The Village Church
Wholehearted Praise, pt 2 - Psalm 103:6-19 - 2024/07/07 - 2024/07/07 - Audio
You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You. Hello. Hey. What's up? Sorry. Okay. Good morning, everyone. My name is mary. I am the coordinator for children's Village kids. Elementary school age kids here at the village. I want to welcome you to our church. Members, visitors, and the church. Members, whoever you are. I am so glad you are here online. Hello. I am so glad you are here. If you will, wait first. Hold on. Our mission is to know Jesus, to enjoy Jesus, and to glorify Jesus in our lives. We have got a fun bulletin. The back of the bulletin is even better. It's got a lot of announcements that you can take a look at for more details. On the front of the bulletin, there is a QR code. If you scan that, that's how we keep up with who's coming to our services. If you want to get in touch with us, or if you want us to get in touch with you, please scan that code. It's on the front of your bulletin. We also have a website. Enter the village.net. Again, it's on the front of our bulletin. Sorry, y'all. We've got two main announcements this week. There's a child protection training that is being hosted by our church. It's being put on by the National Children's Advocacy Center. It's going to be Sunday, July 21 at 3 p.m. If you are interested in being involved in children's ministry, and you have not taken the online training, or if you've taken the in-person training or online training and it's been several years, please come to this, if you can. Also, if you've never taken the online training or never taken the in-person training, if you want to participate with the children in our church, you have to do one of these trainings. This is a good excuse to be here, and to see who's going to be in ministry at our church, and to learn more about letting our church be a safe place for kids. Anyway, come see me or see Tiffany. She's probably in the nursery. If she's going to be here today, she's here. Okay, so she's in the nursery, so see me or see Tiffany, please sign up if you are at all interested in attending this training. Also, Lincoln Village Ministries is in need of volunteers, and it's an interesting project. So if you want to get your hands dirty, again, see the back of our bulletin for more details. At the Village Church, we believe that ties and offering are a form of worship. You can give to our church in three ways. You can go online through our website, which is listed here. You can mail a check to our address, which is listed on the front. You can also use an offering that we have an offering box. It's a physical offering box, and it's right there underneath the projection thing. You can stick your check or your cash in there, and we'd really appreciate that. Anyway, these are our announcements. Happy Sundays. Good to see everybody. Let's do our call to worship. If you're able to stand, would you please stand with me? I will read later, and if you will read people when it gets to that part. Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God, the Almighty. Just and true are your ways, O King of the Nations. Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you and our whole nation will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been redeemed. Let's pray really quick, Lord Jesus, you are so good. We do want to worship these righteous acts that you have, that have been revealed to us. Your Word tells us to sing to you, to sing a new song. It means out all these random instruments to play and to make a noise singing and playing before you, because you are good. If we don't worship, the rocks will cry out. I don't want the rocks to be louder than us this morning. Lord, allow us to join in with the angels and creation and everything to worship the goodness and the righteousness of who you are. We are so good and worthy to be praised and worthy to sing about, and Jesus, amen. Let's sing together. Put your hands together too, that would be nice. Now is the time for all people, from every layer to come together. Now is the moment for us yet. We enter in with holy nothing. He's worthy. He's gone there. He's higher look at us. Sing it to the Lord. Open up your heart. Make it toward the Lord. In the sanctuary, please. Sing it to the Lord. Abolition with love. Let the greatest ring. In the sanctuary, please. Now is the time for all people, from every layer. To come together. Now is the moment for worship. We enter in with holy nothing. He's worthy. He's gone there. He's higher look at us. Sing it to the Lord. Open up your heart. Make it toward the Lord. In the sanctuary, please. Sing it to the Lord. Abolition with love. Let the greatest ring. In the sanctuary, please. Sing it to the Lord. Open up your heart. Make it toward the Lord. In the sanctuary, please. Sing it to the Lord. Abolition with love. Let the greatest ring. In the sanctuary, please. You gotta open your mouth again. You gotta open up your mouth again. Sing it to the Lord. In the sanctuary, please. You gotta open up your mouth again. You gotta open up your mouth again. Sing it to the Lord. In the sanctuary, please. Sing it to the Lord. In the sanctuary, please. Sing it to the Lord. In the sanctuary, please. Sing it to the Lord. In the sanctuary, please. Sing it to the Lord. In the sanctuary, please. Sing it to the Lord. In the sanctuary, please. Sing it to the Lord. In the sanctuary, please. Sing it to the Lord. In the sanctuary, please. Sing it to the Lord. In the sanctuary, please. Sing it to the Lord. In the sanctuary, please. Sing it to the Lord. In the sanctuary, please. Sing it to the Lord. Open up your heart. Sing it to the Lord. In the sanctuary, please. Sing it to the Lord. In the sanctuary, please. Sing it to the Lord. In the sanctuary, please. Sing it to the Lord. Open up your heart. Open up your heart. Make a joyful noise. In the sanctuary, please. Sing it to the Lord. In the sanctuary, please. Sing it to the Lord. In the sanctuary, please. In the sanctuary, please. In the sanctuary, please. