A Vital Goal for the Next Generation
Psalm 145:1-21
Sermon by Rick Crandall
McClendon Baptist Church - October 3, 2010
*Goals are important in life. A wise man once said, “If you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time.” And that is true. On the other hand, Les Brown once said: “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.” (1)
*Goals are important in life. And they are important in the Christian life. The Apostle Paul demonstrated this truth for us in Phil 3:12-14. Listen to Paul’s greatest goal from the New Living Translation:
12. I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.
13. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,
14. I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
*Goals are important in the Christian life, and one of the most important goals focuses on the next generation. King David reveals this goal to us in vs. 4, where he tells God: “One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts.”
*This goal is the key to our church’s past, and it’s the key to our future.
-This goal is woven into the very DNA of our church.
-It is where we came from, and where we must go.
*It’s our turn to speak to the next generation. But what shall we say?
1. First: We must declare God’s might.
*King David declared God’s might in vs. 1-6:
1. I will extol You, my God, O King (“Extol” just means “exalt,” “lift up high.”); And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
2. Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
3. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable.
4. One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts.
5. I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wondrous works.
6. Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, and I will declare Your greatness.
*What will we tell the next generation? -- We must speak of the might of the Lord’s awesome acts! We must declare His greatness!
*People need to understand that Jesus Christ is the Mighty Son of God!
-God’s Word tells us that Jesus is:
-The Almighty -- The Alpha and Omega
-The Author of Life -- The Author of Salvation
-The Bread of Life -- The Creator of all, -- Deliverer
-Emmanuel -- God with us -- Faithful and True -- Firstborn from the Dead
-The Good Shepherd who gave His life for His sheep
-The great I Am -- The Judge of the living and the dead
-The King Eternal -- The Lamb of God
-The Light of the World -- The Lord of All
-Our Protection, Redemption and Righteousness
-The Resurrection and Life
-Our Rock, -- Our Savior
-The Son of God -- The Way, the Truth and the Life
*We are here today because Jesus is the Mighty God!
-And we must declare His might.
*Listen to the Lord Himself, as He spoke in Job 38:4-13. This paraphrase is from “The Message,” where the Lord asked Job:
4. “Where were you when I created the earth? Tell me, since you know so much!
5. Who decided on its size? Certainly you'll know that! Who came up with the blueprints and measurements?
6. How was its foundation poured, and who set the cornerstone,
7. While the morning stars sang in chorus and all the angels shouted praise?
8. And who took charge of the ocean when it gushed forth like a baby from the womb?
9. That was me! I wrapped it in soft clouds, and tucked it in safely at night.
10. Then I made a playpen for it, a strong playpen so it couldn't run loose,
11. And said, 'Stay here, this is your place. Your wild tantrums are confined to this place.'
12. And have you ever ordered Morning, 'Get up!' told Dawn, 'Get to work!'
13. So you could seize Earth like a blanket and shake out the wicked like cockroaches?”
*This is our Mighty God, and His name is Jesus Christ!
*Think about the wonder of His creation.
-Take atoms for example: The actual material of an atom is only 1 trillionth of the volume, with the particles spinning around in little orbits. You think I’m small now. But if you could take me and squeeze out all the space, I would only be one 100 millionth of a cubic inch big!
-Take the earth for another example: It rotates, tilts and orbits to control seasons, days, and years. It’s 25,000 miles in circumference, but hangs in empty space. It spins at 1,000 miles per hour all day long. And at the same time (hold on!) our planet is travelling through space at 1,000 miles a minute. We travel 580 million miles around the sun every year, without missing a beat. And we don’t even recognize it because the Lord’s design is so perfect.
-Then think about your heart. It’s the size of fist and weighs about 12 ounces. But in 12 hours it does enough work to raise 65 tons 1 inch off the ground. And it does that all day long every day. (2)
*We could go on and on about the mighty works of our God! -- And we must.
-We must declare God’s might.
2. And we must declare His majesty.
*In vs. 5, King David said: “I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wondrous works.”
*Then in vs. 10-13, David said:
10. All Your works shall praise You, O Lord, And Your saints shall bless You.
11. They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom, And talk of Your power,
12. To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, And the glorious majesty of His kingdom.
13. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
*David declares God’s majesty, but what is God’s majesty? -- It is His grandeur, His splendor, His overwhelming glory, His beauty, His magnificence.
*Charles Spurgeon explained: “Everything that has to do with the Great King of kings is majestic, honorable, glorious. His least is greater than man's greatest, his lowest is higher than man's highest. He is altogether wonderful.” (3)
*Pastor Raymond Gibson said: “One of the great tragedies of our time is that we Christians have lost our sense of wonder and awe.
-We are a scientifically minded generation, a computerized, technologically oriented people who consider all of living as a logical thing to be explained and analyzed and defined.
-We look upon the church as just another human organization, characterized by boring rituals and endless committee meetings in which we participate out of a sense of duty. . .
-We have emphasized friendliness to such an extent that we have crowded out reverence. . .
-We have talked so much about the humanity of God that we have forgotten his divinity. . .
-We need to hear again the testimony of biblical characters when they experienced the majesty and greatness of God.” (4)
*The Apostle Peter talked about the majesty of God. In 2 Peter 1:16, he said: “We did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.”
