Church - Part 9
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Welcome...
Introduction…
Finishing our series on what is the church
Pray
Heavenly Father, please give me clarity in the words I speak.
Please fill us with the truth of your word and grant us
repentance where there is sin,
understanding where there is confusion, and
wisdom where there is foolishness.
Open our ears and our hearts,
Turn our affections towards you,
And make yourself our greatest joy and treasure.
In Jesus name, Amen.
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Without a correct view of the church, a person will not have a correct view of what it means to follow Jesus.
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At Abide Church, we believe that
(1) the Bible is our final authority in all matters,
(2) the nature of the church is a theological issue, and
(3) that both the Universal Church and the Local Church are divinely instituted.
We are going to continue to use Retro-Christianity’s essential “marks” and “works” framework.
These essential “marks” and “works” are both
Biblical (supported by scripture)
Historical (largely recognized throughout church history)
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Framework:
Marks
Ordinances
Order
Orthodoxy
Works
Exaltation
Edification
Evangelism
What is exaltation?
What is exaltation?
Worship
Worship
To attribute to God his worth.
To exalt God as supreme in your life is right worship.
To exalt anything else as supreme in your life is wrong worship. AKA, idolatry.
The first of the 10 commandments:
“You shall have no other gods before me.
Jesus was questioned on what is the greatest commandment:
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.
He goes on...
And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
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“The worship style is not the main issue. The direction of our worship is primary. We are to worship God-ward, not man-ward.”
On the one hand, this whole thing feels very obvious.
On the other hand, I look out at the landscape of churches in our culture, or religious, even Christian people, and see that Church and become more about exalting man and less about exalting God.
Some thoughts on exaltation:
God is worthy of our worship
God is worthy of our worship
He is not egotistical
Our culture struggles with the idea of honor, but we still have it.
Honor in position
Honor in position
Imagine you were going to meet the queen or the president...
How would you dress? How would you act? How would you want your kids/friends to act?
Honor in sacrifice
Honor in sacrifice
Imagine you were going to meet a WW2 veteran who lost many of his friends and family to war?
If you were having dinner, would you stand when he entered the room? Would you pay attention when he was speaking or telling a story?
Honor in family
Honor in family
Imagine were were going to visit your 90 year-old grandmother?
Honor in wealth
Honor in wealth
Imagine Bill Gates invited you to his home?
Honor in goodness
Honor in goodness
Imagine you were going to meet Mother Theresa...
Honor in fame
Honor in fame
Imagine you were going to meet a sports star or music star...
How would you dress? How would you act? How would you want your kids/friends to act?
Honor in ability
Honor in ability
Imagine you were going to meet a world-class violinist...
Honor in justice
Honor in justice
Imagine you were going to meet a supreme court justice...
Honor in position
Honor in sacrifice
Honor in family
Honor in wealth
Honor in goodness
Honor in fame
Honor in ability
Honor in justice
This is just the beginning of the list, if we worked together, we could go on all day...
Here’s a picture of the oldest tree in the world...
People hike to it and honor is simply because it’s old...
[[PICTURE OF TREE]]
“As I looked,
thrones were placed,
and the Ancient of Days took his seat;
his clothing was white as snow,
and the hair of his head like pure wool;
his throne was fiery flames;
its wheels were burning fire.
For God to accept less than our full dedication would make him less than God
For God to accept less than our full dedication would make him less than God
Moses was a prophet, he said:
“The Rock, his work is perfect,
for all his ways are justice.
A God of faithfulness and without iniquity,
just and upright is he.
David said in the Psalms:
This God—his way is perfect;
the word of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
Jesus echoed God’s perfection in the sermon on the mount AND put that expectation on you and I:
You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
God does everything good.
God does everything perfect.
We ought to be terrified.
God’s love and grace is perfected through the cross.
Worship is also for our good
Worship is also for our good
What is the purpose of man?
The first question in the Westminster Catechism is:
Q: What is the chief end of man?
A: Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.
There is nothing in this world or the world to come that will fulfill you, give your life joy, or give your life purpose like enjoying the true and almighty God of the universe.
CS Lewis said:
“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”
Solomon wrote a book that is included in the Bible towards the end of his life.
In it he describes his search for meaning and purpose in life.
Over and over the book repeats the phrase:
I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.
In great detail, he explains that he sought riches, power, sex, and wisdom.
The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
So the end purpose of man is just to obey a bunch of rules that God made up to make my life boring?
That is spin that Satan has put on this truth to make it a lie.
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.
Our Liturgy
Our Liturgy
Call to worship
Confession
Consecration
Communion
Commission
Call to worship
God is the one who calls us out of the world to worship him
It’s not me reading a passage, it’s not the worship leader, it’s God
God initiates relationship with rebellious mankind
God chose us to before the foundation of the world to be a people for his own possession
Praise God.
Confession
As we call to mind God’s character, his goodness, his grace, his majesty, his splendor, we are brought to repentance.
We confess our sins corporately and individually.
At the end of confession, I always give what has come to be known as the assurance of pardon.
“If you are in Christ, you are forgiven.”
Consecration
God consecrates us, that is sets us apart from the world for his purposes. He accomplishes this through his word, which is why we preach his word here at Abide.
Communion
Communion is tangible gift God gave the church to remind us of the work he did on the cross. Jesus is spiritually present with us in communion. It is the covenant sign God gave to show our continued fellowship with God and one another. In communion, we enjoy a small feast as we look forward to a much larger future feast.
Commission
This is when God sends us out into the world. We go and serve God in our families, in our neighborhoods, in our jobs, and in every other aspect of our life. We do this by the power of the Holy Spirit. The service concludes with a benediction (benediction literally means “good saying”) which is a pronouncement of blessing whereby the Lord sends us forth with His favor out into the world, not in shame or defeat, but in faith and victory.
A covenant renewal service is not about man; it is all about God and God pouring out His grace on us. God calls us to worship, God cleanses us from our sin, God consecrates us with His word, God communes with us at His table, and God commissions us for His work. We celebrate this together as saints on a weekly basis.
Exaltation (worship) happens beyond Sunday
Exaltation (worship) happens beyond Sunday
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.