1 Chronicles: Worship the Lord and New Vision

SERMON TITLE: 1 Chronicles: Worship the Lord and New Vision

TEXT: 1 Chronicles 16:8-36 (ESV)

SPEAKER: Josh Hanson

DATE: 11-5-23

TURN MIC ON / WELCOME

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this evening. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re a guest with us here to celebrate baptisms or are part of our faith family here at Gateway — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

SERIES INTRO

We’re continuing in our Finding Jesus series tonight. This is a series where I introduce you to a book of the Bible that you may or may not be familiar with. I’ll give you an overview of the book — followed by a closer look at a particular section of it. And then — and this is what I hope will be most helpful — each week I’ll show you how to find Jesus. I’ll show you how to find the one story the whole Bible is telling — the story of Jesus. Because the whole Bible is ultimately pointing us to him.

And in this iteration of our Finding Jesus series — we’re going to look at the books referred to as history. What these books have in common is that they cover historical events in the life of God’s people. Some of the books cover hundreds of years while others cover a brief period of time — but — together — they tell the historical account of God’s people. And — this evening — we’ll be looking at the book of First Chronicles. So if you have your Bible, please turn with me to First Chronicles chapter sixteen.

In previous sermons we’ve looked at Joshua, Judges, Ruth, First and Second Samuel, and First and Second Kings. And — next week — we’ll look at Second Chronicles. Then we’ll take a break for our Christmas series before we finish up the last few books in the Old Testament.

So — early next year — Lord willing — we will have completed our journey through the entire Old Testament. And — on our website — you can search for our Finding Jesus series where you can find one sermon on every book in the Old Testament so you can discover what each of the books are about and how to find Jesus in each of them. And I hope that you’ll grow to know and love these books and spend time in them — finding Jesus — and the joy that’s found only in him.

BACKGROUND OF FIRST CHRONICLES

Now — let’s take some time to get our bearings in the book of First Chronicles — and I hope you’ll see that this is a book you’ll want to go read for yourself.

First, what do we know about the author? Like many of these historical books — we don’t know who wrote First Chronicles — or Second Chronicles — for that matter. And — similar to the books of Samuel and the books of Kings — the two books of Chronicles are really one book — but they were originally written on two scrolls — leading to us having a First and Second Chronicles in our Bible. In some previous sermons, I’ve mentioned the original Hebrew order of the Old Testament — for example, Ruth was originally placed between the books of Proverbs and Song of Solomon. Well — the two books of Chronicles — were originally placed at the end of the Old Testament — as sort of a final recap of the history of God’s people. In our Bibles today, the books come right after the books of kings — which makes it feel like you’re re-reading all of the same history that you just read in First and Second Kings.

Scholars suggest that the author wrote these two books a few hundred years after the people of God have returned from living in exile in Babylon. So — this author — has a different theological perspective about the historical time period that’s covered in the books. The temple has been rebuilt — but it’s nothing like what God’s people were imagining it would be while they lived in exile. The kings have pretty much all been failures — not one of them have lived up to the promised King of God’s covenant with David. So — with all of this perspective — the author of First and Second Chronicles looks back over the history of God’s people and records the events with some slight theological nuance.

OVERVIEW OF FIRST CHRONICLES

So that’s the bird’s eye view of what’s going on — now — let’s turn to the book itself. First Chronicles begins with nine chapters of — keep you on the edge of your seat reading — genealogy. That’s right — nine chapters of names. The whole point is that these chapters highlight the names of the key players in the history of the people of God. Think of this like a US history class you took in high school. Though there are many people in the history of our country — there are some names you expect in a class on US history. George Washington, for example. It’d be strange to not include our first president — that’s what the first nine chapters of First Chronicles are doing — covering the names of key individuals.

The rest of First Chronicles — we’ll save the content of Second Chronicles for next time — the rest of our book focuses on the life of king David. A lot of this will be familiar to you if you’ve read the books of Samuel. But what’s interesting — is that you’ll notice that the author of Chronicles leaves out the stories from David’s life that have a negative bent to them — whether that be due to David’s own doing or not. So you won’t read all of those stories of David on the run from Saul — nor will you read about David and Bathsheba. What you will find are positive stories about David — some of which are not found in the books of Samuel.

