Northside Church - Sydney
Stop. Revive. Survive. – Week 3: Psalm 40
I'm listening to another great message from Northside Community Church. Well, I barely sat down in a chair in a tiny little office of my friend Bruce in Adelaide. His little offices at the back of his garage hardly sat down, I was on the feet again. He's putting plans out on the table. He said, "Gram, have a look at this, as you know we're in a big block here." He said, "I've done a deal with the churches of Christ, aged care facility and aged care organisation in South Australia. They're going to bulldoze our house and they're going to build ten units on this block. Pat and I, that's his wife, we're going to have one of them and I'm getting excited and he throws that scroll away and then he pulls out something from India. He said, "You won't believe what's happening in India, Graham. There's some great things happening among our colleagues." This man, Bruce, spent 28 years in India with his wife and four kids establishing an orphanage in the rural western town known as Shregonda. It is still there today operating very successfully. He devoted 28 years of his life to that. So he told me a bit about India and then he goes on to say, "You know the trust I sent up all those years ago, remember I sold a warehouse down south and I set up a trust?" He said, "You know if you prepare to wait patiently for God, you'll unfold his plan and it'll show you how it all fits together." He said, "Gram, as a result of setting up that trust, we are now giving away between 30 and $50,000 per year to various mission causes both here and overseas." And this guy cannot help himself, he just keeps rolling out one project after another but now look for as long as I have known him, Bruce has been a dynamo when it comes to creative ideas for effective ministry. When it comes to generosity of spirit, when it comes to just passion for life, it's an amazing guy. I feel very privileged to know him. Now you might be thinking, "Well, hey Graham, you know, there's a lot of people around like this and in your work you probably meet lots of them. What's so special about Bruce?" I tell you what's so special about Bruce. He is five years away from 100. He is 95 years of age. And when I speak to Bruce on the phone even, like there's a sparkle in his voice that's just like you think, and I say to Bruce, "You know, you're in a state of life, now you're supposed to be slowing down, you're supposed to be taking it easy." He is an amazing man. I mean, that informal meeting the other month in Adelaide, which was my first with Bruce for many years, had a really deep impact on me actually. I told my family I've got a new aim to live to 95, because my son Cameron would be older than I am now if I do that. And you know, none of us know, none of us know. I mean, it's just 95, so much this man's achieved and is achieving so much in his 95th year. But isn't that how it is in life? Certain people cross our paths and by their optimism and by their faith, their courage, their resilience, their integrity, whatever it is, they leave an impression on us which if we allow it, can actually further shape who we are if we draw from their example. Now apart from Bev, I'm probably the only person in this auditorium who knows Bruce person. I'm not using his surname, I haven't got permission for that and we podcast all this. But I'm the only person apart from Bev who knows Bruce. But here's the thing, we all know the Samus David. We all know this man through his writing and we can all be shaped and inspired by what we see in his writings in much the same way as I've been inspired by my friend Bruce. Look at the opening verse of Psalm 40. "I waited patiently for the Lord's help." Now friends, instantly he has our attention. Instantly, why? Because, well, as my friend Bruce, well, as my friend Bruce, that's sure for friend Bruce, my Bruce. Fantastic. We should put that in the notes. He made reference to this waiting patiently for the Lord and the ability to wait patiently for the Lord. That's a special gift indeed and it's not found in many people, would you agree? It's just not found in many people. Most of us find that to be one of the most difficult aspects of the Christian journey. Would you agree? Waiting patiently for the Lord. I mean, we don't do patience very well. But it's clear from Psalm 40 that David's patient waiting deepened and enriched his experience of God, giving him a fresh awareness of God's influence and of God's power. Now, guys, when it comes to stop, revive, survive in a spiritual sense, those four words in bold up there, they are of crucial importance because they speak of a level of intimacy with God that is possible, if we're willing to wait patiently for his help and guidance. As followers of Jesus, we desire a level of spirituality that is deeper, one that enriches our lives in all areas. We long for a fresh awareness of God's influence and power in our lives. I waited patiently for the Lord's help, says David. There are essentially two types of waiting. There's fretful waiting and there's fruitful waiting. What is the difference? Fretful waiting is the kind you experience when you're in a checkout line at the supermarket and the person in front of you needs a price check on four items. Don't you really hate that? And you're in a real hurry. Price check on four. And then when the bill is known and it's $73.85, the lady, whoops, do I say lady, instead of giving $75, give $73.85, got to