Psalm 96 "What Truly Drives Us?"

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Amen.

I love that song.

We had it sung to us in India.

It's true there too.

He's the God of that city and of that nation and great things because of who he is.

Thank you once again for praying for us and for caring for my family while Skeets and I were in India for a couple of weeks.

This particular Sunday, this particular sermon I had marked as a sermon on giving.

It's the right time of year for that and seemed like an appropriate thing.

And our passage is still going to address that a bit this morning.

But God began writing a bit of a different sermon while I was in India.

And especially while I was not sleeping on the plane on the way back.

Because of all the things that my heart was full of from my time there.

So I'm excited to share with you some things that God has been teaching me.

Some burdens that he's given me for us.

So let's pray.

And in a few minutes I'll read Psalm 96 for us.

Join me in prayer.

Father those words are true.

They're straight out of your word.

There is no one like you.

There is no other God besides you.

Father show us what that must mean for us.

Show us how that changes everything.

You alone are worthy of our praise.

Holy Spirit would you come and inflame our hearts this morning for you.

Might we meet with God and be like all those who meet with him that don't leave unchanged.

Holy Spirit speak through your word.

We might know you and love you and serve you more.

We ask in Jesus name.

Amen.

Amen.

Baba Tu was one of the students in our seminary class while we were in India.

He's 23 years old.

He comes from a Hindu family.

Five children.

And just a couple of years ago he came to faith in Christ through his uncle.

When he did, adding him to his uncle, that made for two Christians in the entire extended family.

Dozens of family members in a very tight knit family.

He became the second.

And the rest of his family ran him off.

They didn't want him around anymore.

They sent him away out of the home.

It was over a year before his parents or any of his siblings would speak with him.

He can talk to them by phone now.

They'll answer.

But he's not welcome at home.

Despite this, Baba Tu is the life of the party on the seminary campus.

Everyone loves him.

You'd think he'd want to stay right there where he has so much fun and everybody loves being with him.

But Baba Tu can't wait to leave.

He can't wait to finish his training so that he can get back home to his village.

To tell people about Jesus.

To evangelize his village.

He wants to start a church there.

Even though he knows that he may well suffer harm from his family.

From others.

That's his vision.

That's his heart.

That vision is what drives him every day.

He likes cricket.

He's really good at it.

But if he's getting excited as you talk to him, it's probably because he's telling you the story of his conversion and coming to meet Jesus.

Or he's telling you some glimpses of hope that he's had from conversations with family members or friends sharing with them about Jesus.

That's what gets him excited.

And I could tell you story after story, dozens of times over, of people we met in India just like that.

And every time I tell him or think about him, it challenges me.

It challenges me to consider what truly drives me.

I mean, I'm a pastor, right?

So being all about Jesus and the kingdom of God on the books, that's what I'm supposed to be about, right?

By occupation, I'm all about the kingdom of God.

But outside of my preaching and teaching, Babatoo has probably shared about Jesus with more people this year than I have in my 35.

I'm pretty confident of that.

I'm pretty passionate about a lot of things, about my reputation.

Passionate about my family and going on vacation together and telling people about our times together.

I can get passionate about Clemson football.

But practically speaking, in my life, in my relationships, when you talk to me, when I'm excited about something,

is it likely to be about the kingdom and Jesus?

Is that what it's going to be?

On a corporate level, Mission India, the group we were there with, has a vision.

You can see it just barely on this tower right as you walk into their campus.

You can't miss it.

100,000 Christ-like global leaders.

These people, they want to raise up and send out to plant churches, to run orphanages.

I'll have to practice that word.

To teach children, to teach youth, to evangelize in every village in India.

And everything they do is driven by that commitment.

To reach India and beyond for Jesus, they will say.

It's really crazy.

In India alone, there are twice as many unbelievers as there are people in America, Canada, and Mexico combined.

You'd think that'd be a big enough vision for them, right?

Maybe we can just get into all of India.

And yet, what do they want to do?

They want to dream about reaching every village in India and then the whole world for the kingdom of Jesus.

They talk about 1.3 billion people as a missionary force that the world has never seen before.

That's how they think about India.

But they don't just talk.

They pray.

They pray about that all the time.

They wake up talking about it when they're exercising at 5 in the morning.

They fundraise for it.

They prioritize the worship of God and the word of God.

Many of the people we were with for the week of the conference were spending their only two weeks of the year that they and their families would be on vacation.

The only times they'd be outside of their village the whole year.

Traveling two, three days each way for many of them.

And then participating in a conference about worship and preaching.

And they loved it.

It was the only thing they wanted to do with that time.

