back to indexBerean Community Church Sunday Service 6/30/24
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This morning, I'd like to read from Psalm 95. 00:04:19.500 |
Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. 00:04:22.820 |
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving. 00:04:48.300 |
For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, 00:09:17.980 |
I have just two announcements for our newer people, 00:09:34.220 |
and it's gonna be across the way in the Youth Chapel, 00:09:48.660 |
So if you're brand new, or you know someone brand new, 00:09:51.900 |
usher them that way, and we'll take good care of them. 00:09:55.660 |
Lunch will be provided, and that's at one o'clock today. 00:10:06.420 |
We explain to you everything that our church is about 00:10:14.100 |
And so that membership class will start July 7th, 00:10:25.580 |
in the Youth Chapel, 9.30, starting next Sunday. 00:10:42.840 |
Our Taiwan missions team will be providing lunch for a fee. 00:10:50.000 |
so that they could raise funds for their trip, 00:10:59.700 |
that there's gonna be a lot of important announcements 00:11:06.280 |
and you're gonna be working with kids at our church 00:11:12.200 |
or down the line, we require you to be safety trained. 00:11:24.140 |
Right now, we're gonna take a time of offering. 00:11:26.660 |
If you're providing your offering to the Lord physically, 00:11:36.560 |
But let me go ahead and pray for our offering, 00:11:56.560 |
of why we worship and who it is that we worship. 00:12:00.160 |
And as you've given us all good things to steward, 00:12:15.960 |
And we ask, Lord, that you would be magnified 00:12:18.720 |
in every element and aspect of our worship today. 00:12:39.200 |
- Church family, would you please stand with us 00:13:38.120 |
♪ When the circle rises, we wait upon the Lord ♪ 00:13:47.840 |
♪ We will wait upon the Lord, we will wait upon the Lord ♪ 00:13:52.840 |
♪ When the circle rises, we wait upon the Lord ♪ 00:13:56.560 |
♪ We will wait upon the Lord, we will wait upon the Lord ♪ 00:14:13.720 |
♪ You are the everlasting God, the everlasting God ♪ 00:14:53.640 |
♪ When the circle rises, we wait upon the Lord ♪ 00:15:04.120 |
♪ We will wait upon the Lord, we will wait upon the Lord ♪ 00:15:09.120 |
♪ When the circle rises, we wait upon the Lord ♪ 00:15:12.640 |
♪ We will wait upon the Lord, we will wait upon the Lord ♪ 00:15:29.520 |
♪ You are the everlasting God, the everlasting God ♪ 00:21:30.840 |
Today, we're gonna be looking at all of Psalm 19. 00:21:46.240 |
It reads, "Moreover, by them your servant is warned. 00:22:00.960 |
"Also keep back your servant from presumptuous sins. 00:22:09.940 |
"and I shall be acquitted of great transgression. 00:22:24.720 |
Heavenly Father, we ask that you would lead us in worship 00:22:37.020 |
and would you use the proclamation of your word 00:22:52.260 |
if it's not with your unction and your spirit. 00:22:54.900 |
So we pray that you would take the center stage 00:23:07.460 |
I pray that you would bear fruit in our lives, 00:23:16.500 |
give us sober spirits, give us alert minds this morning. 00:23:25.020 |
So my wife, Becky, and I started formally dating 00:23:36.260 |
So less than one month into our dating relationship, 00:23:50.500 |
and considerate person that she is, she suggested, 00:23:53.940 |
you know, Valentine's Day, it's such a silly holiday. 00:24:14.120 |
To which she emphatically replied, and I quote, 00:24:24.260 |
So being the naive, trusting simpleton that I am, 00:24:28.420 |
when Valentine's Day rolled around a few weeks later, 00:24:39.860 |
And that morning, Becky called me and asked me 00:24:46.460 |
that I was planning on running errands in the afternoon, 00:24:49.140 |
and that maybe we can grab dinner afterwards. 00:24:57.000 |
And then we just grabbed a quick dinner at the food court. 00:25:08.580 |
That we were literally only going to run errands together 00:25:13.160 |
