Psalm 57 | Summer of Psalms

It is always something to conclude a sermon series,

and Summer of Psalms has always really been different

to me to kind of conclude it. Sometimes I'm not

the one to conclude it, whether we're on vacation

or whatever it is. Someone kind of concludes

it for me, but Summer of Psalms is a sermon series

that we've been doing every summer, because if

you do it that way, it gives you, you know...

hundreds of psalms that you get to work on. Psalm

119 will probably be a summer in of itself, but

it's kind of riding the emotional roller coaster

that is the psalmist. Mostly King David, but

we have psalms that were written by other people.

And concluding this sermon series in Psalm 57,

I think, was God's plan all along, because we

had a missionary last week that didn't preach

in it, and it's totally fine, that to actually

land it and end it on 57 is very different than

if we were going to land it on 58. And I think

God does that intentionally as I look at a sermon

series about intentionality, because I think

we can see all of these psalms we've been working

on have been very intentional. David's been very

intentional about bearing his soul. about laying

it all out in his fears, his highs, his lows,

his nightmares, his dreams about God and his

relationship and what's going on in his life

that we've seen echoed throughout these Psalms.

They call to trust God in all circumstances.

That's an easy sermon. It's easy to say, trust

God in all your circumstances, but we know tangibly

that's very hard because there are times our

circumstances may be dire. But what Psalm 57

provides is a vivid picture. Of what it looks

like to trust God in the wilderness. Now the

wilderness gets used in many different ways.

You see the wilderness as far as the Israelites

kind of wandering through the wilderness. You

see Jesus going out to the wilderness to be tempted

and tested by Satan himself. That the wilderness

is used in this kind of desolate place. That's,

if you remember, I think my year, first or second

year, we did a sermon series called The Desolate

Place. Because friends, we can find ourselves

in a desolate place daily. You might be one of

those people that you wake up and everything

is great until you hear one bad thing and then

it just falls and you find yourself in a desolate

place. Maybe you are literally finding yourself

in a desolate place today. But David's writing

this as he's fleeing King Saul, both in dire

circumstances that he's facing, but an unwavering

faith of worship. That's really what a lot of

these Psalms have been in, has been about worshiping

God in the certain circumstances of life. And

I think about our Han family, right? As they're

praying, and we're now praying for Chandler as

he's going through his struggles. Friend, that's

a different kind of desolate place. How do I

know? My wife was a NICU nurse for almost 20

years. That can be a very desolate place for

families. Or maybe you're in your family and

there's just a dry desert desolate place going

on right now. Or maybe it's your job, your relationship

with your kids, something else. Maybe you just

look at the state of the world today and go,

we're all just in a desolate place. And you're

right. We are. We can be. But it's perspective

that changes in and out of the desolate place.

David's situation was not one of comfort, but

hardship, fear, and one of our biggest fears

of all, spiders. Nope. Fear of the uncertainty

of life. I see you if you're scared of spiders.

That is a fear too. But David's not talking about

that. He's talking about the uncertainty, the

unknown. How many of you, being honest, because

you don't want to lie in church, have a fear

of the unknown? Right? About 90 % of you, the

other 10%, you just lied. And understand that,

you know, the fear of the unknown is all about

perspective, right? How many people think that

I was a little bit of a drama king growing up?

That hurts. But it's true, okay? It is. It is

true. A lot of times when things happen to me

in life, and still tends to at times, and God

has blessed me with a wonderful bride to bring

me back down or just not say anything, because

she knows he'll come back down on his own, right,

like a hot air balloon, is that when things go

wrong, it can be just... the worst right that

i can go one two one hundred and just get to

that place i'm working on it the lord is is really

working on my my heart in that and you know i

try to do good in it i try to grow but there

are times when things happen it's just like no

let's just get it get rid of it right like let's

just not do it like this is terrible And when

you go on a hiking trip with your family in the

beginning of the summer, you're met with that

almost hourly when it comes to certain things.

And we were just outside of Bryce Canyon, and

we were going on a magnificent hike. It was the

lower something, something of something. And

all I know is that it was three and a half miles

to go to this beautiful 80 -foot waterfall. right?

