Latest / HBCWestminster / 2.26.23 Psalm 147:3 Pastor Nathan Anderson

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2.26.23 Psalm 147:3 Pastor Nathan Anderson · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  This morning, we are going to be in several passages of Scripture. We're going to start in Psalm 147, but if you would stand with me, we're going to read the first six verses of that psalm. This is the word of the Lord, and it says this, Praise the Lord, for it is good to sing. Praise is to our God, for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting. The Lord builds up Jerusalem.
• 0:30
  He gathers the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars. He gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord and abundant in power. His understanding is beyond measure. The Lord lifts up the humble. He casts the wicked to the ground. Allow me to pray in God.
• 1:00
  We thank you for revealing yourself in your word. We thank you for the truths that it holds and the promise and the hope that it holds. And as we begin to unpack it this morning, I pray that you would speak through me with clarity. You would guide us to the truths that you want us to grab a hold of this morning. And you would administer it to our hearts and our minds that we may be encouraged, transformed.
• 1:30
  By the washing of your word, we pray these things in your name. Amen. Amen. You can be seated. Well, the year was 2013. Carla and I were enjoying our first home together. We had bought our first home just a few years prior. As first homes go...
• 1:57
  It was on the smaller side of things, about 1,000 square feet, with a single-car garage. And I say single-car garage more like a storage shed. It was not really big enough. We had a Ford Focus, one of those tiny cars, so it actually could fit in. But if you had any car of substance, it was not going in there. And so we used that.
• 2:19
  For a lot of storage, because our house was a little bit smaller, we had Lucy, who was about three years old, and Jane, who was coming right behind her, and Carla was pregnant with our youngest, Oren, at the time. Because our house was a little bit smaller, like I said, we used this garage to store a lot of things that we didn't use or access a lot. It had...
• 2:40
  a loft, you know, those loft shelves that you could stick stuff on and you could still park your car underneath. And so we stuck things like Christmas decorations and stuff like that. And we had been given from a lady in this church this beautiful but very large, and I mean large, like this wide and about this tall dollhouse.
• 3:04
  Well, at the time, Jane was more interested in eating the flowers on the dollhouse, and Lucy just hadn't quite discovered playing with the dollhouse yet, and so we had decided to stick it up on this storage shelf. Maybe I decided, I don't know. It's probably my decision. To get it out of the way, to unclutter our house. Well, one day, Lucy came up to me and said, Daddy, I really would like to play with the dollhouse. Can you get it down? I said, of course I can get it down.
• 3:30
  So I went out to the garage, and she said, can I come with you? I said, of course you can come with me. So off we trotted, you know, with excitement and joy, and we're going to get this thing down. And I stuck the ladder up and put it in place, and I said, Lucy, you need to stand over here because I don't want to fall off the ladder on you. So if you would stand there, I'll put the ladder up, and I'll get the dollhouse down. And I began to climb up, and then...
• 3:55
  made sure, you know, I'm standing on this thing, and my daughter's here, so I want to be really careful, and it's very large. It's pretty heavy, so I'm going to take my time, and I make sure that my footing is okay, and I grab a hold of this thing, and I begin to shift it and pull it down, and I make sure before I get the full weight of this that I've got a firm grip. I've got a good grip on these things, and I grab it, and right as I'm pulling it off the shelf, I begin to realize that the grip that I thought was...
• 4:25
  firm with my left hand, was not so firm. And I reached to readjust, and as I did, that dollhouse began to fall. And you guys, the next one and a half seconds of my life felt as though they were in slow motion. I reached out to grab a hold of it, and as I did, I could see Lucy's face, which...
• 4:54
  was filled with excitement and joy, thinking about all the things that she was going to do with this dollhouse, begin to turn to worry and a little bit of terror. And I'm grabbing at this, and as I'm grabbing it, I legit screamed out of my head. I'm like, dear Lord, no, no, not like this, please. And I grabbed, and that dollhouse fell. And you guys, I'm telling you,
• 5:26
  This is my daughter right here. That dollhouse fell literally right in front of her face and broke into numerous pieces. I jumped off the ladder, and I think it really took Lucy a few moments to realize everything that had just happened. As I jump off the ladder, she begins to realize that the dollhouse was destroyed.
• 5:57
  broken into what I'm sure for her felt like a million pieces. And the person who had done this was what had been one of her most trusted people in her life, her father. At this moment, as all of this, I believe, just comes washing in on her, she begins to weep. And you guys, I began to cry.
