Calvary EFC Sermons

God came to earth that we might go to heaven.

It's always the right thing to do the right thing.

Living a God-centered life sometimes means surrendering to a plan for our lives that isn't what we had in mind.

God answers our prayers and keeps His promises even when we might have given up asking.

After rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, the people made a number of binding commitments. What commitments should Christians consider making today?

When we remember God's lovingkindness, and acknowledge, grieve, and confess our sins, our hearts are prepared for God to bring true revival.

When God brings spiritual renewal, His people hunger for and revere His Word, which brings conviction and grace.

Spiritual revival through faith in Christ produces a wave of joy that erupts from our hearts and spills out over everything.

Knowing God's plan should inspire us to choose to live in light of that plan, to choose His way instead of our own and to choose to participate in His plan.

What is biblical "peace"? How do we find peace when we are overwhelmed, stressed, and frustrated?

Dealing with distractions & diversions, gossip & slander, and anxiety & fear as we faithfulling pursue God's work.

How does the church stay focused on God's mission when we are mocked, opposed, or discouraged?

Nehemiah and those building the walls with him face mocking, discouragement, and threats. How did they handle it? What does mean for us?

What does God want us to do in "rebuilding" the world around us? How do Calvary's mission and vision statements reflect these priorities?

How was the wall around Jerusalem rebuilt under Nehemiah's leadership? Who participated in the reconstruction? (And who didn't?)

How do we serve each other well within the Body of Christ? What can we learn about serving others from the church described in Acts 6?

Sharing a meal is one of the most significant activities for building relationships - modeling grace, inviting intimacy, overcoming barriers.

Bad sheep who fail to follow won't be where the shepherd wants them. What does it mean to be good sheep?

Those who demonstrate excellence in the office of overseer are worthy of high regard. How do we honor our pastors and other leaders? Good afternoon, Church. Happy birthday, America. Hey, if you have a Bible, open up to 1 Timothy 5:17-18. We'll be spending all of our time in that chapter and some of the surrounding chapters. First Timothy Chapter five, verses 17 and 18. We're continuing our series, preparing our hearts to be led as we are anticipating the future arrival of our next lead pastor and preparing our hearts to receive him, welcome him, honor him and encourage him in a way that's worthy, as God has laid out in these these verses that were about to read on how we can encourage our elders. Let me pray for us and we'll read the text. Please join me in prayer. Father, if we haven't stopped to hear you say you love us today, would you slow us down? Would you remind us of your grace that's always present, of your spirit that resides in us, of your sovereignty, God, that you don't sleep nor slumber nor grow weary, that there's millions of people in this world and they could be praying and you're not overwhelmed nor do your resources run out, that Jesus is alive today making intercession for us even as we speak, advocating to the father. We thank you, God, that all that we need for life and godliness is provided in you. Help us not to put in earthly treasures; help us not to put in temporal things. Give us eyesight for that which is spiritual, that which is eternal. Help us invest more wisely our time, resources and energy. Lord we surrender, we give it back to you if we've taken it from you because you own everything, even our hearts. Even if it's a small piece, God, we repent. We ask that you would invade and permeate every ounce. We love you. We thank you. Jesus name. Amen. All right. So first, Timothy, chapter five. And you guys have it, but I can't see it, but that's OK. Chapter five, verses 17 and 18. It says, Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching for the scriptures say you shall not muzzle and ox when it treads out the grain and the laborer deserves his wages. Let me start by asking a question. Right. We're talking about preparing our hearts for the next lead pastor at Calvary. If I said, what were you looking for in the next lead, pastor? What qualities, characteristics? What would you say? Don't say it aloud. Maybe you thought of something. It's in your head right now, whatever it is. Initially, if it was like, hey, I wish he was taller or whatever, you know, whatever it is, think about what that is. Maybe some of you said, you know, I wish the next guy was a great orator, that he would just be able to woo us with his words, weave these tales, engage us not just with our heads, but our hearts as well. I wish he was a great speaker. Maybe you're saying I wish he would come from a large church because he would have that experience and that background, know how to handle systems, know how to draw the masses towards us, know how to put things in place to grow us. Maybe you said, I wish he was highly educated. He knew Greek and Hebrew back and forth, Aramaic and he could recite it. He knows it so much, he says in his sleep and I wish he came from the top Christian university. Maybe you're thinking I wish the guy was an author because then he can sign my books, you know. Or he looked the part, that when he walked into the room, that guy commanded respect, that that guy commanded a sense of an air about him. They're like, I want to get to know him. I want to listen to what he has to say. Or maybe you're saying this. I just hope he's not boring. Right. I see you guys sleeping out there. I'm kidding. Your like, I wish, I just want to stay awake and stay engaged. I want to have my emotions stirred, affections moved, I want to have my heart pricked and whatever else you may have added. Maybe that's some of the things you did say. Maybe you didn't. What are some of the qualities or some of the things that came to your mind when I ask that question? I want you put a pin in that and I'm going to share a story. This past Christmas, we exchanged gifts. I'm more of a practical gift giver, like, give me a shovel, give me something to use. I don't want a pillow pet, you know, or a snuggly or whatever they call, you know, I want something that I can use and its not going in the garage sale next year. I do like sentimental gifts though. If you walk by my office, there's a mannequin leg that's hanging in my room. There's a great story behind it. But that's one of my favorite gifts two years ago, three years ago. My favorite gift last year was this piece of wood right here. The story behind this was I had a tree that I cut down and I was splitting it. I cut it down with a chainsaw and then I was breaking it apart for firewood and my son comes running out. This is sometime in the summer, late fall maybe. And he's like, Dad, Dad. He's like my sister asked me to help her with a project. And I need you to cut out a piece of wood for me, like your sister. And you were happily getting out here on a nice day. Why isn't she out here? That sounds kind of fishy. No, no, no. It's for her. Trust me. I'm like, whatever. And so I cut this piece of wood out. Here you go. And he takes it. Thanks, my sister will really appreciate that. And he runs off. I never see this piece of wood again for several months. I don't know how long it was right. And unbeknownst to me, my son went to somebody else's house. He sanded it - it's still kind of jagged. It's really heavy. He sanded it. He stained it and he wrote or he used some epoxy to put some lettering on it and what he did is he wrapped this for Christmas and he put it under the tree and I think he was waiting and watching to see if I would notice this hunk of tree underneath the Christmas tree. And I had no clue. And then as Christmas came, he got the present. He gave it to me, look what I got you. And I still don't recognize it because it was so early in the year that he did this. I mean, he was ahead of the game. Right. And I was like, that looks familiar. Why does that look strangely familiar. It's really heavy. I go, is this. He goes, yeah. I go, Oh, cool. You got me a cutting board, right? I was like, nice. This is will last the rest of my life. And then I begin to open it and was a very first present I opened on Christmas and as I opened it I read these words: The Christian faith, simply stated, reminds us that our fundamental problem is not moral, rather our fundamental problem is spiritual. It is not just that we are immoral, but that a moral life alone cannot bridge what separates us from God. Herein lies the cardinal difference between the moralizing religions and Jesus' offers to us. Jesus does not offer to make bad people good, but to make dead people alive. Signed Ravi Zacharias. If you guys know who Ravi Zacharias is, let me take a moment to explain who he is. Ravi Zacharias is a great orator. The man can wordsmith like nobody else's business. He travels all around the world, or he did - he's passed now and he would speak. I remember one of his first ever trips was in Vietnam. He spoke to the soldiers. He spoke to the Viet Cong. Anybody that would listen to him, he gave them the gospel in danger of being shot at occasionally. And since that point, he would jet all around the world, Africa, Asia, universities. He was at Ohio State. He was at Iowa. He would go to hostile areas, places where religion or especially Christianity, is not welcomed. And he would speak at prestigious universities. He would speak to dignitaries. He spoke to the UN prayer breakfast. The man was a great speaker. The man had a huge following. Millions of people were probably influenced by him around the world in his decades plus ministry. He was highly educated. Check that box off. Studied at some of the best universities. Talk about writing books. He wrote dozens upon dozens, many of which I purchased and read from him and he looked the part. I've actually met Ravi Zacharias. One time I met him at Moody. He's about this tall, so he's taller and he has this crown of white hair. It's like the crown of wisdom that sits upon his brow. And when he walks into the room, you can look up to him and he looks different and he stands out. But then he has that command. If you've ever heard him, you're like, oh, this is a giant among men. And he wasn't boring. I don't recall a time where I was listening to him where I fell asleep or was not engaged based on his storytelling abilities, based upon how he would make the most complicated, controversial questions and make sense. Like you've ever had a doubt about your faith. You ever had a question about Christianity? He would weave it and say it, not like in a manipulative way, but like, whoa, that's true. I resonate with that. He passed away not too long ago and postpartum, they found out that he lived in the end of his years. He struggled with some moral things. When I opened this up it was the first gift I got for Christmas. And I bawled like a baby because I knew a hero of my faith was taken down. He stumbled. I just cried. I didn't finish reading it. My favorite gift that Christmas. When we look for things in leadership, especially in spiritual leadership, we're looking for more than just abilities and talents. We're looking for spiritual virtue and integrity. I like the fact that he made this plaque because it represents to me, it's heavy, it's jagged, it's not finished. And the burden for leadership is like that. In fact, James says this, James 3:1, not many of you should become teachers my brother's for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness because you're the example. I don't know how many people knew Ravi and potentially walked away, struggled, doubted. Or simply checked out. In fact, maybe, you know, people who are not going to church right now because they've been hurt by elders, they've been hurt by leaders, they've been hurt by somebody in the church, and they're just floating, coasting. Maybe you're barely here yourself. That's why it's so important that leaders not only have these skill sets, which are important. Ravi was a great man and I am still impacted by him. And I pray that God's grace was even greater than his hiddenness of sin. When God raises a people to serve his church, he looks for those whose hearts are right with him. He's concerned not about, as I said, their abilities or talents, but their spiritual virtue. The most important quality, probably in a leader is who they are when no one else is looking. It's called integrity. For a man can not only preach, he must also live it. This is what the great preacher Charles Spurgeon describes as a good preacher and a bad Christian: quote: He preached so well and lived so badly that when he was in the pulpit, everybody said he ought to never come out again. And when he was out of it, they all declared he never ought to enter it again. What a man is will influence his followers to be fully committed to what he says. Let me say that again, what a man is, what he demonstrates, what he models, what he does when no one's looking, what a man is, will influence how his followers are committed to what he says. Teaching sets the nails into the mind, but example is the hammer that drives them deep into our thoughts. Well, what Paul here is doing in first Timothy is instructing Timothy to find elders that will rule well. So what is an elder? An elder, it's a general term, referring to those who are called overseers in chapter three verse one. The word there's overseer, someone who has command or is in charge of, but the same unbroken letter talking about the same person uses overseer and elder interchangeably in chapter five, verse 17. In fact, elder, overseer and pastor are all interchangeable terms that refer to the same office and the same person. So when you read that in Scripture, whether it's Timothy or Acts 20, those offices all had the same standard, the same strictness that they're judged by, as James would say. Maybe they function or maybe they feature different parts. The pastor focuses more on the shepherding and the feeding of the flock. The overseer functions more with the authority and the supervision of the church managing it, and then the elder, which doesn't just mean someone who is old, although it can mean that, but more spiritually, more specifically, it's somebody who is mature in the spirit, mature as a believer. Paul is calling the elders in Ephesus to rule well. The word here in Greek for rule means to stand first to set or place before in a presiding fashion, to be an example of, to preside over, to hold authority by leading. So an elder is someone who is spiritually mature and is responsible for taking care of the church. I think the emphasis, though, on this verse appears to be not on the verb of the adverb well. And I like how that verb is translated elsewhere to excellence or beauty, that an elder should lead with excellence or in a fashion that is beautiful. We'll come back to that. So where does it all start when we get an idea of what a good elder looks like? We have to go back to Chapter four. So if you just turn over one chapter in First Timothy, Chapter four starts in verse six. This, I think, is the root of what we're looking for. First Timothy chapter 4, verse 6: be a good servant of Christ Jesus. A qualified leader, firstly, is a qualified follower. A qualified leader, firstly is a qualified follower and a good servant dedicated to Jesus Christ. Well, what makes a good servant? The text following these verses or that verse gives us three indications of what a good minister does. Verses one through six of chapter four a good minister preaches the word of God. Verses seven through twelve. A good minister practices the word of God. Verses 13 through 16. A good minister progresses in the word God. See Ravi Zacharias - man that guy could preach. That guy could teach. Somewhere along the lines later in his life, he stopped practicing. Somewhere along the lines, he stuff progressing. Let me ask you a question, are you practicing? Are you progressing even a little bit, even incremental steps? So let's break this down one by one. A good minister preaches the word of God, starting in verse six. If you put these things before the brothers and the previous verses of Chapter four, he's talking about a warning against fables and false doctrine that's been creeping in, being Bereans. If you put these things for the brothers, be a good servant of Christ, Jesus being trained in the words of faith and the good doctrine that you have followed. So a good teacher identifies that which is false or misleading, preaches and trains the congregation, his brothers and sisters up in admonition and encouragement and God's word. Secondly, the good minister practices the word of God. I'm going to focus in on verse eight of Chapter four here, Paul transitions to an analogy of athleticism. He says this is my verse for exercise, my life goal. For while bodily training is of some value (Phillipians says very little) godliness is a value in every way as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. So he says, when you look at athletes, right, the Olympics are coming up. They started in Greece, so they would have some maybe competitions going on. When you see an athlete, when I've seen these track sprinters, do you know that these people seclude themselves away for a year or two in places where they like: I have to not watch TV because it's too much a distraction? I got to run this much. I have to eat this much. I can't do this. I can't do that. They are so disciplined because they know they're playing and competing at the best. Elsewhere scripture says run to acquire the prize, right. And right here a good elders will call to. And by the way, all believers are called to. The elders are supposed to be the example and are called to a stricter level. It says we should strive. We should be like an athlete who puts aside distractions. In fact, it says in verse ten of chapter four for this end we toil and strive. That works strive there is agonise, in English the word, agonize. We need to be stretching so much that it's causing even some discomfort or pain to pursue that which is holy, that which is good, that which is godly, that we are practicing. You know, as an athlete, you know, I don't like running. I just don't. I had to chase the ball, otherwise I just won't run. Right. So baseball and football. All right. Soccer, that was too much. But I would be so tired unless I, but then when I put my mind to it and I got into it, I actually enjoyed it. And it's the same thing as Christians. We are supposed to be striving and pursuing and training like an athlete does. And exercising, living out and practicing, not just reading, not just hearing, not just teaching, but putting into practice. Now, let's define what godliness is. Godliness is a proper response to the things of God, which produces obedience and righteous living. When you interact, when you meet, when you are in relationship with God, he's naturally going to woo and encourage you into a relationship where you be encouraged. You'll be desiring to walk in obedience. It says that we loved him because he first loved us. His grace encourages and admonishes us. And it says here that godliness is also profitable, not just for the now, but also for the future. Let me give an example of that. So one of the qualifications for an elder in Chapter three is to not be quarrelsome. Somebody is not quarrelsome as a peacemaker. Somebody's that's not quarrelsome, is more concerned about other people than their own. Let me put it a different way. Somebody who is not quarrelsome, is more concerned about understanding than being understood. Somebody who is not quarrelsome, is looking to reconcile even when it costs something. Somebody who is not quarrelsome will rebuke or turn away I should say, a harsh answer or harsh question with a soft answer. Somebody who is not quarrelsome is looking to find a solution, not start more strife. In fact it says in First Corinthians that a sign of immaturity and infancy is somebody who brings division, serves up strife, causes enmity. That person is actually spiritually an infant, that they are on the milk of the word still and they can't handle the meat. Somebody who is quarrelsome, causes fights is actually spiritually an infant. When I read that and I understood that I had to do some soul searching guys. Because it's easy for us to say that's not me, that's my defense, that's not me. And then if you're brave enough, ask other people and they'll tell you hey, do you think I'm quarrelsome and if they don't answer right away, the answer is probably yes, they just don't want to quarrel with you right now. But here's the thing when you're not quarrelsome. So here's the promise of godliness. And the blessing of it is when you recognize and you work on that. You know what happens when you when you when on it? You have less conflict, needless conflict, with people over small, infinitesimally nominal things. You focus on the big things. Ok, I'm going to - this is not in my notes. When I venture off, I get in trouble sometimes. I wish sometimes we would stop the fighting amongst ourselves and we'd fight towards winning more souls for Christ. I wish we would focus less on our differences and we'd focus on our common ground in our common salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, I wish there was more energy being poured into those who don't know Jesus and those who are hurting and need serving, than the people go, you know what? I don't like how you said that creed or you're this ism or this schism. And I just I just find that to be unproductive. So not only does it - and I don't think conflicts bad, I think sometimes conflict can resolve the lack of intimacy and remove the obstacles that keep me and you from going deep in a relationship. And here's the thing. When people offend me and I forgive them or vice versa, you know what happens? We get closer sometimes. May take some time. But now I have struggles that I have wrestled through with them and we're still together. That bond grows and I know I'm wrong and I need tp be open to being wrong and being corrected. And I need you guys to help me with that as well. And you need vice versa. But that's the blessing that we grow closer in relations and more intimate. And here is the future promise. What if our neighbors saw what we did? What if right now there's somebody in your mind? You know what my neighbor is the one I have a quarrel with. Yep, I don't like their dog or their kids are too loud or they're always playing that loud music late at night, you know? And I just last time they came over or last time I saw them. I just gave them a mean look and I said something. I whispered it and they heard me this time, you know, whatever. And what you need to do maybe is go over to your neighbor and ask for forgiveness and reconcile with them, own up to it and say, you know what, I'm sorry I did that. I lost my cool. I want to work on it. Can you please forgive me? And what happens is when we're less quarrelsome, we draw people into the kingdom, we're more like Christ. We're less pushing or more pulling inviting and drawing. And someday somebody come to you. You know what? You may think this is a big deal, but when you said this to me, when you did that to me, I just I couldn't get out of my mind that you were like that. And I want to know why you didn't lose your cool when everybody else in this world is. And you weren't quarrelsome. So there's future promises living in a godly life now and I'm sorry, present promises and future promises in the future. You know, I'm going to stay here on this idea that he uses this athletic competition here. I was thinking about this. It got me thinking actually of the game of soccer, even though don't play soccer because soccer is known as the beautiful game. I've got on mission trips across the world. You know, the most famous sport is soccer. You'll find it everywhere. You can take trash bags. There it is. Boom. Go. And I'm playing against these little kids - they are like this small. And I try to keep up and they're just too good. Right. And everywhere. It's known as the beautiful game. You know why it's called the beautiful game partly was because of Pele, which you see here doing the bicycle kick. He was an exceptional soccer player. That word for really well, for elders, it's a Greek word, CAYLUS, which can mean exceptional or excellent or beautiful. He didn't coin the phrase, but he really encapsulated it because when he would play, he would do things that you would watch and go, that is amazing. He makes it look easy. He does it with such joy. He does it so that it makes it look beautiful. Maybe it's not athletics, maybe it's a composer. Maybe you listen to music and when you listen with your eyes closed and you can put yourself in the orchestra pit and you hear and you see all that's going on, you begin to weep because the music is moving your soul, whatever it may be. I'm here watching. I don't like dancing. Well, I do like dancing. I'm watching dancing show. And they do this contemporary dance and there was no words and they just were dancing on the floor. And I was like, I totally am tracking with the song and with what's going on and the story they're telling through dance. And I was I was like, that was beautiful. As much as there are people. And I love Ravi and I do believe God's grace is big enough. I hope one day I have a face to face conversation with him and thank him for what he did. But he did leave a blemish. He left a tarnish because he didn't rule towards end of his life. For every people that's like that. There are Christians who are living a beautiful life and are drawing people like Pele, drawing people to soccer. There are Christians in this church who draw people to Christ. Let me give you some qualifications that they lay out in First Timothy Chapter three of qualifications for overseer's elders and preachers. They need to be above reproach, need to be blameless. They need not do anything that would ever bring a mark against God's glory, God's church that would discourage somebody from coming to Christ, above reproach. Husband of one wife. You know, it's beautiful. And literally there it means in a Greek. He's a one woman man. I am a one woman man. You know what's beautiful is when you see an elder who not only preaches on this, but then you go in his home and you see him love his wife well. I share this earlier and I'll share it again this service. There was a person in our church that I respect a lot. And it was it was really, really like in passing. And his wife calls out of the blue and just how he answered the phone, how he was respectful. I was like, you sound like you're still dating her and you've been married like a long time. And I was just in wow. Of how gentle, how beautiful his conversation with his wife. And I was like, I want a marriage like that. That was beautiful. I didn't say this to him. So he still doesn't know it. But people are watching. There are lives that struggle. But an elder needs to be above reproach. He needs to be have that beautiful game for lack of a better term, like Pele in soccer, able to teach hospitable, gentle, not violent. Here's the other half. Not a lover of money, it's more blessed to give than to receive. Even though this text, we don't talk about how a pastor is worthy of his wages. He's not to be overwhelmed or driven by the love of money. Manages his household well. You know, what is beautiful as a youth pastor. I love it when I see kids in families. I love it when I see them get along. I love it when I see them even go through tough moments. You know why? Because those tough moments lead to like the iron sharpening iron. I know it's not like it sounds cliche, but it grows that family. It's sanctifies your love for one another. I know kids want to have good relationships for their kids. I know parents do as well. And we have a lot of help to do that. But I'll be the first to say it's tough sometimes, but when they manage your house well, it's a beautiful thing, is it not, when you see, like in - not only that - there's people out there who are nonbelievers when they say, hey, your kids talk to you, your kids do this. And I'm like, yeah. And I'm like, what do you do? What's your secret? I go, It's right here in the Bible. You want it? And they're like - no, something else. It's not working for you? Is it, you know? But it's a beautiful thing. Upright, somebody who is upright is concerned about justice, making sure that people who are not not able to advocate themselves, they're being advocated for. Somebody who's holy is not somebody who has one foot in the world and one foot in Christ. They are solely, single-mindedly committed to God. Understanding that, hey, I have my doubts. Yeah, I struggle, but I am all in as best I can. Lord, help me with my unbelief. Lord, I fear right now. It's because my minds off of you. Help me to fear the living God and not the not the creation. It's a beautiful thing when an elder obeys and follows through as God laid out in his word. Let's continue on in verse. Or the last part was progresses in the word. If you talk about preaching the word, practices the word - critical, and progressing in the word. Verse twelve. The second half: set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and purity. That's the example. That's the standard that the elder is supposed to do. He is the model to which we model ourselves after which points to Christ. Then in verse fifteen. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them so all may see your progress, that you're maturing, you're growing, and keep a close watch on yourself and on your teaching. Every single thing you invest yourself in people you invest yourself in God, you invest yourself in the Holy Spirit. Some of you guys may say, John, this sounds like a high calling because it is. You know what I think that the scriptures saying here is we're not looking for the perfect elder. We're looking for the elder who has a perfect person in him because there's no such thing as a perfect person. But there's a perfect Holy Spirit who works in you and through you and sanctifies and matures you in your walk. We're not looking for somebody who is using their own strength, but somebody who is relying upon the spirit, growing, preaching, practicing and progressing, even if it's incremental. In closing, let's go back to Chapter five verse seventeen. So that's the elders who rule well. Let them be considered worthy of double honor. The word there for honor can mean respect or high regard. All elders by default should receive respect because of what they do, what they're held accountable to, and we don't always see what they do. A lot of things happen behind the scenes, guys. A lot of people are calling and asking for help and counseling. And I know our leaders are there doing a great job. They're worthy of honor, but those are worthy of double honor I think they're also talking about not just respect in high regard, but renumeration, because in context, he talks about for the scripture says you shall not mussel an ox when it turns out the grain as that ox is making food for the farmers, he says let the ox eat as well. And then he quotes Jesus here. The laborer deserves his wages. So double honor as in renumeration and high respect, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching, those who teach the word of God and those who proclaim it. Let me give you an example of what that may look like. I didn't know this, but the Medal of Honor, I knew was the highest award you could receive in our armed services. But I didn't know a lot of these things. And I'd like to share a couple of stories with you in closing. This is actually the first African American who received the Medal of Honor in United States history. This is William Harvey Carney. He was awarded the Medal of Honor. He was born a slave in Virginia, but eventually made his way to freedom in Massachusetts. When the Union Army began accepting volunteers he joined the Fifty Fourth Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, the first African American unit organized by the northern states though it was led by white officers. You ever seen the movie Glory? It is based on that. The 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, led by Robert Gould Shaw was tasked with taking Fort Wagner, a beachhead fortification that guarded the southern approach to the Charleston Harbor. A previous attack on it failed, and the fifty fourth was chosen for the next attempt. As the soldiers storm the fort walls, the union flag bearer was killed. Carney grabbed the flag, held it for the duration of the battle. Carney, along with the rest of the 54th was forced to retreat. And throughout the battle, Carney never lost possession of the flag despite suffering multiple injuries. He says, quote, Boys, I only did my duty. The old flag never touched the ground, he said at the battle. Carney was awarded the Medal of Honor in nineteen hundred, years after it ended. Imagine walking in his shoes. Let me share one more story. This is Jason Dunham. Jason Dunham was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for sacrificing himself to save his fellow Marines during the Iraq war. Dunham's unit was conducting a patrol in Hassiba, Iraq, when a firefight erupted nearby. His unit was ordered to intercept cars in the area that had been spotted in the attack. As Dunham approached the vehicle to search it, an insurgent jumped out and engaged him in hand-to-hand combat. After wrestling the insurgent to the ground, Dunham noticed that he pulled the pin of a grenade and dropped it. Dunham, immediately and without hesitation, covered the grenade with his helmet and body bearing the brunt of the explosion and shielding his Marines in the blast, Dunham was mortally wounded but saved the lives of two Marines. He was evacuated to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland in a coma. After it was determined he would not recover. He was taken off life support and died later. This is the highest medal you can receive in the armed forces. Did you know also there's also renumeration that goes with it. Everyone who receives it receives a monthly check as a way of honoring the fallen, honoring those who sacrificed. It's the same thing with our elders. They deserve our respect. Both in high regards and renumeration, I think Colby does a good job and I appreciate their support. Let me leave you with this. Like the officers I mentioned, the last one, there is a beautiful man that will never let you down, who has always kept God's law that was perfect in his obedience and yet willingly laid his life on the on the line when he jumped on the grave of sin for you and me, took it willingly without hesitation, embraced it so you and I could have forgiveness of our sins and eternal life. That is what a beautiful man does. That is our good shepherd. Our high priest. He is our elder, our head elder, and if you don't know him and you're unsure of your relation with him, would you please do yourself a favor? Come talk to one of the pastors here. We will love talking more about how you can start a relationship with Jesus Christ and get to know what happens to be the most loving relationship you'll ever experience. Let's pray. Father, I thank you, Lord, for your word that gives us hope, that gives us encouragement, Lord, for your example of love, God, that as a husband I'm supposed to love my wife as Christ loved the church who preferred her, laid his life down for her and made her holy and blameless and presentable to God the father. That is what beautiful leadership looks like. I pray, Lord, for every husband here and every desiring husband to be here, that that's what we would do for that example, that we'd follow that. God for every believer here, God it says no man knows a greater love than to lay down his life for a friend. And you died for us, while we were enemies with you as Roman five says. But we thank you, God, that you are a holy, loving just and patient God. That is the most beautiful picture of love. May we never forget it when we're down and we're surrounded or deflated. That all we have for life and godliness is in you for both today and the future. Thank you. We love you, Jesus. In your name we pray. Amen.

Like the demon-possessed man in Mark 5, we all need Jesus to deliver us. Then we go and tell others what He has done.

We take a closer look at a well-known Psalm. What is the significance of the sheep metaphor? Why and how should we follow this Shepherd? Thank you, worship team. Welcome, everybody. Thank you very much for being here. For those that are joining us online, thank you for joining us today. Many of you will know that this is an exciting time for our church. We're in a transition, but we're getting close to having a new lead pastor. And some of the sermons that you've been hearing for the last few weeks have all been about leaders and qualities of leaders and then choosing to follow leaders and choosing to follow even when some of the instructions might be tough in the future may look a little challenging, as we heard last week. But today, we want to talk a little bit more about what it means to be a follower. And you just heard Psalm 23, which is one of my favorite psalms read, and we read it together and many of you know it really well. And as you can see, I titled The Talk, Follow the leader. But I want to put a little challenge out there as we are kind of thinking about things, is that we all said and enthusiastically said in our hearts, the Lord is my shepherd. David said, the Lord is my shepherd. The question is, what does that say about you? If he's the shepherd, your the sheep. I must say, I am not super excited about being a sheep, and I'm going to share with you today. Why? Because sheep are kind of dumb and sheep are kind of stupid, and I don't like being that. And sheep need to be led and sheep need to be instructed and sheep need to be helped. David said, The Lord is my shepherd, the king, the boss is my shepherd, but that makes me a sheep. And so as we kind of go through what we're going to be talking about today, I really encourage you to put on your your sheep outfit, kind of put on your mindset of I'm a sheep, and what exactly does that mean when I talk about following the leader? So I want to tell you a story as we start, a true story about following leaders, and I hope that as you see how they in this true story, follow the leader. And then as we turn our attention to talk about Psalm 23, you put in your heart and attitude of what does it mean to be a follower? What does it mean to be a sheep? How can I be a good sheep and not a feral, vagrant, runaway kind of sheep? So I'm going to take you back 100 years, and in a newspaper in London, this advert appeared. The advert said men wanted for hazardous journey, low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful; honor and recognition in event of success. Well, it's kind of astounding because hundreds of people applied a bunch of women too, even though it said men wanted; good for them. And you might say, well, what was this all about? Well, this was an advert placed by someone called Ernest Shackleton and you might say - never heard of him. Well, I hope that after today you'll know who Ernest Shackleton was. But at the time, he was Sir Ernest Shackleton, actually a very famous explorer. This was around the time where they were trying to be the first to get to the South Pole. And you might remember the story that actually Shackleton was beaten by a fellow Englishman, Scott, who was beaten by a Norwegian Amundsen, who actually got to the South Pole and planted the Norwegian flag there first. So Shackleton was a bit miffed about that and decided he needed a new adventure where he could be the first person to do something. So this is where this expedition came from. So what he was going to do and hopefully you can see this on the screen, is he was going to come with his boat from South America and land at this place called Vassall Bay and then go across Antarctica to the South Pole, right across to the other side to McMurdo Sound and get picked up by a different boat. So he and his team were going to be the first people to go right across the South Pole, right from the one side of Antarctica to the other. This is him, this is Ernest Shackleton right here. This is his team, 18 of them were actually going to be the folks that would do the work as far as going across the whole of Antarctica with a few extra people. They are mainly manning the boat. I want you to notice that date. August 8th, 1914. I didn't have a way to have a little time ticker kind of going across the bottom of the screen, but I want you to watch as you hear the story of the timeline of how this story transpired, it sort of went on. So they started out headed down towards Antarctica from South America, you might say, well, what were they doing this in December? Or remember, seasons are switched around. So this is summertime. You can tell summer in Antarctica is not super exciting, but the idea was you could break through the ice. So there are these ice floes, but you can find your way with a big boat like they head through the ice floes because that was the point. I want you also to notice right here, it's already now getting into December. Four months into and they grinding their way slowly through the ice floe, getting closer to Antarctica. Problem was, the boat got stuck completely stuck in the ice floe, noticed February 14th, but remember, it's an ice floe, so they flowing. So they are sort of getting closer to Antarctica. So they go, well, this is OK. Everyone jumps out the ship. There's no point in sitting in a ship that's not really moving. They're playing soccer, other things kind of waiting for something to happen. Needless to say, the ship is not doing particularly well now because the ship is actually at an angle that I wouldn't be excited to be in that ship. It's totally stuck. In the ice. Note the date, February 14th, six months they've already been on this boat. Now, again, many of you know, seeing we live in a cold part of the world, if you've ever been up on the north shore of Lake Superior, how the ice, when the wind blows can start to get kind of packed up in these great big giant bits of ice that gets stuck together? Well, that started to happen. The ice started to kind of get a little broken up. The wind was blowing. It started to make these great big mountains of ice. And you can tell that even though they were trying to now break their way through this with sort of pickaxes wasn't going particularly well. July 19, 15, nearly a year. What happened then was the boat got crushed and they all had to get out of the boat onto the ice floe. So now they've got no way back - boats gone. They're all standing on the ice. This is Antarctica or the ice floe next to Antarctica slowly floating along. And it's October, more than a year, they've just been standing, sitting, waiting, and now the boat is crushed. So they thought, well, again, it would be a good idea maybe to now try and at least get across the pole because it would be important to try and get to the other side. Maybe they could hike across this ice floe to try and then make it across to the actual land. Problem was, every time they tried to do that, took like three days to go two miles because it was all the ice and snow and clearly they were not making much progress at all. Called it Patience camp while they were waiting their little message for us right in there. Remember, this is now more than a year waiting April 9th, almost a year and a half later, still stuck on the ice. Then disaster really struck, if you thought that wasn't bad. Got a lot worse, I started to break up and they couldn't actually even stay on the ice. So they had these three little boats and they got on the boats and they sailed to Elephant Island. Elephant Island is just a little piece of rock, but at least it was solid. So they got onto Elephant Island, but there's nothing there. So they're stuck, all 18 of them with their little boat and actually three little boats stuck on Elephant Island. So I want to just highlight how this went, so here they came, they got themselves stuck in the ice floe. They went all the way up the ice floe, eventually both broke up. Then they just floated along on the top in Patience camp. So they got to here where the ice started to break up. You notice the flow didn't go where they wanted it to go. It went this way. Eventually they got on Elephant Island, but they realized we can't just stay here forever and no one's going to come and find us and fetch us. So what to do? Five of them got in that one little boat and they sailed 800 miles to this place called South Georgia Island, where they knew there was a whaling station and they landed there. So Shackleton and four of his crew members sailed there. And then those guys came back and saved them. Notice the date, August 30th, 1916, two years stuck on the ice. So what do you think you can learn from that? Well, it's remarkable there was no mutiny, there was no suddenly Shackleton has no clue what he's doing. He got us stuck here. We will do something different. They waited patiently two years. They did what they were told. Together, they worked together, and when they were finally freed, nobody had died. A few people lost a few fingers and toes from from frostbite, but that was the worst of it. But pretty hungry they had actually eaten some of their dogs because they had nothing else to eat. But they trusted the leader. So as we now take our attention and we focus on scripture and we look at Psalm 23 and we think about David, who is writing about his leader, the shepherd, the Great Shepherd, and Jesus who said, I am the shepherd of the sheep. I am the real shepherd. I want us to really think about what kind of follower am I? Am I somebody who will listen, who will do what they're told, who will be patient and who will trust the leader? So although we are going to focus on Psalm 23, I think it's important just to remind ourselves about what it means to be a shepherd in Jesus' time. And again, I'm grateful to Kyle, who read part of this earlier, but I want us to just focus on John. Chapter 10, verses two to four. This is Jesus talking. This is the one who enters by the gates is the shepherd of the sheep. The gate keeper opens the gate for him and the sheep - note this - listens to his voice. He calls his own sheep - note - by name and leads them. When he has brought out all of his own, he goes ahead of them and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. The sheep follow him because they know his voice. So I don't know what you experience with sheep herding is. Can't say I've done any of it myself, but where I grew up in South Africa, the way in which sheep are herded about little guys, youngsters called pickanins, and their job is to herd them. And they're usually like 10 year olds and they basically all just run behind the sheep, kind of herding them. If you went to England, you know, you might have a sheep dog and the sheep dog would be herding the sheep. And maybe here you'd be like ranchers out there and the ranchers would have horses and be kind of herding the sheep. Not in Jesus day and even today, not in the Middle East. The shepherd knows the sheep. The shepherd knows the sheep by name. The shepherd calls the sheep and walks ahead and the sheep follow him. So, again, thinking about what it means to be a sheep following the great shepherd, think about the shepherd in the front, not the shepherd herding us from behind. So turning to. To Psalm 23, I want you to put in your mind what David was writing. This is King David. What is he writing as he writes the psalm? He says this. The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing, he makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters. He refreshes my soul. He guides me through the right paths for his namesake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows, surely your goodness and love will follow all the days of my life and I will live in the House of the Lord forever. So I want us to think about four things that good sheep should remember and the things I want us to think about: Every time as you're thinking about what David is saying here, the shepherd is not some abstract person and head, the shepherd is calling the sheep by name. So I'm not a number, I'm not just one of many sheep. My shepherd, Jesus Christ. He knows me personally. Second thing we're going to talk about is the path is not always easy, but the shepherd will always be with me. Many times the sheep were kind of quick to get lost. We don't really know where we're going. I don't know the way, but the shepherd does and he's the one who's going to lead me. And finally, the shepherd loves me and provides me with everything that I need. So I learned a lot about sheep this week because I was reading up about sheep, and I must say it didn't help me much. I cannot really tell one sheep different from another. So I don't know about you, but when I look at that flock of sheep. I have a lot of trouble recognizing that Billy is the second sheep on from from the right or Jill is the one that stood in from the left. They look exactly the same to me. Maybe if I was fortunate and I got up close and I read the tags, I might see they had a number and that would help me tell the sheep different. But quite frankly, those sheep look exactly the same to me. Hard to tell sheep apart. But not to the great shepherd, not to my great shepherd. Jesus said, I am the Good Shepherd. He said, I know my sheep and my sheep know me. He says he calls me by name. And he does it for his namesake. So, again, it's a beautiful picture that it's not just about me, it's about him. But yet there's a personal touch where he knows me by name. And if you read Psalm 23 again and read it from David's perspective, David understands this perfectly because read it again. Notice the number of personal pronouns. I counted them: 17. 17 personal pronouns where David says, I know this shepherd knows me. He says, the Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his namesake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil. For you are with me. Your rod and your staff. They comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, unite my head with oil, my cup overflows, surely your goodness and mercy will follow me, me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. So what's the point of that? Maybe you go, nobody cares. In my life stuff's happening and I just don't feel anybody cares. Nobody really knows. Nobody really understands. Wrong. The Good Shepherd says, I know your name. I call your name, I want you to follow me. I love you. You're important to me. I want a relationship with you. We're not just a number. Jesus knows us by name. So the second thing is the path's not always going to be easy. So, again, looking up things about shepherds, this is a true story. This is actually a photo essay from 2019 and this is in a country called Georgia and this is the Tusheti Mountains, the Albano pass. Now, maybe a little difficult to see this, but this is thousands of sheep being herded over these paths. And you may not appreciate it from the picture very well, but these are sheer cliffs just straight down. And these shepherds are taking the sheep from one set of pastures, which dry up because of no rain across the mountains to the other side so that they can get to green pastures before there really isn't anything remaining behind. Six of them and tens of thousands of sheep, the shepherds just leading them over the mountains, not an easy path, but the shepherds are there to make sure it happens. So you might say, well, how does that tie in to Psalm twenty three? Well, many times sheep are frightened, and I think you could safely say that, David, this was a time in his life when he was frightened he was in a cave writing this. And the reason he was in the cave is that his son, Absalom, had just affected a coup in his country, and they had kicked him out as the king and they were looking to find him, to kill him. So when he writes The Darkest Valley or the valley of the shadow of death, that's real, he's looking out of the cave expecting Absalom's soldiers to find him and kill him in the presence of my enemies. The sad part here is the enemy he's talking about is his son. So, again, totally understands the fear, but you note he says, I fear no evil. Because why? Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You're anointing my head with oil in the presence of my enemies and one day I will be with you forever. So as we think about that many times, there are hardships in our lives, many times things are challenging. Many times you might feel I'm actually afraid and fearful of circumstances, the future. The Good Shepherd says. I know it's not easy, but I'm with you. Nothing will happen to you that isn't my will. Says, I have you in the palm of my hand. Well, similarly, I think a good thing for us as sheep to remember is we don't know the way, but the shepherd does and he's going to lead us. So the same sheep being taken over those mountains through the Albano pass, the shepherds, they know it because they do it every year. I'm sure many of the sheep don't. It's actually kind of terrifying because mists blow in. I don't know if any of you have hiked hills and mountains and been there when a mist is blown in and you really can't see where to go. And you worried that you could just fall off the mountain at any time. And that's not just abstract. I have a friend who who died on a mountain like that, got up there and got into the mist and got lost and froze to death. So bad things can happen and I don't know the way and I can feel terrified, but my shepherd does and he will lead me. We can very easily get lost. But the shepherd goes, I know, and he leads me and he leads me along the right path and he is taking me one day to the House of the Lord. That's where I'm going. So when you look at your life and you say things really to me, you don't seem very clear. I don't know where things are going. My job is challenging and I feel lost. My family's got challenges and and I feel, you know, I don't know where this is leading. These relationships I'm in. It's just hard. We have a good shepherd who says, follow me, I know where you're going, I will lead you, I will take you down the right path. The fourth thing is the shepherd loves me and provides everything that I need. So let me introduce you to Chris, the sheep. So, Chris, the sheep that you can see on the left is actually a world record holder. Now, I didn't realize this until I read up about sheep, but just to reiterate, I said this earlier, but it's probably true. Sheep are remarkably dumb and sheep are remarkably needy. And the reason they're needy is you need to shear a sheep. If you don't actually take the wool of the sheep, the sheep will eventually grow so much wool that they will no longer be able to stand up straight and will fall over. So this is a feral sheep who in Australia managed to get away from the herd and for eight years kind of did his own thing and there was 91 pounds of wool on this here sheep. That is a world record. Look it up. Beaten out. Shrek the Sheep was another one of their world record holders before that, or Barak, which was the one before that one. But the funny thing is, ninety one pounds equates to 30 sweaters. Or if you say in Australia, that would be 30 jumpers. But what's the point of that? The sheep need to be tended to. They need to have something done for them, because if you just let the sheep do what it wants to do, it'll end up like Chris the sheep and actually be in danger of its life because it didn't get what it needs. My shepherd loves me. My shepherd knows what I need. My shepherd will sometimes do some shearing and we could probably have another whole conversation about what shearing the wool of us might look like. But again, my shepherd loves me. The other thing I learnt about sheep that I thought was kind of interesting is sheep don't really plan ahead, they don't store things up, they're not like squirrels and put the acorns away for the days they might need them. They basically will eat everything and they'll eat it right down to the dirt. And then when it's run out, it's run out. But again, the shepherd understands that and the shepherd says you will get nothing, you will lie down in green pastures, you'll be led by still waters refreshing your soul. A table will be laid before me. My cup will overflow. Everything I need, my shepherd will provide, not everything I want. Everything I need he will provide. So you might say with me thinking about what it means to be a sheep, is the Good Shepherd really worth following? And I would say absolutely. Jesus, the Good Shepherd says, follow me. And why might we want to do that? Well he lay down his life for his sheep and he says, I know you by name. And he says, I will always be with you and I will lead you and I will provide everything that you need. So with those four kind of things that we might remember taking us back to the story of Shackleton and his and his team, what are some principles that we should maybe take away about being a good follower? So the three things I want us to think about are patience, obedience and trust. Waiting patiently for God's timing. Doing exactly what Jesus tells us to do and trusting our leader, Jesus Christ, who knows what's best. So you might say, where do I get that from Psalm twenty three? Well, the first one is waiting patiently. It says in verse two David says he makes me lie down in green pastures. I think that's kind of interesting. I lie down, you know, I might bring a frolic in those green pastures, says the Good Shepherd makes you lie down. And the thing I learnt about sheep, sheep don't sleep much about 15 percent of the time of the day would be sleeping and most of it is just little naps, most of it standing up. If they lie down, they really just lie down on their chest and never lie down on their side. Sheep lying down on the side is in big trouble. It's going to die. But generally speaking, and this was interesting because it came from Philip Kellar, a shepherd look at Psalm 23, he says there are four reasons why sheep generally won't lie down, won't lie down because they're frightened. They won't lie down because other sheep around them are agitating them and they won't lie down because they're bothered by pests or they won't lie down because they're hungry. So, again, I see a lot of parallels there when Jesus says - God, our father says, lie down in green pastures. We should be able to do that because the Good Shepherd is looking after us. We don't need to be frightened. Those around us who may agitate us, things that irritate us, people that irritate us, news that may irritate us. He says, lie down, rest, don't let it be agitating you. Might be bothered by pests, things that are troubling us, flies and the like, but we think about comparisons. You might think about things like, you know, finances, other things that are really troubling you says just rest. Just lie down, maybe hungry. Again, our Good Shepherd provides what we need. We need to do exactly what Jesus said we should do. Again, it comes from verse three. It says, He guides me along the right paths for his namesake. He prepares a table in the presence of my enemies. Really interesting. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't have expected him to put down the table in the presence of the enemies. I would think we would rout the enemies first and then we'd celebrate afterwards at the dinner table. But this putting the table in the presence of my enemies, that doesn't seem to me to make a lot of sense. But yet, if you think about it, that's what Jesus is telling us to do, and that's what we as sheep are just following, what Jesus is telling us to do. If he is setting a table for us and it may be in the presence of what we think are unfavorable circumstances, just do it, because by doing it, the Good Shepherd will take care of the enemies, if you like. One of the other things that for me was really a blessing is I was thinking about how Good Shepherd leads us and tells us exactly where we need to go. In my mind, I was thinking again of Psalm 119:105. It says your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. And the reason I love that verse is - again, if you think about a light and a lamp, it just shines over here. So it doesn't give me the whole path, it doesn't illuminate the entire environment, it just tells me what's next. And then I take a step and then it illuminates the next step. And then I take another step and then it illuminates some more. So when the Good Shepherd leads me, he doesn't say, let me sit you down and map it out all for you and show you exactly where you need to go. He says, All I'm going to do is give you enough light for the next step. And when you take it, he'll give you enough light for the one thereafter. And the last thing is trusting in Jesus, who knows what's best for us. So again, David says he refreshes, he restores my soul in verse three. Really interesting word that's used there. I often think of refreshing and restoring like, you know, I'll just have a glass of water and that will kind of refresh me and I'll be fine. That's not really the word here. The word here is refurbish, rebuild. It's a little bit like that junker car that needs to totally be stripped down to kind of the to the chassis and then rebuilt and refurbished. That's what he does when he's restoring. He's taking it from a shadow of its former self and giving it all of its former glory. That's the kind of restoring our good father is giving us. The rod and staff comfort me again, trusting my leader. Well, the rod was ready to beat off predators and wolves and other things, and the staff was to catch that sheep before it made a run for it. And kind of the crook, if you like, grab it by its neck and pull it back. Surely goodness and mercy, goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life. Again, our father Shepherd, who is going to take us to what he knows is the future for us. And we know that also from Romans, Chapter eight verses twenty seven and twenty eight. It says, and God who sees our hearts knows the thoughts of what the spirit is, because the spirit pleads with God on behalf of these people and in accordance with his will. We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. So when I told you the story about Shackleton, I left one piece out. This is really interesting. So remember how I told you they got stuck on that little island, Elephant Island, a little bit of a rock. And then five of them got in one boat and headed for South Georgia Island where they knew there was a whaling station. And they went 800 miles rowing in high seas, took them a few months, got all the way their, got to south Georgia island. Interesting thing. They landed on the wrong side of the island and it was just granite cliffs and glaciers and ice. And the five of them landed and three of them were too weak to go on. So they left them. And two of them, Shackleton and one other guy, hiked for weeks over the mountain all the way until they got to the whaling station, even when they got there, getting back to getting the other guys took a massive attempt. Three attempts, three months is how long it took. The first time they went ice floes were too thick, couldn't get to them, backed off, came back the next time. The seas were so heavy they couldn't actually get in to actually help the guys. Took them three months to get there. But the point the leader came back to get all the men eventually. Our Good Shepherd did more than just come back, our good shepherd died on the cross for us. John 10:11 says, Jesus says, I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. And as we can see him, Psalm 23, his goal is that we might have a relationship with him one day in heaven. David is saying, I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. So what's my challenge to you today? There are lots of voices out there, lots of people saying, follow me, lots of teams. You know, different situations saying, I know what to do, follow me. There is really only one good shepherd and the Good Shepherd is Jesus Christ, and the Good Shepherd says, follow me. So what kind of sheep are you, because if you say the Lord is my shepherd, you're basically saying I am a sheep. Am I going to be the kind of sheep that obediently follows after Jesus, wherever he says, patiently waits for whatever he has for me and trusts the Good Shepherd to do what is right in my life, even when things don't seem ideal? Follow Jesus Christ.

