sermon summary: fat souls

Sunday’s sermon went fine. How do you gauge how it went? There’s a subject to write about! I titled it “Fat Souls”, based on Psalm 63. I talked about the kind of faith that wrote this psalm while in the desert.

In the beauty of God’s sanctuary, the peaceful, serene, secure, clear and comfortable sanctuary, David beheld God’s power, his glory, and his love. He had revelations of God’s character in times of worship, seeing clearly that God is almighty (power), beautifully above all others (glory), and that he consistently cares for his own (steadfast love).

David remembered these truths in the wilderness, even though he may not be presently experiencing these truths. The wilderness is where God’s character is challenged and even denied. It is in the desert where we lose sight of God’s power because he doesn’t seem to be doing anything to help us. It is in the wilderness where we lose sight of God’s glory because so many other powers seem to have preeminence in our lives. It is in the dry and weary land where we lose sight of God’s love because we don’t feel cared for. Yet, David still proclaimed these truths as if they were true. Why?

David had made a vow. “I will bless you as long as I live. I will lift up my hands and call on your name” (v. 4). He allowed the rich spiritual nourishment he experienced in the beauty of God’s sanctuary to fatten his soul (v. 5: “my soul is satisfied with fat and fatness”). He gorged himself on the revelation of God so that in desert times his soul would feed him and sustain his faith. This put David in the stronger position of searching for something (v. 1) that he knew existed because he didn’t allow the dryness of the desert to whither his previous revelation of God. You look for something you know exists. If you question its existence, the desert will defeat you. Remember the revelations and even experiences you’ve had of God’s character, and allow them to fatten your soul, and I believe this will help carry you through your desert experiences.

We closed with something that might be a little cheesy. I invited the congregation to repeat wedding vows after me to the Lord because I see our spiritual walk with the Lord as very parallel to marriage:
“I, David (your own name),
Do take you, Lord,
To be my God,
To have and to hold
From this day forward
For better, for worse,
For richer, for poorer,
In sickness and in health,
In the beauty of your sanctuary
And in the dryness of the desert,
To love and to cherish,
Until the day I die.
I pledge to you my love.”