WEBVTT 00:00:02.060 --> 00:00:16.260 Scripture for our sermon is Psalm 96. We'll read 00:00:16.260 --> 00:00:34.409 all 13 verses. Oh, sing to the Lord a new song. 00:00:34.770 --> 00:00:38.829 Sing to the Lord all the earth. Sing to the Lord. 00:00:39.149 --> 00:00:43.070 Bless his name. Tell of his salvation from day 00:00:43.070 --> 00:00:46.649 to day. Declare his glory among the nations. 00:00:46.770 --> 00:00:51.689 His marvelous works among all the peoples. For 00:00:51.689 --> 00:00:55.130 great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. 00:00:56.030 --> 00:01:00.240 He is to be feared above all gods. For all the 00:01:00.240 --> 00:01:03.159 gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but 00:01:03.159 --> 00:01:07.540 the Lord made the heavens Splendor and majesty 00:01:07.540 --> 00:01:11.560 are before him strength and beauty are in his 00:01:11.560 --> 00:01:15.659 sanctuary Ascribe to the Lord O families of the 00:01:15.659 --> 00:01:19.879 peoples ascribe to the Lord glory and strength 00:01:19.879 --> 00:01:24.120 Ascribe to the Lord the glory do his name bring 00:01:24.120 --> 00:01:28.040 an offering and come into his courts Worship 00:01:28.040 --> 00:01:31.599 the Lord in the splendor of holiness. Tremble 00:01:31.599 --> 00:01:36.500 before him, all the earth. Say among the nations, 00:01:36.939 --> 00:01:40.760 the Lord reigns. Yes, the world is established. 00:01:40.879 --> 00:01:45.219 It shall never be moved. He will judge the peoples 00:01:45.219 --> 00:01:49.079 with equity. Let the heavens be glad and let 00:01:49.079 --> 00:01:53.060 the earth rejoice. Let the sea roar and all that 00:01:53.060 --> 00:01:56.739 fills it. Let the field exult and everything 00:01:56.739 --> 00:02:00.359 in it. Then shall all the trees of the forest 00:02:00.359 --> 00:02:05.739 sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes. For 00:02:05.739 --> 00:02:09.919 he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the 00:02:09.919 --> 00:02:15.819 world in righteousness and the peoples in faithfulness. 00:02:16.080 --> 00:02:24.259 Just a short prayer from Psalm 119. God, till 00:02:24.259 --> 00:02:28.060 bountiful with us your servants, that we may 00:02:28.060 --> 00:02:35.159 live and keep your word, open our eyes, fill 00:02:35.159 --> 00:02:42.280 our hearts, that we may behold and treasure the 00:02:42.280 --> 00:02:47.539 wondrous things out of your law. This is our 00:02:47.539 --> 00:02:56.000 plea By your grace in Jesus name Amen So today 00:02:56.000 --> 00:02:59.039 we take a break from Matthew and we start a series 00:02:59.039 --> 00:03:03.139 on worship Let's just get this out of the way 00:03:03.139 --> 00:03:06.719 when I say worship I'm talking about a lot of 00:03:06.719 --> 00:03:11.219 things a lot of things We can't just think about 00:03:11.219 --> 00:03:14.530 singing. We just can't think about Reading our 00:03:14.530 --> 00:03:17.770 Bible, we can't think about sacrifice. When we're 00:03:17.770 --> 00:03:20.289 talking about worship, we're talking about a 00:03:20.289 --> 00:03:24.550 lot of things. And that'll come out as we go 00:03:24.550 --> 00:03:26.750 through this for a few weeks. So here's some 00:03:26.750 --> 00:03:29.310 questions I hope that we can answer after this 00:03:29.310 --> 00:03:31.889 series. Now, these questions aren't in the bulletin. 00:03:32.210 --> 00:03:35.789 They are in an article on the website, on our 00:03:35.789 --> 00:03:40.569 church website that's called... Can there be 00:03:40.569 --> 00:03:42.610 or could there be something wrong with our worship? 00:03:42.770 --> 00:03:44.349 There's eight questions. You can go back and 00:03:44.349 --> 00:03:47.530 look at it. My suggestion is consider these for 00:03:47.530 --> 00:03:51.150 the next few weeks. Here they are. What is worship? 00:03:52.710 --> 00:03:59.229 What happens when you worship? Who is worshiped 00:03:59.229 --> 00:04:06.550 for? You or God? How important is worship for 00:04:06.550 --> 00:04:13.759 the Christian life? Do you worship? Specifically, 00:04:14.240 --> 00:04:21.500 do you worship privately, with your family, and 00:04:21.500 --> 00:04:26.819 weekly with the church? Question six, does it 00:04:26.819 --> 00:04:33.319 matter how you worship? Seven, does God command 00:04:33.319 --> 00:04:36.660 you to worship? Does he command you to worship 00:04:36.660 --> 00:04:41.379 privately with your family? weekly at church? 00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:49.959 And then lastly, how important is it to weekly 00:04:49.959 --> 00:04:55.720 worship with the church? So as we start this 00:04:55.720 --> 00:04:59.220 series, I'm going to put – I want to load this 00:04:59.220 --> 00:05:01.600 up on the front end as much as I possibly can, 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:05.500 because I want to be clear of our purpose of 00:05:05.500 --> 00:05:10.180 why we're spending time… looking at this topic. 00:05:11.259 --> 00:05:13.199 So I want to help you see the starting point, 00:05:13.240 --> 00:05:19.480 the path, and the end. Okay? Why focus on worship? 00:05:20.600 --> 00:05:25.920 Number one, worship is the most important thing 00:05:25.920 --> 00:05:30.740 you do as a Christian. Now don't, like I said, 00:05:30.920 --> 00:05:34.240 don't just assign one thing to that meaning. 