Hillsong Church Phoenix | Highs And Lows (Psalms of Ascent) Psalm 122

hello everyone on this scorching hot Sunday welcome to church online for Hillsong Phoenix Scottsdale Mesa Glendale Tucson and Las Vegas Nevada or wherever you may be joining in from today that's right and whether you're watching alone or with friends and a viewing party from a coffee shop we're so honored to have you with us today and we just want to say to you welcome home we have worship coming to you from our beautiful downtown Cathedral where we've gathered with some campus pastor Hillsong college and church staff and we're believing for God to do something great in our time together today is Pentecost Sunday which is the day when the early believers were gathered in a home in an upper room in Jerusalem and there the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them so I believe that God can do some amazing things in your home today by the power of that same spirit and Pentecost was also the day that the church was born so let's believe for God to do great things across the life of our church globally as we gather online today [Music] [Applause] [Music] come on church wherever you are today those lips of the name we see I'm never seeing me me [Music] - gives his [Music] should be say you always see music chasing I know the pitchi moves [Music] oh she's sweet [Music] see his face to the earth ha shame [Music] we're not just on distant Thomas what is soon hopefully watch she wondered societies [Music] we'll see [Music] having strong and I've been broken within a moment have been faithful and I've been vaguely sit a free bed I've held everything together much to share to I've stood toe in the same [Music] [Music] Oh [Music] you're still [Music] how was yours before I was gracious me mommy stay gotcha shred [Music] I don't deserve this count the love but sir it's kind of loves who you it's crazy I can never ever to be somebody you sir [Music] [Applause] [Music] grace she's crazy [Music] our shoes before you wear this job [Music] [Applause] [Music] don't deserve this card sir this kind of love you it's crazy I can Liberator be somebody sir me me he's with you so - Claire [Music] she loves me [Music] ha ha [Music] haha Oh yeah [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] nice be read like a four-year-old comes to me to me oh here [Music] [Applause] [Music] you're crazy [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] slash [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] holy spirit' [Music] great as I sing Holy Smoke there's a clue [Music] [Applause] there's a cool [Music] [Laughter] [Music] Wow what beautiful worship God's presence is here and he is so faithful to meet us every time we call on the name of Jesus in every space in every season no matter what we're going through we can count on God to be with us and right now we're gonna take this moment as a church to unite together in prayer prayer isn't a last resort it is divine dialog with the God of heaven that is powerful and it makes a difference Hebrews 4:16 says so let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God there we will receive His mercy and we will find grace to help us when we need it most we can pray with faith today we can believe together for grace to rush in and help in every area of need so come on right where you are I want to invite you lift your voice with me and let's pray together Heavenly Father thank you that you love us thank you that you are for us and not against us and we stand firm on your promises today God we just thank you that you care about every person and every prayer request and so we come boldly to your throne right now asking for help believing for miracles and we just lift up some specific prayer requests that people have brought someone's praying for salvation and health for a family for a sister who has been battling a ten year battle with heroin God we pray breakthrough in her life right now let the circumstances be changed disrupt what the enemy is doing and we pray that you would bring about good in that family so we're praying for restoration and relationships peace and unity in relationships with a son Lord you are the God who makes all things new and so we trust you we trust you are working we trust that you are with us and we can count on you to come through every single time and so Lord we just pray right now that you would bring peace to every situation that needs we pray for unity in our land we pray for justice at work on our watch we pray for reconciliation among all people and we pray Lord send revival in the name of Jesus we pray amen amen Church I love the fact that we are never short on praise reports God continues to answer prayer and we're gonna celebrate that so feel free to clap and praise God from wherever you are cuz it's gonna be good someone is thanking God saying I was healed from a debilitating attack of vertigo thank you god someone else says my brother tested negative for Kovan 19 amen someone else thanking God they received a promotion at work and the last one I'll share says business is going really well I've done more business in the past week than I've done all of 2019 how incredible is that praise God for good reports yes yes yeah it's incredible I love it powerful praise God hey so happy that you're with us today we're setting this time aside for God just like we've always done and God is faithful to love and lead us just like he always is let's make use of that chat today don't stay quiet we'd love to see you in there let us know if something blesses you in church today in fact right now let us know where you're watching from what city what area code the for a doe maybe if you're linking in through the Hillsong Phoenix dot online platform you'll see a series of buttons across the top of your screen or in the chat where you can receive live prayer you can give and you can get involved you can also have the chance to let us know that you surrendered your life to Jesus a little later on in the service if you're joining us on YouTube you'll have those same opportunities by texting the number our host will provide now-now-now well hey we want to take an important moment right now to worship God by receiving our weekly tithes and offering together mine as we give today I think about the wise men and their offering fit for a king and then I think about the Widow's mite when a poor Widow gave an offering fit for a king today you're able to give