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) I heard an old old story, how his baby came from glory, how he gave his life, on Calvary, to save a rich like me, I heard about his lonely, of his precious blood, of me, that I pretended to have lost him, and one of his lonely, of his dreams, he said, "My friend, your forever, for me, for me, for me, will he be there, so he loved me, I knew him, and all the love ♪ I'm dreaming to victory ♪ ♪ He needs to send himself ♪ ♪ I heard about his healing ♪ ♪ But his friend and I are healing ♪ ♪ I will make the man to walk again ♪ ♪ And all the flight you steal ♪ ♪ And when I cry dear Jesus ♪ ♪ How many people I broke in ♪ ♪ And from my Jesus came and brought ♪ ♪ And he never saw me ♪ ♪ From the clear Jesus ♪ ♪ I say no forever ♪ ♪ He thought he had taught me ♪ ♪ When he was with me ♪ ♪ He loved me like you have ♪ ♪ And all the love he has ♪ ♪ He loved me to victory ♪ ♪ He needs to send himself ♪ ♪ Make a noise and a joyful noise ♪ ♪ And all the instruments are there ♪ ♪ I heard about a mansion ♪ ♪ He's built for me in glory ♪ ♪ And I heard about the streets ♪ ♪ Of gold beyond the Christmas tree ♪ ♪ But I'll be in your free bed ♪ ♪ And your attention is your lead ♪ ♪ And the sun's here again ♪ ♪ She's over to glory ♪ ♪ Of gold beyond the Christmas tree ♪ ♪ I say no forever ♪ ♪ And he is with me ♪ ♪ When he is with me ♪ ♪ He loved me like you have ♪ ♪ And all the love he has ♪ ♪ He loves me to victory ♪ ♪ He needs to send himself ♪ ♪ Oh victory ♪ ♪ And he says I say no forever ♪ ♪ And he is with me ♪ ♪ When he is with me ♪ ♪ He loves me like you have ♪ ♪ And all the love he has ♪ ♪ And he is with me ♪ ♪ He is with me to victory ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ - Here's the Lord, I didn't have to pray. Isn't he good? He is so good. We love you Lord. We love who you are. You're worthy. We have victory in you. There's power in your name. You are so good. ♪♪ This isn't an old hymn, jewelry done. We have fun with it. We give the Lord a Jesus. ♪♪ (upbeat music) ♪ Oh, see the dawn of the darkest day ♪ ♪ Christ on the road to Calvary ♪ ♪ Drive a handful in ♪ ♪ Torn and beaten hell ♪ ♪ Vamps through a cross of mud ♪ ♪ This the time of the cross ♪ ♪ The pride became thin for us ♪ ♪ Just a blame ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ And the crown ♪ ♪ Who does need a pain ♪ ♪ Wind on your head ♪ ♪ Baring beyond the beat of death ♪ ♪ Every bit of God ♪ ♪ Every peace ♪ ♪ Crowning your blood through the ground ♪ ♪ This the time of the cross ♪ ♪ Christ became thin for us ♪ ♪ And turned the blame ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ And the crown ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ Now the day will flee ♪ ♪ Now the crown believes ♪ ♪ We can bring her bound ♪ ♪ Never adorn to yes ♪ ♪ In a race of life ♪ ♪ There is no pain ♪ ♪ To be dry ♪ ♪ There's the power ♪ ♪ Of the crown ♪ ♪ Christ became thin for us ♪ ♪ Through the name ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ And the crown ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ Could see my name ♪ ♪ Within the rules ♪ ♪ But through your suffering ♪ ♪ I am free, yes ♪ ♪ And death is Christ to death ♪ ♪ Life is life to death ♪ ♪ One through your suffering ♪ ♪ And the power ♪ ♪ Of the crown ♪ ♪ Christ became thin for us ♪ ♪ Through the name ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ And the crown ♪ ♪ It's the time ♪ ♪ Through the crown ♪ ♪ Christ became thin for us ♪ ♪ Through the name ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ ♪ For the love we're set to give ♪ - Our confession of faith today is from the Heidelberg Catechism question 21. I will read the question and then we will read the answer in unison. The question says what is true faith? True faith is not only a sure knowledge by which I hold as true. All that God revealed to us in Scripture. It is also a wholehearted truth which the Holy Spirit creates enemy by the gospel. That God has really granted not only to others, but to me also. Forgiveness of sins, eternal righteousness, and salvation. These are gifts of sheer grace granted all solely by Christ's man. That's a wonderful truth. Wonderful truth that through Christ He has been granted us forgiveness of sins, eternal righteousness, and salvation. All of these are gifts of sheer grace solely granted to us on Christ's merit alone. Amen, thanks. If you are able, please stand for the reading for our Scripture reading today. It is from Psalm 103 verses 6 through 19. Psalm 103 verses 6 through 19. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. He may known his ways to Moses and his acts to the people of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abiding in steadfast love. He will not always shine nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins nor will pay us according to our iniquities. As far as high as the heavens or above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far as he removed our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, to the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For the Lord knows our frame. He remembers we are dust. As for man his days like the grass, he flourishes like a flower to fill. For the wind passes over it and it is gone and its place knows it no more. But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him and his righteousness to children's children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. The Lord has established his throne in the heavens and his kingdom rules over all. This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated. I'm going to introduce the new song to you today. If you can sing along as quick as you can and just join in with us, that would be great. For creation suddenly articulate with a thousand tongues to lift one grain. And from north to south and east to west we hear Christ be magnified. When echoing his eminence, his name would birth the end of the guide. From river to the mountain we hear Christ be magnified. O Christ be magnified, let his praise arise. Christ be magnified, let me. O Christ be magnified, the altar of my life. Christ be magnified, let me. When every creature finds its invincibility, in every human heart it saves Christ. When it