00:05:35.460 --> 00:05:38.800 Worship is the most important thing you do as 00:05:38.800 --> 00:05:40.579 a Christian. I also said at the beginning of 00:05:40.579 --> 00:05:42.199 the year that we're going to make this a year 00:05:42.199 --> 00:05:45.120 of practical Christianity. Worship is the most 00:05:45.120 --> 00:05:51.180 practical thing you can do as a Christian. Now 00:05:51.180 --> 00:05:55.360 I know this is a broad statement and you might 00:05:55.360 --> 00:05:59.379 feel like you want to disagree with that. That 00:05:59.379 --> 00:06:01.560 worship is the most important and the most practical 00:06:01.560 --> 00:06:05.019 thing that we do. But as we go through this series, 00:06:05.860 --> 00:06:09.579 as we define worship biblically by the help of 00:06:09.579 --> 00:06:15.060 God's grace, I think we will grasp a better understanding 00:06:15.060 --> 00:06:18.620 of what worship is. And if we do that, I'm pretty 00:06:18.620 --> 00:06:20.379 confident that you'll end up agreeing with me 00:06:20.379 --> 00:06:23.860 on that statement. That worship is the most important 00:06:23.860 --> 00:06:28.240 thing that we do. Spurgeon says in a sermon on 00:06:28.240 --> 00:06:32.019 worship, one of the first signs of God's presence 00:06:32.019 --> 00:06:35.259 among a people is that they take great interest 00:06:35.259 --> 00:06:41.040 in divine worship. And I think that's true. So 00:06:41.040 --> 00:06:43.160 why are we focusing on worship? Number one, it's 00:06:43.160 --> 00:06:45.800 the most important thing we do as Christians. 00:06:46.160 --> 00:06:49.480 But number two, our worship needs reformation. 00:06:53.230 --> 00:06:56.350 I'm of the thought that we need some correction 00:06:56.350 --> 00:06:59.189 in our understanding and application of true 00:06:59.189 --> 00:07:05.810 worship. And the reality is that that's always 00:07:05.810 --> 00:07:11.970 the case. And it always will be the case. As 00:07:11.970 --> 00:07:16.329 we are still in the battle with flesh. We have 00:07:16.329 --> 00:07:19.569 been redeemed from the bondage of sin, but we 00:07:19.569 --> 00:07:22.089 have not been fully redeemed from the effects 00:07:22.089 --> 00:07:26.060 of it. And as long as we walk through those two 00:07:26.060 --> 00:07:29.759 doors in this flesh, on this side of the return 00:07:29.759 --> 00:07:33.180 of Christ, there will always need for us to better 00:07:33.180 --> 00:07:36.339 understand what the Bible says is worship and 00:07:36.339 --> 00:07:41.279 how to do it, what its purpose, and so on and 00:07:41.279 --> 00:07:49.079 so forth. As I already mentioned, okay, understanding 00:07:49.079 --> 00:07:53.529 what worship is, private, with your family. corporately 00:07:53.529 --> 00:07:55.750 or what I might say publicly the what the why 00:07:55.750 --> 00:07:59.089 the how as you think about those three things 00:07:59.089 --> 00:08:01.990 those three those three places where you can 00:08:01.990 --> 00:08:07.189 worship as an individual as a family and corporately 00:08:07.189 --> 00:08:10.089 or publicly I might use the word corporate when 00:08:10.089 --> 00:08:12.170 I'm referring to what we're doing now or I might 00:08:12.170 --> 00:08:16.089 use the word public as to what we're doing now 00:08:16.089 --> 00:08:20.449 and I think as time has gone on in church history 00:08:20.910 --> 00:08:25.829 which we're part of, as time has gone on, the 00:08:25.829 --> 00:08:31.029 priority for those three things have been individual, 00:08:32.269 --> 00:08:37.429 family, maybe corporate, and then family. I want 00:08:37.429 --> 00:08:40.789 us to approach this series in understanding what's 00:08:40.789 --> 00:08:43.269 happening on all three of those levels, but here's 00:08:43.269 --> 00:08:46.350 what I think is happening in church history and 00:08:46.350 --> 00:08:51.860 even affects us, is that we prioritize the individual 00:08:51.860 --> 00:08:56.259 aspect of worship and give less significance 00:08:56.259 --> 00:09:00.879 to the practice, or I'm sorry, the worship as 00:09:00.879 --> 00:09:05.759 a family and the worship as a church, public 00:09:05.759 --> 00:09:12.139 worship. I think we need a bit of realignment 00:09:12.139 --> 00:09:15.009 in those three things and I'm not... going to 00:09:15.009 --> 00:09:18.309 prioritize those. I'm not going to say one is 00:09:18.309 --> 00:09:22.090 higher or greater than the other. All three are 00:09:22.090 --> 00:09:25.830 necessary, but I think as the world that we live 00:09:25.830 --> 00:09:30.450 in has become more individualistic, right? Where 00:09:30.450 --> 00:09:32.889 we are separated and we're connected through 00:09:32.889 --> 00:09:37.129 Facebook and text messaging and everything in 00:09:37.129 --> 00:09:39.690 our world is trying to serve us as individuals. 00:09:40.090 --> 00:09:44.889 And there are some good doctrines of The Reformation 00:09:44.889 --> 00:09:48.590 and that we can pull from the scriptures that 00:09:48.590 --> 00:09:51.570 express the importance of individual worship, 00:09:51.789 --> 00:09:59.649 but sometimes the church will over -apply those 00:09:59.649 --> 00:10:04.850 doctrines to the detriment of worship with family 00:10:04.850 --> 00:10:09.909 and with the body. So J .C. Rowell says this 00:10:09.909 --> 00:10:13.710 regarding the worship of the saints. public and 00:10:13.710 --> 00:10:17.049 corporate setting. Just as you may lay it down 00:10:17.049 --> 00:10:20.250 as a certainty that where there is no private 00:10:20.250 --> 00:10:23.789 prayer, that would be private worship, there 00:10:23.789 --> 00:10:27.549 is no grace in a man's heart, so you may lay 00:10:27.549 --> 00:10:30.950 it down as the highest probability that where 00:10:30.950 --> 00:10:33.549 there is no public worship, there is no Church 00:10:33.549 --> 00:10:38.330 of God and no profession of Christianity. And 00:10:38.330 --> 00:10:43.190 that's how extremely important it is. As your 00:10:43.190 --> 00:10:50.230 pastor, I don't want us to underestimate and 00:10:50.230 --> 00:10:53.289 misunderstand the what, the why, and the how 00:10:53.289 --> 00:10:57.789 of worship, and how that should affect us individually 00:10:57.789 --> 00:11:02.210 and as families and publicly when we come together. 