Psalm 50 | Summer of Psalms

Like I said, we are starting our Summer of Psalms,

and I just applaud Mike and his ability to capture

a variety of things, contrast this wonderful,

lighthearted with the Chaos of Revelations bumper

video, right? And you talk about a chasm of creativity,

which is fantastic, and though he told me those

look like flyer flies, I see pollen, I really

do. The summer of Psalms 2025 will just remind

me of my allergies. So thank you for that. Now

by half of you that you'll only see pollen too.

But this sermon series is brought to you by Zyrtec.

And so we're going to jump into Psalm 50, a psalm

of Asaph. Asaph, we touched on a little bit of

his last or two summers ago. Because if you remember,

how many books technically is the entire psalms

made up of? How many books? Five, right? And

they mimic what in the Old Testament? The Torah,

right? Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and

Deuteronomy. They're broken up into five. So

we are back. This is my sixth summer, so we're

back in book two. Psalm 50, a psalm of Asaph.

Asaph was in the line of the Levites, right?

So he was part of the Levitical code. He was

part of a Levitical people. So a lot of these

psalms are going to have more to do with the

idea of justice, keeping the law. What does that

look like? But then how you also contrast that

with living a life of love. So I will not have

titles for these sermons because I believe the

psalm itself is the title, but I'm going to start

all of my sermons this summer with a question.

And the question I have as we start, have you

ever experienced the challenge of balancing truth

and grace or justice and love in your relationships

with others? You can leave that up for a minute.

Let that simmer if people are writing it down.

Have you ever experienced the challenge of balancing

truth and grace or justice and love in your relationship

with others? One of the kind of lenses I'm going

to look at this summer. for Munster Church is

to hopefully till the ground a little bit of

creating deeper connection and relationships

with us here in the church. That one of the things

that I think we as a church body can take a big

step in is being intentional in building relationships

with one another, not from 9 .15 to 11 .15 on

Sundays or noon if there's Lighthouse. That for

some of us, that's going to take us out of our

comfort zone because some of us like that kind

of programmatical relationship. This is kind

of how we've always had relationships with people

at church. Church relationships are just that,

relationships at church. Fair enough. I think

that's sad. I think that we miss out on being

the body of Christ, right? Not just the body

of Munster Church. It's not about Munster Church

per se, but the body of Christ here at Munster

Church on other days of the week. Whether it's

we're spreading mulch a couple of weeks ago or

when we do our trunk or treat, that's all well

and good. But that's all done here. That's all

done on our campus, 214 Ridge Road. What would

life look like if Munster Church was intentional

about getting to know each other around different

tables that we find ourselves in life? We found

ourselves together today around the table of

communion. But what would that look like around

the table? in your dining room or your living

room or your kitchen or maybe, you know, on your

deck, maybe out at a restaurant somewhere. What

would that look like if we were intentional?

I know some of you do that. Some of you do that.

But I think having... Us become that church where

we are known for that. I think it's something

that the Psalms this summer is going to call

out of us. And I'm excited to have that conversation.

Now I know, and I'm just going to call it out

from the beginning. I know that there are some

of you that aren't going to like that. And I'm

just going to ask that you lean in. And some

of you may say, you know what? My list of friends

is good enough for me. I don't need more friends.

Fine. But the fellowship of believers is something

we are all called to be. We're surrounded by

such a great cloud of witnesses, though Hebrews

was talking about those that have gone before

us. I think I could pull that down into the here

and now, that you and I have relationship because

we're the members of the same church. That means

more than just the two hours. And hear me, we

are together maybe for two hours. I guarantee

you, you don't all talk to each other for two

hours. What would that look like if we took that

intentionality? Just the desire of that. And

went out throughout the week. Because then we're

going to kind of walk into some of the relational

difficulties that we find in life. That this

question brings up. That we live by a truth.

A truth that is absolute. A truth that is not

subjective. That God's word came down, gave it

to us. Yet we are also called to have grace.

Because we've been shown grace. As Paul writes

in Colossians, we have been forgiven, therefore

we ought to forgive. And that word ought is not

just when you feel like it. That Psalm 50 calls

us to account for how we live in the light of

a couple things. God's justice, yet it also reveals

a God who desires relationship with his people.

So we're going to see that throughout the weeks.