was magnified, we'll think Christ be magnified. O Christ be magnified, let his praise arise. Christ be magnified, let me. O Christ be magnified, the altar of my life. Christ be magnified, let me. All right, before we go into this next bridge these words are so rich and so good, so I don't want us to just gloss over them. So let's go through this before we sing it. I won't bow title, I'll stand strong and worship you. And if that puts me in the fire, I'll rejoice because you're there too. And I won't be formed by feeling. I'll hold back to what is true. If a cross brings transformation, then I'll be crucified with you. Because death is just a doorway into every, into resurrection life. And if I join you in your suffering, then I'll join you when you rise. And when you return in glory with all the angels and the saints, my heart will still be singing and by some will be the same. And I won't bow title, I'll stand strong and worship you. And if it puts me in the fire, I'll rejoice because you're there too. And I won't be formed by feeling. I'll hold back to what is true. If a cross brings transformation, then I'll be crucified with you. Because death is just a doorway into every, into resurrection life. And if I join you in your suffering, then I'll join you when you rise. And when you return in glory with all the angels and the saints, my heart will still be singing. And my love will be the same. Oh, Christ be thankful, Christ be thankful, Christ be thankful, let me know. Christ be thankful, Christ be thankful, Christ be thankful, Christ be thankful, Christ be thankful, Christ be thankful. Christ be thankful, Christ be thankful, Christ be thankful, Christ be thankful, Christ be thankful, Christ be thankful, Christ be thankful. [Music] Please join me in prayer of suffocation. Christ, please be magnified in this church, in the leadership of this church, and the things that we do in our worship services and the ministries that we have. I pray that you'll be magnified in this. I pray that you'll be magnified in us individually, in our own personal walk with you. Be magnified in our families, in our relationships. Be magnified in the marriages within our church. Be magnified in the relationships that parents have with their kids. And be magnified in relationships that siblings have with one another. Be magnified, Lord Jesus, in our communities. Be magnified in our jobs that some of us don't like, don't want to go to. Be magnified when we go on vacation. Be magnified, Lord Jesus, in how we navigate this world. Be magnified, Lord Jesus, in our finances, in our thought life, in our mental health, in our emotions. Be magnified in our sexuality, in our gender. Be magnified in everything that has taken place for Jesus. You be magnified in Christian ministries, in missions. Be magnified in the places where you have your people around the world globally. Be magnified in those places, Lord. Be magnified in this service. We have our quiet times. We have our devotional life. We were sharing the gospel. Be magnified there. Be magnified when life happens to us because life happens. And when it happens, be magnified. In our education. And those who be going to college. And when kids start school in four weeks, be magnified, Lord. And that, in our comments and our goings, be magnified. And how we deal with conflict, be magnified. And how we deal with our enemies and those who wish ill upon us, be magnified. Be magnified in when we seek reconciliation, with those in which we have broken relationships with, Lord. Be magnified in that. Be magnified in those who are struggling with the faith, Christians who are struggling with the faith. Meet them in those struggles. Lord Jesus. Be magnified in the way we handle our freedoms. How we handle and engage on social media. How we deal with technology. Be magnified in those things too. When we're driving in a home and someone across the front of us, Lord, be magnified in that. When we're tempted to engage in road rage. And every inch of who we are, be magnified, Lord Jesus. I pray for all this in Christ's name. How many of you started a blessing jar journal about this week past week? If you were here last summer, you know I challenged us to create some sort of blessing jar or shoe box or journal where you put in that, you know, different blessings the Lord has brought into your life this past week. So how many of you actually started? You don't have to, you can just talk to yourself. I'm not going to put you on the spot. And we're supposed to be a joke. Okay. So last Sunday, I urge you to do so to help you remember the blessings of God in your life. How do you remember the blessings? What's your process to help you remember the ways in which God has blessed you? What's your process? Prone to wonder, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave a God I love. That was where it's come from to Him, confined to very blessing. We're prone to forget those everyday blessings that God brings into our life. So we're prone to forget His goodness and His faithfulness and the benefits. And it's hard to often remember those things from day to day. Or is it just me? So if we're honest with ourselves as a Christian, you feel it when you're wandering from the blessing. You know when you're wandering from Him. You feel it because that's the Holy Spirit, that feeling and that's no stalks, that's the Holy Spirit knocking. And here's the hope for you. Each of us can grow in remembering the goodness of God in our life. And that's what the Holy Spirit is for. He can help you intentionally remind yourself of God's goodness. He can help you embrace healthy self-talk and how you talk to yourself about the promises of God. And the Holy Spirit can lead each and every one of us into wholehearted praise. Where you say to yourself, "Bless the Lord, O my soul." All that is within me, bless His holy name, bless the Lord, O my soul, and forgive not all His benefits. This morning we're going to reopen one of David's blessing jars to take out more of God's promises. The jar is Psalm 103 and the blessings this morning are found in verses 6 through 14, verses 6 through 14. So before