1 00:00:04,900 --> 00:00:07,300 Let's say, welcome to you. My name is Kyle, a service, one 2 00:00:07,300 --> 00:00:09,200 of the pastor's here. I want to thank you for being 3 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:11,600 here with us this morning, especially for visiting today. 4 00:00:11,600 --> 00:00:15,800 Thank you for that as you're being seated or making your way 5 00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:17,000 to your seat. If you're already, there 6 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:19,600 Ephesians 2 is where we'll be today. 7 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:22,300 So I asked its you open your Bible turn to Ephesians chapter 8 00:00:22,300 --> 00:00:26,600 two seasons chapter 2, we're going to continue our series on 9 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:29,600 worship What specifically were answering the question. 10 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:34,900 What happens when we worship and so week one, just kind of by way 11 00:00:34,900 --> 00:00:38,000 of recap, we talked about how you are created to worship. 12 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:43,100 You are a worshipper by your very identity and you are 13 00:00:43,100 --> 00:00:46,200 worshipping. Something always, we got into 14 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:48,700 that a little bit more and week two. 15 00:00:48,700 --> 00:00:51,300 But in week one what we were establishing is that worshiping 16 00:00:51,300 --> 00:00:54,800 God his way or speaking. God his way is the most 17 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:56,300 important thing you will ever do. 18 00:00:56,900 --> 00:00:59,400 And then in week two, we built on that and we said that you 19 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:03,500 become what you behold. This is a Biblical principle 20 00:01:03,500 --> 00:01:07,200 taken from 2nd Corinthians. We saw there in chapter 3 that 21 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:10,800 as we are beholding, the image of the glory of Christ, We are 22 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:15,800 Becoming transformed into that same image from one degree of 23 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:19,100 Glory to another and so you are becoming what you behold. 24 00:01:19,100 --> 00:01:22,900 We looked at how Israel and their idol worship was becoming 25 00:01:23,100 --> 00:01:28,800 like their idols and so it's true that you also become like 26 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:31,300 Christ as you behold Christ and worship. 27 00:01:31,500 --> 00:01:34,200 So whatever you're worshipping as one who is created to 28 00:01:34,208 --> 00:01:36,500 worship, you're becoming like that thing. 29 00:01:36,900 --> 00:01:39,500 And so you become what you behold, we say, God forms and 30 00:01:39,500 --> 00:01:43,200 shapes you as you behold the glory of Christ in corporate 31 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:46,200 worship today, we're going to build on that just a little 32 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:50,700 further and explain why we become what we behold in 33 00:01:50,700 --> 00:01:53,200 corporate worship just a little bit further. 34 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:57,100 And what happens in corporate worship is that we meet with 35 00:01:57,100 --> 00:01:59,700 God. When we come together on Sunday 36 00:01:59,700 --> 00:02:02,100 mornings, we are meeting with God. 37 00:02:02,700 --> 00:02:05,700 I want to explain that to you. That might sound a little crazy, 38 00:02:05,700 --> 00:02:08,800 a little cuckoo on the front end, but won't explain to you. 39 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:12,700 But how, What's Happening by the spirit of God is that we're 40 00:02:12,700 --> 00:02:16,600 actually meeting with God when we come together and worship and 41 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:18,500 so if you're taking notes, you can write this down, it'll be on 42 00:02:18,500 --> 00:02:21,500 the screen here behind me. So you'll have a minute to write 43 00:02:21,500 --> 00:02:26,500 it, but in corporate worship, we meet with God, in Heavenly 44 00:02:26,500 --> 00:02:29,700 worship by the spirit. In corporate worship, we meet 45 00:02:29,700 --> 00:02:33,600 with God and Heavenly worship by the spirit. 46 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:39,900 Let's look at Ephesians 2. Ephesians 2 is going to be a 47 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:43,000 really a springboard into some other text as well. 48 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:45,000 But Ephesians 2 is explaining to us. 49 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:50,800 What's happened in US? And what's being done? 50 00:02:51,100 --> 00:02:56,300 Among Us As We Worship the Lord, or as we're expressing faith in 51 00:02:56,300 --> 00:02:57,800 Christ. And so if you would, would you 52 00:02:57,800 --> 00:02:59,800 stand. Now, as we read Ephesians 2, 53 00:03:00,100 --> 00:03:03,200 going to start in verse 17, just read through verse 22. 54 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:10,500 So just a few verses here today. Or 17 and he came and preached 55 00:03:10,500 --> 00:03:16,300 peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near 56 00:03:16,900 --> 00:03:19,800 for through him. We both have access in one 57 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:24,500 Spirits through the father. So then you are no longer 58 00:03:24,500 --> 00:03:29,600 strangers, and Aliens but you are fellow citizens with the 59 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:34,600 Saints and members of the household of God, Built on the 60 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:39,100 foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Christ, Jesus himself, 61 00:03:39,100 --> 00:03:43,900 being the Cornerstone. In whom the whole structure 62 00:03:44,100 --> 00:03:49,700 being joined together, grows into a holy Temple in the Lord. 63 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:54,500 In him, you also were being built together into a dwelling 64 00:03:54,500 --> 00:04:00,300 place for God by Spirits. This is God's, holy word. 65 00:04:00,900 --> 00:04:03,200 Thanks be to God. And let me pray for you. 66 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:05,500 Heavenly Father, we thank you for this time. 67 00:04:05,500 --> 00:04:07,600 We have now in corporate worship together. 68 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:10,500 We thank you, Lord, that In this passage. 69 00:04:10,500 --> 00:04:13,500 What we're reading is that we who were once far off, we who 70 00:04:13,500 --> 00:04:18,700 were once far away from Christ, not walking in faith, we who 71 00:04:18,700 --> 00:04:22,800 walked in our own wisdom, our own Construction who are as 72 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:25,900 earlier in Ephesians 2. We read, we were dead in our 73 00:04:25,900 --> 00:04:28,500 trespasses and sin. That Lord, you came and 74 00:04:28,500 --> 00:04:30,200 preached. Peace. 75 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:34,700 Another words, there was a way to reconciliation by belief, and 76 00:04:34,900 --> 00:04:37,000 your death, and Resurrection Christ. 77 00:04:37,500 --> 00:04:41,100 And that by faith in you, we are reconciled to God. 78 00:04:41,100 --> 00:04:45,700 We have peace with God. And as we see here, in this 79 00:04:45,700 --> 00:04:49,200 passage, there was now peace between Jews and gentiles. 80 00:04:50,700 --> 00:04:53,800 That they were able to come together as Christians in the 81 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:57,400 church and worship you as one body. 82 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:01,500 And so Lord, we join with them today, as men and women, who 83 00:05:01,500 --> 00:05:05,500 were, once far off, boys and girls, who once went their own 84 00:05:05,500 --> 00:05:07,900 way. Father, we come today to worship 85 00:05:07,900 --> 00:05:12,000 Christ by the power of the spirit at work in us that in 86 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:14,400 him. In Christ, we are being built 87 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:18,200 together into a dwelling place for you. 88 00:05:18,300 --> 00:05:23,700 Father by the Spirits, that's a fully trinitarian work and it's 89 00:05:23,700 --> 00:05:26,700 a mystery in some ways to us, but we praise you. 90 00:05:27,700 --> 00:05:33,300 That the truth stands. And As We Gather today we meet 91 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:37,100 with you Lord. Would you transform our hearts 92 00:05:37,100 --> 00:05:39,200 as we look into your perfect word today? 93 00:05:40,200 --> 00:05:45,600 Do increase our love for you, you deepen, our knowledge of 94 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:51,900 you, you strengthen our wisdom, Lord that we might walk as one, 95 00:05:51,900 --> 00:05:55,400 who is wise in these days? We love you. 96 00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:57,400 We thank you for the power of your spirit at work in us. 97 00:05:57,400 --> 00:05:59,900 Now, in Christ's name, we pray. Amen. 98 00:06:00,500 --> 00:06:07,500 And you may may be seated. There was a time not too long 99 00:06:07,500 --> 00:06:09,400 ago and I briefly mentioned this last week. 100 00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:13,800 We're covid the the initial impact of covid-19 101 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:38,200 No idea what they were looking at and it was really difficult 102 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:42,000 decision, but we to closed our doors for five weeks. 103 00:06:42,700 --> 00:06:45,300 And in those five weeks, we did video Services. 104 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:49,300 We I still regret this to this day but how could you know, 105 00:06:49,300 --> 00:06:51,800 right? We didn't meet, we didn't gather 106 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:55,700 for Easter, we did Easter in our homes, watching a TV screen and 107 00:06:55,700 --> 00:07:01,500 our pajamas. Most of us, And, and I just 108 00:07:01,500 --> 00:07:04,300 can't imagine going back to those things and coming out of 109 00:07:04,300 --> 00:07:05,800 it, we said, we'd never do that again. 