*Of course, Peter was talking about the Lord’s miraculous transfiguration. The story is recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke’s gospels. And I have blended all 3 for us, because each version adds something we need to know:
Luke 9:28. And it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on (a high) mountain to pray.
Luke 9:29. And as He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening.
Matt 17:2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.
Mark 9:3 His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.
Luke 9:30. Then behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah,
Luke 9:31. who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
Luke 9:32. But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him.
Luke 9:33. Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah"—not knowing what he said.
Mark 9:6. because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.
Matt 17:5. While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!''
Matt 17:6. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.
Matt 17:7. But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid.''
Matt 17:8. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
Matt 17:9. Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.''
*This miraculous incident gives us a taste of the majesty of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
-We see Christ’s glory in His radiant, glowing clothes.
-We see Christ’s glory in His face that shined like the sun.
-We also see His glory in the Old Testament heroes Moses and Elijah, who were there no doubt to worship the Lord.
-Best of all, we see the glory of Jesus Christ in the words of our Heavenly Father who said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!”
*But in this story we also see the glory of Christ’s love, because Luke shares the subject of the Lord’s conversation with Moses and Elijah on that mountain.
-They were talking about the cross!
-They were talking about the death Jesus was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
*So Paul would later say: “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” (Gal 6:14)
*This is the glory, the majesty of our Savior Jesus Christ!
-We must declare the Lord’s majesty.
3. And we must declare His mercy.
*David began to declare God’s mercy in Psalm 145:8-9, where he said:
8. The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy.
9. The Lord is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works.
*Then in vs. 14-21, David goes into more detail about how God treats those who will trust in Him:
-In vs. 14, He helps us when we fall: “The Lord upholds all who fall, And raises up all those who are bowed down.”
-In vs. 15, He gives us food: “The eyes of all look expectantly to You, And You give them their food in due season.”
-In vs. 16, He is generous: “You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing.”
-Then in vs. 17, He is gracious: “The Lord is righteous in all His ways, Gracious in all His works.”
-In vs. 18, He stands by us: “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.”
-Then in vs. 19-20, He saves everyone who gives Him reverence and love:
19. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them.
20. The Lord preserves all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy.
*Because of all of God’s tender mercies, in vs. 21 King David said: “My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord, And all flesh shall bless His holy name Forever and ever.”
*We must be like King David.
-We must declare God’s might, His majesty and His mercy.
-We must be a verse 4 generation that praises God’s works to another, and declares His mighty acts.
*No goal is more vital for the next generation.
-This goal is the key to our church’s past and it’s the key to our future.
-This goal is woven into the very DNA of our church.
-It is where we came from, and where we must go.
*Most of you know that our church was born out of a great tragedy.
-In the 1920’s, Shannon and Elzada Rogers adopted a little boy named Donald, and he grew to love the Lord at a very early age.
-Many times Donald tried to get his parents to go to First Baptist Church with him.
*One Sunday, he said, “Momma, please go to church with me.”
-Mrs. Rogers answered, “I will -- next Sunday.”
-But before the next Sunday came, their little boy was hit by a truck and killed.
*Donald was 6, and had never walked home from school with the other neighborhood children, but he pleaded to walk with the big kids.
-Mom said "yes" on a day when she could not be at the school to walk with him.
*Donald was walking with a group of children who ran across the street in front of a pulp wood truck. Three or four were successful.
-Several more turned back in time, but little Donald didn't know which way to turn.
-He was killed instantly.
*Mrs. Rogers never got that other chance to go to church with Donald.
-That’s what moved her to start a Sunday School for the children who lived on Downing Pines Rd.
*When the class began, they didn’t have a building at all.
-They met under some trees about a half mile up the road.
-Louise Brown and Wilma Cobb were two of those children.
*In the beginning, the children stood; then they sat on boards laid across syrup buckets. And just like He did on the cross, God turned a tragic loss into a great blessing for many people.
*I want you to think about Donald Rogers and his love for the Lord.
-Somebody did everything they could to help him hear God’s Word, to help him see God’s goodness, to help him hope in the Lord, to help him set his heart toward the Lord.
-Somebody did everything they possibly could.
*I can’t tell you who it was. -- Was it a grandparent?
-Maybe an aunt or uncle, maybe a neighbor or a Sunday School teacher?
*Somebody did everything they possibly could, and God used that commitment.
-But what if?
-What if someone had not declared God’s goodness to little Donald?
*You see, every good thing that has ever happened in our church has flowed out of that commitment.
-Every soul that has been saved,
-Every life that has been changed,
-Every friendship made,
-Every new family formed,
-Every dollar given,
-Every act of kindness,
-Every praise to God,
-Every drop of good can be traced back to someone who shared God’s goodness with Donald Rogers.
*Now God wants us to do everything we can to pass the blessings on.
-As King David said: “One generation shall praise Your works to another.”
*It’s our turn. May God help us to do it!
1. http://www.quotegarden.com/index.html
2. Adapted from SermonCentral illustration contributed by Guy McGraw
3. “The Treasury of David” by Charles H. Spurgeon - Psalm 145:5
4. ChristianGlobe.com sermon “Lost in Wonder, Love, and Praise” by Raymond Gibson, Jr. - Romans 11:33-36 - 1980
