It's good to see you guys today. My name is Kyle.
Service lead. Pastor here.
I want to welcome, you grateful that you've shown up today for
worship with the Lord, you have your Bible with you.
Please turn to Hebrews the book of Hebrews and the New
Testaments going to look at chapter 10 of Hebrews today.
Just a few verses there. We are jumping back into a
series on on worship now, as we talked about, You know months
ago. So this was a series that I had
begun just before when he had passed away.
And so we're going to jump back into this now because I do think
it's very important for us to go through this.
I think it's really needed and our day and time to understand
what happens when we come together for worship.
When I say worship, I want to establish as we did, then I want
to re-establish. Now, we say worship, we're not
just talking about singing. That is part of worship singing
as part of worship, but praying is part of worship.
Obedience is part of worship. Giving might be part of your
worship hearing. The word taught is part of
worship, reading. The word is part of worship.
So, so much of everything, we do really everything, we do in our
Christian Life is worship. And then, but what happens when
we come together in the service, we call a worship service for a
reason or stains that are taking In place that are Supernatural
just to be frank with you that there's things that happen in
here that won't happen anywhere else.
We establish this Thursday night in our men's group, we were
talking about the discipline of church and the why do we do
church? And some of the things we talked
about was just that it's good one to have Brotherhood, right?
It's good to experience a Brotherhood, a common bond with
brothers and sisters in the Lord, as we strive for the Name
Mission and there's a shared experience in that, that's a
good thing. But one of the things we pointed
out that night is that that alone is not enough to transform
or to inspire someone because you see Brotherhood and other
forms. You see it and country clubs you
see it on football teams, you see it in work, right?
There's a, there's a common bond that brings people together.
But it's not transformative at least spiritually transformative
in nature and might transform you physically.
You might do some good things but in worship when we come
together, there's something spiritual in nature, that's
taking place and that's what this series seeks to show us and
then it's going to show us in the coming weeks.
I think why we do what we do. Why do we sing?
Why do we pray? Why do we take communion?
Why do we baptize people? Why do we Preach the word.
What's happening in these things?
Today is really a good. The Lord is always, he's always
providential. Today's a really good one, it's
the next sermon. It would have been the next
sermon in the series of this, is not a recap sermon, but it's a
very good one for continuing building, the foundation, for
what it is that we're looking at.
And so series is what happens when we worship.
I want to make it known as I did, then that That I took a
class in the summer through Grace Bible Theological Seminary
where I attend on worship. And so in one sense I am trying
to help myself right, as I study things, I want to be able to
teach things and I'm trying not to be overloaded.
So there will be some things. I study that we won't have
sermon series on and then there's things that I study
that, I think, man, we need to learn these things together.
We need to teach this together so that class but also Book by a
man named. Jonathan Cruz has been really
helpful in putting this series together.
And so many of the thoughts come from my studies and from this
book anyway. So, in week one, we looked at we
were created to worship. We just looked at Genesis 1.
Why did God put man and woman in the garden?
What were they created to do? They were created to be
worshipers of God. Now, they chose instead to
worship themselves, right. That's the Temptation Of Satan
is that you would be God. And if you're God And then you
are worshipping yourself. And so they fell in second
Corinthians 3. The second week, we looked at
how we become what we behold. You were all because you were
created to worship your always worshipping something and you're
becoming whatever it is, that you are beholding.
And so, in Christian worship, we behold nothing less and nothing
more than Christ and we become like him in so doing.
All right? And then in the final week that
I was able to She goes, we looked at Hebrews 12 and we
talked about how we meet with God.
When we come together, we are literally physically spiritually
meeting with God. And so we looked at that from
Hebrews 12, James did a recap sermon looking at Isaiah 6,
which kind of showed some of those steps that we see.
And then here we are today and then today I want to talk to you
about how Worship Christian. Worship is all about the
Covenant, faithfulness of God. It's about his covenants.
We draw near to God, so it's my big idea for you.
Today, we draw near to God, In Worship by his Covenant, 'l.
