back to index2021-09-12 Proper Response to God's Grace Pt 3
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If you can turn your Bibles with me to Hebrews chapter 12, we're going to be finishing up 00:00:09.760 |
Hebrews chapter 12 verses 25 through 29, and our focus this morning is going to be on verse 00:00:17.840 |
Hebrews chapter 12 verses 25 through 29, I'm going to be reading out of the NASB. 00:00:25.120 |
See to it that you do not refuse him who is speaking, for if those did not escape when 00:00:30.080 |
they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from 00:00:38.200 |
And his voice shook the earth then, but now he has promised, saying, Yet once more I will 00:00:41.880 |
shake not only the earth, but also the heaven. 00:00:45.160 |
This expression, yet once more, denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken 00:00:49.160 |
as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 00:00:53.600 |
Therefore since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude by 00:00:58.000 |
which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming 00:01:06.280 |
Heavenly Father, we pray that your word would be open to us, speak to us, convict us, reveal 00:01:16.000 |
the things in our hearts and our lives, Lord God, that we may truly be able to give you 00:01:28.600 |
As most of you guys know, yesterday we celebrated as a country the 20th year anniversary or 00:01:38.240 |
Some of you may remember exactly what happened that day. 00:01:41.600 |
Some of you may have been a bit too young for you to remember. 00:01:45.480 |
It's just kind of a news to you, but those of you who remember, and I remember very specifically, 00:01:50.400 |
I was in my house in Corona early in the morning and I got a phone call from one of my former 00:01:55.840 |
students, high school students, and she was so distraught. 00:02:00.920 |
And it was so strange because it was like 7 or 7/20 and she was telling me that a plane 00:02:07.120 |
hit the tower and it was just confusing, we don't know what to do. 00:02:12.240 |
And I remember turning on the TV and the plane that hit it. 00:02:16.040 |
And no one knew exactly what was going on, that at the minimum it looked like a horrific 00:02:22.340 |
And then while the TV was on, we saw the second plane go into the second building and immediately 00:02:33.560 |
And then there was news that another plane hit the Pentagon, another one was headed toward 00:02:41.600 |
And we remember very specifically thinking that we're at war. 00:02:47.000 |
We didn't know it was going to be just the planes, is there going to be an actual, you 00:02:52.080 |
know, soldiers coming into the United States, is there going to be a nuclear bomb going 00:02:56.440 |
And so there was a period of terror, literally, and so all the airplanes, so whoever was on 00:03:04.120 |
in the sky flying, they just landed wherever they were at and then they were stranded for 00:03:09.520 |
So all this security checks and stuff that we have to go through now has been implemented 00:03:17.600 |
And again, you may remember years ago, we were able to go into Canada and Mexico without 00:03:23.200 |
We would just kind of go in with our driver's license, come back. 00:03:26.240 |
Then after that, they changed the law so that now we have to have a passport because they 00:03:29.840 |
wanted to be a bit more careful with the border control. 00:03:37.880 |
And so I remember very specifically the mantra of that time is, "We will never forget that 00:03:45.800 |
And for the first time, at least in the history of the United States that I remember, again, 00:03:50.840 |
you know, prior to Pearl Harbor, where American land was literally attacked, and we knew that 00:03:57.120 |
there were terrorists outside of the borders of the United States, but the fact that they 00:04:00.440 |
were able to come into this country and kill senselessly almost 3,000 people kind of gave 00:04:09.800 |
it reality that if these people had their hands in a nuclear bomb, they wouldn't hesitate 00:04:17.360 |
And so that fear caused everybody in the United States to come together. 00:04:23.640 |
And I remember very specifically that Republicans and Democrats, at least from what I remember, 00:04:29.920 |
they've never really got along, you know, but nothing like it is today. 00:04:33.640 |
But even back then, they were constantly bickering. 00:04:36.000 |
And I remember very specifically in Capitol Hill, they stood arm to arm saying that, "We're 00:04:42.160 |
at war with these terrorists and that you've attacked us, so now we're going to war." 00:04:47.760 |
And that's what started all this war in Afghanistan and then into Iraq and war against terrorism. 00:04:53.000 |