we move forward in the Word, please join me in asking the Holy Spirit to bless the preaching of the Word. Holy Spirit, as I often pray and will continue to pray, we need you. Preaching has no power apart from your Word, your presence. You and the Word, both of you work together. It's not just the word that you use that word to make it take root in our hearts and in our minds. And then you use it to transform us from the inside out. You don't transform ourselves, Holy Spirit, you're doing it. Praise you for that work. The work of transformation, the work of sanctification. Where you form immodals more and more and more into the image of our beloved Savior. So when you take this word and apply it to our hearts and to our minds, it's in Christ's name that I pray. Amen. I have a question for all TVC kids. I know, I have to ask them to put me on the spot. I'm sorry. So if you're a TVC kid, share what words come to mind when you think about God. What words come to mind when you think about God? Use you participate to. There's no wrong, what comes to mind when you think about God? Do I need to bring the mic down and just pass it around? What was that? Joy. Yeah. That's a good one. What else? What comes to mind? You know, you can put some words from the songs with this song too. The words that we use to talk about God, these are the, these are descriptive words about God's divine character in his being, which both are perfect. These character traits and virtues are known as his attributes. Something else spoke about last week. David's blessing jar contains two of God's attributes. There's a lot there, but there's two that I really want to focus on. And all the blessings in this jar directly result from God's nature. Okay. All his blessings to you flow from who he is. Okay. He, he, he, he, he's love and so we're able to because he loves us. We're able to. And so the docology says praise God from whom all blessings flow. Be familiar with the docology. Blessings flow to Christians because of God's character, not their character. Okay. That's why we get those blessings. So what are the two attributes that are in this blessing jar? These two attributes, they, they frame the sermon text like two book ends. Is transcendence in the imminence transcendence and imminence. Those are theological terms. God's transcendence is in David's blessing jar. And so we're going to pull it out. So what does it mean to say that God is transcendence and imminence? Those are theological terms. God's transcendence is in David's blessing jar. It means to say that God is transcendence. It means he's other. Okay. He's other. He's far above and beyond us separated from his creation. So he's other than us. So that's, so we have to know that the God that we serve is also other. That we cannot reduce him down to our earthly level. He's infinite. He's incomprehensible. And he's unsearchable. So that would mean is creatures like us, we could never discover God on our own. He has to be revealed. He has to reveal himself to us. Okay. So he's indestructible. He's incomprehensible. He's unsearchable. And he's from everlasting to everlasting. That means he's eternal. He's eternal. He has always existed. Can you imagine what does that even mean for some being to just always be? That's God. No beginning, no end. Sometimes our view of God is too small. Too small. And our God, we need big God theology. This is big God theology. He's bigger than the limitations we place on him. And the books that we put him in. He's not dependent on the created order in any way. He's not dependent upon him. He is not dependent upon him. Because he's the creator of the order and the creator of everything that's in it. So he can enter time and space. He's not bound by time and space. He created it all. He says that in Isaiah 55 verses 89, the Lord says for my thoughts are not your thoughts. Nor are my ways. Your ways, my ways. We're different. I love you, but we're on the same level. Okay. We're not on the same level. And if you watch anime, which I do, you know in anime, there are some people who are on one level. And there are some people who are on their level. Okay. So if you're Dragon Ball Z fan, God is Goku. And these are the ones that don't have any other power. That's us. We're the ones on the lower level. So he said, I'm way up here. No matter how smart you are, no matter how great you are, you ain't ever going to be on my level. No matter how many books is written about me, they're never going to be able to actually comprehend me. But so I'm not in books. Great theology, but it's not never ever going to be able to comprehend him who I am for. That's God. He says, my thoughts are not your thoughts. Your ways are not my ways to class the Lord for as the heavens are above the earth. So are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts and your thoughts, miles apart. God's transcendence is all about his lordship. It's his sovereign control and authority over the universe. Every square inch is under his kingly rule. You got to know that it belongs to him. I heard someone say, well, what about the devil? He's God's devil. He ain't, he ain't no dang in the part of simple. He's under authority. He can only do what is he allowed to do. That God and the state ain't on the same level. This is not God is all good and Satan's all evil. They got the same amount of power and they go ahead and head. No, this is God. He's under God. He has to get permission for ever how he moves. Before he went on before he attacked Job, he had to get permission. Did he not? There is no being on level with God. No spiritual being, no earthly being, no, no earthly kingdom that's on level with him. That's our God. In verse 19, David writes, the Lord established his throne in the heavens and his kingdom rules over all transcendence. He established his throne in the heavens and his kingdom rules over all. God is in the heavens and he does whatever he pleases for his glory. For his glory. All individuals, who are the Christian or non-Christian, are subject to God's sovereign rule without exception. Do we believe that? The hardest atheist you know is only