Verse 1 - 4;
This is a celebration song of victory so let Gods word stir up a victory dance in your heart today
It is done we have won the followers of Christ should be singing and celebrating, yes even in these times of gloom, especially in these times for what is it to us?
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good his love endures forever
Psalm 118 gives us a framework for prayer for communion with God
In many ways it echo’s the Lords prayer. It starts by centring on God, centring on some of his key attributes’ like he is eternal, good, his love always endures forever
What does forever mean to you? I mean in this time driven priority orientated work that we live in, what is eternity, do you have time for it, time to ponder?
Lets consider, I do believe that God has placed in all of us a creative spark if you like, some might chose to snuff that out, some might fan it into flame, its your choice.
I do believe the God really loves his created ones to take time to appreciate his awesomeness, the shear fantastic nature of it all the complexity and depth the totally mind blowing and unbelievable brilliance and beauty of his creation, his story and this compared to our little micro second snap shot we get to see from the perspective of our lives
The more we let this soak into ourselves the more we lose us and find the I AM
Against the backdrop of his infinite story, his unbelievable creation from the smallest of atoms to the unimaginable vastness and complexity of the universe
And here we are in the presence of an almighty God who loves each and every one of us, who can never fail or will never turn away and on it goes a never ending river of love, on and on beyond what our small minds can understand what is the span of our years against eternity?
Does this not stir you to worship, to fall to your knees and bring praise to the I AM the author and creator of all things, for whom all things are by whom all things are, who is and was and most definitely will be
Will you not trust your life, your existence to the Lord, lets all of us cry out Give thanks to the Lord his love endures forever”
Whose love endures forever as mountains are ground to dust and dragged by streams to the seabed as the molecules that are part of our bodies return to the dust to be recycled into earth and in time might become another worshiper praising God
His love Endures forever
No matter what comes against us, no matter what disappointment, what failure, what success, what riches, whatever happens to us, his Love endures forever its a promise that stretches through all of creation and sustains all of creation never to fail
So let go of all those burdens, distractions, fears and worries and trust God
His love endures forever , it is never diminished, never “crunched” and always there
Verse: 5 - 9;
Have you ever cried out in pain?
Being male and not being able to give birth I am informed that I will never truly experience pain, but I have had a few moments that were close enough in my book:
I remember vividly a trip to a dentist for “deep root” surgery being told that as the nerve in my tooth was most likely dead there was no need for an anaesthetic, I trusted that dentist as he selected which long wire to insert into my cavity to remove what ever was left before sealing the chasm. The dentist inserted the wire an twisted it. Now I’m not small at 6ft 4inches and to be polite lets say well built, so as I screamed and reached out to the thin 5ft dentist and as in the haze of my pain I lifted him from the floor by his throat region, I believe he heard my anguish and then set me free with a injection to dull the pain before starting the procedure again
I remember times of betrayal that cut deep into my heart, pain beyond a flesh wound these are the deepest cuts that never seem too heal a soul wound like Frodo stabbed by the ring wraiths sword an ache that will not heal
I remember times of fear wondering how the money would stretch, how the family would be fed and would we keep the house for another month
If we live we will all suffer pain, if we truly live and love as Jesus calls us to we will suffer deep pain because our hearts will be open as Jesus shows, in fact we are promised trials, rejection, hurts and the like, Jesus never promised a life free of anguish, he understands, he had enough moments to cry out to the Lord even to the point of sweating blood, that’s anguish
There is nothing wrong with crying out to God, God invites us to he wants us to its part of the relationship on offer to us
We are not expected by God to live holy, un troubled lives, he knows how we are made, understands that we will fail, understands we will face trials and promises to stand with us to help us in these moments to carry us through
But and this is a key point I want you to hear, God does not turn the course of the universe so that we will not have these times, we will have them but he will be with us, hear this God will be with us in the trials in the pain he does not avoid us when we lose our jobs or are sick or fail his grip is tighter then than any other , believe me I know my frail hand is often in his as I stumble and fall again
For churches to tell people that when they give their lives to Jesus they will have no troubles, will be healed of any illness and get a massive return on every act of giving is ludicrous or worse a lie and lie’s don’t come from God
Look at Jesus, he suffered pain, betrayal, hate, poverty, was homeless and all these things he did not avoid he took them in this path through this life, these if you like “character forming moments”, Jesus brought victory even in the midst of human failure
God uses these moments to shape us I believe to prepare us for eternity to knock off the rough edges to bring forth the diamond from the lump of filthy coal.