But again, I remember the very specific mantra, "We will never forget." 00:04:58.860 |
I think most of us will agree that we have forgotten, right? 00:05:05.280 |
And so every year when there's a commemoration, obviously it was the 20th year, so it was 00:05:13.560 |
But the reason why I say all of this is because that particular event caused people who went 00:05:18.360 |
through that and saw that, caused us to see the world differently. 00:05:23.520 |
That this wasn't the same United States that prior to 9/11, you know, how we felt before 00:05:32.320 |
And it wasn't because evil was created by 9/11. 00:05:36.440 |
It just kind of reminded us there are people who are willing to do that if you give them 00:05:41.360 |
So we need to be constantly vigilant and be ready. 00:05:45.120 |
I say all of this because the Bible tells us that not just there's a physical war going 00:05:50.920 |
on, he says we have an enemy who's the devil, who's like a roaring lion seeking someone 00:05:57.840 |
And Paul says in Galatians or Ephesians that we are in this spiritual battle constantly 00:06:05.960 |
And the moment that we forget that and we relax, that's when we are the most vulnerable. 00:06:11.660 |
And we need to recognize the Bible clearly tells us that we're just passing through. 00:06:18.860 |
However great, however peaceful, however great the economy may be, this is all going to pass 00:06:25.320 |
And that Christ is going to come in his full glory and judgment is going to come with him 00:06:30.200 |
and he's going to shake the earth and only those that remain he will be with in eternity. 00:06:37.440 |
I remember again back then after 9/11 a few months, maybe about six, seven months afterwards, 00:06:43.480 |
I was on campus at UCI and I was sharing the gospel and I met this young man and I started 00:06:51.640 |
And his immediate response, and this was a common response from a lot of non-Christians 00:06:55.200 |
at that time, "How can I believe in your God when you say he is so loving? 00:07:05.300 |
And it wasn't, he was not the only person that said that. 00:07:08.320 |
Anytime we would try to share the gospel that you probably have heard that too. 00:07:11.720 |
If your God is so loving, why would he allow so much suffering in the world? 00:07:15.200 |
And at that particular time because the whole world was shaken up by what happened, how 00:07:22.840 |
So I remember spending about 15 minutes trying to explain to him, the God or the gospel that 00:07:31.240 |
In fact, the Bible does not start out by telling us how much he loves us. 00:07:36.080 |
The Bible actually starts out by telling us how angry he is with the sinful world. 00:07:42.320 |
He says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 00:07:44.400 |
Wrath of God is being revealed against all unrighteousness." 00:07:48.120 |
And as a result of that, if we die in our natural state that we're going to meet this 00:07:52.240 |
holy God, then there's eternal judgment waiting. 00:07:54.760 |
And so however tragic that may be or even more tragic things that you may have seen, 00:08:00.880 |
the Bible says that's just a glimpse of what it means to live in this fallen world. 00:08:05.320 |
And the judgment that's coming is going to be far more terrifying than anything that 00:08:12.280 |
The Bible tells us that that's the state that mankind is in. 00:08:17.440 |
But the gospel comes in, the good news is that despite that, that God sent his only 00:08:21.520 |
begotten son and absorbed the wrath that you and I deserved upon the body of Jesus Christ. 00:08:28.740 |
And he offers us that if we confess our sins, that he is faithful and just to forgive us 00:08:34.520 |
of all our unrighteousness, that he will absorb that sin and give us eternal life and make 00:08:41.960 |
But when we understand the grace of God outside of the context of God's wrath, that question 00:08:51.240 |
If he loves us so much, why did he create hell? 00:08:54.880 |
If he loves us so much, why does 9/11 happen? 00:08:57.440 |
If he loves us so much, why are there so many people suffering? 00:09:04.880 |
We have preached the gospel in fear of how people would respond and as a result of that 00:09:12.520 |
watered down the message of the cross to the point where it no longer makes logical sense. 00:09:19.940 |
And in the church we repeat it to each other so many times and it makes sense to us, but 00:09:24.360 |
as soon as we go out on the street, we start challenging people and they start pushing 00:09:28.360 |
We say, "Oh yeah, I never thought about that." 00:09:30.880 |
But the problem is the majority of the people in the church never engage in the non-Christian 00:09:34.640 |