allowed to be an atheist and do what he or she does because God allows you. He allows you. Do you believe that? Because if he removes his hand from the created order, that would just crumble us off. Do we believe that? Do you really believe that? Transcendence, yeah, he makes and allows the world to go round. Transcendence is a blessing for a broken and imperfect world. It's a blessing for a broken and imperfect world. What do you mean by that pastor? In Matthew 5, 45, Jesus says, "For he makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good." He sends his reign on the just and the unjust. So even those who don't or believe what we believe are beneficiaries or benefit from the goodness of our God. Because they are Christian creating his image of this and rebaring against him. So governments and kingdoms and presidents, none of these things are disturbing God's plan. Not disturbing him. He sustains, he is sustaining and he is upholding his creation. And if we believe that a person in the Oval Office or countries that are not going to other countries, if we believe that things that are happening on Global Steel are undoing and taking control from God, then we have a very, very small God. That's a very, very small God. Our God is at work, even in the hardest places of the world. Even when it feels like things are falling apart. Even when things are not going like we want them to go. Even when there's broken, even when there's injustice, we have to hold firm as Christians that somehow our God is still at work. Because if we don't hold on to that, then what's your hope when it all goes to hell? What's going to be your hope when it falls apart? When life happens, if you don't believe that there's a God overall to stop. Where's it going to be, y'all? Even though Isaiah 55 says verses 10 through 11, "For as the rain and the snow come down from the heaven, and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sword, and the bread to the eater, so shall my word that goes out from my mouth. It shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that for which I purpose and shall succeed in the thing for which I stand." And there's nothing man can do to stop that. Nothing. And that should make you proud. That should make you excited. That even though I may feel like I'm losing, you ain't losing. And then grand scheme of things. So if you're a Christian, your life is never sprouting out of God's control. Do you believe that? You may feel like it is and you may go through stuff, but he has you. Even when you make dumb decisions and you deal with consequences, he has you. Do you believe it? He has you. He can still work all things to your good, whether in this life or in the life to come. At some point, it all will be made right. We've got a whole lot of that. But do we believe that? That is a God who is transcendent. A God who's thrown is in the heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. That, if you do keep a blessing, John, write that verse down and put it in there. And when you're struggling, put it out, remind yourself. My God's kingdom rules over all. He rules over all. So somehow, he's going to help me get through this. You have to remind your stuff that's going. Because you are, a lot of stuff is going in your system, doing it throughout the day. I don't have my smartphone up here. It's your smartphone. For some of us, that's our prophet, priest and king, that's giving us information day in and day out. Reels out the reels, deans out the deans, and dating us with information and information. For some of us, that phone is our blessing, John. I'm telling, how about we put that down for a moment? There's been a time here to get the truth in us, to help us fight the things that are fighting for our attention, for our loyalty, for our affections. So light transcendence, God's imminence is also in David's blessing, John. And we're going to pull that out. So imminence means God is close and God is near. So transcendence is, he's far away from us, he's unsearchable, imminence means he's close and he's near. Jeremiah 23 verse 22 says, "Am I a Lord that, I am a Lord at hand to class the Lord, not a God far away?" So you may need to write that down, put it in your blessing, John. I'm a God at hand to class the Lord, not a God far away. He is present within his creation, in time and space. Read Psalm 139, if you want the confirmation of that. Where can I go from your spirit, nowhere? Where can I flee from your presence, nowhere I set this on. So this means because God is imminent, that means he can be known and he can be apprehended, but not comprehended. So imminence refers to the truth that God is intimately involved in personal and relational with his creation. Think about what that means, he's not either or he's both and, both and, he's far off and yet he's close. The greatest example of his imminence is Jesus, Emmanuel, God and the flesh. So imminence is the blessing. In verse 6 David writes, "The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. God is aware of the oppression people endure in the world, and then he works on their behalf." Psalm 9, 9 says, "The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed." Psalm 10, verse 18 says, "He does justice to the followers and to the oppressed. God executes righteousness and justice because he's just and righteous." Because he's just and righteous, he executes righteousness and justice. They all flow from who he is, from his nature. Psalm 33, verse 5 says, "For the world of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in fightfulness, in love, righteousness and justice." All of his works. God is a holy judge who always does what is right for his glory. He does what is right for his glory, and he does what is good for his people. Christians are his people. If you have faith in faith in Jesus, then God always is doing what is right for you. Even when you don't feel it, even when you don't believe it, he is. Your ability to understand God does not dictate who he is. Okay? Now you're lack of ability to do that. He's going to be who he is regardless of our belief system or where we are in a struggle of