110 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:09,800 We've never closed the doors again, but one of the things I 111 00:07:09,808 --> 00:07:13,300 remember people saying so frequently after we began 112 00:07:13,300 --> 00:07:14,500 together. Again, even as we were doing 113 00:07:14,500 --> 00:07:16,100 parking lot services for a while. 114 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:22,500 Is that I've missed this. And others saying many saying 115 00:07:22,500 --> 00:07:26,500 there's just something about gathering with others to worship 116 00:07:26,500 --> 00:07:29,300 God, that isn't the same as being in my house. 117 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:33,400 And it's true. There's really something 118 00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:37,000 Supernatural taking place when you gather with Believers for 119 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:39,800 corporate worship and that's what we missed. 120 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:42,700 Many of us unbeknownst to ourselves. 121 00:07:43,100 --> 00:07:46,000 We're missing the supernatural element of gathering with 122 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:49,400 Believers meeting with God in corporate worship. 123 00:07:49,400 --> 00:07:54,000 So these statements are not just simply true because they're 124 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:57,200 about strong, emotional feelings or type bonds with other 125 00:07:57,200 --> 00:07:59,300 believers. Those things are certainly not 126 00:07:59,300 --> 00:08:03,100 absent, that's part of it. You're being knit together with 127 00:08:03,100 --> 00:08:06,500 brothers and sisters to Worship the Lord with one another to 128 00:08:06,500 --> 00:08:08,700 strengthen one another. So, there's real bonds here, 129 00:08:08,700 --> 00:08:15,400 mean, it's many of us Snow. The Know, the truth that you're 130 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:18,700 closer to church family than you are your own blood kin, 131 00:08:18,700 --> 00:08:21,900 sometimes you just have more in common, right? 132 00:08:21,900 --> 00:08:26,600 Especially if your blood kin is not saved, they're not 133 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:28,700 Believers, right? There's there's more in common 134 00:08:28,700 --> 00:08:32,700 with Believers and so, those things are true. 135 00:08:32,700 --> 00:08:36,299 There are feelings or tight bonds that are present Among Us. 136 00:08:38,799 --> 00:08:43,700 But something deeper is taking place in corporate worship, we 137 00:08:43,700 --> 00:08:48,300 meet with God, when we come together on his appointed day 138 00:08:48,700 --> 00:08:52,600 and worship him in the ways that he has instructed us. 139 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:57,500 And so Sunday worship might seem mundane at first glance, it 140 00:08:57,500 --> 00:09:00,400 might seem like one of those things that you can either take 141 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:05,000 or leave at first glance. But when you taste and see the 142 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:10,200 glory of the Lord, alongside the Saints of God and you understand 143 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:13,600 that you were being transformed and you see the transformative 144 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:16,700 nature of coming together week in and week out. 145 00:09:16,700 --> 00:09:21,900 You understand that God is there something Supernatural is 146 00:09:21,900 --> 00:09:24,800 happening. And so, as we said last week, we 147 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:27,500 become what we behold and in corporate worship, what were 148 00:09:27,500 --> 00:09:33,500 beholding is, God himself were beholding, God because God is 149 00:09:33,500 --> 00:09:39,200 here with us. And in fact, if we were coming 150 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:42,800 together and not meeting with God, if we were coming together 151 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:47,500 in God's, Not present, then all of this would really be quite 152 00:09:47,500 --> 00:09:51,300 pointless. We may as well stay in our homes 153 00:09:51,300 --> 00:09:56,100 and watch a service online, we may as well not worry about 154 00:09:56,100 --> 00:09:57,700 Gathering. We might as well spend our 155 00:09:57,700 --> 00:10:03,000 weekends at the lake. Or in the deer stand or doing 156 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:06,000 whatever else, your favorite hobby may or may not be. 157 00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:09,900 If that were the case, but it's not. 158 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:15,600 What's happening, is that God is gathering with us in corporate 159 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:16,800 worship that in corporate worship. 160 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:20,700 We were being equipped to be his image bearers, we being 161 00:10:20,700 --> 00:10:24,400 transformed from one degree of glory to the next. 162 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:27,800 We are beholding God and because we are beholding, God, we are 163 00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:32,400 being transformed. God is using ordinary means of 164 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:37,200 Grace. To perform extraordinary 165 00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:41,400 transformation and our lives. When I say ordinary means of 166 00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:44,000 Grace. I'm talking about singing As we 167 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:48,400 sing together as we pray. As we hear the word read, as we 168 00:10:48,500 --> 00:10:52,400 hear the word preached, as we celebrate baptisms, as we 169 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:55,600 receive, the Lord's supper together, and we do all of that. 170 00:10:55,600 --> 00:10:58,600 According to the instructions that God has granted to us in 171 00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:02,400 his word. We are being transformed because 172 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:04,800 in those things, God meets with us. 173 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:09,200 Some may argue that God is omnipresent right? 174 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:12,800 And I would not disagree. God is everywhere all the time 175 00:11:13,500 --> 00:11:17,900 and his spirit so they may argue well, his Spirit dwells within 176 00:11:17,900 --> 00:11:20,200 Believers. And so Believers ought to be 177 00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:23,800 able to meet with God at any time and any place. 178 00:11:25,500 --> 00:11:28,800 This is a particular popular thought in our culture, 179 00:11:29,700 --> 00:11:32,700 especially during the summer or during hunting season, or 180 00:11:32,700 --> 00:11:35,600 baseball, season's or whatever, right? 181 00:11:36,900 --> 00:11:41,100 Some may say, I'm just as close to God on the lake or I'm just 182 00:11:41,100 --> 00:11:44,500 as close to God on the deer stand as I am in church on 183 00:11:44,500 --> 00:11:47,900 Sunday. Well that that's a really nice 184 00:11:47,900 --> 00:11:52,200 sounding thing to say, but it's unequivocably false. 185 00:11:53,500 --> 00:11:56,300 It's blatantly false, it's untrue. 186 00:11:57,300 --> 00:11:59,500 I do believe in the omnipresence of God. 187 00:11:59,700 --> 00:12:04,100 I believe that God is everywhere at all times, but God does not 188 00:12:04,100 --> 00:12:07,800 promise to meet with Believers everywhere at all times. 189 00:12:08,300 --> 00:12:11,500 He does not command Believers to hike, tall, mountains or 190 00:12:11,600 --> 00:12:14,900 Skeletor East and or sunbae on their favorite Lake before he 191 00:12:14,900 --> 00:12:18,500 will meet with them, he has however commanded Believers to 192 00:12:18,500 --> 00:12:21,900 not forsake, the Gathering of the Saints, do not forsake, the 193 00:12:21,900 --> 00:12:26,100 Assembly of the Saints and an axe to what we read after Peter 194 00:12:26,100 --> 00:12:28,400 preaches, on the day of Pentecost and three thousand 195 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:29,900 Souls were added to their number. 196 00:12:29,900 --> 00:12:33,400 That day added to the church that day they immediately. 197 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:38,400 But happens in verse, you know, acts 2:1 through 41. 198 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:41,600 And then in 42, you read and they devoted themselves to the 199 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:44,900 apostles teaching the prayers to Breaking of bread and to 200 00:12:44,900 --> 00:12:47,300 fellowship with the Saints, what happened? 201 00:12:47,300 --> 00:12:49,100 The church began to be the church. 202 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:53,300 You see the church? Beginning its process of 203 00:12:53,300 --> 00:12:55,200 regularly meeting together. Just a few verses later. 204 00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:58,800 It says, they gather day by day and the temple, and then homes 205 00:12:59,700 --> 00:13:01,500 with one another for those purposes. 206 00:13:02,700 --> 00:13:07,000 And so God's primary means. Well, let me say this, you may 207 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:10,600 encounter God during your private prayer, you may 208 00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:13,300 encounter him through your private scripture reading times. 209 00:13:13,300 --> 00:13:16,200 I hope that you do you may encounter him through group 210 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:21,100 Bible studies, we've had many wonderful moments in group Bible 211 00:13:21,100 --> 00:13:24,400 studies around here. You may encounter him and family 212 00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:26,500 worship. And I again, I hope that you do. 213 00:13:27,500 --> 00:13:30,100 And then those things are vital for your growth in the knowledge 214 00:13:30,100 --> 00:13:32,300 of the Lord, their vital for your growth, in the wisdom of 215 00:13:32,300 --> 00:13:35,400 God, they're part of your sanctification. 