Longing for Restoration

Study Notes

Modern Longings -- Ancient Words   Longing for Restoration

Psalm 98

This sermon will be done in an interview format, i.e., one in which Pastor Jeff will speak with Pastor Greg about how Ps 98 has affected his ministry and personal relationships.  These notes provide the main points.

The Overview of Psalm 98

     Ps 98 is the basis for Isaac Watts’ famous hymn, Joy to the World.  And, as we read the Psalm, we see that it is indeed filled with joy because it tells us that there will be a time in which “all the earth will burst into jubilant song with music (v.4)” and will “shout for joy before the Lord, the king” (v.6).  We usually sing Joy to the World at Christmas and think of the time when Jesus was born into this world in Bethlehem.  However, as we look at the Psalm itself, we see that its main point is not so much the 1st coming of Jesus to begin the work of God’s salvation as it is about the 2^nd coming of Jesus to complete God’s salvation.

     Take out Ps 98 and let me walk you through it:

1. It remembers what God has done in the past (98:1-3).

     As is so often the case in the Psalms, the Psalmist remembered the past “marvelous things” God had done for his people Israel.  But, one thing that fills this Psalm is that God has done marvelous things not only for Israel but also for “the nations” (v.2), i.e., for “all the ends of the earth” (v.3).

2. It implies that God’s work is not yet done.

     Without directly stating it, the Psalmist wrote the Psalm in a way that demonstrates to anyone reading it that the Psalmist understands God is still at work in this world.  Indeed, he knows fully that there is much work needs to be done.  The world the Psalmist lived in was in need of God’s miraculous work – as is ours!

3. It looks forward to the day that God will complete his work in this world (98:4-8).

    This is the source of the joy.  All the earth shouts for joy in v. 4 because of what will happen when God completes his work.  And, the Bible literally means “all” the earth – both the people and everything else too: the sea and everything in it, the land and whatever exists on it.  It’s clear that all creation, animate and inanimate has been negatively affected by human sin.

     And, this final work of God to make all things new will happen with the return of the King.  The great epic literature of every culture and time in history draws upon this message, i.e., that the world needs a good and powerful king to come and change things.  Ps 98 tells us a king will someday return and restore all that has been broken in this world due to our sin.

4. It tells us judgment is a part of the joy-filled victory (98:9). Sing, for the King comes to judge…”

     This is the part of the Psalm we often ignore.  In fact, when I hear “Joy to the World” in the shopping malls at Christmas, I don’t hear anyone singing the 3^rd stanza that says, “No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground” for the king comes to deal with the curse of sin wherever it has done damage in the world.  I love how Pastor Tim Keller summarizes this Psalm.  “Joy to the world.  The king is coming.  He’s coming to judge us!  Yay!! What??”

     So, as I read this psalm, it says that in the midst of a very broken world, we know that God has power to change things for he has done it before.  We cling to the promise that God will make all things right -- and that the final marker of his work will be the return of the King.  And, it tells us that a part of God’s re-creating work is that evil will be called out and judged so that God’s kingdom of peace and justice will prevail.

     So, we participate now in the process of what the New Testament calls “reconciliation”, i.e., taking what is broken and restoring it to what it is meant to be.   This is the larger message of Ps 98 that has shaped the way I deal with things that emerge in our congregation that are clearly broken.

The Interview

1. Greg, I’m going to launch in right where you ended that overview. Psalm 98 seems to me to be thoroughly counter-cultural with its message that blends joy and judgment; discipline and restoration. Help us to understand why it has been so important for you and your ministry here at Lake.

