1 00:00:01,360 --> 00:00:04,800 Morning, my friends. OK, how about this? 2 00:00:04,880 --> 00:00:07,600 The Lord desires to speak with you this morning. 3 00:00:08,600 --> 00:00:10,360 Think about that. The Lord desires to speak with 4 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:12,440 you this morning. So if I'm right, there's we get 5 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:15,320 the picture of God up in heaven at this point and he's sitting 6 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:18,200 there thinking, I know what Brad needs today. 7 00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:22,760 I know what Kelly needs today. I know what Jill needs today. 8 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:30,600 I know what Henry needs today. Psalm 100 Make a joyful noise to 9 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:33,640 the Lord all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness, 10 00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:35,440 and come into His presence with singing. 11 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:40,600 Know that the Lord He is God. It is He who has made us, and we 12 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:42,640 are His. We are His people in the sheep 13 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:45,160 of His pasture. Enter His gates with 14 00:00:45,160 --> 00:00:47,320 Thanksgiving, and His courts with praise. 15 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:52,160 Give thanks to Him and bless His name, for the Lord is good and 16 00:00:52,160 --> 00:00:55,760 His steadfast love endorse forever and His faithfulness to 17 00:00:55,760 --> 00:00:59,400 all generations. This is the word of the Lord. 18 00:00:59,960 --> 00:01:02,200 Thanks be to God. The grass Withers of flowers 19 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:04,120 fade, but the word of our Lord stands forever. 20 00:01:04,120 --> 00:01:07,440 Let's pray together. Gracious Lord, grant to us a 21 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:11,120 wisdom and understanding to know this word and to live this word 22 00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:13,400 now and forevermore. We pray through Christ our Lord. 23 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:14,680 We ask. Amen. 24 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:18,320 Please be seated and if you would grab your Bibles term to 25 00:01:18,320 --> 00:01:21,200 Psalm 100 should be easy to find right smack in the middle of 26 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:23,920 your Bible across the board. Today, one of the things that I 27 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:26,720 want to do is I want to make sure that I recognize the 28 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:32,360 connection between what we are and what we do, what we are and 29 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:33,720 what we do. Pretty straightforward. 30 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:38,280 This is a screwdriver and it was created to drive screws. 31 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:41,840 It's fulfills its purpose when it drives screws. 32 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:44,640 Now it's nice and helpful to know that it's a screwdriver, 33 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:49,480 but that's of less importance then recognizing what it does, 34 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:53,000 that it drives screws. A hammer is created in order to 35 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:57,360 hammer nails, a razor is created to shave, etcetera, etcetera. 36 00:01:57,360 --> 00:02:01,520 So it's always helpful to know not just what something is, but 37 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:04,240 remember that it's connected to what it does. 38 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:07,640 What it is is important, but what it does is also important 39 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:09,680 across the board. One of the great joys that I had 40 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:12,800 raising kids for so long was teaching them different things. 41 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:16,400 And we'd take them places. I'd show them certain things or 42 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:18,880 working around the house, demonstrate certain stuff, you 43 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:22,040 know, hey, these are brake pads. And but I just wouldn't say, 44 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:25,720 look, this is a dishwasher and say this is what it does. 45 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:30,920 These are what brake pads do. This is what a wrench is. 46 00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:33,080 This is called a wrench. And this is what it does. 47 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:35,480 So there's always a connection. All right, So why am I 48 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:39,280 emphasizing this? I'm trying to avoid a problem 49 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:43,320 that the sermon series, our current sermon series could 50 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:46,600 potentially lead us to. And that is the idea that what 51 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:48,760 we're doing is we're talking about what Hebburn is. 52 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:51,320 We're, we're trying to describe what Heburn is or what Heburn 53 00:02:51,320 --> 00:02:55,280 should be or what we aspire to be or, or, or our desire for 54 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:57,120 Hebron, etcetera, or something along those lines. 55 00:02:57,320 --> 00:03:00,880 I'm trying to articulate what Hebron is, what we are as a 56 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:03,680 church. And I don't want there ever this 57 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:07,200 ever to become something that's intellectual or something that, 58 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:10,880 OK, now that we know what Hebron is and we're we've fulfilled the 59 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:14,160 task in which we're after. Because the point is to know 60 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:17,960 what we are so that it impacts what we do. 61 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:21,080 Just like there's a connection between this being a screwdriver 62 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:24,040 and its intended purpose to draw us drive screws. 63 00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:27,760 So it is that there's a purpose between Hebron Church, what we 64 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:31,720 are, what we think of ourselves as being, and then what we are 65 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:34,440 intended to do. So when we talk about what we 66 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:37,520 are, a couple of weeks ago we started a sermon series. 