The 4^th Sunday After Easter

SERMON

Text: Psalm 98

Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory. The LORD has made known His salvation; His righteousness He has openly shown in the sight of the nations. He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises. Sing to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of a horn; shout joyfully before the LORD, the King. Let the sea roar, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell in it; let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills be joyful together before the LORD, for He is coming to judge the earth, with righteousness He shall judge the world, and the peoples with equity.

In Christ Jesus, whom we embrace by faith with joy, dear fellow redeemed:

My dear friends—are you optimists or pessimists? In your minds is the glass perpetually half-full or half-empty? Did the folks who developed "Murphy’s Law" have you personally in mind, or do you believe with the apostle Paul, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13)? Do you believe that it is possible to “rejoice in the Lord always” (Philippians 4:4) as Paul exhorts us to do, or is that something beyond the realm of possibility in your mind?

My dear friends, we Christians have every reason to be optimists, to see the glass as being half-full if not overflowing, and to walk with confidence into any situation with the Lord Jesus at our sides! The Psalmist recognized this fact three thousand years ago and proclaims it here in Psalm 98, for he urges us to “sing to the LORD,” to “shout joyfully to the LORD,” and to be “joyful together before the LORD!” Let us, therefore, consider today this proposition that CHRISTIANS HAVE EVERY REASON TO SING AND REJOICE!

I.

First of all, in view of the LORD’s saving love! The Psalmist writes, “Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory. The LORD has made known His salvation; His righteousness He has openly shown in the sight of the nations. He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.” The key words of the Psalmist are “victory,” “salvation,” “righteousness,” and “faithfulness.” Concerning which victory is the Psalmist speaking? The LORD has won many victories over the centuries. Consider His victory at the Red Sea when Pharaoh’s armies were drown, or at Jericho when the walls came tumbling down, or in the Valley of Elah when a pious shepherd boy named David killed a blasphemous giant called Goliath. All of those victories, however, pale before the victory Jesus won on Easter Sunday through His resurrection! We have just sung of that victory, have we not?

Jesus’ victory over Satan, over sin, over death and over hell brings us eternal salvation! We have been justified before God in view of Jesus’ death. We are assured by God’s promises that Jesus has paid for all of our sins and that when we confess those sins and embrace Jesus by faith we are assured of God’s forgiveness and will receive the gift of eternal life! He bestows upon us by faith Jesus’ own righteousness and He promises faithfully to guide us throughout our lives until we reach our eternal goal of heaven. For those reasons we Christians have every reason to sing and rejoice!

But pastor, you may well say, it is not that easy. I know that Jesus died for me and is my Savior, but my marriage is on the rocks, my children are in a state of rebellion, I just lost my job, I cannot pay all of my bills, and my health is not all that good. How can you expect me to sing and rejoice? My dear friends—my advice to you is to step back from your troubles, whatever they may be, and consider the big picture. Our lives in this world, no matter how long we live, are still brief in comparison to eternity. The sufferings of hell, which Jesus endured so that you and I need not endure them, are ever so much greater than any suffering we may experience here. Satan is greater than any other enemy we may face and sin is greater than any other single problem we may confront. Death is greater than any other complication we must endure. Our LORD God has delivered us from these. Will He not also deliver us from these other serious, but lesser problems in our lives? The Bible assures us that He most certainly will, for it tells us, “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32) Consequently, we can sing and rejoice even in the midst of the troubles of this life in view of the LORD’s saving love!

II.

Yes, CHRISTIANS HAVE EVERY REASON TO SING AND REJOICE, secondly, in view of the LORD’s universal rule! The Psalmist writes, “Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises. Sing to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of a horn; shout joyfully before the LORD, the King.” The key thought of the Psalmist here is that our LORD is “the King” of “all the earth.” Notice that the LORD is not just "a king," but He is “the King” and He is not just the King of one nation, but of “all the earth!” Even as the LORD is the one and only true God, so He is our one and only true King! He claims our allegiance by virtue of His grace! He claims our obedience by virtue of His power! While many may not acknowledge our LORD’s authority, it remains in effect. On the last day, if not before, all will acknowledge that power either to their eternal sorrow or to their everlasting joy! That being the case, we have something to sing, shout, and rejoice about, for our LORD has extended His grace to us in Christ Jesus, and He promises to use His power to bless us.