And at the end of the day, when I walked her to her car, 00:25:16.840 |
she handed me a card that she had written in, 00:25:28.840 |
So here's a public service announcement, brothers. 00:25:32.620 |
If a lady says to you, "You don't need to plan anything," 00:25:47.020 |
So I had to at least give her a nice, thoughtful gift. 00:25:51.060 |
And having dated her at that point for about 13 months, 00:25:54.020 |
I felt I knew exactly what she, my girlfriend, would want. 00:25:58.580 |
You see, I had been making observations and taking notes 00:26:13.360 |
and didn't like spending money on frivolous things 00:26:20.780 |
So with absolute confidence in my knowledge of her, 00:26:42.380 |
And Valentine's Day number three came around, 00:26:45.420 |
and at a few weeks before this third Valentine's Day, 00:26:47.820 |
Becky sat me down, looked straight in my eyes, 00:27:04.480 |
"Perhaps include a nice, meaningful Bible verse." 00:27:10.020 |
and she gave me explicit and easy-to-follow instructions. 00:27:19.980 |
And we have since celebrated 18 additional Valentine's Day, 00:27:22.780 |
and since then, I believe I've done objectively well. 00:27:26.980 |
Valentine's Day does not upset my wife anymore. 00:27:41.620 |
my growth and understanding of my wife's heart, 00:27:49.300 |
was that Becky assumed I could read her mind. 00:27:52.840 |
But she learned quickly that I'm pretty dense, 00:28:00.580 |
she's left less and less of our relationship to guesswork. 00:28:05.500 |
So here's a second public service announcement. 00:28:07.500 |
Sisters, if you want to leave it to chance and guesswork, 00:28:11.080 |
you are setting yourself up for disappointment 00:28:25.740 |
And some of you guys are wise, you just kept it closed. 00:28:29.260 |
On this side of eternity, most of our relationships, 00:28:32.620 |
and I'm not just talking about romantic relationships, 00:28:37.740 |
Many relationships require some trial and error, 00:28:43.180 |
And on this side of eternity, because of sin, 00:28:45.060 |
no matter how intimate a relationship between two people, 00:28:49.140 |
communication will always be corrupted and flawed. 00:28:53.700 |
And no matter how deep a love shared between two parties, 00:29:15.260 |
They always drive a wedge into every relationship. 00:29:30.340 |
Our judgment is often imperfect and reckless. 00:29:35.240 |
We are all broken and our communication is broken. 00:29:38.080 |
The fall of man and the entrance of sin into the world 00:29:44.060 |
but it also greatly corrupted man's understanding 00:29:56.080 |
however, God is incorruptible, God is perfect. 00:30:01.080 |
There is no trace of sin or unrighteousness in God 00:30:15.160 |
And we see in the scriptures that God does not lie 00:30:26.660 |
man may miscommunicate, but this is not so with God. 00:30:38.740 |
He's always been explicit and absolutely clear 00:30:41.780 |
in communicating what he desires all people to know. 00:30:45.040 |
And because our God is the same yesterday, today, 00:30:48.660 |
and forever, we know that he will continue to be explicit 00:31:05.540 |
And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, 00:31:09.020 |
to love, loving kindness, and to walk humbly with your God. 00:31:13.180 |
Some translations will read, he has shown you, oh man. 00:31:18.180 |
The Hebrew word here is higith, which is a very rich verb, 00:31:27.260 |
So clear that it's almost equivalent to a showing. 00:31:31.280 |
So the telling is so clear that you can almost see it. 00:31:48.240 |
He never calls his people to guess what he's thinking 00:32:03.520 |
The specific application of his will for our lives 00:32:07.520 |
may differ in appearance or how it all unfolds, 00:32:11.700 |
but God's will has, is, and always will be the same. 00:32:23.980 |
The problem is not in the clarity of God's communication, 00:32:31.700 |
rebelliously rejecting it, and then asking for another will. 00:32:57.280 |