Grace, we draw near to God, In Worship by his Covenant soil,
Grace. So when they examine four parts
of weekly worship, what's taking place in weekly worship?
The first thing is that we see our covenant relationship.
We see our covenant relationship and I'll go through.
Oh these as I'm preaching, I'm just trying to give you a
roadmap for we're headed this morning.
We share our covenant relationship.
We experience Covenant 'l. Sorry we experience Covenant.
Renewal we encounter the Covenant Redeemer.
And we conclude by offering Covenant response, our covenant
response. So when I ask that you stand, as
I read Hebrews 10:19 through 23 when I'm finished reading, I'll
say this is the word of the Lord.
I ask that you respond. Thanks be to God men.
He was 10 verse 19. Therefore Brothers, since we
have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of
Jesus by the New and Living Way that he opened for us through
the curtain that is through his flesh.
And since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us
draw near with a True Heart in full Assurance of Faith with our
hearts sprinkled clean, from an evil conscience and our bodies
washed with pure water. Let us hold fast, the
confession. Action of Our Hope without
wavering for he, who promised is faithful.
This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
We pray Heavenly Father, we love you.
We thank you Lord for your word. We ask Lord that you be near to
us and how he's being as we've heard from it and now I attempt
to preach it, Lord, may it be your word and your word alone
that transforms our hearts and Minds today made the thoughts
that come from My mouse, the your thoughts and things that
are clear and your word and nothing less Lord.
Would you open our hearts and Minds today to receive your
word? Help us to receive it with
gladness hopes to receive it with a desire to obey it.
We love you. We thank you that you're working
and even now in ways that we may not even see us but we know that
you are near, it's in the Name of Christ.
We pray. Amen.
So a sermon on meeting with God
and then one of those things that we talked about is how it's
kind of a terrifying thing to think about meeting with God.
If you think about meeting with God, it's kind of a terrifying
Endeavor. The writer of Hebrews here says
that we can come to worship with confidence and we should, he's
imploring, his people come to worship with confidence.
Come before him with confidence but that's not naturally.
The case naturally, we're separated from God.
And if it were not for Christ, we would possess nothing to
bring to God with confidence except our sin and guilt again
right out of the gate in the Garden of Eden after Adam and
Eve have sinned. The Lord comes in the cool of
the day and he calls out to the man.
And the Man Comes running to God with joy.
Wrong. The man does what he hides.
Why? Because meeting with God in your
sin and guilt is terrified, he's holy he's perfect and we're not
and we recognize this. However, what we see in Hebrews
10 is that we can draw near with a True Heart in full Assurance
of Faith. How is that possible?
Well, Cruz says this, I thought this hopefully says, because in
Christian worship, God doesn't meet with us.
In our guilts, he meets with us. Sorry, he meets us with his
grace. He doesn't meet with us in our
guilt. He meets us with his grace.
God calls to Adam in the garden and Adam finally comes and he's
at the verdict is pronounced. Adam is guilty, but God meets
him with Grace, there will come one.
Who will crush the Serpent's. Here's some clothes from animal
skins, which were sacrifices, which was a Prelude or
foreshadowing to the sacrifices that would come in the Old
Testament, which were a Prelude or a foreshadowing to the
sacrifice. Ultimately of Christ, there's
grace, even in the garden. In a minson and drastic
Rebellion against the perfect Creator, God shows Grace.
We draw near to God In Worship by his Covenant of Grace.
This is what we will see today. As I mentioned, a moment ago, we
meet with God and Christian worship, he He is present with
us and Hebrews 12, we looked at how you don't come to Mount
Sinai, you don't come to what may be touched, but you come to
the New Jerusalem, the holy city of God, to a new to assure
mediator to Christ himself. You come to meet with God.
When you meet When we come together, we meet with him.
Now, if you were curious about the implications of that, then I
encourage you to check out that sermon from August.
But one fascinating wonderful truth of this, is that in
Christian worship. God is condescending to his
people. He's coming down to us and he's
restoring us to him self. This is why the Incarnation of
Christ is so wonderful. It's the condescension of the
very Son of God to become like us so that he might die a death.
