Title: Living In the Cenozoic Age (Part I - A New Age for Worship)
Text: Psalm 111
Thesis: This is a good time to live into a New Age of Praise.
Introduction
Geology, in its simplest form, is the study of the earth… its composition and history
When it comes to discussing Geological Eons and Eras or Ages I feel a lot like Forrest Gump when he said, “I am not a smart man.” So know that I wish can only wish I knew what I don’t know. What I know is there is an ongoing discussion about whether the earth is an old earth – millions if not billions years old or a young earth – 6,000 years or so old.
From an old earth perspective our Eon began 542 million years ago:
• 542 million years ago: The Palezoic Era began. It is what they call ancient life.
• 252 million years ago: The Mesozoic Era began (Age of Reptiles). It is termed middle life.
• 66 million years ago: The Cenozoic Era began (Age of Mammals) It is called the era of new life…. We are living in the era of new life.
As curious people, we have historically studied all kinds of things. One of our greatest curiosities is anthropology or the study of man, past and present.
Along the way, we being curious people, have also historically had an innate curiosity or God consciousness which compels us to study God. We call that theology.
So we have anthropological interests and theological interests. The great debate is whether we are anthro people or theos people. Are we man-centered or are we God-centered people. It is evident that we live in an increasingly secular culture. In an attempt to better understand what that means I am reading a new book by secularist Phil Zuckerman, Living the Secular Life. The secular life simply removes God from the equation. It just us and it’s all about us and that’s all there was, is and every will be. The secularist is grateful for all the goodness of life but has no one to thank for it. That is all-in, anthro or man-centered living. The challenge for theists is that of living anthro with a Theos or God-centered perspective.
You live life either from an anthropocentric perspective which puts man at the center of the universe. Or you live from a theocentric perspective which puts God at the center of the universe.
This is kind of a humble example… A UK woman, Grace Gelder, married herself after failing to find love … at the ripe "old" age of 31! According to The Daily Mail, Gelder "proposed to herself on a park bench, bought a ring and a dress and invited all of her friends to watch her make her vows." Gelder said in an interview, "The day was obviously centered on me, the final event being a mirror for me to kiss …" Her wedding is not recognized by the law. This story was even picked up on the show Late Night with Seth Meyers, who quipped "I don't know how to tell you this, but the lady you just married might be crazy." Without minimizing Gelder's struggle or the struggle of the many people who struggle to find a suitable romantic partner, do we have to look to ourselves as our only source of love? Are we really becoming that selfish, narcissistic, and hopeless, that when all else fails we marry ourselves? Is there no one who can love us more than we can love ourselves… like God for instance?
Psalm 111 urges us to turn from an anthropocentric (human-centered) approach to a theocentric (God-centered) attitude.
This week I read that tickets for Super Bowl 49 are selling for $8,000. An anthropocentric person says, “I have $8 grand to burn and I think it would make me happy to go to Phoenix to see the Super Bowl so I’m going to be a little self-indulgent and go for it. A theocentric person would ask, “I have $8 grand that I am free to spend any way I like but I wonder how God would like for me to use the money?” Taken to an even greater extreme, one has to wonder if spending a billion dollars on an election is an anthropocentric pursuit or a theocentric pursuit?
Living in this geological Cenozoic Age we might give some intentionality to making this a New Age for Theocentric or God-centered living which begins with praise.
I. Praise, Psalm 111:1 (Hallelujah)
Our text today begins, “Praise the Lord! I will thank the Lord with all my heart…” Psalm 111:1a
One of the commentators I read said the Psalm begins with a full-throated expression of praise… Hallelujah! It is an attention getter… it is a call to worship.
I have hallelujah moments when I look down Sheridan Boulevard and see Pike’s Peak glistening in the morning sun.
American poet Joyce Kilmer had a hallelujah moment when he looked at a tree. The Kilmer family home was nestled back in the trees along Airmount Road in Mahway, New Jersey. It was there that he wrote Trees in February of 1913,
Trees (Joyce Kilmer, 1886-1918
I think that I shall never see
A poem as lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth’s flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
Giving closer look at this Psalm we see it is actually quite a creative poem. If we were Hebrew scholars we would see that each line begins with a successive letter from the Hebrew alphabet, i.e., the first line would begin an A word, the second a B word, the third a C word and so on. As an acrostic it would be easier to memorize.
However, for us the intent of the Psalm is probably more important than the literary device used in writing it.
The thing we need to keep in mind is that this Psalm…
This Psalm teaches us how to appropriately respond for what God has done, does, who God is and what God says.
How do we do it? The first way we respond is with all our hearts
A. All your heart
The human heart is a chambered muscular organ that pumps blood. Your heart does not think. Your heart does not feel emotion. Our heart does not make decisions. Your heart pumps blood.
However, how often have you said, “In my heart, I know I’m right?” Or “My heart is breaking with sadness?” Or “My heart tells me I am deeply in love with… whomever?”
We think of our heart as being the center of our emotions and sensibilities. We think of the heart as being the place we hold our deepest and sincerest feelings and beliefs. We think of the heart as the place of courage or cowardliness; sympathy, compassion, character and love.
Paul wrote in Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, work willingly or enthusiastically with all your heart, as through you are working for the Lord rather than for people.”
As people of God, when we come into this place for the purpose of praise and thanksgiving we bring our best. The Psalmist said, “I will praise and thank the Lord with all my heart.” He was and we are to be fully engaged.