     I try to follow the template I see in this Psalm.  A situation arises in the church or in a person’s life that seems to be fully broken – so messy – usually because of sin. Often, at first, the situation seems to be impossible.  That is to say, I don’t know what to do.  But, as this Psalmist did, I take time to “zakar”, the Hebrew word for remember.  I remember that God can do what I can’t do.  I remember that God has done miraculous things over and over.  Then, I look forward to His promise to heal things and make all things new.  I know Jesus came to bear the punishment for sin – and that a new start is always available for those who turn to him.  I know both that sin is serious so that evil should not be ignored and swept under the rug. But, I also know that God’s grace is greater than our sin. I embrace the Bible’s teaching that  one of the main reasons God has placed local churches like ours into the world is to be communities in which his work of remaking people takes place.  So, remembering those things, I enter into a process with people that I pray will lead to restoration.

2. You have roughed out a visual to show how you envision restoration taking place in the context of a local church like ours. Let’s see that.  Please talk us through it.

     I take that very simple visual and begin with each situation that comes to me.  Something arises in a marriage, a family or in our church that simply is broken.  No matter how thoroughly broken it is, I know that God says it does not have to stay that way.  He sent Jesus to begin the process of healing what is broken.  And, as I said earlier, I believe one reason God brings a church existence is to participate in His reconciling work in people’s lives.  In Gal 6:1-4, we are told that when there is sin and brokenness in the church family, we are to work to restore people -- and that we are to do it with gentleness and humility.  That is our mandate.  So, with all that in mind, I enter into people’s lives and into the process I put in the graphic with the faith that God can do more than I even know how to ask him to do.

3. That “Reconciliation Process” strikes me as being very hard. What kinds of steps should we anticipate in that? 

     I balk a bit at giving 1-2-3 kinds of steps because human beings don’t seem to find healing in the same ways each time.  And, the Bible doesn’t really give us a formula to follow each time either.  You and I have both stepped into situations in which we know that God calls us to be involved in this kind of work, but we don’t know precisely how things will play out along the way.  We have to keep coming back to the Lord again and again for guidance.  But, at the same time, we keep going simply knowing that this is what God calls us to do.

     Having said that, I have several words that I keep before me in the process – words that I think are consistent with biblical teaching:

• Confession – The whole truth needs to come out. In countless situations, people who have had sins being discovered have confessed only what has already come out.  Since Adam and Eve hid in the bushes after they had sinned, people have kept hiding things.  We feel shame.  We experience real guilt.  We hope to solve things on our own.  But, it’s hard to fix anything that is still in the dark.  As painful as it is to bring things out into the light, ultimately it will be freeing.  Bottom line: Transparency is essential to healing.  It’s not that the sin has to be broadcast to everyone.  But, those involved in the process need to know the truth.
• Repentance – That’s the word for turning around and going a new direction. I’ve found it involves owning up to how much pain our sin has caused others. And, when addictions have set in, I’ve found that something needs to happen to begin the process of uprooting the cause and source of the addiction.  In repentance, we say something like, “Lord, I’ve sinned against you and against others.  I ask your forgiveness.  I ask for your guidance to know how to apologize genuinely and seek forgiveness from those I’ve hurt.  By your grace and through your power, I will no longer live as I have.”  To change long established habits or patterns of life may require professional counseling, a 12-step kind of program, and accountability.  You will need a good support group in your church family to walk with you.
• Discipline – I use the word discipline rather than punishment or even judgment even though good disciplinary action always involves making judgments. The Bible’s word for discipline always, always, always has the goal of the relationship being restored as far as that is possible.  I say “as far as possible” because when abuse or violence are in the brokenness, then whatever restoration might be possible does not mean someone should go back into a place of danger.
• Holy Spirit Working in Community – By this, I am thinking of all the things that should happen when you are involved in your church family, e.g., faithful worship in the services, participation in a small group, serving as God enables you, prayer, accountability, etc. God does is liberating work in you as you are faithfully involved in the church family you are called to.

     Those are some of the things that come to mind, Jeff, as I think about this process.

4. So, it seems to me that this means that we understand God’s judgment, as Psalm 98 speaks of it, is not at all the end-goal of God’s restoration but an essential part of the process? Let me talk about that one. 

