A Call to Worship (Part 2 of 2)

The some of us are solemn church people can be quite animated. But in either case were called to worship God in a joyful, thankful God pleasing way to how we do that will find out today on Truth for Life, including a special sermon titled a call to worship.

Let's join Alistair Begg as we continue our study of Psalm 102 main headings and I want us to consider. First of all what it is that we are called to do. And then secondly what it is that we need to know if where going to do what where called to do. Currently under this first heading, you will notice the extent of this praise, its focus is in the Lord. Its exuberance is undeniable and it is not somehow or another limited. It is not simply joyful and thankful but you will note it is it is universal shout for joy to the Lord all is never an isolated thing and this is very important for us to remind ourselves a love in these days when increasingly the influence of the experience of the people of God is marginalized and no matter about our prime blustering nonsense as it intruded upon the political machinations of our world right at the very heart of things in this nation today. The people of God are marginalized, therefore, to the marginalized people of God. The danger comes to say well at least we can retreat at least we can circle the wagons.

At least we can gather and have our own little services. Nobody else really seems to be interested in it where increasingly antagonized, and so on that weekend know because there is no nation in the world that is exempt from this there is no nation in the world that is excluded from this Jehovah Yahweh is not a tribal deity of Israel, but he is the sovereign ruler over the whole if you turn by just one page you see that in Psalm 98 he he he draws this out in terms of the doctrine of creation. Verse seven says the psalmist led the scene rezoned and everything in it, the world and all who live in let the rivers clap their hands. Let the mountain sing for joy. Let them sing before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. This is why it is vitally important that we are students of the Bible that we submit to the instruction of the Bible so that we get our heads and our hearts recalibrated on a daily basis because of so much that comes against us. That is actually counter mending, undermining these essential biblical truths and the extent to which this is happening is quite undeniable. Therefore, what I have to do what we have to do is make sure that our minds are brought under the tutelage of the Bible shout for joy to the Lord all the nations of the world are the inheritance of Christ, the son asked me and I will give you the nations as your inheritance says the father to the son. That is why the promise that God made to even was that through his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed. That is why when Jesus gathered with his disciples before his ascension. He said to them, the Holy Spirit will come upon you and you will be my witnesses not only here locally and their extensively to the ends of the air, and that is why when you read the book of Revelation as John looks over the horizon into the fulfilled picture he sees a company that no one can number from every tribe, people, nation, tongue in language.

The error is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. This praise focused in God, exuberance and expression is universal in its application, but finally in secondly and finally, not only are we told what we should be doing, but were also told what we need to know, and I love the fighter verse three begins with a verb to know no writing as immediately as I've said that the foundation of this exhortation is not in our emotions or feelings, but it is in our knowledge. It is in our understanding and that is why you see the evil one has gotten a great gain. When the people of God convince themselves that they're going to actually be able to manage their way through life by listening to one sermon a week and and splitting for the rest of the time it isn't going to happen. You will never be able to sustain your Christian life on 13 minutes a week from one sermon you will never be able to convey the truth to someone else, unless you know it and knowing it demands learning. It and learning it demands diligence and diligence demands time and that is why he begins know that the Lord he is God. In other words, he says you need to know God. God brings himself within the realm of our perception. There is no intellectual road to God. We can be argued to go God is shown enough of himself in creation and in conscience to leave us accountable to, but it is only in the special revelation of his son, and all of his word, that we may actually come to know him and in Christ all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in bodily form.

So says the psalmist.

I am encouraging you to make sure this this this is happening, but I want you to understand the foundation upon which those expressions are billed are not on the flimsy circumstantial bits and pieces of life nor on the ebb and flow of our emotions but are grounded in our knowledge of God himself so that this worship is not only joyful and thankful and universal, but it is reasonable, it is reasonable in the Christian faith is an appeal to the mind, not absence the heart, but still it is an appeal to the mind. I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice wholly acceptable to God, which is the only reasonable reasonable worship log. He crosses the work is logical. Music is not an impertinence to go around the world and tell people about Jesus is not an impertinence to go into your office and affirm the fact that the earth is the Lords and the fullness thereof. It is a logical deduction from the fact that he is the creator of the ends of the but if we do not have that is a deep-seated conviction and understanding, then we will be pushed around and back into the corner to every pillar and post thinking somehow or another that it is legitimate for us to invite the contemporary notion that this is just my view, this is just my idea. It shouldn't really involve anyone else and I should be interfering with anyone else. It's all the evil one is going to great gain. When we even move into the proximity of that kind of thinking, loved ones, it is imperative that you know God that you know God and you know him as the God who has made us look at that it is he who made us. He made us want to challenge contemporary Western thought, there it is. He made us, we are not a collocation of bathrooms went on molecules held in suspension.

