Psalm 86:11- The Gospel and the Fear of God

Father, often you tell us to pray for things we don't want.

And so, Father, we're just being honest with you.

The way, Father, we deal with that is we just ignore it.

We don't bother praying about it at all.

We don't think of ourselves as being rebellious against you.

We just ignore it.

Father, we ask that your Holy Spirit would do a mighty work in our lives,

that the Holy Spirit would bring the gospel to our lives in a deeper and deeper and deeper way

so that, Father, we hear your word and we long to try to live it and to pray it and to put it into practice.

So, Father, do that wonderful work in us this morning as we spend time studying your word.

And all this we ask in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen.

Please be seated.

I don't want to be presumptuous about you folks that there's things that God tells us to do

that we don't bother doing.

But actually, that's true.

There's all sorts of things he tells us to do that we don't actually want to have happen.

And so, we just generally tend to ignore it.

Andrew, if you could put up the first point.

We're in a sermon series of all-around one-verse sermons.

And my hope is that you will want to memorize these scripture passages

and as you memorize them that you'll be able to pray them and meditate upon them and think upon them.

And it's easier to do that if you memorize them.

So, this is the second week.

It's a series of different verses which are well worth our time to memorize and meditate upon.

So, if you would just join with me.

This is the verse that I'm preaching on today.

Just one verse.

And by the way, if you come here in the fall, don't worry.

If I spend 35 minutes on one verse, if I preach 10 verses, I won't preach for 350 minutes.

It's just one-verse sermons.

So, if you would say this with me, please, that would be very helpful.

Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.

Unite my heart to fear your name.

Psalm 8611.

Can you say it with me again?

Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.

Unite my heart to fear your name.

Now, here's the thing about this.

It might be that for most of us as Christians, we know we're not really allowed to say that we don't want that.

But from a Canadian perspective, most people in Canada don't want any of that.

Or any of this, I guess I should just say.

Let's just be honest about that.

So, the fact of the matter is, is if we advertised in our services,

come with us this Sunday to fear the Lord, that would not draw the crowds.

It might draw the crowds of the curious to see who the kooks are

that want to actually gather together to fear the Lord.

But it's not a felt need.

It's not something that Canadians think they need or that they want.

In fact, lots about the text is very impressive.

Like, your truth?

Like, God?

Like, why do you think your truth is more important than my truth?

Like, why do you think your way is more important than my way?

Like, the way to grow as a Canadian is to become true to yourself,

true to your own way.

Not let anybody else tell me how to be happy.

Nobody can tell me how to be happy.

I have to be happy on my own terms.

That's what Canadians think.

Very interesting.

Many of you who are parents and maybe showed that pleasant enough movie Frozen to your kids,

go back and look at the words to the song.

That many of your young kids might have even learned the words of the song.

And you'll see that in the words of that song,

basically what they're saying is,

nobody can tell me how to be happy on their terms.

I'm happy on my own terms.

I'm happy in my own way, with my own truth.

I have to be true to myself.

And as our kids sing that song, that's what they're learning.

Now, some of you are here.

So here's the thing.

When I was in Angola a year ago,

one of the things which was so interesting for me about being in Angola with the missionaries

is that many of the missionaries in the mission agency that I was visiting,

health care was a key part of their mission.

I mean, they wanted to share the gospel,

but part of the way they shared the gospel was through health care.

By getting to know people, caring for their physical needs,

they would know that they were Christians,

and they would get to share the gospel with them.

And one of the problems that they had in going to the rural villages,

because they're in a community of about a million people,

but they went out to the rural villages,

and in the rural villages,

they might have to say something because the baby's sick or somebody's sick.

And so the nurse practitioner would say,

listen, when you come in, the doctor will give you some medicine.

And then the nurse would say, here's the things you have to do.

And one of the things they might say is that you can't drink the water here anymore.

And they would show them how to make the water clean.

And they'd say, the water is making you sick.

You can't drink the water.