What does it mean to follow Christ well? How are others affected by the way we choose to follow Him? Good morning. I don't know what this will reveal about my musical tastes, but I remember a few years back a popular rock group, Bon Jovi, had a hit. And the name of the hit was You Weren't Born to Follow. Now, why was that a hit? It wasn't just the music, it was that sentiment reflected where our culture is at. We are a culture that believes it's weak to follow. I was listening to a Nigerian pastor recently and he now pastors here in Chicago, but much of his upbringing was in Nigeria. So he comes and he brings a different perspective, a different set of eyes to see American culture with. And he says this: US culture primes us to be disdainful of being followers. He recounts how many people he hears say things like following is for sheep. I'm a leader. I don't follow. I lead. I wonder if some of us experience that even on a subtle basis. You know, we think of ourselves, I'm educated, I have accomplished a lot in my profession, in my vocation. People listen to me and I give direction. I'm not really one who follows. I'm one who leads. And I wonder how much of that spirit we bring into our Christian faith and into the church and yet the very definition of being a Christian is being a follower. That's what Jesus says of us in John 10:27. My sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me. When we hear the voice of Jesus in the darkness, the spiritual darkness of our lives. And we're called into the light, the very definition of what it means to be a Christian is to follow him. And out of that, to follow those that he raises up as his under shepherds over us in the church that he created. Why is this pertinent? I have been thinking about a lot about this, a lot about followership recently, because as most of you know, we are in the midst of the search for Calvary's next lead pastor. And as I reflected on Calvary's history, most of it I've learned just by reading it or hearing it, it does raise the question to me, are we prepared to follow as God raises up the next lead Pastor, God's under Shepherd, under the Great Shepherd. Are we prepared to follow? I think of the very definition of a pastor. Ephesians 4:12 is to equip God's people for the work of service, for the building up of the body of Christ, for the expansion of God's kingdom, and if that's really what we're calling a lead pastor to do. Here are some questions that I would put out to you rhetorically to think about. Are you open to being equipped? Are you really open and ready to be equipped to do the work of ministry? Are you ready to join the mission? Calvary has a new mission to make disciples of Jesus who live out passion for Christ and compassion for people. And if we call a lead pastor to lead us in fulfillment of that mission, are you ready? Are you prepared to follow? Are you prepared to be led as we call the next lead pastor? And this all reminds me of a story, the story I will just call the story of the 12 followers, and it's in numbers 13 and 14 if you want to follow along. I'll kind of loosely hit the high points of the story. If you have your Bible, the story actually takes place at a location in Palestine called Kadesh Barnea. We're not exactly sure where we are, where we think this is, but this picture is the likely site or Kadesh Barnea is. Kadesh Barnea is an area somewhere near the wilderness of Peran in the Sinai Peninsula and the wilderness of Zin in the high country that's known as the Negev. And if it's this area that you see in the picture there, there is at least four springs. So it's an oasis area. It's the area where, as God led the nation of Israel out of Egypt and across the Red Sea and then to Mount Sinai, where he gave them the law. Then just before he was going to take them into the land, the promised land, he had them camp at Kadesh Barnea. And it was there at Kadesh Barnea that God first spoke to Moses, the leader that he appointed, and he says to Moses, send men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each tribe, send one of its leaders. Send 12 men. Send 12 men up into the land of Canaan to spy out the land, to check out the land. And so Moses, the leader of the nation of Israel, hearing from God, takes that command, that mission, and he speaks it to the people. He sends them on a mission. And the mission is this. Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country, see what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, many or few. So think about that mission for a moment. Moses sends these 12 men on a mission and it's really a two part mission. The first part of the mission is check out the desirability of the land. See what the land is like. Is it good or bad? Is the soil fertile or poor? Are there trees growing on the land? He even commissions them. Bring back some of the fruit of the land, some evidence that this is a good a desirable land. So the first part of the mission is check out the land's desirability. The second part of the mission is check out the land's defenses, see whether the people are weak or strong, see whether there's just a few people or are there many people. Are there cities? Are there towns? Are they unwalled? In other words, easy to to enter or are they fortified? Do they have walls and thick defenses around them? See how defended the land is. So he sends them with this two part mission on this forty day journey. And they go up through through the Hill country. They go through Zin they go to Hebron. They end up finally at what's called the Valley of Eskol. And then we pick up the story of their return. At the end of forty days, they return from exploring the land. They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh, and they reported to the whole assembly and they showed them the fruit of the land; and apparently the fruit was huge there. They brought back a cluster of grapes that had to be carried on a pole between two men. So just these few evidences of fruit were were enormous, showed that the land was incredibly bountiful, that the land was incredibly desirable. Now, here is the report that all twelve of the followers, all twelve of - you may think of them as the spies. This is what all twelve had to say. We went into the land. We went into the land that to which you sent us. And it does flow with milk and honey. It is bountiful. It is desirable. Here is its fruit and they show them the abundant fruit. But then they continue on with some reality. And here is the reality in verse twenty. But the people who live there are powerful and their cities are fortified and very large, and we even saw descendants of Anak there. That was a race of people that that that were large in stature and powerful. So we might think of them as giants. So this is, at this point, this is still objective observation that all 12 of them are giving. And really, I point this out to say that all 12 of these men, these followers, they understood the magnitude of the task. This is going to be a big deal to go up and to take this land, even though it's a highly desirable land that God is providing to us. At this point the 12 followers divide and two followers say one thing and the other 10 say something else. Here is what two of the followers say. Joshua and Caleb. We should go up. We should take possession of the land for we can certainly do it. So they understand the magnitude of the task. And and what is their counsel to the nation of Israel? Let's go do it. Let's trust and obey and let's go take the land that God has given to us. But the other 10 respond in a very different way. And they basically say this, we can't attack these people. Didn't you just hear us? Did you hear us that there are giants in the land. Didn't you hear us, that the cities are fortified, they are stronger than we are. They are all of great size. I think a little exaggeration is going on there. And we're just grasshoppers and their eyes. Two see one thing, 10 see something very, very different. And what happens? Well over, I'm guessing, the next several hours after this public report is given these 10 filter into the crowd. So they go back into the tribes that they were leaders from. And we pick this up in verse thirty two that the ten spread among the Israelites, a bad report about the land that they had explored after giving this public report they're back with their tribes and that same spirit in which they they said, you know, they're giants, that were grasshoppers compared to them. That begins to filter in their conversations with the different people and their tribe and the effect, the impact of that bad report we see at the beginning of Chapter 14. That night, all the people of the community, they raise their voices. They wept aloud. They grumbled against Moses and Aaron. Those 10 filtering into their tribes and giving that bad report has now created this mass movement, this grumbling. And what is it that now all the community is saying? Here are some of the things they are saying. If only we had died in Egypt, if only we had died even in this wilderness, why is the Lord taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Wouldn't it be better for us to return to Egypt? And they said to each other, we should choose a leader and we should go back to Egypt. There they are on the verge of a mutiny at this point. The ten had filtered into the crowds. Their spirit has spread among the tribes. And now that attitude has just infected the whole community. And now the community is ready to rebel against the very leaders that God has raised up to lead them on and to his blessing and to what he has promised to them. Now, Joshua and Caleb, they are still faithful. They're basically saying, wait, the land that we traveled through and explored is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into the land, a land flowing with milk and honey. He will give it to us only do not rebel against the Lord and do not be afraid of the people of the land. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them. Two voices against ten voices against what is already spread among the community. Does it make a difference? Not noticeably. We read the whole community began to talk about stoning. Now Joshua and Caleb, let's let's silence these voices. But then something happens. Then, in the midst of what is becoming maybe a mutiny, God makes his presence known, then the glorious presence of the Lord. Maybe that's the pillar of cloud or the pillar of fire in which God has manifested himself over his tabernacle before. The glorious presence of the Lord appeared to all of the Israelites over the Tabernacle. And now the Lord speaks. And the Lord says to Moses, How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me? In spite of all the miraculous signs that I have performed among them? They have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness. And they have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed me. And here's where we really have to go back and we have to read the first thirteen chapters of Numbers, because this is not the first time this has happened. This is by God's counting, the tenth time. Israel's grumbling, Israel's complaining, Israel's doubting began shortly after God led them through the Red Sea. And this is produce this rebellious spirit. And so this event is is not a one off. This event really in God's eyes, is the last straw as far as he is concerned. And we see this in what he says. I will disown them. I will destroy them with a plague. But you, Moses. I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they are. So God basically says I'm ready to start over. I'm ready to wipe them all out. And out of you, Moses, I'll fulfill my promises, but I'll raise up a new nation from your loins, from your descendants. And yet, Moses and all his humility, he pleads on behalf of the people. He prays to the Lord a prayer on behalf of the people, according to your great mercy, according to your great love. Forgive the sins of these people just as you'll pardon them from the day that they left to Egypt until now. Oh, God. Give them your mercy. Oh, God forgive them. Oh, God. Overlook their sin and forgive them. The Lord hears that prayer from Moses. The Lord replies, I have forgiven them. I have forgiven them, as you asked, nevertheless God truly does forgive them. God determines he's not going to wipe them out. He's not going to start over. And yet, even though that forgiveness meant that God would not destroy them all on the spot, it didn't mean that they would escape all the consequences of their grumbling of the rebellion, of their sin. And he goes on to speak to them the consequences of this pattern of grumbling and doubting and rebellion, I swear to you that none of you will enter the land that I promised to settle you in except Caleb and Joshua. So all of that generation that had come out of Egypt and across the Red Sea and was now at Kadesh, all of that adult generation, God says you're not going to live to see going the entrance into the promised land. Your children, they'll see it, but they're going to be here. They're going to be shepherds for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness until you are all buried in the desert. The consequences even go further for those 10 followers, those 10 followers who saw the same thing as Caleb and Joshua, and yet they give a bad report. They produce this mass uprising. 14:36 tells us that the ten men who incited rebellion against the Lord with their bad report, they were struck down with the plague before the Lord. They died as a result of what they did in spreading the bad report. Now the story goes on. But I want to pause here. I want us to dwell here even as we think about how this may speak to us today, individually and corporately as a church body. Let me make a couple observations. All of the followers, all 12 of the followers saw the same challenge. They all made the same observation. The people who live in that land, they're powerful, their cities are fortified and very large. There are giants in the land. They all made objective observations that were true. And that was part of God sending them. God wanted them to understand the magnitude of the challenge. This is not going to be easy. In fact, God wanted them to understand that this challenge was humanly impossible, that they could not do it in their own human strength. So all of the followers saw the same challenge. But what was the difference between the two and the ten? The difference among these followers was their perspective. Consider the perspective of Caleb and Joshua. The land is exceedingly good. They are focusing on the blessing that God has before them. They are focusing on God's goodness. He has set this before us. This is what he wants for us. They're focusing on God's goodness. They say he will lead us into the land and he will give it to us. Are you hearing that? There is a trust in God's goodness. There is a trust even in God's greatness. Yeah, this is humanly impossible. But he will lead us into the land. He can do it by his greatness and they say we should go up and we should take possession of the land. They're saying we need to trust and obey. Yeah, we can't do this in ourselves, but we can do it if we trust and obey. And that's why the Lord said of them in 14:24, my servant Caleb has a different spirit. He follows me wholeheartedly, all of his heart, in other words, is given to follow me, I will bring him into the land. But the perspective of the other 10 followers was quite different. And what is it that they were saying? We can't attack these people, they're stronger than we; they are focusing on their human limitations. And, yes, they were very humanly limited. They are letting their human limitations stir up their anxieties and their fears. They are saying if only we died in Egypt, if only we died in the wilderness. You know, in essence that's saying it would just be better if we stayed here. Yeah, even if we die out staying here, this is more comfortable. This is easier. It just would be easier to stay where we are right now, even if we know that leads us nowhere. They're even saying we should choose a new leader and we should go back to Egypt. They're saying the past is better, the past that we don't remember accurately by this point, the past is better, we should try and go back to the past. And they are passive aggressively now beginning to rebel and beginning to say, we don't want to follow those that God has raised up to lead us. We want to be our own leaders. And that's why the Lord said of these 12, they have treated me with contempt. God considers their lack of faith. God considers their grumbling contempt not just towards Caleb and Joshua, not just towards Moses and Aaron, but contempt towards him. They will not trust in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them. They have grumbled against me and he sums it all up in 14:33 as unfaithfulness. Unfaithfulness. That's his judgment upon these ten. I think you can draw the logical conclusion from this even to us today, the way that you and I follow affects other people. The way that you and I are followers influences other people, we see this in the 10, the ten spread a bad report among their community. And what did that result in? That resulted in the people of the community raising their voices and weeping aloud. In other words, they spread anxiety and fear among the community. And as a result, all of the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron. Do you understand what grumbling is? That word is used throughout scripture, it expresses the sullen dissatisfaction that we feel about our about our circumstances, about the the situation that we're in when we dwell on what's unpleasant that God is allowing in our life right now. And we allow that to embitter our hearts, that causes that grumbling, especially as we express it to others. And not only grumbling, it resulted in rebellion. Rebellion is active opposition to authority, whether that's done passive aggressively or that's done is an outright rebellion. The way that we follow affects others. And in the case of the 10, you see, it had a dramatic effect with dire consequences. Now it can go the other way as well. Just as our grumbling and our doubting and our resistance influences others, so similarly our faith and our obedience can encourage others. It can inspire others. Are you facing a Kadesh moment right now, just you individually in your life, whatever you're facing, maybe it's in a marriage, maybe it's in your family, maybe it's in your work, maybe it's financially, maybe it's in your extended family. I don't know what it may be. Are you facing a Kadesh moment? Where right now, when you think of where you are, you are wandering in the desert, you are Kadesh Barnea. The Lord has blessing ahead for you, the Lord has places that he wants to lead you and bless you. And right now, you're in the wilderness and you are being tested for how you are going to follow him. You may even know God wants you to lead you into the land. God wants to lead you into a place of blessing in your marriage or your family or whatever sphere it may be. But your doubts, your fears are causing you to focus on the giants, the obstacles, the things that you look at and you say, I cannot humanly overcome those. It's easier sometimes when we're in those Kadesh moments just to say I'm going to stay here in the wilderness. I'm going to stay here in the desert, I know it's not going to get me anywhere, but it's just easier. I don't have to fight it. It's just easier to stay here even if it means I'm going to die here. Or maybe in your Kadesh moment, you're even longing to return to Egypt, you're remembering the past, probably not with a very accurate memory and you're thinking, if I could just go back there, if I could just go back to that time in my life, if I could just get back to those circumstances before I was married or before I had kids or before I made those educational choices or whatever it may be. Are you facing a Kadesh moment right now individually? Now, let me make it corporate. Calvary is at a Kadesh moment. God is calling Calvary to go up and take possession of the land. We've set that out. I know it may seem vague to you, but we've set it out in a new mission that we exist to glorify God by making disciples of Jesus who live out passion for Christ and compassion for people. We are we are sharing this with lead pastor candidates. We are we are asking them, how will you help lead us in fulfillment of that vision? We are sharing with our lead pastor candidates, we have a new value, love the lost and make followers of Jesus. How will you help us do that? How will you help us get out from the walls here, become more outwardly focused and love the lost and lead them to Christ? We're sharing with them our new core value of make disciples of Jesus who make other disciples of Jesus, and we're asking our lead pastor candidates, how will you lead us? How will you lead us and help us create a disciple making pathway so that we are more intentional and more focused on making disciples of Jesus who may go on to make other disciples of Jesus themselves? Calvary is at a Kadesh moment. Will we go into the land that God has promised? And we believe and we are praying that God will raise up a leader to lead us into the land, and by making that statement, I don't mean at all to equate the next lead pastor with Moses. All right. He is only going to be a man, but God uses men. The Great Shepherd uses under shepherds. And we are praising we are praying that God would raise up and under Shepherd to lead us into the land and lead us in fulfillment of that mission and those core values. But here's the challenge, the challenge of going into the land, of reaching out into the community, of loving the lost, of making disciples; that challenge, just like the challenge to the spies it looks, and it is humanly impossible. They were seeing the defenses in the land of Canaan, I look out and I see the defenses in our culture. I see the growing cultural hardness to the claims of Christianity. I see the growing hostility to the gospel and the Christian message. You can see it. You can look all around you and you can see that going out into the world is to go out into a world, a culture that is full of growing strong defenses against penetrating it with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It looks, and it is humanly impossible. We cannot do this in our own strength. So here's the big question, when God raises up the next leader for Calvary, what kind of follower will you be? If God answers our prayers to bring us a man who will help us fulfill our mission, a lead pastor, what kind of follower will you be? Will you trust in God's promises and his power that this is really what he has for us. He wants to lead us into this blessing. Will you follow like Caleb wholeheartedly, even when it seems humanly impossible? Or will you focus on your doubts and fears? Will you focus on the defenses in the world? Will you focus on how uncomfortable this may make us? Will you decide it's easier just to stay here in the desert, yeah, you know, we're we're really not going anywhere. But, you know, at least it's predictable, at least it's somewhat comfortable. At least I know a few people that I can say hello to every Sunday. Will you even long to return to Egypt thinking something like, you know, the problem is we just really need to get back to where we were 20 years ago or you put the timeline on it whenever it is, we really need to get back to fill in the blank. That's akin to saying we want to go back to Egypt, let's find a leader who can take us back to Egypt. Will you begin to grumble. Will you begin to let that that dissatisfaction of the current circumstances of the current situation grow in you, heat up in you till it spews out in grumbling, grumbling to each other, grumbling ultimately against the Lord. Will you passive aggressively resist? And even rebel, when God brings in a leader. What kind of follower will you be? Here is the reality, brothers and sisters, no matter how talented, how gifted, how experienced, how godly the next lead pastor is, Calvary will remain in the desert unless your hearts are prepared to follow. And here's the real truth about all of us, we don't become better followers just by trying hard. In fact, our fallen condition is this. If you'd go to the next slide for me. Our fallen condition is described by the last verse in the book of Judges, everyone did what was right in their own eyes. Everyone does or wants to do what is right in their own eyes. Jon Bon Jovi. We weren't born to follow. That's the natural state of our hearts. I don't want to follow somebody else. How do I know they're reliable? How do I know they're a good leader? I don't want to follow somebody else. At the heart of that is really I want to follow myself. I want to live life my own way, even if that means without God, I want to be the leader of my life. That is the natural fallen condition of every one of us. And so we can't follow we can't follow in and of our own strength, but there was one who was the perfect follower. And this is where our hope is, God sent one into the world, the only one who has ever perfectly followed him. The one Jesus Christ who said of his mission, of his whole purpose, I do not seek my own will, I seek the will of the father who sent me. And that one died on the cross, died in our place, died as a substitute, died as a sacrifice for your and my rebellion for your in my grumbling for your and my unwillingness to follow. He took his perfect followership, his perfect righteousness, and he paid the price, giving up his life in order to forgive us for our rebellion and our grumbling and our lack of of wanting to follow. And as we place our faith in him, as we allow him to be not just savior, but Lord of our life, his spirit fills us and enables us to follow. Enables us to follow Christ, enables us to follow the shepherds that he raises up under him as they follow Christ. Will you follow? We pray that God is raising up the next leader who will lead us in fulfillment of our of our mission, which we believe is leading us into God's blessing and into the fulfillment of God's will. Will you follow? You only can follow as you look to the one who perfectly followed, as you put your faith in him, as you follow the leading of the spirit that he has poured into your heart. Let's pray. Jesus, we begin by confessing that we are like the 10, we see the reality around us, Lord, and we look at our human limitations, we look at our human desires, and we don't have faith to go forward. Lord, it is just too easy to stay where we think it's comfortable. It's even easy, Lord, to want to go back to something, some previous time in life that we don't even accurately remember. And Lord, we are prone like these 10 men to grumbling. We are prone to resisting passive aggressively and actively. We're prone to rebellion. Lord, we are no better than Adam and Eve, our first father and mother, who were the first ones who turned away from following you, wanting to make their own choices. We need your work in our lives. Lord Jesus, we need you, the perfectly righteous one, the perfect follower. We need what you have done on the cross for us. We need the cleansing power, transforming power of the gospel in our lives. We need that individually, Lord, and we need this corporately. We want to be a church Lord that is on mission for you. We want to be a church that is faithful to you Lord. We are trusting that you raise up under shepherds under you the Great Shepherd Lord. And what we need now is a spirit where we can follow, we can follow in faith, we can follow. Trusting that you are good and that you are great. Give us the spirit Lord. Convict our hearts where they need to be convicted. Transform our hearts as we look to Christ. We pray this all in his name. Amen.

How does a church keep from going off course? What kind of shepherd/pastor is needed, and how should this individual lead and teach? Thank you, Andy. We do trust in God's timing, but we do believe we're in the final season of the pastoral search. So we felt it is appropriate in this final season to prepare for the calling and the coming of the next lead pastor; prepare, even as we look at the word through the next couple months in our sermon time. Specifically, we are going to be working through some select texts that Paul writes to Timothy in first and second Timothy, that speak to what is it that we should be looking for and expecting in an elder, a pastor. It applies to really all levels of leadership. In one way it's a definition of spiritual maturity. So it applies to all of us who follow Christ, but it has very definite, specific application to what we're looking for in the lead pastor. And so today, if you have your Bibles, I will take the first of those sections, which is in First Timothy, chapter one. I want to begin with just something that caught my my eye over the last year. Maybe you remember back in March, you remember in the news this cargo ship that got caught in the Suez Canal. This cargo ship is called the Evergreen. It's one of the largest container ships on the on the oceans. Literally its length is skyscraper-like, that's how long it is. And somehow as it's making its way through the Suez Canal it got turned. So it was almost perpendicular to the canal, the direction of the canal. It got stuck in the side of the canal. And for five days they puzzled on how are they going to get this unstuck? It was a problem, of course, not only for the container ship, but for all the ships that were coming through the Suez Canal behind it. Over those five days three hundred and sixty ships backed up behind the the evergreen, waiting for it to get unstuck. It literally costs billions of dollars and lost time of the shipment of goods, all because somehow - it's still under investigation. Somehow this ship got off course. Well, we have an example of this closer to home. The last year, I believe it was last July up in Duluth. Maybe you recognize the Duluth lift bridge there. There was a ship that similarly going through the Duluth Lift Bridge on its way out of the harbor in Duluth, out into Lake Superior, got stuck. It's the Presque Isle. I've seen that ship. It's one of the largest ships on the Great Lakes. This is a ship that has gone through this passage many, many times. But again, for some reason, this ship got turned slightly and got stuck against the breakwall for a period of time. Again, not only stalling its progress, but backing up ships behind it. And again, not all the details have not been disclosed, but I think it would be very easy to say that, like the Evergreen, the Presque Isle got off course. So I've been thinking about that image, that metaphor of getting off course. It really is a picture of what what Paul is warning Timothy about. Now, he is writing specifically about the situation in the church of Ephesus, but he could be writing to Calvary. So what is true of what is happening in Ephesus very well could be true of what's happening in Calvary or if you're visiting from another church, your church. This is really a threat both then and now. It is the threat like you see on the screen of churches going off course. And while there's many ways churches could go off course, probably the most fundamental, the most dangerous is churches going off course in their teaching. Why is this so important at this season? Because as we evaluate candidates for our next lead pastor, while that's not the only teaching role here at Calvary - there's others who teach from the pulpit, there's others who teach from from our adult Bible communities and in small groups and in other settings - this is a significant role. And the selection of a man who is at least going to be up here a majority of the time and the way that he will direct the ship of Calvary, so to speak, through its teaching, through its doctrine, if that gets off course, it presents a real danger to Calvary and, you know, if you wonder if that's just an idle warning; No, I mean, we look at churches all around us today, even in our Rochester community, that years ago were perhaps on course that have become for various reasons off course and a ship getting off course has ramifications that affect many a church getting off course. And it's teaching has ramifications that that affect many. So let's look a little bit about how Paul addresses this with Timothy. We open verse three. I urge you, Paul writes, I urge you, Timothy, when I went to Macedonia, remain in Ephesus. Let me just give you a little bit of a background context. Again, this could be written to Calvary. Ephesus was a church in a city, much like Calvary is here in Rochester. It was it was an area where because of its location on the eastern shores of the Aegean Sea, the western boundary of Asia Minor, it was an important place. It drew lots of people. It drew lots of intelligentsia. You know, Rochester certainly with the Mayo Clinic and and IBM and all the rest that goes along with that draws that same kind of people. Paul planted a church there, probably in the early 50s of the first century. We're not exactly sure there. It was on his second missionary journey. You can read about that in Acts 16, 17 and 18. And planning that church he spent almost three years there preaching and teaching, and then he moves on, moves on because there's other errands, specifically he is going to gather a collection for the poor, the people who are suffering in Jerusalem. He goes over to Macedonia on the other side of the Aegean Sea to collect that. And he leaves Timothy, his young protégé, a young new pastor, somewhat green, inexperienced pastor in charge there, in Ephesus. But what he hears in the years that pass concern him. What he hears as we'll see is a ship, a church, getting off course. So we see that as we go on here in verse three, he wants Timothy to stand fast there in Ephesus, stay in the church, stay in that helm. Why? So that you may command certain people not to teach other doctrine. We don't have a lot of explanation - there's actually very little explanation in scripture of what's going on here - but I think we can make some reasonable assumptions. Who are these certain other people? Acts 20 records what he speaks to elders in Ephesus. So the leaders of the church sometime later, based on what's happening, we read in Acts 20 what he is concerned about going on in the church. And I think it helps us identify who these certain people are who are teaching different doctrine. He writes Acts twenty. I know that after my departure, fierce wolves will come in among you. There would be people he was concerned about who would come in to the church from the outside and maybe they presented themselves as believers and yet they had a motive. They had a motive actually not to serve the sheep, to feed the sheep, but to prey upon the sheep, to take advantage of the sheep. And he says to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20, it's not only those coming in from the outside that he was concerned about. He goes on to say, even from among you, from within the church in other words, some will arise teaching perversions of the truth to draw away the disciples after them. He knew that there would be people who who grew up in the church who were saved through the church, who for some, you know, based upon different complexities of motivations, would become wolves who who rose up from within and would teach perversion of the truth, would teach different doctrine. Why? To draw off a following after them. So I think that's what we see here in First Timothy 1:3 - other doctrine. Some of your versions, if you have a different version, may translate that as different doctrine as strange doctrine, as false doctrine. It's teaching. It's truth that is other than what Jesus and the apostles taught, that we have in the New Testament. What kind of false teaching was he learning about that they were teaching in Ephesus. We read that in verse four: myths and endless genealogies. Now there are some particularities to that setting that may not apply specifically, but there are principles here that I think we need to be on guard against here at Calvary. What is a myth? A myth is basically the invention of the human mind. You might think of Greek mythology. Human minds made made up those stories of of Greek mythology. The myth here would describe the nature of any false teaching, anything that draws from human ideas rather than divine revelation, anything that draws from human perspectives rather than God's perspective represented in his word would qualify as a myth. He speaks about genealogies here. Again, we don't have a lot of detail, but there are genealogies of the patriarchs in the Old Testament. They had the Old Testament at that point. And what we believe was probably happening is that these teachers were starting with these genealogies. They were picking names of people identified in those genealogies and developing legends around them, developing allegorical interpretations from which they claim there was truth, that is authoritative. But again, it was mythical. It was the invention of their minds. It may have started with a real name in the scripture, but what they did with that name was certainly mythic. And Paul says that these are endless. In other words, it's their speculations without limits, without any biblical boundaries. And that would really, I think, be the principle here. How do we know when when this teaching when teaching is false? Here's what's common to all false teaching. It goes beyond what the Bible teaches. It goes out into human inventions brought in to scripture in some way. Well, how do we see that today? In lots of ways that we see it today. Let me just mention three that I see all around us. I see under the broad tent of evangelicalism, this is by no means an exclusive list. There's a teaching that goes on in many churches today where we're some who are teaching would claim that they have an authoritative word. And what I mean by that is they claim to hear some direct revelation from God that goes beyond what is said in the scripture. And they claim to be able to give that and teach that as authority, that you should be bound by what they believe God has personally, directly revealed to them. And that happens. That happens certainly in certain areas of evangelicalism. But I hear it popping up more and more. Even even somebody saying something as simple as God told me that can drift into that idea of somebody claiming to have an authoritative word that is beyond what scripture says. Well we see this kind of thing, I think in those who Samuel Davies says it like this, who lose the fundamentals in the nonessentials. The fundamentals, as we'll get to in a minute, is the gospel, is the saving truth. The nonessentials are things that are out on the periphery that may come from scripture, but to elevate a non essential to become the fundamental, the the highest priority can get a church off course. We see this as well as those who mix the word with current philosophies and with political affiliations. You get current philosophies, as I do, from the world around you. Every day we are inundated with the worldly philosophies about how we should think about human sexuality. And there are many teachers today who are mixing in those current philosophies of human sexuality with scripture, mixing it in and teaching it as authoritative and it is a different doctrine. It goes apart from what God has designed. You and I are inundated every day with with with human philosophies about race. And there are many who are teaching, taking secular, worldly philosophies about how we should think about race and mixing that in with what they claim to be biblical teaching. And that, too, is leading many churches astray. And then political affiliations, any time that a teacher takes and claims to teach from the word of God and steers that in one direction or another, attaches it with one political party or another, regardless of where it is on the spectrum. They're doing this. They're teaching a different doctrine because they are mixing it with something that goes beyond what scripture has to say. Well, how does this kind of teaching and there be many more forms that we could we could talk about if we were in discussion about this, how does this kind of false teaching pull a church off course just like those ships got off course? Well, we we see this in the second part of verse four. These promote empty speculation. What is a speculation? A speculation is basically a theory. It's opinion. It's something that we reach by our own conjecture. Let me give you one example of of of a speculation that that made it to prime time in the evangelical world. It's been a few years, but you may remember a number of years ago, not so long ago, there was a book that became a bestseller. It was called the Bible Code. The Bible code was a book written by an Israeli mathematician. And what he claimed to be able to do is to decode the Bible and with the use of computers and mathematical formulas he claimed to run all of the Bible through this computer using these mathematical formulas. And he claimed that, as you did, that the mathematics revealed three thousand year old prophetic events that were that that nobody's ever seen in scripture before. He claimed that these mathematical formulas running the Old Testament prophecies through them clearly predicted the Kennedy assassination, the moon landing, the election of Bill Clinton and many others. That's pure speculation. You know, no man, no matter how good you are at mathematics, when when you create some kind of system like that that goes beyond scripture, that claims to read into scripture, something that has never been seen before, that's empty speculation. And Paul warns about anything, whether it's the use of mathematics, nothing wrong with mathematics, but the use of anything that would be speculation that goes beyond what God has given us in his his word. There genealogical myths were nothing more than human speculation, taking a name and a genealogy and making some legend around it or spinning some allegory around it. Instead these lead us away from rather than going straight through the channel. What they lead us away from is God's plan. God's plan here or as some of your versions may say God's administration that refers to God's method of saving us from our sin. This is the gospel, the gospel that we are sinful, rebellious creatures and we are lost and we are perishing. And God does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. God reaches into the darkness, out of his mercy and by his grace. And he brings us the light of Christ, the son of God, the perfectly righteous one, the one who, because he is the only perfectly righteous one, is able to die in our place, died in our place, taking upon himself all human sinfulness and bringing us forgiveness and bringing us new life and filling us with the Holy Spirit as we put our faith in him. Any teaching that that takes us off course from the Gospel is exactly what's warned about here. Why is this so relevant? It's certainly relevant as we think about selecting those who teach. But I think why is it that we're even here? I had a striking event happen on Friday. I was in my apartment. I was coming home to my apartment and the elevator was blocked off. But the elevator doors open and there's policemen in there and they had one of those carts and there's a body on the cart. And as it turns out, as I learned later, that a neighbor, someone I didn't know well, but enough to wave on had a drug overdose and died. And I know this kind of thing happens all around us, but when you see it so close, it just reminds you of the reality of the world that we live in, that people are perishing, people are perishing all around us. People are perishing in our families. People who are neighbors are perishing. Those are people - I don't know for sure this individual. But but those are people who are in all likelihood, are perishing eternally, are perishing because they have not heard God's plan. They're perishing because they have not received the gospel. So any church that gets off course, whether it's the Bible code or whatever way they get off course and racial issues or in gender issues or whatever it may be, is like that ship, those ships crashing into the side rather than going straight through. People need the church to be going straight through the channel, to be changed by the gospel ourselves and to be taking the gospel out into the world, to our neighbors and to our family members who are lost. Saving faith is based upon the historical truth of the gospel. It's not based on speculation. Saving faith is revealed by divine revelation, not by some code, not by some invention, some fable, some allegory. So teaching that does not point us to God's redemptive plan, it takes us off course as a church. You see why it is so essential that in our selection of anyone who fills this role in the pulpit, but as well as any other teaching role at Calvary, why it is so essential that it is someone who teaches the word and teaches the apostolic doctrine of the Christian faith. And actually to not do that, to go astray in one of these ways. Again, that not only keeps the church from making forward progress in its mission, but it holds everyone back as well. So what kind of teaching what kind of preaching keeps a church on course? Paul speaks to that in verse five when when he writes the goal of our instruction. What instruction is he talking about? He's certainly talking about his teaching. He's certainly talking about Timothy's teaching, but he's talking about all our teaching. He's talking about what should come from this pulpit here at Calvary. He's talking about the kind of instruction that should come from our adult Bible communities. He's talking about the kind of instruction that should come from your home small group, the goal of our instruction. Why is it that you sit and you listen to to somebody preach or teach? Why is it that you participate in a small group Bible study? What is the goal? The goal is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Here's the standard that we should be applying not just to our pastoral search, but to how we look at anyone who's going to have a teaching role here at Calvary. And this has become, for me, one of my life verses as God has called me into pastoral ministry. Why? Because it goes beyond even the content of what we teach to my motives, to what is in my heart. So what is the motive? What's central to the motive that should be in all of our teaching? Well, you see it, there - it is love. It is love. And I know that term is overused and I know the definition of that word is is stretched beyond all limits by our culture today. But we know what that says. We know what Jesus taught us in Matthew 22. He teaches us it's about loving God and it's about loving your neighbor. We encompass that in our mission here at Calvary. Why is it that we make Disciples of Jesus, we make disciples of Jesus who are going to live out their faith in Passion for Christ. That's the love for God. And compassion for people. That's love for people. You know, when I came and I began my interviewing as part of my transitional role here and I interviewed many of you, one of the phrases that I heard over and over again is well Calvary loves a deep teaching. And I believe what was meant by that is Calvary loves preaching and teaching that gets deep into scripture. And that is a good thing as long as it's not an end in itself. If deep biblical teaching is an end in itself, we just want to fill our minds with more and more knowledge of scripture. That can get us off course. Filling our minds deep teaching is a means to an end. But here's the end. The end is is love and is the character of Jesus Christ being reproduced in our lives. The end of deep teaching, of filling our minds with biblical knowledge is a growing love for God, Passion for Christ, and a growing love for people, compassion for people. How does this love grow? It grows first of all, from a pure heart and again, you can hear this and you can just apply this to what we should look for in our next lead Pastor. I take it beyond that, this is what should be the standard for anyone in any leadership role at Calvary. This really, because it's a definition of Christian maturity, should be what we all aspire to. So it speaks to us on each of these levels. A pure heart. Our heart is where our attitudes are formed. It's it's where our motives are developed. It's where our priorities are shaped. So think about that. What does it mean to have a pure heart? None of us has a pure heart. Our hearts are washed by salvation when we come to Christ. But our hearts live in the world and our hearts are polluted by our own flesh. So we need the continual cleansing. We need to continually cleanse our selfish attitudes and our selfish motives and our selfish priorities by the word. We're looking for a lead pastor who models that. What is it to be real about who we are as people in this fallen world, as people still with the flesh at war with the spirit in us? We need our leaders to model this, but we each need to be growing in this to, that continual cleansing of the world, not just from a pure heart, but love from a good conscience. I think you have a sense of what conscience is. It is that inner sense that lives in your head that says this is right and this is wrong and our conscience is really polluted by the world until we come to Christ. But as we come to Christ, Paul tells us in Romans chapter two that God's law written on our hearts becomes the voice that either accuses us - you've gone astray, or it teaches us that we're doing right. So what does it mean for our lead pastor and our leaders and all of us as we grow in Christ to have a good conscience? Well, again, I think as we think about how this applies to all of us, it means that when my conscience is marred by sin. First of all, I'm to deal with that immediately before God through confession. But it also means that when I have sinned against someone else or offended someone else, I'm to address that through the immediate confession of sin. This is certainly true of who we're looking for in our next lead pastor. But this is true of every one of us who claims to follow Christ. From a sincere faith. Sincere means, genuine, sincere means without hypocrisy. It means without any pretense. But I think there's something more here. You know, when I began preaching, at least when you begin to preach as a young man, there's an initial excitement, wow, I got people's attention and and they're listening to me. It doesn't take very long of doing it before you realize I have nothing to say. I have nothing of value worth listening to. In fact, if I don't believe what it is that I am representing from this word, I would better serve this congregation by closing my mouth and sitting down. And so what does it mean to have to have a sincere faith? It means that it is more than a competency to present the word. It is a conviction that this word actually changes and transforms as the Holy Spirit uses it. And that's true of all of us. We need to not only be men and women who know the word as we follow Jesus, we need to be men and women who actively believe the promises and the principles of the Bible. And we believe them so much that we are willing to act on them. That's what we need in the man who fills this pulpit. And so we need in anyone who teaches in any setting, that's what we each need to grow in our own lives. You know, when the Evergreen and the Presque Isle, when they went off course, two things happened. They stopped going forward. No more forward progress. And they blocked everything behind it. They blocked the progress of any other ships. And to have a teacher who is teaching different doctrine, have a teacher who is really a wolf, who is really in it for themselves and what they can get out of it, that causes the church to go off course to stop making progress in its mission to impede anybody else from making progress. We see a little bit of that in verse six. When they deviate from these, when they deviate from love, from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith, they turn aside to fruitless discussion. I like how some versions translate useless or fruitless discussion, useless talk, empty arguments. How often do we in the church get caught up in arguments that really are useless, that are vain? They they don't advance the course. They get us off course. Steven Cole says we in the church often get caught up with the trivial and we neglect the crucial, the gospel. We argue finer points of theology, but then we shred relationships. We focus on knowing the Bible, but we forget that the goal of knowing the Bible is to change our lives and not just to fill our heads. Fruitless. Maybe the thing that we should ask for before we get caught on that into that next deep theological argument is, is this discussion, is it actually producing fruit? Is it edifying? Is it helping people grow more and more into the character of Christ or instead of producing fruit, does it have the tendency to produce thorns and make us more thorny, argumentative people? The goal of our instruction and what we're looking for in our next lead pastor and what we seek for all of our teaching forms at Calvary and what each of us seek as we grow in following Christ, the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. What does this mean as we look for our next lead pastor? What does this mean to apply this as we think about what you and I, what we expect in our next lead Pastor? What's most important as we evaluate what our next pastor - who he is and what he is like? What does this mean as we identify and raise up future leaders here at Calvary and bringing it home individually, how does it shape us in how we believe that Christ is calling us to grow? I want to close. I want to pray two scriptures that just really have impressed upon me as I think about not just our pastoral search, but the growth and the maturity of our body together and individually. Let me pray, Lord, you brought Hebrews 4:12 to mind that your word Calvary claims to love your word, Lord. Your word you say is living and it is active and in the hands of your Holy Spirit. It is sharper than any two edged sword, that it pierces to the very heart of us. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. That's what we need, Lord. We each need that that ongoing heart surgery. Those who are here yet, who don't know you as savior and Lord Jesus, they need the word piercing you piercing into the darkness of their lives and bringing the light of the gospel. Those of us who that has happened, Lord, we need that ongoing conviction and that ongoing transforming work, your sanctifying work in our lives. That happens as we listen to your word, as we hear your word taught, as your Holy Spirit presses it in. And then, Lord, you brought to my mind Romans 1:16. The Gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. What it means to be going straight through the channel Lord is to focus on the gospel, to have our teaching not get caught up in abstract arguments, certainly not in human speculations, but our teaching to continue to lead us back to the Gospel, to lead people to the foot of the cross. My neighbor needed that Lord. Every one of us here can think of people in our lives who need that. We need that. So we pray, Lord, as we search for the next lead pastor, we pray as we think about the future of Calvary. We pray as each of us, Lord, contemplate what does it mean to follow you faithfully and allow your spirit to continue your transforming work in our lives? Let your word driven and empowered by your spirit, change us and transform us and make us more like Christ. We pray in your name. Jesus. Amen.

What are the gifts, character qualities, responsibilities, and attitudes we are to look for in a shepherd-pastor?

Hear how the Holy Spirit is moving and working in our Lahu and Anywaa congregations! With Dorkham See and Ojaga Okony. (Pastor Werthman) Today is Pentecost Sunday, and it is significant to observe because there was a momentous shift in God's saving work and among all his people that started on Pentecost Sunday. The prophecy of Joel, I will pour out my spirit, God says on all people - the beginning of that we saw on Pentecost Sunday. And what that means for you and me individually is that as we come into a saving relationship with Christ, where Christ as Savior and Lord the spirit fills us, that's that's how God accomplishes his transforming work that we call sanctification. That's how God uses us. That's how God gifts us so that we can serve him as we follow Christ. But even more than that, the pouring out of spirit on all people meant that the Holy Spirit's power and presence was no longer limited just to the nation of Israel, that it goes throughout all of the earth, wherever God is saving a people for himself, that is in fulfillment of Christ's goal, of building a kingdom from every tribe and tongue and race. We recognize that even in the work that we have seen him do here at Calvary over the years. Calvary, whether you realize it or not, is one congregation. But right now we have four worshipping communities and often those worshipping communities interact with each other. But because of some of the language needs of those different communities, we have several different services that happen here throughout the day on a Sunday. And we want you to hear a little bit about what that looks like and how specifically the Holy Spirit is moving in those worshipping communities. So, first of all, I'm going to have Dorkham See come up door, come as the pastor of our Lahu worshipping community. And would you please welcome Dorkham as he comes up? (Pastor See) Thank you Dan. (Greeting in LAHU) No, I didn't just speak in tongues, actually in a different language, I did in the truest form of the word. But what I said was, how are you doing? And God bless you. I want to thank Pastor Dan for thinking of the Lahu people l-a-h-u. And yes, after twenty five years, we're still meeting here at Calvary. And thanks for thinking of the Lahu people and allowing us to be a part of one of the congregations here at Calvary. Dan asked if I would share a couple of things and I'm just going to read off the questions and then try to answer them. First one is how do you and the rest of our Lahu brothers and sisters see the Holy Spirit ministry among you? And how is the Spirit moving in the worship service? I would say the first thing is just being aware of the Holy Spirit, because I would say in a lot of the churches, the third person of the Trinity, we tend to forget or at least put it in the back seat. And so one of the things that we are trying to do is just being aware of the Holy Spirit. You know, I don't know if you know this person, K.P. Yohanan, he is the founder and the president of Gospel for Asia. And one of the things that he said that really caught my attention was that he said Americans are very practical. They're so pragmatic. If they need to get something done, they could get it done easily. If there is a building project that costs a million dollars, they could get it done in one year pretty easily that way. But when you ask them to sit down and to meditate on God's word and to memorize scripture and to zip their mouth and just be quiet before God, to be less busy, it's really hard for us to do that. And I think that's a sign, an indication that we are not reliant on the Holy Spirit. And so just being aware of the Holy Spirit. See, I have 12 minutes and I forgot where we are now. Scripture says that Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit. You know, you see phrases like Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit, Jesus was relying on the Holy Spirit. And if the son of God, the creator of the universe, according to John 1, if he was relying on the Holy Spirit. Now, I know you know what I'm about to say next. You and me, simple human beings, how much more do we need to be reliant on the Holy Spirit? And so just encouraging the congregation to be aware of the Holy Spirit and to be more reliant on the Holy Spirit. Just some practical things that the Holy Spirit is doing. Conversion. God is converting people's hearts in our congregation, I think of my friend Jamie Sakita. His dad is Iranian and his mom is Caucasian, and he's actually married to a local girl in our congregation. And he told me that he grew up watching cartoons on Sunday morning and now he's worshipping the Lord. And that's so much better than watching cartoons on Sunday morning. And so we're seeing conversion. Spiritual conversations are happening, I think of Matt, who grew up in a church but went away from the church and he said he would never come back to the church again, but he texted me about a month ago and we're starting to have these conversations now. You might be wondering all these names that you've mentioned so far, they're American names where are the Lahu people? Maybe this is more of an update. But in our Lahu services now I'm preaching and we're leading worship in English and Lahu because we're seeing that since we live in America now, people are intermarried and so we have them. But then, you know, sometimes their friends or their family will visit or they even become a part of our community. And so we're doing Lahu in English. We've called it Lahu English service now. All right. People desire to get baptized. Actually, last year, I think we canceled church due to covid on baptism Sunday, I think. And so we still have people waiting to get baptized. And then the other thing that Dan asked was, how is the Holy Spirit leading in outreach and mission? In Acts 1:4 and 8, Jesus promised the Holy Spirit and that we would receive the power of the Holy Spirit, and they were to go out and share the gospel with the people around them. You know, when the Holy Spirit comes into our lives, you can't contain the Holy Spirit if it's inside of you. I guarantee you that because the Holy Spirit came in Acts 1 and then in Acts 8, the people were still in Jerusalem. They didn't want to leave. And then God allows this persecution to happen. And actually and they are forced actually to go out and share the gospel with people so if the Holy Spirit is in us, it will eventually get out. And so in terms of outreach, we're just encouraging people to have spiritual conversations outside of the church, outside the four walls of the church, in homes, especially your homes, train up your kids to love and serve the Lord in work in school during your play time, etc. So very simple things. It doesn't have to be overcomplicated. It doesn't have to be hard. Just have spiritual conversations with the people around you. So in terms of outreach, very simple. But missions, how is the spirit leading us in missions? One of the things that we are beginning to talk about is supporting national leaders in Thailand and Laos. You know, mission work, I would say, has changed and it's continuing to change from sending Western missionaries to supporting national workers. And so that's one of the things that we have been talking about. Now, I'm not saying that we're opposed to Western missionaries going to these countries. For goodness, if God calls you, you must go. But if you are asking what is the most efficient and best method for doing what, for doing missions today or the best bang for your buck, as they say, we believe that it is to support national workers, national pastors, national leaders. And so that's one of the things that we are talking about. Let me just give you some numbers here. Maybe this is more anecdotal, but, you know, it costs about 50 to 70 thousand dollars to send Western missionaries. We're not even talking about the effectiveness there. But, you know, for about three thousand dollars per year, you can support a full time national pastor, a national leader, and they are very effective. And so those are the things that we've been talking about. Ninety eight percent of the people in Thailand, they've never heard the gospel before. They're still practicing Buddhist or Buddhism or Animism. Only three percent of the Laos people are Christians. And so, as I'm thinking about these numbers, what are some things that we could be doing in the Lahu English service, as well as partnering with you guys in doing missions? And so the Holy Spirit knows where the needs are and we're simply just trying to listen and follow. So that's all I have. (Pastor Werthman) I used an expression earlier that I want to repeat and I want to explain. And I hope this is something that sticks in your mind today. One congregation; four worshipping communities. Let me explain how that came about. As God has providentially worked in Calvary's history, he has drawn these different groups at different times to Calvary. But last fall, the fall of 2020, representatives from our pastoral staff and our leadership board met with the leaders of each of these three different groups, and they asked, what do you want to be? Do you want to be your own congregation that either may stay under our roof here as a separate congregation or go off and plant your own start your own new church someday? Or do you want to be part of Calvary in some way? And through a process of those discussions, the leadership of all three of these congregations affirmed, no, we want to be part of Calvary. We want to be part of the Calvary congregation. So we don't look at these as different ethnic congregations. We look and say God has blessed us as he's providentially worked by expanding us to for worshiping communities under one congregation. So again, if you walk away with nothing else this morning, I hope that sticks in your mind. One congregation; four worshipping communities and it's our desire that there be more and more overlap. There is certainly a need for different services with different language abilities for the people that God is drawing. We pray that in our fellowship, we pray that in the leadership of the church, we pray that in our mission there would be more and more overlap between these four worshipping communities. One of the worshipping communities is the Oromo. We invited them today. They were slated to come and speak to us today. And this week kind of last minute, there was a scheduling conflict and they could not be with us here this morning. So we'll look for another opportunity in a future week to welcome our Oromo brothers and sisters here to speak and to tell you a little bit about what God is doing. But I want to invite a leader in our Anywaa congregation, Ogaga Okony, and I hope I pronounced the brother's last name correctly. Ogaga, what you come up and would you share? And as you come up, your congregation is a little bit newer to to many people in this congregation. So you might even add a little bit to where your people come from and how God has worked and in developing that worshipping community and then share what the Holy Spirit, what you see the Holy Spirit doing among your people. Thank you. Let's welcome. (leader Okony) (greeting in Anyuak) Yeah, this is not a town where is a dialect in Anyuak groups. We are divided between Ethiopia and Sudan, where we are kind of like the most marginalized people. We struggle a lot, but we have a beautiful country. And when I think about all of that, I thank God that this is not all the life that we have to live, knowing that there is another life hidden in Christ. That make me so joyful because what I just said in my dialect, it was like, how are you beautiful children of God? May God's name be glorified and be praised. So I was given a greeting in a different dialect. So, yeah, like I mentioned before, we are divided in Ethiopia and Sudan, but recently in the last two decades, there was a genocide to launch against us the previous regime. There's already been like in my lifetimes, I have witnessed three regime changing in the country and the previous one were kind of like in power us, open our eyes because Haile Selassie. But then there was some missionaries who came to our country to share the gospel and they were told not to open our eyes. But by the grace of God, they were only allowed to open a class from first grade to fourth grade. And by the time when you finished fourth grade, supposed to be a teacher, then we were kind of like cover down there. But when that regime was overthrown, the second one was kind of like a totalitarian, the Dergue that when I was alive at the time and that my time to attend school, too. So it's opened many schools and allow a lot of children to go to school and when that was overthrown. Then the next one called Meles Zenawi. Came into power. And this is an ethnic and divisive and then very cruel regime. So came because they want to assimilate us or take our land. We were kind of like marginalized and brutally assassinated or victimized. And that's why even today, there's a lot of refugees who are still coming here because of that effect was back in 2003. And a lot of us, we ran to Sudan, to Kenya, Uganda, and that's why there's still a lot of refugees. So enough about their politics. Let's come to God. So God is very merciful. And I thank God that he's a God of love, God of kindness that accept everyone, no matter where you come from, where your background is, and also hope in our heart to know that he is the creator who created all of us in different shapes, but with one vision. And when we first came here, we struggled a lot with so many denominations. There's a lot of denominations I've been running around to find which one goes by the words of God. You go read in the Bible, you come out here, you hear different thing that makes it even more chaotic. Then we try to gather to have a fellowship or a ministry, because we don't, a lot of us, we don't speak English and our dialect is not well known or probably recently, not too long ago after I already left the country. I left the country a long time ago. It's like when I came here it was in nineteen ninety five. I was very young and I didn't know the language. So the language was printed and then was introduced to school for the children to be taught. So I only tried to learn so I can read and speak so that I can help my other communities. And that is only for the purpose of the words of God, and I did that through the time and now I'm not very fluent, but OK and but most of my readings I read in English. So through that time, most people who are coming now, they're not very fluent in any different language except the Anyuat. And here, if you don't follow the words of God, you'll get lost so easily. So we try so many different things, but sometimes because we are not rooted deep down in the words of God, chaotic always happens among the groups and things fall apart. So before coming here, we used to I think there's a Covenant church. We used to worship there. Then things happened. Then we we went to different directions. It's like sometimes the disciples, they do have some disputes, but even though it's supposed to be the wrong thing, God will use it for good purpose. So that was when Pastor Kevin was a pastor here. And we came searching probably through the Holy Spirit was the one that leading us. And so we sat and had some meeting and some talk and eventually we were allowed to come here and I thank God for that. And then I thank all the leaders and all the members of Calvary congregation, you people are very good people. So we were accepted here. We started our ministry and now the Holy Spirit is working. My, my, my, I don't know. English sometimes be difficult; magnificently so. Anyway, through that we, our number got increased. We are doing Bible study to get deep down into the words of God because most of our people, they rely on the Holy Spirit. Since you don't have any language or a book that you can understand, the only thing that they can rely on is the words to hearing from somebody else or the Holy Spirit helping them. But through our welcoming here, we have increased that level and we do Bible study outside. And certainly last year when corona hit us, we still maintain worshipping online. We still connecting. But for some reason, I don't know, it could be the Holy Spirit. We are not afraid of the covid. We are still gathering somewhere and nothing is happening. And to the mercy of God to thank God none of us got severely sick. Only one child that sick, but to the prayers also that healed. So this week I come here not really prepared. I had some notes, but I forgot that's on the printer because this week I was so busy I got hit with so much. My son. I almost lost him last week. I didn't know he was diabetic, but suddenly something happened. We end up in the hospital for emergency and he was in ICU for four days. But Pastor Dan knows and John and other groups and also, Larry, Larry, I sent out a message asking for a prayer, but God is indeed is a good God. Our prayers got answered. My son survived. And we came back home last Saturday and no, not last night, this past Wednesday. So I spent about eight days in the hospital. So I didn't really prepare for all this speech because I was so distracted and so busy. But anyway, I'm not the one that's speaking, the Holy Spirit is one doing this job. So all of this could be like a temptation to the testimonies. But I know with God everything is possible and we could prevail and indeed we were victorious because of God. So our mission and our ministry is now growing. And we have other people, too, who are moving to this area because of the ministry that we have here. Sometime we posted online our service and other groups who are not here like Askaris in different states because of what they are seeing here and the love and the and all these strong words that they see. Everyone wants to move here to join us. So that is wonderful. And we also our heart is aching, too, for other groups who are scattered a little bit in northern Minnesota and some St Cloud. There need to be some reach out to for those groups. The other one recently came from Africa, immigrated here. They kind of concentrated over there because of jobs. But yet still the words of God need to be preached to them, because knowing that we are here temporarily and our time is limited by God, we need to surely worship and put our faith in God. Should something happen to us peacefully we know that we will go and be together with our father. And also understanding and knowing that when you accept and worship God is not for the purpose of the life of this earth, but knowing that it's for salvation, the new life that is coming, that's hidden in Jesus because Jesus is risen and is alive. So those who are with him too, even though they are dead, they shall live again with them. And that is a very encouraging, very important messages that we share among our congregation to increase our faith, to be committed to God, that since we have already seen so much atrocities on this earth, what else do you need? If somebody promised you a life that would be far more than all the joyful life that the rich people who are on this earth happened to enjoy, but is even far more than that, that should be a God to run to. And I was so humble and grateful that I'm so grateful that Jesus came into my life and the life of my family and the life of my brothers and sisters whom I know and missionaries for the mission. Like I said, I probably would be bouncing back and forth because it's not really organized in notes. We have some other groups who are still refugees in Kenya. They are worshipping over there, but sometimes they need a little bit help and we do reach out to them too and help them. And back home where we originally came from, we still do reach out and help them. They're there, too. So without forgiveness, life would have been even more bitter. But when you forgive, God, I mean, the Holy Spirit will help you move forward. And we are just so happy to be part of the Calvary congregation. And we, through the help of God, we want to move on and do what God put in our hearts. So one testimony that I want to share by the Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit is really it's like like a person you can talk to and then can also answer your questions. There was a time that one of our sisters was going through a lot of foreclosures and losing the house, but we were praying and the Holy Spirit gave the House number, but not the street. It says eventually you're going to get a house and the house number is four three, three three. And we were like, wow. So we waited to see that and through four years later, she got a loan and she got a house and that house, we were like, wait a minute, the house is four three, three, three - the number. Going back and see the documents because usually when there's like a dream or a message that God delivers, we write it down because we want to confirm that this is really from God. And indeed, we did confirm. So that is very, very encouraging that God is not just like image or somebody somewhere out there. God is real and encourage everyone to put their faith in this God who will not let you down will not shame you, but always you will be victorious with that. And I thank you for this time. And then may God bless all of you, you know. (Pastor Werthman) Would you pray with me? Father, first of all, we want to lift up Ogaga's son and with this recent diagnosis of diabetes. Lord, we pray for healing and maybe by your will, that is complete healing or maybe by your will that is healing through insulin and the other ways that diabetes is treated. Either way, Lord, we pray that you would heal in a way that this young man and his family and all those in the community around him would would see that you are real and your loving kindness is great and that you are faithful. Father, we're so thankful for these different worshipping communities that are part of our congregation. We're so thankful, Lord, for the Lahu brothers and sisters who've been here over two decades. We're thank you more recently for our Anywaa and our Oromo brothers and sisters. Lord, I pray, Lord, for us here today. I pray for us as the the fourth or however you count them, the fourth worshipping community. Lord, I pray that we would get a greater vision this Pentecost Sunday of the same spirit living and moving in all of us and Lord, that you would give us a greater desire for unity, for a brotherhood and sisterhood, for becoming one in soul and spirit with these brothers and sisters. We pray, Lord, you give us not only that vision, but that hunger for one day being around the throne, worshipping the lamb who was slain, who has drawn himself people from every race and tribe and people and language saying Glory to the lamb. We pray in his name. Amen.

