The Church Under God's Sovereignty

[Psalm 99]

"Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them." (Psalm 126:5-6).
When the people of Israel were in captivity in Babylon, they endured hardships and struggles, weeping as they sought to maintain their faith. In response, God extended His grace of salvation to them, allowing them to return to Jerusalem and granting them the joy of salvation as a gift. When the people of Israel returned to Jerusalem, they confessed, "It seemed like a dream!" (v. 1). They experienced a work of salvation from God that they could neither expect nor imagine. As I meditated on this verse, I was reminded once again of the importance of hope. That is, as believers, even when things are so difficult that we feel like giving up, when we are discouraged and in despair, we must continue to look to the Lord, our hope, and keep dreaming. Even if we feel like we have to give up on ourselves, our families, our jobs, our businesses, our churches, or society, we must reflect on the truth that God will never abandon us, nor could He ever abandon us. As I pondered this, I was challenged to continue dreaming in the Lord, because in Him, there is always hope. That is why we pray, hope, and wait.

Personally, I received the message from Psalm 126 with a particular focus on our Victory Presbyterian Church. That is, I pray, hope, and wait for Victory Presbyterian Church. No matter how far we may go into a state of discouragement and despair, I want to continue dreaming in the Lord. I want to keep dreaming of raising up leaders with a Christ-centered vision (leaders like the 300 men of Gideon) and sending them for the expansion of God's kingdom. I am reminded of the first verse and the chorus of hymn 542:
"Lord, in my dreams last night I saw You,
please make that dream come true.
Show me visions day and night,
and grant me grace forever."
(Chorus)
"My marvelous dream, indeed I believe,
is a sign that great grace I will receive,
my marvelous dream will surely come true,
and I will see Your face, Lord."

As one who dreams, as I meditate today on the verses 1-9 of Psalm 99, I began to reflect on what kind of church we should be. I had already meditated on this in Psalms 93 and 97, but today, in this Psalm 99, my prayer for our church is that God would govern over it. Under the title "The Church Under God's Sovereignty," I want to share three lessons about what a church under God's rule should be, and then I want to pray together for our church.

First, in the church that submits to God’s rule, there is trembling, praise, and worship.

Let us look at Psalms 99:1, 3, 5, and 9:
"The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble; He dwells between the cherubim; let the earth be moved. ... Praise His great and terrible name; for He is holy. ... Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His footstool; for He is holy. ... Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His holy hill; for the Lord our God is holy."

The psalmist says that since God reigns, all the peoples will tremble, and the earth will shake. The reason for this is because of the Lord's great and awe-inspiring name. That is, because God is holy (three times holy), we must praise and worship Him with a heart full of fear and trembling. This is the church that exalts God. Our church’s senior pastor, when founding Victory Presbyterian Church, set three main goals: (1) a church that receives the Lord, (2) a church that resembles the Lord, and (3) a church that exalts (or glorifies) the Lord. In light of today's passage, "a church that exalts the Lord" means a church that, with a heart full of fear and trembling before the holy God, praises and worships Him. We, as His creatures, should reverently worship and adore the holy and exalted Creator. This is what we, as created beings, are supposed to do.

However, in the age we live in, we have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and are worshiping and serving the creature rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25). There is no fear of God. There is no reverence for the holy God. Therefore, by exchanging the truth of God for a lie, we commit the sin of worshiping the creation. This sinful world, which rejects God’s rule, is committing a great sin against the holy God without fear or trembling. The same goes for religious groups that reject God's rule. By deifying and worshiping their leaders, they commit great sin against God. Even in the church, the sin of exalting and worshiping oneself, rather than the Creator God, should not take place. In other words, the church, as one that receives God’s rule, should only exalt God with a heart full of fear and trembling, and offer the praise and worship that He alone deserves.

Secondly, the power of the church that receives God’s rule is in loving justice.

Look at Psalm 99:4 in the Bible:
"The king's strength loves justice; you have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob."
The psalmist says, "The king's strength is loving justice." This statement teaches us the precious idea that justice is indeed power (Park Yun-sun). If we apply this principle to the church, the strength (or power) of the church that receives God's rule is none other than loving justice. In some sense, the reason why the church in this era is perceived as weak and powerless to the world is because it does not love justice, cannot establish equity, and does not practice righteousness and justice. If we, as believers, do not practice justice and righteousness in this corrupted world, we have already lost our strength as Christians. Therefore, right now, we are not exerting a good influence on this world. The cause of this loss of influence is that we do not love and practice God's justice.

Our Lord has something He asks of our church.
Look at what Micah 6:8 says:
"He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?"
The God who rules over us requires only one thing: to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God. Therefore, in obedience to this requirement of the Lord, we must be a church that does justice, loves mercy, and walks humbly with God. Especially based on today's passage, our church must love and practice God's justice so that the Lord will establish equity in our church and through it.

Third, the church that receives God's rule prays.

Look at Psalm 99:6:
"Among the priests were Moses and Aaron, and among those who called upon His name was Samuel; they called upon the Lord, and He answered them."
Here, the psalmist introduces three exemplary figures who represent the church of the Old Testament—Moses, Aaron, and Samuel—and speaks of God's work through them. In other words, he is presenting the principle of God's work in the church (Park Yun-sun). That principle is none other than prayer. Moses, Aaron, and Samuel were people who prayed for the church. And they were people who received answers to their prayers from God (Exodus 17:11; Numbers 16:43; 1 Samuel 7:8-9; 9:12) (Park Yun-sun).
An interesting point is that in verses 7-8 of this passage, the psalmist mentions two or more qualifications that are necessary to receive answers to prayer:

(1) To receive answers to prayers, we must keep God's word.

Let us look at Psalm 99:7:
"The Lord spoke to them from the pillar of cloud; they kept His testimonies and the statutes He gave them."
The saints who are under God's rule listen to His word, and they obey it. Because of this, they are able to make just judgments and practice righteousness. The psalmist teaches us that God answers the prayers of those who keep His word.

(2) To receive answers to prayers, we must receive forgiveness for our sins.

Let us look at Psalm 99:8:
"O Lord our God, You answered them; You were a forgiving God to them, though You took vengeance on their deeds."
Our God is a just God. Therefore, He disciplines us for our sins. But He is also a God of love. When we repent of our sins, He forgives us.

Our church must be a church under God's rule. Therefore, we must devote ourselves to prayer. The work of God's church is accomplished through those who earnestly engage in prayer. In other words, the Lord builds His body, the church, through people of prayer like Moses, Aaron, and Samuel. And those people of prayer are those who receive forgiveness for their sins and keep God's word. May the Lord make both you and me such people of prayer to build the body of Christ.

In a church that is under God's rule, there is trembling, praise, and worship. Also, the power of a church under God's rule is the love for justice. And a church under God's rule prays. I dream of such a church—Victory Presbyterian Church.

Praying for Victory Presbyterian Church to be a church under God's rule,

Pastor James Kim
(Dreaming of a church with worship, love, and prayer)