00:11:05.690 --> 00:11:09.450 And as we're going through this, if I say something, 00:11:11.019 --> 00:11:16.360 Don't just be, is he talking about me? It is 00:11:16.360 --> 00:11:20.639 a little church, and I know you all, and I know 00:11:20.639 --> 00:11:26.059 myself, and I can see all of our shortcomings 00:11:26.059 --> 00:11:31.159 in worship. And it is not a place for us to go, 00:11:31.259 --> 00:11:37.500 no, no, no, no, no, and wag our finger. My job 00:11:37.500 --> 00:11:44.820 is to feed you. And correct you. And that's what 00:11:44.820 --> 00:11:50.740 I hope that we can do as we give ourselves to 00:11:50.740 --> 00:11:58.340 this glorious topic, this glorious purpose of 00:11:58.340 --> 00:12:01.419 worshipping the triune God, the Father, the Son, 00:12:01.600 --> 00:12:07.940 and the Holy Spirit. I might be exaggerating, 00:12:08.759 --> 00:12:12.740 and if I am, it's not intentional. But I'm convinced, 00:12:12.960 --> 00:12:16.000 because of how important worship is, I'm convinced 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:18.139 that this is the most important thing that I've 00:12:18.139 --> 00:12:21.960 ever preached to this church in the last four 00:12:21.960 --> 00:12:27.200 years. That's how important I think this is, 00:12:27.340 --> 00:12:30.480 and that's how important I think our reformation, 00:12:30.779 --> 00:12:33.899 our spiritual reformation and revival of our 00:12:33.899 --> 00:12:38.100 worship is needed privately, as families, and 00:12:38.100 --> 00:12:42.720 corporately. So what are we gonna do this morning? 00:12:43.080 --> 00:12:46.940 Psalm 96. We're gonna look at the most fundamental 00:12:46.940 --> 00:12:50.220 level, the basic principles of worship. We got 00:12:50.220 --> 00:12:54.299 to know what it is. What's going on. Now Psalm 00:12:54.299 --> 00:13:01.440 96 is good because it gives us a look into worship 00:13:01.440 --> 00:13:05.899 really regardless of whether we're in the Old 00:13:05.899 --> 00:13:08.500 Testament or the New Testament. Even though the 00:13:08.500 --> 00:13:11.700 Psalms in the Old Testament. It is written in 00:13:11.700 --> 00:13:16.500 such a way where it sort of defies where you 00:13:16.500 --> 00:13:20.779 are in redemptive history. Like, if you're a 00:13:20.779 --> 00:13:24.240 basketball player, when you shoot a three -pointer 00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:27.580 versus a free throw, it's a different shot. There's 00:13:27.580 --> 00:13:30.940 some differences, but the basic fundamentals 00:13:30.940 --> 00:13:35.740 to do it well are going to be the same. So the 00:13:35.740 --> 00:13:38.990 basic fundamentals of worship to worship well, 00:13:38.990 --> 00:13:40.990 regardless whether you're in the old covenant 00:13:40.990 --> 00:13:44.830 or new covenant, are going to be the same. There's 00:13:44.830 --> 00:13:48.149 just some discontinuity on how that's expressed. 00:13:48.850 --> 00:13:52.409 And that's what we're going to be looking at 00:13:52.409 --> 00:13:54.649 over the next couple weeks. So we're going to 00:13:54.649 --> 00:14:00.210 Psalm 96. And let's start by looking at the structure. 00:14:00.529 --> 00:14:03.570 Now, if you'd like to mark in your Bibles, here's 00:14:03.570 --> 00:14:06.649 some markings you can do. You can sort of bracket 00:14:07.070 --> 00:14:09.710 the sections here, and I'll give you the brackets, 00:14:09.950 --> 00:14:12.190 the sections, and then their names. This is also 00:14:12.190 --> 00:14:18.309 in your bulletin. Verses one through three, that's 00:14:18.309 --> 00:14:21.210 a section, that's something you can bracket off, 00:14:21.610 --> 00:14:27.850 and then you can name it commands or actions 00:14:27.850 --> 00:14:37.100 of worship. Section two, which is verses Four 00:14:37.100 --> 00:14:41.139 through six. You can bracket that one. Four through 00:14:41.139 --> 00:14:43.860 six. Again, this is in your bulletin, so if you 00:14:43.860 --> 00:14:46.899 don't like writing in your Bible, you can do 00:14:46.899 --> 00:14:50.440 this in your notes. Section two, verses four 00:14:50.440 --> 00:14:56.740 through six, is information or reasons for worship. 00:14:57.779 --> 00:15:05.259 Reasons for worship. 7 through 10, which is the 00:15:05.259 --> 00:15:09.500 third section, is similar to the first section, 00:15:10.159 --> 00:15:15.940 commands, or the acts of worship. And then the 00:15:15.940 --> 00:15:21.419 last section, verses 11 through 13, is the same 00:15:21.419 --> 00:15:28.519 as the second section, information, or the reasons 00:15:28.519 --> 00:15:32.460 for worship. So that's sections. One and two 00:15:32.460 --> 00:15:35.639 or one and three are the same. Those are the 00:15:35.639 --> 00:15:39.080 commands of worship or the acts of worship For 00:15:39.080 --> 00:15:41.419 the second the second section in the fourth section 00:15:41.419 --> 00:15:44.279 Those are the information or the reasons for 00:15:44.279 --> 00:15:47.539 worship look at maybe you can kind of see that 00:15:47.539 --> 00:15:49.639 as you're thinking through this But let's look 00:15:49.639 --> 00:15:54.620 at section one to help us understand this Section 00:15:54.620 --> 00:15:56.620 one because you might be thinking how did you 00:15:56.620 --> 00:15:58.700 come up with this? Like what what's telling you 00:15:58.700 --> 00:16:03.730 this well? grammar Grammar is telling me this. 00:16:04.370 --> 00:16:07.769 I can look at the verbs and understand the point 00:16:07.769 --> 00:16:11.789 of the verse, the point of the sentence. Section 00:16:11.789 --> 00:16:15.470 one and section three, the point of the verbs 00:16:15.470 --> 00:16:20.309 is to tell you, you must do something. It's commands 00:16:20.309 --> 00:16:25.090 or the grammar, it's an imperative verb. It's 00:16:25.090 --> 00:16:27.129 telling you not that you should do something 00:16:27.129 --> 00:16:30.830 or you can do something, but you must do something. 