go through the purse, is that the lady thing? I don't know. Guys, just 75, take the change. Ladies, beautiful management of finance, just like to get that every little bit of change out there. It's nothing wrong with it, it just takes time, it's just takes time and you're anxious, you want to get moving and that's fretful waiting and it produces stress, it produces anxiety and all of it, we all experience it in one form or another, pretty much every day on the roads, you know, in queues no matter where. Whereas fruitful waiting, fruitful waiting involves a quiet confidence that that which we are waiting for will eventually come to pass. And even during the period of waiting, we are growing. We are developing. We are becoming stronger people. Classic example of this is what many of our young ladies have been through in the last 12 months and some are still going through it, the process of pregnancy. It's a beautiful example of fruitful waiting because, you know, in the nine months before the arrival of a baby, that can be a very special time of bonding and closeness for a couple in love. You can't rush the process, everything's got, it was all on track and no complications, everything happens, you know, in its sequence. It's an exercise in fruitful waiting. And when David says he waited patiently for the Lord's help, you get the sense that clear impression this was something that led to a deepening of his relationship with the Lord. As I said a moment ago, David's patient waiting gave him a fresh awareness of a number of things. Firstly, the responsiveness of God, that's the first thing. I waited patiently for the Lord's help, then he listened. He heard my cry, isn't it interesting? The David's acknowledgment of God's responsiveness only comes after he's had the presence of mind to be patient, to be still, to really discern God's presence in his life. You notice the sequence? I waited patiently for the Lord, then he heard me. What he's really saying is that's when he was able to discern the presence of God. I mean, difficult times, how often do we cry out to God in panic? Maybe not really believing that he's going to show up anyway. And we wonder why we fail to discern that which he is already doing. He's really on our case. Things are falling into place. If only we would give it time and remain faithful in prayer. David was facing a difficult time, we don't know the details. But he likens it to being in a pit of deadly quicksand. That's the imagery. And the more he tried to break free, the deeper he sank into the mire. But even in that dire circumstance, David became aware of the deliverance, the deliverance available from God, thus too. He pulled me out of a dangerous pit out of the deadly quicksand. I know many of you can identify with David's imagery in this passage. He's talking about a dangerous pit long before the phrase "the pits" came into common usage. Long before the phrase down in the dumps became part of our vernacular to describe the anxiety and the depression that can result from the stressful times of life. God's deliverance from our problems is not always as quick as we would like it to be. Am I right? But he always works in partnership with others, or he rarely works alone. That's been my experience. In other words, we trace his hand, of course, through the practical support of friends and loved ones, through the skill of the medical team when we're praying for somebody up against a health crisis, through the wise counsel of a friend, of a spirit-guided, trusted friend. Boy, how many times has God worked in your life in that way? I know he has in my case. I want to share something that happened last week, and I thought about this, and I think it's really appropriate that the morning congregation know. You remember that last week that gentleman was here from Rwanda, Tarsus, who met Tarsus, quite a few of you. I want to thank all of you who took him under your wing, and we gave him coffee, and what a beautiful dignified man he was, all the way from Rwanda. He actually is one of the leading lights of the Fred Hollows Foundation in Rwanda. That's what he does. We were able to take him into the city afterwards, one of our members took him into the city to a meeting, and he was very appreciative of what we did. As he left, he handed me an envelope, and he said to me, "Gram, God spoke to me last night," and he said, "Somebody today, it was quite specific. Somebody today will need this," and he gave me the envelope, and in his presence, I opened the envelope. It was a $100 US bill, and momentarily, I wondered if I was the person who needed that, but it was a very different, passing thought, passing. Second, just a maximum, three seconds, and do you know what happened? Within minutes of that man leaving, a gentleman returned, he had already spoken to Norman Nubon and said, "I'll come back and talk to the senior pastor." He had a story of down on his luck, and we gave him some options, and those options he had already tried, and the long weekend was a problem, and a whole set of circumstances I won't go into now. Then his wife appeared, and she wanted to use a bathroom and so on. It was a middle-aged couple, and they were pretty much down there like, and it was just an awesome moment. When I said to the man, I said, "I think you are part of an unfolding miracle today." Because a gentleman, only moments ago from one of the poorest nations in the world, gave me this and said, "Somebody today would need