67 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:42,760 And the emphasis is around characteristics or traits that 68 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:46,640 kind of describe who we are as a church or again, who we aspire 69 00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:48,880 to be. And we've used the catch phrase 70 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:51,800 or a little descriptive force here. 71 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:55,880 Hebron is a biblically based, Christ centered community of 72 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:59,400 disciples, a Reformed classically evangelical church 73 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:02,840 in the Presbyterian tradition, worshipping, growing and serving 74 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:05,960 Christ in the East Hills of Pittsburgh. 75 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:09,560 OK, now it's easy from that description to see that we've 76 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:13,520 got a lot of identifications terminology in there. 77 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:15,880 And couple weeks ago we looked at what we mean when we say 78 00:04:15,880 --> 00:04:18,839 we're biblically based. Last week we looked at what we 79 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:21,240 mean by the fact that we are Christ centered. 80 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:23,800 And if you were missing either of those weeks, we can easily 81 00:04:24,080 --> 00:04:27,160 catch you up on what we mean by that and why those things are so 82 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:30,360 central to our self identification. 83 00:04:30,840 --> 00:04:35,000 But they're important not simply for telling us who we are, but 84 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:38,440 leading us to an understanding of what we do. 85 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:42,320 What does the church do? Well, also in that statement you 86 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:45,440 might recognize that there's that phrase that we are 87 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:49,960 worshipping, growing and serving Christ, that we're worshipping, 88 00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:54,120 that we are growing together and we are serving Christ. 89 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:59,360 This is the outcome of what it means that we are biblically 90 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:03,160 based, that we are Christ centered, and then as we look at 91 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:06,520 in future weeks, that we are classically Reformed and 92 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:09,120 evangelical and Presbyterian in our understanding. 93 00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:13,560 These are not catch phrases. Rather they lead us to a self 94 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:18,080 description of what we do as a as an effect of all of those 95 00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:21,320 characteristics. We worship, we grow, and we 96 00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:22,800 serve. If you've been around our 97 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:25,240 fellowship for some period of time, you might recognize in 98 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:28,360 that catch phrase in which we've been using for a while here to 99 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:32,440 define these characteristics. Worship +2 and that worship +2, 100 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:36,800 Worship plus service plus nurture or growth, that worship 101 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:39,920 +2 is something that we've talked about for a lot of what 102 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:42,520 we want every member of the congregation to be involved in. 103 00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:45,360 If you're heavily involved in heaven, what's it going to look 104 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:47,560 like for you? Well, you are going to be 105 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:50,400 involved in worship. You are going to be involved in 106 00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:54,000 a growth activity and A and a growing in your knowledge and 107 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:56,520 understanding of the Lord and you're going to be involved in 108 00:05:56,520 --> 00:05:58,520 service. And if you're not involved in 109 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:01,680 one of those 3 levels, then it's up to the rest of us to make 110 00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:04,600 sure that we are encouraging you, that we are providing you 111 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:07,120 the opportunities, that we're doing all that we can to ensure 112 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:10,680 that that's a possibility. Because that is a natural 113 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:12,320 outgrowth. Just like the purpose of a 114 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:15,920 screwdriver is to drive screws. So the purpose of a biblically 115 00:06:15,920 --> 00:06:21,240 based church, a Christ centered church, a Reformed classically 116 00:06:21,240 --> 00:06:26,600 evangelical Presbyterian Church, is to lead its people in worship 117 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:30,880 and growth in our knowledge and understanding of the Lord and on 118 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:34,600 our service with one another. Now let me step back here for a 119 00:06:34,600 --> 00:06:37,600 second and make an incredibly important point. 120 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:43,360 There is a lot that defines the role in the task and the purpose 121 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:46,240 of a church. If we were to ask that question, 122 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:48,120 that's not the question that we're asking in this sermon 123 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:49,400 series. But if we were to ask the 124 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:52,240 question, what is the purpose of a church, or what should a 125 00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:55,560 church be or what's what should a church be doing, we come up 126 00:06:55,560 --> 00:06:57,240 with some incredibly important points. 127 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:01,040 We are, by God's command, the light of this world. 