Gorgeous waterfall, just a beauty, just looking,

go, okay, God exists and his beauty is right

there. But if my math is correct, right, Larry,

if you walk out three and a half miles, you got

to come back. Are you paying attention? Yeah.

Three and a half miles, right? Right. And so

we're, but maybe a half mile in and it's beautiful.

85 degrees, gorgeous. You're in this beautiful

canyon and it was, I felt like Noah. The rains

just opened up, right? In my dramatic mind, golf

ball size hails, but they're really, thank you,

Joe, you didn't have to say no that fast, right?

But it did hail, dropped 30 degrees. That's true,

right? 30 degrees. You know, so we're shivering,

we're poor, we're drenched, soaked to the bone.

And my family's all looking at me. And I'm just

like, I can't go to a dramatic place on this.

That's not going to help anybody. I could have

easily been like, we're all going to die here,

right? That's probably not what you want to do,

right? And so I'm looking at my face. I mean,

we are in a desolate place in this season. I

can't go run ahead and bring the truck back.

That's not going to work. And so we kind of prayed,

right? We just said, Lord's going to get us through

this. And I saw in my boys a tenacity to just

go, okay, game on. Let's go. We got to make it

through. And my middle son, Teddy, right, who

Teddy can be more, sometimes more of our negative

guy, right? He gets that from me. But he, you

know, we're wet. It's going to happen. It rained,

of course. We just got to go. And then Joey and

Jack, they led Kara and I through that. It was

unbelievable. And pretty much by the time we

were there, we were almost dry. But one of the

cool things was, because we're in this canyon,

to go see one waterfall, how many did we see

because of the flash flooding that was going

on up at the surface? 80? Yeah, I mean, seriously.

Well, maybe a little dramatic, but he also gets

that from Carrie. But understand that we got

to see all of these other waterfalls. Like, perspective.

We could have been like, this is where my journey

ends. Just lay it down. Or we could trudge ahead,

we could take it step by step, but notice what

was around us. Because in the wilderness, what

is around you is important. And one of the coolest

things was seeing people along the way, whether

we were passing them or they were passing us,

just people we'll never see again in life. Like,

hey, keep it going. The amount of, hey, your

boys are doing great. Those little things in

life, they're still a part of me that's like,

no, we're going to die. But we didn't. We made

it back. Now, there was also a part of me looking

at the flash flood and goes, I parked on a hill.

Like, we might not have a Jeep when we get back.

Like, that's, again, and just pray for me. Those

are the crazy things that go on through my head.

Jeep was fine. We're good. But it was the perspective

of walking through the wilderness. and noticing

what God had for us in that, that really made

it something. Well, we look back now fondly and

go, we made it through. I was singing, we made

it through the rain. How many of you know that

song? It's an actual song. Look it up. My boys

made fun of me for two days, right, for just

singing that song. But it was an understanding

that, hey, we stuck together, we got through

it. That's exactly what David's trying to give

us today. God is, or what David's reminding us

in that every season of life, we are called to

find perspective and we're called to find intentionality

to help the world around us become more intentional

about one thing. And that's the cross of Christ,

that salvation. And how do we as a community,

because one of the things I've been putting in

this sermon series is being intentional with

the people here. If we're going to go and try

to reach people out there, we have to be intentional

about meeting with each other here or else it's

not going to work. If you're off, if we start

in this potential new vision and mission in the

coming months, if we're off like this, five years

from now, we're going to be here. We got to be

in lockstep together. And we're called to worship,

first and foremost, God in every season of life.

How we worship strengthens our community, strengthens

us as members of Munster Church, and calls us

to create an intentional space where each person

can be seen, can come in worship, find support,

and to grow together. Whether they're going to

grow in study ministries, support ministries,

or small group ministries, there's a little taste

of what's to come. We want them to be able to

find it here at Munster Church. Not necessarily

always in our building, but maybe in our homes.

Partnering with other counseling centers or support

areas, intermission, anew. All of these ministries

is about people coming to find the Lord. So how

does that work when we're in the wilderness?