You have to follow this procedure to get clean water or good water

that will make you healthy and not make you sick.

And then they'd also give them some medications that they had to take.

But the problem that they would run into time and time and time again

is that the people, they would all nod very politely,

because Angolans are very polite.

So they would nod like this.

But inside, while their head was going like this,

their inside head was going like this.

Because in their inside head, their inside head was saying,

what's wrong with our water?

Like, my ancestors have been drinking this water for generations.

I don't need your water.

Like, I don't need you white person to tell me how to have proper water.

So they would nod politely.

And then the nurse practitioner would leave.

And they wouldn't use the technique to make the water clean,

but they would use their own water, which was just making the problem worse.

And in many cases as well, they wouldn't take the medication,

because they'd think that what was really at matter

was something the witch doctor had said,

or some other way that they had offended against some spirit,

the spirit of the tree or the water or the bush or whatever.

And so this doctor was coming, or the nurse was coming,

and they were giving these people in these remote tribal areas

things that they didn't want, didn't think they needed.

So let's just think for a moment.

I mean, in Canada, we're far more sophisticated than in rural,

very, very deeply rural Angola.

We might all say we're far more sophisticated.

But let's just pretend for a moment.

Let's just at least give some credence to ask ourselves,

this psalm up here, this part of the psalm,

teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.

Unite my heart to fear your name.

Maybe it's wise.

Let's just take it for a second to say maybe it's wise.

And it's telling us to do something that we Canadians,

who are very sophisticated, think we don't need and we don't want.

But maybe it actually is something that we need or we want.

Maybe in some ways we're more like a rural tribe in Angola

than we realize.

So let's look at the first thing.

Teach me your way, O Lord.

So some of you might say, well, okay, George, what's up with that, George?

Like, okay, you want me to sort of like not just dismiss it off of hand,

but actually look at it and take it into heart.

And it says, you know, teach me your way.

But George, what's up with that?

Like how on earth can it be that one size fits all?

Like are you saying that there's just one way for Angola

and one way for Canada,

one way for somebody who's sort of illiterate

and somebody has a PhD for a man and for a woman,

for a person who's gay,

a person who's heterosexual?

Like, like George, like that just doesn't make any sense to me

that there's just this one way.

And then the other thing that they might say,

if they're just saying, okay, George,

I'm going to take you up on your challenge.

I'm not just going to dismiss it.

Just roll my eyes and I'm going to actually look at it

and try to take it seriously.

But, okay, but George, let's say,

I don't know, George,

isn't this just sort of leading to you

just saying that you have to do the religious things

that you say you have to do that,

I don't know, I don't know,

you have to, I don't know,

read the Bible, go to church.

There's going to be a whole pile of don'ts

and a few pile of do's.

And most of the do's are just really pretty boring.

And I'm not even remotely interested in it.

Like George, it just sounds like religion

and it's just not, doesn't sound like very helpful.

Like I'm willing to maybe try to at least have a conversation

with you about it rather than just dismiss it.

But I just can't see this going anywhere.

Teach me your way.

Those are really, really good comments, by the way.

If you can get to a point where you have a conversation

with somebody like that and they say that,

those are very, very good.

And on one level, we have those types of fears

lurking deep in our own mind about texts like this.

So here's the first thing about this line

because my first point is teach me your way, oh Lord.

That's my first thing.

Well, what's it going on to say?

Well, here's the thing.

It probably is the case that when the person who wrote this

and the Jewish people who are reading this,

and even for many of us,

we might get a little bit uncomfortable

with what this imaginary person said

about thinking that there's just one way for rich and poor,

for gay and straight, for married and single,

and for Angola and Canada and Nigeria and Singapore

and Russia and Manhattan.

And we might get a little bit defensive

and we might talk a little bit about religion,

but at our heart of hearts,

even the way we try to defend the text

will show that we're in trouble.

Because we will start to try to talk about this text.

We'll try to defend it as something religious

when we as a Christian need to read this

in a very, very different way

than the original people would have thought.

