Songs of Victory

Songs of Victory

Psalm 37:1-11; John 21

In May of 1942, Admiral Chester Nimitz received information of two new
developments in Japanese Naval movement. The first was that a group of
ships were moving toward Alaska, presumably to invade some of the
Aleutian Islands and establish a base of operations near the U.S. The
second was that there was a location of interest that might be receiving
some special attention by the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was only
recently that the Japanese radio code had been broken, and he could be
sure what it was they were talking about – often they weren't even
completely sure of the translations – so the commander of U.S. forces in
the Pacific couldn't be sure, but he trusted his instincts. He trusted
the information and advice of those around him and he made a confident
decision in that trust. Because of that trust, America won a crucial
battle and probably turned the tide of the war. Trust brings Victory.

Trust Brings Victory.
A lack of trust causes a loss of that victory. We see that when Peter
denies Christ three times. If you've seen Mel Gibson's stirring
portrayal of the Passion, you see loss of trust in Peter's eyes. Because
he loses his trust in the very one he called "The Christ, the Son of the
Living God" he lost his security and his growth. Those are two of the
three things that come from Victory – Security and Growth. Let's look at
what David calls us to do in the opening verses of Psalm 37:

Do not fret because of evil men
Or be envious of those who do wrong;
For like the grass the will soon wither
Like the green plants the will soon die away.

It's to reassure us. It's a command – "Do not fret." This is coming from
David, a man who experienced just cause to fret – he ran for nearly 2 or
3 years to protect his life from the king of Israel. A man on the run
writes the words, do no fret. Why is that? He never lost his trust in
God, and he never lost his Victory. Like many of the Psalms David wrote,
we see the trust that he has in God even in his darkest hours. We see
the same in Christ in His darkest hours He trusts in God and He finds
his Restoration to renew his strength, His Security, to withstand all
that is thrown at Him, and the ability to Grow others.
We now see the third result of Victory – Restoration. Here we find that
which David knew and wrote songs about – Trust which brings Victory, and
that allows for Security, Restoration, and Growth.

Victory brings Security:

Trust in the Lord and do good;
Dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

Dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Security – safe pasture. What
does Security mean to us? Is it knowing that we'll be able to pay the
bills, or that we'll be able to go and enjoy a favorite pastime? To the
disciples we don't really know what security meant to them, but as we
see what they did after they lost their trust and their victory – we see
how the disciples on the road to Emmaus responded to Christ when he
asked them what had happened. We also see it in that how Peter simply
says "I'm going to go fishing." Even though he has already seen Christ
resurrected and eating with him. Heard and watched as Thomas touched
Christ and exclaimed "My Lord and my God." Peter still doesn't feel that
Victory that Thomas and some of the others do – granted six others go
with Peter when he goes fishing,
Fishing was what he knew before Christ called him, it was his blanket.
If anyone has seen Shrek, you might remember the scene where Shrek and
Donkey are crossing the molten lava on the rickety rope bridge. They get
half way across the bridge and are doing fine, then Donkey missteps and
breaks one of the slats. He looks down and sees the lava and starts
freaking out. He loses his trust and he loses his victory. That lost he
looks for the security he knows "Move out the way Shrek." He's halfway
through it, but he wants to go back. Why? "Because I know that half's
safe!" Donkey goes back to what he knows. So do we, so did Peter. We can
only think of the things we knew were safe before we started on the
journey. So where is the trust? Donkey is eventually coerced across the
bridge. Peter hears a voice "Have you caught anything? Oh… throw your
net on the /other/ side of the boat." Why does he do this? He trusts.
And what happens? The nets get so full that all the disciples that are
there cannot lift the nets. Peter trusts again and gets his security
back. But don't just take my word for it. Look it up in John 21, and
then see what other security Peter finds.
We take what Peter found for himself and apply it our lives now. What is
our security – the things we knew before Christ? For me, it's learning
things; it's being able to try to get my head around the whole of an
issue before I make a move. But does that show the trust that I should
have in God? No, and I could not begin to tell how many time I have lost
my victory and security because of a lack of trust. As I look to where
my life is going now, I see that the only way I can maintain any
semblance of peace – security is a synonym in this case – is if I trust
that the Lord knows what's best. I do that, I simply trust in Him, and
in that time I have peace and am ok with taking that step out in faith –
and in Victory.

Victory brings Restoration:

Commit your way to the Lord;
Trust in Him and He will do this:
He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn
The justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

