Saved to Work

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Sunday morning and Wednesday Night studies

Farmer’s Market continues until September 25th, every Saturday 8-11

Prepare for Worship

Call To Worship

Song - 324 Open My Eyes

Confession

Prayer of Confession

Most merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we confess that we have sinned in thought, word and deed.

We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be; that we may do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you, our God.

Amen

Assurance of Faith

The Apostle John assures us of the effectiveness of our confession: 1 John - If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.  My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world

Confession of Faith - Join me on pg 14 of your Hymnals as we read our Confession of faith, Traditional version

I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth;

And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I 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.

Worship

Song 1 - 361 How Firm a Foundation

Song 2 - 383 My Faith Looks Up to Thee

Prayers of the People

Prayer Request

Peoples in Afghanistan

My Family - Death and Illness

Pray for our Politicians

Lords Prayer: And All Gods People Prayed:

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy

kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us

this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our

debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.

Amen.

Sermon Intro

Turn your Bibles to Ephes 2:1-10

Ephesians 2:1–10 (ESV)

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Recap of Last Week

We Are Sinners

We are Dead in our Sins

We walk in the ways of the world

We follow the ways of Satan who works in the disobedient

We are children of wrath

But God....

His mercy, his Love, and grace are displayed in our slavation

Which brings us to verses 8-10 Read underline

Saved by Grace, through faith, not my works.

This week has been tough....

Asking what is it that I am doing? What have I done? Why does it matter?

In order to understand the turmoil of the week, of the last month of the last year, or of the last 20 years, I need to know why it is that I am saved.

How I am saved

Saved by grace

Grace is the word that describes Gods work

The work of the triune God

Jesus’s work as a man

Grace because my work fail’s

Adam came into this world under the covenant of works

Sin is the failure to obey, the failure to work

Paul tells us right here we are not saved by our works

My works as filthy rags

Even my best works in unbelief are sin, because of motive

Saved through faith

Through=the process (literal, figurative motion or progression, by=the means

means = the medium, method, or instrument to obtain a result

process = a series of actions or operations conducing to an end; a continuous operation or treatment

Faith in what?

How did I come into possession of my faith?

Faith is a gift, it is the work of God, the work of the Spirit changing our heart

Why I am saved

To Work

Adam was created for work.

We are God’s image, we reflect His purpose in this world

Paul says we are created in Jesus

reborn in Jesus, literally we are recreated to do His work

John 14:12–14 ESV

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

“Good”

Paul says we are created in Jesus for Good works

Who gets to define what are good?

Earlier when we were children of wrath, who worked in us?

What ways does the unbeliever follow.

Our works are opposite of the world

If we embrace the ways of the world, are we fulfilling our purpose

What is the point of our Good works?

Ultimate purpose: To glorify God

Matthew 5:14–16 ESV

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Effectual purpose: John 10:25

John 10:25 ESV

Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me,

Recreated in Jesus, to walk in the good works prepared for us before time

No clearer statement as to the purpose of why we are saved.

How do We then Work

Individually

Love God, Love people

Love God - follow commandments

love people - follow Gods law on how to love people

Cannot do one without the other

Do not inverse the two

Loving God and People is not by our own standard

Family

Follow God’s instruction for family

Husband Wife relationship

Parent Child relationship

God’s law

Vocation

God’s law applies to your workplace

We should work and live in the public square in such a way as to continue Jesus’s work

Do not compromise…ever…ever…ever

Government

Those in government as a vocation follow last rules

Our obedience to the government

Romans 13:1–5 ESV

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience.

Note that the government is a minister of God, for good. If we do good we should have nothing to fear from the government

If the Government should do evil, or seek to cause us to do evil, then we must resist

Church

We as a church must do good works

We begin with our inner workings

Do they align with God’s mandates, if not are they actually good works?

What are we doing as a corporate body to spur one another on to good works

What standard are we measuring our works by?

Feed the hungry, visit people in prison, cloth people.

Teach good doctrine

Evangelize

Love one another enough to help one another in their sin....church discipline

Call out the other governmental structures when they are not doing “good works”

Conclusion

We are saved by God’s work

We are saved to do God’s work

We have a standard by which to do that work, and it is not our own

We must not fear man or government if we are doing true “good” works

All of our work, should be of a nature that it in no way convinces us that we are justified before God by that work. Rather all of our work should serve the purpose of pointing people to a Christ who saves us, and our motive should be purely to glorify God in so doing.

Doxology

Closing Prayer

If anyone has any questions or concerns feel free to catch me afterwards. And a quick reminder we do have plates in the back for anyone who desires to worship through giving today. The plate to the right is general giving, and the one to the left is specific for our missions giving.

Join us as we sing the doxology:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise Him all creatures here below, Praise Him above ye Heavenly Host, Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.