We're going to see what it looks like to have

those genuine relationships with the people around

us. Let's start first with our family. Hopefully

we're intentional about having relationships

with our family. And the way you can kind of

tell is if you just ask those questions, do you

spend time with, let's say you have a spouse,

do you spend time with your spouse? If the answer

is yes, then you're doing well. Go on to the

next group of people. Maybe your kids. And that

may be like, when I want to. And sometimes that's

fine. That can be the answer. But if you're,

let's just say, with the ones closest to you,

do you spend time, are you intentional about

spending time with the people that you claim

to care about? And the answer is no. I think

the Choose Your Own Adventure book stops there

for you. Because if you can't do that with people

that are near and dear to you, how in the world

are you going to go do that? And be kind of that

intentional church out and about in the neighborhoods,

right? In the grocery stores, in your jobs, in

your schools, in your extracurriculars. You can't

give what you don't have. So maybe this summer,

just maybe, the Lord is asking you to ask him

for a way to do that. Maybe for some skill sets

or some learning that you have to reflect on.

Today we reflect on the first of these psalms

that will bring us into this. And Psalm 50 highlights

God's justice in calling his people to account

while reminding us of his mercy and love. So

let's talk through God's justice before we get

to kind of that intentional community more toward

the end. So God's justice is first found in accountability.

The first six verses will be in Psalm 50. Again,

we use the ESV version, but feel free to, if

you have your own Bible, Bible apps, you can

look at it in whatever translation you want.

We're going to be in the first six verses for

now. Starts off, the mighty one, God the Lord,

speaks and summons the earth from the rising

of the sun to its setting. We sang that today.

Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines

forth. Our God comes. He does not keep silent

before him, is a devouring fire. Around him,

a mighty tempest. He calls to the heavens above

and to the earth that he may judge his people.

Gather to me my faithful ones who made a covenant

with me by sacrifice. The heavens declare his

righteousness for God himself is judge. Selah.

So here God is portrayed as a mighty judge who

calls all the earth to witness his judgment.

Now, we got that very much in Revelation. We

just got done with some of that in our good friend

Zephaniah. But this psalm opens with a powerful

image of God summoning heaven and earth to testify

to his justice. Right there shows a relationship.

The summoning of a people. Now, you may be able

to kind of couch this. Well, he is God. He is

authority. He can make them come. If that's how

you choose to see God, that's going to be a rough

relationship. You're going to probably have some

struggles with that. But what this tells me,

what this shows me, is that God is demanding

accountability from his people who he has relationship

with, who he's gone to bat for throughout their

history, who's done great things in their life.

And bring it to today, a God that has done great

things in your life, a God that sometimes does

things that we don't fully understand or don't

fully like, yet there's an intimacy of relationship

there. It's not based on ritual sacrifice alone,

but through true devotion. Oh, I hate that word,

or both of those words put together. True devotion.

When I got to that point very early on in the

sermon writing, that idea of true devotion, I

had to pause. And I don't know if I give that

a lot. True devotion? That's super scary. True

devotion, head over heels in love, in relationship

with God where I'm going to abandon everything

else for the sake of my relationship with God

is ultimate vulnerability. And if I had to ask

for, I won't, but if I had to ask for hands to

be raised of people that like to be vulnerable,

there probably wouldn't be many, if any, at all.

But what God is calling for, what God is asking

of us, is to understand that we should have a

true, devoted life to Christ. Sacrifices are

important, but they are meaningless without the

righteousness and humility that should accompany

them with our relationship with God. What does

this look like played out? This is the understanding

of real grace or cheap grace. We've talked about

this before. Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes about

it in three of his books about cheap grace. That

cheap grace is an understanding that I know I'm

going to do bad things on Friday, Saturday, or

Sunday, or any day that ends in Y, but I know

that I can ask for forgiveness and he will give

that to me. Put that in your relationships. What

if you had someone very close to you do that

same thing to you? Do you believe them? Do you

trust them? Will you ever be vulnerable with

them if that's how they're going to live their

life or how they're going to walk out their relationship

with you or with me? No. We'd be a fool to do

that. But that can't be our relationship with

God. It needs to be not only that true devotion,

but understanding real life -changing grace.

One of the things we get from Lord's Day 6. of

the Heidelberg Catechism, that Lord's Day 6 focuses

on Christ as the perfect mediator. I love that

word. Reflecting on God's justice, being fulfilled

through Christ's sacrifice. Christ stands in

the place of sinners, offering justice and mercy.

Christ as mediator, whether you have thought

about it before or not, is one of the greatest

aspects of Jesus in your life, in my life, in

the life of the church. That he is mediating

for us. Why do we need that? Anyone want to take

a guess? Why do we need a mediator? Because we

can't do it ourselves. Kind of. Okay? That was

an easy answer. Go a little deeper. Why do we

need mediation from Christ? Because we're sinners.

Okay? Pretty easy answer. Go deeper. You already

answered. Because we can't get out of our own

way. Because we're never going to do this perfectly.

