25-1005a Transcript

(3:10) Good to see you all. I’m glad to be here.

I look forward to this moment. (3:16) The subject of my lesson is to worship God, praise God in all of our lives. (3:24) And that’s the reason why we’re here today.

We are here to worship God and to praise him and to (3:30) lift him up in songs, hymns, and spiritual songs. We’ve come to really appreciate the fact that he (3:38) loves us and he cares for us in such a manner that we’re able to come to him through his son Jesus, (3:44) who makes it possible for us to approach him. And Jesus is able to present us before (3:50) God without spot, without blemish.

As we have come to Jesus as our savior, (3:58) and we have come to Jesus as our high priest. Jesus is interceding for us. He’s at the right (4:05) hand side of God, and he’s interceding for us, and he’s pleading for us, and he’s praying for us.

(4:11) And he’s told us that anything that we ask in his name, he will present before God. (4:19) And so we’ve come to worship God, and we’re worshiping God through Jesus. (4:24) And it’s what we’ve made observation this morning.

We’ve recognized that Jesus' death, (4:30) burial, and resurrection, the sacrifice that he made and he gave on our behalf. His sacrifice (4:37) takes care of our sins and presents us before God. And we’ve been reconciled to God through Jesus.

(4:44) We need to recognize God and to worship God in every way. And I’m pretty sure that those of (4:52) you who are here this morning do not come here just for this day to worship God. In your lives, (4:59) you wake up perhaps every morning thanking God for the day, praying that God would be with you, (5:06) and praying that God would bless you.

And I’m sure that that is the case. And that’s the case (5:13) that God wants us. God wants us to be praising him, lifting him up in all of our ways, and every day (5:22) being God-conscious throughout the day, living our lives in a righteous way, (5:27) living our lives righteously.

And that’s one of the things that is so important. (5:32) So I’d like for us to focus in on God. I’d like for us to focus about who it is that we’re (5:38) worshiping and why we’re worshiping him.

If you had never really stopped to think about it, (5:46) we are living on a planet, a planet that God created. And he created before he even created (5:54) us. He created the planet and he made it in such a way that in the seven days that he created, (6:03) the six days he created and the seventh day he rested, he made the earth in such a way, (6:09) before he put man on it, to sustain man, to make sure that man would be able to live on the earth.

(6:17) And the earth provides for you and me everything that we need. And God is making sure that that is (6:25) the case all the time, not just occasionally, but he’s making sure seven days a week (6:33) 24 hours a day, seven days a week. He’s making sure that you and I have the things we need (6:40) to sustain our lives.

He’s making sure that he not only is looking after you and me, but he’s (6:49) looking after the animals. He’s looking after the creatures that he created. He’s looking after and (6:55) providing for them and making sure that they can reproduce themselves.

And we know that he made (7:02) sure that the crops can reproduce themselves, the trees reproduce themselves, the animals (7:07) reproduce themselves, and you and I can reproduce ourselves also. And so we’re not going to be (7:16) lacking in anything as far as God is concerned. And he made a promise to mankind, especially (7:24) after the flood.

When he brought Noah out of the ark, he placed a rainbow in the sky as a promise, (7:34) as a token for us to look at. And every time that we see the rainbow in the sky, (7:39) we are to be reminded that God has promised us that he will never destroy the world again, (7:45) like he did in those days with the flood, that we will always have seasons. We will always have (7:51) the things that we need to have.

There will always be growth and produce and the various things you (7:59) and I require. He looks after us in so many different ways. And there’s one way that I (8:06) like to use and I always refer you to it, and that is God’s divine intervention, (8:11) providence and preservation.

We need to be continually aware of that. And of course, (8:18) the psalm that was read in our hearing, Psalm 148, helps us to realize we are to praise God, (8:27) praise God in every aspect of our lives, regardless of what we’re experiencing at the time. (8:34) God is going to help us get through it.

I’d like to read Psalms 22. And if you have (8:40) a Bible present, I’m going to be reading from the New International Version. (8:45) And I’d like to read the whole psalm and perhaps make a comment or two as we go through it.