00:16:31.600 --> 00:16:34.860 It's a command. What are the commands in section 00:16:34.860 --> 00:16:38.419 1, verse 1 through 3? You're commanded to sing 00:16:38.419 --> 00:16:41.600 three times. You're commanded to bless. You're 00:16:41.600 --> 00:16:44.759 commanded to tell. And you're commanded to declare. 00:16:45.200 --> 00:16:49.279 All imperative verbs. All commands. Not what 00:16:49.279 --> 00:16:53.360 you may do, but what you must do. Section 3, 00:16:53.480 --> 00:16:57.960 verse 7 through 10, same thing. Very similar. 00:16:59.000 --> 00:17:02.620 We get a scribe. three times. You can also think 00:17:02.620 --> 00:17:07.259 of it as give, give, give a scribe. Then you 00:17:07.259 --> 00:17:12.180 get bring, come, worship, and tremble. Again, 00:17:12.619 --> 00:17:18.019 all commanded. Not that you may do it, but that 00:17:18.019 --> 00:17:21.539 you must do it. Now, what does section two and 00:17:21.539 --> 00:17:25.380 section four tell us? There's no commands in 00:17:25.380 --> 00:17:29.430 those two sections. Those two sections are just 00:17:29.430 --> 00:17:34.210 giving you information or as we said the reasons 00:17:34.210 --> 00:17:37.990 for worship Nowhere in section 2 do you find 00:17:37.990 --> 00:17:40.490 and for do you find imperative verbs telling 00:17:40.490 --> 00:17:43.829 you what you must do instead? They're conveying 00:17:43.829 --> 00:17:50.650 reality Now on your bulletin in the notes you'll 00:17:50.650 --> 00:17:53.789 see there's a section at the end that's in the 00:17:53.789 --> 00:17:56.809 inside called major takeaways. I have four of 00:17:56.809 --> 00:17:58.910 them. They're written down already and I'll tell 00:17:58.910 --> 00:18:01.049 you as we get to them. Here's the first one. 00:18:01.670 --> 00:18:05.210 And so when I say major takeaway, talk about 00:18:05.210 --> 00:18:07.670 something important. These takeaways we're going 00:18:07.670 --> 00:18:10.849 to take away and carry throughout this series. 00:18:11.309 --> 00:18:14.529 So these are fundamental points for worship. 00:18:14.890 --> 00:18:18.329 Number one, the first major takeaway. True worship 00:18:18.329 --> 00:18:21.529 doesn't take place in the commands but in the 00:18:21.529 --> 00:18:27.799 reality. True worship doesn't take place because 00:18:27.799 --> 00:18:36.559 you are told to worship True worship comes from 00:18:36.559 --> 00:18:42.920 hearing and believing the truth The command verses 00:18:42.920 --> 00:18:48.180 are there to help us express our worship to instruct 00:18:48.180 --> 00:18:54.819 our expression of worship look at the verses 00:18:54.819 --> 00:19:03.779 in section two, and see what I mean about conveying 00:19:03.779 --> 00:19:08.200 truth or the information, the reason for worship. 00:19:08.599 --> 00:19:12.759 Okay, verse four. For great is the Lord and greatly 00:19:12.759 --> 00:19:15.079 to be praised. And you might go, oh, look, no, 00:19:15.500 --> 00:19:18.509 it tells you to... That he ought to be praised 00:19:18.509 --> 00:19:20.930 greatly. It's not a command. It's not an imperative 00:19:20.930 --> 00:19:25.349 verb. It's just stating a reality. Great is the 00:19:25.349 --> 00:19:28.410 Lord, and so he is greatly – he will be praised 00:19:28.410 --> 00:19:33.829 greatly. Just like when you enjoy – I'm going 00:19:33.829 --> 00:19:36.130 to probably have a couple illustrations on food 00:19:36.130 --> 00:19:41.690 today. So that pie is delicious, and it ought 00:19:41.690 --> 00:19:44.549 to be – that pie is great, and it ought to be 00:19:44.549 --> 00:19:48.880 enjoyed greatly. It's just stating a reality. 00:19:50.440 --> 00:19:52.819 It's not telling you to go enjoy it greatly. 00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:56.720 It's saying when you enjoy it, you will enjoy 00:19:56.720 --> 00:20:02.500 it greatly. Why? Because it is great. So we see 00:20:02.500 --> 00:20:05.900 this conveying information. For great is the 00:20:05.900 --> 00:20:08.420 Lord and greatly to be praised. He is to be feared 00:20:08.420 --> 00:20:10.640 above all gods. He's not telling you to fear 00:20:10.640 --> 00:20:13.849 him above all gods. He's saying he is to be feared, 00:20:14.069 --> 00:20:18.170 because He is a fearful God. For all the gods 00:20:18.170 --> 00:20:21.230 of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord 00:20:21.230 --> 00:20:27.849 made the heavens. And so what? Sing to the Lord. 00:20:29.190 --> 00:20:38.809 Sing to the Lord. Sing to the Lord. We're going 00:20:38.809 --> 00:20:43.200 to have a whole sermon on singing. But let me 00:20:43.200 --> 00:20:47.319 just say this. A non -singing Christian is a 00:20:47.319 --> 00:20:53.420 biblical contradiction. Sing to the Lord. Sing 00:20:53.420 --> 00:20:57.700 to the Lord. Sing to the Lord. The psalmist says 00:20:57.700 --> 00:21:06.000 three times. Why? Because great is the Lord and 00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:12.769 greatly to be praised. You cannot read the entirety 00:21:12.769 --> 00:21:17.450 of the scriptures and not see that one of the 00:21:17.450 --> 00:21:22.029 most well -known visible expressions of worship 00:21:22.029 --> 00:21:29.569 is singing. So the scriptures are full of this 00:21:29.569 --> 00:21:34.390 pattern of revealing information and then telling 00:21:34.390 --> 00:21:38.859 us how you Should respond to it showing the reason 00:21:38.859 --> 00:21:41.539 for worship and then giving you the instructions 00:21:41.539 --> 00:21:44.140 on how you ought to worship The psalmist is setting 00:21:44.140 --> 00:21:46.779 this is what the psalmist is doing. This is what 00:21:46.779 --> 00:21:50.279 the Bible is doing This is what I should be doing 00:21:50.279 --> 00:21:53.299 on us on Sunday mornings This is what you should 00:21:53.299 --> 00:21:56.279 be doing and your private worship to your families 00:21:56.279 --> 00:21:59.039 and this is this is the beginning of worship 00:21:59.039 --> 00:22:05.789 setting God in front of you That's what the psalmist 00:22:05.789 --> 00:22:18.089 is doing. He's setting God before you. He's setting 00:22:18.089 --> 00:22:21.029 God before you that you might, and here are the 00:22:21.029 --> 00:22:24.630 three mechanisms of worship, the three fundamentals, 00:22:25.230 --> 00:22:33.670 in order that you might observe, evaluate, and 00:22:33.670 --> 00:22:41.210 then express. Let me say this before we dive 00:22:41.210 --> 00:22:43.589 into those mechanics. We're going to call them 00:22:43.589 --> 00:22:46.809 the mechanics of worship, the fundamentals. Observe, 00:22:47.250 --> 00:22:50.309 evaluate, and express. What happens when you 00:22:50.309 --> 00:22:53.769 focus on the instruction and not the information? 