My name is Kyle served as lead Pastor here, I want to welcome
you to New Life Community Church this morning, glad that you've
chosen to be here today. If you remember it's good to see
you again for visiting with us. Welcome, we're glad that you're
here. If you have your Bible, which I
hope you do. We'll be in.
Jeremiah the book of Jeremiah chapter 1 oz where will be
started. Today, I'll quote from some
different Passages at times as we go through this, but this
will be our jumping-off Point. Anyway, Jeremiah chapter one,
we'll look at verses four through eight and a moment.
We are in the middle of a series called what happens when we
worship and we're looking at what takes place when we show up
on Sunday mornings, what's the significance of this?
What's happening? When we come together for a
worship service? So not just the singing, right?
It's everything that falls into the category of the time.
We from the time, we start through the time we finish.
And some of the things we've looked at or just really
foundational truths about what's taking place when we worship
what happens in Christian worship each week.
For example, we've talked about how we meet with God, you know,
when we come together, we are meeting with God, when we come
together to meet with God and we behold God, we are being
conformed to the image of his son, which is what we're told in
Corinthians. Not only are we meeting with God
being conformed. We are experiencing really
Covenant. Renewal.
God is rehearsing his Covenant with us as we come together.
We're going to talk some more about that today.
But what we find is that God is always faithful to his Covenant
even though we are not and then we rehearse the gospel in that,
you can't rehearse the Covenant without rehearsing the gospel.
We have to see that we are inadequate that we are
deficient, but East is all sufficient as our savior and so
we see Christ. And then last week, we talked
about how we commune together. This is nothing less.
It's a lot more than, but it's nothing less than the communion
of saints. It's the coming together of
God's people to worship God and so beginning today and over the
next few weeks, we're going to examine.
We're going to examine the conversation that's taking place
on a Sunday morning between God and his people.
What What pieces are there in this conversation?
And why do they matter this caught this conversation with in
Christian worship is what gives us the gospel shape to each
service. It's why we do what we do and we
try to do it in the order that we do it in.
And so the conversation that takes place between Christians
and God on a Sunday morning. Some of those pieces are this,
there's a call to worship. There's a confession of sin
during the service. There's preaching there's
fellowship with God. When we hear about our new
identity, we receive a new identity from Christ.
Then they're singing, We Sing new songs, right?
There's a new song in our heart and we sing those things and so
we'll see how those things collectively and individually
form us as Christians. They are telling the story of
the Gospel over and over again. And today, we're going to
examine the call to worship. Why do we do a call to worship?
What's the purpose of a call to worship?
Just as our covenant relationship with God, begins
with him calling us unto himself.
So to it is fitting for our worship, on a Sunday morning, to
begin with God, calling us unto himself and worship.
And so, if you're taking notes and kids, you can write this
down as well and your worship God.
The main thought today that I will share with you this in the
call to worship. God calls us to join his work.
Here's our cries for help and Promises to be with us.
Despite our deficiencies. I'll repeat that in the call to
worship. God calls us to join his work.
Here's our cries for help and Promises to be with us.
Despite our deficiencies. Now we're going to read Jeremiah
chapter 1 verses 4 through 8. If you would, would you please
stand for that? When I'm finished reading, I'll
say this is the word of the Lord, I ask that you respond.
Thanks be to God. Jeremiah 1 verses 4 through 8,
not of the word of the Lord came to me saying before I formed you
in the womb, I knew you and before you were born I
consecrated you. I appointed you a prophet to the
nation's then I said Lord God behold, I do not know how to
speak for. I am only a youth but the Lord
said to me, do not say I am only a youth for to All To whom Send
you, you shall go and whatever. I command you, you shall speak.
You're not be afraid of them for.
I am with you to deliver you declares the Lord.
This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
We pray for us in the you be seated.
Heavenly Father. We know our deficiencies well
and so we thank you Lord that you have called us into a
relationship with you. Oh, Lord.
That in sending your son and hearing the gospel proclaimed.
You have drawn Us by your spirit unto yourself and so Lord.
We are here today is as men and women and boys and girls whose
hearts are growing more in love with you.
And the Lord, as we hear your word preached today, would you
help us to adore? You could you help us to have a
stronger faith in? You would you deepen our
understanding of who you are, Lord, that we might be more
fully committed to you that we might become mature men and
women in the Lord. Father, we understand again, as
I mentioned, our deficiency and coming to your word that without
your spirit, Lord, we are unfit unable to understand it.
And so we asked for the help of your spirit today, Lord, would
you make our hearts like good soil today?
Help our hearts be receptive to the seed.
That is your word to the watering, which is your word
that it might grow and bear much fruit in our lives.
Lord, we declare our allegiance to you.
We love you. We love your word.
We are grateful to be here, and now, it's in the Name of Christ.
I pray. Amen.
You may be seated.