Verse: 10 - 13
God’s promise is not that we will not suffer or have grief, pain and trouble, his promise is more amazing than that it is that he will be with us in all of those moments, he will never leave us and forsake us, God loves us to much to leave us to face these moments alone, the creator of all things stands with you, remember that when the letter from the bank comes, remember that when the e-mail from HR falls into your inbox telling of synergy and how your services are well redundant, God is with you his love will not leave you will not reject you and never tell you are not good enough
Look at the words in psalm 118, “I will not be afraid”, “I will look in triumph on my enemies” this gives me the clear sense of battle won like the devil has thrown it all at you and it has hurt it has caused pain but God has delivered as you kept your faith and trust in him like Job beaten and tossed onto the garbage heap but he trusted in God and no matter what the devil did to him or how his friends mocked and judged him stood firm in his belief that God is good and lived through his trials to see Gods blessing and affirmation in his life, do the same, look to eternity set your face like flint and focus on Jesus the author and perfector of your faith
Who would you rather trust God or Man, look at the world monetary system to answer that question as banks crash as house prices fall, how’s Gods currency, how’s Gods return on investment, what gives you more security God or Man?
Proverbs 8:14-19: Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have understanding and power. By me kings reign and rulers make laws that are just; by me princes govern, and all nobles who rule on earth. I love those who love me and those who seek me find me. With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity. My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver.
Think again about eternity here as well, how does the credit crunch measure up to the eternal, to the divine, trust in God as it says in Deuteronomy 33 27 The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemy before you, saying, ’Destroy him!’
God does not just give you the victory in the end you get a grandstand seat watching your enemies knowing they are beaten knowing the your God is a “consuming fire” and he will do this
Let me ask a question of you who or what is the king in your life? What is your highest priority what is it you serve or are surrendered to?
What is it you turn to in times of trouble, drink, sex, things, money let me tell you in terms of eternity these are things of no value they are things with no credit in the eternal realm, dust at best fluff in the meaning of life, not rock and solid and forever and eternal
God has supplied to man the true currency of eternity the key to salvation that is if you like being made right with God been given an account with God that can never be emptied, will never lose its value and is guaranteed for all time
His name is Jesus God’s son who came as a man to suffer as we might suffer and more than most ever will, took the excruciating pain of the nails hung at a cross for us and prayed “Father forgive them they know not what they do”
WE can be forgiven of every wrong thing we have ever done or will do by turning to Jesus and confessing he is Lord, washed clean and promised and given a place in almighty God’s presence for eternity at no cost but by Gods grace, mercy and love
Now tell me what bank can beat that or give a better return or a guarantee of always being open for business?
Now tell me what thing or person can act can or be trusted more to defend and protect and set you free?
None but Jesus!!!
