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At Sandals Church, our vision is to be real with ourselves, God and others. This channel features sermons and teaching from Pastor Matt Brown and other members of the Sandals Church preaching team. You can find sermon notes, videos and more content at http://sandalschurch.com/watch
We continue again praying Psalms, and today, we come to Psalm 65. David writes, what mighty praise, oh god, belongs to you in Zion? We fulfill our vows to you, for you answer our prayers. All of us must come to you. Though we are overwhelmed by our sins, you forgive them all.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:What good news for us today? What joy for those you choose to bring near, those who live in your holy courts, what festivities await us inside your holy temple. Your faithful, you faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds, oh god, our savior. You are the hope of everyone on earth, even those who sail on distant seas. You formed the mountains by your power and armed yourself with mighty strength.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:You quieted the raging oceans with their pounding waves, silenced the shouting of the nations. Those who live at the ends of the earth stand in awe of your wonders. From where the sun rises to where it sets, you inspire shouts of joy. You take care of the earth and water it, making it rich and fertile. The river of God has plenty of water.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:It provides a a bountiful harvest of grain, for you have ordered it so. You drench the plowed ground with rain, melting the clods and leveling the ridges. You soften the earth with showers and bless it with abundant crops. You crown the year with a bountiful harvest. What a picture.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:He says, even the hard pathways overflow with abundance. The grasslands of the wilderness become a lush pasture, and the hillsides blossom with joy. The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep, and the valleys are carpeted with grain. They all shout and sing for joy. Man, David is on one in Psalm 65.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:And I say that because yesterday we read Psalm 64 where David's complaining. And here today, we see him prophetically seeing through prayer a vision of the future, where he says the entire world is in awe of God. He says from where the sun rises to where it sets, people on the margins of the world. So he's essentially saying all of humanity, everywhere and anywhere, they sing for joy at you. This is a picture of the future, where the nations will come to God.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Not only are people rejoicing, the land rejoices. There's crops everywhere. The strawberries are rich. The Mongols are ready to be eaten right. Everything is full of water.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Like, this is a lush land. This is a picture of the world that we all long to see one day. And he says, God, you have done this. Even the hard places, the places that produce no fruit. And I love that David, through this prayer, invites us to consider the future that God is taking us to.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Not just that we, like, kind of optimistically want to happen, but with hope today, we can confidently know will happen because of the resurrection of Jesus. And sometimes there are days when you and I wake up like today, where the only way that you can work through today is knowing what is coming tomorrow, and the hope of the reality that is coming one day, when the nations will sing for joy, when the when the feast will be rich and full, and where we will be satisfied. The encouragement and the challenge for us though is to live today in light of tomorrow, knowing what is coming. That is the step of faith. That is the step of obedience even when you and I don't feel it.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:And so, Jesus, we hear you now in prayer through Psalm 65, quietly inviting us to open the eyes of our hearts, to see a future that is lush, that is green, to see nations that are no longer at war but are at peace, to see a land that is full of joy and no more sorrow. Because today, we don't see that, but we know that day is coming. And so we ask, God, that for those of us who are down, for those of us who are in a dark place, for those of us who are even carrying moments of depression, concern for those who are in pain, that this grand vision, god, would help us to navigate through each one of those situations. Today is real, but so is Psalm 65. It's just as true as today.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:And so we ask now that by your holy spirit, you would give us eyes to see the kingdom that is here and the kingdom that is coming because of Jesus. We pray these things in his name. Amen.