world so you don't know what kind of holes you have in your logic. 00:09:41.600 |
God is not universally, unconditionally satisfied with mankind. 00:09:49.920 |
If we don't understand this, the gospel itself does not make sense. 00:09:54.120 |
That's why even in the text that we're looking at, after explaining the grace of God to us, 00:09:58.820 |
that we're not going to Mount Sinai, but we're headed to Mount Zion where there's a celebration 00:10:03.080 |
of angels and multitudes gathered together to worship him, he concludes that section 00:10:13.500 |
If those who refused him, who spoke from earth, had serious consequences, how much more if 00:10:21.180 |
you refuse him who's speaking from heaven, who will shake not only the earth, but the 00:10:25.420 |
heavens itself, that he will come and he will shake all things and bring judgment, how much 00:10:31.300 |
more if we refuse him and just kind of nonchalantly continue to neglect and to just drift away 00:10:39.420 |
So the proper response to grace that we were looking at is that we do not refuse him. 00:10:47.820 |
We understand the grace that we have in Christ. 00:10:51.340 |
And secondly, that we live for things that are not shakable. 00:10:56.280 |
And then thirdly, the proper response to this grace is gratitude. 00:11:02.900 |
In verse 28, it says, "Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, 00:11:12.020 |
So what I want to look at this morning is in this text, it says, "What is the gratitude 00:11:18.620 |
It says clearly here, "Christian gratitude is not based on circumstance. 00:11:24.380 |
It's not based upon material blessings that come and go. 00:11:32.420 |
It's not based upon a good relationship, your business doing well." 00:11:36.860 |
See, the world knows how to be gracious and to have thanksgiving. 00:11:44.180 |
And so usually during thanksgiving, when you say, "Well, what are you thankful for?" 00:11:47.260 |
"Oh, I'm thankful for this new house that we bought. 00:11:50.260 |
I thank you for my children who just got all As. 00:11:53.740 |
I thank you for this stock that I invested in. 00:11:59.100 |
I thank you for God answering my prayer who, you know, my brother, sister, mother, dad 00:12:06.420 |
And so if we're not careful, our attitude of gratitude is no different than the rest 00:12:13.700 |
But he said, "Christian gratitude is based upon receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken." 00:12:25.540 |
For one period it's true and one period it's not. 00:12:28.220 |
He said, "Our gratitude is based upon a kingdom that cannot be shaken." 00:12:32.340 |
Daniel 2, 244, it says, "In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom 00:12:41.380 |
And that kingdom will not be left for another people. 00:12:43.860 |
It will crush and put an end of all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever." 00:12:51.340 |
How much confidence do we put in the United States, in any kingdom? 00:12:59.100 |
No, Christian gratitude is based upon things that are eternal, His kingdom. 00:13:04.220 |
Hebrews 1, 8 it says, "But of the Son, He says, 'Your throne, O God, is forever and 00:13:07.980 |
ever, and the righteous scepter is of His kingdom.'" 00:13:11.420 |
I mean, right now there's just so much uncertainty. 00:13:23.860 |
How can the stock market keep going up the way it is right now? 00:13:26.380 |
So everybody's predicting maybe the economy's going to crash. 00:13:30.260 |
Are the Republicans and Democrats ever going to be able to come together? 00:13:33.380 |
I mean, the chasm between the two, it seems so far out that the logical conclusion to 00:13:43.380 |
So is the United States going to be able to come together at some point? 00:13:51.100 |
There's a lot of things that are more personal to you, your family, your health, your school, 00:14:02.340 |
And our emotion, if our hope is attached to these things, will go up and down, up and 00:14:09.700 |
down based upon the local news, based upon your stock market, based upon your health 00:14:18.780 |
But he says here, the natural response, the correct response to God's grace is gratitude. 00:14:29.540 |
In Isaiah 40, 28-31, it says, "Do you not know, have you not heard? 00:14:33.980 |
The everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, does not become 00:14:41.860 |
He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might, he increases power. 00:14:46.500 |
Though youth grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait 00:14:58.860 |
It's like, don't do anything, don't move, don't say anything, just stay still. 00:15:02.180 |
Well, the wait for the Lord here is related to the term in John chapter 15 when it says, 00:15:09.660 |