So we may ask the question. Why is it that every time you
step foot in here on a Sunday morning?
If you're on time, right? That you hear a call to worship.
Why does it worship service begin with a call to worship?
It has everything to do with the power of God's word.
Is everything to do with the power of God's word.
Our God is a god of words. He is a God who speaks.
He has not only given us his word but he's given us the
ability as we just prayed for to hear and to respond to his word
as well. When God speaks great things
happen, when he primarily uses his spoken word to accomplish
his purposes in the world and in the lives of his people.
When God speaks things come to life, things grow Throw things
take place, and this is, what is happening in, Jeremiah 1 as God
calls the prophet to do his work, I'm just going to kind of
repeat it here, so we're seeing it in this light.
Now, the word of the Lord came to me saying now, the word of
the Lord came to me, the prophet writes saying, before I formed
you in the womb, I knew you and before you were born, I
consecrated you. I pointed you a prophet to the
nation's. I mean, oh, what a prophet does.
He takes the word of God, to the nation's, right?
This is what a prophet in the Old Testament was meant for,
he's taking the word of God, to the nation's, he's bearing on
himself, the word of God, given to him by the spirit of God, and
he speaking it for the nation's to here.
And so the word of the Lord comes to him and calls him, but
then the word of the Lord is going to be on him as he's being
sent so that he might prophesy to the nation's.
Jeremiah says, this is too much for me.
Says Ah, Lord God behold, I do not know how to speak for, I'm
only a youth. Jeremiah Was Young and the idea
of going to rulers going to Nations, going to the places
that God might call him to stand up for God, to speak the word of
God to these people was a bit, too much was overwhelming for
him. But the Lord said to me, again,
we see the word of God. Do not say, I'm only a youth.
For to All To whom. I send you, you shall go and
whatever. I command you, you shall speak.
You're not be afraid of them for.
I am with you to deliver you declares the Lord.
Incredible. So we see, we see things like he
said to me the word of the Lord came to me.
He's sending me to the nation's as a prophet which means I'm
carrying the word of the Lord. And then he he understands that
Jeremiah thinks he's deficient and he assures him in his
deficiencies that know. I'm going to be with you and
whatever. I command you, you shall speak.
Don't be afraid of them. For, I will deliver you declares
the Lord so it ends with Jeremiah starts with.
The Lord said unto me and it ends here with he declares.
The Lord. So God is speaking on the front
end. Speaking on the back end, he
speaking throughout the word of the Lord is, what's prominent In
this passage? It's incredible.
That a young Jeremiah would be cinched.
Sure. But the incredible thing that's
really taken place here is that God is speaking to his man and
he's equipping him for the work that he's called him to do.
This passage really shows us five really going to go through
these fairly quickly. But five incredible things about
the all powerful word of God. The first is this God's word has
Authority? God's word has Authority.
The word of the Lord came to me saying before I formed you in
the womb. I knew you, this is an
authoritative message. First, it's the word of the
Lord, that comes right, but then it's before I formed you, I knew
you, it's authoritative God's word carries authoritative
power. We must yield to God's word, not
his word yield to us. One of the great problems with
Bible misinterpretation today is that we come To the word of God
with our presuppositions are preconceived notions.
Our preconceived beliefs about things and we try to insert
them, mash them into the word of God and we get uncomfortable
with God's word when it says things that we don't believe.
Or when it says things that we don't like, when it uses a word
that we think. Oh, that's a tough word.
That's when we get uncomfortable with the word of God, but we
must be a people who yield to the word of God.
Not force God's word to yield to our word.
Amen. We are not authoritative.
We are not all powerful. Creation does not tell the
Creator, how he should run things, we yield to him, we
worship Him. And when he speaks creation must
listen, in fact, during those seven days of creation, even
this is incredible, even nothingness, obeyed, God's word,
like he speaks into the void. We read in Genesis 1 verse 2
that the Earth was formless and void.
That there was a Darkness there that there was nothing.
And God speaks into the formless void, world and nothingness,
obeys, his commands. Meaning he brings out of
nothing. Everything he creates all things
out of no things, right? And is called a, Jeremiah God,
reminds the prophet who formed him in the womb.
He's saying before I formed you, I knew you. there's nothing that
will make a man feel small than to talk to someone who is able
to say to him listen before you were even formed in your
mother's womb I knew you Right? I mean, whatever deficiencies.
You think you have before that? God, he's saying, no, listen, I
know you better than, you know yourself.
I know what I've placed in you. I have consecrated you.
I have set you aside, right? That's what we see next.
God's word and parts blessing in life.
First, God's word has Authority, second God's word and parts
blessing in life before you were born, I consecrated you, I
appointed you a prophet to the nation's, so it's by God's word
that He blesses the prophet, he gives him a new life, I
consecrated you, I appointed you.