Because you see, as Christians,

what's the thing that we should realize

when we read this text?

Is that no religion works.

I mean, part of the whole point

of Jesus' ministry

was to speak to people's hearts

about what they knew on one level

about their lives.

That nobody could keep

all of the different rules and commandments

in the Old Testament.

Like, nobody could keep them.

Nobody could keep them.

There's just too many of them.

And we're always breaking them.

And the fact of the matter is,

is that God doesn't want you and me to pray this

because it now is that

we all have to keep a whole pile of rules

and a whole pile of rituals.

And that's what the way is.

And God is to teach us

all of these different rules.

Like, as a Christian,

we should look at this and say,

one moment,

if I try to make myself righteous

and justify myself,

if I try to make myself right

with the living God,

if I try to just follow

all these commandments,

if I'm honest with myself,

it just doesn't work.

And the heart of the Christian faith

is that the gospel

isn't good religion

and it isn't good rules,

but it's good news.

And what is at the heart of the Christianity?

Is that the good news

is that God has provided a way

because no human being's way works.

No human being,

even when God reveals,

keep these laws,

keep these commands,

do these sacrifices,

do all of these types of things,

nobody's actually able to do it.

Like, nobody was able to do it

other than Jesus.

Nobody could do it.

So when we read this text,

see, here's the problem

for us as Christians,

and non-Christians

often pick this up about us.

On one breath,

on one hand,

we talk about grace,

but then after we've said grace,

we talk about what we have to do

as if there is no grace.

We talk on one hand

as if it's all what God has done,

but then after that's left our mouth,

two seconds later,

we're talking about what we have to do.

But when we pray this prayer,

teach me your way, O Lord,

what we as Christians should be saying is,

Lord, teach me the gospel.

Father, bring the gospel to bear.

May your Holy Spirit

bring the gospel to bear

at deeper and deeper

and deeper levels of my life.

Father, what this prayer is teaching us

to say is,

Father, I want to be honest with you.

I sort of remember the gospel,

but then immediately,

I think it's all up to what I do

and what I accomplish

and how I can make myself look good

and how I can justify myself

and how I can make myself righteous.

And then I start to feel guilty

and I start to feel overwhelmed by it.

And I sort of,

Father, I say I believe the gospel,

but as soon as I say it,

I forget it.

And the Christian growth

doesn't come by we human beings

developing better willpower

or increasing our IQ

or increasing our word power

or increasing our wealth

or increasing our power

or increasing our influence.

Christian growth happens

as the Holy Spirit applies the gospel

to more and more areas of our lives

where the gospel starts to become real to us

at a deep level.

That we start to think about money

in terms of the gospel.

That we start to think about sexuality

in terms of the gospel.

That we start to think about singleness

or marriage or children

or lack of children

in terms of the gospel

and how the gospel is forming us.

See, so for we as a Christian,

when we say,

teach me your way, O Lord,

part of that is,

Lord, teach me the gospel.

Bring the gospel.

Speak the gospel

into deeper and deeper layers of my life,

deeper and deeper places of my life.

Father, make the gospel real to me.

Make the gospel real to me.

It's not just about religion.

It's all about what Jesus did

to make us right with God.

What Jesus did

to make us reconcile to God.

About a year or two ago,

I had to get to the airport

really early in the morning.

I was going to Vancouver

and I was going to take,

I was going to a Christian conference.

And so I arranged a cab ride

the night before.

And sure enough,

at whatever it was,

5.15 in the morning,

the cab shows up at my house

and I get out

and the cab driver was,

this particular cab driver

was very chatty.

And so he asked me

where I was going.

I mean, he knew I was going to the airport

because that was all part of the arrangement.

And he said,

where are you going in Vancouver?

Now here,

I just remember,

I think last time I was here,

two Sundays ago,

I just asked to pray for me.

There's times,

like what went through my mind,

he said,

where are you going?