And when God does speak in mysteries and parables, 00:33:03.440 |
who have already hardened their hearts towards him, 00:33:52.620 |
"I take this to be the greatest poem in the Psalter, 00:33:56.140 |
"and one of the greatest lyrics in all the world." 00:33:59.780 |
It's basically a psalm delighting in God's self-disclosure 00:34:06.100 |
All 14 verses, which are organized in a chiastic structure, 00:34:09.760 |
are telling and declaring of the works of God. 00:34:16.540 |
is also a very clear picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:34:21.020 |
Psalm 19 is a testimony of the gospel of God. 00:34:30.020 |
I'm gonna break it up into three bite-sized pieces, 00:34:40.260 |
focus on how a person felt or what a person did, 00:34:45.940 |
is a declaration of truth or fact given by a witness. 00:35:04.420 |
of testifying witnesses in Psalm 19 and their testimonies, 00:35:27.360 |
First, we'll look at the testimony of the heavens, 00:35:33.660 |
the testimony of the law, verses seven to 10, 00:35:44.260 |
So that's the big picture, the broad outline. 00:35:48.460 |
And before we jump in, I'd like to make a little note 00:35:54.880 |
sometimes the genre of the book will force you to adjust 00:36:06.640 |
In poetry, there are very few hidden meanings 00:36:12.680 |
Usually in poetry, the author is simply painting a picture 00:36:20.160 |
So keep this in mind because for today's sermon, 00:36:22.600 |
I'm not gonna be looking at every single word 00:36:29.920 |
It'll help for you to keep your Bibles open to Psalm 19. 00:36:33.920 |
Verse one, the heavens are telling of the glory of God, 00:36:38.920 |
and their expanse is declaring the work of his hands. 00:36:49.200 |
And the focus in this first half of the psalm 00:36:55.440 |
The heavens and the expanse and all that it is contained 00:37:02.960 |
By the fiat of his power, God spoke the sun and the moon 00:37:06.720 |
and the stars and the rest of creation into existence 00:37:14.740 |
in the beginning, and it's still very observable 00:37:19.020 |
So everything under the heavens and under this expanse 00:37:27.920 |
So verse two reads, day to day pours forth speech, 00:37:44.720 |
There's a ton of speech without speech, without words. 00:37:51.580 |
Day after day, all of creation is pouring forth speech. 00:37:58.260 |
It's literally flooding with speech and declarations 00:38:05.460 |
Night to night is revealing and showing knowledge, 00:38:09.420 |
and the nights also are doing this without words. 00:38:13.880 |
These declarations are neither audible nor spoken, 00:38:28.820 |
And the knowledge of God and information about God 00:38:33.460 |
is being declared through everything under the heavens, 00:38:40.540 |
Their line has gone throughout all the earth, 00:38:43.000 |
and their utterances to the end of the world. 00:38:50.640 |
which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, 00:38:53.400 |
it rejoices as a strong man to run his course. 00:39:04.680 |
So here David hones in on the splendor of the sun. 00:39:32.720 |
I mean, how many of you guys have tried to look at the sun? 00:39:47.720 |
and I can almost imagine a young shepherd boy, David, 00:39:54.360 |
pondering the heavens and the movement of the sun. 00:40:14.080 |
In verse five, David likens the daily rise of the sun 00:40:19.980 |
and its splendor like the entrance of a groom 00:40:44.540 |
And then the sun sets, and I can almost imagine David 00:40:49.800 |
enjoying the many colors, orange, red, yellow, 00:41:03.280 |
And he writes, "Man, there's nothing hidden from its heat." 00:41:18.840 |
It is said that Jerusalem is one of the cooler 00:41:25.320 |
It makes me wonder if David set the capital in Jerusalem 00:41:27.980 |
partially because his desire not to be hot, right? 00:41:32.720 |
That's something that I won't know on this side of eternity. 00:41:48.760 |
or some landscape that has once filled you with awe. 00:41:51.740 |