if you want to bear fruit, to remain in me, to be connected to him, to rely on him, to 00:15:17.100 |
So to wait upon the Lord basically means to not to anchor yourself to anything else other 00:15:27.300 |
And those who have anchored their faith, anchored their life, anchored their joy in God, he 00:15:45.300 |
When you read the prophecies of the Old Testament and the New Testament, they are not simple 00:15:54.660 |
God is not in his omniscience, looked way down in history and he saw the unfolding of 00:16:00.460 |
human history and he just wrote it down and said, "Hey, this is what's going to happen." 00:16:06.380 |
That's the way you and I may naturally think, but prophecy in the Bible is basically God 00:16:16.620 |
You see, if you've been in the political circle for any period, you probably lost confidence. 00:16:23.340 |
Those of you who are new to voting and following politics and next politician comes up and 00:16:34.560 |
It's because of this guy, but when I come in, it's going to change. 00:16:43.940 |
All the other countries are going to respect us. 00:16:47.060 |
They make promises like they're Jesus himself, but if you've been in the political circle 00:16:51.940 |
long enough, they say all of these things and some of them may be very sincere, but 00:16:57.820 |
once they get in to the office, every single one of them realize just how daunting this 00:17:06.820 |
They realize that they don't have as much control as they thought. 00:17:09.660 |
The problem seems always simple until you actually try to deal with it. 00:17:19.380 |
If you have a lot of opinions on things that you haven't ever really done yourself, I would 00:17:24.020 |
say be humble because every politician that before they go into office, somebody's like, 00:17:31.540 |
"Just do this, one, two, three, and four, and everything will be great." 00:17:35.280 |
But I think once they go in, they realize it's not as simple as they thought. 00:17:39.040 |
The government is way more dysfunctional than they could possibly imagine. 00:17:43.480 |
You have two groups in power who is actively trying to destroy one another and they say, 00:17:50.120 |
I'm going to be true to it," but it's harder than they think. 00:17:54.680 |
They get in there and their human nature steps in and they're afraid that if they say the 00:18:00.720 |
wrong thing or not do the right thing, then they're not going to be elected for the next 00:18:07.280 |
They work very, very hard to politically stay safe so that they can get elected the next 00:18:15.720 |
Whatever the reason is, whether they deliberately lied or whether they had good intention, once 00:18:20.920 |
they get into power, they realize that they don't have a lot of control, even over themselves. 00:18:27.240 |
I can tell you that next Sunday I'll see you and I guarantee I'm going to be here. 00:18:34.000 |
Now I may fully mean it, but I can't guarantee you because I may get in a car accident today. 00:18:48.280 |
I'm determined today, but tomorrow I wake up and say, "Ah, forget it. 00:18:55.720 |
Anything that is created, anything that man promises is not on solid ground. 00:19:03.840 |
That's why in the book of Titus, the text that we're studying together, it says in verse 00:19:08.440 |
1 and 2, "Paul, a bondservant of God, apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen 00:19:12.840 |
of God and knowledge of the truth which is according to Godliness in hope of eternal 00:19:16.520 |
life which God who cannot lie promised long ages ago." 00:19:22.080 |
That this salvation was given to us by an almighty, omniscient, omnipotent God who cannot 00:19:44.800 |
So if you believe that, anchor yourself to that. 00:19:48.920 |
If you don't believe it, obviously you're not going to anchor yourself. 00:19:52.640 |
And that's what separates believers and unbelievers. 00:19:59.120 |
You can say it, but your life and joy and hope is not really anchored in that. 00:20:05.800 |
Hebrews chapter 6, 17, and 19, it says, "In the same way, God desiring even more to show 00:20:09.920 |
the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of his purpose interposed with an oath, so 00:20:16.640 |
that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie." 00:20:22.000 |
His purpose and what he says cannot be changed because God cannot lie. 00:20:29.760 |
We who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope that's 00:20:35.480 |
Hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast, and one which enters 00:20:43.280 |
Christian gratitude is anchored in this hope. 00:20:47.840 |
Our Thanksgiving isn't something that we try to look up every Thanksgiving time, like, 00:20:54.760 |
I'm thankful for my children, I'm thankful for this weather, I'm thankful for our leadership, 00:21:00.080 |