Elton Trueblood once said, “In the modern world, our real danger comes not from irreligion but from mild religion.” He was referring to Christians practicing their faith with half-heartedness. A few years ago Century Magazine reported that 69% of Americans claim membership to a congregation… it’s a little hard to believe 69% of Americans are in church today. The current spiritual climate is ertainly more of a mild religious climate than a wild one.
I wonder if most people practice their faith like we watch television.
Eugene Polley worked for Zenith Electronics all his life. He is credited with the invention of the TV remote. He put his invention of the TV remote right up there with the flush toilet as something that would really benefit the American people.
John Ortberg said, “Life without the remote control is an unbearable burden for the modern family.” Can you imagine actually getting up and walking over to the television to change channels?
On most evenings, after I have read the paper, worked the crossword, caught up on my periodicals and read a few chapters from my current reading… I turn on the television. It’s likely late and I find myself tipped back in my recliner with the remote, channel surfing. The best word to describe my channel surfing is lackadaisical. Listless. Ambivalent. Indifferent. Half-hearted. My approach is anything but energized or enthusiastic.
That isn’t the way to do church. I know church is a great place to nap. Some of us have worked hard all week and the moment we sit down, we relax and we are out. Some of us have stayed up all night and it would not matter where we are… we are zonked.
However, for the person who wants to live out his or her faith, public worship is important to the person who is “all-in” in their desire to be a whole-hearted, theocentric worshiper.
There is a second how do we do it… not only does he plan to praise the Lord with all his heart, he plans to do it in the community of public worship.
B. In community
He continued, “…as I meet with his godly people.” Psalm 111:1b
When the Psalmist wrote of worshiping in community he meant with other people of like mind. People who also wanted to express praise and thanksgiving to God… together.
It is interesting to me how when we make going to church a theocentric/God centered experience… we benefit. Public worship is not only a blessing to God… it is good for people too.
Researchers have found that many churchgoers struggle with behaviors they would like to change and are sincerely engaged in seeking God’s help and the support of others in overcoming those struggles. But they also found that regular attenders of evangelical churches drink less, smoke less, use fewer recreational drugs and are less sexually promiscuous than others. All of this makes for better health among churchgoers.
But more than that, social support is the larger part of the story. We come to church to worship God (theocentric), but find in our public congregational life personal benefit. In a healthy congregation people look out for one another. They show up with meals when their friends are sick. They take time to sit with and talk to those who need encouragement. They are more likely to be in a small group like our Life Groups where they meet regularly to study the Bible and share their lives with one another. Evangelical Christians have larger social networks and consequently the benefit of Christian socialization.
A survey by the Barna Group asked over 1,000 American adults the following question:
“What do you think about going to church?”
About 30 percent of Americans say attending church is very important, about 40 percent are ambivalent about attending church, and 30 percent say attending church is not important at all. Those who are ambivalent about attending church gave two top reasons for their ambivalence: "I find God elsewhere" (40 percent) and it's not "personally relevant" (35 percent).
Millennials who are opting out of church cite the following three factors with equal weight in their decision: the moral failures of church leaders, hypocrisy, and the church's irrelevance. 20 percent of Millennials say that "God is missing" from church. (Jon Tyson, Sacred Roots (Zondervan, 2013), pp. 14-24)
When anyone approaches meeting with others for congregational worship with ambivalence and concerns about church not being personally relevant, they have an anthropocentric perception about church, i.e., church is about me and my needs.
When we approach public worship from an anthropocentric perspective we are going for ourselves. We are thinking going to church and engaging in congregational worship is about us… we are thinking this experience is for me. Congregational or community worship is not about us, it is about God. Community worship is:
• Theocentric when we come to praise and thank the Lord with others of like mind.
• Theocentric when we come intent on praising and thanking God for his goodness and grace.
• Theocentric when we understand the fruit of our lips to be an offering unto God.
• Theocentric when we bow before God expressing our dependence and reliance upon God.
• Theocentric when we listen for God to speak to us from his Word and leave intent on being devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
Conclusion:
Our text today begins, Praise the Lord! I will thank the Lord with all my heart as I meet with his godly people… Psalm 111:1
• So what is the bottom line today?
• Where does the rubber meet the road?
• What is the takeaway today?
• How do we live into being people of praise and thanksgiving?
Intentionality! Intentionality means to do something with a goal in mind. Being intentional about something is to think and act consciously.
I’ve been keeping up with Rafael and Roseanna Cardona on Facebook. They have a goal of being healthy and fit. They are maniacs! They do a thing called “Maxed Out.” From the looks of things when you do a Maxed Out Cardio or Insanity Max: 30 Workout, which is described as the “Craziest 30 Minutes of Your Day,” you are totally exhausted. They have motivators like “NO Excuses” signs or a sign that says, “If you are looking for a sign to work out, this is it! Go work out!”
Every time Rafael and Roseanna do an Insanity Max:30 Workout, they have to do it with intentionality. You just don’t do that kind of thing without being intentional about it. Becoming healthy and fit requires intentionality.
The same intentionality is necessary for spiritual fitness. Becoming a person of praise and thanksgiving requires intentionality as well. “No excuses.” “If you are looking for a sign to praise God or give thanks, this is it. Just go do it!” Break a sweat!
Living into becoming a person of praise and thanksgiving means we are intentional about seeing the glory and the goodness of God all around us. It means taking nothing for granted. It means being a theocentric or God-centered person who is intent on seeing the activity of God everywhere we look.
This morning we will all walk out of here into a ceno (new) week… will we make this a new era of heartfelt praise and thanksgiving to God?
The Bottom Line: Begin to Practice Intentionality! Living in the Cenozoic Age is a good “time” to begin to intentionality live into a New Age of Praise.
