“From Captivity – to Being Like Them That Dream”
A message given by Dr. Dwight Garrett on Sunday March 09, 2008 at, Friends Of Truth Christian Fellowship Church.
Scripture Text: Psalm 126
1: When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.
2: Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them.
3: The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.
4: Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south.
5: They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
6: He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
*** MESSAGE ***
“From Captivity – to Being Like Them That Dream”
First let me offer a little bit of what was happening in Psalm 126.
Here we find that the Israelites had just returned from exile and by the Grace of God - they had been set free.
They were remembering how they had been oppressed and held captive by their enemies, and how God in His great power had delivered them from their captivity.
They were praising Him for this day as He once again brought them back to their beloved homeland – and into a life of freedom.
When it says – in verse 1; “we were like them that dream” it’s because it was like a dream come true for them.
They could hardly believe what had happened to them. They were amazed at the grace, love and power of our Almighty God.
When it finally dawned on them that what they were experiencing was real, they were filled with joy and they lifted their hearts and their voices in praise to the Lord.
They were filled with praise because the Lord had worked in their lives and in a powerful way for His glory.
And, they simply could not hold back their praises - they exalted the Lord for His grace, His goodness and His blessing in their lives.
As the Israelites thought about all they had received from the Lord, they said (verse 3),
"The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad."
In fact I believe it is probable that they may have even shouted it loudly and boldly!
I know The Lord has done great things for me – the question is however – has the Lord done great things for you? If so, Praise Him for it and give Him the honor and glory that He so richly deserves.
The LORD has done great things for us - and He continues to do great things for us - each and every minute of each and everyday of our new found life with Him.
And so it was for the pilgrims too – and they openly acknowledged God for His greatness and His goodness.
And they were not selfish in their new found life of freedom either.
And as they pondered and considered where they were (in captivity) and as they deliberated their deliverance, they also lift their voices up in prayer to the Lord.
They prayed that just as the spring rains fill the southern streams with floods of water (verse 4), that God will also deliver others from their captivity and restore them to a life of freedom.
They had a burden (if you will) to see others delivered - just as they had been - and they called upon the Lord to see to it that others were set free as well.
However, it wasn’t all a big party filled with endless joy and excitement.
When the pilgrims returned to their homeland, and looked out upon their land (that sat wasting away for some 50 years or so) they found it in decimation and all but totally destroyed.
The fields were barren and there was no harvest and little food to eat.
All they had were a few precious seeds that they had hoped would hold the promise of a future harvest.
Taking these few seeds, they took on the backbreaking task of sowing the fields.
They take those few seeds, and with tears streaming down their cheeks, they sowed those seeds into the earth.
But, why did they weep? Because they knew that everything (their very existence) depended on the next crop.
They had a burden for the harvest and they wanted to see the seeds multiply and prosper so that their people might live!
And with faith, perseverance and patience they cultivated and fertilized those seeds and they waited, and in a few weeks, there sprouting forth before them - was life in the fields!
The farmers went into the fields, they sowed and they worked, and now the harvest was upon them and when they went back into the fields to gather the harvest they returned with rejoicing, bearing in their arms the fruits of their labors.
They had a great harvest to show for the investment of their time and their tears.
They referred to their seeds as “precious.” (verse 6) Why? There are several reasons, but the main one is the fact that within those seeds contained – their only hope for life.
That is only just a brief summation of what Psalm 126 is about – there is much more to this account that I could elaborate on – but in the interest of time - I want to move on to what it can mean to us.
What can we take from it - for within our own lives?
As I read and consider this portion of God’s Word - it is a reminder of where I was when the Lord took me by the hand and set me free from the captivity of my sins … from the bondage and slavery of the world and from the ugliness of my sinful self existence … and how … He brought me to a place of peace, happiness, joy and contentment, and how He altered the course of my paths – changed my future which will become my history and how He redirected my destiny - and how He brought new focus to my dreams.
Today - I have a wonderful newness and freshness to my life and my dreams, and it is all because my precious Lord and Saviour - has set me free – and I am no longer held captive by my sinful past and I am “like them that dream” - and I Praise Him and give Him all the Honor and Glory through it all.
I’m still not where I need to be – but I Praise the Lord this morning – I’m not where I used to be – and you know what? I know I’m going to be OK because with Jesus in my life – HALLELUIAH – He has broken the chains that bound me and – now, I am on my way!
At one point in our lives – each one of us has been held captive by a life filled with sin.
Each one of us has at one point in time been enslaved to our evil and wicked ways.
And each one of us – during that time – had hungered and thirsted after a life filled with happiness – joy – peace – comfort and contentment.
Each one of us has had a dream that someday – one day – that our lives would be transformed into a glorious and beautiful life!