128 00:07:01,280 --> 00:07:04,560 God, Christ himself declares his followers are going to be the 129 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:06,240 light of the world. Well, what does that mean? 130 00:07:06,480 --> 00:07:09,240 It certainly means, if nothing else, the proclamation of the 131 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:12,120 truth. It is the responsibility of the 132 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:15,600 Church of Jesus Christ to hold forth into the darkness of this 133 00:07:15,600 --> 00:07:19,040 world the light of Jesus Christ, the truth of Jesus Christ. 134 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:21,880 We are failing our responsibilities if we do not do 135 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:25,880 that well, we are called the holy body of Christ, the holy, 136 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:29,360 the set apart body of Christ. That's what the church is called 137 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:31,600 and identified as well. What does that mean? 138 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:34,840 It certainly means that we have to model for the world a 139 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:39,440 holiness, that we have to model to the world a righteousness, 140 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:42,880 not just any righteousness, not any holiness, but Christ's own 141 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:44,560 holiness, Christ's own righteousness. 142 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:47,960 That means that we have to be men and women of character, that 143 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:51,800 this church has to be an institution of character that 144 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:55,400 reflects Christ's own righteousness. 145 00:07:55,600 --> 00:08:00,320 We need to, and we have to above all else, be a body of Christ 146 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:05,600 that demonstrates to the world that core gospel message and 147 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:08,880 identity of forgiveness and grace. 148 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:12,600 How do we treat our enemies? How do we treat those whom we 149 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:14,680 disagree with? How do we treat those who wrong 150 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:17,120 us? If we are failing to identify 151 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:20,800 ourselves as a community, realize this, that there is 152 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:24,960 nowhere else in God's created design where there is an 153 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:29,120 institution that is designed basically around simply showing 154 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:33,240 the world forgiveness and grace. We've got that core gospel 155 00:08:33,240 --> 00:08:36,480 message that out of His forgiveness and grace, you too 156 00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:38,559 can live forever in His presence. 157 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:41,559 And yet how are they supposed to know what that forgiveness and 158 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:45,200 grace looks like if not for the purpose and the function of the 159 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:47,440 church? The church has that incredibly 160 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:51,240 important role of witnessing and testifying to the world about 161 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:53,960 the gospel message, communicating that gospel 162 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:56,880 message to all those who are come within its orbit. 163 00:08:57,160 --> 00:08:59,880 All of these things are responsibilities of the church. 164 00:09:00,160 --> 00:09:05,800 So when I highlight worship and all and and growth and service, 165 00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:09,520 I'm not identifying them as the only in things that the church 166 00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:13,160 is supposed to do. The church is greater and has 167 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:16,960 greater responsibilities than just worship, nurture, and 168 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:19,440 service. But it certainly can't have 169 00:09:19,440 --> 00:09:22,920 less. It certainly can't have less 170 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:25,880 than that. We can't do less as a body of 171 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:29,920 Christ and worship, grow together and serve together. 172 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:34,000 And my intention is if we do those things well, they 173 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:37,760 encapsulate so much of the other responsibilities of the church 174 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:41,520 across the board. So what does it mean for us to 175 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:45,600 be a church that worships? What does it mean to be a church 176 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:48,760 that grows in our knowledge and our understanding of the Lord? 177 00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:52,560 What does it mean for us to be a church that serves and ministers 178 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:56,000 to Jesus Christ? Well, let's take a look for a 179 00:09:56,000 --> 00:10:00,800 second at worship. Worship is that central 180 00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:04,520 characteristic, that central core that draws us together as a 181 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:07,640 people. Now it is popular and it has 182 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:11,800 been popular in days past to identify Christians that are 183 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:14,560 Christians outside of them, separated from a community of 184 00:10:14,560 --> 00:10:17,360 faith that are separated from that worship experience. 185 00:10:17,560 --> 00:10:21,400 And oh, they worship by golfing on a Sunday morning, or they 186 00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:24,720 worship by walking through the woods, or they have an 187 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:28,520 experience with God's presence and, and while they're sleeping 188 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:30,800 or something along those lines, their eyes are closed. 189 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:32,480 And that's an worship experience. 190 00:10:32,680 --> 00:10:36,280 And by God's grace in the Scriptures, we see that every 191 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:39,880 aspect of our life, everything we do is worship. 192 00:10:40,880 --> 00:10:43,960 But when we talk about the purpose of the church, the 193 00:10:43,960 --> 00:10:47,360 natural outcome of a church, if a church is biblically based, if 194 00:10:47,360 --> 00:10:50,240 a church is Christ centered, if it is all these characteristics, 195 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:52,680 then it will be a community that worships. 