels like the testing of the foundation is occurring with how vast this is. 00:21:20.399 --> 00:21:24.639 David says that that is that is the voice of the Lord. 00:21:26.319 --> 00:21:32.799 And the emphasis is on the voice of the Lord in those verses, which is compared to that sound of roaring thunder. 00:21:33.039 --> 00:21:39.440 The the next section we see is verses four through five, and the storm is starting to make landfall. 00:21:39.599 --> 00:21:47.759 The storm makes landfall in Lebanon, around where Mount Hermon would be, and it's making its way south as it's as it's heading down. 00:21:48.319 --> 00:21:58.960 It's heading south towards the wilderness of Kadesh, and with it comes fierce winds, which are also described as the voice of the Lord. 00:21:59.200 --> 00:22:03.759 Verse 4 says, uh, verse 5 says, the voice of the Lord breaks the cedars. 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:06.480 The Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon. 00:22:06.639 --> 00:22:15.680 He makes the Lebanon like I'm sorry, he makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, and Syrian, or where Mount Hermon is like a young wild ox. 00:22:15.759 --> 00:22:22.559 The wind is so powerful that it is breaking the cedars of Lebanon, which during that time. 00:22:22.960 --> 00:22:33.759 Of ancient days, the cedars of Lebanon would be known as the strongholds uh that that would that would be referred to as something that is very strong, something that's very sturdy. 00:22:33.919 --> 00:22:47.519 These trees would have uh bases, uh or the uh the base of the tree would be almost averaging somewhere around six to eight feet wide, and they would go anywhere from 40 to 120 feet tall. 00:22:47.680 --> 00:22:53.039 And what David is saying is that the wind is snapping these trees in half. 00:22:54.079 --> 00:23:04.559 The same trees that Saul or that Solomon would um export to come and put in the temple to be the support beams for this temple are snapping in half. 00:23:04.799 --> 00:23:13.519 It's causing so much chaos that it's ripping these trees apart to where the trees are like skipping calves that are just kind of being tossed to and from. 00:23:13.919 --> 00:23:22.240 Again, you've lived through a storm like that where the wind is just snapping trees left and right, and you can see it's ferocity, you can see how ferocious it is. 00:23:22.319 --> 00:23:26.879 And what David is saying is this is this is the voice of the Lord, this is the strength of the Lord. 00:23:27.039 --> 00:23:30.639 He can take these trees and snap them in half. 00:23:32.639 --> 00:23:38.480 The storm is terrifying, that the wind has caused all kinds of havoc and damage. 00:23:39.599 --> 00:23:47.599 But not only that, we we see that the voice of the Lord is heard through the lightning flashes and the roars and rumbles of thunder. 00:23:47.759 --> 00:23:52.960 Verse 7 the voice of the Lord flashes forth like flames of fire. 00:23:53.119 --> 00:23:58.399 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness, the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. 00:23:58.559 --> 00:24:01.759 Um you saw that, maybe you didn't, I don't know. 00:24:01.839 --> 00:24:16.399 Um, as we were preparing for Wednesday night up here, that nasty storm that came through on Wednesday, where uh it actually looked like it had a uh a wall cloud with it, and then it's coming through, and and and the lightning flashes that are constantly going down with roars of thunder. 00:24:16.960 --> 00:24:22.879 The worst ones are when lightning flashes are close, because shortly after that lightning flash, what do you hear? 00:24:23.200 --> 00:24:28.079 That thunder, and it is fierce and it is loud, and it startles you a little bit, right? 00:24:28.159 --> 00:24:30.639 It's it scares you awake. 00:24:30.960 --> 00:24:46.399 This storm is flashing lightning, and thunder is hitting so much to where if you continue to look in verse 9 that it's causing deer to give birth prematurely. 00:24:47.680 --> 00:24:49.839 That is how fierce this storm is. 00:24:50.000 --> 00:25:04.639 It not only is taking care of all the agricultural elements of trees and plants and stuff, but it is even causing harm to the animals around, deer are giving birth prematurely because this massive storm is moving through. 00:25:04.879 --> 00:25:18.319 Now, when you and I uh have one of these massive storms that are coming at us, or while we're in one, we always sit back and go, I want to get as far away from this as I can, or I want this to move on as fast as possible. 