With their families sitting for four hours at a time in a crowded room with no AC to hear God's word and to praise his name.

One of the pastors we met there was so excited to send me pictures of his new church building this week.

He sent me 50 pictures of this building.

50 pictures of that.

How many different things can you show?

50 pictures.

He's excited because the church is being built.

The kingdom of God is advancing.

And he wanted to share the joy of that.

Now on the books, our corporate vision is exactly the same.

To advance the kingdom of God.

Right?

But is it truly our driving passion the way I'm describing it is for them?

Is everything else in our lives scheduled and shaped around the worship of God?

Do we hunger for God's word?

How often do we sacrifice our own comfort to see the vision of God's kingdom advancing?

Is that a regular thing for us?

I really wrestled with this while we were there.

It was challenging for me to think about us corporately.

I told Skeets we had basically two options as I saw it.

Being really honest, option one is that we shut these doors and send all our money over there to them.

Where they really do need the money.

Where they really are committed to seeing God's kingdom advance.

And where a little bit of money goes a long way.

And that seems like a viable option.

Option two is that we truly begin to share that tangible passion for everyone in our villages.

In the village of Huntsville and beyond.

To know King Jesus.

To see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

And to live like that.

Now please hear me.

I love y'all.

My preference is option number two.

I've told you I want to storm the gates of hell with y'all.

I want to be about God doing great things in this city and around the world.

I'm just saying that there's no longer for me this option three.

Where we say all of those things.

But really it doesn't make a lot of difference.

That doesn't seem like a viable option anymore.

Where intellectually we have a lot of right answers.

But really advancing the kingdom is down the list of what truly drives us and shapes our lives.

It doesn't seem viable for me.

Or for us.

And I've thought again as I've wrestled with that.

I've thought it myself.

I've heard other people say it.

Well they're just zealous for Jesus because they don't have anything else.

Maybe you've thought that.

I've got to tell you.

If that's all it takes to be zealous for Jesus like that.

Then take away these walls and these padded seats and the AC.

And all of these wonderful things that I call blessings.

But if what it takes for me to treasure Jesus the way they do is just not to have some of that.

That's a great place to start.

Some of you are thinking that Pastor has a bit of heartburn.

Maybe he had a bit too much of the spicy curry while he was in India.

And this is just something he's got to get out of his system.

I did have a lot of it.

I really like it.

But I wouldn't preach this to you if it was just what I felt.

It's all over.

Every page of this book.

From beginning to end.

It's what it says we're to be about.

Psalm 96 reminds us this morning that God's glory here and everywhere must be the driving, formative, energizing passion of our lives and our church.

There are three words.

I think they mean basically the same thing.

What I'm trying to say is it has to be the experiential reality.

Not just something we write down in a book.

It must actually shape our individual lives and our corporate lives together.

Let's read the first few verses.

Psalm 96.

Oh sing to the Lord a new song.

Sing to the Lord all the earth.

Sing to the Lord.

Bless his name.

Tell of his salvation from day to day.

Declare his glory among the nations.

He says, marvelous works among all peoples.

For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised.

He is to be feared above all gods.

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols.

But the Lord made the heavens.

Splendor and majesty are before him.

Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

Yahweh alone is glorious.

There is none like him.

All the other so-called gods are over one nation or one arena of life.

But Yahweh owns it all.

That's what he's saying.

Splendor.

Majesty.

Strength.

Beauty.

They all belong to him.

And the purpose of our lives then is to declare this unparalleled glory everywhere.

First, upward.

To God himself.

Worshipping the one who is greatly to be praised.

It must be central to everything we do.

Because, y'all know how God has made us.

We're always ascribing worth to something, aren't we?

That's what it means to worship.

We're always seeking for strength.

For beauty.

For value in something.

And if it's not in the one true God,

our lives are out of whack.

We're chasing worthless idols.

The psalmist says.

Then we also declare God's glory,

his great worth to each other.

Inward.

Among the family of God.

Right here.

This psalm is a song for the worship of God's people, right?

So day after day, what are they doing as they sing this?

We remind ourselves of his salvation day after day.

We tell each other about it.

Of the grace we have experienced from this glorious God.

And we gather to do that.

But it must never stop there.

We worship God, yes.

We remind each other of his greatness, yes.

But we must declare God's glory outward.

To every nation.

Verse three.

We're going to see in the rest of the psalm

that what we're actually doing

is we're inviting them in to this worship of God

and fellowship with each other,

saying among the nations,

Yahweh reigns.

Verse 10.

I love the way Charles Spurgeon says it.

Each day brings us deeper experience of our saving God.