(8:53) The very first part of it is where we’re reflected and reminiscing of the fact that (9:01) Jesus quoted this while he was on the cross, the very first part of the psalm. (9:08) My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Isn’t that something? Many times we get into a situation (9:17) and predicament that we think that we’re in it all by ourselves. God is not protecting us.

God (9:24) is not aware of the fact that we need him. God is off somewhere else looking after somebody else. (9:31) But the psalmist wants us to realize that God is looking after each person.

And I don’t care (9:40) whether he’s a Christian or not. The rain falls on the just and the unjust. And he’s looking after (9:47) the Christian for a special way, and he’s looking after the non-Christian in a very special way too.

(9:56) So he says, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, (10:02) so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, (10:11) by night, but I find no rest. Yet, and he recognizes the importance, yet you are enthroned (10:26) as the Holy One. You are the one Israel praises.

In you our ancestors put their trust. They trusted (10:36) and you delivered them. To you they cried out and were saved.

In you they trusted and were not put (10:45) to shame. And so the psalmist is reflecting upon the days that Israel came out of Egypt, (10:52) where they had been enslaved. And that he took care of them, and he fed them in the wilderness.

(10:59) And I believe that that’s probably one of the reasons why Psalms 23 is written, (11:05) The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He leadeth me by still waters. And you know the Psalm (11:13) 23, and you know it by heart.

I’m sure you do. And so he goes on, and he’s talking about, and he’s (11:20) reminiscing about how God made sure that they got safely into the promised land, and that they were (11:27) able to subdue all of the heathens that were in the promised land, and that God made sure that they (11:33) were able to settle there and take over the lands, and that they were able to reap plants and crops (11:40) that they did not plant, and they were able to harvest them, and so on. So he’s reflecting upon (11:48) that.

But he says in verse 6, I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people, (11:57) all who see me mock me. They hurl insults, shaking their heads. He trusts in the Lord, they say.

(12:04) Let the Lord rescue him, and let him deliver him, since he delights in him. And those are the (12:12) comments that were being made by the crowd while Jesus was hanging on the cross. And he says he (12:20) trusts in God.

Let God come down and take him off the cross. Well you and I trust in God, and there (12:26) are times when they’re mocking us. There are times when we feel that we are by ourselves.

And so (12:35) we’re trusting in God, and we’re going to pray that God will rescue us. Let him deliver him, (12:44) since he delights in him. And yet you brought me out of the womb.

Notice this now. Notice this (12:53) phrase. I love this phrase.

You brought me out of the womb. You made me trust in you, even at my (13:03) mother’s breast. From birth, I was cast on you.

From my mother’s womb, you have been my God. (13:14) What’s he saying there? He’s saying that God started looking after you when you were born. (13:29) He looked after your well-being.

He made sure that you were being taken care of. (13:36) He made sure that you were weaned. He made sure that you were being properly taken care of.

(13:49) It was God working in your life. But yet we have different concepts, don’t we? We have (13:58) different perceptions about life. But God is looking after each one, and he has looked after (14:07) each one of us from the day we were conceived, and he’ll continue to look after us.

He looks after us. (14:21) You brought me out of the womb. You made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.

From birth, (14:28) I was cast on you. From my mother’s womb, you have been my God. Do not be far from me, (14:36) for trouble is near, and there is no one to help.

Many bulls surround me, strong bulls of Bashan (14:44) encircle me. Roaring lions that tear their prey open their mouths wide against me. I am poured (14:51) out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.

My heart has turned to wax. It has melted within (14:59) me. My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.

You lay me (15:06) in the dust of death. Isn’t there times when we feel that desperate, that despaired? We both have (15:17) to. Dogs surround me.

A pack of villains encircle me. They pierce my hands and my feet. All my bones (15:24) are on display.

People stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots (15:31) for my garment. And of course, that’s what they did in Jesus' day when he was on the cross.

(15:37) But you, Lord, do not be far from me. You are my strength. Come quickly to help me.

(15:44) Deliver me from the sword. My precious life from the power of the dogs. Rescue me from the mouth (15:50) of the lions.