00:22:54.190 --> 00:22:56.309 What happens when you get caught up with the 00:22:56.309 --> 00:23:01.369 acts of worship and neglect the reason for worship? 00:23:02.220 --> 00:23:06.200 What do you think is happening? You're just doing 00:23:06.200 --> 00:23:13.460 work. There's no worship. It's just effort. It's 00:23:13.460 --> 00:23:17.839 just putting out effort. And so what happens 00:23:17.839 --> 00:23:21.140 is when you do that, when you focus on the command 00:23:21.140 --> 00:23:25.000 and not the reason for worship, for the reality, 00:23:25.140 --> 00:23:27.019 the truth, the information, who God is, what 00:23:27.019 --> 00:23:31.140 He's done, is that Christianity feels more like 00:23:31.210 --> 00:23:34.130 putting together a piece of furniture from Ikea. 00:23:35.549 --> 00:23:37.769 You're like, I gotta look at this manual, and 00:23:37.769 --> 00:23:40.250 I know there's the picture, and I gotta do it 00:23:40.250 --> 00:23:44.690 and put it together. And you do it, and there's 00:23:44.690 --> 00:23:49.609 no worship? There's no affection? There's no 00:23:49.609 --> 00:23:53.690 humiliation and exaltation? You're saying, I 00:23:53.690 --> 00:23:57.150 gotta do A, B, C, and D in order to get the end 00:23:57.150 --> 00:24:06.500 product. And all that is is hallow, vain worship. 00:24:06.740 --> 00:24:10.460 That's all it is. So we'll keep that in mind. 00:24:10.480 --> 00:24:12.180 We'll come back to that. The mechanics of worship, 00:24:12.819 --> 00:24:17.200 the fundamentals. And like I said, these fundamentals 00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:19.220 go from the Old Testament to the New Testament. 00:24:20.539 --> 00:24:24.039 There's two roles, two participants in this, 00:24:24.039 --> 00:24:25.579 as you would say. It doesn't really work well. 00:24:25.720 --> 00:24:28.779 We've got the object being worshipped and the 00:24:28.779 --> 00:24:33.509 worshiper. So this definition… also applies to 00:24:33.509 --> 00:24:37.710 idol worship. Because worship is worship. It's 00:24:37.710 --> 00:24:40.089 just whether or not you're worshiping and valuing, 00:24:40.230 --> 00:24:43.329 observing, valuing, and expressing to the right 00:24:43.329 --> 00:24:48.630 object. Does that make sense? So this, evaluate 00:24:48.630 --> 00:24:52.190 your idolatry here with this definition as well, 00:24:52.450 --> 00:24:55.049 with these three things. So there's the object 00:24:55.049 --> 00:24:59.170 being worshiped and the worshipper. Number one, 00:24:59.289 --> 00:25:06.059 observation. You cannot worship what you do not 00:25:06.059 --> 00:25:11.079 observe. You cannot worship what you do not know. 00:25:12.940 --> 00:25:16.000 How has God given you the ability to observe? 00:25:17.019 --> 00:25:20.759 He's given you senses. He's given you a mind. 00:25:22.579 --> 00:25:25.500 And we usually take in the information, the observation 00:25:25.500 --> 00:25:28.319 with our senses, whether it be hear, taste, touch, 00:25:28.440 --> 00:25:33.359 smell, whatever. Then we process that we evaluate 00:25:33.359 --> 00:25:40.359 that information with our minds internally Here's 00:25:40.359 --> 00:25:44.160 the second major takeaway This kind of feels 00:25:44.160 --> 00:25:45.859 out of place, but you'll see where I'm going 00:25:45.859 --> 00:25:52.039 here The entire Bible is about God's objective 00:25:52.039 --> 00:25:55.299 or mission to have a people that will worship 00:25:55.299 --> 00:26:01.150 him for eternity Like, what's the Bible about? 00:26:01.309 --> 00:26:06.089 It's about God gathering a people that will worship 00:26:06.089 --> 00:26:11.269 Him for eternity. God wants to be worshipped. 00:26:13.869 --> 00:26:17.670 That may seem pretty egotistic. That might seem 00:26:17.670 --> 00:26:20.490 pretty self -absorbed. And if you or I had that 00:26:20.490 --> 00:26:27.269 attitude, which we do, it is wicked. It is evil. 00:26:27.289 --> 00:26:30.710 It is selfish. But why is it not selfish when 00:26:30.710 --> 00:26:34.250 God wants and gathers people for him to be worshipped? 00:26:34.789 --> 00:26:37.890 And here's sort of sub -point of this major takeaway. 00:26:38.529 --> 00:26:42.890 When you worship God, he is actually loving you. 00:26:44.289 --> 00:26:46.930 And I don't have time to go into that, but when 00:26:46.930 --> 00:26:52.609 you see, observe, and evaluate God rightly and 00:26:52.609 --> 00:26:58.099 express that evaluation outwardly… In the ways 00:26:58.099 --> 00:27:02.319 of God, He is actually doing something to you, 00:27:02.779 --> 00:27:07.299 for your good. He's caring for you, building 00:27:07.299 --> 00:27:13.220 you up, solidifying your hope, your peace, your 00:27:13.220 --> 00:27:20.740 faith. Now, since God desires to be worshipped, 00:27:21.920 --> 00:27:25.619 and we cannot worship what we do not know, here's... 00:27:26.220 --> 00:27:31.019 What we have to understand he has made himself 00:27:31.019 --> 00:27:37.500 observable Because you cannot worship what you 00:27:37.500 --> 00:27:42.420 do not observe what you do not know This leads 00:27:42.420 --> 00:27:45.380 us to we're gonna get a little bit a little bit 00:27:45.380 --> 00:27:48.880 of deep in the doctrine here and it's okay because 00:27:48.880 --> 00:27:53.079 here's what I'm coming to understand The more 00:27:53.079 --> 00:27:57.599 practical and the more Holiness you desire, the 00:27:57.599 --> 00:28:03.000 more you desire to please God, the more you better 00:28:03.000 --> 00:28:06.940 be grounded in the truths and the doctrines that 00:28:06.940 --> 00:28:12.339 God has revealed in the scriptures. Your doxology, 00:28:12.880 --> 00:28:16.880 your worship, your way of living can only go 00:28:16.880 --> 00:28:26.220 as high as what you know. We can't say We're 00:28:26.220 --> 00:28:29.819 not gonna be thinking all High -minded with doctrine. 