Each day shows us anew how deeply men need his salvation.

Boy, isn't that the truth?

Don't you realize that every day?

How much people need salvation?

Each day reveals the power of the gospel,

that that's where our hope is.

Each day the Spirit strives with the sons of men.

And so what?

Therefore, never pausing,

be it ours to tell out the glorious message of free grace.

Amen.

Amen.

That's good stuff.

We do this or we shut the doors.

Right?

We do this with every breath that God gives us.

It's why we're here.

Y'all know this is not the focus of Psalm 96 only.

Remember in Ephesians,

when we walked together through that book

during the last senior pastor transition?

We learned what Southwood needed

was not a new senior pastor.

What we need,

what this community needs,

what the next generation needs,

is an exalted vision of God.

A grand view of his immeasurable love for us.

How wide and how long

and how high and how deep.

And Ephesians says that's where the power comes from.

That's where his power shows up

when we see him as glorious as he is.

God's glory everywhere,

filling the nations,

filling the earth,

is the story of all of the Bible.

Of all of history.

God creates mankind in his image

to reflect his glory

and sends us out to fill the earth, right?

Except that we don't.

Not only do we fail to reflect his image,

we actually decide we're not filling the earth.

At the Tower of Babel,

mankind decides to gather together into one place.

The opposite of what God has created them

and told them to do.

And God is so committed

that he confuses their language

and it says scatters them over the whole earth

because he will see it filled with his glory.

And then he blesses Abraham

and Abraham's descendants.

Why?

That they might be a blessing to the nations.

The nation of Israel he establishes

as a light for the nations.

But because they too fail to shine his glory everywhere,

he sends the Messiah,

Isaiah chapter 49,

Isaiah 49 · chapter mention

as a light for the nations

that my salvation may reach

to the end of the earth.

You see what he's doing?

He sends the Messiah

that this vision of his glory being everywhere

and every nation knowing

might come to fruition.

And that's what happens.

He sends him and redeems us

and sends us on the same mission.

Why is it that we're here?

What are we to be doing?

1 Peter chapter 2,

1 Peter 2 · chapter mention

you're a chosen race,

a royal priesthood,

a holy nation,

a people for God's own possession

that you may proclaim

the excellencies of him

who called you out of darkness

into his marvelous light

that we might declare his glory

among the nations.

That's what we're here for.

It's the whole story.

It's what's going on cover to cover.

It's why God has us here.

And the best part is that

we know how the story ends.

It ends with what we read

a couple weeks ago

in Habakkuk chapter 2,

Habakkuk 2 · chapter mention

that the earth will be filled

with the knowledge

of the glory of the Lord

as the waters cover the seas.

The earth full of God's glory.

That's where it's going.

And a multitude gathered

around the throne of the Lamb

that is from every tribe

and tongue and people

and nation,

worshiping him.

That's where it's going.

It's headed there.

God's going to do that.

So if we want to be a part of that,

if we want to be a part

of something eternally glorious,

greater than ourselves,

that's what we have to be about.

That's what he's doing.

This is where we must focus

our energies.

The word of God

must actually be our daily bread.

Prayer must be our native language.

The kingdom of God

must become our primary homeland.

The glory of God

must be our chief delight.

And that's got to change everything.

We were created

and we were redeemed

to declare God's glory here

and everywhere.

Not just to make it a slogan.

Not just to go to a church

that says that's what we're doing.

But to shape our lives

around it

in everything that we do.

Now because this is

our driving passion,

of course we give to it.

Here's the giving part.

Look at verses 7 through 9.

Ascribe to the Lord

O families of the peoples.

Ascribe to the Lord

glory and strength.

Ascribe to the Lord

the glory due His name.

Bring an offering

and come into His courts.

Worship the Lord

in the splendor of holiness.

Tremble before Him

all the earth.

God is so worthy of worship

that as the peoples

come to worship Him

they bring offerings to Him.

All sorts of offerings.

The offerings in verse 8

are interesting

because they aren't the kinds

for a specific sin

or a particular celebration

in the life of God's people.

If you've read the Old Testament

you know there are lots

of offerings, right?

A lot of reasons

for sacrifices to be brought

at particular times

and to atone

for particular sins.

That's not what this word means.

Rather these are

our free will

thank offerings.

Offerings you bring

to Yahweh

merely because

He's worthy

and because you delight

to honor Him.

Offerings you bring

to declare His glory

and proclaim

that He owns everything

including you.

So when we talk about giving

people want to know numbers.

You know,

pastor is 10% enough?

Is that the right thing?

Gross or net?

Help me know

what am I supposed to do?

