2024-06-23 San Jose CRC-sermon Only - Gil Suh

Psalm 84

Series: In Transition

“Blessing in the Valley”

Mavis Moon does Prayers of the People

Transcript:

Mavis Moon: 

Let's join with each other in prayer. Our Creator God, every day we can wake up and say, this is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice.

And be glad in it. Today we rejoice in it by coming to your house of worship and joining with our brothers and sisters in Christ to sing praises to you, greet each other with your peace, listen to your word, and leave with that word engraved on our hearts. We rejoice in your creation, too, by noticing the beauty around us.

You could have just created a world that gave us what we need, but you created a world that gives us so much more than what we need. Thank you for your effusive generosity in giving us the beauty of flowers and plants in abundance, providing food for us in incredible colors, shapes, and even scents.

Thank you for our fellow creatures, the birds, the animals, the sea animals, even the insects. That all contribute to the never ending cycle and interdependency that we live in together. Thank you for the skies, the blue and the clouds by day, and the stars, planets, and universes we glimpse by night. We are surrounded by your generosity.

Our Father God. Thank you for your love, the love of a good, good father. Thank you that you have made us your sons and daughters. Forgive us for the many times we fail to show our brotherly and sisterly love to each other. Fill us with your love so that we can reflect that love to all those around us. We ask you to remember our sisters and brothers in the church, especially those who suffer with pain or disease.

We think of Richard Fern Marcus and of Arlette Verink. We think of Jackie's friend, Ruth, who's getting surgery, and Cheryl's sister, Lori, and the difficult move and changes that she's going through. We pray, too, for the missionaries who are meeting in Korea and for traveling mercies. We know that there are many others who need your comfort and strength.

Perhaps because of loneliness or mental health, disabilities or conditions that we're not thinking of right now. You know us from the inside. You know our every need. Let us fill, let us feel and be filled with your healing presence. God of mystery, many things are happening that don't make sense to our limited human mind.

There are terrible wars that are killing not only soldiers but also innocent children. There are fires, floods like the one the Rock Valley CRC is experiencing, and other natural disasters. There are heat waves that especially affect the weak and poor. People are arguing over many things, political, religious, and more.

We often wonder why. Why do all these bad things happen? Why can't we live in peace with each other? We don't know why, and it seems like we can't get that answer from you. It's a mystery, but what we do know is that you are here. You are in us, with us, around us, and you love us. Let that love fill our hearts and give us the peace that passes all understanding.

Now bless this worship service as we continue. Open our hearts and minds to Gil's words as he meditates on your word. Give Ruth inspiration and creativity as she shares her artistic talent in response to our worship. Let us be uplifted by the prayers and praises we do together. Fill us with your spirit which is hovering all around us just like it did over the chaos in the beginning.

In your son Jesus's name we pray. Amen.

Joey Rypstra:

This morning's scripture reading is from Psalm 84. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty. My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord. My heart and flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young. A place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God.

Blessed are those who dwell in your house, they are ever praising you. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage, as they pass through the valley of Baca. They make it a place of springs. The autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.

Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty. Listen to me, God of Jacob. Amen. Look on our shield, O God. Look with favor on your anointed one. Better is one day, better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. For the Lord God is a sun and shield.

The Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you. This is the word of God.

Gil Suh:

So the title of the message today is, uh, blessings in the valley. I already mentioned to you that I am playing tennis regularly in just a few years, a lot of fun, but these days I must tell you my tennis journey is not going well. I keep losing, not winning. It seems like I'm not progressing. I'm actually.

Getting worse. I think I'm some kind of slump. Thought crossed the other day after I lost another match. Coming home, should I give up? Because it's kind of discouraging, right? If you were my tennis coach, what would you say? What would you do? Give up? Keep trying, right? Or kind of encouraging, or, um Or trying to sort of, uh, remind me of the big picture, right?

Just don't, just focus like, you know, you can get through this, all that, right? You have that goal, you know, you, you, you just look back how far you have come, right? So just keep going. It's not only tennis. If any kind of skill or learning, I think any kind of coach or mentor will do the similar things, right?