196 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:57,000 We are highlighting an entirely different characteristic, a 197 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:00,040 character trait that the Scriptures make crystal clear 198 00:11:00,280 --> 00:11:05,160 that if you're a follower of Jesus Christ, you will be drawn 199 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:08,680 to corporate worship. You will be a part of corporate 200 00:11:08,680 --> 00:11:10,920 worship. Corporate worship will be a 201 00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:13,960 priority for you, not something that you do every once in a 202 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:18,080 while, not something that crops up, but it will be a priority 203 00:11:18,080 --> 00:11:21,640 for you in all that you do. Take a look at our text here, 204 00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:24,160 for example. But wait, before we look at 205 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:30,600 that, what does worship entail? Most of us have haven't thought 206 00:11:30,600 --> 00:11:33,040 through worship. Well, worship is that thing 207 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:36,000 where you come and you sit and you get preached to and you hear 208 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:38,240 some songs. Perhaps you sing some of the 209 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:41,600 songs and perhaps you'll listen a little bit while Jerry prays. 210 00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:45,640 But most of us haven't thought through the nature of worship. 211 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:48,240 Scripture is crystal clear about worship. 212 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:52,160 It identifies some positive character traits, but it also 213 00:11:52,160 --> 00:11:55,720 highlights some negative things. One of the things that is not 214 00:11:55,720 --> 00:12:05,520 worship in Scripture is a rote, mindless action that you do and 215 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:10,440 you claim it for God. It is not worship when you go 216 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:13,920 through the motions. It is not worship when you 217 00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:17,080 simply are present but not participating. 218 00:12:17,800 --> 00:12:22,080 Worship is a full body encompassing thing. 219 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:24,480 One of the things in which we're going to try to distinguish here 220 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:31,200 is, is the head, the heart and our hands, what we think, how we 221 00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:34,920 feel and what we do. And worship is an 222 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:38,680 all-encompassing experience that grabs every part of who we are 223 00:12:38,840 --> 00:12:42,240 and demands that we put that before the Lord and that that is 224 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:43,920 our connection before God himself. 225 00:12:44,400 --> 00:12:48,640 I went to a Pirates game couple of months ago and the Pirates 226 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:52,040 were actually in a winning streak at that point in the game 227 00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:55,280 and so the stadium was fuller than than what is possible. 228 00:12:55,400 --> 00:12:57,840 And I'm watching the team and I'm slightly annoyed at how the 229 00:12:57,840 --> 00:13:00,360 team is playing because they're playing like they play 230 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:03,200 sometimes. And so I'm slightly annoyed by 231 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:05,360 them, etcetera. And we have a couple of guys 232 00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:07,520 that have had a little bit too much to drink. 233 00:13:07,680 --> 00:13:10,760 And so they start the wave. You know, if you don't know what 234 00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:12,680 the way, you know, everybody here stands up and everybody. 235 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:15,880 And so they all stand up and I am grumpy because I'm watching 236 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:18,600 the team and these guys are having all kinds of bear. 237 00:13:18,760 --> 00:13:21,600 And so everybody around me is way, you know, whenever it comes 238 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:25,160 up and I'm going and I'm just and I'm not. 239 00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:29,120 And here's the thing. That's not worship. 240 00:13:30,360 --> 00:13:35,160 Worship is not being present. Worship is giving of yourself 241 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:38,880 completely and totally to that which is happening around you. 242 00:13:38,880 --> 00:13:42,440 Take a look at the text for a second verse one, make a joyful 243 00:13:42,440 --> 00:13:44,960 noise to the Lord all the earth. First off, make that's a 244 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:47,120 command. This is not a request from the 245 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:48,800 Lord. This is a command of the God. 246 00:13:48,920 --> 00:13:50,680 This is a command that he communicates. 247 00:13:50,680 --> 00:13:53,760 It's a plural command. And so this is not where he's 248 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:56,160 saying to each of you individually, hey, I want you to 249 00:13:56,160 --> 00:13:58,320 make a joyful noise. I want you to make a joyful 250 00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:00,200 noise. I want you to He's talking to 251 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:03,600 the community and he's saying make a joyful noise unto the 252 00:14:03,600 --> 00:14:05,680 Lord. Now, what kind of a joyful noise 253 00:14:05,680 --> 00:14:09,480 are we talking about? OK, we might naturally associate 254 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:12,240 this with singing, and sorry Brendan about this, but there's 255 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:16,520 nothing magical about singing. Singing is simply an opportunity 256 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:20,400 for us to make a joyful noise. It is an opportunity for us to 257 00:14:20,440 --> 00:14:24,160 engage with the Lord, not through a ritual way, but 258 00:14:24,160 --> 00:14:27,640 actually in a way that engages all that we have and all that we 259 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:30,640 are, every aspect of who we are. When we're saying a joyful 260 00:14:30,640 --> 00:14:32,960 noise, we are talking about coming into the Lord. 261 00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:36,400 And here's a picture. Imagine walking into a room and 262 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:37,800 there's your favorite select celebrity. 263 00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:40,840 I don't know who that is. Imagine your favorite celebrity. 264 00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:44,720 OK, now you want to be cool. So you don't want to drool. 