God calls us to follow him, to cast our net and become fishers of people. Good morning. We are looking at a fishing story this morning because I've been thinking a lot about fishing. I don't know if you realize it or not, but this is fishing opener weekend here in Minnesota. Actually, probably if that was really important to you, you wouldn't be here this morning, right? I pastored for many years up in Brainerd, Minnesota. Brainerd, located in all of those lakes up there. Brainerd being kind of a fishing center, largest ice fishing tournament in the world is in Brainerd every January. This kind of weekend would approach. And it would often, by the way, be on Mother's Day weekend. What kind of cruel joke is that? But we'd suddenly see attendance take this big dip on fishing opener weekend because that's the culture up there. Maybe not so much here. But anyway, we are looking at a fishing story, and I think it's even appropriate as as we'll see in a little bit as we look at really one of our new core values here at Calvary. But let's dig into this fishing story a little bit and see the application to us. I need that back screen on, please, just so I can track. There we go. So we read at the beginning of the story that Jesus appears again to his disciples, OK, this is this is after his resurrection. And where is this particular appearance? We're told by John, it's by the Sea of Tiberius. That's the Sea of Galilee or the Lake Genesaret. It's the Sea of Galilee in the northern region of Galilee and Israel. So just to set the setting, why is it that they are there and Jesus is appearing to them there? Well, Jesus has hinted this to them before. But then at the tomb, perhaps you remember in Matthew Chapter 20, what is it that the angel tells the disciples? The angel tells the disciples he, Jesus has risen from the dead and here it is. And he is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him. So there has been a really an instruction to these disciples, go to Galilee, wait for Jesus. And that's what they do. And as the story opens, we find that they have been out fishing for the night. See if my slides will catch up with me here. If you to advance to the next slide, please. Early in the morning, we are told in verse four, Jesus stands on the shore. And what happens is, even though he's standing on the shore and they're out in the boat fishing, they don't recognize that it was Jesus. Are we not getting an advance? All right, wonderful. OK, as long as it's back up there. So you can all see that again. What's happening here is they have been waiting. They've obediently gone to Galilee, but they're not sure when he's going to show up. They probably at some point got tired of sitting around and remember who these men are. They're fishermen. That's their vocation. And so they do. I don't think this is about saying we give up, we're done with following Jesus. I think this is they're there. They are obediently waiting. They're not sure when Jesus is going to appear. So they do what comes naturally to them. They go out fishing and that's where we find them. And they are fishing. As Jesus does appear, Jesus appears on the shore. But again, this is one of those occasions where when he first appears, those who see him don't recognize him as Jesus. Now, we're not told exactly why that is. It very well could have been because it's early in the morning. They have been fishing all night. This may have been just at dawn before there was enough visible light to recognize somebody from a distance on the shore that could have been it. Or this could have been a situation like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus where what are we told in that story that for a period of time when Jesus appears with them, they are prevented, providentially prevented from recognizing that it was Jesus. One way or another as this scene opens and Jesus is on the shore, the disciples don't recognize that it was Jesus. So, again, here is the setting of this fishing story. These men have come to Galilee looking for Jesus. But when he appears to them, they don't recognize him. Now, what would you do if you were Jesus at this point, if you wanted to open their eyes, how would you go about doing it? I can think of a lot of ways I can think just humanly, you know, I might be tempted to cry out. It's me, it's the Lord. But that's not what he does, is it? How is it that we see him in this story opening their eyes? Verse five. It's subtle, but here comes. He calls out to them friends, haven't you any fish? Again, the story already tells us in verse three that they had gone out fishing. They fished all night. That was typically when fishermen did their fishing on the lake, the Sea of Galilee. And so they went out. They did all the things that they knew to do that they were experienced to do, that they were good at doing. And still, at the end of the night, as morning dawned, they had caught no fish. They had caught nothing. Now, that may have been, as we'll see a little bit later, a spiritual lesson that apart from him, they can't do anything. We're not sure exactly why, but but providentially, it sets up this encounter with Jesus because Jesus goes ahead and calls them in verse six, throw out your nets on the right side of the boat and you read over that. And that seems like, you know, you may think of a little fishing net or something like that. Like that's a fairly simple exercise as we're going to see in a few minutes. This is no small request. As I'll explain shortly, the net that they were using was very, very large. The net that they were using took a whole team of men over an hour to deploy in the lake and tow back in. Normally, they did this over the course of an entire night, maybe eight times, because it was a lot of work. So he's not asking them for something insignificant and little. This entire process is a big process. I wonder if it's beginning to dawn on them that they have been here before. Deja vu. You know, the story that early at the beginning of the ministry of his ministry, we are told, and Luke Chapter five about a very similar incident. I won't read the whole thing to you, but let me just read the account. This is again at the beginning of Jesus's ministry when these same men first encountered Jesus. We're told this - one day Jesus was standing on the lake of Genesaret. That's the Sea of Galilee, same place, with people crowding around him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water's edge two boats left there by the fishermen who were washing their nets. And he got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, Simon, Peter, and asked him to put out a little from the shore. And then he sat down and he taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, again, that's Peter put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch. Simon answered, Master, we worked hard all night and we haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets. And when they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. Do you see the correspondence between these two stories, the one at the beginning of his ministry with these men and the one now as he appears in his resurrection appearance to them? It's the same place, the same lake may even been near the same part of the shore because that's typically where they brought their boats and their nets into. It's the same men or substantially the same men. It's the same set up. They've been out fishing all night long and they haven't caught any fish. And it's the same miracle they caught such a large number of fish that in this case in Luke Chapter five, their nets were breaking. There were so many fish. So again, Jesus is revealing himself to these men by bringing them back to what he had shown them about himself all the way back at the beginning of the ministry. This is the way now in his resurrection appearance that he is opening their eyes. Why is it that he does it this way? I think personally, we find the answer in verse ten of again, Luke, chapter five. What is it that he tells them that the combination of this miracle from now on, you will be fishing for people. This is where he's been driving this miracle to. He tells them, here's why I have done this. You have been vocational fishermen and now I'm calling you to be spiritual fishermen. Now I am calling you to fish for people. And now here in his resurrection appearance, he brings them back to that. It's a reaffirmation of his calling to them. It's a reinforcement of here's what I'm calling you to be if you follow me, if you begin to follow me, if you were a follower of Jesus, I want you to fish for people. And by the way, that's not to just this small group of men. That call is to all of us, to any of us and all of us who follow Jesus. He calls us. It's not just a matter of we're saved. We got our fire insurance. We're good to go for the rest of our life. No, he calls us to follow him and become fishers of people. Now, I think if you've been in church any length of time, you know what that metaphor is a picture of? It's what we call evangelism. And I know evangelism in our culture has very much fallen out of favor. Evangelism is very much looked down on in our culture. My youngest son, Grant, started his service with Avant missions. He is a missionary to the Tlinglet tribe in Alaska and Southeast Alaska. And it's over the last year that he completed his training and at the culmination of his training, he posted a picture where he's being presented with his commission. He posted that on his Facebook page. And he got a friend who I know, this young woman. She grew up with him in elementary school and in Brainerd, Minnesota. He's been in her house. She's been in our house. But of course, over time, they drifted apart and she went her way and he went his way while she went away. That's very far from the gospel. They hadn't had any contact for years. But when she sees that Grant is going to become a missionary, she uses that posting on Facebook and she responds on his Facebook page, pretty much blasting the concept, the idea that anybody would presume that what they believe should be pressed in any way on someone else. It's almost if you take the metaphor of fishing and you take it too far, you know, we're trying to hook someone. We're trying to hook someone and reel them in and catch them. That's not the picture at all, is it? In fact, think of the physical picture of fishing. What are we doing? We are after something that is alive, a live fish. And as a result of our fishing, it becomes dead. Right. That's the metaphor or that's the actual picture of fishing. What is it that we do when we are spiritual fishermen? We are after people who are dead. We are going after people who are spiritually dead. And through the power of the gospel, they become alive. That's what spiritual fishing is all about. So so this whole idea that we are called to be fishermen, this is going to be something that is increasingly harder and harder in our culture. But it is part of Jesus's call, and he brings them back to this at this at this pinnacle point and his ministry. He has resurrected he is about to go to the father. What is it that he wants to leave them with and he wants to leave us with? I call you to fish for people. I call you to pursue spiritually dead people and be used by me, be used in the power of my spirit to bring them to life. Now, let me just touch on a couple other details of the story. First of all, this jumps back a little bit in the text, but in verse three of John twenty one, we see Peter taking some initiative. Peter says to the other men, you know, I'm tired of sitting around. I know the Lord's going to come, but I'm tired of sitting around. I'm going fishing. And the other disciples with him says will come to now. Now, this may be stretching the metaphor a little bit, and I'm cautious about that. I don't want to take Jesus metaphor further than he intends them. But I've just thought through some application to the church, if Jesus calls us to fish for people, he doesn't want us sitting around on the shore. If Jesus calls us to fish for people, he wants us to go out on the lake. He wants us to cast our nets. Too many churches have either lost interest in fishing entirely. They become something else - they may do good things, but they're not fishing for people. Too many churches have either lost their interest in fishing or they act like they expect the fish to swim up and jump in the boat. You know, that's that that is the model that I was raised with. I've had to go through a real shift in my thinking. And I went to seminary and began pastoral ministry in the early and mid nineteen eighties. And at that time we had what is known as the attractional model just generally in evangelicalism. What's the attractional model? The fish will swim up. If your boat is attractive enough, the fish will swim up and jump in the boat. And so that was the emphasis. That's the way that I was trained. You do your services creatively enough and you have the right kind of programs and people will come flocking to you and that's how they'll get saved. And whether that actually worked or not, I'm not here to debate that. What I am here to tell you today, that I've had to really go through a revolution in my thinking is the culture is changed. We don't live in that world anymore. The culture has become increasingly anti Christian and anti church. And if we think that we're going to effectively fish by drawing people to what we do on a Sunday morning, some will come. I'm not debating that. But if we think that our main strategy is to get the fish to come up, swim up to the boat and jump into the boat, we are going to shrink and shrink and shrink. We're not going to catch fish. That is not the model that works in an increasingly secular culture anymore. We have to, as Peter and the disciples did, we have to go out on the lake and we have to cast our nets. We have to we have to push beyond the attractional model that says our whole strategy is to draw people here. And instead we must gain a new vision for going out on the lake, going out into our neighborhoods, going out into our community and casting the net, building relationships with people, meeting real needs, meeting people where they are, and establishing the relationship from which at some point we are able to speak the gospel to them. There were two ways of fishing on the Sea of Galilee. One of the ways was a single person could use the kind of net called I'm not good with Greek pronunciation. So don't don't quote me on this here. Here's my best try and amphiblestron. So an amphiblestron is a one person net. The net has a circumference or an opening of somewhere between 10 and 20 feet. So it's as big, but it's still not so big that that it takes more than one person to handle it. And around the circumference of the net are weights, are leaded weights. So the way you would fish with an amphiblestron is you would cast that net off from from your boat and the weights would make the opening sink down to the bottom, trapping fish in the net. And then you have a rope that's attached to the opening and you'd pull that net in and hopefully you'd get a few fish. And it was an effective way of of fishing with a few fish or of catching a few fish. Now, I want to suggest to you that this is the way many of us have typically think about evangelism, we think of evangelism as an individual effort, and for for many of us who don't have the gift of evangelism, I thank God that there are people in this church body who have the gift of evangelism. But for the rest of us who know we're still called to evangelism, but we don't have the gift of evangelism, it's quite intimidating to think of evangelism as primarily an individual effort. I remember my own experience with this. I was in seminary. I had an evangelism class taught by Robert Colman, which if if that name means anything to you, he's the one who wrote Master Plan of Evangelism, just this tremendous evangelist. I had the best instruction possible. And yet when he would take us downtown to the streets of Chicago and have us approach people one on one, I was just shaking in my shoes. It was an incredibly intimidating experience for me to individually make those efforts one on one. Now there is a place for individual evangelism. All right. But that is actually not the picture here in John 21, the word for net here that John uses is not amphiblestron. It's diktyon. It's another kind of net. It's actually the kind of net and the kind of net fishing technique that was most commonly used at that time on the Sea of Galilee. This net was much larger. Think of a tennis net, you know, long but narrow, but much longer. These nets could run up to a thousand feet. And along the top of the net, along that rope, there were cork weights and the cork weights would keep the top of the net floating on the top of the lake and along the bottom rope at the bottom of that net where lead weights. What would that make it do? It would make the bottom sink down. So you can imagine how this might work, the team is using this kind of net, a diktyon, would take it out on a boat and they'd deploy it in the middle of the lake and they'd spread it out and you'd have this long vertical wall of a net and then they'd have these tow ropes to either end of the net and they would either using one or two boats, they would begin to tow that wall, that moving wall of net in towards the shore. And it would trap as it as it moved into the shore. You can imagine it would trap if it was done at the right time, it would trap all kinds of fish. And so a team of men working in one or two boats over the course of about eight hours, doing this seven or eight times could bring in a large catch. Actually, they could bring in a much larger catch than somebody working individually with a net during that same time with a smaller net. Well you see how this image is a different metaphor for evangelism? It takes a team of men to fish with a diktyon, but they can catch a lot more fish if they're working together. So how can we fish like this? Maybe, maybe evangelism is not your gift. And maybe when you think about doing it individually, you know that you should and you know that is God opens opportunities to you. You need to act upon those. But how is it that you could actually partner with other people as a team in casting the net in evangelism? How can you how can we work together to build relationships and meet needs in our neighborhoods and our community that lead to opportunities to share the gospel? I want to come back to that thought just as I close in a minute or two. But two more details of the story at the end of the story. We read that as a result of this miraculous catch, there was one hundred and fifty three fish that were caught in the net. Two observations that I would make from that. Here are these men, skilled men, trained men, experienced men and on their own, working all night. They catch nothing. It doesn't matter how much experience we have and how much training we have. Something else needs to happen if we are effectively going to fish for people. These men did not catch fish, but for the divine intervention of Jesus. And I think this is a reminder to us that, again, we can have programs and we can have strategies and we should. But apart from the spirit of God going ahead of us as we pray, we will catch nothing. Or more positively put this; as we pray and as we seek to follow the spirit. When we come together as teams of people to cast the net in our neighborhoods and our community, God will produce the fish. God will bring men and women who are spiritually dead to spiritual life. One other observation from the number of fish. I'm struck by the specificity. One hundred and fifty three fish. This is one of the few times in scripture where a specific and somewhat unique number is given. And I have to ask myself, why did somebody why is it that John recorded this? Obviously, somebody counted the fish, maybe to divide them between the fishermen? I'm not sure. And somebody remembered it. But John thought it significant, John, influenced by the spirit of God to record it for us. Why is it that it is significant that we know there's one hundred and fifty three fish? I don't have a definite answer here, but could it be that every fish being uniquely counted reminds us that every person that we we encounter in our relationships, in our neighborhoods and our workplaces, in our community is a unique person that we have to pursue relationship with them and conversation with them according to their uniqueness and the uniqueness of the relationship that we are building. Could it be that God is even signifying to us that every year every fish, just like every fish, is uniquely important here? Every person we encounter is uniquely important to him. Anyway, that verse goes on at the end to say, even with so many fish, the net was not torn. And this is in contrast to the earlier account. And Luke, chapter five verse six, we're told us that there were so many fish that came in in that miracle that the nets began to break. Why is it that the nets were breaking and Luke 5 and the nets, even though there may be even more full here and John 21, they're not breaking? I think the difference is the resurrection. I believe it was the power of the risen Christ who kept the nets from breaking. And that, again, speaks to us as we fish as we go out and we build relationships individually and in partnership in teams. And we do that led by the spirit and in the power of the spirit we have because of the resurrection of Jesus, we have the power of Christ going before us. We have the power of Christ impacting those relationships and influencing the catch, so to speak. So let me close with this. How does net fishing fit our values at Calvary? You may be aware of this one or not, but this is this is the first of our five new core values. This is what we hope we are. This is certainly what we aspire to be. Love the lost and proclaim the gospel, proclaim the hope of Jesus Christ. Now, I think that's consistent with the DNA of Calvary. So I think that is who we are. I also think there's an aspect in which this is something that we aspire to be. This is something that the flame is still burning, but the flame can be turned up quite a bit. And this is why it is. And now a stated value. We aspire to be a church that loves the lost, that wants to fish and what we aspire to be, a church that says we're just not going to sit on the shore. We're not going to wait and hope that the fish swim up and jump in the boat. We're going to get out on the lake because we love the lost and we're going to cast we're going to cast the net. We're going to proclaim the hope of Jesus Christ. So I want to challenge you to think and pray about how you can obey Christ's command to fish for people through this approach of net fishing. And maybe this will be helpful to you, as it has been for me. Maybe if individual evangelism has been intimidating to you, this idea of fishing as a team of people, net fishing, maybe something that's new that the Lord wants to push you forward in. What would it look like if you did net fishing as a family? What would it look like if you took your kids with you as you pursued conversations with the neighbors as you served at a soup kitchen, as you did other works of outreach? What would it look like for you to do this as a family and use the different people in your family with their different giftings and different personalities together as a team to cast the net? What would it look like if you did this as your small group? Many of you are in small groups here at Calvary. And you open the word together, which is wonderful, and you pray together, which is wonderful, and you serve each other and you have fellowship with each other. What would it look like if you added the component of how could we cast the net together? How could we as a small group, how could we adopt someone, so to speak, go after someone that we're aware of that's a need and build relationship with them and meet needs and slowly begin to set the table to to share the gospel with them. What would it look like for us to do this in our neighborhoods? Our new neighbor, we moved into a new home in the other Rochester, Rochester, New York, became friends with our neighbors, found out they love Jesus. They're very committed believers. We're already talking about. We live on a cul de sac. Hey, let's plan something near the end of the summer or early fall where we put our barbecue grills out in the middle of the cul de sac and we invite all our neighbors and we begin to build relationships with them and get to know them. What would it look like to cast the net like that with somebody else who is a believer in your neighborhood thinking of your neighborhood? What would it look like for us as a congregation to cast the net? I know we do that in some ways. What would it look like to do that even more intentionally, to come together as a church body and say, how can we use all of us with our unique abilities and gifts to reach out? I want to close with just one way. This is not like the way this is just one way, but this is something that the pastoral staff is dreaming about and taking active steps to plan. So I want you to actually put this on your calendar, August 1st through eigth neighbor fest week, maybe two years ago. If you were here at Calvary. I wasn't at the time. You remember Neighbor Fest. That was a one day event. It was great. We invited all the neighborhoods around us to come on our property. We had inflatables. We had all kinds of great stuff. And the idea was to build relationships. We want to do that again, although we want to build on that. What about a whole week leading up to that culminating event? And during that week, you intentionally because you've been praying and the spirit has put people in your neighborhood or at your workplace on your heart, you are building relationships, you are serving them. You find maybe a way that you as a family or you as a small group can serve them and lead to not only opportunities for conversation, but opportunities to invite them to a culminating event on Sunday, August 8th, neighborfest. You're going to be hearing more about that. The pastoral staff has begun to dream about that. Maybe in God's timing, we may even have our new pastor here in time to be part of that and and participate in that. If God wills the plan for that. Put those dates on your calendar. Even if you can't attend, even if you're out of town, I leave you with the challenge. How can you go about net fishing? Does your heart burn for the loss burn or the love for the lost? Do you have an interest in fishing? Jesus calls us to fish for people. That's who we want to be as the Church of Calvary. We want to love the lost and proclaim the hope of Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Father, we know that this love for the lost and only comes, first of all, when we first have experienced your love to us through Jesus Christ. So maybe there's some even here today, Lord, who who do not know you in this way yet. And I pray even this morning through your word and through the Spirit's activity as we worship together and now as we come to the table, that you would draw them to the foot of the cross and they would see Jesus as savior and Lord and embrace him as such. Lord, for those of us who that has happened at some point in our lives, perhaps this morning, what we need most is we come to the table is we need the renewal of that fire. We have maybe been people who have lost interest in fishing. We know we should do it. We rarely do it. We don't think about it much, reignite that fire and reignite Lord God, that love for the lost in us individually and us collectively as a church. Give us that vision, Lord, to fish for people. Give us that vision to get off the shore and get out on the lake in our neighborhoods and our communities and cast the net, build relationships individually and together, meet needs that will set the table to have conversations where the gospel could be shared. We pray this Lord in Jesus name. Amen.

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there expecting thank you, because without you, we would not be here today. That's my dad joke. So now we have a complete Mother's Day. Thank you so much for entertaining that. Hey, happy Mother's Day to you online as well. Mom, if you're watching, I'm in a room full of awesome mothers and you're still the best. So happy Mother's Day, Mom. I love you. Can't wait to see you soon. Hey, if you have your Bibles, open to Psalm 121. Psalm 121, we will be there for the majority of this morning and we'll be doing some flipping back and forth from passages. There's pens in front of you. We'll be doing a lot of scripture. So if you want to write down those references, because time may be a little short today, Psalm 121. Hey, I'm going to start out with a question. What did you guys do to pass the time like a long road trip? A lot of people today will turn on a podcast or sports radio or an audio book. My go to back in the day. I had mixed tapes. Yeah. You know, the time where you would listen to the radio and you got to push record as soon as that song came on. Otherwise you missed it. We would go on vacations and listen to these mix tape. And I of course, my parents control the radio. So it was late seventies and eighties and nineties music. I grew up listening to. I'm still very fond of all the memories we created on our road trips. Well, this song right here, Psalm 121. All these songs were sung to music and it's called the Song of ascents. From one twenty to one thirty four tradition holds that pilgrims traveling back to Jerusalem would sing these songs. And I remember Judah and Israel were taking over. They were captured and they were dispersed throughout all the land, the subjected people to their captives. And so they'd come back to Jerusalem three times a year for certain festivals. Every able-bodied male and his family, if they could make it, they'd come. And as they got closer to Jerusalem, they'd see more pilgrims. And sometimes they would take weeks, days, depending how far away they lived. Some would come from other countries. They weren't just locally as they got closer and they saw the the hills, the sounds, maybe the temple, they begin to sing these songs of ascent. And it's called songs of ascent. It's not the best you can see here. It's better because of where Jerusalem was situated. Jerusalem is situated twenty five hundred feet above sea level. Case in point here, Jericho down here. Jericho is actually below sea level. Seven hundred and twenty feet. And so you're hiking up this ascent, if you will, even if you came from far away countries from taller mountains when you landed near Jerusalem, there's valleys surrounding it. You could go down into the valley and then climb this ascent up to the mountain, up to Jerusalem. And so the songs of a sense is what they're called. Well, perhaps these were not originally composed for this purpose. These songs were later grouped together for use in traveling towards Jerusalem for their yearly Jewish festival. They became known as the Pilgrim Songs and really the songs for all believers. Are we all pilgrims traveling from this world to the next? This song was not only song for traveling mercies and protection. It was also a song of salvation as we'll read later on of our eternal destination as in verse eight, we just read talks about God being today and forever with us. It's a beautiful song of God's providential care and protection for his children. It's a reminder that God actively is involved your life, that he never, never sleeps nor slumbers always with a watchful caring eye on you. I call this message from the Vale or the Valley to the Summit, because we're all on this journey, this spiritual journey of life. And we know whenever we gather to worship like we are today, in essence, we are ascending to him because God is otherworldly. He's holy, which means he's set apart distinct, different above us, literally holy. Just, perfect. So different. And so like we are ascending to him on this journey as pilgrims from this world into the next. And so before we continue, I'm going to ask you guys to join me in prayer. Father, we we come to you today and and ask that you would open up our hearts and minds and give us understanding into your word. Father, I think of Moses when he ascended the Mount Sinai and you told him this was a holy place to take off his sandals. We're in your direct presence through the blood of Jesus Christ. That temple veil has been rent in half from top to bottom. And we stand before you. God we are in the presence of your spirit. We have access to you, our great keeper, provider, protector, shield, high tower. So Lord would you make my words Your words. May they be edifying, encouraging, uplifting. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. So these eight verses and Psalm 121, I'm going to tackle them two verses at a time. I think they go really well together. So let's go over the first two verses. I lift my eyes up to the hills from where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. If I could summarize these two verses, it's that God saves us. Now, picture yourself in this journey that you're a pilgrim coming from, let's say, Jericho. Seven hundred and twenty feet below sea level and you're trekking up this terrain now. You would need supplies for the journey, water, food, protection. Most times the pilgrims are traveling with other people, friends and family, maybe other villagers. You're actually a target for robbers. In fact, the Good Samaritan was on his way down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he found the man who was robbed and beaten and left for dead. Same journey, same trek that he's taken. So your a target kind of like a tourist who goes to a tourist town and that person sticks out. They got money. That's what the robber's looking for. In addition to that, you saw that trek, the thousands and thousands of feet of different elevation. You're going uphill. Not only that. It's hot, it's desert, sun stroke. Make sure you bring enough water and food for the little ones even. And at night, the desert can even have these wild range of temperatures and you can be cold if left unprepared. So you gotta carry maybe extra tunics or coats. The Psalmist understands the danger that lies before him and asked for help recognizing he needs it. This officer is not only referring to the physical dangers that I mentioned and the elements, but also the spiritual dangers as well. In Hebrew culture, the hills or the high places, maybe in your translation, were locations of worship. And unfortunately, there was places of idolatry even in Israel during that time. Jeremiah Chapter three, verse six says this During the reign of King Josiah, the Lord said to me, Have you seen what fickle Israel has done? Like a wife who commits adultery Israel worshipped other gods on every hill and under every green tree. The hills symbolize the treacherous journey both ahead of the physical dangers, but also the spiritual ones. The hills in this context and Psalm 121 are the source of the trouble and the reason for the question where does my help come from? And as pilgrims ourselves journeying from this world to the next, we can look around in the high places of our culture in broad daylight and seen people worship false gods. The pressure, the temptation to bow down to these idols even exists for us as believers, maybe you are here today asking the same question, where does my help come from? Life is tough already as it is with all the physical challenges, let alone the spiritual warfare behind the scenes. Like the Psalmist, we're asking, where does our help come from? Well, who made these hills? This Psalmist answers - the Lord who made heaven and earth. That's where our help comes from. If he has the power to create the earth, he has the power to defend his people as well. When you realize that the maker of heaven and earth, the hills that are situated on top of these places of idolatry, that he himself has sovereign and control and powerful and created that, these hills become a little less menacing. See, I think this song is much bigger in perspective and talking more than just a road trip to Jerusalem while were singing these songs. I think he's talking about the bigger all over picture, of the big overall picture of salvation in Jesus and salvation in God. Read Psalm 56:11 in God. I trust I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? Again Psalm 27:1. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? At the end of a beautiful chapter Romans eight. This promise stands. If God is for us, who can be against us? And then Isaiah, fifty one. Listen to me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law, that's us, fear not the approach of man, nor be dismayed of his revilings for the moth will eat them up like a garment and the worm will eat them like wool. My righteousness will be forever and my salvation to all generations. What the Psalmist reminds us here is that even though there's earthly threats, opposition against us, maybe a physical and both spiritual, that these threats are temporal and short lived because God holds our salvation in his hands. So these first two verses speak of how God saves us physically and even more so spiritually from the dangers and toils that lie ahead of us. Verse three and four. He will not let your foot be moved. He who keeps you will not slumber and behold, he keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. If I can paraphrase this it would be that God studies us in our walk. He's vigilant. He's watchful. The dangerous road ahead. As the pilgrims get closer to Jerusalem, maybe they would get a little more crowded be excited to see the Pilgrims, maybe the songs to start earlier. But as they went up those steep ascents, the roads were like today. They weren't paved and were a little more narrow. And as traffic was coming down, there could be a caravan, an ox drawn cart. There had to be space. And with those sleepers, with those steep ascents, one false step, if your foot wasn't secure, you could fall not not suffering an injury, maybe even suffering death. So having your foot steady, so let's not move is important here. In fact, the phrasing foot be not moved or not slipping is a euphemism for judgment in scripture. Check it with me. Deuteronomy Chapter three to five. Vengeance is mine and recompense or repayment for the time when their foot shall slip for the day of their calamity is at hand and their doom comes swiftly. They're talking about judgment here, when the foot slips, the psalmists would be familiar with this kind of euphemism or language. And he's writing something greater than just road hazards on a pilgrim's journey to Jerusalem. This is God's eternal deliverance he's talking about. You see the Psalmist here is not saying that believers will not suffer physical injury. Maybe some of us here are suffering from physical ailments, even today. But what he's saying here that the believer will never suffer loss of his eternal foothold or footing in God because it's God who is our help and God who secures our salvation. Dear brothers and sisters, more important than our physical safety is our spiritual security. Let me give you an example juxtaposed against this. You remember the story of the paralytic. Jesus was in a town and he was healing people and there was droves upon droves of people coming to visit. And these four friends said, hey, we have this guy, he can't walk, he can't get there. So let's carry him. They get there. The doors are blocked, just jam packed. Let's go up on the roof and let's remove the tiles and we'll lower him down. What's Jesus's first words to this man who obviously can't stand, who obviously is wanting physical healing. He says the most unexpected thing, your sins are forgiven. It would be like someone coming all the way to Mayo Clinic because there's a new type of procedure that can heal this disease that's very rare and and has no cure. But getting to the physician and he's about to fire up the machine, he says, you know what, I know you made this long trek. Your sins are forgiven. What? How much do we value physical protection, our well-being and healing over that which is more, maybe more important? Let me let me personalize if I can give an example, John, you think that you need that broken limb fixed? You think that that disease or that ailment that you're carrying around, that's kind of a thorn in your flesh. You think that would bring you the relief and joy set you free? No, son, before I fix the brokenness outside, I need to fix the brokenness within. Jesus gives a better gift than healing the paralytic. He says your sins are forgiven. That's why Jesus is the great physician, because there is no other doctor, no other God, no other religion that can forgive your and my sins completely and then keep our foot from slipping. You guys get that. He should not let your foot slip. Check out these encouraging verses from Psalm 91:11-12, for he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways on their hands. They will bear you up lest you strike your foot against a stone. And Daniel 2:9, he will guard the feet of his faithful ones. But the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall man prevail. And this is from Proverbs 3:21-26, which is on the screens, my son did not lose sight of these keep sound wisdom and discretion and there'll be life for your soul and adornment for your neck. Then when you walk in your way securely and your foot will not stumble if you lie down, you will not be afraid. When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked when it comes for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught. What these verses here are saying in verse three and four is that God steadies us in a spiritual sense. Jude twenty four. Now to him, who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless, holy, forgiven, perfect before the presence of his glory and with great joy. If you don't have that underlined in your Bible memorized or highlighted, I would encourage you to do so. That is a great promise that any pilgrim would want to hold on to. He studies us, forgives us and keeps our foot from stumbling. Romans 14:4 says this who are you to pass on judgment on the servant of another. It is before his own master that he stands or falls and he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. How is God able to make us stand? It's because he never sleeps, he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel whill neither sleep nor slumber. The reason why God keeps us from falling is because God is never not awake. He's always vigilant, ever watchful, ever graciously looking upon providing for protecting and guiding his beloved. You may be saying to yourself, you know, sometimes it feels like God asleep on the job. There's occasions where it's silent. I don't hear him. There's an instance in Jesus ministry where he's after a long day of service, he is in a boat in the middle of the ocean and the waves and the winds are picking up and he's sleeping at the bottom of a boat on a cushion fast asleep. And I mean, the disciples think they're going to die. They wake them up. Don't you care that we're perishing? And the creator of heaven and earth stands rebukes the wind and he stills the waves. He does this because he transcends creation, because he is the creator, he's able to still and calm the waves and the wind in our life. This speaks of God's eminence. Definition for you guys: God's eminence holds that God is present in all of creation while remaining distinct from it. In other words, there's no place where God is not. His sovereign control extends everywhere simultaneously. So even though he's above and beyond us, he controls nature. He's outside time and space. He's also near. He's eminent. He's Emmanuel God. With us in the middle of the muck, in the middle of the storms, he's sovereignly in control, guiding and protecting us every step of the way. The slumbering Jesus, even in the bottom of the boat knew more about their situation than the alert disciples. One 17 speaks of this, and he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Speaking of God's eminence verses five and six of one twenty one psalms, The Lord is your keeper. The Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. This is the key verse, that the Lord is our keeper. And the key part is to keep your eye on the keeper. Isaiah 26:4 says you will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you? That God is watchful. He's a steward. The same word here for keeper is used elsewhere in Scripture and speaks of shepherds and door keepers, prison keepers and vine dressers. All these occupations are employed as metaphors for our God. They are a picture of God closely tending his people, ministering to their needs and guiding them in their journey, protecting them along the way, caring for their afflictions and even atoning for their sins. God himself is our shelter and he says that he's at our right hand. Back in the day, the Roman soldiers predominantly would carry their shields on their left and their swords on their right. So their most exposed side was their flanks. And to increase the defensiveness, the soldiers said I got your right and God is on your right, protecting and boosting your defenses, watching you, caring for you. It was strategic. Psalm 109:31 says this: for he stands at the right hand of the needy one to save him from those who condemn his soul to death. The last two verses seven and eight, the last two verses psalm 121, the Lord will keep you from all evil. He will keep your life. The lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time and forever more. These last two can be summarized as God safeguards us, God safeguards us from evil and he preserves us. Here all these points that God saves us, God steadies us, God shelters us. are summarized in these last two verses, verse seven reiterates all we've been saying that God securely holds our salvation in his hands. In the last two verses are a beautiful promise or the last verse, excuse me. Now the Lord will keep you from going out and if your coming in from this time forth and forevermore, even the day to day details. He's invested. In my closing I want to share a personal story about how God has revealed this to my life personally. Years ago I used to work on straight commissions as a salesman, and I if I wasn't selling anything, I wasn't bringing home any money. I wasn't buying food and groceries, wasn't paying for bills. And so it was a pretty stressful job. I did it for a couple of years. High stress sales. There was a season where things weren't going so well. And the way it worked is I would get the commission of my sales half of it up front. And once the job was completed, which could range anywhere from a couple of weeks, even months, I would receive the later half. I remember vividly in my apartment with my two young children changing my daughter's diaper, going to my wife and saying hey. Can you throw another one so I can change real quick? And she looks at me really quietly and says, we don't have any more. I said, All right, I'll go get some. Like, No, you don't get it. We don't have anymore. And we're out of money. It's like the worst thing you can hear as a dad, I can't provide diapers for my child, I kind of got angry and discouraged and I said, fine, give me the laundry, I'll go do laundry. At least we have detergent and I'll go wash clean clothes. So in case an accident happens, my daughter can at least have clean clothes. I never checked the mail. I went downstairs, started the load of laundry. I was just beside myself. I think I even cried. I was like, what kind of dad am I can't provide for my kid? I walk up the stairs, back to our apartment. My wife is in tears. What's going on? She says, let me guess it. She said in the mailbox that day was a check for three thousand dollars from a job I did. I did six months ago, the biggest job I've ever did for that company. And it was there exactly when it needed it. When we talk about God is imminent or eminent, eminent in our lives and we think that he's silent or that he slumbers, it's not that he's silent or slumbering. No, our perspective is that we're in the vele, we're in the valley and we see the hills around us and we get overwhelmed by them. And we ask, where does our help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven, earth. From that day forward, I've never questioned God's Providence provision, protection and guidance. I've been up and down since then, but he's always come through. This beautiful song reminds us that we need not fear life or death today or tomorrow time or eternity for we are in the loving care of our heavenly Father. Let's pray. Lord as a song that we just sang, you are a good, good father. That's what you are Lord. Lord, we being evil give our kids when they ask for food, we give them bread. We don't give them a stone or serpent God, and you being even greater than us. How much more do you provide? And Lord sometimes you take us through the storms while you appear to slumber God. While you appear to not be involved, but it says here you're always awake and alert. I know Jesus was human and his humanity He was resting. But God it says now in Hebrews that he makes intercession for us. That never slumbers, that he lives to pray for us even today, even now. What a great promise. What a great reminder of who's for us. Your timing is perfect, and it teaches us, God to trust you and to be content. And God, that you won't cause our foot to stumble, to move, that our salvation is secured in the blood of the lamb. We thank you for that greater promise, Father, in Jesus name we pray. Amen.

You belong to a people, and you were designed for purpose. Well, hello and good morning. The greatest sports organization in American history, the Green Bay Packers. Hey, hey, I'm preaching up here. How rude. How rude of you. The greatest franchise in American sports. The Green Bay Packers have had success at the highest levels. They have won more NFL championship titles, 13, than any other team. That is nine NFL championships and four Super Bowls. That's right. It's very good. They're the only NFL team to also in the AFL NFL championship. If you didn't know their second all time in pro bowlers. And they've even had some recent success with two trips to the NFC championship game. For a photo comparison, here's a slide of all the Vikings championships. Hey, I might get fired for that. It's fun. Thankfully, the board president's a Bears fan. OK, so this past year, though, they had a motto and the motto was one 11th. And when I heard that for the first time, it really struck me as very poetic. There's an economy of language in this little phrase, this idea of one 11th, you know, you're only one of 11. So stay humble. You're one of 11. So stay connected. You're responsible for this part of the play. If you do your job, it's probably going to be successful. You have a role that's specific to you. You need to do that role. People are counting on you. We need each other. All of that is wrapped up in this this very tight little phrase, this idea of 1 11th. There's responsibility, there's connection, there's team, there's oneness. Have you ever been a part of a great team? You know, maybe it was a team at work that just really crushed it on a project or, you know, maybe it was a sports team that you were a part of, that you feel this real strong connection or maybe it was a choir or a band or a group of sorority sisters or whatever it was. If you've been a part of a team, you know the thrill of that, you know, the feeling of accomplishing something that you couldn't do on your own, that you needed others to help you accomplish that was beyond you. And so today, what I want to examine is this idea that, you know, you are already if you are a follower of Jesus, you are a part of a people, you're a part of a team, a family, a nation. And there's something supernatural that happens among the people of God. And maybe it doesn't always feel like that. Maybe we need to increase our sensitivity and understanding to what this really means in reality. But I think, I think we should feel the weight of that one 11th mentality that we are a part of a whole as the people of God. And if we do, we'll begin to understand as well our purpose. And so you are if you are a follower of Jesus, you are a people and you were built for a purpose. And that is exactly our bottom line today. You belong to people and you were designed for a purpose. And that is a beautiful and a wonderful thing. So let's explore that together. We heard this passage read, but I'm going to review it in a little bit shorter format. 1 Peter 2, first Peter Chapter two, and I'll be reading from the ESV here. You can follow along on the screen. So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander like newborn infants long for the pure spiritual milk that by it you may grow up into salvation. If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good and then skipping to verse eight - others stumble because they disobey the word as they were destined to do. But you are chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light once you were not a people, but now you are God's people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. What a passage there's so much to dig into here. It's so exciting to see God speak to us in this way. So let's focus in on verse one. We need to put away malice, deceit, hypocrisy envy and slander. What are these things? You know, these are sicknesses of the heart. That's what they are at their core. I mean, if you really think about what these things are and further, when Jesus was asked, what's the most important thing, he said, love, loving action. And if we look at this list, we can see very clearly this is the opposite of loving action. So what exactly are these things? Well, malice is this idea kind of tied up with bitterness, resentment, hate. And so the question that we should ask ourselves is, do you feel yourself feeling anger, resentment toward individuals or groups of people? Bitterness maybe? Do you do you feel that in your heart or have you become numb to it? Do you watch the news and it triggers you and makes you angry with a certain group of people or certain individuals? If that's the case, there's a chance that that malice is festering in your heart or maybe deceit. I really like the word deceit because I think sometimes we think that honesty is simply not telling lies. I think it's more than that. I think deceit speaks to not only speaking truth, but making sure that if we don't want to be deceitful, then we want to be the truest version of who we are. We want to be honest in what we present to the world. And a world of social media makes it pretty easy to create deceit, doesn't it? But it's not like that's a new thing either, is it? That's not just a social media problem. That's a people problem. We try to put forward a version of ourselves that isn't the true, authentic version of ourselves at times. And so I think we try to deceive each other in lots of ways. Maybe that's just one of them. Hypocrisy. You think the church has a problem with hypocrisy ever? I think we might. In fact, landmark study done by the Barna Group in 2007 said that 85 percent of non church people see the church as hypocritical. And it's one of the top three reasons why they're not interested in engaging with the church. I've always wondered if we could do the opposite study, though, like what would Church people think about non church people? I wonder what that percentage would be, because I think there's hypocrisy across the board. I don't think that's a Christian thing. I think that's just a thing thing. I think that's a humanity thing. But I would also agree the church has a hypocrisy problem, too. We see it in ourselves, don't we? I'm a hypocrite. Sometimes you probably are, too. I think hypocrisy is a real heart issue and we need to think deeply about whether or not that's taken root in our heart and in our soul. What about envy? You ever find yourself jealous of what other people have? How about slander? You ever find yourself exaggerating other people's failures just to try to feel better about yourself? If you're a follower of Jesus, these things have no place in your heart. They have no place in your life. And if indeed we belong to a people and we're built for a purpose, then I think what Peter's trying to declare to us here is he's saying this isn't the way it's supposed to be. This is not the way the family of God is to behave. This is not the way the people of God are supposed to behave. And I agree. It reminds me of my basketball coach growing up. Sometimes he would get so mad, he would know what to do and then he would just yell, that's not Pirate basketball. We were the Bayport Pirates. That's not Pirate basketball, you would say. And it was this idea that there's a standard that we're supposed to be living. There's a way we're supposed to be doing this. Why aren't we doing it that way? And so this is what I think Peter is writing about here. He's saying, look, if you're a follower of Jesus, none of this has a place in your life. That's not the way that it's supposed to be. This isn't the loving action that Jesus was talking about. And so you belong to people and you were designed for a purpose. And these things aren't the way you're supposed to do them. And that's what Peter's reminding us. So I'd actually like to do something a little bit different right now, which is this. I'd like us to take a moment and I'm going to pray and I'm going to let there be a moment of silence here. And I would like you to personally reflect on these words and ask God to speak to you whether any of these things have taken root in your heart and whether you need to identify that sin and begin to repent for it. So I'm going to pray right now for that. Father God, we pause here in this moment as we are studying your word to ask that you would use your word to work on us, work on our hearts, every single one of us in this room. And Lord, there's a list of things here that in your word, you are declaring to us this is not the way that it's supposed to be. And so, God, in the silence of the next few moments, would you speak to any of us about the sickness of our own heart and whether there's a sin we need to identify and turn away from now? Amen. OK. So, maybe God spoke to you in that moment, maybe he's going to speak to you later. I don't know, maybe there's something you need to turn from. But here's the beautiful thing about God and his plans. Whenever he identifies a problem, he also helps with a solution. And I think this passage speaks directly to that. If we've revealed a problem, then then we have to know how we're going to fix it. What are we going to do about this? And it's not a it's not a formula. It's not a simple solution. But I do think there's something here for us. And I think it's right here in verse two. Like newborn infants long for the pure spiritual milk that by it you may grow up into salvation if indeed you've tasted that the Lord is good. Look, if you've tasted what it means to have a relationship with God, then you know, that's the good stuff, isn't it? If you felt that closeness in the spirit with Jesus, then you know what this is talking about. In the metaphor, this is an interesting metaphor, right? Because Paul writes about, you know, don't be immature like a child in your faith or you'll be tossed around by the wind. Right. So it's like, oh, wait, I thought we weren't supposed to be like babies. I didn't think we were supposed to be like children. No, no, no. This is a different metaphor altogether. Don't confuse the two. If you've ever cared for an infant, you know that, you know, babies can't talk, but they can make their opinions known, you know. Right. They can express themselves. And when a baby's hungry and just wants to eat, whether they're using a bottle of their nursing or whatever it is like, they they get the ravenously hungry and they're like, I need food right now. Get me some food. And then and then what you get is this just like ravenous is drinking. Right? Where they're just like slurping it down with all of their might. And then as parents or as caregivers, we do this thing where we're like, oh, she was so hungry. And we like get excited because she gets it. She gets that she has a problem and it needs a solution in the milk is the answer. And that's how we're supposed to be with God. We're supposed to desire deeply a relationship with him. We're supposed to drink deeply from our time with him in worship and study in prayer, whatever it might look like. We need to crave that relationship with God. Now, babies, I don't think, have to acquire a taste for milk, but maybe we have to acquire a taste for the word. Maybe we have to acquire a taste for worshipping on our own, things like that. You know, there's a lot of things that people can acquire a taste to and maybe that's what's going on here. Maybe that's what Peter's calling us to. He's saying, look, you have this problem. I think what you need is you need to crave a relationship with God more. And I think he's right because you belong to a people and you were designed for a purpose. And part of that purpose is to want a deeper intimacy with Jesus. So maybe, maybe practically for you, that looks like you need to read a verse a day, maybe it means you need to read a chapter a day. And even sometimes when you don't feel like it, you work on that practice so that you are like an infant who just wants to guzzle that milk down. OK, so skipping down to verse eight, not that the ones in between aren't great. They are. Time is a factor. Others stumble because they disobey the word as they were destined to do so. Part of being a people is that a people is distinct and different from other people. That's part of what it means to be a people. There's a cultural distinction between, you know, us and them or between that group and that group, and that's what it's supposed to be like. The best metaphor I can come up with is this. We have a lot in common with our Canadian neighbors. Like we both have a regional love of hockey. We're both known for over-the-top niceness. You know, we both live in places too cold for humans to actually live, but we do it anyway, you know, I mean, there's a lot of similarities between us and our Canadian neighbors so much that there's a campaign to make Minnesota the 11th province of Canada. I don't know that I would vote for that. But I'm just saying, you know, we have a lot of similarities, but we're not the same, are we? I mean, there are distinct cultural differences between Canadians and Minnesotans. There are differences, to be sure, you know, Tim Hortons versus Dunkin Donuts alone. I mean, there are different things going on here. Part of what it means to be a people is that we are different. We're different from the others. My pastor growing up used to say something a lot that I thought was very profound. He would say something along the lines of don't carry tension that isn't yours to carry. And I think this verse speaks to that in an interesting way to followers of Jesus. It says that, you know, people are going to stumble and disobey the word because they were destined to do that. And sometimes sometimes I think as followers of Christ, we begin to carry tension that isn't ours to carry because we look at the world and we say, why are they following Jesus? Why aren't they behaving the way that we know Jesus has called us to live? Why are they doing that? Because they were destined not to and because their culture is different than our culture as followers of Jesus. Those are different things they have to be. And so should you, you know, stand up and say that something is false when it's false or say that something is wrong when it's wrong? You should. But should you carry the tension that other people aren't behaving the way that the people of God are supposed to behave if they're not people of God? No, that's not our intention to carry. The people of God are meant to be different, and that's part of what it means to be a part of his people. And be clear, though, behavior isn't at the core of the cultural difference. It's not just about behavior. It's something deeper. It's about a deeper identity. And that's what verse nine speaks to and it speaks so eloquently to. It says, But you are chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into marvelous light. One of the things I love about this passage is that it doesn't say this is a kind of suggestion I am making for you. No, no, no. It says this is who you are. You already are these things, you are a chosen people. You're a royal priesthood. You are a holy nation. You are God's special possession. OK, so what does that mean? So let's start with chosen people. Followers of Jesus were made for a purpose and they were chosen to fulfill it. So, yeah, again, it means that we're not the same as others. But I think this this form of choosing indicates value. I grew up on the playground playing kickball. You know, the whole class would play - the boys, the girls. It was awesome. I love kickball. One time, Nate Thompson kicked it all the way to the to the swing set. It was amazing. OK, that's a whole other story for another time. But we would line up and pick teams. And part of what you're doing when you pick somebody is you're saying, I think you bring value to the team. I think you can help me win. If you have been chosen as part of the people of God. God thinks you have value until he calls you home. You still have a purpose. And there are specific things that maybe to you that are specific and there's general things to the people of God. And if you don't know what your purpose is, I've said this to teenagers for years. If you don't know what your specific God ordained purpose is then care for orphans and widows, because we know that that is pure religion. So if you're like, I don't know what God wants me to do, find an orphan, find a widow and take care of them, because we know for sure that that is a good thing to do. So while you're trying to figure out the rest, do that. OK, you got me on my soapbox on that one. Sorry. All right. Next, royal priesthood now. And there's a lot of ways we could think about this. But, you know, the first thing we maybe have to do is deconstruct for a moment. I grew up in a very Catholic community. And so when I hear priest, I automatically think of the guy with the white collar who's a Catholic minister. That is not what this is. So let's remove that from our brains. This is about the temple priests. And they had a very different kind of role. And in the passage even says that their job was to offer sacrifices. You remember reading about this, that was part of their job, that the people would bring their sin offerings and their their wave offerings and all the different things that they would bring and that the priests would create this important function. They were the bridge, the go between between God and his people. And so if you are a part of the royal priesthood, your job is sort of twofold. It means, number one, you are to serve God ministered to God, serve God. And secondly, you are to minister to to serve people. I mean, that lines up with a lot of things. Jesus said, doesn't it? You serve God and serve people. But you also get the beautiful job of being that go-between, of being that ambassador of Christ to a world that may not know him. What a privilege it is to serve God by telling other people the truth about who he is. It is a beautiful and a wonderful thing, but it's also a big responsibility to be the representative of the kingdom. So we can find joy in that. But we also have to find responsibility in that. You're also a holy nation, that a nation is not just a bunch of individuals, it's a nation. It's connected with a shared identity. And God's people are distinct partially because they're part of a whole that is connected in unity in Christ. See, nations are typically connected by other factors, by geopolitical factors, by racial factors, by rivers, by linguistic factors, by socioeconomic reasons. These are typically the things that determine a nation. But God's nation of people is a different determination. It has a different kind of border and it transcends all of those categories. The thing that makes the people of God, the people of God, is that they follow the same leader and that leader is Jesus. That's the thing that makes the people of God, the people of God, and friends I hope that allegiance to this nation, the nation of God's people, I hope your allegiance to that nation is greater than the one you live in. I hope you feel more of an affinity with Christ followers who live on a different continent and look different than you and speak a different language with you than you. I hope you feel a greater connection with them than just somebody who happens to live down the road from you because your primary identity is in Christ Jesus and it needs to be more important than your citizenship of any country. Secondly, a holy nation does not mean a perfect one. And praise God for that because I don't know about y'all. I would not qualify for a perfect nation. Right? We all make mistakes sometimes. It can't possibly mean that. Most of the Old Testament is telling us stories about how the nation of Israel failed. I mean, that's pretty much what the Old Testament is. And most of the New Testament is warnings against how bad the early church was failing. So, you know, it can't it just can't mean that it can't mean perfect people. But I do think that the nation has a holy purpose to serve God and to serve others. And because it's led by a holy leader, Jesus himself. It's not a president or a prime minister or anything else. It's led by God himself. And that's why it's holy. Fifth. Fourth? One two three. Fourth, God's special possession. You're also God's special possession. What does that mean? Well, for one, I think animals are great. I think you should love your dogs and cats and parrots and hamsters and things. They're wonderful. But it's very clear in Genesis, when God created the animals, he was like, those are good. And then he created people. He's like, those are very good. People are more important than animals. I know. I'm sorry. That was a scandalous thing to say, perhaps in some circles circles. But to God you were special among creation, and that's part of what it means to be God's special possession. But further, it means his people, his nation is special to him as well, and if they're special to him, they should be special to you too, shouldn't they? The things that God gets excited about are things that we should get excited about. It has become pretty popular to say things like, oh, I love Jesus, just not the church. That could be said a lot. And look, if you want to compare church scars at any time, like I'd be happy to, I find that conversation fascinating. I've been hurt very deeply by churches, you know, over time. I mean, the capital C Church, by the people of God, by the organizations that are local churches have been cut pretty deep. And you probably have too at times. It's OK to be hurt. It's OK to have issues, it's OK to critique. It's not OK to not find special, important - as special and important what God finds special and important. We can't reject his people if he says that they're important, so this is who you are: you're a chosen people, you're a royal priesthood, you're a holy nation, you are God's special possession. If you are a follower of Christ, this is who you are. So what I mean, so what? Oh, that's nice. It makes me feel good. I get to leave church feeling better now because somebody said nice things. No, there's a responsibility. It goes deeper, doesn't it? And it's right there in the passage. This is who you are, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Yeah, that's so what? We get to proclaim the Excellencies, all right. So that's kind of a strange phrase we don't use in normal vernacular. What does that mean? It basically says we should praise him for his goodness. And there's some practical ways that I think we can do that. First, worship, worship. I mean, spend time with God. You can do it individually. You can do it as a family or a small group. You can do it corporately like we've been doing here this morning. Those are all valid and beautiful expressions of worship. In fact, I would recommend having all three in your life at any given time. We should worship. We should make that beautiful holy waste of time where all we're doing - we're not trying to accomplish anything else - all we're doing is basking in our relationship with God and exalting his name and thanking him for what he has done. That's worship. And what we pay attention to is what we worship, isn't it? So we should pay attention to God. The second thing I would say is serve and teach by serving not out of a sense of duty or guilt, but out of a love for your creator or proclaiming his excellencies. And so I just want to make this point. I appreciate movements in the church that have helped us understand our spiritual gifts. I think that's a good thing. Don't hear me wrong, but is one of my spiritual mentors used to say a lot. It's not about your ability. It's about your availability. You know, there's a lot of things people don't feel called to that need to be done in the Kingdom of God. And maybe it's more important that you show up than that. You're perfectly aligned with your giftings. I think this is especially true in areas of teaching. If there's a void of teaching, somebody better step into that, even if you don't think that's your gifting, because it's extremely important, especially with children. Okay, look, I know, and when I make a case that we need to teach children, it might sound self-serving because of my role, but I would say two things to you. One, because I'm so passionate about this is why I have that role. But two, I don't care where you do it. I mean, sure, we need help in AWANA, Sunday school and all those things. Yeah, fine. I don't care. Proclaim the excellencies, teach children about Jesus, because the best research we have right now says if they don't get it by 12, there's a very small percentage of chance that they will get it at all. It's exceedingly important that we speak the truth about Jesus to our children in a way that they can understand in a way that they can appreciate. We need to proclaim the excellencies. So if you want to serve and teach to children at the same time, you get like a double gold star. I think in proclaiming the excellencies, it's not a commercial, it's a real conviction. Go serve somewhere else if you need to. I don't care. OK, third share. I don't need to say a lot about this one. If the good news is actually good, wouldn't we want to share it? I contend that yes indeed we would. We should share the gospel. We should tell people the truth about Jesus and why. Because it's the way the people of God behave. And you belong to a people and you were designed for a purpose. So I want to land the plane here if I can. God cares about your life. Really, you, personally. He actually cares about you. He loves you. He wants a relationship with you. He has called you to himself. And I could say a lot of reasons why I believe that's true. But verse ten says it beautifully and succinctly. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. You know, in a spiritual sense, there's no silver spoons in the family of God. Nobody is just born into the family of God. That's not how it works; you're not born into his grace and mercy. He chooses who he chooses. One of the things that has profoundly impacted me and my family is being a part of this church family and its high value of an appreciation of adoption. There's a lot of people in this room whose families have been touched by adoption. And when adoptive parents make the choice to adopt, it's very similar to what's being said here, you know, there was a point where not literally, but sort of metaphorically, I was able to say to my adopted kids, once you are not a Martin and now you're a Martin. And that's a beautiful thing to be able to say. And there's a unique thing even about, as I was thinking about this in our story, you know, older child adoption is a little bit unique because there's this person who they already exist. You know, they have a name and they have a history and they have a life and they have memories. And you just, you just decide to love them and make them yours. And it's this really unique thing. You just decide and you make the decision completely disregarding anything having to do with their behavior. It doesn't matter. You don't even know about it. Yet you just decide to. And I think that's God's heart towards you. You know, God's not surprised by your shortcomings and your sin. He's not unaware of all the ways you've rejected him in the past or spoke against him. He's not blind to your baggage. God knows all these things. And he loves you anyway because your sin and failure is not even factored into it. He just chooses who he chooses. His love is perfect. So, OK, so now what? Now, what do we do with that? Well, there's kind of two ways we can go here. I mean, some of you listening today, maybe you're not in the family of God and you know it. You're not a part of the people of God. You've not crossed over from death to life. And that's OK. We're so glad you're here. Your next step looks like this. You need to receive it. I mean, if nobody's ever said it to you this way before, just know this. God knows exactly who you are, exactly where you're coming from. He knows everything about you and he loves you. And he wants you in his family. And the beautiful thing about the family of God is that there's always room for more. And so he is inviting you into his family right here and now in this space. And you can choose to receive it. You can choose to trust Jesus and join his family. On the other side of it, maybe you are a part of God's family, maybe you are a part of that one 11th already, and if you are, then you have an opportunity and a responsibility. So you need to do maybe one of three things. I would argue you either need to remember, repent or respond. If you're part of the family of God and you're sitting on this truth today about your identity, then you either need to remember, repent or respond. If you need to remember, maybe your operative question is this. Do you believe that you belong to the people of God? I mean, do you just believe that it maybe it starts there? Maybe you need to remember that God declared over you. This is who you are. You are special to me. And you matter. If you've been having a lot of hateful self talk, for example, if that's part of the way that you've been operating in your life, maybe you need to remember. This is what we do at Passover. We remember the goodness of God and we remember how it applies to our life. We remember his faithfulness. So maybe your next step is remembering. Maybe your next step is repenting. Are you living outside God's design for your purpose? Did God speak to you that you have one of those heart sicknesses going on and you need to turn from that and you need to take some next steps. You need to be digging into the word more. You need to pursue spiritual milk. Maybe there's a repentance thing that needs to happen and you need to come before God with that. Or maybe you need to respond. Maybe you need to think about practically how you're proclaiming the excellencies, not just like waiting for that perfect God ordained opportunity to hit you, but to actually go seek out a chance to preach the gospel, to teach the good news, to serve somebody actively. So the worst team is going to come back out and we're going to have a chance to sing in response here. And I would encourage you to think about which of these things it might be received. Remember, repent or respond.