We are not the product of chance evolutionary forces evolution came along at the right time to combine with German liberal theology to explain the absence of a God who is real and to the extent that contemporary Christianity plays FTSE with those godless notions we jeopardize in human terms, the generations that follow us letters me in no doubt that the Bible begins in the beginning God created the heavens and the and we are his. He is the Potter and we are the clay he is the shepherd and we are the sheep we have nothing in ourselves as a basis of pride. All that we know of God is the foundation of our praise, but they always come to music all I currently see more of those songs about how were feeling. What answer is as fine for you to sing songs about how you're feeling, but most of the time if I sang a song this morning about how I'm feeling. It would not be. It would not be what you expect. Therefore, the only hope that I have is that I don't tell you about how I'm feeling. But I remind myself of who God is right, so when I want to start with. I just want to praise you, lift my hands and say I love you because I'm not sure that I do wish you when it's all good. You're the pastor you're supposed to that's fine.

I'm just telling you straight up I maybe wanted sing a song that says I don't want to be here. I want to crawl under the blanket I'm trying to be here. I want to go. It could be anything.

Couldn't. That's why we have to start where we start. Start with God and his glory, not eyes.

What I need to know today that he's the part he made me phoning me phoning you he made he created you and he created you. If you're in Christ. Ephesians 210. We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, when I bring my knowledge of God in all of his greatness and then finally verse five in all of his goodness to bear upon things to realize this is the foundation of genuine praise God is great God is good and you will notice his love endures forever. In other words this doesn't come just with a lifetime guarantee.

This comes with an eternal guaranty and his faithfulness continues to all generations. Every experience of our life brings us to new places, doesn't it.

And now you're getting already bored with me as if I was somehow her great tremendous grandfather and another said the thing I don't know what I'm doing but nevertheless I know I know I'm one of our innate error on narrator grandmother so I got has to be the case, but now I find myself saying the same thing. The grandparents have always been saying is that they were my grandparents.

Oh, I don't know how my children are going to manage. I don't know what will happen to our grandchildren will this world is become so we can know what are we going to do next. Psalm 71 verse 17 since my youth, though God you have taught me and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Even when I'm old and gray. Do not forsake me, oh God to lie, declare your power to the next generation. You might to all who are to come see loved ones. Our responsibility extends far and beyond. Whatever this means to ours in the moment all responsibility has to do with the place that we take in the continuum of God's unfolding drama of redemption and that you see is why the gathering of God's people matters.

There is a direct correlation between the absence of teenagers in the gathered worship of the congregation and their ultimate departure from any kind of engagement with the church in their university and post University experience.

The statistics do not lie in is a mythology that our children will suddenly wake up one morning and determine that that all themselves. They've all decided that this is a great idea when, for the last five years of life. They have resisted eyes at every single point along the way. Do I have to go.

Why do we have to go were really doing what are we getting doesn't mean I can't listen I don't hear is not clear every excuse in the book and the temptation is golfer get it, I'm writing but to put up with this anymore God do we want gender.

Why, because from your youth.

He has sustained to this very day you are aware that he is Potter and create and we have a responsibility now to ensure that the generations beneath us are brought under the tutelage of these truths can happen in the gathered praise of God's people are not suggesting that this is the this is the engines for the agency other than this to Tolentino for a moment, but it is a vital aspect of I'm finishing this way. First of all with a word of encouragement to us.

That is when we think in terms of the faithfulness of God, about which we been singing in a love that endures forever is a reminder that the Potter is not going to discard his work.

He may crush it he may break it, but only to remake it.