But — you may be wondering — “Why all of this positive spin on David — why none of the negative stuff?” Though we can’t say for sure why he leaves out all of the negative stuff — we do know that the books of Samuel were known at this time in history when the books of Chronicles are being written. So it’s safe to assume the author doesn’t think we’re unaware of David’s flaws. On the flip side, the author’s goal seems to be to use David as an example of God’s promised King who will come to save and rescue his people — the Messianic King that all of the earthly kings have failed to be. So the author is using David as a theological illustration — giving hope to God’s people — that a true and better David — the King of kings is guaranteed to come and he will save his people.

So — with that overview of the book — let’s take a closer look at our passage for this evening.

MAIN PASSAGE

Hopefully you’ve had time to find First Chronicles chapter sixteen — we’ll begin in verse one.

1 Chronicles 16:8–36 (ESV)

8 Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! 9 Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! 10 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! 11 Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually! 12 Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgments he uttered, 13 O offspring of Israel his servant, children of Jacob, his chosen ones! 14 He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth. 15 Remember his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, 16 the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, 17 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, 18 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan, as your portion for an inheritance.” 19 When you were few in number, of little account, and sojourners in it, 20 wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people, 21 he allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their account, 22 saying, “Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!” 23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth! Tell of his salvation from day to day. 24 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! 25 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be feared above all gods. 26 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens. 27 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his place. 28 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! 29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; 30 tremble before him, all the earth; yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. 31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!” 32 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! 33 Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. 34 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! 35 Say also: “Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather and deliver us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise. 36 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!” Then all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord.

WORSHIP THE LORD

A If you recall — from our time back in First Samuel — the priest Eli died when he had heard that the ark of the covenant had been captured by the Philistines. The ark was eventually returned — which you can read about in First Samuel chapter six — but once Saul became king — he never bothered with the ark. He just left it in the city where it had been returned by the Philistines. Now — our text in First Chronicles — is the song that David sings in response to the ark of the covenant arriving in Jerusalem. David was leading the people in corporate worship of the God who has been faithful to them time and time again. Worship is the goal and purpose of your life, of my life, of the life of every man, woman, and child.

Let’s briefly look at what David says about worship. The commands of our verses are direct and unmistakable.

Give thanks (v8)

Call upon his name (v8)

Make known his deeds (v8)

Sing…sing praises (v9)

Tell of his wondrous works (v9)

Glory in his holy name (v10)

Seek the Lord (v11)

Seek his presence (v11)

Remember his wondrous works (v12)

Remember his covenant (v15)

Sing to the Lord (v23)

Tell of his salvation (v23)

Declare his glory among the nations (v24)

Ascribe, ascribe, ascribe glory and strength (vv28-29)

Bring an offering (v29)

Come before him (v29)

Worship the Lord (v29)

Tremble before him (v30)

Give thanks to the Lord (v34)

Say…save us (v35)

Say…gather us (v35)

Say…deliver us. (v35)

The ark of the covenant represented the presence of God. And look at — be amazed at — be inspired by — David’s response of worship due to the ark being brought to Jerusalem.

FINDING JESUS

Now — honestly — we could use any one of David’s commands to find Jesus. We’ve been doing this series long enough that I think you’re starting to see the many, many ways we find Jesus throughout the Old Testament — because as he tells in at the end of Luke’s gospel — the entire Bible is about him. So let’s just stay on the theme of worship.

Martin Luther said, “To believe God is to worship God.” So — to believe in Jesus is to worship Jesus. In the gospel of John, Jesus encounters a man who was born blind — and he heals him. There’s a lot of commotion about this healing because it happened on the Sabbath — which upset the religious leaders of the day. So these religious leaders keep questioning the formerly blind man about the entire situation. “Who healed you?” “I don’t know, I was blind at the time.” “Were you really born blind.” “Yes.” But these religious leaders were relentless...

John 9:26–27 (NLT)

26 “But what did he do?” they asked. “How did he heal you?” 27 “Look!” the man exclaimed. “I told you once. Didn’t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?”

And them were fightin’ words — so they threw him out of the synagogue.

John 9:35–38 (NLT)

35 When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.” 37 “You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!” 38 “Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.

To believe in Jesus leads to the worship of Jesus — the worship of the God to whom David was praising and singing songs to as the ark was brought into Jerusalem. David was looking forward to God’s coming Messiah — the great Rescuer from Heaven. We look back to Jesus — God’s Messiah who has come — the great Rescuer from Heaven — and salvation is found in him and him alone. He is the One we’re to thank. His is the name we’re to call upon. We’re to make known the deeds Jesus has done — we’re to tell of his wondrous works. We’re to seek his presence — to tell of his salvation — to declare his glory among the nations. This is what we celebrated earlier in those baptisms. This is the hope those parents have for their children some day. This is the reason why the church exists: To make disciples who worship Jesus Christ.