What's God saying? God, saying literally to him, I
have set you aside. I have named you a prophet to
the nation's. And what does this mean for
Jeremiah? It means that God has called
Jeremiah to carry God's all-powerful word to the
nation's to do the work of God. This is God's blessing.
This is life for Jeremiah. This is good for him.
The third thing we see is that God's word brings a curse to the
rebellious God's word, brings a curse to the rebellious.
We must recognize, there's a warning here in this passage to
those who are rebellious. He says I appointed you a
prophet to the nation's for to All To whom.
I send you, you shall go and whatever I command you, you
shall speak. And then, what does he say?
Do not be afraid of them. For.
I am with you to deliver you declares the Lord.
Well, if God's word was merely just rainbows and unicorns for
everyone, then why would Jeremiah need to be afraid at
all? Right?
We recognize is that when the word of the Lord comes to a
people that comes with warnings and admonitions as well, it
comes with blessing. Yes, but the blessing comes when
you obey God, there is cursing as well.
For those who disobey God. Here's some things about
Jeremiah's life. After several years of preaching
Jeremiah's family turned against him, I plotted to kill him.
Over the years, he was whipped and put in the stocks, he was
attacked by a mob. He was threatened by the king.
He was ridiculed some of zedekiah's princes had Jeremiah
arrested beaten accused of treason and thrown in jail.
If that wasn't enough, he was thrown into an empty, well, as
well. He lived through The Siege of
Jerusalem, along with the rest. And was there as the people were
taken away as captives. Perhaps worst of all though,
Jeremiah Was Alone. He was not allowed to marry his
family, abandoned him, the people turned against him and
didn't believe him. He was alone with the knowledge
of the whores coming for Judah. He knew these things that the
Lord was going to do and yet no one would listen.
The prophet endured so much hardship, because of God's word,
right? He's carrying God's word.
He's not making things up. He's not going to pick fights.
He's just saying what the Lord has told him to say.
And he knew so much hardship, because of the word of God.
Why was this? Why was their hardship?
Then from the word of God, if it wasn't a curse to the
rebellious, Right. It was a curse and so, they
attacked the Prophet. The Prophet was beaten, the
prophet was thrown in jail. The prophet was a cursed by the
people, though, blessed by God, Jeremiah witnessed both in
foresight and real-time the destruction of his people upon
judah's captivity. He pinned the book of
Lamentations, which is a highly poetic devis, and his
devastatingly beautiful series of immense about the fall of
God's people. Jeremiah spent 40 years telling
the people what would happen, 40 years, Prophesying in the name
of the Lord. What was the come warning?
The people and they did not listen.
And yet Jeremiah's Prophecy from God, reminds his people, there
will come a time of repentance and restoration mixed in.
All of those warnings is a promise from God that he is
going to be faithful to his Covenant.
Even though the people have been unfaithful, God's word, brings
pain and turmoil and most importantly, it pronounces the
definitive end to the work of Satan.
For thing, we see about God's word from this passage is that
it communicates with his peace that God communicates with his
people by his word. Now the word of the Lord came to
me saying I appointed you a prophet to the nation's It is by
the word of God. That he enters into relationship
with his people. It is by his word through His
prophets that he communicates with his people, as well.
All throughout the Bible, we see that God is communicating with
his people, by his word, he instructs.
Noah, he calls Abraham, he commission's Moses, he covenants
with David all by his word, he calls his profits by his word in
the New Testament. He is doing the The very same
things, the word becomes flesh, Jesus Christ, dwells among the
people, the preaches, the gospel proclaims.
The kingdom of God is at hand dies for it.
Is resurrected empowers, his Heap is people by what the
spirit of God to do, what to proclaim the word of God.
This new gospel message that Christ has died to save sinners.
So it's by his word, always has been that God is in relationship
with his people that God is bringing Covenant Fellowship to
us in the scriptures, we see that God speaks first.
Always his creation often responds with their inability.
You know? Isaiah says, woe is me.
Jeremiah says, I'm too young. Moses says, I don't speak.
Well, right, everybody had an issue, but when the Lord says
this is what's going to happen. And when the Lord Says, I'm
calling you to do this, guess what?
It's exactly what took place because the Lord's word is
all-powerful Jeremiah responds with his inability.
I'm too young. I don't know how to speak.
Well, And so, God speaks again. And this time he reassures
Jeremiah that I will be with you.
You have nothing to fear, we see the same thing in the Great
Commission of Christ. He speaking to his disciples in
Matthew 28:18 through 20, which is meant for us as well.
It says, in Jesus came and said to them, right?
So God again, initiates God, the son is initiating, this Covenant
relationship and he says all authority in heaven and on Earth
has been given to me go, therefore, and make disciples
Peoples of all Nations, baptizing them in the name of
the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them
to observe all that. I have commanded you and behold
was Christ. Say I am with you always to the
end of the age, was that mean for us?
