Rev. Terence Gray: Good to see you guys. Good morning to our friends online. Good morning to our friends at Farmington Hills. Today, we're continuing our series through the Psalms, and the Psalms that we're in today are a part of a particular subset of Psalms called the Psalms of Ascent. The Psalms of Ascent.
These particular Psalms are written as a part of Israel's worship liturgy that they would practice and in particular they're called the Psalms of Ascent because these are the Psalms that the people would sing as they ascended to Jerusalem for worship. For their various festivals that Israel would have throughout the year, they would ascend up to Jerusalem because Jerusalem was on the hill and as they ascended, they would sing these songs of worship. Hence, they're called the Psalms of Ascent. Just wanted to give you that little background about the Psalms, they're all they all aren't written by David, Psalms are written, some of them are written by other authors. As a matter of fact, this particular Psalm is anonymous that we're gonna read, and hear from this morning, but they're all holy scripture and these are Psalms that God's people have used for centuries in their worship of him.
But I wanna give you that little background before we dive into God's word this morning. Let's go before our Lord and pray. Our Father, we come before you in the mighty and the matchless name of Jesus that we sang about this morning. God, your name is powerful, your name is life. God, your your name shines through the darkness.
And God, we thank you that we get to gather today in your name. God, I pray that you would move me out of the way, that I would decrease and that you would increase and be made much of in the lives of your people. God, show up today. I need your spirit today. I need your anointing today.
I need your grace today. I can't do this without you and your people need you. You know what they've wrestled with all week. Show up in their lives today. For it's in the name of Jesus that we pray together.
Amen. It has been said that out of all of the emotions, joy is the most vulnerable emotion. Joy is the most vulnerable emotion because it requires you to risk something. To be joyful is to put your heart on the line and be happy and to attach your heart to something and believe in it and to settle into something and to have a good time. Therefore, joy is the most vulnerable emotion.
Because sometimes we're asking ourselves, well what if this good time comes to an end? What if this person changes? What if this gets taken away? What what about when we aren't sitting around the table like this and somebody has to leave? And so to put ourselves on the line is to be joyful, and to be joyful is to put ourselves on the line.
Joy is the most vulnerable emotion. I see it every year in football season when the Lions come around. And some of you like, oh, I don't know if I wanna put my heart on the line this year. I don't know. I don't know.
You're wondering like, we gonna make the playoffs? What's gonna happen? Is everybody gonna get And and to be and to be a Lions fan, we know it's to put your heart on the line. Joy is a vulnerable emotion. Renee Brown talks about this.
She says, joy is vulnerable. That's why we are afraid to feel it. She says, don't squander hopeful moments by waiting for the other shoe to drop. Lean in and practice gratitude. It requires something of you to lean in to actually practice gratitude.
What far too often happens is this, we we self preserve and we try to protect ourselves. Sometimes we protect ourselves from future disappointments by refusing to fully enjoy present blessings. We don't fully let ourselves enjoy it. We don't fully let ourselves feel it because we're thinking well well what if this changes? What if it's taken away?
What if it's not like this tomorrow? And sometimes we miss out on joy today by trying to protect ourselves from disappointment tomorrow. In other words, it takes courage to be happy. You know this. It takes courage to be happy, to let the guard down and say, you know what, I'm gonna give this person a chance and I'm gonna enjoy this time I have with them and I'm not gonna compare them to the last person who hurt me or broke my heart, I'm gonna lean into this relationship.
I'm gonna lean into this group of friends and I'm not gonna be worried about somebody moving away and hurting my feelings or breaking my heart. I'm gonna go all in and I'm gonna fully embrace this. I'm gonna lean into this church, I'm gonna love this faith family of mine, my faith community community. I'm gonna fully lean in and fully love them. I'm gonna enjoy my kids without worrying about when they're gonna move out someday.
I'm gonna be fully present and to be happy, to fully enjoy it, to fully grasp the good things around us that God gives us, if we're being honest, that takes a lot of courage. So, how do we work up the courage to be happy? How do we work up the courage to to be happy and say, you know what, I'm gonna enjoy this day. I'm gonna enjoy this person, I'm going to enjoy this meal, I'm going to enjoy this group of friends. Psalms one twenty six speaks to a kind of resilient joy.