00:25:18.480 --> 00:25:26.079 Our response is to run and to hide, but look at the response at the end of verse nine. 00:25:26.879 --> 00:25:36.960 David says, and in his temple all cry glory. 00:25:40.960 --> 00:25:50.159 Storms remind us of the strength and splendor of God and should lead us to worship him. 00:25:50.559 --> 00:26:09.279 Now, oftentimes when we think of storms and the things that come through, we simply think that this is just the elements of nature, this is just how it works, but there is no rumble of thunder or no uh flash of lightning that has not already been ordained to happen by the God of the universe. 00:26:09.839 --> 00:26:18.799 There is nothing that happens within the storms that we see, the storms in your life that happen outside of the God of the universe. 00:26:18.960 --> 00:26:22.720 Now, let's then get to to the part that we're all wondering about. 00:26:22.879 --> 00:26:32.240 Okay, so so these storms, allowed by God, we see the power of God, but but but what about when when storms in my life become uncomfortable? 00:26:32.960 --> 00:26:36.319 What about when storms in my life start to mess things up for me? 00:26:36.399 --> 00:26:45.680 They start to tear apart houses, they start to to turn the power out, which for some of us, once a storm turns the power out, we might as well just pack it up and go home. 00:26:46.159 --> 00:26:50.799 Well, what happens when when things in life start to get overwhelming? 00:26:51.759 --> 00:26:57.119 Well, we know that there are a lot of storms that come in life because of judgment. 00:26:57.680 --> 00:27:04.000 The biggest storm, and what'll be referenced here in a second, that we see in scripture is Genesis chapter 6. 00:27:04.799 --> 00:27:13.680 Most storms that that that happen, like what we see in Genesis chapter 6, come as forms of judgments of the Lord. 00:27:13.759 --> 00:27:20.480 It is a judgment of the Lord onto his people when he sends the flood because of all of their wickedness. 00:27:20.799 --> 00:27:25.599 Jonah gets in a boat to go the opposite direction of what God wants them to do. 00:27:25.680 --> 00:27:30.639 And what does God send as a form of judgment to get him to go back that direction? 00:27:30.960 --> 00:27:31.919 A storm. 00:27:32.399 --> 00:27:57.919 One so bad that these well-trained sailors would be fearing for their lives until they chuck him overboard, and then all of a sudden, the the God who uses storms can also calm storms in the blink of an eye, and it's it continues to work within what God desires of him getting glory. 00:27:58.079 --> 00:28:01.440 That's the second reason that we see storms that happen in life. 00:28:01.519 --> 00:28:11.680 There are other storms in life where the Lord sends them to remind us of his power and for us to remember and to ascribe glory to his name. 00:28:12.000 --> 00:28:16.639 Jesus and the disciples are in the boat in Luke chapter 8, verse 22. 00:28:16.799 --> 00:28:18.079 The storm comes upon them. 00:28:18.159 --> 00:28:21.759 These are veterans, fishermen, they're afraid they're gonna be capsized. 00:28:21.919 --> 00:28:24.960 Well, Jesus is asleep in the bottom of the boat. 00:28:26.480 --> 00:28:27.519 What happens? 00:28:27.759 --> 00:28:31.279 They come to him, they say, What are do you not care that we're gonna die? 00:28:31.440 --> 00:28:36.399 And he gets up, he goes to the storm, and he says, Peace be still, and what happens? 00:28:36.720 --> 00:28:38.159 The storm calms. 00:28:38.399 --> 00:28:40.799 The storm didn't just come for no reason. 00:28:40.960 --> 00:28:45.599 What did the disciples say after after this incident? 00:28:45.919 --> 00:28:47.039 Who is this? 00:28:48.079 --> 00:28:52.159 That even the winds and the waves obey him. 00:28:54.000 --> 00:28:58.559 They they they begin to see Jesus for who he is. 00:28:58.720 --> 00:29:02.639 If you remember in John 9, let's look at a storm that doesn't really look like a storm. 00:29:02.799 --> 00:29:07.359 In John 9, the man was born blind, and the disciples said, Who was who sinned? 00:29:07.599 --> 00:29:10.319 This man or his parents, that he would be born blind. 00:29:10.399 --> 00:29:11.919 And what did Jesus say? 00:29:12.559 --> 00:29:17.759 Neither, but so that the glory of God might be displayed through it. 00:29:18.000 --> 00:29:19.839 And what happens in that moment? 