Save me from the horns of the wild oxen. I will declare your name to my people (15:56) in the assembly. I will praise you.

You who fear the Lord, praise him. What is he suggesting that (16:04) we do? Recognize God’s hand in our lives. Recognize how he’s divinely intervening in our (16:11) lives.

Recognize how he’s prepared for us and preserving us. And when we recognize the fact (16:20) that the hand of God is in our lives, let other people know it. Let people know that you are (16:29) resting in God’s care.

Let people know that you trust God and that he’s looking after you. (16:39) Let them know. There are times, and I haven’t lived to be this old without some experiences (16:46) in this area, and I can tell you, just like I have lost my job, I have lost several jobs along the (16:56) way.

But I stand before you. Do you see someone who’s hungry, unfed? God has promised that he (17:09) will look after the Christian. No one in his sight will go hungry.

So let’s let God, let’s (17:30) let him look after us. Let him look after us. Let him look after us.

Let him look after us. (18:00) Realize that there is a God and that he looks after us and he divinely intervenes in our lives (18:05) and he provides for us. And he wants us to recognize that every day, 24 hours a day, (18:14) he wants us to be God conscious of the fact that he is looking after us and that this earth is (18:19) not without God and without him holding it in place.

We know that the earth was formed by Jesus (18:27) and by God, and by their power, their mouth, the earth is holding together. We don’t have to worry (18:36) about whether or not some bomb is going to set off a catalyst and then destroy the world. We don’t (18:44) have to worry about those things.

God is providing for us. Yes, we do deplete things from time to (18:54) time, but we find things in its place. Can you imagine living like Adam and Eve did? (19:02) Could Adam and Eve ever conceive that you and I are living the way we are? And yet, (19:11) if we are permitted to live another day, the people who will replace us will be living in a (19:19) different atmosphere, a different lifestyle than what we’re already living in, and conceivable in (19:28) that.

Can they conceive that? But yet, you and I are leaving a heritage for our children, (19:38) and they’re going to build on it, and they’re going to do better, and they’re going to do best. (19:44) So I will declare your name to my people in the assembly. I will praise you, (19:49) you who fear the Lord.

Praise him, all you descendants of Jacob. Honor him. Revere him, (19:56) all you descendants of Israel, for he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted (20:04) one.

He has not hidden his face from him, but has listened to his cry for help. From you comes the (20:13) theme of my praise in the great assembly before those who fear you. I will fulfill my vows.

The (20:20) poor will eat and be satisfied. Those who seek the Lord will praise him. May your heart live forever.

(20:29) Notice what he’s saying. We can anticipate. All the ends of the earth will remember and turn (20:36) to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs (20:43) to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.

All the rich of the earth will feast and worship. (20:49) All who go down to the dust will kneel before him. Those who cannot keep themselves alive, (20:55) prosperity will serve him.

Future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim (21:02) his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn, he has done it. Let us reflect upon (21:13) the worship of God.

Let us know that God is working in our lives, has always worked from (21:21) day one, and is looking after us and meeting our needs before we even ask of it. There’s three (21:28) passages that I’d like for us to take a look at real quick, and then the lesson will be yours. (21:35) The first one is found in Acts, the 17th chapter.

I like this chapter because Paul talks to us about (21:45) who this unknown God is. We know that Paul is in Athens, and he’s waiting for his fellow (21:54) Christians to come and to meet him. And while he’s waiting for them, he’s walking through, (22:01) and he sees all these statues to various gods, and then he sees a statue that is made to the (22:10) unknown God, and he wants us to recognize this unknown God.

And the Athenians have been listening (22:18) to Paul talk, and talk about Jesus, and talk about the resurrection, and talk about the various other (22:24) things, and so they want to hear about it. They want him, they’ve invited him to come to the (22:29) Hieraklophos so that they could listen to what he has to say and tell them. And so Paul stands up in (22:38) verse 22 of the 17th chapter.

Paul stands up in the meeting of the Hieraklophos and says, (22:45) people of Athens, I see that in every way you are very religious, for as I walked around and (22:52) looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription (22:59) to an unknown God. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship, and this is what I am (23:07) going to proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven (23:15) and earth, and does not live in temples built by human hands.