265 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:48,120 You know, you don't want to, you want to be, you want to be cool 266 00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:49,600 about it. So you kind of play it off a 267 00:14:49,600 --> 00:14:52,520 little bit. But if you're not excited, if 268 00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:55,200 you're not looking out of the side of your eye all the time at 269 00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:58,160 your favorite celebrity, if you don't go up and say something to 270 00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:01,000 them, if you don't cheer and clap when they walk in the room, 271 00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:06,400 what are you doing? And our Lord is not a favorite 272 00:15:06,400 --> 00:15:10,000 celebrity. Our Lord is everything your 273 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:14,360 favorite celebrity is. Time's the gazillion. 274 00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:18,000 And the Lord is present in this place. 275 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:22,120 It is utterly impossible for you, by the scriptural 276 00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:25,240 understanding, not to make a joyful noise. 277 00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:27,120 Again, I don't know what that is. 278 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:29,640 And that doesn't invite all of us to, you know, scream or 279 00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:32,960 holler or something like that. But it it's the screaming and 280 00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:35,120 hollering. The imagery of the screaming in 281 00:15:35,120 --> 00:15:39,200 the holler is an image of us being drawn into God's holy 282 00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:43,720 presence and we see Him who He truly is and we then express 283 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:45,360 ourselves. This is something, if you have 284 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:48,600 your Bible open to you, you can look quickly through the Psalm. 285 00:15:48,920 --> 00:15:53,280 There's 5 verses here. There's 6 exclamation points. 286 00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:56,360 Those exclamation points are there for a reason. 287 00:15:56,840 --> 00:15:59,600 It's so you don't read this as make a joyful noise to the Lord. 288 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:01,640 All the earth serve the Lord with gladness, coming to his 289 00:16:01,640 --> 00:16:05,200 presence and saying, but so that you say it like the reality that 290 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:08,880 it is, Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth. 291 00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:12,720 Now you're making a joyful noise to the Lord. 292 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:17,000 The Lord is the object and the focus of that joyful noise. 293 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:20,000 That's what's so wonderful about how Brendan has brought us 294 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:22,880 through worship here this morning, focusing our attention. 295 00:16:22,880 --> 00:16:26,640 The focus of our focus of our attention here in worship is not 296 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:29,720 in singing. It's not in the beat, it's not 297 00:16:29,720 --> 00:16:31,720 in the music. It's upon the Lord. 298 00:16:31,720 --> 00:16:34,800 All of those other things are intended to draw us into His 299 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:38,680 presence. Trust me on this, it is 300 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:43,280 consistently on the minds of the staff that you pay here at this 301 00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:48,280 church to seek to guide you in a healthy, worth it worship that 302 00:16:48,280 --> 00:16:52,720 we are not falling into some kind of a rote mundane process 303 00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:58,680 that where you will get lost. But every week consistently in 304 00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:03,160 our hearts is a desire to fashion a worship service that 305 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:06,640 is going to engage you fully and completely, every part of who 306 00:17:06,640 --> 00:17:10,400 you are. Because worship is essential to 307 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:13,760 a biblically based Christ centered church. 308 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:17,760 And if that's what heaven desires to be, then every aspect 309 00:17:17,760 --> 00:17:21,720 of our worship is going to be in such a way that draws you in to 310 00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:24,040 fully engage you so that you're just can't. 311 00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:27,400 So that you can't be a person that just sits there and 312 00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:31,400 grumbles as the wave goes by, but that you're caught into it. 313 00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:35,480 This is an essential part of what it means for us to be a 314 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:39,080 worship service together. Make a joyful noise to the Lord. 315 00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:46,080 All the earth, all the earth, there is nothing in all of 316 00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:50,000 creation that is separated from this come into his presence with 317 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:52,800 singing. Why are we supposed to come into 318 00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:56,640 we are coming worship is coming into the very presence of God. 319 00:17:56,840 --> 00:18:00,000 Now you have the unfortunate reality of looking most of the 320 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:03,160 of your worship time at me, or if not me at Brendan. 321 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:10,520 And so we take an outsized view in your mind, and we simply 322 00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:12,840 don't have a better way, or we haven't come up with a better 323 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:15,280 way at this point to do this kind of thing. 324 00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:19,280 But the idea is not to see me. Do you remember the old time 325 00:18:19,280 --> 00:18:22,600 where they used to wear a robe? The preacher used to wear a 326 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:25,600 black robe, and the imagery of the black robe is so that it 327 00:18:25,600 --> 00:18:28,640 would hide the man. Obviously there's a guy under, 328 00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:30,960 you know, this isn't the Wizard of Oz who's behind the curtain, 329 00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:32,800 but you know, you would hide the man. 330 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:36,520 And so that you wouldn't be focused on my shirt or my coat 331 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:39,280 or my tie. I don't have a tie today, those 332 00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:41,160 kind of things. But that you would see through 333 00:18:41,160 --> 00:18:44,520 the man and you would see the Lord that is behind. 