By Linda Johnson
"As Christian people, God has called us out of the boat. We’ll either go to the Lord or we’ll sink. We can’t quit or we’ll sink.” That was the opening of our pastor's sermon. The immediate image is of Peter stepping out of the boat. (Matthew 14:28-31) What a beautiful reflection of a time when Jesus was on the earth. Imagine being an eyewitness to such an event.
Isaiah speaks of a highway in Isaiah 35:8 and a way that will be called The way of holiness. (Yes, the capital ‘T’ is right there in the middle of the verse.) The thing to note here is that even fools won’t err on this road. Why is that? Because Jesus will be with them. This is a reassurance that most of us who struggle to be Christians need to hear. There’s always the concern that what one hopes for is to be a good witness. But being human as only humans can be, you put your foot in it and then you’re on your knees praying that you didn’t do too much damage. This brings us to Psalms 40--the text for Sunday’s sermon.
Verses 1 through 3 show some of the cues to take to be better equipped to serve the Lord. ‘Waited’ and ‘patiently’ are the first two mentioned. It’s possible to wait and not be patient. So, it’s important to wait patiently. Wait and be patient until he gives you his ear and hears you. When waiting, remember that God’s timing is always perfect. Man’s timing (or women’s), well, that’s another story. It’s necessary to trust in God’s timing.
There are seven things God did in these three verses--inclined unto me, heard my cry, took me out of the pit, took me out of the miry clay, set my feet on solid rock, established my goings, and put a new song in my heart.
God reached down from heaven and picked mankind up out of the pit, unstuck him from the clay and set him on the solid rock. Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection did that for everyone. All of mankind has an even chance to accept this saving grace.
The ones who do are believers in Jesus Christ. The ones who don’t--let’s just say they blew their chances.
Once Christians are planted on the solid rock, God establishes their goings. That is, Christians become followers. They’re rooted in their faith. Followers are changed. They sing a new song and praise God for it. That’s why Christians get out of the boat. Be a light to the world and let them hear your song. Sing it.
"As Christian people, God has called us out of the boat. We’ll either go to the Lord or we’ll sink. We can’t quit or we’ll sink.” That was the opening of our pastor's sermon. The immediate image is of Peter stepping out of the boat. (Matthew 14:28-31) What a beautiful reflection of a time when Jesus was on the earth. Imagine being an eyewitness to such an event.
Isaiah speaks of a highway in Isaiah 35:8 and a way that will be called The way of holiness. (Yes, the capital ‘T’ is right there in the middle of the verse.) The thing to note here is that even fools won’t err on this road. Why is that? Because Jesus will be with them. This is a reassurance that most of us who struggle to be Christians need to hear. There’s always the concern that what one hopes for is to be a good witness. But being human as only humans can be, you put your foot in it and then you’re on your knees praying that you didn’t do too much damage. This brings us to Psalms 40--the text for Sunday’s sermon.
Verses 1 through 3 show some of the cues to take to be better equipped to serve the Lord. ‘Waited’ and ‘patiently’ are the first two mentioned. It’s possible to wait and not be patient. So, it’s important to wait patiently. Wait and be patient until he gives you his ear and hears you. When waiting, remember that God’s timing is always perfect. Man’s timing (or women’s), well, that’s another story. It’s necessary to trust in God’s timing.
There are seven things God did in these three verses--inclined unto me, heard my cry, took me out of the pit, took me out of the miry clay, set my feet on solid rock, established my goings, and put a new song in my heart.
God reached down from heaven and picked mankind up out of the pit, unstuck him from the clay and set him on the solid rock. Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection did that for everyone. All of mankind has an even chance to accept this saving grace.
The ones who do are believers in Jesus Christ. The ones who don’t--let’s just say they blew their chances.
Once Christians are planted on the solid rock, God establishes their goings. That is, Christians become followers. They’re rooted in their faith. Followers are changed. They sing a new song and praise God for it. That’s why Christians get out of the boat. Be a light to the world and let them hear your song. Sing it.