And we're thankful for all these things that if we're not careful are just temporary. 00:21:07.120 |
Ultimately, the core, the foundation of Christian gratitude is God and his kingdom that is unshakable. 00:21:16.320 |
It will not change, even if the economy crashes. 00:21:19.880 |
Maybe you just bought a house and the housing market tanks. 00:21:23.680 |
Maybe you bought cryptocurrency and it goes to zero. 00:21:27.120 |
Maybe you've been putting money into your retirement and the stock market just tanks. 00:21:33.440 |
Maybe the US government, because communism is rising, is no longer going to be the superpower 00:21:42.840 |
But even if our worst nightmares happen, our anchor is secure in Christ. 00:21:53.080 |
See, in Luke chapter 10, 17 to 20, Jesus sends out the 70 disciples, two by two. 00:22:04.720 |
It says, "The 70 return with joy, saying, 'Lord, even the demons are subject to us 00:22:15.040 |
These are just commoners, fishermen, they weren't people of prominence. 00:22:19.840 |
So the first time they were practically experiencing spiritual power, demons were shaking at their 00:22:30.840 |
"Lord, even the demons are subject to your name." 00:22:35.360 |
And Jesus said to them, "I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 00:22:39.040 |
Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the 00:22:43.360 |
powers of the enemy, and nothing will injure you." 00:22:48.880 |
Imagine if you came to Jesus excited about casting out demons and he says, "Scorpions," 00:22:53.920 |
like all the stuff, the satanic things that he's going to throw at you, "I've given you 00:23:02.520 |
If Jesus said that to me, I would be walking through scorpions just to test this out. 00:23:14.280 |
But he says, "Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, 00:23:20.520 |
but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven." 00:23:32.600 |
God was, Jesus was trying to train them to rely on him, but the rejoicing should not 00:23:38.520 |
be in the fruits of your ministry because they come and they go. 00:23:52.560 |
Whatever that is here, once God shakes things, nothing is permanent. 00:23:58.200 |
And you know, if you've lived any period of time, when you're young, anything good, you 00:24:04.820 |
There's a reason why older people are more jaded, right? 00:24:13.420 |
And so older people are filled with disappointments. 00:24:18.980 |
So you don't see young people who are grizzled. 00:24:25.460 |
You ever see, this is just off tangent for a little bit. 00:24:32.220 |
There's reasons why your parents don't have a lot of friends. 00:24:36.060 |
They had a lot of friends when they were young, just like you. 00:24:42.420 |
They had freshmen gatherings, sophomore, sister appreciation nights, brother appreciation. 00:24:59.700 |
The job that they were promised wasn't given to them. 00:25:07.100 |
And so year after year after year of disappointment, after disappointment, after disappointment, 00:25:12.740 |
and then one day you wake up, it's like, I don't trust anybody. 00:25:15.620 |
And if we're not careful, even when somebody comes to Christ, it's like, well, let's see. 00:25:24.740 |
That's years and years of disappointment from this world, from people, from economy, from 00:25:32.660 |
And he said, that's true because the Bible says don't rejoice over that. 00:25:38.460 |
Because when it gets shaken, all of it will remind you it's temporary. 00:25:43.980 |
The reason why we get grizzled is because we place our confidence in things that we 00:25:48.700 |
He said, rejoice, if you're going to rejoice that your name is recorded in heaven. 00:25:56.420 |
C.S. Lewis in his book Weight of Glory says, "If we consider the unblushing promises of 00:26:01.380 |
reward and the staggering nature of rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that 00:26:05.260 |
our Lord finds our desires not too strong but too weak. 00:26:09.520 |
We are half-hearted creatures fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite 00:26:16.620 |
Like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot 00:26:21.620 |
imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at sea, we are far too easily pleased." 00:26:35.120 |
If the proper response to grace is gratitude because we are receiving a kingdom that cannot 00:26:41.940 |
be shaken, how much of our rejoicing in Christ comes anywhere close to when your sports team 00:27:04.620 |
Because winning a championship in your favorite sports team is the mud pie. 00:27:24.160 |
But it's just, it's not wrong, it's not sinful. 00:27:29.380 |
In relation to our worship before God, when we think of what he has given us, what has 00:27:35.900 |
