Pastor Jon Burgess
September 16, 2018 - W1837

Our goal with this new series, Vintage Faith, is to learn from those who have gone before us and written songs that have stayed with the church for ages! A reason that these songs have stood the test of time is that their theology and truth were lived out in horrible circumstances—yet, they believed what they say! 

True worship comes during the most difficult places and times (when everything seems to be falling apart), not with hundreds of people around you singing the chorus of truth in the face of impossible circumstances.

In 1873 when Horatio Spafford wrote, "When peace, like a river, attendeth my way," he wasn't sitting by a nice river on a peaceful day; no, he wrote that in the middle of the ocean as his ship passed by where his four daughters had drowned in a shipwreck, and where his wife, Anna, barely escaped with her life!

Mr. Spafford received a telegram from his wife saying, “I alone am saved. What shall I do?” And, of course, he immediately got on a ship and asked the captain to let him know, specifically, when they approached the same area where his four daughters passed away. Instead of raising his fists at the heavens and shouting, "God this is your fault! Why would you let this happen to me?" he grabbed some stationery and began writing the song that we sing today, "It is well with my soul."

Where does that kind of faith come from? Why would you sing when something horrible is happening? That seems as though you're living in denial, trying to avoid feeling the horror of the loss.

The reason that God asks us to sing of our faith during a tragedy is that He wants us to know that what He says is more real than what we feel—that the highest songs will often rise from the lowest places!

Colossians 3:15-16 NIV says,“15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 

We're commanded both in Colossians and Ephesians to sing when we gather together—not because we feel like singing, but because we are commanded to! When I sing, it actually allows the words of Christ to rule in my heart, and I’m not just mouthing somebody else's words, I'm turning them into my prayer!

The devil will do his best to keep you from singing in the face of your circumstance; yet, that's when the best songs come! Maybe you have stopped singing; my prayer is that God would restore your song, and you sing with Horatio Spafford, "It is well with my soul."

1. Sing Out Loud

In Psalm 32:3-4 (NIV) David says, “³When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. ⁴ For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped   as in the heat of summer^. “ 

David is talking about the need for confession! It's important that we not keep silent, but that we let it out! We must sing out what's true because it helps our brain to remember things! We can memorize better when something is put to music; the Psalms were written in the context of songs that God's people used to worship for generations!

Have you noticed that you can still remember the ridiculous jingles you sang as a kid? The pneumonic sounds in the jingles grab hold of our brain, and we can memorize the truth of God's word in the face of lies and devastating situations!

In fact, New Hope’s next worship album will be all Scriptures taken from the Psalms; and be released at our Doing Church as a Team (DCAT) Conference in February. When you memorize these songs you're actually memorizing scriptures; you can sing in the face of your circumstances and situations. Sing them out loud and…

2. Sing Right Now

Don't put it off. Don't delay. You must sing the truth of God's word right in the middle of whatever circumstance you’re in. Sing immediately because, sometimes, the circumstance that you're in will not wait for Saturday night service. You must sing the truth of God's word right in the middle of it! NOW!

Psalm 32:6-7 (NIV) says: "⁶Therefore let all the faithful pray to You while You may be found (there's an urgency) surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them. You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah."God wants to surround you and lift you up with songs of deliverance no matter how you feel. He will not leave you there. He will lead you through this!

Some may be asking, “Why should I sing?” Well, not only is it a command; it's also something that is wired where our faith rises. Let’s not say, “Well, I don't feel happy, so I'm not going to sing.” That's how the enemy gets us to stop singing. It's about the fact that we belong to someone who is more real than what I feel. What He says about me is still true even in the worst circumstances.

When we sing, God births a new faith, and we let our faith lead our feelings. Yes, your emotions are all real, but they're not in charge! When we sing in the face of our circumstances, we are telling our feelings and emotions, “The Lord is still the Lord, and so we're going to...”

3. Slow Down To Hear The Whisper of God

Psalm 32:8-9 (NIV) says:"⁸I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go... (receive prophetic download from God in the middle of a trial. Isn't that what we need when we're facing a dead end?) …I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.(you realize there's a bunch of feelings you haven't dealt with and He says,) ⁹Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you."  

When Anna Spafford had escaped the shipwreck and was unconscious, she was found on a piece of driftwood racked with survivor's guilt. And she heard the whisper of her Savior saying, "Anna, you were saved for a purpose." In the middle of the worst circumstances in his life, God gave Horatio a vision, and even though he and Anna had lost their children, they actually moved to Jerusalem, and said, “We're going to help kids who have lost their parents.” They went through the grieving process, and God gave them a vision to move to Jerusalem during World War I; the Spaffords built a hospital, orphanage, and a soup kitchen. They shared what they found by allowing God to find them in the middle of their song; and they were able to come alongside others who had lost so much.

If we don't slow down, we won't hear the instruction of the Lord, and our souls will get sick; psychologically, it's called the seven stages of grief: shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, testing, and acceptance.

As a pastor, I go straight from stage one to stage seven in seven minutes, flat. We put the word of God on the side and carry these weights: We try to help everyone else through their loss as they're working through the anger, shock, grief, and loss. Pretty soon, we don't have anything to offer anybody else, because we're not dealing with what’s on our back—the hurt and pain in our soul.

God is saying, “Hey, Jon, you've got to slow down just like everybody else. You're human—not superhuman just because you're a pastor. In fact, maybe you need to actually model for folks what it looks like to slow down and grieve.” (We had just lost Jake, our hanai son, in a tragic accident.)

I had a million things to do, but I just realized that we went straight from that accident and loss to preaching on Sunday, then going into our anniversary service. But I forced myself to hike Makapuu Lighthouse Trail, and I did some soul work—got out my journal and just stayed there and cried for a while.

I just let it wash over me, and you know what, it's not depression—it's actually healthy. When you sing and let a song wash over you, you sing through the seven stages of grief, letting the Holy Spirit guide you through it. That's when the healing comes!

Some of us needed to be the strong one (to hold it all together) now there's an ache inside. I love the fact that the Spirit of God can take you right back to that place, if you let Him. Don't be stubborn like a mule or a donkey needing a bit and a bridle to direct you. If you want to go forward—sometimes you have to go back, and let the Holy Spirit heal you in that place.

When you do, God shows you something that will change you forever. That's why the final point is to...

4. Share What You’ve Found

Psalm 32:10-11 NIV says,"¹⁰Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord's unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in Him." ¹¹ Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!” I love that. When we feel surrounded with circumstances, He's bigger than everything that is trying to overwhelm us.

It was the Sunday after I'd lost Jake, our hanai son, in a tragic accident, that sweet little Francis walks up to me (you may not know her because she always comes to the 11 o'clock Sunday morning services,) and hands me an envelope and said, "I wrote a song during a really hard time in my life, and I think it's going to help you too."

And I read the song; it was so beautiful. It talked about Jesus and the love of God and how as long as we keep our eyes on Him, He will get us through no matter what we're facing—God wants to restore your song right now!

When we sing, "It is well with my soul," we're saying there's one thing that no situation or circumstance can ever change: My soul belongs to God, I don't know how much time I have on this earth, but I do know who holds my time, my heart, and nothing can pull me away from Him. God is truer than what I feel. And some of us need to grab hold of that song, sing it loud, and sing it right now!

STUDY QUESTIONS:

1. When was the last time you sang in the middle of a disheartening circumstance?

2. When was the last time you slowed down and allowed the spirit of God to move you forward?

3. How will the psalms remind you to sing?

4. What other scriptures resonate with you that will help you to sing out loud, sing now, and slow down?