We're never going to be able to do the things,

say the things, give the things, volunteer enough

for things, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, to

stand before a perfect God. We can't do it. If

this is the first you're hearing this, then I'm

glad you're here, because this is what changes

lives. That we need somebody that's going to

be the perfect mediator between us and God. But

it also shows the importance of mediation in

the relationships we have on this earth. Have

you ever had conflict with somebody that goes

unresolved? You just kind of let it, oh, I'm

not going to think about it a whole lot anymore.

Maybe you're not even going to sweep it under

the rug. For some of you, that's your modus operandi,

and that's probably not good. Now, probably it

isn't good. But for some of us, it's like, well,

we just won't talk about it. I'll just unfriend

them. I'll just stop that. I'll just kind of

disengage, and we'll just be done. That's not

how it works either. That if you're going to

claim to be a follower of Christ, though not

everybody needs to be on your Christmas card

list, we should have a mediated life. We should

be able to be one that people can come to to

seek forgiveness from or ask forgiveness for.

As Christ is that for us, so we can be that for

the relationships around us. Though we're not

a perfect mediator, but we should offer the peacemaking.

That life needs, our relationships needs, because

we're all broken. We're all messy. And guess

what? Our brokenness and our messiness gets on

other people. We bring people into our mess.

How do I know? I do it to all of you every Sunday.

But understand that as Christ is the mediator

standing before us, we can come to Christ together

to figure out the conflicts in life. Our devotion

to God should be sincere and rooted in a love

that goes beyond external acts but to internal

transformation of our hearts. So it should be

in relationships with people on earth. Just as

God calls us to accountability in our personal

lives, we are called to hold one another accountable

in love within our communities. That doesn't

mean you're judge and jury and executioner. That

just means we hold each other accountable. How

in the world can you do that without relationships?

Play that out in your mind for a minute. If you

have elders or deacons that don't know you, yet

they want to sit down and hold you accountable.

Thus saith the elders. Thus saith the deacons.

Thus saith the lighthouse staff. Thus saith...

Insert whatever position you might hold or volunteer

for here at the church. I tell my council and

my elders, my deacons all the time, if we have

to play that card, we're not doing our jobs.

It comes with relationships. It comes with the

ability to sit down with someone at a table and

talk things out. Bury the hatchet. Whatever you

want to call it. Do the work. Verse 7 brings

us into more of a practical way of understanding

God's loving invitation to genuine relationships.

We've talked about the true devotion. Now we're

going to talk about the genuine relationships

from 7 to 15. Hear, O my people, and I will speak,

O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God,

your God. Not your sacrifices do I rebuke you.

Your burnt offerings are continually before me.

I will not accept a bull from your house or goats

from your folds. For every beast of the forest

is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know

all the birds of the hills, and all that moves

in the field is mine. If I were hungry, I would

not tell you, for the world and its fullness

are mine. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink

the blood of goats? Offer to God a sacrifice

of thanksgiving. and perform your vows to the

Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble.

I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.

God is addressing his people directly, expressing

that he does not need their sacrifices to fulfill

their own needs. Rather, he desires genuine worship

that comes from the heart. A worship that recognizes

his ownership of everything in creation. And

notice, God doesn't dangle this over us and says,

come on up to me, right? Try to be more like

me, because that's, be holy as I am holy has

always been the call. We can't do it, so we have

to do it in repentance. We have to do it with

grace. The key to pleasing God is not ritual

performance of the heart, but a genuine seeking

to glorify him in everything. Let's pause and

get a little awkward. Look back on the last seven

days of your life. Go back to last Monday. The

mirror's right here and I see it. I'll put one

on this side too. The question is, is everything

you have said, everything you have done, and

everything you have thought brought glory to

God? I know for me that's a no. And if I had

to guess, it would be a no for all of you. Unless

all you did was sleep all week. Even then, our

subconscious, nah, you probably don't get a pass

on that either. But understand that if glorifying

God is the key to pleasing God, it's not about

rituals, but it's about bringing him glory by

living that out, then we're all in a lot of trouble.

That's what's so amazing about grace. That's

why we are called to be in that intimate relationship

with God in order to develop a true faith. This

has been a resounding gong over the last, and

maybe it's for a reason, but it seems like every

third or fourth sermon, Lord's Day 7 gets brought

up, that the Heidelberg Catechism's teaching

on faith, particularly in Lord's Day 7, emphasizes

that true faith is a living, relationship with

God. One that involves trust in God's promises

and obedience to his commands. Now I'm going

to bring that down to our own personal relationships

that they take trust. You're not going to build

a deep relationship with someone you don't trust.