00:28:29.819 --> 00:28:33.740 We need to be practical or We can't be so practical. 00:28:33.740 --> 00:28:37.240 We we need to know more No, the point is is that 00:28:37.240 --> 00:28:41.140 the more you know of God his will and his understanding 00:28:41.140 --> 00:28:46.880 the more you walk in his ways practically So 00:28:46.880 --> 00:28:51.500 When God makes himself observable he makes himself 00:28:51.500 --> 00:28:56.880 observable in two ways The theological language 00:28:56.880 --> 00:29:01.519 is the doctrine of revelation, not the book of 00:29:01.519 --> 00:29:04.720 revelation, little r, revealing. And he's done 00:29:04.720 --> 00:29:07.619 it in two ways, in a general or natural way, 00:29:08.039 --> 00:29:14.160 and then in a special way. General or natural 00:29:14.160 --> 00:29:17.960 revelation, think of it this way, the natural 00:29:17.960 --> 00:29:24.880 world around us, creation. reveals creation reveals 00:29:24.880 --> 00:29:30.619 to every eye the reality of a creator so God 00:29:30.619 --> 00:29:40.839 has made creation to say hey look at me and The 00:29:40.839 --> 00:29:44.700 reality of this demonstrates his character his 00:29:44.700 --> 00:29:49.420 goodness his wisdom his power and That revealing 00:29:49.420 --> 00:29:55.630 is so convincing That alone is enough evidence 00:29:55.630 --> 00:30:00.589 for God to damn an unbeliever to eternal condemnation. 00:30:02.049 --> 00:30:05.970 To have eyesight and a mind and observe creation 00:30:05.970 --> 00:30:10.190 and to not fall and worship God will damn you 00:30:10.190 --> 00:30:19.369 for eternity. That's a tough one. God has made 00:30:19.369 --> 00:30:22.640 himself known. Desires to be worshiped and he 00:30:22.640 --> 00:30:26.640 has made himself observable. Psalm 19 one says 00:30:26.640 --> 00:30:31.359 the heavens declare what? The glory of God and 00:30:31.359 --> 00:30:35.420 the sky above proclaims his handiwork revelation 00:30:35.420 --> 00:30:45.000 18 or excuse me revelation one Verse 18 for the 00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:47.859 wrath of God is revealed from heaven against 00:30:47.859 --> 00:30:50.599 all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who 00:30:50.599 --> 00:30:54.700 by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 00:30:58.579 --> 00:31:01.960 For what can be known about God is plain to them. 00:31:02.019 --> 00:31:04.799 To who? Again, who's the subject of the text? 00:31:05.019 --> 00:31:08.859 The unrighteous. For what can be known to them 00:31:08.859 --> 00:31:10.779 or what can be known about God is plain to them 00:31:10.779 --> 00:31:14.359 because God has shown it to them. He is not only 00:31:14.359 --> 00:31:18.730 observable, he's made himself. … for his invisible 00:31:18.730 --> 00:31:21.769 attributes, namely his eternal power and divine 00:31:21.769 --> 00:31:24.369 nature, have been clearly perceived ever since 00:31:24.369 --> 00:31:33.170 the creation of the world." So it says they are 00:31:33.170 --> 00:31:37.390 without excuse. But general revelation isn't 00:31:37.390 --> 00:31:40.650 enough. Or as an old confession of faith says, 00:31:41.049 --> 00:31:43.410 these demonstrations, the general revelation 00:31:43.410 --> 00:31:48.339 of God in creation… are not sufficient to give 00:31:48.339 --> 00:31:51.839 the knowledge of God and His will that is necessary 00:31:51.839 --> 00:31:56.339 for salvation. Again, that's a tough one, but 00:31:56.339 --> 00:31:59.859 it's the teaching of the scriptures. You can 00:31:59.859 --> 00:32:03.759 see that in Romans 1 -21. Look at Romans 1 -21. 00:32:04.039 --> 00:32:08.579 For although they knew God, they did not honor 00:32:08.579 --> 00:32:13.440 Him as God. They could see… The reality of God 00:32:13.440 --> 00:32:16.500 and they even in their suppression they know 00:32:16.500 --> 00:32:20.039 that he is there Yet they do not honor him as 00:32:20.039 --> 00:32:23.319 God or give thanks to him But they become futile 00:32:23.319 --> 00:32:25.980 and their thinking and their foolish hearts were 00:32:25.980 --> 00:32:29.619 darkened. What do they end up doing? They end 00:32:29.619 --> 00:32:35.619 up worshiping But what do they worship? That 00:32:35.619 --> 00:32:41.049 which he created not him the creator They set 00:32:41.049 --> 00:32:44.589 their eyes on the object of creation and say 00:32:44.589 --> 00:32:49.210 there is great value in creation, therefore I 00:32:49.210 --> 00:32:55.170 will worship creation. Same fundamentals, wrong 00:32:55.170 --> 00:33:02.109 object. Got it? Okay, then you get special revelation. 00:33:02.380 --> 00:33:05.859 God revealing Himself and declaring His will 00:33:05.859 --> 00:33:09.440 through speaking directly or indirectly, so we 00:33:09.440 --> 00:33:14.279 have the Word of God in order that He may be 00:33:14.279 --> 00:33:18.579 known and that those who hear Him might have 00:33:18.579 --> 00:33:25.339 life. You know the verse Hebrews 1, long ago, 00:33:25.519 --> 00:33:29.299 at many times, in many ways, God spoke to the 00:33:29.299 --> 00:33:33.990 fathers. He spoke to there, the fathers by the 00:33:33.990 --> 00:33:36.769 prophets. So that would be the fathers of Israel. 