• 6:29
  I felt as though I had invited my daughter into this situation and invited her on this adventure and then just crushed her dreams. Like, you want to play with this? Bam! Good luck. We sat on the step in our garage, cried together, and as we did, she eventually looked up at me and she said, Daddy, can it ever be fixed? Can it ever be fixed?
• 7:04
  As the years have gone on and I've thought about this moment, I really believe there are some incredible, powerful truths which it can illustrate. Is this not how we feel at times in our lives as we experience difficulties? I don't know where each of you guys come here this morning. I don't know what condition you guys have come in. I don't know the history of each one of your lives. But I know this, God states in his word with certainty.
• 7:36
  In this life, you will experience trials of any kind. I know this is true in Carla and my life. We have walked through some really hard and sometimes very dark things in our lives as the reality of sin and its effects on us and this world come close and have touched us. And in those times, felt as though those moments were world-shattering moments.
• 8:09
  I remember at times feeling, I think, a lot like Lucy, looking up at my heavenly Father in tears and asking, Father in heaven, can it ever be fixed? Now this might seem like an odd time to preach this message. There are some wonderful things going on in the body of this church and the life of this church, right? We have seen incredible things answered, prayers answered in glorious and mysterious ways.
• 8:40
  We see new people coming in all the time. We see new life bursting onto the scene as there's young couples holding babies in the back. We have before us exciting things that God is presenting to us as a church that we might be part of. But I know this, that does not mean that sin does not still exist. That marriage is not still hard. That parenting still wears us down. That this life
• 9:13
  is filled with difficulty. And so because of that reality and our desire to be a church that meets us where we are, wherever we are, as the Bible calls us to laugh with those who laugh and weep with those who weep, thus we study this word this morning so that we can be a church in all that we are called to be. So as I often say when I get a chance to teach or preach,
• 9:44
  That is our backdrop. Our goal is now set before us. Here are our four points that I will hopefully use to administer the healing balm of God's gracious truth to us this morning. First will be a present promise, a call to confession of truth, a result of belief in this truth, and a future promise. A present promise. You know,
• 10:16
  As believers, when someone shares something difficult with us, when they're walking through a painful situation, I find, generally speaking, our default response is to go to our last point that we're going to get to, a future promise, right? Someday God's coming back. Let's pretend for a moment that there's somebody here who just broke their leg, and I come up to them,
• 10:51
  and I say, oh man, I see you just broke your leg. I'm so sorry. That must be really hard. I have good news. Someday, someday, your leg's not going to be broken anymore. In fact, someday, your leg's never even going to break again. Isn't that good news? Imagine if in that moment, as Lucy is crying, sitting on my lap, if I look at her as she says, Daddy, can it ever be fixed? If I say,
• 11:23
  Oh, honey, it's going to be fine. I have good news for you. Someday, you're never even going to care about dollhouses. Someday, you're going to get older, and dollhouses aren't even going to matter to you anymore. Isn't that great news? Now, that's true. She's 13 now. She doesn't care about dollhouses anymore. But does that meet her in that moment as she weeps over the brokenness that she sees and has experienced?
• 11:56
  Do you see how at times we can forget the importance of ministering in the present by promising only a future hope? Does God have a present hope for his people in the midst of brokenness? Here is the beautiful answer, church. God has indeed given us a promise of help today for our present situation and circumstance.
• 12:30
  Today, Psalm 147.3 says, He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Now this word translated for brokenhearted actually is two separate words, two words which in their original have separate meanings. The first word is labe or heart, which refers to the innermost parts of ourselves, the most intimate part of us.
• 13:00
  And shabar, which in its roots means to burst or break into pieces or smash. Are you starting to catch a connection to our dollhouse illustration? The writer of Psalm 147 is saying that there are those whose innermost being, their most intimate parts of themselves,
• 13:33
  pieces. But the psalmist doesn't leave us there in that reality. He also promises and says he binds up their wounds. And the word used for bind up is kibosh. Now that word might sound familiar to you. You may have even used it in parenting. My kids thought it was going to be a good idea to jump off the roof of the house into the snow pile, but I put the kibosh to that.
• 14:03
  Kibosh, in its figurative meaning, does mean to stop something, to put a stop to something. But in its root, its most basic meaning, it is to firmly wrap one object to another, to bind back together. Are you starting to get the picture? God says in Psalm 147 that he knows there are those
• 14:33
  who feel as though your innermost parts have been shattered into pieces by life. But he is a God who doesn't just promise a future solution. He is a God who meets you here and now and desires to heal, to bind back together what this world has broken. When Lucy looked up at me and asked, Daddy, can it ever be fixed? I looked.
