A Song in the Storm

Oh friends, it's true. We have a good, good father. I don't think you heard me. Friends, we have a good, good father. And he makes good stuff. He makes masterpieces. I'm trying to be a good father. God's given me a wife and a couple of kids. There's a picture of them right here. That's Deborah and Elijah and Tiana. And I'm so very blessed and grateful to do life with them. And I'm trying to be a good father too, but we have a good, good father. And he makes good stuff.

One time, one time God made a little baby boy. And he called the angels around and he said, "Hey guys, this is Adrian. He's beautiful. And I'm going to, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to give him a sort of passionate, quirky Korean mom. And he's going to grow up with the most wonderful stories. And you know what? I'm going to breathe my spirit into him. And he's going to bring joy and laughter into my house." And one time, one time God made a little girl, made a little girl and, and he called the angels and around and he said, "Guys, this is Valerie. She's beautiful. I love her. And you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to, I'm going to strengthen her because she's going to walk through some really hard stuff. But I'm, you know what? I'm going to move my spirit into her and she will comfort many.

And then one time God made two little redheaded brothers. And he called the angels and around and he said, "Guys, this is Mark and Paul. And my grace is sufficient. Oh, and it's not about pastors, good grief. I'm just using them because I work with them every day because God made Wendy and he made Bob and he made Jim and he made Todd with one D and he wants to fill you with his spirit because God makes good stuff. He makes masterpieces.

One time God made a little boy and he called him around and said, "Hey guys, this, this is Trent." And does anyone else think he looks like Harry Potter? And I don't know what God's going to do with that, but I trust that he will fill me with his spirit this morning. Can I pray? Father God, you are a good, good father and you make good stuff. Would you fill me with your spirit? And help me say useful things. Amen. Amen.

Hey, I got to ask you, do you ever daydream? Clearly I do. And I want to let you in on a little daydream of mine. One of my fantasies is that one day I wake up and have breakfast and I go out to the mailbox and I find a mysterious letter from a mysterious place. And I open it to discover that I am the long lost son of God. The only living relative of royalty. Maybe a Duke or, or I don't know. I don't know much about that. Maybe it's a count like the count of Monty Python or the count of a Monty Crisco or Monte Vista or Monte something. Anyway, it's a counter, maybe a Nigerian prince. I really don't know, but, but I'm the only living lost son, no offense, mom and dad of royalty.

And you know what? My rent is due this week. But I don't care because this guy died. So sad and left it all to me. My rent is due. I don't care because now people pay me rent and I pack up my stuff and I get on a plane and I sit in the front in those big seats that recline and I fly over to, I don't know, England or something. And I get off the plane and I'm walking through the airport and I run into Daniel Radcliffe and I'm like, what's up? And he's like, what? No, he isn't really. But he says, has anyone ever told you you look, anyways, no.

And so I go to the train station and I walk through a magic portal in the wall and I get on a train and I whisk off to, to, I don't know, Worcestershire. And, and, and I come to my very own castle on my very own estate. Oh, and it's beautiful. And I walk in and I put on a maroon smoking jacket because that's what you do. And I walk out on one of my 17 patios. I love this one. It has Ivy all around it. It's awesome. And I walk out and I look over everything that is mine, all mine. And it's beautiful and it's wonderful and I feel inspired. I'm really feeling it.

So I snap my fingers and I say, oh, James, is that my new voice? Smashing. And so I snap my fingers and say, oh, James, be a good lad and bring me my guitar. And would you know it, four seconds later, a kid shows up with a beautiful vintage Gibson guitar and his name is James. And I look at the guitar and inside I see a handwritten note. It says with all my best signed Paul McCartney. P.S. I wish I had half your talent. Hey, it's a daydream. Like anything goes, you have them too and they're weirder than mine.

So I pick up the Gibson guitar and I write a worship song because everything is awesome. And I'm feeling it. And I say, the lyrics are awesome. It says, Lord, you who are my inheritance, my cup of blessing, you guard all that is mine. The land you have given me is a pleasant land. What a wonderful inheritance. I will bless the Lord who guides me. Even at night my heart instructs me. I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad and I rejoice. Yeah, no wonder.