an offering fit for the king if our heart is to exalt him and sacrifice for him then he reigns in our hearts we can all engage in this moment by clicking the give button or texting the number on your screen thank you for giving and I'm gonna pray over you today lord thank you so much for every single person that's a part of church today I pray a special blessing upon them god I pray that you would maximize our giving today you would maximize it in our community that it would go to do incredible things for your kingdom for the welfare of the cities that we live in god I pray that you would maximize our giving in our hearts and in ourselves God that we would go further longer because we chose to put you first today thank you God for what you are doing in this season thank you for what you're gonna do we are yours you are ours we love you in Jesus mighty name a man [Music] ha [Music] [Music] so [Music] subtle [Music] yes [Music] [Music] yes your thoughts be [Music] the buzz [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] is yours to use to make my you [Music] [Music] well Thank You Tracy and team what a beautiful song on this Pentecost Sunday hey this morning we're continuing on with our sermon series on the Psalms of ascent so grab your Bible and something to take notes on and turn with me to Psalm 122 now for those who may be wondering what in the world the psalm of ascent is there are 15 songs in the Book of Psalms that were sung by the tens of thousands of pilgrims who made their way up to Jerusalem to celebrate the feasts of Israel each year just think of Woodstock or Coachella this is actually nothing at all like that but it does bring an image to mind these songs were the soundtrack of their faith the mixtape for the road trip the playlist that they listened to year after year generation after generation as they made their pilgrimage back to their beloved city now the reason they are called the Psalms of ascent is because Jerusalem is high on a hill at about 27 or 2,800 feet in elevation so they had to climb to reach it to put it in some perspective quema back mountain right here in Phoenix is about the same height Sentinel peak in Tucson is about the same height and the top of the stratosphere in Las Vegas is less than half the height actually Las Vegas are surrounded by some massive and impressive mountains so just imagine climbing any one of those mountains while singing singing while climbing can you imagine that last time I climbed Camelback Mountain was in October of 2018 and it was with Pastor Brian and with Lee burns the executive vice president of Hillsong College and pastor Kyle Turner from Kansas City we actually got a late start and began to climb at about 1:30 in the afternoon and Pastor Brian had to preach in Mesa that evening I can promise you there was no singing on the journey there was only the sound of and the occasional I think I'm having a heart attack but we made it we made it these songs of a sins are not just songs about geography though their songs that draws upwards spiritually they lift us from loneliness and hopelessness and despair they fled our hearts with expectation and gratitude show us picture of renewal and recovery and restoration their songs of uprising songs that call us out of one season and into the next and because of that these songs speak to us right here in this moment right where we are in this season now today I'm going to take a brief look at Psalm 122 it's a familiar one to most of us psalmist says this I was glad when they said to me let us go to the house of the Lord our feet have been standing within your gates o Jerusalem Jerusalem built as a city that is bound firmly together to which the tribes go up the tribes of the Lord has was decreed for Israel to give thanks to the name of the Lord their Thrones for the judgment were set the Thrones of the house of David pray for the Peace of Jerusalem may they be secured who love you peace be within your walls and security within your towers for my brothers and companions sake I will say peace be within you for the sake of the house of the Lord our God I will seek your good now just before we unpack this I want to acknowledge the elephant that just walked into the room I'm not even going to pretend that it is an ironic that I'm reading a psalm about gathering on sites while we're still gathering online in fact I have a close friend who was a pastor at he's preaching through the Psalms of ascent along with me to his church in Houston Texas last week he said to me Terry I'm gonna hold off on Psalm 122 until we regather on sight and I understand why for them it's gonna be an epic Creek gathering but I have way too much OCD in me to skip over one chapter and have to come back to it so I'm just gonna address it head-on this weekend and I know it's ironic but even more than that this song is more relevant to me than ever before because I think that most of us are feeling in this moment exactly what the pilgrim songwriter was feeling he missed going to the house of the Lord he missed seeing his friends he missed being with his tribe he missed even seeing the other tribes gathered as well he missed those things just as we all do I had someone recently say to me I will never take on sight gathering again for granted me too I feel the same way and to be honest I think I even did take it for granted without even realizing that you know sometimes we take precious things for granted and only when we've lost them do we realize just how much they've mattered thank God that our on-site gatherings are not an actual loss we'll be able to gather on-site again in a few weeks and a few months from now it probably won't even matter that we delayed it for a few weeks we'll build back in attendance and energy and atmosphere and and all of that which is a part of our church and we'll look back on this and it'll seem but just a small blip on the radar screen of our lives but on the other hand some of you may be processing through actual losses in this season and I realize that some of those losses may not be as easily recovered lost is like your health or your job or a relationship or an emotional battle you may be processing through losses that are more difficult to recover I want to encourage you in the light of that to focus on the things that you can get back immediately say what can I get back immediately pastor Terry well you can get your faith back you can take your joy back you can get