Pay a price that you and I should have died and should have
paid. So that we might go scot-free in
his righteousness. Be clean forever.
And so, we're worthy of God's Wrath throughout the week.
We commit many sins and when we come to worship and some sense
it ought to terrify us that we were going to meet with God in
our sinfulness and yet in weekly worship God is reminding us of
his Covenant faithfulness. Our covenant with him is founded
on and it's perpetuated by his faithful commitment to us not by
our lacking performance before him.
Amen. And he ordains, he gives to US
Weekly worship out of his kindness for the purpose of
reminding of his Covenant faithfulness.
And so, when weekly worship is at least four things taking
place that I want to show you today first, we see our covenant
relationship and weekly worship. We have on display for us, our
covenant relationship with God. Hebrews 10:19, we have
confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus.
The Bible is clear that we have a relationship with God.
And this relationship comes to us now through the blood of
Christ and worship. We see this Covenant
relationship firsthand 1st Corinthians 11:25 says this in
the same way. He also took the cup after
supper saying this cup and this is Christ speaking to his
disciples. This cup is the New Covenant in
my blood do this, as often as you drink it in remembrance of
me. What's he saying?
He said, Here is the New Covenant according to my blood.
What is covenant? If it's not relationship?
Covenant is all about relationship.
God relates to his creatures in covenants.
Those are relationships that are based on binding promises
between at least two parties and typically one of those parties
is greater than the other. I have the wonderful call of
walking through premarital counseling with couples who are
engaged to be married. And this week, I was looking at
the Covenant of marriage with Alan and Sarah as they prepare
to be married in February and in it, what we were talking about
is just the Covenant of God, God.
Grants to man, The Covenant of marriage, but the Covenant of
marriage is not simply between a man and a woman.
Amen. It's between a man and a woman
who are becoming One flesh and who are in relationship with God
or who should be in relationship with God.
So even the Covenant of marriage is perpetuated, is founded on
God, his grace, his mercy. And when to come together under
that, they're coming together to God with one another, And so in
relate in covenants, what's happening?
Is God is condescending, he's stooping down.
If you will to us And in this Covenant, what we see as we see
throughout the Old Testament of those covenants, he is promising
salvation to all who will call on the name of his son, by his
grace through faith. And this is his Covenant of
Grace and buy it. Buy it alone, you might enjoy
fellowship with God, once again, but apart from it, apart from
the grace of God and his Covenant, you can have no
fellowship with God. In the garden, which is really
just the first Worship Center as we looked at in that first
sermon of how you were created to worship.
God began a covenant with the man and the woman.
When he created them, he creates them and then he gives them a
command. And he tells them that they
would have everlasting life if they would obey the command,
because if they disobeyed it, they would surely die.
It means if they obeyed it, they would surely not die in the sign
of their everlasting life would be a feast.
They would get to eat from a tree that was in the middle of
the garden called the Tree of Life.
And they would live forever. Genesis 3, shows us A quote from
Cruz's book says this for Adam and all his descendants.
A worship order was fixed stitched into the very order and
fabric of human life on Earth. God gives a call, man gives a
response responsible be tiant's and then there is a meal there
is communion with God. There's a call to worship
through God's word. There's a response from Man by
faith and obedience by love and devotion.
And there's a fellowship meal, there's Union and communion with
God. In short Worship in Eden was
familial Covenant, 'l communion However, we know already that
Adam and Eve failed right we are where we're at today because
they have failed. I failed to obey God it took of
the fruit which he commanded them not to eat and so they were
kicked out of the garden by their treason they were in
rebellion. And so they were kicked out this
and this should have been Doom for all of their descendants.
All of their descendants should have been them and all their
descendants should have been doomed to the same fate.
damnation forever they should have had nothing but a sinful
life without any hope of fellowship with God.
But again, I've already told you earlier.
This is not what we see in Genesis 3, right God makes a
promise God provides sacrifice God intends to remain in
fellowship with his people in spite of their sins.