In II Samuel 6 we find David dancing as he worships the LORD, while his wife watches with scorn. What can this text teach about our own worship? Thank you, worship team. If you have your Bible, I invite you to turn to 2 Samuel in your Old Testament, 2 Samuel 6. This is the fourth and last Sunday and this month's emphasis on the Christian practice of worship. And this morning, we go back into the Old Testament to a story. It's not one of your more well-known stories in the Old Testament. If you've done an Old Testament read through, you may have come across it, but you may not have been sure of what was going on in the story. And we're going to unpack that story this morning as part of looking at what does it mean for us to be more and more engaged in worship? I'm going to pick up the story at verse 12 of Second Samuel, Chapter six. There is some content before it, of course, that is relevant, but we'll try and fill that in as we go. So let's hear God's word. So David went down to Gath and he brought the Ark of God from the house of Obed Edom to the city of David, that's Jerusalem, with a great celebration. After the men who were carrying the Ark of the Lord had gone six steps, David sacrificed a ball and a fattened calf, and David danced before the Lord with all of his might wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the people of Israel brought up the Ark of the Lord with shouts of joy and with the blowing of Ram's horns. But as the Ark of the Lord entered the city of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she was filled with contempt for him. They brought the Ark of the Lord and set it in the place inside the special tent that David had prepared for it. And David sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord. When he had finished his sacrifices, David blessed the people in the name of the Lord of Hosts. Then he gave to every Israelite man and woman in the crowd a loaf of bread and a cake of dates and a cake of raisins. Then all the people returned to their homes. When David returned to home to bless his own family, Michal, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet him. She said in disgust, "How distinguished the King of Israel looked today, shamelessly uncovering himself in the sight of the servant girls like any vulgar person might do". David retorted to Michael, "I was dancing before the Lord. I was dancing before the Lord who chose me above your father and all his family. He appointed me as the leader of Israel, the people of the Lord. So I celebrate before the Lord. Yes. And I'm willing to look even more foolish than this, even to be humiliated in my own eyes. I will be honored by those servant girls you spoke about." So Michal, the daughter of Saul, remained childless throughout her entire life. What is the context of this story, the people of Israel, at least the people who lived in the city of Jerusalem, the city of David, were celebrating the bringing of the ark of the Covenant, the ark of God into the city of Jerusalem, really for its first time. And the ark of the Covenant is described in Exodus 25. You can go there a little later if you want, and you can look and you can see how God describes how it's to be made and its purpose and what it's for. And then if you flip ahead a few chapters to Exodus 37, you can see the how it was actually accomplished and how it was built. Now, this ark, as you may know, if you've studied the Old Testament, at all it contained the tablets that had the Ten Commandments on it. It contained Aaron's rod. It contained a jar of manna. And 70 years earlier, 70 years before we pick up this story here in second Samuel six, the ark was captured by the Philistines. And for a short time, the Philistines kept it with them in their nation, their territory with disastrous results. God brought plague and sickness on the Philistines to the point where they finally repented and they sent the ark away. And then for about the next 50 years, the ark resided in the home of a man named Abinadab. And during this time David becomes King. Saul is no longer king, David becomes king, and David desires, rightly so, to bring the ark into the city of David, Jerusalem, the capital city, to restore it to its place among its among the Covenant people. So he attempts this. We didn't read these verses, but you can read about his first attempt in the first 11 verses of second Samuel Chapter six, but again, with disastrous results. He did not follow God's instructions for how the ark was to be moved. And so God's judgment comes down and someone dies as a result of that. And it strikes fear into the heart of David and all the people with him at that time. They don't bring the ark into Jerusalem. They store it for, at least for a short time, nearby Jerusalem in the home of a man named Obed Edom. And that's where we pick up the story when David hears about the blessing on the household of Obed Edom because of the arks presence, and then he goes to rightly bring it back to Jerusalem. Now, what is significant about this? Well, the ark is the symbol of the Lord's presence among his people. God is everywhere. God is omnipresent. So you can't confine him to one place or one area. But God in his graciousness, God, in order to be understood by his people, he manifests his presence. And for the people of Israel at that time, he manifests his presence around this symbol, this ark of the covenant. The ark itself wasn't God, but God chose to make his presence known. And so it was entirely appropriate that David bring in the ark of the Covenant, that symbol of God's presence into the capital city, to be there among the covenant people. So you can understand why bringing the ark into Jerusalem finally, after all this time, it erupted in worship. It created this event, this celebratory event of worship and it's worship that we see that all the people of Israel join in. I mean, we see David reacting and leaping and dancing. But the text makes it clear it's all the people of Israel, really all the people in Jerusalem at that time. We see it especially in David, though, don't we? In verse fourteen, we see that David was worshipping unrestrained. It says that he was dancing with all his might before the Lord. And then there's this interesting reference that he was wearing a linen ephod while doing that. Now, what's a linen ephod? Again, if you know your Old Testament, there's a special ephod that the priests wore. That's not what's being talked about here. There's a more common ephod. It's almost an undergarment, but not in the way that we think of when we think of underwear. It's a very common garment that would be worn by the Levites, the men who assisted the priests in worship. It was the garment of the common people. That's not all that he was wearing at the beginning of this event, we don't see this here in second Samuel, but if we look at the parallel account in 1 Chronicles 15, we see 1 Chronicles 15:27 that as this began, David was wearing a robe, a linen robe over his ephod. What's this robe? This is his kingly robe. This is his his uniform. You might say that that indicated that he is king of Israel. But First Chronicles 15 tells us that at the beginning of this event, he takes off his kingly robe. He lays it aside. So as this worship is happening, he's wearing what everybody else is wearing. He's wearing a common linen ephod. That's even implied in Michael's comment in verse 20, when she accuses him of shamelessly uncovering himself, she's talking about the fact that he took off his kingly robe. What's going on here? Well, David is humbling himself. David is not coming before God to worship him as the king of Israel. He's humbling himself before God by laying aside his kingly robes. Store that in your mind, we will come back to that. Verse 16 describes David leaping and dancing before the Lord. There is nothing unrestrained about how he's worshipping, is there? He is he is not reserved. He is worshipping God with his full heart manifested even in his bodily actions. Why? He's filled with joy. He's filled with joy that the presence of the Lord is being brought into Jerusalem. He's filled with joy as he reflects upon all God has done for him and all God has done from Israel. And it's that joy that bubbles up in him that that he doesn't restrain. He lets it come out with leaping and with dancing. David abandons himself, we could say, in the worship of the Lord. There is nothing restrained about his enthusiasm. He lets his zeal loose. Now, notice the contrast between David and his dress and his behavior and Michal or Michael. And let me let me make a note on that pronunciation. I'm going to I'm going to say, Michael, throughout the rest of this time, the Hebrew name, we're not exactly sure how to pronounce it. And it's got this guttural in it. It's like Michal or Michal and I don't know how to say it. I'm not going to say it well. So I'm just going to go with Michael for the rest of the sermon. But that's that is who I'm speaking about. But look at how we see of Michal or Michael now. I'm catching myself to it. Look at what we see Michal and how she reacts to what's going on here. Again, verse sixteen, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. Now, that's an interesting observation, all of Jerusalem are in the streets. They've known the ark is being brought into Jerusalem and so all the people of Jerusalem gather in the streets to worship and celebrate the ark being brought in. But even though she has the choice Michal for whatever reason. We'll see. Maybe in a moment she stays in her or her palace. She stays and she just looks down on what's happening from her window. The way I would put it is this. Michael observes the worship, but she doesn't join in to the worship. Michal is is is withholding herself, she is she is detached, she is calm and collected or cool and collected. She is she is unmoved by the enthusiasm and the passion of the people. Michal observes the worship, but she doesn't join in the worship. Hold that thought as well. We'll come back to it. But what is I think most revealing is what we see about the way that Michal reacts to David's worship. She reacts to David's worship, we're told in the text with scorn, with contempt. Verse 16, when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she was filled with contempt for him. You know what contempt is. John Gottman, Dr. John Gottman, pretty well nationally known marriage researcher, counselor and marriage researcher, did this extensive study of married couples, particularly married couples that were struggling. Watch them study them over time, which couples made it and their marriage survive, which couples ended up breaking up and getting divorced? He found four factors four factors that he could routinely see in some pattern in all of the couples that didn't make it, that ended in divorce. And one of those stood out more than any other factor. And that was contempt when there was contempt in a marriage, one spouse towards the other or both spouses towards each other, he said virtually the marriage is over at that point. Hard to recover when there's contempt in the marriage. Contempt in a relationship is that way that we look down and we judge somebody else. We in some way, even if we wouldn't say this, we think that we're better than them. And so we look down on them with scorn. We speak to them sarcastically. Well, that's what we see here of Michal towards her husband, by the way. I haven't mentioned that yet. But this is her husband. Michal has contempt towards David as she sees him worship. Now, there is a complicated marriage between David and Michal, and I don't have time to go into it all. But Michal was actually David's first wife. He married other women, but she was his first wife. Michael, as we're told over and over again in this text is the daughter of Saul and very early and God raising David up. Michal becomes infatuated. She she falls in love, I guess we could say, with David, the great hero. And so Saul gives Michal to David in marriage. But then, you know, if you've read through the stories of Saul that Saul quickly turns against David, Saul pursues David and tries to kill them. And in turning against David, he takes Michal back from David. He actually gives her to another man in marriage. And Michal remarries, marries this second man. Well, sometime later in the story, after much time has passed and there's been a lot of water under the bridge, David takes Michal back and her husband, her second husband isn't dead. He rips her really from his arms and and takes her back. And so this is a complicated relationship. This is a woman probably who, again, in early infatuation and then a lot of water under the bridge and and controversy and conflict between her husband and her father, that probably led to some distancing. And then we'll give her credit. She may have genuinely come to love her second husband and then being forced to leave him and come back to David. It's a complicated relationship, but I think what we see the most about her is in the author's reference here. And second, Samuel six to he doesn't refer to her as the wife of David, does he? He refers to her several times as the daughter of Saul. And I think that tells us a lot. She likely resented David succeeding her father's throne because she's the daughter of Saul and she knows if David becomes king, then Saul's lineage, Saul's house is going to come to an end. And she probably had some bitterness about that. She probably, as the daughter of Saul, felt that she was a king's daughter. And yet here is her husband, who is embarrassing her by his behavior. She likely thought, as the daughter of Saul, that for any king to lay aside his his robe, that's just utterly appalling, to lower himself, to put himself among the common people like that. She likely, as the daughter of Saul, thought that his behavior was unbecoming of a king. And so she looks at contempt. She looks with contempt upon his his zeal. For her maybe, you know, we don't know if the full extent of her heart, but for her, maybe when you worshipped it was about how you appear to others. It's formalism, its appearance for her. If you are the king or the daughter of a king or the wife of a king, there is a pride that you must uphold. And all of this spills out in this poisonous contempt that she has, that she demonstrates towards him. Listen to the scorn and the contempt in her words, in verse 20 and just it's dripping with sarcasm, is it not, "how distinguished the king of Israel look today, shamelessly, shamelessly uncovering himself in the sight of the servant girls like any vulgar person might do?" Vulgar - don't read that word necessarily as profane read that word is common. She she has scorn towards him, contempt towards him because he's made himself who - he's a king and he's made himself like all the common people. And then the reference to servant girls, you know, we can infer from that that what bothered her most is, is all these servant girls that she had there, they're going to be whispering about David, laughing at him behind her back. And so that is what is most upsetting to her. Michal's focus was on how David's worship appeared to others, not to God, but to others. To her, outward appearance was extremely important. And so she's embarrassed by his actions. Why? Because she cares more about what others think about him and therefore her as as the queen than she does about God. Freddy Fritz, a preacher I like, said this, Michal reminds us of people who attend worship, who come to church and attend worship and and really their primary motive is to be seen by others. And so they're all about outward appearance. They're all about what do other people think of me as I worship? There's no heart relationship with God. What do we know is important to God, 1 Samuel, 16, God says, yeah, man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. That's what's important to God, not what what you look like in worship. Contrast that with the complete opposite response that we see in David as he responds in verse twenty one, I was dancing before the Lord. I will celebrate before the Lord, what is David acknowledging there by using that phrase over and over again, his worship is for God's benefit. He worships for an audience of one. His actions are all about what is pleasing to God. David's worship is not intended to please others, he's not performing for the crowds. He's not trying to make his wife happy. His focus is not on what other people think of him. Again, store that away; we'll come back to that thought. We see this further in verse 22, he says, yes, and I'm willing to look even more foolish than this, even to be humiliated in my eyes. And David's acknowledging there that even if the servant girls laugh at me behind their backs and before I finish that thought, my guess is the very opposite happened. My guess is that all the servants and all the common people, they see their king worshipping just like them, not as their king just worshipping as a man who loves the Lord God. They see the genuineness of his expression and they're drawn in, I think. But David's saying here, even if I'm humiliated by what the servant girls and others think of me, it's still - I have an audience of one. I'm not doing it for them. And so I will worship even more like this to please the Lord. He will not focus on himself. His focus is on the Lord. That's the story. What does this story speak to us today about how we worship, I believe it illustrates the truth that that what is important in worship is not about how we dress. It's not about how we sing. It's not about the quality of our voice. It's not about how we act, whether we raise our hands or don't raise our hands. Worship is all about the state of our heart. Now the state of our heart may produce things externally, but what matters to God is the state of our heart, and that's the picture I think that we're given here. This is a real historical story. And it had consequences historically. But even so, or maybe over and beyond that, it's given to us because both David and Michal, they illustrate something for us. Both witness the ark of God coming into Jerusalem. This event that should produce worship, but both respond in very different ways. And the way they respond reveals their hearts. And maybe one of the ways that you can think about this as we go a little further here for these last couple of minutes is: Am I more like David or am I more like Michal as I come to worship? So allow me to guide you in examining your heart, and I need to tell you, I've done this first with my own heart. This pierces me. And so I've asked these questions of myself first. But let me ask you these questions. First of all, this first question is a little more abstract, but I'll explain it. Do you desire that the ark be restored to its proper place among God's covenant people? OK, that's that's a little vague. So let me let me bring that down to the level where we live. Remember what the ark is. The Ark is the visible presence, the symbol of God's presence among his people. That's under the old covenant. How does God make his presence known to us today through Christ? Christ, Christ Jesus is not only the symbolic presence of God, he is God incarnate, he is God in the flesh, he is Emmanuel God with us. So when we come to worship, just like David's focus was on restoring the ark to its proper place, is our focus in worship, if we are followers of Jesus Christ, is to raise up Christ to his proper place among his people. Is our focus more on - is Christ being lifted up and glorified than it is on whether I like the music or don't like the music or whether I'm comfortable or not comfortable or whether we're standing too much or we're sitting too much or whatever it is. However, you define whether you like a particular worship service or not. Is it the heart of us; is the center of our heart that Christ is to be lifted up. Christ is to be restored to his proper place among his people. The more we can maintain that focus, the more it brings everything else about worship, about our public worship into perspective. Does your heart desire to see Christ lifted up and glorified? Second question. Will you watch from the window? Or will you join in the celebration? You can come to worship week after week and be watching from the window. You know what I mean? Think about Michal. Michal had the opportunity. She was there in the city, but she didn't join in the worship. Is that you you're here, but you're kind of on the edges, you don't really let yourself get drawn into the worship. Michal was was detached. Michal was unmoved by the enthusiasm and the zeal that she saw among the other people that you? Do you look around and and see other people worshipping and being drawn into worship at you for whatever reasons or whatever is going on in your heart, you know. No, no, you're going to maintain a distance. You're going to be collected. You're going to be calm. You're not going to let this move you. Michal was contemptuous towards the enthusiastic, zealous display of worship. Is that you? Do you look at other people, whether however they're acting, however they're behaving, maybe tears in their eyes, and you look down on them, do you judge them? Do you think that somehow you're better than them? What weak people they must be to be reacting like that? Are you watching from the window or are you joining in the celebration or are you coming down to the street and joining in the celebration, you can come to church Sunday after Sunday and you can watch from the window every one of those Sundays. Thirdly, will you lay aside your robes and humble yourself? Remember what David did? He removed not just his outer garment, which happened to be a robe, he removed the symbol of his kingship. He took off what distinguished himself from the common people there that day and he laid it aside. What does that tell us, David, wasn't there to be seen as the king, David wasn't there, so that in the midst of worship, everybody gave deference to the king. David was there to join in the worship with all of the other people. He laid aside his kingly robe, humbling himself. What about you? What's your robe? You know, some of us come with a robe of our status, maybe it's status that we gain from our vocation where we work, maybe it's the status we have in the community, maybe it's status that we've accumulated from what we've earned and what we possess. Some of us come wearing the robe of our accomplishments and maybe our educational degrees or all these wonderful things that we've accomplished in life. Those are not bad. But do we wear them like a robe? Do we wear them in some way to set ourselves apart, to distinguish ourselves? How does that robe, if you insist on wearing it, insist on distancing yourself from other people? How does that robe remove you, hold you back from worship? How does that keep you from joining in? How does that robe even continue to a heart where pride is growing? A.W. Towser says this about worship, worship humbles you. The proud man or woman can't worship God any more than the proud devil can worship God. There must be humility in heart before there can be worship. And this morning, if you're convicted, that in one way or another, you wear a robe as you come in to worship your status, your accomplishments, your position, maybe it's the spirit telling you this morning you need to lay aside your robe. You need to come in your linen ephod. Come and like everybody else, everybody equal at the foot of the cross and worship in that way. Next, are you willing to even look foolish? Remember that phrase that David used, are you willing to even look foolish as you worship? And by that I mean not concerned about what others think of you. That's David. David's actions aren't intended to to please anybody else. They're intended to please only the Lord. His focus is not, what's the crowd thinking of me? What are those servant girls thinking of me. His focus is only upon the Lord. When you worship, are you performing for other people, whether you are fully engaged or whether you hold yourself back, is what's driving you there? What are the people around me thinking? What's my family thinking? Or as you worship, are you focused on Christ? What pleases him, what brings him glory? Will you offer your worship before the Lord? Remember that phrase that David uses? I will worship before the Lord, I will celebrate before the Lord. Will you offer your worship before the Lord - another word for his pleasure, for his approval alone? Do you perform for the audience or do you perform for the audience of one? Finally, will you celebrate? That's the word that David uses to to describe his what this worship, this day of worship is. Will you celebrate? Will you celebrate with enthusiasm and joyful expression? Not every act of worship is a celebration. There's there's times for for grieving in worship, there's times for repentance in worship. But overwhelmingly in churches all across this nation, celebration is not descriptive of what worship is. And that's what we see. That's what we see in and Psalm 150 that we read today. It's a celebration. And for David, that celebratory spirit, that zeal and that enthusiasm, it bubbled over in leaping and dancing. That may not be you. But again, what would your heart, if it is genuinely engaged in worship, what would your heart cause your body to do if you let go of the restraint, if you've quit thinking about what other people thought about you, do you hold back in worship avoiding outward expression? Again, I'm not saying that the standard is everybody should be raising their hands, but do you hold back in any way from what God the spirit moving in you would prompt you to do because you're concerned about what other people would think? As you examine your heart, let me close with these comments about worship by Douglas Stewart. This actually comes from a commentary of Exodus not second Samuel, but a commentary on Exodus where the sections where God is prescribing how he is to be worshipped? But it fits so well here. Stewart says this - worship is the first most basic response of a true believer to the true God. It should begin immediately upon conversion. Our worship should continue with regularity and consistency throughout the rest of life, and our worship will be continued forever in heaven. He goes on to say, It is clear in scripture that God enjoys being worshipped and he expects his people to find joy in worshipping him as well. Worship should bring pleasure and benefit both to the worshipper - that's us - and to the true divine object of his or her worship. That's Christ, that's Christ. Is that your heart? It's not fully my heart, that's what I want my heart to be. We can pray for that. We can ask for that. Let's do that now. Let's pray. We thank you for this story, Lord, in your word. In the midst of where this fits in the history of the Old Testament, it speaks today to us. And Lord, we see in David and Michal, we see two different states of heart as they come to worship. And Lord, it's two different states that help us examine our own hearts. Oh, Lord, I pray that my brothers and sisters here today, they with me would say, I want my heart to be like David's. Too often my heart is like Michal's, make my heart like David's Lord, make worship my first my most basic response to all that you are and all that you have done for us in Christ. Lord your word here, it gives us many ways that the spirit may desire to convict us and to cause us to repent and then change us and transform us. We pray that you do that work. We we open our hearts for you to do that, to examine our hearts and change our hearts by what you've revealed in your word here today, we want to be a people who worship you, who worship you as a celebration. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.

How do we "worship God acceptably" (Hebrews 12:28)? What are the dangers of indifference, and how do they affect our worship? What a blessing to have our youth worship team leading us and worship this morning. Don't you agree? And I am so glad to be back with you. I have a son who is a missionary in Alaska and he was home for a brief couple of days at our home in New York. So I flew back there to get a little time with him before he spends the next six months up there in Alaska. We are in the subject all this month of worship. And let me just frame that for you again so you you have a feel, especially if you are new, what we're doing. We as church leadership, we have worked through how do we even begin to measure and therefore encourage someone in their growth as a follower of Jesus Christ? And we've come up with some definition of a maturing follower of Jesus is growing in certain core beliefs - that's head - and certain core virtues - that's hearts - and certain core practices - that's hands. Two months ago we we took one of the beliefs and we worked through it all that month. Last month we worked through one of the virtues. This month, April, we are working through one of the practices and that particular practice is worship. We began that on Easter Sunday with that glorious scene in Revelation 5, the worship around the throne. Last week Josh picked that up, speaking about what it means to worship in spirit and in truth. And today we're going to look at another text of worship that comes near the end of Hebrews: Hebrews 12:28. Let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe. What does it mean to offer to God acceptable worship? Now, if you look at that verse in isolation all by itself, what is acceptable worship? You probably naturally, like I do, start to answer the question, what is acceptable worship? You answer it from the framework of your upbringing, what kind of church experience, if any, that you've had in your past. You answer it from your culture because culture here in the United States and how that affects worship is very different than other places in the world. You answer it even to a certain extent by your personal preferences, the kinds of music you like and don't like, the kinds of of service elements that you like and don't like. We all do that. We all bring our own definitions to what makes worship acceptable. The issue is if we look at this verse in isolation and we begin to do that, we really miss; it's a swing and a miss because you may be aware of the old maxim, a text without the context is a pretext. To take this text without understanding the bigger context of the letter to the Hebrews. And why this verse appears where it does is to make a pretext out of acceptable worship. And I've seen too many people do that. I've been guilty of it, of myself Using this verse to justify certain kinds of dress, certain kinds of musical styles, certain elements and practices and worship service. So in order not to make that mistake of making a text without a context into a pretext, we want to look at the bigger context of the letter to the Hebrews. Why does this verse appear as it does near the very end of the letter to the Hebrews? To understand this, we need to understand. first of all, this verse appears in the final warning of five warnings that are given throughout the letter to the Hebrews. Hebrews, if you're not familiar with that book, Hebrews was written to those who came from Hebraic Judaism. They were genuine believers. These are first century men and women who'd embraced Jesus Christ as savior and Lord. But they were Jewish. They came out of Judaism into following Jesus. And in that time, in those those situations, that was not an easy thing to do. There was a lot of pressure to go back into Judaism. There was a lot of pressure on these early believers to resume temple worship. And so it rose even to the level of outright persecution for you to be somebody of Jewish heritage who now followed Jesus and had given up temple worship and given up the sacrificial system. And even though the circumstances are very different then than they are today, I think in many ways there are similarities to what we face today. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you know Christ as savior and Lord, you live in the midst of a culture - I don't even really have to tell you this - that is becoming increasingly hostile to you faithfully following Jesus Christ. It's becoming increasingly hostile to saying that there is absolute truth given to us in the word of God, the Bible, and that we are actually to pattern our lives according to what the Lord speaks to us in his word. It is tempting for us like these early Hebrew Christians. It is tempting for us to compromise. It is tempting for us to just let go of some of the things that our culture says. Things are going to get harder for you if you hold on to those things. So in some ways, we know the tension that the Hebrew believers were facing here. And in that way, this letter by the Holy Spirit speaks to us. Now, a couple things that you just really need to understand. This letter was written to genuine believers. There are people out there who think that that this is written in some cases to spurious believers, people who who proclaim faith but were not really believers. I don't have time to go into it now, but the language used throughout the letter indicates these people are genuine believers who are under persecution and temptation to return to Judaism, What the writer does under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, speaking to those first century Jewish believers, speaking to us today, the writer encourages them and us to faithfully persevere, even to press on to greater spiritual maturity. And he shows them what's at the core of why they would want to do this. He shows them how Christ, how the gospel, they are superior to Judaism, how the whole Old Testament actually points to Jesus, points and prepares us for the revelation of Jesus Christ. And in doing this throughout the letter, he punctuates his argument in five different places with warnings. He gives a warning five different times based upon what he has just said. And I'm going to give you just a brief overview of the warnings - the actual text today comes in the middle of the fifth warning. That's where we're going to spend our time. But I want to give you just the bigger picture very briefly. Now, what are the warnings about? These are not warnings, as I study and understand this, these are nNot warnings about the danger that you can lose your salvation. He's writing to genuine believers who who God has promised will cause to persevere in their faith. But the warnings are about what can happen, how we can actually face God's chastening in this life if we don't heed the warnings, We can even, probably more serious - there is a possible loss of rewards at the judgment seat of Christ, rewards in the coming kingdom of Jesus Christ if we don't heed these warnings. R.T. Kendall has said it this way, R.T. Kendall, British evangelist, I've quoted him before, about a century before us. Here's what he said. See if this applies to you. The devil wants to get Christians to think that all that matters is being saved or lost. You hear that the devil would like you to think that you made that decision to follow Christ at some point in the past, you're done, you're good. It doesn't matter how you live now, you've got your insurance. Kendel goes on to say, though, the devil doesn't want you to know or to think about the truth that there is reward or loss to be meted out at the judgment seat of Christ. That being saved and you're not going to lose that salvation, how you live now, how you follow Christ directly impacts whether you will receive reward or whether you will experience grief when you stand before Christ at the judgment seat of Christ. That's what these warnings are all about. Let me just briefly go through the first four and then we'll spend the remainder of our time on the fifth one. The first warning that we see appearing at the beginning of Chapter two is about the danger of drifting, the danger of slowly drifting away from the truth and drifting away from the truth of the gospel. But in the context of this letter, specifically drifting away from the truth of the reality of Christ's kingdom, the reality of what we actually live for, of our inheritance. And how how we live now impacts that drifting away from it, he warns us. The second warning we find starting in Chapter three and extending into Chapter four. This is the danger of disbelieving. This is this is the danger of our hearts actually becoming callous to this truth, of of hardening to this truth of Christ's future reign, of Christ's future Kingdom, of letting all the times that we hear about that and read about that in scripture just to go in one ear and out the other of becoming callous to it. The third warning we find beginning in Chapter five and extending into Chapter six, the danger of degenerating, In other words, in the context in which he writes here in Chapter five and chapter Chapter six, he says that there are opportunities for you and I as believers that we can actually lose if we don't faithfully follow Christ. There are blessings, particularly future kingdom blessings, that we actually forfeit if we don't press on to maturity. You know the temptation of that, don't you? I certainly feel it. That temptation just to coast. I know I'm saved, you know, I know I'm going to be with Christ in heaven. It's kind of hard to live faithfully for Christ. So I'll just go along with the flow. I'll just coast because I'm good, right? I've got my salvation. You know, that temptation to coast. This is exactly what he's warning against. He's saying you're not going to lose your salvation by coasting. But there are opportunities. There are our future rewards that you will forfeit, that you may forfeit just by living a life in this time, in this earthly life, of coasting. The fourth warning we find in Chapter ten near the end of Chapter Ten, it is the warning about the danger of willful sin. What is willful sin? That is when we do something, knowing, you know, that that is not what God wants. And in the context the writer is talking about, when we know the truth about the reality of Christ's coming kingdom and how we are to be faithful servants now, found ready and waiting and faithfully serving when the master returns, when we know that. But instead we make choices. We make life choices to be comfortable. We make life choices to be accepted by the culture. We make choices that feed our desires, our fleshly desires. And in so doing, we willfully sin against the knowledge that God has given us of the future coming kingdom of Christ. Well, those are the first four warnings. Don't have time to go into those. They've been incredibly convicting to me as I've studied this over the last couple of weeks. But now we get to the fifth warning where our text for today, really our whole subject of worship today comes from. We find this fifth warning in Chapter twelve. It starts roughly at verse fifteen and continues through verse twenty nine. It is the warning about the danger of indifference, the danger of indifference. It is a warning against carelessly neglecting the truth that we hear about the kingdom, about our future inheritance. What do you think of when you hear the word indifference? You know, I don't care much for modern dictionaries, They seem to change all the time and add new words that I really have issues with. But I go back to the very first dictionaries by Daniel Webster, a faithful follower of Jesus Christ, And he started publishing his dictionaries in the early eighteen hundreds. My favorite is the eighteen twenty eight edition of Webster's Dictionary. He brings in scripture in his definitions. They're so meaty and pithy. And here's how in the 1828 Webster's Dictionary, he defines indifference. Indifference he says is unconcernedness. I had to practice saying that word unconcernedness being unconcerned. Indifference, he says, is a state of the mind when it feels no anxiety, no interest in what is presented to it. Think about that definition when you think about worship, indifference into worship is being unconcerned, maybe you're here on a Sunday morning, but you're really unconcerned about what's happening. You're really unconcerned about whether your heart is prepared to worship. Indifference to worship is that state of mind where we really were here maybe, but we have no interest really in what is being presented and what is happening as we come together to worship the savior together. That is the kind of indifference that we are warned against that this phrase offer acceptable worship appears in and that we need to understand it in. Here's maybe another way to think about it. You may or may not know who this is. Elie Wiesel survived the Nazi extermination camps. Auschwitz and Buchenwald, I believe, went on to to write and speak extensively throughout the world since since he survived the camps. And he said this, quote, maybe you've heard it. It's well known. "The opposite of love is not hate. It's indifference." I'm not speaking about love today, but I want to apply that same logic to worship, I would borrow his words and I would say this as we think about worship, the opposite of worship is not blasphemy. it's indifference. The opposite of worship is being indifferent to it. And it's this that this final warning and Hebrews 12 speaks to as it explains how you and I can become indifferent to worship, even if we're here, even if we're we're participating in the service, how our hearts and our minds can become indifferent. Let me take you briefly through the high points of this warning in Chapter 12. In verse 16 of Chapter 12, we are warned about the indifference that is seen, that is in the example of Esau. Esau, if you if you remember, if you've read through Genesis before. In Genesis 25, what does he do? He is the oldest son, has the birthright he's going to inherit from his father, but he really doesn't care. And in a moment where his physical desires, in this case, his hunger motivates him more than than anything that he can't touch yet because it's in the future. He trades away, well, what the scripture says he sells his birthright in exchange for one meal. He trades it to his brother for a bowl of soup. Basically, what's going on there? Esau in his worldliness, he sees no value in this birthright, this future thing, this inheritance that he can't yet touch and put his hands on. He doesn't recognize the significance of the privileges that he was forfeiting until it was too late. And after he trades it away, even though he realizes that later and he wants it back and he wants his father to rectify the situation, it's too late. It's gone because of his indifference, because of his thoughtlessness. And so the writer to the letter of the letter to Hebrews, he raises this as an example so that we are warned not to become indifferent to the coming kingdom that there is if you follow Christ, there is an inheritance. There is an opportunity to rule and reign with Jesus Christ and his millennial kingdom. and yet we can't see that yet because it's in the future. But we are warned not to become like Esau and to trade that away to forfeit that because in our worldliness, we're more concerned about what is going to meet our needs and our desires and make us comfortable in the present life. Don't become indifferent to the coming kingdom the writer of the letter to Hebrews is saying. In verse twenty two he goes on, and this time he uses, as part of his warning, the symbols of Mount Sinai and Mount Zion. and those are actual literal places, but he's using them symbolically here. Mount Zion, the place and in Exodus, where God appears to the Israelites and wants to speak to them, But they are fearful of him. They are fearful because of the lightning and the clouds and the thunder and the warning not to touch the mountain. And so they tell Moses, we don't want to hear from God directly. Moses, you go and you hear from God and then you come and you speak it to us. So Mt. Sinai, that that old covenant of fear and terror, we can approach God. But the writer of the letter to the Hebrews reminds us that if we are in Christ, if we know Christ as savior and Lord, we don't go to Mount Zion symbolically or Mount Mount Sinai symbolically anymore, we come to Mount Zion. Mount Zion was where Jerusalem is, where specifically where the temple was. And again, he's using this symbolically, but we see it here. We come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem and the countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. We have access to God. We don't have to go through an intermediary of Moses anymore in the law. We had this incredible privilege of access to God and yet it is so easy for us to treat that great privilege casually, indifferently, to become indifferent to our access to God. He warns us again against becoming indifferent to the access to God that we have through Christ. In verse 25, he goes on and he warns us further. We're warned by what happened to the Israelites in the wilderness in Exodus 19 and 20. Remember, that is God has rescued them from Egypt and is taking them through the wilderness. But they grumble. Why? Because their desires are not being met. They grumble because life is not comfortable and secure as they would like it to be. And so in grumbling, what does God do? God doesn't wipe them out as the nation of Israel, but all those in that generation who grumble, they don't see the promised land. They forfeit their ability to have that privilege of entering the promised land. Well, think about that as it applies to us. God, who spoke to them through Moses, he now speaks to us directly through Christ, his son. And so we're warned as the writer to the letter to the Hebrews says here, be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the one who is speaking. Is that, it's a temptation I feel, is that a temptation that you feel? That you know, when we come to worship, you know we can become indifferent to hearing God speak. Oh, we got to do that responsive reading again. Why are they picking such a long text to read? Do you have thoughts like that? The word spoken, the word read, the word preached is God speaking through Christ and his word to us. And we are warned, don't become indifferent to that. Don't be like the Israelites grumbling in the wilderness. Verse 26, the warning goes on, verse 26, connects the earthquake that shook Mount Sinai there in the wilderness and Exodus 19. It connects it with the prophecy that God speaks through Hagai in Hagai 2:6, that there is coming a day when God will shake not only the Earth, but also the heavens. What's being discussed there? This is the great physical judgments of the Earth that the Earth will experience when Christ returns, when Christ returns in the glory of his father with all his heavenly angels. And the writer warns us not to be indifferent to that because it is so easy for us to just live like, you know, today is what really matters. Lunch is what really matters. What I'm going to do this afternoon or next week or this coming week is what really matters. It is so easy to become indifferent to the return of Christ to live - Yeah, we know that, but to live not in watchfulness, not not seeking to be faithful servants, awaiting the return of our master, but just those who live for today. Verse twenty nine. Kind of the culmination of these warnings reminds us of the holy character of God that requires the need for judgment. Our God is a consuming fire. And what is the reality here that in Christ, yes, God has has showered us with his grace, God has shown mercy to us, we have access to God and know his loving kindness and his faithfulness. But that doesn't eradicate his holiness. There's nothing contradictory between God's grace and God's holiness. And so the warning here is if we trust in Christ that we don't need to be filled with terror at God's coming judgment, But we should have a healthy respect for it. We should know that God calls us in his grace, with his Spirit in us. He calls us to to live holy lives, to be holy as he is holy. And so the warning here is in our worship and in all of our lives, not to become indifferent to the holiness of God. I really have thought about doing a whole series at some point and Hebrews, because as I've gone through these warnings these last two weeks, they're incredibly convicting to me. They caused me to check my heart. They caused me to really examine how I think and how that impacts my life and my worship. They're a wake up call. They're a wake up call to all of us. And that brings us back to what is acceptable worship in view of these warnings, particularly this last warning about the ways that our hearts can so easily become indifferent. What is it to worship acceptably? What is acceptable worship? What is what is worship that is the opposite of indifference. Well, that's what the writer of Hebrews now shares with us in the last couple verses of Chapter 12. Verse twenty eight: therefore, let us be grateful. Let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken and that kingdom that cannot be shaken. That's not one that we can't see yet. It is the coming millennial reign of Christ. It is the coming kingdom that we are heirs of. But you know what it's like to be an heir. You've got that inheritance, but you can't put your hands on it yet. So sometimes it's hard to believe that it's there, that it's coming. But this kingdom, unlike our present life, cannot be shaken. It is eternal. It is firm. It will not pass away, whereas this life will be shaken and everything will pass away. What does he say for us to do? He's saying that this glorious privilege of our of our coming inheritance of the future kingdom, this glorious privilege that as followers of Christ, we may rule and reign with Christ. That is that is so incredible that our minds cannot even fully conceive it. I know mine can't. And he's saying that should overwhelm us with gratefulness. The opposite of indifference in worship is gratefulness, is being overwhelmed by what awaits us, overwhelmed by the privileges that we have, overwhelmed by the possibility that we may reign as a companion of Christ in his kingdom. And that gratefulness leads us - here's where it brings it into context - to offer acceptable worship. The acceptable worship, if you've heard those two terms before, they appear in Romans 12:1 Be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is good and acceptable and perfect in your service of worship. It's the same idea. It's viewing worship as as bigger than what we do here on a Sunday morning. It is viewing worship as how I offer my life to God in every sphere of my life, how we live at home and at work and in our neighborhoods. It is bringing worship into its true sense. In fact, the word here used for worship, latreuōmen, means worshipful service. The opposite of indifference and worship is worship of service, it is viewing every area of our lives as believers, as an expression of worship. It is seeing everything that we do and speak and choose and even think as a potential. Some offering to God and worship. The opposite of indifference is worshipful service. And our grateful worship must always be offered with reverence and awe. Reverence speaks of an appropriate demeanor, It speaks of how we how we how we view coming before God in worship. Awe speaks of having a godly fear, an awareness of his holiness that gives us circumspection, even caution. And reverence and awe together, it is the natural response to seeing God as he really is. If you've ever read through Isaiah, perhaps you've been caught like I have. And in Isaiah chapter six, where Isaiah is given a vision of the Lord Almighty. And what is it? What is seeing God as he really is and all of his holiness? What's the response that's naturally evoked in Isaiah? He falls down on his face in fear and reverence. It is the natural response to seeing God as he really is. Think of the three core disciples of Jesus in Matthew 17 on the Mountain of Transfiguration, when they see Jesus in all of His transfigured glory, what is their response? They fall on their faces because they see God as he really is in the person of Jesus Christ. The opposite of indifference in worship is reverent awe. So how do we bring these together, even especially when we think about a worship service at Calvary and what we do at Calvary, all the ways that we worship at Calvary, how do we bring together that that sense of of gratefulness, that sense of reverence, that sense of awe, that sense of all of our lives are to be lived as worship for service. I appreciate how Ligon Duncan puts it. We ought to aspire to congregational worship that is characterized by true heart worship of the living God according to his word, that is reverent, substantial and joyful. Yeah, that's what I want, that's what we desire, True heart worship like Josh preached last week, what it means to worship in spirit and in truth, True heart worship; worship, that is, according to his word, not cultural preferences, not even our own personal preferences, but according to his word worship. That is reverent worship, that is substantial, not fluffy worship. That is joyful. Joyfulness and reverence are not contradictory. True worship brings those together. Where is your heart this morning as you worship. We have an opportunity even going forward into the service. We're going to sing some more. How will your heart offer your singing as an expression of worship? We're going to come to the table. How will coming to the table and celebrating the Lord's Supper, how will your heart use that as an offering of worship? Let's pray. We thank you, father. We thank you for all of your word. Lord, it is easy to love the parts of your word that are comforting to us, especially comforting to us where we're hurting, where we're lonely. Oh, Lord, we thank you. Even though it doesn't come naturally, we thank you for the parts of your word that are warnings to us as well. And Lord, we want to hear, we want to be impacted, we want to be really given a wake up call about this warning of indifference, Lord, we don't want our worship to be indifferent. We want our worship to be in response to seeing you in all of your glory, we want our worship to be Lord certainly filled with gratefulness and reverence and awe and even joy. We need your spirit, Lord, to do that continued heart transformation in us so that we can worship like this. We ask you now, Lord, even as we continue to worship, singing and worship at the Lord's table, that your spirit will move among us and produce worshipful response that lifts up the name of Jesus Christ And brings you glory. Amen.

