A Sermon for Sunday September 12th, 2021, “Letting Go...” (Psalm 16)
(Please read Psalm 1, Psalm 16 and John 3: 22-30)
Whether they think of it as some meaningless, lonely trudge to nowhere or as a wonderful adventure of faith leading to an eternal kingdom, most people would consider life as a journey, a road or a path upon which they walk. Psalm 1 pictures two ways to go, the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked. Notice, there isn’t a third way. Psalm 15:2 encourages pilgrims to “walk blamelessly”. Psalm 16:11 refers to a “path of life”, or a path that leads to life...that God opens up, and along which joy can be found, however hard that road may be for the faithful people. Here is David’s golden discovery - the LORD… who not only opens up that path by lighting the way for us, but that this same LORD is the One who goes with us.
There is no greater truth or cause for rejoicing…that He is Immanuel…God-with-us!
You, Lord, are all I have, and you give me all I need; my future is in your hands. I am always aware of the Lord's presence; he is near, and nothing can shake me. And so I am thankful and glad, and I feel completely secure, because you protect me from the power of death. I have served you faithfully, and you will not abandon me to the world of the dead. (Verses from Psalm 16)
Trying times can be truly revealing times, too. When our “backs are against the wall” we (often) discover who we really are, and those who live with us will see it too! When our comforts and “certainties” are removed…when life as we knew it…the familiar patterns and expectations of life… are suddenly disrupted by a global pandemic or by sickness, or by loss…when all is stripped away. We may find out that we were not the people we imagined ourselves to be, or pretended to be. Then we may have to question just how deep are our roots in life; how strong the foundations of our faith…what we really depend on (and cling to) and trust in…what or WHO we believe in.
When William Blake penned the words, “It is an easy thing to rejoice in the tents of prosperity…” he was really speaking of a fair-weather faith found typically in the rich, in folk who knew nothing of suffering or poverty and everything about comfort. When facing the storms of life, we all face the question, is God the real ground or reason for my hope? And, if I discover, He is not, what should I do?
It is often on the “last leg” of the journey…as we approach death or have to face its prospect for ourselves, or those we love… that we will discover the really important things. We may be fortunate enough to have a lovely spouse and beautiful children, a great job, money in the bank, a kitchen to “cure your house-barassment”, good health and prospects. You may be a respected pillar of the community…
The Psalmist (David) knows all these things - they are wonderful gifts from God. But, like all good pilgrims, he also knows these things are only temporary. As he gets older and frailer, perhaps he begins to think about these things. They are all on loan, and we don’t own them. We are only ever stewards of them. They are held in trust. They are not ours by right. We will have to let go of them at some point…
David Watson was a famous British churchman and writer. In his uplifting book, “Fear No Evil”, he describes the experience of waiting in a side-ward for his imminent cancer surgery. His faith was tested to the limits, his “important” engagements were cancelled, his priorities were upended; but through it all he found a new reliance on God and a firm conviction that the best is yet to be. In that confidence, the famed-theologian could say, honestly, “Lord, you can do with me what you like!” There is great release and relief in that declaration…
This is not some giving in to cruel fatalism, or a recipe for sitting back and doing nothing (far from it!); but it is about that deepening sense that God is good and has your best interests at heart. It is about discovering, each step along the way, a deeper sense of acceptance and assurance, even when (and even because) the road is hard.
Sometimes, as a good friend said to me recently, “when you reach rock-bottom, it’s there you find the Rock!” It is at just that place we find, “I have no good thing apart from you!” (Psalm 16:2)
When all is said and done, God will be enough. The faithful people of God ultimately discover… You, Lord, are all I have! It will often be on the dark and difficult road, the narrow way (Matthew 7:14), that we will find God’s healing light at its brightest and most beautiful. We can testify to this. In these dark days we must cling to Him!
It is far, far better, in fact, for us to let go of these things as early as we can on this our road with the Lord, and not cling to them too tightly, as much as we may love them. We cling so tightly to our lives. Even our own lives do not belong to us. We are the Lord’s! We shouldn’t hold on to what isn’t ours anyway. Jesus said:
34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul? (Mark 8:34-37, ESV)
You, Lord, are all I have…the journey of discipleship is, in some respects, about letting go and letting God, denying ourselves, dying to self. Indeed, Jesus even went so far as to say that those who are unwilling to sacrifice their lives for Him cannot be His disciples (Luke 14:27).
Paul explains to the Galatians this process of dying to self: he has been “crucified with Christ,” and now Paul no longer lives, but Christ lives in him. Paul’s old life, with its instinct to sin and to follow the ways of the world, is dead, and the new Paul is the dwelling place of Christ who lives in and through him. Paul has to move out of the way!
The things of the old life are put to death (surrendered, let go of, yielded), especially those sinful ways and lifestyles we once engaged in. “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24).
Where we once wanted to please ourselves or other people, the idea now is that we now go after, with equal zeal, that which pleases God.
We let go of the past; we let go of fear; we let go of pride and bitterness; we let go of our will; we let go of our bragging rights and our sense of entitlement…just like the Baptist who said, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). We let go, too, of any illusions that we can control the future and declare with the Psalmist, my future is in your hands!
“This time next year we’ll be millionaires!” So said, Del Boy (Derek Trotter) in just about every episode of “Only Fools and Horses”! As each year passed, they were still grubbing for a crust. What they didn’t know was that buried away in a shed they already had a receipt for a time-piece which they possessed. They were millionaires a number of times over and they had no idea, until the receipt was produced at the auction. They had everything they ever dreamed of already!
5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. 6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
Many of us don’t even really know what we possess. We have riches in Christ…forgiveness…someone who is with you night and day, even through the valley…someone who has given you a new heart and a new life, an abundant hope in the future…someone who asks you not to hold on to anything but Him. “Let Go! And Let God!”
Then you can be truly strong- strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might (Ephesians 6:10).
“You alone are my strength, my shield; to you alone may my spirit yield;
You alone are my heart's desire And I long to worship you…
I want you more than gold or silver, only you can satisfy.
You alone are the real joy giver
and the apple of my eye…”
MFR 10/09/21
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