life. He's going to be God because he cannot be other than who he is. If you are a Christian, that means he protects and guides you. He's for you, not against you. His spirit lives within you to lead you into truth to help you live a joyful and flourishing life. He takes up your calls and he fights your battles because the battle belongs to the Lord. He has inscribed you on the palm of his hand. That means he would never, ever forget you or abandon you. When you hear these things, does it make you love him more or is it just sand? Slip into your hand. When you hear the word God says it, I have inscribed you on the palm of my hand. What comes to mind when you think about that? He has tattooed your name on his hand. You are there. Your life is there. He will never forget you. He will never abandon you. He will never forsake you. Who wants to love and serve and worship a God who is so close to us? That he made a way for us to know him on that level. His eyes on the sky. So we don't have to fear and give in to uncertainty. Because the one certainty is in his life is our guy, God. No matter if this country starts shaking, he has this. He has you. We have one another. As we go deeper into David's blessing, we pull out another blessing with our hand. It's a generational blessing. It reflects how God demonstrated his eminence and transcendence among David's ancestors, like Moses and the people of Israel. It takes us back to the Exodus, the covenant, the renewal of the covenant on Mount Sinai, the wilderness wondering. You see, an indestructible God made himself and his ways known to an oppressed people through a broken man. An indestructible God made himself and his ways known to an oppressed people through a broken man. Look at verse 7. David writes, "He made his ways." He made known his ways to Moses and his acts to the people of Israel. See, God makes his ways and his acts known. That's through self-reveration. As I said before, humanity doesn't discover God. He declares and reveals himself to us. If you ever study the life of Moses, there are several times when God reveals himself to Moses in the burning bush, in the cloud of smoke, in the cliff of a rock. And for us, he reveals himself in the description. So that means if I'm not in the scriptures, then how can I know who God is? Yes. Books, no books written by Christians, they're good. The professional faith is good. They're sure a lot of Catholicism is good. Those are good tools, but they're not this. They're not this. The systematic professors, they're good. They're great thinkers. They're still not this. We have to be in it ourselves. What has God declared about himself in the past? And continue to declare about himself in the present. What has God declared about himself in the past? And continue to declare about himself in the present, in the present. The answer is revealed in the Lord's interaction with Moses in Exodus 34. You see, the Lord, Moses had this really cool relationship with God. I wish I had that relationship, but he and God used to speak face to face. Think about that. The word says God would speak to Moses face to face as a man speaks to his friend. Can you imagine that? I am Moses. So one day during one of those face to face meetings, the Lord commands Moses to do something. He says to him, "Cut for yourself two tablets of stone, like the first. And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablet, which you broke." See that shade that he gave Moses in? Which you broke. I'm going to replace those tablets. So he says to Moses, "Be ready by morning. Come up to Mount Sinai. Present yourself before me then. No one should come up with you and let no one be seen throughout the mountain." Basically, no one could be on the mountain at all at this meeting. They couldn't even touch it. Just him and Moses. So Moses obeys God's voice without objections, no complaints, not asking a whole bunch of questions, not saying it's not my fault, it's the people's fault. He disobeyed. He cuts the tablets. He probably gets some dinner, he protects the bath, he goes to bed. He rises early in the morning, next day. He puts on his clothes and sandals. He takes the deep breaths. Here we go. Here we go. He begins to hike up Mount Sinai. With the tubes, tablets in his hand. He's going to present himself to the Lord. And all he knows for sure that the Lord plans to enshrive those Ten Commandments again on the stones. He don't know what's going to happen to him, but he knows what's going to happen to the stones. So he's just trying to be an obedient servant. So he goes up. He walks at a steady pace. And when he reaches the location, once he arrives, the text says, "The Lord defends in a cloud." And he stands with Moses on Mount Sinai. I'll take that in. He descends the transcendent God, becomes imminent in the form of a cloud. And he stands with Moses on Mount Sinai, maybe even face to face on Mount Sinai. Imagine all the emotions that our brother Moses had to be feeling. The thoughts go on through his mind. The Lord stands with Moses, and then the Lord proclaim his own name to Moses. He declares it. He makes it known he reveals it. The Lord God answers the question I asked you earlier. What does God declare about himself in the past? That he continues to declare about himself in the presence? He does it right here while on Mount Sinai. The Lord passes before Moses, and he proclaims the Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious. This is what God reveals to Moses about God himself. The Lord speaks these words to Moses in verses 34 and 6. And David puts these very words in his blessing jar to remind him of who his God was. Generations earlier to his ancestors, he still that same God today. The Lord pushes the merciful, slow the anger, abouting his staff as love and faithfulness. Let those words be in your blessing jar. Because this is what David is doing. Generations, he spoke these words generations before David was born. And David is reminding himself that if this was true of my God before we were a kingdom, they just got out of Egypt. He's still the same God today. Is that the God you believe? That lead us into