been sacrificed in order for you and I to be here to worship him, does it even compare? 00:27:45.180 |
In Psalm 1611 it says, "You will make known to me the path of life. 00:27:51.520 |
In your right hand there are pleasures forever." 00:27:55.540 |
If you believe that statement, you will anchor yourself to the statement and live and invest 00:28:04.400 |
Because ultimately the greatest satisfaction, the greatest refuge is found in the unshakable 00:28:12.060 |
Because the king is unshakable, so therefore the kingdom is unshakable. 00:28:21.260 |
Not because my friends love me, not because I have better health, not because economy 00:28:25.780 |
is doing better, not because the right person is in leadership, but because I have a king 00:28:31.220 |
whose rules over a kingdom that cannot be shaken. 00:28:37.680 |
If we understand that, if we embrace that, he said, "Well, what does this gratitude 00:28:42.180 |
Well, he says, "Therefore since we receive the kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us 00:28:46.020 |
show gratitude by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe, 00:28:54.780 |
The grounds in which we have gratitude is an unshakable kingdom. 00:28:59.660 |
But once we have gratitude, he says, "It leads to by which we offer to God an acceptable 00:29:07.300 |
The word for service here is the word "Liturgo." 00:29:11.600 |
So if you've been here for a while, you know that I've given this message probably 00:29:17.740 |
The most prominent word for worship in the Greek is "proskeneo." 00:29:26.380 |
It's kind of a scene of somebody bowing down and kissing the feet of the king because you're 00:29:33.100 |
And that's the most of the times when you see the word worship in the New Testament, 00:29:36.500 |
it's that word proskeneo, prostrated, surrendered, right? 00:29:40.780 |
It's just you are beyond what I can imagine, and that's proskeneo. 00:29:48.420 |
Sabomai basically means to have reverence, internal reverence and awe toward God, right? 00:29:53.260 |
So when the Bible says, "Render more than your garments, but your very hearts," that's 00:29:58.180 |
what he's referring to, that proper adoration ought to be more than just external service. 00:30:03.780 |
The word here, "Liturgo," has an idea of the actual service. 00:30:08.780 |
In the Old Testament, in the Septuagint, the word that was used here to describe the service 00:30:14.360 |
at the temple by the priest was the word "liturgo." 00:30:18.260 |
In the New Testament, that word is described as our Christian living, as an act of worship, 00:30:24.340 |
and that's what's described in Romans 12, verse 1. 00:30:26.840 |
That same word was used here, and it says, "Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies 00:30:30.620 |
of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is 00:30:41.540 |
So if gratitude is what leads to acceptable service, ingratitude is what leads to unacceptable 00:30:58.120 |
So at the core of everything that we do, if it is not an overflow of appreciation of what 00:31:04.020 |
God has done, so therefore, I volunteer to give worship through this way. 00:31:09.740 |
And if you're doing this, "Oh, I got to do this? 00:31:17.820 |
You know, I've been in Bible studies where, I mean, I probably had -- I remember one time 00:31:24.920 |
I was in Bible study in Garden Grove, and I went to somebody's apartment, and I could 00:31:28.780 |
tell not a single person there wanted to be in the Bible study. 00:31:36.300 |
None of you were there, so don't worry, okay? 00:31:44.580 |
Even before we started, get it over with because they had plans to do something. 00:31:50.680 |
And so I'm like opening up the Bible study, and like right off the bat, I'm like, "Oh, 00:31:57.980 |
This next hour and a half is going to be torturous." 00:32:01.100 |
Sure enough, right off the bat, just a glazed look. 00:32:05.340 |
And if I said anything that looked -- sounded like I was going to go a little bit longer 00:32:09.140 |
than -- you know, it's almost like anger in their eyes. 00:32:13.060 |
I could have literally just mumbled for the next 30 minutes, and it would have made a 00:32:19.020 |
And it was just torture, torture for them, torture for me. 00:32:22.700 |
I've given sermons like that at churches where people are flipping through magazines while 00:32:29.340 |
And usually I would try to mix up the sermon and try to get their attention, but I just 00:32:48.180 |
But there's the difference between a worship that is given out of gratitude versus something 00:33:02.020 |
So he says, "It is by this gratitude, recognizing what it is that we have in Christ, is what 00:33:14.860 |
That's why what God wants is a cheerful giver, not just a giver, not just the amount, a cheerful 00:33:24.340 |