216 00:13:35,400 --> 00:13:38,000 So, I'm not saying those things, don't matter or that something 217 00:13:38,500 --> 00:13:42,100 isn't happening there, but God's primary means throughout 218 00:13:42,100 --> 00:13:45,300 scripture for meeting with his people is with the gathered 219 00:13:45,300 --> 00:13:49,100 Church, its with the gathered people and so in, what's 220 00:13:49,100 --> 00:13:52,200 happening in weekly corporate worship is that we can be 221 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:54,900 certain that we are meeting with God. 222 00:13:55,800 --> 00:14:00,200 This is Supernatural because we're meeting with God so you 223 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:02,500 might find them on occasion somewhere else. 224 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:06,000 But if you want to meet with God regularly, you will find him 225 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:10,000 gathered with his people during weekly worship. 226 00:14:11,900 --> 00:14:14,400 Again, let me remind you of Ephesians two Seventeen through 227 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:16,600 twenty two and talk a little bit about what's taking place here, 228 00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:19,200 and he came and preached peace, to those who were far off and 229 00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:22,100 those who were near. So now, he's talking about those 230 00:14:22,100 --> 00:14:24,300 who are far off for the Gentiles, those who are near 231 00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:29,500 where the Jews. And the piece that is being 232 00:14:29,500 --> 00:14:31,800 explained here is the same. Whether you're Jew or Gentile, 233 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:36,300 its faith in Christ, brings peace with God, it's not going 234 00:14:36,300 --> 00:14:38,600 to be through your works as the Jews would have thought. 235 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:41,000 It's not going to be through some other practices as 236 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:45,400 Gentiles, maybe would have thought and at this time Jews 237 00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:48,800 and Gentiles were often separated in worship, Jews were 238 00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:51,400 allowed to go into the inner most places of the temple. 239 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:53,600 Gentiles had to sit outside and watch. 240 00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:56,800 There was a dividing wall called a wall of hostility. 241 00:14:57,400 --> 00:14:59,500 But set between the Jews and the Gentiles. 242 00:14:59,500 --> 00:15:03,000 And God removes this through Christ that by faith. 243 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:09,300 In Christ, there's one Faith, one baptism, one Lord, right? 244 00:15:09,300 --> 00:15:12,100 And by faith, and him were all coming together. 245 00:15:12,100 --> 00:15:15,400 And so for through him, Paul writes we both have access in 246 00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:20,600 one Spirit to the father. So then you who are no longer 247 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:24,000 strangers and Aliens, but you who are fellow citizens with the 248 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:25,800 Saints. And the members of the household 249 00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:29,200 of God Builds on the foundation of the Apostles, and Prophets 250 00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:31,900 Christ, Jesus himself being the Cornerstone. 251 00:15:31,900 --> 00:15:34,200 So all these things that were written in the Apostle written 252 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:37,500 in the prophets and now are being written in the apostles or 253 00:15:37,500 --> 00:15:39,900 a piece of this. But Christ is the Cornerstone, 254 00:15:39,900 --> 00:15:42,000 these things are being built on Christ. 255 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:46,200 They're supporting the truth. That Christ is the one who 256 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:51,200 unites all, who believe in him. Together and one Faith. 257 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:55,000 Things are not meant to be at odds with one another. 258 00:15:55,800 --> 00:15:58,800 And then he says, in whom the whole structure in Christ in 259 00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:02,300 whom the whole structure being joined together, grows into a 260 00:16:02,300 --> 00:16:05,500 holy Temple in the Lord. So Christ is the Cornerstone, 261 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:07,600 the prophets, and the apostles, and what they're writing are 262 00:16:07,600 --> 00:16:09,300 building on crisis, at Cornerstone. 263 00:16:09,500 --> 00:16:13,900 And what's being erected is a temple for the Lord. 264 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:19,000 And whom you also are being built together into a dwelling 265 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:22,300 place for God by the spirit. What's he saying? 266 00:16:22,300 --> 00:16:25,400 Now to the church there at Ephesus, he saying you guys are 267 00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:28,500 being built together as a Dwelling Place. 268 00:16:28,500 --> 00:16:32,000 The Lord dwells in you. We just read this, we didn't 269 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:33,600 read it. Sorry you would have just read 270 00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:35,300 this. Paul would have just are the 271 00:16:35,300 --> 00:16:37,800 elders who are reading this to the church would have just read 272 00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:42,200 this in Ephesians 1 that by the spirit, you are now saved. 273 00:16:42,900 --> 00:16:45,700 You're sealed by the spirit, you're secure by the spirit, the 274 00:16:45,708 --> 00:16:48,600 spirit dwells in you. And he says it's the same Spirit 275 00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:50,600 Which Way raised Christ from the dead. 276 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:53,700 And so now in Ephesians 2, he's explaining that that same spirit 277 00:16:53,700 --> 00:16:56,000 that you received upon belief is now. 278 00:16:56,000 --> 00:17:00,300 It's uniting you together into a dwelling place for God. 279 00:17:00,700 --> 00:17:04,099 He resides with you. It's amazing. 280 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:07,000 And so you have really incredible statements and just 281 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:10,800 these few verses we have access to the father in one Spirit. 282 00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:13,500 You are no longer strangers and Aliens. 283 00:17:13,700 --> 00:17:17,400 But you are fellow citizens with the Saints and members of the 284 00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:21,599 household of God in Christ. The whole structure being joined 285 00:17:21,599 --> 00:17:26,099 together, grows into a holy Temple in the Lord, and Christ. 286 00:17:26,099 --> 00:17:29,600 You also are being built together into a dwelling place 287 00:17:29,900 --> 00:17:34,900 for God by the spirit. And so the truths of what Paul 288 00:17:34,900 --> 00:17:37,100 is writing about in Ephesians could be summed up in this way, 289 00:17:37,100 --> 00:17:41,400 God has called you out of darkness and he brings you into 290 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:45,900 his lights and he does this by the power of the spirit through 291 00:17:45,900 --> 00:17:51,300 the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, you now have access to 292 00:17:51,300 --> 00:17:54,500 the father. You are now being built into a 293 00:17:54,500 --> 00:17:59,200 household for God, the whole thing from beginning to end is 294 00:17:59,300 --> 00:18:02,400 becoming a holy Temple in the Lord. 295 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:04,500 In Price. You were being built into a 296 00:18:04,500 --> 00:18:09,600 dwelling place for God by the spirit incredible. 297 00:18:11,700 --> 00:18:17,200 And so the reality of this work is seen, most clearly in 298 00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:21,700 corporate worship, you see the temple coming in to form on a 299 00:18:21,700 --> 00:18:24,200 local level. And so, when we talk about the 300 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:26,800 church, you can talk about the church at two levels, right? 301 00:18:26,800 --> 00:18:29,900 There's the church Global, which would be like Big C church, 302 00:18:29,900 --> 00:18:31,700 right? This is all the Christians 303 00:18:31,700 --> 00:18:34,300 across time across the globe, right? 304 00:18:34,300 --> 00:18:39,900 This is the Church of Christ. And then there's local 305 00:18:39,900 --> 00:18:44,600 expressions of The Big C Church which would be just local 306 00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:48,000 congregations. Which are small expressions of 307 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:50,400 what's taking place on a global scale. 308 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:54,300 Alright, everybody follow that. So what we're doing in here is 309 00:18:54,300 --> 00:18:58,100 simply identifying us with Christ, right? 310 00:18:58,100 --> 00:19:01,700 We are those who are in Christ by faith and in that were 311 00:19:01,700 --> 00:19:06,600 joining ourselves together with Christians across time and space 312 00:19:06,700 --> 00:19:08,900 if you will. Right. 313 00:19:09,300 --> 00:19:13,900 It's a Transcendent family and it goes from the beginning of 314 00:19:13,900 --> 00:19:20,100 time with the faith of Adam to the end of time with whoever the 315 00:19:20,100 --> 00:19:24,100 final Christians on Earth might be when Christ descends and 316 00:19:24,100 --> 00:19:28,400 establishes himself and the new heavens and the new Earth and we 317 00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:33,100 all worship together as as one people of God from every tribe 318 00:19:33,100 --> 00:19:37,500 tongue and nation of the world. Amen, will be a beautiful 319 00:19:37,700 --> 00:19:39,500 Reality. And what this is, is just a 320 00:19:39,508 --> 00:19:42,100 local expression of that reality. 321 00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:46,000 You're sitting next to people, your in-home groups with people, 322 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:49,300 you're in biblical, manhood or Womanhood with with people. 