Not one of us can come to the Great Commission and say the
Lord, you're saying this but you don't know my deficiencies.
You don't know mine and abilities in this, you don't
know how messed up. I am.
Why, why can't we do that? Because the Lord himself is
says, behold. As if he's anticipating our
rebuttal, I Am With You Always even to the end of the age.
And just as Paul says, if Christ is for us who can be against us.
All right, have all power in Christ.
Jesus comes to them, Jesus speaks to them, Jesus instructs
them, Jesus anticipates their expressions of inadequacies and
so he reassures them that he will be with them, always to the
end of the age. Fifth thing we see here about
God's word, is that God's word is the content of his
relationship with his people. It's the content by which the
relationship functions. It's the content by which the
relationship works, but the Lord said to me, Jeremiah said
rights, do not say, I am only a youth for to All To whom I
command you. You shall speak, then the Lord
put out his hand and touched my mouth.
This is in verse 9. And the Lord said to me behold,
I have put My words in your mouth, amen.
And God's word. We have all his promises and
God's word. We have all his degrees and
God's word. We have all his commands.
We have all his Comforts. We have everything that we need
for life and godliness. Second Timothy 3 tells us in
God's word, we like nothing of that, which we need to live for
the Lord. It can be found in God's word.
His word is the foundation for our Christian Life.
It's the way it's been for Millennia.
It's always been the word of God coming.
To the people that relationship begins with God.
And so it's by his spoken word which is eventually been
thankfully, we have it all written down here.
So that it may be passed on. That's always been the
foundation for his Covenant relationship with his people and
Deuteronomy chapter 6. As the people are preparing to
take the land to go into the land of which there are Idol
worshipers, and murderers, and idolaters, and adulterers and
all sorts of evil people. Moses says to the people from
God. Let these things.
My commands the commands of God be on your lips.
Be written on your hearts, teach them to your children as you go
along the way as you rise in the morning, as you go to bed at
night, as you sit around the table to eat, teach these things
to your children. Why?
Because that has always been the way that Covenant relationship
with God. Has been founded, its by the
word of God. And it's in the word of God that
we come to know. God, it's in the passing on the
things of God to the Next Generation that the next
Generations, have a chance at knowing who God is.
We've been looking at this in Sunday school, right?
The last couple of weeks and judges.
The indictment in Judges chapter 2 is that the previous
generations forgot God. And so now the current
generation knows nothing of him. I work passing it down.
They didn't obey Deuteronomy 6 and then write it on their
hearts. They didn't have the word of the
Lord on their lips, when they would rise in the mornings.
When they go to bed at night, when they would eat around the
table, when they would go along the way, they weren't teaching
the things of God to their children.
And so, enjoy and Judges chapter 2, the people have forgotten
God, all together and it says that they sought to do
everything that their heart desired. that's a really bad
thing because in Jeremiah and the Book of Jeremiah on down in
the history of Israel, he's coming to the people and he's
saying do not listen to your heart.
Because your heart is deceitful and desperately, wicked Above
All Things, who can know it. It's Jeremiah 17 verse 9 So this
is why God instructs us to write his word on our hearts.
That's why instructs us to meditate on his word day and
night. It's why he instructs us to make
his word our way of life. As we see, in proverbs 4, So I
think we've reached somewhat of a point of clarity that without
the word of God. There is no relationship with
God, right? This is the there's two
Revelations that God has given us, okay, there's one that's
called natural Revelation so I can look at the rain and I can
say you know things need rain to grow.
God has brought rain. The rain is causing things to
grow. Won't be long.
Now will be mowing again, right? Won't be long now.
Your spring crops will be in fruition hopefully, right?
Why? Well, because God has designed
the world to work a certain way, that's natural revelation.
We look into all of these things you look at you the way you are
hard-wired the way you're created and you can say that
takes an Incredible God to create to make things work.
The way they work in our world. All right, but natural level
natural. Revelation is not enough to save
you. Nor is it enough to bring you
into fellowship with God? You cannot be saved by natural
Revelation. You cannot look at the sun and
the moon, and the stars and say Christ died to save sinners.
Right? You can look at the sun, the
moon and stars and say, Well, there must be a God, but this is
why so many religions worship the Sun, the moon, and the
stars. Because there.
They're unable to arrive at God, on their own.
What do we need? We need the word of God.
This is special Revelation, natural, Revelation works with
special Revelation to reveal, God to us.
Amen. And so, on the word of God, we
have God revealing himself to us in Christ.
The word of God becoming flesh, we have nothing less than God
himself coming to us. He might be numbered among men
and he might give up the glories of Heaven for a season to be
numbered among Men to die, our our death, for our sins, to be
raised to life. That we might walk in fellowship
with God. Again, if we believe that Christ
did exactly what he did, you can be saved.
But God must reveal himself. And the way he reveals himself
as primarily through his word, Through his word.