In Psalm 104 to 5, "As I enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise, give 00:33:28.900 |
thanks and bless his name, for the Lord is good. 00:33:31.220 |
His loving kindness is everlasting and his faithfulness to all generations." 00:33:37.380 |
In Luke chapter 17, 17 to 19, that's the story that Jesus gives about he meets 10 lepers, 00:33:45.180 |
and then he tells the 10 that they're begging, "Lord, please, please heal us, heal us." 00:33:49.620 |
And Jesus says, "Go, show yourself to the priests at the temple." 00:33:53.380 |
So if you remember the book of Leviticus, it says that in order for the lepers to enter 00:33:58.180 |
back into society, the lepers had to be examined by the priests, and the priests have to give 00:34:03.620 |
a stamp of approval saying that, "Okay, the healing has taken place." 00:34:08.140 |
And once they are approved by the priests, then they're able to come back into worship 00:34:16.420 |
Jesus says to the 10 lepers, "Go and show yourself to the priests," and on their way, 00:34:22.340 |
Nine of them continue to go, and they just disappear. 00:34:25.180 |
One of them, if you remember, he comes back, and he thanks Jesus. 00:34:31.940 |
If you look at verse 17, it says, "Jesus answered and said, 'Were there not 10 cleansed, but 00:34:38.820 |
Was no one found to return to give glory to God except the foreigner?' 00:34:43.260 |
And he said to him, 'Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.'" 00:34:51.500 |
Why does he say to just that one that returned? 00:34:56.660 |
Clearly, he's not talking about just his physical healing. 00:35:01.440 |
His gratitude that he returned back to give God the glory was evidence of true healing. 00:35:11.700 |
Gratitude is the proper response in which we give acceptable worship. 00:35:16.980 |
Isn't that exactly what it says in John 4:23? 00:35:19.380 |
"An hour is coming, and now is when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit 00:35:24.580 |
For such people, the Father seeks to be his worshippers. 00:35:28.440 |
God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." 00:35:39.580 |
He's not looking for the hardest worker or the most experienced. 00:35:43.580 |
He's looking for true worshippers, people who recognize what they have in Christ, people 00:35:50.380 |
who've seen and experienced the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:35:54.960 |
And so all that they do is a response to that. 00:36:15.940 |
In fact, God chose you because you were dumb. 00:36:25.020 |
You guys are all trying to one up each other, trying to be so smart. 00:36:37.660 |
And you're trying to be somebody in the church, and that's what's causing all this division. 00:36:58.260 |
But the primary thing that he's looking for are people who have been affected by this grace. 00:37:08.060 |
And by this gratitude, you serve him and you worship him in spirit and in truth. 00:37:15.860 |
But the greatest struggle that you and I have is the constant, constant distraction from 00:37:25.620 |
John Piper in his book, Hunger for God, we read that as a church. 00:37:30.100 |
He says this, "The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison, but apple pie. 00:37:36.460 |
Is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling 00:37:41.500 |
It is not the X-rated video, but the prime time drivel of triviality we drink in every 00:37:50.140 |
There's a constant distraction that makes the things that are glorious just mundane. 00:38:15.260 |
The word holy literally means to be set apart. 00:38:19.000 |
When we typically think of holy, we think morally holy. 00:38:22.020 |
But the word in itself simply means to be set apart. 00:38:24.900 |
That's why in the Old Testament, God would take a bowl and dedicate it to the temple 00:38:31.580 |
A bowl became holy because it was set apart from that which was common. 00:38:36.340 |
You would take an animal, it was like just hanging around with all the other animals, 00:38:41.180 |
and all of a sudden you set it apart as a sacrifice to God and then it became holy. 00:38:46.380 |
So no one was able to touch that because once it was set apart, it belonged to God. 00:38:56.740 |
So everything that we do that just becomes a habit is no longer holy. 00:39:09.600 |
Worship is not something that we give because you showed up. 00:39:13.520 |
Worship is something that we give because we've been affected by His glory. 00:39:17.880 |
Glory, the word in and of itself, means weighty. 00:39:24.960 |
That when we beheld His glory, we saw something that was very serious. 00:39:35.080 |
So the word holy and the word glory, the word in and of itself, causes us to be set apart 00:39:43.480 |