And what went through my mind is,

oh, I'm going to do some continuing ed.

That's what went through my mind.

But,

you see,

this is how we can bear witness to Jesus

in a very simple way.

But instead,

I realized that was a temptation.

What I said was,

well, actually,

I'm a pastor of a church

and I'm going to learn more about

what it means to be a Christian.

And how to live as a Christian.

That's what,

that's actually what I was doing.

If I had just said

I was doing some continuing ed,

I would have been sort of ashamed

of the gospel,

really,

wouldn't I have?

Just being honest before you.

So,

the cab driver was a Muslim.

His ears pricked up

and he immediately said,

well,

how can you be a Christian?

And,

you know,

the gospel,

the Bible is all full of errors,

et cetera,

blah,

blah,

blah.

And I,

I,

I,

I give a very quick answer to that,

an accurate answer about,

well,

actually,

you know,

we can trust the Bible more

than you think

and scholarship,

but give it like a two or three minute answer.

And then the conversation turned into a very,

very different way.

He said to me,

well,

he said,

okay,

that's,

that's good that you can be more confident in the Bible

than you can in the Koran.

But he said,

it doesn't get around the big,

the basic problem.

For many,

many years,

I tried to keep the Koran.

And now I,

I just tell my mom

and I tell my family that

how can a book written 1400 years ago

guide you about how to live your life today?

Like,

how can it be true?

And,

you know,

I,

I,

he said,

I keep Ramadan,

sort of,

I sort of cheat during the day,

but I really like getting together

with all my family

to have a big feast

at the end of the night,

but I don't like really being all hungry all day.

So I,

you know,

I,

I sort of,

I hide it,

but I,

and,

but he said,

the fundamental thing is,

it doesn't matter if your book is more accurate than mine,

is anything written so long ago

can't possibly be true for today.

And,

if you could put up the second line,

teach me your way,

oh Lord,

that I may walk in your truth.

I mean,

that's a really good point,

isn't it?

Like,

how is it that something that was written in our case

almost 2000 years ago,

how can it actually be something

that we can walk in today?

Well,

here,

here's several things in terms of why we should want to pray this,

that after we say,

teach me your way,

oh Lord,

that I may walk in your truth.

And remember that what we're praying

is that the gospel,

that God will have the Holy Spirit

bring the gospel to deeper and deeper and deeper layers

of levels of who we are.

And,

one of the things I actually said to the cab driver

is,

I said,

one of the things which is very remarkable about the Bible

is all the things that aren't in it.

I said to him that,

you know,

the Bible doesn't tell you a way to do economics.

It doesn't tell you a way to do science.

It doesn't tell you a way to do government.

It doesn't tell you a way to do diet.

That part of the reason I trust it,

apart from,

mainly I trust it,

because of Jesus and his death and resurrection,

I told him.

But,

it's amazing how much stuff isn't in it.

But,

what's being asked in this prayer,

it isn't as if the Bible,

the,

Jesus,

the God isn't calling us to pray this prayer

to say that everything you need to know

about everything is found in this book.

Like some of the,

you might know that if you talk to Muslim apologists,

they'll try to show how the Quran teaches modern genetics,

or it teaches modern science,

or it teaches the modern way about how things came to be.

And,

if you follow some Christian apologists,

they'll show you how that's just not the case,

which we wouldn't expect anyway.

But,

the Bible isn't like that at all.

And,

and what's at the heart of this prayer,

that I may walk in your truth,

for Christians,

well,

there's several things.

first of all,

what we're asking here,

is that I,

may I walk in your truth,

that I may walk in what is real.

Because that's the Christian understanding of truth.

The truth,

is knowing what's real.

And,

why wouldn't we want to know what's real?

Like,

isn't that a good thing to pray for?

The Bible,

the text isn't saying,

help me just to try to figure out how I'm going to,

I'm going to fix my Gmail account by reading the Bible.

And,

that just would be silly.