Last year, our family visited Yellowstone National Park 00:41:58.920 |
The year before that, we took the kids to Utah, 00:42:12.480 |
And those are just a few beautiful places in America. 00:42:32.560 |
I've only seen the Grand Canyon from a plane. 00:42:43.340 |
and I enjoy the world beneath me growing smaller and smaller 00:43:01.080 |
that you can look at and marvel at and feel super tiny. 00:43:10.800 |
If you were to somehow manage in your lifetime, 00:43:34.920 |
And man, that water is beautiful, too, right? 00:43:40.080 |
just standing there on a cliff, just beautiful, 00:43:44.680 |
The water is very beautiful to look at from the surface, 00:43:49.600 |
but have you ever gone scuba diving or snorkeling? 00:43:55.520 |
The planet on which you and I are living on is huge. 00:44:01.680 |
And there are so many things that you can enjoy 00:44:04.480 |
to cause you to be in awe of God's handiwork. 00:44:13.040 |
And you can look at it, it's not bright, okay? 00:44:54.400 |
Can you imagine how much David's mind would have been blown 00:45:01.000 |
While many pagan nations around worshiped the sun, 00:45:10.480 |
I don't imagine that King David ever got to travel 00:45:14.440 |
I don't believe that David ever got to see glaciers, 00:45:27.400 |
You and I have likely physically seen more things 00:45:41.300 |
Or are you so over-stimulated that you're like, eh? 00:46:02.760 |
and the expanse and all things under this expanse 00:46:07.240 |
and this is the testimony of this first witness. 00:46:21.120 |
Secondly, we're gonna be looking at verses seven to 10, 00:46:23.840 |
the testimony of the law, the declared word of God. 00:46:36.160 |
which is a comprehensive term for God's revealed will. 00:46:43.760 |
and not so much in reference to the Mosaic law, 00:46:50.000 |
All scripture is fiat nustas, it's all God breathed, 00:46:54.800 |
and scripture has always been God's primary means 00:46:58.200 |
of revealing his heart and his will to mankind. 00:47:00.560 |
Through what has been created, we see God's nature, 00:47:05.960 |
but through what has been declared and written, 00:47:11.400 |
We are first taught that God is a jealous God, 00:47:19.960 |
who has a right to be jealous, is unlimited in patience, 00:47:33.240 |
We are taught in the scriptures of God's desires. 00:47:42.620 |
and his affections, and we're taught all of these things 00:47:47.400 |
through what has been spoken and subsequently written down. 00:48:08.720 |
and his desire for all eternity is actually to know us 00:48:20.760 |
that they may know you, the only true God in Jesus Christ, 00:48:24.960 |
Eternal life is getting to be awed and amazed 00:48:38.740 |
So God's word is what the focus is in Psalm 19, seven to 10. 00:48:50.440 |
"The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. 00:48:54.280 |
"The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. 00:48:57.760 |
"The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. 00:49:01.840 |
"The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. 00:49:20.680 |
but in this latter half, the personal name of God, Yahweh, 00:49:27.720 |
Now we don't need to go into each the details 00:49:30.200 |
as to what the law, the testimony, the precepts, 00:49:32.480 |
commandment, fear, judgments, what they specifically are. 00:49:43.320 |
King David says that the word of God, it restores, 00:49:54.200 |
And the last statement is righteous altogether. 00:50:24.600 |
and it's recorded through more than 40 different men. 00:50:27.880 |
None of the men who wrote down the Holy Scripture 00:50:39.680 |
tax collectors, scribes, physicians and fishermen. 00:50:42.920 |
66 books, three original languages, 1,500 years, 00:50:53.040 |
clearly wants to make himself known to all people. 00:50:58.040 |
2 Peter 1:21 reads, "But know this first of all, 00:51:09.540 |
"For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, 00:51:12.500 |