this wholehearted praise. Our God is compassionate and full of mercy. God is kind and full of grace. His anger is slow. He's long-suffering and it's patient and his staff as love is abounding. It's faithful. It's unfailing. That's who he is. That should lead us to praise, to love, in light of verse 8. How does our triune God relate to us? How does the truth in verse 8 become a blessing in our life? Well, David answers both questions in verses 9 and 10 by saying what God will not do. These are negative answers. God would not always shod. That means he would not always chastise and reprimand and accuse. He would not keep his anger. Now, who makes him angry? Who does he chastise? You tell him you don't know? Us, wake up thanks. Us. He chastises us. In love, he holds us accountable and disciplines us. He even allows us to experience the consequences of our sins and our bad choices and our foolishness. But he does not deal with us according to our sins. He does not repay us according to what our iniquity deserves. Yeah. Beautiful blessings, right? Let's write them down, put them in our blessing jar and pull them out later. It's beneficial to our spiritual well-being to consistently remind ourselves of these blessings. You got to say to yourself, "The Lord will not always chastise me." He would not keep his anger with me forever. He doesn't deal with me according to my sin. He doesn't reward me according to what my iniquities deserve. We have to practice speaking truth to ourselves, positively. I will try you in God wants us to know the truth that he reveals about himself. Do we know it? David did not need years of spiritual searching to discover these blessings about God in verses 89. The Lord revealed those blessings to Moses while he was on Mount Sinai in Exodus 34. And he David puts those blessings in his blessing jar. So when we left Mount Sinai, the Lord was in the middle of a claiming his name to Moses. The Lord, the Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, a bound in his steadfast love and righteous and faithful. So the self revelation continues. He continues to declare more things about himself in verse 7. The Lord says, keeping steadfast love for thousands. Forgive in iniquity, transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty. This isn't in the iniquity of the fathers and the children and the children's children to a third and fourth generation. This is our God. What is your response? What is your response to a God who is merciful? What is your response to a God who pulls us accountable and let us go through the consequences of our sin? What is our response to that God? Moses experienced a wide range of emotions and thoughts on that mountain. And all of them led to a physical and verbal response on Mount Sinai. He quickly bows his head to the earth and he worships. So what is our response to God's presence and blessings and self revelation, reverence and worship? Reverence is you showing God the respect and the honor and the glory that do his name. And we don't give that to anybody else. And worship is just you acknowledging his goodness in your life. Wholehearted praise. Thank you father for being who you are. For all that you do. Moments later, Moses moves from reverence to worship to prayer, confession and repentance. All in a seamless motion. As is 34-9, Moses says to the Lord, "If now," now his head is still bowed, he's still worshiping. He says, "If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord. Please let the Lord go with the go in the midst of us. For it is a stiff-necked people talking about Israel, part in our inquiry." No, he didn't say it. He didn't say it very iniquity. He said, "Part in our inquiry and our sin and take us. Not them, take us for your unhappened." What is Moses doing here? God grants Moses requests if he read on through the rest of the answer to the 4th. If it gives that sin, what is Moses doing here? Moses is a mediator between God and Israel. He foreshadows the mediator who is the other part of Jesus. I don't have the amen sign anymore, but that's the amen statement. Jesus is the mediator between God and his people. Jesus, he's the intercessor for all his Christians, for all Christians. So how does God handle our sin? He handles it through Jesus. His finished work. We just talk about it. Oh, magnified his name. All the songs we're talking about Jesus finished work. His life, his death, and his resurrection. That's how God deals with our sin. And so if you don't know God, then you're trying to deal with all your junk by yourself. You eat a deal with it through Christ's blood, or you're going to deal with it with your blood. Because eventually your need will bow, just a matter of time. It will bow. So God is saying through his eminence, he sent Christ's Emmanuel to be the propitiation for all of our sins. Because if our sin dead could have been handled through any other means, then Christ dies death was pointless. If I could get to heaven by being a good person, by being a good southern Christian who go to church, pay my taxes, and in both a certain way, then if I could do all those things, and if that got me into heaven, then why did you have to die? Why did he have to die? If we could work our way into glory. His death was pointless. And then some of us who have been Christians for a long time, you got to remind yourself, you ain't building no resume. If you're a Christian ministry or you serve it in the church, then it gives you more favor with God. You already have his favor through his son, can't get any more of it. And so our work, so this acts of worship, not actually trying to earn favor. Their response is to what God has already done in our life and is doing in our life. So Christ had to come, and he died for real sin. And that's the way God deals with the sins of humanity, it's through his son. In Christ, he removes our transgressions from us. We'll forgive them. We bear them no more. They've all been nailed to their old work at Christ, past, present, and the sins you have even committed yet have been nailed to the cross. In Christ, he loves you greatly and steadfastly. He loves you beyond