God maintains his Covenant relationship with his people.
He overcomes our sin by his Amazing Grace by his astounding
Mercy through Jesus Christ and so as a result, there's two
things that are added there's two elements added to the
original call response Mill structure of Covenant
relationship. So again, I set the the original
structures that there's a call from God.
There's a response from man and then there's a communion meal
that shared But now things had to change.
The first thing we see is that a cleansing must be added.
We can no longer answer God's call because we are defiled by
sin, we are in pure and so we cannot approach him again.
He is Holy, we are not Therefore God's covenant faithfulness
requires Bloodshed. Now that's what the author of
Hebrews is writing and Hebrews 9:22 where he says, indeed under
the law, almost everything is purified with blood and without
the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.
There must be a cleansing and to enter Covenant relationship with
God, you must be cleansed and so he makes cleansing Oil in
Christ. The second thing we see that's
added is commissioning. It used to be that the Covenant
will Feast was the culmination of worship.
That's the the mill of worship if you will, for us.
It's now the Lord's supper. And it used to be that, that
would be the end of it that you would Feast with God, you would
commune with him. But once the fall happened,
there's now a commissioning, there's a going and the mill is
now just simply meant to remind you of future things to come
that you will enjoy one day, the marriage supper of the Lamb.
One day in the fullness of Glory, you'll dwell with Christ
and with the Saints and with Angelic beings and you will
Feast together. Amen. but, until then, Your
commission. Your commission until.
Then, God commission's us with work to do.
What's the work? What's the good work of
gathering more worshippers? It's the good work of taking the
gospel into the nation's and proclaiming Christ to also that
more might become worshipers of God.
It's the good work of training, your children to love the Lord,
some of us are more adamant about Warning here, this is
going to hurt. Some of us are more adamant
about the teams that our children will root for.
And we are about the God. They will serve.
We need to be careful. We'll give them a choice on
which God they serve, but we won't give them a choice on
which sports team, they have to root for what's wrong with us.
Let's say us. I just mean the Christian world
not necessarily you. This was God's intention with
Israel. He saved Israel, we read in
Joshua 424. So that all the peoples of the
earth. May know that the hand of the
Lord is mighty that you may fear the lord, your God forever so he
saved Israel. Why?
So that all the nations of the world might see and know and
fear God. Amazing Deuteronomy 46.
We see that Israel was saved. So that other nations would
Marvel at their wisdom and blessing, they would look at
them and say, wow, they were not Mighty, now they're Mighty, they
didn't know things. Now they have all wisdom.
God is surely in their midst. God intended to use Israel, to
declare his glory among the nation's his Wonder among all
peoples, as first chronicles 16, 24 cents.
So now we have the basic Covenant, all the basic
structure for the Covenant or relationship that God has with
his people and he intends for us to see it weekly and our worship
service. And so I'll go over the steps.
Just kind of all together here. God calls his people to the task
of glorifying and praising him. God cleanses his people making
them fit to receive his word and truly be consecrated or set
apart as those who respond in faith and obedience God, shares
a meal with his people as a symbol of their communion.
Finally God blesses, his people and he sends them out into the
world to declare his glory, to all people.
This is what's happening in the worship service, the worship.
Gathering. We draw near to God and worship
by his Covenant of Grace, and that relationship is formed in
US. The second thing happens in
weekly worship is that we experienced covenants.
Renewal God renews his Covenant with us, Hebrews 10:22, let us
draw near with a heart with a True Heart in full Assurance of
Faith with our hearts sprinkled clean, from an evil conscience,
and our bodies washed with pure water.
This is what the writer of Hebrews is, describing is a
renewal of the Covenant of the covenants.
It's a cleansing that's taking place.
Time and time. Again Israel.
In the Old Testament does their dead level best to lose forever
their Covenant with God. How many times have you been
reading the scriptures or sitting in Sunday school?
Even and thinking to yourself, Israel, what are you doing?
How could you be so foolish? Yet, the irony is we are Israel.