Listen,

the Old Testament

talks about the 10% tithe

and even these

thank offerings

to the glory of God

in the Old Testament

go well beyond that.

But then the New Testament

emphasis is not on numbers

but it's on the God

who says give it all.

Leave 10% in the dust

because what you're doing

is you owe everything

to me.

I want your life

given to my glory

and my kingdom.

It's interesting

to watch people

in India give.

They don't have

much money

most of them

but they have

a lot of needs

around

and they love

to give whatever

they have

when they see

those needs.

And when they run

out of money

they'll offer themselves

to help

in any way

that they can.

And I think

they're open handed

with their money

and their time

because they trust

that God is worth it

and that God

will actually

care for them.

They have seen

Him care for them

when they have nothing.

They're not afraid

of that.

This water tower

right here

stands in the

middle of

the campus

there at Mission India

as a testament

to this.

When they bought

this 25 acre field

way outside of town

in the middle of nowhere

20 some years ago

it was too far away

from the city

to have any water lines

to it at all.

So they purchased

the field

but really didn't know

how they were going

to get water

on the property

of their new campus.

And so they prayed

that God would provide

in some way

they didn't have

in their plans

and pretty soon

they found a water source

in the middle

of the property.

It became a large well

that's now connected

to this water tower

that for 20 plus years

has provided

all the water

for 200 plus residents

on the campus

for 20 years.

And at times

like the week

we were there

2,000 people at a time

and there's plenty

of water left.

Isn't it awesome

to see God work like that?

To provide like that

exactly what His people need?

Isn't that exciting?

Isn't God someone

we can trust

to care for us?

Yes, they know that.

They've seen that.

Y'all, we don't give

because we have to.

Because God told us

there was something

we had to do

and meet a certain criteria.

We give of our resources

because we get

to be a part

of God's glory

being declared

to the nations.

For many of us

who've never given

to the church before

10% is a good place

to help guide us

and figuring out

how we start doing that.

But think honestly

if this is to be

the formative

energizing passion

of your life

the focus

of what you're about

then we must always

be asking

where can God

free up

more of our resources

more of ourselves

for His mission?

That's something

that we then love to do.

I love the way

John Stott describes

how Jesus functioned.

He says

what dominated

Jesus' mind

was not the living

but the giving

of His life.

Those are the kind

of conversations

you have.

How can we

reorganize

reprioritize

to give our money

our time

our home

to the kingdom?

Do you talk

more about

the living

or the giving

of your life?

Try it.

It's actually

pretty fun

to sacrifice

for the sake

of seeing

the church

of Jesus Christ

His kingdom

advance.

It's really exciting.

See Jesus

gave up

the privileges

and the riches

of heaven

didn't He?

And He came

for the nations

at the cost

of His own life.

It cost Him

everything

that the nations

might know

the glory

of God.

that the salvation

of God

might reach

to the ends

of the earth.

That's what

He was about.

See He's the hero

of this story

isn't He?

The story

of God's glory

that we told

really quickly

through the Bible

just a few minutes ago.

Jesus is the hero

of that story.

He's the one

who comes

as the perfect

reflection

of God's image.

He's the one

who comes

and lives

perfectly

obediently

and He dies

and rises again

so the nations

can know

the salvation

of God.

He comes

so that the glory

of God's salvation

can explode

to the nations

in new ways

like it never

has before.

That's how this works.

Before Jesus

very few

outside of

the nation

of Israel

and Jesus comes

and it's to the uttermost

parts of the earth

because what?

He not only

gives His life

He not only dies

for the nations

but He then commissions

His followers

to go

and make disciples

of all nations.

He says

be my witnesses

to the uttermost

parts of the earth

so that all of them

may know

who I am

what I've done

for them

and we get to tell people

about this God?

Are you kidding me?

We get that kind

of good news?

We could have been asked

to say something

a lot more downer.

This is great stuff

and we get to introduce

people

to this God.

See this is a God

worth exalting

and rejoicing

in

and we forget

that so quickly.

In the Hindu faith

there are

many gods.

We heard

while we were there

the story

of one village

in India

last India story

I promise

where there's

a God

who supposedly

lives up

on the top

of a hill

that's overlooking

the village

and for the Hindu

people living

in the village

it's very rare

that you would

speak or interact

with this God

at all.

In fact

if you really need

to

here's what you

have to do.

Spend 40 days

with no food

and no familial

interactions

40 days

then wash

yourself

cleanse

yourself

dress in

all black

and make

your way

all the way

up that hill

to the very top

and when you get

there you can

talk to him

and see what

happens

see how he

responds.