your peace back you can recover your sense of purpose you can find your confidence once again in God's plan for your life you don't have to wait on those things you can take those things back today by faith in the name of Jesus in the presence of the holy spirit right here on this Pentecost Sunday and that's what I'm praying for you it's time for you to take back what the enemy has stolen from for King David the songwriter he longed to get back into the house of the Lord just like we all do even though they people of God were not the physical building in Jerusalem anymore that the church is a building today David knew that there is something beautiful about gathering with God's people something powerful about corporate worship there's something supernatural that takes place when two or more are gathered in his name did you know that there is no gathering of people anywhere on the planet for any other purpose known to man that even compares to the gathering of God's people and the songwriter is excited to be a part of that again I think this song is also prophetic it's not just relevant to us where we are it's prophetic I think David is envisioning the birth of the church and that's something that we celebrate today since Pentecost Sunday is the birthday of the church just over 2,000 years ago on this very day there were a hundred and twenty followers of Jesus packed into a living room in an upper room in Jerusalem action chapter two describes the scene when the day of Pentecost arrived they were all together in one place and suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind and it filled the entire house where they were sitting and divided tongues as a fire appeared to them and rested on each of them and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews devout men from every nation under heaven why were there devout men dwell in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven why is that the case well again it's because they had gathered there for the feast of Pentecost and as they gathered they would have sung Psalm 122 on their ascent up to Jerusalem just before God pours out his spirit and establishes his church and by the way one other thing since David is a foreshadowing of Jesus I believe this Psalm gives us a little glimpse of the joy that Jesus feels about gathering with his church jesus loves his church and he feels as much joy in gathering with us as we do with him now I want to briefly just look at five things in 10 minutes highlighted in Psalm 122 and how they relate to every single one of us when it comes to the purpose of the church gathered whether it's on site or online the first thing I want you to see is the joy of the church gathered the songwriter says I was glad when they said to me let us go to the house of the Lord he was glad to gather and can I be really honest even though gathering online is not the same as gathering on site at least we can gather we can sing together we can pray together we can chat with each other and we can hear God's Word together and that brings great joy even in the midst of challenging days this also gives us the picture of the kind of church that brings joy to the heart of God he delights in people who see Church as something to be enjoyed not in to heard as faster Bryan often says and wouldn't you think about it it makes sense because the gathering of the church is actually the gathering of spiritual family and what father doesn't delight in seeing his family gathered together a rejoicing Church brings joy to the heart of God you say well what do we have to rejoice over in these difficult days pastor Terry well we can rejoice because God is in our midst we can rejoice because he has promised to never leave us nor forsake us we can rejoice because his promises are sure and His grace is sufficient we can rejoice because he is good and he does good he forgives sin he heals sick bodies he restores broken relationships he opens doors of opportunity he blesses he promotes and he makes a way where there is no way listen to me you have much more to rejoice over then you have to grieve over now I'm not saying the losses aren't real because they are I'm not saying the pain doesn't hurt because it does I'm not saying that you aren't facing some extraordinary challenges because many of you are I'm just saying when you look back at what God has already done for you you have more reasons to rejoice than you have to mourn you have more reasons to celebrate than you have to grieve if God never does another single thing for you and I believe he will he has already done the most important thing for you he has forgiven you of your sins he has given you the free gift of eternal life he has made you his own he has claimed you as a son and daughter in his beautiful kingdom Psalm 13 5 David said I have trusted in your steadfast love my heart shall rejoice in your salvation salvation is not the only miracle God has planned to do for you but it's the greatest miracle and on the basis of what he has done he has planned to do so much more for you 1st Corinthians 2 and verse 9 for I has not seen nor ear heard nor have even entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love him I want to encourage you to take your joy back this weekend God has great things ahead for you and you don't have to worry or be anxious or be fearful about the future and the past is the proof that he is working in your future being a joyful community helps us to maintain a right perspective the second thing I want you to see is the strength of the church planted songwriter says our feet have been standing within your gates o Jerusalem in the blink of an eye he goes from longing to be in God's house to standing in it and the way that this is worded speaks of being planted with strength we are firmly planted in the house of God Psalm 92 13 those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God there is always a direct connection between the depth of our planting and the strength of our stand to the flourishing of our lives the deeper your roots the stronger your stance the more fruitful your future will be you know shortly after we moved to the desert about 20 years ago Judith and I had her first encounter with a giant tumbleweed we were driving down near Tucson and suddenly out of nowhere a tumbleweed the size of a Volkswagen car came blowing across the road out of nowhere it freaked us out great us out well since then I've seen a lot of