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[ Silence ] [ Music ] ♪ Tell me the song of a heart to love ♪ ♪ By some clear wind ♪

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♪ In a world no love ♪ ♪ Teach me the way ♪ ♪ Of believing to stand ♪ ♪ As I will go someday ♪

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(music) (bright piano music) (bright piano music) (dramatic piano music)

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(dramatic piano music) [ Music ] ♪ To teach me thy fair ♪ ♪ Chances still with thee ♪

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♪ In those sunny ♪ ♪ Or cold morning ♪ ♪ In those peace ♪ ♪ Where the sweet ♪

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♪ My soul is lost ♪ ♪ But I am found ♪ ♪ My God ♪ - We continue our sermon series based on the book of Psalms,

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the hymn book of the Bible. We come today to Psalm 144. The first part of this particular song or hymn was read for our scripture. I shall read the latter part of it from the ninth through the fifteenth verses.

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I will sing a new song unto thee, O God, upon a psaltery of an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee. It is he that giveth salvation unto kings, who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword.

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me and deliver me from the hand of strange children whose mouth speaketh vanity and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood. That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth. That our daughters may be as cornerstones polished after the similitude of a palace. That our garners may be full of

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fording all manner of store. That our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets. That our oxen may be strong to labor. That there be no breaking in or going out, that there be no complaining in our streets. Happy is that people that is in such a case. Yea, happy is that people whose God

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is the Lord. The subject of the message, great expectations. By faith we live from day to day. It is by faith that we look forward to the future. We travel with great expectations. John McGarren said that we ought not engage in expectations. Anything that is given can at once be taken away he says. We have to learn

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never to expect anything and when it comes it's no more than a gift or loan. Dull and grim would be our existence if we did not entertain great expectations. We look forward to tomorrow with the belief that it will be better. We expect morning to follow night. Though the heathen rage, we expect to have peace in

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the valley someday. Never expect anything and you'll never be disappointed some say. Well without expectation we lose our enthusiasm in praiseworthy ventures. Without expectation we tire in the race and surrender the struggle. Great expectations make life challenging and exciting. Harlan Cleveland in an address

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before the United Nations in 1964 spoke of the revolution of rising expectations. We think of people in underdeveloped countries who get a taste of freedom and become more and more dissatisfied with their condition. They're caught up in the revolution of rising expectations. It's sort of like a story of a little boy who

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was on the street corner selling puppies and he had a sign there indicating that the puppies were one dollar each. That's the way it was in the morning. That That afternoon, the boy was still at the same street corner, but his sign was changed,

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and he had there that the puppies were $5 each. So a man who had passed by in the morning and had seen the sign saying that they were $1 each and came back in the evening

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and saw that they were $5 each, he asked the boy why had he changed the price of the puppies. He said, "Well, their eyes are open now."

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So as our level of expectation is raised, we make greater demands. So in the quest for full freedom, the more freedom we get, the more freedom we want. Israel left Egypt expecting to inherit another country. They made a covenant with God.

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They entered into this covenant with the expectation that God would keep his part of the agreement and they knew they were expected to keep theirs. Psalm 144 is a hymn that celebrates

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the coronation of the king. Now, coronation ceremonies are customarily related to the beginning of the year. We have our inauguration ceremonies for a new president

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during the first month of the year. In the first month of the year, we here in the state of Texas have our inauguration ceremonies for the governor.

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So it was in ancient times, the coronation of the king is related to the beginning of the year. nation faces a new age, a new reign, a new ruler, a new challenge, and this hymn

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speaks to that situation. This is a song of God's anointed, the song of one who is a channel of divine grace. This is the song of one who is commissioned to act for God in the world. He is anointed of God and so he begins his song honoring God. Listen to the words of the hymn, the opening words. Blessed be the Lord my

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strength which teaches my hands to war and my fingers to fight. My goodness and and my fortress, my high tower and my deliverer, my shield, and he in whom I trust, who subdueth my people under me. He who is anointed by God receives his strength from God. If we would be good, our goodness must come from God.

