The Best of All

Pastor Kris Freeman

Sunday morning, March 9, 2008

Pleasant Union General Baptist Church

 

Text: Psalm 122

 

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.

 

These words were written by the infamous Charles Dickens, an American literary genius who penned some of the greatest works of literature in modern history.

 

This is the first line of the novel, A Tale of Two Cities, a social commentary about the time leading up to the French Revolution around 1775. You see, Dickens was not only a master of words, he was best known for his depictions of life through the eyes and words of his characters and plots. The novel referenced here was the second in a series of novels he wrote describing this time period, and these words still have meaning for us today.

 

These words are meaningful to the church.

 

In the modern era of the church, we can offer a social commentary that it is indeed the best of times and the worst of times. Pastor Joel Osteen leads the largest church in America in Houston, Texas, as Lakewood Church hosts over 35,000 people in the former Compaq Center each weekend. What once was a basketball arena for the Houston Rockets is now a place of worship, purchased by the church to hold its massive congregation and weekly services.

 

But on the flip side, other churches are facing numeric disaster, as congregations die in age and die in ministry without people to faithfully support it. The vision has disappeared as these churches fight to hang on to a once-thriving piece of the kingdom of God which has now been relegated to insignificance in the eyes of society.

 

We pass them on our way to church today. We see them paraded on national television. We go to school and work at jobs with the very people who make up these churches. And yet with both sides of the spectrum identified, it is indeed both the best and worst of times in the church age.

 

Some ministries are bountiful; other ministries struggle. Some facilities are state of the art, while many churches meet in run-down buildings or store-fronts which will allow them to rent the building for worship. There are good preachers; there are poor preachers. There are faithful leaders; there are non-committed ones. There are people being saved; there are churches starving for the altar to be used for the changing of peoples lives through Jesus Christ.

 

Our economy struggles. Fears of a recession ring in the media. A new president will soon be elected. Terrorism and evil permeates our mind everywhere we go. The stock market is fluctuating, gas prices are skyrocketing, and mortgage rates and foreclosures are both on the rise. Debt is at an all-time high, disease is rampant and health care is limited and seemingly flawed. Retirement is a faint hope, future is a glimmer of possibility.

 

And yet the world pushes on. Big cars, big homes, big business. Families dredge themselves in every social activity, push their time to the limits and some have the very best that the world has to offer while others fight poverty in each step.

 

It is indeed the best and the worst of times. And its spilling over into the church.

 

So why did you come here today?

 

With all of those factors considered and the reality that you know each of them to be true, why did you take the time to come to this house to worship God today? Or did you even come to worship God, or simply here for a reason that has nothing to do with Him at all?

 

Think with me for a moment. Count them in your head. How many churches did you pass on the way here today? Why do you not attend them, or better yet, why do you attend this one?

 

In our human response, we would list a multitude of responses of why we attend church:

-         The name on the sign

-         My families or friends attend there

-         Its close to where I live

-         Ive attended there all my life and wont go anywhere else

-         The church down the road didnt satisfy my needs

-         Its closest to what I believe

-         They have great programs

-         I love the style of music

-         They are friendly

-         The people are like me

-         Thats where my grandmother attended

-         They allow me to be myself

-         I dont know why Im here!

 

All of those responses are realistic, but are they the reasons we should be attending this church today? Lets examine what the Bible has to say about corporate worship.

 

            Psalm 122 says the following about coming to the house of the Lord:

-         There is gladness in the house of the Lord

-         There is thanks to God in the house of the Lord

-         There is prosperity in the house of the Lord

-         There is peace in the house of the Lord

-         There is goodness in the house of the Lord

 

How excited would you be about our world, our society, our church, if this was the prevailing thought you had about its direction and future! God says its possible, and the reason we should come to the house of the Lord is because He is here!

 

1. There is gladness in the house of the Lord

 

The Hebrew word used here is samah, which translates to rejoice and be glad. It reminds us of the passage from Psalm 100:

 

Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.

 

The temple or tabernacle was special to the people of God in the Old Testament. It was the place of the presence of God, and the people made great pilgrimages to come to the place of God to worship. While we have many conveniences, they traveled long distances and amidst great struggle to be with the people of God.

 

And the Bible says when they got there, they were full of joy and gladness! Their hearts were filled with praise! And better yet, the New Testament reveals to us that through Jesus Christ, we each have been made the temple of the Holy Spirit.

 

So now, we come to the house of the Lord as the people of God, the temple of the Holy Spirit. Think of all the places you could go today which call themselves a church. But you are here, among the people of God in the house of God, and we declare a great work of joy and gladness to be in Gods presence.

 

Take the worst of the world around you and surround it with the best of God. And then you will understand why are in Gods house.

 

2. There is thanks in the house of the Lord

 

As we worship with Gods people, we begin to weigh our problems against our blessings.