Some of is maybe going through an experience of God in our life circumstances are such that we feel is nowhere under the crushing hand of God, but be confident in this.

There's nothing vindictive, he may discipline us the way a good father will discipline his children, but always with the purpose of fashioning us according to his plan.

He will not discard his work in the shepherd will not abandon his sheep.

We may be confident in the but here's my final thought and intermarriage when I had the privilege of playing in the Cleveland Indians charity golf tournament. I was there as a guest of some and I enjoyed it immensely. Although it took forever and and it was it was great but I have to be honest and say that I didn't know any Indians and so it wasn't really that exciting to be around when the people gathered to take photographs and sign things I would like to see him say that, to the detriment of those people. I said because I have no clue.

So all the excitement was strange to me.

Somebody could legitimately have turnarounds that the only reason you're not excited it's because you don't know who this is, if you knew this was you and get an autograph your photograph taken on this on your wall.

You just don't know who it is I loved ones. The reason for the absence of spirit filled praise from the lips of the assembled congregation at Parkside church in song. Measure is directly inexplicable. There the reason that you are not involved in bellowing out the praise of God's is because you don't know who he is and I want to invite you to get to know and when you get to know then you will understand what's happening in the people around you to quote my old favorite singer whose name I'm just forgetting Andre Crouch, they say, holy roller and what they say is true and if you knew why I'm rolling you be rolling to. And that is at the very heart of it either. We are not alive or we are in active in others we going to sleep that which once filled our thoughts no longer fills our thoughts that expression of God is a creator and as a boxer is a faithful God has been dimmed because in terms of the parable of the sore, the pride of life, materialism, affections of other people elicit notions squeeze the very issue out of it. So all that is left now is the shell all that is left is the Col.

Now we are simply going through the motions. We are alive were half day. We are no longer active. When God brings life to people when he sets their feet upon a rock when he establishes there going. He proves a song of praise upon their lips and loved ones. I need you to understand this, and there is no condemnation in it.

I we we are sending a signal. The question is, what's the signal is in the joyful audible thankful, universal exuberant praise that God deserves, or is it the Windows 7 service is okay. I don't know he was back in all right or for me. I did the services I went home. The routine services of Parkside church.

The routine services of Parkside church morning and evening provide one of the greatest evangelistic opportunities that exist for us as a people, by the enthusiastic participation of the congregation is a prerequisite for the welcoming of those who are wondering about these things and believe us when they show they get the sick and so does our heavenly father may help us so has God put a song of praise on your lips.

Are you expressing your worship to God listing to Truth for Life. Alistair Begg will be back shortly to close the program in prayer so please keep listening were learning how vital it is to know God and to know his word Truth for Life. Our mission is to teach the Bible with clarity and relevance and our intent is to supplement, not to replace your local church affect our hope is that Alister's messages will even encourage local pastors all around the world.

One of the ways we provide encouragement for pastors is through the annual basics conference that Alister hosts in Cleveland, Ohio, and I'm excited to let you know basics, 20, 22 is officially on the books. If you're a pastor or you serving church leadership.

Mark your calendar for May 2022. Registration is open online at basics conference.org it's our hope and prayer that this daily program is helping to strengthen and equip local churches and you can be part of that mission. When you give to Truth for Life giving is easy online the Truth for Life.org/donate or by calling 888-588-7884 when you give today we want to invite you to request your copy of a new book from Alister's friend, Sinclair Ferguson. It's titled devoted to God's church in the book Sinclair explains that church is not meant to be a weekly add-on to your otherwise busy life. It's meant to be the center of your life.

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Close with prayer. Father, help us in these things we pray were not talking about style were not talking about some format or some formula. We just want to be reminded again that out of the fullness of our hearts are monsoon our lips to clear your plate that you've created a stipulation that the nations the Muslim nations of the world need to hear from Jesus. Indonesia needs Jesus in the Pakistan continent of Africa.

Holy is back extensive Eastern Bloc countries of Cleveland me hear our prayers for Christ sake, about 15 have you seen your church struggle and searching for a new pastor. What should a church be looking for. Join us tomorrow as we begin a series titled the pastor's study to find out what God given ministry looks like the Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life learning is for