The Foundation of Your Freedom

ANNOUNCEMENTS & MEDITATION

MEDITATION PSALM 46 (91)

- CALL TO WORSHIP -

Please stand.

ADORATION

Minister: Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from

God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Congregation: And also to you.

SCRIPTURE

Psalm 144:5–6 “Bow down Your heavens, O Lord, and come down; Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke. Flash forth lightning and scatter them; Shoot out Your arrows and destroy them.” , Psalm 144:9–10 “I will sing a new song to You, O God; On a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You, The One who gives salvation to kings, Who delivers David His servant From the deadly sword.”

Minister: Lift up your hearts!

Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord!

PRAYER

Lord, we are grateful that your salvation goes forth, ever increasing, claiming not just kingdoms but also hearts of men to turn them back to what they were made for. We are grateful that you do not need us for anything yet you choose to use us for Your glory and count us worthy to be called fellow-workers and co-labourers with Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank You Lord that our service of worship, though it be foolishness to the world, still stirs in them the conviction of sin that You wrought by your Holy Spirit. Come, raise us now to the heavenly places so that we may worship our resurrected Saviour now in a manner acceptable in your sight.

Almighty God, we worship you now through Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with You, and the Holy Spirit, One God, world without end, and Amen.

God Himself Is with Us (310)

- CONFESSION -

Please sit.

EXHORTATION

2 Corinthians 11:3 “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” The way that false teachers creep into churches is not attacking the most faithful men in leadership headlong but finding weak links in the chain of Christian fellowship. In the Garden of Eden, man was to exercise authority over his wife and they both were to rule over the animals. Satan's craftiness consisted in taking a bottom-up approach in introducing sin and chaos into the order that God had set up. He began by stirring rebellion in the lowest ranks of creaturehood through a snake. He then dared to go one level up to the woman, and finally he was able to sway the federal head to sin.

So, also the devil moves about in this congregation, seeking the easiest way of entry, through which he could introduce sin and discord in all the body. Therefore, Christ exhorts you to watchfulness.

Proverbs 4:23 “Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.” Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”” Romans 13:14 “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”

Men of God, in order to keep your life and the life of those entrusted in your care, you need to be killing sin. Are there any sins in your life which have begun to go unnoticed? Any sins in your home? With your wife or children? Have you made piece with the mold growing in your basement? With the den of garter snakes in your overgrown frontyard? Have you gotten comfortable with evil? Do you fear God? As the old hymn says,

Christian, seek not yet repose, Cast thy dreams of ease away; Thou art in the midst of foes: Watch and pray. This reminds us of our need to confess our sins,

PSALM 40

I Waited for the Lord (80)

CONFESSION OF SIN

So, as you are able please kneel in confession before your God:

Proverbs 28:13 “He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.”

Father, forgive us for we have been slow to learn of Your Son Jesus, we have laboured long in our vain self-sufficiencies. We have not drawn on the power of Your promises, we have forgotten that You actually like us. And so we have been led away into anxiety, despair, lust, vainglory and all manner of self-indulgence. Forgive us and open our eyes to all the blessings that are ours in Christ. Show us our abundant wealth and teach us to live like kings and queens under Your Lordship.

You have called Your church to truth in the inward parts, so we now confess our individual sins to You. Selah.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

Please rise for the assurance of pardon

Psalm 32:5 “I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah”

The Christian life is about constant battle with the Devil! But do not feel discouraged if you are fighting. The fight with sin is like playing tennis with the Devil. As long as you keep confessing your sin and rejoicing in the gift of salvation that is Jesus Christ, nothing can touch you. Keep tossing the ball across the fence. Don’t begin to hoard those tennis balls. As long as you’re fighting, you’re winning.

Minister: Christian, you may fight with the victor’s joy, for your sins are forgiven through Christ.

Congregation: Thanks be to God!

CONFESSION OF FAITH

Minister: Christians, what do you believe? Congregation: We believe in God the Father Almighty; Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the virgin, Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into Hades. On the third day He rose again, from the dead, ascended into Heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He will come to judge the living and the dead. We believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

HEIDELBERG CATECHISM

LORD’S DAY 44

Q113. Minister: What does the tenth Commandment require?

Congregation: That not even the least inclination or thought against any commandment of God ever enter our heart, but that with our whole heart we continually hate all sin and take pleasure in all

righteousness.

Q114. Minister: Can those who are converted to God keep these Commandments perfectly?

Congregation: No, but even the holiest men, while in this life, have only a small beginning of such

obedience, yet so that with earnest purpose they begin to live not only according to some,

but according to all the Commandments of God.

Q115. Minister: Why then does God so strictly enjoin the Ten Commandments upon us, since in this life no one can keep them?