Well, David's gonna start worshiping God in the

wilderness. The first three verses, again, we're

in Psalm 57, not 58. We use the ESV version,

but you use whatever's on your Bible app or that

you brought. David writes, be merciful to me,

O God. Be merciful to me. For in you, my soul

takes refuge. In the shadows of your wings, I

take refuge till the storms of destruction pass

by. I cry out to God most high, to God who fulfills

his purpose for me. He will send from heaven

and save me. He will put to shame him who tramples

on me. Selah, God will send out his steadfast

love and his faithfulness. David begins by calling

out to God for mercy, seeking refuge under his

wing until the storms of the oppression that

he's feeling passes. Much like we tried to get

under some coverage, you know, from the storm.

It didn't really work, right? We were drenched,

but we were seeking it. David's saying, seek

God in the midst of your hardship, in the midst

of the dry seasons of life, in the wildernesses

of life. You need to seek. But too many times

we go, I'm in the wilderness. I'm going to stand

right here, and God, you need to come deliver

me. Okay? Well, what happens when Jesus met the

guy that was lame, right? Not lame as in uncool,

but lame as in he can't walk. Does anyone know

what he says to him right after he heals him?

Anyone want to take a guess? What was that? Get

up. Right? He just healed him. This is a guy

that wasn't able to get up from birth. Get up,

take your mat, and walk. So what does he do?

He heals them and then gives them three missions

right off the bat. Day one, get up, take your

mat and walk. Jesus knew he could do it because

Jesus' healing was complete and he had to walk

in the deliverance from his wilderness. But so

many times we just sit and we just go, nope,

I'm just going to wait. I'm going to wait until

God does it the way I want him to do it. And

if not, I'm just going to wait. Well, then you

might be waiting for a long time. You might be

waiting to the point where you miss it. And that's

not a good place to be. David's first response

in the wilderness was not to spare or to retreat

into isolation. It was a call to be active, to

worship in the darkest moments of his life. David

chooses to focus on God's faithfulness, trusting

God will do what God needs to do to deliver him,

to deliver us from our situation. Worship in

the wilderness is not only expressing pain to

God, but also acknowledging his sovereignty,

his faithfulness in the midst of it. Just as

David found refuge under the shadow of the wings

of God, we are called to find comfort and security

in God's presence. Here it is. No matter the

circumstance. There is no circumstance that you

could be going through in your life that you

can't find shelter under the wings of God's sovereignty,

his mercy, and his grace. So what would that

look like if we could build an intentional community

here? Create spaces where we can worship. We

do that. But worship even in the wilderness.

Our community here is meant to be one where we

can come alongside one another in difficult times,

offering prayer, tangible help, encouragement,

and hope, knowing that we're all seeking the

same person. We're all looking for God's refuge

in our lives. Lord's Day 21 of the Heidelberg

Catechism speaks of the communion of saints.

In times of trouble, we are not alone. The church

is a community where believers are called to

support one another. sharing in both joys and

the struggles of life. Just as David found refuge

in God, we find refuge in one another as we walk

towards God in the wilderness. Where we get that

messed up is when we look for the refuge of one

another in and of themselves. We can't do that.

We got to do it with our eyes focused on the

cross or Satan could take that and manipulate

that something fierce, right? He could defile

that really quickly. But if we all are kind of

cross -eyed, if you will, looking at the cross,

together we can find that refuge. The Heidelberg

Catechism teaches that the communion of saints

is a means of grace. We are to experience God's

faithfulness through the presence and support

of the church as a community where I call to

be a place where each member can seek refuge

in God's faithfulness and draw strength from

each other. So I guess my first question is,

Are you someone that helps others get strong

in the Lord? Or do you actually take from people?

We do that by gossip, right? Or we do that by

not just being nice to one another, not being

inviting, not being intentional or being fake.

Because all that does is tear down the body.

We are called to draw strength from each other

to build the body of Christ. Because if we do

that, then when we stand in front of enemies,

The enemies of the church, enemies of God, right?

We will come together in that and we'll actually

praise God for those moments. Verses four through

six. My soul is in the midst of lions. I lie

down amidst fiery beasts, the children of man,

whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues

are sharp swords. Be exalted, O God, above the

heavens. Let your glory be all over the earth.