00:33:37.769 --> 00:33:41.970 But in these last days, he has spoken to us by 00:33:41.970 --> 00:33:47.349 his son. In special revelation, God is revealing 00:33:47.349 --> 00:33:50.109 himself and declaring his will through speaking 00:33:50.109 --> 00:33:52.990 his word. That happened in the Old Testament 00:33:52.990 --> 00:33:57.829 to Israel, and that has happened now through 00:33:57.829 --> 00:34:02.950 the son. Two covenants. Two groups, two speakers, 00:34:03.410 --> 00:34:07.630 one will, one purpose that God would have worshippers. 00:34:08.710 --> 00:34:10.110 You remember what Jesus said to the woman at 00:34:10.110 --> 00:34:12.670 the well? They were sort of in a back and forth 00:34:12.670 --> 00:34:15.550 about true worship. And what did he say to her? 00:34:17.449 --> 00:34:23.550 You worship what you do not know. When he says 00:34:23.550 --> 00:34:27.670 we, he's talking about the Jew as opposed to 00:34:27.670 --> 00:34:31.619 the Samaritans. Who sort of took a bit of took 00:34:31.619 --> 00:34:34.219 a bit of the scriptures that mixed it with some 00:34:34.219 --> 00:34:37.980 other stuff Had some other ways that they wanted 00:34:37.980 --> 00:34:41.280 to worship Jesus said no no no no no we worship 00:34:41.280 --> 00:34:44.579 what we know Because we worship what the word 00:34:44.579 --> 00:34:54.019 says Special revelation God's Word Special revelation 00:34:54.019 --> 00:34:57.219 leads people to right relationship with God bringing 00:34:57.219 --> 00:35:03.760 atonement righteousness and holiness But the 00:35:03.760 --> 00:35:06.920 fullness and the end of special revelation is 00:35:06.920 --> 00:35:13.739 the word made flesh John chapter 1 we have to 00:35:13.739 --> 00:35:20.639 move on Worship only happens after you have observed 00:35:21.789 --> 00:35:24.769 After you have been informed by God. Look at 00:35:24.769 --> 00:35:26.769 your bulletin for a second. I don't have—yeah, 00:35:26.769 --> 00:35:28.449 I like—just look at your bulletin. I want you 00:35:28.449 --> 00:35:32.829 to see something. Do you know what I call this? 00:35:33.989 --> 00:35:39.309 An order of worship. Because that's what we do 00:35:39.309 --> 00:35:44.769 when we come together, is we worship. Now, I 00:35:44.769 --> 00:35:47.289 want you to go home, and I want you to see the 00:35:47.289 --> 00:35:55.429 pattern. Information. Action. Information. Action. 00:35:57.570 --> 00:36:00.610 Reason to worship. Acts of worship. Reason to 00:36:00.610 --> 00:36:03.190 worship. Acts of worship. And where does the 00:36:03.190 --> 00:36:07.449 reason or the information come from? The word 00:36:07.449 --> 00:36:14.329 read. The word sung. The word prayed. We cannot 00:36:14.329 --> 00:36:18.670 worship rightly apart from as Paul tells Timothy 00:36:18.670 --> 00:36:22.659 that we are devoted to the public. Reading of 00:36:22.659 --> 00:36:25.739 the scriptures because apart from it you worship 00:36:25.739 --> 00:36:29.820 what you do not know Which means you don't worship? 00:36:31.300 --> 00:36:37.420 Now and finally the top of the bulletin What 00:36:37.420 --> 00:36:39.820 does the top of the bulletin say the top of the 00:36:39.820 --> 00:36:45.960 order of service say Seeking to set forth Christ 00:36:45.960 --> 00:36:54.730 This is the apex God revealed you want to observe 00:36:54.730 --> 00:37:00.949 God you must seek Christ You must set your eyes 00:37:00.949 --> 00:37:05.610 on him when you wake up 530 in the morning and 00:37:05.610 --> 00:37:07.650 you got to get those sleepy bugs out of your 00:37:07.650 --> 00:37:10.449 eye you get your cup of coffee and You're like, 00:37:10.449 --> 00:37:13.510 I don't know what is wrong with me. Why don't 00:37:13.510 --> 00:37:16.070 I worship? Why don't what is this just feels 00:37:16.070 --> 00:37:18.949 like a job? What is going on? Are you seeking 00:37:18.949 --> 00:37:23.280 Christ? Are you setting Him before you? Are you 00:37:23.280 --> 00:37:28.320 going to Him? The Word made flesh. Set Him before 00:37:28.320 --> 00:37:31.880 you and observe Him. Don't read the words of 00:37:31.880 --> 00:37:35.739 the Scriptures to gain or to know what you ought 00:37:35.739 --> 00:37:38.760 to do, but read the words of the Scriptures so 00:37:38.760 --> 00:37:44.320 that you might see Him and observe Him. And that's 00:37:44.320 --> 00:37:46.019 what we do when we come in. We walk in these 00:37:46.019 --> 00:37:49.699 doors, we sit down together, and we look to Christ. 00:37:50.910 --> 00:37:54.570 We find Christ because apart from him, we worship 00:37:54.570 --> 00:38:01.849 God, none. We think we use John 14 as in Jesus 00:38:01.849 --> 00:38:08.269 is the literal and is true, but Jesus is the 00:38:08.269 --> 00:38:14.269 way to heaven, the way to God. But I think what 00:38:14.269 --> 00:38:17.130 he really wants you to understand is that he's 00:38:17.130 --> 00:38:24.739 the only way. to bow to God, to submit to God, 00:38:25.739 --> 00:38:28.900 to worship God. Because if you come to the Father 00:38:28.900 --> 00:38:34.099 apart from Christ, beware. You come in these 00:38:34.099 --> 00:38:37.139 doors week after week apart from Christ, you 00:38:37.139 --> 00:38:41.500 are heaping up judgment upon yourself. For I 00:38:41.500 --> 00:38:45.260 am the way, the truth, and the life and no one 00:38:45.260 --> 00:38:48.440 will come before the Father except through me 00:38:48.440 --> 00:38:52.000 and the veil was torn because Christ died and 00:38:52.000 --> 00:38:54.440 the veil was open that we might come into the 00:38:54.440 --> 00:38:57.440 presence of God and worship not have a party 00:38:57.440 --> 00:39:00.159 not feel good about eternally about our eternal 00:39:00.159 --> 00:39:02.900 life but to come into the presence and worship 00:39:02.900 --> 00:39:09.519 God