And so, in the call to worship on a Sunday morning, God is
calling us to join us work. He's hearing our cries for help
and he's promising to be with us despite our deficiencies.
That's precisely what we're rehearsing.
Every time we recite our weekly call to worship, so let me just
walk you through it quickly. When you walk into this room and
you stand there and the first notes of the music start and
Alan or someone else begins to speak.
And they welcome you into the service and they start saying to
all who are weary and need rest. This isn't a message.
From the heart of Alan to you. This isn't something that the
elders have pinned sinking. Hey, this is a really great
thing to say. This will be the thing that kind
of, you know, nudges them emotionally, to help them
respond, and singing. When we say to all who are weary
and need rest, we have nothing less than Matthew 11:28 through
30 and our mind come to me Christ says all who labor and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest, take my yoke upon you
and learn from me for. I am gentle and lowly in heart
and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy Christ. Says, and my burden is light.
To all who are weary and need rest as a call from Christ to
come to him. Amen.
To all who mourn and long for comfort.
You guessed it scripture again. Jesus, in Matthew 5:4 says,
blessed. Are those who mourn for they
shall be comforted? Blessed are those who mourn?
It's a call from Christ to come to Christ in your morning and to
receive his Blessing of comfort. To all who feel worthless and
wonder if God cares again. This isn't, you know, I grew up
in The days I guess, it's still kind of cool but I grew up in
the days where it was cool to to have a lot of problems.
You know, to hate your dad or your mom or kind of wear that on
your sleeves, we called it being emo.
I don't know if that's still the term, but all of our music
reflected it, you know, that sing songs about how life is a
nightmare. And, you know, now, I love you.
They have that song in your head.
Anyway, But it was yeah, it was like a badge of honor to feel
worthless. It's like if you could feel more
worthless than your friends. Then you were you had a really
going on, it's really strange. It's backwards, honestly.
But the truth is, is we all do feel worthless at times, right?
And the truth is you recognize that you're a sinner to
recognize. You have broken relationships,
you recognize that you've caused problems, that you've messed up.
If you're being honest with yourself, And in that you start
to feel worthless and if you're feeling worthless as you coming
to church, you may Wonder does God care.
Does he care? Matthew 10 Jesus says, Are not
Two Sparrows, sold for a penny and not one of them will fall to
the ground. Apart from your father, Two
Sparrows sold for a penny for one penny.
You can have Two Sparrows. That's a good deal.
But the penny riders that thing that you'll just leave in the
parking lot. When it falls out of your
pocket, you're happy to offer the penny to the cashier at the
gas station for that little cup that sits there, you'll leave
your opinion there. You're not leaving the 20 in
there, right? You know I'm going to leave the
quarter in there like that's for the pennies.
That's where the pennies go. You might leave a nickel to pin,
you know, if you're feeling good that day, Two Sparrows, one
penny. And what does Christ say, not
one of them falls to the ground, not one of them dies apart from
your heavenly father. Was it means he's in control of
the sparrows. It's in control and sparrows and
he controls the sparrows. He must control all things.
He controls the sparrows and he controls the last breath that my
daughter took. If he controls the last breath
that my daughter took that he controls the breath that I take
now. And he controls the call that
he's got on my life now, and they'll call that he's got on
your life. Now, he controls every moment of
every day, every millisecond Belongs to the Lord.
Why, or how do we know this? Because he controls the
sparrows. That's exactly what Jesus is
saying. And he goes on to say since, but
even the hairs of your head are all numbered.
Now, I some of you might really be into yourself, right?
You think you you came to church today and you thought I look
good today, but I guarantee you, you didn't sit in the mirror and
number your hair's today. Not, I mean, you know, some of
you is getting easier than others, right?
But you're not number in your hairs.
Now, think about the days where you had a lot of hair, you
weren't sitting in number, in your heirs.
Well, what does it say? God knows you.
So intimately that he knows the number of the hairs on your
head. So not only of The Sparrows
important to God. But the number of hairs on your
head are important to God. You are important to God.
And this is what Jesus says, this is the conclusion, he draws
from those two examples he says fear not therefore you are of
more value than many sparrows. Amen.
So to all who feel worthless and wonder if God cares he does he
cares to all who fell and desire strength?
Isaiah 41:10 God. Speaking here through the
prophet fear, not for I am with you be.
Not dismayed for I am. Your God.
I will strengthen you. I will help you.
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Amen. To all who fell and desire.
Strength, where do you go? You go to God.
God is inviting you to worship today, to help you understand
the strengths of the almighty at work in your life.
He says, come to all who sin and need a savior I said every one
of us, there's not one of us who walk in him, you might walk in
here, feeling strong one day, you might walk in here feeling
comforted one day. You might walk in here not
feeling weak one day, right? But to all who sent a need a
savior, that's every one of us. Every one of you needs Christ.