323 00:19:49,600 --> 00:19:50,900 You're in Sunday school with people. 324 00:19:50,900 --> 00:19:53,100 Right. You worship on Sundays with 325 00:19:53,100 --> 00:19:56,700 people whom you might have. No other thing in common with 326 00:19:56,800 --> 00:20:00,700 except the Glorious truth that Christ has saved you from your 327 00:20:00,700 --> 00:20:05,600 sins and granted you new life. And by that mere fact, you 328 00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:08,100 worship. I think I've told the story 329 00:20:08,100 --> 00:20:11,700 before it's been a while but it's a wonderful little anecdote 330 00:20:11,700 --> 00:20:13,700 to talk about what we're explain further. 331 00:20:13,700 --> 00:20:17,200 What I mean, when I went to Brazil, a few years ago is 332 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:19,500 almost 3 years ago, now, it's kind of hard to believe time to 333 00:20:19,500 --> 00:20:21,400 go back. But when I went to Brazil, a few 334 00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:28,200 years ago, we loaded up in a car, a little sedan, and we were 335 00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:30,100 driving through what they call the bush. 336 00:20:30,100 --> 00:20:33,800 It's just, I mean, it's it's logging roads in South Arkansas, 337 00:20:33,900 --> 00:20:35,300 right? You're driving down logging 338 00:20:35,300 --> 00:20:36,800 roads, essentially, and we're in this little Ford. 339 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:40,500 Sedan and the things just bottom and out and with every pothole 340 00:20:40,500 --> 00:20:43,700 and mudhole, we hit is really incredible and to top it all 341 00:20:43,700 --> 00:20:47,100 off, we're being led to the place that we're going by two 342 00:20:47,100 --> 00:20:49,800 guys on dirt bikes. Right? 343 00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:50,900 And we're following them in this little. 344 00:20:50,900 --> 00:20:52,200 Savannah were just sliding everywhere. 345 00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:54,500 I mean it's a lot of fun. You're not supposed to motorized 346 00:20:54,500 --> 00:20:56,400 and sedans in case you didn't know but we were. 347 00:20:56,800 --> 00:21:02,900 And so as we drive for 40 minutes at least and we come to, 348 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:06,800 I mean, it's just, it's pitch black, there's nothing all 349 00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:09,000 around you. It's like 9 p.m. at night. 350 00:21:10,100 --> 00:21:13,100 And we come there's a light ahead and we pull up to this 351 00:21:13,100 --> 00:21:18,700 place and there's 70 plus men and women and boys and girls 352 00:21:18,700 --> 00:21:22,100 gathered under essentially, what's a like a light. 353 00:21:22,100 --> 00:21:25,800 You would have outside your shop and then there's a shop building 354 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:29,000 there with the chairs that they use for the service. 355 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:30,800 I want to know how electricity is out there to be honest. 356 00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:32,600 It may have been running off generator, I'm not sure. 357 00:21:35,300 --> 00:21:37,200 And there's the shop building had chairs in. 358 00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:41,600 It had some speakers equipment and they've set up church under 359 00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:44,600 this light with June bugs. Just absolutely murdering you 360 00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:47,400 while you're out there. I mean, it was a slew of June 361 00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:52,800 bugs and, and people have gathered to hear the word sang 362 00:21:53,700 --> 00:21:55,800 to hear the word read and taught. 363 00:21:57,300 --> 00:22:02,000 To encourage one another. We shared a mill of, you know, 364 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:06,000 the sloppiest soup. Mess rice thing I've ever eaten 365 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:09,400 in my life with coffee coffee goes with every meal and Brazil. 366 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:15,200 And so, we did that afterwards, but it was beautiful and it was 367 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:18,400 amazing. And then, that way, not knowing, 368 00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:21,000 even the words that were being sung, right? 369 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:23,700 Recognizing Tunes because their songs, even that we're familiar 370 00:22:23,700 --> 00:22:27,800 with some, Not recognize not understanding. 371 00:22:27,800 --> 00:22:29,400 I'm trying to seeing some of it in English. 372 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:32,500 What I could remember, I was joined together with brothers 373 00:22:32,500 --> 00:22:36,400 and sisters and worship of God across tribe and tongue and 374 00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:39,500 Nation. All right, and the only way that 375 00:22:39,500 --> 00:22:44,000 happens is by the power of the spirit of God. right, you show 376 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:52,300 up in an assembly in a Buddhist Monastery, or a typical of Islam 377 00:22:52,300 --> 00:22:54,100 or something to that effect, right? 378 00:22:54,700 --> 00:22:58,500 As a Christian, and you try to worship alongside those people. 379 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:02,000 It's going to be foreign to you. It's going to be weird and it's 380 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:04,600 not going to work. Are you going to be out of 381 00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:07,600 place? The spirit of God, unites 382 00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:09,800 Believers together. The spirit of God, draws 383 00:23:09,900 --> 00:23:13,800 Believers into worship with God on a spiritual level. 384 00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:17,000 That that even, we can't comprehend very well in the 385 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:21,100 moments that it's taking place. And so the reality of the work 386 00:23:21,100 --> 00:23:25,200 is seen in corporate worship. We see this happen before eyes 387 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:30,900 in corporate worship. You may encounter God other 388 00:23:30,900 --> 00:23:32,400 places. I'm not saying that you don't 389 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:34,600 see it, you know, encounter God, as you're reading the word at 390 00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:38,100 your coffee kitchen table in the mornings, or you're reading it 391 00:23:38,100 --> 00:23:41,300 with your children, are you having interaction with a friend 392 00:23:41,300 --> 00:23:42,600 or you have an interaction with your child? 393 00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:44,300 As you're talking about the Lord together? 394 00:23:45,300 --> 00:23:47,500 I'm not saying you don't encounter God in those ways. 395 00:23:47,500 --> 00:23:48,600 Absolutely. We do. 396 00:23:48,900 --> 00:23:53,300 But we don't build habits around random events. 397 00:23:54,500 --> 00:23:58,200 We don't form our habits for worship around Random Acts 398 00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:02,700 seeking, for that thing to be the thing that makes worship 399 00:24:02,700 --> 00:24:05,900 happen, right? We form our habits from the 400 00:24:05,908 --> 00:24:09,500 commands of God. We form our habits around what 401 00:24:09,500 --> 00:24:13,200 God is actually said for us to be doing so that we can be 402 00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:18,600 certain that we will fully and regularly encounter him in 403 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:21,100 worship. So, in the Old Testament, God 404 00:24:21,100 --> 00:24:23,300 commanded the Israelites to build a tabernacle. 405 00:24:23,700 --> 00:24:26,400 This was a Lisa was going to travel with them and the 406 00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:28,500 Wilderness Journeys. We're going to erect this 407 00:24:28,500 --> 00:24:32,000 Tabernacle 10 of meeting if you will, and God was going to show 408 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:36,800 up there and he did often. Through the ministry of Moses 409 00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:40,000 and the levite priest. God showed up. 410 00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:42,800 And there were, there were sacrifices made. 411 00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:45,700 There was a tone that made there was Washings that were done 412 00:24:45,700 --> 00:24:47,400 there and the whole nine yards, right? 413 00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:50,100 Everything that needed to happen to meet with God, atone for sin 414 00:24:50,100 --> 00:24:54,200 and all of that happened there. God met with his people there in 415 00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:57,200 the tent of meeting. Once the Israelites make it into 416 00:24:57,200 --> 00:25:01,400 the promised land, and in the days of the Kings, we read about 417 00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:04,800 how this time of meeting moved to. 418 00:25:04,900 --> 00:25:08,200 A temple. And so there was a temple built 419 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:11,400 for God. And in the same way, there were 420 00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:14,000 sacrifices made, there were Washings that were done. 421 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:17,400 There was a, you know, you know, the ark was present, the mercy 422 00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:19,300 seats, they're all the same things, right? 423 00:25:19,300 --> 00:25:23,100 But now it dwells in the temples, the presence of God was 424 00:25:23,100 --> 00:25:26,700 there and so they would regularly meet with God. 425 00:25:26,700 --> 00:25:30,300 That would see the glory of God through Tabernacle worship 426 00:25:30,300 --> 00:25:35,300 Temple worship later on. And so the question becomes and 427 00:25:35,300 --> 00:25:39,600 a lot of what churches are chasing today is, is that same 428 00:25:39,600 --> 00:25:46,000 kind of Old Testament worship. And the question is, does God 429 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:52,600 still meet with his people? Does he still have a house if 430 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:55,600 you will? And we don't have pillars of 431 00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:59,700 smoke, we don't have Washings, we don't have Bloody sacrifices, 432 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:03,500 praise the Lord, These Old Testament forms of worship. 