So he’s telling them about this (23:22) unknown God that they ignorantly are worshiping. Verse 25, and he is not served by human hands (23:31) as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.

(23:40) From one man he made all the nations that they should inhabit the whole earth, and he marked (23:47) out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. What is he telling (23:53) them? He’s saying that God made sure that through Noah’s descendants, Ham, Shem, and Japheth, (24:02) those three sons of theirs populated the world. And that as they populated the world, he made (24:10) sure that some were living in Africa.

He made sure that some were living in Germany. He made sure (24:15) some were living in Bolivia and South America. He made sure that some were living in the United (24:20) States.

He made them, he gave them that opportunity to live there. He directed them there. You and I (24:30) are living where God wants us to live, and we’re existing the way God wants us to exist.

(24:39) So it’s not by accident that the world was populated the way it is. It’s not by accident. (24:47) So, he goes on and he talks about it.

Verse 27, God did this. Why? So that they would seek him (24:56) and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. (25:04) For in him we live and move and have our being.

Divine intervention, providence, and preservation. (25:11) In him we move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, we are his offspring.

(25:20) So you can read the balance of that. That’s the part I’d love to point out, (25:26) is that we’re not here by accident, and we’re not here by choice. (25:32) We’re here because God wants us to be here.

Ever stop and think of that? (25:41) It’s not because we wanted to be here. It’s because God wants us to be here. (25:48) And you’re living here because God wants you to be living here.

And why are you in this? And why (25:53) is he blessing you the way he’s blessing you? So that you might reach out and seek him and find him, (25:59) for he is not far. He wants us to look for him. So, when we have national disasters, (26:07) when we have layoffs, and when we have all these various other things that exempt them, (26:12) like COVID and so on, what happens? The individuals start realizing that they are not in this (26:19) and have control over their own lives.

They don’t! We don’t! He wants us to seek God. (26:29) He wants us to look after him. And he will meet our needs.

Isn’t that what Jesus teaches in (26:37) Matthew 6? Take a look at it, just to refresh your memory. We’ll go to Matthew 6, which is (26:44) the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus is talking to them about what they need to be concerned about. (26:55) I’ve got to get to 6 first, starting with verse 25.

He really means this. He’s not just (27:12) clapping his gums to hear himself talk. Jesus is wanting us to realize that we are not in this world (27:21) for our own selves and our own good.

Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, (27:30) what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. It’s not life more than food (27:36) and the body more than clothes. Look at the birds of the air.

They do not sow or reap or store away (27:42) in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? (27:51) Can anyone of you, by worrying, add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? (28:04) See how the flowers of the field grow? They do not labor or spend, yet I tell you that (28:09) not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like these. If that is how God clothes the grass (28:16) of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more (28:22) clothe you, you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, what shall we eat or what shall we drink (28:30) or what shall we wear? For the pagans run after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows (28:38) that you need them.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be (28:45) given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. (28:52) Each day has enough trouble of its own.

And I’d like to bring to your attention (29:00) Paul. Paul fell into a problem that he realized that he needed to tell us about. In 2 Corinthians, (29:17) the first chapter, he and his disciples are traveling through Corinth.

And as they’re (29:27) traveling, they run across some problems, conditions that they’re not able to really (29:34) deal with. They don’t know exactly what it all entails, but he tells us he was so concerned about (29:46) what he was facing that he was thinking he was going to die. He picks up with verse 8. (29:57) We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles (30:02) we experienced in the province of Asia.

We were under great pressure. Use your imagination. What (30:10) kind of pressure is he talking about? We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to (30:16) endure, so that we despaired of life itself.

They were so afraid that they were going to die. (30:23) Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. Paul says we experienced that because (30:34) God wanted us to experience it.

He wanted us to understand that he’s in control. (30:45) We felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened, verse 9, but this happened (30:53) that we might not rely on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead.

He has delivered us from such (31:04) a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that we will continue (31:12) to deliver. He will continue to deliver us.