What a confident song and why not. So it probably wouldn't surprise you to find out that the most legendary king in Israel's history wrote that song, King David. But what might surprise you is to find out that David wasn't the king when he wrote it. And he wasn't a prince and he wasn't wealthy. In fact, he was from a poor family. He was the youngest out of a whole pile of kids and he had really no inheritance to look forward to. And that's not all. David wasn't just poor. He was a fugitive. He was hiding from a king who had made it his life's goal to hunt him down and kill him.

This song was written by a man who was literally running and hiding for his life. And what does this refugee write in his song? No wonder my heart is glad and I rejoice. What? That's crazy. That doesn't make sense. That's counterintuitive. How can David look danger in the face and say, thank you, God? How can you and I look honestly into our pain and our difficulty and do the same? Of course, you know, if we could, people might have the same reaction. That's crazy. They might think we're a little nuts. That's OK, though. They already do. They already think we're questionable. It's OK, church. Be questionable. Just be questionable for the right reasons, right?

Instead of how can those people be so crazy arrogant? Or how can those people be so crazy uptight? How can that guy be so crazy self-righteous? What if people were asking, how can those people be so crazy confident? How can they be so crazy grateful? Crazy happy, crazy humble, secure, light hearted. Be questionable. Just be questionable for the right reasons. For several weeks, church, we've been talking all about authentic faith. We've been looking at the honest prayers and struggles of real people who are facing difficult seasons of life.

And you might remember a few weeks ago, Pastor René described a cycle of orientation, disorientation and reorientation that all of us go through repeatedly throughout our lives. And last week, Nancy Beach did a beautiful job talking about the seasons of life that we all experience. The Bible is full of honest prayers. There are prayers of orientation, of good times celebrating God's abundance and blessing, and there are prayers of disorientation, honest, visceral prayers. Born out of urgency and distress. God, why? God, help.

And today we're looking at a prayer of reorientation. This morning, I want to look at David's song in Psalm 16 and discover three ways you never saw that coming. Three ways that you and I can find hope, strength, confidence and gratitude, even when things are still difficult. So the first step, and I think this is in your notes, the first step to finding our song in the storm to reorienting is this. Allow God's power to adjust our posture.

Now, what in the world does that mean? I don't know. But it's alliterated and it rhymes. I am a preacher. Whoo. Okay, I'm kidding. But seriously, I'm not talking about divine chiropractics. I'm saying that if we allow the vision of an all powerful, infinite God to capture our imagination, it will shape our attitude. A proper perspective of a big God will shape our posture before him. And this is exactly where we find David at the beginning of this Psalm. He says, keep me safe, O God. And the word for God there means mighty one or strong one. I love that. Keep me safe, mighty one. For I have come to you for refuge. I said to the Lord, you are my master. Everything good I have comes from you.

So first, David acknowledges God's position. His position, Lord, you are my master. He's saying, God, you're God and I'm not. Church, this prayer is both frightening and freeing. God, I'm out of control. I don't have control of my life. But wait, you mean I don't have to control everything in my life? It can be frightening, but it's freeing. We sing a song here at Twin Lakes sometimes that's all about the might and power of God. And in that song is a line that says, now I'm lost in your freedom. It's poetic, but I think that line is about this frightening and freeing paradox.

God, I so desperately want to give up control. That sounds really good. I desperately want this to not all be on me. But if I let go, will you be there? Can you really be trusted? How does letting God be in charge give us confidence and hope? Well, it releases us from the pressure of results. If my life is God's project, his workmanship, his masterpiece, then he is responsible for whether or not my life was a success. The Bible says that he who began a good work will complete it. God is the master. He's the master designer. He's the master builder. I am his project. You're his project. So he has the right to define success his way. And it's not on me.

Grab a hold of this church. There is a profound freedom when we let go of what was never ours to control in the first place, we experience soul rest when we let God be the master of our lives. I am in a years long process of learning this. A lot of you know that I live with a condition called multiple sclerosis and God's been so gracious in sustaining my health. But I can tell you there's been a number of times through the years when that label, that condition has been the door slammed shut on my agenda and on my dreams. So I understand that and I can't I have this deep inside. I have to tell you deep inside, I have this fear, this abiding fear that I have. That I'll come to the end of my life and I'll meet the Lord and he'll say, no, you had a lot of potential, but that terrifies me.