We are they they are us. Time and Time and Time.
Again they're trying to mess it up.
And in fact if it were up to them to keep their Covenant
relationship with God, they would have lost it long ago and
the same way is that if it were up to you to keep your salvation
you would have lost it long ago. They underwent chastisement from
God. Write me God dealt harshly with
Israel. They lost the promised land.
They dwelt under harsh captivity, there were many other
judgments both individual judgments and corporate
judgments if you will. The all of that happened, they
never lost their Covenant or relationship with God because he
is faithful in his Covenant of Grace is greater than their sins
in Exodus. We see this a bit more clearly
playing out after God calls them out of Egypt out of their old
place. He calls them to a new place
where Mount Sinai and there he meets with them.
God calls us to meet. That's the first step, right?
And immediately, he cleanses them.
God would have he constantly throughout the Old.
Testament is reminding them and he begins here at Mount Sinai of
his Redemption. He reminds them of his
Redemption. He says I am the Lord your God
who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of
bondage. That sounds like a history
lesson, but what it is, is he replaying for them, he's
rehearsing for them. His Redemption.
Their history is marked by constant Redemption.
If it weren't so then they would have no relationship with him at
all. So what was the Redemption that
got them out of Egypt? What was it?
That took place? What was the sacrifice that
happened? Was nothing less than the
Passover Lamb, right? Take these Lambs.
Kill these Lambs, spread the blood over your door post
because the angel of death is coming through and anyone who
doesn't have this Mark, is going to lose the first, their
firstborn son. and so, all of the Israelites, Take the blood
of the Lamb, wipe it across the doorpost of their home.
And when the angel of death comes, he passes by But all of
the Egyptian firstborn sons and we tend to think, right used to
of infants what is the firstborn son of every family?
Is destroyed in one night. One night.
And all of it foreshadows the coming of the Son of God, who
would become the lamb, who was slain so that you and I might
take the blood of the lamb. And so to speak, wipe it across
the doorpost of our home by faith.
And be free from the wrath of God.
Hidden in him. And so, when he says, I brought
you out of the land of Egypt, I brought you out of the house of
bondage, it's a reminder of his Redemption.
I redeemed you. It's a cleansing next, he
consecrates them. It gives them his word,
literally, they receive the Ten Commandments, and the people are
supposed to respond. And what faith and obedience to
the Ten Commandments. Exodus 24:3 Moses came, and he
told the people, all the words of the Lord and all the rules
that God had given and all the people answered with one voice
and said, all the words that the Lord has spoken, we will do Boy,
they had good intentions. And then they commune with God.
And exodus 24 9 through 11. We see that there was a feast.
They ate and they drank they beheld, God together.
A proper Covenant relationship with God.
Always leads to communion. This is the blessing of
Covenant, is that we get to commune with God.
This is the joy of him condescending to us.
Is that we are brought back into fellowship with him and surely,
surely, we will gladly submit to, we will gladly worship him
alone. Surely.
That's what the Israelites did, right?
No, you know, the rest of the story after they made this great
Proclamation, we will do all the law says we will.
Do we commit to it? It's only a few chapters later
that we find the making an idol a golden calf to worship.
And to the calf, they are saying this is the Lord who brought us
out of Egypt, what a tragedy. Now, that should have been the
end for Israel. And for many, it was, there was
a great Reckoning for those sins.
However, God does the whole thing all over again.
And again, and again, throughout the Old Testament, he is
constantly coming to Israel and renewing his covenants that they
continue to break and this is good news of great joy for you.
And I, and all of the worship Services of the Old Testament,
we see that there is a cleansing, there are sacrifices
that are being made, why? Because God is renewing his
Covenant with his people that they broke, but for him to do
that, There must be a cleansing and so he renews his
relationship with his people who definitely don't deserve it but
yet he is kind. Don't think Cruz says in the
worship service, God gives his people the very proof that he
has not left them. He shows that his faithfulness
never comes to an end and that his Mercy is new every morning.