     We want the restoration without the judgment… or want the judgment to come from us and not God.  I really think we get hung up on this – I know I do.  In one sense we don’t love the idea of God bringing judgment to us personally – but we want  “judgment” and “justice”  for others and for the places of injustice.  We want things to be made right  - BUT, we just want that to happen the way we think it should happen.  Especially in the world we live in, we assume that the right thing (justice) is what we believe to be right and that getting enough people to think like us and believe like we do – that whatever wrong is out there can be made right... or we are frankly more focused on what people think is right versus doing what is right!  And all this is human centered versus God centered…  We want to be the judgment bringers… and by making the correct judgment it all is made right.  But, Greg, this Psalm and this bigger conversation we are having is bigger than the verdict of judgement - what is right or wrong – it is more about the role of Gods judgment in reconciliation…

5. As we were talking last Tuesday, we began speaking of what I called “personal ingredients” that are significant in the reconciliation process if brokenness will be healed and restoration will take place.  Some of them are mentioned specifically in Psalm 98.  Talk about what those are and your experience with them.

     Yes, Jeff, three ingredients are stated in Ps 98 – but the first is a word so profound in Hebrew (“hesed”) that we need two English words to apply it.  Here are the necessary personal ingredients I find necessary:

• Love (v.3) – Just as God loves each person and acts in ways that are best for us, so each party needs to have the longing of God for the other person in their heart, i.e., each person needs to truly long to have the best possible thing happen in the other person’s life. This means turning from self-focus to “others-focus”.  Sin usually means that the perfect relationship we once longed for may not be possible. But, we still want God’s best for all involved – and pray for it.
• Commitment (v.3) – The word for love in v.3, hesed, refers to God making a covenant to be faithful to keep loving all who turn to him in repentance and faith. He makes a commitment to us.  If we return to him, he will forgive us and start again with us.  We all need to make that to one another when we begin this reconciliation process – each individual to one another; all of us to the church engaged in the process, and all of us to glorify the Lord in how we go about the matter. I’ve found that, for restoration to happen, each party needs to make a commitment to stick with the process because we will all have things happen that make us want to quit.
• Equity (v.9) – What a great word to guide us! What a. hard word to achieve!  It has to do with each party looking at a matter and saying, “That’s good and appropriate for us all!”  It’s not the kind of settlement in which one or the other party thinks, “I won!  I got her/him!”  Or, one says, “I got ripped off in the deal.”  It says that what has happened is good for each individual, good for the church and ultimately, good in the eyes of the Lord.  The world should be able to look at what has happened and say, “What a great God they have!!”
• Justice (v.9) – We misuse this powerful and beautiful word in our society. It’s not just about judgment – though that surely is necessary for justice to be achieved.  It’s not just about punishment – though that sometimes is appropriate too.  Justice is a word that means, “Everything has been made right.”  When justice happens:

1) Everything wrong has been disclosed. 

2) Appropriate discipline has been enacted. 

3) Genuine apologies have been spoken. 

4) Forgiveness has been offered and accepted. 

5) All parties renew their commitment to live a life glorifying God.    

     It seems idealistic, Jeff.  But, you and I have both seen this at work.  You keep your eyes on that goal of God’s restoration and just keep taking steps in that direction.  It seems, at the beginning and sometimes in the midst of the process, impossible.  But, we can give witness, can’t we, to the fact that God does work to bring about this kind of restoration in which justice reigns.

6. What is your hope for how this message based on Psalm 98 will change us as individuals, as families and as a church?

     There are so many things, Jeff – so many things.  I pray we as a church will not look at people just for what they’ve been or done in the past but for what they can be if they will let God do his work in them.

     I pray too that, when failures come to the surface in the lives of anyone in our church, we will not give up on them.  The truth is, as one of our spiritual leaders, Dave Rumpf, once told me, “We all need to be found out.  We all need to be set free from sin and to be restored in our walks with God.”  He was right.  I pray that we will take the brokenness caused by sin seriously and never close our eyes to that.  At the same time, I want us to be a church fully involved in our small groups and classes – in our children’s and student ministries -- in God’s work of rescuing, reconciling and restoring people.