Congregation: First, that as long as we live we may learn more and more to know our sinful nature, and so the more earnestly seek forgiveness of sins and righteousness in Christ; second, that without ceasing we diligently ask God for the grace of the Holy Spirit, that we be renewed more and more after the image of God, until we attain the goal of perfection after this life.

PSALM 103

Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven (195)

- CONSECRATION -

SCRIPTURE READING

(Dave Winckler)

1 Kings 4:21-34 ; Matthew 12:38-42

Matthew 12:38–42 NKJV

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.

1 Kings 4:21–34 NKJV

So Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life. Now Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty kors of fine flour, sixty kors of meal, ten fatted oxen, twenty oxen from the pastures, and one hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl. For he had dominion over all the region on this side of the River from Tiphsah even to Gaza, namely over all the kings on this side of the River; and he had peace on every side all around him. And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, each man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. And these governors, each man in his month, provided food for King Solomon and for all who came to King Solomon’s table. There was no lack in their supply. They also brought barley and straw to the proper place, for the horses and steeds, each man according to his charge. And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men—than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five. Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon.

Reader: The Word of the Lord.

Congregation: Thanks be to God!

HYMN

Please sit.

The Son of God Goes Forth to War (666)

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER

(Mike Casbon)

Opening: Psalm 20:6-9

Thanksgiving: Romans 8:28

Petitions: Romans 8:37-39

HYMN

Please stand.

May the Mind of Christ My Savior (388)

SERMON

Please sit.

Colossians 2:16–23 NKJV

So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God. Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations—“Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

Introduction

Walk in Him, rooted and built up.

Beware of philosophy, man’s tradition and basic principles of the world.

We have been buried with Christ in baptism.

Summary of the Text

Let no one sit in judgement over you because of food or drink. What about 1 Cor 8:9-13 ? What about Sabbath?

Substance is in Christ. OT regulations were shadows. Heb 8:5 Heb 10:1. Amazon App. Facetime with Fiance. “Good dreams.” Peace child. Sawis of New Guinea. Vedas.

Cheat you of your reward is like. Reward assumes good works. False teachers rob you of what is yours by right! Displays of humility, multiplying intermediaries between God and man: mysticism, angels, binding man made commandments.

Union with the Head the foundation of it all. Union with Christ through death and resurrection.

Don’t are for children. We are called to maturity in union with Christ. Romans 6 type argument. Don’t submit to the doctrines of men. Stay connected to Christ. Legalism consists in severing God from His Word and from His world.

Perishable goods. Lowest order in priority of things.

Asceticism cannot sanctify you.

Foundation of Your Freedom (and your Holiness) is Union with Christ.

People Matter More than Things. (Love God and neighbour)

Possess your possessions or they will possess you. (Eve example)

PRAYER

Ending with The Lord’s Prayer (725)

OFFERTORY

Please stand.

Doxology (734)

- COMMUNION -

Please sit.

MEDITATION (Samuel Davidson)

Do you seek authority to effect good in the land for God’s glory? Do not seek authority from the world. Authority and power and honour are not stored behind ivory-tower doors and parliament houses. True authority in this world comes from Godward sacrifice. That is how Christ became King of this world. He humbled Himself to the point of irrecognition, became man, lived a sinless life but was scorned. He suffered and was rejected. He died on a cross and rose again from the dead. Therefore, he ascended to the throne higher than any. God calls you to follow in his example. Because Christ has walked this path in your stead, you are welcome to rule with Him in imitation of Him. Revelation 2:27 quotes Psalm 2 where Messiah’s rule over the nations with a rod of iron is described. In Revelation, Christ Jesus himself applies this psalm to you. If you endure, He says, you will receive rule over the nations even as He received rule over the nations. As you do the work of building Christendom in your own heart, in your home, in your town, remember the way to true authority and rule. Contrary to the brazen claims of satanic governments, the way to receive authority in this world is not to grasp for it by appeasing the right man but to give of yourself in obedience to God and to neighbor. But you cannot give of yourself until you receive from God. So God has called you this day to receive His Gospel, receive Christ in the word preached and in this table set before you. Through this broken bread, see how Christ was broken for you. As you drink the fruit of the vine, remember that for your sake He was crushed. Trust Him, receive Him. And in Him receive the power to inherit and to rule everything else. So come and welcome to Jesus Christ.

THE BREAD

For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he broke it: As we receive the eucharistic bread, let us sing the first three stanzas of

The King of Love My Shepherd Is (44, vs. 1-3)

And when Jesus had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

THE WINE

Let us continue singing the remaining stanzas of

The King of Love My Shepherd Is (44, vs. 4-6)

After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.

- COMMISSION -

Please stand.

CLOSING DOXOLOGY

The congregation may raise hands.

Gloria Patri (735)

CHARGE & BENEDICTION Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, Who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.

Jude 1:24-25