Let us return, however, for a few minutes to the problems mentioned earlier—those problems, which can so easily interfere with our joy in life. Our LORD, the King, expresses His will to us in His law and through His evangelical admonitions. He promises us that as we follow Him and commit our lives to Him, He will guide, direct, and bless us in this life. Sin, however, can and does complicate our lives, and the sinful attitudes of others, quite frankly, are beyond our control and so can be used by Satan in his attempts to destroy our joy. But whether we are talking about marital problems, or family problems, or financial problems, or employment problems, it is always wise to follow the will of our LORD and “examine” yourself first (cf. 2 Corinthians 13:5; Galatians 6:4). Resist the temptation to point the finger at others. That began in the Garden of Eden and has continued to this day—it simply doesn’t work! Examine yourself to see when and where you have sinned. Examine yourself with special consideration to those areas of your life where you refuse to allow the LORD to be your King and to control and guide you. When you have identified those sins, confess them frankly and repent of them. If it helps you to do so in the presence of your pastor or another believer, do so. Such an individual can assure you of God’s forgiveness and help you to maintain moral accountability. When you have come to understand those areas of your life where you have in the past refused to allow the LORD to guide you, repent and submit yourself body and soul to your LORD. Has He not promised you, “Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass”? (Psalm 37:5) If I am in financial trouble, but I refuse to place my spending under the guidance of God, how do I really expect to enjoy His blessing? If I am having trouble with my children, or if I am a child having trouble with my parents, how can I expect the LORD’s blessing, if I refuse to fulfill my parental responsibilities or if I as a child refuse to listen to my parents?

The LORD will lead you and me—He will bless you and me, but if we thumb our noses at Him entirely or in part, we are in effect rejecting His leadership and cutting ourselves off from His blessing. On the other hand, when we conform our will and our ways to the LORD, rest assured He has power unlike any other within this universe. It is His desire to bless us, and no one and nothing can prevent Him from doing so as we rely in and follow Him! Yes, let us shout joyfully before the LORD in view of the His universal rule!

III.

Finally, CHRISTIANS HAVE EVERY REASON TO SING AND REJOICE in view of the LORD’s righteous judgment! The Psalmist writes, “Let the sea roar, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell in it; let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills be joyful together before the LORD, for He is coming to judge the earth, with righteousness He shall judge the world, and the peoples with equity.” The key thought of the Psalmist is the fact that the LORD will come to judge the earth with righteousness and with equity.

The Psalmist is uttering the same thing uttered by the two angels at the time of Jesus’ ascension into heaven. Jesus, the LORD, our King, will return on the last day to judge the living and the dead. He will judge all with righteousness and with equity. That thought ought to bring joy and thanksgiving into our hearts as Christians, for the righteousness with which Jesus will judge us is the righteousness Jesus bestows upon us by faith. It is not a partial and imperfect righteousness produced by the efforts of man, but rather the perfect righteousness of Christ established during His substitutionary life here on this earth—a righteousness bestowed by grace and as a gift through faith. That righteousness is available to all. Christ would have us proclaim to the nations “be reconciled to God, for He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:20-21). On the last day, all will be judged in the same way—they will stand before Jesus either with or without that gift of righteousness. Those who by God’s grace have come to believe will be ushered into the glories of heaven, while those who in unbelief rejected that gift of grace will be lead away to everlasting torments.

My dear friends, now is the time. Now is the time to embrace your Savior. Now is the time to share His message of love and reconciliation. Now is the time to rejoice in His grace and power, for therein lies our only hope both in time and throughout eternity. In the past two weeks we have laid two members to rest—one 59 and one 94. They lived vastly different lives in this world, but the faith that they had in common has led them to share an uncommon and glorious future. May we ever be found resting in the grace and power of our LORD God, for as Christians we have every reason to sing and rejoice! Amen.

—Pastor Paul D. Nolting