It's a joy that has been through some things. It's a joy that knows difficulty without giving up hope. One scholar gives us a little context on what we're gonna see in Psalm one twenty six. Scott Hosey says this, whenever I read Psalm one twenty six, the phrase, delirious with joy leaps to my mind. What emerges in the opening verses here is a portrait of people whose wildest dreams somehow came true and they discover that they just cannot stop giggling over it.
They're so blessed, they're so happy, they're so giddy that they just can't get over it. They can't believe that God has been so good to them. They can't believe that God has showed up for them in the way that he has. So it's this kind of delirious crazy joy. The other night I was hanging out with some kindergartners and first graders with Luca.
Her and some of her friends had a little reunion. They hadn't seen each other since last school year. So they we we meet up at a a buddy's pizza, and so we got these kindergartners and first graders sitting around the table. They're just cackling and giggling and making all kinds of noise and people are looking over at us like, what's wrong with them? But it's just, you know, you're hanging out with a bunch of kindergarten girls and they're just happy.
They're laughing at jokes that aren't funny. They're just finding reasons just finding reasons to be happy, they're just giddy. And that's kind of the context of the text in these first few verses. The people of God are just giddy. They're just happy.
They can't believe that God has been so kind to them, that God has been so good to them. It's like it's like they're living in a dream almost. This is the kind of cheerfulness that we see. Scholar Stan Mast says this about this. He gives us some background on why they're so happy.
Why are these people so giddy? Why are they so happy? He says in the opening three verses of Psalm one twenty six, the ancient people of God are recalling their deliverance from hell. They spent seventy long years in Babylonian captivity, exiled from everything that had defined and enriched their lives. They lost everything.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken us? That's exactly how they felt. Things seemed hopeless. They could see no way out. So when the Lord brought back the captives to Zion, they couldn't believe it.
It says, we were like men who dream. They hardly dared to believe what had just happened, that God had actually intervened in the affairs of nations so powerful that they had nearly destroyed God's people. They're so happy, They're so giddy because God intervened on their behalf. He showed himself powerful. He showed himself capable.
And they aren't perfect people, so they probably wonder, why did we deserve this kind of blessing? Why do we deserve this kind of grace? And they just can't get over it. They're giddy. They're giddy like a bunch of kindergarten girls.
They're giddy. The first three verses start like this. When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, the Lord has done great things for them.
In other words, what God did had gone viral. It began to spread. Other nations began to see. People began to hear about what God had done for his people. Those people who have been head held captive by the Babylonians, those people who look to have no future, god has saved them and turned their destiny around.
Have you heard about this? And so the word of god began to go viral. As a matter of fact, I believe this is what God had willed all along. He had willed for him to get glory by rescuing this group of people from this episode of darkness in their lives. And it says the Lord has done great things for us.
We were filled with joy. Not a little bit of joy, not an increment of joy, not a not a piece of joy. It says that they were filled with joy because of what God had done in their lives. If you think about it, some of these people had been born in bondage. So they had been there for seventy years.
They had grown old in bondage. They had lost friends in this situation. They watched their dreams die. They watched family members die. They watched their hope dissipate under under this darkness for so many years, and now God has shown up.
And their tongues are filled with joy. And so in our first three verses of this text, the people of God are just looking back. They're like, oh my goodness, God has been so good to us. They're just looking back. If you want to experience Joy Friends, sometimes you have to play the tapes.
You have to go back and play the tapes. Now if you're under a certain age in here, you're like, is a tape? What what is this guy? What is a tape? Back in the day, many many many eons ago, there was this great invention called the VCR, and the VCR play tapes.
Some of you recall this, you're like I hit the Lion King on this thing back in the day. I I remember having tapes. And people would also record events on tapes. Big events, they'd go back and they'd look at those and reflect on those sweet memories. And for some of us to recall and remember the grace of God in our lives, we need to go back and look at the tapes.
We need to remember those seasons of God's provision, God's protection, God's blessing, God's grace, God God's kindness to us because if we're honest sometimes, we we forget. We forget about God's faithfulness. We forget about how good He's been to us. Some of us need to go back and just remember some birthdays. You got you you go back and look at the tapes.
You got that tape in there about your birthday, and it's not just about the birthday, but it's the people that were with you, the fun that you had, and how you got there, and just the fact that you got to celebrate another year. Sometimes we gotta look back at that, and you know what? God has brought me another year and I'm so so grateful for that. That's not something I deserve. Of us need to go back and look at the wedding day, especially on a on a tough day of marriage.