But you see, that happens when I'm setting the agenda. When I let God guide my steps, then he's responsible for the result. It frees me from that pressure. He's a good father. So David acknowledges God's position and next he acknowledges God's provision. He acknowledges God's provision. He says, everything good I have comes from you. Now, I don't really need to explain this. Honestly, it's not a big mystery. God, everything good I have comes from you. Our my problem isn't that I don't get this concept. My problem is I just don't really believe it.

See, the blessings we enjoy in our core, we kind of think we deserve them. And God's grace and goodness, we have this idea that we're earning them. We witness miracles daily and don't even notice we're so hard to impress, aren't we? And sometimes, guys, I live, I find myself living in a self-inflicted poverty, not because I'm not blessed, but because I've grown numb to the blessings. Sometimes I'm too busy looking for the next wow to notice what's right in front of my face.

It's kind of like taking little kids to the zoo. We've taken our kids to zoos various times over the years. And I remember when they were little, oh, my goodness, they was a drive to get there and they could not wait to get there. And as soon as we were there, of course, they didn't want to follow like the trail through the zoo. They want to see this and then go all the way over here and see this and see this. And it never seems to matter what's in front of them. It's always about, oh, I want to see that. I want to see that. When are we going to go see that? I want to see that. I want to see that dead. I want to see that.

And we're there. They're like, great, what's next? Maybe your kids are like that, but you want to feel blessed. You want to feel rich. Start counting your blessings. All of them start at zero. Count the ordinary miracles to everything good, all the good things. Friends, there is no freedom like contentment and sometimes, listen, sometimes the best thing you can have is not having to have all the things. The best thing you can have sometimes is not having to have all the things.

Have you noticed, have you noticed how much more fun it is to spend other people's money? Oh, yes. Gift cards, they're the best. What if your whole life you got to spend someone else's resources? Wait for it. You do. Because it isn't yours. And that's wonderful. You don't have to worry about the American dream. Get captured by a way bigger dream. Say, God, you are my master. Everything good I have is from you and it's for you. That's called worship. God, these are your resources. My time, my talent. How do you want me to use them? Ask God for the wisdom. He promises that when we ask him for wisdom, he will give it to us.

We allow God's power to shape our posture when we acknowledge his position and his provision. And second, if you want to find increasing hope, gratitude and confidence, even in rough circumstances, invite godly people to influence your values. David goes on to say in his song, the godly people in the land are my true heroes. I take pleasure in them. Troubles multiply for those who chase after other gods. I will not take part in their sacrifices of blood or even speak the names of other gods.

So I ask you, who are your heroes? Listen, there are plenty of people around you who spend their lives chasing false gods, chasing things that don't matter in eternity. And it's tricky because some of those folks look really successful and they might even use churchy words when they talk to you. So how can you tell? Now, I really need you to lean in here because I don't want you to misunderstand me. This is important. When I say people who were chasing false idols, I'm not talking about some stereotype. OK, I'm not calling out like the rich or the famous or the physically beautiful or the one percent. I'm not advocating witch hunting.

I'll be honest with you. Sometimes I judge people based simply on their outward appearance and what they appear to have. And it makes me feel jealous and insecure. And that's my problem. And I need to knock it off. There are people who are abundantly blessed with various resources that are wonderful, mature, humble, godly people. I'm talking about something different and more subtle. I'm suggesting that if hanging out with the people you aspire to be like doesn't leave you feeling more grateful, more content, more secure, that might be a red flag.

If being around them consistently leads you to a negative place, comparing, competing. If it leaves you thinking more about what you don't have than what you do have, that might be a red flag. And one more thing I'm not saying. I'm not saying don't hang out with people who challenge you. The Bible says we're to spur one another on to love and good works, right? So don't avoid relationships that inspire and challenge you in clear and productive ways. What I am saying is that if hanging out with certain people that you aspire to be like consistently leaves you feeling discouraged, trapped and insecure, it could be that you feel that way because they feel that way. Because they're enslaved to a false God.