What does it mean to worship in spirit and in truth? How do we practice that sort of worship in our daily lives? Good morning and welcome to all of you who are gathered here together with us in person and to those who are gathering with us online. Last week we had the joy to celebrate both the death and then the resurrection of our lord and savior. And what an appropriate time, I believe, for us to begin this new series, a new part of our series that we're going to be looking at: the hands of worship. And if you've been with us for a time, you notice that we've we've begun to do this longer term series, looking at three aspects Of discipleship, our head, what we know about God, our heart, how that changes us or how we feel about God and our hands, what we do about that. And so I'm excited to see where God takes us in the next couple of weeks as we look at what it means to be active worshipers of our God. Today, we're going to begin this series by looking at this story that was just read for us, the woman at the well. And, you know, it's a popular passage, one many of you probably already know pretty well. And as you think of that story, what is it that comes to mind? You know, do you do you think of Samaritans mixing with Jews or racial issues? Do you think about water coming from wells? Do you think about the humanity displayed by Jesus? Do you think about marriage? I think about my own marriage and I think about the place of worth that I've put my marriage in in my life. And my wife Kate is so important to me. And I've spent time reading books like The Five Love Languages and time talking to her and asking her, How can I help you to feel more loved? How can I show you the value that you have in my life? And as we look at this particular story, we're going to see that that Jesus is drawing this woman to an idea of something of more importance that she's not placing on in her life. And so we're going to look at this conversation where Jesus shows this woman ultimately her need for him and the worship that must follow. So to me, true worship that God seeks is about more than time. It's about more than a place or a worship service or a song, but rather, it's about a total devotion of our lives to our God. And on the story, Jesus leaves Judea and he goes back to Galilee and it says that he had to go through Samaria. For those of you that don't know the story, this is actually historically and geographically untrue. In fact, most of the Jews of the day would take this long route around adding days to their journey so they could avoid going through Samaria. And yet here we see John saying Jesus had to go through. And so here is our God who knows he has this important appointment to meet this woman where she is and to show her how her life can change. So he arrives at Sychar is tired, so he sits down by the well and his disciples go into town to buy food. And the Samaritan woman comes out in the middle of the heat of the day to draw her water. A time when no one else would come out to draw water; it was hot. They would usually draw it at a much cooler time of day and they would they would go together. And here she is all by herself. And Jesus is sitting here and he says to her and he asks her for help. He says, Can you draw me some water? Can you give me something to drink? And immediately, this woman is shocked. She said, How can you ask me for a drink? Don't you know that you're a Jew and I'm a Samaritan woman? We don't mix. And in fact, if Jesus had drinking water that was drawn by her and had been touched by her, he would have been considered unclean by his own people. So she thinks this is shocking. And then Jesus goes on to tell her something even more shocking. He says, if you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water. So these words suggest that there's something more at work going on here than what she is focused on. Instead of a racial or religious divide, Jesus says this is more about a gift from God and the one sitting in front of you, the man here, Jesus, has access to this gift. All you need to do is ask for it. Now, of course, the woman being practical immediately spots a problem with this. Sir, you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father, Jacob, who gave us this well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock. So here's Jesus sitting here. And not only does he not have a water jar or anything to draw water with; a moment ago he had just asked her for water himself. So how can he now offer me something that it seemed a moment ago like he didn't even have, so she seems to start to gather this idea. There's something going on here. If you can really offer me water that you a moment ago didn't have, then you must be greater than Jacob who gave us this well. And Jesus says everyone who drinks this water, the well, will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of waterwelling up to eternal life. The woman immediately says, Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming back here again and again to draw water. So Jesus says to her, Yes, I am greater. What I offer is greater. So much so that what I'm offering you now will fill all the need that you have in your life, not just now, but into eternity. So Jesus coming to this appointment already knows all about this woman. He knows who she is. He knows about her life. He knows the ways that she's trying to fill the empty void in that life and the ways that that attempt is not working. Even now, she is still thinking of this physical result. She's thinking of not having to come to the well in the heat of the day, not having to lug this heavy water. But the emptiness that Jesus is offering to fill is not a physical emptiness. It's one that nothing in this whole world can fill. I don't know about you, but as humans, I think we often try to fill emptiness in our lives and we try to fill it with all of this stuff that we think is going to finally make us happy is going to finally make us feel complete. And so we we fill it with good food and with entertainment. And, you know, I think about the the time that I spend reading books and going out to restaurants and watching Netflix and keep thinking that at some point, is it going to be enough as some point? Is that going to make me feel full? But even if those things do make us feel good or fill us temporarily, they're never going to satisfy. They're never going to bring us to a point where we can say, I don't need anything more than this. It's all temporary. I like the way poet and priests from the Church of England, George Herbert, born in the late 1500s, says it. He says the whole wide world is not enough to fill the heart's three corners. But yet it craveth still. Only the trinity that made it can suffice the vast triangled heart of man. In other words, you and I can search this whole world over. We can experience every single thing that this world has to offer us and it will not be enough. In fact, Solomon tries this being the man known for wisdom given to him by God, he he tries every pleasure and tries rulership and authority tries all of these different things. And when he gets to the end of it, he says, meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless. And this then is the conclusion that he comes to. Now, all has been heard. Here is the conclusion of the matter. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. So out of all the earthly things we might seek after every single thing we do is wide open before our God And only our relationship with God, the things used to glorify him and the life lived for him and through him is going to mean anything to us in the end. So if we choose him to be the one to fill our need, then he promises here to well up in us a wellspring of water that will satisfy us not just for this life, but forever. This is what we need. It is the only thing that can fulfill us completely. Yet before we can seek it, we must realize our need. We are all sinners seeking after what is meaningless until we encounter our God, who shows us our need and offers us the only gift that can satisfy. And Jesus does this for this woman at the well, gently, but clearly he points out the need in this woman's life. Go call your husband and come back. I have no husband, she replied. And Jesus says to her you are right when you say you have no husband, the fact is you have had five husbands and the man you have now is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true. I don't know about you if you've ever done this, but sometimes when I'm ashamed about something and somebody asks me, I'll tell a bit of the truth. That kind of hides the fact of the full shame of what it is that I've said or done. And this woman tries this here. And our God immediately says, no, we need to bring the whole thing out into the light. The whole of it must be exposed. And there, exposed is where I can wash it away. Jesus knows that the only way you and I can move forward is if we can let go of our own attempts to fill our lives and if we can let go of the shame that's holding us back. And so he brings this all out into the light. And yet, even so does not take away his offer of living water that can well up in her. Instead of the judgment this woman fears, he continues to love her and to listen to her, even knowing what he does about her. He has offered her this living water. And with this, she begins to see maybe there's something more going on with this man than meets the eye. So she gives him the place in her mind that makes sense. Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. Now, if I have believed that a man that I was talking to was a prophet, I have to be honest with you. I would probably ask him about my future. I would probably ask him how I could be successful, how I could be happy, how it could be any of those things. But I love the woman's response here. Her first thought is to question now that I believe this, how can I worship? Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain Mount Gerizim. But you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem. I read a deeper question here than which place do I go? I read a question of how do I get to this God that you're talking about? Can I meet him here or must I go there? Where do I go? Where is the right place? And Jesus says, woman, believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the father, neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. It's not the place. Neither place is exclusively where you will worship God. And the places of worship are not the path to get to God any more. I think this is a trap that many of us churches often fall into. We can feel like because we go to a certain denomination, because we go to a certain church or kind of worship service, that we are more saved or that we have a better connection to God. It can be tempting to feel like that it's our place and that's what's most important. But while the Jews offered one temple and the Samaritans offered another, Jesus is saying that neither is what the worship God desires is about. He tells her you Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come in me when the true worshipers will worship the father in spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the father seeks. God is spirit and his worshippers must worship in the Spirit and in truth. You know, there are some that say that all religions are good and lead to heaven. But here we see that's not the case in God's mind. He tells her that the Samaritan's way of worship is not authorized or approved by God or by scripture. And, instead of even though she's excited to worship, instead of just telling her, keep doing what you're doing, he says, no, I have I have a better way for you. I have the way that God seeks for people to worship him. And the Jews, they may worship what they know, but their worship falls short, too. They have parts of the truth. And in fact, up until that time, their temple was the place to get to God. That was the only place. But even so, their hearts aren't right. Neither one is worshipping in spirit. And in truth, both are focused on the place and the kind of worship. Both are convinced they have it right and yet that the other is wrong. And the the thing that ties them the most together is something that suddenly occurs to this woman. We're waiting for something both the Samaritans and the Jews were waiting for something. It begins to occur to this woman that maybe prophet isn't quite the right label for this man. The woman said, I know that Messiah called Christ is coming. And when he comes, he will explain everything to us. And then Jesus declared, I, the one speaking to you, I am he. In the face of this declaration and the fact that Jesus was right there, the time has now come. This woman must decide whether or not she wants the gift, whether or not she wants to be a true worshipper the way God seeks. She is confronted here with Jesus, who appears to be a man, and yet who told her everything she did and now claims to be both savior and by his words, I am, God. So Jesus goes through this whole conversation to ultimately declare who he is and to present the kind of worship and worshippers it is that he seeks, those who worship in spirit and in truth. So if you're listening to this and you haven't made that choice, if you haven't encountered Jesus and decided you want to be a worshipper of him, this message is for you. God knows you completely inside and out. Just as he knew this American woman. He knows every bit of your weakness and your sin and your shame. And he loves you any way. He wants you to bring all of that to him, to expose it to the light so that you can leave all of it behind and join him for eternity. He wants to know you and wants you to know him. So if you want to be truly known in a way that no one on this earth has ever known you and you want to be truly loved in a way no human has ever loved you, there's no other name under heaven, no other person in all of existence who can provide that to you, accept Jesus. So whether you've been attending church your whole life or whether you're still seeking and this is your first visit, if you have questions, if you are seeking to be known and loved in this way, please don't hesitate to speak to me or to one of the pastors here. We'd love to talk with you. We'd love to help you begin that journey. But it's not just for those who have not said yes. This message is also for all of us who have said yes, it is a call for those of us who believe in Jesus to worship him truly in the way that he desires. And I believe Psalm 103 really gives us a Beautiful glimpse of this. I love how David starts the song Praise the Lord, My Soul, all my inmost being. Praise his holy name. For David here, worship just isn't about the words. It's about praise that flows out of his deepest, inmost being out of his heart. And it's about praising God not only for who he is, but for what he has done and what he continues to do in our lives. Most of the rest of the psalm goes on to describe some of these truths for us. He forgives all of our sins. He heals us. He redeems us from the pit that we deserve for our sins. He crowns us with love and compassion, works, righteousness and justice, he makes his way known to us and I love this part. He knows us even from the very dust that you and I are formed out of and to the brevity of the lives that we live here. His kingdom rules over all things, and he has established his throne forever. And so when we choose to accept this living water, the name of Jesus and are born again by the spirit, the same spirit within our inmost being, within our hearts and the truth of who God is and what he has done should inspire in us worship that just flows out of us that we cannot help but to live and be in a way that demonstrates Jesus inside of us. And to not do that, I think, is foolish. To know who Jesus is and to know what it is that he's commanded and not to do it is foolishness. Listen, this is what James says. James 1:23-24. Anyone who listens to the word, to Jesus, but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. What is the point of going to worship, of singing songs of praise, of listening to the word if it's not going to change our lives, if it's not going to change who we are and how we respond. Now the Pharisees of Jesus' day fell into this trap. Jesus says they worshipped what they knew, but then goes on to say, yet more is coming. There's something that's missing here. They knew the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They knew the statutes he had commanded and followed these and made many more. But yet Isaiah still says this about them and Jesus quotes him. These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain. Their teachings are merely human rules. They had the right God and even said the right things many times. But knowing that truth did not change their hearts. They did not truly approach God or want in their lives what he wanted from them. They were worried about the ceremony, about the right song, about having the place of honor at feasts, about being recognized for being good worshippers. They presented the truth on the outside, but it did not penetrate into their hearts. Religion was for them pride and a way to get what they wanted. There have been times in my own life when I've struggled with this. I have behaved as though what I know about God makes me better than somebody else believed that it is in the knowing that makes me good, makes me better. But I have to face the truth that this is not worship that pleases God. This is not attitude that pleases God. What he wants from me is an inner heart that desires him, that desires to face him. And a heart that desires to put him in his place of worth in our lives. You know, I think about how I worshipped in the past. There have been times in my life when I've given God an hour on Sunday morning and an hour of some kind of a discipleship group, and then the rest of my week have gone back to living my normal life the way I felt I wanted to live it. And if you do the math on that an hour on Sunday morning and an hour for a discipleship group versus the rest of the hours in a week, that's barely giving God one percent of my week versus a God who has given me all of himself. And the opposite kind of worshiper is also not what God desires. There are people who are devoted to what they believe about God and filled with zeal, people who are extremely spiritual and spend most of their time devoted to doing what they believe is right. But they don't seek out the truth. They don't come to know fully what it is, even that what they're worshipping or doing wants from them. I think Paul, when he was still Saul, is a wonderful example of this. He has so filled with zeal that in the name of his faith, went to the point of being willing to persecute and even kill Christians. And then one day, our lord and savior confronts him. And in that moment, he has to make a choice. Do I want to keep worshipping the way I want or do I move my life to be the way my savior wants? And Paul makes the right choice. He keeps that zeal, but now follows it up with truth. And if we look at the life of Paul after this, we see a common theme. He's constantly praising the father and Jesus in song, in word and in action. He's found singing songs of praise, even in prison, sharing the word of truth with others and sacrificing his whole life to the king of his life. He goes across the known world, not really even knowing where he's going to end up or what's going to face him there, but even then puts his whole trust in what it is that Jesus has for him. Psalm 103 says from everlasting to everlasting, the Lord's love is with those who fear him and his righteousness with their children's children, with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. So here we see wrapped up in an entire psalm about praising God for who he is. This passage shows that true worship must contain action. It must contain obedience just as much as it is about singing or about praise. James 1 continues a little further down, wording it in this way: to God, pure and undefiled religion is this to visit orphans to widows in their trouble and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. Jesus is saying to us that our faith and our worship must be both based in spirit and in truth, must both be based in who our God is and and in a reaction, a response to what he has done for us. And I think the woman at the well takes this perfectly. Her immediate response after she hears who Jesus is, she immediately, leaving her water jar, went back to the town and said to the people, come, come and see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be, could this be the Messiah? And they came out of the town with her and made their way toward him. She rushes so quickly to live out this truth and this spirit that are now within her and from Jesus, that she leaves behind the entire purpose for which she was at the well in the first place, leaves behind her water jar and she leaves behind her shame. And in fact, not only does she leave it behind, she now raises it up as a reason for them to believe in Jesus, just as it was a reason for her to believe. I believe it's time for us to stop hiding, too. I believe it's time for us to stop waiting. It's time for us to worship our God in the way that he desires, not just with a small part, but with our whole being. And our lord and savior, he is at the well right now waiting for each one of us. Please join me in prayer. Father, we're so grateful for the life that we have in your son, for the hopethat we have in you. Please help us to to draw near to you and to to be filled in a way that will last forever, not in a way that goes away temporarily. Father, help us to be worshippers who worship you, not just with our lips, but with our whole hearts are in most being. Help us to praise and to live in a way that praises you. We thank you for this life that we can have. In your name we pray. Amen.

Worship the Lamb Thank you worship team. You may not have thought of that last song as an Easter song, but actually that's one of my favorite Easter songs. And I wonder if you caught the image, the dominant image at the center of that song Worthy is the Lamb. Worthy is the lamb who is slain holy, holy, is he. The dominant image of that song, an Easter song, the dominant image, as I think today of the risen Lord Jesus Christ is a lamb, even though that may not be intuitively what we think about. We worship today the risen Lord Jesus Christ as a lamb. Now, where do we draw this from? This is not drawn from our culture, this is, of course, drawn from how we see him revealed in scripture. And Dan, just read some of this, but we are introduced to this picture, first of all, in Revelation chapter four John the Apostle is given a vision of heaven. He says, I was in the spirit on the Lord's day. And that means that God is revealing to him something that human beings cannot normally see. And he says there before me in this vision is a throne in heaven with one seated on the throne. It goes on in verse three to say the one who is sitting on the throne has an appearance like jasper stone, like sardius in appearance. And there's around this throne a rainbow like an emerald type of appearance. What John is trying to do here is he's trying to put in human language something that no human being has seen. He's trying to describe the indescribable. He is describing how he how he attempts to see with human eyes the glory and the majesty and the splendor of God. But then the vision continues on into Chapter five and here John's attention now in this vision is narrowed down. His focus is drawn to a center point in this vision. We see it in chapter five verse six. Then I saw a lamb, a lamb looking like it had been slain standing in the center of the throne. This is the very focal point of this vision. In the center of the throne is one who bears the appearance of a lamb. And the next few verses describe how all the heavenly beings around the throne, they they prostate straight themselves, they throw themselves down on their faces before the lamb and worship. And then the scene widens out over the next few verses and we read in verse 11, then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels numbering thousands upon thousands and ten thousands upon ten thousands. And what is it that all these heavenly beings and all these angels are saying? In a loud voice they sang Worthy is the Lamb. Worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive power and wisdom and wealth and strength and honor and glory and praise. The scene widens even even more broadly now in verse 13, then John hears the voice, he says, of every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea and all that is in them. And what is it that again now every voice is proclaiming to him who sits on the throne and to the lamb be praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever. And that is, of course, a picture not only of what is going on in heaven now, but what one day will be reality, that every living being, everyone who has ever lived, everyone who lives will proclaim the lamb to be the king, to be the Lord, will proclaim the risen Lord Jesus Christ, to be Lord and King. But I want to take you back to the center of that vision again that we see in verse six standing in the center of the throne. In other words, the focal point, the most prominent place of this vision, the center of this worship is the worship of a lamb. That is not something I would intuitively think about when I think about the glory, the worship that is going on in heaven. I would think more. Something like what Dan read earlier, Dan read from Revelation one, where Jesus, as he manifests himself among his churches, he appears in a white robe and a golden sash, and he has eyes like flames of fire and and hair that is so white that it glows. That's the image I would think of. But that's not the image here. The risen Christ in all of his heavenly glory at the center of heavenly worship reveals himself as a lamb. Why? I mean, my mind will not let me go of that that question, why is it that at the center of how the risen Lord Jesus Christ is to be worshipped, he appears as a lamb, a lamb that we might think of lambs in our human associations as humble, as as gentle as dependent. But actually the lamb is one of the images that is most prominent about the Lord Jesus Christ. We read through scripture and we see scripture speak of the lamb slain, the lamb overcoming, the lamb conquering. We read how scripture speaks about the song of the lamb. The Wedding Feast of the Lamb, the Lamb's Book of Life, the followers of the Lamb. And notice, this is not just a lamb, but it is a lamb looking as if it had been slain, it bears the marks of having been killed. Although it's standing, it is not dead. It is standing. It is very much alive, but it bears the marks of its crucifixion there. Even at the center of worship, the risen Lord Jesus Christ still bears the signs of his crucifixion. Why? Why would the Risen Christ choose this image, the image of a lamb bearing the marks of crucifixion as the image to be at the center of worship? Why would he take this picture of what we call in theology, his humiliation, his crucifixion, his suffering, his death, and make that the image that we are called to worship him by? Because the image of a crucified lamb is the image of an atoning sacrifice, and that is the center of the gospel. And so when Jesus appears in heaven for us to worship him, how does he want us to focus on him? He wants us to focus upon him as the gospel bears out that he is an atoning sacrifice offered for us. And all of scripture points us forward to this image, points us forward to what he has done for us on the cross as an atoning sacrifice. We can trace back in scripture, which I want to do briefly in these next few minutes, we can trace back in Scripture and see how God has prepared us to see this image of the lamb who is slain at the center of our worship. We see a lamb slain from the very first sacrifice going all the way back to the beginning. In Genesis Chapter four, we see that that Abel, the son of Adam and Eve Abel, offered to God the best of his firstborn lambs from his flock. He offers a sacrifice to God of a lamb. And the writer of Hebrews tells us in Hebrews Chapter 11 that God found that sacrifice of Abel of the Lamb to be acceptable. It satisfied, God, it created a right relationship between he and Abel. Why? Because it was offered in faith. So from the very beginning, when we were first introduced to the concept of sacrifice, we see that a sacrifice is offered in faith. What does it mean to offer a sacrifice of a lamb in faith? It means, first of all, to believe that a sacrifice is required, first of all, to believe that God's law has been broken, that as a human being, that I, that we have tried to live life our own way apart from God. And secondly, it means to believe that because of that, we have made ourselves enemies of God. The animosity has been created between God and us, and therefore we need some way to cover that. And it means to believe that God has provided that way through what we call atonement, the ability to offer an innocent life in the place of us. And of course, no human being is innocent. But a lamb is innocent, a lamb commits no willful sin, and so God provided that a lamb could be offered in the place for for Abel, for his sin, his rebellion against God, and that offered in faith God would accept that is covering his sin. Well, the lamb is seen not only in Abel's sacrifice, but by moving a little further forward in the Old Testament, in Genesis we see a lamb at the center of the sacrifice that Abraham offered. You may know the story in Genesis 22 that God called Abraham to offer his son, Isaac, the son of promise, the son that God had said all of the nation of Israel will come from you. And now God is telling Abraham in Genesis 22, I want you to take the life of your only son, your precious son and Abraham not understanding perhaps what God is doing goes to Mount Moriah, takes Isaac. And along the way, Isaac asks the question, you know, I see that we have the wood for the sacrifice and I see we have the fire. But Father, where's the lamb? Isaac even has an understanding that a sacrifice calls for a lamb. And what is it that Abraham says in faith to his son, Isaac, God will provide for himself a lamb for the burnt offering? And that is exactly what we see happen on Mount Moriah, by the way, the same the same hill that the temple was eventually built upon the same hill, the same part of the hill that Christ was ultimately sacrificed at Calvary upon. We see God provide a lamb in the thicket, a ram that that Abraham is then instructed to sacrifice instead of his son. And while some have seen Isaac as kind of a type of Christ pointing to Christ there, it's actually this promise of a lamb. It's that the God provides a lamb as a substitute for the life of Isaac. And in there there's a picture for you and me. Already there is a picture of God providing a substitute, God providing a lamb, the lamb Jesus Christ as a substitute for us so that by faith in him, we would not have to die as Isaac did not have to die. Well, the lamb as we go on in the Old Testament becomes the prominent image of the exodus and in exodus, Chapter 12, when when God is rescuing the the Hebrews from their slavery in Egypt, he does it through a succession of plagues and the last plague is going to be in every house in Egypt. He will kill the firstborn son by a great plague, but he provides a way for the Israelites, the Hebrews, to escape. And it's through the Passover lamb. Sacrifice, slaughter, a lamb. And take the blood of that lamb and paint it on your doorframe. And when God's angel of judgment passes over all the homes in Egypt, the homes upon which he sees the blood of the Passover lamb, he will pass over, he will not bring judgment and wrath, although he will do so for every other house in Egypt. And it's through that provision of the Passover lamb that God passes over in judgment and brings Israel out of their slavery in Egypt. Well, just as the blood of the Passover lamb protected the Hebrews from God's judgment and wrath, so the blood of Jesus shed on the cross is our protection. God covers over our sin because of the blood of the perfectly righteous lamb, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And again, as we work our way forward to the Old Testament, we see that even in the Old Testament temple system, in the daily sacrifice is what's at the center of the daily sacrifices, the way that men and women can maintain a right relationship with God. It's a lamb. Exodus 29 tells us that two lambs are to be offered every day, one in the morning and one in the twilight. And it's through these sacrifices that men and women, it makes it possible for sinful men and women like you and I to approach a holy God, a holy righteous God, and to be made right before him through this sacrifice. Again, here is a picture of how all these sacrifices are made day after day, week after week, year after year. Think of how many animals were slaughtered in this temple system on just a yearly basis. And yet it was never enough, more had to be sacrificed and more had to be sacrificed. But what was this all pointing to? What are we told in Hebrews? All of this points to the ultimate sacrifice, the final sacrifice Jesus offered himself once for all as the final, as the complete, as the perfect sacrifice. We see the lamb again in the sin offering the sin offering is a way that is provided in Leviticus Chapter four, when a man or woman becomes conscious that they have broken God's law, that they, whether intentionally or unintentionally, they have gone their own way. They have departed from what God said, this is the way that I want you to live. They can bring a sacrifice offering. They can bring a lamb as a sacrifice offering, as a sin offering, to cover their sin. And notice the particular detail here in bringing a lamb as a sin offering, the offer is to lay his hand on its head before he slaughters the animal. And what does that symbolize? That symbolizes that the guilty offerers are bringing that sin offering. He is transferring. He is conveying his guilt upon that innocent animal so that when that innocent animal is slaughtered the guilt of the offerer dies with the lamb. The guilt is conveyed to that lamb who is the perfect sacrifice. And again, this points to Jesus, the ultimate lamb. So Jesus, we're told in the New Testament, bore our sins in his own body on the cross. They are by faith, conveyed on to him, transferred to him if we look to him as savior and Lord. All of these sacrifices and ones I haven't even had time to touch on this morning, all of these sacrifices of a lamb, all these sacrificial lambs, what do they do? They point us. They point us forward to the ultimate sacrificial lamb, the one whom John the Baptist identified when he pointed to Jesus and said, behold the lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. William Bacon Stevens said it this way, all these sacrifices that were offered by God's command, all these bloody sacrifices of lambs all through the Old Testament, they derive their value only as they typified and they illustrated this one great sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Calvary. In other words, all of these sacrifices that I've just briefly taken you through, all these sacrificial lambs they were effective only as the ones offering them looked forward in faith to the promised messiah that God said he would send, to the ultimate lamb, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Let me ask you this morning, as you contemplate this sacrificial lamb that all these sacrifices point forward to: Do you like an offerer offering a sacrificial lamb in faith? Do you recognize your guilt before God? Do you understand even that you need a sacrifice? I had to come to that place in my life of acknowledging that I was trying to live life my own way apart from God. Have you come to that place? A sacrifice is only efficacious if first of all, we recognize we need that sacrifice. Have you come to the place where you understand that apart from a perfect sinless sacrifice, you stand under the condemnation and the judgment of God that you will bear the penalty for your rebellion against God? And do you understand the value of offering a perfect sacrifice that God in his mercy and his grace has said if you offer a sacrifice, a perfect sacrifice in place of you, I will impute your sin to that sacrifice. I will impute the innocence of that sacrifice to you. Here is the promise of Easter morning that you and I, we can be redeemed, we can be saved from our guilt by trusting in the precious blood of Christ, a lamb, a lamb without defect or blemish. The only perfect one. The only spotless one. The only sinless one. The only guiltless one. And that is why when we worship the risen glorified Christ today, we worship him as a lamb, we worship him as he is in heaven now as a lamb, looking as if he had been slain, standing in the center of the throne of God in heaven. And as the lamb slain, he is the object. He is the object now, and he will be the object forever of heavenly worship. Why? Because by his blood, by being slain, by being that perfect sacrifice, he has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. Do you notice it's not just for some groups, it's not just for some races or some ethnicities or some nations in the world that the lamb has died, the Jesus Christ has offered him as the perfect sacrifice for every race and every ethnicity and every nation that all colors and all ethnicities and all nationalities will be part of this great crowd around the throne worshipping the lamb because he has ransomed them by his blood. And it's not only that. That image of a lamb continues in heaven, in fact, in the strange mixing of metaphors, we're actually told that this lamb will become our shepherd. Chapter seven, verse 17 for the lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd and he will lead them the springs of living water. He is not only the lamb that sacrifices himself for us, he is the lamb that shepherds us. That leads us to where there is life in its fullest, that cares for us and loves us and leads us. And not only that, this image of a lamb as being powerless, as being dependent, as being somehow too humble to really be something that is effective. I haven't shown you the text here this morning, but this is now a horned lamb. He has seven horns, which as you read in Daniel and other places in Scripture is actually not only a symbol of power, but there being seven horns, it is perfect power. It is ultimate power. And so this is a lamb now that is being worshipped revealing his ultimate power. And though we're told in revelation that there will be those who oppose him, that there will be those who try and defy his reign, we read in Chapter 17 that there will even be those who make war against the lamb, but the lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of Lords and king of kings. So however you were brought here this morning to worship with us on Resurrection Sunday. I hope you've been brought to the foot of the cross. And as you look up, you see the risen lamb, you see the lamb who was slain standing at the center of the throne. And as you look at that image, as you contemplate that this is how the risen Lord Jesus Christ would call you to worship him at the center of heaven, I need to ask you, have you turned in faith to the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world? Do you worship this lamb, do you recognize his reign? Do you recognize him as the one who sits on the throne? Do you cry out with all of the voices of heaven with all of the heavenly beings, do you join them in singing to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever? When we say he is risen, we worship the lamb, the lamb who was slain standing at the center of God's throne, let's pray. This is an awesome image, Lord God, that you've given us in your word. Jesus, we want to see you more clearly, like how you reveal yourself. And I am so thankful that that the image that you choose as the central image at the throne is the one of you sacrificing yourself for us. Your offer of yourself for our sin is at the center of heavenly worship. And Lord, as we worship you today, as we worship you as the resurrected one, that's what we want to keep coming back to, we needed you as a sacrifice. Lord Jesus, we worship you as a sacrifice our Lord Jesus. And so even as we conclude today, Lord, as we sing these next couple of songs, may we do so as an offering of worship? May we like these heavenly voices around the throne? May we sing? You are worthy. You are deserving of all of our worship. You are worthy and deserving of all our praise, our honor, our love, our devotion, our surrender. Worthy is the lamb who is slain. Amen.

The final sermon in our series on Joy. Romans 5 tells us we can rejoice in the midst of suffering. How do we do that? What do we gain? Thank you, worship team, and thank you all for participating in that Palm Sunday reading, that's the Palm Sunday expression, how appropriate today, the Sunday before Easter and yet how appropriate it is this coming Friday where we commemorate that five days, just five days after that triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the same crowd or at least mixtures of that crowd that had claimed him were now calling for his his crucifixion. So Palm Sunday prepares us for Good Friday, which ultimately leads us to Easter Sunday. Well we are looking at - this is the last Sunday in this month's emphasis on joy. We've been looking at the the Christian virtue of joy all through this month. What does it mean that as we become aware that, from the first week in the month, that the father, as he looks at us through what Christ has done, taking our sin upon himself, covering us with his righteousness, that God, the father, delights over us with singing - the ultimate basis for our joy. And from there, the second week, we looked at joy in contentment, how Christian contentment, a totally different thing from worldly stoicism, but how there is great joy in Christian contentment. And last week we looked at the joy that we experienced following Christ as we heed his command to bear fruit by abiding in him. But this week - this is the last week of joy. But it is also the hardest. At least that is my experience with the topic for this week. But again, an appropriate topic as we look forward to Good Friday. And it is joy in tribulation, joy in tribulation. And our text is going to be Romans Chapter five, the first five verses. But I will tell you again, Joy is not something that is natural to me. I don't think it really comes natural to any of us. But some of us, some of us, our personalities. Maybe it's a bigger transformation in our lives. And that's me. And this is the hardest week. This is the hardest week for me personally. I'm imagining some of you will be able to identify that as we go into this topic. So I just want to pause at this moment and ask for the Holy Spirit's help. Would you would you pray with me? Lord, we come to you acknowledging that this work of transformation is totally of you, we can't will ourselves to be joyful. Our attempts to do so are artificial. We want this work, Lord of true joy, to be borne out in our lives. And again, as I've already said, Lord, this is the hardest week for me personally, facing joy in the midst of tribulation. So we ask for your Holy Spirit to do what you promise that he he will do that he will take this word, your word, and he will use it like a sword to pierce to the very center of us, pierce beyond our thoughts, pierced beyond our feelings. Pierce to our will, pierce to the very center of our soul. Do your transforming work through your word, by your spirit. We ask you in Jesus name. Amen. Joy and tribulation. When I think of that word tribulation, it's also sometimes translated as trouble, I think of the words spoken by Job's friend Eliphaz and Job Chapter five. Eliphaz says afflictions do not come from the dust. It's not just chants, in other words, that we encounter trouble in our life. Neither does trouble sprout from the ground. But mankind is born for trouble, as surely as sparks fly upward. I don't know what that image of sparks coming up conjures in your mind, it brings me back to raising three boys, being around campfires, either on a camping trip or in our backyard, having a campfire in the summer or the fall. And one of my sons who will remain nameless, but there's always one pyro and every family is there or not, they really enjoy taking sticks and stirring up the fire, which, of course, releases showers of sparks, or occasionally he'd bring a big log. And when nobody was watching him would throw that log in the middle of the fire again, shooting up sparks and sparks come any time there's fire. But you do something like that. And what happens? You shoot not just sparks, but embers burning embers up into the air, often embers that land on clothing and burn holes in clothing or land on tents and burn holes in tents. And that's the image I think of here, because really what Eliphaz is saying it's an observation of of life that surely, as sparks fly up from any fire, even when nobody's stirring it up, sparks fly up as surely as that happens. So surely does trouble in some shape occur in our lives? And there is the sparks of trouble that just generally comes up. There are the sparks of trouble that, like burning embers, burn holes in our life. They leave permanent impressions. They do permanent damage in our lives. And that's just not an Old Testament observation. That's the truth that Jesus himself says. He's he says it this way in John, 16:33 In this world, and he's speaking, by the way, to people who follow him. He's not speaking to people who disregard him, in this world you will have tribulation. That word tribulation is the Greek word in the original text is thlipsis and bring that out only to say that you can search in a Greek concordance, you can search for thlipsis and see how many times tribulation in some form or another appears in the New Testament alone. I've counted at least forty three times. I would say it's a theme. I would say that tribulation thlipsis is a theme all throughout scripture. And in that theme we see it used to indicate situations of pressure, whether it's external or internal pressure situations where where we experience distress, situations of trouble, situations of affliction. In fact, if you go through all the different occurrences of oh, well, let me let me let me unpack a little bit where the word comes from. The word at that time, the most common usage usage of it was to describe what happens when they make olive oil. They use a olive press. You see here a modern recreation of this. This is in Nazareth Village in Israel, where they recreated some of what life was like. An olive press involved a large stone wheel that was turned around again and again in a hollowed out bowl. The olives were put in that bowl and that wheel think again of the meaning of thipsis as pressure pressing down is the meaning of thlipsis that we all that heavy stone, wheel would press down those olives producing the olive oil. You can even see if you can make it out in the picture on the screen there, you see how it's darkened in the bowl there and around that center post. That's the olives that's being pressed down. So that's the image of thlipsis, the image of being pressed down, the image of a weight of some form on you, pressing you down over and over and over again. As we go through the New Testament and we see all the different ways this thlipsis, this this pressure is used, it describes a whole variety of situations. And my guess is, one, if not a number of these you may be experiencing this morning. There is the thlipsis, of sickness and accidents. There is the thlipsis of disabilities that may result from sickness or accident. There is the thlipsis of worldly losses, maybe a business failure, maybe the loss of material possessions due to events beyond your control. There is the thlipsis of financial struggles, even of poverty. There is the thlipsis of relational griefs, not only broken relationships, but the pressure that we feel when we have a loved one who is going through a painful situation or a loved one who is turned away from the Lord and how that is like a weight, a burden, a pressure upon us. There is the thlipsis of bereavement, of losing somebody that we love to death. That can be a form of tribulation. There is the thlipsis of persecution of when people in the world oppose those who follow Jesus and do so by persecuting them, including even killing them. In fact, as you go through those forty three occurrences, the majority of those occurrences of thlipsis apply to some form, some reference to persecution. But I want you to see this because really the reality that we see, both voiced by by Job's friend and by Jesus and the reality borne out by our experience in life is that everybody experiences thlipsis. And maybe, you know, your first decade or two of life, you don't quite appreciate that, but you get into that third decade and beyond and you begin to understand that as sparks fly upward, there's just a constant flow, some small, some large, a lot in between of thlipsis, of tribulation, of situations that come into our lives and press down on us. And I wouldn't ask for a show of hands this morning, but if I did, I imagine that if I asked you to indicate in some way that even as you sit here this morning. Yeah, you're mind is is filling with something that you are under right now that is pressing down on you. That is some form of thlipsis, I might imagine that would be, if not most of you, all of you or if not all of you, most of you, it is a reality. you don't escape thlipsis. You don't escape tribulation by having enough resources, enough money. You don't escape it by by being of a certain social class. It is a reality in life as sparks fly upward. So we encounter thlipsis we encounter trouble. Thlipsis tribulation is the word that Paul uses in our text today. Romans 5:1-5 when he writes that we rejoice in our tribulations, our thlipsis and Paul. Here, let me just read the text. If you have a Bible, I'm going to read the first five verses of Romans Chapter five. Therefore, Paul writes, Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace and which we now stand and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. But not only this, rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God, we also rejoice in our thlipsis in our tribulations and our troubles. Why? Because we know that tribulation produces endurance, perseverance and endurance or perseverance, produces proven character and proven character produces hope. And this hope, this hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. Paul says that we rejoice in our tribulations. It is easy for me to rejoice, to find joy in the fact that because of what Christ has done for me, taking my sin upon him, imputing his righteousness to me, God rejoices over me with singing. It is maybe not quite as easy, but still easy by comparison to take joy in the contentment that following Christ can bring. there is even a sense of ease compared to this in which I can rejoice. I can take joy in as I abide in Christ, that I bear fruits and the joy that can be derived from bearing fruit, but finding joy in tribulation, rejoicing in tribulation, that seems to push us over the edge. As a young believer, I was under the mistaken delusion that beginning to follow Jesus, recognizing him as savior and Lord, that that would somehow bring this bubble over me. You know, that the tribulations, the problems that I was wrestling with at the time of coming to Christ would suddenly dissolve and I would be protected in some way by from trouble, from thlipsis. And I'm sure if you relate to that at all, you've experienced the same thing that I have experienced. No, in some ways, it turns up the heat, doesn't it, to follow Jesus. I think of a young man in our extended family, I learned just this week, somewhat of a distant relative, but I know the this part of the family well, who a young man with a promising athletic career could have even potentially led to professional sports. And yet through being involved in an auto accident, not his fault, sustained a disability where that dream in one day went away like that. And now I was just told this week by family members that this young man is saying he is angry at God. He has turned away from the church. He's turned away from from the faith that he was brought up into because he's angry at God. And can we not relate? Have we not all been there where we have lost something, where some tribulation has been allowed to come into our lives? And the immediate response is, God, why did you let this happen? So this is common to all of us. In fact, John Calvin said it this way. Tribulations provoke a great part of mankind to murmur against God and even to curse him. How easy it is when we get in situations like that to say, well, God, you must not love me, God, you must not be powerful enough, God, I don't understand this. And in that situation, that is hard allow it instead to harden our hearts. Now, in the case of that family member God has providentially lined up that Cindy and I are going to actually be able to perhaps have some contact with him. And over time, I pray the story is not over, that his heart is not permanently hardened, and that God may even use us in some way to help him walk through that to the place where he can actually rejoice in his loss. Rejoice in his tribulation. So I want us to see this, Paul is not simply saying here when he says rejoice in tribulation, he is not simply saying don't complain about it. He is not even saying just stoically it. That's two weeks ago we looked at why Stoicism is not Christian. He is actually going beyond that to call us to rejoice in our tribulations. The word rejoice as he means it there or as he uses it there, that term means actually to glory almost to the sense to the sense of to boast in we glory, in perhaps academic achievements, or we glory in sports achievements, or we glory in other achievements in life, vocational achievements. In other words, as we reflect on what has been achieved in our life, we take joy in it. Paul is saying rejoice in tribulation. Paul is saying that it is actually a ground of glorying. And now Charles Hodge helpful to me says this. That does not mean that we glory in the midst of tribulation. And I may still have I know I have a long way to go in my spiritual maturity, but I'm not at the point where in the midst of tribulation, I find a reason to rejoice in the midst of it. But Hodge goes on to say, what it really means is that we rejoice on account of them as we reflect what God can do is doing has done in the midst of our tribulations. That is a cause for rejoicing. How? Well, Paul says, we rejoice in our tribulations knowing that. And let me stop there just for a moment. Many commentators say that's like the most important verb in the verse there, knowing that it is not just a matter of feeling that key to everything else in this verse is what we deliberately focus on. The truth that we know that God's word has said is the reality of facing this tribulation, that we rejoice as we deliberately focus on what we know to be true. And that knowing creates a deliberate focus that can overcome our feelings again, Christianity is not about denying our feelings in the middle of hard circumstances, in the middle of tribulations, but Christianity is saying, I am despite how I feel, I am going to deliberately focus on what I know to be true and what do we know to be true. Well, Paul begins to set out here a chain reaction of what we know and how it leads to rejoicing. Here's the first link in the chain, knowing that tribulation produces endurance. And again, I just want to unpack that word for a moment for you, because in unpacking it, you see the meaning of it, the Greek word that that Paul actually uses there is hupomone. It's a compound word. Hupo means under. Mone means to live or to remain. So think of that in regards to a hard circumstances. Some form of tribulation thlipsis in your life to remain under that, to live under that, not just for a momentary time, but to live under that as long as God allows it in our lives without trying to crawl out from underneath it. I have this picture on the screen that I think of when I think of endurance remaining under living under the hiking that I do, I've seen this a couple of times, a tree growing out of a crack in a rock. And if you could see the wider picture there, you would see this tree, this Ponderosa pine all around it or other trees. And they're just growing out of the soil. They're just growing out of the rich soil that's around it. You know, if that tree had conscious thought, can't you imagine that tree looking around at all the other Ponderosa trees thinking, why do I have to grow out of this rock? Why do I have this impediment of this rock in my life when all these other trees just like me around me don't have this burden don't have this impediment, get advantage of - to take advantage of this rich soil? Isn't that how we often look at our tribulation, we look around us and we perceive that what we're going through, no one else seems to be suffering from that. Of course, the knowledge we don't have is of the particular forms of thlipsis that they're experiencing. My life experience is borne out that everybody is wrestling with something, but we don't see that in the midst of our tribulation. And so we look around and say, why does everybody else get that good soil? Why do I have to grow under these conditions of this pressing rock around me? Rejoicing comes Paul is saying here, When we remain under whatever tribulation that God has providentially brought about in our life where we live under it, as long as he has it in our life without trying to crawl out from underneath it, accepting that this is his providential will, we and rejoicing comes when we can come to the place where we can pray like Jesus. Lord, here's my will that you free me from this, but not my will, but your will be done. That's the prayer Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane on Good Friday before he went to the cross. Rejoicing comes when instead we remain under it by turning to his grace for the ability to endure it. This is the first link in the chain reaction. The second link. Paul goes on to say, We rejoice knowing that that endurance, that growing ability to live underneath it produces proven character. And again, I just want to bring out the meaning of the word, I think it's helpful for us to understand it proven character actually comes from one word in the Greek dokimos. And dokimos was a word related to the currency of that day coins were not as neatly minted in that day as they are today. We have nice precise molds that our coins come from. It was a little rougher in those days. And so you get coins that have varying shapes and sizes and the edges. It may have had some extra silver to them and some enterprising individuals quickly figured out, well, I could just take a knife and I could scrape off that edge, that irregular part of that edge. And if I do that to enough coins, I'd have all these shavings that I could melt down and I could take in and and I could actually have silver that I could sell and profit from. Well you can imagine as this caught on that coins could get whittled down further and further and further. And so there was a recognition at some point a coin becomes not worth its weight anymore. Dokimos was the process of of recognizing there is a standard weight. And if that coin gets below that standard weight from people carving it off or anything and just just by wear it's no longer genuine, it's no longer authentic. But dokimos meant that coin was worth its weight. It was authentic. It was genuine. Now, carry that over into what it means to have proven character. You are worth your weight. You are genuine in your faith. You are authentic. Or maybe another way of bringing it out a little more of a modern example is think of what it means to be proven, proven character. What does it mean to be proven? Pastor Stephen Cole gave me a wonderful illustration of this. He lives in Kingman, Arizona, and Ford Motor Company has a proving grounds there in Kingman, Arizona. What they do is they bring in the new models that they have been developing and they subject them to all kinds of stress tests in that hot Arizona heat. And they learn, is this vehicle going to last? Is this vehicle going to endure? So that's where even the campaign that Ford has Ford trucks are anybody know? Ford trucks are built to last. All right. They are proven they are going to last if you buy a Ford truck. This is not a Ford truck commercial, but that's the idea of being proven. You are enduring. You're going to last in your faith. You are authentic and your faith. And that's the cause of rejoicing that when you endure through tribulation, your faith becomes proven. You know, now by experience that your faith is genuine, that it is real, that it is weighty. And there is a wonderful sense of authenticity that you can rejoice in, one you would never experience if you had not been tested, if you had not born that tribulation. So. Tribulation produces endurance and endurance produces proven character, and then the third link in the chain proven character produces hope. Now, this hope is of a little different nature than the hope back in verse two, in fact, I, I could do no better than to read to you from the words of the great preacher Martin Lloyd-Jones, the hope of the glory of God. What we saw back in verse two, that comes from the understanding of the blessing of being justified by faith. That is something that every new believer should experience as we begin, as they begin to follow Christ. But then Paul goes on here in our immediate text today to address how when we go through life and we experience tribulation, it has an effect if we allow it to make us cling to God like we've never clung to God before. And the outcome of that is that we experience his faithfulness to us and in experiencing that he develops proven character in us as we endure. And so we come out the other side of all of that, more certain of the hope. It's a deeper hope even that we experienced as we came to faith. It is the hope of an eternal glory that we could not even fully know before our trials. So our hope becomes stronger. Our hope becomes tempered by the fire of tribulations. You know, that process where a blade, whether it's a sword or a knife, is finally prepared to be used. It's not enough just to forge or sharpen that blade. The blade has to be tempered. It has to be submitted to high, high heat. And it is only through that heat. It is only through the flames that that blade becomes tempered so that it won't break. There is a confidence that it won't break, it won't bend as it's being used. That is the process that God works in us. Paul goes on in verse five and this hope, this hope that has been tempered by the heat of tribulation, it does not disappoint us. It will not leave us ashamed that we have followed Jesus. Instead, it will bring us the experience that God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Knowing that God intends for our tribulations to produce endurance, that in turn produces proven character, that in turn strengthens our hope, that is his way of increasing our awareness of God's love and grace in our lives and towards us. We look back at our trials. This is my experience in the middle of trials and tribulations. Hard to find, joy. But as I look back and I think about some of the difficult things the Lord has brought me through, I wouldn't want to go back there again. I wouldn't want to wish that on anyone else, but I wouldn't trade it away for anything. Because of the effect that God has used it for in my life and as I reflect on that and I realize both his sovereign hand and his loving kindness using that difficult thing in my life, it fills me with joy. There's great rejoicing, recognizing how he has worked something so hard for my good in his life. I want to close with two examples of this rejoicing even in the midst of tribulation because of the effect of tribulation. This is Pastor Wang Yi. This is a pastor that I pray for every week, numerous times during the week. And he's there with his wife. Pastor Wang Yi is the pastor of Early Rain Covenant Church in China, which I have mentioned before. And for reasons that we don't have time to go into, the Chinese communist government is intent on eradicating this church. And they have gone about it by all kinds of measures. And in Pastor Yi's case in 2019, just two years ago, they interrupted a church service and they hauled him off in handcuffs and put him into a mock trial and sentenced him to seven years of hard labor for preaching the gospel, for preaching the good news of Jesus. They arrested several of his elders as well, who've been in and out of prison. They arrested his wife, who is in prison for a short time and now is under house arrest. Any time they find groups of believers from Early Rain Covenant church or even gathering in homes to meet, if they learn of that, the Chinese government clamps down on that, breaks it up, hauls them in for questioning, sometimes puts them in jail. Think of tribulation. We haven't experienced anything like that. And yet in the midst of that, as letters from Pastor Yi are smuggled out from his prison, they're filled with joy. He recognizes God is actually strengthening not just him, but strengthening its church through this tribulation. I think about that we don't face hard to totalitarianism here in this nation, but I think we're facing an increasing soft totalitarianism. I think through what we see through social media and other structures in our culture, there is a growing soft totalitarianism that is coming down harder and harder on anyone who wants to live an authentic life following Jesus and the Lord can change anything overnight. The Lord can return. But if that doesn't happen first, we may be in that situation where that soft totalitarianism may make it so difficult for us that that we have to choose. Am I going to faithfully follow Jesus or are we going to faithfully follow the gospel? Are we going to compromise or are we going to walk away from this? Will we rejoice? Will we recognize what God is doing in the midst of it? Will we endure? Will we be able to remain under it and stand up under its will our faith be proven? Will it be established that our faith is genuine, that we are not shallow ground Christians that dry up when the heat of persecution comes out over us? And then an even more severe example, sometimes God permits his children to go through terrible persecution and even martyrdom. And I think of Graham Staines, an Australian missionary in India who in nineteen ninety nine ministering among Hindus in India, a group of radical Hindus surrounded his vehicle. He was in the vehicle with his two young sons who you see in that picture there, and they set the vehicle on fire and burned them to death. He suffered giving even his life. Any reasonable person would ask, how can you rejoice in that, how can you rejoice in the death of those two young boys, much less this adult man who's made this choice to be there? And you know what? If heaven is not real, if Christianity is a myth, then, yes, this is nothing but a waste. But if heaven is true, if what Jesus did on the cross at the empty tomb, if that is true and that's what we celebrate next Sunday, if we truly believe that that is true, then it proves that this hope does not disappoint us. We will not be ashamed for taking a stand even where we're called upon to give our lives, because even if we don't experience it in this earthly life, in eternity, we experience that hope of the glory of God. That's what Graham and his sons are experiencing even now for all of eternity. That's what men and women have given their lives all throughout church history, are experiencing even now. And so we rejoice in our tribulation, knowing that, focusing on setting aside our feelings and deliberately focusing on what we know to be true, not allowing our feelings to cloud this perspective. And what is that perspective? That eternal perspective? Paul says it in Second Corinthians 4:17, that this momentary light affliction, whatever it is in your life and my life, is momentary light affliction. God is actually using to produce for us an eternal weight of glory, a weight of glory far beyond all comparison, far beyond what we can imagine. And knowing that deliberately focusing on that, we look not on the things which are seen the temporal, we focus on the things that are unseen, the eternal. And then finally, one more piece of the perspective, really, the piece that puts it all together, the piece we celebrate on Friday and Sunday, we look to Jesus, who the writer of Hebrews says Hebrews 12:2 knowing that deliberately focusing on that Christ, Jesus, our savior, our Lord for the joy, awaiting him for the joy that he could see that the father had waiting for him. He endured the cross. He endured the tribulation set before him, disregarding the shame we look to Jesus, the author, the finisher of our faith, who models for us what it means to consider it joy that we may be led through tribulation. We look to Jesus, the one who gives us grace, to go through whatever the Lord lays before us. That is tribulation, knowing that for the joy that awaited him, he endured the cross he despised. He disregarded the shame. Let us pray. Father, I of course, I cannot know what each person sitting here is experiencing, what you even bring to their minds about the thlipsis, the tribulation that they're in the midst of. And for some, it might be sickness, it might be disease, it might be accidents. Others it might be financial struggles. Some might be relational grief. Some may be here grieving in bereavement for the loss of someone beloved. Some may even be experiencing some form of opposition or persecution. I think of the brother from Africa who came up to me after the first service expressing the actual persecution that he and his family experienced there because of their faith in Jesus Christ. Whatever it is, Lord, I would imagine that really, if not all of us, most of us right now are wrestling with some form of thlipsis in our lives. Would you, by your word, as your spirit works your word into our hearts? Would you by the truth of your word? Would you help us to focus on to know that in the midst of it, in the midst of our tribulation, you are producing in us endurance the ability to remain under it? And in doing that, you are producing for us proven character the genuineness of our faith. And in doing that, you are making our hope grow. You are giving us an even greater hope than we had when we came to faith in you initially. And that you do that all Lord, that we would have an even greater view of you when you do that, Lord, that we would glorify you and worship you. And we do that now. We pray this Jesus in your name. Amen.