NEW VISION

Back in January of this year — while I was down in Florida meeting with some other pastors — Laura sent me an email that included a chart listing stressors about being a pastor. And she asked me this question: From this chart on stresses of the job, which ones would you say you relate the most with? Is there anything different you would add to the list? Did I mention that Laura copied Matt Heft — one of our elders — on her email to me? So the pressure was on to not ignore her email. I spent a couple of days reflecting on her question. And here was my reply — and I promise this will eventually make sense as to how this is connected to worship.

Being the vision guy for Gateway. In my reply I wrote, “I don’t know that I’m good at this. Things like “Should we start another campus” and “should we think about starting up Saturday night services again” are decisions I never know what to do with, when to bring them up, or how we’d even know if we have an answer to these questions. And I’ve never understood the idea of how you come up with a 3-5 year vision plan — that seems like a big old “throw spaghetti against the wall” kind of guessing game to me — or at least for a mere mortal like me who can’t predict the future. I know things like “we’re going to be biblically faithful”, but I don’t have a clue when it comes to the more practical stuff like campuses, services, etc…I’d love for someone (or a team of someone’s) to put some ideas together.”

To which Matt replied — and I’ll summarize — with, “Josh, you’ve got vision. I’ll tell you what it is. Let’s do lunch.” Or — to quote Matt directly — he said, “Thanks for letting me be part of this email thread. I’m intrigued by your comments on Vision setting. I think you have way more of a vision for Gateway than you realize. Because that doesn’t include buildings and campuses doesn’t mean you don’t have a vision. I’d love to talk to you about this some more when we meet for breakfast or lunch.”

And this email thread — all started by Laura Moore — has led me — and the elders — on a journey over the last seven months. Matt and I did have that lunch together and it was then that he started describing what he sees as my vision for Gateway. I took a few other elders out for lunch and asked them some questions to start gathering a better articulation of what my vision is. And since she started it all in the first place — I asked Laura to write down what she saw as my vision — what my values are — what makes me tick. Something I know about myself is that I’m more intuitive as a leader and I need others to describe for me what they see as my values in leadership.

And after a few months of collecting all of these thoughts and ideas from others and — honestly — taking a lot straight from Laura’s list — I put together a “Josh’s vision” document — but then something else happened. Matt Heft came across a video of a pastor giving a “vision talk” to his congregation and he passed it on to me. And that video clarified something else for me and where all of this vision discussion was headed. I then presented all of what you’re about to hear to the staff and — then — a few weeks later — to all of our volunteers who came to our all volunteer training back in August. And — from those two presentations — I realized I still had some work to make things more clear.

And — tonight — I’m going to present this vision to all of you. We’re going to start off 2024 with a series based on this vision but — for now — think of this is as a sneak peek for what’s to come.

These four columns represent the key components that drive the life, ministry, and direction of a local church. In the first column is the pastor — that’s me — for better or worse. Most folks tend to start here — with the pastor — when they think of the life, ministry, and direction of the church. “Why is the church doing this? Because the pastor wants us to” kind of thinking.

Now the Bible has a lot to say about the qualifications, characteristics, and calling of a pastor. There’s 1st Timothy chapter 3 (characteristics), 2nd Timothy chapter 4 (preach the Word), 1st Peter 5 (shepherd the flock), Acts 6 (prayer and the Word), to name a few.

The second column are the other key leaders in the church. Here at Gateway this would be your elders (who have the same list as the pastor), deacons (1st Timothy 3; Acts 6), and staff — though Life Group leaders and other key ministry volunteers would also fit in this column. These leaders help the pastor move the church along in a certain direction. The pastor invests in these leaders — equips the leaders — in various ways — so they can fulfill their unique roles in the church.

The third column is the discipleship process of the church. Here at Gateway this is our process of Worship, Connect, Serve, and Go — our discipleship process. Worship is when we gather together to worship our God in a way that’s Gospel-Centered, done with excellence, and is contextual. We connect in Life Groups where we gather together to discuss how the Bible applies to our lives and care for one another. We serve the people in our church family and we go into the world by equipping, partnering with, and sending members to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. As John Piper has famously said, “Missions exists, because worship doesn’t. Missions is our way of saying: the joy of knowing Christ is not a private, or tribal, or national or ethnic privilege. It is for all. And that’s why we go. Because we have tasted the joy of worshiping Jesus, and we want all the families of the earth included. “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.” (Psalm 22:27) Seeking the worship of the nations is fueled by the joy of our own worship. You can’t commend what you don’t cherish. You can’t proclaim what you don’t prize. Worship is the fuel and the goal of missions.”

