SERMON OUTLINE:
• The world needs light (vs 1-2).
• The world needs Joy (vs 3-4).
• The world needs life (vs 5-7)
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• In Gloucester, England,
• There is an old-fashioned garden and orchard,
• In one corner of which is a little tombstone. On it are these words:
“DEC. 21, 1869
Here lies Tidman's missionary hen,
Her contributions, four pounds, ten;
Although she is dead, the work goes on,
As she has left seven daughters and a son
To carry on the work that she begun.
So be it.”
• The story behind the gravestone and inscription;
• Was a man called Tidman lived in a village nearby.
• He longed to do something for the London Missionary Society.
• His money was scarce;
• But he decided one of his hens should belong to the Society,
• And all the eggs she laid should be sold and the money given.
• Before she died the money amounted to four pounds ten shillings;
• But that was not all.
• She sat on eight of her eggs. They were hatched.
• These, too, belonged to the Society,
• And in time brought in a large amount of money.
• When the hen died the old man had her body embalmed,
• And buried it in the garden, and erected a little monument.
• He thought it might encourage others to do something similar,
• So even though the hen was dead,
• It was still be helping the Society.
• TRANSITION: As well as being a harvest psalm;
• “The land yields its harvest” (vs 6);
• It is also a call to mission psalm:
• The heart of God cries out:
• Vs 2: “All nations”.
• Vs 4: “The nations”
• Vs 7: “Ends of the earth”
Quote:
“It is not the Church of God that has a mission,
but the God of mission who has a Church”
Question: Why do we need to go?
Answer: According to this psalm is threefold:
(1). Because the World Needs Light (vs 1-2).
“May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face SHINE on us
2 so that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.”
• According to verse 1:
• The light of God is demonstrated three ways:
FIRST: “MAY GOD BE GRACIOUS TO US”
Ill:
• Dennis the Menace was a comic strip character in the Beano;
• In one story he is with his friend Joey,
• They are outside Mrs Wilsons house;
• And she has given them some freshly baked cookies.
• Joey says to Dennis;
• “I wonder what we did to deserve these?”
• Dennis replies;
• “Mrs Wilson gives us cookies not because we are nice, but because she is nice!”
• TRANSITION: God deals with people in grace;
• Not because they are nice and deserve it,
• But because he is!
Ill:
• Sometimes in life we experience grace;
• That is we get what we don’t deserve.
• I remember once getting in a coffee shop enjoying a mug of black nectar;
• When I suddenly realised my car which was parked in a car park;
• The ticket had just run out.
• Tough choice, finish my mug of fresh coffee;
• Or try to get to the car before a traffic warden discovers it.
• I ran towards the car and get there with a traffic warden standing next to the car;
• I said; “Please don’t give me a ticket, I am only a few minutes late!”
• The warden replied; “You are late but we allow a 10 minute grace period.”
• Now had I asked the warden, “Great, but what is grace?”
• She probably would have said:
• “I guess what it means is that even though you’re supposed to pay,
• You don’t have to.”
• TRANSITION: Now that would be a good definition of grace.
• God gives to us what we don’t deserve and he fits the bill!.
SECOND: “MAY GOD BLESS US”
Ill:
• "To be blessed" means 'to be favoured by God'.
• Blessings therefore are directly associated with God and come from God.
• So when you express a blessing on someone,
• Non-believers would see it as bestowing a wish on someone,
• Believers should see it as a mini-prayer for someone;
• We are saying/praying that the person will experience the favour of God in their lives.
NOTE:
• The Psalmist asks for blessing in verses 2-3;
• So that God’s ways may be known on the earth.
Notice that the Psalmist is not saying:
• He is not saying, "Bless me so that I can be comfortable."
• He is not saying, "Bless me so that I don’t have to work hard to make a living."
• He is not saying, "Bless me so that others will be envious of me."
• He is not saying, "Bless me so that I can be successful in the eyes of the world."
• Now listen carefully:
• He is not even primarily saying, "Bless me so that I can bless others."
The Psalmist is quite specific:
• "Bless me, so that I might glorify you”;
• Bless me so that I might show your power, your love, your majesty,
• Your goodness to all nations."