   And, I pray we will celebrate each recovery – each life finding a new beginning and our church a place of growth.  And, may that happen until we sing “Joy to the World, the Lord has come.”

Chinese Study Notes

远古的话语—今天的渴望

渴望得到恢复

诗篇 98

今天的讲道是用采访的形式，由杰夫牧师与格里高利牧师谈诗98篇如何影响了他的事工和个人关系，这将为我们展现所讲的要点。

Psalm 98篇总览

     这首诗是以撒怀兹著名赞美诗“普世欢腾 ” 依据。我们读这首诗的时候，可以感受到里面充满了喜悦，因为诗中说：时候到了，“全 地 都 要 向 耶 和 华 欢 乐 ； 要 发 起 大 声 ， 欢 呼 歌 颂 （4节）”，“用 号 和 角 声 ， 在 大 君 王 耶 和 华 面 前 欢 呼 （6节）”。我们常常在圣诞节唱“普世欢腾 ”，记念耶稣在伯利恒降生。不过，我们看98篇，其实主要还不是指耶稣第一次来带给我们救恩，而是指耶稣再来实现神的救恩。

     让我与你们过一遍98篇：

1. 记念神在以往的作为(98:1-3)。

     诗篇中，诗人常常记念神在过去为子民以色列所做的奇妙之事，但这里2-3节说，神不仅是为以色列，也为列邦和全地行了奇妙的事。

2. 暗指神的工作尚未完成。

     无须讳言，诗人写这首诗是要所有的读者知道，神仍在这世界工作，而且神完全知道还要多少事需要做。诗人所生活的世界就像我们的世界，神在其中行奇妙之事。

3. 盼望神的工作在世上完成的那一天(98:4-8)。

    这是喜乐的源泉。当神完成了他的工作，全地都要欢呼。圣经说“全地”真的是其上的人和万物：海和海中的一切；地和地上的一切。因为很明显，所有的被造物，有生命的、无生命的都受到罪的负面影响。

     当王再来时，神要完成最后的工作，使万物更新。每个文化的伟大史诗都有类似的描述，世界需要一个善良、大能的王来改变一切。98篇告诉我们，总有一天，那个王要来恢复世上因我们的罪而破碎的一切。

4. 审判是充满喜乐胜利的一部分(98:9)。 欢唱吧，因为王要来审判…

     我们常常忽略诗歌的这部分，事实上，当我们圣诞节在购物时听到“普世欢腾”时，很少听到有人唱第三段：“罪恶忧愁，不容再长！世途荆棘消亡”，王要来处理被罪的咒诅所损害的世界。我喜欢提姆凯勒牧师对这首诗的总结：“普世欢腾，王就要来临，他要来审判我们！耶！什么？？”

     当我们读这首诗的时候，我们知道，在这个非常破碎的世界中，神有能力改变万事，因为他曾经这样做了。我们坚信神的应许就是他要使万物归正—这工作的最后实现者就是再来的王。神再创造的一部分就是去除和审判邪恶，好使他公正和平的国度大获全胜。

     我们如今就在新约所说的“和好”的过程中，即把破碎复原。这就是98篇主要的内容，它也帮助我们处理教会中所出现的那些破碎。

 

采访

1. 格里高利，刚好你结束了总览，那我就开始采访您了。我看这首诗的风格是完全反文化的，把欢乐和审判、管教和恢复混合在一起。请告诉我们，为什么这对你和你在教会的事工如此重要呢？

    