The,

the fact of the matter is,

is that the Bible paints this picture of this propulsive move,

towards just being able to know what is true,

what is real,

and actually know what is real.

And,

you can't know everything exhaustively,

but to actually know the real,

to know the truth,

and to know that the truth is good,

that God is true.

The second thing which this prayer is doing,

is it's making a claim,

and this is the thing,

I,

I'm not very good at communicating it,

when I share the gospel with non-Christians,

but one of the things I try to bring them around to saying is,

you know,

listen,

this,

the claim that Christians are making,

is that this is true,

that Jesus really did live,

that he really did die,

that he really did die in my place,

that he really did rise,

on the third day,

that he really did perform these miracles,

that it's true,

it's true the way,

that it's true the way,

your bank balance is true,

it's true in the way that you,

it's true to say that Ottawa is the capital of Canada,

it's true in these very,

very,

very deep and real senses,

and,

and so on one level it's saying,

this prayer is just saying,

Lord,

now help me to know,

in light of the fact that you really exist,

how the world really is,

because that's another part about it being your truth,

Canada is committed to the proposition,

that God does not exist,

and,

the Supreme Court understands its role,

to make its rules and its decisions,

on the premise that God doesn't exist,

and so would be the media,

and so would be the university,

but we Christians would say,

God really does exist,

and to know that God exists,

is not walking away from reality,

but entering into reality,

and understand how things really are,

and this prayer,

is an invitation for us,

to no longer be people of the lie,

but people of the truth,

you see,

at a very,

very,

very fundamental level,

God is true,

and he wants us to know the truth,

he wants us to know the truth,

about who we are,

he wants us to know the truth,

about the world,

he wants us to use our minds,

and our hearts,

and our imaginations,

and our wills,

to know what is true,

to know what is real,

to know that God is real,

that he really exists,

to know that,

that everything that we see,

is a created thing,

it's not something,

that just happened on its own,

and everything in the Bible,

is saying to us,

it is very easy,

to be people of the lie,

it's very easy,

to say that we want to know something,

because it will make us popular,

it's very easy,

to say we want to know something,

because it will give us honor,

it's very easy to want to know,

because we want to know something,

so it will mean that,

we aren't covered in shame,

It's very easy to want to know something because knowledge is power

or knowledge is just any of these types of things,

or knowledge will make us more money.

But the Bible is calling us to want to be people of the truth,

to know what is true, to know what is real,

to live in a world that is true and real,

to be losing as the gospel becomes deeper and deeper in our lives

that we no longer want to see the world from the perspective of illusion

or of power or of honor or of shame or of making money as the central thing.

But we just want to know what is true,

that God calls you and me to be people of the truth.

And the gospel comes into our lives to start to be able to give us the type of security with God

and security with ourselves that we can start to believe the truth is our friend,

that clarity is our friend.

And that knowing the truth doesn't necessarily, shouldn't make you arrogant or proud,

but it's just good to know the truth.

And the gospel will lead us in that way, will form us in that way.

But somebody might say, okay, George,

if you could put down the third point,

teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth,

unite my heart to fear your name.

But George, come on.

Like fear?

Like, George, isn't it wiser to try to learn to live without fear?

Like, why is it that you would want to tell people to pray that they would fear your name?

And just so you know, name in the psalm is a way of actually saying fear you,

fear God, fear who you are in your truth,

your reality, your essence, all that you are.

It's all sort of capsulated.

It's sort of a way that the Jewish people would try to encapsulate

knowing God as he really is.

And they'd use the word name because God names himself.

He reveals himself.

And so to fear your name is to fear God as you really are,

as you've truly revealed yourself as you really are.

And so some might say, George,

why on earth do you think it's a good thing

to want to encourage people to actually fear God?

Like, isn't it better to learn that God is a God of love,

that God is your friend, that...

And I don't know, what is this stuff, George,

about uniting your heart to fear him?

Like, George, don't you think it's a better thing

to try to just figure out what's going on in your heart

at your deepest level and just trying to be true to it?