Encouragement. Don't give up. Look at the big picture. How far you have come. Keep going. I'm here to help you and all that. Now I'm going to talk about different journey, right? Faith journey. Well, we like to be more predictable. You know, when we deal with our faith, our relationship with God, we want to have a plan.

So I want to move from here to there. I want to be close to God. Smooth and step by step, you know, progressing. And we assume, unaware, to be in the driver's seat. You know, setting goals, and executing plans, and expecting certain results. However, the realities are much more complicated, and adventurous, and quite uncertain.

It seems like we are making some progress, but then sometimes we feel like we are getting far from God. Psalm 84, that we just read, talks about the pilgrims who travel, wherever they are, to Zion, Jerusalem. They are called blessed, not because they experience easy and smooth travel. but because they are committed to this pilgrimage to the presence of living God because of their commitment, because what they're doing in the side of God, they are blessed.

So Psalm 84 described this blessed journey in terms of its goal and process and the result or fruit. And this journey, however, is a journey that you and I are into together as a local church family as well as individuals. So start with a goal. The goal of faith journey is to live our life directed to God.

So if life is a journey, faith is journey, where are we heading to? Where are we going? Who is guiding us? What is helpful? Especially when we travel together. And even when we travel alone, that is an important question. Where am I going? Who is helping me? But especially when we are traveling together, and you all know that as a family, it is very important that you agree on where you're going before you start.

Otherwise, you know, there will be a lot of confusion and fighting. Like, are we still there? Where are we going? Are we there yet? You know that. So if not specific destination or exact timeline, then at least general direction or purpose of journey need to be shared among the travelers. So what is the direction and purpose of our journey?

First and foremost, it's about getting closer to God. The pilgrims in Psalm 84, you know, they may have a different background, they're coming from different places, but they're all going to the same direction. The Mount Zion, Jerusalem, more specifically temple. Why? Why are they going there? They are going there to worship Him.

Somehow they believe that being there is in the presence of living God. That's their desire. That's their purpose of their journey. So question is the same for us. We have many interests and needs in our life. But what are we most interested in life? What do we live for ultimately? What's our heart's deepest desire?

So at a local church like ours, Even though we are relatively small, but we are still all different. But I believe we have the same desire to know God and be known by Him more. So each of us can confess together with these pilgrims, My soul yearns, even faints for the course of the Lord. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

You may say,

Oh,

not, maybe that's not what I really exactly always wanted, but I'm talking about our deepest desire. If we really pure up, you know, this need and this desire and all that, I want that this interest. But if we believe that we are creating God's image created to have fellowship with God, if we believe that.

And if you believe what St. Augustine said, God create this vacuum in our hearts that we try to fill that void. We always feel empty, but we try to fill that void with all these other things. But St. Augustine said, the Lord, but only you can fill that void

deep down inside so deep that we sometimes aren't even aware. That is God we long for. We cry out for an experience of God himself. And that's at the core of our faith journey. Then coming to church is like, in that journey, pulling off the road into a rest stop to find refreshment and renewal for the next stage of journey, just to make sure that are we going right direction.

That's why we come to church. Maybe they may have other reasons. We have a different needs, different preferences, but coming to church together, worship, fellowship, at the heart, that's what we desire. When that common desire, common goal is not clear, That's when both churches kind of going off or our individual as a part of church, we are also going off the track.

So we remind and encourage each other of our most important and common desire is to be close to God and know him and be like Christ. And if that is true, I hope, and then we are blessed no matter who we are in the eyes of God. So that's the goal part. Now, second part is a process of faith journey. The process of that journey is long and hard that requires our patience and God's strength.

In a way, setting a goal is easy part. compared to process. But getting there is a different story. So when we travel, we usually want to get to the destination as quickly and efficiently as possible. If delayed for some reason, we feel frustrated and agitated, the same can be true of our spiritual journey.

Deep inside, we are like those, you know, children. Are we there yet? So journey to be close to God is not a smooth ride. We should expect going through bumpy roads and even through the valley of Baca. So today, the pilgrims who are now heading to Zion, Psalm is saying, as they go through the valley of Baca.

we should notice. It's not if as they go through value, but there's no other way but to reach Zion to go through other than go through going through valley. And the valley is not a pleasant valley. It's actually very, very challenging valley. The value of Baca means Baca is tears, mourning, suffering.