from everything that is common, everything that is habitual. 00:39:55.240 |
In fact, I have friends who think I'm weird for wearing suits. 00:40:05.320 |
If you've ever met me during the weekday, nine out of ten times I have a black t-shirt 00:40:22.800 |
To me, it's just a waste of time to think about what I'm going to put on. 00:40:26.640 |
So even on Sunday when I put suits on, the only thing that enters my mind is, "What 00:40:32.920 |
That's the only thought that enters my mind when I choose which suit to wear. 00:40:40.000 |
I've had somebody tell me, "Hey man, calm down. 00:40:52.520 |
I don't want the handling of the Word of God to be common. 00:40:57.400 |
I don't want our corporate worship to be no different than when we went to watch a 00:41:10.820 |
We shouldn't walk in here like you walk into any assembly. 00:41:14.960 |
This is a gathering of the ones who have been set apart to worship a holy, holy, holy God. 00:41:26.640 |
And so when we recognize who it is that we worship and His glory affects us and it causes 00:41:33.260 |
us to be grateful and this gratefulness causes me to pursue sanctification, pursue love, 00:41:45.960 |
He is actively looking for people who will worship in spirit and in truth. 00:41:57.280 |
He said, "Okay, His grace affects us in this way." 00:42:02.440 |
But then here He ends it with, "To give an acceptable service with reverence and awe 00:42:09.120 |
That's a weird way to end the response to grace. 00:42:28.920 |
Because we worship in gratitude because He's given us grace in His unshakable kingdom because 00:42:40.440 |
He said we ought to give God our gratitude, acceptable worship because of His grace, because 00:42:47.560 |
Consuming fire in the Bible refers to His judgment, His holiness. 00:42:53.840 |
And almost like, huh, that's a weird way to end that. 00:42:58.240 |
If your understanding of grace of God was outside of the understanding of the wrath 00:43:03.280 |
and the holiness of God, then the natural question that you probably is asking, why 00:43:12.400 |
Why would a loving God cause us to say He's a consuming fire at the end of telling us 00:43:19.920 |
See, His grace and His love must be understood in the context of His wrath and His judgment 00:43:33.520 |
In Philippians 2, 9, 13, it says, "For this reason, after Jesus has humbled Himself and 00:43:39.080 |
was crucified on the cross, for this reason also God highly exalted Him and bestowed on 00:43:44.200 |
Him the name which is above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee will 00:43:48.080 |
bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth and that every tongue 00:43:52.840 |
will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. 00:43:58.160 |
So then, so then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence 00:44:05.000 |
only, but much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. 00:44:11.040 |
For it is God who works in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure." 00:44:17.240 |
I don't know how many conversations I've had with people who said, "That cannot mean this." 00:44:25.520 |
Because it doesn't fit the gospel that they've embraced. 00:44:27.520 |
It doesn't fit the idea that they've created in their own head about who God is. 00:44:31.920 |
Why would He tell New Testament, New Covenant people who have been washed in the blood of 00:44:36.540 |
Christ to work out your salvation in fear and trembling? 00:44:41.920 |
Possibly, the gospel that you have heard was not complete. 00:44:48.360 |
Possibly, the idea that you have of God wasn't complete. 00:44:55.200 |
The grace of God has to be understood in the consuming fire of God. 00:45:01.640 |
And that's why He says, "Considering this grace, do not refuse Him who is speaking from 00:45:06.720 |
heaven because as He shakes the earth and the heavens," and we recognize that at the 00:45:14.040 |
end of this, we have been given a kingdom that cannot be shaken, that by it we give 00:45:21.320 |
Him gratitude, which is the basis of acceptable worship in spirit of awe and reverence because 00:45:36.600 |
Do not take the grace of God for granted or else you will turn the grace of God into cheap 00:45:52.760 |
Again, as our worship team comes, let's take some time to seek the Lord. 00:46:02.360 |
If we have made the things of God common, our walk with God habitual, if the mud pies 00:46:12.240 |
in our life bring more satisfaction than the glory of God, let's take some time to pray 00:46:19.880 |
and ask the Lord, "Lord, search me and know me. 00:46:24.080 |
I want to worship you in spirit and in truth," and ask the Lord's help to remain in it. 00:46:29.200 |
So let's take some time to pray as our worship team leads us.