• By all means, God blesses us and gifts us so that we might serve and bless others.
• But still, this is not the underlying, fundamental reason for God’s blessing.
• God blesses us first and foremost so that we can bring glory to His name.
Ill:
• A catechism is a teaching tool, it was the practice of teaching the Christian faith.
• To new converts to of the faith.
• By way of a series of questions and answers.
• The best known one is called ;The Westminster Shorter Catechism’.
• It was composed in 1646 and 1647 by the Westminster Assembly,
• Which was a synod of English and Scottish theologians and laymen.
• These men had a good understanding of biblical truth;
• And that is reflected in the very first question.
• The first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism is,
• "What is the chief end of man?"
• (to paraphrase – why are we here for, what is our purpose as human beings)
• And the answer is:
• "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever."
• TRANSITION: This is an insightful summary of biblical teaching.
• God does not exist to meet our needs;
• Rather, we exist to glorify Him.
• Notice: Verse 3;
• Shows to us that God’s goal is much broader than we would naturally think.
• “So that your ways may be known on earth,
• Your salvation among all nations.”
• God aims to glorify Himself not only among those already identified as His people,
• But among all nations, among all the peoples.
Ill:
• There are about 230 countries in our world.
• Within those countries you will find about 13,000 people groups.
• India alone has 4,635 people groups.
• When the Bible speaks of all peoples/nations it means not just the country;
• But to each of these individual people groups.
ILL:
• Kurds in Iraq.
• Navajo in America.
• Dalits in India.
• Pit-Jan-Jara of Australia.
• Yao in Africa.
• Dai in China.
• Buryat in Siberia.
• Dayak in Borneo.
• 13,000 people groups!
ILL:
• Swedish au-pair had just started working for an English family:
• She had not yet got a good grasp of the English language,
• One day she entered a room, where the children she looked after had gone berserk,
• The room was a real mess and so she said to them ....
• Or rather what she meant to say was: "What on earth are you doing?"
• Instead she said; "What are you doing on earth?"
Good question: What are you doing on earth?
Answer: we can pray, we can give, we can support, we can go!
THIRD: “May God shine his face on us”
A persons face is very revealing:
• ill: Often we can tell the emotions of people by the looks of their faces.
• ill: As a preacher you can tell when people have had enough.
• ill: You can tell when someone is not happy because their face will be “downcast.”
• ill: if you were happy – it was said that your face would “shine”.
• Notice: What the psalm says about God’s face:
• “The LORD make his face SHINE on us”
Ill:
• Think about the difference between rainy days and sunny days.
• Rainy days can often seem very unpleasant; dark, cold, windy & miserable.
• And yet that same day if the sun comes out;
• It is able to be transformed the same day into something beautiful.
• TRANSITION: For the believer the sunshine of God’s love is always on us!
• Because “The LORD make his face SHINE on us”
(2). Because the World Needs Joy (vs 3-4).
“May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
and guide the nations of the earth.”
Ill:
• The man in the phot is called Robert Reed;
• You can read his story in his book called; “Bursting with Life.”
• Let me give you a quick snapshot:
• His hands are twisted and his feet are useless.
• He can’t bathe himself. He can’t feed himself.
• He can’t brush his teeth, comb his hair, or put on his underwear.
• Strips of Velcro hold his shirts together.
• His speech drags like a worn out audiocassette.
• Robert has cerebral palsy.
• The disease keeps him from driving a car, riding a bike, and going for a walk.
• But it didn’t keep him from graduating from high school
• Or attending University,
• From which he graduate with a degree in Latin.
• Having cerebral palsy didn’t keep him from teaching at a Junior College;
• Or from venturing overseas on five mission trips.
• And Robert’s disease didn’t prevent him from becoming a missionary in Portugal.
• He moved to Lisbon, alone, in 1972.
• There he rented a hotel room and began studying Portuguese.
• He found a restaurant owner who would feed him after the rush hour;
• And a tutor who would instruct him in the language.
• Then he stationed himself daily in a park,
• Where he distributed brochures about Christ.
• Within six years he led seventy people to the Lord,
• One of whom became his wife, Rosa.
• When he speaks at a Church;
• He is not after sympathy or pity, but rather the opposite.