Verse: 14 - 23;
Jesus raised to the right hand of God, the son of man the son of God, Salvation the name above every name the King of Kings
Colossians 1: 15 – 20: He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
When you think your life is in trouble, when you feel like the pit is open and you are in free fall, when anguish overwhelms you to the point of crying out consider Jesus consider what he endured to set you and me free
Consider if you can what it must be like to give up being God in heaven, all powerful, all knowing and everything and allowing yourself to become a man, like us becoming a bacteria or a virus, then leaving the perfection called heaven and going to the slum called earth, becoming a slum dog in the midst of its filth both physical and spiritual its stink both physical and spiritual and yet not allowing the dirt of the place to pollute his spirit his soul staying pure and clean as no other human has or will manage, perfection incarnate love came down to rescue us
Then consider the pain of trying to communicate to these humans, these blind ones, these deaf ones who would not see and would not hear God even God right there with them, the rejection, the hurt, the grief that made Jesus weep on occasion and ultimately after being hailed as a king and given such a procession into Jerusalem, then to allow them to take him to kill him, the ultimate expression of meekness, true strength allowing weaker things to overcome it in order to serve a higher goal a God ordained rescue package for the world for you and me as he died a terrible death on the cross at humanities hand
For you and me as he was raised from the dead, a victory beyond all other the greatest of all in humankind existence a victory literally of life over death of good over evil of light over darkness, a victory eternal and true
John 16:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me
Jesus is the way to God the gate of righteousness, that when you give yourself to Jesus you can enter at no cost, as Jesus has that covered and paid the price
Consider again John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
This is the meaning of life for human kind, this is what we are on this earth to live for and learn of before we die, this is our foundation stone this is the crowing piece of Gods architecture for the universe for all of creation, the salvation of mankind ours to accept or reject
Its your choice, but be careful as it defines an eternity with the God of love or without it gives hope of more than we might know or understand, brings a promise that death is not the end more the end of the beginning if you like, we are created for eternity we have God breathed souls that will not fade or die, so chose while you can that’s what you are really here for
The word “marvellous” seems so inadequate but them to be fair what one word would be good enough to describe this amazing wonderful gift from our creator, this love that transcends all other things, this person who will walk with you and be with you all of your days if you turn to him and ask, this Jesus.
Verse: 24 - 29;
So here we are the party the celebration, victory is won, like the end of the Star Wars films when all of the citizens of the evil empire knew that they we free, free to live in the Victory won as we are free to live in the Victory won by Jesus
When we give our lives to Jesus we stand in his victory, its a celebration for eternity not just the short one seen on palm Sunday waving the palms and praising Jesus then on the Friday cursing him on the cross, no this is about the victory for all time never diminish, Jesus has done it let his light shine on us and through us as we walk this earth
Still fear the credit crunch, redundancy, illness, rejection, pain all these things might come, but through the storm through it all remember God is Good, God will not forsake you and leave you and Jesus has paid the price, the Victory is yours, its fact and every day is the Lords
God will let his blessing and light shine upon you so turn from worrying about the currency of this world these frail things gone like smoke on the wind and turn to face eternity with the King of all things, Jesus and celebrate it like you mean it
Offer your life anew to Jesus with joy and thanks giving let him onto the throne of your life as king, king of all and you will be secure, you will be blessed for eternity and be surrounded and upheld by a love that will never fail
So give thanks and praise and exalt our God this is our worship
2 Corinthians 2:14 – 15 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.
We are created to worship God that is when we are fully alive, so for Christ sake lets LIVE and LIVE forever
So What???
So what do we do with psalm 118
How do we live it as crack pots of clay that we are?
Well let me encourage you who have Christ in your lives, stay crack pots, seriously trust in God and relax in this victory that Jesus has won
You don’t have to earn it, its done so let it flow over you, try kicking your feet up so to speak and showing the world that you’re well “Not bothered” by the credit crunch, by global recession and stimulus packages
Maybe its time for us Christians to show that we have a eternal focus not a short term knee jerk
Maybe its time to turn that old saying “to much heaven thinking to be any earthly good” on a 360 degree spin as I believe people now are looking for an out of this earthly way and would be very thankful to know of a heaven and a way and a life that leads to the gate of eternity, oh yes its free its by grace, there is no toll its not a club membership, not a gated community
Just turn and ask Jesus, he has been waiting all your life for this moment, he has been with you if you knew him or not, but he knew this moment would come, he knows your worth the wait, after all what a few years compared to eternity, so turn into those loving arms and receive a heart for your heart a love that will never fail you or reject you and will heal your deep wounds if you let him, because Jesus loves you
That’s why
That’s why he paid the price in advance, for your good, you can get in for free, no charge its paid
The victory, is here, the victory is now its ours its through us that by Jesus that others will see
So
Remember the glory of God is seen in men and women fully alive in God, transformed by giving their lives for and in Jesus and living in the freedom and fullness of his victory on the cross
So breath brothers and sisters and for his sake shine go on and enjoy the life he has call you to and show the shear luxury of living in Jesus, as the advert might say this is not life this is life in Christ, show the victory, show we see beyond the now and into the eternal!
Lets pray that we might be like Jesus for all of those we meet and know.