Once the victory is won, the cleanup after the battle is never easy. But
cleaning up only occurs after the fighting subsides. Looking to recent
events, we see that we could only start rebuilding the southeast after
the fury of Katrina and Rita has passed. Even in our local area after
last year's floods in the Vernonia region, nothing could get done until
the rains had stopped. Granted, a battle against nature is almost purely
one-sided, and it is out of our control to change nature, but the
picture is still there. Only after Victory is gained can that which was
broken before be restored. One of the best examples I find of this in
scripture is in John 21. Continuing in our story with Peter, we find
that he has trusted in the Lord again has regained his security – so
much so that he again leaves his nets to others and jumps out to swim to
the shore and meet the Lord. The others finally make it back to shore
and find a small breakfast of their fish cooking. At this time Jesus
does something with Peter. He asks three questions. Christ could only
ask these questions, however, if the person he was asking them was
ready. You see, I think that ever since Peter saw Christ look at him
when he had finished denying Christ, there was a battle raging in the
mind and soul of Peter. But now Christ has seen Peter several times, and
just witnessed Peter placing his trust in Him without any proof as to
why he should. Christ knows the battle in Peter has subsided and that
Peter now has Victory. But for that victory to be complete, Peter must
be restored, rebuilt.
Now Victory is complete, you rebuild and renew anything that had been
destroyed. Peter is now ready to be rebuilt. "Peter, do you love me?"
Three times Christ asks Peter this question. Most theologians believe
this corresponds with the three denials of Christ Peter made. This all
makes sense – things must be rebuilt either the same way or better, and
who but the master architect to rebuild the one of whom he said "You are
called Simon, but now I call you Cephas, Peter, which means Rock because
on this foundation will I build my church, and it's gates not even Hell
can assail." Peter is renewed – restored to his former position. In the
same way, as we claim the Victory we have in Christ by trusting, that is
leaning or relying on, or to be confident, in Him, we find ourselves
being renewed.
Trusting in the Lord is to delight in the Lord. Look at verse 4 in the
Psalm. "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires
of your heart." What are your hearts desires right now? We've already
talked about one general desire of the human heart – security and
whatever that means to you. Here's another general desire of the human
heart – don't we all feel that there's something not exactly the way
it's supposed to be? Now I'm not talking about our hearts as one of my
former mentors used to refer to as our "bloody thumper." I'm speaking
about our spiritual hearts. Most of us who are not in denial anymore
realize that there are some broken things rattling around in there, I
know that I have. I have broken communications, broken understanding of
myself and of others. But as I trust in God I see, as Christ saw in the
garden, that the war is over and I see the Victory and my heart begins
to change. I have my hope in the fact the God has won, /and/ that He
sees me in a different way than I see myself once I have placed my trust
in Him. My heart becomes restored to the place, the way it was before
the fall, where I have communion and relationship with God. I am
restored to what I was before the war came. However, there is something
better still, as David suggests in the Psalm, I – we - becomes even
better than before.

Victory brings Growth:

Whenever we see Security and Restoration together, we invariably also
see Growth occur. After 9/11, our thoughts of security were gone. We did
not know what was safe to do. Because people weren't sure what was going
on, the country's collective idea of safety and security was difficult
to find. As a result of that we saw many things that had been growing
grind to a halt or even go backwards. Our economy which had just started
to rebound was slammed back into the basement and took another year and
a half to climb back out. But once we felt safe, about year or so after,
what happened? Growth in all sectors of the economy – we saw the job
market grow so much so that in the middle of last year, the unemployment
rate was under 5% which is lower than it had ever been. As people felt
safe, they restored their old habits. As New York felt safe, they forged
on to restore the great Twin Towers. But they didn't just restore the
twin towers as they were before – they grew them. Frequently, when we
are restoring something, we take extra time to grow it into something
better.
When Christ restored Peter on the shore of the sea of Tiberius, He also
began the growing process to make Peter something more than he had been
before. As we look back through the gospels, we see Peter as act first
think later guy. Not that this is a bad thing, in faith we see many
great heroes of scripture acting before they think of the practical
solution to something. But as with many others, Peter often acted not
out of the Spirit's leading, but out of what he thought was good common
sense. When Christ called Peter three times to feed his lambs and sheep,
Christ put into him a reminder of who it was that Peter was to give to
the flock and how. This opens up Peter for the growth we see in Acts.
Peter grew so much once he understood where his security was, and had
been restored, all through the Victory gained by Trusting in Christ. And
how much can we grow as we do the same? I have learned that as I
continue to place more trust in God, understanding more of whom I am now
that I am His – and more so trusting that what He has said about me is
true. The more I trust that I am a child of God, a co heir with Christ
the more I grow in the knowledge that I am saved, I am changed, and a
new creation of God. As I grow in this I can grow closer in my
relationship with God, I grow stronger in my Victory, realize my
security, enjoy my restoration, and grow even more.

I desire Security, Restoration and Growth:

So where does this leave us now? "Trust in the Lord. . . Delight in the
Lord. . . Commit your way to the Lord. . ." That is what we must do.
Trust in the Lord, and why shouldn't we? After all He created everything
and knows everything about you. We look back at the life of David the
writer of Psalm 37. Whether fleeing for his life or facing a large man
or beast, he trusted God and received the victory every time. What are
you facing now? What losses are you experiencing? What hurts, what
destruction has the brokenness of this world put before you that call
out for rebuilding? Is there some fear that you have; some uneasiness
about where you are right now?
I know that as I sat at my desk writing this message out I was
overwhelmed by the responsibility of speaking God's word to His people.
But I trust that He will have His way. The words that have come from me
today, I am secure in the belief that they were the words that He gave
me – He allowed me to use. I have not always been ready or able to speak
in this manner, but because I put my trust in the Lord, He restored me
to a better relationship with Him that I might help others learn the
same. The last portion of our passage today was this:
A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy great peace.
Do you want a part in this Victory? It is not complicated to take part
in it – it's not rocket science. But it is the most difficult, simple
thing you can ever do. Trust in the Lord. Believe what He has said and
is saying today is True. Giving that trust requires all of who we are,
it must be complete trust. But the rewards of that Trust – Gaining the
ultimate Victory, how can you say no to that?