What brought Jesus joy? How can His joy be in us? Joy is found as we "remain" in Christ, the True Vine, and bear fruit. Thank you, Josh, and worship team. Just a quick word for those who are watching online. We're going to be coming to the Lord's table shortly after the sermon. So if you don't have your communion elements gathered yet, do it even right now, if you have your Bibles, I hope you do, open them to John. Chapter 15. We'll be looking at John Chapter 15 in a few minutes, primarily verses 9 through 16. You know, we have been in a series on Joy, the Christian virtue of Joy the last couple of weeks, really all of this month leading up to Easter. I don't know if you have found the same thing for yourself that I've found for me. Joy doesn't come naturally. Christian joy doesn't come naturally to any of us. But some of us need this more than others. Some of us, by our personality make up, we are not naturally joyful people. So I am truly in this series speaking as one beggar to another beggar about where to find food. This is an area that the Lord is definitely working on my life and in my life. I've had some good conversations with a number of you about the last couple sermons and about joy. One of the themes that I've heard is, is how do we get a bearing on joy? Is it is something that we're supposed to be feeling? Is it an attitude? Is it a mindset? Is it a series of actions? What actually do we mean when we talk about the virtue of joy? So you may find this helpful, hopefully, as I have Peter Kreeft, who is a well-known Christian philosopher, he is a professor at Boston College. He really helped me bring this a little more into focus as he distinguishes between pleasures and happiness and joy. Look at what he says. Joy is more than happiness, just as happiness is more than pleasure. And then and then he brings it into a little more definition. Pleasure is in the body. Pleasures are the bodily pleasures that we experience here in this earth. Happiness is in the mind and feelings. So to some extent, happiness is something we we we have come up in our thought lives, come up in our emotional life. But Joy, he says joy is deep in the heart. Joy is deep in the spirit. Joy is deep in the very center of the self. One more little focus that he brings to us and he's speaking about everybody who is alive or has ever lived, for that matter, everyone wants pleasure. But more deeply, everyone wants happiness. But most deeply, everyone wants joy. And I think he's I think he's nailed it there, you know, Sigmund Freud, no friend of Christianity, Sigmund Freud. Sigmund Freud actually ridiculed the Christian concept of joy. Freud said that joy is really just a substitute for physical pleasure. He's thinking specifically if you know Freud in his writings about sexual pleasure. In other words, Freud is saying, you Christians, you search after joy because you are not being fulfilled with physical sexual pleasure. But he has it completely 180 degrees upside down. Thomas Aquinas, who wrote much earlier than Freud, really got it right when he said this No person, no person can live without joy. That is why a person who is deprived of spiritual joy seeks physical pleasures, seeks carnal pleasures. Aquinas goes on to say, Joy is neither a substitute for physical pleasure, but physical pleasure is often a substitute for spiritual joy. You find that resonating with your experience? I do in my own experience, I do. When I look at the world around me, so many people chasing after physical pleasure, I think of times in my life where I was so motivated to chase after physical pleasure, when what I really want, even though I didn't know it, was joy. And those in the world who do not know Christ, maybe that some of you watching today or here today, if you find yourself focused on what is bringing you pleasure, even the little things that you continue to habitually go back to, dig down deeper, because really you are trying to feed a hunger that can only be fed when you tap into spiritual joy. That's why we are focusing on this virtue of joy. We started a couple of weeks ago on March 7th with the last few verses in Zephaniah, that obscure Old Testament Prophet Zephaniah 3, particularly verse 17. And we saw that for one who knows God through Jesus Christ as savior and Lord, the ultimate source of joy is that because of the righteousness of Christ, God rejoices over us. He is not a stern God ready to zap us for stepping out of line. He is not an angry God. He's not a distant God for his children and Jesus Christ. He rejoices over us with singing. And that is where our joy is rooted in this life as a believer. Last week we looked at joy and contentment, comparing it to the stoicism that seems to be making a resurgence in our culture today. Joy and Contentment in Philippians, Chapter four. Today, we're looking at a different aspect of joy, which I'll introduce in a moment. But it comes out of Jesus's words in John 15. If you have your Bible, I invite you to follow along as I read. Back in October, I preached the first eight verses of Chapter 15, so I'm going to pick it up in verse nine. Again, the setting is Jesus is is probably in the upper room. Either that or he and his disciples have left the upper room and they're on their way to the Garden of Gethsemane. This is just an hour maybe before he is arrested and which leads on to his suffering and ultimately his crucifixion. These are his final words to his disciples before he is crucified. As the father has loved me. Jesus says, so have I loved you. And just by the way, he's speaking to those who were there at the time who were his followers. But he speaks these words, come down the centuries and speak to all of us. He's speaking to you if you are a follower of Jesus Christ. As the father has loved me, Jesus says so I have loved you. Now, remain or abide in my love, if you obey my commands, you will remain, you will abide in my love, just as I have obeyed my father's commands and remain or abide in his love. I have told you this so that my joy, Jesus says, may be in you and that your joy may be complete, may be filled. My command is this love each other as I have loved you, greater love has no one other than this that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command, I no longer call you servants because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends for everything I learned from my father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. Then the father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command. Love each other. So much in there, so with little time, we will not get through it all, but I want to take you back to what Jesus says about joy in verse 11 as we are thinking about, again, what is the source of a Christian's joy? Where is the joy that we experience as we follow Jesus? Verse 11 Jesus says these things I have spoken to you. He's talking about everything that was in that discourse in the upper room leading up to his crucifixion. All has taught there these things I have spoken to you that my joy, Jesus's joy may be in you, may be in you and me, if we are followers of Jesus and that your joy may be complete, may be made full. In other words, Jesus wants his followers, if you're one of his followers, he wants you and me to experience the joy that he experiences. He wants us to be believers who experience joy in all of its fullness and all of its completeness. So let me ask an honest question, is that your experience, is that my experience? I will speak from my experience that is that is not reflective of my life, though I desire it to be. I don't characterize my life as one that is filled with joy, but I'm very drawn to this and convicted that he wants his joy to be in me. He wants his joy to be in you. He wants our joy to be complete. So there's something that gives me a great hunger for this. I'd ask you kind of the follow on question, if we are not experiencing this joy, what are we chasing to try and experience that joy? If what Aquinas says is correct, that that actually when we chase after physical pleasures, when we chase after earthly happiness, we're really trying to, though we don't know it, we're trying to to find that joy. What is the physical pleasure? What is the myth of happiness that you find yourself like a hamster on a wheel chasing after and never, never finding when you really searching after joy. I want to know this, Joy, I want you as my brothers and sisters to know this Joy. Jesus describes it as as his joy. What let me ask you what brought Jesus joy? Because if we understand what brought him joy, that his joy is the joy he wants in us, that it be filled, maybe that helps us take some steps towards this. There's much we could say in scripture, but just staying immediately in our text verse 10 gives us some indication of what brought Jesus joy. He says, if you obey my commands, you will remain or abide in my love, just as I have obeyed my father's commands and remain and abide in his love. We see some hints of what gives Jesus joy, obedience, pleasing the father walking in his will gave Jesus joy. Think of the words of the writer of the letter to the Hebrews. Hebrews Chapter 12 for the joy that lay before him, Jesus endured the cross, disregarding the shame walking in obedience to the father's will, though it took him all the way to crucifixion on the cross, Jesus says, brought him joy. So obedience as we obey, as we seek to live a life that is pleasing to the father. There is joy in that. But that's another sermon. That's not today's sermon. Jesus also indicates another form of joy that we can experience, and that's in that theme of abiding our remaining. To abide in Christ, to remain and Christ means to rest in him, it means to rely on him, it means to stay with him. And we touched on that a little bit back in October. That's another sermon. But there is great joy in abiding in Christ, remaining in Christ, relying on Christ. That's another sermon for another day. The thing that I want to focus in on today that brings Jesus joy and therefore is a source of our joy is what we see in verse 16. Jesus says to all his followers, You did not choose me, but I chose you and I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit. Fruit that will last. We are if we are followers of Jesus, we know Jesus as savior and Lord, we are chosen. We did not choose him. No matter what your background, no matter what the details are of how you came to faith in Christ, it was God drawing you to Jesus. Jesus says this and John six forty four. No one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws them to me. So out of his sovereign grace. If you know the Lord Jesus, out of God's sovereign grace, he chose you and he drew you to Jesus. He drew you to faith. And why did he do that? That's the next word there. You are not only chosen by by God, you are appointed. You are set apart. In other words, he did not just choose you to save you is significant as our salvation is. Again, if that was all it is, we'd be in heaven now. He chose us and he set us apart. He appointed us. He has a purpose for us, even still being in this world, being on this side of heaven. That is even what was read in the scripture today, the very last verse of that section in Ephesians. We have been created anew in Christ Jesus for good works. He saved us. He created us anew. He gave us new spiritual life because he has work for us to do, because he has a good work for us to do as we walk in it. So we have been chosen and appointed to do what Jesus tells here, to go and bear fruit. Jesus earlier in that chapter uses the image of a vineyard, and you and I, if we know Christ, we have been brought into Christ kingdom, we've been brought in to become part of that vineyard. We become branches attached to the vine of Christ. And why do we know about a vineyard both then and now? A vineyard that doesn't bear fruit has no point. The purpose of a vineyard is to produce fruit. And yes, as we saw earlier in the chapter back in October, fruit is, while it's not defined in those verses, fruit is certainly the fruit of the spirit, the fruit of Christian character, the fruit of Christ's likeness. But notice the wording here in verse 16. Here it is, the fruit that emerges from going from being sent. It is the fruit that emerges from mission, it is the fruit, in other words, just to use two common terms, it is the fruit of evangelism and discipleship. So what kind of joy is Jesus speaking about here? Jesus is speaking about the joy of bearing fruit. He is offering to you and me a joy that comes from being used by God in the lives of other people to help someone grow in gospel faith, either coming to faith initially or growing and being strengthened in that faith. Jesus is saying there is great joy in being used by God to help someone grow in gospel faith. Why it is bearing fruit bring Jesus joy? Why does it gladden the heart of Jesus when you allow yourself? When I allow myself to be used in the lives of others to to bring them to gospel faith and help them grow and gospel faith. Jesus tells us in verse eight. By this my father is glorified that you bear much fruit. It glorifies God when someone comes to faith. It glorifies God when somebody is growing in gospel faith. And so it brings Jesus joy when we allow ourselves to be used in the lives of others, to grow them in gospel faith, because ultimately it glorifies God. Let me give you just a couple of biblical examples of this, help dial it in on what we are actually talking about here. John the apostle, the one who wrote the gospel that we've just been reading of, he knew the joy of bearing fruit. John, as you probably know, in addition to the gospel wrote three short letters, we find them almost at the end of the New Testament just before Jude and Revelation. And in third, John 4, John writes this, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. Now let me let me define that just for a moment here. He is not talking about his biological or adopted children. He's not talking about the children that that he may have had as part of his own family. This truth applies to that. But he's talking broader than that. He is most likely he was writing this letter to a man named Gaius. So he is most likely writing to Gaius and some of the other men and women who are part of the small Christian fellowship that Gaius was part of. And really what is happening here is, he is invested in these people's lives. He spent time with them. He has served them. He has ministered to them. He has taught them, he has his fellowship with them. He has, you know, what we would call discipled them. And then ministry has called him away to some other place, but he hears reports coming back. Hey, Gaius is still going strong. Gaius is actually become a leader in the church now, and it gives him great joy. Gaius and and the other men and women there walking in the truth. Walking is that biblical image of our way of living. The Bible uses walking as an image of of like life is a journey. And of course, we can either walk in the way of truth, walk according to gospel truth, walk according to the truth of God's word, or we can walk in the ways of the world. And he hears that in spite of persecution, in spite of his absence, that these men and women are continuing to walk in the truth. I had the privilege of having dinner last night with somebody I've not seen for 40 years. He is somebody that we went to high school together who happened to be in town. And he was in the same youth group that I was. I came to faith in an evangelical free church at about age 13, had the privilege of being in that youth group and growing in that youth group. And so did this man. And as we got together after not seeing each other since high school graduation last night, you know, the conversation, went as it normally would go and when you haven't seen someone in a long time. Hey, have you heard about you know, and of course, there were people that we could think of that are no longer walking in the truth. But that conversation blessed me so richly because really what we focused on is how many people that were part of that youth group that were part of that church in our age range that we know today are walking in the truth. Some of them are in vocational ministry, but that's not the test, some of them are on the mission field, some of them are in various professions, but they're living for Christ in their professions. Some of them we know are are raising Christian families in small town insignificant settings. But we realize so many of our peers back then are walking in the truth. What caused that? We had a good pastor, but there was no special programming in that church. We we certainly had great youth pastors during that time, but there were men and women who are youth sponsors, who are our Sunday school teachers. There were others who held no official role, but were just adults in the church who took an interest in many of us. They were whether they knew it or not, they were bearing fruit. Their investment in us produce a great crop of fruits. And I rejoice and I believe that those in heaven one day, those who are the pastors and the youth sponsors and the Sunday school teachers, they will one day rejoice as they become aware of how many of the people their lives touched are walking in the truth. That's what John is saying here. There's lots of of ways that you can experience joy in this world. There is no greater joy, John says, than seeing those that you have invested in in one way or another walking in the truth. This eclipses all accomplishments. This eclipses all experiences, seeing those that you have spiritually invested in walking in the truth. Well, not just John, but the apostle Paul as well experienced the joy of bearing fruit. He writes to a number of believers in Thessalonica in the small church there, and he writes again, this is after he's left them. He's spent time with them and after he's left them, First Thessalonians 2:19 for who is our hope or joy or crown to boast of before the Lord Jesus at His coming? Before I finish his quote there, what is he saying there? When I stand before the Lord Jesus one day, Paul says, I am nothing to bring before him. I am saved by his grace alone. But what will come to mind as I hear the words good, well done, good and faithful servant, those that I have invested in, those that I have borne fruit in. And so he goes on to say in verse 20 is it not you? You are our glory, you are our joy. Because Paul had spiritually invested in these people and because at least some of them had responded and they've grown spiritually as a result. He has joy now and he has joy as he is. He anticipates the future. He knows that he's going to see them in heaven. There's joy now and there is joy in heaven and there is joy in heaven because he knows that the Lord will reward him for bearing fruit. I know this goes back a number of years, but maybe some of you recall the Christian song by Ray Bolls. Thank you. Do you remember that song Ray Bolls sings as a songwriter and he sings of being in heaven one day, and he's speaking about someone that he knows who's in heaven alongside with him. And the verses go on to to describe watching as this friend in heaven has person after person come up to him, a man comes up to him who says, when I was eight years old, I was in your Sunday school class and because you invested in me and you spoke the gospel to me, I came to Faith. Thank you for for doing that. I am here in heaven because of that. He describes another person who his friend does not even recognize coming up to him saying you gave money to support missionaries and those missionaries brought us the gospel. And I am here because I heard the gospel and responded to the gospel. And, you know, that song goes on and on. But one after another, he says he sees coming to him saying thank you for giving to the Lord. I am a life that was changed. That's the sentiment here. There is joy now, certainly, as we hear reports of how people that we have invested in, that we have ministered to, that we have served are growing in the Lord. But there is joy to come. And for everyone here today, if you know Christ as savior and Lord, I just want to underline this. This is not just for those in vocational ministry. This is not just for those who are on the mission field. Bearing fruit is the joy that is available to every believer. Jesus calls every one of us who follow him to bear fruit and experience this joy. Now how do we, let's say we're not gifted in evangelism, let's say we have no role, no position, how is it that we bear fruit? Well, I love the very simple image. I'm a simple man. I like simple images. I think of this simple image in First Corinthians three, where Paul speaks of planting and watering. Paul says there are one or there are some who plant. There is another. There are others who water. They all work together for the same purpose. By the way, it's not on the screen there, but he goes on to say, and God causes the growth. But do you get that? There's that image, first of all, of planting. There is that image of intentionally in the conversations that we have with people in our social circles and in our family circles and work circles who do not know Christ. There is always that opportunity to plant seeds of who Jesus is and of the gospel. But we can't plant those seeds if we keep them in our pockets, can we? There has to be some intentionality. Doesn't mean I have to do a full gospel presentation in every conversation, but am I intentionally sprinkling seeds in the conversations that I have at work and in my extended family gatherings and in my neighborhood and in my other social circles, we bear fruit. We will one day and heaven see the fruit that comes from planting seeds that we didn't even have the opportunity on this earth to see them sprout and come to maturity. But there is also opportunities to water the seed. There's opportunities where we are in relationship. We befriend people who they've heard the gospel and they need to be encouraged in the gospel and people who've responded to the gospel who need someone to come alongside them and help them grow in the gospel. There are opportunities to each one of us every day in the circles that God providentially puts us in to plant and to water. And what does he say? Both those who plant and those who water will one day be rewarded for their hard work. They will one day see the fruit that they have been part of bringing about and they will be rewarded. I know we in the evangelical church, we are not comfortable with the concept of rewards. And in one sense I get it. Just like we read in Ephesians two today, we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone. And even the faith to respond Ephesians 2 says is given to us as a gift. We don't stir it up in ourselves, but that same passage goes on to say that we are saved, to do good works, good works of planting, good works of watering, which God prepared beforehand when he knew what social circles that you would be in that we should walk in them. Is it no accident that Jesus gives us the parable of the talents that each one of us have been given seed, each one of us have been given opportunities and relationships, each one of us have been given resources, and each one of us like those different servants in the parable of the talents, will one day come before Jesus. And show what is the result of what what he has given us? How have we invested it? What fruit has it has it born? What is it that he says to those who who have invested the opportunities and the resources that that God has entrusted to them and it has borne fruit, fruit for the Gospel. They will hear these words from Jesus. Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little. I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. Do you not want to hear those words? I long to hear those words. Nothing, nothing, brothers and sisters will bring you or I greater joy than to hear those words. Well done. Good and faithful servant. What we do with the opportunities we've been given, no matter how little or insignificant they may seem, what we do with those little opportunities that God gives us now is directly related to the degree of joy that we will one day experience and heaven. When you bear fruit, when you allow yourself to be used by God to plant or to water, not only do you experience joy now as you see some of the fruit of that, but you will one day experience great joy as you are rewarded in heaven. And you hear those words well done good and faithful servant. So let me ask you in closing today, are you living on mission? Do you see mission as just that's what people in vocational ministry or people on the mission field are all about? Or do you see mission as something that we are all on that he has put every one of us in mission fields? That mission field may be your immediate family and maybe your extended family it maybe your work situation it maybe your neighborhood. Whatever social circle it is, it is a mission field. Do you see yourself on mission? Are you building your kingdom or are you seeking to build Christ's kingdom? I've lived too much of my life building my kingdom. I've lived too much of my life worrying about accomplishments and achievements and positions, and it's all a pile of dirt. I want to live for Christ's kingdom. I want to invest, I want to be on mission and bear fruit. Are you reaching out beyond your comfort zone? It is so easy, especially with the ongoing effects of covid, to want to stay within our comfort zone to not wanting to go outside of our bubble. But are you willing to reach out beyond your comfort zone to befriend and bless lost people? Seed needs to be spread all around us. Are you willing to go beyond what is comfortable for you to spread that seed to to befriend, to build relationship with and be used as a blessing in the lives of lost people? Do you take the great commission seriously? Do you consider it is not just something that's supposed to be part of a church's mission statement, that it is not something that is just for people in vocational ministry or people on the mission field? Every one of us is called to make disciples of all the Earth. Do you take the great commission seriously? Are you willing to do whatever you can with what God entrusts to you the opportunities and resources he gives to you to make disciples of Jesus? This is what we're called to do, but this is where our joy comes from. This is where joy comes from that eclipses any other joy that you and I will experience here in this life. Let me close with this, every day is a new opportunity, but every day is one day closer to when we see Jesus face to face and we don't know when that day will come. What are you doing with today? Will you invest, will you allow him to use you in little or in big ways, whatever he puts before you, to bear fruit, to be part of bearing fruit, to invest in people spiritually? I love and I'm challenged with what C.T. Studd said the great British missionary lived about 100 years ago. "Only one life will soon be passed. Only what's done for Christ will last." We may accomplish many things in this earthly life, we may have many achievements, we may amass financial security, we may have a lot of relational connections. All of that will burn away. None of that will be left. Only where we have borne fruit will that last. Only what we do for Christ will continue with us into eternity. Let's pray. Jesus, once again, I am preaching primarily to myself. And maybe there our brothers and sisters here who who can identify with me, but I just confess I have spent too much of my life in barrenness and I don't know whether I have years left or days left. But, Lord, I want to use every day, every year that you give me to bear fruit. And I imagine, Lord, there are some here today who who are at the same place where maybe they've tasted of many good things that life has and they've enjoyed many things in life, but they realize that's not where true deep joy is and that's certainly not what will be brought before you. But you give us opportunity every day to bear fruits. You give us an opportunity to be used by you in the life of other people, drawing them to and helping them grow in gospel faith. And so would you reorient us today, Jesus, by your spirit? Would you turn our concept of of earthly joy inside out? May we go for this deeper joy, this joy that is known in being part of your kingdom, this joy that we experience in being part of your agenda, the joy of bearing fruit. We want to hear the words one day, Lord Jesus. Well done good and faithful servant. We pray this in your name and for your glory. Amen.

The book of Philippians is often noted for its expressions of joy. What is the relationship between contentment and joy? Thank you, worship team, thank you, John. I just underline what John said about praying for the pastoral search team. If you're not aware of this, they are doing their first interview, a video interview of one of the candidates that they're taking a very close look at. They're doing that today at 3:00 p.m. and I know they'd covet your prayers. You pray for them, for wisdom, for discernment, just to hear the Spirit's leading even as they go through this season of very intense interviewing. Now, three o'clock today, if you want to mark that for prayer, if you have your Bible and I hope that you do either in print or on your phone, I invite you to open to Philippians chapter four, the Apostle Paul's letter to the Philippians. We are this month. looking at the Christian virtue of joy, that aspect of the fruit of the spirit that is to be growing in the life of a genuine believer. This is something the Holy Spirit blossoms as we come to Christ and begins to grow and mature and ripen. Philippians out of really any book in the Bible, particularly the New Testament, is the book that stands out as the book known for Joy. 16 times in the Book of Philippians either the word the noun form joy or the verb form rejoice is used by Paul sprinkled all through the four chapters of this letter. And I think it's particularly noteworthy that that three times he gives an actual exhortation. Actually, that's probably not strong enough. He gives a command. Rejoice in the Lord. In fact, the one you see up on the screen there, verse four, is is really a double command. Rejoice in the Lord. Again, I say rejoice. That word rejoice - the Greek word that Paul uses there - it literally means to be glad. It means to be delighted. Now, I wonder is if you think back about the last 12 months, I wonder if you feel some dissonance with us talking about Joy this month. I don't know if you realize it, but almost a year ago, I think it was March 10th or 11th. That's in 2020. That's when kind of all the restrictions of this pandemic came down around us. Think of all that you have walked through, all that we have walked through, all that people that you love have walked through and suffered and loss in the last 12 months. Does that stir up joy in you? Does that stir up being glad and being delighted? Think about our nation has gone through our world, but in particular our nation, with its unrest and its division, the lack of unity that we've seen not only in our nation, but even in the church. Does that stir up that sense of being glad, being delighted? You know, there's a real dissonance, at least that I feel in talking about joy. This again, this would not have been a topic that I naturally in my flesh would have picked. Maybe that's particularly why we need to focus on this virtue of joy this month. The source of joy, when we think about the last 12 months, if we root the source of our joy in our external circumstances, we are going to think about what we've lost and what we've suffered and what we've sacrificed. There isn't going to be that sense of being glad or being delighted. But here's the truth. Here's the truth of scripture. The source of this kind of joy that Paul is talking about, that God is speaking to us about through the apostle Paul. It is not rooted in external circumstances. In fact, even as we look at the context in which Paul writes this letter, Paul, whether you realize it or not, Paul is in prison writing this letter. It's probably prison in Ephesus. We have some evidence he is chained on either side to a Roman guard. He doesn't have his liberty. Do you think we were locked down over the last 12 months? He is ultimately locked down. You think that we have been cut off from from our friends and and Christian brothers and sisters and been denied having fellowship over the last 12 months? He is in a prison cell cut off from his friends and his brothers and sisters in Christ. That's where he is when he's writing these words, that is the situation, the external circumstances of his life as he is calling us to rejoice in the Lord. So we need to hear that command, that exhortation to rejoice in the Lord in a different way than we maybe naturally think about it. I like what A.W. Pink has to say about this command to rejoice in the Lord. A.W. Pink is a devotional writer in England in the 20th century. He writes this about that command Rejoice in the Lord. Does this mean that the Christian, as always, to be happy? No, he says it is actually the very reverse, it is because the Christian finds so much in himself and in what is going on around him to sadden him that he is directed to look above, look above and rejoice not in circumstances. Rejoice in the Lord. He concludes, We are not called to rejoice in our own experiences or our own circumstances, but in the Lord. And more on how we do that a little bit later. Let's look at our particular text this morning. I'm looking at kind of some of the closing verses in Chapter four, beginning with verse 10. In verse 10 Paul writes this - It's kind of the thank you note on the end of this letter. I'll explain that in a minute - "I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last you have renewed your care and your concern for me." So a little background. We learn about the church in Phillipi, the people that he's writing to, we learned about it. And at 16, you may remember that Paul is in Asia Minor and he is attempting to go in different directions in his missionary journey. And he has stopped cold by the Holy Spirit. And he one night is given a vision of a man in Macedonia saying, come over here, bring the gospel to us over here. So Paul gets on a ship and crosses the Aegean Sea and he makes his way to the first major city, which is Phillipi. He finds a place of prayer. He finds where people are gathering on the Sabbath at the the bank of a river. And there he begins to speak about Christ. And you may know the story, but a woman named Lydia, a very influential woman, God does a work in her heart and converts her. She comes to faith in Christ through Paul's preaching, but because of what God is doing in her heart. And out of that conversion, the little church in Phillipi is born. It begins to grow and more people begin to come to Christ. There is a church, a body of believers. Now, Paul is soon after forced out of Phillipi by by persecution and he moves on in his missionary journey. But that group of believers, the church in Phillipi, they continue to grow and not just in numbers, but in strength. And we get some indication, as Paul writes Second Corinthians, that the church in Phillipi, they are financially funding his missionary work, Second Corinthians eight. He refers to the churches in Macedonia. That's Phillipi, the churches in Macedonia sacrificially supporting him. They were sending him funds to enable to him to continue to go and plant churches, preach the gospel and plant churches. And they were doing it sacrificially. They were giving money that they didn't have. So when he writes here in verse ten now at last you have renewed your concern or your care for me, that indicates that there's been a break in that. They had been giving faithfully to him in support of him and for some reason were not given details. It had been a while since he had received anything from them. Now he goes right on in the second phrase of verse ten to say you were in fact concerned about me. He's relieving any anxieties, relieving any guilt that they may have about this break and their support. In other words, he's saying, I know you care. I know you have not stopped caring for me, but you lack the opportunity to show it. Again we don't have really a lot of detail. We don't have the facts of why there was this break in their support. This lack of opportunity to show it may have been because of their deep poverty. That's what Second Corinthians eight indicates, that these were people who had little to nothing to begin with. They were already giving sacrificially. And they just may have gotten to a point where they didn't have anything to give or it may have been because they couldn't find him. You know, they didn't have the communication, obviously, that we have today. Paul went on his journeys. Paul got sucked up in the Roman justice system and found himself in prison in Ephesus. It may have taken them a while to track down what had happened to him and where he is. But he goes on to say it's not on the screen, but in verse eighteen. If you look in your Bible, he says, I am now received from Epaphroditus, the gifts that you sent. And so they send this member of their body Epaphroditus with a financial gift that is ample, as the text indicates. And it is now finally reached Paul as he writes this. So, you know, he's writing this a bit as a thank you, but that's not his main point in writing. This is not just a belated thank you note. He now uses this as an opportunity to encourage them about finding joy and contentment. And this comes back to our theme of joy, where do we find joy? Well we're going to see we find joy in Christ, but one particular way that we find joy in Christ is in contentment, in the contentment that Christ gives. He introduces that in verse 11 when he says, I don't say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. That word content is the Greek word autarkēs. Strongs gives it some definitions here: to be satisfied, to be strong enough to need no aid or support, to be independent of external circumstances. Now, I don't know what you think about when you think of the word content, but the particular word that Paul uses here as they hear it and their culture with their background, it hits them in a way that I didn't really realize it until I studied this passage again in preparation for this sermon. Sinclair Ferguson probably says it best. Paul's use of this term, and this letter to these people must have been startling to them, shocking to them. Why? Because this is a stoic term. This is a term that is a main significant term in the philosophy, the world view at that time known as stoicism. Now, I don't know what you think about when you think about stoic or stoicism. Somebody told me after the first service today, I think about Bud Grant. You know, you Minnesotans who've been here a few years, do you remember the Vikings back when Bud Grant was the head coach? What was his facial expression when he won? What was his facial expression when they lost, you know, even emotions totally under control, not over reacting. Maybe you think of you know, I think of the the Scandinavians who made up my my first church in central Minnesota, the Norwegians and the Swedes, 90 percent of the church had son or quist on the end of their name, you know, and there was a stoicism because their ancestors had come over and started with nothing in the middle of winter, you know, and so they were known for their stoicism. Well, that's maybe, you know, maybe what we think of as stoicism that we're familiar with. But stoicism, of course, was a dominant Greek philosophy. There are men like Seneca, philosophers who are famous for it. Even a Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius, is known as a teacher of stoicism. But this is not just ancient history. And it's not just, you know, some some cultural significance. Stoicism is making a resurgence today. My three twenty something sons, they're they're reading Jordan Peterson. You know, Jordan Peterson is the clinical psychologist from the University of Toronto. Actually, Jordan Peterson, I think, is being drawn to Christ. But in his writings up to this point, whether he claims it or not, he advocates stoicism in response to all that's going on in our nation. He is a teacher of stoicism. I think about even in the midst of this pandemic, there have been YouTube sites, YouTube sites, YouTube channels that I have seen spring up that are about stoicism. And they're not for academics. They are for me and you, the average person making a case for how do you face the things that we're struggling with in the middle of this pandemic? The philosophy, the mindset of stoicism. So what is stoicism again? You know, this is not a sermon on stoicism. But let me give you just kind of what I think are a few main bullets of stoicism. Why? Because I really want to contrast how they may have first heard him use the word content with what he's really teaching here. So here's stoicism in a nutshell. Stoicism says, first of all, recognize what you can and cannot control in life. Stoics say there is so much suffering because we are trying to hang on to and control the things that are out of our control and basically they say about anything that is transient, you can't control your health is transient. I mean, you can do some things about your health, but you don't have ultimate control over it. Your relationships are transient. You don't have ultimate control over your relationships, particularly when people die. Your possessions are transient. You may think you can hang on to them, but, you know, circumstances happen and you lose them. So if you are invested in trying to hang on to the things and control the things that are transient in your life, the Stoics say, you are going to experience needless suffering. So recognize what you can control and let go of what you can't control. Secondly, the Stoics would say you determine your reaction to a crisis. The one thing you do have control over when circumstances roll over you that are painful, that are difficult, that bring suffering and loss, you can control how you respond to them. That's where that kind of moderated emotionalism comes into play. And that folds right into the third one. Don't let your negative emotions dominate you, the Stoics say. Master yourself and learn to move on. That's stoicism in a very, very condensed down nutshell. So let me ask you is, since Paul is using a term, the main term of stoicism, is Paul here teaching a Christianize version of stoicism? I've seen that out there in some of these YouTube channels that, yeah, this is Christian, Paul taught stoicism. Is that what he's teaching here? Is he is he advocating the Greek philosophy, the world view of stoicism? No. Let's go on. And I think we'll see this verse twelve. He expands on what he's just said about contentment. "I know how to have a little and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content." Now, Paul, preconversion Saul of Tarsus, you would have not describe him as a man who is content, Paul even says looking back to his pre conversion life, he says about himself in Galatians Chapter one, I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my peers. I'm pushing. I'm pushing. I'm never satisfied. I want to continue to get ahead, he says. I was extremely zealous for the traditions of my teachers. I am at work. I am intense about this. I intensely persecuted the Church of God and tried to destroy it. So this is not a man who naturally knew contentment. Maybe you can relate to him. I know I can. Contentment does not come naturally. Contentment, the kind of Christian contentment that he's talking about here has to be learned. It has to be learned. And Paul, Saul of Tarsus, through his conversion and then all that he has been through, God was teaching him. He was in the school, God's school of learning contentment so that he can say, now I have learned the secret of being content. And let me tell you that secret is not stoicism. Now, you hear stoicism, somebody said after the first service to me, you know, I realize how much I'm kind of I kind of embrace that stoicism I can relate to. Stoicism is naturally a draw. You go through enough pain and enough hard things and life, and you tend to just naturally move in the direction of stoicism. But here, let me point out the subtle errors of stoicism. Stoicism says that contentment is found in self sufficiency. It's looking within. It's calling on my own resources and calling on my own strength. But it doesn't take long, does it not, to get to an end of our strength? It doesn't take long to find out that we don't have what is sufficient. So Christian contentment, the kind of contentment that brings joy, is just the opposite. It doesn't turn us inward. It turns us upward. Another error, subtle error of stoicism is it advocates seeking to be free from all wants or needs. Deny your needs, deny your wants. Well, that is a subtle form of Platonism, which often leaks into Christianity. Platonism is basically that mindset that says your body is evil, your spirit is good. Christianity is about your spirit, not your body. Repress your body, deny your needs. That's error. That is error. The Bible clearly teaches that Jesus saves both our soul and our body, that ultimate glorification when we meet Christ face to face is a glorified spirit and a glorified body. Stoicism also has the subtle error of advocating seeking emotional detachment and indifference, deny, repress your emotions. But the Bible teaches that God is a God of emotion, and God has created us in his image as emotional creatures. And you read through books like the Psalms and you see that God actually encourages the reverent expression of all of our emotions. There's no denying our emotions in following Christ. So I just simply sum it all up and say this, especially if you're drawn to stoicism, like I'm naturally drawn to stoicism. What stoicism seeks contentment, peace, the gospel of Christ alone provides. And if you're drawn to that peace and you're drawn to that sense of contentment that you hear in stoicism, that you hear in writers like Jordan Peterson, it's actually the gospel that's drawing you. That's where true contentment true peace, true joy is found. We see the gospel in Paul's secret of contentment, and he says it here in verse 13. He's been building to this. I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me. That's how he gets through situations where he's in need, where he's deprived of even the basics of life. That's how he he subsists even when he has more than he needs. It is right here. Now, let me do a quick aside here, because this is one of the most misused and misinterpreted verses in scripture. This is, I read this week, and this is so accurate, this is a verse that you see trinketized. You know what I mean? You know, you see it on coffee mugs and you see it on bumper stickers and Bible covers, but it is so often misused. And I'll give you a classic example. I am a Tim Tebow fan. Tim Tebow is from Jacksonville, Florida. So I know his family kind of through acquaintances, wonderful Christian family, missionary family. Tim Tebow led the Florida Gators where two of my sons graduated to the SEC championship when he was the quarterback. And so I'm a fan of Tim Tebow. I just need to say that. He's a strong Christian man in our culture. But here is you see up on the screen, you see the cover of the Sports Illustrated in 2009. And this is at the height of his his college fame. And I think you can see it in this picture. But just in case you can't, the blacking that he puts under his eyes, then written in white on it is this verse Philippians 4:13. Well, you can imagine what so many people did with this verse - oh, he's advocating this is the secret to his football success. That if you just believe that God is able to give you all the strength you need, you can become, you know, a champion in whatever you do. And that is unfortunately, that is a common misinterpretation of this verse. This is, I'll read you the words of a well-known prosperity preacher who this is his message. He would preach from this verse or he has preached from this verse, don't focus on your limitations. All things are possible if you have enough faith, if you just believe enough, you can overcome any obstacle. You can climb to new heights. You can achieve your destiny. Well, that is a misuse. That is a misinterpretation of this verse. That's unfortunately what probably many of Tim Tebow's fans thought of when they saw him doing this. But in defense of Tim Tebow, he has publicly explained what he meant. And I've got it on the screen and I want to read it. Tebow says this. He said this publicly. After that, there was the controversy about this Sports Illustrated cover. "The verse (Philippians 4:13) is actually about contentedness in all circumstances. It's not about being able to throw a better pass or make a better play on the football field. It's about being content with the victory secured through Christ." How important that is, you see how we can misuse this verse so easily, can you imagine two football players on opposing teams and they're each riding in their cars to the game that they're going to play against each other? And both of them are are Christians and both of them are praying Philippians 4:13. God, give me the strength to accomplish the victory in this game. And I believe that you will. Well, what happens at the end of that game? Somebody has won and somebody has lost. So what's happening in the car rides home? Somebody says, God, you came through to me for me. And the answer to that verse, what's what's happening in the other car? Well, God, you let me down. God, you weren't true to your promise. You see how we can so easily misinterpret and misuse the verse. So when Paul says I can do all things through him, through Christ, who strengthens me, he is not teaching that God gives you the strength to do whatever you desire to do, whatever you set your mind to do. This is Paul who says, I have learned the secret of contentment both in need and in abundance. This is Paul who has learned it through persecution, who through being beaten, through going through times where he was starving. Paul is teaching this. It is in the context of serving Christ, doing Christ's will, that this verse is true. This is the assurance that Christ strengthens us to carry out his will, not our own will. That's not necessarily on the football field, but wherever Christ calls you to do your will, you are a young mom and you've got little kids and you are struggling to be a mom in the way that Christ calls you to be a mom and a wife. The way Christ calls you to be a wife, he gives you the strength to be able to do that. You are somebody who works out in the business world or the medical field, and you desire to walk with integrity that glorifies Christ in the middle of situations where it's often hard to be a man or woman of integrity. This is a promise. He strengthens you to do that because that is his will. So let me finish up with a couple closing comparisons of stoicism's form of contentment and the kind of contentment that Paul is teaching about that leads to joy. Just four simple comparisons, Stoicism says, again, recognize what you can control and what you cannot control. Christian contentment says, recognize that everything, everything, all of your circumstances, all that you have is under God's control. I love Sinclair Furguson, favorite preacher of mine. He says this, The contented believer is the one who believes that God's provision is always sufficient and God's appointments are always appropriate. God's provision is always sufficient for you whether you feel you have enough or whether you are lacking. He is provided for you out of his love and his wisdom exactly what you need to do, his will in the middle of the situation that you're in and God's appointments for you, where he puts you are always appropriate. The circumstances that you find yourself in even right today. If they are difficult, if you are going through trials, if you are suffering, he has again in his love and wisdom, put you right in the middle of them. And he is working in ways that you cannot see. And it is appropriate for how you live out his will that you are in the circumstances that you are in. That's Christian contentment. Stoicism again teaches seek emotional detachment, seek emotional indifference, deny those emotions, particularly sadness and grief. Christian contentment teaches. Bring all of your emotions. Bring them before the Lord in prayer. I pray every day. I pray through a Psalm. I work my way through the Psalter, get through it a couple of times in the year. I make the Psalm I'm reading into my prayer and the vast majority of Psalms there such great emotion. David starts at this low place in so many psalms or he is confused, he is frustrated, where he is angry, where he is sad he is grieving and he pours that out before the Lord. And as you go through the psalm, you see how God moves him in prayer to a place of contentment, to a place of peace. That's a model for us, bringing our emotions before the Lord in prayer. Stoicism says seek to be free from all your wants and all your needs. Christian contentment says no. Rejoice in the Lord, in your wants in your needs and even in your abundance. Don't forget rejoicing in the Lord when you have abundance. Don't think God has abandoned you when you are in want or you are struggling with needs. A.W. Pink says this "In every circumstance that the Lord has put us in, he's given us abundant cause to rejoice in him, to draw our joy from Christ. He has given us his favor. He has given us his love. He gives us his faithfulness. He gives us his forbearance, his patience with us. He grants us access to the throne of grace. He's given us the privilege of communion with him. He's given us the promise of eternity in his presence," the place of ultimate joy, the ultimate bliss. Finally, stoicism teaches, contentment is found in self-sufficiency, Christian contentment teaches contentment, and even joy is found in trusting in Christ's sufficiency. I am not sufficient in myself. No one here, no matter what resources you have, how strong you are, how smart you are, how connected you are, have sufficient resources in and of yourself. It is only through Christ. It is only in Christ, in vital personal union with him that we have, that comes from abiding in him, that we find true contentment and ultimately the deepest joy. We find deep joy, joy that carries us through whatever it is that the Lord has allowed into our life, no matter how much of a hurricane your circumstances feel like right now, he gives us that deep joy that comes from this form of contentment. It is in the words of the old the old hymn writer like this, Jesus, thou joy of loving hearts, thou fount of life, thou light of men from the best. Blessed that earth imparts we turn to you unfilled again. Let's pray. And Lord Jesus, we make that hymn, we make that our prayer. You are the joy of the hearts that love you, not what's going on in our life, not what we have, not what we think we have attained, which is all fleeting - there the Stoics have it right. But you are the joy. You are the source of the joy in our hearts. You are the fountain of life. It's where we find what it really means to live. You are the light of men. You are the one that guides us through the darkness, through the fog and confusion of this world from the best bliss that earth imparts. Lord, we just acknowledge there is no promise of bliss, of happiness, of joy that is offered on this Earth that is anything more than a vapor. And it's from now those false promises that we turn to you again. We ask you to fill us, fill us with contentment, fill us with joy, draw us to abide in you. Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen.

As Christians, how can we be joyful in adverse circumstances? What is the difference between happiness and joy? Good morning. If you have your Bible today, I Encourage you to open it to the Book of Zephaniah, it's one of those books that's so short and to a certain degree so overlooked, commonly overlooked that you may even struggle with where to find it. It's the fourth book from the end of the Old Testament, just three short chapters. And we'll just be popping through it very briefly and dwelling on Chapter three. I thought it would be helpful to step back for a moment and give you the big picture of in my remaining time here what it is that I hope to do on Sunday mornings. And it begins again with what we believe the mission of Calvary Evangelical Free Church is the mission of Calvary. Evangelical Free Church is we exist to glorify God by making disciples of Jesus, disciples of Jesus who live our passion for Christ and compassion for people. That phrase make disciples, of course, it's Jesus's final commands to us before he ascends into heaven. It's his mission statement to all the church and every church has to wrestle with - What does that mean? How do we go about making disciples? What even is a disciple? So we have some way of knowing how we're going about it and how we measure how we're doing. We have as Calvary leadership, we have attempted to bring into more of a focus - What does it mean when we talk about discipleship, as we're thinking about making disciples and we are using something called the Christian Life Profile. It is it is a tool that has been used here at Calvary for the last number of years, certainly prior to me coming as part of our leadership development cohorts here at Calvary. And the Christian life profile defines a disciple - at least the way I would condense it - as somebody who is being transformed by Jesus, allowing Jesus to transform them in three ways. First of all, in their beliefs, in their their convictions about what is actually true. We think of that as the head. And then secondly, a disciple is allowing Jesus to transform them in their virtues, their inner disposition, as the Holy Spirit does his transforming work in our hearts. And that's why we use the heart to signify virtues. And then thirdly, a disciple is someone who is allowing Jesus to transform them in in their practices, in their their behaviors, how they actually go about from their beliefs and their virtues to live out their life. And we signify that by hands, our behaviors, what we do and what we practice. So with that in mind, what I have been doing, at least started in February, is we'll slowly, month by month work through some of these beliefs and some of these virtues and some of these practices. We won't get through all of them in my remaining time here. But it is something that I think even as the next lead pastor comes, that the board is going to ask that that he continue to bring out and the preaching and in a way that is appropriate to him. So the way I've chosen to do it, we started in February as we took the first belief. In February, if you were here during any of those Sundays, we worked through the first belief, and that is our belief in the Trinitarian God. God, the self existent one. God, the creator. God, the one who makes himself known to us as the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. This month, March, we will be moving from beliefs to virtues, and we will be looking at the first virtue, and that is the virtue, the inner disposition, of joy. And I need to tell you right up front, that is not the one that I would have picked that is not one that I believe is a strength in my life, although it is certainly one that I desire for the Lord to transform me more in. I took it because its first on the list. But that's what we're going to be looking at in the month of of March: Joy. Joy, Galatians5:22 says is a fruit of the spirit or an aspect of the fruit of the spirit. So it is something we expect to see developing more and more as the Holy Spirit, once a person surrenders their life to Christ and the Holy Spirit fills them, that the Holy Spirit is producing more, is ripening more in their lives, but joy is something that remarkably we see clearly in the early believers. And I think, first of all, I think of of Acts 13:52 that's up there on the screen. This is said about two early disciples, Paul and Barnabas, Paul and Barnabas, it says, and the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the spirit. What you have to understand is the context of this. This is not written when everything is going well in Paul and Barnabas Ministry. They have just been kicked out of Antioch of Pisidia. The persecution against what they were preaching against the Christ that they represented rose to the point that a mob formed and physically threw them out of the city. And yet the very next verse, this is what is said, that even in the midst of that, that opposition, they were filled with joy. That's how people perceive them, filled with joy, I think, as well - it is not up on the screen here today, but I think of the early believers and the churches that made up the churches in Macedonia, II Corinthians 8. Paul tells us that these believers in these churches in Macedonia, they were being tested by many troubles, by many afflictions. They were very poor. They were suffering extreme poverty. And yet, he says in the very same breath, but they were filled with abundant joy. So the first thing that I would make an observation about Joy, is is joy is unnatural and by that I mean it does not come to us naturally. I am not joyful when circumstances are hard. I am not joyful, naturally joyful when I am facing opposition or trials. Joy being filled with joy is unnatural to us. Apart from the work of the spirit in us, it's unnatural in the midst of opposition and affliction and deprivation. The other thing I would say about joy as an opening observation is it is uncommon and sadly it is uncommon, even in the church, how many Christians that we meet, where their countenance is dour or even angry, where you would not say of them as as they said about the believers in Macedonia, they were filled with joy. And so when we do meet Christians like that, it stands out. It draws us magnetically to them. I think about the two most joyful people that I know, Ross and Cathy, husband and wife that have been very dear friends to Cindy and I for many, many years. Humble, simple people, people who, when their only son was six years old, he was killed in a tragic accident. And rather than that embittering them rather than that making them turn inward on themselves and being angry at God, it made them more humble. And now they exhibit a true joy. It draws us to them. They are the most joyful believers that I know. True joy, the kind of joy that that we're talking about here has the virtue that the Holy Spirit wants to produce in us as part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit is unnatural and uncommon. So even the last couple of weeks, as I have been preparing for this sermon, I have been trying to get a handle on what exactly is Joy. You know, the word is used out there in our culture, but it's used so lightly it's fluff. What is this kind of joy that we're talking about that the spirit wants to produce in the heart of a follower of Jesus Christ? I've looked back at some of my favorite old writers, one of my favorite devotional writers, J.R. Miller, wrote in the nineteenth century. He says, this: "Joy is deeper than happiness." He doesn't say that happiness may not be part of joy, but he says that joy is deeper than happiness. In fact, he goes on to say this about happiness: "Happiness is the fruit of prosperous conditions. Happiness is the outcome of favorable circumstances." You and I know that, don't we? When things are going well in our life and we have enough money in our bank accounts and we're healthy and relationally things are going well, it's pretty easy to be happy to feel some kind of sense of happiness, is it not? But what happens when circumstances turn? What happens when there's not enough money and there's relational strife and our health is impacted and we're suffering in various ways? What happens when we face in following Christ opposition and persecution? If happiness is the measure, happiness evaporates in those kinds of circumstances. Miller rightly says joy has to be deeper than happiness. He goes on to say: "Joy is independent of circumstances." Whereas happiness is dependent upon circumstances and wavers and rises and falls based upon circumstances. Joy is independent of circumstances. He says Joy can grow in any soil. Joy can live under any condition. Joy defies environment. Joy can grow even when you lose your six year old son, Joy can survive. Even when you're suffering from cancer, joy can thrive in your life, even when you don't know how you're going to pay all your bills. Joy, ironically, just in this contradictory way, Joy can actually be the strongest when troubles are coming. I recently had lunch with an old friend of mine who is down here for a second surgery at the Mayo Clinic, Jim Anderson. He's the former associate superintendent for our north central district here, and I've known Jim and Lois for years, Jim is going through a battle with brain cancer. And a couple of years ago, he had his first surgery and they removed the cancer from his brain but couldn't get it all. And they waited over the next couple of years and the cancer grew back. And just about two months ago, he had to have a second surgery to, again, remove that cancer from his brain. And he doesn't know how much longer he's going to live. And Jim has always been a person who exudes joy. But I've actually seen as he walks through this, this dark valley of brain cancer that he's even more joyful. It's as if what he is walking through has matured that aspect of the fruit of joy in him. That is the mystery. That is almost the self contradictory nature of true joy. It truly does defy environment. It truly does grow in any soil, even the hardest soil. So what is Joy? I have not been satisfied the last couple of weeks with the dictionary definitions of joy, with the cultural definitions of joy. I want to know what that joy is, that when I look back at the first Christians, the accounts of them that we see in scripture, how they were filled with joy, even in the midst of opposition and trials and suffering and persecution, I want to know what it is. And as I look at them and read those accounts, I am convinced of this that joy is more than an emotional state. Now, I do think there is emotions that we experience with joy, but it is more than an emotional state. I think joy can exist, as I see in the example of the early believers and the lives of people like Jim and Ross and Kathy. Joy can exist even in the midst of grief. Joy can exist even in the midst of confusion and hurt and pain. Another writer who has helped me get a little more of a handle on joy back to the 17th century. The Puritan Thomas Watson, Watson says this: "Joy is not mere imagination." What is he saying there? He's saying that it is not simply an emotion that that we can stir up somehow by an act of our will. It's more than that, he says. Joy is rational. Joy arises from the feeling, from the experience of some good. I'm going to finish that quote. But before I finish that quote and tell you what Watson believes is the basis of joy that we experience, I want to make sure you understand what he's saying here. Joy has a rational basis. It is not some fleeting emotion. Joy has a foundation that it arises from in our life. Joy grows in our hearts out of our conviction and experience of a fundamental truth. What is that truth? This is really what my whole sermon is about this morning. I want us to understand what the root of joy is for a believer. I want us to understand what that fundamental truth, that foundation, that joy is built upon. And I think it is found in the conclusion of Watson's quote, the rational basis for a Christian's joy, the root from which his or her joy grows and flourishes is this, in the words of Thomas Watson, joy comes from "the sense of God's love and favor." I want to read this next line to you, because I just want to make sure I get it word for word, right. Because it is so important. Joy is a deep sense of well-being that is based on the knowledge that because your sin has been forgiven by Christ and you are clothed with his righteousness, God now has only love, compassion and deepest affection for you. God now looks upon you and treat you with gracious favor, and even where God allows trials and affliction and suffering to come into your life, he does it because he intends to use it for your ultimate and eternal good. That is the basis of a believer's joy, that God has nothing but love and absolute favor for the one who walks in the righteousness of Christ. So if you are in Christ today, if you know Christ as savior in love, your sense of God's love, your sense of God's favor towards you is your source of joy. And that's what will cause you to thrive and have joy even in the most bitter soil of circumstances around you. Now, I want to show you the rest of this month. I want to show you from different places in scripture where that is true and how that helps us in bitter soil, how that helps us as we walk through suffering and trials and confusion and even opposition. And this morning, in the remaining minutes that I have, I want to do that in what I think is one of the most unlikely places in scripture to see Joy, and that is Zephaniah. Zephaniah is one of the minor prophets. And if you've read any of the minor prophets, you've read them all. What is their message? You are rebelling against God and so judgment is coming. These are not books that just exude joy. But Zephaniah, I will show you. Zephaniah gives us not only a picture of joy, but a picture of joy in the midst of hard circumstances. I'm not going to go through all three chapters, verse by verse. We would not have the time for that. But let me just place it in the setting so you understand the context and what's going on there. Verse one of Chapter one opens up with "The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah son of Kushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah during the reign of Josiah son of Amon, King of Judah." Zephaniah is prophesying during the reign of the good king Josiah. Josiah was king after a series of evil, rebellious kings over Jerusalem and Judah. And the people, though, of Jerusalem and Judah in those reigns before Josiah, they had largely turned away from the Lord. They rejected the faith of their ancestors of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They turned away from Yahweh, they'd embraced the cultures around them. And what those cultures taught them were the things to run after and follow after. So really the word that we could put on them is apostacy. Zephaniah is called and Josiah is raised up during a period of apostasy, of great apostasy in Israel. And God uses Josiah and Zephaniah faithfully. He uses them to call the people back to him. But ultimately they don't come back to him, at least not most of them. Zephaniah warned the people of Jerusalem and Judah that if they did not turn back to Yahweh, judgment was coming. We see that in verses two and four. "'I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth,' declares the Lord... 'I will stretch out my hand against Judah and all who live in Jerusalem...'" And you know what? In spite of that warning, they didn't turn back. And twenty years after the reign of Josiah had ended in five eighty seven B.C, God allows the Babylonians to to come in and conquer all of Judah and Jerusalem and destroy much of Jerusalem and lead the people off in slavery into exile. So that's Zephaniah. It is a depressing book until we get to the end of it. Chapter one is all about the coming judgment and the warnings about the coming judgment. Chapter two, it gives an appeal that it is still not too late to repent. I think we have to ask the question, you know, why would the God of Israel bring judgment on his beloved nation? Why would he allow that to happen? Isn't this the nation that he raised up from Abraham? Well, he tells us in chapter three. As chapter three opens, Zephaniah speaking for the Lord and he's speaking to Jerusalem and Judah collectively as representing the people. So he's speaking to the people and he says this: "Woe to the city of oppressors, rebellious and defiled. She obeys no one. She accepts no correction. She does not trust in the Lord. She does not draw near to her God." Now, at this point, it would be easy to say that happened then what does that have to do with now? But I want you to think about the parallels that exist between what was happening in Jerusalem and Judah and the culture of that time and what is happening in our nation, our world, but particularly since we the nation we live in is what's foremost on our minds, what is happening in our nation today. I think it is undeniable. There are parallels between what is happening with the state our nation is in and the state of Jerusalem and Judah, at that time, there is that same moral rebelliousness, that moral rebelliousness that Zephaniah is prophesying against in Jerusalem and Judah, that pushing off of God's authority over our lives, that God is the one who defines what is right and wrong, that moral rebelliousness has swept over our nation. Maybe in prior periods of history, there were there were pockets that morally rebelled against God. But now it is the majority of our culture. Moral rebelliousness is really rampant. It is really descriptive of our American culture today. There is that same sense of self-sufficiency just as the people of of Jerusalem and Judah said basically, even if they didn't say it this clearly, we don't need God. We got plenty of other things to choose from. We're responsible for our own happiness. We don't need God. So that is the culture of our nation today, our nation that says we've got it on our own. We are autonomous, we are independent. We don't need God. There is that same sinful spirit of self-sufficiency and there's that same turning away from the Lord. That's the meaning of the word apostasy. And if we think about our nation as a whole, while certainly we all know people who love and follow Jesus, when we look at our nation as a whole, apostasy is the word that I would put upon our nation. Our nation has largely turned away from the Lord. So what Zephaniah speaks to Jerusalem and Judah. God speaks through Zephaniah to our nation today. And when Zephaniah warns about coming judgment, he uses the phrase the day of the Lord. Yeah, there was a there was an initial fulfillment of that and five eighty seven B.C. when the Babylonians came in and wiped out Judah and Jerusalem. But there is an ultimate fulfillment that is still yet to come. The day of the Lord at the end of times, I believe, as I understand end times and eschatology, that begins with the tribulation period, that could begin at any point, that God will judge all the nations of the world in the ultimate day of the Lord. So the warning that Zephaniah delivers to Jerusalem and Judah is a warning that God speaks to even our nation, all the world, but our nation today. It's hard to read through these any of the minor prophets, but especially Zephaniah. With all the warnings of coming judgment, it's hard to read and not ask, well, what is God going to do? Didn't God make a covenant? Didn't he make a promise to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob? How will he honor that covenant if he brings judgment, if he allows judgment to come upon his people? And that's where we have in the light of God's revelation in the New Testament, Romans 9:27. We're told the judgment is coming, but there is a remnant God will preserve a remnant, a remnant will be saved. And Zephaniah calls the people at the beginning of chapter two and verse three. You can be part of that remnant. Look, seek the Lord. Are you humble of the land? You who do what he commands, seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord's anger and that beseeching that offer was real to anyone at that time who would respond to him. And that offer today is made through Christ. The offer to become part of the remnant is the offer that through faith in Christ, through turning to Christ as the son of God, the righteous one who deals with our sins at the cross, that we can be grafted into that righteous remnant. So even today, ahead of the coming day of the Lord, that offer is there to all who respond, who will respond to it, you can be part of the righteous remnant you if you come to Christ with humility, if you come to Christ seeking him with repentance, you can become part of this righteous remnant. That call still goes out today. That call goes to anyone here this morning. Again, just because you're in church, I don't make any assumptions about where you are with the Lord. And if you're here this morning and you know that you you are morally autonomous person, you decide what is right and wrong. You are trying to live life your own way without God. That warning of judgment is there. But that offer that you can come to Christ in humility and repentance and be grafted into his righteous remnant is there. The offer is real. Anyone who repents from their moral rebelliousness, anyone who repents from their self sufficiency, anyone who turns to Christ is grafted in to that righteous remnant and being part of that righteous remnant even as judgment is coming means, first of all, that your sins are forgiven. That's that's the promise we see in 3:11. God forgives the remnant and he cleanses them from their sin. On that day, you will no longer be ashamed. There's no longer the shame of sin for you will no longer be rebels against me. In verse thirteen, the remnant of Israel, their hearts will be changed so that they no longer do do wrong. They no longer speak lies and no deceit is found in their mouths. And not only that, but the promise to those who turn to Christ as the righteous remnant God promises them security and peace, even in the midst of a world that opposes them. Even in the midst of coming judgement, they will eat and lie down, and no one will make them afraid. God promises that he will rescue them from their oppressors, that he will shelter them from judgment, that he will protect them with his presence. And again, that's true today. Even in our culture around us, the opposition that we face, even with coming judgment, if we, if we live through the tribulation period - that's certainly where my eschatology would lead me to believe God promises to shelter us. It's not in doubt. It's not a perhaps like Zephaniah articulates in Christ, we are perfectly sheltered. Verse fifteen. "The Lord has taken away his judgements against you. He's cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst. You will fear disaster no more." So I again, I want us to dwell for just a moment on the parallels today. There is just as there was in the time of Zephaniah, there is the certainty of coming judgement. The day of the Lord is coming. God will not allow the rebelliousness to exist forever. God will call all peoples to account. All moral autonomy will be silenced forever. The day of the Lord is coming. And just as there was in Zephaniah's day, it is true today the call to become part of the remnant. The offer is still extended to to anyone who will come to Christ in humility and repentance. But now I want to circle back to joy where we began. How in the midst of a world that opposes God, how in the midst of the looming threat of judgement, the coming day of the Lord, how can we find joy? How could the remnant back in Zephaniah's day find joy, knowing that they live in the period of great apostasy, knowing that judgment is coming upon them, how could they live with any joy? And that's that question is for us today. How do we find joy in the midst of a culture that has largely turned away from God that rejects God? How can we live with joy? How can we find joy when we live with the anxiety that judgment is coming? I want to come back to what I said about Joy earlier. Here's where Joy comes. Your sense of God's love and favor towards you is your source of joy, even in the midst of apostasy, even in the midst of oppression, even in the midst of suffering. And I draw that from the verse in Zephaniah that I will never forget, after studying at the last two weeks from chapter three, verse 17, listen to this, let this envelop you if you are in Christ, let this wash over you, even as you think about the world around us, even as you feel the anxiety of of coming judgment. "The Lord, your God is with you. He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love. he will rejoice over you with singing." Let me get very direct with you just for a moment. Christian, do you believe that God takes great delight in you? Is that your picture of God? He delights in you. Do you believe, Christian, that God rejoices over you so much that it comes out as God singing over you? That is the experience that he wants you to have. That is the foundation of joy. Why is this so hard for us to believe that God rejoices over us, even in singing? Why is that so hard for us to believe? I think it's hard for us to believe, first of all, because of our own sense of ourselves, I think most of us, we are conscious and we are burdened by our own sinfulness, even in our walk with Christ. We know the areas that still have to be surrendered fully to him. We are conscious and we are burden of the many areas in our life where we know we are still unfaithful. And so we look at ourselves as unworthy. We look at ourselves as undeserving. It is so hard for us to bring ourselves to think that God actually rejoices over us. I think another reason this is so hard for us to believe is our experience with other people. While we experience love, hopefully from other people, it's always imperfect in this world on the side of of Christ's return. And so because of that, we experience people's disappointment with us. We experience people's sometimes rejection of us. It's hard for us to believe that other people rejoice in us and delight in us. And then I think this is hard for us to believe because we believe Satan's lie, though he constantly whispers in our ears that God's heart towards us is actually somewhat begrudging. It is disapproving, it is stern, it is ready to come down on us when we mess up. Here's the reality. The truth is here in Zephaniah 3:17, nowhere else in the Bible is it recorded that God sings over his creation as it says here, that he sings over the one who is grafted into his righteous remnant. Do you hear this in the strongest possible way? God expresses his delight in those who become his remnant people. Do you believe he delights in you? Do you believe he rejoices in you? It's the same language that we see in the beautiful image in Isaiah 62:5. Listen to this. Let this wash over you as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride. So shall your God rejoice over you. Do you remember the joy of your wedding day? I hope you if you are married, I hope you had a joyful wedding day. And regardless of what has happened since your wedding day, can you put yourself back there at the altar? I remember nothing else about my wedding ceremony than that part of the ceremony when I saw Cindy begin to walk down the aisle. And I'm still overwhelmed as I think about what I experienced that day. Do you remember whether you were the bride or the groom? Do you remember looking at your partner and thinking, this person delights in me? This person wants to give their life to me, this person rejoices in me. And whatever is passed since then, that sense that you got at the altar of this person rejoicing over you, wanting to bless you with all of their favor delighting in you, that's the picture that Isaiah gives of how God perfectly looks at us. It's not marred by circumstances. It's not marred by what's happened in marriage like it is in our lives, the joy of our wedding day is when we look at the one that we are about to marry and we say, I am loved, I am valued, I am treasured. This person rejoices over me. And that's what God says to everyone who is grafted into his righteous remnant. You are loved. I love you. I rejoice over you. I am for you. I want to pour out my favor upon you. That's where the foundation of our joy is. That's what helps us survive in the harshest possible life circumstances. When we can come back to that foundational truth, that rational basis that we are loved. And he is for us and he rejoices over us and everything that he allows in our lives, he allows because it will ultimately be for our ultimate good, our eternal good, that enables joy to grow and thrive no matter what we face. So if you are in Christ this morning and I hope you are, I hope you have become part of his righteous remnant, God now has only love, compassion and deepest affection for you. I want you to hear the words again of Zephaniah 3:17. God takes great delight in you. God quiets you with His love. He wants you to rest in how much he loves you. God rejoices over you so much so that he cannot help but sing in his rejoicing over you. That is the foundation of your true experience of joy, your experience of joy, even in the midst of suffering and loss, even in the midst of a world that seems out of control. So as we go forward this month, from that rational basis, from that foundation, we will we will look at how scripture teaches us in the midst of the hardest circumstances that we face and the confusing circumstances of our lives. How do we come back to that root? How do we come back to that foundation? How can we be people who, like those early believers, were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit? Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I come as a beggar, I I need to know your joy and experience more of your joy. And I imagine there's many of my brothers and sisters here today who similarly feel the same way. Lord, would you bring us to that place beyond what we think of ourselves, beyond maybe the the rejections of other people, beyond even the lives that we so easily believe about how you look at us? And would you bring us to this place where we begin to see ourselves as the bride being looked at by our bridegroom who rejoices over her? Would you bring us, Lord, to this place where more and more we would see in the midst the hardest circumstances that we face? You rejoice over us, you delight in us, you sing over us. And may that change us. Lord, may that be something that not only fills us with joy, but radiates out to a world that is is so joyless and so thirsty and hungry for a true source of joy. We pray this Lord in the name of the one who makes this all possible. Our Savior, our Lord, our King. Jesus the Christ. Amen.