tumbleweeds in Arizona and I've also seen a lot of tumbleweed Christians and not just in Arizona people who have never been planted in the life of the church they just roll wherever the wind blows and in some cases they have no idea what they're even missing out on did you know that the beauty of the life planted is that it can withstand the storms of life in being planted you can bear fruit season after season in being planted you can become a important part of the ecosystem of a community you can even become a shade for the next generation to grow up underneath but it takes planning your roots deep in the soil of relationships deep in the life of a church deep in community hey I want to encourage you don't forget where you've been planted during this season it's easier than ever to drift away when we're not gathering on-site but I want to encourage you to make your stand be strong be planted you can do the hard yards the strength of the church planted is seen in how it flourishes over the seasons and I want that for you I want to see you flourish in Jesus name the third thing that the songwriter shares with us here is the beauty of the church United the song writer writes Jerusalem builds as a city that he's bound firmly together now depending on what translation you're reading it might say a city closely compacted which is literally true of true eleven the old city of jerusalem has narrow streets and the houses are closely compacted in fact it's so tight that i once heard a man say my neighbor is so close that I can hear him zip up his pants in the morning that's close but the songwriter he's not talking about architecture or urban planning he's talking about the relationships between the people of God they are living in peace and unity together they form a harmonious loving community and the songwriter sees this in the house of the Lord when it cannot be seen anywhere else Hey what could happen in our communities if the church was known for this what if the church was seen as a place of unity and peace what if the church was the Center for reconciliation in the community what if the church was the place where all people were treated equally place where every person is celebrated as imago day as the image of the divine what if the church made a move to unite people instead of dividing people well I think something powerful would happen and by the way that's what the gospel working in the church will produce the good news of Jesus is all about reconciling things divided by the world the gender division that came about because of sin is united in the gospel the racial division that came about because of sin is united through the gospel the socio-economic division that came about because of sin is united through the gospel the division between people who are able-bodied and those who need special care is united through the gospel the gospel unites what sin divides the gospel unites what religion divides the gospel unites us what the world divides come somebody the good news of Jesus is a unifying force in the world I'm just gonna take a praise break right there now to be really honest being in community means walking through some highs and some lows in relationship while allowing the gospel some time to work in us what are some highs and lows that you think about when you think about being in community so I look back over my own journey my own pilgrimage I can see more highs than lows and I hope the same is true for you over time you'll see more good than bad more better than lesser what I can promise you is that if you go the distance over time you will see the beauty and the power of unity at work among the people of God there he commands his blessing the fourth thing I want you to see is the witness of the church to justice a songwriter says their Thrones for judgment were said the thrones of the house of David now some scholars believe that this is a reference to the idea that pilgrims traveling to the capital would have taken advantage of the opportunity to seek justice and settle disputes justice was usually administered at the gates of the city so judges were placed at those locations to see that justice was fairly administered and since God is a God of justice justice is connected to the ministry and the witness of the church now it might be hard to see how this can be considered joyful because it references judgment but that's exactly why it is joyful if you see judgment as justice based on truth equality settling inequities and releasing oppression then there's a reason to be joyful in the Bible judgment is not just used to reward good and punish evil it is the expression of God's law for the benefit of those living in the margins in God's law the needs of widows and orphans the needs of the poor and the marginalized the needs of the Sojourner in the land well they're all provided for in God's law there is an equality for all so living at the margins well you would experience great joy when you're finally brought out from the margins into God's system of judgment you would know that was an invitation into equality an invitation into righteousness an invitation into God's gracious provision so the pilgrim has experienced great joy because justice can be found in the midst of God's people oh I long for the day when that will be said of the church there is such a desperate need for justice in the world I was reminded of that again this week watching the news reporting the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis it reminded me of other names we've seen in the news over the past few years Eric garner Trayvon Martin Freddie gray falando Casteel Walter Scott and many many others most recently a med augury and all I could think when I saw that was this is madness where is the justice in the land the murder of a man in the streets of a city by those responsible to save and protect it's not just an injustice against the black community it's an injustice against all humanity and I want to say if we allow it to be defined as an issue related only to the african-american community then it becomes someone else's problem and not ours but it is our problem all of ours racism prejudice inequality systemic injustice these are the fruit of a deeper root that we all have to take responsibility for and as the church we should take a stand for those not being heard those not being protected or afforded the same rights and privileges and opportunities and freedoms as the most