• 15:02
  back at her and honestly you guys in this moment when she asked me that I had a little bit of terror in my heart because I looked at it and I didn't see a lot of hope but she asked me daddy can it ever be fixed and I said you know what sweetie I'm gonna do my best I'm gonna do everything I can to get it fixed I have no idea how long it's gonna take me but I'm gonna do my best see what I can do as I
• 15:29
  said those words to her as I promised to do my best to try and put things back together. I could see comfort come over her, but there was something else I could see in her face. There was also this expression of just total trust. Her dad had promised to do everything he could to repair this dollhouse, and so she believed.
• 16:01
  that I would. God has given us in his word a present promise that he can and will and is powerful enough to bind up the pieces of our broken hearts. But as people of God, there is a part we must play so that we can experience this truth, this reality of God. If you would turn with me just...
• 16:30
  a number of pages to Psalm 51. Psalm 51, a very familiar psalm that many of us know the context of why it was written, who wrote it. David writes this psalm. Psalm 51, you know, the title is called, Created Me a Clean Heart, O God. It's this passionate confession of David. But in verse 17, he says something that I think is very important for us to know.
• 17:04
  He says in verse 17, the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart. Oh God, you will not despise. Church, I, as I get older, just love the study of God's word because as we study God's word and the words used, we get this depth of the instructiveness
• 17:35
  of God's word, what these words mean, instruct us on how we should live and are descriptive of who our God is and how we should expect him to act. And Psalm 51 17 is no different. Here in this verse, David gives us a really clear picture of how we can find the help we need in the Lord. The context of this psalm is written in response to a specific circumstance as David confesses his sin.
• 18:07
  but the truth of what he says can apply to every believer. David uses the word dakah, which translated by the English translators comes to us in the word contrite. Now this word means to collapse, to crumble. But what does this mean in connection with our topic of brokenness? What is it?
• 18:39
  What does verse 17 mean when we consider in relation to the brokenhearted of Psalm 147.3? It means, if you and I would fall into the arms of our God in the midst of difficulty, rather than push Him away in anger, He will be faithful to lead us in a process of healing. It means,
• 19:08
  that even if you have experienced some of the more horrific effects of sin in this life, if you would, if I would confess, declare to be true, believe to be true, who our God is, what his character is, and the fact that he will fulfill the promises that he makes in his scripture, we will find peace. When I looked at Lucy, I saw a total trust and belief that I would fix...
• 19:46
  that dollhouse. They said, I'm sure she had no idea how it was going to happen, but daddy had said it, and so it's going to happen. No matter what we face, church, our God, the God who made a way when there was no way for salvation, is also the very same God who is our ever-present help in our time of need. The question is, will we declare it to be true? Will we believe?
• 20:22
  Will we live in the reality that we might experience the promise that that is and the hope that that is? And if we would, there is a beautiful result of belief in this truth. The Apostle Paul is a tremendous example to us. His life has been explored many times over in church.
• 20:49
  As the Apostle Paul writes in one of his letters in the book of 2 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians chapter 12, he shares with us some of the revelations that he's had based on his life and his experience with suffering. Verse 7 of chapter 12 of 2 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul writes this,
• 21:24
  A thorn was given to me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in weakness, therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness.
• 21:55
  so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then I am content with weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Here in these verses, we find the Apostle Paul, while praying for change to take place in his life,
• 22:28
  also accepting that God is indeed enough. We do find the Apostle Paul weary, vexed by this thorn in the flesh, desiring greatly for that thorn to be removed. Here, I believe, we find the Apostle Paul come to the end of himself. Paul has accepted that his strength can do nothing.
• 23:03
  to change or enable him to walk through what he faces. Church, as David understood in Psalm 51, so Paul understands here in the letter to the Corinthians, when we have come to the end of ourselves, when we feel as though we can't go on anymore, it is here where we often actually accept the help of Christ. We finally have exhausted our own power and now we finally say,
• 23:37
  God, I need your help. You see, Paul understands that to be vexed by this thorn for his entire life, if need be, was worth gaining the proper perspective it gave him, namely, to trust God, not himself. To boast in his frailty and God's greatness and power. Paul had learned to live in this trusting reality.