We consider how all three Persons of the Trinity have a role in our salvation. Good morning. Well, you've heard it said, "Don't forget from where you've come," There are life lessons back there that you need today to get you where you want to go. And we all forget important things, don't we? Car, house keys, wallet, cell phone, maybe a birthday or an anniversary. And because we forget even more important things than these, God through the early Christian leader Paul writes to his mentee Titus on the island of Crete, some 300 miles north of Libya. And he says Titus keep reminding the several churches scattered on the island of most important things. He talked about godly lives of the leaders, Chapter one, Chapter two, how do we navigate together until Jesus comes? And Chapter three today, how do we live out there in the world purposefully? And so to live purposefully, Paul says to to Titus, remember who you were before you knew Jesus first. It's easy to rail on the culture and to lament at how far we've fallen over the past 60 or so years. But we have to understand that every culture and nation is a composite of people who were foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending their life in malice, envy, hateful, hating one another. Now, if you're a guest, we don't usually begin our message by insulting people, but that's really who you are, apart from God. That's who I am apart from God. And so let's look briefly at those seven words used here to describe us. Foolish means ignorant. It means without spiritual understanding. Ephesians 4:18 says that the masses were darkened in their understanding. They were essentially blown along by life, excluded from the life of God because of their darkened, hardened hearts. Sin turns off the lights on the spiritual realities around us, and so therefore they were disobedient to God because he was a nonentity. They were resentful toward human authority because there is no Holy Spirit leading. We were deceived. We were actively straying like sheep from the shepherds true best course. Instead, we were driven along by a plethora of personal passions and pleasures, eventually enslaved by them. We were told, "If it feels good, do it", but not finding real fulfillment. There was this diminishing return pursuit that we felt, which led to malice, a deep evil and envy for anyone who hindered us, anyone who is more fortunate than us. And I was there in my teens, early 20s. We were hateful, that means repulsive and disgusting, and this climaxed in mutual antagonism, hatred toward one another, and it really sounds like today's news, right? Sounds like it's happening in the culture. Paul had said earlier to Titus in the letter, he said, Cretans, according to one of your own prophets, are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons. So he is quoting one of their experts. The source of our disobedience, though, is that we were spiritually dead, and dead people can't do good things, at least not for right reasons. Ephesians 5:8 says that you were formerly darkness, not just that you were in darkness, but you contributed to the moral darkness of your world. And you say, well, Larry, I'm not that bad. Aren't you being a little hard on us? And it actually depends - do we compare ourselves with each other or with the one in whom there is no darkness at all? So Paul says to Titus, Tell the churches that to live purposefully before you pick up stones to throw at them, whether in the church or those out in the culture, remember who you were before you met Jesus. It was really bad news. And Ephesians two, though, is going to continue saying, but God being rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us. And that really leads to our second point here. So not only do we need to remember - Well actually, this is Ephesians two here that we should talk about briefly. It's reinforcing what he says here to Timothy, reinforcing Titus, you are dead because of your disobedience. You are living in sin as the rest of the world, obeying the devil, the commander, the powers of the unseen world. He's the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. And all of us used to live that way. So notice it's all of us following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful hearts. We were by very nature subject to God's anger or wrath, just like everyone else. And so secondly, though, he wants us to remember God's awesome salvation, and that's verses four through seven. So, Titus, tell the churches not only remember back then who you were, but remember, God's awesome salvation. But when the kindness of God our savior and his love for mankind appeared, He saved us not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to his mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom he richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ, that being justified by his grace will be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. So just as there were seven descriptors of what we were before we knew Jesus, there are seven marvels of God's awesome salvation. So now notice first in verse four, who initiates the Salvation? God, our savior. It's the father's compassion, his kindness, seeing us in our pathetic, bankrupt condition. It's his love or philanthropia for humankind. Seeing us in our misery, seeing us in our helplessness. Well, when does he save? How does he save? His incarnation when God becomes a man? He leaves the glories of heaven. He limits himself to the body of a baby and a man and then a slave carrying our sin to a Roman cross 2000 years ago. You know, I used to despise Jesus for his weakness. And then I learned that it was for me, for you that he became weak and was despised as he was led like a sheep to be slaughtered, carrying my sin, death to the cross. Have you ever thought that as God, Jesus could have annihilated the human race? He could have said, "Father, this is too hard. They're not worth it. I give them my best. They hate me." Even on your worst day, you were worth it. He saved us not on the basis of deeds, which we've done in righteousness, but according to his mercy. Jesus, the rescuer saved us. We couldn't contribute. Think about your last funeral. As spiritually dead. We have no capacity to contribute, Life-Giving Source. So we see it's - salvation is - by grace, it's not by our good deeds. I recall sharing this idea with my friend Elaine and she responded, "Then why do good works if they don't save us?" Well, Elaine, we'll get to that point next, but salvation is by God's mercy, which means God withholds what we justly deserve. And isn't that the word on the street justice? People say I want justice. Do you realize if we got justice, we would all be condemned by the standards of a perfectly just judge? What's this washing of regeneration renewing by the Holy Spirit through Jesus? Well, God used his word and his spirit to make us clean and forgiven, to give us a new birth. Remember when Jesus told the most religious man in the city, unless you're reborn, you will not see heaven. You have to be born of God. And here, Paul's colleague Peter said your new life did not come from earthly parents because the life they gave you is going to end in death. That's pretty obvious. But the new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal living word of God. James concurs. God gave us birth by the word of truth. Well, how so? Well, God's word centers on the rescue where Jesus and his rescue plan and those who partake of the plan. All of us are held accountable for what we do. with the rescuer. If we believe in him and his good news, we have eternal life. But practically speaking, at the moment we believe Jesus is when the Spirit made us a new. He poured out his life on us, his washing because the original language asserts that this washing, this cleansing from sin came from this instantaneous change at our new birth. And you can't contribute to your own birth, right? How many of us caused ourself to be born? This is a work of God. And so look at verses six and seven whom he richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ, our savior, that being justified by his grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. In other words, we were justified. That means we were made and declared righteous. By his grace, that's undeserved favor. Why? So that we would be made heirs inheritors of this eternal life so we could bring others with us on life's journey. Have you ever considered the Trinitarian context of our salvation? It's a really wild. God, the father sent, Jesus, the son, to live and to die on this Earth as an atonement for our every sin. And after Jesus's resurrection return to the father; father sends this life giving spirit to everyone who would be a member of his family, giving himself and giving his sonship to us as a gift for the asking. Piper, John Piper said that it's not the good things God gives us, like forgiveness or adoption that are the good news, it's God giving himself to us. And so he gave himself. Well, the quiz for today is how many saviors are in the Bible? We see in Isaiah 43:11, Hosea 13:4 one savior Yahweh, God, Why in this little book of Titus does he say God, our savior in 1:3; 1:4 Christ, Jesus our savior, 2:10 God our savior 2:13, our great God and Savior Jesus Christ; 3:4 God our Savior and 3:6, Christ Jesus our Savior. How can the father and the son both be singularly called our savior? Because they have the one essence, the nature of God. They are the creator, the savior of the world. They made; our statement of faith, says holy, infinitely perfect, eternally existing in loving unity of three equally divine persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Notice the work of all three in verses four through six. The kindness of God, our savior, it's a mercy by the washing and renewing by the Holy Spirit richly given to us through Jesus. Well, a few years ago, I had the privilege of sitting in a teaching conference by Dr. Sanders, Fred Sanders from Biola, theology professor, writing on the deep things of God, how the Trinity changes everything. Let me give you a 30 thousand foot view, some of his highlights. But he says the gospel is Trinitarian, the trinity is the gospel. Christian salvation comes from the Trinity, happens through the Trinity and brings us home to the Trinity. And so when you look at this diagram here, the triangle represents God, and if drawn to scale, it would be infinitely large. And the square depicts the Son's incarnation becoming a man without ceasing to be who he is or was eternal in fellowship with the spirit and the father, added to himself a completed human nature and experience. That's Christmas. And in his perfect life and in his death, that's Easter, is applied to your life, becomes your salvation, and notice that your salvation is really small in context. It's all about God. It's his plan, initiative, execution, his invitation into relationship with God, by God, We normally draw our salvation map with us in the center. But God is center. He is bigger than us. He is more important than us. I am saved by coming into the orbit of his theological reality at his doing from beginning to end. Your salvation is participation in relationship with the Father, the Son, Holy Spirit and from our perspective, we're saved by Jesus. Yes, but how or what did Jesus do to bring about our salvation, his incarnation, or becoming fully man dying for us to atone for our sin. Who must Jesus then be to save us in this way? He must be God because only God can save. Well who must God be if Jesus is God? Trinity. So in his love, God sends the son in the spirit. God works through the son and the spirit to give us life. Our problem is that we were godless and God solved the problem by giving us the son and the spirit. The work of the son serves the work of the spirit. The work of the spirit serves the work of the Son, the Father, Son, Holy Spirit have this perfect sharing and the Son and the Spirit work under the headship and mission of the father. And we are invited in - awesome salvation. Here is a slide from Dr. Sanders of the terms that are appropriate for the work of his son in the spirit, so the son's incarnation takes on a human body, Jesus of Nazareth, whereas the spirit lives in every true Christian, he indwells. The son is the living word, hypostatic union. God, man in one. The spirit inspires the written word. The son. assumes a human nature; the spirit enlivens, verse 5, spiritually dead people, the son bears your sin, brings his righteousness before the father on your behalf. One man said that Jesus is the ultimate coach. He comes in, makes the perfect play, wins the game for you, whereas the spirit says, stay on the field, I'll help you win. The son completes our redemption, the spirit applies our redemption, the son's work is all or nothing - you're sanctified or not. The spirit says you're a work in progress through many trials, many afflictions with my help. Awesome salvation. Well, Titus also remember why God saved you, tell them why God saved you. His purpose is to reach others with the very same rescuer and rescue plan that saved you, and that's the main point of this morning's message. God gave his life for you, Jesus, so he can live his life through you on mission. I like to think of Titus 3:1-8 as a big ice cream sandwich. So missional cookie verses one and two, awesome God, awesome salvation enveloping sinners like us. That's three through seven. Missional cookie, verse eight. And God gave his life for you so he can give it through you, live through you on mission. And so we do good not to earn God's love, but because we have God's love. Well, living out verse one may be the toughest assignment of our day, remind them to be subject to rulers, authorities obedient for every good deed. Every week I hear of someone unfriending or cutting off another person because of how differently we view the news or politics. And what if the rulers and authorities are really bad people? What if they're evil, immoral? What if they're not of my political persuasion? What do I do? Verse one. Subject yourself to rulers, to authorities. Be obedient. Be ready for every good deed. Followers of Jesus should be an influence for good in every possible way for the benefit of those around us? So let's travel back in time for a moment to the Greco Roman world of Paul's letter to Titus. Crete, especially, was as bad as you can get in every moral category. The leaders there were abusive, murderous tyrants. Society was engulfed in sexual perversion, broken homes, idolatry, unjust laws, heavy taxation, terrorism. And the early Christians were little lights. There were little candles. There one purpose was to have their good works. their good words, shine so people could come to know the same God. Salvation in Jesus, so we're not interested in putting Christianized Cosmetics on a corpse. We're not interested even in externally moral policy or law change. Because if people die without Jesus, does it matter how moral they were? And I'm not saying don't get involved in your government if you have the calling, the ability, but we are salt and light reflectors of God's moral nature to our culture. So our goal, though, is that people would know Jesus crucified for their sin, alive from the dead as Lord, inside-out transformation one life at a time. Verse two - slander no one, be peaceable, gentle, showing mercy every consideration for all people. So my advice is pause, think before you post, send or unfriend. Don't have a bad attitude about the government expressed in slanderous words or fighting actions, God opposes the resist/anarchist culture. Gentleness means a sweet reasonableness, how refreshing would that be. Wiersbe says the only evidence the unsaved world has that we belong to God is our godly lives. And so beloved, if we live to exalt the person, the word of God, to show his life saving, changing person purpose. Jesus said, my kingdom is not of this world, we put no hope in presidents, prime ministers or the governments to save us, we live on God's resources and mission. Peter concurs. He says, Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors, even if they accuse you of doing wrong. They'll see your honorable behavior. They will give honor to God when he judges the world soon. For the Lord's sake, submit to all human authority, whether the king or the officials he's appointed, the king sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right. That last sentence is probably the key role of government. According to the Bible, he continues. It's God's will that your honorable lives should silence ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you. Respect everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, respect the king. Is there ever a time we disobey? Once - when authorities forbid what God commands. Remember Acts 4:18, the apostles were told, don't speak or teach about Jesus. The following chapter they kept right on receiving the consequences. In covid, many wrestle with Hebrews 10:25 don't abandon meeting together. In Nevada. the state Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled with Calvary Chapel against the governor, who had limited churches to 50 people, while businesses, casinos and bars could operate at 50 percent. So there is some residual justice in the culture, but that's rare through church history. What do we do when God says meet but the government says you cannot. We do what our brothers and sisters around the world do - we face these decisions with prayer and humility, often at great cost. And if possible, we submit graciously. We don't malign them, but we pray for them. We're not to be combative, but to be peaceful, gentle, kind, considerate of human weaknesses and sin. Not argumentative, not cantankerous or angry or hostile. Where there's legal recourse, we pursue it with humility, prayer, grace, but also pursuing every opportunity to do good to those around us. In so doing, we demonstrate that salvation is of God, only God indwelled, people could live like that. This scripture, if applied, would eliminate a lot of social media posts and violent activities and also divisions and conflicts. Notice in verse eight, he says be careful to engage in good deeds, these are profitable for everyone, beneficial for all people. In what way? What way are they beneficial? Well, John 3:16, God's saving purpose is for all people, right? He loves all. Titus 2:11. He sent Jesus to rescue all men and then in first Timothy 2:1-5 up here. God gives all of us this evangelistic mission. He says, I urge you first of all to pray for all people. Ask God to help them intercede on their behalf, give thanks for them, pray in this way for kings, for all of our authority, so we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good. This pleases God, our savior. He wants everyone to be saved, to come to the knowledge of the truth, for there's one God, one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. So God desires all to be saved. He wants us to pray for all people. He wants you to live your life so people can see gospel transformation. Your life lived with words and works to Christ, your salvation lived. When God initiated our salvation, he brought us from the depths and hopelessness of darkness and brought us into his blessing and glory of heaven. He transferred us from the Kingdom of Darkness to the kingdom of his dear son. It's the only reason we're different is that God saved us. So we don't hate anyone. We don't demean anyone, attack or abuse anyone. We don't fight. We don't look down. We don't treat them with contempt or unkindness. We don't feel superior. But we're grateful. We're grateful that God saved us. It was his father's kindness, his mercy, his love. It was the washing, the regeneration. It was his grace through the son and the spirit. Remember why God saved you? He gave his life for you so he can live his life through you. My dear friend Elaine, we do good because we have God's love not to earn God's love. So what are you doing with the new life that God is giving you? And don't overcomplicate this. Double your brownie or soup recipe for a neighbor. Shovel a driveway. Ask the spirit as you go through each day, Lord, show me what what to do, how to make people's lives around me better. A few years ago we joined with eight community partners and we made it a goal that all of us would serve four to eight hours a week or a month out in the community. So 4 to 8 hours a month. And it could look like babysitting for a single mom with Together for Good or mentoring a prisoner released through Network for Life. If you go to our website under Serve and Community Engagement, you'll find those opportunities. Be eager to do good not just for us in here, but for your neighbors. Those outside helping our city, serving in Christ name. So the next few minutes, the worship team is going to play an instrumental and I want you to think about who you were before Jesus. Think of God's awesome salvation. I'm going to put these missional verses on the screen. I'd like you just to prayerfully ask Lord, show me show me what needs to change in my life to line up with this, your word. Maybe it's obeying tax or traffic laws. Maybe it's being more gracious when you post something, social media. Could be quit complaining about the government or maybe find a community partner to serve or might just be Lord, make me more aware of people around me, their needs, whether it's a stranger or co-worker, neighbor, student, and then write down one or two things that the Lord lays in your heart and then write down the name of a person who can pray for you and support you, maybe a small group or your spouse or friend. I'll come up and pray in a moment. Heavenly Father, we commit to you the things that your spirit has laid on our hearts, Lord, apart from you, there will be no real change. So please lead. Please empower us to live this scripture. Lord, help us to be better neighbors, better citizens on mission, living purposefully so our lives will draw others to know and love you Father. In Jesus name.

The doctrine of the Trinity is foundational to the Christianity. We look at how it matters to virtually every aspect of our faith. Good morning. This picture that you see up on the screen, I don't know if I'm pronouncing this exactly right, but it is a place called Yardenit. It it is along the Jordan River, just south of the Sea of Galilee. So it's in the area of Palestine known as Galilee. I was there a couple of summers ago when we had the privilege of a trip to Israel. And it is a baptismal site. It is operated by a Jewish communal community and tour group stopped there and baptize people. There were several people, including one of my good friends, who was baptized there, Yardenit, that you're seeing the most scenic part of it. It is a little more developed where the baptisms actually occurred to make sure it's a safe place to baptize people. We don't know for sure that this is the site on the Jordan River where John baptized Jesus. But this is probably representative of what it looked like very, very similar to what it looked like if it wasn't the exact site. You just heard Dennis and Carol read about that account at the end of Matthew, Chapter three, and I won't repeat it word for word. I will just note that John rightly questioned having some awareness of who Jesus was, whether he should be the one doing the baptism. But notice where Jesus says it is necessary to do this to fulfill all righteousness. That's a whole other sermon. Not for today, but it applies even as we come to the Lord's table today, that the righteousness, the perfect righteousness of Christ, that is the basis for him to be a sacrifice in our place, as our substitute is in part linked to his perfect obedience of his father all throughout his earthly life, including being baptized. There's more to that. But again, that is another sermon. What I really want to go to today is what happened upon him being baptized. And we see it particularly in verses 16 and 17. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water and at that moment heaven was opened, which is a biblical phrase of the eternal glory is revealed to humanize in some way - heaven was opened. And what does John see? He, John, saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him, coming upon Jesus, the son and a voice from heaven. This is the voice of God, the father saying, This is my son, whom I love, with whom I am well pleased. And again, even what the father speaks, that anointing of the son is worthy of more study than I have time to go into this morning. But if you look at your discussion questions today in the Bulletin that you may use individually or as a small group, there are some Old Testament and New Testament references that that help you even pull in the significance of what God the father says, an anointing the son here. But when I really want to focus on today in our continued study this month of understanding who God is is the picture that we get here of God the father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, all present at Jesus's baptism. We see Christ the Son being baptized, submitting to being baptized as part of his perfectly righteous life. We see God, the father speaking from heaven, anointing the son, commissioning the son as king, as Messiah. And we see the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus as part of that anointing like a dove. Not that there was a dove. John just used the most present image that he could think of to describe what he was seeing of the Holy Spirit descending upon the Lord Jesus. This is, by the way, this is directly tied into how we baptize, as we were instructed by our Lord Jesus in Matthew twenty eight, nineteen we baptized. How do we baptize in the name not names plural in the name singular of the father and the son and the Holy Spirit. So we follow the pattern of what we see here, acknowledging God, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit as we baptize. Well, this is just one of the numerous texts in the Bible where we see God reveal himself to us. And what I would say is a tri-personal existence as the father, as the son and as the spirit. And there are places in the Old Testament that I don't have time to go to today. There are other references in the New Testament where we see evidences of this is who God is. It's what we call the Trinity. In fact, our church's statement of faith as well as the evangelical Free Churches of America Statement of Faith - it begins, the first article in our Statement of Faith says this: "We believe in one God creator of all things." That was last week's sermon. "Infinitely perfect." And here it is, "eternally existing in a loving unity of three equally divine persons the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit." We believe in one God. That's that's that's what our Old Testament faith was built upon. Deuteronomy six for the Lord is one. We believe that God is one undivided essence. And at the same time, though it seems contradictory, we believe, and three equally divine persons making up the Godhead. Three. In other words, distinctive personalities, three distinctive consciousnesses. They each - each of these - equally possess all of the divine attributes at the same time. They each equally possess the the divine essence. They share it fully and simultaneously. And we believe they have eternally existed as the father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In other words, the Trinity is not something that happens somewhere in human history. It has always been from the very beginning before creation, that God is father, son and spirit relating with each other. Now, if this seems hard to put all together, you're in good company. Great minds cannot fully comprehend this. I remember my my my first systematic theology class in seminary and probably the most intelligent professor that I ever had, John Feinberg at Trinity. And as he taught on this, he said this. I wrote it in my notes, The doctrine of the Trinity is ultimately a mystery. It is incomprehensible to human understanding. So it is one of those things that we accept is a mystery and we accept on faith. There are many illustrations. There are many bad illustrations of the Trinity that that that are off just enough to not be the truth. I'll give you the closest one that makes sense to me. And and it uses the historic representation of the Trinity in the picture of a triangle. If you think of three equal sides of a triangle being father, son and spirit, think of a triangle with three equal sides. All three sides are equal and yet they're distinct. They're different sides. And yet each of those sides of the triangle, they share the interior equally and simultaneously. Well, in some way, that is an image of the Trinity. There are three distinct yet equal persons the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. And yet all three share the same essence, divine essence, the same attributes of God. They all share all the attributes of God, and they don't take turns sharing these. They share them at the same time. They share them fully. They share them simultaneously. Now know why. Again, this is part of the mystery. I don't have a good or certainly not a complete answer to why the Trinity I would make this one observation is the father and the Son and the Holy Spirit each have different primary functions in the way that they relate to the world. And we'll see some of that excuse me, as we go forward with the sermon. This is where we go from. Just that the Trinity is is is something academic that we need to understand and be able to to to explain to other people to where it becomes practical. And really, with my remaining time here, that's where I want to go - I want to answer the question, why does the Trinity matter? Or more specifically, why does the Trinity matter to us? And again, I have a few thoughts. They're far from exhaustive, but I want to speak to that. Why does the Trinity matter to you? Why does the Trinity matter to me? Well, the first point, I'm not going to go to much in depth on because Pastor Larry is going to be addressing it next week. But the Trinity matters, first of all, for our salvation. And I've got up on the screen the text that is part of the text that Pastor Larry will be preaching on next Sunday from Titus Chapter three. But without me commenting on it, just notice the trinity in our salvation, God saves us God. God the father saves "us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out generously on us through Jesus Christ the Son, our savior." You see all three in our salvation. You see all three necessary to our salvation. Another text if you want to write it down and look it up later. Ephesians Chapter one you read through Ephesians. Chapter one. What do we see? The father chooses us. The father predestined us to salvation. The son we see redeems us by his blood, forgiving our sins and the Holy Spirit we see in Ephesians one. Sealing us, sealing us for heaven, sealing us for glory. Now there is much more, and I encourage you to come or tune in next week. And Pastor Larry will dig in deeper on why the Trinity matters for our salvation. But I will go on to the second one. The the Trinity matters for our assurance. And I'm not necessarily talking about assurance of faith. Am I saved? I am I am not saved. I'm not using the word in that sense. I'm using the word really in the sense of the power of divine presence. How do I know that God is in my life? How do I know being in Christ that I am connected to the father and the Son and the Holy Spirit? Well, we see throughout Scripture, we see the power of God's divine presence emphasized for each member of the trinity. We see as you see up on the screen there, we see the trinity, the presence of the father in passages like Joshua one nine, "the Lord, your God, God, the father will be with you wherever you go." We have the presence of God, the father. We see the presence of God, the son in Matthew. Twenty eight twenty. When Jesus says "I am with you always." We have the presence of the son and we even see the presence of the Holy Spirit in passages like John Fourteen Seventeen where Jesus teaches us the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, "the spirit of truth ... dwells in you and will be with you." So the fact that these are all persons, distinctive persons, personalities, with distinctive consciousness means that they are each able to relate to you personally as a person. You can know the father, you can know the son, you can know the spirit. And there, I think, is great assurance in that that each one, because they share the divine attribute of omnipresence, they are always with us. There is never a place where we can be in the Christian life where the father, the son or the spirit are not present with us and accessible to us. There's never a time. There's never a place where that occurs. Do you know practically what this means? It means as lonely as you might feel right now, maybe you're watching at home and you have been isolated by covid. Maybe you are isolated in other ways, isolated relationally, and you feel alone. You are never alone. That is the truth of the trinity. The father, the son and the spirit are always present, always accessible. I am praying for a group of believers in China right now. Their church is being persecuted by the Chinese government. Their pastor is in prison. Two of their elders are imprisoned. The pastor's wife is in house arrest. And of course, we don't know details, but I imagine that pastor and those elders in a cell. And some cold, dark prison feeling very isolated, very alone. And this is one of the ways that I pray for them that they would know the presence of the father, they would know the presence of the son, they would know the presence of the spirit that they would never feel alone. So the truth for you and me of the Trinity is you have the assurance that the father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are always present for you. Well, moving on, why else does the Trinity matter? The Trinity matters for our prayer. So Silverio Gonzalez has this wonderful praise. Prayer, he says, has a Trinitarian flow. We pray to the father in the name of the son with the help of the Holy Spirit. Let me break that down. We pray to the father. That's how Jesus taught us to pray. Matthew 6:9 tells us this is how you should pray our father. Now, are you in trouble if you pray directly to the son? No, no, no. God hears that. But this is this is the way that we're taught to pray. We pray to the father, our father, but we pray in the name of the son. Jesus taught us. John, 14, 13. I will do whatever you ask in my name. And that's not an unqualified give me your wish list, because the very next phrase goes on to say so that the son may bring glory to the father. When we pray for something that will glorify the father, that will bring glory to the father, and we pray in the name of the son, we have the assurance that our prayer is heard. And the third member of the Trinity is also present in our prayer. We pray to the father in the name of the son with the help of the Holy Spirit, and I fall upon Romans eight twenty six so many times in my prayer. We do not know what we ought to pray for. Do you ever get to that place where you're agonizing in prayer and you can't even put words together? Maybe you're so wrought with emotion, maybe you are so confused about the situation and you don't know how to pray to the father in the name of the son. What is the promise that we're given in Romans? Eight twenty six. "The spirit himself intercedes for us." The spirit helps us to pray. The spirit communicates even when we can't get the words out, communicates what's in our heart and what's in our mind. The spirit takes those feelings - maybe they're grief, maybe they're confusion, maybe they're fear and anxiety and communicates those to the father. The spirit helps us as we pray. We need the Trinity. The Trinity matters to our prayers. Why else does the Trinity matter? The Trinity matters for our relationships. The Trinity models relationship to us. Has has the isolation of covid taught us anything more than the fact that we are not designed to be isolated, that we're not designed to be alone, that we need each other? I think that is one of the great lessons of covid that that God is emphasizing to us individually and as the church that we were made to be connected with each other in relationship. And why? Because that is the Trinity. Notice what John 17:24 says Jesus teaches us. The last line is key. Father, "you loved me before the creation of the world." Now think of the implications of that. Before God ever began to create anything, there was already the father, the son and the spirit in a perfect, loving relationship with each other. God didn't create us because he was lonely. God was in perfect communion with himself as father, son and spirit. Father, son and spirit, their eternal relationship models, modeled and models, perfect unity, perfect diversity in love, united in love, and they - we see in creation - they related with each other. They plan together. They work together in perfect community, perfect harmony. And that is the picture of relationship. That is the picture of community. And because we were made in the image of God, we were made in that way to have that kind of relationship. Now we're under the the effects of the fall and none of our relationships are perfect like that yet on this side of heaven. But that is what God desires to remake in us by the sanctifying work of his Holy Spirit. We were in other words, you and I were designed for this kind of community. We're designed for the kind of community that we see in the Trinity, in our marriages, if we're married, in our families and certainly in our relationships with each other as brothers and sisters in Christ and the local church. Ephesians four really to me, is an exposition of what this perfect relationship modeled in in the Trinity looks like in the community of the local church. "Be completely humble and patient", Paul says, "be gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace." Why? These all sound like good things. But why is it that we're to do this? Because there is one body, he says. There is one spirit. There is one lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all. You see how the Trinity is a model of relationship to us. One father, one son, one spirit, existing and relating in perfect unity, diversity, love and purpose. And there is our picture of what our marriages are designed to look like, what our families are designed to look like, what our church community is designed to look like. Why else does the Trinity matter? The Trinity matters for our outreach and by outreach, I just remind us all of the fact that the church was not created for the church just for us to serve each other. The church is created to complete, to accomplish the great commission to go out into the world. That's what we come here for, to become equipped and to minister to each other so that we go out into the world and we accomplish the great commission. We make disciples, we make followers of Jesus who make disciples. And the Trinity matters for our outreach. Let me give you one example of many that I could give you. Think of the growing Muslim community, even here in Rochester, just the way the world has changed in the last several decades. The world is coming to us. And in a place like Rochester, where the medical community and the engineering community, we have the Lord bringing people of the Muslim faith to right to our community. But think about what it means when we interact with them. They with their - what they think is God - Allah. And we were the one true God who who relates to us as a trinity. The Muslims reject the trinity. You may know that if you if you studied it or, you know, any Muslims, they maintain that there is one God, Allah. But as you have conversations with people who are Muslims, what you find is (they won't say it), but I've heard someone say it's Allah is a hermit God. Allah is all alone. Allah is solitary. Allah has never been in relationship, and so never being in relationship. What kind of God is presented by the Muslims? It's a God who who creates to rule. It's a God who who administers autocratic control and that permeates the Muslim faith. That means, in fact, Islam means submit or submission. And so being one solo solitary God not in relationship, Allah demands submission and that that colors the whole Muslim faith. That colors really the way they look at government and the way they look at marriage and the way they look at families in. The way they look at every institution, it is about submission, it is about subjection, it is about control. Now contrast that with what the Trinity teaches us about God. Think about John - first John 4:16, God as many things. But but what is John the apostle represent him here as foremost? God is love. And when we understand that love flows out of the fact that we have a Trinitarian God who eternally has been in relationship, father, son and spirit in perfect, loving, united relationship, unity and diversity all bound together in love. Do you see how that transforms our culture? Do you see how that shapes how we think about marriage. If we were created in the image of this God who's in relationship. Do you see how that transforms how we think about the family, how we think about government, how we think about all human institutions rather than submission, rather than control, rather than autocratic rule, the Christian faith and the Trinitarian God presents in all of our relationships the model of mutual respect, of honor, of sacrificial love. What a contrast that is. And if you don't think that Muslim people are thirsty for that kind of relational truth, you're mistaken. They are hungry for it, especially when they see the contrast. First, John, 4:19, a few verses later, we love because he first loved us, rather than being about control and subjection and and demanding submission in the Trinity, that is the model for all of our relationships, we see the loving relationship between the father and the son and the spirit. And so it teaches us what relationships are to look like. It teaches us what our marriage should look like, what our government should look like, what our church should look like. And that is the message of hope, along with the gospel that we take as we do outreach in the world. Well, there's more I could say about that, but let's move on. The Trinity matters for our worship. We have already and the selection of what we've sung today and what we're going to be singing and in the selection of the scripture that was already read, we've seen that theme of the Trinity highlighted. And obviously that is not accidental, but it is significant and it is important because the Trinity matters directly to how you and I worship. We see something of the central city of the Trinity and worship in Ephesians 2:18 for through him. That's the son Christ. We have access by one spirit to the father. You see that even as we come before God and worship, true worship is defined and enabled by the Trinity. It is through the Trinity that we are able to even come before God in worship. And John in John 4:24 teaches a similar truth. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. And so what does that mean? As we come to worship, we come to the father because the spirit draws our hearts to the son, to Christ. We would not even desire to worship if the spirit was not working, drawing us through Christ and how he has saved us to the father. We are absolutely dependent upon the Trinity for our worship. And not only that, but the spirit draws our hearts to each other again. This gets back to a relationship. You see how these all of these truths overlap with each other. But we don't worship as solitary people. We worship together in community because we were created in the image of God who is in community. That's why in just a moment when we go to the Lord's table and take communion, we will take it together. We are acknowledging that Trinitarian truth of what true relationship looks like and how that relationship is to characterise God's people, the church. So we are going to come to the Lord's table. We're going to sing a song in just a moment and prepare our hearts. And then we're going to come to the Lord's table and in coming to the Lord's table to celebrate communion, we have an opportunity to worship the father, to worship the son, to worship the spirit for each of their work and our salvation. We don't come to the table unless we know the truth of salvation. And it is the father, the son and the spirit working together that have made our salvation possible. We acknowledge and we worship that as we come to the table, we come to the table seeing it as an opportunity to acknowledge that the relational nature of our triune God calls us together in love and unity and purpose, however different we are, whatever differences we have about politics or covid or you name it, the table represents what the trinity, the truth of the Trinity that we are called together in Christ to demonstrate perfect unity in diversity, bound together in love. And that's what we acknowledge as well. When we come to the table. Let me pray and use this as the beginning of preparing your hearts and then we'll sing and we'll continue to worship, we'll worship the God, the three in one as we come to the table. Let's pray, Father, again. As Dr. Feinberg said, this is an incomprehensible mystery and you call us to embrace it by faith because you reveal at least some of it in your word. Maybe one day when we see you face to face we'll understand fully. But now we take it in faith. And we don't just take it as an academic doctrine, Lord as something to memorize as part of our systematic theology framework, we embrace it Lord because we see that it matters. We see how the truth of the Trinity Lord matters. And in our salvation, it matters. In our prayer. It matters in our experience of your presence. It matters in our outreach. It matters in our worship. And so we take this opportunity at your table, Lord, to worship you, God, the father, God the son, God, the Spirit, God, the three in one. Amen.