00:29:20.799 --> 00:29:28.639 Jesus heals that man, and the disciples more and more see he who Jesus is. 00:29:28.799 --> 00:29:36.559 This man more and more sees who Jesus is, and the Pharisees become even more blind to the things of Jesus. 00:29:36.720 --> 00:29:50.319 There are some times where the Lord sends a storm that that is judgment on someone else that you kind of get to you get a piece of, but it while it's judgment on someone else, it is sanctifying work for you. 00:29:51.119 --> 00:29:54.799 There's a salvific work that gets done in that moment as well. 00:29:54.960 --> 00:30:00.319 Storms bring us down low so that we can exalt God on high. 00:30:00.480 --> 00:30:07.119 As the psalmist would say in Psalm 46, 10, be still, the Lord says, and know that I am God. 00:30:07.279 --> 00:30:11.919 I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted on the earth. 00:30:12.159 --> 00:30:13.839 Well, look at verse 11 of that psalm. 00:30:14.000 --> 00:30:18.079 The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our fortress. 00:30:18.319 --> 00:30:25.440 And that same promise that we see in that psalm is the same type of promise that the Lord gives us here in verses 10 and 11. 00:30:25.519 --> 00:30:31.440 So let's look at that while we also see that the Lord is with his people in storms. 00:30:32.639 --> 00:30:35.359 The Lord is with his people in storms. 00:30:35.440 --> 00:30:45.599 If you are in a storm this morning, know that the God of the universe is not only over that storm, but the God of the universe is in the boat with you as you are going through that storm. 00:30:46.720 --> 00:30:48.319 Look at verse 10. 00:30:49.680 --> 00:30:54.960 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood. 00:30:55.119 --> 00:30:57.200 The Lord sits enthroned as king forever. 00:30:57.279 --> 00:30:58.559 Let's look at the first part of that. 00:30:58.720 --> 00:31:01.039 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood. 00:31:01.200 --> 00:31:06.319 The word used for flood there isn't used except one other time, and that's in Genesis chapter 6. 00:31:12.079 --> 00:31:14.159 Here's a good news with that. 00:31:15.200 --> 00:31:25.039 The good news with that is that while you might think the storm that you're going through in life is the worst storm you've ever seen, you can at least know that it's not the worst storm that God's ever seen. 00:31:26.480 --> 00:31:46.399 That the situation that you find yourself in in this moment where you feel like everything's falling apart, the one who sustained Noah and his family and saved them through that flood is the same one that promises this to sustain you as you make your way through this difficult storm that you find yourself in. 00:31:46.720 --> 00:31:51.119 Every physical storm in life should remind us of the majesty and power of God. 00:31:51.200 --> 00:32:00.159 And every spiritual storm should remind us that the one who is over the storm is the one who is with us in the storm. 00:32:00.399 --> 00:32:15.039 And this is good news for the people of God, because the greatest testimony of God of a storm saving people is in the person and work of Jesus Christ. 00:32:15.919 --> 00:32:42.960 You and I were headed towards a story, a storm was coming towards us, and we were on a path towards it, a storm of judgment because of sin, and yet the Lord spared us by sending himself in the form of Jesus to endure that storm in all of its ferocity and all of its wrath against sin, so that through the storm you could be spared and you could receive salvation. 00:32:44.240 --> 00:32:56.639 The Lord is not against using storms to bring about a work within his people or a work of salvation, because he has used that before, and it is a work that works. 00:33:01.200 --> 00:33:17.200 There's three things that I want you to see from that truth, and from this truth here, to remind us as his children who have been purchased by his blood, though we deserve that storm of wrath, Christ took it for us on our behalf. 00:33:17.279 --> 00:33:21.359 There's three things that I want you to see that that gives us as we walk throughout this life. 00:33:21.759 --> 00:33:24.319 The first one is confidence. 00:33:26.639 --> 00:33:28.720 Look at the second half of verse 10. 00:33:28.879 --> 00:33:38.319 Not only do we see that the Lord sits enthroned over the flood, the Lord sits enthroned as king forever, is what verse 10 says. 00:33:38.639 --> 00:33:46.000 The one who is enthroned over the flood of Noah is the same one who is enthroned over the wrath of God poured out on Christ Jesus. 