And for that, again, the word of God speaks Jesus, talking to
Nicodemus, who was a follower of the law, who was doing
everything that he could do on his own to have his own
salvation. To make his way to heaven.
Through his own good works. Jesus says to him, you must be
born again. And Nicodemus, like how do I do
that? You must have the spirit of God,
give you New Life. How does that happen?
Jenna Jesus says in John 3:16 for God.
So loved the world that he gave his only son That whoever
believes in him, should not perish, but have eternal life.
You believe in Christ. You have eternal life And then
our call to worship transitions into some new statements.
It says, to all of those people. This church opens wide her doors
with a welcome. From who?
Jesus Christ. Again, if it's okay for us to
have greeters out here, who are welcome you into the welcoming,
you into the building as you come in.
It's okay for Jasper to get up here and say we want to welcome
our guest today. It's okay for me to get up here
and say the same thing like it's okay for us to be welcoming and
warm with one another because why we have been welcomed by
Christ himself. And the hospitality of Christ to
welcome us unto himself in spite of who we are is worthy of us
welcoming one another into the into the house of God.
But when we call, when we do a call to worship.
I cannot call you to worship. I cannot tell you how you need
to worship me right. Why?
Because I'm a creature and creatures.
Don't get worship. The Creator gets worse.
And so when we stand we say this church opens wide her doors with
a welcome from Jesus Christ because if he's welcoming us
it's truly a warm welcome. It's a good thing to be welcomed
by the son of God. Romans 15 verse 7.
Therefore welcome one. Another as Christ has welcomed
you for the glory of God. We don't we don't welcome you
into here for our own Glory. We're not welcoming you here.
So we can tabulate some numbers at the end of the year and say
hey this is how many people we've had, show up, how many
people we have in a home groups? How many people got saved?
And baptized, we're not doing any of that.
What we're saying is we welcome you, as Christ has welcomed us
and we do that for his glory, the Renown of his name.
Not our own amen. Who is Christ?
And that's where our call to worship continues.
He is the Ally of his enemies. Romans 5 verse 10 says, for if
while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death
of his son much more. Now that we are reconciled,
shall we be saved by his life? Is the Ally was enemies.
Again. There are people who are setting
themselves against God, daily weekly rebelling against him.
God is not there, Ally in that moment.
That's where the word of warning and the words of admonition come
in. But if a sinner will heed the
words of warning, if a sinner will hear, what Christ says from
his word and turn from his sins and turn to Christ will.
Guess what? Christ has just become the Ally
of his enemies? Amen.
And then it finishes with and I just couldn't find it.
Set of verses more perfect for these last things in Romans 8,
but it finishes are called worship fitnesses.
With the crisis of the defender of the guilty.
He's the justifier of the inexcusable, he's the friend of
sinners. And this is what we say
enrollment or what Paul says in Romans 8:31.
This is why we say those things on Sunday morning, we're
reminding one another of these truths.
What then shall we say to these things all rights if God is for
us? Who can be against us?
He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all.
How will he not also with him? Graciously, give us all things.
Who shall bring any charge against God's elect.
It is God who justifies who is to condemn Christ?
Jesus is the one who died. More than that, who was raised.
Who is at the right hand of God. Who indeed is interceding for
us. All continues, but you can see
the hints of him, being the defender of the guilty, the
justifier of the inexcusable, the Friend of Sinners already,
right? But Paul doesn't stop there.
He says, who shall separate us from the love of Christ, shall
tribulation, or distress or persecution or famine or
nakedness or danger or sword as it is written for your sake.
We were being killed all the day long, we are regarded as sheep
to be slaughtered. No, in all these things, we are
more than conquerors through him who loved us.
And then he just continues with a just keeps it on air for.
I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers
nor things present, nor things to come nor powers nor height
nor depth nor anything else in all creation, will be able to
separate us from the love of Christ.
Art. Sorry from the love of God in
Christ Jesus. Our lord.
And once we've done that, we just say welcome, why?
Because now you've been welcomed by God Now you've been reminded
of the truths of God. Now, when you sing praises to
the Lord, when you sing unto God, When you pray together,
when you hear the word preached, you're doing it as those who
have been called in to worship by God himself and unless he
initiates our worship, there's no worship at all.
Unless he starts the worship, there's no worship at all.
Once we are called by God's word into worship, then we are
welcome to come. We are helped by his spirit and
coming, because we'll see our deficiencies right through all,
who are weary and need rest to all who mourn and long for
Comfort. We see our deficiencies and yet
his Spirit helps us. And we are equipped as we go
from this place on Sunday mornings for the work that God
has for us. But we're also equipped in that
moment for the work that we do right here together.
Gather in the call to worship, God calls us to join his work.
He hears our cries for help and he promises to be with us
despite our deficiencies. Let me talk to you a little bit
more about how God initiates, and we respond.