They set a net for my steps. My soul was bowed

down. They dug a pit in my way, but they have

fallen into themselves. Selah. Pause. David expresses

his deep sorrow as he faces enemies, like lions,

teeth sharp like spears. Yet despite the overwhelming

threats, what does David do? He declares that

his heart is steadfast in praise. Think about

that. Not that he's praising that he has enemies,

but he's praising God that in the midst of being

attacked, He knows he has an advocate. He knows

he has a Lord and Savior that will bring him

through it in this life or the next. David's

praise is not a denial of his circumstances.

And friends, I'm not saying that. If you're going

through a wilderness in life, I'm not saying

just paint a face on and be fake. No, that's

the opposite of what I'm saying. Enter in, and

guess what? God will probably bring you to people

that have dealt with the same thing, the struggle

that is going on in your life. I love you. You're

not the first person to go through it. You're

not going to be the last. But if we don't know

that about each other, if we're not honest with

one another about where our struggles are, then

how can we come together? How can we show that

intentionality and see it for the praises of

God, for the betterment of God's people? Because

in the wilderness, we're called to praise, not

just for what he has done, but for who he is.

You see, praise is an act of faith. If you didn't

have faith, you wouldn't praise God. It wouldn't

make any sense. And when we gather as a community

to worship, we're declaring together that no

matter the opposition or the trials we face,

we trust in God's deliverance. But again, it

cannot be deliverance according to you. It's

got to be deliverance according to the deliverer,

right? All I knew is we walked three and a half

miles on that path. It's going to be the same

exact number of miles to get back to the car.

How do I know? Because I had it on my Apple Watch.

Because I'm not good at math. But they had markers,

and we used that as encouragement. Hey, every

half a mile, I was able to say, guys, we just

went another half a mile. This to go, this to

go, this to go. In normal circumstances, my kids

would have told me to stop. Let's be honest.

They'd have been like, enough, Dad, we don't

care. But in the midst of the desperation that

we found ourselves, the wilderness we were in,

those words were encouragement. Hey, we made

it another half mile. Hey, we made it another

mile. Hey, there are other people. Hey, we're

still alive. All of those things in that moment

were seen as encouragement. As we build intentional

relationships within the church, we must create

an environment where praise is the response,

oh, this is hard, to every circumstance. Our

worship, whether in joy or struggle, should be

the testimony of the strength we find in ourselves.

No. The strength we find in God. The strength

we find in the one who is our strength. We are

not just called to worship alone, but to worship

together. Strengthening from one another's faith

as we declare God's goodness and faithfulness.

Going back to Lord's Day 21, reminds us that

we're not isolated in our faith. I don't know

about you, but that's good news, right? Even

for you introverts, that's good news. Right?

That we are not in this faith alone. As a community

of believers, we are called to praise together.

The catechism affirms that the church is a community

where we are strengthened by the worship of others.

Whether we're dancing over here. Right? Whether

we're putting our hands in the air or whether

we're just in a deep meditative state or sleeping,

right? We are called to worship together, to

draw from one another. We encounter God's presence

and are encouraged in the journey. Because finally,

when the deliverance comes, what do we get to

do? We could say, I made it. No, one of the things

we said was, thank God we're back. Thank God

the Jeep's there. Right? Thank God that we, God,

you brought us, you delivered us through this.

So we get to declare God's glory to the nations.

Verses 7 through 11. My heart is steadfast, O

God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing and make

melody. Awake, my glory, awake, O harp and lyre.

I will awake the dawn. I will give thanks to

you, O Lord, among the peoples. I will sing praises

to you amongst the nations. For your steadfast

love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness

to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.

Let your glory be all over the earth. Whose glory?

God's glory, not our glory. If we start to try

to take God's glory, friend, we're doing the

opposite. We are called to declare God's glory

to the world. What David does is he prays that

God's glory be exalted above the heavens and

that his glory be all over the earth. David is

not content with simply receiving God's deliverance.

He longs for the world to see and recognize God's

greatness. Is that not? Our story? If you're

saved, praise the Lord. But your job's not done,

right? You didn't do works to get to faith. Faith

came, regenerated in your soul. You recognize

Jesus as Lord and Savior. And now we get to work.

Now we get to declare God's glory to the heavens.