God allows the value of Baca to the pilgrims of faith whose desire is to be close to God and be like Christ.

But then when we are in that valley like situation, we may feel like the whole world is collapsing us. Although I mentioned something about tennis, it feel like kind of giving up. Feel like you're not making a progress. You feel like, okay, I'm supposed to go up. Mount Zion. But why am I going down? Right?

They're going down to the valley. And you don't see any way up? Feeling like being in a cave. The other day I mentioned with no way out. But actually a valley is like a tunnel, right? There's an end. But we don't see that. That's why we need to be patient and persevering. In faith's journey, going through a valley is painful and trying, and yet, more often than not, it's a necessary process for our sanctification, meaning getting closer to God.

So think about an ocean liner, you know, this big ship with the containers. Riding and sailing smoothly in the water and ocean. Just picture that. That's what ocean liner supposed to be and doing. Smooth ride. But once in a while, even that big ocean liner need to be coming out of the water to make sure that internal cracks would not sink that ship.

So that big, another picture is, instead of riding smoothly in the water, now that big ocean liner is lifted, and then what? Under the surface. It's not as clean as on top. There's some cracks, there's all kinds of dirty stuff. But it needs to be necessary to, to examine, survey, and then fix as needed. Thank you.

We may feel in the valley like that ocean liner being exposed, somewhat kind of feeling vulnerable, even there is a sense of guilt, shame, of failure,

but here, remember, in that process, in that valley, when we feel all by ourselves, alone, but God does not leave us alone. His promise is to be on our side and to walk with us and give us strength.

Remember, God is both transcendent and imminent, meaning God is way up there. That's where we are going. That's our faith journey's goal. That's God is transcendent, but God is imminent too. He's right there with us as we go through this journey. So that's the mystery of faith. God is there, but God is here, too.

So, faith journey is that kind of process. Now, the fruit of faith journey, the result, when we go through this process, as we go through this process, is a being of blessing. First, being blessed, because we are on that journey. We respond, and God's invitation to this journey. So then God says, you are blessed.

Then we are also going to be a blessing to others along the way. So that's verse six. We read, The pilgrims, as they go through the valley of Bacca, they make it a place of springs. Springs represent life, delight, and joy. Valley of Bacca represents the shadow of death. suffering. So as the pilgrims in that, with that, that goal and that process, as the pilgrims go through value of baka, somehow their presence turn that place into a place of springs.

They become the channel of blessing and life. This is start from actually our faith forefather Abraham, because when God called Abraham first, he said, I will bless you and you'll be a blessing to the nations. It's a double blessing. So in, in, um, Psalm 84, there are two blessings. Bless are those who are on that journey.

And also bless are those who turn this place of Vaca suffering into a blessing. a place of springs.

The question is, as we go through our life situation that are more like the Valley of Bacchae, how is it possible that we can be the channel of blessings in life? And that's an important question for us as a local church to discern our way forward, too, not about just only individuals or how we can just survive in this Valley of Bacchae.

Because God's calling is not just to survive and go through this, but how can we fulfill that Abrahamic blessings that is for us individually and as a church?

Considering the value of Baca, I couldn't help but to think about the valley we are in. So we are in this Santa Clara Valley, right? Also known as Silicon Valley. The value of baka is a place of struggling with the brokenness and sadness. As I mentioned, but what about our value that we are living in today?

Now, here, I just say upfront is no exception on the outside, peaceful, prosperous.

We are living in this one of the So many ways, very unique world changing movers and shakers are here. So whatever is happening here is changed, like impact the world. So we are living in a very important and impressive place. I think there's a little bit over. So yeah, some of us have that kind of pride.

You know, I live in Silicon Valley. Wow. People are paying attention to what's happening here. They would love to move in here. If they could afford it. But in reality, that's outside. Inside this valley. Behind these peaceful and nice houses and nice cars being driven. No exception. It's another valley of baka.

People's lives broken. Struggling with all kinds of problems. Mental health issues, addictions, broken relationships. lonely. And they try to, like St. Augustine tells us, trying to fill that void with accomplishment, competition, who's to be the next, the big thing. And if that's the true, if that's what you also agree, then how can we be used by God to be a blessing in this dry, parched valley?

and make it a place of spring.