that is what he has done whether we're at 00:39:09.519 --> 00:39:13.349 home at 5 30 in the morning or we're gathering 00:39:13.349 --> 00:39:17.489 our rambunctious, beautiful children after supper, 00:39:17.869 --> 00:39:22.429 or we come together Sunday by Sunday, Lord's 00:39:22.429 --> 00:39:27.409 Day by Lord's Day, we come to seek the presence 00:39:27.409 --> 00:39:32.070 of God through Christ. That is our worship. That 00:39:32.070 --> 00:39:42.760 is who you are. And everything else Finds itself 00:39:42.760 --> 00:39:47.980 out coming out of that growing out of that And 00:39:47.980 --> 00:39:50.619 that that'll that'll be what we talk about as 00:39:50.619 --> 00:39:57.440 we go through This series So that's the observation 00:39:57.440 --> 00:40:01.239 that's the observation You cannot worship what 00:40:01.239 --> 00:40:04.179 you do not know, but after observation there 00:40:04.179 --> 00:40:17.679 is the evaluation of worth I'm going to set this 00:40:17.679 --> 00:40:23.480 up, and then we're going to set it aside. And 00:40:23.480 --> 00:40:28.960 I want you to go home, take the bulletin, and 00:40:28.960 --> 00:40:31.480 start thinking about the observation and the 00:40:31.480 --> 00:40:37.500 evaluation. So let's say you were interested 00:40:37.500 --> 00:40:45.679 in the stock market. You wanted to earn some... 00:40:45.690 --> 00:40:54.730 Money. You find a stock, a company, you observe 00:40:54.730 --> 00:40:58.750 it, you look at all of its characteristics, its 00:40:58.750 --> 00:41:02.550 qualities, and then what do you do? You make 00:41:02.550 --> 00:41:07.389 an evaluation. Is this worthy, is this company 00:41:07.389 --> 00:41:13.710 worthy of my money? And you give it a good evaluation? 00:41:14.829 --> 00:41:21.349 What do you do? You let go of something that's 00:41:21.349 --> 00:41:25.670 valuable to you. Why? Because you see that the 00:41:25.670 --> 00:41:28.929 thing that you have observed and evaluated is 00:41:28.929 --> 00:41:32.210 gonna bring you more value. Not because of what 00:41:32.210 --> 00:41:35.090 you did, but because of the value in that thing. 00:41:58.219 --> 00:42:06.900 This is how we'll close. If you feel, like you 00:42:06.900 --> 00:42:08.659 know the acts of worship, you go and you see 00:42:08.659 --> 00:42:12.000 the acts of worship. Sing, sing, tell, declare, 00:42:12.820 --> 00:42:17.059 ascribe, ascribe, come, bring, and you can say 00:42:17.059 --> 00:42:20.900 Bible reading, prayer, gathering with the saints. 00:42:22.599 --> 00:42:29.280 If you see them, think about them, and you just 00:42:29.280 --> 00:42:35.380 feel burdened by them, the problem is your evaluation. 00:42:39.260 --> 00:42:42.739 The problem is that you've actually not set any 00:42:42.739 --> 00:42:50.480 value or worth to God. And you look and you know, 00:42:50.500 --> 00:42:52.840 because you're here, you know what you ought 00:42:52.840 --> 00:42:58.880 to do. You know what a true worshiper looks like 00:42:58.880 --> 00:43:07.019 and it's burdensome to you in the same way that 00:43:07.019 --> 00:43:27.000 carrying a large weight is. Come to me. all who 00:43:27.000 --> 00:43:31.920 labor and are heavy -laden, and I will give you 00:43:31.920 --> 00:43:43.400 rest. He'll take it. He'll take your burden. 00:43:46.659 --> 00:43:52.099 And His yoke, His burden is light. And when you 00:43:52.099 --> 00:43:58.309 feel the relief that Christ gives you when you 00:43:58.309 --> 00:44:03.630 taste the forgiveness of sin, when you see how 00:44:03.630 --> 00:44:09.750 lovely and glorious the Son of God is, who come 00:44:09.750 --> 00:44:13.440 to be sin, who knew no sin, in order that you 00:44:13.440 --> 00:44:15.880 might become the righteousness of God. When you 00:44:15.880 --> 00:44:20.300 see Him for as He is, when you look to Him and 00:44:20.300 --> 00:44:24.219 observe Him and evaluate Him as altogether lovely 00:44:24.219 --> 00:44:32.940 and worthy of your life, then those acts that 00:44:32.940 --> 00:44:49.059 seemed burdensome become sweet. and joyful. And 00:44:49.059 --> 00:44:55.679 you can't wait to crack open your Bible. You 00:44:55.679 --> 00:45:02.739 can't wait to let the song fly from your lips. 00:45:04.679 --> 00:45:12.000 You can't wait to give up anything and everything 00:45:13.260 --> 00:45:16.559 because you see that he is altogether lovely 00:45:16.559 --> 00:45:42.820 and worthy of your life. Let's pray. God, would 00:45:42.820 --> 00:45:51.820 you help us? Would you take the babbling of a 00:45:51.820 --> 00:46:00.800 fool and take it and glorify it and put it into 00:46:00.800 --> 00:46:14.980 the hardened hearts? God, would you be glorified 00:46:14.980 --> 00:46:27.480 in your showing mercy and grace to us? Find it 00:46:27.480 --> 00:46:34.300 as kindness to come to us and crack open our 00:46:34.300 --> 00:46:40.510 hearts that have grown cold and apathetic. our 00:46:40.510 --> 00:46:44.170 hearts that have looked to just maintain a status. 00:46:47.670 --> 00:46:52.889 Show us why you're worthy of worship. Show us 00:46:52.889 --> 00:46:58.150 why you're worthy of sacrifice. And show us the 00:46:58.150 --> 00:47:02.389 worth as it has been made known in the gospel. 00:47:05.989 --> 00:47:10.460 And increase the affection for Christ in the 00:47:10.460 --> 00:47:16.099 heart of every hearer now. And may all excuse 00:47:16.099 --> 00:47:26.699 flee from them. God, help them to feel the lightness 00:47:26.699 --> 00:47:31.179 of your burden and show them the weight of their 00:47:31.179 --> 00:47:39.190 work, of their striving in the flesh. God, and 00:47:39.190 --> 00:47:49.610 help me to give them Christ. God, help us. Help 00:47:49.610 --> 00:47:58.730 us to fulfill our calling and our purpose. We 00:47:58.730 --> 00:48:05.130 might worship you. Do you be glory and honor 00:48:05.130 --> 00:48:10.059 now and forever. In Jesus' name, amen.