We draw near to God and worship by his Covenant tool Grace, the
third thing that happens in a worship services that we
encounter the Covenant Redeemer. We encounter the Covenant
Redeemer. I'm going to read to you,
Hebrews 10:19 through 21. Therefore Brothers, since we
have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of
Jesus. This is Our Redeemer by the New
and Living Way that he opened for us through the curtain that
is through his flesh. And since we have a great priest
over the house of God, he is our covenant Redeemer.
Amen. we may ask, why doesn't God Just hand as people over to
their sins. Why doesn't God just give people
over to unfettered Rebellion? The answer is Jesus Christ.
The great high priest in heaven. The one who is over the house of
God. Our sin doesn't destroy God's
covenant with us because the plan was always for God to keep
the covenant not us. He returns to Israel over and
over and over and over and over again. because one day, And
their future in our past, but one day and their future, their
sin would be ultimately laid upon his own son on the cross in
perfect Redemption. Christ is on every page of the
Old Testament because every bit of it looks forward to the day
where he would be the guarantor of a better Covenant, a Covenant
of Grace, a covenant that sealed by his own blood and so God
renews the Covenant over and over and over and over again
because of the Covenant Redeemer his own son Christ is the head
crusher of the Dragon in Genesis 3.
The one who tried to steal Covenant relationship with God
Christ. Restores it Satan tried to be
God himself. And so God the sun destroys
Satan by his own death on a cross.
A sacrifice once for all time Christ is the link between Old
Testament Covenant of worship and our worship today.
Covenant is extremely important for understanding our worship.
It helps us understand what? We're doing here week in and
week out. Why do we show up and sing
songs? That rehearse the gospel?
Why do we show up in here or word?
Preach. That rehearses the gospel.
Why do we show up and confess sins that we hope will bring
about the cleansing because it rehearses the gospel.
We are in every way from beginning to end of this
service. Placing our faith in Christ our
covenant Redeemer because he alone saves us.
Us. and we are by faith every single Sunday morning coming
together and saying in Christ, I hope In Christ.
Why? Because the worship service is
where God renews his Covenant with us.
When a worship service is done the way God has written in his
word for a worship service to be done.
And there are that I'm not saying that there's a worship
service in here that you look at he's like oh he's got to be that
way and it's not that way. Then you're in sin.
But there are things in the word that should be in a worship
service. And there are things not in
worship services that are added to worship Services throughout
church history. Including today, it shouldn't be
But when you do worship, the way God has instructed worship to
happen, it's a renewal of his Covenant, it's discipleship.
It's discipling, you end the gospel message, the Covenant,
that the Covenant that we have broken is on display for us and
just as he did for ancient Israel, he does for his people.
Now, he comes to us to renew this Covenant and when we come
to worship we come as Hebrews, 12 says, to Jesus the mediator
of the New Covenant and so Jesus doesn't abolish the old
Covenant. He perfectly.
Fulfills it on behalf of God's people.
Our worship is still coven until today.
God calls us into a relationship with him.
This is why we begin the service with a call to worship.
It's calling you to Worship. The Lord is showing you who is
calling you Our worship Services still require responses in faith
and obedience. Worship services today come with
Promises of life and salvation because God is a covenant alone.
He's forming, Covenant relationship with his people.
So the basic shape of our worship should be that of
Covenant to worship. There's a call, there's a
pronouncement of cleansing and consecration.
There's communion. And then there's commissioning.
We should go through these same steps week in and week out in
some way. Because by them God is still
renewing. His Covenant with his people
today. He is faithful but we are not.
He doesn't renew it with us because he forgets it.
God is Not forgetful. God has not forgotten.
His Covenant, the reminder is for you.
The reminder is for me, the renewal is for our benefits.
He shows us week in, and week out that his faithfulness never
runs dry. It's a cup that overflows.
And so when we draw near to God and worship, we do so, by his
covenants will Grace And so this is how it works.
Now again this comes from cruises but we are called to
worship God in the name of the son Jesus said in John 14:6.
I am the way, the truth and the life.