We need to go back and listen to those vows. Remember those promises that you made and the the promises that were made to you. And it's not just about that day, but all that led up to that day, you remember that? All that planning, that stress, just so you can get to that day and celebrate and make a covenant with that person. You remember that?
Some of us need to look back at our baptism or even when we came to faith. You weren't always this, you know, super saved holy roller person that you are now, but there was a point where you were lost. And it wasn't because God, you know, that you you did something to impress God, it's because God found you. By His grace, He saved and redeemed you. And sometimes we gotta go back and remember those stories, remember our own salvation, so God can restore the joy of your salvation.
Remember that graduation? You know it's not just about the graduation, you put on the cap and gown, but maybe it was that year and all that you went through to get to that point. And and and all of the sacrifices that you had to make and how God was good to you through that. Sometimes friends, if we wanna experience joy, we need to go look at those tapes again. God has been good.
God has been faithful. God is for you. And if you're in a a present moment that seems to distract you from that, sometimes you need to go back and look at the tapes. And that's what we're seeing in our text today. The first three verses are the people of God looking back at the tapes.
They're looking back at God's faithfulness, his kindness, his provision, his protection. Because in verse four of our text, things take a shift. If the first three verses are the past, looking at the tapes, verse four is the present. Let me catch you up to speed. God did this great miraculous work of bringing his people out of Babylonian captivity.
So they have been in bondage for seventy years. God by his grace brings them out, but they're back to Jerusalem. And when they show up back to Jerusalem, everything isn't nice and pretty. As a matter of fact, things have been destroyed, things aren't so good. And so now, they're asking God to do it again, essentially.
God, we need you again. If you did it before, oh God, I know that you can do it again. And verse four says, restore our fortunes Lord, like the streams in the Negev. Restore our fortunes, Things have been lost. We know that you can do it again.
That's why we have the confidence to ask you again because we know that you have done this before. And so they are replaying the tapes and reminding themselves of what God has done because they need him. They need him to show up and do it again. Jerusalem had been devastated. The city had to be restored.
Every now and then, God gives you an IKEA project. You know what I mean by that? IKEA gives you the furniture, but the furniture isn't together. They give you a box and it gives you some instructions, and every now and then you gotta go hire somebody to come over and put it together for But the way it's supposed to go, you get the box and you get the instructions and you put it together and then you get to you get the you get the furniture. But you have to participate in the project to get it to look like it's on the it is on the picture.
If you're like me, you put it together wrong and you have to take it apart again and put it back together again and all that jazz. But essentially that's what God has sent to his people. I brought you out, but you have to join me in this work of restoring Jerusalem back to what it was. In many ways, they are gonna be a participant in their own joy as they join God in this project. And sometimes God does the same thing with us.
He saves us, He brings us out, but He calls us to trust Him and to join Him in the work. We're oftentimes active participants in the making and the breaking of our own joy. Now, aren't the source of our own joy. We know that Jesus is the source of our joy. But sometimes he he calls us to join him in the work and be an active participant in what He's doing.
Let let me explain this a little bit more. He He saves you and and and He gets you healed, but you have to obey His word and follow Him. And when we obey His word and follow Him, we end up experiencing joy. The other side of that is, we disobey Him, we rebel against Him, and sin and rebellion is one of the quickest ways to lose our joy. We we we squish down and press down the spirit in us.
We grieve the Holy Spirit in us when we rebel against God. We can't perpetually disobey God and experience long lasting joy. So in Israel's case here in the text, they're called to join God in the work of restoring their city. And this was not easy. This was not as easy as an IKEA project.
When you and I get the IKEA project, we get the instructions, or some of us don't like reading instructions, I'm one of those people. Right? But in this case, it wasn't that easy. One scholar says it this way, the problem was that so few had come back home, and home was such a mess, and the neighbors were such a problem. It was a small band of refugees, and the Promised Land was like a desert.
They had no homes. Their fields and vineyards, not having been cultivated in years, had gone wild. The city of Jerusalem was in ruins, and their temple had been demolished. Their neighbors themselves, victims of the Babylonian policy of moving conquered people to foreign lands, resented and feared the restored Jews. So their neighbors weren't even happy.
They weren't like, yay, you're home. Let's let's do this thing. They was like, oh my gosh, they're back. So people weren't happy about it. They were home for the holidays, but home wasn't what it used to be.
And so if things were gonna get back right, they had to join God in this, and they had to get to work. In other words, the people had to sow seeds. They had to invest time, energy, and effort into this restoration project. And it was going to be hard. They will shed tears, and they will experience pain, but the principle and the promise here, the promise is found in verse five.