So be cautious about trying to be like them or you might get your wish. Be like David. Make the godly your heroes. Seek out role models who point you toward true success and significance. And how do you know who they are? It can be a challenge because they usually aren't going around drawing attention to themselves. Ask God specifically to lead you to those people. I think he will. I love how author C.S. Lewis muses on this topic in his book Mirror Christianity. He tries to describe what he thinks a really humble, godly person looks like.

So check this out. He says, don't imagine that if you meet a really humble man, he'll be what most people call humble nowadays. He'll not be a sort of a greasy, smarmy person who's always telling you that, well, of course, I'm nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him, it'll be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He'll not be thinking about humility. He will not be thinking about himself at all. Select your heroes carefully, but make sure you select some.

And just a couple more thoughts. Listen, people who choose slavery for themselves are happy to choose it for you, too. It's true. And the opposite is true. People who understand true freedom are all about liberating others. That's why I love that this church preaches grace because grace liberates. Choose the right heroes to emulate and then also know what your weaknesses are. David says, "I will not take part in the sacrifices." He draws a line. He draws a boundary. "I will not take part, and I won't even speak the names of other gods." I think that's wise because we all have triggers.

I found this to be true of myself. We have triggers that pull us into a cycle of ingratitude, entitlement, an unhealthy comparison. So learn what your triggers are. Learn what your weaknesses are and don't go there. Learn what your weaknesses are and don't go there. That's a whole sermon in itself. We don't have time this morning. So how do we find calm, confidence, gratitude and challenging times? Number one, allow God's power to shape your posture. Let his plans determine your desires and your destiny. And number two, invite godly people to influence your values. Model your values after those people who understand grace. Let their joy infect you. And as you begin to live in grace and freedom, you can encourage and liberate others. Guys, that's why we're doing this church thing.

Finally, which is always the best word in a sermon. Finally, we should cling to God's promises to give us hope. So let's go back to that song in its right context. Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine. The land you've given me is a pleasant land. What a wonderful inheritance. I will bless the Lord who guides me. Even at night, my heart confirms this. I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad and I rejoice. My body rests in safety. Cling to God's promises to give you hope.

David says, you alone, God, are my inheritance. You're my cup of blessing. Now, a cup of blessing, what is that about? You know, in the culture of that day, the cup was a metaphor for fate. So nowadays, like if we translate it now, we might use maybe a card playing metaphor, like the hand that you're dealt, right, what life hands you. David is saying, when your inheritance is the Lord, you're always holding a winning hand.

Now you might be thinking, but I'm not David. And I know David wrote this song during a rough time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But come on. He'd been anointed king when he was a kid. At least he was holding that card in his hand. I don't have any face cards. I'm not royalty. Yes, you are. You are. You're adopted royalty in Christ. You might feel like, guys, you might feel like you're a few cards short of a deck. I know I do sometimes. But listen, in Christ, I'm going to keep going with this metaphor. It's fun. In Christ, you're holding a royal flush. Because Jesus, the King of Kings, calls you brother. He calls you sister in the family of God. In Christ, the King of Kings is your brother. He's your big brother. And you are a co-heir. Yeah, it is awesome. It's awesome. And you are a co-heir to everything God has promised, both now and in the future.

And David goes on, "You will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave. You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever." You know what? That almost sounds kind of spooky. You will not allow your holy one to rot in the grave. Man, where have I heard that before? That sounds almost like David is referencing Jesus' resurrection like a thousand years before it happened. And he is. Check out the book of Acts. We're going to be starting a series on that in just like a month and a half, and you'll see that in there. David is referencing Jesus' resurrection a thousand years before it happens. And just like everything else in the Bible, this has Jesus written all over it. Man, that guy is everywhere.

This passage is a prophecy of Jesus' resurrection and of your destiny too. And my destiny, if our hope is in Christ, you have the promise of his presence now and the pleasure of being with him forever. You have a most wonderful, amazing inheritance. Friends, freedom begins when we realize that we are the long lost sons and daughters. It's not just a daydream. It's not a fantasy. We are the long lost sons and daughters of royalty. And our good, good father went to extraordinary lengths to rescue us. That's the truth. And when we lay hold of this promise and this truth, it changes us. We actually start to relax and behave like everything is going to be okay because it is.