"but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." 00:51:17.520 |
And because the Bible was written by one primary author, 00:51:29.600 |
Holy God will reconcile sinful man to himself 00:51:44.360 |
Holy God will reconcile sinful man to himself 00:52:04.000 |
could be the summary of Psalm 19, verse seven to 10. 00:52:06.640 |
We're a Bible church, so I won't expound too much more 00:52:17.600 |
Most all of us will confess that the Bible is central, 00:52:21.320 |
that it's powerful, but I wanna pause and ask a question. 00:52:28.840 |
And it reads, "They are more desirable than gold. 00:52:45.200 |
Or in all honesty, would you rather have the gold 00:52:53.240 |
Or the job, the degree, the spouse, the baby? 00:53:10.760 |
that help you know the creator of the universe, 00:53:24.160 |
Is the knowledge of God the goal of your life? 00:53:33.280 |
In the ancient Near East, gold was the most valuable commodity 00:53:42.600 |
What King David is saying here is that the word of God 00:54:00.880 |
What King David is saying here is that possessing a honeycomb 00:54:09.000 |
It's having the most delicious thing known to man 00:54:13.800 |
But here King David is saying the word of God 00:54:41.120 |
we reflected on the testimony of the heavens. 00:55:16.480 |
Also keep back your servant from presumptuous sins. 00:55:23.840 |
and I shall be acquitted of great transgression. 00:55:40.960 |
who's been transformed and who's been redeemed. 00:56:00.720 |
The law of God transformed and redeemed this servant of God. 00:56:08.600 |
is that a sinner cannot come to an understanding 00:56:12.280 |
of the weight of his sins and the error of his ways 00:56:31.040 |
your life, your heart is filthy and you know that, 00:56:45.680 |
The law of God first revealed to this servant his errors. 00:56:52.480 |
The God of the age has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, 00:56:59.720 |
reveals this person of his sin and he convicts. 00:57:04.720 |
And the sins that were deeply rooted in the heart, 00:57:09.080 |
have been brought to the surface and expunged. 00:57:24.680 |
is being more and more restrained as time goes on. 00:57:29.160 |
And this servant is now a man who's rendered blameless. 00:57:34.640 |
He has been acquitted of these great transgressions. 00:57:38.720 |
This section does not speak on any merit of the servant. 00:57:50.520 |
No unregenerate person can call Christ his redeemer 00:58:16.080 |
You guys are almost hearing the song in your head. 00:58:49.200 |
What happens to a man when God wipes away his sin, 00:59:13.060 |
It was confirmed at the resurrection of Christ. 00:59:27.160 |
I'm seeing that verse 14 is not a request or a prayer. 00:59:34.440 |
So most others, they all literally translate it let. 01:00:08.240 |
I changed the title to Accept Dead in His Sight. 01:00:28.160 |
let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart 01:01:11.240 |
The redeemed servant, when he hears the testimony 01:01:16.120 |
the redeemed servant from the core of his heart says, 01:01:19.080 |
amen, even if it's full of hypocrisy of the heart, 01:01:25.960 |
And he humbles himself before the word of God, 01:01:38.800 |
and the redeemed servant wants to know the word of God 01:01:42.260 |
more than he wants money, more than he wants pleasure. 01:01:57.180 |
And he hungers because God makes himself known 01:02:22.860 |
Will surround himself with a great number of teachers 01:02:42.660 |
you can continue in your sin because it's all about grace. 01:02:47.660 |
And the unredeemed man will focus on studying 01:02:58.620 |
that don't make him feel guilty in his disobedience. 01:03:03.140 |
The redeemed servant, when he is shown his sin, 01:03:24.220 |
I believe, help my unbelief, have mercy on me, a sinner. 01:03:35.600 |
shepherds grace, and then he continues in his sin. 01:03:42.420 |
'cause I went down the altar, I made a confession. 01:03:44.520 |
Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. 01:03:51.680 |
Imagine that you are at the great white throne judgment 01:04:01.200 |
let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart 01:04:04.840 |
be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer, 01:04:12.220 |
your words are filthy because your mouth is filthy, 01:04:16.280 |
because your meditations of your heart are filthy. 01:04:21.600 |
You don't have the blood of Christ covering you. 01:04:24.220 |
I never knew you, depart from me, you worker of lawlessness. 01:04:34.800 |
I shared earlier that God never leaves his will 01:04:43.380 |
to guess what he's thinking or what he requires. 01:04:47.460 |
God's will for you, God's will for me, is clear, amen? 01:04:56.300 |
He makes himself crystal clear, it's explicit. 01:05:01.300 |
Every Christian who has the Holy Spirit of God in him 01:05:08.180 |
is supernaturally now hardwired to exalt and to glory in God, 01:05:13.180 |
to delight in his word, to turn away from sin, and to obey. 01:05:18.040 |
Every Christian, in a sense, is now a God's mind reader. 01:05:34.580 |
You, as a Christian, who has a Holy Spirit of God 01:05:37.660 |
indwelling within him, have the mind of Christ. 01:05:49.020 |
of the Spirit of God, for they are utter foolishness to him. 01:05:56.160 |
But he who is spiritual appraises correctly all things, 01:06:20.180 |
that she likes peonies, that she likes Ferrero Rocher, 01:06:31.760 |
Think with me, what would've happened if I ignored it? 01:06:38.100 |
What would've happened if I laughed off these requests? 01:06:46.300 |
Those are not things that would disqualify me 01:06:54.840 |
What would disqualify me from her hand in marriage 01:07:03.280 |
that has learned what she wants, but I still don't care. 01:07:11.820 |
but I would rather prioritize my comfort than her happiness. 01:07:36.860 |
Imagine if the following year I bought her a treadmill. 01:07:50.500 |
My Valentine's Day performances would not make 01:07:55.100 |
Those are not things that are required of me. 01:08:13.900 |
has promised you not just a great inheritance, 01:08:23.460 |
where you're given the authority to judge angels, 01:08:35.140 |
How are you not so just speechless and filled with love 01:08:48.340 |
I wanna close with Romans chapter one, verse 18 to 25, 01:08:53.020 |
and I want you to pay attention as I read this. 01:09:06.840 |
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men 01:09:17.060 |
is evident within them, for God made it evident to them. 01:09:42.500 |
they did not honor him as God or give thanks, 01:09:46.500 |
but they became futile in their speculations, 01:09:53.900 |
I have PhDs, I have experience, professing to have knowledge. 01:10:10.100 |
and of four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 01:10:12.740 |
Therefore, God gave them over in the lust of their hearts 01:10:20.180 |
for they exchanged the truth of God for a lie 01:10:27.820 |
rather than the creator who is blessed forever, amen. 01:10:32.460 |
You and I have been created by God and for God 01:10:37.700 |
to love God and to serve God, that's our purpose, amen? 01:10:44.180 |
You and I have been created by God and for God 01:11:13.660 |
May we be faithful in fulfilling our God-given purposes, 01:11:18.660 |
amen, 'cause we will join in witness and in chorus 01:11:24.460 |
for all eternity declaring the glories of God, amen? 01:11:38.340 |
to disentangle our hearts and our minds' affections 01:11:42.180 |
and place them solely on the person of Jesus Christ. 01:11:52.460 |
The Lord, also help us to grow in great affection 01:11:54.740 |
and compassion for the lost because that's your heart. 01:12:02.180 |
- Let us stand together, we'll close in song. 01:16:11.060 |
And grant us, Lord God, your strength to remember 01:17:57.000 |
♪ Who else commands all the hosts of heaven ♪ 01:18:25.380 |
♪ Who else can whisper in darkness trembling ♪