Like, George, isn't that what our gay and lesbian

and bisexual and transgendered friends have really taught us,

that you just need to try to be true about who you are,

your basic identity,

and not to be able to fear it

and not tie it to some God or anything like that.

Like, George, what you're asking us to pray for

just doesn't seem to make any sense to me.

Those are very good comments.

Like, they really are.

And here's, I think, why this is so wise.

Teach me your way, O Lord.

Remember, when we pray that,

we're praying that the gospel will...

that we're really, what we're asking as Christians

is when we ask to know your way,

it's not a matter of us knowing the rules

that God wants us to follow to make us right with him

or to make ourselves look good

or manipulate God or get anything from God

or put him in his favor,

but it's really just acknowledging

that none of that works at all.

And we're asking the Father to have the Holy Spirit

teach our heart at a deeper and deeper level

the truth of the gospel,

that Jesus has done everything to make us right with him.

And when I say that I may walk in your truth,

it's not that we're saying that everything that's true

that matters is in the Bible,

but everything in the Bible is true,

but that God is inviting us to be a people of the truth.

And so when it says,

unite my heart to fear your name,

here's the truth about you and me.

Every human heart is splintered

and broken and contradictory.

Every human heart is splintered

and broken and contradictory.

We want to have more money,

but we don't want to be materialistic.

We want to be completely and utterly fiercely independent

of ourselves,

and we'd love to have a life partner

that can be with us.

We'd like to have children,

but we don't really want to change their diapers

or have them wake up ten times in a night

because they're puking their guts out.

We want to be really popular,

but we don't want to be those shallow people

who want to be popular.

We want to be really fit,

but we'd also like to eat lots of poutine

and watch Netflix.

And we'd like to be thought of as good,

but we'd also like to be known as a bit dangerous,

edgy.

And we could just keep multiplying it,

and for different generations,

you're going to add different things.

But the fact of the matter is

is that our human hearts are splintered and contradictory.

Which is the real me?

Like, which is the real me?

You know, the fact of the matter is

we want to be faithful to our spouse,

and we also want to potentially imagine

having sex with people who aren't our spouse

or be found attractive by others.

You can keep multiplying this time and time again.

Which is the real me?

And that's separate from the fact

that for many of us,

our hearts have been broken.

Our hearts have been crushed.

Our hearts are weighed down.

Our hearts are heavy.

The fact of the matter is

is that if we take a moment

to think about it for a second,

what most of us would like

would be to have our hearts be healed

and to be made whole.

To no longer have our hearts ruled

with it being splintered and broken

and battered and bruised

and contradictory

and going in different directions,

that on one level,

this prayer is exactly

what people really want,

that our hearts would be one.

That there'd be a basic type of coherence

and order

and wholeness

to our hearts

that aren't contradictory.

But then some of you say,

well, George, what's up with that?

That makes sense.

But gosh,

unite my heart to fear your name?

Like, that doesn't seem to make any sense.

It doesn't make any sense to say,

like, I could say, George,

I could have prayed with that prayer.

If you just said,

well, unite my heart,

like,

unite my heart,

and, you know,

you could have,

that could be a greeting card.

Unite my heart.

And then if you just said,

unite my heart to dot, dot, dot, dot,

that would be a profoundly Christian greeting card.

Unite my heart to love,

to joy,

to dance,

to be independent.

You know,

the very, very funny thing is that

we Canadians,

we want to have a business,

like a greeting card that says,

unite my heart to dot, dot, dot,

and then realize that the reason we want

dot, dot, dot after it

is precisely because our heart isn't united.

We want a whole pile of contradictory things

that work against each other.

Be united.

I mean,

be independent.

Be compassionate.

You know,

be decisive.

Be open.

So, George,

I don't understand how this text

wants to say me,

unite my heart to fear your name.

Well, remember,

everything to see in the text

is to be seen in light of the gospel.

St. Augustine a long time ago said,

you have made us for yourself

and our hearts are restless

till they rest in you.