It's important to understand that God initiates.
That's what we're saying. That's what we've said from
Jeremiah to what we've looked at with what I mentioned earlier
about just Moses and Noah and David and Abraham and Paul and
you know all the likes. In your own life, God initiates
and you respond. It's not the other way around
but because of our tendency to self-centeredness Because of our
tendency to be selfish self involved.
People it's tempting to view God as the one who responds and
submits to us, rather than ourselves as the ones who
respond and submit to God. It's tempting to think that we
are in the driver's seat. Jonathan Cruz in his book.
He says this. He says it's God's word not
man's. That has the power to constitute
a relationship of God. What are we saying?
He must call us if we are to come and worship him.
Is it old confession of faith says?
It says though, rational creatures are responsible to
obey God as their creator, the distance between God and these
creatures is so great that they could never have attained the
reward of life. Except by God's voluntary
condescension, he has been pleased to express this through
a covenant framework. Again we wouldn't be able to
come to the Lord if Christ had not first come.
John says this. Well in his epistle he says we
love because what Christ? First loved us.
We're responding to the love that we've received were
responding to the relationship that has been begun with us.
God is always the initiator of Covenant relationship with him.
After all, it must be this way because he is too great for us
to ascend to you. And I cannot Ascend to the
heights of God in any way, shape, or form, no matter how
Godly, you think you've lived this week?
None of us have given to God in a way that he he should repay
us. He doesn't owe us anything,
right. He is.
God and we are not. And so he is too great for us to
ascend to therefore he must condescend to us.
If we were going to have a covenant relationship with him,
another way to think of it as this.
God is the only one powerful enough to bring something out of
nothing. As I mentioned earlier in
creation, this is exactly what he does.
He created all things out of know things, it is simply by his
own powerful word that he creates all things.
Again, Jonathan Cruz was helpful in helping me.
Understand that it's not just Covenant relationship that he
initiates but it's in Redemption and in worship as well.
Let me read this to you think of creation.
When we were absolutely nothing God by the power of His word
called us into existence Genesis 1:26.
Let us make man in our image. We didn't call ourselves into
existence. God damn it.
And just as he brought us out of the Dark Void of Genesis 12,
that formless void area, he brings us out of the Dark Void
of sin. In Redemption, John 5, Jesus
says most assuredly, I say to you the hour is coming and now
is when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and
those who hear will live. Jesus goes on, in John chapter
10, verse 32 him the doorkeeper opens in the sheep hear his
voice and he calls his own Sheep by name and he leads them out.
John 15:16, Jesus is saying you did not choose me, but I chose
you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and
that your fruit should remain that, whatever you ask, the
father in my name, he may give you and these text, we see that
God is always the initiator. And his new testament letter to
the Church of galatia, the Apostle Paul makes the same
point, the Galatians are guilty of turning to false gospels,
turning to new ideas turning to Works based salvation or at
least Works based sanctification, and that's what
he gets onto them for. But now, that you have come to
know God or rather to be known by God.
How can you turn back again to the weak and worthless?
Elementary principles of the world whose slaves you want to
be once more. He's saying you've been set free
from the principles of the world.
You've been set free from those things and now you're willingly
wanting to walk back into that you'll be slaves again.
Paul's making it clear who starts and sustains, the
Covenant relationship that Believers enjoy.
Why would we turn our back on that second Corinthians 4:6
Paul? Says, again making the same
point, but possibly more. Clearly this time for God who
said, let light shine out of darkness and now, he's tying it
to the creative power of God. He says, for God, who said let
light shine out of Darkness has Shone in our hearts, to give the
light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face.
Face of Jesus Christ, what's he saying?
It's a new creation work that happens in you.
It is God who speaks and makes your heart of the gives your
heart, the ability to see the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God. In the face of Jesus Christ, he
initiates and we respond. It is God alone who calls us in
creation and Redemption. So why would our worship
Services? Be any different.
God, not only does the work in making us worshipers in
Redemption. He does the work in our worship
as well again. I want to read a cruise quote
here. He says God calls us to the
greatest work. His redeemed people could ever
take up in the created World worship.
It's the greatest work we could ever take up in the whole world
that we be worshipers of God. The word Church in the Greek is
ekklesia, which means called out ones and are very name.
We recognize that we are those whose entire identity.
Hangs on the fact that we are in a relationship with God and
which he is calling us Reckless Iya called out ones.
You've been called out by God. But from what, and where does
God call us? Cruz continues.
For the last six days, you have been flooded with the
Temptations and sinfulness of this worthless world.
But on Sunday, God calls us out of that worthlessness and into
his worthy presence. Psalm 84 10 the psalmist writes
there for a day in your courts is better than a thousand
elsewhere. He goes on to say, I would
rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in
the tents of wickedness. Cruz continues this one day in
seven will reorient us. It reshapes us.