433 00:26:03,500 --> 00:26:08,700 However, foreshadow a better way for worship a way that we now 434 00:26:08,700 --> 00:26:13,900 know we worship God free of Tabernacles and temples because 435 00:26:13,900 --> 00:26:17,500 of the work of Jesus Christ. So in Ephesians 2, what we're 436 00:26:17,500 --> 00:26:21,600 reading and what Paul is teaching here is that we were 437 00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:26,300 being built into a dwelling place for for God by the spirit 438 00:26:26,300 --> 00:26:31,000 of God. But how does that happen? 439 00:26:31,900 --> 00:26:37,800 And where does that happen? Jonathan Cruz outlines us pretty 440 00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:40,400 well in his book on worships. I'm going to share a couple of 441 00:26:40,400 --> 00:26:43,100 things there that he mentions first. 442 00:26:43,100 --> 00:26:47,700 Is this, how do we, how do we meet with God? 443 00:26:49,100 --> 00:26:52,900 We meet with God through the blood of Jesus taking notes. 444 00:26:52,900 --> 00:26:54,800 You can write that down. How do we meet with God? 445 00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:58,000 We meet with God through the blood of Jesus. 446 00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:02,600 Hebrews 10:19 through 22, the book of Hebrews is all about 447 00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:07,700 correcting, Christian worship, specially from Hebrews, who had 448 00:27:07,700 --> 00:27:10,200 either already forsaken, What Christian worship should look 449 00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:14,000 like, or were being led to forsake what Christian worship 450 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:16,100 should look like. They were going back to their 451 00:27:16,100 --> 00:27:18,700 Old Testament. Jewish roots, either by 452 00:27:18,700 --> 00:27:21,300 judaizers, who were present saying we still need to do all 453 00:27:21,300 --> 00:27:25,200 these things. And so Hebrews is likely not 454 00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:28,300 saying it is, but it's likely a sermon from Paul. 455 00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:33,300 All to the Hebrew people written by Luke saying, hey, no. 456 00:27:33,300 --> 00:27:36,200 Here's what right worship looks like. 457 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:41,700 And Hebrews 10:19 through 22, we get this therefore Brothers 458 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:45,600 since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the 459 00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:51,000 blood of Jesus, how do we do it by the blood of Jesus by the New 460 00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:54,000 and Living Way that he opened for us through the curtain that 461 00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:59,200 is through his flesh and since we have a great high priest over 462 00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:06,200 the house of God, let us draw near with a True Heart in full 463 00:28:06,200 --> 00:28:09,500 Assurance of faith. Faith with our hearts sprinkled 464 00:28:09,500 --> 00:28:14,400 clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure 465 00:28:14,700 --> 00:28:17,900 water. And so what the writer of 466 00:28:17,900 --> 00:28:21,900 Hebrews is saying is that the Washings and the blood sacrifice 467 00:28:22,100 --> 00:28:27,300 are the once, and for all finished work of Christ, there 468 00:28:27,300 --> 00:28:32,300 his work, he has washed forever. Those who put their faith in 469 00:28:32,300 --> 00:28:36,400 him, he has sprinkled clean, with his own blood, those who 470 00:28:36,400 --> 00:28:39,000 put their faith in him once and for all time. 471 00:28:39,500 --> 00:28:42,400 And so we draw near to God with a true heart. 472 00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:46,500 Now, in full Assurance, whereas in Jewish worship your Near with 473 00:28:46,500 --> 00:28:48,900 some assurance. Right? 474 00:28:48,900 --> 00:28:52,100 Because you're trusting in the blood of bulls and goats you're 475 00:28:52,100 --> 00:28:53,800 trusting in something that you're going to have to come 476 00:28:53,800 --> 00:28:57,400 back tomorrow and do again and the next day and the next day, 477 00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:00,800 and there was no end to this kind of blood sacrifice. 478 00:29:02,400 --> 00:29:05,800 But we get to draw near with a True Heart in full Assurance of 479 00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:08,500 Faith by the blood of Jesus Christ. 480 00:29:08,500 --> 00:29:12,700 Our faith is in the shed blood of Christ that he has died for 481 00:29:12,700 --> 00:29:16,100 the Forgiveness of our sins. And so, we enter into worship 482 00:29:16,100 --> 00:29:19,000 with God. We meet with God, by the blood 483 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:21,900 of Christ, are no longer to look into Temple. 484 00:29:21,900 --> 00:29:25,200 Washings were no longer looking to just how spiritual which this 485 00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:30,200 is what this is, what people who are very legalistic or trying to 486 00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:32,400 do our, there's a difference between Living. 487 00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:35,600 Holy lives as God has commanded. He's commanded us to be holy and 488 00:29:35,600 --> 00:29:40,100 then and then legalism there's differences the difference in 489 00:29:40,100 --> 00:29:43,900 legalism is that you think and legalism you're making yourself 490 00:29:43,900 --> 00:29:46,100 clean enough to come and worship God. 491 00:29:46,500 --> 00:29:50,200 And if for some reason you're not clean enough you now draw 492 00:29:50,200 --> 00:29:54,900 near without full Assurance, you draw near hoping, right? 493 00:29:55,400 --> 00:29:58,500 It's like a coin flip for you. When you draw near to God in the 494 00:29:58,500 --> 00:30:02,500 Assurance of your own legalistic Moral Moral, ISM. 495 00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:05,900 But when you draw near to God in full Assurance of faith in 496 00:30:05,900 --> 00:30:09,300 Christ, faith in his blood, which is wash, you clean, you 497 00:30:09,300 --> 00:30:13,100 come near and total freedom from sin. 498 00:30:13,500 --> 00:30:17,800 You draw near with a heart that trust Christ alone and you're 499 00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:20,300 not trying to just clean yourself up or wash yourself 500 00:30:20,300 --> 00:30:24,000 real good before you show up, you're saying, I have come only 501 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:27,900 by the blood of Christ. I sing the songs today because 502 00:30:27,900 --> 00:30:31,300 Christ has washed me. I sing these songs today because 503 00:30:31,300 --> 00:30:33,300 the blood of The sprinkled me clean. 504 00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:36,000 I hear the word read. I hear the word preached. 505 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:39,900 I proclaim the word today as someone who has been washed by 506 00:30:39,900 --> 00:30:43,500 the blood of Christ. I'm not coming to you in my own 507 00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:50,400 my lack of Holiness. My own want to be moralistic, 508 00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:52,900 right? We don't draw near in those 509 00:30:52,900 --> 00:30:56,400 veins and then we walk away as those who recognize we've been 510 00:30:56,400 --> 00:30:59,800 washed by the blood of Christ. So therefore let's go live lives 511 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:01,900 that reflect that. What's what? 512 00:31:02,100 --> 00:31:03,800 Paul is saying in Philippians, 1:27. 513 00:31:04,700 --> 00:31:07,300 When he talks about living a life that is worthy of the 514 00:31:07,300 --> 00:31:11,300 manner of Christ or worthy of the gospel live in such a way 515 00:31:11,300 --> 00:31:14,500 that it's worthy of the Gospel you're showing Christ has saved 516 00:31:14,500 --> 00:31:18,900 me and I'm submitting myself to him, I'm following him. 517 00:31:19,700 --> 00:31:21,900 And so in the Old Testament, under the old Covenant, there 518 00:31:21,900 --> 00:31:24,500 had to be a sacrifice every single time someone were to draw 519 00:31:24,500 --> 00:31:27,500 near to God, and even the priests who were making the 520 00:31:27,500 --> 00:31:30,100 sacrifices, would have to make sacrifices for themselves. 521 00:31:30,600 --> 00:31:36,100 What a job, right? What a mess but not anymore. 522 00:31:36,500 --> 00:31:39,800 Hebrews 9:12 he answered Christ entered once for all and to the 523 00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:43,300 holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves. 524 00:31:43,300 --> 00:31:47,300 But by the means of his own blood thus securing, don't miss 525 00:31:47,300 --> 00:31:50,700 this, thus securing an eternal Redemption. 526 00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:54,400 How long does your Redemption last? 527 00:31:55,600 --> 00:31:58,500 Eternal. Right for all eternity. 528 00:31:59,500 --> 00:32:03,200 If your faith is in Christ, if your trust is in Christ, your 529 00:32:03,200 --> 00:32:09,400 Redemption is eternal. By faith in the work of Christ 530 00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:13,300 on the cross, your Eternal Redemption is secured for you. 531 00:32:13,700 --> 00:32:17,100 You are purified for Eternal worship forever. 532 00:32:17,700 --> 00:32:20,700 It's your belief in the good news of Jesus Christ that makes 533 00:32:20,700 --> 00:32:24,600 you even capable of worshipping brothers and sisters. 534 00:32:24,600 --> 00:32:29,700 We do not draw near to God by making a one-time pronouncement 535 00:32:29,700 --> 00:32:32,700 of faith. Brother, we draw near to God 536 00:32:32,800 --> 00:32:36,800 through a continual expressing of trust and the sacrificial 537 00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:38,800 work. Of Jesus Christ. 