You have made us for yourself

and our hearts are restless

till they rest in you.

I mean,

the wisdom of the Bible

is that we are creatures.

We aren't gods with small g's.

We are creatures.

And as creatures,

God made us

to be connected to him

and united with him.

In a sense,

we are never

properly centered

or whole

until we're connected to God,

reconciled to God.

Until we're reconciled to God,

our hearts will always

be contradictory

and splintered.

And so,

what this prayer

is praying us for

in terms of the fearing

of the name of the Lord

is

it's asking something

that if we think about it

a little bit,

it's actually a very,

very common human problem

that gets magnified

a hundred million times

when it comes to God.

So,

think of a very,

very standard problem

in a couple.

In a couple,

a very,

very standard problem

is that I can start

to forget

that Louise

is different than me.

And I can easily

start to imagine

that what I want

is what Louise wants.

what will make me happy

is what will make

Louise happy.

That what I plan

is what Louise

wants to plan.

I can start to forget

that Louise

is different than me.

Now,

I'm really protected

in that

for two reasons.

One is,

Louise will get mad at me

completely and utterly properly

when I start

to overwhelm her

and think that somehow

everything I want,

everything I think

is right,

everything I think

is the best way to do it

is exactly how she thinks

and she'll get mad at me

because she's real

and she's right there

and she should be mad at me.

She's doing the right thing

to be upset.

And so,

at least there's some type

of a proper protection

against that.

But what's it like

with God?

I mean,

the fact of the matter is

that it becomes

very easy,

this is cutting in and out.

Is that just me?

I don't know why

it's cutting in and out.

I'll just keep talking.

The light's not flashing at me

which means it needs

a new battery.

Anyway,

so,

what this idea

of the fear of the Lord is

is that the gospel

starts to come

into our hearts

and into our minds

and into our lives

so that it starts

to teach me

and train me

as to the difference

between me and God

that I no longer

get confused

about who I am

and who God is.

Where I get to know

more and more and more

where I begin

and end

and my edges

even at the level

of my will

and my affections

and my emotions

and where God is

that I understand

that I'm different

and separate from God.