And PRAISE’S to our wonderful Lord – some of us have been set free by and through His awesome, mighty and perfect love and grace – and He delivered us from captivity and HALLELUIAH our dreams have been and are being fulfilled.
And for those who still may be waiting for your dreams to be fulfilled – and who may still find themselves held captive and shackled by a sinful self existence … The Lord can and will set you free too – reach out and take His outstretched Hand and accept His invitation to come into your heart and to be part of your life.
And if you do – and by and through His Love and Grace - He will break the chains of sin that bind you up and hold you down and He will fulfill your dreams and then you too can know what it is like to be “like them that dream”.
What a wonderful lesson and encouragement Psalm 126 is and can be for a child of God today!
We have been delivered from the sting of death and have been set free from the captivity of our past sinful self existence by the grace of God. Our names have been written down in glory.
We are children of the Living God! We have a reason to rejoice. And we should be vocal and quick to proclaim His goodness, His grace and His salvation.
The people of Israel made a conscious decision to be happy in the Lord Who redeemed them – and we too should make a conscious decision of our own to be happy in the Lord Who redeemed us as well - and Who has removed the shackles of sin that has set us free!
Far too often though we don’t have or express that kind of happiness and joy in the Lord…
There is much distress in the world today.
a) Crime is on the increase and threatens to rule our communities – schools – work places – and even our places of worship.
b) We are a country at war.
c) There is the constant threat of terrorism.
d) In and throughout this election year - we are once again witnessing the ever growing ugliness of the politicians as they slander - backbite - and smear dirt on one another and as they make empty promises that none of them intend to - or can keep.
e) There is disease, death, sin, evil, etc. - all these things and more combine to cause hearts of despair in and throughout the Christian community and the world.
However, if we can learn to keep our hearts focused on the Lord and all that He has done for us, it will go a long way toward giving us joy even in the midst of all the ugliness of this world.
The Lord has promised His children joy, 1 Peter 1:8-9 says;
“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
and,
Galatians 5:22 tells us;
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,”
The bottom line is this:
If you allow your happiness to depend on the circumstances around you, there is a good chance you will journey through life - sad and feeling defeated.
You will walk around all slumped over with your head hanging low and never knowing the peace and joy that comes from a life with Christ.
If, however, you make God and His gracious gifts the focus of your joy, then you can rejoice regardless of what is happening around you. It would be good for us to make the same decision that Habakkuk did.
In Habakkuk 3:18, we read “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”
Something else that the child of God and the church as a whole can learn from Psalm 126 is…
Those who have been freed through and by the grace of God - from the captivity of their sinful nature should carry a certain burden for those still lost in a world of sin.
We need to pray for them and ask the Lord to touch their hearts, to reveal to them their condition and we need to point them to Jesus Christ so that they too might be set free from their own captivity.
I pray today that God might create a burden within our hearts for the lost - that drives us (listen to this) to Him for them and then drives us to them for Him!
God has commissioned each one of us to go out into the world and to sow the seeds of faith and to offer the world the great message and hope and promises of what Christ did for us upon the Cross on Calvary and what the true meaning of the up and coming Easter Holiday is all about.
The world would have us believe that Easter is about some stupid imaginary bunny that lays multi-colored eggs – but I happen to know the truth - and I believe you do too, and we should all take an active role in proclaiming the real truth about Easter.
After we have been delivered from our sins and saved by God’s grace, we should be moved by a burden to see that others have what we have been given.
We are to take what we have, the Gospel message, the seed, the Word of God and we are to go into a lost world and sow our seeds for the glory of God, trusting Him to take our few seeds and turn them into a mighty harvest for His glory.
We - who are in Christ - are the sower.
The sower is to “go forth” and sow the seed.
In verse 6 of our text it says, “He that goeth forth” (which is in the present tense here) and speaks of a continual and consistent, going - growing and sowing.
When Jesus said, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,” (in Matthew 28:19). The word “Go” has the idea of “as you go.”
In other words, your testimony is not something you should be able to turn on and off like a light switch, but instead we are to be constantly going forth and telling a lost world about Jesus - what He did for us - and what He can do for others.
We, “Bear precious seeds,” and those 3 little words have a great and powerful message in themselves, because therein lies the idea “of leaving a trail of seeds.”
The idea here is that everywhere we go; we are to be dropping the Gospel seeds - so that Christ our Lord can cultivate those seeds and fertilize them so that the seeds we plant – will grow and prosper into a bountiful harvest and in which bear much fruit!
What does that mean?
It means that if you and I are doing what the Lord has called us to do; then we will be dropping Gospel seeds all along our life's journey.