privileged among stas enjoy the church should stand for justice and as a result the nation's will say I was glad when they said to me let us go to the house of the Lord the fifth thing that the songwriter wants us to know is the purpose of the church on mission a songwriter says for my brothers and companions sake I will say peace be within you for the sake of the house of the Lord our God I will seek your good notice the connection between seeking the common good of all people because of what God has done for us in Jesus the church doesn't exist for its own satisfaction it exists for the transformation of society now there's an interesting little wordplay here a play on the words Jerusalem and peace the word peace is Shalom and the word Jerusalem is you're a Shalom that's like praying Lord let the city you love live up to its name and be a city of peace it takes us back to jeremiah 29:7 but jeremiah says but seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile and pray to the Lord on its behalf for in its welfare you will find your own welfare how do we see the welfare of the city well we're doing it in so many ways these days through our work in City care but there are so many more ways that we can all see the welfare of the city seeking the welfare of the city means promoting the means by which people can live flourishing lives we can each seek the welfare of the city in a million different ways over the long haul from simple acts of kindness and civility to other things like buying homes and improving neighborhoods to building businesses and employing those who need jobs to working in social agencies to teaching school are serving in health care and as first responders to finding innovative ways to address illiteracy and poverty running for political office just standing against injustice caring for creation raising healthy families and through simply being the church living on mission we are called to seek the good of others in closing Jesus spoke of another city set high on a hill find it interesting that standing in Jerusalem Jesus said as beautiful as this city is as attractive as it has been to pilgrims as wonderful it has been among the nations there is another city that I want to speak to you about in Matthew 5 in verse 14 he spoke about the church he said you are the light of the world a city set on a hill cannot be hidden Jerusalem is a picture of the church Tim Keller once said what Jerusalem was to the ancient Jews the church is to believers in Christ and just as Jerusalem called them upwards 12 the church calls us upward it's where we become our bestsellers it's where we find our greatest joy and contentment it's where we discover the purpose for our lives and the church gathered planted United standing for justice and living on mission is where we shine bright to the nation's if you've not become a part of the church I want to see you become a part of the church but now through joining the church but by surrendering your life to the Lord of the church Jesus wants to give you his salvation and place you in his family the family of God which is his church I said a few moments ago that salvation is not the only miracle but it's the greatest miracle the Bible says in Romans 10 if you believe that Jesus is God's Son sent to die for you and raised to life for you you will be saved would you put your faith in Jesus today would you trust him for the miracle of salvation if so I'd love to lead you in a simple prayer of believing and surrendering to his irresistible grace would you say dear Lord Jesus I believe you are God's Son sent to die for me raised to life for me so I put my trust in you I am now a child of God salvation is my portion thank you for loving me thank you for saving me my future begins today in Jesus name I just want to give you a big round of applause with all of our pastors in the room today there is a celebration taking place in heaven right now because the Bible says when just one person comes to the Father's table of salvation that all of the angels in heaven throw a party we're celebrating with you today and we'd love to know about this step of faith that you have taken so would you just click the button that says I've raised my hand or you can put a high-five or a hand wave there in the chat line and we'd love to celebrate with you today and maybe even reach out to you to give you opportunities to begin this new journey of spiritual growth and development well the first thing I want to encourage you to do as a new follower of Jesus is to join along with the rest of us as we receive Communion our pastors and college staff and a few of our other leaders in the room today are going to join with all of us today in remembering the finished work of Jesus this bread represents his body broken for us and this juice represents his blood shed for us and as often as we partake of these things we do so in remembrance of him so take and eat this as an act of gratitude and remembrance and now drink the cup in Jesus name [Music] god I just want to sit here in this moment and offer praise to you we're so grateful for your goodness and for your grace thank you for sending Jesus thank you for loving us thank you for bringing us out of darkness and into light thank you for making us your family replacing us in your church and for giving us hope beyond these days thank you that our lives will be lived on mission this week to the glory of God in Jesus name hey I want to thank you once again for joining us this weekend there is so much more taking place in the life of our church than this one our service and we'd love to have you join us this week you can be a part of online connect groups Tuesday night is mega prayer of course with Pastor Brian at 5 p.m. the sisterhood is gathering on Thursdays youth and kids are meeting online along with every age and stage of life and there are always many opportunities to serve in City care and so with that today may the Lord bless you and keep you may the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you may the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you his peace god bless your church I look forward to seeing you right back here next weekend for another extraordinary service have an amazing week in Jesus name [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Channel: Hillsong Phoenix

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Length: 57min 39sec (3459 seconds)

Published: Sun May 31 2020