538 00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:44,600 We're trusting in Christ and his work for the Forgiveness of our 539 00:32:44,600 --> 00:32:48,800 sins, not in ourselves, not in our own faith, not in their own 540 00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:50,900 ability, not in our own knowledge or wisdom were 541 00:32:50,900 --> 00:32:54,300 trusting in Christ alone. And so we come to God the Father 542 00:32:54,300 --> 00:32:59,400 through faith in God by through faith in God the son by 543 00:32:59,400 --> 00:33:02,600 dependence on God the spirit I'll say it again because I got 544 00:33:02,600 --> 00:33:04,700 tongue-tied. We come to God. 545 00:33:05,500 --> 00:33:12,400 Through faith in God, the son by dependence on God, the spirit 546 00:33:13,100 --> 00:33:15,400 from corporate worship. Again, I've put this before you 547 00:33:15,408 --> 00:33:17,400 at the very beginning, this is what we're talking about in 548 00:33:17,400 --> 00:33:19,500 corporate worship. We meet with God, in Heavenly 549 00:33:19,500 --> 00:33:28,000 worship by the spirit. So the answers my next question. 550 00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:30,100 Really? Where do we meet with God? 551 00:33:30,900 --> 00:33:32,900 How do we meet with God? It's through the blood of Jesus 552 00:33:32,900 --> 00:33:35,100 Christ. Where do we meet with God? 553 00:33:37,300 --> 00:33:40,300 And Heaven. Now, you might expect me to say 554 00:33:40,300 --> 00:33:43,700 in this place. You might think it's in the 555 00:33:43,700 --> 00:33:45,400 local church. You might think it's in the 556 00:33:45,400 --> 00:33:49,600 building itself, but you're meeting with God in heaven. 557 00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:51,600 Let me explain Hebrews 8:1 through to. 558 00:33:52,100 --> 00:33:55,900 Now the point in what we are saying is this, we have such a 559 00:33:55,908 --> 00:33:59,900 high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the Throne 560 00:33:59,900 --> 00:34:05,400 of the Majesty in heaven. A minister in the holy places in 561 00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:12,100 the true tent that the Lord set up, not, man, or by Satan. 562 00:34:12,199 --> 00:34:18,000 True 10th, through 10th. But the Lord set up, not man 563 00:34:18,699 --> 00:34:21,699 again, at one time the tent of meeting was on the Earth, right? 564 00:34:21,699 --> 00:34:26,199 It was in Tabernacles and temples but now Christ dwells in 565 00:34:26,207 --> 00:34:28,600 the true tent, which is in heaven. 566 00:34:29,100 --> 00:34:34,600 And so, real worship the reality of worship, the reality of your 567 00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:40,000 spiritual worship each week is that it takes place in heaven. 568 00:34:40,900 --> 00:34:44,400 We meet with God and His Heavenly Sanctuary when we come 569 00:34:44,400 --> 00:34:47,900 together and worship. And so when we meet with God in 570 00:34:47,900 --> 00:34:52,199 corporate worship, the spirit draws us into Heavenly places, 571 00:34:52,199 --> 00:34:55,500 is what it means by your being built into a household of God by 572 00:34:55,500 --> 00:35:00,000 the spirit. We're being drawn by the spirit 573 00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:05,400 of God and to Heavenly places, we join the worship of Heaven. 574 00:35:07,300 --> 00:35:12,200 Alan read it earlier but Isaiah 6 the Angels around the Throne 575 00:35:12,200 --> 00:35:14,400 of God and the vision of Isaiah. What are they saying? 576 00:35:14,400 --> 00:35:20,000 Holy holy. Holy the whole earth is full of 577 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:23,100 the glory of God. What are the Angels doing 578 00:35:23,600 --> 00:35:27,500 worshipping, right? You and I, when we join In 579 00:35:27,500 --> 00:35:30,800 Worship or joining in the Eternal worship of God, this 580 00:35:30,800 --> 00:35:34,100 worship is not based on the fact that we're worshipping were 581 00:35:34,100 --> 00:35:36,300 merely just joining in to worship. 582 00:35:36,300 --> 00:35:42,400 That is always taking place. The worship of God never ceases. 583 00:35:44,200 --> 00:35:47,500 And you're drawn by the spirit of God into Heavenly places to 584 00:35:47,500 --> 00:35:51,600 join, with the angels and the Saints who were there to Worship 585 00:35:51,600 --> 00:35:57,300 the Lord. And Hebrews 12 18, it says for 586 00:35:57,500 --> 00:36:03,400 you have not come to what may be touched again these Earthly 587 00:36:03,400 --> 00:36:05,700 sanctuaries. Tabernacles and temples those 588 00:36:05,700 --> 00:36:09,000 things may be touched. You can put your hand on them. 589 00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:10,600 You can walk through the doorways. 590 00:36:11,700 --> 00:36:13,800 But again, the rider here, if Hebrews saying you've not come 591 00:36:13,800 --> 00:36:16,400 to what may be touched? That's how it was. 592 00:36:17,300 --> 00:36:23,700 This is what it is like now. He continues in verse 22, 593 00:36:23,700 --> 00:36:28,800 Hebrews 12 verse 22 and 24, but you have come to Mount, Zion to 594 00:36:28,808 --> 00:36:32,800 the city of the Living. God, the heavenly Jerusalem and 595 00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:37,700 to innumerable angels and festal Gathering into the Assembly of 596 00:36:37,700 --> 00:36:43,600 the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven and to God, the judge 597 00:36:43,600 --> 00:36:48,000 of all and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect and to 598 00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:52,400 Jesus the mediator of a New Covenant and to the Sprinkled 599 00:36:52,400 --> 00:36:56,000 blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. 600 00:36:56,700 --> 00:37:00,200 Wow. You've not come to what may be 601 00:37:00,200 --> 00:37:03,400 touched? You've not come to a chair, 602 00:37:03,600 --> 00:37:07,600 you've not come to a place that you can see and touch doors. 603 00:37:07,600 --> 00:37:12,600 As you walk into it, you've come to worship God, you've come to 604 00:37:12,600 --> 00:37:19,700 meet with God and so you do You join listen to what he says, 605 00:37:19,800 --> 00:37:21,300 you've come to the city of the Living. 606 00:37:21,300 --> 00:37:25,300 God, the heavenly Jerusalem to innumerable, angels and festal 607 00:37:25,400 --> 00:37:28,400 Gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn, who are 608 00:37:28,400 --> 00:37:31,700 enrolled in heaven, just meeting the firstborn Saints. 609 00:37:31,700 --> 00:37:35,300 And to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the 610 00:37:35,300 --> 00:37:40,200 righteous made perfect, those who are awaiting new bodies. 611 00:37:40,800 --> 00:37:44,300 And to Jesus the mediator of a New Covenant into the sprinkled 612 00:37:44,300 --> 00:37:46,800 blood that speaks a better word than the blood. 613 00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:49,600 Of able. So this is where we meet with 614 00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:52,500 God, brothers and sisters. It's not here in this building. 615 00:37:52,500 --> 00:37:58,900 Its in heaven were drawn, spiritually to meet with God and 616 00:37:58,900 --> 00:38:03,100 the Heavenly Jerusalem there, we are with the angels and the 617 00:38:03,107 --> 00:38:07,100 Saints and worship there. We are meeting with God through 618 00:38:07,200 --> 00:38:12,500 our mediator Christ, Jesus Again by faith and his blood, we've 619 00:38:12,500 --> 00:38:16,300 come through him to meet with God in heaven. 620 00:38:17,300 --> 00:38:22,600 And I know like this is difficult because we do not yet, 621 00:38:22,600 --> 00:38:27,500 see it, right? We're not getting to peer into 622 00:38:27,500 --> 00:38:31,600 heaven as Isaiah did. And to see the kind of worship 623 00:38:31,600 --> 00:38:36,100 were joining into ours is a worship by faith, not by sight, 624 00:38:36,200 --> 00:38:38,100 which doesn't make it any less real. 625 00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:41,900 At all, and it's not like a blind faith. 626 00:38:41,900 --> 00:38:46,700 Faith is not unbelievers like to equate Faith to hopelessness. 627 00:38:47,900 --> 00:38:50,600 Right. Like, well, you can only believe 628 00:38:50,600 --> 00:38:54,700 that by faith which is just kind of like You know saying 629 00:38:54,700 --> 00:38:56,300 Abracadabra or something like that. 630 00:38:56,300 --> 00:38:59,100 It's just a it's a magic word that you guys use to be able to 631 00:38:59,100 --> 00:39:01,000 say that you believe something. You believe it by faith. 632 00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:03,700 It's like no, no, no, no, that's not what faith is. 633 00:39:03,700 --> 00:39:09,100 Faith is not hopelessness. Faith is the hope of things yet. 634 00:39:09,100 --> 00:39:13,900 Unseen faith is the reality that those things exist, and that 635 00:39:13,900 --> 00:39:17,300 what God has said is true. And so, we come to God and 636 00:39:17,300 --> 00:39:21,400 worship in Heaven by faith. We are joining with the angels 637 00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:24,100 in heaven and worship of Our God, by faith. 638 00:39:24,100 --> 00:39:28,700 We are joining with the angels through Christ and his blood by 639 00:39:28,800 --> 00:39:33,900 faith. We are beholding God and being 640 00:39:33,900 --> 00:39:39,700 transformed from one degree of Glory to another by faith in 641 00:39:39,700 --> 00:39:44,500 God, Amen. It's as sure as sure can be. 642 00:39:44,500 --> 00:39:46,600 In fact, it's a greater reality than things. 643 00:39:46,600 --> 00:39:50,300 You can touch. It's a greater reality than 644 00:39:50,300 --> 00:39:51,400 things. You might see. 645 00:39:52,400 --> 00:39:53,600 It's more. Sure. 646 00:39:54,800 --> 00:39:57,100 And so this is where we meet with God. 647 00:39:57,100 --> 00:39:59,700 We do not yet see it. We cannot yet, touch it. 648 00:39:59,700 --> 00:40:04,100 It is spiritual, but it is real and by faith. 649 00:40:04,900 --> 00:40:09,800 In Christ through the spirit, we are drawn by the father to 650 00:40:09,800 --> 00:40:12,200 worship him in the Heavenly places. 