Psalm 40:11-12; Psalm 100:5

            {Prayer}

“Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD; may your love and your truth always protect me. For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me” Psalm 40:11-12

“For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” Psalm 100:5

            “Come On Eileen” by Dexy’s Midnight Runners; “Spirit in the Sky” by Norman Greenbaum; “Sugar, Sugar” by The Archies; “Tainted Love” by Soft Cell; “No Rain” by Blind Melon; “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer; “Tubthumping” by Chumbawamba; “The Book of Love” by The Monotones; “Whip It” by Devo; “Hey Mickey” by Toni Basil; “Barbie Girl” by Aqua; “Ice Ice Baby” by Vanilla Ice; “Gangnam Style” by Psy; “What Does the Fox Say?” by Ylvis; “Cheerleader” by OMI’ “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen … what do all of these super popular songs all have in common? … They are all one hit wonders.

            The interesting thing with some of these groups is that they did produce a number of albums. For example, Chumbawamba produced around 28 albums, but they are only really known for their one song “Tubthumping.” Norman Greenbaum wrote around 160 songs before “Spirit in the Sky” was released in 1970. The Archies produced five albums, but are really only known for “Sugar, Sugar.”

            Think about this in terms of our own lives. Do we sometimes chase after fleeting moments of praise or accomplishment, neglecting a deeper purpose?

            In a couple of weeks, we are going to be starting a new sermon series entitled “Firsts in Scripture: Genesis 1-11”. As the title says, we are going to be looking at some of the firsts that happened. One of those first, the last first, is going to focus on the Tower of Babel from Genesis 11.

            And while we’ll talk about it there, it also fits in this morning. The Tower of Babel is a one-hit wonder. Listen to these words from the Genesis 11.

            “At one time all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words. As the people migrated to the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia and settled there. They began saying to each other, “Let’s make bricks and harden them with fire.” … Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world” (11:1-4 NLT).

            Notice, one group of people, who all spoke the same language and used the same words. They all found a place to settle. So far so good, except for the fact that God had told Noah and his family when they got off the ark, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1). They were fruitful and increased in number, they just forgot about that last part.

            So here they are, settled in one place … but that isn’t good enough. They decide to make bricks, which is good, they need a place to live. But then they said, “Let us build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world” (11:4).

            This ambitious building project reeked of pride. The people sought to achieve greatness on their own terms. It was all about them. “Let us build a great city for ourselves.” “This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.” Not once in the midst of their one-hit wonder achievement did they acknowledge God or their dependence on Him.

            It’s easy, very easy for you and me to fall into that same trap.

            Looking at my good grades, my good SAT scores, my acceptance into the college of my choice, landing the job I’ve always dreamed of, having the house, the car, the boat, the side-by-side, the farm I’ve always dreamed of, resting and retiring with a large nest egg … we can look at something in our life and be like, “Yeah, I did that.”  And yes, in a way, you did do that. But remember the people of Genesis 11, it was all about them. They built a large city with a large tower to be famous and live by their own rules. So God came down, put a stop to the one-time construction project and confused their language so that they had to spread out and fill the world.

            Or maybe you’re on the other end of the spectrum and are like, “No matter how much I try, nothing ever goes my way. It’s as if the world is against me. Why can’t I just catch a break?”

            You know, that sounds a lot like the words from Psalm 40, “Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD; may your love and your truth always protect me. For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me” (11-12).

            Troubles without number, sins have overtaken me, the issues of life … they are more than the hairs of my head. It doesn’t matter where you fall on any spectrum … we all have one thing in common. We are all sinners. We all live in a sinful condition. We are all easily overwhelmed by our transgressions, by our wrongdoings. No matter how hard we try, we cannot achieve lasting peace, praise or righteousness on our own. We chase after fleeting solutions and in the process, we neglect the foundation of God’s guidance and provision in our lives.

            When we realize it, when we come to grip with our shortcomings, when we realize that our one-hit wonders have failed to bring lasting security or peace and we need help … there’s only one thing left to do … we cry out to God. We cry out “Do not withhold your mercy from, O LORD; may your love and your truth always protect me” (Psalm 40:11). We cry out because true success, it doesn’t come from self-reliance, it doesn’t come from one-hit wonders. No, true success comes from seeking God’s will, and from working and living life within the boundaries He sets.

            As the people who were scattered at the Tower of Babel eventually found out, as the Israelites of the Old Testament found out and were constantly reminded … God, our God … He was with them, He is with us. Not for just one time but for the distance of our life and even beyond. God is attending to us with His great goodness and His limitless love.

            Psalm 100:5 says, “For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” God’s love, God’s faithfulness are constant, regardless of our failures. God proved His loyalty, His faithfulness to His people as He dwelt amongst them. Through the Tabernacle in the wilderness and through the temple centered in the midst of the people in Jerusalem … God was there.

            But when the time had fully come, God dwelt amongst His people again. Your faith, my faith, it is all centered not around one thing we have or that we have done in our life. No, our faith is all centered around one person. Everything revolves around Jesus.

            One time! One time! That’s all it took for Jesus to solve the problems of our sinfulness and our eternal destination. One time Jesus came, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate. One time Jesus was brutally crucified upon the cross. One time Jesus died and was buried. One time, on the third day, Jesus rose from the dead. All this to wipe away and forgive all your sins. All this to assure you of the promise of eternal life. All this so that you can have a lasting relationship with your Savior.

            To truly be remembered in the music world, you have to produce hit after hit after hit. Unlike Chumbawamba, The Monotones, Blind Melon or Carly Rae Jepsen, who have disappeared after their one-hit wonder … Jesus is still around. The thing is, Jesus only had to do it one time.

            Instead of chasing after one-hit wonders and fleeting moments of praise, I want you do to something different. I want you to focus on building a lasting relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. Dive into the Psalms, dive into Scriptures and be reminded that your gracious God is not a one-hit wonder. Your gracious God is with you for the distance. He is with you, wherever it is that you go. He is with you even to the very end of the age. “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations” (Psalm 100:4-5). Amen.

            The peace of God, that surpasses all human understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus, our ever-present Lord and Savior, now and forever. Amen.