It puts the imprint of the gospel story on our hearts and
erases all the false Impressions that the world has left on us
about what the good life really is.
Right. When you feel the pull, you feel
the Temptation during the week. That the good life is really
this that it's I give in to what my heart desires.
The good life is that I should have no restrictions on my life
at all. In the God, who is trying to
restrict me must not be any kind God at all.
He must not be a good God at all.
Because he's keeping me from expressing the truest version of
myself, which is the most important thing wrong.
A true expression of a sinful nature is nothing more than
depravity, which will earn condemnation in hell, right?
What a true expression of a life Redeemed by the god, that
created it. Now, we're getting somewhere.
Now, we're talking about life, and this is why Christ says he's
just very, you know, you had to read between the lines with
Jesus, he's not speaking and gray matter here.
He's telling you in black and white red, depending on which
Bible, you have, right? In John 10:10.
He says, the thief comes to steal and kill and to destroy,
but I have come that they may have life and life to the Fuller
life. Abundantly.
So the world promises life but it's really the thief disguising
theft. And murder and destruction.
But Christ promises life. And where are you going to find
life? Right here.
The words of God. The word of God.
This is it. This is the god, breathed.
Spirit given. Word of God.
Not to us. It's black and white and you can
buy a pretty Bible to make it feel more important.
You can read it on your phone and it will feel like something
you could just kind of throw away.
But I'm telling you the words in here are life.
The words in here. Give life.
And if you're not in submission to the word of God and you don't
know life in God. You've been fooled, you've been
duped by the world, you've bought a lie, the accuser of all
accusers. is accusing, you The liar of all liars has deceived
you. Crew says truly just as in
creation and Redemption, we could say that in worship, we
are called out of nothing and into something.
And worship weekly worship were called out of nothing.
And into something. Life itself.
In the call to worship, God calls us to join his work.
He hears our cries for help. He promises to be with us
despite our deficiencies. Therefore, the call to worship
isn't just a way to begin the service.
And we may not keep the same call forever, right?
What we will always do is begin the service with the word from
the Lord to his people. Something that reminds us of his
character, his attributes of how good he has been to us of how
trustworthy he is, how faithful he is.
Because if we can't worship on that, Foundation or worship, who
knows where it goes from there? Then the call we are recalling,
the very word of God, which is what I've sought to try to show
you today. And then recalling the word of
God, we're saying it is God who calls us.
It is God who condescends to us, because we are deficient on our
own. And it is him who reassures Us
by his promises that he is with us despite those deficiencies.
We come each week to give God. The honor that is due His holy
name. And that is why we have a call
to worship that reminds us of our overwhelming deficiencies.
And more importantly, it reminds us of God's overwhelming
sufficiency He is all sufficient.
If it were not for God's initiating call to worship just
as he does in creation just as he does in Redemption.
Then we wouldn't come to worship at all.
But praise God, that he calls us to join us work.
Here's our cries for help for help in our inabilities and he
promises to be with us just as he has done for his people
across space and time. He alone is worthy of our
worship. Amen.
And invite the worship team up. I will pray for you as they
come. We're about to sing a song
called. Yes, I will.
And it begins by saying this. I just want to recite it to you
and then I'll pray. It says I count on one thing.
The same God that never fails will not fail me now.
Amen. I meant me, pray for you.
Heavenly Father. What a joy, it is to be with
your people to join with them as my brothers and sisters in the
Lord. And to worship you today, God,
we thank you. That we are able to worship you
today because you have called us to be your people.
As first Peter to reminds us that we are a holy nation, a
royal priesthood. We've been called out of
Darkness, into Marvelous Light. We are the called out ones.
We are the church. And so we pray she we thank you
Lord that you have been always good that you have been always
faithful. And so, as we prepare to sing,
now it's with that, in mind. Yes, we will worship you.
Because you are the only constant in our lives.
You were the only true source of good and our lives.
You are the only one that's faithful in our lives.
And it's our hearts desire to glorify your name to magnify you
in all the Earth to make you, Lord of every moment.
Of our day to make you Lord of every slice of Our Lives.
Lord help us. Not to hide a thing from you As
if we could. Lord help us help us in our
deficiencies, in our inadequacies to make you Lord of
every area of our life. To come into submission under
your word. And every way that we and every
way that we're able, Form us formless father into the image
of your own son. That would be like him.
Laura, thank you for the grace and the mercy that comes to us
in Christ I think you Lord. Or anyone in here today, who's?
An unrepentant Center. Is unsaved not trusting Christ.
Lord, the same mercy and Grace that has saved the rest of us is
available to them as well. I pray.
Lord that you would soften their heart.
If you would draw them to yourself, that they would
receive salvation today. We love you, Lord.
We praise you for the honor. We have to worship you.
Thank you for calling us here today.
In the Name of Christ. I pray.
Amen.