No one comes to the father, except through me.
So we're called to come to the father but we come through who
Christ. We are cleansed not buy anything
or hands of done. Not by any sacrifices we offer.
You won't come in here On Any Sunday ever.
You have my word and see us butcher a cow in front of you.
All right. It's my guarantee to you.
You can eat breakfast before you show up, all right.
But you come and you are cleansed by the once for all
sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
Hebrew 7:27, he has no need Christ.
Has no need like those High priests to offer sacrifices
daily first for his own sins. And then for those of the
people, since he did this once for all when he offered up
himself, what a word. Third, we are consecrated as
God's people by the preaching of Christ, gospel Colossians 128,
Paul writes him. We Proclaim Christ, we Proclaim
warning, everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom that we
may present every one mature in Christ.
You are consecrated by the word of Christ.
Fourth. We commune with God as we
partake of the body and the blood of his son in communion,
we commune with God for strength, Ian's 10:16.
The cup of blessing that we bless it is not sorry, is it not
a participation in the blood of Christ, the bread, the bread
that we break? Is it not a participation in the
body of Christ? Absolutely they are.
And then finally we were commissioned to serve God In The
Name of Christ. Is those who bear the name.
Christian Colossians 129 talks about the power and the strength
which you are commissioned in for this.
I toil struggling with all God's energy, his energy that he
powerfully works Within Me. Another verse that may be
helpful for that is one that Jasper use last week.
Ephesians 2:10, we are his workmanship created in Christ
Jesus. For good works which God
prepared beforehand. Amen.
And so finally, we offer our covenant response.
You have nothing to bring to the Lord, but once you have been
called and cleansed and consecrated and fellowship has
been restored, you may now offer your response.
You respond to God. Hebrews 10:23 shows us a great
response at the very well, I only want to call it the very
least the central responds to all Christian Living is found in
Hebrews 10:23. Let us hold fast.
The confession of Our Hope without wavering.
For he who promised is faithful. This is our confidence.
Amen. This is how we confidently come
before the Lord. This is how we respond Covenant
Ali with God. It's to say, I am going to hold
fast to the confession of My Hope, and I'm going to do it
without wavering. I'm going to stand on Christ
because he who promised is the only one whose Faith?
He is faithful, I am not. And so the elements of worship
have been radically changed by the addition of cleansing and
commission but it is Christ. Who does both Christ cleanses
Christ? Commissions in Christian
worship. We are being formed into the
image of the invisible. God through Christ.
We are no longer stuck in the rebellion of Adam, we have been
freed by Christ. To worship.
God, Arise to worship him a new as brand new Creations, even we
have been freed by Christ to fellowship with God.
Fully in Christ. You are transformed from sinner
into a saint. You'd be receive a new name.
And so now what? Well the proper response to all
of this, to all of this Covenant work of God to all of his
Covenant faithfulness toward us, the proper response.
Worship. Still worship him and him alone
is to glorify God in all things, and to enjoy him forever, it's
to worship him. We praise God.
For his Covenant will faithfulness toward us.
We worship him for it because we know that we are of those who
least deserve it. And so, therefore in our
worship, we decide we commit, we place ourselves by faith on
Christ and we say I am holding fast to this confession of Hope
without wavering for God who promised is faithful?
See Christ is the mediator between us and God.
God speaks to us through Christ. We speak back to God through
Christ, you cannot draw near to God in any other way.
But through Christ Christ is the mediator.
Because of this truth Christ is the center of your worship.
We rehearse, the Covenant relationship with God that he
has with us through his son, we rehearse, the gospel, every
week. Without Christ, when God calls,
you could do nothing but run and hide.
But in Christ, you can come running to God, you can come
boldly before him. You can come confidently to him
in all of your need and know that he hears.
You know that he's with, you know, that he's near to, you
know, that he has not left you nor will he ever forsake you You
can know those things confidently as you hide yourself
in Christ. The sins of your week, those
vain thoughts. Those foul words, those corrupt
actions, all of your sins the ones are fully aware of the ones
you don't yet. See all of your sins bear
witness against you my friend they scream out with the voice
that You shouldn't be able to silence that you cannot come to
God today. However, you don't come on your
own, do you? You come by faith.