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If we would be courageous, we must get our strength from God. There are high towers that enable the king's men to see in the distance and discern the approach of the enemy. There are fortresses that protect from invaders,

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from without, but the king does not consider these as his means of security. He says of God, that you are my fortress, you are my high tower, you are my deliverer,

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you are my shield in whom I trust, who subdueth my people under me. That if I have a successful reign, if people will follow my leadership,

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it is because of you and the way in which you govern and guide our lives. The King, you see, is not puffed up with pride because of the number of subjects he has under his rule and the vast resources of his realm. On the day of his coronation, no doubt the King was tempted to be overly

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concerned about his crown, whether it was sufficiently polished so that the jewels would sparkle in the sunlight. No doubt he was tempted to be overly concerned about his long flowing robe, whether or not it was exquisitely tailored, whether it fitted him in the right way, and whether or not it was

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beautiful and how it was perceived by the people. You know that these human concerns that often occupy our attention. Oh, we'd like to know the jeweler who made the king's crown. We'd like to know the fashion designer that made the king's robe. And it's so easy to get caught up with these symbols of power

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and neglect the source of power. The king, the Lord's alointed, sings a song honoring the eternal, honoring that which is permanent in the midst of the temporary, honoring that which is meaningful in an ocean of meaninglessness. The King expects God to be with him as he embarks upon a new beginning. He

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expects victory over rebellious forces, deliverance from oppression, help over the hills. Now great achievements are not produced merely by luck, neither do they come by accident. They come because of great expectations. There is what is called self-fulfilling prophecy. That if you don't really expect much, you're not

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gonna get much. Teacher doesn't expect the pupil to perform well, the pupil will certainly live up to those expectations. I think one reason I did well in history when I was in the seventh grade is that the teacher just expected a great deal of me and because those expectations were there I tried to

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measure up to those expectations. That's just the way it works, the self-fulfilling prophecy, that we use our power in order to make our wish come true according to those expectations. William Carey once said, "Expect great things from God and attempt great things for God." That's the way it we ought to be, expect a great deal

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and seek to achieve a great deal. Well, those who ask not expecting to receive do not have the kind of sincerity that should be put forth

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or should be the basis of our prayers. Some people ask, "Well, I didn't expect to get that anyway." It's like the old lady, the story goes, who went out, who prayed, "Lord, move the mountain.

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"Lord, move the mountain." And the next morning, after she had prayed that night, she went out and she looked and she saw the mountain was still there and she said, "Just as I expected."

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Well, some people are like that. What we really have here in this hymn of faith has to do with great expectations. The king expects a greater nation or a better nation.

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We expect a better city. We expect a better state. So we can rejoice when Summertech comes to Austin, when the decision is made.

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We can rejoice that this new industry is coming because somehow we have been expecting a great deal And this goes according to our expectations. Well, the king looked forward to a new generation

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made of boys, sturdy and strong. He expects great things in the future because of the great things God has done in the past. And because he has great expectations,

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this ruler thanks God for what he expects to receive. Then he focuses on a harvest. Whenever there is a harvest, it's based on the fact that somebody has planted.

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Somewhere along the way there's been some planting, there's been some cultivating, there's been some working of the crops. And all of that is done in expectation of receiving something from those efforts.

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So here is the king's testimony so to speak. He's aware of man's vanity. And since he is aware of man's vanity, he looks to the Lord. He looks to the power of the divine to deliver him from the sword.

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So as we face the future with great expectations, we recognize human weaknesses, we recognize the uncertainties of human existence, and so we must look to that which is permanent, that on which we can place our confidence, that which is ultimate. So from the hand of God, we expect that leadership which is steadfast and sure.

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And the psalmist, you see, looks forward to the harvest of the years. And he says, "May our sons be as plants. May they be like trees or shrubs growing outside a building. May our sons be alive.

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May they be strong. May they be beautiful and fruitful. This is a prayer of great expectations. All of us have some expectations.

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What are our expectations for the year? What kind of petitions do we make to God regarding not only ourselves as we seek the leadership of his spirit, but what kind of expectations do we have for our loved ones, for our family, for those with whom we labor? He says, "Not only of the sons, that they be sturdy and strong, may our daughters be as cornerstones."

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May they be like pillars in a palace, lighting up and strengthening the structure. What is expected here is that the king goes on to say, "May our barns be full, barns that that are built by those who have expectations. You don't have anything that you expect to put in the barn,

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you certainly don't build it. And the greater the expectations, the larger the barn. And he says, "Now may our sheep bring forth abundantly, "so that there may be thousands and tens of thousands

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in our fields. The Bible there, King James Version says streets, it really may be translated as fields. So he wants to have prosperity.

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And we often say what we want for others, health and happiness and prosperity. Those are expectations and so here are great expectations. And he says, may our oxen be heavy laden.

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May we have so much happening that is favorable in our lives that the oxen that carry the burdens will be heavily laden. That our people will not be carried into captivity.