What does the creation account in Genesis tell us about the nature of God? How does the truth of creation remind us that all that we are and all that we have we owe to Him? Good morning. Well, you are the hardy ones this morning! I texted a picture from the Weather Channel of 18 below to friend in Memphis this morning and I got back. Gasp! But you are a long time Minnesotans, many of you. This is this is more normal for the course. But we open God's word this morning. I want to open it just in a bit of a different way. This morning I saw this quote. It's not attributed to anyone, so I can't tell you the source. But someone has said that your worldview is like an umpire at a ball game. Now think about an umpire. If you go to a ball game while you're watching the game, he seems relatively unimportant. In fact, you probably are hardly aware of the umpire while you're watching all the action at a ball game. But we know the reality, don't we? That umpire may decide - does decide - the whole game. And that's what's true, that's what can be accurately said about your worldview. You may be hardly aware of your worldview. I think most people in our culture are not even aware they have a worldview. But ultimately, your worldview decides what you believe. And when you think just about the issues facing our culture today, think about how your worldview helps you or causes you to decide issues like what is gender and what is sex, like same sex marriage, transgender rights, abortion, euthanasia. I could go on and on. But the way that you think about those issues, the way people all around us in our culture think about these issues is determined. It is decided by your worldview. I've been using that term. Let me define that just in case you don't have a real clear handle on what I mean by worldview. Lots of definitions out there, but I just simply define it like this. Your worldview is your fundamental beliefs and assumptions about life, about how you got here, about who you are, about why you exist. About what it is to live a good life. About where you're going, your eventual destiny, all of those things and more - your beliefs, your assumptions that again, for the most part you're not even aware of, they are what make up your worldview and my assertion to you this morning: Those of you who are here and watching, who are followers of Jesus Christ Christians in the most genuine sense for Christians, Christians determine their worldview from the truth of who God is, the truth of how God made us. We answer those questions fundamentally from what God has revealed to us and his word, and they therefore give us the grid to look at issues like I mentioned, like sex and gender, like same sex marriage, like transgender rights, like abortion, like euthanasia. So that and much more is why we are this month, this month of February, we are working through a very short series on who God is because of our worldview is ultimately built upon the assumptions of who God is and how he has made us, we need to know accurately who he is. And that you couldn't do in a dozen sermons. But we're taking little chunk. And this morning (Last week we we looked at at at God as he reveals himself as the great I am) This morning we look in Genesis one and two primarily at God as he reveals himself as the creator. And I would encourage you, I am not going to read all of Genesis Chapter one and two. But if you have your Bible either in paper or you have it on an phone or some electronic device, I encourage you to open it up to Genesis one and two. I'll be making reference in there. There are discussion notes attached to the the bulletin that you can get you can print online and they help you go a little further. So I would encourage you even after today, whether you do it by yourself or as a family unit or in a small group to work through those discussion questions, which will take you a little bit further through Genesis one and two. When we think about God as creator, we we think about, especially if we've been raised up in the public schools, what we know is, is a primary wall that we hit right away. When we think about what the culture tries to shape as our worldview that could easily or quickly be summed up as creationism versus materialism, creationism as well defined in a moment in Genesis one and two, that there is a God who made everything that there is; materialism, that there is no God, that all that exists is is just is just matter. That's all that there is, that matter has always been there, that matter will always continue. There is no divine mind behind all of it. And encompassed in that is even the theory. I underline the word theory of evolution. And here's what I would say to you. Even as you think about those those two poles, creationism versus evolution, we often are put in the situation maybe on the defense as Christians where we are challenged that evolution is science and creationism is myth. I would assert to you, especially if you read on evolution, it is a theory. It is a theory. It is not something that can be established by hard evidentiary proof. And so I would tell you this - all answers which you attempt to explain the origin of the universe are essentially faith positions. We as as Christians, we embrace that creationism is a faith position. It takes faith. What the the world around us that that rejects that that holds on evolution does not acknowledge. But I would tell you it is true is that equally is a faith position. It takes as much faith to believe the theory of evolution as it does in creationism. In my opinion, it takes more faith to believe in that. So how is it that we as Christians, we look at what we have as the accounts of of the origins of the universe, we would start with this assertion. We don't have to prove scientifically what we stand upon. We acknowledge that because we are creatures and we are limited as creatures, we are limited. And what we know, we are limited in our abilities to perceive and think because of our limitations as creatures, we acknowledge that we must receive this knowledge of of the origins of the universe by revelation from the creator that we cannot know. We can read. And there's lots to read and there's lots to bring into an apologetic argument, no doubt. But fundamentally, we acknowledge we need to receive truth about this, about this subject by revelation from the creator. And we'd go one step further because we are fallen, because of the effects of sin, we acknowledge that we must be reborn before we can even comprehend that revelation. Why is it that somebody who doesn't follow Jesus, why is it that somebody who who doesn't believe that God exists can read the same accounts in Genesis one and two that that we read and and write it off as myth because that that work of rebirth has not been done in their heart, because they do not have the spirit who enables them to understand and perceive what truth is. So I start fundamentally with this this morning. I'm not making an apologetic argument to you this morning. I'm coming saying we're absolutely dependent upon the God who reveals himself to us and we are absolutely dependent upon the spirit of God. If we have been reborn, who helps us to comprehend God's revelation. Well, God made himself known to us. He reveals himself to us and as the creator and again in Genesis one and two, there are other places, including the texts that were read just a couple of minutes ago. But but fundamentally and primarily, he reveals himself to us as the creator in Genesis one and two. And I'm not going to dive real deep in this. But even as you read, start reading in Genesis one, how do you how do you make sense of that information you may have heard if you've read or heard anything, any teaching on this - There is as Genesis one opens, there's different theories about what's happening there. Is it is it a gap in time? Is it another theory is called the initial chaos theory that that God is creating out of chaos. I don't have time to go into those this morning. I will just tell you where I come from. I come from what's called a summary statement view in that summary statement view starts out with this: Verse one of chapter one gives us a summary statement of all of creation. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth", and that is a summary statement. And then moving into verse two. "And the earth was formless and void and darkness was over the face of the deep and the spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters." That describes the pre creation statement as God begins to create. That is the situation that he creates out of and then, moving on from verse two, really all the rest of chapter one, and I would argue to the end of Chapter two is really a narrative account of description or a narrative account of creation. And notice it describes in multiple ways how it is that God brought everything into existence, he said. In other words, he spoke it into existence. He called it into existence. He made what exists. He separated things so that what exists exists. He placed things into existence. He created things. He formed things. He caused things. And he blessed what he created. So all of those two chapters after verse two are a narrative account. One other if you read it. And I hope if you haven't read it recently, (If you've never read it, I especially hope that you read these two chapters today.) But if it's been some time since you have read them, I would encourage you even this afternoon, mark out some time and read them. And one of the things that you will notice, that is often noticed, is chapter one seems different than Chapter two. There seems to be two almost different accounts. And again, there's various theories on that. But I would give you my explanation, which I think is the plain reading explanation. Chapter one, you'll notice is a chronological account. You will see the seven days of creation are really the six days of creation and then the day of rest. So it's a chronological overview of creation. Chapter two is is not a different account in the sense that some different author wrote it. So it has a different purpose. Chapter two gives us a much more detailed account of God's creation of humanity, of man. So we get the overview chronologically in chapter one. And then because, as we're going to see in a few minutes, man is the pinnacle of God's creation we get a detailed account, a more detailed account, in Chapter two of the creation of Man. What does God reveal about himself in Genesis one and two? You know, there's so much again, in the limited time I have, I had to kind of pick and choose what is it that Lord, that in particular, as we're looking at you, is created or what is it that you what is it that you want me to point out this morning? So this is by no means exhaustive. But I would start with what is the intent? Moses is the writer of Genesis one and two. And that's been the historic position. That is the position of all credible Bible scholars, at least Bible believing Bible scholars today. What was it that Moses, under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, was intending to do as he opens up Genesis one and two to, first of all, the Israelites? But to you and to me and I would tell you, it's two things. I think there is a positive intent that he has. And then I think there was a negative intent that he has. And that positive intent intent is, is that he wants to give us truth about the nature of God. He wants to increase our faith in God by showing us something of God's nature in his creation. But then there is the negative. There is the negative in that he is setting this creator God and how God brought everything into existence. He's setting that against all the other myths, all the other accounts out there in the ancient Near East for how things came into being. And so in a way that we can't appreciate unless we read about all those different cultures that existed at that time, what he is presenting here is a radically different creation account from any that exists. Now, let me just bring that up to the 21st century, we need both of those. We need for our own faith, first of all, but we need as well as we go out into the world, we need to be able to represent the nature of our God as he presents himself in his creation. And that is, as I think we'll see as we go through it, that is, that is a powerful testimony. That is something that should - it doesn't because of the effects of sin - but that is something that should draw men and women to him. But we also need that negative. We need to see how this account of who God is as creator God and how he has created it. It stands radically apart from all the other explanations in our culture. We may not have all the pagan creation myths, although many of those reoccur even today in various forms. But even as we stand against secularism, against materialism, against the belief that there is no God and everything is random, we need to be grounded and who God is as creator to be able to speak into those who are lost in the lies of materialism, of pantheism, of dualism, as we'll see. Well, let's let's look at some of these truths that I've been able to pick out here for the time that we have. First of all, in the opening words of verse one in the beginning God. In the beginning God. What is what is Moses want us to see there? He just presents God is already there at the beginning of creation. There is no mention that he makes; there's not even really an inference that there was a time when God was not. He presents God, he makes the makes the assumption and what he writes there, that God has always been. All the other ancient Near East creation accounts - they had in their God and their deity - they had some kind of birth account or metamorphosis story that where something this deity that wasn't suddenly comes into existence or changes form and then creates. Only the one true God, the God of Israel, is the God who has always existed, who is eternal, who is above and before all of his creative work. God we represent was not born. God was not created. The true God - our positive and negative presentation is - is both eternal and uncreated. And not only is is that a powerful testimony, but for me and I hope for you, that gives great assurance. I don't know if you have a positive associations about your earthly father. I do of mine. And he is still living. And what I remember - he was certainly not a perfect father, like I've not been a perfect father, but what I remember growing up is he was always there. It was just always assumed, I could always assume and count on the fact that he would always be there. He was there before I came into the world and all through my childhood. Sure, there were times where he was gone on a business trip or something like that. But even then he was available to me. And so my confidence never wavered that my earthly father was there for me. That may not be your experience. I know today that is not the experience of many, but you can probably think of someone who, if it wasn't your father or your wasn't your mother, who has been consistently there for you. Well, that's a dim example of what it is to have the assurance that comes from the fact that our God is eternal, that he has always existed. There's never been a time when when he either wasn't there or he was in some lesser form. There's never been a time where it's wavered his presence. That gives great confidence and great assurance, especially in the moments where we don't feel them, where we don't subjectively experience his presence. He has always been there. He is eternal and he is always there. So that's one truth that I think Moses intends for us to teach. Secondly, if we go just a little bit further and verse one there "In the beginning, God created" and the Hebrew word there is bara and that word is is incredibly significant. There's many words to Genesis one and two that that speak to how God brings things into an existence. This word stands out uniquely and it's in the very first sentence. This word is a word that is whenever it is used, God is always the subject. So man or woman does not bara, does not create. And this sense. This is a word that has implied in it effortless production, that he brings things into existence without toiling, without without sweating. This is a word that conveys the idea of putting into a form which did not previously exist. All that is packed into that one word that that Moses opens with. And then even the heavens in the earth. We see heavens, that word, used in some places in Scripture and earth and others. But heavens, the heavens and the earth are often used together. It is a phrase that has significant meaning, particularly in the Hebrew. Whenever you see that phrase, it is generally referring to everything that's in existence. Or we could say the entire universe is encompassed by that phrase, the heavens and the earth. And so what is Moses telling us here, Moses is telling us what we read just a few minutes ago in John Chapter one, that all things were made through him, that apart from him, nothing was made that presently exist. Nothing previously existed before God created, in other words. God is the cause of everything that existed. So there's no room for materialism. There is no room for. Yes, there's been something in some some cellular form that's that through evolution and millions of years has developed into something else. No, there was a time when there was nothing and that is when God created. There's no place for materialism. And with it evolutionary theory. This means that there is no place for dualism. Many of the myths out there that even that even come down to us in the 21st century in one form or another, hold to a dualistic belief that, you know, there have been these forces of of good in these forces of evil. I know this is dated a few years, but think about Star Wars and the force and the dark side of the force and the light side of the force. No, there's no place for that. There was never a time where there was not just God, but there was some parallel evil evil force as well. This leaves no room for pantheism, pantheism, the belief that, well God is in all of creation and all of creation is God, that that would presume that that God really didn't exist until creation existed. No, there was a time when there was nothing and everything that has been created came out of nothing by God. As we go through the the Genesis one and two, you will see that that multiple times we see the same phrase - we see, then God said, "let there be". And then a little bit later in the sentence. "And it was so" We see that in verse three, "let there be light". "And it was so" In verse six, "let there be an expanse", in other words, the atmosphere around us. "And it was so" In verse nine, "let there be dry land." "And it was so" In verse 11, "let there be vegetation and plants and trees". "And it was so" and verse 15, "let there be the sun and the moon". "And it was so" In verse 20 "let there be living creatures and birds". "And it was so". What do we see there? We see that God speaks and it comes into being. We see that the creative process is initiated by the will of God. He decides to bring something new in existence and then it's expressed through his word. He speaks it into existence and it comes into existence. So from this, we know that nothing exists, not only that God didn't create, but nothing exists that God didn't intentionally create, there's nothing that presently is or ever has been that somehow is something that came into the world except by God's intentional creative hand. And then this powerful truth of creation by his word that he speaks, he wills it and he speaks it, that stands in stark contrast to so many of the other creation myths that are out there that all start with their deity was in this cosmic struggle with forces of chaos or forces of darkness. And it's through triumphing in that cosmic struggle that things come into being; no, God effortlessly speaks it and it comes into existence. And then the fact that he wills it - that stands in stark contrast to evolutionary theory, that all is dependent on randomness, nothing is here except for just random chance. No, this is the exact opposite of that. This is intentionality. This this is God planning it, designing it, willing it, speaking it into existence. Notice as the creation account goes on, notice the limits and the boundaries that he establishes: verse four God separated the light from the darkness. He creates boundaries between the light and the darkness that we come to know as day and night. Notice the order and the structure He establishes: verse 14 He establishes the movement of the celestial bodies of sun and moon and stars, and verse 14 says as signs for seasons and for days and for years. The reason we have a calendar, the reason we invented watches is because of the order and the structure that God built into creation. Notice the order that he creates and the animal kingdom: verse twenty one, every winged bird he created after its kind, a significant phrase, there's twenty four, cattle and beasts of the earth he created after their kind. He determined all of the animal kingdom. I'm not a zoologist. I don't even know the terms for how you figure out the trees of how we got animals in the families and genuses of animals. But all of that is by his design. All of that order, all of that structure was part of his intentional plan. All of this, I believe, reveals how intentional, how purposeful God is. And again, that stands in stark contrast to what we hear around us today and what is taught predominantly in the public schools. Evolutionary theory teaches randomness. The reason we have anything is is, again, millions of years of chance. And in stark contrast to that, we worship a God who the driving force of creation is his intelligent design. And that intelligent design it gives me, it gives me great assurance, gives me even great joy to to look at something even as intricate as the human hand and all the ways that just the hand alone functions and everything it does, everything that exists in the hand with its muscles and its bones and its veins to to make that hand work just right. That hand; it is so crucial to all that we do. All of that is by God's intelligent design. Well, the pinnacle of God's intelligent design is man is woman is the human being, and Genesis reveals that that God uniquely created human beings. And again, that is a revolutionary message in today's culture, is it not, that would raise animals up and make them equal with human beings. That would say that there is no inherent uniqueness, much less dignity in human beings. It is a message that that speaks into even the culture of death, that that undergirds the abortion industry, that God uniquely created human beings. We see this in a couple places. Skipping ahead into chapter two, verse seven, "The Lord God formed man out of the dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being." That that term living being is the Hebrew nephesh. It can be translated as soul. It can be translated as self. And what is God? What is Moses, under the inspiration of God, telling us here that God made human beings uniquely in that we are a unified person with body and soul, living and abiding together. That, well, we will see if we if we dip back into Chapter one for a moment and one verse twenty seven "And God created man in his own image in the image of God, he created him male and female. He created them." And by the way, that last phrase means that the image of God is both male and female. It's not just male and it's not just female. The image of God is a male and female, together. Though we have similarities with certain animals in the animal kingdom, we are uniquely different. We are at the pinnacle. We are uniquely different because we are the only ones that are made in the image of God. And again, there's a multitude of sermons that could be preached just on what is the image of God. But that is a term that that biblical scholars have a hard time getting a full handle on. But the image of God, at least I can say this this morning: it enables us to relate to him like animals cannot. It enables us to think about eternity, like animals cannot; it enables us to be saved through Christ, like animals cannot. Well, there is much more I could say, but in these last few minutes, let me shift. If these things are true of God as our creator, how are to we regard God our creator. I would suggest to you that perhaps for at least for me, the most powerful statement in all of scripture for how we are to look at the one who creates us is is uttered by the beings around the throne in that vision and revelation four: "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power for you created all things. And it's by your will that they were created. It is by your will that they have their being." You see what these beings are doing, they are acknowledging the rightful dominion, the ownership that he has over all that he's created, including all of us, the rightful dominion that he has because he sustains us. The fact that we are alive and breathing this morning is because of his will. In other words, because God made it all. He is Lord of all. But do people acknowledge this? No. Certainly there was a time when I did not acknowledge this and we're told about really the scene of all of humanity and Romans Chapter one, since the creation of the world, God's eternal power and divine nature has been clearly seen. We can look in creation and we can see all of creation. We can see the intricacy in the human hand, and it points us to God as creator. So we have, Paul says to the Romans, no excuse for not knowing God, but even though that is true, Paul goes on in the very next breath. But they (we) do not honor him as God or give him thanks. That's the response of the unbelieving world. It is to ignore. It is to make up different accounts. It is to twist that truth so that all we see and creation around us can be written off, can be disregarded. So we do not have to bow before the one who has dominion over us because he is our creator and he is our sustainer. So what is if we are followers of Jesus, what is the message that we must proclaim? And again, I can't speak exhaustively here, but Paul's approach, an Act 17 when he goes to the city of Athens, a city much like ours today, a city that had great wealth city that had great intellect, a city that was represented by all the world views that were known probably at the time, a city that prided itself on how modern they were. And when he goes to the place where all the intellectuals gather, having observed all of this, what is it that he decides that the Lord impresses him, that he should represent and he should proclaim here it is: "The God who made the world and everything in it. He is the Lord of heaven and Earth." He asserts God is creator. He asserts that there's one true God, the God who is the creator. "He himself gives everyone life and breath and all things." So we begin by representing that that who is who God is, that whether people recognize it or not, he made us. He sustains us. He has dominion over us. But then Paul goes on a little later, because of this truth, Paul says, "God now commands all people everywhere to repent because he has set a day on which he is going to judge the world and righteousness by a man that he has appointed." And that is our message, as unpopular as it is, as rejected as it may be, that you can only reject God for so long, you can only refuse to acknowledge him as your creator in your sustainer for so long, there is coming a day when he will judge. And he will judge, he will execute that judgment by the Man - capital M, the Son of Man whom he has appointed, and Paul goes on to say he has provided proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead. The one true God, our creator, our sustainer, he has dared to incarnate himself with us as the son, Christ Jesus. So how is it that we come humbly to our creator and our sustainer, we come to the one in whom God now is bringing everything and heaven and earth under the authority of, putting it under His feet. We come to the one for whom there is coming a day when all will bow before him, some willingly, some by force, and all will proclaim him as Savior and Lord. So let me close with this and this I realize this is blunt: God created you, God sustains you. You would not be here breathing this morning if it were not for the will of God. And because of those truths, he has dominion over you. He has lordship over you, whether you recognize it and acknowledge it or not. And you will one day stand before him in judgment. And the creator of the universe will judge you based upon whether you have bowed to him through his son, Jesus Christ. But here is the good news, here is the gospel, the creator of the universe, the one who will one day judge you for whether you recognize that he, even today, can do a work of new creation in your heart. I love the fact that Paul draws from God as creator under the inspiration of God in Second Corinthians 5:17. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things passed away. New things have come." Just as God brought from nothing into existence all of physical creation God can take from the blackness, the sinfulness of our hearts. He can take from that nothingness and he can produce in us new life, new creation in Christ. So that, again, bluntly is my question to you, has that work of new creation occurred in your heart? You will never even be able to acknowledge God as the ultimate creator if that work, a new creation, has not been done in your heart, but you can hope in your heart even today. And that is the message that we take into the world, whether the world hears it, whether the world rejects it or not, we represent God is creator and sustainer, but we also represent him as the one who comes among us incarnate, as the one who does the work of new creation in our hearts, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Oh, Lord, we are about to worship you, singing. May, it be, Lord, a time where we respond in worship to who you are. Worthy are you, O Lord, to receive all glory and honor and power for you created us and in you we have our being. You sustain us and we praise you that we can know you through the one who does the new creation in our heart. Our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

What can we learn about who God is from Moses' encounter with the great 'I AM' at a burning bush? How does Jesus deepen this understanding? Good morning. I am not one who normally uses props, but I didn't know what this was until somebody explained it to me. It looks like an instrument of torture. In some ways it is. It's actually something used in exercise. It's a kettle bell. It's a kind of weight. It was what was recommended to me this year as I was approaching a new year, approaching my 60s, wanting to be able to continue to live life on a somewhat normal basis, wanting to continue to hike like I enjoy. And the person who is advising me said, why don't you work out with kettle bells? Because kettle bells and the various exercises that you can do with them help strengthen your core. Strengthening your core - that was a bit of a new concept for me. And that may be something that you're already familiar with. But here's basically what your core is. According to the Mayo Clinic, your core, our cores are the the muscles that make up our our abdomen and our back and the muscles around our pelvis. And the reason that is significant is because if you have a strong core that enables you to continue to keep doing the normal activities of life. When somebody ages or becomes ill and they lose the ability to pick themselves up off the floor or sit up or some have just what we would consider you and I in normal activities, that that usually is a problem of a weak core. So a strong core enables you to to do all those activities of normal, everyday life, to keep doing things like I enjoy, like hiking a weak core not only works against that, but can bring on back pain. It can even make you susceptible to muscle issues. So why is that significant? Because again, physically, to keep functioning, to keep doing the things that I enjoy, I want to strengthen my physical core. But that makes me recall what Paul the Apostle says to young Timothy in First Timothy four. He reminds Timothy physical training is of some value. It's not something we should ignore. But he says, training yourself to be godly, in other words, strengthening your physical core or your spiritual core. Training yourself to be godly, strengthening your spiritual core, Paul says, is much better because it not only has benefits in this life, it has benefits in the life to come. So, that is really the theme of this series that we are into for the next couple months, strengthening your core. And by that we mean strengthening our spiritual core. Really, another term that we could use to describe what it means to strengthen our spiritual core is discipleship. And that's one of those churchy words that that maybe we do or don't have a handle on. But a disciple is very simply a learner, somebody who is a learner and a follower of Jesus; a disciple of Jesus is a learner and a follower of Jesus. And when we think about that idea of strengthening our spiritual core - discipleship, we're essentially asking the question: "What does a disciple of Jesus look like? What does he or she think? Does he or she think like Jesus? How is he developing or she developing and thinking like Jesus? Does he or she act like Jesus in the way that they are living? Is that person growing and more in their conduct in a way that mirrors Jesus? And is he or she becoming more like Jesus? Is the heart changing in such a way that it resembles more and more Jesus?" That's really the measurement of discipleship. That's really the measurement of strengthening our spiritual core. It is: Are we being transformed in our thinking? Are we being transformed in our actions? Are we being transformed in our being who we are in our heart? You can think of it in very easy terms of our head - what we're believing; our hearts - our virtues, in other words, what's happening internally in the control center of our lives; and our hands - what we're practicing, what we're actually doing. And so that's really what we have been focusing on, even as church leadership, what does it mean to be a disciple who's being transformed in head and heart and hands and belief in virtues and practices? And we're using something right now. We're looking at something right now called the Christian Life Profile. It's something that's been used in our leadership training for some time here at Calvary. And it identifies 30 characteristics, 10 characteristics of belief, 10 characteristics of virtues, 10 characteristics of practices that we see over and over again in the Bible. And we're looking at how do we incorporate that into our intentional efforts to help people strengthen their spiritual core, to grow as disciples. So over the next couple of months, we're going to look at some of these. We are going to start working our way through. And today and this month, we begin with the first core beliefs. So this is this is, again, of the head. Not that everything is about belief, but this is where we're beginning. And that first belief is very simply this. It is the belief in God: a disciple of Jesus believes in the God of the Bible. And by that we mean the one true God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Now, you may think this is academic, especially if you've been in church for a while, but let's talk about the very real relevance of this, why this is so critical. Just think about what happened in 2020. One of the realizations for me is 2020, and all the events that happened during 2020 brought to the surface. So it is undeniable what has been happening in our culture for some time. And that very simply is the world has been slowly and subtlely but undeniably changing right beneath us. And I don't mean necessarily the physical world. I mean what is happening in our culture. Most of us, if we're 40 or over, we were we were raised, we were steeped, in what's called modernism, which which depends on rational thought and the scientific method and reason. And yet what has been going on in the last number of years and really came to the surface in all of the events that I think we've seen in 2020 is rationalism has been eclipsed by postmodernism. And postmodernism rejects rationality; it rejects reason; it even to some degree rejects or wants to change the use of the scientific method. And why this is so crucial for us is, at its core, postmodernism - what what people who are now growing up in their elementary school age up into their 20s and 30s and 40s, and it's leaking even up above that. What is there is a rejection of this very idea that there is any absolute. Even if there's some acknowledgement of God, he is rejected as the one who is absolute reality, who establishes absolute truth, who establishes the standard that determines what is right or wrong, what is moral or immoral for all times and all places. In all cultures. Postmodernism rejects the idea that there is - what we are learning in our leadership class in here at Calvary - a metanarrative that there is a story that God is in control and working towards everything, towards his aims all throughout human history, that that he has a point and purpose for all of our lives. So into this postmodern culture, we step if we are followers of Jesus and we say: no, we believe in one true God, we believe in the God of the Bible, we believe in the God of the Bible who reveals himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And we'll be looking at that the next couple of weeks, but today I want to come to what what I think for me is become a foundational text in all of this. And it's the one you heard read earlier. I'm not going to read the whole text, but it is the account of God appearing to Moses in Exodus, chapter three. And in verse one, we see the context. Moses is leading the flock, the flocks that belonged to his father in law, Jethro, and he's leading them into the far side of the wilderness. And he comes to Horeb, the mountain of God. Now, this location is unknown. We don't know where this is. All we know is it's way out in the middle of nowhere. He was probably wandering to find some fresh grazing for his sheep. He was probably going far beyond he'd ever gone before. Horeb - that word in Hebrew means wilderness. So it is out in the middle of nowhere. There's no hint that Moses was aware that there was a mountain out there identified as the mountain of God. What's the significance of that? When God reveals himself, as we're going to see, is probably one of the most significant revelations of himself in all of scripture. God does it in a non-traditional, non-religious setting. That's not the last time in scripture that we'll see a significant revelation of God, not in some kind of church or sanctuary, but in a non traditional, non religious setting. And what does he see? How does God begin this revelation? Moses isn't looking for this, but we read in verse two, the angel of the Lord appeared to him not in a burning bush, but literally the Hebrew here would be like this: In a flame of fire from the midst of a bush that was not consuming the bush. Now, that's significant, a flame of fire is an Old Testament symbol of what we call a theophany, when when God reveals himself in some visible way, you think of the pillar of fire. There is a theophany, that God appeared leading the Israelites in during the exodus. You think of God appearing to Moses at Mount Sinai to give him the law. He did it, Deuteronomy records, out of the midst of a fire. So this fire is God just giving a visual representation of himself. That's why the bush is not consumed. This is not somebody simply lighting a bush on fire. And even as we read Angel, Angel is probably better translated here as messenger. This this is God in some visual form appearing before man. And this is actually God speaking. This is not some angel of God speaking. We see instances of the Angel of the Lord throughout the Old Testament, meaning God is in some way visually showing up to speak. Jumping ahead a little bit in verse six, what is it that God says to Moses at its core?: I am the God of your father. Notice that singular, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Israel and the God of Jacob. That is singular because God is identifying himself with with Moses and Moses's family who are in slavery in Egypt. I don't have time to go through all the context of that. But if you read the first two chapters of Exodus, you see the setting, the situation that the Israelites are in. And he mentions Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the three great patriarchal fathers. So what is God doing here? God is identifying himself with the faith of Moses's people, the nation of Israel who are enslaved in Egypt. Now, I think there is a real challenge for Moses, first of all, to believe this, but but really, anyone who would have been there at that time. Yes, Moses can recall at least hearing about times where God showed up to appear to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and various places. But it's been a long time. It's been four hundred years that the Israelites have been in Egypt under slavery, crying out with no real evidence that God has shown up for them at all. Four hundred years. And not only has it been a long time, but this is a very new situation, the nation of Egypt. This is probably the first world's great power. The pharaoh had power over every aspect of the Egyptians lives and of course, the Israelites slaves. It had an international influence. It was the first probably great world power. And not only was there Pharaoh with all of his power, the power of the state, we might think of it, but there was a pantheon of gods. I've read of at least eight Egyptian deities. So as an Egyptian, you know, you had all you had these choices of all these deities. And if you somebody came along and told you about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, you're like, oh, that's that's just one other choice that I could possibly make. I guess he fits in somewhere, even if he's real. I guess he fits in somewhere with the other pantheon of gods. So Moses has some, probably some, at least tentativeness, if not doubt about this, leading him to ask the question in verse thirteen. If I go to the Israelites, notice the hesitation - if - if I go to the Israelites and say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you. And they ask me, what is his name? What should I tell them? You see the significance of that question, what is his name? What is your name? Moses is not asking about God's identity. He's not right at this point asking what you're like. Somebody meets me on the street. What is your what's your name? What's your first name? He is not asking that. It is a question of authority. Moses is essentially asking, if I go to them, how am I going to explain to them where you have been for the last four hundred years? If I go to them and I say this, how am I going to answer when they ask me and even my own question, can he really accomplish what he is promising? If I go to them, how am I going to explain to them that you are really present in their situation, that you really have the power over this culture, this dominant world power of Egypt? Again I think about the relevance of that today. If we are followers of Jesus, we know Jesus sends us out into the world, that is the great commission, Matthew twenty eight. And when we think about Jesus sending us out into our postmodern culture. We, or at least I'll speak honestly for me, we/I have the same struggles as Moses. You know, postmodernism has not totally wiped out the memory of the God of our fathers. I mean, most even probably people down into their 20s at least know the concept of God, but they don't know him as as God. So there is the memory of the God of our fathers. But even when they hear that, they ask with skepticism and often with scoffing. Well, what is his name? Again, not necessarily asking about identity, they're asking, is he real, is he really present? Does he really care? Can he really affect things? Does he really have power? And why does he seem so absent, why does he seem so distant? I wonder if you feel that struggle when you and I face a culture that is increasingly secular, that increasingly rejects any authority, that hangs on to personal autonomy. A culture that is becoming more and more tribal - we all have our little gods, small g gods. A culture that is becoming more and more polarized. A culture that increasingly rejects any moral absolutes, any ultimate voice, saying this is right and this is wrong, this is true and this is false. As we face that culture, what do you say? What do you say when they ask you what is his name, what should you tell them? You see how relevant this is to us. Well, God answers Moses, he answers, Moses's real question in verse 14. "I am who I am, this is what you are to say to the Israelites, I am has sent me to you". Now you probably picked it up there three times. He uses the same - It's actually one word in Hebrew - It's the verb to be I am in the first singular there. He repeats it twice, right together. I am who I am. And then there is the third time added on. The most common translations of this. Other than I am who I am. You might find this in various translations of the Bible. I am who I am. Other translations "I will cause to be what I cause to be." I've seen that one. "I will be who I am." "I am who I will be." The one thing that is for certain that is absolutely clear by the even the tense of and the form of these verbs "I am who I am" - is the past tense is not appropriate. It is not appropriate to speak of God as he was like so many in our postmodern situation would say today. Oh, yeah, God's dead. God was. God was you know, God is something from the past. God is is an archaic belief here. There's no sense of the past other than the eternal past that God always has been. There's no sense of the past tense in here. This is the present tense. It is God is representing himself as actively existing. He is saying, I am. I always have been. I always will be. I don't often quote commentators, but John Durham, a commentator, this just stuck out to me, he says, "This answer is not by any stretch of the imagination a name. It is an assertion of authority. It is a confession of reality." In essence, God is saying to them, and he's saying to us, by the way, as well, I am the God who is with and for my people at all times and all places, including in twenty, twenty one. He is saying, I will be God for you, I have always been this and I will be God for you right in the middle of your situation. This is God saying he is real, this is God saying he is present, this is God saying he is sovereign, this is God saying he is faithful, this is God saying he is at work even if you can't see it. So now that God has established who he is, I am who I am, and all of that means now he makes his proper name known, I am who I am is not his proper name. I am who I am, explains the name that he now gives in verse 15 Yahweh. This is my name forever, Yahweh is my name forever, Yahweh is how I am to be recognized in every generation. And that Hebrew word Yahweh, it comes from the same form of I am, the Hebrew word h-y-h so so God has built the foundation with the three items in verse 14, and now he gives the proper name that comes out of that Yahweh. God has been up to this point - to Moses and to you and me - revealing the meaning of his true name, his personal name, this is the name that appears over sixty eight hundred times in the Old Testament, but you don't see it. I'll explain why in a moment. It appears over and over in the Old Testament whenever you see Lord capitalized LORD, why is that? Why is not Yahweh in there? Because first of all, this is the most sacred name for God. And so the Jews honoring that sacredness, they would not pronounce it. And so instead, what they did, they did a little kind of a trick. I don't mean that in the negative sense. When they translated it, when they spoke it, they would substitute another name for God - Adonai, which means, my lord, that's why you see LORD that and as well as the Septuagint, which is just simply the the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, uses a similar translation, kyrios, which also means Lord. So every time you read your Old Testament and you see the capitalized word, all caps, LORD, what you're actually seeing there is the Hebrew word Yahweh. And I understand how that all came about. But it is a little confusing when you hear the real explanation of it. And again, I'm not on the level of any Bible translator, but I find it a little unsatisfactory because LORD is a title, but his name is Yahweh. So LORD really doesn't capture his name. Now, one more thing before I move on from his name - the Hebrew Old Testament is we have consonants, we don't have vowel markings. And so what we do know when we look at the Hebrew is the consonants which transliterated would be YHWH. So there's a lot of speculation when you add the vowels in, how do you actually say it? One very common practice was to take in the vowels from Adonai. I'm not really sure the reason and add them to YHWH and that produces Jehova. If you have the King James version of the Bible that you may see Jehovah referenced a number of times, that's where that comes from, adding the vowels from Adonai into the consonants of your way. There's no evidence that that's the right pronunciation of it. But we don't know. I think a very good translation is simply Yahweh adding in the the A and the E to say Yahweh. And that's one of the reasons I like the Holman Christian Standard Bible is occasionally they will use the word Yahweh. Now I don't mean to get academic here, because really the significance of this is that all of the verses leading up to verse 15, God has been providing an interpretation of his name. If we want to know who he is, if Moses wants to know who he is, God has been explaining that Yahweh is the great I am, Yahweh is, or as Francis Schaffer says, the God who is there. Yahweh is real whether people recognize him or not. He is eternal. He always is. He always has been. He always will be. And he is present. He is even when we can't see him. Even when we don't understand where he is. So for the Israelites and for us. Even in the midst of this postmodern culture that we now find ourselves in, God is the ultimate reality. God is the ultimate authority because he always has been and he always will be. This is going to be tested. It's going to be tested, we see in verse 15, when they go to Egypt, when Moses goes to Egypt and says, we want to worship, it's going to be tested, really his authority and whether they will follow him, it's going to be tested, verse 19, we see in the confrontation with Pharaoh, it's going to be tested, verse 20, through the series of plagues, the wonders that God will bring, but ultimately God will demonstrate to the Israelites, and to us: he is who he says he is. He is the ultimate authority. Let me close with this, how do we experience the great I am? How do we experience Yahweh where you heard it read earlier and in John eight Jesus inflames those listening to him, the Pharisees and Sadducees with that statement: "before Abraham even was born, I AM!." And their reaction to him shows that they got exactly where he was drawing that from. He's drawing that from God's revelation of himself here in Exodus three. But that's who Jesus is. He is the great I AM wrapped up in human nature. And that's why he makes himself known to us and those I am statements of the gospel of John, I am the bread of life. I am the light of the world. I am the good shepherd. I am the resurrection and the life. I am the true and living way. And my question for you as we close is, do you know this God, the one true God? Do you know the great I AM? We know him as we approach him through how he reveals himself most perfectly to us through the great I AM - Jesus the Christ. And as we come to him, recognizing his authority, recognizing him as savior, him as king, him as Lord, that is how we come and we embrace the great I AM. That is how we enter into a relationship where the great I AM, who is existed eternally, who is all powerful, who is all authority, knows and loves us and accepts us and forgives us and changes us. Do you know the great I AM through Jesus the Christ? Let's pray. Our God, there's no way I can fully do this justice of how you reveal who you truly are, but I pray, Lord Jesus, as your spirit works and our hearts, that this this would grow on us - the revelation of who you are and all of your reality, the revelation of your absolute authority, the revelation that you are here and you are present, and that determines how we go not just in our own lives, but out into the world. That rejects you. That does not believe in you. So, Lord Jesus, I pray that if there is anyone here who does not know the great I AM, that they would approach you as savior, as king, as LORD, as God incarnate, that they would come to know you as they bow before you, in repentance and faith as they embrace you, as savior, as LORD, as King. I pray this in your name. Amen.

What God's part in a believer's spiritual growth, and what is the believer's part? What does it mean to "work out your salvation"? Thank you, worship team, good morning. If I could have the screen on back there, too, please, I have been thinking a lot about storms lately, coming storms, I don't at all claim to have a gift of prophecy. And what I'm about to share with you take no way as me representing a word from the Lord, it may be an impression by the Holy Spirit, but you will have to test it. I've been thinking a lot about storms. It is an image, first of all, that we see Jesus using when he was approached and confronted by Pharisees and Sadducees who are challenging his ministry and they demand some kind of authenticating sign, he says. And Matthew, 16 three, do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky? But you cannot discern the signs of the times. What is he saying to them there? He's saying, you know, you you look at the morning, the morning horizon and you see the sky is red, you see clouds building, and you discern from that sign that weather is coming that a physical storm is coming. You know how to do that, you know how to read signs in the natural realm, but you you miss being able to read signs in the spiritual realm. You cannot see the signs right in front of your face. He challenges them of what God is doing, of even the storm that is coming upon Israel, that that rejects its savior. Now, that's a negative image in scripture of storms and storms is a sign there. There is a positive image as well. And that is in First Chronicles. First Chronicles twelve thirty two. This is of the men of Issachar. And just to give you a brief context to this, this is in the transition from from the reign of Saul King Saul to the reign of David. David has been anointed by God, but he's not yet recognized as King. And Saul is opposing him. Saul is actually trying to eliminate him. And there are different parts of the twelve tribes, different military units that are defecting from Saul, and they are coming over in support of David. And it said specifically about a group of military, a military unit from the tribe of Issachar. It says of them the men of Issachar. They understood the times and they knew what Israel should do. Think about that, they understood the times, they recognized what was happening, even though it wasn't publicly recognized, they recognized that God was raising David up to be the king and they knew what Israel should do. They knew that even though it was at that time still politically and culturally unpopular, they knew that they had to reject the status quo of Saul being king and they had to recognize the one that God was raising up as king. And because of that, they understood what Israel should do. They knew they had to act and faith and that led them to take that step, that very risky step of defecting from Saul and coming over to David. Now, as you think about those two examples, here's the questions that run through my mind and I want to present to you, are we more like the Pharisees in the Sadducees? Are we more like the men of Issachar? And by that, I mean, are we discerning the signs of the times? This pandemic we're in, it's a sign. I don't claim to be able to fully read it or understand it or discern it, but it is a sign. It is a sign that God is moving. This cultural upheaval that we are in the middle of, it is a sign, it is a sign of the times and we're called to discern it. We are called to ask, what is God doing in the midst of this? The growing secularism in our culture, in our world, it is a sign and again, we are called to be discerning of it. So do we understand the times, are we asking, what is God doing, what is God doing in the midst of the pandemic? That's it shuts everything down, including so much about church life that we love and appreciate. What is God doing in the midst of all this cultural upheaval that is going on? What is God doing in this growing tide of secularism that is sweeping across our culture? Do we understand what God is doing? Are we seeking to understand that or are we simply trying to preserve the status quo? Are we thinking in terms of if we could just get back to where we were, if things could just return to normal? Preserving the status quo is the mindset and thinking of the Pharisees and the Sadducees seeking to understand what God is doing in the midst of all of these signs. That's what the men of Issachar were doing. Do we know what Israel should do? Do we know what the people of God should do as we discern the signs? How, in other words, we should be asking, how does God want us to prepare as a church, as a community of faith, when when we think about the the changing conditions from the pandemic and from all the cultural upheaval and from the growing tide of secularism, how is it that God would have us prepare as the church, as Calvary, the church, but even the greater church, the people of God, and then individually, are we asking how does God want me to prepare as an individual follower of Christ? Well, that really is all I've been thinking and praying as as I've been contemplating where we're going to go for the next couple months and are in the preaching and even in when I'm when I'm distributing to small groups for discussion that idea of preparing, that idea of seeking to understand the signs of the times and preparing. And today, I just kind of want to introduce that by talking about preparing as we discern the signs of the times by strengthening our core. You may know that term if you've ever worked out at all. I am approaching that age of life or I have I'm thinking very intentionally what do I need to do to just preserve my flexibility and my strength and my endurance? What do I need to do physically and through exercise and diet to be able to preserve my health in any way that I can? And I've gotten some advice on that lately. And that advice, that was the phrase giving it to me. Dan, you need to strengthen your core. You know, there are certain essential I won't go into detail. I'm not a physical trainer, but there are certain parts of our body that that are essential, that not that every part of our body isn't important, but there are certain parts of our body that are absolutely essential to keep strong, to keep flexible. If we're going to preserve the ability to to be able to function and to be able to keep doing what we're doing. And spiritually, I think that's true as well. That is, we discern the signs of the times and we try to understand what God is doing and therefore how we should respond individually. And as a church, there is this this need to strengthen our core. What, in other words, are the essential beliefs that we need to make sure we individually hold on to tightly, but that we as a congregation hold on to tightly? What are the initial or what are the essential virtues, the the characteristics of a follower of Christ that I want to make sure are true of me that I'm growing in, but that we want to make sure as a church that we are growing in. And what are the essential practices, what what is it that we, as followers of Jesus must be sure that we are doing in our lives and in our community all of those those essential beliefs and virtues and practices I would define as strengthening our core. And that's what I would be looking at over the next couple of months. But I want to introduce that today with our text, our text. I'm just taking a snippet out of Philippians, chapter two, verse 12 and 13. But listen to this. When you think of strengthening your core, listen to this as you think about what it means to discern the times and and to prepare, continue to work out your salvation. Paul says with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you both to will and to work his good pleasure. Now, let me pick that apart just a little bit for us this morning, what does it mean to work out your salvation? I can tell you, first of all what it doesn't mean. It does not mean that we contribute to our being saved in any way. In fact, I can prove that right from the text. Just one chapter earlier. You if you have Philippians open, if you look at Philippians, chapter one, verse six, Paul is writing clearly to Christians for he says he praises them that God has already begun a good work, the good work of salvation in them. So he is writing to people who are already saved. And if you're here this morning and you are saved, you know Christ as savior and Lord and you've responded to him in faith and repentance. This passage is for you. If you are here this morning and that's not true of you, this passage doesn't apply and there's in danger that you may misinterpreted as somehow that you can by doing enough good works, merits your salvation, which is not true, which is heresy. This is not about working for salvation. This is about being saved, working out that salvation. We are Ephesians two eight nine. We are saved by grace, through faith, not by works, so that no one can boast. So that's first of all, we have to understand that this is not about working for salvation. So what does it mean for somebody who is already following Christ, someone who has already responded to the gospel to work out their salvation, work out that even the the Greek term that Paul uses there has the meaning of living out live out the faith that you have in Christ, live out the further realization of the benefits of the gospel that you have responded to, live out the implications of following Jesus. It has this idea of us being intentional that salvation is not just a decision we made at some point in the past vacation Bible school or maybe in high school or college. And we've passed that mark. And so everything else is clear and we can just live any way we want, know it to be intentional, be diligent. It's it's the idea that that was that was came up in the text that was read by Nancy earlier. And second, Peter, one, be diligent to make your calling and your election. Sure. And one more thing about working work out, it is in the present tense, which means it is continuous. This is something that we continue to do all through our Christian lives from the moment that we first respond to the gospel and God saves us to the day that we see Jesus face to face, either in death or at his coming, we are to be intentionally, diligently working out, living out the realization of the benefits of the gospel, the implications of what it means to follow Jesus and where to do this with fear and trembling. Now, people sometimes hear that word fear and what comes to mind naturally, the fear, that is anxiety, fear, that is dread, that is not this kind of fear. This is this is reverence. This is as you even look at the context and in just a couple verses earlier, in verses six through 11, we see this wonderful recitation of what Christ has done for us coming down from heaven and humbling himself all the way to the cross, and then God raising him up, exalting him to the place of highest honor and authority in all of reality. And it ends at the name of Jesus. Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. And then it goes to where we are now, it is a view of that, that that we bow the knee to Christ as Lord, it is view of the fact that he is highly exalted. That's the meaning of the reverence. How do we respond to that? If that really is the state of our heart, if we are on bended knee before Christ in our heart, then we work out our salvation with fear and trembling. John Newton, who wrote Amazing Grace, said this about fear and trembling, It is to have a right sense of the sin that still indwells us that we're still trying to rid ourselves of by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is to have a right sense of the snares and the temptations around us that make us live carefully and cautiously. It's the idea that the apostle John talks about and second, John eight. Watch out that you do not lose what you have work for, but that you may be fully rewarded. And he's not talking there about a genuine believer being able to lose their salvation. He's talking about a genuine believer who just gets Lack's, who gets lazy, who doesn't really care, who is not diligent and what happens to their faith. One of the houses we were living in a number of years ago, I remember there was a construction project, a new house being built across the street, and they got the foundation poured and they put up the framing. I think the roof was on, but it wasn't shingled yet. And all of a sudden construction stopped. I can only assume that funding dried up or something like that. And so for well over a year, that shell just sat there. No further construction was happening. Did it stay in the same state as the last day the workmen were working on it? No, you know the answer to that. The weather and time in the midst of that inactivity began to make that house deteriorate. And when finally construction restarted, I don't know, something like 18 months later, they had to tear down much of what they had already started. They had to put up put a new roof on because all the plywood had become warped. Other modifications of the house that is much like a genuine believer who being saved is not diligent is is, as the Bible calls slothful, is not diligent in working out his or her Christian faith. His or her salvation, that there can be a decline, not a losing of the faith, but there can be a decline. You know, that is, I know that if you've been reading your Bible, if you've been praying, if you've been in Christian fellowship on somewhat of a regular basis and then you let it go, you let it lapse, what happens? You lose ground. And that's what we're being warned against here by John and in our text, Paul. And so, as Thomas Watson says, we need this this fear, this reverence, he says. Fear is a remedy against presumption. We would presume that just because we've taken care of our justification, that that, you know, everything's going to be fine, it is a fear. Fear, he says, is an antidote to sloth. If we really, in our heart see ourselves as bowing the knee before the ultimate authority of the universe, we will not be lazy out of reverence for that king. Watson says fear is a preservative against apostacy, and that's a whole another sermon, but the New Testament is full of examples of individuals who seem to believe and then and then go off and deny the faith or deny the essentials of the faith. Fear this reverence that that keeps us working out. Our salvation is an antidote against apostasy. Now, you may still be struggling at this point, putting together this whole idea of working and salvation. And if you're there and for a long time in this passage, I struggled with this. Let me just give you this. I hope this is helpful to you. Think of salvation as in three phases. There is salvation as an accomplished fact. There is salvation as a present process, and there is salvation as a future prospect. Salvation as an accomplished fact is our justification. That is the moment when God saved us, and usually that aligns with when we respond to the gospel and repentance and faith and we are fully and finally saved and justification. Salvation as an accomplished fact is really to say we have been saved, but there is another stage, another phase that that it doesn't cancel out the first one, it's ongoing. And that is salvation as a present process. And that is what's called sanctification. And if you're a believer, that's the stage that you are in. If you're here this morning and you've not responded, you are right before that first stage. But if you're here this morning and you know Christ as savior and Lord, you're in that present process of sanctification. You have been saved. You are being saved. The Holy Spirit is at work in you, making you more and more into the image of Jesus. And then there is salvation as a future prospect. This is called glorification. This is when we stand before Jesus one day, either upon our death or if he comes before our death when he comes and all of his glory and the process of our salvation is finished, we are glorified. We are made like Christ. We will be saved. We have been saved. We are being saved. We will be saved. Another way to think about it is our justification is being saved from the penalty of sin. We we no longer under the guilt of sin, our sanctification. The present stage is we are being saved from the power of sin, rooting out the flesh in us and our glorification is we will one day be saved from the very presence of sin. All sin will be rooted out in us. Now, I say that to give you the context of Philippians two, 12 and 13, it is in that middle stage working out your salvation is not in the first stage. All right. Being saved justification, working out your salvation will be all done at the final stage. Glorification, working out your salvation is in the second stage, the present process of sanctification that is presently happening and every believer. If you're still struggling with with this idea of working and salvation, putting those two into the same sentence, look at verse 13 in Philippians two, because I think that that removes all doubt. You can't read Philippians 2:12 without reading verse 13. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it. Is God working and you it is God who works. And you. What is Paul saying there? We are saved only by God's powerful work, even in being saved initially. It's because he changes us inwardly. He does that imparting of spiritual life to us. When we were dead in sin, Ephesians two, again, we were dead and our transgressions. But God has made us alive in Christ well in the same way God works in us to accomplish this our sanctification. He is saying here he's the energizing power that enables you to work out your salvation. It would be totally despairing if we had to work out our salvation, if we had to try to be more like Christ in our own power. But Paul says here, we depend entirely upon God to sanctify us, and it's in that dependence upon him that we obey him and all he says and that we take active steps to live out that obedience. God works and you too will and to work for his good pleasure. I love this. He works in us to will, in other words, God, cause he changes our will, he causes us to want to do this. Who of us from our flesh would want to live a more holy life, would want to be more Christlike all on our own. God gives us that desire. He changes our will. And not only does he change our will, he works in us to work for it, he gives us the ability and the power to obey his will, you see that he gives you the desire to live out his will and he gives you the power and the ability to do so. Well, how do we go about working out your salvation? I want to give you just a few thoughts this morning. This is by no means an exhaustive list. But I need to say right at the beginning, here's where it begins. It begins by trusting in the gospel. In fact, if we miss this, if we if we don't understand that this all is the overflow of the gospel in our lives, it is so easy to fall into the trap of legalism. It is so easy to fall into the pit of thinking that somehow we justify ourselves, that we work in some way that is meritorious in God's eyes. So it begins with trusting in the gospel. And again, this is a whole other sermon that I don't have time to go into today, but if you are not clear on what do we mean by the gospel, I would direct you to Romans three. Many writers call it the heart of the gospel versus starting with verse 19 and verse 20. Paul says no one will be declared righteous by keeping the law. Let me translate into our modern day English. You can't be saved by being a good person. We can't do enough of the good things, the law that God has told us to do to be right before him. It is absolutely impossible. No one of us can perfectly keep the law. So what do we do, Paul says. Well, God has answered that now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known. He has revealed to us through the gospel, he has revealed, you can't be good enough. But I present to you one who has been perfectly good, the Lord Jesus, who came and lived an absolutely perfect life keeping the law in every every, every jot and tittle, keeping the law perfectly. And it's in him that righteousness is imputed to you as you trust in him and believe in him. And so verse twenty to this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. You trust in who Jesus is and what he has done, you trust in God's provision, by his grace of this righteousness, not your righteousness, but Christ righteousness, and you are saved that's imputed to you. You are covered by his righteousness. All your sin is covered. And you you are fully pure in his eyes, in the righteousness and Christ, the heart of the gospel. I love Jerry Bridges, who often used the phrase preach the gospel to yourself every day, we have to begin here and working out our salvation. We have to every day preach the gospel to ourselves. But having preach the gospel, there are other areas that that were called on to in working out our salvation, and the first one would be to make every effort to be diligent, to grow in Christ likeness. Again, that was the passage read earlier. But notice what Peter says, the same idea as Paul. There's a need to make effort. There's a need to be diligent. There's a need to actually act. And on what we are obeying from God's word. And if you notice, those were read earlier. But if you notice all of those attributes, what are they describing? They're describing Christ. It is to be active and growing in Christ's likeness. That's part of working out our salvation. And then there is the writer of Hebrews says part of working out our salvation is to make every effort to be holy without holiness. No one will see the Lord now. Only one is holy, only one is totally holy. But again, this is that idea of I don't want my thoughts or my words or my actions to be formed by anything except Christ, anything but what God reveals in his word. And as his spirit works in me, I want to grow more and more like this. So I am becoming holy like he is becoming holy. Working out your salvation is pursuing holiness. Those would be the positive aspects. Here's here's a negative aspect. He says make abstain from sexual immorality. He writes to the Thessalonians and to us. And this is that idea of purity and it extends beyond sexual immorality. There are many ways that we can be immoral in our culture. And Paul is saying here that that part of what it means to work out your salvation is to root out every area of immorality in your life. Remember, for those of you who may be discouraged, especially in the eye in this area of sexual immorality, remember, this is a lifelong project of working out your salvation. So we stumble and fall and what do we do? We get back up again and we continue with the help of God's and dwelling Holy Spirit. We continue to to to pursue this. We don't let the fact that we have stumbled and fall trip us and keep us down lying there forever. Discipline yourself, there is there's over and over again, Paul uses these images of discipline that he uses the image of a boxer, he uses the image of a runner. You're not going to be a good boxer. You're not going to be a good runner unless you are disciplined and you practice and you exercise. And Paul says in the same way, all those things are good. It's good to work out, but discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness. So working out your salvation is actually practically thinking through what do I need to do to become more self disciplined? We talked a couple of weeks ago about reading the Bible and then meditating on scripture and then praying through scripture. And some of you may have thought, yeah, that's what the Lord wants me to do. Have you followed through on that? Have you established the disciplines that you're going to need to do that? All right. That's just one little example. But exercising self discipline and how I'm going to grow and godliness is essential. And then discernment. Hebrews, the writer of Hebrews, urges us to work at being discerning believers, being increasingly able to discern between good and evil. Remember that image of the storm coming, that image of weather, that the signs of the times of the rising secularism in our culture, of just the cultural upheaval we need the ability as followers of Jesus to discern what is good and what is evil, what is true and what is false. And you notice what the writer of Hebrews says that involves that involves practice. He says the practice of those who have their senses trained. We train ourselves, we take advantage of opportunities within the body of Christ to be trained in that. Do you see, again, that theme of diligent effort? Last thing. Community. It is interesting, I know Philippians two, 12 and 13 are not up on the screen right at the moment, but if you look back at that, when Paul writes, work out your salvation the form of that, that those words are second person, plural. So what's the significance of that? Yes, what he's saying implies to each of us individually, but he's saying and I think even louder, this is something we do as the community of faith. This is something that we do together. Working out your salvation. Sanctification is not just something we pursue ourselves, although we do. It is something that happens in community. And that's why, again, the writer of Hebrews says, don't neglect meeting together, there is a need to meet together where we can do it in person or, you know, second best online. We have to come together because we pursue working out our salvation most effectively in community. He says, let us encourage one another. We need each other picking us up when we fall, when we stumble and fall, we need each other encouraging us on as we develop the discipline and the habits as we practice and we train to grow and Christ likeness. I want to close with this. Some of the forms of community that have been most invaluable in my personal life and my sanctification up to this moment, my growing, my working out, my salvation, at times, God has used accountability groups where struggling with a particular sin. I got together in a covenant relationship with a couple other men, and we wrestled through what scripture had to say about that area of temptation. And we held each other accountable and we encouraged each other. And out of that accountability and that kind of Covenant Group relationship, God freed me from some of that sin. Accountability groups may be something that you need in community and working out your salvation, discipleship groups. There are many forms of discipleship groups. One that I know a number of you, because you've talked to me about, have been part of that. I've also been part of the Navigator to seven discipleship group type of series that's been really significant in my life as a young believer. There's many other forms, but a discipleship group being we are going to intentionally work through what it means to be a follower of Christ together. I'm running out of time. Small groups, small groups, not just people getting together for fellowship, but people getting together to to focus on the word and to have some forms of accountability and support groups. Sometimes we have a particular area of need. May maybe a single parents, maybe somebody has gone through divorce or are going through grief. And they need to bring that need together with unbelievers and working out their salvation. What does it mean to follow Christ and their circumstances? Here are, I think, the elements, the essential elements of an effective form of community for working out your salvation. There needs to be intimacy. We need to be able to know that we can be vulnerable and we can be real and we can trust the people that we are with. And that will be held in confidence. There needs to be truth. All right, a group that comes together and doesn't open the word the Bible is deluding themselves, so any form of these groups need to be rooted in scripture and opening the scripture together. There needs to be accountability, not the parole officer type of accountability. But but that that where we share what we're struggling with and we expect people to ask about it and and help us walk through that. And there needs to be mission. There needs to be that idea that we don't just exist for ourselves. We actually are growing in Christ, that we may reach out outside of ourselves to people who do not yet know Christ. Are you in some form of community that has these elements, it may be one of these groups I have up there, it may be some other kind of group. Do you have that in your life? That would be my desire for you. And even as you hear some of tonight, if you tune in to the town hall webinar, you're going to hear what the board and the pastors have been thinking and praying through and discussing about how can we more intentionally create that kind of community that will help us as a church and us individually work out your salvation. Continue to work out your salvation, thinking of what is coming. Thinking of the signs of the times and what they may mean. Thinking of what Israel what the people of God should do, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you both to will and to work his good pleasure. Let's pray. Oh, Heavenly Father, where would we be, by your grace? Where would we be without your mercy? If you did not first work in us, none of us would even genuinely be here. We so thank you for your grace and Christ to us, we so thank we're so thankful for you taking dead people and making them alive in Christ, we are so thankful for your justification. And Lord, we look forward to your glorification, we long for the culmination of the age when Jesus will return and all of his glory and we will be made like him as we see him face to face. And now, Lord, help us in our sanctification. Help us not to be slothful, help us to be diligent, help us to make effort, empowered by you, by your spirit, living in us to work out our salvation, to become more and more like Christ. We pray this Lord in Jesus name and for his glory. Amen.

Part 3 of a 3-part series on grounding ourselves in God’s Word. We look at five reasons that praying Scripture itself is important. https://www.calvaryefree.church/blog/pastor-dan-werthman/resources-for-praying-gods-word/

Part 2 of a 3-part series on grounding ourselves in God's Word. Learn about the importance of, as well as methods for, meditating on the Scriptures.

Part 1 of a 3-part series on grounding ourselves in God's Word. Develop a habit of Bible reading, avoiding legalism or self-righteousness.

We need (and are called) to surrender both trouble and happiness to God in prayer. How do we do this?

The story of Joseph in Genesis and the prophecy of Zechariah in Luke help us to understand that we can trust God's character completely.

The carol "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" retells the story from Luke 2, and offers three reasons for the Incarnation.

The carol “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” highlights the good news of Christmas: that Jesus has come to “save us all from Satan’s power."