• 24:12
  that God was enough, and because of this, we find an incredible result in his life. Paul, in verse 10, says, For the sake of Christ, then I am content. I am content. And brothers and sisters, please do not misunderstand that statement from the Apostle Paul. That has absolutely...
• 24:41
  nothing to do with minimizing what he was and had and would go through. He is not minimizing the difficulties, the trials, the tribulations that he had faced to that point, was going through at that point, and would face in the future. He was not minimizing that. Rather, he was pointing to his God who was much bigger and greater than that. Several years ago now,
• 25:13
  Many years ago now, Carl and I were going through a very difficult time in our lives, dealing with some really hard realities and some family relationships, which were just burdening my heart. I felt just weighted, weighted down by them. One Wednesday night, we were here, and it was a men's Bible study, and Pastor Danny came over and just asked, how are you? How are you doing? And I said, I'm hanging in there, hanging in there.
• 25:47
  And I followed that statement up with, I looked at him and I said, you know, I know God says in his word that he will not give us more than we can handle, but sometimes I think he has too high a view of what I'm capable of. And you guys, without blinking an eye, without skipping a beat, Danny looked right back at me and he said, or maybe he just has a really high view of what he's capable of.
• 26:22
  If I'm honest, that statement kind of wrecked me. If I'm honest, I kind of didn't want that answer. I wanted him to comfort me. I wanted him to tell me, oh, you're stronger than you think you are. You're going to be okay. But that would have put the focus on me, right? Instead, he pointed to the one who was capable, the God of all creation, the God who is all sufficient, all powerful. Look at him, Nathan. He's the one who's going to see you through.
• 27:00
  It was he who had the strength and power to go through any and all things. Church, I want to make a statement because I believe in my heart with great conviction that it's very true. I believe that it is revealing. It's one of those statements that holds a mirror up to us to help us to know where we are in our view of God and our relationship with him. But please know I do not make this to be harsh, but to...
• 27:32
  Remind us to look to God and the importance of our understanding of who he is. Church, the reality is the degree to which we feel content in all circumstances will be in direct proportion to our view of God and his character. Let me say that one more time. The degree to which we feel content in all circumstances
• 28:06
  will be in direct proportion to our view of God and His character. If we believe in a God who, as the Bible reveals Him to be, is all-powerful, all-sufficient, all-knowing, all-loving, gracious, that will have an impact on our contentment, will it not? On the flip side, if we believe in a God, small g, who is kind of powerful,
• 28:39
  kind of loving, kind of gracious, occasionally good, sometimes surprised by life's situations, that will have an impact on our contentment. Will it not? Now you might find yourself closer to that second option of who you think God to be.
• 29:03
  If we're all honest with ourselves, sometimes we all struggle with feeling like that, especially when circumstances are difficult and we want them to change, but they aren't. God, aren't you powerful enough to make this different? But I have good news for you. If you are struggling with a high view of God, if you are struggling with an understanding of who he is, you're in the right place.
• 29:31
  This is where we need to be. This is part of why we gather together to raise our voices and our eyes and our attention towards the God of all creation. I also have good news. Tuesday mornings at 6.30 in the morning, we're going to be here studying a book which can help you to get a greater understanding of who your God is. It's called Concise Theology. It's simple, you guys. It has truth followed by scripture.
• 30:00
  It says, this is true of God, and here's the scripture to prove it. If you want to raise your view of God, spend some time in a book like that, reading that and God's word, and our view will be raised of him as we grow in our understanding of who scripture reveals him to be. Lucy looked up at me and asked, Daddy, can it ever be fixed? When I responded, I'll do what I can to repair it, she trusted me. She trusted me that I would do
• 30:35
  what I said that I would do. And I'm happy to report to you guys that after about 50 glue sticks, some splinters, and a few extra pieces, that dollhouse got put back together and her and Jane were able to play with it for several years after. Our final point is one I mentioned at the beginning, one many of us go to when we...
• 31:07
  Look at the possibility of a loss of a loved one or someone has lost someone. We're walking through, this is kind of the default answer for many Christians, a future promise. Future promise, just because it's default doesn't mean it doesn't still have impact. Revelation chapter 21. If you guys would turn with me to Revelation chapter 21 all the way at the end of the story. As God comes to a close.