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That is another expectation. Expectation for the future that Israel or Judah will be blessed and that no fire will be lit power will overpower us and carry us into captivity. That's the way the king

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beseeched the Almighty there at the time of the coronation. Well that has to do with barns, it has to do with the kind of harvest that is expected in the life of the nation. Oh how different is that from that story that Jesus tells in the New testament of that foolish farmer. The foolish farmer also planted. He was

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industrious. He went out and he planted and as he planted he had a great harvest. The story says that his fields brought forth plentifully and when he got all of this he said, "Oh, what must I do? I have so much that I don't know what to do with it." He said, "Well, Lord, what I'll do, I will tear down the old barns, and I will build bigger barns, and there will I store my fruits, and after I've done all of that, I'll just sit down, fold my arms, and say, 'So, take it easy. You've got a whole lot stored up for many years. You don't have anything to worry about.'" But that night, that night, God said to him, "Thou fool, this night is your soul required of you, then whose shall these things be?"

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Well, what really happened is, this man was a fool because he let God out of his plan. And so many people have all a fair place. What I'm going to do, what I expect out of life, and they somehow leave God out.

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They leave out the eternal. They leave out the creator. They leave out the one who is the God of prompting. They leave him out.

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But here, the psalmist considers God first, and he relies upon him and asks his leadership that he might guide him in all of these relationships. So he's concerned about harvest,

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and then lastly he closes this song by expressing a concern for happiness. Oh, we all want to be happy. That's one of the things that

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characteristic of the human family. We want to be happy. And all of us in a sense engage in the pursuit of happiness. And sometimes it just seems to elude us, but we still keep pursuing it. We sort of keep chasing it like chasing a rainbow through the rain. We keep pursuing happiness. So you see, he includes God as the main part, the chief actor in his prayer.

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And it's a wise course of action not to leave God out. And so really, not only does he talk with God about himself, but he talks with God about his people. And the wonderful thing about it is that we have a king who speaks to the Father for us. The king represented God to the people and he represented the people to God.

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And that's what Jesus Christ does for us. So here the conclusion of the matter, he says in these words, "Happy, happy is that people. Fortunate is that people. Blessedness belongs to that people whose God is the Lord." How happy the people who have Yahweh as their God.

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How happy the people who rely upon the God who has created us in his image. How happy the people who behave in a manner that is pleasing to God and honor him

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in all they say and do and think. How happy the people, happy the people whose God is the Lord and whose whole future is in God's hands. Happy the people who have the supreme sovereign of the universe as their God.

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One outstanding Roman citizen, when asked how he made it, he said, "Well, I had Caesar as my friend." And so, as we travel along on this pilgrim journey, if we really, really want to be happy, we have to have God as our friend.

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And God comes to us through Jesus Christ. He comes to let us know that he is with us in the midst of our struggles, no matter what the situation may be, for God is able to do more than we ask or think. God wants us to entertain great expectations because he's a great God.

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He wants us to expect much because he is prepared to give us much. So the disciples asked of Jesus on one occasion, "Now Lord, what are we gonna get? We've left everything. Father, you, what are we going to get?" He said to them, "You're gonna get far more than you give. You're going to get four times more than you have

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invested. That the returns are great if you follow me. And that's that's that's that's that's what we can expect and we can we can somehow relate to the words of the hymn, "It Pays to Serve Jesus." It pays every day. It pays every step of the way. Though the pathway to glory may sometimes be dreary, you'll be happy each step of the way.

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Because you know that there is a great harvest. What we're doing really now is we're just planting. There comes a time when the seeds will be gathered and we expect to be in that barn where we have the eternal relationship with God in a world without him. As we

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come now to this time of commitment, we ask you to make a decision for Jesus Christ, to honor him in your life, that you may have the kind of expectations that are meaningful in the midst of all that may occur. I ask you to come.

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This is a time of commitment, of invitation to Christian discipleship. This is a time to publicly declare our relationship in a permanent way

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as a disciple of Jesus Christ, by letter, by Christian experience. ♪ Sowing in the morning ♪ ♪ Sowing seeds of kindness ♪

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♪ Sowing in the noontime ♪ ♪ I'm doing ♪ ♪ Waiting for the harvest ♪ ♪ By the time of reaping ♪

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♪ He shall come to my city ♪ ♪ Bringing in the shingles ♪ ♪ Bringing in the shingles ♪ ♪ Bringing ♪

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♪ The shade ♪ ♪ We shall ♪ ♪ Rejoice ♪ ♪ In ♪

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♪ The new ♪ [MUSIC] ♪ To him ♪ ♪ That she did ♪

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♪ We shall now ♪ ♪ Rejoice in ♪ ♪ Reign in the shame ♪ [MUSIC PLAYING]

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