334 00:18:45,120 --> 00:18:46,720 That is the goal. That's the purpose. 335 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:50,320 That's why the choir wears robes up at the up at the big house. 336 00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:53,920 That's why we try to do these kind of things so that we are 337 00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:58,240 not the focus, but that you have an opportunity to focus here 338 00:18:58,360 --> 00:19:01,200 completely and totally upon the Lord himself. 339 00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:06,400 Worship should be a natural outcome, has to be a natural 340 00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:11,120 outcome of a church that is committed to biblically based 341 00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:15,040 Christ centered. Now what does this mean for each 342 00:19:15,040 --> 00:19:17,800 of you? For each of you, What it does is 343 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:23,240 it causes you to be evaluative about this church community and 344 00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:25,120 encouraging of this church community. 345 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:28,080 When we bring you into God's presence faithfully during 346 00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:30,480 worship, tell somebody about that. 347 00:19:31,120 --> 00:19:35,160 When we fail to do that, tell somebody about that. 348 00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:38,400 What are you praying when you pray for Hebron Church? 349 00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:42,480 What possibly could you pray more for us than the, the, the, 350 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:46,400 the worship here would be drawn into God's presence with a 351 00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:50,760 joyful noise, whatever that looks like, whatever that 352 00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:53,760 entails. And not just for us as a 353 00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:57,480 community, but we are made-up of individuals. 354 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:03,600 How can you put yourself in the right position to come into his 355 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:07,040 presence? With six exclamation points. 356 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:11,160 And I know a number of you and I know how you don't come into 357 00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:13,760 this worship service with a bunch of exclamation points 358 00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:17,200 because you fought with your kids on the drive in. 359 00:20:17,760 --> 00:20:20,120 Because you skipped lunch or breakfast. 360 00:20:20,120 --> 00:20:23,000 Sorry. Because you've got other things 361 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:24,880 on your mind. Because of all these things. 362 00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:28,920 Because you spent too long. Perhaps to come into the Lord's 363 00:20:28,920 --> 00:20:32,360 presence with singing every Sunday means that you need to 364 00:20:32,360 --> 00:20:34,200 change your Saturday night events. 365 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:37,080 Maybe Saturday night can't be your night out. 366 00:20:37,680 --> 00:20:41,320 Friday night is your night out. Maybe Saturday you say to 367 00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:45,120 yourself and to your family, I'm sorry we're all together at 9:00 368 00:20:45,120 --> 00:20:48,720 because we have to go to bed. Because tomorrow morning is that 369 00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:53,440 moment where we come into Lord's presence with joy, making a 370 00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:58,440 joyful noise. The church is created to 371 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:01,320 worship. We are created to do it and to 372 00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:03,040 do it well. But that's not all. 373 00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:07,240 We're also created to grow and to in our knowledge and our 374 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:09,960 understanding of the Lord, in our knowledge and understanding 375 00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:12,200 of God. It is inherent in the church or 376 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:13,960 built into the very essence of the church. 377 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:16,880 Just like a screwdriver who's got a purpose of driving a 378 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:20,680 screw, so a church has got a purpose of leading people into a 379 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:22,560 knowledge and understanding of Jesus Christ. 380 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:25,800 It is why so much of the programs of our church are built 381 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:29,360 around not so much all of our programs over the church. 382 00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:33,280 Everything we do, including worship, has this educational 383 00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:35,840 component. Now let's stop for a second and 384 00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:39,400 realize that there's no test to get into heaven. 385 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:43,840 Being a Christian is not a measure of our understanding. 386 00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:45,440 It's not a measure of your knowledge. 387 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:47,320 You don't have to know certain doctrines. 388 00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:49,880 You don't have to be able to articulate certain things. 389 00:21:50,120 --> 00:21:53,640 None of that is true. But my friends, if you're in 390 00:21:53,640 --> 00:22:00,400 love with Jesus, if you're in love with your God, how can you 391 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:04,800 not want to understand him more? How can you not want to know him 392 00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:08,720 more clearly? He is he is this one that you 393 00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:14,800 are Identify the most intimate part of your life with the most 394 00:22:14,800 --> 00:22:17,320 important part of your life. Most of us will acknowledge 395 00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:19,560 that. Then how can you not be driven 396 00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:24,160 consistently to know him more and to understand him more? 397 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:29,120 Look at verse 3 for a second in our in our hymn, sorry, in our 398 00:22:29,120 --> 00:22:33,240 Psalm, Psalm 100, verse 3, know that the Lord, he is God. 399 00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:35,160 It is he who made us and we are his. 400 00:22:35,360 --> 00:22:37,320 We are his people in the sheep of his pasture. 