We will be sowing the Gospel seeds all over our towns -
All over our communities -
All over our states -
All over our country –
… and all over the entire world - in and for the glory of God and it means that people will hear and they will come to Christ.
We need to be saturating our journey in the wake of our lives with the seeds of the Gospel message! And may God help us to do just that!
Verse 6 talks about "The Tears Of The Sower". The farmers went out to sow and as they planted their fields they shed tears.
There was a day when we each one of us was lost and without God.
Just the memory of sin and a life lived apart from the Lord ought to be enough to drive us out into the world shouting PRAISE’S to Him.
And it should make us want to tell others about a God who loves them and Who died to save them.
We can talk about it,
preach about it,
pray about it,
and think about it,
- but it will never come until desperation comes, and the sign of desperation will be the tears of our eyes, and the brokenness of our hearts for those who remain lost in darkness and who have no promise or hope of a better and brighter tomorrow – and who will never see their dreams of happiness and joy fulfilled.
Somewhere throughout the generations – the Christian Church has lost their tears for the lost and unsaved – and it is my prayer that the Lord gives us back - our tears over world that is lost in the dark and that is dying without Christ!
Verse 5 talks about "The Triumph Of The Sower" - “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.”
When we sow our seeds of faith into the world, and when the conditions are just right, and when God cultivates and fertilizes those seeds - they will germinate and a bountiful and plentiful harvest will sprout forth in abundance and a new life will be the result - and will be - the end result.
In this, we can find the joy of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
As I read and meditate on this portion of our text this morning - it also paints the picture of the joy that will come in the morning (as we sing in one of our songs) … and not the morning of our next literal day - but joy in the morning of when we stand with our Saviour and see His beautiful and loving Face and when He opens His Arms and says:
"Welcome Home My Child - Welcome Home".
Those of us who are in Christ have all been saved by His grace and are headed toward the fulfillment of the dream of a bright and shining morning when we will reach out and touch the Precious Hand of our Lord and Saviour …. When, He leads us home.
and as I close this message, I want leave you with some final encouragement:
1) Never forget where you were when the Lord called upon your heart to receive Him unto you - and never loose sight of what He did for you when He freed you from the captivity of the evil and wickedness of sin.
2) In that - seek the Lord for the kind of burden that you need for the souls of the lost – and ask Him to restore your tears for those who dream empty and unfulfilled dreams of a beautiful and wonderful life.
3) And lastly – but certainly not least … if you are without Christ and are still being held captive by – and enslaved to a life of sin … and if the weight of your shackles and chains are too much to bear …
And if you dream of a better and brighter future and are holding onto a dream that one day you will find true peace, comfort, happiness and joy in your life …
Won’t you ask Jesus to come into your heart today – and to set you free and to fulfill your dreams?
And if you do know Christ and have already accepted Christ as your own personal Lord and Saviour – and if somewhere – somehow – through the journey of life - have lost your joy – and want to rekindle the flame that once burned bright in your life with Christ – you can do that too.
If you are without Him in your life - you can ask Christ to come into your life – right now, and / or if your joy has somehow slipped away and you seek to restore that perfect peace you once knew - you can ask Him to restore the joy you once found in Him.
Talk to God and ask Him to come into your heart and life. Tell Him (and truly believe) that you believe He sent His Son into this world to live, die, and to rise again so that all who believe in Him shall be saved.
Know in your heart and then tell Him that you know, Jesus is alive today and that someday you know He will return to this earth and take those who have been saved from their sins – to Heaven with Him.
Then get a Bible and begin reading and understanding what God tells us through His Truths and begin studying and meditating in His Word and pray that He will give you guidance and direction as you do.
Find a Bible believing church and start attending regularly.
Begin living a life that is filled with God and turn away from your past sinful self existence and begin living within the new life that God wants to give to you and begin living and experiencing all the peace, joy, love and comfort that He gives to you in and through your newfound life with Him.
And begin telling people about your new life of freedom from your past life and how God has brought joy into your life – and how they too can find and experience the same joy you found by accepting Christ into their own lives.
I pray that somewhere in todays message – that God has reached into your heart and that it will serve as an encouragement and that you will make the decision, that with the help of the Lord, you will know and experience a peace and joy like you have never known or experienced before - and that you will be inspired to go out in the fields of this world - and sow the Gospel seed.
And that God will lead you:
“From Captivity – to Being Like Them That Dream”
If you have taken the very important step of asking Christ to come into your heart and life – please take a few moments to write to us and let us know.
We want to pray for you and if you send us your mailing information – we have some (free and without obligation) literature we would like to send you to help you on your way – in your newfound life with Christ.
You can contact us by email at garrett@carr.org or you can write to us at:
SOEWWWM
C/O Dwight Garrett
148 Carnival Drive
Taneytown, Maryland USA
21787