Here's the promise. Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Ugly seasons often produce some of the most beautiful music. Have you ever noticed that?
One of my favorite songwriters and artists is an artist by the name of Adele. I love Adele's music. But the thing about Adele, she only makes music when she's sad. I don't know if you've noticed that. I've never heard a happy, super happy Adele song.
When when Adele goes through a bad breakup or something like that, you know she's coming out with an album. When things are going good with her and her significant other, you're not gonna hear any music for a long time. As a matter of fact, she she's she's in a good relationship now. She's engaged to a guy by the name of Rich Paul and they you know what? She hadn't made a song in five years.
And so I'm waiting for Rich to do something because I need some music. I need some music from Adele. Ugly Seasons produced some of the most beautiful songs and some of the most beautiful scriptures. Here's what we can count on. God does not waste tears.
He does not waste difficult seasons, difficult chapters. He doesn't waste that. And he does not waste tears. And we are we're we're those who can benefit from we're those who have benefited from other people's tears. There are people who cry tears so that you can have joy today.
I think of the civil rights movement. There were people who marched while crying, people who were arrested, people who sacrificed careers and comfort and safety and some their very lives. They sow tears in one generation so that another generation could reap songs of joy. And that's that's not just the civil rights movement, friend. Somebody in your family sacrificed for you.
Somebody prayed for you. If you are a believer that grew up in a household with other believers, somebody took that first step of faith to follow Jesus. Someone prayed for you. Some teacher maybe stayed late for you. A coach stayed late to help you.
Some parent worked overtime. Somebody served in our military and sacrificed for freedoms that future generations would enjoy. Some of the joy that you are experiencing today was watered by somebody else's tears. The text says in verse six, those who go out weeping carrying seed to sow will return with songs of joy carrying sheaves with them. I love this imagery.
Here's why. It says that people will go out weeping. They walk out of the door crying. And what do they have in their hands when they walk out of that door? They have seed in their hand.
So they walk out of that door crying with seed in their hand, but I love how it turns around. But they go back through the same door with songs of joy and sheaves on their shoulder. They they go back with crops on their shoulder because God didn't waste those tears and God didn't waste that seed. You left crying, carrying seed. But when you return, you will carry sheaves of crops on your shoulder.
And people might be wondering, well, what happened to you? When you left here, you were crying, but you came back with songs of joy. Friends, God does not waste tears and God does not waste seed. And the joy that you receive in Christ is an everlasting joy. Here's our final point of the day.
The gospel is an invitation into joy that cannot be taken away. That's our fear. Right? That's the reason why joy is so vulnerable, because we we fear that the thing that is leading to our joy, we fear that that thing can be taken away from us. But the gospel, friends, is an invitation into joy that can't be stolen.
Here's why. Jesus says, I went into the grave for you and I came out on the other side. I went to the cross weeping, and people sat around my grave weeping. And many wept, and the tears began to spread. But when I came out of the grave, I came out of the grave with songs of joy.
The worst thing that this world could do to Jesus was done to Jesus. But at the end of his story, there's joy. And because you belong to him, the worst thing that this world could ever do to you cannot be the end of your story either. And that's why believers can risk joy. Jesus sowed in tears so that we could reap in songs and shouts of joy.
So go ahead and hope. Go ahead and love. Go ahead and celebrate. Go ahead and laugh like a kindergarten girl. Go ahead and dream and let yourself be happy.
And if you're having a hard time being happy, then go back and watch the tapes. My friends, God has been good to you. He's been very good to you. Sometimes you just have to remember it. And this world may disappoint.
No. This world will disappoint you. But your disappointment is temporary. Your joy in Christ is eternal. Can't be taken away.
Can't be stolen. Let's pray together. Oh, Father God, we come before you in the mighty name of Jesus. God, I lift up my brothers and sisters, God, that we would that we would reach out and grab the joy that you have placed before us, that we wouldn't be afraid to trust you. God, I pray for the person in this room who doesn't know you, oh God.
I pray that they would take that step of faith. I know they're probably afraid of being disappointed by you, but God you are like no other. You don't fail, you don't disappoint, you don't lie, you don't cheat, you don't come up short. You are good, And the gifts that you give us are good. And I pray for all of us that we would enjoy them and be fully present for them.
It's the name of Jesus that we pray together. Amen. I invite you to stand with me as we sing this final song together.