401 00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:41,920 Once again, that opening line. Know this, this is a communal 402 00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:43,840 thing. This is knowledge given for the 403 00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:47,040 group as a whole, a command given to the group as a whole, 404 00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:50,960 and it is a command. Know this, know the Lord. 405 00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:55,840 What are we supposed to know? That the Lord, he is God first. 406 00:22:56,320 --> 00:23:00,920 Secondly, that he made us third. That we are his fourth, That we 407 00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:03,240 are his people 5th. That we are his sheep. 408 00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:05,960 As his pastor. Now, I maintain this. 409 00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:08,880 I can't build this out right now, but think about how easy it 410 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:12,360 would be to have a sermon that would be predicated simply upon 411 00:23:12,360 --> 00:23:14,920 this. What is the content of our 412 00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:16,360 knowledge? What are what are we trying to 413 00:23:16,360 --> 00:23:18,560 communicate to people? Of course, we want to 414 00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:21,400 communicate the realities of the Trinity. 415 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:24,440 We want to communicate the beauty of the of the Scriptures. 416 00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:27,480 We want to communicate the depth of our understanding of the 417 00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:28,920 nature of God and all those kind of things. 418 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:31,720 Everything is subsumed under those five points. 419 00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:34,240 Everything is covered under this idea. 420 00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:39,480 Know the Lord that he's God. Know about Christ and who he is. 421 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:43,360 Be overwhelmed by the presence of the Lord in your life. 422 00:23:43,360 --> 00:23:46,680 Know that he is God. Know that we are made by Him. 423 00:23:47,360 --> 00:23:50,120 You can't. John Calvin, famous theologian 424 00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:54,640 argued that you can't have knowledge of God that doesn't 425 00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:58,560 arise equally out of knowledge of self, of the person. 426 00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:03,200 Because the more we see God for who he is, the more clearly 427 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:05,720 we'll see ourselves. The more we understand about 428 00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:08,840 ourselves, the more we clearly understand God. 429 00:24:09,040 --> 00:24:11,160 Know that he made us. We. 430 00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:15,440 He is the Creator and we are the creature, and that means 431 00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:19,120 something and that we are His. We belong to Him. 432 00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:21,720 Do you know what it's like living in this world of 433 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:25,040 brokenness and sorrow and sin and separation and loneliness 434 00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:29,000 and despair? Know this, my friends, that you 435 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:31,080 are His. OK. 436 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:33,120 What does it mean that we are owned by Him? 437 00:24:33,120 --> 00:24:37,240 I have coin collection and stuff like that and, you know, cars, 438 00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:40,520 you know. No, we are His people, OK? 439 00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:42,080 We're His people. It doesn't mean that we're 440 00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:45,320 created to be humans. It means that we belong in a 441 00:24:45,320 --> 00:24:49,680 family with Him. We are His family, and He cares 442 00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:52,600 for us like the Good Shepherd cares for the sheep. 443 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:57,160 I can maintain that if all our programs ever did, if all of 444 00:24:57,160 --> 00:25:01,200 every Bible study focused on nothing more than every sermon 445 00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:04,040 focused nothing more on those five points, we would cover 446 00:25:04,040 --> 00:25:06,160 exactly what the Lord desires for us. 447 00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:08,760 What is it that this church is supposed to communicate? 448 00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:13,040 That the Lord he is God, that we are his people, the sheep of his 449 00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:17,480 pastor, That we are been made by him and that we are his and 450 00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:21,080 belong to him. Now, if this is the message for 451 00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:26,280 the church as a whole, this is the idea for every individual 452 00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:29,520 here as well. Every individual has that 453 00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:34,120 responsibility to seek an understanding of the Scriptures, 454 00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:36,640 to seek in the greater understanding of the Lord. 455 00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:40,360 It's why we emphasize and stress the idea of Bible studies, why 456 00:25:40,360 --> 00:25:44,280 we encourage, why part of our worship service is a sermon, why 457 00:25:44,280 --> 00:25:47,840 every program that I hope, every program we have here at the 458 00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:51,200 church somehow or other, seeks to communicate the essence and 459 00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:54,640 the reality of God himself. That's on the church's 460 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:57,840 standpoint. It's upon every individual who 461 00:25:57,840 --> 00:26:01,640 claims the name of Jesus Christ to act upon that love that they 462 00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:05,440 have in their hearts for who Jesus is, to seek to know Him 463 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:09,560 more. Nothing is more frustrating