• 31:38
  in his revelation to us. Revelation chapter 21 and verse 4. If you guys have spent any time reading the book of Revelation or spent time studying it, you guys will know this chapter. It's one of the most beautiful and hopeful chapters in Scripture. The new heavens and the new earth. God is going to make all things right. Chapter 21 and verse 4 says this. He, that being God, will wipe away
• 32:08
  Every tear from their eyes. I'm sorry. Every tear from their eyes. And death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore. For the former things have passed away. Church, as we look out on the world around us, we see injustice, evil everywhere.
• 32:42
  We see the ugliness of oppression done to helpless people. We see children victimized by a culture screaming out for the destruction and defacement of the image of God and humanity, and we cry out for justice. We want justice to be done. Or when sin comes a little bit closer, comes to our doorstep, as a loved one confides in us, they are questioning their gender or a spouse.
• 33:13
  is having an affair where that pesky childhood memory just won't go away, we cry out for justice. Our hearts at times feel as though they lie shattered on the ground, broken and trampled on, right? In this life, we desire to see justice happen. That's right. We should. The desire for justice, the existence of a justice system, reveals the existence of God.
• 33:42
  It's imprinted on us that there is right and there is wrong. Wanting justice is not wrong. The problem is we live in a broken world and justice is not always done. Sometimes the bad guy gets away. But here's the promise God gives us in Revelation 21.4. The former things, sin and its ugly effects on mankind will pass away.
• 34:19
  God will wipe every tear away. All will be made right. And church, he will welcome us. Those who have trusted in Christ's saving work on the cross, he will welcome us into an eternity, an unshakable contentment filled with an unspeakable joy marked by an eternity of praise of his.
• 34:48
  Name and glorious grace which we have experienced. And brothers and sisters, this is a praise that not even the angels comprehend because they haven't been saved from death to life. God has given us a present promise. But church, in order to experience the result of that, we must confess it to be true, declare it to be true, because we believe in the character of our God.
• 35:19
  If we do this, we will experience contentment in all circumstances and trials of many kinds. And we can indeed look forward to the future promise that all things can and will be made right by the powerful hand of God who is both judge and justifier. As I said at the outset this morning, I don't know where each of you guys are at. I don't know everything you've experienced in your life.
• 35:53
  I do know this, though, based on the number of people in this room, not everybody is okay, and that's okay. Not all of you are free from difficulties. Some of you have experienced really hard things in your past. Some of you are walking through hard things right now. This message is not a call to simply just bear up underneath those...
• 36:25
  current burdens, to simply be content and seek no change, but rather a call to trust the Lord, to meet you where you are at, to walk towards him in hope, expectant, faithful hope that he will meet you in your time of need, to believe when he says, I come to heal the brokenhearted, that he means it and he will do so. It's not about simply just letting go.
• 36:57
  of suffering, but about allowing the Lord and your church to help you to process through it, to trust God enough, to believe him enough, and cry out to him for help. And church, never forget this. Jesus knows exactly what it's like. He suffered greatly. Isaiah 53.3 says of him,
• 37:29
  If you're in the grips of difficulty, if it seems all the broken pieces could never come back together to build something beautiful again, to be mended, to be fixed, may I just encourage you this morning, hold on to hope. God is sufficient. He, through the sufferings of Jesus Christ, knows exactly how you feel and will meet you where you are.
• 38:02
  Church, pray your heart. God is big enough to hear it. David cries out all the time in the Psalms in despair and worry, and he pulls his eyes to God. Pray your heart and invite God to meet you where you are. He will. Accept the offer of contentment from God. Don't run from Him. Draw near to Him, and His peace will surround you.
• 38:39
  And finally, ask for help. This is what the church is for. This is what your pastors are for. This is what Connect Homes are for. This is what the elders are for. We desire to be a church who laughs with those who laugh and weeps with those who weep. That is who our Savior is. That is who our God is. And that is what we desire for our church to be. May we minister well here.
• 39:16
  Church, the wonderful, beautiful, amazing, matchless good news is this. The dollhouse.
• 39:38
  can be fixed. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. God, thank you for even your desire to reveal yourself to us. Incomprehensible are you in the vastness of your power, your greatness, but God, you have chosen to reveal that you are loving, you are gracious,
• 40:15
  You are sufficient to meet all the needs that we may have in this life. God, I pray that we would draw near to you. God, I pray that you would remove any sort of pride from us, that we would in humility ask for help from you and from our brothers and sisters in Christ. Because this is what the church is meant to be, to experience the healing balm of your grace by the power of your Spirit.
• 40:45
  We need a minister of it through your word. We thank you for all these things in your name. Amen.