measure. God demonstrated his love for us. And while we were sinners, Christ died for us. I think one of the things with being a Christian in the Bible about, we think God should be grateful that we're on his side. He ain't not grateful that we're on his side. We were his enemy. And another thing is you think he's impressed without theological knowledge, Satan got theological knowledge, he a theologian, but he can't do it, they ain't with it. But he won't bow down. Do you know him at the end of the day? Or are you growing in relationship with him at the end of the day? Do you know him in faith? Or are you just here now? Have you really, really surrendered to everything? Do you know who you are? Do you tell yourself I'm a beloved son or do you tell yourself I'm a filthy nasty sinner? Which one do you tell yourself I'm a beloved son or daughter who struggles with sin? What do you tell yourself about yourself? In your union with Christ, who are you? Who am I? For as high as the heavens or above the earth, so great that his staff has longed towards those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his kids, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. And those who fear him are his beloved. This week I went home to Swainsborough, to the great state of Georgia, to visit my mom and grandmother and everybody. And when me and my siblings were over to my mom's house, she said she recently got my granddad's photo album booth. Then her aunt had it all these years, and she finally got the photo album of my grandpa, that's Tommy Sutton. That's my granddad's name, he was a veteran, served in the army, he was a banker in New York, and sadly he was killed when I was younger. So I never really had a chance to do life with him. But in this photo album, I got a chance to see no pictures of him when he was younger, when he was in the military, and when he moved no images of him in New York, and pictures of my sisters and my great grandmother. So it's like giving me all these goosebumps because like ma'am, I never really knew him, but when I closed the album I felt like, man, I kind of felt close to my granddad because I saw all those images. God has a photo album of each of you in heaven. Each of you have your own photo album in heaven, and in that photo album, God has images, he's building images of your whole life. There's your own album, there's your album, your birth, your highs and your lows, your joys and your pains, your successes and your failures, all those moments are in that photo album. And so in this photo album, I want to think it's in a heavenly library, in a heavenly library, filled with thousands of photo albums of all the Christians in the world, passing, passing in prison. And so as you enter and exit this heavenly library, there's a powerful phrase that looms above the doors of this library. And you know what that phrase is, for he knows their frame, he remembers their own God. For he knows their frame, and he remembers that they don't dance. So David started this song by saying we need to remember these things about God, and right here he is saying this is what God remembers about. That you're not going to be perfect, that you're never going to have it all together, that you're going to make mistakes, you're going to have highs and lows, you're going to have good days and bad days. Not going to be the perfect spouse or the perfect parent or the perfect girlfriend, the perfect boyfriend, the perfect student, the great athlete, you're going to have these hard times in your life. And he looks at that and says, I know their frame, I remember they are just this way. Father, you, every time I open up the scriptures, Lorda, you just constantly amazed me about who you are. That no matter how much I write, study, I'm never going to be able to completely comprehend me. And I'm grateful for that. There's so much more in these stories and these verses that I didn't see. I preached it some years ago. I didn't see all this stuff the first time. But Lorda, that's the way the word works. That's the way the spirit works. I pray as we go out this week that the spirit will help us to be able to write down again the ways in which you're blessing. Help us to write down verses that we want to be able to pull up when we have in one of those moments in life to remind us of who you are and who we are in you. I pray that we will be intentional about our own spiritual wellbeing and that we will be proactive in taking care of what we allow inside of our hearts and inside of our mind. And I pray Holy Spirit, you would do this. For our good, for the glory of our Lord and Savior, it's in His name that I pray. Since we stand, as we please, as we close our service. [Music] In Christ alone, my hope is found. He is the light my strength must call. This cold stone is falling bright. Burning the fiercest cloud in the storm, where heights of land were yet to be. [Music] In Christ alone, who took all of us, born with God in endless faith. It feels from love and light of pain, scored by the ones he came to say. [Music] In Christ alone, who took all of us, born with God in endless faith. He is the death of Christ I am. [Music] In the ground, his body lay, light of the world by darkness. In Christ alone, who took all of us, born with God in endless faith. In Christ alone, who took all of us, born with God in endless faith. In Christ alone, who took all of us, born with God in endless faith. In Christ alone, who took all of us, born with God in endless faith. In Christ alone, who took all of us, born with God in endless faith. In Christ alone, who took all of us, born with God in endless faith. In Christ alone, who took all of us, born with God in endless faith. In Christ alone, who took all of us, born with God in endless faith. In Christ alone, who took all of us, born with God in endless faith. In Christ alone, who took all of us, born with God in endless faith. In Christ alone, who took all of us, born with God in endless faith. In Christ alone, who took all of us, born with God in endless faith.
Welcome to The Village Church, where broken people come together to embrace and extend Christ's love.