Yes, for us first, ourselves, but also for others. If we faithfully serve God and people around us in the name of Jesus, God will bring out fruit through us in His way and in His time. It may seem so insignificant, small, and all the more, it's precious, it's life giving.

He will do more than we can ask or imagine. And this is not just a one time thing or just at church. It is who we are and our way of life as God's people and Christian witnesses anywhere we find ourselves to be. Isn't that a wonderful promise that they go from strength to strength. Each day. We pray for our daily bread.

I introduce you to do that. If you don't have your own way of begin the day, I highly recommend as you get up first thing in the morning, just say a Lord's prayer. And in that Lord's prayer, give us our daily bread. That daily bread represent what we need that day. Not only just food, strength, wisdom, love in our hearts in dealing with God will be.

Very delight to answer their prayer. If we really, really want to live our life each day, recognizing, yes, I don't have answer or resource for the challenge that we face, but we go from strength, strength, strength, as God provides our need from that place and on. So that's why the pilgrims travel in group.

Not alone. We are called to travel together in our faith journey, and that's what a local church is about. We are both gathered and scattered. We don't travel this faith journey alone, we continue our journey of faith together until when? Psalm 84 also give us the picture, until each of us appear in Zion.

Temple, tabernacle, Church, fellowship, all about the presence of God, the imminent presence of God now. But our ultimate goal is to appear in the presence, perfect presence of God in heaven.

Maybe, I maybe already told you this story. So as a, as a conclusion, I thought this may be a good story to tell you. There's a story about a master asking two servants. the feel this tub with water. So there are two tops, almost identical. Here's a one tough, full of water, and this tub is empty. Carry the water bucket by bucket, and they put it in here.

That's what master told the servants to do. So servants started carry the water bucket by bucket. Big top. It's gonna be taking a while. Then soon they realized this empty bucket has a hole. So, just water is just drained. It's like, then one of them is like, Oh, what's the point? Why master in asking us to do this seemingly foolish or futile task?

Ah, I don't feel like doing it. But then the other servant is like, Hmm,

but we love our master. You know, he's not one of those oppressive, you know, the slave owner type. He's a good master. I trust him. Let's just keep doing it without the love and trust. Yeah. Even with love and trust is hard, but he's going to come back. Let's do it. Just keep encourage the other. Okay. They kept carrying until this, the top that was full of water became almost empty.

And they found out at the bottom, bottom of that tuff, there was a gold. The point was not filling this tuff. They didn't know the point was emptying this tuff.

I think that's how it goes with our faith journey often. As followers of Christ, we are called to be in this faith journey toward God. And as we go through a process of being formed to the likeness of Christ, it's a long and slow journey, feeling like carrying bucket by bucket water from here to here.

And feels like, what's the point? You may wonder. All kinds of obstacles and temptations along the way. So we encourage and support each other, above all. The Spirit of God is within us to guarantee the outcome, the fruit, and empower us to move forward. Along the way, we can be the channels of blessing to others who are in challenging and hopeless situations just like us.

And that's a blessed fruit. So with this goal, process, and fruit in mind, let's continue. Our faith journey, fixing our eyes on Jesus Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith, who call us to this faith journey in the first place. And he will be faithful to the end. And he's already with us, giving us strength daily, what we need, the journey ahead, day by day.

From one point to the next. So as you now begin another week. Keep this in mind. And today is a special because you'll be visually reminded us. So this artwork that will be displayed in our, uh, the lobby. So when you next Sunday come, you can remember the message as well. Let us pray.

God of our pilgrimage, you have given us a desire and a calling to set out on our journey of faith. As we live our life, there are many lower directions that we are pulled, allured, lured and tempted. But Lord, our deepest desire is to be on the journey of faith towards you. Just like the psalmist, my heart cried out.

the living God. My soul yearns and thirst for the presence of God.

So help us to keep our eyes fixed on Christ, that whatever we encounter as we travel, we may seek to glorify you by the way we live. Not because we have to, but because we love to. Lord, you know our beginning and our end. Help us to realize we are only pilgrims on this earth. And save us from being too attached to worldly pleasures and earthly