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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
Today we'll be reading out of Psalms 95 as we continue our practice of reading Psalms daily. The Psalm says, Come, let us sing to the Lord. Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him.
McKay Vandenberg:For the Lord is a great God, the great king above all gods. He holds in his hands the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains. The sea belongs to him for he made it. His hands form the dry land too. Come, let us worship and bow down.
McKay Vandenberg:Let us kneel before the Lord our maker for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care. If only you would listen to his voice today. The Lord says, don't harden your hearts as Israel did in Meribah, as they did at Masa in the wilderness. For there your ancestors tested and tried my patience, even though they sought everything I did.
McKay Vandenberg:For forty years, I was angry with them and I said, they are a people whose heart turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them. So in my anger, I took oath, they will never enter my place of rest.' As I've reflected on this Psalm, two different thoughts kind of came into my mind. I am someone that struggles with worship during our Sunday services. The music I don't totally resonate with, you know, I always have a style I would rather have.
McKay Vandenberg:I'm usually crossed arm, very rarely are my hands up, but I'm reminded in the beginning of this Psalm just how important it is to praise God unashamed, unhindered, whatever term you want to say that is comfortable that says, I am sacrificing my comfortability to worship a good God. The first half of this Psalm, I'm reminded of that as Sunday church service is not about my preferences, but about honoring and worshiping the Lord that I serve that has died for my sins and has saved me from eternal damnation. Now, as a parent, I get to the second half of this Psalm and I recognize the same way that the Lord God called out to Israel as they're traveling out of Egypt into the promised land. There's some knuckleheads. There's a lot of complaining, a lot of trials that they run into.
McKay Vandenberg:Verse nine says, for there your ancestors tested and tried my patience. And as a parent, I can see that with my own son. Now, my son is still young. He's perfect. I love him.
McKay Vandenberg:He's never going do anything wrong. But even in his young age, he tests my patience where I say, hey, don't do that. It's going to hurt you. Don't grab that. It's hot.
McKay Vandenberg:Don't touch that. It's very sharp. Now, while my son tests my patience, I still love him. I still care about him. I still want the best for his life, but have to provide correction in that.
McKay Vandenberg:And as we read this Psalm, we can see the same thing for God and his people of Israel, and ultimately for us that have been accepted into his family. While we test God's patience, that doesn't change his love for us, that doesn't change his heart to have a deep relationship with us, but that will require some correction and some healing in that process. So as you navigate this Psalm today and reflect on it, I guess my two questions are how can you worship today? And in what ways do you need to pay attention to the gracious correction that the Lord is offering you? Let's pray.
McKay Vandenberg:Heavenly Father, I pray that this day is a day of worship for myself and for anyone that may be needing a moment to praise you. Help us to recognize your goodness and your greatness with the right honor and respect that we need. Help us to remove our preferences to offer true praise to you. Lord, I ask for forgiveness and the patience I have tested you in, and I ask for grace as I continue to grow in you, in our relationship and following you. Lord, I also ask that you help us share that same patience and grace with those around us as we continue to seek after you, bring others to the feet of your throne and ultimately lift up our praise to you.
McKay Vandenberg:We pray all these things in Jesus name, amen.