00:33:46.159 --> 00:34:06.639 And that same God is the one who is enthroned on your life now, who works on your behalf, now who strengthens and gives you peace, now who has purchased you by his blood, now so that anything that you go through, past, present, or future, does not look any different to him because he will be enthroned forever. 00:34:08.400 --> 00:34:12.720 What was it told about Jesus from the prophet Isaiah of his kingdom? 00:34:12.880 --> 00:34:14.480 His kingdom will have what? 00:34:15.280 --> 00:34:16.880 No end. 00:34:19.119 --> 00:34:27.280 The same storm that the Lord brought you through 20 years ago with that thing that happened in your life is the same Lord that is with you now as you walk through this storm. 00:34:27.440 --> 00:34:28.880 Is that not comforting? 00:34:30.400 --> 00:34:41.600 Is that not comforting to know that the storm that you are going through now, though it seems fierce, is not the worst storm that he has ever seen, nor is it will not be the worst storm that he will have ever brought you through. 00:34:44.480 --> 00:34:54.960 He is Lord over all and in all and through all, and he has authority over all, and he is the one who sits enthroned forever. 00:34:56.080 --> 00:35:04.080 Now, the psalmist David would go on to encourage us with two things that we see from that. 00:35:04.320 --> 00:35:05.440 Verse 11. 00:35:05.840 --> 00:35:13.760 May the Lord give strength to his people, may the Lord bless his people with peace. 00:35:14.880 --> 00:35:26.480 So as the Lord speaks through storms, and as the Lord is with us in storms, we we know that the one of the things that he gives us within those storms is strength. 00:35:26.640 --> 00:35:35.519 He gives us strength to endure the storms, strength, perseverance, steadfastness. 00:35:35.680 --> 00:35:37.760 This is what the Lord gives us. 00:35:37.920 --> 00:35:41.760 What is John or what does James tell us about trials in life? 00:35:41.920 --> 00:35:44.640 So let's change change trials and storms. 00:35:46.320 --> 00:35:50.400 He says that it produces a good work within us. 00:35:50.480 --> 00:35:58.480 He said it produces in us steadfastness, it produces within us uh a continued love for the Lord. 00:35:58.800 --> 00:36:00.480 James chapter 2. 00:36:03.760 --> 00:36:07.280 I'm sorry, James chapter 1, starting in verse 2. 00:36:07.440 --> 00:36:20.000 Count it a joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness, and let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 00:36:20.160 --> 00:36:27.039 The Lord uses storms to sanctify us or make us more like Jesus, but he doesn't leave us alone in the storm. 00:36:27.200 --> 00:36:32.720 He is with us in the storm, and he gives us strength to endure the storm. 00:36:35.519 --> 00:36:41.440 All the promises of God, as Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians chapter 1, is yes and amen in Christ Jesus. 00:36:41.600 --> 00:36:45.200 Christ both secures the promises of God and governs them. 00:36:45.280 --> 00:36:56.160 So when the Lord says he will never leave you nor forsake you, or as he tells his disciples to have peace, though trouble is coming, but he will be with them. 00:36:56.400 --> 00:37:03.440 You and I can cling to those promises and know that the promises of God towards his children will be kept. 00:37:03.600 --> 00:37:06.880 And that brings strength and endurance for us. 00:37:07.039 --> 00:37:19.680 The same that Moses tells to the sons of Asher in Deuteronomy chapter 33, verse 25 can be said for us as Moses says, As your days, so shall be your strength. 00:37:21.440 --> 00:37:24.640 The mercies of God knew every morning. 00:37:24.960 --> 00:37:34.560 As the days that you live, so will be your strength given to you by the Lord to continue to walk faithfully with him. 00:37:35.680 --> 00:37:39.280 What that does is gives you and I peace. 00:37:40.960 --> 00:37:46.800 Look at what he finishes saying in verse 11. 00:37:48.400 --> 00:37:51.120 May the Lord give strength to his people, may the Lord bless. 00:37:51.200 --> 00:37:52.720 That's a that's a good word. 00:37:53.120 --> 00:37:53.840 That's a good word. 00:37:54.080 --> 00:38:01.760 The Lord is still in the blessing business, and he blesses his children by giving them good things, and the good things that he gives them is more of himself. 00:38:02.080 --> 00:38:06.320 And he says that he blesses them with peace. 