In Christ, don't you? And consequently.
Hebrews 7:25 consequently. He is able Christ.
Is able to save to the uttermost Those who draw near to God
through him. Since he always lives to make
intercession for them. Woohoo.
And so when your sins scream at you when the accuser comes to
you and says you are not worthy, you cannot enter into that
church today with any confidence.
You say you are right? You are right?
And there's far more truth to your statement of my accusation
than I want to admit, but Christ in me bids me, come and so I go
you come through Christ every week and he will renew.
God, will renew through Christ his Covenant with you.
You'll be reminded of it. You have the word of myself and
the elders here. That every time you come in
these doors on a Sunday morning, you're going to be reminded of
the wonderful Covenant with Christ that you have.
Amen. So come Come to worship, come
weekend, come week out, come to see God's covenant, faithfulness
towards you. Come on Christmas.
Come, when the electricity is out.
Come. Every first day of the week.
Amen you are weak but Christ is mighty to save and so draw near
to him I want to end with a doxology that comes from Romans
11. Paul has spent eleven chapters
looking at the beauty of God's salvation in Christ.
Apart, from works for anyone who calls on the name of the Lord.
The salvation of Grace and Paul just writes this, he says oh the
depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God, how
unsearchable are his judgments? How inscrutable his ways for who
has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor or
who has been given a gift to him that he might be repaid?
For from him and through him and to him are all things to him, be
glory forever. Amen.
Let me pray for you. Heavenly Father, we praise you
today. What a gift?
What a gift. Your Covenant faithfulness is us
though. We are weak.
You have been so strong. Through the Ages.
Lord, as we look at ancient Israel, As we look back, even
further than that to Adam. And we progress forward from him
all the way to the day that Christ is born.
What we see is Covenant faithfulness over and again. and
Lord the pride and US wants to look at it and say, look how
faithful man is But Lord, we can look at our own Hearts today and
see how foolish we would be to utter such words.
And so in Covenant with you father, what we're able to say
is look how faithful you are. Look how faithful you are.
Psalm 100, remind us reminds us that you are good.
That you are steadfast in love and that your faithfulness
endures to all generations. We thank you for that.
We thank you for those truths, Lord, we thank you for saving us
in Christ that didn't him. You made a way where there was
no way. You've given us righteousness
where there was no way to have righteousness, you freed us from
the bondage of sin where there was no way to have freedom.
In Christ, We Are Forever redeemed.
And so Lord, I pray that you would make us.
A people. A people for your own, holy
possession. That we would be steadfast.
That we would hold tight. The confidence that we have that
is ours in Christ. We would know Lord.
When the storm rages all around us.
When it seems as though, maybe he's forgotten me.
Lord help us to know, in the pit of our being.
From the depth of our. So, Lord help us to know that.
He who promised is faithful. Your faithful.
And so Lord, our Salvation hinges on nothing more, nothing
less than your own faithfulness. And I am so grateful for that.
Lord. Would you commission us?
Now as we get ready to sing and to leave this place and few
moments, help us to be men and women again, boys and girls who
love the Lord so much That we submit to him.
We obey that we abide in him. That we know your love father.
And father may, but may it be that by our our relationship
with you are being transformed into the likeness of Christ by
the power of your spirit may be by our good works.
Even that people see God. And they glorify may worshipers
come from every corner of Columbia County.
Lord help us to be these kind of men and women.
This kind of people who love the Lord so much And we're purging
sin and we are working towards faithfulness, but we're doing it
in the strength of Christ. We're toiling with your strength
and your energy that you give us nothing else.
We love you, Lord. Father, if there's anyone in
here who doesn't know you, would you save them today?
Would you extend to them your grace?
And your mercy? Would you regenerate, their
heart, call them to yourself and may they come today?
We love you, lord. It's in the Name of Christ.
I pray. Amen.