and that as the gospel

comes into my life

to tell me more and more

and teach me who God is

and teach me

who I myself am

it begins to work

within me

so I know my edges

and I know God's edges

and I know that God

is different than me

and I don't confuse

my will with God's will

and my pleasure

with God's pleasure

and my hopes

with God's hopes

that the gospel

gives me a context

whereby I start

to understand

I'm not God

and that's good

but at the same time

as the gospel

starts to create

within me this sense

that God is completely

and utterly different

from me

yet at the same time

the gospel communicates

to me that God

is close to me

that he wants me

to know him

he wants me

to love him

he wants me

to yearn for him

he wants me

to desire to taste

more and more of him

but at the same time

I never do that

or the gospel

starts to train us

to learn never

to do that

thinking that somehow

God and me

are the same

or that my plans

and my desires

are the same

and it's the work

of the Holy Spirit

to create within us

this sense of God

being so different

from me

and so other than me

and that I am not God

but that that's good

and the whole process

this whole naming

of it in the Old Testament

is calling the fearing

of the Lord

and it's not just

an Old Testament idea

it's in the New Testament

if you go back later on

and read Acts chapter 9

Acts 9:31

verse 31

one of the things

that Acts 9 31 says

is that the church

was growing

in the fear of the Lord

and the comfort

of the Holy Spirit

because it's the role

of the Holy Spirit

to help me to know

how different I am

from God

to not confuse

my wants

with God's wants

my imagination

with God's imagination

my happiness

with God's happiness

it starts to teach me

and train me

about the difference

between me and God

and to be comfortable

with the fact

that that is good

and that I shouldn't want

to try to usurp

God's role

and the reason

the word fear

is used

is because

on one hand

as a person

who's been

has the gospel

I realize

with a type of fear

and loathing

or you start

to get trained

by the gospel

to realize

that when you start

to actually transgress

as if you're

imagining

or pretending

that you're God

that you get

convicted of sin

and the word fear

then starts to become

a word of awe

of awe of God

of just how

who he is

in and of himself

and I am not God

and he is infinite

and I am finite

and he's the creator

and I am a creature

he is outside

of all time

I am in time

and his thoughts

are higher than mine

his wisdom

is greater than mine

his purity

is different than mine

and it's only

as I'm reconciled

to God

that that starts

to make any type

of a sense

of the goodness

and properness

of it

and I don't want

to talk to you

as if I've achieved

all of these things

all I'm trying

to tell you

is that's what

the fear of the Lord

is

and why it is

that we want

to pray it

we want

to pray

to know

the fear

of the Lord

because it will

only help you

to know

who you are

and how you're

not God

and how God

is God

we know this

in a very very

tiny little way

when we're non-Christians

because

what happens

and actually

even in our

fallen selves

is that

when we bump

up against God

or get too close

to God

we realize

that we're not

I'm not going

to go that direction

I'm going

to confuse you

we're just going

to keep

with the other thing

I want to encourage

you

this is why

the line works

together

unite my heart

to fear your name

is that as the gospel

comes into our life

it starts to create

the context

whereby

my heart

can be healed

and I can have

one heart

and it even

it means

that in my prayer

I can say

Father

I confess

before you

I'm so divided

I'm so contradictory

I'm so scattered

Father

unite my heart

and so much

of my scatteredness

is connecting

to want to be like God

or take God's role

or be

more important

or greater

or be the center

or any of those things

and Father

I don't want to do

any of those things

unite my heart

to you

to fear you

to know your name

to know who you are

to know that

I've been made

in your image

you're not made in mine

you are my creator

I am not your creator

you are not a creature

I am the creature

Father

unite my heart

make me whole

unite my heart

Father

around who you are

to be reconciled

with you

Father

unite my heart

to fear your name

to never

just to have a deep

settled fear

that I will ever

start to transgress

my life

in such a way

that I start to think

that I am God

or that I am great

or that I am over you

Father

help me to have

a proper fear

of transgressing

into your realm

Father

unite my heart

make my heart

whole

connected to who you are

and that I am a creature

redeemed by Jesus

I am a sinner

redeemed by Jesus

I am

I am one

who is far from God

and your son

crossed that

infinite distance

that I could not cross

your son crossed that

to bring me to you

I could never

come to you

your son

has brought me to you

Father

unite my heart

to fear your name

please stand

just invite you to

say this psalm with me

this is one verse

I mean the main thing

about this I guess

is I just want to

encourage you to

memorize the verse

and I

I mean the thing

that I've been trying

to work out all week

because I memorized it

quite quickly

this particular verse

is

I'm trying to pray it

every day

because I need it

I need to be reminded

of the gospel

and I need to walk

in the truth

and I need to walk

I need to have my heart

united

and I want to

I need to have my heart

fear God

so

if will you just

say this with me now

as a prayer

and I'll close with prayer

teach me your way

oh Lord

that I may walk

in your truth

unite my heart

to fear your name

Father

we ask that the Holy Spirit

would move mightily

in our lives

I ask that the Holy Spirit

would move mightily

in my life

and I ask Father

that

as the Holy Spirit

comes deeply

into my life

Father

that

that the gospel

will become real

more real

to my mind

more real

to my plans

more real

to my memories

more real

to my guilt

more real

to my shame

more real

Father

to every part

of who I am

Father

I ask that the Holy Spirit

would move deeply

within me

so that I would know

more fully

who Jesus is

how much he loves me

and how much

he accomplished

for me

in his sinless life

and sin bearing

substitutionary

sacrificial

death

Father

bring the gospel

home to me

in an ever deeper

and realer way

through the work

of your Holy Spirit

and I ask this

in Jesus name

Amen

praying for my sins

Amen

paradise

amen

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