00:38:06.480 --> 00:38:10.720 Now, there's a caveat here, and it's something I've already been using as a caveat. 00:38:10.960 --> 00:38:12.880 He blesses his people. 00:38:13.120 --> 00:38:18.080 If you are not his child, then no strength or peace will come to you in storms. 00:38:18.160 --> 00:38:33.440 And if you are in the middle of the storm right now with no peace and no strength, thinking that you can just kind of white-knuckle your way through this, let me tell you, the Lord only gives strength and peace to those who find their strength and peace in him. 00:38:36.000 --> 00:38:38.960 But he blesses with strength and peace. 00:38:39.120 --> 00:38:44.480 Jesus tells his disciples as he tells them he's about to be crucified and go on the cross and he's gonna leave them. 00:38:44.560 --> 00:38:47.600 He says, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. 00:38:47.760 --> 00:38:49.840 Not as the world gives, do I give it to you. 00:38:50.080 --> 00:38:55.680 Let your um let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 00:39:00.240 --> 00:39:03.280 Peace comes from dependence. 00:39:04.000 --> 00:39:13.680 Dependence is what peace is built upon, and prayer is the communication of dependence and peace. 00:39:17.440 --> 00:39:25.680 Prayer is the communication of a person who is dependent upon the Lord and finds their peace in him. 00:39:29.519 --> 00:39:31.760 How do you and I have peace in the storm? 00:39:31.840 --> 00:39:34.000 That is through dependence upon the Lord. 00:39:34.080 --> 00:39:45.039 And our dependence upon the Lord should ultimately lead to a a prayer to the Lord for peace and strength to continue to bless us with what we need to persevere. 00:39:45.280 --> 00:39:57.840 As Paul would say in Philippians 4, verse 6 and 7 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. 00:39:58.000 --> 00:39:59.440 And remember what happens. 00:39:59.760 --> 00:40:08.800 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts in Christ Jesus. 00:40:09.600 --> 00:40:44.400 So that as storms come, as life gets difficult, death, sickness, loss of job, uh uh, hardship in marriage, uh, infertility, all whatever you want to put within that storm, the Bible says that God is not only sovereign over that storm, but he is with us within the storm, and that he will use that storm for our good to make us more like Christ, and he will give us strength and peace within that storm so that we can continue to persevere through that storm, continuing to do what? 00:40:45.200 --> 00:40:46.320 To worship him. 00:40:48.880 --> 00:40:50.000 To worship him. 00:40:51.920 --> 00:40:53.920 That's what it leads us to. 00:40:54.560 --> 00:41:20.560 As we look at this morning, our greatest hope in the storms of life is that we have a savior who has endured the storm of God's wrath for us for your sin and my sin, so that we not only be forgiven of that sin, but it would purchase us a new life where I get to enjoy the benefits and blessings of God and being his child, to following after him and to worshiping him with my life. 00:41:22.800 --> 00:41:35.120 Through the greatest storm that this earth has ever seen, and the wrath of God poured out on a wooden cross, we have seen worship unimaginable coming from it as God has used it to call many to himself. 00:41:37.360 --> 00:41:41.280 As our ushers and deacons come up this morning, we're going to take communion to remember that. 00:41:45.360 --> 00:42:04.080 The greatest storm ever is how you and I have received forgiveness of sin and communion with God by his work on the cross, his enduring of the wrath of God to pay for the penalty of sin? 00:42:04.560 --> 00:42:18.720 This is what you and I are the beneficiaries of, as God has moved and worked in miraculous ways and might and splendor, he has redeemed and saved us. 00:42:22.400 --> 00:42:40.640 The question is this morning has that led you to a life that seeks to worship the Lord, or has that led you to a life that looks at the storms and says, I don't know how how God could use any of this. 00:42:44.080 --> 00:42:46.080 How could God redeem this? 00:42:46.240 --> 00:42:52.960 If God can redeem you from your your sin on the cross, he can redeem any situation that you find yourself in in life. 00:42:54.080 --> 00:43:03.840 And there is no storm that is too big for him to work through to bring about good for his people and to do and to bless his people with what they need to endure.