Or maybe you're here today and you don't have

that relationship with Jesus. Or maybe you don't

know that you do. Or maybe you're confused by

that. Maybe today's your day. Maybe the Lord

is calling you to the cross, wants you to confess

your sins, and he wants to bring you into that

family. Some of you may not like that. Some of

you go, well, that's really elitist. Well, stop

it. We're talking about God. God has a right

to call you to his family. And he wants you to.

He wants you to come and be a part of what he

is doing. Maybe not just here at Munster Church,

but in your own churches, your own communities,

your own lives. What David prays, it culminates

in this declaration, this worship. And that worship,

true worship, doesn't stay confined to our personal

or logical struggles. I can only worship what

I understand. Then, friend, you're never going

to worship because God's ways are higher than

our ways. He's the creator of all things. We're

not, though we like to think we are. It calls

us to declare God's greatness to the world in

order for God to be great. And I think I've said

this before. I'm getting nostalgia or deja vu

right now. I don't know why. But if we're going

to declare God is great, then we need to declare

ourselves not so much. Right? We can't be great

in the eyes of the world and stay humble. You

may be great in what you do. You may have great

giftings. But a believer gives thanks back to

God. They remember from whom they came. And that

was the Lord. Our worship, just like David, should

never be for us alone. It is meant to be a witness

to the world. As a community, our worship must

reflect the global mission of the church. We

are called to build relationships that not only

encourage each other, but also reach beyond 214

Ridge Road, drawing others into the worship and

glory of God. Building this intentional community

at the church is about strengthening relationships

internally. and equipping one another to go out

with that faith. We'll land one more time in

Lord's Day 21. Lord's Day 21 emphasizes that

the communion of saints is not just for personal

advocation, but the advancement of God's kingdom.

God's kingdom come, God's will be done on earth

as it is in heaven. As a church, we're called

to be a community that not only grows in faith,

but also reaches out with the gospel, declares

God's glory to the world. Our worship and relationship

are meant to reflect God's glory. So when you

reflect God's glory, you first have to accept

it, right? You have to take that irresistible

grace and go, this is the most amazing thing

ever. I want to reflect it. But friend, every

day you have a choice to not. You have a choice

to reflect yourself, your selfishness, even your

ambitions. It's about you. One of the biggest

steps for a believer to come to saving grace

in Jesus is to know it's not about you. It never

has been about you. It never will be about you.

And you need to be okay with it. And for some

of us, we struggle with that. We struggle when

our needs aren't met our way. But if it's one

thing we've seen throughout the Psalms this summer

is God's way is always better. I know that can

sound hallmarky and you go, okay, great. But

it's true. God's declaration, God's deliverance,

God's divine nature. is what we need every day

of our life. So let's land the plane here today.

Worship, trust, and community. How are you doing

this summer and intentionally living out the

gospel in people's lives? Psalm 57 teaches us

to worship God, especially in the wilderness.

Whether your wilderness is only three and a half

miles, whether your wilderness is issues in your

family, issues in your marriage, issues in your

job, issues in yourself. If you need some mental

health work, if you need to sit with someone

licensed, confidential, and just fall apart to

try to help put the pieces back together, we

have partnered with many organizations and individuals.

We'd love to get you that help that you need.

All you got to do is ask. You just got to take

that one step. But as we conclude this series,

we're reminded of something bigger. Our trust

in God should shape everything we do. Our worship,

our relationships, the mission of our church.

You're going to hear more about that tomorrow

night at the meeting. So my final challenge,

just hear these words. Building intentional relationships

within Munster Church is not just about creating

a comfortable, supportive environment for ourselves.

It's about creating a community where God is

glorified in our interactions, in our text messages,

in our conversations, in the way we do our nursery,

all the way through our adult Bible studies and

back again. Where we can walk with one another

through the joys and trials of life. And we're

all equipped to go out and declare God's glory

to the world. So friend, if you're willing to

commit to that, even in a small degree, then

start walking in that. As a church, we're going

to try to develop places and programs and people

to help do that for all of us. But as we move

forward, who can you support today? Who can you

encourage and love on today? Let's be a church

that worships in the wilderness, that trusts

God's faithfulness, and to live out our call

to declare his glory to the world. Let's pray.