      让我试着采用这首诗的模式。无论是教会里还是生活中，完全的破碎、极度的混乱常常是因为罪。许多时候，事情一开始似乎无法控制，我也不知道做什么；于是我照着诗人的办法，花时间记念神，记念他能做我做不到的事，记念他一次次所做的奇妙之事。然后，我盼望他的应许，就是医治万物，使万事更新。我知道耶稣来是要担当罪罚，使那些归向他的人可以有一个新的开始。我知道罪的严重性，以致你不可能对恶轻描淡写；我也知道神的恩典大过我们的罪。我相信圣经的教导，神设立我们这样地方教会的一个主要原因是形成一个信仰共同体，使他得以重新塑造他的百姓。思想这些事，帮助我和大家藉着祷告一同进入恢复的过程。

1. 您已经准备了一个图表描述您的想法，即在我们这样的地方教会，恢复是如何发生的。我们一起看看，请为我们讲解一下。

普世欢腾

我们在哪里（我们的处境）                              我们将来在哪里 (神的应许)

破碎 (因为我们的罪)                                         恢复(因为神的恩典)

神现在正在做的 (过程)

使世界和好 (在基督里)

    

我常常以这简单的图表形式来开始处理所面对的情况：有些是婚姻、有些是家庭的事、有些是教会内破碎的关系。不管多么棘手，我知道神不会听之任之，他差派耶稣开始了医治破碎的进程。正如我刚才说的，我相信神设立教会的一个原因就是要人在生命中参与他的和好工作。在加拉太书6：1-4，圣经说当罪与破碎出现在我们教会大家庭时，我们就要以谦卑良善的心开始恢复的进程，这是给我们的命令。我就是这样进入弟兄姊妹的生命，并执行图表的恢复进程。我相信神可以做的超过我的所求。

2. 我觉得“和好的过程” 并非容易，我们当采取什么步骤？

     

我对给出1-2-3这类的步骤有点犹豫，因为每个人不一定有同样的医治过程。圣经也没有给我们一个公式可以每次有效。我们都是领受神的呼召进入这个过程中，但并非精确知道事情是怎样进行的，必须不断回到神的面前寻求带领。但同时，我们也要继续走下去，因为神要我们如此。

      因此，我想给出这个过程中有关的几个词---这些词是与圣经一致的。

• 认罪 –全部真相都要显明出来；但是在无数的情况下，人们被发现的罪只是冰山一角。亚当夏娃犯罪后藏在树丛中，人们也在隐藏自己的罪。当我们感到羞耻，经历真实的罪疚感时，我们希望自己解决问题，但人是不可能处理藏在黑暗中的问题。尽管把问题带到亮光之下很痛苦，但这样做终极会带给我们自由。底线是：透明的态度对治愈是至关重要的。这并不是说要把罪广而告之，而是说参与治愈过程的人应该知道真相。
• 悔改 –这个词的意思就是向一个新方向转变，承认我们的罪给别人带来了很大的伤害。当我们有某种癖好时，就需要开始一个疗程把癖好的来源和原因连根拔起。在悔改中，我们要这样说：“主，我犯罪得罪了你和别人，我求你赦免。我求你让我知道如何向我伤害的人真诚道歉，寻求原谅。藉着你的恩典和能力，我不再这样活。” 当然，改变长期养成的癖好和生活方式需要专业辅导，比如12步疗法，并需要你对此负责，需要有教会大家庭的支持小组伴你同行。
• 管教 –我有意使用这个词，而没有用惩罚和定罪，尽管有效的管教常常会伴随着定罪。圣经中管教一词常常是以尽可能地恢复关系为目标。我说“尽可能”，是因为有家庭暴力或虐待所带来的破碎; 这种情况下, 不论尝试怎样的恢复，都不应该把受害者再次置于危险中。
• 圣灵在共同体工作 –我认为这一切都只会在你的教会大家庭发生，当你参与诚实的敬拜、小组活动、以及神要你做的服事工作，认真祷告，并在一种责任关系中的时候，神就会释放你，因为你回应他的呼召。

杰夫，这就是我对这一过程所想到的一些要点。

3. 对我来说，98篇里谈到的神定罪不是针对我们的终极目的，而是恢复过程的关键部分，我想就此谈一谈。

    