 

The root of complaint is often a warped view of reality as we examine our circumstances. We highlight our issues and ignore our blessings. But as we come into the house of the Lord, we are called to give thanks unto the Lord.

 

Paul says, in everything give thanks,; for this is the will of Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thess. 5:18

 

He also says thanksgiving is the key to making requests and petitions to God: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known unto God. Philippians 4:6

 

The psalmist tells us to give thanks to the Lord for He is good, and His mercy endures forever. Psalm 107:1

 

Think of all the people who are attending churches today and do not have a thankful spirit. Think of all the people who are a part of churches who do not operate in a thankful ministry. But you have been called to the house of God, with the people of God, and I think we should follow the Word of God and give him praise through thanksgiving.

 

You could have went to any church today but you are here and what keeps you here is when people are operating under the power of the Holy Spirit and following the commandments of scripture to give thanks unto God.

 

3. There is prosperity in the house of the Lord.

 

When the word prosperity is mentioned, our brain is wired to think of material things. A blessed person in our eyes is one with material, monetary and physical wealth which is evident for the eye to see.

 

But there was a spiritual prosperity desired by the Israelite people following years and years of persecution by a number of enemies. Prosperity measured in the physical sense would have been a stretch for this group of people which wandered and settled in poverty and struggled under the hand of a heavy foe.

 

But God is a God of prosperity! And before he wants you to prosper materially and He does He wants you to prosper spiritually!

 

He spoke this agreement into one of His greatest leaders of this group of people, Joshua, as he was readying to take over for Moses as the leader of the children of Israel:

 

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous and you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:8-9

 

This lesson is one of obedience we are not promised anything additional for following Gods Word, but doing so is enough to unlock an incredible amount of blessing he has for us. For the children of Israel, this was about following the law and following Joshua into the Promised Land after 40 years of wandering in the wilderness.

 

John then emphasizes the point of prosperity again emphasizing the spiritual in the New Testament:

 

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear my children walk in truth. 3 John 2-4

 

The psalmist opens the largest book of the Bible with the following words of spiritual prosperity:

 

He shall be like a tree, planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth fruit in its season, whose leaf shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. Psalm 1:3

 

We come to the house of the Lord with the people of the Lord because we believe that through the Lord, we shall prosper! Not physically, not materially, but first and foremost, spiritually! I believe God does indeed want His people to prosper in all things, and those things are then turned and used for His glory and good.

 

Without fail, He first desires for you to be obedient to Him and prosper in all you do for following His law and His statutes. This is why we come to this house because the people of God are tapped into the spiritual prosperity of God!

 

4. There is peace in the house of the Lord.

 

I wonder if the people of Israel ever desired moments of peace, as the turmoil, mistakes, failure and persecution surrounded them? I believe this scripture confirms to us they do.

 

And do you desire peace? When the world gets you down, the thing we desire the most is to rise above the circumstances and know in the end, its going to be OK.

 

Well, the Bible gives us precedence for having peace that is above all we face in life.

 

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

 

This is the verse that follows the statement for us to make our requests known to God with thanksgiving. And the peace of God is His answer. So if we ask Him right, He answers us the right way.

 

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which you were also called in one body, and be thankful. Colossians 3:15

 

We come to the house of the Lord with the people of the Lord, not because its just an escape from the surrounding we live, its also the answer to the questions we have of God. Why? What? When? Where? How? God answers these questions with ultimate peace when we come into His house with thanksgiving.

 

5. There is goodness in the house of the Lord.

 

The word goodness in a Biblical sense draws us back to the most famous of Old Testament scriptures, the beautifully poetic 23^rd Psalm. Walking through trouble, facing enemies, in the midst of our surrounding, through it all God leads us to His house with goodness, and along with mercy He says it will follow us all the days of our life.

 

When the Israelites understood the goodness of God, they wanted to be with Him.

 

The Apostle Paul speaks this truth to us in the book of Romans:

 

Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, longsuffering, not knowing the goodness of God leads you to repentance? Romans 2:4

 

We come to the house of the Lord with the people of the Lord, because we understand that through the unity of the church we can understand and know the goodness of God. The people of Israel, amidst their sin and shame, were searching for goodness.

 

We live in a rotten world, but there is still goodness in it and this is through the blessed kingdom of God! We come to His house to receive goodness.

 

So lets measure again why you came to Pleasant Union today. Is your view different after you measure what God has to say about coming to His house to be with His people?

 

There is modern-day truth to the words of Charles Dickens. And even better, we must connect those opening words to the final words of the novel, which bring it full circle and mirror our spiritual lives when we come to God and worship Him in the right reasons.

 

It is a far better thing that I do than I have ever done; it is a far greater rest that I go than I have ever known.

 

I believe if you worship God in spirit and truth and seek Him in His house with His people, you too can speak these words in the midst of everything going on around you.

 

Im better for it, and Im heading to a better place.

 

And through Jesus Christ, thats the best of all.

 

May God bless you,