As you help us by your prayers, then many will give (31:20) thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many. (31:29) Paul wrote to them and told them about this because he wanted you to know, he wanted us to know, (31:37) God is with us, regardless. Flip into the fourth chapter, and this is the last passage.

(31:55) Flip into the fourth chapter, starting with verse 10, reading it still in the New International (32:10) Version. I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. (32:21) In other words, the Philippians, at one time or another, was helping him by donations.

They were (32:32) sending him money to help him preach and to be a missionary. And for some reason or other, (32:39) they quit doing it. They dropped out.

Nothing uncommon. It happens even today. (32:47) We send missionaries off to other countries with the promise that we will look after them, (32:53) but then something comes up and usually happens that we have to quit.

(33:00) We have to renege on our promise. Other Philippians renege on their promise, (33:06) but all of a sudden, they’re able to pick it up again. So he’s rejoicing greatly in the Lord (33:12) that at last you renewed your concern for me.

Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no (33:18) opportunity to show it. I’m not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned, (33:25) notice what Paul said now, with his life experience. I don’t know.

I think he lived (33:32) to be around 64, somewhere in that area in his life. He probably is around 56, 57 when he’s (33:39) writing this letter. So he’s had some life experience, and he’s learned, and he’s telling us, (33:48) I’m not saying it’s because I’m in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the (33:53) circumstances.

I know what it is to be in need. I know what it is to have plenty. (34:03) I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.

(34:11) Oh, that’s something to learn. Can you be content? Are you content now? (34:20) What’s stopping you from being content if you’re not? It’s something we have to learn. (34:28) It’s something that we have to experience.

And Paul says, I have learned to be content. (34:37) I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need.

(34:44) I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every (34:53) situation, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this (35:04) through him who gives me strength.

First, we recognize that I can do all things through him (35:11) who gives me strength, huh? And we can, too. Paul wants us to know that, because who gives us the (35:21) strength? Who assures us he’s looking after us? We put our trust in God, 100 percent in God. (35:38) But you know, I feel mankind, the ones who are not in our assembly this day, (35:46) they find that hard to think in terms that there’s a God.

They think it all lies on them. (35:57) They think that it’s all based on their, well, their efforts and their energies, (36:04) as the old phrase is, pulling themselves up by their own bootstraps. (36:10) But that’s not the case.

There’s not a day that goes by about God is not in your life. Praise God (36:24) every waking moment that you have. Praise God whenever you have the opportunity to think and (36:29) dwell upon it.

Be God-conscious. You say, I’m not in relationship with God. I don’t have that.

(36:43) Well, that’s not God’s fault. God is reaching out, and he wants us all to recognize the fact (36:51) that we can come to him and that we can pray to him. But there’s stipulations, (36:59) and the stipulation is he wants us to come to him through Jesus, and he wants our sins (37:06) that separate us from him to be washed away.

And that’s the reason why he wants us to come to him (37:14) through Jesus. And that’s why we have come together this morning to worship God and to (37:21) recognize what God has done for us and is doing and will do for us. And he’s done it through Jesus, (37:27) and he’s authorized Jesus to become our high priest.

And Jesus will represent us if we become (37:37) a disciple of his. And Jesus has a stipulation placed on what it takes to become a disciple of (37:45) his. That stipulation is, know ye in the law of the world, making disciples of me, (37:54) baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

That’s the stipulation. (38:02) It’s not God’s fault if you’re not in covenant relationship with him. He’s reaching out to (38:08) every mankind.

There is not a soul that he will not forgive. Not a soul. If there’s anyone here (38:22) that is not in the covenant relationship with God, those are the stipulations.

And it’s only (38:30) up to you to meet them. And if you would like to meet them, we’d be more than happy to assist you, (38:38) because the water’s ready. We have garments to assist you so that you don’t have to (38:44) worry about what you’re going to wear home.

We’ll assist you in any way we can (38:52) to help you become a disciple of Jesus and to know God as your Father and your Son, as your Father. (39:01) If you’re here and need the prayers of the congregation for any reason, (39:05) we’d like to extend to you that opportunity while together we stand and sing Psalm of Encouragement.