for 464 00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:16,280 the church than hypocrisy. Let's face it, the church is a 465 00:26:16,280 --> 00:26:19,600 hypocritical institution and the world knows it. 466 00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:23,480 And they drag us on to the that they nail us on that 467 00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:27,760 consistently. But what are we called to be? 468 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:33,400 We are called to be a community that worships God, that knows 469 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:37,520 God, and then that serves God, that serves him. 470 00:26:37,720 --> 00:26:41,400 Our life, our actions, what we do with our hands is supposed to 471 00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:45,720 be modeled after what we think with our minds and how we act 472 00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:49,680 and worship with our hearts. Our actions are to be a 473 00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:51,400 reflection of these kind of things. 474 00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:54,960 And so in verse 2, we're told serve the Lord with gladness. 475 00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:58,800 Once again, a corporate command that he gives serve the Lord. 476 00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:01,400 And by the way, the word serve there is hard. 477 00:27:01,640 --> 00:27:04,560 It's labor. It's it's hard work. 478 00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:09,040 So often the church does everything they can to make sure 479 00:27:09,040 --> 00:27:11,960 that that your job, if you volunteer at the church and you 480 00:27:11,960 --> 00:27:14,240 get involved in something, we're going to try to make it as easy 481 00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:17,600 as possible for you. That's going completely against 482 00:27:17,600 --> 00:27:19,400 the grain of the nature of the command. 483 00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:23,280 The command is labor hard for the Lord. 484 00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:27,080 And you know what's hard work? Sitting with somebody who's just 485 00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:32,080 suffered a loss, ministering to somebody who is hurting, 486 00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:36,120 ministering to somebody who's annoying while they're lonely, 487 00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:41,760 serving with the youth when they're being youth, serving 488 00:27:41,760 --> 00:27:46,560 with the kids all the time, serving in a way. 489 00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:48,920 All these things are hard and they're difficult. 490 00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:52,720 And that's exactly what it means, that we are to serve the 491 00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:54,760 Lord, but we're supposed to serve the Lord. 492 00:27:55,080 --> 00:27:58,040 Look at the end of that sentence with gladness. 493 00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:00,320 There's an exclamation point there. 494 00:28:00,840 --> 00:28:04,200 We are to serve the Lord with gladness. 495 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:09,160 This church has to be an institution where we are 496 00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:13,400 fostering worship, where we are encouraging knowledge and growth 497 00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:18,680 and understanding, where we are giving opportunities for service 498 00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:21,280 and worship service and ministry. 499 00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:28,600 And you as an individual have to be a person that is fostering 500 00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:34,040 your worship life, where you are developing an understanding of 501 00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:38,560 knowledge of our Lord and where you are serving Him faithfully 502 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:41,120 and completely in all that you do. 503 00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:46,600 Now, my guess is that you can look at Hebron Church and see a 504 00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:48,480 little bits of all three of those things. 505 00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:51,480 Yeah, we kind of serve well. Yeah, our worship is OK. 506 00:28:51,720 --> 00:28:55,280 Yeah, our our knowledge, our Bible studies are fairly good. 507 00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:58,560 Maybe you have a better opinion or a worse opinion of those kind 508 00:28:58,560 --> 00:29:01,520 of three things. But if we're going to be what we 509 00:29:01,520 --> 00:29:05,600 are into corporately, then you need to be that way 510 00:29:06,120 --> 00:29:09,120 individually. And I would encourage you to go 511 00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:12,680 into a time of reflection at this point as we I pray 512 00:29:12,760 --> 00:29:14,680 seriously for the Lord's blessings. 513 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:18,640 I ask for a quiet time and a time of silence here. close your 514 00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:22,000 eyes if you would, and ask the following questions of yourself. 515 00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:29,320 Gracious Lord, hear us as we pray at this time. 516 00:29:29,960 --> 00:29:35,200 Lord, teach us how can I become more faithful in my worship? 517 00:29:50,880 --> 00:29:52,800 Oh Lord, hear your people as they pray. 518 00:29:54,840 --> 00:29:59,240 Oh Lord, how can I become more faithful in my discipleship and 519 00:29:59,240 --> 00:30:16,460 growth? Oh Lord, hear your people as we 520 00:30:16,460 --> 00:30:20,660 pray. Lord, how can I become more 521 00:30:20,660 --> 00:30:23,780 faithful in my service and my ministry? 522 00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:42,960 Oh Lord, hear your people as we pray Now, at this time, I'd 523 00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:46,600 encourage you to stand with me and let us proclaim that which 524 00:30:46,600 --> 00:30:55,320 we affirm our faith. Together, my friends, let us 525 00:30:55,320 --> 00:31:00,000 draw near to God with a true heart in full assurance of 526 00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:01,360 faith. Please join with me. 527 00:31:02,040 --> 00:31:05,920 Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without 528 00:31:05,920 --> 00:31:09,320 wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 529 00:31:09,880 --> 00:31:14,960 Let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and 530 00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:20,080 good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit 531 00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:25,240 of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as we 532 00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:27,440 see the day of glory coming.