651 00:40:13,900 --> 00:40:18,800 Jesus teaches on this, in John chapter 4, Jesus encounters on 652 00:40:18,800 --> 00:40:21,600 his journey. His disciples had gone away have 653 00:40:21,600 --> 00:40:25,300 left him, he comes to a well and Samaria, which is a group of 654 00:40:25,900 --> 00:40:31,600 people who were outside of those Jews, right there Gentile, like 655 00:40:31,600 --> 00:40:34,700 folks, and they are dogs according to the Jews. 656 00:40:35,700 --> 00:40:42,000 Just the worst of the worst. and Jesus Encounters this woman from 657 00:40:42,000 --> 00:40:44,400 Samaria, who's come to this well, outside the city to draw 658 00:40:44,400 --> 00:40:47,700 water and he has this interaction with there and you 659 00:40:47,700 --> 00:40:51,000 can read in John 4, won't focus on the whole thing because 660 00:40:51,000 --> 00:40:56,200 there's a lot there but He offers to her living water. 661 00:40:58,400 --> 00:41:00,900 And she doesn't really understand what he's saying 662 00:41:00,900 --> 00:41:04,200 because, well, if you were at the well and some man offered 663 00:41:04,200 --> 00:41:06,400 you living water, you probably wouldn't understand either, 664 00:41:06,400 --> 00:41:08,900 right? He says, if you'll drink of this 665 00:41:08,900 --> 00:41:11,100 water that I'm offering you, you'll never thirst again. 666 00:41:12,600 --> 00:41:17,300 And then he says, the one who offers the water is the messiah. 667 00:41:19,000 --> 00:41:24,200 Saying that he's the Messiah. And she mentions that she knows 668 00:41:24,200 --> 00:41:27,700 that his people. Well, she first says that that 669 00:41:27,700 --> 00:41:30,400 our people worship here on this mountain, but your people 670 00:41:30,400 --> 00:41:33,700 talking about the Jews, say that real worship takes place in 671 00:41:33,700 --> 00:41:38,800 Jerusalem, has to be there. Jesus responds with this. 672 00:41:38,800 --> 00:41:41,500 He says in John 4 21. We read this. 673 00:41:41,500 --> 00:41:46,000 Jesus said to her woman, believe me the hour is coming. 674 00:41:46,000 --> 00:41:49,300 When neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem, will you 675 00:41:49,300 --> 00:41:52,500 worship the father? And then two verses later, he 676 00:41:52,500 --> 00:41:54,000 says this but the hour is coming. 677 00:41:54,000 --> 00:41:57,500 And is now here when the true worshipers will worship the 678 00:41:57,500 --> 00:42:03,500 father in spirit and Truth For the father is seeking such 679 00:42:03,500 --> 00:42:09,000 people to worship Him. God is spirit and those who 680 00:42:09,000 --> 00:42:12,700 worship Him must Worship in spirit and Truth. 681 00:42:13,900 --> 00:42:17,200 She God's people don't have to worry about worshiping and a 682 00:42:17,200 --> 00:42:20,000 special place or on a particular Mountain. 683 00:42:21,400 --> 00:42:24,400 You now participate in a Heavenly worship. 684 00:42:24,400 --> 00:42:30,000 That is spiritual worship, it's filled with and it's dependent 685 00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:32,300 upon the work of the Holy Spirit. 686 00:42:32,400 --> 00:42:35,100 Not the place in corporate worship. 687 00:42:35,100 --> 00:42:39,500 We meet with God and Heavenly worship by the spirit of God. 688 00:42:42,600 --> 00:42:45,000 And so I asked, do you want to meet with God? 689 00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:50,400 Yes. If your faith is in Christ and 690 00:42:50,408 --> 00:42:53,300 your answer is yes, I want to meet with God. 691 00:42:54,300 --> 00:42:58,700 Then go to worship. Go to worship. 692 00:42:59,700 --> 00:43:02,700 Don't go fishing or hunting, don't go on vacation. 693 00:43:03,200 --> 00:43:05,300 I don't mean that you can't ever do those things. 694 00:43:05,300 --> 00:43:07,000 That's not what I'm saying. That's legalism right here, we 695 00:43:07,000 --> 00:43:09,500 are back at that again. I'm not saying legalistic 696 00:43:09,500 --> 00:43:12,000 things. Today, I'm saying, rather do not 697 00:43:12,000 --> 00:43:15,200 look to worship God in random places. 698 00:43:16,400 --> 00:43:20,100 Look to worship God, where he has promised to meet you. 699 00:43:21,100 --> 00:43:24,000 God promises us that he will meet with us in the ordinary 700 00:43:24,000 --> 00:43:26,900 place of worship. Now, again, you might be sitting 701 00:43:26,900 --> 00:43:28,800 there saying, well, I thought you just said that it was in 702 00:43:28,800 --> 00:43:31,300 spirit and truth and that it wouldn't be on this mountain or 703 00:43:31,300 --> 00:43:34,300 that mountain. That's true. 704 00:43:35,500 --> 00:43:38,700 It's with the gathered Saints according to the New Testament. 705 00:43:39,400 --> 00:43:42,800 it's with the gathered Saints on the Lord's Day, according to the 706 00:43:42,800 --> 00:43:47,800 New Testament, again right, after right, after Christ, was 707 00:43:47,800 --> 00:43:52,800 crucified and resurrected and Peter preaches, a sermon The men 708 00:43:52,800 --> 00:43:55,800 and women there who give their hearts to the Lord, who submit 709 00:43:55,800 --> 00:43:58,800 themselves to Christ says about 3,000 added to that. 710 00:43:58,800 --> 00:44:00,500 They write, they devoted themselves to the apostles 711 00:44:00,500 --> 00:44:02,900 teaching the breaking bread Fellowship, the Saints prayers, 712 00:44:03,300 --> 00:44:09,600 they're Gathering Together. And then, throughout throughout 713 00:44:09,600 --> 00:44:13,700 Acts. On the first day of the week as 714 00:44:13,700 --> 00:44:16,400 the church was gathered on the first day of the week, when they 715 00:44:16,400 --> 00:44:20,100 gather to break bread on the first day of the week, Paul gets 716 00:44:20,100 --> 00:44:22,900 up and preaches on the first day of the week you see this phrase 717 00:44:22,900 --> 00:44:27,900 over and over again, the Old Testament Sabbath day was 718 00:44:27,900 --> 00:44:32,100 Saturday. The New Testament day of worship 719 00:44:32,500 --> 00:44:35,400 is the first day of the week. Why? 720 00:44:35,600 --> 00:44:38,600 Because that's the day that Christ Rose from the grave on 721 00:44:39,000 --> 00:44:41,800 the first day of the week. We read this at the end of 722 00:44:41,800 --> 00:44:44,900 nearly all the gospels. On the first day of the week, 723 00:44:45,500 --> 00:44:48,500 the disciples Rose and went to the tumor Mary Rose and went to 724 00:44:48,508 --> 00:44:53,400 the to, right? And so, we gather on the first 725 00:44:53,400 --> 00:44:56,900 day of the week, we do not neglect worshiping with the 726 00:44:56,900 --> 00:44:59,800 Saints. The point is, it's not the 727 00:44:59,800 --> 00:45:04,300 building. That's significant, it's not the 728 00:45:04,300 --> 00:45:07,600 people. Necessarily, it's not that I 729 00:45:07,600 --> 00:45:09,500 shouldn't even say that. It's not the, it's not the 730 00:45:09,500 --> 00:45:12,300 performance, from the people, that's significant. 731 00:45:13,400 --> 00:45:15,600 It's none of those things is the fact that you're gathering with 732 00:45:15,600 --> 00:45:18,400 the Lord's people on the Lord's day to worship him. 733 00:45:18,700 --> 00:45:23,700 It's why you can gather in the bush of Brazil and meet with 734 00:45:23,700 --> 00:45:30,500 God, still Amen, it's a spiritual thing and so I don't 735 00:45:30,500 --> 00:45:33,200 mean that you can't miss a Sunday. 736 00:45:33,700 --> 00:45:37,000 I mean, don't miss Sunday saying, I'm as close to God 737 00:45:37,000 --> 00:45:41,700 doing X, as I am meeting with him with the Lord's people on 738 00:45:41,700 --> 00:45:43,700 Sunday morning. That's untrue. 739 00:45:44,100 --> 00:45:47,900 God promises us that he will meet with us, in the ordinary 740 00:45:47,900 --> 00:45:50,300 place of worship. And there in the ordinary place 741 00:45:50,300 --> 00:45:52,600 of worship. He's going to use ordinary means 742 00:45:52,600 --> 00:45:56,000 of Grace. Prayer preaching of the word 743 00:45:56,000 --> 00:45:59,900 singing, baptisms, the Lord's supper, right? 744 00:46:00,000 --> 00:46:05,000 These things are how we experience the presence of God 745 00:46:05,200 --> 00:46:10,700 in corporate worship. And so we it's mundane for a 746 00:46:10,707 --> 00:46:14,300 reason. It's ordinary for a reason. 747 00:46:15,000 --> 00:46:18,900 It's regular for a reason because your life especially 748 00:46:18,900 --> 00:46:23,800 your life by faith in Christ is mundane and ordinary. 749 00:46:24,600 --> 00:46:31,800 It's a daily waking up and going to God in prayer and reading his 750 00:46:31,800 --> 00:46:36,000 word trusting in Christ all over again, tomorrow. 751 00:46:36,000 --> 00:46:40,800 Just as you did today and so you come to worship God and to have 752 00:46:40,800 --> 00:46:42,400 that thing out. I'll talk to you about this in a 753 00:46:42,408 --> 00:46:44,100 couple of weeks. But what's Happening Here is 754 00:46:44,107 --> 00:46:46,300 we're having that Covenant renewed with us. 755 00:46:46,700 --> 00:46:50,500 We're being reminded of the work of God as we come together in 756 00:46:50,500 --> 00:46:54,400 regular worship. And so God uses regular means to 757 00:46:54,400 --> 00:46:58,800 transform Our Lives. And it's meant to be that way 758 00:46:59,500 --> 00:47:03,200 because your life is all about patterns and rhythms and habits 759 00:47:03,800 --> 00:47:07,700 and the things that you do. Show the world. 760 00:47:07,700 --> 00:47:11,100 What you behold? They show the world what you 761 00:47:11,300 --> 00:47:15,600 worship. And so your worship on Sundays 762 00:47:15,600 --> 00:47:20,000 is meant to fortify your heart and mind to continue in worship 763 00:47:20,100 --> 00:47:22,100 with God throughout the week. We need this. 764 00:47:22,100 --> 00:47:27,100 Reminder, as I talked about last week, we forget easily quickly 765 00:47:27,600 --> 00:47:31,100 the necessity of corporate worship and what's taking place 766 00:47:31,100 --> 00:47:36,000 here and so if someone wishes to avoid the regular practice of 767 00:47:36,000 --> 00:47:41,900 corporate worship, We have to question their motivations. 768 00:47:43,100 --> 00:47:47,900 We have to question the heart for doing that at the deepest 769 00:47:47,900 --> 00:47:50,200 level. You have to question what's 770 00:47:50,200 --> 00:47:53,000 going on in their heart. When a when a Christian or 771 00:47:53,000 --> 00:47:56,300 someone who proclaims to be a Christian says, I don't need 772 00:47:56,400 --> 00:48:00,300 corporate worship. One of the questions that we 773 00:48:00,308 --> 00:48:02,500 have to ask is, do they truly want to hear? 774 00:48:02,500 --> 00:48:07,800 God, speak to them. Or are they merely clearing some 775 00:48:07,800 --> 00:48:11,300 space to better hear themselves speak? 