this, and I've got no reason to doubt that that person is probably you." That's amazing, isn't it, how God just shows up in some remarkable ways in delivering people from whatever it is they're up against. We have no details of who or what God may have used to affect David's deliverance, but we do know that in the process David became acutely aware of the security provided by God. Second part of verse 2, "He set me safely on a rock and made me secure." Now, let's just pause for a touch of reality here, okay? Yes, we're tempted to think that the security offered by God equates to a life of tranquility and well-being where nothing goes wrong and nothing ever threatens our safety. Let's remind ourselves that God's definition of safety and security is not necessarily the absence of danger or risk. Never has been. That's not his definition of safety and security, but his definition of safety and security does involve the absence of fear and the absence of defeat, and in some of these magnificent verses, a couple of which were read by Melanie, "I will never leave you or forsake you. I'm with you always. In the world," said Jesus, "you will have troubles, been not afraid. I've overcome the world and from Romans, who then will separate us from the love of Christ." So when David talks about being safe and secure on a rock, he's not thinking of a smooth rock and a tranquil pond surrounded by water lilies. He's probably thinking more of a craggy rock in the middle of fast-running rapids, but once on that rock, although still surrounded by the foaming rushing water, we're not being dragged under. That's the difference. Here's a question. Do you know that sort of security today? Are you basing your faith in life amidst all the problems you have on the rock which is Jesus? That's the thrust of our entire message here at Northside Week after week. Now in experiencing the security provided by God, David discovered the inner peace made possible by God, verse 3. He taught me to sing a new song, a song of praise to our God. David literally went from the mire to the choir. That's what he did because of the faithfulness of God. He started to praise God all over again with a new song that was born out of the inner peace he was experiencing. People sing many different songs in life today. You hear them being sung figuratively all the time. Let me tell you some of the popular ones. Poor me. That's a popular song. And what's going to become of me? Does anybody care about me? You'll hear that one, son, in many circles. And probably the most popular one, why me? That's a great song. The common word of caution all of these songs of life is me. But my belief is that David's new song and the new song we can all sing through faith in Jesus Christ is more along these lines. Give me eyes to see more of who you are taking the focus off me. May what I behold still my anxious heart. Now there's a testimony of inner peace made possible because of what Jesus Christ has done for us and because of God's love and faithfulness. It happens when, like David, we patiently wait for the Lord's help. How many nuggets of truth are contained in these first three verses? I haven't even gone in three verses yet. Well, there's still one more. David's patient waiting gave him a fresh awareness of the influence on others orchestrated by God himself. Look at verse three, "Many will see this and will take warning and will put their trust in the Lord." I actually prefer the new living translation. Many will see what God has done and will be amazed and they will put their trust in the Lord. Guys, there are very few things more compelling than the evidence of a changed life when it comes to conversion. You can preach the gospel, you can give out tracks, you can do classes, you can help influence people for Christ in all sorts of ways. There are very few points of evidence more compelling than the changed life. And this is what David is talking about. You can't organize the changed life. You can't artificially create it, not consistently. It's all up to God as we do our bit to wait patiently for him and then he does the rest in terms of the transformation. Many will see what God has done and be amazed. Well, the first part of this tremendous Psalm 40, check it out this week. The first part of this Psalm ends as many of David's Psalms end on a note of strong praise and gratitude. Look at this, verse 4, "Happy are those who trust the Lord, who do not turn to idols or join those who worship false gods. You have done many things for us, O Lord, our God. There is no one like you." Now, friends, can you say that this morning? Are you waiting patiently for the Lord? Is yours a fretful kind of waiting involving a lot of anxiety and a lot of stress or is it a fruitful waiting in which the very process of waiting is growing you and strengthening you and making you into the kind of person God wants you to be? Ultimately our response to that question, our belief in the fact that ultimately God's plan is working out even though it sometimes takes time. The response to that question determines to a large extent our ability to stop, revive, survive. We all need that as part of our journey with Him. It's the only way for longevity. I want to still be praising the Lord and getting excited about projects at 95. Like my friend Bruce, if God so wills it, and I certainly want my life to reflect the values and the spiritual components that David's sharing in Psalm 40. What about you? I hope you do.