We realize that our identity isn't tied to our performance, to our earning it, but to our place as royalty in the family of God. But you don't have to take my word for that. How many of you have been keeping up with the Olympics? So fun. So a number of you might have seen this interview the other night on NBC. Check this out. I'm now in metal here in the synchro event. I just think the past week, there's just been an enormous amount of pressure and I felt it. And, you know, it's just an identity crisis. When my mind is on this and thinking I'm defined by this, then my mind goes crazy.

But we do have to know that our identity is in Christ. And we're just, we're thankful for this opportunity to be able to dive in front of Brazil and for the United States. And it's been an absolutely thrilling moment for us. You now have gold, silver and bronze Olympic medals. How much does this free you up for the individual event? It does. It takes a lot of pressure off of me, but this, this never could have happened without steel, without him pushing me, without him loving me well, encouraging me. And my wife has just been a solid rock and I couldn't have done it without them.

And Steel for you, your first ever Olympics, first ever Olympic event. How were you able to maintain your composure so well? I think the way David just described it was flawless. The fact that I was going into this event knowing that my identity is rooted in Christ and not what the result of this competition is just gave me peace. It gave me ease in it. Let me enjoy the contest. If something went great, I was happy. If something didn't go great, I could still find joy because I'm at the Olympics competing with the best person, the best mentor, the just one of the best people to be around. So God's given us a cool opportunity and I'm glad I could have come away with an Olympic silver medal in my first ever event. Yeah. Amen.

Did you hear what they said? Did you hear what they said? When I define myself by what I'm able to pull off, by what I can do, it creates pressure. But when I remember that it's not what I can do, but who I am, when I define myself by who I am in Christ, then it gives me freedom. Freedom to not have that pressure, freedom to understand how blessed I am. Love that. Love that.

Listen, church, we all face difficult things. I'm sorry. We do. That's non-negotiable. We're in a fallen world and we don't get to choose whether or not we'll deal with challenges or trouble, but we do get to choose how we deal with it. We can try harder and fight and claw to fashion our lives into what we want them to be. Or we can let God be the master, can live in his grace, live in his freedom and let him guide our steps and let him be responsible for the ultimate results.

We can choose to isolate ourselves or we can just join that rat race chasing idols or we can surround ourselves with people that are humbly seeking to live out grace who can help encourage and liberate us. We can pin our hopes on things that fail or we can find true hope in our identity as sons and daughters of a good, good father, brothers and sisters of Christ and co-heirs of everything that has promised us and him. So with God handling the results and Godly people cheering us on in a true understanding of how really blessed we are in Christ, we too can embrace joy and gratitude anywhere.

Like David said, no wonder my heart is glad and I rejoice. So you know what, let's take a few moments to practice this gratitude together by celebrating communion. Jesus instructed us, he left us this and instructed us to do this in remembrance of him until he comes again and we get to celebrate together in his kingdom. That's going to be awesome. I can't wait for that. And enjoying this time together gives us a chance to do exactly what we've been talking about for the last, oh, I don't know, half hour or something.

Partaking of the bread and wine commemorates the sacrifice that Christ made for you and me, how he paid the price for us because we couldn't. When we partake, we acknowledge that our sin debt was bigger than we could possibly handle, but God holds the master plan and it's all because of his grace. And don't miss this. We also partake together because we're in this together. Finally, we partake to look forward to Christ's return when the fullness of our redemption and inheritance will be realized. So let's be glad and let's celebrate together.

And if today you have just put your simple faith in Christ, then I invite you to join into this time. I'd like to invite our ushers to come forward. And can I say, if you're at that point in your life where you're ready to say, I don't want to be in control anymore. I want to fall on the mercy of a good, good father through his son, Jesus Christ. And why not make that choice today with a simple prayer in your heart? Why not give it over to him? And this could be like your first communion. That'd be awesome.

So let's pray together. God, you are a good, good father and you make good stuff. And we believe in declare in faith that by your spirit, you're making masterpieces out of each of us. And Lord, we acknowledge together this morning that there is, there is nothing so good in us. That we could earn your favor. That we could earn a right standing with you. But Lord, your love is bigger than even that. And you went to such lengths to rescue us. We just marvel at this love and grace. And we thank you in Jesus name. Amen.