776 00:48:12,800 --> 00:48:15,900 You'll find normally that the latter is true. 777 00:48:17,900 --> 00:48:20,800 They would rather hear themselves than to hear God. 778 00:48:21,600 --> 00:48:24,300 I would rather follow their own desires than to follow the 779 00:48:24,300 --> 00:48:27,900 desires of Christ. They would rather submit to 780 00:48:27,900 --> 00:48:32,800 themselves and submit to God. Again this doesn't mean you 781 00:48:32,800 --> 00:48:35,600 shouldn't have your personal and family times of worship. 782 00:48:35,600 --> 00:48:37,100 Hopefully I can get that cleared today. 783 00:48:37,700 --> 00:48:39,300 You should do those things regularly. 784 00:48:40,700 --> 00:48:44,400 Wake up in the morning, read your scripture, pray lead, your 785 00:48:44,400 --> 00:48:46,100 kids, and reading the word of God. 786 00:48:46,200 --> 00:48:48,100 Pray with them sing a song together. 787 00:48:49,600 --> 00:48:53,000 But those places are not the most special sacred place to 788 00:48:53,000 --> 00:48:56,800 meet with God. And I will say this, if you make 789 00:48:58,900 --> 00:49:02,400 If you're setting aside time in your home to meet, with God, it 790 00:49:02,400 --> 00:49:04,100 through scripture reading and prayer. 791 00:49:05,500 --> 00:49:08,100 Or through some sort of family encouragement, whether it's 792 00:49:08,100 --> 00:49:11,700 prayer together at night before you go to bed or whatever. if 793 00:49:11,700 --> 00:49:18,400 you do that, but then on Sundays worship is It's just, you can 794 00:49:18,400 --> 00:49:21,300 take it or leave it. We got this ball game this 795 00:49:21,300 --> 00:49:24,900 weekend, we've got this vacation, we've got this Lake 796 00:49:24,900 --> 00:49:27,200 trip, we've got this thing, right? 797 00:49:27,200 --> 00:49:30,300 There's always something getting in the way of corporate worship 798 00:49:30,500 --> 00:49:32,800 and you are undoing and practice. 799 00:49:33,400 --> 00:49:37,200 What you say, you believe. And that practice is going to 800 00:49:37,207 --> 00:49:40,200 Bear greater witness to your children than what you're saying 801 00:49:40,200 --> 00:49:43,400 with your mouth. It's why we have. 802 00:49:44,800 --> 00:49:47,700 Praise God for the college students that are here today. 803 00:49:48,000 --> 00:49:51,500 But it's why we have college campuses full of people who grew 804 00:49:51,500 --> 00:49:55,000 up Christian, who abandon the faith, as soon as they get the 805 00:49:55,008 --> 00:50:01,200 chance, If there's no substance, their parents raised them to be 806 00:50:01,200 --> 00:50:03,900 moralistic. People church was a part of the 807 00:50:03,900 --> 00:50:07,200 moralism. But there was nothing there 808 00:50:07,200 --> 00:50:10,500 about actually worshipping God and coming to him and your 809 00:50:10,500 --> 00:50:13,700 necessity for the Lord. And so you can kind of take it 810 00:50:13,700 --> 00:50:16,200 or leave it so I can be moralistic apart from church. 811 00:50:16,500 --> 00:50:18,500 Absolutely. You can there's a lot of 812 00:50:18,508 --> 00:50:20,400 moralistic people that don't go to church. 813 00:50:20,700 --> 00:50:23,500 That's, that's no bearing on whether or not you're truly 814 00:50:23,500 --> 00:50:28,900 saved or not. And so don't undo in practice. 815 00:50:28,900 --> 00:50:32,600 What you're saying with your mouth, the message that you want 816 00:50:32,600 --> 00:50:36,800 to teach at home, commit to the Lord's Day, commit to being 817 00:50:36,800 --> 00:50:38,900 gathered with the Saints on Sunday mornings. 818 00:50:39,200 --> 00:50:42,400 It's important, and it's spiritual, and you're being 819 00:50:42,400 --> 00:50:47,800 drawn together by the spirit into worshipping God. 820 00:50:49,300 --> 00:50:53,000 And it's the most special sacred place to meet with God and 821 00:50:53,000 --> 00:50:55,700 praise God. That he makes it possible for us 822 00:50:55,700 --> 00:50:58,400 to do this. God is going to use the small 823 00:50:58,400 --> 00:51:01,300 moments in your daily life. That's there's no doubt about 824 00:51:01,300 --> 00:51:05,500 that to sanctify, you, but the place where God forms us into a 825 00:51:05,508 --> 00:51:10,200 new people, the primary location of that sanctifying work is not 826 00:51:10,200 --> 00:51:13,800 the small moments of every day. Rather it is the seemingly 827 00:51:13,800 --> 00:51:18,000 mundane but truly wonderful moment of corporate worship. 828 00:51:18,000 --> 00:51:21,300 That's a quote from crew. The brothers and sisters. 829 00:51:21,300 --> 00:51:23,200 We must strengthen our appreciation for corporate 830 00:51:23,200 --> 00:51:27,400 worship. May we not be tossed to and fro 831 00:51:27,500 --> 00:51:30,200 by the world's mockery of corporate worship. 832 00:51:30,300 --> 00:51:34,400 By the world's mockery of our God, May our hearts and Minds. 833 00:51:36,300 --> 00:51:38,200 That have been made new by Christ. 834 00:51:40,500 --> 00:51:45,300 Continue to grow in godliness, continue to grow and that 835 00:51:45,300 --> 00:51:48,000 understanding and may we not heed. 836 00:51:49,100 --> 00:51:52,500 The wisdom of the world, which is full of hearts and Minds that 837 00:51:52,500 --> 00:51:57,400 have not been yet made new by Christ, and they therefore do 838 00:51:57,400 --> 00:52:01,500 not understand the necessity and the power of corporate Worship. 839 00:52:01,500 --> 00:52:04,500 In fact they are spiritually blind. 840 00:52:05,600 --> 00:52:08,900 The church is the bride of Christ and in corporate worship. 841 00:52:08,900 --> 00:52:13,300 We are becoming one people by one spirit and one faith in 842 00:52:13,300 --> 00:52:15,800 Christ Jesus. The spirit of God bonds us 843 00:52:15,800 --> 00:52:22,100 together, unites Us in peace. So that we may strive together 844 00:52:22,900 --> 00:52:26,300 for the faith of the gospel and in corporate worship, we meet 845 00:52:26,300 --> 00:52:29,700 with God, and he gives us his guidance through the preached 846 00:52:29,700 --> 00:52:33,200 word through singing through through seeing christ-centered 847 00:52:33,200 --> 00:52:37,800 songs Through praying prayers that are dependent upon him in 848 00:52:37,800 --> 00:52:42,100 baptism and the Lord's Supper are administered in corporate 849 00:52:42,100 --> 00:52:44,800 worship only by the command of Christ. 850 00:52:45,700 --> 00:52:49,100 And so corporate worship is where we meet with God. 851 00:52:49,100 --> 00:52:52,300 This is one of the most amazing things about what happens when 852 00:52:52,300 --> 00:52:56,000 we come together on Sunday mornings We meet with God and 853 00:52:56,000 --> 00:53:02,300 Heavenly worship by the spirit. and so, I encourage Keep coming 854 00:53:03,700 --> 00:53:07,700 keep coming. Keep seeking the Lord alongside 855 00:53:07,700 --> 00:53:10,600 us? Amen, let me pray for you. 856 00:53:10,700 --> 00:53:15,200 Heavenly Father, we love you. We praise you, Lord for your 857 00:53:15,700 --> 00:53:23,700 kindness toward us. Lord that you have saved us. 858 00:53:25,500 --> 00:53:29,700 You have forgiven our sins because of the blood of Christ, 859 00:53:29,700 --> 00:53:34,600 Jesus, your son, whom you sent to die on that cross the bear, 860 00:53:34,600 --> 00:53:37,100 the Wrath, that was meant for us. 861 00:53:38,300 --> 00:53:43,800 So that we might know you father that we might be at peace with 862 00:53:43,800 --> 00:53:48,200 you. And Lord as we come to worship, 863 00:53:48,200 --> 00:53:51,400 this is what we're coming to do, we're come to come to fellowship 864 00:53:51,400 --> 00:53:56,500 with you. We're coming to be Sanctified by 865 00:53:56,500 --> 00:53:58,900 you. We're coming to have you 866 00:53:58,900 --> 00:54:02,300 minister to our hearts and Minds as we are drawn, by the spirit 867 00:54:02,300 --> 00:54:06,400 of God into these, Heavenly places where we're joining in 868 00:54:06,400 --> 00:54:14,500 the Eternal song of worship. The Eternal conversation of 869 00:54:14,500 --> 00:54:18,600 worship. And Lourdes. 870 00:54:18,600 --> 00:54:21,700 It's hard for us to see it. Sometimes it's hard for us to 871 00:54:21,700 --> 00:54:26,900 understand it. So, father, I just ask that you 872 00:54:26,900 --> 00:54:31,600 would deepen. Our affections for Christ. 873 00:54:33,300 --> 00:54:39,000 That you would strengthen, Lord our desire together with the 874 00:54:39,000 --> 00:54:45,200 Saints, on the Lord's Day. And meet with you. 875 00:54:50,500 --> 00:54:57,200 Lord, it's an Incredible Gift that you've granted to us. the 876 00:54:57,200 --> 00:55:02,100 opportunity to meet with you week in and week out through 877 00:55:02,100 --> 00:55:08,600 ordinary things like singing and preaching, and pray, and eating 878 00:55:08,600 --> 00:55:14,400 a dinner and And washing watching someone go into the 879 00:55:14,400 --> 00:55:18,400 Waters of baptism and come out at all of these things father. 880 00:55:19,700 --> 00:55:26,300 All of those things. Are sanctifying us the reminding 881 00:55:26,300 --> 00:55:33,600 us of Christ and his sacrifice. They're strengthening our hearts 882 00:55:34,100 --> 00:55:38,300 to continue the good fight of Faith, their deepening, our 883 00:55:38,300 --> 00:55:43,000 faith. They're encouraging, mutual love 884 00:55:43,000 --> 00:55:46,100 and affection among the saints of God. 885 00:55:49,800 --> 00:55:52,200 And there's probably so much more Lord that we don't even 886 00:55:52,200 --> 00:55:55,300 realize in the moments of what's taking place. 887 00:55:56,400 --> 00:56:00,900 Of how you're working on us. And so we praise you for the 888 00:56:00,900 --> 00:56:04,700 gift of corporate worship and praise you that you meet with us 889 00:56:05,000 --> 00:56:12,900 here each week. And the father, I do want to 890 00:56:12,900 --> 00:56:16,400 pray for anyone in here. Who doesn't, who doesn't know 891 00:56:16,400 --> 00:56:19,100 you as Savior? Has not submitted themselves to 892 00:56:19,100 --> 00:56:21,800 you who's not repented of their sins Place. 893 00:56:21,800 --> 00:56:26,600 Their faith in Jesus Christ. Anyone who's not called on your 894 00:56:26,600 --> 00:56:29,900 name to be saved? Lord, would you draw them to 895 00:56:29,900 --> 00:56:31,900 yourself by the power of your spirit? 896 00:56:32,700 --> 00:56:35,200 Would you grant to them repentance and faith? 897 00:56:36,500 --> 00:56:40,400 Help them to turn from their sins, the turn in faith to 898 00:56:40,400 --> 00:56:49,500 Christ, Jesus, to be made new by your spirit. lord, it's a work 899 00:56:49,500 --> 00:56:54,900 that only you can do and so we trust you for it. 900 00:56:58,300 --> 00:57:03,000 But again, we thank you Christ's name we pray. 901 00:57:03,500 --> 00:57:02,300 Amen. But again, we thank you Christ's 902 00:57:02,300 --> 00:57:03,900 name we pray. Amen.