• He hold his bent crooked hand up in the air and he boasts,
• “I have everything I need for joy.”
• TRANSITION: His shirts are held together by Velcro,
• But his life is held together by joy!
Joy is a theme of these verses:
• The psalmist wants the nations to be “glad” (vs 4).
• To “Sing for joy” (vs 4)
• Twice he wants the nations to “Praise God” (vs 5).
• The desire of the psalmist is that the nations;
• Would come into a knowledge and into the joy of the Lord.
Ill:
• Robert Rainy (1826 – 1906), was a Scottish Presbyterian clergy man;
• He was principle at New College, Edinburgh.
• (the Divinity faculty in Edinburgh University) is named after him.
• He is more commonly referred to as Principal Rainy,
• He was known for his happy manner,
• And when people asked him why he was so joyful all the time,
• He would reply using a metaphor about a Christian's joy.
• "Joy is the flag which is flown from the castle of the heart,
• When the King is in residence there."
• TRANSITION: That was Principle Rainy’s belief;
• And the psalmist would add a loud Amen! To that.
(3). Because the World Needs Life (vs 5-7).
“May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
6 The land yields its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.
7 May God bless us still,
so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.”
• I guess it is no coincidence that in a missionary psalm;
• The psalmist talks about a harvest
• Because whenever the gospel is preached (if you sow good seed);
• Sooner or later you are going to reap a harvest of souls!
Ill:
Psychologist, Charles Allen tells this story in one of his books:
• As World War II was drawing to a close,
• The Allied armies gathered up many hungry orphans.
• They placed them in camps where they were safe and well-fed.
• Yet despite the excellent care they received, the orphans slept badly.
• They seemed nervous and afraid.
• Finally, a psychologist came up with the solution.
• Each child was given a piece of bread to hold after he or she was put to bed.
• This particular piece of bread was just to be held—not eaten.
• This extra piece of bread produced wonderful results.
• And the children started to sleep undisturbed throughout the night.
• The extra piece of bread had a wonderful effect on the children because;
• As they went to bed they instinctively knew they would have food to eat the next day.
• TRANSITION: Without food, without a harvest we die!
• But with food, we live!
• In Biblical times the people saw harvest as tangible proof of God’s blessing.
• He provided all that they needed for life!
• Without food, without a harvest we die!
• But with food, we live!
Ill:
• Jesus used that metaphor when talking about himself;
• John chapter 6 verse 35 Jesus said;
“Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty”.
• Jesus made this claim after he had fed 5,000 people;
• Maybe as many as 10,000 as women and children were not counted in those days.
• I do like that story of how he fed them;
• We are told that “Jesus took the bread in his hands”:
Ill:
• Place a have a scalpel in my hands, it’s merely a scalpel that could cause damage,
• But when you place that same scalpel in the hands of a surgeon,
• It turns into an object that can bring life.
• Put a golf club in any of our hands, and it’s merely a golf club,
• But when you place that same golf club in the hands of Rory Mcllroy or James Day,
• It allows him to be the best golfer in the world.
• A paintbrush in my hands might result in a pretty good picture,
• (if it’s painting by numbers).
• But when a paintbrush was placed in the hands of Van Gogh,
• It would turn into incredible works of art.
• A gun placed in the hands of a UN peacekeeper is a tool used to attain safety,
• But when placed in the hands of a terrorist,
• That same gun becomes a weapon of destruction.
• Question: Why is it that the same instruments and the same tools;
• Can bring about such differing degrees of results?
• Answer:
• It simply depends upon who is holding them and how they’re being used.
• TRANSITION: Make sure you are placing your life in the hands of Jesus;
• And he will bless you and make you a blessing!
Note:
• The last line of the psalm;
• “So that all the ends of the earth will fear him.”
• The psalmist wants the nations to look at him and his people;
• To see how God has blessed him,
• And to trust in the Lord.
• If they see this they will fear God, they will fear they are missing out on the blessing;
• They too will come to faith.
Punchline:
• What do people see when they look at our lives (and they do)?
• Do they see Christ or just a caricature of Christ?
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=j2ylXzvlAQ6Vfd1YDtdgp8wZTVVNhr0b