Are there other ministries we do? Of course. But this is our primary way of making disciples here at Gateway. And these three columns have summed up our ministry as a church. I — the pastor — invest in the key leaders — who oversee or support our discipleship process.

And then — back in August — I introduced a fourth column — a new column for us as a church. And the way I introduced the fourth column was by asking a question — this question: What’s our spiritual goal for people who are part of Gateway Church? Meaning, what’s the end target for someone who worships, connects, serves, and goes? Meaning — the title for this column is this: Disciple. What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus here at Gateway Church.

And this is what hasn’t been defined — this is what hasn’t been clearly articulated. You’ve been catching glimpses of what it means to be a disciple through my preaching, the podcast, conversations with leaders, and so on — but because it hasn’t been clearly articulated — there’s been some confusion. And this is what we’re trying to now make it clear so we can all move forward growing as disciples and knowing what we mean by that.

And our vision — our spiritual goal for every disciple of Jesus here at Gateway — is that we’d be disciples...

1. Who are...Word and Spirit Christians.

2. Who are…generous.

3. Who are...family.

4. Who are…disciples who make disciples.

5. And who are Kingdom-minded.

And what I want to do — tonight — is expand on each of these characteristics. And I’m going to do this in a broad way — meaning — no succinct, well-thought out phrases — much of this will be what first came to mind when the elders and I were in the brainstorming process. I just kept adding bullet points that helped to capture what each of these characteristics mean.

So we are Word and Spirit Christians — and if you were at the all volunteer training — you’ll notice that we’re trying to make these more easily memorable — thus the change from “living under the authority of the Word of God and empowered by the Spirit of God. But — just because we’ve shortened it — don’t think that the longer phrase has been thrown out. You’ll still hear me say it — you’ll still catch me using it in future sermons — but “Word and Spirit Christians” is easier to remember.

“Word and Spirit Christians” is meant to capture our view of Scripture — that it’s inerrant — without error — infallible — incapable of teaching falsehood. God’s Word is authoritative, sufficient, and practical — thus — everything we’re to do in life — individually and as a church — is to be filtered by Scripture. Passages like 2 Timothy 3 and Psalm 119 come to mind when I think about being Word and Spirit Christians.

“The Spirit” part means living in the freedom we’ve been given. Living set free from sin and fighting sin — living holy lives — by the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. Where all that we do — in word and action — is done for the glory of God and done with supernatural joy. Spirit Christians use the gifts the Spirit has given them for the building up of the body so that we reach our full maturity in Christ.

Next characteristic: We are generous. Being generous is something I especially love about Gateway — probably because generosity is one of my spiritual gifts. Whether it be our Christmas Eve offerings or how much of our church budget goes to missions — and specifically to unreached people groups around the world — the WRC and adoption announcement we just made — and so on — being generous — especially with our resources — is who we want our disciples to be.

I believe that we have a holy obligation to steward the resources God has entrusted to us by using them for his Kingdom work. From our dollars, to our buildings, to our staff, and everything in between — including our life experience and our members. Being generous will help us to be disciples who celebrate what God is doing in other churches and ministries and will help us be a blessing to our community and neighbors.

Theologian Leon Morris has said, “Worship that costs us nothing is worth precisely what it costs.” What cost are we willing to pay so that others — both here and far — might worship the only Savior, Jesus Christ? Remember the promises of Scripture — “It’s better to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35) — as well as — “God blesses a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:6-7) So our vision is that we will be a church that makes disciples who are generous.

Next — we are family. Understanding this as a characteristic of the disciples we’re making will help clarify why we do ministry the way that we do as a church. Families are different from business organizations — and I want your view of our church to be first as that of a family and then — and much later — as an organization. There are some organizational activities that we must do — budgets, room reservations, keeping calendars up to date, staff reviews, and so on…but I want our default position to be that we view each other and the congregation as family.

Rarely do you have to make formal plans in order to connect with each other when you’re family. You bear with crazy aunts and uncles — why? Because they’re part of the family. You help carry the burdens of those in your family who are suffering. And — families — healthy ones — Christ-centered ones — they love each other. They’re committed to each other. There’s this idea — in a family — of “we before me.” Everyone has a place and a role in the family. Names matter. So do each of our unique stories.