我们愿意被神恢复而不愿意被定罪，或宁愿被人定罪而不是被神定罪……我们会在此纠结，我就是这样。事实上，我们不喜欢神对我们实行审判，而希望在别人身上或不公义的地方看到“公义”和“审判”；我们盼望事情归正，但我们只是希望照我们的想法。特别是在我们所生活的世界，我们会假设正确的事（比如公义）就是我们所认为的正确，并假设有足够多的人像我们这样想或相信我们所想的；我们会假设不管什么错误都能被纠正；我们强调的正确更是人们所想的而非人们所做的！所有这些都是以人为中心，而非以神为中心，我们想成为实行审判的人，并藉着“正确”的审判让事情归正。但是，这首诗和我们的主题比判断是非更大，更是谈论神在和好过程中的审判角色……

4. 正如我们上周二的谈论，如果破碎得以治愈，复原得以发生，那么我所说的“个人因素”在和好进程中是非常重要的。98篇也提到了，请谈谈这个，也谈谈你的经验。

    

是的，杰夫，诗篇98谈到3个因素。以下就是我找到的必要的个人因素。

• 慈爱 (v.3) –正如神爱我们是为我们的最大好处，每一方都要以神的心为心体贴对方，每个人都当真正盼望别人得到最大的好处。这意味着从考虑自我转变到考虑别人。罪常常意味着我们曾向往的完美关系的失落；我们却渴望并祷告神的好处临到所有人。
• 委身 (v.3) –在第三节，慈爱这个词有深奥含义，指的是神立约要信实地爱所有悔改凭信归向他的人。神对我们委身，如果我们转向他，他就赦免我们并开始与我们同在。在和好的过程中，我们也需要彼此委身，需要对教会委身，需要在整个过程中荣耀神。我发现，恢复的实现，需要每一方都委身紧跟这个进程，因为我们都会遇到事让我们放弃。
• 公正 (v.9) –这是多么了不起的词，又是多么难做到的！这需要各方都说：“对啊，公正适用于我们所有人！” 这不是任何一方对另一方说：“我赢了，我做到了”；也不是一方说：“我被骗了”，这词对每一个人都好，对教会好，并最终在神眼中看为好。世人看到所发生的便会说：“他们的神真伟大！”
• 公义 (v.9) –在我们的社会，我们缺乏这个有力和美丽的词，这不光关乎审判---尽管公义是审判必须达到的目标；也不光关乎惩罚---尽管惩罚有时是必要的。公义的意思是：“万事归正”，当公义实现时：

1) 所有的错误都必除去；

2)合宜的管教将会实行；

3) 真诚的道歉将被听到；

4) 必有赦免和被赦免；

5) 各方重新委身，活出荣耀神的生活。

      杰夫，这看起来太理想了，但你和我都看见这是可行的；只要定睛在神的恢复计划，并照这个方向一步步走。在一开始或其中某些地方也许看来不可能，但我们能为此做见证，因为事实上，是神自己在他公义的护理下带来恢复。

5. 您盼望诗篇98篇将会带给我们个人、家庭和教会怎样的改变？

杰夫，那可太多了。我祷告，我们不要在看人时只看他的过去，而要看到若神在他身上动工他会是什么样子。  我还这样祷告，我们教会不论是谁，当生活中有失败的时候，不要放弃。事实上，我们的属灵领袖之一，大卫劳弗曾对我说过：“我们都需要被寻回，都需要从罪中得释放，都需要被恢复重新与主同行。” 他说的没错。我祷告，我们都能认真对待罪所造成的破碎，不要忽视它；同时，我盼望大家可以参加到小组、课堂、学生事工等等，参与在神的救赎、使人和好与复原的事工中。

  

我祷告，我们会庆祝每一个复原---每个生命都有一个新的开始；我祷告我们教会可以是一个属灵成长的地方； 愿这一切实现，就让我们唱 “普世欢腾，主已来临！”

荣耀归给神！

Greg Waybright 博士

主任牧师