It doesn't work. You can be acquaintances with

them. You can be friendly with them. Not sure

why I put that in air quotes. We'll just move

past it. But understand that having true relationships

involve trust. Trust that I can bring you something

or you can bring me something that I may not

like and I'm not going to try to hit you with

my car. Right? It's an understanding and a trust

that we're not going to go from zero to ten.

We're not going to write each other off. But

that we love each other enough to maybe get in

our mess a little bit. To talk openly and honestly

about our fears, our anxieties, or just the stuff

that you do that ticks me off. And vice versa.

That's... That's some of the things we can see

from this relationship we have with God. Except

for when it comes to our relationship with God,

we may get mad at him. He does get upset with

us. But he is God and we are not. We have to

remember that in our relationships as well. You

are not God in your relationships. I am not God

in my relationships. We are both bruised, broken

sinners coming at this together. God's love extends

an invitation to all who seek him. It is an invitation

to live with intentionality, not just as individuals,

but as a community. As we seek to grow our community,

we must understand that true unity is formed

through a shared devotion to God. Because friends,

we may look at church differently. Guess what?

250 people here today. We don't all believe the

same things about all the things. Not the way

church is done or anything like that. I hope

we can land on all of the essentials here. That

is key. But we need to understand that there

is that love and that support that as we come

as a community where we find true unity is our

devotion to God expressed in both personal and

communal ways. Part of that is coming together

and worshiping. Whether you hate that song or

not, you come to worship. We come to lay it down.

We come to seek God's face together. What would

that look like not in this building? What would

that look like your home or my home? Because

finally, where the psalm ends, Is God calling

us to live out that justice and that love together?

Starting with verse 16. But to the wicked, God

says, what right have you to recite my statutes

or take my covenant on your lips? For you hate

discipline and you cast my words behind you.

If you see a thief, you are pleased with him

and you keep company with adulterers. You give

your mouth free reign for evil and your tongue

frames deceit. You sit and speak against your

brother. You slander your own mother's son. These

things you have done and I have been silent.

You thought that I was one like yourself, but

now I rebuke you and lay out the charge before

you. Mark this then. You who forget God, lest

I tear you apart and there will be none to deliver.

The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice

glorifies me. To the one who orders his way rightly,

I will show the salvation of God. It doesn't

really get more direct than that, right? When

it comes to having our relationship with God

but also with others. God addresses those who

live hypocritically. As I say that word, all

of you are now thinking of it, probably three

or four people. Performing religious duties while

failing to live justly. His warning is clear.

Those who honor God with their lips but not their

lives will not see salvation. That's tough. That's

a tough truth. The psalm concludes with a powerful

reminder that to those who live with sincerity

and justice before God will see salvation. So

let's work that out real quick. With God, he

tells us how to do it. Glorify him in everything.

In all of your thoughts, your words, your deeds.

Glorify God. But there are some that will say,

oh, I'm going to do that. I'm going to give it

a go. But I know that when I don't, I will be

able to seek forgiveness. Cheap grace. It is

the one that mourns their sin. That is constantly

trying to get out of these sin natures. And is

just, maybe even this much, walking toward God

day by day. And for some of you, you might have

a really, really tight relationship with God

right now. Life just seems to be going well.

Your relationship with God is deep. There's devotion.

You're straying from sin as best you can. Awesome.

Fantastic. Don't keep that to yourself. Ask God

to put people in your life that may need that

encouragement, may need that discipleship, may

need that accountability. Yes, there are people

that actually pray. for those things. And then

you have to control how you go and do that and

to live that out. That we need to embody justice

and mercy but also love. Lord's Day 8 and 9,

kind of a summary, the understanding of God's

justice as reflected in Lord's Day 8 and 9 shows

how Christ fulfills the law, embodying both justice

and mercy. In our own lives, we are to follow

Christ's example. living justly while loving

others. So I'll land the plane here today. The

community at Munster Church. I'm talking to Munster

Church. If you're a guest, I'm talking to you

too, but I'm really talking to those that call

Munster Church home. Our community is called

to live out the justice and love of God in tangible

ways. This involves caring for one another, sharing

resources, and holding each other accountable

in love. We should prioritize building relationships

that reflect this justice and love of God by

living intentionally with one another, fostering

that trust with one another, and ensuring that

every member is valued. That is the church. Take

Munster Church name off of it. Take our address

off of it. But that should be the church universal.

As we reflect. On Psalm 50, we see that God calls

us to live in a way that reflects his justice

and love. So my challenge, I'm going to start

with a question, I'm going to end with a challenge.

I encourage you this week to invite someone from

our church community to share a meal with you.

Whether it's a cup of coffee, lunch, or dinner,

or other. And use this time not only to get to

know one another, but to share what God is doing

in your lives. Let's build community in practical

and loving ways as we grow together in Christ.

Let's pray.