And viewing ourselves as family will change how we do ministry. It’ll change our gatherings when we worship. The person who shows up late or runs out early will feel like an outsider because family members stick around to talk and hangout. Our Life Groups will feel like getting together with family — not a box we check on our calendar. And whether or not someone is in a Life Group will indicate if they’re part of our family or not. We’ll try hard to make someone feel welcome but — if they don’t get in a life group — they’ll always feel like a guest instead of like part of our family. The same is true for serving and going — in fact — all that we do as a church will have a different feel when we’re doing this thing called Gateway Church together as a family.

A passage that comes to mind are the first few verses of 1st Timothy chapter 5. There Paul tells us to view older women as mothers; younger women as sisters. Older men as fathers; and younger men as brothers. Though we may not be blood-related, there’s a familial relationship we have with each other — for we’ve all been adopted into God’s family. Romans 12:15 is the kind of family God desires us to be — rejoicing with those who rejoice; weeping with those who weep.

We are disciples who make disciples. I’ve shared my life mission statement before, which is “to glorify God by making disciples who find their joy in Jesus.” A local pastor in town calls me the Bible guy — the disciple making pastor — in Findlay. I’ll gladly accept that reputation. And my hope is that you all will gladly accept the reputation — and responsibility — of being disciple makers with me. For — it’s not just me — or a few of us here at Gateway — but all of us are called to make disciples.

We must pass on the baton of faith to the next generation. We are responsible for raising up the next generation of Christians, pastors, missionaries, and church leaders.

We’re responsible for leaving the Christian faith stronger and in better hands as our time on earth comes to an end. And — as staff — our role is to empower and equip others to do the work of ministry.

Pastors no longer grow on trees — not that they ever really did — but churches acted as if they did. Neither do worship leaders, youth directors, life group coaches — insert your job title — and each of us may do great ministry ourselves and end up forgetting the most important part of our job: Who have I raised up to replace me some day?

Matthew 28 and Acts 1 come to mind when I think of this characteristic. Some of Jesus’ last words were his command that we would be disciples who make disciples. Staff members who raise up staff members. Pastors who raise up pastors.

Finally, we are Kingdom-minded. This phrase is still in the refining process — maybe you can come up with a better phrase — but this’ll have to do for now. Previously this was “empowering and equipping the Big C — or global — Church” — and that’s a mouthful. This characteristic ties in to us striving to be a church that raises up the next generation of Christians, pastors, missionaries, and church leaders — but now — not just for our own local church benefit — but for the benefit of Christ’s church beyond our walls.

We’re to make disciples of all nations. We’re to pray for God’s Kingdom to come here on earth as it is in Heaven (Matthew 6:10). We’re to trust in Jesus’ promise to us that he is building his Church and the gates of Hell will not prevail for we’ve been given the keys of Christ’s Kingdom (Matthew 16). And our King of all kings — is reigning and ruling over all of his creation.

CONCLUSION

Let’s look at these columns again. Pastor — check. Key leaders — check — I’m so thankful for you. Discipleship process — we’ve got a good one — check. And the goal of our discipleship process — disciples who are Word and Spirit Christians. Who are generous. Who are family. Who are disciples who make disciples. And who are Kingdom-minded — finally — check.

One last thing. Back in August I didn’t have a word at the top of the fourth column — I just called it the “X” that marks the spot — the win — our spiritual goal. And the reason why I didn’t have a word was because — believe it or not — it took me a really long time to figure out what the word was supposed to be. “Well that seems silly. Disciple is so obvious!” And it is obvious, but there’s a reason why I struggled — but you’ll hear more about why this was such a struggle early next year — when we return to this new vision for Gateway.

The elders and I are excited for this next chapter in our story as a church. We’re thankful for Gateway’s past — thankful for the pastors, elders, staff, and church members who’ve come before us — we find it a joy to honor our past. Yet the future is exciting and I hope it will excite you as we clarify our focus — make clear our spiritual win for each and everyone of us — so that — what we do results in many more people worshiping Jesus Christ. Let’s pray together.

PRAYER

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit we thank you. We call upon your name. We vow to make known your deeds — tell tell of your wondrous works — to tell the nations of your salvation. To sing praises to your name. To seek you — to seek your presence — to ascribe to you glory and strength. We will remember your covenant promises. We come before you — trembling before you — bringing you the offering you require of us — our lives — as we worship you and you alone. Save us, we ask. Deliver us, we pray. Gather and united us together as your people. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

COMMUNION

A

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available)

May you go as a disciple who worships the Lord. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.