Listen to what

the one

true

all glorious

God who lives

above the heavens

exalted far higher

than anything like that

how does he relate

to people

as gloriously

different

listen to this

say among the nations

the Lord reigns

yes the world

is established

it shall never

be moved

he will judge

the peoples

with equity

let the heavens

be glad

and let the earth

rejoice

let the sea roar

and all that fills

it

let the field

exult

and everything

in it

then shall all

the trees

of the forest

sing for joy

before the Lord

why?

what's everybody

so excited about?

why are they all

before Yahweh

rejoicing

and exulting

for he comes

he comes

to judge

the earth

he'll judge

the world

in righteousness

and the peoples

in his

faithfulness

he comes

he comes

the psalmist

repeats

he comes

to us

and this is a huge

part of the glory

that is to be

declared

it's that he

pursues relationship

as our father

that he's full

of grace

that he moves

toward us

the good news

we declare

to the nations

is a God

you can know

a God

you can have

relationship with

a God

who will

in fact

make everything

right

one day

see some of you

are good enough

Bible students

to say

pastor

you're not really

being honest

it says he comes

to judge

it's not nearly

so exciting

as you think

in fact it says it

three times

he comes

to judge

look at what

happens

when he does

what's the context

of this judgment

it's not the fearful

judgment

of God

being highlighted

here

it's a judgment

that brings

rejoicing

everywhere

everything's

rejoicing

when this God

shows up

as the judge

because he's

making everything

right

everyone and

everything in

creation

rejoicing

he's coming

to make all

things new

for the blessing

of his creation

for the good

of his people

for the glory

of his name

he comes

friends

we have the

good news

of the one

true God

who reigns

over the nations

and who comes

for the nations

to them

and so many

know nothing

of a God

they can have

a relationship

with

many in India

know only

of a God

they can try

to manipulate

or work

to impress

and maybe

possibly walk

their way up

to receive

a blessing

from him

and many in

Huntsville

know only

of a God

who's a fiction

for weak

people

or a God

who I have

to perform

for to placate

and keep at a

distance so he

doesn't get in the

way of my life

no wonder

they don't love

that God

they don't know

the one

that you

and I

know

who's their

father

who comes

to them

who loves

them

they don't know

what that would

be like

that's a God

worthy of rejoicing

of exaltation

of celebration

and our job

is to invite

everyone to that

party

right

now you may

be thinking

this is that

one crazy

sermon

that you have

to put up

with when you

send your

pastor to

India

for two

weeks

I tell you

two reasons

why I

hope and

believe that's

not true

the first one

is that this

is a burden

that's not

new to us

but the burden

to live it

is one that I

pray doesn't

leave me

and you can

pray for that

too

but the second

reason is more

important than

that and way

more important

than whether or

not I'm here

or have a burden

like that

and that's that

Jesus regularly

calls us to

remember this

he regularly

wants us to

remember how

valuable the

nations are to

him

he wants us to

remember our

God's heart

for the nations

that he would

come at the

cost of his

own life

and lay it

down for them

that they might

know the glory

the salvation

the love

of our God

it's here at

this table

that we celebrate

the God who

comes to us

to heal our

hearts that were

wayward from him

that were broken

seemingly beyond

repair

and he comes

to heal

those hearts

it's here at

this table

that we celebrate

a God who

comes to us

to eradicate

the evil

and injustice

in this world

and make things

right

once

and for all

and we celebrate

that that is

the God

who eats

and drinks

with us

remember what

Paul said

about this

sacrament

he said

I received

from the Lord

what I also

delivered to you

that the Lord

Jesus on the night

he was betrayed

took bread

and when he had

given thanks

he broke it

and said

this is my body

which is for you

do this

in remembrance

of me

in the same way

also he took

the cup

after supper

saying

this cup

is the new

covenant

in my blood

do this

as often

as you drink

it

in remembrance

of me

for as often

as you eat

this bread

and drink

the cup

you proclaim

the Lord's

death

until he

comes

every time

you do

this

you declare

that God

came

for the nations

and is coming

again

to bring them

to his

throne

forever

we declare

that

and rejoice

in that

this morning

let's pray

and we'll

celebrate

together

father we

give you

thanks

and praise

for your

great

and greatly

to be

praised

and there's

none other

we chase

a lot

of lesser

things

in our

lives

but the

way you

love us

knows

no

comparison

and we

rejoice

in that

and we

ask now

that you

would set

these common

elements

aside

for a

sacred

purpose

in our

hearts

that the

death

of Jesus

for us

might

overwhelm

us

and overflow

from us

to others

we ask it

in his

name

amen

for more

information

visit us

online

at

southwood.org